Reflections of a Bookaholic: March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

I'm Hungry

Source: tumblr.com via Kassie on Pinterest

Unlike Katniss, I have no excuse for all that I eat...or think about eating. Le Sigh.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Check-In with the In Death Series Rapture, Ceremony, and Vengeance

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #4
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 294 (ebook)
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

When the autopsies of three suspicious suicides reveal small burns on the brains of the victims, Eve's investigation turns to the provocative world of virtual reality games--where the same techniques used to create joy and desire could also prompt the mind to become the weapon of its own destruction.

My Rating:

On the story: When people who have everything to live for commit suicide, Eve quickly takes notice. Determined to figure out the pattern and against all odds, Eve finds herself on the case.
Reaction: The premise of this one really freaked me out. Sometimes technology can be so scary.
Roarke check-in: Roarke was as sweet as ever but Eve stole the show when she showed her heart and vulnerability in this one. They are truly the perfect couple.

Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb

Series: In Death #5

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 327 (ebook)

Source: eLibrary

Author's Website

Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

Even in an age of cutting-edge technology, old beliefs die hard... Conducting a top secret investigation into the death of a fellow police officer has Lieutenant Eve Dallas treading on dangerous ground. She must put professional ethics personal loyalties. But when a dead body is placed outside her home, Eve takes the warning personally. With her husband, Roarke, watching her every move, Eve is drawn into the most dangerous case of her career. Every step she takes makes her question her own beliefs of right and wrong - and brings her closer to a confrontation with humanity's most seductive form of evil

My Rating:

Wait! There's More »

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

#Bloggiesta Wrap-up

Well this weekend was my first time participating in Bloggiesta and I was very proud of myself. I've include my list and progress below but I have to say that I got much more out of the event than that. So jump down to the below the list for more.

This was my list and the progress:
~~Participate in at least at least 2 mini-challenges~~
~~Visit at least 5 participating blogs~~
~~Join at least one Twitter chat~~
~~Update reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and B&N~~ This hadn't been done since March of last year!
Write/Proofread Reviews - Completed 6/12 of these
~~Download and organize review requests~~
Update/Reorganize Pages
Update About Us Section on blog, and sites connected to blog
~~Figure out whether bloglovin is a fit~~
Brainstorm new Thursday meme
Start image maps for Challenges
~~Respond to comments~~
Create an April progress post for challenges
Brainstorm/Design business cards*
Brainstorm/Design book marks*
~~Fix bookshelf at home.~~
Update Blog binder

Wait! There's More »

Monday, March 25, 2013

Review: Gossip

Loviah “Lovie” French owns a small, high-end dress shop on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Renowned for her taste, charm, and discretion, Lovie is the one to whom certain women turn when they need “just the thing” for key life events: baptisms and balls, weddings and funerals. Among those who depend on Lovie’s sage advice are her two best friends since boarding school days: Dinah Wainwright and Avis Metcalf. Despite the love they share for their mutual friend, there has always been a chilly gulf between Dinah and Avis, the result of a perceived slight from decades ago that has unimaginably tragic echoes many years later.

An astute chronicler of all that makes us human, Beth Gutcheon delivers her most powerful and emotionally devastating novel to date. Gossip is a tale of intimacy and betrayal, trust and fidelity, friendship and motherhood that explores the way we use “information” — be it true, false, or imagined — to sustain, and occasionally destroy, one another.

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »

Friday, March 22, 2013

First time Bloggiesta (March 2013)

I debated on participating in Bloggiesta but I've always wanted to do it and I really NEED to do it so Bloggiesta it is.

WHAT is Bloggiesta, you ask? Bloggiesta is an event founded by Maw Books Blog and run by It's all About Books and There's a Book, that schedules a Blog Spring cleaning of sorts over a weekend. It's running this weekend, March 22-24.

Now you might wonder WHY you want to spend a whole weekend cleaning up your blog. But I think we all know the answer to that. It feels good for things to no longer hang over our heads. Plus, it things are always more fun when shared. During this event there will be mini-challenges, twitter chats, and other bloggers doing the same thing as you. What more could you ask for? I know, I know. But we can eat ice cream while doing this, so we're all set.

Follow @Bloggiesta and me, @BookReflections

Here's my to-do list.

Wait! There's More »

Review: Fire (Audiobook)

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »

Thursday, March 21, 2013

So Confused...but I'm still on BlogLovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Can someone (anyone!) explain this site that I just signed up for. I know it is silly to sign up for something that you don't understand but I don't mind being silly. You guys know me.

Last gif I promise.

I joined because I wanted to check my feeds. But then they have this following section that tells me I'm following <300 people on blogluvin. Why is that number so low and how did it get there? I just joined today.

Plus I only have like 30 people following me on blogluvin. I just don't know what this means (and why is that number so low)!!

I just want a freakin reader! Somebody FIX ME!

Book Signing with Ruta Sepetys

Many of you know that I LOVED Between Shades of Gray.

When I heard that Ruta Sepetys had a new book out called Out of the Easy, I was intrigued and excited.

Wait! There's More »

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Nerd Girl Emotions (Spoilers Ahead)

Source: caught-in-a-bread-romance.tumblr.com via Kassie on Pinterest

I don't know... the first two might be switched for me.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Review: Graceling (Audiobook)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Length: 12 hours and 31 minutes
Narrator: David Baker, Chelsea Mixon, Zacharay Exton
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn't shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn't seem human....
Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released her from her spell.
Cocky, she thought. Cocky and arrogant, this one, and that was all there was to make of him. Whatever game he was playing, if he expected her to join him he would be disappointed.

In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.
When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.
She never expects to become Po's friend.
She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Lots of Giveaway Results!

RESULTS ARE IN!!

I've got lots of Giveaway announcements to make!

Congratulations to Carrie from In the Hammock Book Reviews She won a copy of Witness to Fitness.

Carl S. won a copy of A Land More Kind Than Home

Lisa G. won a copy of The House Girl.

Kirsten! won the Black History Month Giveaway Hop and may choose a book of her choice.

Thank you everyone who entered my giveaways : )

The winners will have 48 hours to respond with their address]. If there is no response, I will choose a new winner. Thank you everyone for entering the giveaways. The winner was selected by Rafflecopter.

Didn't win this time? No worries, there will be plenty more to come.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Review: The Tale of Lucia Grandi

When an old woman is asked to tell the story of her life, she tells is an intense and poignant tale about growing up in and surviving an irrational, warring suburban family during the 1950s and 60s. The narrative is told from Lucia’s perspective as the second child where she and her siblings are caught in the middle of a lifelong war between her mother, Ruth, an overbearing, unhappy homemaker, and her father, Leonard, a manipulative, sometimes violent New York City cop. Lucia is the silent, thoughtful eyewitness to her parents’ constant and sometimes life-threatening battle.

The story is told as a memoir; each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and her siblings. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman, she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.

This timeless story of one woman’s courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it is powerfully and poignantly told

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »

Monday, March 11, 2013

Review: Children of Liberty

At the turn of the century and the dawning of the modern world, Gina from Belpasso comes to Boston's Freedom Docks to find a new and better life, and meets Harry Barrington, who is searching for his. The fates of the Barringtons and Attavianos become entwined, on a collision course between the old and the new, between what is expected and what is desired, what is chosen and what is bestowed, what is given and what is taken away. As America races headlong into the future, much will be lost and much will be gained for Gina and Harry, whose ill-fated love story will break your heart.

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Memorable Couples

Source: myspace.com via Rick Karre on Pinterest

She might annoy the heck out of you but this is one memorable couple. What other couples do you find memorable?

Hmmm... I'm going to ask the Hubby why he doesn't kiss me like this. I'm not sure I want to hear his answer.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Guest Review and Giveaway Extension

Witness to Fitness by Donna Richardson Joyner
Genre: Fitness | Nonfiction | Health
Pages: 304 pages
Source: TLC Book Tour
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N

From Amazon:

A 28-day program to help you lose weight while you nourish both your body and your soul.

In Witness to Fitness, Donna Richardson Joyner brings together faith, food, and fitness in a way no one else has done before. She inspires the reader to follow her on a journey, strengthening mind, spirit, and body. Her program will help you get the results you are destined for and create lasting change in your life.
Joyner's plan is to inspire you to lose weight and feel and look great. The exercises can be followed by anyone at any fitness level.

I reviewed this lovely book a few weeks ago but I have my wonderful (and beautiful) aunt here today to tell you about her experience with this book. You can find my thoughts here. For now, let's hear from my guest. Let's call her TJoy :)

Wait! There's More »

Monday, March 4, 2013

Review: The Comfort of Lies

“Happiness at someone else’s expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she’d waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved.”
Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

My Rating:

My Review:

Wait! There's More »