Sunday, 12 May 2013

Happy Mother's Day!!


Happy Mother's Day to the American (or those celebrating across the world) Mothers (since the Brits celebrated in March).
It takes a lot to be a mother
To have compassion 
patience, common sense & know how to laugh
To being really good at hiding how much you yourself are unsure
Being a mother is a job, with no vacations, very little appreciation *at first*
So here's a little bit:
To the women who care
The women who share
who raise a child
who calm their fears
Whether your natural born or adopted child
If you mother someone 
Today like everyday we celebrate you
Happy Mother's Day to you!!

My Favorite Song I play for my mother:


If you like Rap then here is:
And Kanye West:

And for the many women who wish to be mother's but can't but still mother someone else's children, the women who make the decision to go out and adopt the world's little ones: 
Well there you have it my loves, be happy, celebrate your mother's the women who helped you, the women who mentored you, not necessarily the woman who birthed you, but the women who choose to give you guidance, love, affection and when you needed it a good kick in the rear to get you on the right path.

And for those doing  this daily, we thank you
Happy Mother's Day my loves


Saturday, 11 May 2013

ARC Book Review: Thrill Ride

Book Title: Thrill Ride
Author:  |Website| Twitter| Facebook|
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Format: ebook, paperback
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 352
How I got it: NetGalley, 
Purchase: Amazon| Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository| Publisher
My Rating:★★★★1/2
Erotica Rating: 
Add To Goodreads



Synopsis:
He's Gone Rogue Ex-Navy SEAL Rock Babineaux’s job is to get information, and he’s one of the best in the business. Until something goes horribly wrong and he’s being hunted by his own government. Even his best friends at the covert special-ops organization Black Knights Inc. aren’t sure they can trust him. He thinks he can outrun them all, but his former partner—a curvy bombshell who knows just how to drive him wild—refuses to cut him loose. She Won't Back Down Vanessa Cordova hasn’t been the team’s communication specialist very long, but she knows how to read people—no way is Rock guilty of murder. And she’ll go to hell and back to help him prove it. Sure, the sexy Cajun has his secrets, but there’s no one in the world she’d rather have by her side in a tight spot. Which is good, because they’re about to get very tight…

My Review:
I'm so in love with the Black Knights. Where can I meet them?? This is the second book by Julia Walker I have read and I love her writing.  Rev It Up was my introduction to her and I loved the Jake the Snake so much I went and got all the other books in the series that I didn't have right away.  I really loved the glimpses of Rock and Vanessa we got in the book.  I love that each book gave you a preview of the next Black Knight to fall in love.  I'm so intriqued I can't wait to read the next one.

In reading Rev It Up, I had some serious expectations for Rock & Vanessa's story and Julie delivered on them all.  Rock is just that man who is so awesome but doesn't take himself too seriously, he's confident but not arrogant, and he fell hard for Vanessa although he didn't think he should act on it.  Vanessa fell for the hot cajun the minute she walked into the Black Knights building, she wanted to be a tough operator and she did her best to toughen up so she could fit in.  She totally kicked ass when she needed to, and even though her goal was 'tough operator" she was still in touch with her feelings; & still knew when she was totally out of her depths and allowed Rock to lead where Rock led.

That moment in Eve's house?!?!?!?! OMGawds, even though I knew what was happening I was still devestated right along with her. I was totally invested in the story and couldn't put it down, Poor Vanessa, she probably lost like ten years off her life.

It took one day to read this because I dived right in and didn't come up for air until I finished it.   The characters are so well written and it's so engaging, the wit, the funny stories, I can't wait to read Steady's story by the way, "details are superflouos" indeed, I loved those glimpse into each character's personality.  I loved the inner monologue of both Rock & Vanessa, they are so awesome, I so couldn't stop reading that garage scene then when Ghost caught them?!!! The laugh was pretty loud when I read that scene. Heck I'm smiling now writing about it.

Eve looks like shs's going to be a great character as well. I can't wait to read the story between her and her guy, it should be totally interesting. Now excuse me while I catch up with the rest of the Black Knights I'm heading to Becky's first then I hear Ali's story is kick ass as well. See you guys. Have fun!!

 
***FTC Rules require I state that I received this as a review copy from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review**** 

Monday, 6 May 2013

May is Lupus Awareness Month


I know I haven't really talked about my lupus in a long time, I like to come on the blog world and leave the troubles behind as much as possible, you know embrace the good in my life.  But it's not cured it's not gone it's still there lurking like a stalker in the background of everything in my life.  It's there I live with it because unlike most I have it really good. I am well aware of that, I am also really happy about that. Make sure to check out the information I have included for you below.
This month I figured lupus could earn it's keep and share some resources for those who are seeking to learn more about the disease, find resources to help them or a loved one deal and even learn how they can help to make a difference.
Some facts about Lupus:

  • 90% Of Lupus sufferers are women generally between the ages of 15 & 44; 10 to 20% of those cases are generally severe as they carry with them severe health complications.
  • 10 % of the cases belong to men, the disease for them develops more severely in major organs
  • African Americans, Hispanics/Latinas, Asians, Pacific Islanders & Native Americans are more frequently diagnosed than Caucasians; it does however affect anyone in any race at any time.
  • Since Lupus is an Auto-immune disease, there are no known causes for the disease, but stress, infections, and Ultraviolet light is thought to be triggers in the development of the disease.
All of those facts were taken from the Lupus.org website, which is a really great resource for those new to the disease and it's development.  They have a link to local support groups as well as how to talk to your doctor about the disease.

Here is the book I have returned to time and again since getting this disease:
My review here.

One of my favorite blogs to read is Despite Lupus. Sara shares a lot of good information, promotes her book which I keep meaning to get and links you up to a few good resources there as well.

You can find more blogs here and of course you could always just google and find some. Most of these on this list I have read at some point & know they are legit and great. 

So there you have it, some good information on Lupus,  & a few good resources & books. These are ones I can vouch for I'm sure there are many more out there. Swing by and let me know if you have any you think I should check out.

Happy New Week my loves

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Book Review: An Angel For Christmas

Book Title: An Angel for Christmas
Author: Heather Graham |Website| Twitter| Facebook|
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Format: paperback
Cost: $7.19
Purchase: Amazon| Barnes & Noble| The Book Depository|
Pages: 224
How I got it: Library Book Sale
My Rating:★★☆☆☆
Erotica Rating: N/A
Add To Goodreads




Synopsis:
Christmas has never brought out the best in the MacDougal family. Still, year after year they gather together in the Blue Ridge Mountains to try to make the season merry and bright. But this year is an especially strained one, with Shayne's impending divorce, Morwenna's slavish devotion to work and Bobby's reluctance to face what life has to offer. They've never felt less like a family.Then, in the midst of a sibling shouting match, a mysterious stranger appears. He could be a criminal, a madman—or something far more unexpected. Despite their fears and the growing danger in the dark woods around them, the MacDougals take a leap of faith. But when another stranger arrives on the mountainside, they don't know which of them to believe. One of these men can't be trusted. And one is about to bring Christmas into their hearts.


My Review:

I'm beginning to think Christmas books should only be read during Christmas, because then we are a little kinder, more willing to believe.

This was a different kind of Heather Graham book, mostly because I may have read horror books, this was really in your face Christmas themed. It's still good, it was kinda more of a Christian fiction book.  It's not really what I expected from her, but it's really still good.

I liked Stacy but at times she was also stubbornly stupid in my opinion.  Why did she have to do it right then??  It wasn't until the end of the book that I caught on to "who" the criminal and the cop really were.

Now I know this makes me a little heartless but it's how I feel. If you're told not to do something, you do it and almost die, in the process?? Yeah you so deserve it. Even if you're a kid, especially because we don't want you passing on the "stupid gene". All the time in horror movies it always the idiot kid who was told to stay put who causes everybody to die. Grrrrr

It was an okay book, I really think I might have had a different thought if I read it during the holidays, we tend to let the corny slide during the holidays.

Happy Reading!!


Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Clean Sweep Challenge: May 2013

Hey my loves, I am doing yet another challenge. Check it out below, this comes straight from Kimba's website, make sure to swing on by and sign up if you too wish to clean up that enormous pile.

Together with Kimberly @ The Windy Pages we will be helping you clean up those ARCs. The challenge begins on May 1 and ends on the 31st. 

The goal: to read and review as many ARC's as we can. We will have fun challenges each Saturday hosted by some wonderful bloggers and a prize for two luck participants at the end of the challenge. So gather your ARCs and your brooms and lets have some fun! 

Rules
  • Must be read during May 1st and May 31st, 2013
  • Starts and ends at midnight in your local time zone
  • Physical and digital ARCs are eligible, in any length and genre!
  • Linky will close on May 15th so sign up before you miss out!
  • When you join, please add the challenge button to your blog. When you post your goals be sure add button and links back to hosts.
  • Challenges will be hosted each Saturday with a chance to win additional prize
  • Grand Prize- TWO winners will be chosen to pick a book of their choice from The Book Depository. (Up to $15 value per book)
  • Please post your recap by June 3rd. This is the day that the Rafflecopter will close. Recap post should include a link to the review or Goodreads review with date it will be posted on your blog. (This is for readers who may be reading books way ahead of schedule and don't want to post a review yet!)
  • Rafflecopter entries will be awarded for each book review linked, posting about challenge, recap post, participation in challenges, and following.
Challenge Schedule and Rafflecopter will post on April 30th at 4pm (EST) Rafflecopter will  close on June 3 at 11:59 (EST)

So Now you know the rules, here are the books I'm working on before I go to Book Expo America at the end of the month.
  1. Thrill Ride Julie Walker
  2. The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble
  3. The Moonstone ^ Miss Jones by Jillian Stone
  4. *five different books by * Heather Graham
  5.  Lush by Lauren Dane
I Also want to clean up some serious backlog on my book reviews. At the end of the month I'm going to have some seriously awesome news for my readers. So make sure to swing on by each week as I clean up I will be doing giveaways as well!!!

Happy Reading