ARC Book Review: Merry Ex-Mas Tour

Book Title: Merry Ex-Mas
Author: Sheila Roberts

Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Format: ebook, paperback

Cost: $9.59, $10.85

Pages: 320

How I got it: advanced copy from Netgalley

My Rating:★★★★☆
Erotica Rating: N/A
Synopsis:

Cass Wilkes, owner of the Gingerbread Haus bakery, was looking forward to her daughter Danielle’s wedding—until Dani announced that she wants her father, Cass’s ex, to walk her down the aisle. Seriously? Even worse, it appears that he, his trophy wife and their yappy little dog will be staying with Cass…. Her friend Charlene Albach arrives at their weekly chick-flick night in shock. She’s just seen the ghost of Christmas past: her ex-husband, Richard, who left a year ago when he ran off with the hostess from her restaurant, Zelda’s. Now the hostess is history and he wants to kiss and make up. Hide the mistletoe! And bring out the hot buttered rum, because the holidays aren’t easy for Ella O’Brien, either. Ella, newly divorced, is still sharing the house with her ex while they wait for the place to sell. The love is gone. Isn’t it? But watch as Christmas brings all kinds of surprises…. Merry Ex-mas, ladies!

My Review:
Just what we all need right?? The Holidays and your worst mistakes come walking back in?? Sounds like hell if you ask me, & I guess if you ask these ladies as well.  This season of misadventure also has a few happy endings, lots of awesome gingerbreads, hot man candy (even if he is a cheater), a ditzy step mom with a heart of gold. I wanted some eggnog and some of these cookies so badly while reading this book. I loved everything about it, there were some strong women all struggling to look & feel amazing while the exes are back in the picture adding to the stress of holiday time.

Then there is a wedding, no rooms at the inn, exes must stay over at the first wife's house, a crazy dog that ruins everything, a community of friends struggling to hold each other up while their own exes come back into town, a overbearing mother who always silently disapproves and the snow & winter. Holy crap I feel exhausted just thinking about it. Sheila's writing is amazing, the characters well thought out and well written, the emotions that each scenario brought up just made you feel for each character. 

I did have a bone (hahaha see what i did there?? yeah I'll stop) to pick with Tiny's owner Ella, who was living with her ex Jake, how couldn't she see what was going on?? Girl should have been a gymnast she jumped through so many hoops for her mama Mims. Grrr that woman, now I wish I knew the words to that Christmas song Jake made for Mims. It must have been awesome to garner so many views.  Wait, here check it out yourself:

Ha!! I'm sure there are many people who would love to share this with their in laws!! I died with laughter when I heard this, after reading the book. Mims deserved it, but now I kinda want to know her story, & why she is the way she is.

Merry Ex-mas is one of those books with lots of laughter, a few tears, lots of gasps, even a few 'wait what??' moments. That darn dog, man it's always the dog.  I even wrote down those recipe hints, after Yule cookies aren't going to bake themselves you know It's a good holiday favourite & of course will be one of mine for a while. Mrs. Roberts spins an awesome yarn or should it be makes a ,,,hmmm I don't know but she writes beautifully & I wouldn't mind seeing this one as Christmas movie.  Make sure to get your copy. You can purchase on Amazon. & Add it to your list of books to read, Check out here on Goodreads

Definitely burn rubber to get it especially for Yule & the Christmas Spirit Holiday reading challenge.  Also make sure to swing on by the other stops in the tour and share some love please!! Happy Reading my loves

Merry Ex-Mas Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

Wednesday, November 7

Guest post at I Am a Reader Not a Writer

Thursday, November 8

Book Review at Inside BJ’s Head

Book Review & Guest  Blogging at Always With a Book

Friday, November 9

Guest Blogging & Book Giveaway at Book Review Club

Monday, November 12

Book Review at My Life in Stories

Tuesday, November 13

Book Review & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Book Review at By the Broomstick

Wednesday, November 14

Character Dear Santa Letter at Literarily Speaking

Book Review by By the  Book

Thursday, November 15

Book Review at The Book Hoard

Friday, November 16

Book Review at Miki’s Hope

Monday, November 19

Book Review at Thoughts in Progress

Guest Blogging at Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and More

Wednesday, November 21

Book Review at Bless Their Hearts Mom

Thursday, November 22

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Friday, November 23

Book Review at Hanging Off the Wire

Monday, November 26

Book Review at My Devotional Thoughts

Wednesday, November 28

Book Review at From the TBR Pile

Friday, November 30

Book Review at Books Thoughts and a Few Adventures

Book Review at The Christmas Spirit

Book Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

It's HERE: Falalala Yule Movie Time

Oh my gosh, it's one of my favorite parts of the Yule season. It's the movies, the music, the family functions the parties, but oohhh the movies. I can't wait to see some of them and i even found a place to help with me addiction. It's called It's a Wonderful Movie, this blog has a list and schedule and movie ratings, that are too awesome.

You can check out the full list & schedule here: Christmas 2012 Schedule

Some of the movies I'm looking forward to are:

A Princess for Christmas

Moonlight & Mistletoe

Dear Santa

My Holiday Favorites which I will be watching again & again are:

• Holidays in Handcuffs, 
• The Polar Express
• Home Alone, 
• Miracle on 34th Street,  
• The Good Witch's Gift, 
• Desperately Seeking Santa, 
• 12 Men of Christmas, 
• Love Actually, 
• This Christmas, 
• 12 Dates of Christmas,  
• The Family Man
• Nightmare before Christmas
• Christmas Cupid. 

There are so many more I can't wait to watch because there is more coming out everyday. I can't wait to dive into all these cheesy movies, & crazy plot lines all centered around the miracle of Yule!!!

Monday Movie Reviews: Flight

Movie: Flight
Run Time: 2hrs 19 mins
Rating: R
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

Synopsis: An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.

My Review:

It's Denzel, therefore it's awesome!!! It's not really a typical movie that you would expect from Denzel, it's more character driven than action driven, but well written and pretty awesome.  The movie was well worth it. I enjoyed watching and seeing Captain Whip grow & watching the story unfold about the accident.  I know I was surprised because the preview really don't let oyu in on whats really going to happen in the movie, they only focus on the one aspect which is the accident,

I laughed a bit especially at Whip's friend, & certainly understood Don Cheadle's struggle to get Captain Whip to unsertand exactly what was at stake.  It's amazing acting from the cast & eye opening as well.  Not at all to say the least how much I loved the soundtack, It just made the movie so much better, especially those last 20 minutes especially when Captain Whip was at a crucial point and I just prayed he wouldn't succumb & then .....

It's worth seeing, I loved it &  I'm going to go back and see it again with the girlfriends & have a hen night.

Hope y'all enjoy it as well.  Don't forget to enter in for the Elemental Giveaway!!!!

Erotica Book Review: The Glass Knot

Book Title: The Glass Knot
Author: Lily Harlem

Publisher: Amazon
Format: ebook

Cost: $3.99

Pages: 270

How I got it: Author

My Rating:★★★★★
Erotica Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis:

What’s a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man? This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her. But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a ‘delicate predicament’ I was the one for the job – heck, what did I have to lose? Certainly not as much as him, literally. Trouble is, emotions always get tangled, loyalties can’t help but be divided and with a night of memories so hot they'd have the devil sweating, there was only one thing for it—it was time to get honest, fight for what I wanted despite society’s constraints and open my heart to the people it needed most. Reader advisory - The Glass Knot is an erotic romance featuring M/M and M/F love and every combination of two guys and a girl you can think of!(less)

My Review:
I'm not even done & i'm in love with this book. I can tell it's going to be a favorite re-read. Lily has a way of writing that is so engaging, raw & real. When she (the author) said she was looking for reviewers I ddidn't even read the premise it's by her so I needed to get it & that's all I need to know!! Just amazing, the characters were all well written, you could feel like they were people you knew or even seeing this happening in real life. They were characters with depth & flaws & issues, even if they were described as being physically perfect. 

Josh was just yummy, Nick was dominating, dark & mysterious. Laura was a fun & fun loving woman, who clearly knew her mind, had a strong will & I just loved that she was willing to take life by the horns. it's funny once I figured out what the premise was I kept flashing back to Samantha from Sex in the city when her best gay friends asked her to be their experiment & the hilarity that ensued from that. I couldn't wait to see how this turned out. It was better than I thought. Hilarious, wrought with emotions, & extremely well written I fell even more in love with the characters. laura's a very brave soul there are many who wouldn't have embraced the changes life brought her or event he opportunity. 

The love scenes??? Wooohooo, I couldn't put it down, this is going on my favorites list & will be a definite re-read!! 

Happy Reading

Samhain Big Giveaway Winner Annoucement

Thanks for being patient my loves, this week I have been fighting off a cold, working late and dealing with the emotional highs and lows fo the election. So now without further ado the winners of each item will be listed. You have twenty four *24* hours to get back to me on your prize. After that it's a new winner.  Congratulations to everyone who won, and a Big Heatry Thank you to all our entrants!!1

A Glimpse of the PRIZES: Winners names are next to each prize.

The Carioca Witch is giving away a Samhain Goddess !!!! The Goddess is filled with Mugwort and Cinnamon.

One lucky winner can receive this Doll!!! And the lucky winner is : ALPHABETSY!!!! Wooohooo Go girly!!!

The second prize pack is a few signed books: These books have found a home with SOPHIADAWN!!! Congratulations I just know you will enjoy them. 

Heather's Krewe Hunters first book. & an unsigned copy of Killing Kelly:

a signed copy of Sephanie Chong " The Demoness of Waking Dreams"

and a copy of Rachel Vincent's Shadow Bound

The 3rd prize pack contains the following: lesadora wohoooo I just know you will love it!!

a copy of A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hofman

For the ancient Druids, the healing and magical properties of herbs were inseparable from the larger cycles of the seasons, the movements of the planets, and the progression of a human life.

A Druid’s Herbal shows the reader how to use herbs when creating rituals to celebrate festivals and significant life passages such as births, house blessings, weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies.

Drawing on extensive research and a deep personal experience with Pagan traditions, Ellen Evert Hopman explores the history and folklore surrounding the eight major Celtic festivals: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lugnasad, and Fall Equinox. Included in each discussion are complete instructions on the medicinal and magical uses of the herbs associated with each celebration.

Using these Celtic traditions as examples, the author suggests ways to incorporate the symbolic and magical power of herbs into personal rituals that honor all phases of life from childbirth to last rites. Also included are chapters on how to prepare herbal tinctures, salves, and poultices; herbs used by the Druids; herbal alchemy and the planets; and the relationships between herbs and sacred places. Filled with practical information and imaginative suggestions for using herbs for healing, ceremony, and magic, this book is an indispensable and comprehensive guide to age-old herbal practices.

A master herbalist, psychotherapist, and lay homeopath, Ellen Hopman is the author of Tree Medicine, Tree Magic and the video Gifts of the Healing Earth, and co-author of People of the Earth: The New Pagans.

Congratulations Again my loves!!!!