Teaser Tuesday - June 30

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!

Charlie ordered a dessert wine and the entire dessert menu: zuccotto, pralines and milk, chocolate mousse, Lanai bananas carmelized by the waiter at the tble. The delicious fragrance of burnt sugar made him hungry all over again. He looked at the girl, and she was a girl now, sweet and vulnerable and available to him.

Four thousand dollars had been well spent, even if he stopped right now.

But he didn't.

From Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro which I should finish in a little while - it's a wild ride.

Winner - The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas

The Winner of the copy of The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas (review here) is:

Jess!

Congrats Jess - I have emailed the winner and will get her address to Miriam Parker with Hachette who so kindly offered this giveaway so I could keep my copy of this outstanding book!

What Are You Reading Monday - June 29th

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see J.Kaye's Book Blog and join in!

Books Completed Last Week:

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Nobody Does It Better by Cecily Von Ziegesar - Review

A good reading week but not very productive - something about neurosurgery takes a lot of reading time away - but now that I'm recovering I plan to make up some of that time!

Reading Now:
Gifts of War by MacKenzie Ford - received as an ARC - this is wonderful and I should finish today.
Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb - my current mp3 player audiobook
Uglies by Scott Westerfield - my current computer audiobook
All That Glitters by Nicole O'Dell - a young adult "interactive" book from Barbour Publishing

Next:
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin - I have heard wonderful things about htis
I Apologize by Bradley Booth - this looks like a tearjerker and I can't wait to read it
Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro - book from Miriam Parker - see my giveaway here.

Summary -
2 books read last week. Did several reviews and posted my first author interview and a new contest - pretty good for only a partial week!

Mailbox Monday - June 29th

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. To see this weeks list of participants go to The Printed Page.

I didn't think I would be here this week to make this post on Marcia's blog, but I'm here - I underwent neurosurgery on Friday at Duke University Hospital and was able to come home yesterday! What a wonderful blessing and that is a wonderful hospital full of caring nurses, doctors and staff.

I'm now into recovery time, which allows more blogging, reading blog and just general reading time over the next few weeks.

ARCs of:

undiscovered gyrl by Allison Burnett - pub date: August 11, 2009 - Vintage Paperback

Only on the internet can you have so many friends and be so lonely.
Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt is taking a year off before college to find her passion. Ambitious in her own way, Katie intends to do more than just smoke weed with her boyfriend, Rory, and work at the bookstore. She plans to seduce Dan, a thirty-two-year-old film professor.

Katie chronicles her adventures in an anonymous blog, telling strangers her innermost desires, shames, and thrills. But when Dan stops taking her calls, when her alcoholic father suffers a terrible fall, and when she finds herself drawn into a dangerous new relationship, Katie's fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.
Sexually frank, often heartbreaking, and bursting with devilish humor, Undiscovered Gyrl is an extraordinarily accomplished novel of identity, voyeurism, and deceit.

Red to Black by Alex Dryden

A spy thriller, a love story and a chilling look at a resurgent superpower...At the dawn of the new millennium, Finn, an MI6 spy, and Anna, a colonel of the KGB, have been sent to spy on each other. Instead they find a love that becomes to only truth they can trust. A source deep within the Kremlin tells Finn of a plan, hatched in the depths of the Cold War, to dismantle the edifice of the communist state and to bring about the rise of a new imperium within Russia: a plan to control the whole of Europe. Finn's masters in London are blinded by the new wealth pouring out of Russia and he must leave the Service and work in secrecy to uncover the deadly threat it poses to the freedom of every one of us.

Books for Review:

Confessions of a Trauma Junkie: My Life as a Nurse Paramedic by Sherry Jones Mayo RN, EMTP, NCCM - received this from the author. This looks very interesting and I can't wait to read it.

Share the innermost feelings of emergency services workers as they encounter trauma, tragedy, redemption, and even a little humor. Sherry Jones Mayo has been an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergerncy Room Nurse, and an on-scene critical incident debriefer for Hurricane Katrina. Most people who have observed or experienced physical, mental or emotional crisis have single perspectives. This book allows readers to stand on both sides of the gurney; it details a progression from innocence to enlightened caregiver to burnout, glimpsing into each stage personally and professionally.

Giveaway Wins:

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins - I won this audiobook on CD from Mari at MariReads

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same. Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act- suicide. Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade. Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills. And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself. In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

From Booksfree I received:

Nothing Can Keep Us Together (Gossip Girl #8) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Wicked Burn by Beth Kery

And from Paperbackswap I received:
Some more sewing books and another herb book

Another wonderful week - now to read all of this while I'm in recovery for the next few weeks.

Review: Nobody Does It Better - Gossip Girl #7

Nobody Does It Better by Cecily Von Ziegesar






rating: 4.0/5.0






From Amazon.com:

The uptown girls are headed downtown as Serena and Jenny take on their new fabulous roles as rock-star model girlfriends of New York's hottest band, The Raves. Meanwhile, Dan is too busy drowning his sorrows in empty bottles to notice a mysterious French beauty who has a penchant for dirty, Jim Morrison-wannabe lead singers. Blair takes residence at the Plaza to think about her future. Will she become a gun-toting international spy or Manhattan's snobbiest society hostess? Decisions are so difficult! Sounds like everyone needs a day off at the spa. And Senior Spa Day promises to serve up further doses of scandal for New York's busiest private-school vixens.

Lots is going on in this one as we draw nearer and nearer to graduation of those who we have gotten to know in the first 6 books of the Gossip Girl series. There is Blair, Serena, Nate, Chuck, Jenny, Dan, and Vanessa who take on the starring roles and new and unusual side characters introduced. This book features The Raves lead guitarist as Serena rumored boyfriend and it also finds both Jenny and Serena modeling together.

There is the usual drama with Blair who is back with Nate again. And it all ends with Senior Spa Weekend which branches off of Senior Skip Day and while it's supposed to be all girl - you know the boys are going to be there.

I really enjoyed this installment, better than I have the last few. Things have picked up and mainly feature those who are dear to us. College decisions have been made and most of the seniors are now just kicking back. But for those that aren't in yet, they go to some interesting extremes as usual.

If you like this series, then keep it up - this is a fun book. If you are just getting started on the series, hang on tight - it's a wild ride.

Binding: Trade paperback
On-sale Date: May 2005
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 256

Buy Nobody Does it Better at IndieBound
Buy Nobody Does it Better at Amazon.com

Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

Wake by Lisa McMann





rating: 4.0/5.0











From the back of the book:

Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

This is a very interesting young adult read. It moves very fast. Since the paranormal only involves dreams, it doesn't take much setup for this book and that makes it easy to get right into the story. I liked getting to know Janie and watching her grow in her ability. I also liked her interaction with her best friend and neighbor Carrie and of course the snobby girl that inhabits all high schools, Melinda. I found Janie's mom sad, but she only plays a minor role (and that in itself is sad). I really like Cabel, though he was shrouded in mystery a lot of the book. The dreams that Janie is sucked into can be anything from amusing (the typical naked in front of a class) to terrifying.

I didn't find the book predictable at all - it kept taking me by surprise and I really enjoyed reading it. I am looking forward to learning more about Janie and Cabel and the other adventures they are in in Lisa McMann's next book in the series, Fade which came out in February.

I think this is a good, easy-to-read series for young adults and older adults alike.


Binding: Trade paperback
On-sale Date: December 23, 2008
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 224

Buy Wake at IndieBound
Buy Wake at Amazon.com

Review and Giveaway: The Texas Billionaire's Bride by Crystal Green

The Texas Billionaire's Bride by Crystal Green

Genre: Romance (Silhouette Special Edition)
Series: The Foleys and The McCords (book 1)










Rating: 4.5/5.0




Melanie Grandy grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. She worked her way through school and has made a name for herself as a nanny. Now she is given the opportunity to become a nanny to Olivia Foley, the only daughter of Texas businessman Zane Foley. The is the opportunity of a lifetime for her. Olivia seems to go through nannies rather quickly, so this is a great proving ground for Melanie. It is also a perk to the job that Zane Foley is very handsome, a fact that Melanie is well aware of.

Zane is a quiet man. He conducts his business and stays out of the public eye. His daughter Olivia needs a new nanny and Melanie is well-qualified for the job. He also likes her spunk and hopes that she will be the one that finally stays with his daughter. He worries about his daughter and wants the best for her. He is also attracted to Melanie, but as her boss and also for himself he will not act on that attraction.

But not all is as seems for either Melanie or Zane. Melanie quickly learns of problems in the family, she wants to fix them for Olivia's sake and she just can't help her attraction to Zane. Her spunk is what quickly lands her in his sight and around him frequently. And when Melanie and Zane are around each other sparks start to fly.

I enjoyed watching the relationship of Melanie and Zane develop. They both felt the attraction but did not feel right to act on it (the employer/employee angle plus other secrets that they both have). The makeover scene is wonderful and Olivia fits into everything perfectly. Seeing the faults of both Zane and Melanie endear them as characters to you. I really felt them, their emotions, as I read about them. They came to life for me. I think almost everyone can identify in some way with Melanie. She's the woman most women want to be - strong, yet feminine and when she sets her mind to something she will do everything she can to get it. Yet she has insecurities too. All this deep layering of emotions make the book very real and enjoyable.

This is the first in The Foleys and The McCords series and it sort of sets the stage between the two families, why there is a rivalry and why the rivalry is coming back into play after years of a kind of truce. You learn about the Magdalena Diamond which figures prominently in the arcing storyline of the series. All of this not only makes The Texas Billionaire's Bride a very interesting book, but also piques your interest in continuing the series. Not only that but I would like to see a little more of Zane and Melanie later on and learn more about the family members introduced in The Texas Billionaire's Bride.

In short, this is a book you should run out and grab then sit in the sunshine for the summer afternoon and get to know Zane and Melanie. Watch them fall in love and just enjoy. (That is what I did).

Thank you Crystal Green for sending me this wonderful book.

Publisher: Silhouette
Release Date: July 2009
Pages: 210
Format: paperback

Buy The Texas Billionaire's Bride at eHarlequin.com
Buy The Texas Billionaire's Bride at Amazon.com

For the giveaway - the author Crystal Green has graciously offered to send out a copy of The Texas Billionaire's Bride (Book 1 in The Foleys and The McCords) to one lucky commenter on this blog. Thank you Crystal for offering this giveaway!

Contest will run through Friday July 10th at midnight and I'll draw the winner and post by Monday the 13th. Giveaway is open only to the U.S. and Canada. For entries:

1. Leave a comment (and make sure I have a way to contact you)
2. Become a follower or if you are already a follower let me know (for an additional entry)
3. Follow me on twitter (see sidebar for link or I am cfulcher)
   
4. Twitter about the contest (use @cfulcher so I will see it) and let me know about it (for an additional entry)
5. Blog about the contest, sidebar mentions are fine (for an additional entry)
6. Tell me if you have read any Crystal Green/Chris Marie Green books before and what they were.

So there are 6 ways to enter! Good luck.