Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop!!!


and 
Cindy at Books Complete Me 

I am giving away a book of your choice (up to $15.00 US) anywhere the Book Depository ships free.
Giveaway ends at midnight on March 20, 2011

Rules:
1. You MUST be a follower - after all it is for my followers! 
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must fill out this form!  
Comments are great, but not necessary to enter.


There will be one winner who will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway is international as long as the book depository does ship free to your country. Please note that if you are the winner and you live in the US, I reserve the right to order the books from a store of my choosing. 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Review: The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld Series Prequel - -
The Darkest Fire

Amazon Product Description:
He is the guardian of hell, more monster than man. She is the goddess of oppression, more angel than woman. Together they will enter the flames to battle a dangerous horde of demon lords -- and discover a passion unlike any other.... Don’t miss this sizzling prequel to Gena Showalter's breathtaking new paranormal series, The Lords of the Underworld! Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful.... “Showalter at her finest.” --New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning on The Darkest Night.


My thoughts:
Since I signed up for the Lords of the Underworld Challenge I decided I might as well start with the prequel and go from there.  This was my first Gena Showalter (even though one of my friends lives and breathes Lords of the Underworld - I had yet to try one).  I was not disappointed.  I don't know if anything could have lived up to what this series had been built to by my friend, but I enjoyed the story but would liked for it to have been longer.  
I think that this story would easily stand alone, but I believe that it was a great place to start and to get some of the background for the series.  


I liked the characters, Kadence and Geryon, he is the guardian to the gates of hell and she is the goddess of Oppression.  They have loved each other from afar and finally one day she speaks to him.  From their first conversation their journey begins and as they travel and spend time together finally admit their love for one another.  It's a bit like beauty and the beast in a way.  I won't spoil it for you by telling more - - 


There isn't much world building in this one - as they reside in hell, but she does a nice job on the descriptions of the other inhabitants and the surroundings.


At the very end of the story the gods realize that the wall between Earth and Hell has been breached and the Demon Lords has been loosed on Earth.  They built a box that drew, captured, and held the Demon Lords.  They gave said box to a woman named Pandora to ensure its safety.....so onto the rest of the series!





Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Review: The Serengeti Shifters Series by Vivi Andrews


Serengeti Heat: Serengeti Shifters Book 1 by Vivi Andrews

Amazon Product Description:
The fur's about to fly... A Sexy Shifter story.

Ava Minor is done being the good girl. As the smallest and weakest in a pride of shape-shifting lions where size and strength rule, she's never had any choice but to toe the line. Now, with sexy, nomadic alpha Landon King winning control of the pride, she grabs her one chance to let her inner feline out to play.
Landon would rather focus on reforming the antiquated traditions of his new pride than taking a mate...until the rebellious Ava crosses his path. All his noble intentions go up in flames, incinerated by the heat she exudes—especially when he realizes she's in heat.
Ava, knowing she isn't mate material, is determined to revel in one wild night before she's sent back to her place in the pride pecking order.
Except Landon has no intention of letting his daring, seductive lioness go...


Serengeti Storm: Serengeti Shifters Book 2 by Vivi Andrews


Amazon Product Description:
The bitch is back, and nothing gets in her way. Except her own heart…Serengeti Shifters, Book 2
Shana Delray is hissing mad. The pride’s Alpha has chosen a mate—and it’s not her. Bred to be his consort, she’s not going to let some runt of the litter take her destined place—no matter how much ass she has to kick in the process.
Her way back into the pride is Caleb Minor—her former lover, the Alpha’s loyal enforcer…and the runt’s brother. And if she has to go through Caleb to get what she wants, so be it. She’ll do whatever it takes to pry the little usurper out of her way.
Caleb’s familiarity with Shana’s manipulative ways serves him well when he’s assigned to keep the seething she-cat in line. A nearly impossible task, as he’s forced to use his body—in more ways than one—to save her from herself. Now if only he can save his battered heart from the explosive desire that isn’t as dormant as he’d thought.
Caleb’s stronger now. Tougher and harder. And, to Shana’s fury, he won’t be used. The harder she pushes, the more she finds her heart yielding…and suddenly she wonders if she can somehow win back the man she spent a decade trying to destroy…


Serengeti Lightning: Serengeti Shifters Book 3 by Vivi Andrews


Amazon Product Description:
Love can be a force of nature...Serengeti Shifters, Book 3
Mara Leonard is through hitting the snooze button on her biological clock. The Three Rocks Pride schoolteacher is ready to get serious about starting a family, and she needs a serious man to make that happen.
Regrettably, that means crossing less-than-serious Michael Minor off her list of potential mates. Michael is impulsive and passionate, but his spontaneity leaks into shapeshifting whenever his emotions run high—a tendency he should have outgrown long ago. As a sex buddy, he’s delicious. Daddy material? Disqualified.
Michael is blindsided by Mara’s rejection. Nine years separate them, and his genetic malady means no one in the pride treats him as an adult. But if she thinks he’ll simply slink away to lick his wounds while she steps into the arms of another man, she has seriously underestimated him.
The tricky part will be convincing his over-analytical lover that he’s more than a disposable sex toy. That real bravery means tearing up her damn checklist and following her heart. And doing it without letting their explosive sexual chemistry expose the Pride’s secrets to the outside world.
My thoughts:
Wow - these were fast paced, energetic reads!  I found myself unwilling to put each one down until the end!  The characters are well created with all the "right" stuff: personality, charm, great bodies, dedicated, driven, loyal... you know what I mean - - - - the guys are all the guy we dream about (probably because they don't exist anywhere but in these kinds of stories) and the girls are all daring, sexy, and win in the end!  
I read this series in three days - one per day, but each of the stories in one sitting - literally read them cover to cover without putting them down. 

Vivi Andrews has created a world full of lion shifters who live together on a huge ranch in a compound setting.  They have everything they need to survive without having to deal with humans, their own stores, schools, and so on.  The world she creates for her shifters is realistic and easy to believe in.  The characters she creates are amazing and I found myself instantly invested in their lives and hoping that they would get what they were searching for. I enjoyed each story very much - each has a different set of main characters with a host of supporting people who are around throughout the series.  These are definitely adult and pretty riskay!  If you like hot PNR this series was a fun one!


Monday, March 14, 2011

Winner!!! Foresight by Sherry D. Ficklin

The Winner is #8!!!

Ricki M.
I have emailed Sherry Ficklin and she will be sending out your copy of Foresight! 
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This book is available on Amazon.com for FREE!!!

Book description (flap blurb):
For over 150 years, Pride And Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen herself called this brilliant work her "own darling child." Pride And Prejudice, the story of Mrs. Bennet's attempts to marry off her five daughters is one of the best-loved and most enduring classics in English literature. Excitement fizzes through the Bennet household at Longbourn in Hertfordshire when young, eligible Mr. Charles Bingley rents the fine house nearby. He may have sisters, but he also has male friends, and one of these -- the haughty, and even wealthier, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy -- irks the vivacious Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the Bennet girls. She annoys him. Which is how we know they must one day marry. The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and Darcy is a splendid rendition of civilized sparring. As the characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, Jane Austen's radiantly caustic wit and keen observation sparkle.




I added this book to my 2011 reads first because I tend to shy away from "the classics" and second because a good friend of mine tells me regularly that this is her all-time favorite book and that she re-reads it many times each year.  On that note, here are my thoughts...


I have to start by saving how truly grateful I am that I don't live in the time period in which the book is set - I would go crazy!!!  The social strictures and the very way people spoke....... although I have to admit I am less than social and struggle for conversation topics, so perhaps it would make me crazy because I would be so unsuccessful there. 


Miss Austen did write a timeless classic - 
Her characters are wonderful.  You are drawn in and tied up in the lives of the Bennets from the start.  Elizabeth's sisters drive you to distraction and her mother....incredibly well developed and written character.  Each of the characters, no matter the size of the role they play in the story is creative and complete.  
She sets her story with attention to detail, leaving nothing to be figured out or questionable in the world she built.  This is one thing that gives the story the ability to be timeless.  She is so thorough in her descriptions and details that the reader has a complete picture of the world that the Bennets live in.


I had seen the movie (both the old and the new versions - on a side note, the sisters in the old version will make you fast forward--constant gigglers) and have to admit that I found myself seeing the movie while I read the book and it kept me from getting too caught up in the language that seemed to use soooooo many words to say something short.  


All in all - it was a great read, shorter than I had expected it to be considering that the word "classic" makes me think tome!  I enjoyed the story and would readily recommend it to others.  It has also made me think that perhaps I should start reading more "classics" - - 





Sunday, March 13, 2011

Beth Revis - AMAZING FIVE (5) Book Giveaway!


Beth Revis is giving these five books away! Click the link below to go to the information page!
http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2011/03/win-all-five-signed-copies-of.html

Good luck to us all - but I do hope I win!!!