Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

Woo Hoo! I have been waiting for this book for what feels like forever! I loved it! I loved it from the Dedication: "To every reader out there who has a Rush Crush."  <--- Yeah, I fall in that category alright! I loved Rush from the first book, Fallen Too Far. Totally a book boyfriend! So back to this book! Blaire comes back to town with a secret. Rush wants her back desperately. He tries everything he can to win her back. It is hard for him. Each time he tries to do good somehow it turns out bad. Blaire is mostly understanding of this. But she is afraid and not sure if she could forgive him for the major secret he kept from her. They are both in a hard situation. No one wants to have to choose between their family and their partner. It is just not a fair choice. They both have to deal with this. I will admit at times I was a little flustered with Blaire, I wanted her to rush back to Rush! :) This is easy for me to say and think because I'm not in the situation. When I was in a similar situation I reacted like Blaire did and was skeptical for a much longer time. Maybe that's why I was impatient. Even when they hit the bump in the road where I know I should have been crying, I didn't. I knew he would make the right choice. I read this book in one night. Because of all the fan love the author will be writing another book about them! SO EXCITING! Abbi Glines has quickly become one of my most favorite authors.

Dark House: Experiment in Terror by Karina Halle

I just finished reading Dark House Experiment in Terror by Karina Halle. Very good book! I definitely recommend this book. It is actually the first in the series. This is not the normal kind of book I read. It is not about romance, dominant men, vampires, you get where I'm going with this. It is paranormal...The writing is so witty and Perry just makes me crack up at times. I'll just summarize shortly because I'd like you to read this and see if you like it for yourself. Sometimes, the less you know the better it is. Although, this book doesn't seem to have some major shocker twister like others do...unless you don't believe in ghosts... OK, Perry and Dex are exploring an old lighthouse on her uncle's property. It is said to be haunted. Perry keeps having these weird "dreams." That's all I will say for this book. I plan to start part 2, Red Fox, asap...but am torn because I really need to read Never Too Far and see what is going on with Blaire and Rush. Dex is not on the bb list -yet... I think there may be a developing romance in the next few books.... Random note, Dex is the name of my new car. Dexter, Dex for short. Dex in this book is short for Declan. What kind of name is that! Ok, my friends, do yourselves a favor and read this one will ya!

Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

Hmmm.... This one was INTERESTING. Maryse recommended it a while back. It was before I had read Truth or Consequences and before I had ever read any books about kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome or anything of the sort. This was a great read. The writing was great. I loved Emily's sarcastic thoughts even though she was in that situation. OK  I'm probably getting ahead of myself. This story is about Emily, she has studied psychology and is a motivational speaker for women. She gets kidnapped by a handsome man. He has no name. Nothing. He never speaks. Eventually she calls him Master. To me he will just remain nameless. This story takes you on a ride. I read it in one day. I was shocked at the ending. Literally shocked. Not because I did not expect them to be together. I was shocked because I wanted another reaction from him. In Consequences I end up liking Tony and wanting him to win because he made us love him. Even though he had his dominant characteristics he tried to change them and compromise with Claire. In this book Mr. No Name Master does not. He does not apologize for who and what he is-he is just it. If you want him you accept him knowing this is what it's going to be. There is no sweet love and romance and hope that he will change his crazy ways. You simply must accept that it is what it is. At one point in the book I just took a break and went and got my own Comfort Food-frozen yogurt. Then I came back and finished reading. I would be lying if I said I did not want them to end up together, I did, I wanted her to go back. I just wanted a different reaction from him. Do me a favor and read this book. He is not my book boyfriend material.first he has to have a name hehehhe.  If you are reading my copy check out my notes, they are pretty funny! P.S. Don't say I didn't warn you about the subject matter.

Lost To You by A.L. Jackson

Lost to You by A.L. Jackson is the prequel to Take This Regret. (I havent read that one yet.) Christian and Elizabeth could not be more different than one another. He is a rich kid who doesn't know what it's like to worry about anything. Elizabeth was raised by her mom and works very hard for the little things she has. They are in college and Elizabeth is going to be Christian's tutor. There is an undeniable attraction between them. Elizabeth is a serious student and an innocent girl, thus, Christian decides to control his attraction to her and they become best friends. I'm not going to spoil too much of this story. I enjoyed this story and will be reading Take This Regret later on this week. I recommend this book. Christian does not make my bb list yet. Let's see how Take This Regret goes. My list might only have room for one Christian and that would be Mr. Grey. :)

Lost and Found by Lori L. Otto

Lost and Found by Lori L. Otto was recommended on one of my favorite blogs. Her recommendations are  about 75% accurate for me. She likes to read rock star books and I'm not a big fan of them (except for Jax).  Maryse gave this book a great review and I started reading it with the thoughts that it would be a great love story and give me the "book high." That's the feeling where even though the story is over the characters stay with you for days, weeks, months or years after. YES, it is that serious. Just ask me about Acheron- or any of my friends about Acheron and they'll tell you I was stuck with him for over a year. Back to Lost and Found.  This book is about Emi and Nate. They are best friends. For a LOOONNG time. You can tell right away they are fighting their feelings for each other. Nate is a ladies man. Emi stays at home and really doesn't date. Everyone around them knows they will end up together. They are both so stubborn. I did not enjoy this book at all. While at times it seems to be a little realistic-girl likes guy she cant have; guy scared to make a commitment-it just did not do it for me. It was predictable even I could guess what was going to happen. At one point in the book I highlighted a few sentences and noted how annoying Nate was making me feel. I felt like he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Yes, things get wrapped up at the end, although not how you expect them too. This is not the end of their story though. There are 2 other books. I will not be reading them. I will not include Nate on my bb list. Nor do I recommend this book. (Sorry, I sound so harsh)  :( But I really did not enjoy this one. Maybe it was the wrong time for me to read this book. I just went and read reviews on the next 2 books. It seems like the story line does get better and it could have some potential. I will leave up to you to decide.

Book Club: Jan 2013: Ada: Blood Vow

For those of you who don't know- I am in a book club. We have 5 members: Ive, Sam, Ada, Rey & me...Hey-I'm the only one whose nickname isn't 3 letters- whats that about??? May we can say Jas instead of Jazzy. OK, Rey is an honorary member since he has not read any book club book yet, he comes along for the food (and to hear girl talk). Each month we take turns selecting a book for everyone to read. We meet at a different restaurant each month to discuss the book and get together. January makes our 30th book club meeting!!!!!! Last month it was Ada's turn to pick. She chose Blood Vow by Karin Tabke. I did not read this book. Actually, I read the first book Blood Law and LOVED it-until the very last page. I was so angry they had to share that I decided not to read the other books. It really made me mad. Here is a quick overview of the book from Ada:

"The twins Rafa and Lucien continue their revenge on trying to get Falon back... She discovers she is the daughter of the enemy-the slayer Corbin and a Lycan mother... They are on a hunt to find the sword that can finally destroy him and at the same time trying to find a balance in sharing the same woman... She later discovers she has a younger sister and has special powers..."

I personally cant recommend this book because I gave up on this series after the first book. However, 2 out of the 4 "reading" members of the book club read it and recommend it. We ate at Longhorn Steakhouse in Manchester. The food was yummy going down...however, it did not sit too well with me.  I had a light meal-chicken with tomatoes, sweet potato and salad. The food tastes so good buy my tummy did not like digesting it. We ordered a dessert sampler to share- it was sooo good!!

Ember by Jessica Sorensen

Ember by Jessica Sorensen was a good read but just a little too goth for me. It was a very dark book. I am writing about it after finishing it a couple of days ago. Normally I write about a book as soon as I'm done with it because I need to get all the emotions out of my system  I kind of wanted to keep the light on after reading this one. It is not really scary in the sense of scary movies. All the dark things about the book just stuck with me. There are some cool things about this book. Everyone has a cool name: Ember, Asher, Cameron, Raven... This story reminds me of Lauren Kate's Fallen series. Both book series are about fallen angels and the war between good and evil. Fallen is more like Twilight and Ember is more like Dracula. It was a good read if you are in the mood for something dark-not emotionally dark-literally dark like goth stuff. Personally, since I just finished reading Rapture, the last fallen series book, I am kind of needing a break from the whole fallen angels, war between good an evil, fate of everyone lies in one person kind of story.

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Last night I read Flawed by Kate Avelynn. This is a must read! OK, here goes: Sarah and James are the kids of an ex boxer. He blames them and their mother for having to give up his boxing. He is very abusive towards his family. They have the scars to prove it. James is very over protective of Sarah...almost too observant of her. This kind of reminds me of the book Flowers In the Attic... Sarah is never without her brother. If she is visible in the house she will get beaten. James is always there to protect and comfort her. What Sarah doesn't know is that James too boxes. Sarah starts to like James' friend Sam. Sam is such a sweet guy! I'm not going to give too much of this story away because you need to read it and experience all the emotions yourself. This is not a sappy love story. I thought I would write so much more about this book. I just cant bring myself to do it. Do us all a favor and read it. Sam is book boyfriend material. I was just so shocked at the outcome that there are no book boyfriends in this book for me.

This Too Shall Pass by Jettie Woodruff

Let me start by saying this cover is deceiving. This cover looks so scandalous. While there are  adult scenes in the book this book is not overbearing. Actually- let me start from the beginning. You really don't know where this book is going. It was like watching a lifetime movie. We meet Alexis. She lives in a small town, has a farm, is a photographer and is so not interested in being in a relationship. She had a bad experience and 8 years later still hasn't wanted to try it again. Enter Cory, a big-city doctor from Chicago who moves to this sleepy town to raise his daughter. It goes without saying he is rich and handsome and about 6 feet tall. They meet, he is interested. She is interested but afraid of letting her guard down. She gives him a chance. He turns out to be prince charming. Page after page their story unfolds and it is all good stuff. Normal stuff. I was almost starting to get bored. Then something bad happens. BOOM- I was mad. After that scene I had to go home and had no choice but to stop reading. I was so angry at her. I listed to Destiny's Child Nasty Girl the entire ride home from Middletown! No, it was not that serious. I can tend to be overly dramatic at times-just a tad... When I picked up the book again I quickly realized what I originally thought-what any readers would think-was a huge misunderstanding. I was still mad at Lexi. Totally. BUTTTTTT-Cory got some of the wrath of Jazzy too. Once again all is righted and the world continues to rotate. Cory does not make my book boyfriend list. Even though he is prince charming a few elements were missing to make him that memorable to me. Do I recommend this book? Yes. Be prepared, it is a long read and at times you will wonder "Why am I reading this book, it is just going on and on how great their life is?" but overall it was a good read. And there is a dog in the story. You know how much I love that!

The Seven Devils by Sara Danvers

During the Blizzard I kind of took a little reading break. I did not read a book a day like I normally do. I read The Seven Devils by Sara Danvers. I downloaded this a while ago, I believe it was a freebie on amazon. I was still in my Tony phase. I haven't been able to find another book to "move on" from Truth. OK, back to the Seven Devils... this was an interesting book. I really didn't know what to expect at first. I started reading it solely on the cover. hehe The story is about Ellen. The story begins and her dad has just tried to kill her. He is an alcoholic. Her mother moves her and her brother away from the dad. It seems like Ellen doesn't quite fit in with her family. They are assholes. I'm just going to be honest. This book just felt weird to me. I felt so bad for Ellen. She really had no one on her side. Her brother was Mr. Popular and she was the dork (of course). Her mother was trying to date all the men in town. Then Ellen meets Neil. Neil reminds me of my Dankmar. Actually, Neil is dark and mysterious and is a character that seems to really be evil where Dank never made me feel like he was Death. They become friends and he wants more. Everyone warns her to stay away from him. He has "different" talents. PG people not NC17 talents. He can read minds and things like that. As much as he helps Ellen, she pissed me off sometimes. This whole book kind of pissed me off a bit. I wont even go into detail about the ending but lets just say it leaves you hanging. Neil does not make the book boyfriend list. Almost, but Ellen messes it up for me. I would recommend this book for the sheer fact that not everything we read will move us like Christian, Tony, Gideon, Dank, Rush, Hunger Games, Edward, Potter or Jax. This book is just OK. But if we don't read things like this every now and then we might stop appreciating the true leading men.

Because of Low by Abbi Glines

Thanks to this Blizzard I was able to sit in bed reading instead of looking outside and thinking about all the shoveling I need to do. I just finished Because of Low which is actually part 2 to Breathe (which I loved so much!)  Because of Low is Marcus' book. It tells us whats going on with his life after the Sadie & Jax issue. While staying with his friend Cage, Marcus meets Willow. He is attracted to her right away. He tries to woo her and figure out what her relationship with Cage is (he's a manwhore) Marcus is a good guy. I had a hard time forginving him in this book. Maybe, to me, I just kept thinking of him as I saw him in Breathe. I dont know. Anywho, it is a really good read. Marcus does NOT make my book boyfriend list. I'm a Jax girl 100%, yes I want Marcus to be happy. BUT I have no tolerance for his spoiled brattiness. Me and Marcus are just friends. He can't steal my heart. :) OK, on to organize my closet and watch 21 Jump Street.

3 Posts in 1 night-what gives??

This is serving as an official public service announcement. It seems like Channing Tatum has a restaurant in New Orleans! Yes, it is now officially on my bucket list. The funniest thing is that on their online store they sell thongs! I wonder if those are for men...channeling his Magic Mike days. Anywho...that is all, just wanted to share the exciting news. Check out the website!

Flee by Miranda Kavi

I just finished reading Flee by Miranda Kavi. It is a GREAT short story. It reminds me a bit of a romance with a bit of Hunger Games mixed together. Gavyn, another British accented hottie falls in love with Aurora. Aurora has a secret, she can fly. Yeah, like some X-men thing. Actually, as I read this book I kept thinking of Jennifer Lawrence aka Catniss as Aurora. The Hunger Games trilogy is one of my FAV BOOKS OF ALL TIME. YES, it's that serious. Right up there with Twilight :)  But seriously, the Hunger Games...which I have no blog about YET were the best books I've read in a long time. Talk about book boyfriends/girlfriends? I didn't read anything else after that for almost two months. I knew nothing would be that good.... OK, back to Flee. Gavyn does melt your heart. However, when the inevitable separation happens I was so focused on wanting him to come back into the picture that I lost some of my initial mushiness because I was so impatient. (Like how in New Moon I was impatiently awaiting Edwards return) Flee had tons of humor: What is the first thing we learn about law school: "There are no hot guys. None. Absolutely none." Secondly, it is rather funny how shocked I was that Gavyn didn't already know where Aurora lived. I'm so used to Mr. Grey, Cross or Rawling, strong, dominant men who are on the verge of being a stalker who know everything about the female before she even opens her mouth. Thirdly, Gavyn totally wins me over when he is trying to purpose? ask out? (I dont know what to call it) Aurora. He is prepared with Plan A, B and C. All plans include them being together, SWOON! Not being together is not an option. While he does win my heart, it is more like just a crush. Gavyn wont be making my all time book boyfriend list. However, I do recommend this book. it's a light, fast-paced, not too much romance, action book. And, best of all, it is FREE on Amazon!

Five Guys...

Silly me forgot my dinner at home today. I was rushing out the door and forgot my baked chicken and sweet potatoes  Such a bummer- I have been on a sweet potato kick for the last 5 months now.  Thankfully, Lisa had a great idea. She told me about Five Guys. I have never been there. I heard once on the news that their fries were like a thousand calories or something ridiculous. I ordered the bacon cheeseburger....SO YUMMY! I did have a few fries. The burger is so good you don't even need fries. Two thumbs up from me!  Thanks again Lisa, you rock!

Rapture by Lauren Kate

Tonight I finished reading Rapture by Lauren Kate. This is the 4th book of the Fallen series. I started this book sometime last year but could not bring myself to finish it. I hate waiting and waiting for books to come out. I totally loved the 1st and 2nd book in this series. The third not so much. I just wanted them to be happy. Why did their love need to be tested so much? Anywho...I'm very happy how this book turned out MINUS the fact they have to be mortals and find each other again and fall in love all over again. WITHOUT any knowledge of their history...which might I add is every love story from every time period of history known to man...does that sentence even make sense?? Daniel and Lucinda must fight heaven and hell in order to be in love and be together. A good ya paranormal romance read. Would have loved if this series were only 3 books instead of 4. Does Daniel make my book boyfriend list?? YES! Despite my impatience with some aspects of the book, Daniel is dreamy. What can I say? I'm a sucker for romance remember?? :)

Let's talk about book boyfriends, shall we?

What is a book boyfriend you might ask? For the record, let me just state, that I am a very happily engaged woman. Mr. Rey is the ultimate book boyfriend! OK, now that my disclaimer has been made, here goes: I read on one of my favorite blogs: www.maryse.net in one of her posts about book boyfriends.(Check out this other blog dedicated to bb: book boyfriend blog) It is the feeling of falling in love with the character and when the story is over you are still thinking about them. You cant seem to get them out of your system. At least for a little while.  It is what makes you reread a book multiple times... yes, I read Twilight series 4 times, 50 Shades 3 times, Bared to You twice, Existence trilogy twice... So this post will start my list of book boyfriends. When I review a book I'll let you know if the character is bb material. So far here is the list:

1. Edward -Twilight-yes questionable by many BUT he did get me started on my reading frenzy. Ultimate INNOCENT love before the movies came out...
2. All Dark Hunters- Sherrilyn Kenyon- How could you not fall in love with each and every one of them?
3. Black Dagger Brotherhood- J.R. Ward-Really? No explanation is needed here.
4. Jax-Breathe by Abbi Glines-Teen hearthrob, check out my review for more info
5.Rush-Fallen too far-Abbi Glines- Ultimate bad boy, turtle-hard exterior, soft and fuzzy interior, review
6. Dank aka Dankmar aka Death- Existence trilogy by Abbi Glines- Now, I never thought I would fall in love with death but i loved me some Dankmar! review
7. Holden-Hopeless-Abbi Glines- Such a hero, he is so sweet SWOON review
8. Tony-Truth-Aleatha Romig- Wow, well it was very hard for me to put him on this list. He started off being a major Ahole! I was so mad that I was starting to root for him at times. By the end of this book he had me, what can I say, I'm a sucker for love. I'm still crushing on him. I'm in a Consequences, Truth, Convicted daze. review
9. Channing Tatum-Yes, he is not in any books. I'm just wondering if you were still paying attention he he he. review


This list will continue to grow as we fall in love with the leading  men. I may go on to expand about some of the Dark Hunters and BDB guys. If you haven't read those series, you need to start them pronto.

Losing It by Cora Carmack

I just finished reading Losing It by Cora Carmack. It was an easy going, light read. I guess it was good to read since lately I've been reading such "heavy" books. Some noteworthy things about this book: funny, sarcastic humor, HOT British man with an accent. In my head I pictured Jax from general hospital as Garrick. HE HE HE!! Although it was a good story and I do love Mr. Jax, Garrick does not make my book boyfriend list. One of my favoirte bloggers mentioned this idea of book boyfriend. I will write another blog entry explaining the logistics of a book boyfriend in a few minutes. So, to sum Losing It up: another young lady, Bliss, feels the need to lose her virginity. She meets an incredibly handsome British man. Their story unfolds. A few laughs, a few frowns overall a light, enjoyable read. Thumbs up!

Truth by Aleatha Romig

I just finished reading Truth by Aleatha Romig. Wow! What a psychological roller coaster! This book makes you question your sanity. After hating Tony, falling in love with him then hating him again in book 1- I kinda am liking him (OK loving him but think its crazy to admit it) and I'm hurting for him. Ugh! Now to find out the conclusion to their love story I have to wait to the end of the year! :(It's ironic how Tony is all about appearances and he was fooled by someone so close to him. I'm so mad at Catherine. I totally recommend this book. Beware: it's long, some parts are extra detailed, and you might fall in like/ love with a damaged man. I wouldn't go as far as to call him a book boyfriend ...yet. Depends on the next book...