Follow Friday #4

Wow....it has been so long since I have been here it is ridiculous!! So glad to be back in the blogging world with soooo much to catch up on. This is one of those things!!

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View. I love checking it out each week and it's a great way to make some terrific connections and new blogger friends.

 This week's question: Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?).  Without a doubt, mine would be Gone With the Wind. I first read this book at my grandmother's house when I was 13 and I was hooked. This book sparked my love of reading and I have read it through several times. I loved Scarlett and thought it was so great that even though she was a bit of a spoiled princess...she was still a strong, independant woman. I love it!! Now for the fun!! Head on over to Parajunkee and follow the rules. If you already have been there...start hopping with the great blogs below. Happy Friday!!!  

Official Retribution Trailer!!!

Are YOU a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon? I know I am. To celebrate today's release of the latest in the Dark Hunter series, RETRIBUTION, take a peek at the official book trailer.

RETRIBUTION

"...Harm no human…"

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters..."    

Get an excerpt of the book at Sherrilyn Kenyon's Official Site, here!!

Wanna get your chance to WIN a copy of this great new release? Yeah ya do!! Just leave a comment with your email address and tell me who YOUR fav Dark Hunter is!!

Contest open to US and Canadian citizens ONLY. Contest closes August 11 so get commenting!!!

Blog Tour: Rhapsody for Lessons Learned or Remembered

The Book:

Georgia Banks-Martin walks us through an art gallery. We view art, which she has processed and questioned, through her lens: Lawrence, Monet, Van Gogh, Beardon, Sargent, Degas, to name a few of the artists. She challenges the reader to face slavery, grief, and joy, to feel the weight the South bears, to examine art across centuries for lessons. These poems revive what has been omitted in our history books-individual life stories. She uses sound, music and voice to make imagery pulse in these ekphrastic poems. In her poem "Railroad Station," after a Jacob Lawrence: "Those leaving the towns where father and mother/labored in fields without being offered a yard of thread spun/from the cotton they pulled, have assembled./Packed: Hopes of work, three bedroom homes/water heated in water tanks, classrooms." As memories populate her poems, so does the theme of hope permeate her book; in Death Dancing, after a Max Slevogt: "I wish memories could be buried as easily as bodies." . . . a book to remember as you stand face to face with art.

My Thoughts:

When I had originally decided to host a spot on this tour, I wasn't quite sure what I would be getting into. New authors are always a little scary and exciting at the same time. When I finally sat down to read this book...I was glad that I took the leap!

Rhapsody for Lessons Learned or Remembered is a terrific collection for any lover of poetry and the written word. With each page more powerful than the last, how can you pass up the chance to read it?

Georgia Ann Banks-Martin has such a wonderful way with words that I couldn't put it down. In this collection of poetry, you can really feel her struggles, thoughts, experiences, and feelings. You become who she is. Poem after poem of deep, meaningful art flows through each page and I was mesmerized. This is definitely a great afternoon read to just curl up with a glass of wine and enjoy!!

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

To find out more information about Ms. Georgia Ann Banks-Martin, you can find her and her works at these great places:

Facebook

Georgia Ann Banks-Martin Site

Amazon

Contest Time!!!

For being a host for this great tour, I have graciously been given the chance to give away one (1) paperback copy of Rhapsody for Lessons Learned or Remembered. Wanna win? Yeah you do! Simply write a comment below with your email and let me know that you've checked out this post. Extra entries will go to those who checked out Ms. Banks-Martin on Facebook and her personal site.

Contest closes midnight July 31 and is open to US, Canada, and UK.  

Wanna know where Ms Banks-Martin will be tomorrow? You'll find her visiting with Sue @ Books, Books, The Magical Fruit. Be sure to stop in!!

Review: Tangled Past by Leah Braemel

From Amazon: Forced to marry a man she just met, Sarah McLeod clings to the hope that she’ ll finally find the love and acceptance she’ s always craved. Her tenuous dreams of a happy life on the frontier are in danger of being dashed by the one thing she can’ t change—her husband’ s love for another man.

Jackson Kellar’ s determined to do right by his bride, yet he’ s torn between his newfound love for Sarah and his still-burning desire for Nate.

Ranch owner Nate Campbell loves them both. He hates to see Jackson’ s loyalties so divided, and doesn’ t want Sarah hurt either. How can they fix the tangled mess they find themselves in? Nate suggests a possible solution—a permanent threesome.

With the open frontier closing in around them, is Nate’ s solution their path to happiness—or will others destroy what they’ ve found together?

My Thoughts:

What can I say about a book that has two hot cowboys and a very explorative young women? Freakin’ awesome….that’s what I can say about it!!

When Sarah first discovers the secret relationship between best friends Jack and Nate, she has no idea what to think, but is instantly intrigued. Go girl!! Fortunately for her, her father catches her with the two cowboys in the family barn and automatically assumes tat she is “servicing” the both of them. Not a bad idea, but really she was just getting an eyeful. The misunderstanding leads to her marrying Jack and this is where the story really begins.

What comes next is kind of typical in your every day love triangles. Nate is jealous of Jack. Nate is jealous of Sarah. Sarah is jealous of Nate. Jack just wants everyone to get along. Isn’t that really what we all want in the end?

This was my first experience with m/m/f romances and I gotta tell you…it’s got me hooked! The story was great. I love that Sarah wasn’t afraid of what she saw when she peeked in on Nate and Jack at first. She was inspired by it. Good for her. That the three of them discovered each other in such a meaningful way…not only sexually but emotionally as well…this was perfect.

At first, I had thought that the story could have stood to be a little bit longer, with a bit more of Jack and Nate’s backgrounds and a bit more in depth with the relationship between the three of them after they had decided to continue with their relationship permanently…but after a second thought I think that the book has an almost perfect length. It was a great bedside read with lots of that sexual goodiness that makes you want more.

I will definitely be looking for more from Leah Braemel from now on.

My Rating: 4 Stars



To find out more about Leah Braemel's Tangled Past, click here!!

I recieved this book by Carina Press for my honest review and was in no way paid for this review or to promote sales of this book.

Follow Friday #3

It's Friday and that means it's time for Parajunkee's weekly Follow Friday!!

This week's question:

Q. Let's step away from besties...What is the worst book that you've ever read and actually finished?

To avoid being pelted with random objects when I say ANY of the Twilight series, I am going to have to say book 4 in the Vampire Diaires: Dark Reunion

I LOVE the TV show so when I decided to read the books, I was super excited. So not a good idea but I bore through it. When I got to this book, it was like watching a train wreck. I couldn't look away...but it was soooo painful to get through. Massive disappointment.

Be sure to Follow Friday with Parajunkee and her Feature Friday guest Lisa @ Read. Breathe. Relax.

Happy Friday!!

Review: Dreaming of You by Barbara Mack

From Amazon: Kathleen Donaldson is proud, 26 years old and unmarried. She's a woman of power and strength, and some even might call her sharp-tongued and bossy. That makes her an oddity in the 1800's. No matter what others think, Kathleen has adapted to her life, and most of the time she feels fulfilled and happy. But Kathleen has a secret and keeping it hidden is becoming increasingly hard to do.

Then Dr. Duncan Murdoch arrives in town. He's attractive and exotic and Kathleen feels an immediate attraction. Before she knows it, he's discovered her secret, and tells her she needs to 'spend some time with him' if she wants him to keep quiet. Kathleen knows what that means, and she's determined to find some way out of this predicament. No matter how much her own mother throws her at the gorgeous Doctor's head...or how irresistible she finds him.

My Thoughts:

26 years old and still unmarried, Kathleen is an outcast in her time. She lives her life for herself and dances to the beat of her own drummer. A strange way for a woman to live in the 1800’s? Absolutely. What other’s don’t see, is that Kathleen has a secret that no one…not even those closest to her….would ever guess. It’s this secret that earns her a ton of one-on-one time with hottie Dr. Duncan. Duncan is new in town, single, gorgeous, and he’s a Dr….so you know he’s good with his…hands. Did I mention that he’s a hot, single, doctor? Just sayin’.

Duncan is searching desperately for the girl of his dreams. This is a man who wants to settle down, and now. But not with just anyone…oh no…he has his perfect woman all mapped out from looks to attitude. Fate has a different idea and…he finds Kathleen instead. She isn’t the one he has been dreaming about…but there is something about her that he just can’t get past. He needs to get to know her. When he discovers the secret she has been keeping…one that would get her killed if it got out…he takes advantage and trades her friendship for his silence. A little greasy of him, but an effective way to get her attention at least.

Kathleen is not the type that likes being forced to do anything, so Duncan’s blackmail of having her “spend some quality time with him” less than impresses her. Can’t really blame the girl in that way. I mean, I am all for sexy doctors wanting some attention, but if you gotta force her to be with you…not cool Dr. Hot Stuff. For the record, when Duncan says “spend time with”, that’s what he really means. No sex, no kissy, nothing like that at all. Just some old fashioned getting to know one another. What a sweet guy….good place for an “Awwww” moment I think.

I loved the storyline. Old fashioned, headstrong girl with a huge secret meets hunky newcomer doctor. Even her mother loves this guy. Match made in heaven? I think so. The characters were well done and believable. Although I wouldn’t have thought that an outcast like Kathleen would have made a good heroine, Barbara Mack makes it work.

The only thing I found about the story is that it could have been longer. This was a quick read and a novella to begin with, but I found that too much was going on in a short span. There could have been more courting going on (yes, I said courting…the book is set back in the day, so I figured…why not) and maybe a bit more conflict than there really was. A little meat added to the story would not have been minded. For a short story though, I really enjoyed it.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

To read more about Barbara Mack's Dreaming of You, or to buy a copy yourself, visit Amazon.com

Great Canadian Giveaway Winners Announced!!!

We have our winners!!!

1st Place: Misty Leigh

Prizes:

2nd Place: Darlene

Prizes:

3rd Place: Tania Walsh

Prizes:

Special mention goes to Donna, winner of Sweet Light from a contest by Close Encounters with the Night Kind.

Congrats Donna!! Enjoy your book!

Congrats to our winners and big thanks to all who entered!!

Now for our hosts!! As a thank you, I have drawn a name from our assortment of hosts to win a special "thank you" gift for being so awesome!!

And the winner is....cue drum roll.....

Mysti Parker

Congrats Mysti! You win a $10 Amazon.com gift card to being so kick-ass!!

Hope to see you all again next time around!!

Don't forget to Love, Laugh, and Read daily...it saves lives. Proven fact ;)