girft card giveaway

http://the-cheap.net/2011/11/06/win-a-100-barnes-and-noble-e-gift-card-in-our-thanksgiving-thank-you-giveaway/#comment-2780

this a great opportunity and i hope i win as do many others. i love barnes and noble and i could certainly buy a lot of ebooks so i guess i will just have to crioss my fingers and hope i win

Best books: Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) by Leanna Renee ...

Best books: Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) by Leanna Renee ...: Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) by Leanna Renee Hieber The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll...

i so want to win wish me luck

All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

summary:
One Happily-Ever-After Rocking Chair… — and no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol' Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company's new Miss Perfect. If that isn't bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a three-oh birthday bash in the family funeral home.

Bad goes to worse when she stirs up a crazy relationship with the town's not so warm and fuzzy veterinarian, Ian McFarland, in order to flag Mark's attention. So Ian is more comfortable with animals…. So he's formal, orderly and just a bit tense. The ever-friendly, fun-loving and spontaneous Callie decides it's time for Ian to get a personality makeover. But dang, if he doesn't shock the heck out of her, she might actually fall for Vermont's unlikeliest eligible bachelor….


Review: 
All I ever Wanted is another great turnout for Kristan higgins. a lot people seem to complain about the first person POV but i like it in her books. Her books might be considered fluff or easy reads but i love them and would gladly reread . 
I love Callie. she is strong and independent and although she has basically been in love with her boss from birth.  They had a kiss at a party when she was a teenager and him a few years older but he never really noticed her after that . She goes away to college and comes back to her home town and Mark starts a firm and hires Callie. It was just what the place needed as in their neck of the woods jobs were slim pickings. She works with Mark and they become really good friends . she falls more in love with him as the days pass. They experience a traumatic event on the way to an awards ceremony and end up having an affair that ends short when he tells callie he isn't in the point of his life where he can have a steady relationship. Stupid her when he said they needed to talk she thought he was going to propose, if that isn't a knife through the heart i dont know what is. 
The company takes on a new client and unknown to her Mark starts dating the daughter of said client, which becomes awkward because she has been waiting for Mark all these months. In an effort to get Mark off her mind she joins an internet dating site and has a few dates that go horribly wrong. She then turns to Ian McFarland, the new town vet who is reluctant at first since he has been burned in the past.


Ian is a great guy who has had some back luck and unfortunate things happen to him in his life.
He dated his ex-wife all through college and they got married a few years later. The relationship was great in his opinion but he found out something none of the friends or family knew when he came home early. He caught  his wife in bed, not with a man but with another woman her childhood best friend. This was a shock to say the least and he is still trying to get past it. He moved away from the ex and the town they lived in to a small town in Nh where he had spent one summer with his uncle before he died. small town with a great community. 
He avoids Callie at first since all the single women into seem to be chasing him, hers is not deliberate .  they just keep running into each other and end up spending time together.


He gets an invite to the wedding of his ex and her fiance and to say it is awkward is putting it mildly. They goes as friends though Callie seems to want more and he doesn't not like her put is still shadowed by his past and is reluctant.They finally click soon after and enjoy each others company and they are both falling fast. 
Ian still has some walls she has yet to break through and Callie is unsure if she is over Mark . 
She buts in where he tells her is unwarranted and he doesn't trust her feelings for him because of her past relationship from her boss. When Mark finally comes calling , she is no longer interested. What she feels for Mark is nothing compared what she and Ian have. And to think she spent all these years chasing Mark and Ian is ALL SHE EVER WANTED....

doctor in the house by Marie Ferrarella

summary:
Ivan Munro wanted to be feared, not loved... — But Bailey DelMonico, his new intern, is determined to prove she isn't afraid of him?and more. In her own way, Bailey is as brilliant as Ivan?and people like her. Having realized she wanted to be a surgeon after several failed life experiences, she deftly absorbs a barrage of criticism from Munro without ever losing faith in her dreams. Or her conviction to show Ivan that no life is set in stone...

But the more Munro fights against his intern's charm, the more cracks appear in his abrasive facade. Bailey soon sees that contrary to hospital gossip, Ivan has anything but a scalpel for a heart. Ever the optimist and always persistent, can Bailey now show Ivan that it's never too late to change?or fall in love?  


Review:
Ivan is most feared among his colleagues. They scatter when he enters a room and do whatever they can to avoid him. He is to the point where the chief of staff is forced to have him train a resident in hopes of him learning some humility. They have always been resistant to giving him residents in the past because the lack of heart he appears to possess. Which in reality he has one it has just been locked down since he was a teenager and his best friend committed suicide. He blames himself and if a neurosurgeon had been around he might have been able to save his friend. The only person who truly cared about him. His parents were alcoholics and his brother was ten years his senior and they had little in common. The Chief of staff thinks that if anyone can change Ivan it is Bailey. 


Bailey is the daughter of missionaries and perseverance is her middle name. Ivan does not intimidate her. She can tell immediately that he has just constructed a shield around himself to prevent himself from being hurt. She learned this in one of the many areas her parents traveled too on her journey with them in the countries they visited. She loves her parents but she does not want what they do. she does not wanted to travel into impoverished areas where there is no running water or even the most basic amenities. She chose to be a doctor and went through school a lot faster than most. She is attracted to Ivan from the get go and is continually fighting it. She knows Ivan feels it too.


Ivan does not know what to do with bailey. She is one of the most talented surgeons he has come across in a long time but she compromises his composure. Her disposition is the complete opposite of his and he can not help but smile when he is around her. he can't let her get to close though because then he would lose his control and have the possibility of getting hurt. why would a man like him deserve an angel like Bailey?


She does not see Ivan as everyone else does. He comes off as abrasive but that is just the way he talks . 
Ivan is strong and caring . He hurts deeply when he loses a patient though he does not let anyone else see it. That is one of the many reason why he has trouble relating to his patients. Why he avoids them at all costs. He has trouble dealing with emotions but bailey can help him. She has managed to get under his skin and make him genuinely care for her.


If anyone can change Ivan Bailey can ....

mystical warrior by janet chapman 3rd book in midnight bay series

Summary:

An eleventh-century lass with a stubborn streak unleashes the red-hot hero inside her modern lover in bestselling author Janet Chapman’s irresistible new Midnight Bay adventure.
Trace Huntsman’s peaceful life has headed to hell in a hand-basket ever since stunningly beautiful Fiona Gregor moved into the vacant apartment above his house. Kidnapped centuries earlier and transformed into a red-tail hawk, Fiona is human once more and must learn how to be a modern woman. But damned if Trace is going to be the one to teach her. Not when her mere presence ignites a fiery passion deep within his cautious heart.

Fiona longs to overcome the painful memories of her tragic past—to let down her guard and become a mother again. But so far her handsome landlord is not exactly thrilled with the stray animals—and suitors—that keep following her home. When the wizard Maximilian Oceanus shows up, Trace reaches the end of his rope. Weird things happen when Mac is around—raging storms, snarling demons—but this time, Midnight Bay is at the center of a fierce battle, and Fiona is the primary target. Only Trace can save her, but first, the lovers must set aside their fears . . . and open up their hearts..

Review: Janet chapman is one of the few time travel romance authors that are able to weave together a believable story. I love all her books and have read and own all her books published to date. 

I love Trace and Fiona . She is new to the century and comes across as docile and weak at first but she is anything but. She has the heart of a warrior and is fiercely independent. She is a true mother. nurturing and domestic. She organizes trace's shed for him which results in him knocking a compressor on himself. As result he is laid up for a few days and can not work. so Fiona takes care of him. his whole house is a pig sty so she cleans it. Trace would have never known that the kitchen was white . He thought it was the tan color it was in when he bought. You would think Trace was a slob until you found where he concentrated all his time and effort on. The room in the tunnels is plated in steel and lined with surveillance equipment so he can monitor the place when under attack by the souls searching for Kenzie.

Fiona wants to be a mother more than anything but husbands seem to be more trouble then are worth after watch Matt and winter and Kenzie and Eve. To her they seem to all bow to the men but that's not the case, that's just how it appears to make the men think they have won. Fiona is unaware of this so she wants to go about and have a baby with no husband as in this day and age they are unnecessary in some cases with IVF. She takes a job watching a man from towns children he starts making advances towards her and Trace puts a stop to that because he is no good , with or without the children he is still a cad.

Day by day they get to known each other while still allowing space. Trace allows her to clean for him and Fiona learns what she can and cannot touch and turning his home into a small farm with all the animals she has been bringing home.

Then when Max's father kidnapped Fiona as a wife for his son, Trace saves her and claims her as his. 

They care deeply for one another and though they are not married yet they are living together in harmony.

Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey

Summary:

Sean Kowalski no sooner leaves the army than he's recruited by Emma Shaw to be her fake fiancé. Emma needs to produce a husband-to-be for her grandmother's upcoming visit, and, though Sean doesn't like the deception, he could use the landscaping job Emma's offering while he decides what to do with his civilian life. And, despite his attraction to Emma, there's no chance he'll fall for a woman with deep roots in a town he's not planning to call home.

Emma's not interested in a real relationship either; not with a man whose idea of home is wherever he drops his duffel bag. No matter how amazing his "pretend" kisses are...

Review:

Shannon Stacey is a newly discovered author of mine and is quickly becoming a favorite. She is the cousin of my best friend and I love all her books. She is one of the few romance authors that I know of that can captivate her readers from the instant you pick up the book. only problem is she does not have a lot of books published and I am quickly running out of books to read. 
Yours to Keep is the the third book is the Kowalski saga. The first book Exclusively yours, dealt with Sean's cousins' Joe and his ex Keri who thankfully got back together. They were destined for one another in my book . In the second book, Undeniably Yours, Joe's brother Kevin and Beth get together and have a one night stand ending in a baby. The Kowalski's are always having one adventure after another with a barrel of laughs thrown into the mix and Yours to Keep is no exception.


This book had a great story and was a page turner. I just did not want to put the book down and was sad when is came to end . Now just for the wait for the next book. I feel in love with Sean and Emma. She had a few quirks about her. She had a habit of going on a serious cleaning binge when she was worried or stressed. So much as to taking out a tooth brush to clean. I don't know many people who will willingly clean with a tooth brush. Seas is just trying to find himself after being in the Army for so long he is not sure what he wants to do in the meantime. He is shocked to say the least when Emma arrives on the door step telling him He is her fake Fiance and she wants him to live with her while her grandmother visits as she has told her they were engaged . She had told her she was engaged so she would not worry about her taking care of herself and the big house while she was down living in Florida  as she had recently moved down there. 
Sean thinks she has gone off the deep end at first but he agrees in the end. Upon arrival her grandmother knows instantly that they have not been living together or being intimate. People who have been intimate with one another have a way about them and are not jumpy at the slightest touch, which is how Emma reacts to Sean . Her grandmother gets the story from Sean's aunt Mary at welcome barbecue and they plan to make the two fall in love. The plan works and they both love each other without a shadow of a doubt but when it comes time for Sean to leave as was expected Emma does not stop him and they are both hurting. Thankfully they both have sense and get back together with a big push from Sean. 


This book I would highly recommend to anyone even if you are not a big romance reader i think anyone would enjoy it.

rereads

i also re-read the last 4 in the the stephanie plum series but Janet Evanovich as a refresher to the next that had come out recently. that definitely left a cliff hanger and cant wait for the next book.

clarity by kim harrington

summary:

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch an object and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case — but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother — who has supernatural gifts of his own — becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most??her 

Review: I am fairly new to the young adult genre but I am learning to love it. They have great stories without all the sexual /sensual interest of the mainstream adult novels. 

This book is a definite winner. I was hooked after the first paragraph and did not want to put it down. unfortunately it ended all too soon for my liking and another long wait for the next book in the series. The wait it always worth based on recent evens and i hope the next one is as good as this one.

There is a series of murders happening and the only person initially connected to them is her brother, Perry. He was the last person reported to see the victim, victoria"vicki", alive. He is somewhat of a heartbreaker. Sleeping with various women with no care for their feelings. They live in a tourist town and chooses to sleep with them rather than the townies to avoid any possible entanglements. He had a prior experience go bad that resulted in his sister breaking up with her boyfriend. Turns out that the townie that he slept with,tiffany, targeted her boyfriend as retribution for rejecting her after he slept with her. She wanted more and he did not. Seeing Justin as a pawn was the only way she could hurt him as she knew how much he cared for his sister. 

The family is close knit as they all have their special gifts. Their mother is telepathic, Clarity "clare" is psychic and Perry is a medium. alot of people find them to be weird or consider them frauds but the mayor son's, justin, clare's ex, is the only person who valued her "gifts" and did not condem her for them. He truly loves her i believe but one night at a party where they were serving beer and he cheated on her. He did not realize it until the next morning when he woke up naked in someone's basement with a girl next to him. unfortunately Clare's gift allowed her to find out before he could explain and he has been apologizing and waiting for her ever since.

Gabriel is the new detectives son. They left new york and came here after his father was fired for using more force than necessary. He accidentally killed a man but they did not see it as how the situation really was, they could only go based on the evidence they had and it unfortauntely pointed against his father. 

Gabriel is suppose to work with Clare and Justin to find the murdered using her talents and his means as clearance through the investigation. He is prejudiced against her though because his mother had used psychics as a means in hoping of finding his sister when she was kidnapped as a young child. She had spent a lot of money on a lot of people who turned out to be frauds and scam artists. He tries to keep Clare as arms length but he is soon having feelings for her that he is having trouble fighting and does not want to fight them anymore. 

Clare returns his affections but she is still not over Justin and deeply cares for him. Can she gets past what happened between him and Tiffany? or must she let go and move on?

I like Gabriel and all but i want her and Justin to get back together.

As the investigations continues more bodies start to pile up. Three deaths that seem connected but do not seem to make any logical sense. What motive does the killer have? how are the deaths connected?

This book had me on the edge until it ended and I never guessed who the killer was. though the first was different than the other 2, although they were both related to each other.

overall i give this 4.5 stars and i just want to read it again so i can relive the story.

his hometown girl by jillian hart

summary: WORSHIP FROM AFAR Small-town mechanic Zachary Drake had no illusions about his longtime friendship with winsome, wholesome Karen McKaslin -- even after she called off her wedding to the local pastor. Zach simply intended to lend a grease-stained hand and a sympathetic ear to a pal in need, and keep his secret longing to himself . . . Having narrowly escaped a loveless marriage, Karen was counting her blessings. Now she could transform herself into a woman worthy of being loved for all eternity. She never dreamed Mr. Right was waiting for her on the wrong side of the tracks, praying she'd see in his eyes what he didn't dare say

Review:  Karen is still suffering from the loss of her sister. They were like best friends more than sisters. She died in a plan crash and it still hurts liek nothing she could have imagined. They opened a coffee shop together and her fiance wanted her to sell it so she could go traveling with him as a preacher's wife. Little did she know that jay did not love her but found her comfortable and reliable. She wanted a marriage built on love not because she was reliable. She broke off the engagement as a result and no one knows the true reason why it ended , so the townspeople do not understand her reason for the change in heart. Little does she know but the town mechanic, Zachary Drake , has always carried a torch for her and know maybe his chance now that jay is out of the picture.

Zachary drake has always loved her from afar, never thinking that his chance would come for him to be able to love her for real and for them to have a chance. Karen is the best person he knows. He genuinely cares for her but many still see him as the Drake boy, tagged for trouble for the one time he was caught stealing . He stole for the purpose to feed his baby sister since his mother was a drunk and was never home to provide for them . He did whatever he could but it was not always enough. He is from the outside of town living in a run down home, holding down two jobs so he could care for his siblings and give them a better life. 

They start off as friends but Zack wants more and Karen is reluctant to fall in love again so soon and it not be returned  but holding Zack's hand is like a shock to the system. She never had that with jay, he was comfortable but his touch was lukewarm. It did not set her on fire as Zack's does. The more time they spend together as "friends" the more she realizes she wants more from this man. She does not care who he used to be or where he comes from . She loves the man he is today without fault. 

Zack loves her but pushes her away when his drunk of a mother comes back to town after being away for ten years. He is embarrassed and finds her too good for her so for the sake of hurting her and breaks his into thousands of irreparable pieces.Then is is in the hospital from being in accident where he saved a young boy's life with no thought to his own. 

Karen does not give up on him she keeps pushing until she cant no more . She leaves hoping to find peace with this and get past it. she guesses she was wrong in thinking that he really did love her.

Zack finally gets pasts the roadblocks he set for him self and has to won Karen back but will she say yes after all that he has done to push her away?

heaven sent by jillian hart

summary: Matthew Sheridan was the answer to her prayer... At least, to the one Hope Ashton had offered when she found herself stranded alone on a blustery Montana night. Contrary to her matchmaking Nanna's belief, Hope didn't long to land a husband--and her old pal wasn't looking for a wife. But that didn't stop Hope from secretly wondering what if...? — What could a widowed country cowboy possibly have in common with a millionaire's sophisticated daughter? Absolutely nothing--save the desire to stay single. But Matthew was a lonely, red-blooded man. He was also proud papa to a determined trio of toddlers who yearned for a mommy--and they'd set their sights on Hope..


Review: I always love the love inspired series. Jillian Hart is one of my favorites i usually tend to go for the cowboy themed stories but her mckaslin clan just always draws me in and this story is no exception. this is the 3rd book by her i have read. first i read blind-date bride which is the most recent in the series and i have been hooked ever since.


Hope Ashton has a brick wall built around her heart and fears it crumbling. She has very little faith in true love and the happiness it can bring . She has not had very many positive examples of love. Her own parents marriage and following divorce was a disaster and The man she thought she loved when she finally opened up turned into a completely different person once they were engaged. Extremely controlling. not the type of man she wants to marry.  Her love for her grandmother and the only home she has ever known resides in small town america Montana. When she comes home to montana to care for her grandmother after an injury matchmaking is the last thing on her list. She has closed herself off from a life of family because of the previous road blocks placed in her path. Her grandmother and her friends have other ideas though . To set her and widower matthew sheridan up together. He also has 3 small children who are his world. 


Matthew has had his share of heartbreak. He loved kathy with all his heart but as of late she is starting to become a distant memory and he is not sure how he feels about that. He used to be able to recall her voice, look and scent but not so much anymore. The boys lost their mother when they were young, she died in a plan crash along with several other people in town. Since then he has been on his own with only his mother to help him. He has not found a spark with anyone else since kathy, that is until Hope Ashton. 


She went to school with him the year her parents were getting divorced but the girl he went to school with and the woman she is today could not be any more different if they tried. The home he remembered was sheltered and came across as a snob and cold-hearted and the woman she is today is anything but that. She is warm and caring leaving her lucrative job to come personally care for a grandmother when anyone else would have just have hired personal care and be done with it. 


She is attracted to Mathew from the start but tries to bush it off because she is afraid that if she falls for him he may not return it or they could have a relationship like her parents , where all it brings is heartbreak and pain. She wants to be a mother and have a family of her own, but at what expense?


The triplets need a mother and he can not continue to get housekeepers and rely on his mother to care for his children. The boys fell in love with Hope and were always asking for her. Maybe it is time to put his heart on the line and pray things work out for the best. For nothing ventured nothing gained.


This is a great story. I always love Jillian harts stories. quick easy reads with a proud story of love and faith . How love can break down the falls and faith can bring you through the toughest of times. i would highly recommend this story to anyone.

shadowfever by karen marie moning

Summary:
Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.” — MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. — Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals that have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief, while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh -- a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King that contains the power to create and destroy worlds.In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac, and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman that haunts her dreams? More importantly, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse, to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover, to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and make a choice that will either save the world … or destroy it


Review: This book had an amazing conclusion. After reading them all so close together i was trying to fathom how this book could possibly end and all the questions answered. Though not all the questions were answered some of the important ones were and now there is buzz that there will be another book after this one. I personally never liked Rowena this leader of the sidhe-seers and was glad that she died. I wish she would have been tortured more after what she did to Alina and mac and Dani as well. Mac learns how her sister actually died and who is responsible. although Dani led her sister into the slaughter she did not actually kill her. Rowena coerced her against her will into doing it. For that alone Rowena should have been terminated. Who has the right to chose who lives and dies.Rowena may have the knowledge but it this day and age she was the weakest link and held all the sidhe-seers back from achieving true greatness.  Alina may have been involved with a fallen fae but their love was true and she was not hurting anyone by being with him. 
Barrons shows how he feels for Mac and everyone learns what V'lane truly is. That was a shocker for me , i never expected for a moment that  cruce would have killed the real v'lane and been impersonating him all these years. He had befriended Mac but she was just a means to an end. when she learned that he was the fourth fae that raped her she was truly appalled and all he had to say was that everyone was was already doing it so why not one more. He gave her a serum that prolonged her life because what the other fae had been doing to her would have killed her if he did not help her. 
Mac was not Alina's true sister as everyone had thought but a extension of the book and it's power. 
Barrons reveals what he truly wants with the book and how it will end both his and his sons  suffering as unlike him he is mostly beast after things he had endured early on. He wants nothing more than to give the child peace and only a spell from the book can do that. We learn that barrons may die but he always comes back so not to worry. This book was wonderful. there was just so much i dont want to give any spoilers but for those who have not read it , it is a definite must read. 

carnal innocence

summary:
New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts provides a potent mix of small-town secrets, scandalous romance, and down-home Southern atmosphere as a young woman searching for some bayou R&R finds herself entangled in a serial killer’s wicked web. —   — Burned out and still reeling from a love affair gone bad, world-class violinist Caroline Waverly goes to her grandparents’ home in Innocence, Mississippi, for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Instead she finds herself overwhelmed all over again?first by Tucker Longstreet, a charming local with a sideline in no-strings-attached relationships, and then by a deadlier, more disturbing development.

For Innocence is being stalked by its very own serial killer, whose brutal knife blows have pierced the veil of tranquillity in this sleepy Southern town and left a trail of mutilated female corpses in their wake. When a federal agent arrives to investigate, the town’s deepest secrets bubble to the surface and suspicion turns on Tucker as the most likely suspect. After Caroline finds the latest murder victim floating in the murky waters behind her house, she too is inexorably drawn into the path of a crazed killer who may be closer than she could have ever imagined. 


Review: I am an avid Nora Roberts fan but this one was not one of my favorites and it was slow to start. It took me until i was almost halfway through the book before i really started to enjoy it. I have an I must always finish the book policy . Most of Nora's books i have given a rating of a 4 or higher but i just could not give this one better that a 3. It was one of her earlier works so that may be a factor but the story just seemed to drag on for a good portion of the book.
Besides the negative aspect i was able to relate with the characters. I was immediately drawn in by Tucker Longstreet, he plays one of the leads and is known around town as a ladies man and every woman pretty much wants to be with him. He is upfront on the fact that he does not want a commitment and when things get too dicey he leaves for greener pastures. He makes everyone think that he does nothing but hang around all day, drive fast cars and pick up women. don't let his easy going attitude fool you because behind the facade he presents is a hard working businessman who just does things in his own time.  He never wanted to have a commitment until Caroline, she does something to him and he tries to fights it but ultimately fails when he falls  and she owns his heart. 
Caroline Waverly, She comes back to Innocence to the only home she has ever know. Though he time spent her was brief as a child it was the one place that made her not feel like an outsider. She was the product of a mother who chose to disown her background and married into wealth. She was named after her paternal side, heaven forbid he mother actally acknowledge the parents that gave birth to her and worked to the bone so she could go to school which she left to marry into love and wealth, leaving her old world behind her. She was a child prodigy violinist , something that never made her happy but  did because she did not want to let her parents down. This became a familiar trend until she finally had a breakdown a few months before coming to innocence. She could no longer but what he parents wanted her to be, her mother was not the warmest of people though her father did make her feel loved. Tucker is the last thing she wants but it happens regardless. He is the first person to want to know Caroline the person not Caroline the child prodigy.


They had a reluctant start. Caroline kept pushing him away because she was not ready for a new relationship and Tucker was determined to have her. She had recently just got out of a relationship when she found her boyfriend cheating on her with one of the other members of the orchestra, he was the conductor .


Three women were found brutally murdered and they all had a connection to tucker but he wouldn't hurt a fly. 
The way the story progressed i always thought the killer was a man with a hatred for women  but i never suspected it to be a woman . There are subtle clues as the story progresses that could have hinted at it being a woman or one woman in particular.

• A man would have over powered the women not knocked them out with a blunt object 
• The killer provided Tucker with an Alibi while given herself one at the same time. 
• Slept with 2 prime people on the case to gather information

Even with the information I still never pegged her but know that i went over the details , it certainly made sense. Which is superior though nature vs nurture. She claimed she was a bad seed because of her fathers DNA and there was something powerful compelling her to kill.  She grew up in a well off family and had everything she could have ever wanted. What creates a serial killer? are they to blame or is it something in their chemistry?
You will never know since the murder committed suicide when she admitted the truth.

the Book Blogger Hop

This is my first time participating. got it from my friend lauren's blog(http://laurenstvtotebookbag.blogspot.com/) and she got it from the original site.I am slowly but surely trying to regularly post on my blog but it is a struggle some days with cleaning the house, work and two kids. i swear it seems like all i do is clean. The plan for next summer is to buy a house. i found a few i love now lets just hope they are still on the market when the time comes. ok so here are this weeks questions for the book blogger hop.

How/Where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?


I love paperbackswap. i used to use it constantly. i use it mainly for wishlist books and hardcovers. i can get a hardcover for roughly 7 dollars where i would get it for almost 35.00 dollars in some case in store. i know the books are not new but are usually is great condition. I also used bookmooch.com. great for books that aren't that popular and they have a great point system. for every 10 books you post you get 1 point. i loved that factor but i closed the account because i really was not using it. maybe i will open another at a later date. now i read mostly ebooks on my nook color. got it in February. i had a nook b and w first edition previously. i use overdrive.com a lot and other sharing sites. i love the nook friends so you can borrow other nook owners books. gotta love bn.coms free book fridays. i have gotten tons of books through them . bn.com also has plenty of free books in their database. also love the feature where you can get a free sample if you are unsure whether you want to buy or not.

my one and only by kristan higgins

Summary: Divorce attorney Harper James can't catch a break. Bad enough that she runs into her ex-hubby, Nick, at her sister's destination wedding, but now, by a cruel twist of fate, she's being forced to make a cross-country road trip with him. And her almost-fiancé back at home is not likely to be sympathetic.

Harper can't help that Nick has come blazing back into her life in all of his frustratingly appealing, gorgeous architect glory. But in Nick's eyes, Harper's always been the one. If they can only get it right this time, forever might be waiting—just around the bend.

Review:

I was hooked on this book from the first page but i also knew what to expect since i have read all the others she has published. absolutely loved the ending . Harper is the girl you just want to love. She comes off as abrasive at times because she can be a control freak due to her upbringing and you want to help her even when you know she does not need it. You just want to help because you can .  Her and Nick had a rocky start that resulted in a divorce that should never have happened. They both made wrong choices but he should have been there when she needed him most and she should have been more understanding.  They have both loved each other for more than a decade but Nick had remarried and divorced since which came as a shock . No one was able to have the same chemistry or bond that they shared with each other.  she had not seen him in over a decade though and had to put on a brave face when she ran into him again, her stepsister was marrying his step brother. Talk about small world. When Willa need a job(stepsister), she went to a business that nick just happened to run, talk about coincidences , You can say it was destiny for them to be back together, i think so even though she had a steady bf for 2 1/2 years and when they broke it off after seeing nick she was not heartbroken. If that does not tell you they did not belong together than I don't know what does.

Vampire challenge

better late then never. im participating in the vampire reading challenge this year. goal is to read 20 with a vampire as the lead by dec 31 2011. i have quite a few so far so wish me luck.

these are my numbers so far this year
1. dead until dark by charlaine harris
2.living dead in dallas by charlaine harris
3. club dead by charlaine harris
4. dead to the world by charlaine harris
5. dead as a doornail by charlaine harris
6. definitely dead by charlaine harris
7.all together dead by charlaine harris
8.from dead to worse by charlaine harris
9. dead and gone by charlaine harris
10. dead in the family by charlaine harris
11. this side of the grave by jeanine frost

Fools Rush in by Kristan Higgins

summary:
Since her freshman year in high school, Millie Barnes has been head over heels for Joe Carpenter. A brainy and plain gal, she was all but ignored by Joe, in an adolescence that was filled with angst, unwanted baby fat, and acne. After stalking him for over a decade to find out his likes and dislikes, she's about to return to Cape Cod, and has a plan for landing her man. Coinciding with her return is the divorce of her older sister, who has relocated to New Jersey with her new man, so she consoles her former brother-in-law Sam and his son with meals and tries to set Sam up with her divorced friend. 

Armed with a new body, new job as a physician at the local clinic, new wardrobe, and a funky new hairstyle, Millie does in fact snare her man. But is this Joe the same Joe she's idolized most of her life? As the two begin a relationship, Millie realizes something is missing. Will she follow her heart and attempt a chance withthe man she truly loves? 


review: I have yet to read a book by kristan higgins that i have not fallen in love with . Millie barnes has had a crush on Joe carpenter ever since she was a freshman in high school and he saved her from the other kids on the bus when she threw up. He told them to leave her alone and made sure she was ok. He has been her white knight in shinning armor ever since. She has taken it beyond the usual stages of attraction and into borderline stalking. She knows his schedule and all his likes and dislikes. She decides when she moves back to her hometown after her residency as a doctor that she is going to create a "get hoe plan". she starts running to lose weight and plans her route so he would drive by. After awhile of accidentally on purpose encounters they begin dating. Her wish had finally come true but it is not all it is cracked up to be. The foreplay gets her all hot and bother but the actual act leaves more to the imagination. Very anti-climatic to say the least. Other things ensue and she breaks up with him only to realize that she is in love with her sisters' ex-husband and starts avoiding him, because they are really close and can't bear to tell him. They both end up confessing their love and the his ex-wife walks in on them. Last thing they were expecting and the whole family is in an uproar. Her sister wants her ex back but not really, she just has never been alone and the new flame had just canned her. Sam( the ex husband) tell Trish he does not love her bust loves Millie. They settle their difference and get happily married in the end.


This was a great fluff romance as they call it. I heard plenty of other reviewers call joe carpenter a tool which i found amusing because his slogan was joe carpenter the carpenter. I was rooting for millie the whole way through and had a feeling she only loved sam all along. We then see a softer side of joe and her best friend which would make a great plot for a new book.

catch of the day by kristan higgins

Summary:

Maggie, bighearted, single and devoted to her beloved golden retriever Colonel, lives in the small Maine town of Gideon's Cove, runs a diner and is always willing to whip a huge meal for the church supper, firemen or other cause. Everyone has witnessed her romantic screw-ups and humiliations and her close network of family and friends often compares her to her perfect identical twin with a doctor husband and beautiful baby. This is the kind of town where everyone knows everything about everything you and your family ever did and everyone, especially her mother, can't let Maggie forget that she is still single at 32 and running out of townsmen and men from the not so nearby environs to date. When Maggie meets a seemingly perfect newcomer, she tells one too many people that she's found her soulmate leading to yet another humilation in front of the town when she finds out who he really is. She's so busy fixating on him that she fails to notice an unconventional but great guy that she has overlooked for years. Will Maggie ever find a soulmate? Is that the one man she can't have? Or is it taciturn and surly Malone, a friend of her brother who is so silent and unfriendly the town calls him Maloner the Loner? 

Review: I felt so bad for Maggie. All she wanted was a guy to love her, now is that so wrong? she finally meets a gorgeous guy and what happens?, he ends of being a priest. Talking about the mother of all sins. She goes out on several dates all of the ending in disaster. then she has the unfortunate luck  of being stood up on one of them, when in walks her ex, skip. Malone saves the day by pretending to have been the date. He takes her home and kisses. Boy can that man kiss. she thinks about him constantly and wishes he was a bit more open and talkative. They get together a few times but seems like there is a lack of conversation and more sex. Is he just there for the sex or does he want something more?

This was a great contemporary romance, i have loved all her books that I have read so far . The guy she never would have picked is right under her nose all along. The gentle guy that has troubling talking but is willing to do so for her. the guy who buys her a dog when her beloved colonel dies in his sleep. He was the only one there that seemed to actually care. Everyone seemed to not take his death as seriously because he was a dog. Her parents are getting separated because they can't seem to get along, her twin sister is pregnant again. The only person to this day that was able to tell them apart was her sister's husband and now Malone. What does that say? is it meant to be. I think so..I think this deserves a second book though