Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads Today is day five of Armchair BEA and we are discussing how we keep our blogs real, fresh and fun. The prompt for today is: How do you keep your material fresh? How do you continue to keep blogging fun? How do you not only grow an audience, but how do you keep them coming back for more? I started this blog as a…
View Post
Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots Today’s genre discussion is all about non-fiction. I have to admit that on the whole, I tend to stay away from non-fiction. When I read, I like a good story. That’s not to say that I haven’t read non-fiction or that I will not read it, it’s just not usually my go-to choice. I recently came across a series of non-fiction books that definitely…
View Post
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King MacMillan Audio 2008 Length: 7 hours Source: Library Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum goes on her most explosive adventure yet. The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one. The Cousin: Joe Morelli Joe Morelli, Dom…
View Post
Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads Today is day 4 ofArmchair BEA and we jump back into the discussions. The focus of today’s discussion is on ethics. I tend to stay away from all the drama that happens in the blogging world – a lot of the times because I only hear about it after-the-fact. What I can share is what I practice and that’s the following: * Give credit…
View Post
The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright Harlequin MIRA May 2013 Format: ARC, e-copy, 304 pages Source: Netgalley via Kaye Publicity Meet the Sassy Belles They’re strong as a mint julep, sweet as peach cobbler, and no matter what, they stick together. There are only two seasons in Tuscaloosa—football and waiting-for-football. When Lewis Heart, football announcer and voice of the Crimson Tide, vanishes after an impromptu romp with Vivi Ann McFadden…
View Post
Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads Today is day 3 of ArmchairBEA and it’s everyone’s favorite day – giveaway day!!! In honor of this, I am giving away 3 gently used books sent to me for review. The giveaway is open to US residents only. The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee My review Source: Gallery Books The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb My review Source: Hyperion Books Children…
View Post
Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots Today’s genre discussion is genre fiction which is a wide category. Within that category, I tend to stick to women’s fiction, contemporary fiction, chick lit, romance, romantic suspense, mysteries/psychological thrillers, cozy mysteries and historical fiction. I just recently started reading some magical realism, but as a whole, tend to stay away from straight fantasy/paranormal fantasy, dystopian fiction and horror. Before blogging, I primarily read…
View Post
Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods Harlequin MIRA May 2013 Format: ARC e-book, 384 pages Source: Netgalley Under summer skies, New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods evokes family, friendship and heartfelt emotion With her two younger sisters heading for the altar, will Samantha Castle exchange old dreams for new ones? Lately she’d rather be on the North Carolina coast with family than in New York with agents and actors.…
View Post
Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads Today is day two of Armchair BEA and we are discussing blogger development. Prompt for the day: How do you develop yourself as a blogger. Have you branched out into your community? Do you partner with other bloggers? Have you gone “pro” or begun supplementing your income through your blog? Are you a long-term blogger, and how has your online personality developed over the…
View Post
Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots The Classics…an area that I’ve been wanting to delve into for a while, but never seem to get to. I remember in high school reading the requisite books for English classes. There were the Shakespeare plays – Romeo & Juliet, Julius Cesar, Macbeth – and then the books – A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations both by Charles Dickens, To Kill a…
View Post
Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara Penguin Books April 2013 Format: ARC e-book, 384 pages Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours A novel of art and desire in the 1930s It’s 1935, and Desdemona Hart Spaulding has sacrificed her plans to work as an artist in New York to care for her bankrupt, ailing father in Cascade, Massachusetts. When he dies, Dez finds herself caught in a marriage of convenience,…
View Post
Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads Today is Day One of Armchair BEA. This is my second time participating and I’m very excited – last year was so much fun! Day One is all about introductions and getting to know fellow book bloggers. So here is a little bit about me: Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Well, the weather didn’t pan out exactly as I had hoped for the holiday weekend,…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got (be prepared…it’s a long list this week): For Review: The 9th Girl (e-book) by Tami Hoag I just read my first Tami Hoag book – The 1st Victim – which was actually a prequel to this one and I can’t wait to start this latest one! The Lavender…
View Post
Bare It All by Lori Foster HQN April 2013 Format: Paperback, 480 pages Source: Publisher via Meryl Moss Media Relations/BookTrib “A cop’s craving to know more about the woman next door could prove fatal in the steamy new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster” As the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her…
View Post
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King MacMillan Audio 2007 Length: Source: Library Looking to get lucky? Stephanie Plum is back between-the-numbers and she’s looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago, and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart. Stephanie Plum has a way of attracting danger, lunatics, oddballs, bad luck . . . and mystery men. And no one…
View Post
Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax Berkley Trade June 2012 Format: Paperback, 448 pages Source: Personal copy Wendy Wax, author of the “warm [and] wry” (St. Petersburg Times) Ten Beach Road, returns with a novel of three women in need of a second chance…or is it a third? Unlikely friends Madeline, Avery and Nicole have hit some speed bumps in their lives, but when they arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they…
View Post
To Have and To Hold by Jane Green Broadway March 2005 Format: Paperback, 352 pages Source: Personal copy Alice knows she should be happy. A charming twenty-eight-year-old with a successful catering business, she’s always dreamed of a rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, filled with children and animals and home-cooked meals. Her favorite attire is comfy jeans, her best manicure features garden dirt under the nails. But when her teenage…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. I can’t believe that this coming weekend is already Memorial Day Weekend!!! Hopefully the weather…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: For Review: Wedding Blues (e-book) by Beth Albright This is the second in Beth Albright’s Sassy Belles series and I can’t wait to read it as I loved the first one!!! From a family member: That Night on Thistle Lane by Carla Neggers I’ve read…
View Post
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King Audio Renaissance 2007 Length: 7 hours Source: Library New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet! MISTAKE #1: Dickie Orr Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before catching him with her archnemesis, Joyce Barnhardt. Fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping to…
View Post
Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown Berkley May 2013 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher via the author It’s August in Savannah, Georgia – hardly the season for a traditional Southern wedding with hoopskirts and crinolines. One could die from the heat – or from a cake knife in the back… Reagan Summerside should be devoting all her energy to her consignment shop the Prissy Fox. But when her dear friend Chantilly…
View Post
Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Sandra Byrd Howard Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster April 2013 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage—or your life? In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Last week was a busy week and this week is looking like it will be…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: For Review: The Look of Love by Bella Andre I love Bella Andre’s Sullivan series and am excited to be participating in another blog tour for these books. This is the 1st book of the series. From This Moment On by Bella Andre This is the 2nd…
View Post
The monthly giveaways are back and this month there are 5 selections! Rizzoli & Isles: Last to Die By: Tess Gerritsen Format: Hardcover My review The King’s Damsel By: Kate Emerson Format: Paperback My review Summer Nights By: Susan Mallery Format: Paperback My review Redwood Bend By: Robyn Carr Format: Paperback My review Buzz Off By: Hannah Reed Format: Paperback My review How to enter: This…
View Post
Blood Between Queens by Barbara Kyle Kensington Publishing April 2013 Format: ARC Paperback, 448 pages Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Following her perilous fall from a throne she’d scarcely owned to begin with, Mary, Queen of Scots, has fled to England, hoping her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, will grant her asylum. But now Mary has her sights on the English crown, and Elizabeth enlists her most trusted subjects…
View Post
The 1st Victim by Tami Hoag Dutton May 2013 Format: e-book, 60 pages Source: Publisher via Netgalley Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return to investigate the death of a Jane Doe in New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag’s short story The 1st Victim. New Year’s Day is a time for new beginnings, but Minneapolis homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are focused on endings: specifically, the tragic end of…
View Post
Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline William Morrow Paperbacks April 2013 Format: Paperback, 288 pages Source: Publisher/She Reads Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Books Completed last week: Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich (library audio book) Taking Eve…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: For Review: Sea Glass Island (e-book) by Sherryl Woods This is the 3rd book in Sherryl Woods’ Ocean Breeze series – I’m really hoping it’s not the last book as I am loving this series. The Newcomer (e-book) by Robyn Carr This is the 2nd book in Robyn Carr’s…
View Post
Plum Lovin’ by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King MacMillan Audio 2007 Length: 3.5 hrs Source: Library From #1 blockbuster bestselling author Janet Evanovich comes a Stephanie Plum novel that takes adventure, action, suspense (and maybe even true love?) to new heights. WATCH YOUR BACK . . .LOOK BOTH WAYS . . .BECAUSE LOVE IS IN THE AIR . . . AND THAT MEANS BIG TROUBLE! Mysterious men have a…
View Post
Vacation has come and gone and now we are into May – time is flying by!!! Aruba was fantastic and I got quite a bit of reading in, which is good – May is chock-full of blog tours. I just need to balance those review books with my own books. I am totally rocking the crocheting this year. I’ve already made 4 baby blankets and have 1 more currently in…
View Post
Wind Chime Point by Sherryl Woods Harlequin MIRA May 2013 Format: ARC paperback, 400 pages Source: McAllister PR When life gets complicated, New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods proves family—and love—can make all the difference Facing a personal crisis, ambitious and driven Gabriella Castle retreats to the welcoming arms of her family. Everything she’s worked for has been yanked out from under her, and she seeks the serenity of…
View Post
Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire Forever May 2012 Format: Paperback, 399 pages Source: Personal copy When all you hold dear is taken away . . . When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong’s home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Vacation was a great – just what we needed! Aruba is one of my favorite…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: For Review: The 1st Victim (e-book) by Tami Hoag This is the first book by Tami Hoag that I will read…I’ve heard really good things about her books, but just haven’t had time to read her. I’m looking forward to this short story and then hopefully will be picking…
View Post
Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs Berkley Prime Crime March 2013 Format: ARC Paperback, Source: Publisher In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Agony of the Leaves, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning may always be a bridesmaid, never a bride, but this groom is never going to make it to the altar… Theodosia Browning’s dear friend, Delaine Dish, has asked her to be…
View Post
Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer Read by Kimberly Farr Random House Audio 2012 Length: 12 hours 11 minutes Source: Library From back of the audio case: Morgan O’Keefe feels trapped in a gilded cage. True, the thirty-year-old mother agreed to put her science career on hold to raise her young son while her husband pursued his high-powered job. But though Morgan loves many things about staying home with her child,…
View Post
What She Wants by Sheila Roberts Harlequin MIRA March 2013 Format: ARC e-book, 400 pages Source: Requested from Netgalley First line: Working in such close quarters with a woman that you could bump knees (thighs, and maybe even other body parts) was probably every man’s dream job. Summary: “What “do” women want?”Jonathan Templar and his poker buddies can’t figure it out. Take Jonathan, for instance. He’s been in love with…
View Post
Iced Chiffon by Duffy Brown Berkley October 2012 Format: Paperback, 304 pages Source: Author First line: I poured out the last of the pinot and lifted my glass as I gazed around the dining-room table. From the back cover: There’s always something to gossip about in Savannah, Georgia, and Reagan Summerside always seems to be in the middle of it. She’s busy enough running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox,…
View Post
Private Berlin by James Patterson Little, Brown and Company January 2013 Format: Hardcover, 448 pages Source: Personal copy First line: At ten o’clock on a moonless September evening, Chris Schneider slipped toward a long-abandoned building on the eastern outskirts of Berlin, his mind whirling with dark images and old vows. From the inside cover: Private Berlin has the extraordinary pace and international sophistication that has powered The Girl with the…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Vacation is finally here…we leave tomorrow for Aruba and I cannot wait!!! I have my…
View Post
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King Audio Renaissance 2006 Length: 6 hours, 54 minutes Source: Library From the back of the audio case: While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos, Stephanie Plum discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her. This stalker carries a 9mm Glock, has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso…street name, Ranger. When somebody…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: ***Be prepared – it‘s a long list…there was another sale on e-books at Amazon!!! For Review: Big Sky Summer (e-book) by Linda Lael Miller This is the next in Linda Lael Miller’s Swoon-Worthy Cowboy series and I can’t wait to read it!!! Killer in Crinolines by…
View Post
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich Read by Lorelei King Audio Renaissance 2005 Length: 8.5 hours Source: Library From the back of the audio case: Stephanie Plum is thinking her career as a fugitive apprehension agent has run its course. She’s been shot at, spat at, cussed at, fire-bombed, mooned, and attacked by dogs. Time for a change, Stephanie thinks. Time to find the kind of job her mother can…
View Post
Starting Now by Debbie Macomber Ballantine Books April 2013 Format: Hardcover, 352 pages Source: Library book First line: This was it. From the inside cover: #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber returns to Seattle’s beloved Blossom Street in this heartfelt tale of friendship, renewal, and discovering what’s truly important in life. For years Libby Morgan dreamed only of making partner in her competitive, high-pressure law firm. She sacrificed…
View Post
It’s Monday What Are you Reading , hosted by Sheila, is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs. Another busy week has passed and now the countdown is on til vacation – we…
View Post
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Here’s what I got: For Review: Midnight in St. Petersburg by Vanora Bennett I enjoy reading about books set in Russia and this one sounds very interesting. From Library: Starting Now by Debbie Macomber This is the newest Blossom Shop book…
View Post
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen Read by Susan Ericksen Brilliance Audio 2007 Length: 8 hours Source: Library From the back of the audio case: The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued…
View Post