Miss Beautiful

My daughter has been extremely sick. Should be back on tomorrow or Sunday with another Novel Chat.

Take Care

At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

Let me just get this over with, SQUEEEEEEE!! I won a signed copy of this book on Frost's MySpace contest! I tell you this not to rub it in, but to let you know that since I won a signed copy, my copy is going into the prize package for the current contest. I've read it, but you'd be hard pressed to prove that, so I feel good about including it as a give away!

At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost
(BCC)
Some Things Won't Stay Buried...
At Grave's End

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to lean the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself-and Bones-from a fate worse than the grave.

I posted a dish on the first book in this series while at d&D, you can see it by clicking here. I'm not sure why I never posted on the second book, but suspect it was during my quiet time. But trust me, I totally dug it. And now that the third book has been released, I'm not really gonna bother with a "review."

I will say that I LOVE this series. I was hooked with book one. This world that Frost has created is one I look forward to visiting and one I hate to say good-bye to at the end of the books. Cat is a hell of a kick ass heroine. Bones is my favorite vampire and I have a serious case of literary lust. Every book thus far has taken me on a roller coaster ride that has me turning the pages faster and faster. In a time when vampire fiction is around every corner and growing old to some, Frost has staked a claim in my MUST buy category.

So, if you wanna win this book and the other prizes mentioned so far, help me out! In the flap of the book is a picture of Cat with a man whom I'm assuming to be Bones. This is not my idea of Bones. In fact, he looks kind of like Lewis Smith in The Heavenly Kid. So, all you have to do to be entered is point me in the direction of someone hot enough to be Bones. I don't even have to agree with your idea of hotness!

Take Care

Novel Chats - Debut Authors- Contest

I'm going to be doing a few Novel Chats within the next few posts. I was quiet for quite some time and I didn't quit reading, so I have a lot to talk about! Plus, I really kinda like the NCs. They're fun to write.

Mistress of Pleasure by Delilah Marvelle
(BCC)

REAL PLEASURE CAN'T BE TAKEN... Granddaughter of a renowned courtesan, Maybelle de Maitenon has no interest in her grandmother's school in London where gentlemen receive instruction - in the art of seduction. Her only desire in life is to remain independent, free from men and the shackles of marriage. But when Maybelle lays eyes on Edmund Worthington, the Duke of Rutherford, at a soiree, and hears of his scandalous reputation, she decides he's the perfect person for her to have a tryst with no strings attached... IT MUST BE GIVEN... Unbridled passion has again muddied Edmund Worthington's family name. After his very public dalliance with the strikingly beautiful and sensual Maybelle, his mother insists he marry her. But much to the Duke's surprise, Maybelle scoffs at his proposal. Never has he encountered such a brazen - and maddeningly irresistible - woman. But when Maybelle's grandmother falls ill, forcing Maybelle to take over the operation of her school, Edmund devises a plan to make her his. He enrolls in the school, where no one other than Maybelle must give him expert lessons in carnal pleasure...

Cold in your neck of the woods? Well, save on heating bills by picking up this book, trust me, Marvelle's debut is sizzling hot. Maybelle de Maitenon has no intentions of marrying, nor does she have any intention of going into the family business of teaching gentleman the fine art of seduction. However, it's up to Maybelle to instruct the first group of students when her grandmother falls ill. Much to her irritation, one of the students just so happens to be the man she had a scandalous fling with, Oh, yes, I'll bed that one please. Worthington has enrolled in the school strictly to gain Maybelle's hand in marriage, since his father has already disgraced their family name, he doesn't want his very public encounter with Maybelle finish what little honor they have left.

I've always enjoyed the few Historical's I've picked up, but never enough to really follow a particular series or author, Marvelle has changed that. I don't plan on missing a single semester of The School of Gallantry and neither will you once you've read this one. I have to give this one an A+.

Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine
(BCC)

She is a warrior of extraordinary power - the ultimate creature of the night. Her story is one that spans the ages, from historical England to modern-day America and beyond. Welcome to eternity...welcome to the night.

Dulcinea Craven descends from a long line of witches, and she has just inherited wild, untrained magical powers that she has no idea how to control. now a ruthless vampire and an age-old demon are determined to enslave Cin and steal her power for their own. Her only hope is the Righteous, a band of warrior vampires who slay the rogue undead. Among them is Michael, a fierce swordsman who inflames Cin's most primal hungers. Showing her a sensual pleasure beyond anything in the mortal realm, she must choose between the human existence she has always known, and immortality as a vampire - a new life filled with forbidden urges, dark yearnings, and unearthly passions...


I cannot express how much I love to hit a series with book 1. Sure it's fun to find a good series like The Southern Vampire series or The Plum Series, in the middle and have tons of books to read to catch up, but there is just something amazing at catching a series from hello. I bought this book shortly after it was released and read it during my silent time and I feel bad that it has taken me this long to stand up and say - GO GET THIS BOOK!

Maclaine had me engrossed in her world of witchcraft and vampires from the first page. Wages had me turning pages so fast I didn't realize I had stayed up half the night reading until I hit The End. The Righteous are the boogeymans boogeyman, and when Dulcinea is hunted by an unspeakably evil and powerful vampire, she summons The Righteous to her, but they can only do so much, and soon Dulcinea has choices to make and finds herself in a fight for more than just her life. Maclaine successfully weaves together the best elements of the Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, and Historical genres and gives readers a suspenseful thrill ride that will have them craving more, more, MORE Craven! Another A+.

For the next two weeks I'll be running a contest here on Novel Reads. Baby it's cold outside, and I want you to stay nice and toasty, so I'm offering up winners choice of one of these four flavors of Folgers Coffee (I'm totally digging the Hazelnut and French Vanilla right now). But wait! That's not all! I'm also going to give away a copy of each of today's books from the Novel Chat and at least two more books that will be announced throughout the next two weeks, because let's face it, books these good will warm ya right up (and I'm all about pimpin' a new author esepecially when they write this good!) :). Plus I'll throw in a tee shirt. Not sure what it'll say, I may even let the winner choose the saying.

There will be several chances to enter, and you may enter more than once. Simply visit each of the author's websites and tell me something you found there (please actually go look, don't just state the same fact as the person before you). There will be a new way to enter on each post until the contest deadline of February 4, 2009. Extra entries for blogging it and pointing people my way. Just let me know so I can make sure to link back to you.

Authors, if you're interested in offering up a prize for this contest, drop me a line at novelreads at gmail dot com (ya know, with the symbols and no spaces) and we'll see what we can do!

Take Care

Hands Are Frozen...

...can't type! This cold weather is nuts. It's awful. It's so cold I can barely move my fingers to type. OK, so it's not really that cold in my house, but it's cold outside and that makes me want to do nothing more than lounge in the chair, book in one hand, coffee mug in the other (totally diggin' the Hazelnut variety right now). I feel a contest coming on. One to deal with books and coffee. Just cuz, ya know, I can!

Oh, and American Idol. I can't blog when American Idol is on. Tomorrow. More on books tomorrow. I'm going to go cuddle into my fleece sheets (yep, fleece, those babies are SO nice) and several heavy blankets, and dream of warm temps.

Take Care

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
(JCC)

Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey.

According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.

Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground

Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.

Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake - delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an uber bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.

Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.

I really didn't have very high expectations for this one as I have been increasingly disappointed with the Plum-verse. I think 12 was the last book that I really enjoyed and the Between the Numbers have never been my favorites. That plus that JCC and I just knew I was in for yet another disappointment. I mean, what the heck was it with the monkeys?!

I am happy to announce, though, that I WAS WRONG!! I remember now why I fell in love with Plum. Here's just a few examples...

"It's not our juju," I told Lula. "It's our skill level. We're incompetent."

"I got a high skill level," Lula said. "I just shot a rat off a rafter."

"You weren't aiming for it."

"Yeah. My skill level is so high I do things I don't even try to do."

*******

...I got out of the car and examined the dirt like I was Tonto running point for the Lone Ranger."

***

"Ranger this and Ranger that," Lula said. "Don't none of you people think for yourself? I bet you can't wipe yourself without Ranger telling you."

Tank looked at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm telling him you said that."

"I might have misspoke," Lula said.

**** And since I'm a Babe, this one is my favorite quote of the book:

I allowed myself a moment to relax into Ranger. He was warm and strong, and all the bad, frightening things in life went away when he held me like this.

Those are just a few examples of things that made me smile or laugh. The monkey story line that they seem so proud of on the JCC, wasn't nearly as horribly slap-sticky as I had figured it would be. Carl the monkey (from book 14) was back, and I actually liked him. Joe was in the book but not really, Evanovich kept him out of the way and mostly I just had to deal with him over the phone. And really, with characters like the fire farter, who could ask for anything more?Even Diesel didn't bother me much. In fact, I know of liked the way he teased Stephanie, and the dynamic between the two of them.

There were a few things that gave me pause, but all in all, I am SO glad I read this one. For the first time since closing the pages of 14, I'm excited about 15!

Take Care

I Am NOT A Cyber Bully

I have noticed on my stat counter that over the course of the last few days I had received a number of hits from a familiar IP address in Austin, TX. So it was with dread that I checked her website. The blog has been resurrected and I have yet again been mentioned, and it's not to apologize either. It's not to put me down either, so kudos on that one. It is, however, a gross misrepresentation of the events that went down.

I want to state, for the record, I am not a cyber bully, Victoria Laurie. In fact, if you look closely at the events and posts of the time, you were the one being the bully. You are the one who had threatening letters sent to me. You are the one who caused me much embarrassment with some very cruel words on your blog. I look back over my posts and can, in fact, find not one instance where I attacked you. Where as, if you look at the files I have on my computer, you'll see where you very publicly harassed me.

I'm glad you're taking a good hard look at yourself and considering that you may be the problem. But believe me when I tell you, that's not enough. You owe me an apology. You owe me a very public, very sincere apology. What you did to me was incredibly hurtful. What you did was threaten and defame me. You caused me many nights without sleep. Many days of worry. You caused my family the same.

You now also owe me another apology for the untruths you are spewing on your blog. I did not make phone calls, as in plural. I made ONE. I did not seek out other cyber bullies. In fact, I had moved on to other subjects when your attorney sent me an e-mail. I then contacted some one who has a law degree and just so happens to blog books as well. You are still, in such a passive-aggressive manner, trying to off your blame onto me. The events of what happened are clear here on my blog. Everyone can follow and see the truth of this. My blog is still here with all the posts. I had nothing to be ashamed of in that whole debacle. Where is your blog posts?

I deserve an apology. I know I'll never get one, but at the very least, have the decency to admit FULL RESPONSIBILITY for the events and stop painting me as the antagonist.

Sincerely,

Chari-Dee

Welcome to Serenity by Sherryl Woods

I first discovered Sherryl Woods with her first Sweet Magnolias book, Stealing Home. I adored it. I fell in love with the Sweet Magnolias and made sure I had the next book in my hand as soon as it was released. I mean, I wanted to be a Sweet Magnolia. You can read what I had to say about the three books if you click here and here (these were from my days at d&D). Heck, I even went on Wood's message boards a couple of times, so enamored of the books was I. I thought that there was only going to be three books in the series and that we had seen the last of the Sweet Magnolia, until I spied this beautiful book in an e-mail I receive from somewhere about books being released (and contest information that I never win!). I nearly hooted with glee. I ran out, bought the book, read it and wanted to weep. Be warned, this is a post by the cynical reader me...

Welcome to Serenity by Sherryl Woods
(BCC)

The Sweet Magnolias are branching out...

When Jeanette Brioche helped launch The Corner Spa in Serenity, South Carolina, she found a hole lot more than professional satisfaction. She discovered the deep and loyal friendships that had been missing from her life. Nut even the Sweet Magnolias can't mend the terrible rift between Jeanette and her family or persuade her that the holidays are anything more than a season of misery.

Pushed into working on the town's much-loved annual Christmas festival, Jeanette teams up with the sexy new town manager. Tom McDonald may be the only person in Serenity who's less enthused about family and the the holidays than she is.

But with tree decorations going up on the town square and a bit fo romance in the air, Jeanette and Tom take a fresh look at the past and a hopeful look into the future. Together they discover that this just may be a season of miracles after all.

Like I said, I hadn't expected any more Magnolia books so when this one was released I was pleased but perplexed. Woods explains with a short letter at the beginning that so many readers were asking for more from the Sweet Magnolia's, and she enjoyed them so much as well, she's returning to Serenity to give us readers what we wanted.

Unfortunately, the story is Jeanette's, the woman the Magnolia's hired to run Spa Services in The Corner Spa, their new business. IIRC, Jeanette had been a third POV in at least one of the books. This, however, was not enough for the reader to really bond with her in any way, at least, not this reader. So when I say that Jeanette's graduation into Sweet Magnolia-dom was a bit of a shock.

Jeanette and her family suffered a horrible loss over the Christmas holiday when she was just a teenager, and ever since then, Jeanette's parent's barely know she's alive, let alone function well enough to want to celebrate in the merry fashion they once did. It's no wonder she hates the holidays. So when Maddie asks her to take the responsibility of The Corner Spa's contribution to the towns annual Christmas Festival it's the very last thing she wasn't to do.

Tom McDonald is also a non-lover of the holidays, as his family over-celebrates with the motive of impressing the other upper crust families. Growing up his house may have had multiple Christmas trees but they were all put up by decorators, not with love by his family. But even though he has a serious hate on for the holiday, as the new town manager the mayor insists that he be on the planning committee as well. In his quest to work off some of the stress of the new job, Tom tries to get into The Corner Spa to work out, only to be denied entrance (and quite rudely, I might add) by a beautiful woman. Tom is instantly smitten and takes her obvious distaste for him as a challenge.

The book also has a nice subplot about Mary Vaughn, the woman who had tried to get Ronnie away from Dana Sue (second book in the series). In the letter at the beginning Woods explains, "I think you'll gain some new insights into what makes her tick and maybe even feel some sympathy for all she's gone through in her life."

This book, no matter the fact that it was a Sweet Magnolia book, fell so far short of its mark for me. First there's Jeanette, who yes, has had a rough time of things, but was so absolutely insane I was praying that Tom would wise up and steer a wide path around her. And by insane I mean absolute raving bitch one minute, snapping the heads off of everyone, including the people there to help her only to do a complete 180 where Christmas was concerned and then upset when Tom doesn't have the same change of heart.

Then there's Tom, who falls in love with a woman who is all kinds nasty to him but he seems to have real chemistry with. I tell ya folks, you've heard of the Too Stupid To Live (TSTL) heroine, well, meet Tom, the TSTL hero.

Then their is Mary Vaughn and her ex-husband Sonny. Okay, I actually kind of enjoyed their story, and the Jeanette/Tom storyline notwithstanding, if Woods would have been writing to her normal high standards, I think Mary Vaughn's story would of have been far better suited to a full length novel rather than the measly sub-plot she got. Mary Vaughn's struggles and poor choices, her hard work to be respectable and her desire to be liked, coupled with the fierce animosity between her and Dana Sue, could have made an amazing book. I suppose though that it would take too long to write such a tale and make it believable that the Magnolias and Mary Vaughn could ever come to terms. I have no doubt though, that if Woods would have put her mind and pen to it, she could have pulled it off and we would have had a book that actually fit with the other Sweet Magnolia books.

As it stands, Jeanette doesn't really ever seem to treat any of the Magnolias or Tom very well, yet the Sweet Magnolias consider her one of their own and Tom falls in love with her. Jeanette was a selfish woman who talked sharply to too many people and yet got her happy ending. And while I know it's a Romance and the HEA was required, it was a stilted love story, with an ending that leaves much to be desired. In short, I'm willing to suspend reality for a while but even my fiction must be believable and this one just didn't add up.

Truthfully? I'm sort of hoping that in the next book which would seem to be about two of the Magnolia's children, Ty (Maddie's son) and Annie (Dana Sue's daughter who had anorexia), will show that Tom has wised up and left Jeanette for some one that deserves him. And yes, I still plan on reading the next book, it is this readers opinion that Woods rushed herself to get this one done and the next book (hopefully) will be much more up to the level of feel goodness I'm used to from Woods and The Magnolias.

Take Care