Waiting on Wednesday: Shadow's Seduction by Kresley Cole @kresleycole

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Here is this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection:

TITLE: Shadow's Seduction
SERIES: The Dacians, Book #2/Immortals After Dark, Book #17
AUTHOR: Kresley Cole
PUBLISHER: Valkyrie Press
EXPECTED PUBLICATION DATE: January 30, 2017
FORMAT: Kindle
LENGTH: 160 pages
GENRE: Romance/Paranormal Romance
ASIN: B01JQ0SH6S

A night of debauchery

Prince Mirceo Daciano and his new friend Caspion the Tracker comb the streets of Dacia, drunkenly seeking out pleasures of the flesh. In what should have been a typical night, they coax a bevy of nymphs to bed. To impress their females, the demon and the vampire kiss on a dare.

Changes them forever

Once they finally break away from their soul-searing kiss, they find themselves alone—and shaken. Had they imagined their explosive chemistry? Obstacles—ranging from a death sentence, to exile on a war-torn dimension—threaten to destroy their lives, much less the vulnerable promise in that one kiss.

How long can they resist the fire that blazes between them?

Even if Mirceo can accept Caspion as his fated mate, the sensual vampire still must convince the stubborn demon that their bond is forever. And any royal Dacian union must receive the blessing of King Lothaire, an unpredictable and savage killer...

Squeeee! I absolutely loved the first book in The Dacians series, Shadow's Claim, and I cannot wait to read the next one! This series takes place in the same world as Cole's Immortals After Dark series, which I still need to read.

What are you waiting on? Please leave a comment in the section below. If you participate in this meme, please leave a link so I can visit your blog!

Ten Things That I Am Thankful For #TopTenTuesday

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a new Top Ten list that one of their bloggers will answer. Everyone is welcome to join!

Today's list is a Thanksgiving Freebie (even though I'm in Canada and we've already celebrated Thanksgiving, I'll play along): 

Ten Things That I Am Thankful For.

My two beautiful girls.

A job that I love, which I've had for 26+ years.

The roof over our heads.

My parents, who are always there to lend a hand!

Living in a country that provides access to good food to eat and clean water to drink.

Siblings and extended family members in my life.

Continued good health for me and my loved ones.

Friends and neighbours who reach out and check on me!

For the lessons that I've learned and the life experiences I've had which have made me a better person and who I am today!

A loving and forgiving God, who may not give me everything I want but gives me everything I need.

So, what are you thankful for? Please let me know in the comments, or leave me a link to your blog post if you are also participating in the meme!

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon: Starting Line #CSREADATHON

The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon has begun!

I'm Reading:

Something from my TBR mountain. I am ordinarily not a romance girl, so I blame the season! LOL!

A Magical Christmas

by Heather Graham

I'm Listening To:

I recently finished a different Christmas read-a-thon, and this one was recommended to me.

Dashing Through the Snow

by Debbie Macomber

Other Christmas Books on my TBR:

Mistletoe Murder

(Lucy Stone, Book #1)

by Leslie Meier

Dashing Through the Snow

by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

The Christmas Candle

by Max Lucado

[on my iPod]

Twelve Days of Christmas

by Debbie Macomber

[on my iPod]

I will post my updates on Twitter using the #CSREADATHON hashtag, and then do a wrap-up post at the end of the read-a-thon on my blog.

Thanks again to Michelle at Seasons of Reading for hosting!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

I'm reading: 

This is one of my picks for the Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon. This has been on my TBR mountain for a long time!

TITLE: A Magical Christmas

AUTHOR: Heather Graham 

PUBLISHER: Topaz

PUBLICATION DATE: November 1, 1997

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 330 pages

GENRE: Holiday/Christmas, Romance

ISBN: 9780451407962

Jon and Julie Radcliff are facing the last Christmas of a marriage in trouble. The love they once shared has been tattered by time and torn apart by divergent goals. Their teenagers, Christie and Jordan, are rebellious, and their youngest child, six-year-old Ashley, is showing the hurt and confusion of her family's turmoil. Yet somehow the Christmas season must be gotten through even if it is only a game of let's pretend we are the way we always were. The perfect place for this make-believe is the Oak River Plantation in Virginia, a place of simple values, far from their sophisticated and difficult life in Miami. Here the Radcliffs are promised a traditional Christmas with all the Yuletide trimmings. So imagine their surprise when they are met by the quaint couple in charge, Jesse and Clarissa Wainscott, dressed in costumes dating from before the Civil War. Have they somehow entered another world that spans the gulf between past and present? Before Jon and Julie and their children can uncover the secrets surrounding their mysterious but marvelous hosts, they become aware of some profound truths about themselves. And suddenly they discover that love lost can be found again, making the bond of marriage and family strong enough to survive, even triumph.

I'm listening to:

Here's another pick for the Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon.

TITLE: Dashing Through the Snow

AUTHOR: Debbie Macomber

NARRATOR: Allyson Ryan

PUBLISHER: Random House Audio

PUBLICATION DATE: October 6, 2015

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 4 hrs and 31 mins

GENRE: Holiday/Christmas

Savor the magic of the season with number-one New York Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber's newest Christmas novel, filled with warmth, humor, the promise of love, and a dash of unexpected adventure.

Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland, a former army intelligence officer, has a job interview in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there's only one rental car available. Ashley and Dash reluctantly decide to share the car, but neither anticipates the wild ride ahead.

At first they drive in silence, but, forced into close quarters, Ashley and Dash can't help but open up. Not only do they find they have a lot in common, but there's even a spark of romance in the air. Their feelings catch them off guard - never before has either been so excited about a first meeting. But the two are in for more twists and turns along the way as they rescue a lost puppy, run into petty thieves, and even get caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Though Ashley and Dash may never reach Seattle in time for Christmas, the season is still full of surprises - and their greatest wishes may yet come true.

I just finished:

TITLE: Skipping Christmas

AUTHOR: John Grisham 

PUBLISHER: DoubleDay

PUBLICATION DATE: November 6, 2001

FORMAT: Hardcover

LENGTH: 177 pages

GENRE: Holiday/Christmas

ISBN: 9780385505833

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences–and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

TITLE: Finding Noel

AUTHOR: Richard Paul Evans

NARRATOR: Richard Paul Evans

PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Audio

PUBLICATION DATE: September 25, 2006

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 4 hrs and 33 mins

GENRE: Holiday/Christmas

The Christmas season is supposed to be full of joy, but not for Mark Smart. Life has dealt him one blow after another, until one snowy November night, when he meets a beautiful young woman who will change his life forever. Macy Wood has little memory of her birth parents, and memories she'd rather forget of her adopted home. A Christmas ornament inscribed with the word "Noel" is the only clue to the little sister she vaguely remembers, a clue that will send her and Mark on a journey to reclaim her past, and her family.

TITLE: We Were Liars

AUTHOR: Richard Paul Evans

NARRATOR: Ariadne Meyers

PUBLISHER: Listening Library

PUBLICATION DATE: May 13, 2014

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 6 hrs and 27 mins

GENRE: Young Adult, Mystery

"Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." - John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars.

A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends - the Liars - whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Listen to it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just lie.

TITLE: Let's Play Make Believe

AUTHOR: James Patterson with James O. Born 

PUBLISHER: BookShots

PUBLICATION DATE: August 2, 2013

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 113 pages

GENRE: Thriller

ISBN: 9780316317221

Make believe I love you...

Both survivors of the divorce wars, Christy and Martin don't believe in love at first sight and certainly not on a first date. But from the instant they lock eyes, life becomes a sexy, romantic dream come true. That is, until they start playing a strangely intense game of make-believe-a game that's about to go too far.

What are you reading? Have you read any of these books and, if so, what did you think? Please let me know in the comments and, if you are also participating in this meme, leave me a link to your blog post so that I can stop by!

Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post

This meme is hosted by Tynga over at Team Tynga's Reviews, which she describes as follows:

"Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!"

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Well, we still haven't gotten any snow but the temperature sure has dropped since last weekend! This time last week, it was 13 degrees Celsius. Right now, it is -2 Celsius (that's 28 degrees Fahrenheit for the American folks). There was a Colorado low that was expected to dump up to 50 cm of snow on us earlier this week, but it changed course and missed us. We dodged that bullet, but we can't avoid the snow forever.

So here's a picture of my backyard and the grass is still green but starting to turn a bit yellowish. Still, no white stuff yet so I can't complain! No sunshine today.

I didn't buy anything new this past week, but I won a couple of giveaways!

I won these e-books in a giveaway hosted by YA Bound Book Tours:

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian (Tunnel Vision, Book #1)

The Dark at the End by Susan Adrian (Tunnel Vision, Book #2)

Thanks again, Susan!

I also won this e-book in a giveaway hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer during her HoHoHo Read-a-Thon Twitter party on Tuesday night:

When It Hits the Fan by Victoria Colotta

Thanks again, Kimberly & Victoria!

Recap: Last Week On The Blog

Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten All Time Favourite Movies

Waiting On Wednesday: Dreamfall by Amy Plum

HoHoHo Read-a-Thon: Wrap-up Post

Book Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Little Black Dress by James Patterson with Emily Raymond

Audiobook Review: 5 out of 5 stars for Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

What books have you added to your shelves this week? If you are also participating in either of these memes, please leave me the link to your blog post in the comments so that I can come and drool over all your goodies!

If anyone has read any of these books, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

#Audiobook #Review: 5 out of 5 stars for Shades of Earth by Beth Revis @bethrevis @LLAudiobooks

TITLE: Shades of Earth

SERIES: Across the Universe, Book 3
AUTHOR: Beth Revis 

NARRATOR: Tara Carrozza
PUBLISHER: Listening Library

PUBLICATION DATE: January 15, 2013

AUDIO: 11 hrs, 8 mins

GENRE: Young Adult, Science Fiction/Dystopia

ISBN: 9781467651011

The final book in the trilogy by New York Times best-selling author Beth Revis!

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh - to build a home - on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. But this new Earth isn't the paradise that Amy had been hoping for. Amy and Elder must race to uncover who - or what - else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. But as each new discovery brings more danger, Amy and Elder will have to look inward to the very fabric of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed - friends, family, life on Earth - will have been meaningless.

MY REVIEW:

Revis carries the momentum from the second book of the series, A Million Suns, into the third book of the trilogy. I was riveted from start to finish!

I listened to A Million Suns back in 2012, and I bought Shades of Earth from Audible when it was released in 2013. However, I’ve been putting it off for so long. One of the reasons for that is because I absolutely loved A Million Suns, and I was worried that Revis wouldn’t deliver and that there was no way that the third book could be as good as the second. Well, I was wrong!! It was thrilling ride from start to finish. Finally, we find out what Orion was trying to warn Amy and Elder about with all those clues and the secrets about Centauri-Earth and its inhabitants.

Elder really shined in this installment. He embodies the qualities of a true leader, sacrificing himself for the sake of his people time and again. When the military personnel are brought out of their cryogenically frozen state, Amy’s father tries to take over as leader and he soon finds out that he is not in control of the shipbornes. Elder doesn’t let Amy’s father push him around, which creates a bit of tension. When the newcomers are attacked, Amy’s father and Elder realize that they must work together if they have any hope of survival. However, it appears that Colonel Martin is keeping secrets from even his own daughter which makes Elder even more wary.

Amy is so adaptable, almost TOO adaptable! She was able to make Godspeed her home relatively quickly and identify with the shipbornes, and then is able to think of Centauri-Earth as her new home almost immediately. I suppose that is a good quality to have, when you have to give up the life that you knew on Sol-Earth. When she said this, it all fell into place for me: “Sometimes home is a person.” Now I know why she was able to do that! 

Here is another memorable quote:

“I learned that life is so, so fragile. I learned that you can know someone for just days and never forget the impression he left on you. I learned that art can be beautiful and sad at the same time. I learned that if someone loves you, he'll wait for you to love him back. I learned that how much you want something doesn't determine whether you get it or not, that "no" might not be enough, that life isn't fair, that my parents can't save me, that maybe no one can.”

I love dystopian novels, but I have to admit that books involving “space” don’t typically interest me. I am so glad that I gave this series a try, because I absolutely loved it!!

Tara Carrozza and Lucas Salvagno continued as dual narrators, and I love how Revis told the story from different points of view. I thought both narrators did a great job. Lucas’ vocalization of Amy made her slightly whiney. I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it made me cringe slightly.

MY RATING:

5 stars!!  It was superb! I loved it and will likely re-read it in the future. You should definitely put it on your TBR list if you enjoy dystopia!

This book qualifies as: 

#45 for my 2016 You Read How Many Books? Challenge

#45 for my 2016 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

#21 for my Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2016

#21 for my 2016 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

#39 for my 2016 Women Challenge
#3 for my 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge

#34 for my 2016 Prequel & Sequel Reading Challenge

#42 for my Backlist Books Reading Challenge

#35 for my 2016 Audiobook Challenge
#7 for my 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge

#13 for my 2016 YA Reading Challenge

View all my reviews

#Book #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Little Black Dress by James Patterson with Emily Raymond @JP_Books @Book_Shots

TITLE: Little Black Dress

AUTHOR: James Patterson with Emily Raymond

PUBLISHER: BookShots

PUBLICATION DATE: July 5, 2016

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 108 pages

GENRE: Romance

ISBN: 9780316276382

Can a little black dress change everything in her life?

Magazine editor Jane Avery spends her nights alone with Netflix and Oreos--until the Dress turns her loose. Suddenly she's surrendering to dark desires, and New York City has become her erotic playground. But what began as a fantasy will go too far . . . and her next conquest could be her last.

MY REVIEW:

When I heard about Patterson’s BookShots series, I was immediately drawn to the pitch of shorter novels. As someone who doesn’t have much sit-down time to read, this appealed to me and I was eager to try one. I am not disappointed!

This BookShots series appears to be very popular, because there are lengthy Holds Lists for all the titles that my local library carries. I requested all of them, and this was the first one that came in. When I realized it was a Contemporary Romance, I groaned a bit. That’s not a genre that I typically read! However, I decided to give it a whirl and am I ever glad that I did!

Jane Avery is a 35-year-old woman, who is a magazine editor and a slave to her job. It has been 16 months since her divorce, and she has no interest in jumping into another relationship. She splurges on a little black dress for herself, and she feels so good in it that it sends her self-confidence through the roof. She is transformed by this sexy dress, and her lunch meeting with one of the magazine’s freelance writers turns into a hot nooner! After the wham-bam session, he invites her to dinner but she turns him down and tells him that she has other plans (when, in fact, she does not).

Jane rediscovers her sexuality, and she realizes a number of things about herself. While she isn’t exactly chomping at the bit to get involved in a relationship with someone, she has absolutely no qualms with having one-night stands with complete strangers. In fact, she prefers it that way!

Even though this isn’t ordinarily the type of book that I would pick up, I actually really enjoyed it! I have to give props to a woman who knows what she wants. This hot little read kept me riveted, and my fingers couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

I have read a few books from Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series, but Emily Raymond is new-to-me. Patterson and Raymond also co-authored another book, First Love, although that one is a YA Romance so I expect that the steam-factor would be dialed down! I still think that I will check it out!

MY RATING:

4 stars!!  It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR list if you enjoy steamy romances!

This book qualifies as: 

#44 for my 2016 You Read How Many Books? Challenge

#44 for my 2016 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

#38 for my 2016 Women Challenge

#10 for my New Author Challenge 2016

#11 for my 2016 New to You Reading Challenge

#18 for my 2016 I Love Libraries Reading Challenge
#10 for my Literary Pickers Reading Challenge 2016
#2 for my What's In A Name? 2016
#23 for my 2016 Full House Reading Challenge

View all my reviews

HoHoHo Read-a-Thon: Wrap-up Post #HoHoHoRAT

This is my Wrap-up Post for the HoHoHo Read-a-Thon!

I Finished Three Books!

The Christmas Angel Project

by Melody Carlson

Finding Noel

by Richard Paul Evans

Skipping Christmas

by John Grisham

Here are the final tallies for the read-a-thon:

Total books finished: 3

Total pages read: 353 pages

Total time listened: 4 hrs and 33 mins

If I convert the audiobook to pages, the hardcover of Finding Noel is 304 pages long so that would make 657 pages in total! I'm good with that.

Thanks again to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer for hosting!

Waiting on Wednesday: Dreamfall by Amy Plum @AmyPlumOhLaLa @harperteen #WaitingOnWednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Here is this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection:

TITLE: Dreamfall
SERIES: Dreamfall, Book #1
AUTHOR: Amy Plum
PUBLISHER: HarperTeen
EXPECTED PUBLICATION DATE: May 2, 2017
FORMAT: Hardcover
LENGTH: 288 pages
GENRE: Young Adult, Science Fiction/Dystopia
ISBN: 9780062429872

Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

Amy Plum is a new-to-me author, although her Revenants series and After the End series are both on my TBR mountain. I love dystopia, and I have issues with insomnia as well, so I think this book would probably freak me out!

What are you waiting on? Please leave a comment in the section below. If you participate in this meme, please leave a link so I can visit your blog!