Review and Giveaway! "Captured by Desire"

As part of the "Wicked Intentions" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 5 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"Captured by Desire"
by Kira Morgan

Source: provided for review by Hachette Books

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Florie Gilder went to the fair to sell her goldsmith wares, she never thought she'd leave running from the authorities. As she's running, she's struck in the leg with an arrow from the lord's expert huntsman, Rane MacAllister. Rane is horrified to have shot a "wee lass" by mistake and vows to heal her and keep her safe. he helps her find sanctuary in an abandoned church. Soon he must choose whether to be loyal to his lord and turn in the outlaw, Florie, or keep his vow to keep her safe.

Rane was such a sweetheart! All of the ladies were in love with him, but not for the regular historical romance hero reasons-money and rakishness. They loved him because of how sweet and caring he was. I absolutely loved that Rane wasn't a rich, titled, arrogant aristocrat. Instead he was a strong and humble huntsman.
Florie was a petite and fiesty brunette, nothing like the voluptuous blondes Rane prefers. I love that she has a skill not usually learned by women and she's not impressed by the nobility.

I didn't love the first part of the book, there seemed to be something missing. But once the romance really started cooking-wow! This was one sigh after another, a super sweet romance.


Main Characters: 5/5 (Rane!)
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5 (just b/c neither were aristocrats)
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: If you love a really sweet romance with a tender, caring hero, this is a can't-miss book!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

Hachette books has generously provided FIVE copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!
All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.

Extra Entries:

• +2 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
  
• +2 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)
  

Rules:

• US and Canada only
  
• No PO Boxes please
  
• Must be a follower to enter
  
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
  
• Ends Friday August 27
  

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

Book Blog Follow Friday August 13

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

It's time for another Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com!! I've found so many awesome new blogs to read by participating in this fun event! Check it out by clicking the pic!!

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

While you're here, why not check out the the contests I have running on my blog right now!!?

Win one of 5 Copies of Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt!! Ends 8/17!!

Win a Set of Team Jessica and Team Elizabeth T-shirts for Sweet Valley Confidential!! Ends 8/20!!

Win Emma and the Vampires!! Ends 8/27

"Manifest" Review

"Manifest"
by Artist Arthur

Source: ARC sent by Lisa at Online Publicist in exchange for review

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Review:


Krystal hears dead people. The voices had stopped until she and her mom moved out of their home and left Krystal's dad. Krystal meets Ricky, a ghost who needs her help. Ricky's brother and his friends are accused of Ricky's murder. Ricky knows it's not true but needs Krystal's help to find out who really killed him. In the meanwhile, Krystal finds Sasha and Jake, who share her talent for talking to ghosts.

I was expecting a dreamier, more fantasy-like story, based on the cover, but this book is really gritty and raw. I would definitely say parental advisory on this one because there was stuff in this book that I didn't want to read about and I definitely wouldn't want kids reading it. Yes, the "bad stuff" is done by the "bad guys" so it's dealt with responsibly, but I'd rather read about rainbows and kittens, ok? That's me.

I liked how the author explored Krystal's relationship with her parents, who were recently divorced. The situation is real and lot of teens can relate.

I also liked the fact that Ricky, the ghost, was Krystal's friend, not her love interest. This is a new angle on the supernatural trend. Also, i love to see different types of relationships explored in books, including male/female friendships.

I thought the dialogue was written really well. The conversations flowed and sounded the way a real teen would talk. the action was a little slow but the book was a quick read.


Main Characters: 2/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 2/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 3/5


Bottom Line: This book is a fresh take on the YA paranormal genre, but parts were way too dark for my taste.

"The White Queen" Review

As part of "The Red Queen" Blog Tour, I have my review of the previous book in the series: "The White Queen". Check back this weekend for my review of "The Red Queen."

"The White Queen"
by Philippa Gregory

Source: sent by publisher in exchange for review

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who traces her family tree back to the sea goddess, Melusina, needs the King's help. Her husband was killed in battle and her dowry lands and money were taken from her. Knowing where King Edward will be passing through with his men, she sets out to seduce him. Little does she know they will fall in love that day. And with a little help from Melusina, she will go on to rule England with him, all the while trying desperately to hold onto their throne.

I was so surprised by how romantic this book was. I've read this author's books before, as well as historical fiction in general, and I'd never read one this romantic. At the beginning, when King Edward meets the commoner Elizabeth under the oak tree, and in the time that followed, I was positively starry-eyed. It was like a real life Cinderella tale, as I'm sure people romanticized the story back then in songs and tales too. Even though Edward had his flaws, he was so likable and charming and he truly loved Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was a fascinating character. I loved her connection to Melusina, the sea goddess, and how she was able to do magic. She was always accused of witchcraft and, as the author pointed out in her notes at the end of the book, powerful women are always feared. Sometimes Elizabeth's ambition was all-consuming, even at the expense of her children's safety. So it was good to see her called out by her daughter, Elizabeth.

I also really liked Elizabeth's brother, Anthony, with his dedication to knowledge and poetry. i will have to do more research on all of these phenomenal historical figures.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line:This book was a fascinating piece of historical fiction and I learned a lot about a time period that I hadn't read about before. The characters jumped off the page and I can't wait to find out more about them. My favorite aspect of the book was the real life romance between Elizabeth and Edward.

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it is a way to show off the books you can't wait to be released!!

This week I chose:

"Stork"
by Wendy Delsol
Candlewick Press
Release Date: October 12, 2010

The following description is from goodreads.com

Oh baby! A hip heroine discovers that she has the ability to decide who gets pregnant in this witty YA blend of romance and the supernatural.

Sixteen-year-old Katla has just moved from Los Angeles to the sticks of Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, she learns to her horror that she’s a member of an ancient order of women who decide to whom certain babies will be born. Add to that Wade, the arrogant football star whom Katla regrettably fooled around with, and Jack, a gorgeous farm boy who initially seems to hate her. Soon Katla is having freaky dreams about a crying infant and learns that, as children, she and Jack shared a near-fatal, possibly mystical experience. Can Katla survive this major life makeover and find a dress for the homecoming dance? Drawing from Norse mythology and inspired by The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, debut author Wendy Delsol conceives an irreverent, highly entertaining novel about embracing change and the (baby) bumps along the way.

I've seen some great reviews of this one, and what a unique plot!!

What are you waiting on this week??

Teaser Tuesday (2)

It's my second week participating in "Teaser Tuesday" from MizB of Should be Reading.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser Tuesday pick:

"There's a pretty wide range of emotions that any girl-much less a Gallagher Girl-is bound to encounter on any given day-from joy to sadness, frustration to disappointment.

At that moment, it's pretty safe to say that I was feeling all of them."

p. 4 "Only the Good Spy Young" by Ally Carter

Review and Giveaway! "Emma and The Vampires"

"Emma and the Vampires"

by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson

Source: ARC provided for review by Sourcebooks

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Take Jane Austen's original novel, "Emma", and make all the leading men vampires while Emma and her female companions must decide which vampires and good and which are worth marrying. Emma and Harriett even get to put a few stakes through some undead hearts!

This was my first mash-up novel, Jane Austen or otherwise. I was a little disappointed in this one just because it wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't feel like enough was changed from the original "Emma". Yes, the men were vampires, but the story followed the exact same plot with all of the exact same scenes, only with a few vampires attacking after dinner parties, etc.

However, I read the author's note at the end of the book, and Josephson said that one of his main motives was to make the original "Emma" more accessible to modern readers, especially teens. I appreciate his intentions, and I can see why he wanted to stay so close to the original. I do think he achieved this goal, because if you had never read Emma before, you really would have a great understanding of the original after reading this book. I personally just wanted to see more of story 'inspired by' the original, instead of a re-write.

Mr. Robert Martin is my favorite character in the original "Emma" and I loved the author made lots of mention of the gentle farmer here. Robert Martin, the vampire, even throws a cow over his fence in his frustration over Harriet's marriage refusal! That alone was worth reading the book, in my opinion!!

Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5 (sigh, Mr. Martin...)
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 5/5 (love it!)
Writing: 4/5

Bottom Line: Having read the original novel, this book seemed too much of a rehash with not enough new elements. However, since the original is much unchanged here, maybe new readers unwilling to try the Austen classic would get a chance to read the story here.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Liz at Sourcebooks has generously provided a finished paperback of this book for readers of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.

Extra Entries:

• +2 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
  
• +2 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)
• +2 Answer the question: What do you think of the mash up books out now? Have you read any??
  

Rules:

• US only
  
• Must be a follower to enter
  
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Book will be mailed by me :)
  
• Ends Friday August 27
  

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!