Waiting on Wednesday (4)

My Waiting on Wednesday is a little different this week. I'm not waiting for a new release I'm waiting for two books I won on Goodreads.com! If you haven't signed up for the first reads giveaways there, what are you waiting for? Check it out, I won:

Kate Lowry didn’t think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, who died mysteriously a year before, she’s not so sure. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to confront her school’s resident druggie, a sketchy administrator, and even her own demons.

As Kate moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor–the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth. The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all.

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood - only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.

By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family - and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

Sounds good, right? So what are you waiting for?

Book Review: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard living, ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He's got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. If he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers...

Fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him. (from Goodreads.com)

Spoilers Below. Sorry.

 At first, I wasn't really interested in hearing Butch's story. I don't know why, maybe because he wasn't a vampire from the beginning or something. It turned out to be a pretty good story. He fell for Marissa instantly (in a previous book) which of course meant it could never work even though she fell for him too. The yo yo was a little annoying, both of them not saying what they are really feeling to each other, trying to protect each other. This yo yo went almost to the end of the book eventhough they were still intimately involved in the beginning. I didn't like the transformation of Marissa's appearance though. Yes, she got kicked out of her house by her brother, shunned by the glymera but she didn't have to do a complete 180. I thought she was going to marry Butch in a pinstriped pant suit. Pretty much everything that V had to say in this book had me going, aww, come on dude, stop it. He was taking bromance to a whole. nother. level. I understand the bond just not the (un)subtle lust between the two. Awkward. Butch's backstory was sad and it made you understand even more why he was so protective of Beth and the Brothers. I was glad he was able to become a brother. The induction ceremony was intense, these guys are all about beating the hell out of themselves for their brothers. However, I personally think it would have made for a better story if Butch had crossed further into the darkside and had to be brought back by the Brothers. J.R. Ward cleaned that whole situation up a little toooo easy for my taste. And what did the Omega mean by son? Is there another twist coming later? Also, Van's death irked me. He died too soon. What was his point? The whole getting the prophecy wrong 3 or 4 times was annoying too. There wasn't as much talk from the lessers in this book which was good and John is getting closer and closer to the transition. I can't wait until that happens. Overall, the book was pretty good. It was, however, the first one of the series that I actually put down and ignored for about a week. That is saying alot because I couldn't pretend to put down the first three. Also, there is a big 'Ohhhhhhh' moment at the end about Butch's past. His mama spilled the beans which explained a whole lot. Good book but not great.

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

Q. What is on your current playlist right now?

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts

This song would go on my WIP soundtrack.

Bruno Mars - Lazy Song

I sing this song every Saturday morning!

Jennifer Lopez - On the Floor

When I feel like dancing.

Rihanna - S&M

When I feel naughty! Lol.

Kings of Leon - Pyro

I just love this song.

Ray Lamontagne - Shelter

LOVE LOVE LOVE this song and his voice. He could sing me to sleep every night.

Q. If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?

Absolutely. I love it when I find a book that I had no expectations of in the beginning and I fall in love with it. I have to find other books by the same author. What's sad is I'm often disappointed by the other books. Not always though.

Love your Mother!

What are you doing for the earth today? Me, I'm planting flowers at work and planning my garden which we start tomorrow!

The Catching Up Readathon

Kristen at Bookworming in the 21st century is hosting The Catching Up Readathon. According to goodreads I'm behind too!

7 books behind? That's sad considering that my goal is only 50. I need to find more time to read. My husband is already saying that I am ignoring him in the evenings when I read at home. Sigh. Men are so needy. Lol. Anyways, the deets:

When: Thursday, April 21st through the end of Monday, April 25th. Any time zone, start when you want, read when you want.
Where: Here, on your blog, on your couch, on Goodreads.. wherever!
What: Read books - duh! If you'd like to make a goal, go ahead.

Plus there is a chance to win a prize! So my goal is to finish 2-3 books. I do have save time for coloring eggs and making easter baskets with the kids. I can't wait! I love coloring eggs! Are you going to participate in the readathon?

Music: The Black Keys

I love this song but more importantly, how cute is this video?

I wanted love, I needed love,
Most of all, most of all
Someone said true love was dead
And I'm bound to fall, bound to fall
For you
Oh, what can I do?

Take my badge but my heart remains
Lovin' you, baby child
Tighten up on your reigns
You're runnin' wild, runnin' wild
It's true

Sick for days in so many ways
I'm achin' now, I'm achin' now
It's times like these I need relief
Please show me how, oh show me how
To get right
Yes outside

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

Q. Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with IRL? Tell us about him/her.

Unfortunately, not really. Except my husband. His ears get bombarded with my excitement from time to time. I usually get a 'oh really', 'wow' or 'that was crazy' type response from him. I know he doesn't really care too much about what I'm reading but he does listen to me blab on and on about something exciting that happened in one of the books I'm reading.

Q. Pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her.

Well right now I'm reading two books at once (didn't think I could do it) but I talk about the BDB entirely too much so I will tell you about Cordelia in Betrayal (The Descendants). She's a teenage girl who just found out that everything that she thought was real isn't and that she is actually a descendant of the greek god Zeus. So far I'm still in the amnesia part of it all where she doesn't remember her real life and is being told just how powerful she is. Can you imagine? Dying and coming back only to be told you are like the most powerful creature in the world. Wow. That would be awesome, but I know there is a twist. I'm just waiting for the betrayal.

Want to win a custom blog design?

Click here for details.

Thursday Inspiration: The Dark Side

I'm currently working on a novel where the protagonist goes to a very dark place, a dark world. She is overtaken by the darkness, not because she is an evil person but because there something lurks that she's been looking for all her life, her father. Anyways, going to a dark place is hard when its a beautiful spring day outside, the sun is shining and beautiful flowers are popping up everywhere so used some of these pictures (along with some heavy rock music) to take me there.

All pictures are from WeHeartIt.com

BDB Bookclub Questions - Dark Lover

And now, this month's questions:

1. On a scale from 1-5, what would you rate this book? Briefly tell us why.

Absolutely 5. I loved this book from beginning to end. Once I began reading I couldn't wait to learn more about all the other brothers. I was a little hesitant at first when I found out each book was about a different brother, I didn't know how it would all fit together. However, now I completely love the concept.

2. What did you think of the alternating point of views (Darius, Beth, Butch, Wrath, Marissa, Mr. X, Havers...)?
 I liked the alternating point of view. You don't get too wrapped in what one person is thinking or feeling. You get a feel for the whole group. Aside from Mr. X and the lessers. I liked going between all the characters.

3. What did you think of the new language Ward created? (i.e. Shellan, Princeps, Doggen, etc.) Did it help pull you into the story or distract you?
I liked the idea of the new language. It was amazing to me how she was able to do that and make the words flow so easy with english. It definately helped pull me further into the story, especially leelan. I love that word!

4. We all know that this series is Paranormal Romance -- and we all know that's the good stuff, however, did you feel that Beth and Wrath moved a little too quickly in the beginning? How did you feel about these events given what had happened to Beth the night before?
At first, I was like wow that was quick but it went with the flow of the story. They both needed each other in different ways. With Beth, it seemed like she couldn't control herself around him. And Wrath held himself off Marissa so we knew he wasn't some oversexed brute. Even though it was fast, it was the beginning of something.

5. What did you think of Zsadist's surprise signing abilities?
Yeah, that shocked me and made me giggle at little. I still can't picture it, this huge scarred up tough warrior opening his mouth and sounding like a choir of angels. Yeah, that's a little funny to me.

6. How about that offer Havers made Zsadist in the end? Did you think Zsadist would do it? Do you think Havers punishment for this incident (or lack thereof) was fair?
I thought that Zsadist was going to do it. I really did. Havers was a dummy for even making the offer but I'm glad he didn't get punished because it was a misunderstanding. I'm soooo glad he didn't attempt to hurt Wrath though because I like Zsadist now.

7. What did you think of Darius' decision to come back from The Fade, but never again know his daughter? What would you have done given the same choice?
I would have wanted to come back too and I have a feeling (even though I haven't gotten that far in the series) that he will be around in her his own way.

8. Compare the Brotherhood Books (on first impression) to other vampire series that you've read. Is is better or worse and how so? Well other than Twilight, this is the first vampire series that I have read and it is the best so far. No comparison.

BDB Bookclub/Challenge

Luckily, I'm already Totally Obsessed with this series and well into book number 4 with book 5 on standby. It should be no problem to complete all 9 books by December. In fact I plan to be finished long before then. If you would like to sign up for this challenge click here.

Bookclub Discussion Dates: April 11th: Dark Lover
May 9th: Lover Eternal
June 13th: Lover Awakened
July 11th: Lover Revealed
August 8th: Lover Unbound
September 12th: Lover Enshrined
October 10th: Lover Avenged
November 14th: Lover Mine
December 12th: Lover Unleashed

Teaser Tuesday (4)

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here are the rules: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, and BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

"There is something to be said about being the object of one's desire, that you have all the control, but being craved by a blood thirsty vampire is the doom of any soul."

Music: Katy Perry

I don't know why I love this weird song, but I do!

You’re so hypnotizing
Could you be the devil
Could you be an angel

Your touch magnetizing
Feels like I am floating
Leaves my body glowing

They say be afraid
You’re not like the others
Futuristic lover
Different DNA
They don’t understand you

Your from a whole other world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I’m ready to go
Lead me into the light

Follow Friday

Q. Do you judge a book by its cover?

Unfortunately I do. Beautiful covers draw me in and I'm especially disappointed when the book fails to live up to the cover. On the flipside, it's hard for me to pick up a book that has an unattractive cover but once I get into it the cover really doesn't make a difference.

Get Tagged

Book Review: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
Deeply scarred without and within, vampire warrior Zsadist believes that he is unworthy of either compassion or true love. One night a glimmer of hope crosses his path, embodied in the young civilian Bella; yet, true to form, he pushes her away. But when the enemy of their race kidnaps Bella, Zsadist can't rest until he finds her, and once he does, he faces his biggest threat to date as fate grants him one last chance at peace.

By far, my favorite of the series! I was completely entralled in Zsadist story. The big, scary, scarred, soulless vampire fell in love. It was like pulling teeth. There was so much back and forth between Bella and Zsadist that I found myself not caring about anything else that was going on. I wanted to skip over the chapters about Mr. X and the lessers (and I did a couple of times). Then the issue with Phury, Zsadist twin. I loved every minute of this story. I felt so bad for Zsadist and his internal self hatred. Phury's love for his brother blew me away, what he went through to rescue him, wow. I am interested in Phury's story which I wish was the next book. More information is learned about John Matthew, which I can't wait to see how that turns out. J.R. Ward has one active imagination. The whole "needing" thing, ok, I was exhausted after that, like girl, enough is enough. Ha. Great book. I read it in one day.

Today's Obsession: Warriors

Between reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series where everything is muscles and fighting to spending the weekend watching movies like Troy and Gladitor. I've had a warrior overload but I love it. I love the movies (and apparently the books) with these big strong fearless warrior men and these danty pretty but strong women. Love it.

Absolutely love her dress!

It's just something about these movies. Don't you agree?

Book Review: Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward
Two hundred years: that's how long Rhage must bear the curse born of his reckless inconsideration. Sex and violence are all he once pursued; now they are the only things that keep the beast within at bay. He has little hope for finding peace during this existence, until Mary Luce enters his life. Irresistibly drawn to her light, he's pulled into a struggle with his own demons as well as the real enemies who threaten the vampire world and Mary.

Score number 2 for J.R. Ward in my opinion. I loved this book too. It didn't suck me in as fast as the first one, but I like Rhage's story. I usually tend to shy away from heavy subject matters such as terminal illnesses (personally, I don't want to think about real life issues when I read lately, paranormal is a good genre for me) and I was afraid that I was going to put this book down when I first found out about Mary's illness. However, Rhage and his curse issue overshadowed everything. I was so into Rhage during the book I wish there was an atcual picture of him and this dragon tattoo on his back. I have a my own mental picture. The love story between him and Mary was very emotional. I like that fact that I just knew it was a sad ending then I was surprised. The only thing I didn't really like was the whole dragon, beast thing falling for Mary, wanting to make love to her. That was kind of Ewww but I liked that it only listened to her and she was able to help him control it. Overall great story.

Music: Nirvana

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard it's hard to find
Oh well whatever nevermind

With the Lights out it's less dangerous
Here we are now entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now entertain us

See my R.A.K.

I absolutely love the idea of RAK. I personally mailed out two books but I recieved 4! Book Soulmates has another sign up for the month of April. For the month of March I recieved:

Thanks Jennifer at Extreme Reader Reviews, Luna Moth at Far From Reality, Joli at Actin' Up with Books and Lori at Pure Imagination.

I finished book two and three of the Black Dagger Brotherhood this weekend. Book Review coming later. I can't wait to talk about these two books!

Follow Friday

Follow My Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View. Today's question:

Q. What is the book that you really don't want to admit loving?

I would have to say I've gotten the most slack about the Twilight series. I don't know why, I guess because I'm 30 but I always get that 'really? you like twilight.' To which I should respond, 'yes, I LOOOOOVE Twilight. I've read all four of the books, some twice and some three times' but usually I just don't tell anyone unless I know they are a fellow Twilight fan.