This one makes me kinda mad.

Once again I did not read much. I had some medical issues that put me out of commission for a while. I'm starting to get back on track. I have a list of books I am key on reading this month. Wish me luck that I get to consume them all.

Resplendence Publishing has a new blog, check it out
http://resplendencegems.blogspot.com/

Be sure to take a peek and get your discount codes. Remember that your purchases go toward a charity. :)

1)Dark Rival by Brenda Joyce
2)Mr. Cavendish, I presume by Julia Quinn
3)Tin Star by J.L. Langley
4)Healing Doctor Ryan by Carol Lynne
5)High Noon by Nora Roberts
6)Necklace of Shame by Carol Lynne
7)Up in Smoke by Katie MacAlister

Has anyone else read High Noon?
Stupid Question, it's Nora Roberts. Of course many have read it :)
I found that it was very similar to the In Death books. There were a few moments where I actually had thought I was reading an Eve and Roarke books, then got a bit of a shock when someone else's name popped up.
That bothered me, but other than that, it was a good read.

A few weeks ago I was walking out of Walmart and saw a gentleman, about 60 years old, sitting on a bench reading a Judith McNaught historical. For some reason that made me smile all the way home.

Then a few days ago, I went to vote for our federal election. My polling station was at a retirement home in my neighborhood, in the residence library.
An entire 4 shelves were all Harlequin romances, and upon further sneaking around, I saw many, many romance novels.

I'd totally fit in with that reading group :)

Nice reading list for me this month. One book I didn't think I would like (Sam's Creed) turned out to be awesome. I didn't review it, but it gets a B+. Very sexy, wonderful Hero.
A book I thought I would enjoy, but didn't (Through the Veil) was a huge disappointment.

I'm not surprised about Lover Enshrined. I was expecting it to be riddled with annoyances, and true to form, it was. I truly have given up on the series now. LE was my last Ward book.

Still way behind with the In Death books. I'll get caught up this year, I hope.

I'm back to enjoying the Lords of the Underworld series. The second book was a DNF for me, but the third got me back on the bandwagon. Can't wait for the next one. I'm eager for Paris' story.

Sorry about the lack of reviews. It's summer time :)


1)Lover Enshrined by JR Ward
2)Through the Veil by Shiloh Walker
3)Rapture in Death by J.D Robb
4)Lessons From a Courtesan by Jenna Petersen
5)Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard
6)When a Lady Misbehaves by Michelle Marcos
7)Sam's Creed by Sarah McCarty
8)Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
9)Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter

Last night I started a new book. A contemporary from a new to me author that I thought was going to be a nice light read.

It became a DNF on page 4 because of one word.

There are only three words in the english language that I don't think should ever be used. One is a racist word to describe a black person. The second is a racist word to describe an Asian person. The third is a derogatory word that I wont even type out. I'm sure you can figure out what the word is by looking at the image I have posted with this post.

I saw the N word in a Kathleen E Woodiwiss novel. I didn't stop reading because of when the book was written. For what it's worth, I hated the book. (The Flame and the Flower.) There are many things about TFATF that I did not like, and the use of the N word was one of them. I get that the way the author used it was historically accurate. Knowing that didn't make it nicer to read though.

Anyway, the book that I started reading last night used the R word. The book was published only last year. I was hugely offended and felt sick to my stomach that anyone would still be using that word.

Would I still have been offended if the book was published 20-30 years ago, or if it was a historical? The answer is yes.
Would I have stopped reading? I don't know.

This time, however, I did stop reading. It was used in a derogatory manner, and it upset me. A lot.

There is no way I can finish the book. I did try. After I stopped and took a few deep breaths, I tried to read on, but my eyes kept jumping back to that word. It made me angrier by the second.

I'm a little bit upset with myself, because I could possibly be missing out on a really great book. At the same time, some things mean more to me than a good read.
This is one of those things.

I understand that there is another word that bothers a lot of women. That would would be c*nt. It doesn't bother me at all, but I did cover it a little because I know many women hate it with a passion.

My question is this. Are there any words that offend you so much, that you would not be able to finish a book because of it?

Holy Goddess! Imagine eating the last page of a book?
Chewing paper, with all that dye. Does she take it with water? I bet the page is pretty dry.
I hope she only eats books that buys brand new. It would be even grosser to eat a page from a used book store or library... how many other people have touched it. Ew.

I'm looking at the picture, trying to figure out what genre she likes. True Crime, suspense?
And I thought I had some weird quirks.
The last page eater beats me.

Pretty interesting reading month for me. Not as many books as I was reading this time last year, but still a good mixture, I think.

I'd like to brag about the Maya Banks ARC I got to read. Be with Me is out in November, and I am so sad that we have to wait so long for the release, because I want to talk about it right now! It's no secret how much I LOVED Colter's Woman. It's been a re read for me several times over. Well, Be with Me is better! There. I said it. FINALLY, a menage book that beats Colter's Woman. How cool is it that it's even written by the same author?
Way cool indeed!

I wont get much reading done the next little while. I have family visitng from Alberta, and they will be here tomorrow! Yay. I miss my family so much.
I do plan to post some fast reviews of The Darkest Kiss (DNF-it's a shame, because I gave the first book in the series a great review) and, Ain't She Sweet (B+).


1)The Bartered Bride by Mary Jo Putney
2)Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
3)Remember me by Sophie Kinsella
4)Be with me ARC by Maya Banks (A)
5)Bet me by Jennifer Crusie
6)The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter (DNF)
7)Combat! by KS Augustin (B)
8)Ain't she sweet? by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (B+)
9)Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

READ GREEN AND GIVE BACK

During the last week of each month, Resplendence Publishing will offer a special coupon code good for 15% off any e-book purchase during the entire week. For each purchase, a portion of the proceeds will be going toward the chosen charity of the month.

Starting June 23 (thats today!) -June 30 the charity of the month is the Arbor Day Foundation.

Please visit Resplendence Publishing here to get your discount code, and also to learn about the Arbor Day Foundation.

I'm slowly getting through my TBR, and know the next few books I will read, but after that I don't know again.
I know what I am in the mood for, and I hope someone can think of some titles for me.

I'd like to read a story where the hero has captured the heroine. Something, anything, along a capture/kidnapping plot.

An example of one I loved was Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught. Although, what I am wanting to read does not have to be a historical.

Can you help I promise to review it after I read...

46 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 46

things about your friends, and let them learn 46 things about you!
Remember send it back to the person who sent it to you.

1. Do you like blue cheese? Gross. Disgusting.

2 Have you ever smoked? Sigh. Yeah, back when I was a teenager. I'm ashamed of it.

3. Do you own a gun? No. Never ever ever!

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? I have never been there.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like them. With lots of onions and mustard.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? I like the Santa Clause

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Pepsi

9. Can you do push ups? Nope. I'm a weak wimp

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A ring that my Pepere gave to my Memere, who in turn gave to me.

11. Favorite hobby? Does buying shoes count as a hobby?

12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I hate my face and my body.

14. Middle name? I don't want to share it

15. Name 3 thoughts at this emailing
1) It's giving me something to do 2)I'm going to send it my aunt 3)I hope I don't give TO much away about myself

16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday:
1)Ice cap 2)Sunscreen 3)and three pairs of shoes. They had a sale. buy 2, get the third 1/2 off. :-) These are them.

These I got because I need a new pair of cute flats to wear to the zoo next week.














These I got because they match a skirt I have.














Since I was getting three pairs, I just grabbed these because a girl can never have too many pairs of heels. I certainly can't turn down pink ones either.

17. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
1)Pepsi
2)ice cap
3)lately, bottled flavoured water

18. Current worry? Don't want to talk about it

19. Current hate right now? Ants, bees and mosquitoes

20. Favorite place to be? In my bed, reading

21. Where would you like to go? Back in time and re live time spent with my Pepere

22. Name three people who will complete this?
Ames. She is my favourite wench, and I'll just keep bugging her until she does :-P
Not sure who else.

24. What shirt are you wearing? I'm wearing a dress

25. What year would you go back in time to? 1997

26. Can you whistle? A little tiny bit

27. Favorite color? Pink

28. Would you be a pirate? A pirate wench

29. Favorite girl's name? Lily

31. Favorite boy's name? I don't have a favourite boy name.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? I can't think of anything

34.Favorite Halloween costume? Witch

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Never had any bad ones

36. Do you like where you live? yeah, I guess.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Six. But one is just a little 12 inch.

38. Who is your loudest friend? I am the loudest person I know

39. How many dogs do you have? Zero

40. Does someone have a crush on you? No

41. What is your favorite book(s)? The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe

42. What is your favorite candy? I love jub jubs

43. Favorite sports team? I hate sports.

44. Your favorite meal? Steak-well done. Loaded baked potato, mixed green veggies, and a garden salad with french dressing.

45. What were you doing @12 AM last night? Sleeping

46. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? My head hurts. Woke up with a head ache

I stole this from Holly. If you decide to do it, then leave a link so I can check it out :)

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
If I had to pick them order it would be,
Paranormal
Historical
Contemporary
I don't not like contemporaries. It's just that they tend to bore me more often than the other two genres do.


Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
I like trade paperback and hardcover to look at on my shelf, but I like paperback better for when I read the book.
Thats kind of an odd answer, I know, lol

Heyer or Austen?
Nothing beats Austen.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
I refuse to buy at amazon based on the fact that they are really shitty and unethical when it comes to how they treat reviewers.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Chapters. It's a Canadian one.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay?
Hmmm, well, they are both rather fond of rape, but I'd like to so no to both. If I had to choose... I'll go with Lindsay.

First romance novel you ever remember reading?
I don't remember the name. It was a Harlequin Presents when I was about 14.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
Right now it's random. But when my new shelves get here, it will be by author.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
I give away the ones I hated, keep all the rest. I was selling on eBay for a while, but I like having a book collection, so now I keep all but the ones I want to burn.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I leave it on.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?
Sookie for sure. Anita Blake stopped being good at about book 13.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When tired. Or when I am pulled away to do something.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
They are both crappy starters.

Crusie or SEP?
I have not read either.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy print, borrow audio.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
I only buy based on reviews if it's someone I know and trust. I'd consider a recommendation based on who is wanting me to read it. I also buy by browsing.
All of the above then.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
I HATE CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Anytime I can. Mostly at night though.

Series or standalone?
Both. I don't want to decide between the two.
However, I admit to liking series books the best when they are in first person.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Child of her Heart by Cheryl St. John.

Those of you who were sure I'd read more in May, you were right :-)
Not as much as I wanted, but still, an improvement from the months before.

I'm still waiting for someone who read, and liked, Woodiwiss' The Flame and the Flower to come forward and tell me why they thought it so good. Seriously, I don't get the hype over this book. I don't understand why it is a 'classic'. Not at all.

Gena Showalter's new paranormal series is really good so far. Mind you, I am only a few chapters into the second book, however, I'm enjoying it.
If you liked JR Wards' BDB books, but hated the brothers quirks and dressing style, then you will love The Darkest Night.


1)Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
2)Stay with me by Maya Banks
3)From dead to worse by Charlaine Harris
4)The flame and the flower by Kathleen E Woodiwiss
5)Deal with this by Lucy Monroe
6)The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
7)The Prize by Julie Garwood
8)Playing with Fire by Katie MacAlister


On Friday I got a letter from irewards. They were reminding me to re new my membership. They also included a note telling me that in the last year I have saved, get ready for it...

$161. 34

Not bad. I do pretty much live at Chapters, my favourite bookstore. I didn't realize how much it all added up though.
Don't even ask me how much I spent on books these last 12 months in order to save that much, I have no idea, LOL! I do keep all my receipts, so I bet I could add it all up one of these days.

With irewards you save 10% off all books in store. 40% off best sellers-but the books I want are never best sellers, sigh. And you save 5% when you shop online. Every now and then they have the double discount days. I posted about that a few days ago.

Finding her Place by Midnyte Dupree
Published by: Resplendence Publishing

The war is over and Cameron Cabot no longer knows who she is. Her life was enveloped and consumed by the fight, but suddenly things have changed. Instead of fighting creatures wanting her planet, Cameron is now fighting the urge to lay claim to two men who believe she is their mate. Has Cameron found her new assignment in the arms of a Noah and Mars?

Yes, if a mischievous little spirit has anything to say about it...

Exclusive Excerpt:

Sitting up, she looked around her the room. It wasn’t familiar. It was sterile and cold. The furniture was bland in color and not very distinguishable. A bed, two tables, a closet, and small dresser were the only things in there. Nothing personal of any sort.
Looking down at the bed, she noticed two lumps at her side. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she carefully pulled the covers back and away from the bodies.
She sucked in a breath.
“Holy shit!”
She clamped her hand over her mouth, fearing to wake the unknown men. Memories began to assault her. She held her head between her hands and leaned forward into her lap.
The crash. She and Simone had been flying to Andro for a vacation. A rogue ship had shot them down. She thought she had killed them.
Maybe these men were with them.
She pulled the blankets further away from the men and, revealing the most well-cut bodies a woman could ever hope to see. A sliver of remembrance flashed through her mind. Could it be these men reminded her of the men in her dream?
One had tawny skin and well defined muscles, and the other’s skin was creamy white and not quite as muscular, but slim and athletic. Their bodies were nothing like she had ever seen on Venusia.
Feeling a breeze, she looked down and noticed her nakedness.
“What the hell?”
Cameron slapped both men on the chest as she drew the sheet higher on her body.
The muscled one quickly pulled out a laser weapon from under his pillow and pointed it dead at her face, just inches from her nose.

--------------

You can buy this ebook here at Resplendence Publishing.
:-)

Mine and Ames' review of The Prize by Julie Garwood is live at Breezing Through.
Ames thinks that I am weird because it was my first Garwood book.
Head on over and help me decide on the next Garwood book to read.

This weekend, May 31-June 1'st, we get 20% off all books.
Thats an extra 10% off of. Yay.

Today while I was at Chapters getting some books, there was a man in front of me buying a bunch. He had about 60 books! The cashier asked if he had an irewards card. He said yes, then said that it belongs to his wife.

Uh oh.

The cashier would not let him use it. She said that it has to be his card, and unless his wife is in the store, then he can't use her card.
The guy was pissed.
He and the cashier did some back and forth talking about it, and he ended up asking her to call the manager over.

By that time I had already paid for my books at the cashier next to him, so I had to leave. Shoot. I really want to know if he got to use the card or not.

I'm thinking that the guy should not have said anything about the card belonging to his wife, rather than him. It's not like they ask for ID. Actually, there are not even names on the irewards card. Just our member number.

*shrug*

I found this via Let's Gab.

From Shiloh Walker:

I've got an auction up on ebay to help raise money for the cyclone victims and I'm trying to get the word out.

Right now, it involves a couple of ARCs, several books, but more have added, and a GC to Barnes and Noble.

It's up on ebay thru missionfish-the charity I chose was SAVE THE CHILDREN since they already have people in the country and have had some success getting much needed supplies. And they have an excellent rep for putting their money where their mouth is- 90% of all monies received go to their programs, which is beyond excellent for a charity.

I know some people feel not doing anything might be best considering the actions of the junta and hold off waiting until that situation changes, but I don't think letting people suffer is a viable option either if there are ways of getting help in.

From Save the Children's 5/9 update-

Westport, Conn. (May 9, 2008) — The death toll in Myanmar continues to rise as a result of Cyclone Nargis and hardships for hundreds of thousands of survivors left in its wake are increasing. With 500 staff on the ground, Save the Children has reached 72,000 people, 24,000 of whom are estimated to be children, through the distribution of food, water purification tablets, plastic sheeting for shelter and other needed supplies

And this is part of the reason why I chose them-they already have people inside the country and they seem to be a trusted by those within the country, making it easier to get help in.

So far, the auction includes:

• Signed copy of Private Places, historical romance anthology, not due out until 8/08 with stories by Robin Schone, Allyson James, Claudia Dain & Shiloh Walker
• The Perfect Ten, signed, donated by Janice Maynard
• The Legacy & bookmarks, signed, donated by Beth Williamson
• Hard as Nails, signed, *7/08 release* ARC donated by HelenKay Dimon
• Signed books donated by Rosemary Laurey-titles to be listed at a later date
• Hunters: Heart and Soul, signed, by Shiloh Walker
• Hunting the Hunter, signed, by Shiloh Walker
• Hunter's Salvation, signed, by Shiloh Walker

Recently donated but not yet listed items include books from Patrica Sargeant, Ann Jacobs, Charlene Teglia, Kate Angell & a gift card from the Brown Literary Agency for Barnes & Noble.
Recently added items include:

• Wild, Wild West-signed-donated by Charlene Teglia
• Eternally His & Full Circle-both signed-donated by Ann Jacobs
• Boys of Summer Series - Squeeze Play, Curveball & Strike Zone - signed-donated by Kate Angell
• $50 Gift Card to Barnes & Noble donated by The Brown Literary Agency
• You Belong to Me & On Fire-signed-donated by Patricia Sargeant

Anybody interested in bidding on the auction, it can be found here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270236138496

Authors interested in donating can contact me shilohwalker at gmail.com

Isn't that cool?
Hmmm, I wonder how much shipping to Canada is...

Lucy Monroe has made some changes to her website and has asked her readers to take a peek. This is what she says on her blog,

I just did some updates to my website and sent some others off to my designers to accomplish. I was wondering if you feel like browsing a bit? Just check around my website for dead links or glaring errors and post them here. I've got a lollipop and signed bookmark for everyone who finds an error.

Then, in a couple of days, I'll draw a name from all the comments to this post and that winner will receive a book of choice from me. :)

Speaking of winners, DQ told me she has posted the winner to the comment section on her blog. I'm still waiting to hear from the lucky poster. :)

Hugs and thanks!

Lucy :)

What are you waiting for? Go find those errors on her website. :)

I did some tweaking and this is what I came up with. (Okay, I totally stole it from some free skin website :P)
I'm still in the process of getting all my old links back up. I'll get to that soon enough.

You like?

It's a beautiful sunny day in my neck of the woods. Ahhh, I love summer.

This is a book that I read with Nath. I'll let you know when our chat about it is posted over at Breezing Through. In mean time here is a little information about the book.

Dear Reader:

In a previous life, before the time of Plum, I wrote twelve short romance novels. Red-hot screwball comedies, each and every one of them. Nine of these stories were originally published by the Loveswept line between the years 1988 and 1992. All immediately went out of print and could be found only at used bookstores and yard sales.

I'm excited to tell you that those nine stories are now being re-released by HarperCollins. Naughty Neighbor is the eighth in the lineup, and it's presented here in almost original form. Usually when I edit these books I do some modernizing. For instance, I change VHS to DVD, and roller skates to Rollerblades, and sticks of gum are now pieces of gum. I do this because the books were meant to be contemporary (as opposed to historical), and I don't want the reader to have a time disconnect. In the beginning of the original Naughty Neighbor, my heroine throws a handheld phone into the toilet, and the next morning she goes into the bathroom and sees the "slim silver antenna caught between the toilet lid and seat." Okay, so most phones don't have extended antennas anymore, but I just loved the image . . . so I left it in. And I don't know how many women wear front-closure bras anymore, but that got left in, too.

Naughty Neighbor is probably the most romancey of all the Loveswepts I wrote, but there's still a small mystery to unravel. Louisa Brannigan is a no-nonsense, hardworking press secretary, fighting her way to the top of Capitol Hill, with no help from her annoying neighbor, Pete Streeter. He receives phone calls all night long, he steals her morning paper, he thinks jeans are formal wear, and worst of all he's involved Louisa in the disappearance of a pig. So this is the story of a pig in Witness Protection and love being found by a workaholic woman and a fun-loving man who makes terrible pots of coffee.

Enjoy!

Janet Evanovich

Synopsis:

A classic romance by a #1 "New York Times" bestselling author is now repackaged. Louisa Brannigan has her life in control--until Pete Streeter moves in next door. The infuriatingly attractive Pete wreaks havoc on Louisa's well-ordered existence, entangling her in a bizarre search for a missing pig.

Woot! I actually read *two* whole books in April. Can you feel the sarcasm people? Sigh.
At least it was better than the month before, right?


1)Private Party by Jami Alden
2)Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich