Boyfriend of the Week ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

It's that TIME again EYE CANDY FRIDAY and we have Everyday Wena  to thank for it. This week's Hottie is in honor of a Shutter Island. 

So I present to you this week's cutie... Leonardo DiCaprio

Review ~ Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe

TITLE: Kiss at Your Own Risk
AUTHOR: Stephanie Rowe
COPYRIGHT: January 4th 2011
TYPE: Paranormal Romance
PAGES: 384
SERIES: I believe this will be the first in a series

REASON FOR READ: Sourcebook offered it as an ARC and it sounded interesting so I said yes.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):

Trinity Harpswell is a cursed Black Widow-death and mayhem are all part of the job description. If she can manage to go just one more week without accidentally killing someone, she'll break this killer curse and put her Black Widow days behind her. When sexy Blaine Underhill III shows up at her door and asks for her help rescuing his friend from the clutches of Death's evil grandma, Trinity gets pulled into a daring high stakes adventure. As Blaine and Trinity join forces to take down a series of underworld assassins, they may just learn that love is the deadliest game of all.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

Whew this book was hard to follow. The first few pages alone had 7 names with no descriptions in it. Basically Blaine was captured and handed over to a Black Widow who is angry at all men and wants to tame them. She does this by forcing these “warriors” to do women work like cross-stitching ect. Trinity is a Black Widow who kills those she falls in love with due to a curse. However, if she can manage not to kill anyone for one more week the curse will be over.

THINGS I LIKED:

- I liked the romance I thought the characters were matched up well. She was tough enough to handle him but at the same time not so much so I wanted to strangle her. I also thought equally of him.

- I enjoyed that Blaine was man enough to admit that he actually enjoyed certain things like cross stitching.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

- You could definitely tell this was going to be a series solely based on how many men we meet right off the bat. I swear in the first 10 pages there were at least 7 if not more people introduced to us. It was confusing and while I understand it was needed for the escape it still mucked things up for me at first.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing

Would you recommend this book? Yes if you like a light paranormal read with comedy this is the book for you.



Challenges:
Out Do Yourself Challenge

Reviewing Next:
Hundreds of Years to reform a Rake by Laurie Brown

Boyfriend of the Week ~ Brendan Hines

It's that TIME again EYE CANDY FRIDAY and we have Everyday Wena to thank for it. This week's Hottie is in honor of a newly forming addiction to the show Lie to Me. Yeah I know I need another TV show like I need a hole in my head but what can you do?

So I present to you this week's cutie..... Brendan Hines

Review ~ The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham

Title: The Queen of Last Hopes

AUTHOR: Susan Higginbotham
COPYRIGHT: 1/1/2011
TYPE: historical fiction/romance
PAGES: 400
SERIES: No

REASON FOR READ: Was offered by Sourcebook as an ARC and sounded interested so I asked for it.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
It would be called the Wars of the Roses, but it all began with one woman's fury...


Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England, cannot give up on her husband-even when he goes insane. And as mother to the House of Lancaster's last hope, she cannot give up on her son-even when all England turns against him. This gripping tale of a queen is at its heart a tender tale of love: passionate, for her husband, and motherly, for her only son.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

Wow, just wow this book completely blew me away. I was mesmerized from the begging and found putting it down was very hard. This book reminds me a lot of why I enjoy historical novels. You get the history, the people, the way they live, but you also get the what were they thinking. In this one book I began to understand what one woman might have faced during this time when her king went mad and the country turned against them. Do I think this is what Margaret of Anjou was thinking? Who knows what I do know is that I loved this book.

I loved watching a young girl grow into a woman then slowly turn into the Queen the British hated. I enjoyed watching how she stuck by her king’s side even when he went mad and the country turned against her. I loved watching her strength as she did everything she thought was right to fight her for son’s rightful place as king. I also enjoyed the fact that she did fault and slip. That she made fatal mistakes that cost lives and even though she could have shrugged her shoulders and moved on. She didn’t in this book she grieved for every lost life. I have no idea what this Queen was like in real life but the way she was portrayed by Ms. Higginbotham makes me hope that this is what she was thinking and doing.

There are not a lot of things in here that I disliked the main thing that was hard for me was switching from different people. Alison Weir does this back and forth to show us different perspectives of what people were thinking and at times I find this hard to follow. Other than that I thought this book was lovely and well written. I will be picking up the back list for this author!

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Oh this will be one I am keeping I loved the writing and the historical accuracy. I really, really enjoyed this book. She reminds me of Allison Weir’s fiction stories.

Would you recommend this book? Yes I think it was very well written you could find yourself sympathizing with Margret. I am also going out to purchase Ms. Higginbotham’s backlist I enjoyed this one so much!

Challenges:

Out do Yourself

Reviewing Next:

Kiss at your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe

Review ~ I Dream of Genies by Judi Fennell

TITLE: I Dream of Genies

AUTHOR: Judi Fennell
COPYRIGHT: 1/1/2011
TYPE: fantasy romance
PAGES: 416
SERIES: I do not believe so

REASON FOR READ: Was offered by Sourcebook as an ARC and sounded interested so I asked for it.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Having a 2,000 year old magic genie fall right into your lap should be a good thing. At least, that's what down-on-his luck Matt Ewing thought. But Eden is no subservient fairy tale genie. Beautiful and independent, Eden isn't so keen on having to answer to yet another master. Then, after centuries of being alone, and against her better judgment, Eden suddenly finds herself in danger of falling for Matt. When she flips his already unstable world upside down, Matt is at his wits' end-if only he didn't find his inept genie so darn irresistible!

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This book was one of those quick reads. No real thought needed. Eden is a Genie trapped in a bottle who lust for Matt b/c he runs by the shop she is kept in. One day her bottle is thrown out and Eden escapes but she has an “evil” genie after her b/c he loves her and wants her for herself. So she’s kidnapped and its up to Matt to get her back and or fall in love during that time. See no real thought there.

Now that being said it was a cute romance that I did enjoy. I thought the characters were cute. I did think that Matt was a little too hard on his step-father and brother b/c honestly they were a lot nicer than a lot of step siblings/parents are. So the fact that Ms. Fennell did an excellent job at making them likable is commendable. I also really enjoyed the world building that Ms. Fennell did. Her Genie home world/city was really cute and took a lot of effort. She had everything in there.

Some things I didn’t care for were simply the riddle part. Eden wants to change her magic color so that the “evil” genie won’t know who is using magic. In order to do that she has to go through this test which was absurd when in reality the change in color didn’t really work not to mention it just was a time crunch with a chance to throw in more sex between Eden and Matt.

The part at the end when we see how they get their HEA was cool I enjoyed it and for once didn’t find anything wrong with it. If you are looking for a quick romance with some magic thrown in. Or even if you are looking for a romance with something different something not out there this is the book for you!!!

Are you keeping it or passing it on? I think I will pass on it, while it was cute I just can’t see re-reading it.

Would you recommend this book? Yes I think it had a good romance, some magic, and a topic that isn’t over done.

Challenges:
Out Do Yourself

Author website: http://www.judifennell.com/



Reviewing Next:
The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham


CONTEST:
If you are interested in this book leave your email and name in the comments that's it! Drawing will take place on January 31st by random.org and winner will be announced!

Books Read in 2011

January
1. I  Dream of Genies by Judi Fennell: ARC from Sourcebook, Out Do Yourself Challenge
2. The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham: ARC from Sourcebook, Out Do Yourself Challenge
3. Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe: ARC from Sourcebook, Out Do Yourself Challenge
4. Spiral X by J J Westendarp: BLB Tour Read, Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour
5. Go Small or Go Home by Heather Wardell: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour

February
6. MoJo by Kris Sedersten: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour
7. Seven Exes are Eight Too Many by Heather Wardell: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour
8. Planning to Live by Heather Wardell: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge
9. Danann Falls from Grace by Joanne Valiukas: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour

March
10. Beastly by Alex Flinn: Out Do Yourself Challenge,
11. Twilight's Dawn by Anne Bishop: Out Do Yourself Challenge,
12. Fireproof by Eric Wilson: Out Do Yourself Challenge, TBR pile challenge
13. Switched by Amanda Hocking: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book challenge

April
14. Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco: Out Do Yourself Challenge, Re-read challenge
15. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenize by Jennifer Ashley: Out Do Yourself Challenge, TBR challenge
16. The Survivors by Amanda Harvard: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge
17. Wayward Soul by Kim Bowman: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour
18. The Restorer by Amanda Stevens: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, ARC from NetGalley
19. The Dragons Saga: Legend of the Oceina Dragon by J.F. Jenkins: E-book Challenge, Out Do Yourself Challenge, BLB Tour
20. Snowball In Hell by Josh Lanyon: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book challenge, NetGalley review.
21. Unquiet Dreams by Mark Del Franco: Out Do Yourself Challenge, TBR challenge
22. Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson: Out Do Yourself Challenge, ARC from Sourcebook

May
23. Wayward by Ashley Girardi: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, BLB Tour 
24. A Secret Rage by Charlanie Harris: Out Do Yourself Challenge, TBR Challenge 
25. Frost Moon by Anthony Francis: Out Do Yourself Challenge, E-book Challenge, NetGalley review

June
26. Backup by Jim Butcher: Out Do Yourself Challenge,

July
27. He's Just Not that Into You by Greg Behrendt: Out Do Yourself Challenge
28. Insight by Jamie Magee: Out Do Yourself, E-book Challenge
29. Strength Finders by Tim Roth: Out Do Yourself
30. The Making of a Leader by Dr. J. Roberts Clinton: Out Do Yourself
31. Stop Acting Like a Christian, Just Be One by Christine Caine: Out Do Yourself

August
32. The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale by Christine Bell: Out Do Yourself, E-book Challenge

September
33. Oh No She Didn't by Clinton Kelly: Out Do Yourself
34. The Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney: Out Do Yourself
35. The Rules by Ellen Fein: Out Do Yourself
36. Storm Front by Jim Butcher: Out Do Yourself, Re-Read Challenge

October
37. Matched by Ally Condie: Out Do Yourself
38. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher: Out Do Yourself, Re-read Challenge

November
39. After the Virus by Meghan Ciana Doidge: Out DO Yourself, E-book Challenge
40. A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas: Out Do Yourself Challenge
41. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher: Out Do Yourself, Re-Read Challenge
42. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen: Out Do Yourself Challenge
43. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris: Out Do Yourself, Re-Read Challenge (READ IN APRIL)
44. Divergent by Veronica Roth: Out Do Yourself
45. Survivors by Sophie Littlefield: Out Do YOurself, E-book Challenge