It's the weekend again...this is what I'm Reading

 Well, we're getting ready for the weekend again, and I really don't know how much reading time I will have...I'm going Stampin' and Scrappin' at a good friend's house on Saturday.  I don't usually get much accomplished at these events, but I always have a great time catching up with friends and getting new ideas, and Tina is an excellent hostess, so I know there'll be great food, and she even goes as far as having door prizes for her friends (a great way to clean out her stash!!!)

SO anyway, I've got my hands on this awesome looking urban fantasy.  Straight  from www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/spellbent.html

SPELLBENT

by

Lucy A. Snyder

Jessie Shimmer's roguish lover, Cooper, has been teaching her ubiquemancy, the art of finding the magic in everyday things. But things go terribly wrong when the couple try to call a rainstorm in downtown Columbus. A hellish portal opens, and Cooper is ripped from the world. Worse yet, a vicious demon invades the city. Jessie barely manages to slay it, but she's gravely wounded and the capital's center is destroyed. As if losing an eye and a hand isn't bad enough, the city's ruling mage, Benedict Jordan, brands her an outlaw. With only her ferret familiar to help her, Jessie must find the dimension Cooper's trapped in and bring him back alive before sinister machinations make both of them vanish for good.

I'll be posting my thoughts and opinion on http://www.nightowlreviews.com/ when I finish.

Re-reading before the next book comes out

In great anticipation for Larissa Ione's book #4 in her Demonica series ECSTASY UNVEILED,(available January 26, 2010) I'm re-reading Wraith's story, which I will also be reviewing for Enchanting Reviews at:
http://www.enchantingreviews.blogspot.com/

PASSION UNLEASHED

by

Larissa Ione

Forbidden Temptations…


Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter—and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she’s been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn’t all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she’s finally met the one man she cannot resist.

Fatal Desires…

Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe—her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions, and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: he’s falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

I already know this is a great book...otherwise I wouldn't be re-reading it!

What I'm Reading . . .

Well, it's not really warmed up much in the last week, though I'm lucky enough to live just far enough NORTH to have missed all of last weeks snow!!!  Usually we get hit by the snow, but not this week.  Soooooo, to heat things up here (hey, my husband isn't home...) I've picked up a sizzling ARC of

DARE TO SURRENDER

by

Lilli Feisty

Blurb from  www.www.lillianfeisty.com/

HE MEETS HIS MATCH.

SHE MEETS HER MASTER.

Art gallery curator Joy Montgomery has never liked her body’s generous curves. And she’s always been too shy to explore her wild side. But tonight, everything is going to change…Desperate to save her job, Joy approaches bad-boy artist Ash Hunter and asks him to exhibit his erotic work at her gallery. Ash agrees on one condition: Joy must pose as his model. But business soon turns to pleasure, as Joy experiences a passion beyond her wildest imaginings and Ash finds more than just inspiration in his voluptuous new muse

This sounds like a hot one. I really hope its got a great plot and the sex is well written! 

*Update - You can read my full review on Night Owl Reviews, at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=5332

Leary of Overly Praised Books

Okay, everytime I see a book that everyone absolutely loves and raves about...I go running the opposit direction!  Does anybody else do this?  I've been burned by too many of these "top picks".  It's not as if I go by just anyones reviews, I usually check out multiple trusted sites, but sometimes it just doesn't work for me. Granted, some top picks have also turned out to be favorites of mine also, but I usually discover them before the lovefest begins.

What I'm Reading . . .Today

I forgot that when I did yesterday's post that, well, it would quickly change.  Usually on the weekend I can finish a book in a day, unless I'm busy or the book really sucks... It's not like I sit around reading all day, well, sometimes I do :o) but I'm also a fast reader. Yesterday I manged to cram a day of cleaning, shopping, internet browsing and a book. Today will just be a bit of housework, some time online, and a good (hopefully) book.

I've got another new to me author off the TBRR pile:

SIREN'S SECRET

by Trish Albright

Here's the blurb straight from the author's website, http://www.trishalbright.com/ and the back of the book:

Lady Olivia Yates enjoyed a wide array of scholarly pursuits. And she had an astounding vocabulary to prove it. Thanks to her archaeologist father, she also knew just about everything there was to know of ancient Egyptian artifacts—including a code no one else had yet deciphered. But she had no idea what to do when it looked as though someone was trying to murder her.

Samuel Stafford understood only about half the words that came out of the woman’s mouth. But he didn't mind—so long as he had a chance to watch those luscious lips at work. Too bad he wasn't paying more attention, because suddenly Olivia was dragging the shipping captain halfway around the world on a perilous treasure hunt. From fighting Barbary pirates on the high seas to exploring centuries-old tombs, only together could they unlock the... SIREN'S SECRET.

My impression so far (I've only read the first chapter) is to think of the movie, THE MUMMY, action, adventure, Egyptian archeology, Brendan Fraser -yummy, only move it back about 150years. 

Update - My opinion of this is now posted on Night Owl Romance, at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=5336

What I'm Reading . . .

On this chilly freezing Michigan winter night, I'm going to curl up with my fuzzy blanket and a book.  Top of my TBRR (To be read & reviewed) pile is an ARC of :

THE HIGHLANDER'S SWORD

by Amanda Forester

Blurb straight from http://www.amandaforester.com/ :

Swept up in the turmoil of 14th century Scotland, Lady Aila Graham is destined for the convent until her brother’s death leaves her an heiress. Soon she is caught in the conflict between the hastily arranged marriage with a Highland warrior, the Abbot’s insistence that she take her vows, the Scottish Laird who kidnaps her, and the traitor from within who betrays them all. Her new husband, Padyn MacLaren, is a battle-hardened knight, scarred by betrayal, who seeks Aila’s fortune to save his clan. Yet Aila is not what he expected and has secrets of her own.

This is Ms. Forester's debut novel, available March 2010. I'll be posting a review when I finish at http://www.nightowlromance.com/.

My little rant...Women's clothing-Tall/Long in sizes above a 14, where in the HELL are they?!?!

What the hell is it with clothing stores that decide not to carry Tall/Long in certain sizes anymore!!!! How frustrating.  Do they think that ALL tall people are a size 14 and below...if we're fat/chunky/heavy/etc..., we must also be average or short????!!!!????!!!!  Now don't get me wrong, I know that I need to shed a few pounds, and I'm working on that, but until then I still need to buy work clothes.  I can't buy anything without trying it on first, because EVERYTHING fits so differently. 

So, what started this rant...
Yesterday I was all set to go to my favorite retailer at the local outlet mall (Eddie Bauer) to pick up some pants for work, a pair of jeans, and maybe a new top or 2, and SPEND some of my hard-earned CASH.  I've ALWAYS been able to find size 16 Long, much to my dismay (boy is that putting it mildly) I ask the sales lady, and she informed me that "oh they stopped stocking that in the stores, you can buy it online or in the cataloge though...) yeah, um, NO, first off the catalog/online doesn't have the great deals that were in-store (yes, I checked), and second, I need to try them on before I buy, since no 2 pair fit the same. 
Oh, and I can't forget to mention that the sales associate was sure to bring it to my attention that their average sizes run really long, to the point I was almost rude when I finally told her "Not LONG enough."  really this wasn't my first trip there...I think I know what length I need by now.

As a result, I bought NOTHING. 

Eddie Bauer is not alone either.  I've tried Gap, Old Navy, Kohls...nobody wants to carry them. Some stores don't carry tall/long at all, others also think that nobody over a size 14 is tall.  Am I alone out there, some sort of freak of nature, being tall and chunky.  No, I know this is not the case.  I see women like me all the time. So why don't the stores want me to spend my money???? Or is this some freaky scheme to get me to finally loose the weight I've been wanting to-it's not helping, now I'm even more stressed out because I REALLY need some new work pants. 

I did find that Tractor Supply (my husband only wears jeans from there) carries women's jeans in a size16x34 -yippee and they are really cute and very inexpensive-I paid less than $20 (the brand is C.E. Schmidt).