I was lucky enough to read an early release of this romance and it was fun stuff!

I'd love a chance to win this contest Ms. Singh! I love your books, so here goes:

* Which fictional hero (from books, tv, movies...) would you most like to hold hostage?

Zachary Bronson from Lisa Kleypas' Where Dreams Begin or Bobby Tom Denton from Susan Elizabeth Phillips Heaven, Texas. Or... Marshall Erickson from TV's How I Met Your Mother. I find them all sexy in different ways.

* Which fictional hero would you most like to be held hostage by?

Hm...Ok, I know this is a totally different choice but man, I love Gray Rouillard from Linda Howard's After the Night. He would make one fine kidnapper.

* Which fictional world would you most like to be held hostage in?

Honestly, I have no idea. Anythingin historical Regency England maybe. I scare easily so I'm not sure if a paranormal world would work for me.

So, Nalini Singh is having a contest for her newest release, Hostage to Pleasure. Go ENTER! She is giving away a $75.00 gift certificate to the online bookstore of your choice. That is awesome.

You know you want to read this book:



If you like paranormal romance at all, I highly recommend her series. This is one of the best on the market at this time. Kind of a fun combination of paranormal and sci-fi, not something I'm normally interested in but she is such a skilled world builder, it makes all the difference.

Wake by Lisa McMann which I really, really enjoyed. I've always been interested in dreams and I thought the author used the idea of dreams rather creatively. Plus, I really liked the main protaginist, Janie, and her developing relationship with bad boy Cabel. A second book is planned. I hope it's just as good because on the one hand, I can easily see the author taking this idea, of being able to step into people's dreams, in a bad direction, or just in a direction that would be rather ordinary in comparison with the first book.

I also just finished Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott. I really enjoyed this one too. bottle_of_shine gives a much better review of just why the story worked so well so I'll just refer you to her LJ. But yeah, really enjoyed this one. Both these books were YA. I love me some YA. So much.

Currently reading Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. It's chick-lit in a way, but it's very well done chick lit. This is the author who got me to read a book (Something Borrowed) and actually enjoy a story where the main female character has an affair with the fiance of her best friend. Usually I hate adultery storylines with a passion but this one really worked for me.

Brief write-ups, I know, but my head has really been in library management lately so I haven't had time to process my reading as much as I'd like.

I finally finished The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale last night. I've been reading this book for like two months or so. That is a record for me. I can usually finish a book very quickly but this one was slow going. I wanted to stick it out though. Wasn't the best book I ever read but it Hale has a beautiful writing style and that kept me hooked more than the story probably. The first part was just really slow going for me. But, I'm glad it's done. Next up: I decided to splurge and buy Stephenie Meyer's The Host since I received a B&N gift card for graduation. I figured since it was so long and with school going still, I can read it more leisurely without worrying about having to return it as a library book.

I've been neglecting this journal majorly. Hopefully once I get more time for fun reading, I'll be able to keep this better updated.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

It was an ok read. I love stories set in the Holocaust/WWII time period as most know, b ut this just didn't develop many of the sad, tragic, and hopeful moments that I usually feel when reading stories set in this time period.

Heck, I even predicted the ending which is something I can very rarely do with books or tv. I'm not good at it.

It was an ok read overall. It's marketed as YA but personally, with the main character being 9 years old in the story, it felt like more of a "tweener" novel, even something a sixth or seventh grader could read.

Also, the author totally kept switching between "pajamas" and "pyjamas" which was annoying as heck. He needed a better editor I think, unless there is some obvious difference between the two that I know nothing about.

Just finished M.T. Anderson's Feed and all I can say is wow. I'm not usually one to pay homage to book awards as I don't always think the best book wins but in this case, I think the awards this book has won and been nominated for are well deserved.

# Finalist 2002 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
# Winner 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
# Winner 2003 Golden Duck Awards Hal Clement Award for Young Adults
# Nominee 2005-2006 Green Mountain Book Award

I don't want to give the summary away but you can read it both at Amazon and Wikipedia. All I can say is, it was, for me, a really amazing story in that it just mirrors so much of American society today and the possibilities of what it could conceivably and unfortunately become.

It's kind of a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I'm not sure how you would honestly categorize it. I choose it off my YA Material's reading list for the week, just on a whim, and I'm so glad I did.

I will admit it took me a while to truly appreciate it because frankly, it starts off oddly in some ways, especially the language and how it is used (and not used). You will soon realize that language is key to the story but it really had me wondering if I wanted to keep reading. Anderson really stresses the importance of words, or reading, and even of an oral culture. It is all worked in very well to the novel but as a person of words myself, I really paid attention to those messages.

I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't been on my class list and I had overheard someone in class talking about it but I'm glad I did. If you decide to read it, please let me know what you think.

Figured it's time I use my sadly neglected book journal.

I finished Ender's Game yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even as it left me feeling a bit depressed.

I just loved Ender. For real, I want to name a pet after him in the future. Now I am not a sci-fi fan in the slightest, at all. I don't think this book will change that but... on the other hand, it was a great story. It had a lot of elements I enjoy in regular fiction (hardships, people overcoming obstacles, friendship, etc) but all set up in a slightly different way.

I would highly recommend reading this book, even if, like myself, you are not a sci-fi fan. Orson Scott Card really created this scary but yet beautiful story and its main fabulousness resides with Ender.

I don't really want to read any of the books after this one though because they don't sound quite as good. Maybe they are for all I know but I have enough reading on my plate as it is.

Up next: Feed by M.T. Anderson, Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark, and a couple of Sonya Sones stories (she is a YA writer.)

Christmas Meme:

1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year?
Hm, I don't think I have one in particular. In fact, I cannot think of a holiday story I really truly enjoy, and this is odd because I love Christmas. Maybe Lisa Kleypas' short story, "I Will."

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie/show?
SO MANY! Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stands out as the FAVORITE favorite, but I also love A Christmas Story, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus is coming to Town, The Grinch.. um, yeah, there are more too.

3. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
The sugar cookie. I only make sugar cookies during Christmas time so it's a very special treat to make and then eat them and hand them out. Oh yes, and I love the peanut butter blossom too!

4. When do you start Christmas shopping?
Way later than I should. I've barely started and it is the fifth already.

5. Do you re-gift?
Nope. I think it's just tacky and frankly, I'd rather return it and keep the money or in-store credit for myself.

6. What is your favorite Christmas song?
"If Every Day Was Like Christmas" by Elvis Presley

7. When do you get your Christmas tree?
I have a fake tree. I put it up the day after Thanksgiving without fail. I've never had a real tree at my own home. Though I have helped cut them down occasionally.

8. Wrapping presents: Love it or hate it?
Kind of indifferent to it. I'm not very good at it, but I don't hate it. It's just part of the holidays.

9. Who is the hardest person to buy for?
My mom. She never tells me what she wants. She always says she has everything she needs. Then I am forced to rack my brain to think of something to buy.

10. Christmas tree: Real or artificial?
I'm all about the artificial frankly. I know it doesn't have the smell, but it just makes putting up a tree that much easier.

This meme comes from The Book Binge. Do this at your own journal and you too may have the chance to win an ebook reader!

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. It is the third in her trilogy.

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a
laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

I highly recommend this series, I think it is leaps and bounds above the Twilight series which everyone loves so much. Granted, I do like Twilight, but I love the Victorian setting of these books, it's spooky and mysterious and Kartik, the gypsy boy, is sexy! Plus, I think the covers are gorgeous. The books in the series are: A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels.

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

Melkorka is a princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom in

mediæval Ireland -- but all of this is lost the day she is kidnapped

and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Thrown into a world that she has

never known, alongside people that her former country's laws regarded as

less than human, Melkorka is forced to learn quickly how to survive.

Taking a vow of silence, however, she finds herself an object of

fascination to her captors and masters, and soon realizes that any power,

no matter how little, can make a difference.

Based on an ancient Icelandic saga, award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli

has crafted a heartbreaking story of a young girl who must learn to forget

all that she knows and carve out a place for herself in a new world -- all

without speaking a word.

I know this one is out now but I'm going to have to wait until the semester is over to read it. Too much to do.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future.

With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear...

In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

Look at that cover on Amazon, it's gorgeous! I think this book sounds amazing. King of a historical Gossip Girl, lol.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer and to be honest, I was totally prepared to dislike it based on others comments and the spoilers I had read ( read more with SPOILERS! )

All in all, not stellar, but I will say it held my attention pretty consistently.

Now, I'm reading Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

I just finished reading all four of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I have to say, I am hooked. Like majorly. I cannot wait for the next book which is thankfully being released on September 25th.

I highly recommend these books. Like a lot. I was so, so over the vampire romance thing. I really did not think anything more or anything new could be added to vampire paranormal romances so I basically stopped reading them. But then on a whim I picked up Lover Eternal which is the second book in the series and well, needless to say, I had to make a trip to Barnes and Noble.

It's not so much even the romance that hooks me in these books. It's a nice romance, but it's the men, the Brotherhood, that has me so captivated. I love reading about strong male characters and these guys are certainly the epitome of that.

Now, I'm not sure how many people like romances out there but if you do, I definitely recommend trying these books.

So what else am I reading now that I am done with these books. Well, I'm reading Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management. Not exactly fun reading to be sure. I'm trying to decide what fun book I should read next. I am thinking Bel Canto which I saw someone recommend on my flist. I know I made a stab at reading that book several years ago and actually didn't like reading it that much but maybe I'll give it another shot. It is one of my library's book club selections this year too.

So, what are you reading?

The Ruins by Scott Smith.

I started it on my vacation and I'm finishing it up now and it's... very different. Like, more different than anything I've ever read personally. Here is a description:

At long last, Smith follows up his bestselling first novel, A Simple Plan (1993), the film of which received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay, with a stunning horror thriller. Four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—meet a German tourist, Mathias, who persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they're headed for danger. Smith builds suspense through the slow accretion of telling details, until a deadly menace starts taking its toll, leaving the survivors increasingly at each other's throats. While admirers of such classic genre writers as John Wyndham or Algernon Blackwood may find the horror less suggestive than they might wish, the eerie atmosphere and compelling plot should appeal to fans of ABC's hit TV series Lost, who will help propel this page-turner up bestseller lists. Ben Stiller's production company has bought film rights.

This is a very eerie book. I can't say for sure I like it because it's not really my style. I don't like blood and gore and gross things and this book has tons of it, but it is also very psychologically intriguing. It's scary too, I think, and while I scare easily, this definitely makes me rethink any plans I ever had to go to Mexico.

I would recommend it if you are looking for something different though because this definitely fits the bill. It's different.

High Noon by Nora Roberts. Not my favorite thing she has ever written, or even favorite of her more recent books. It was pretty good but nothing spectacular, IMO.

Does anyone have any good audio CD recommendations? I'm going on a vacation road trip and I need some audiobook recommendations. Something with a good reader please because even if the story is crap, if I like the reader, I tend to like the story. Not sure why...

So, what are YOU reading?

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was excellent, there is a full reaction post in my main journal.

But what else have I been reading? Well, I'm finishing up Linda Howard's Up Close and Dangerous, her new hardcover. It's ok, nothing spectacular and nothing at all like her older works which were really powerful romances. Just ok.

Up next is High Noon by Nora Roberts. I'm sure it will be great, most of her books are.

I also wanted to give out one recommendation. In general, I'm not a paranormal romance fan just because I'm so, so sick of vampires. But I've been reading this new series, the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh and it is really well done! Not a vampire in site, and while there are some changelings (i.e. wolves, jaguars, panthers) it is mostly focused on the psychic mind. It has an almost sci-fi feel to it but also there is a strong romance. I don't know how many people read romance, but it's my guilty pleasure I guess you could say. This series is really intriguing though. You can find out more at her website, HERE. The first book is Slave to Sensation If anyone gives them a try and likes, please let me know. I'd love to hear what you think.

Disappointing unfortunately. Big disappointment.

If you've read any of her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, you know how effortless and natural the emotions and situations of the four girls are. I know I found myself crying often even from small and seemingly unimportant moments in the book that really stood for something larger, grander in life and love. Those books were just wonderful in terms of drawing out both the characters' emotions and the reader's emotions.

Not so with her new book. It is marketed towards adults, but the three characters, Alice, Riley, and Paul are 21 and 24 respectively. However, they act like teenagers. Big time.

Every word, sentence and phrase in this book is overblown. I think Brashares tried to give it that natural appeal that the Sisterhood books had but she tried way too hard and well, the entire book felt forced and awkward. The prose was very syrupy, way too sweet, and not at all... good even frankly. I don't want to give too much away obviously but well, one of the characters develops a sickness and it's the focal point of why the other characters act the way they do. Anyway, the sickness didn't make me sad for the characters, or even all that sympathetic. It felt like a big cliched moment.

And another thing that bothered me that will only bother me I'm sure is that I have never been a fan of the name Alice. I don't like Alice in Wonderland and that is what that name means to me. I like the name Allison just fine, but Alice. Blech. So having to read about an Alice character was terrible, lol.

Anyway, bottom line. This book was a disappointment. It wasn't AWFUL OMG RUN AWAY! But it definitely did not have the freshness of mind, the frankness of character and plotting that Brashares' other books have had. I wouldn't buy it. If you really want to read it, go to the library, IMO. And if you do feel differently, please let me know! I'd like some other opinions, always.

Up next: Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich.

The Seal Wife by Kathryn Harrison. It was the book club discussion book at my library this month and it sounded really interesting. It takes place in 1915 Alaska and revolves around this Bigelow who works for the US weather bureau and is doing recordings for them in Alaska. He falls in love with this mute Aleut woman. Anyway, it's very different in a lot of ways, but wow, Kathryn Harrison has a beautiful writing style. I'm glad I read it for that alone. It's not something I'd re-read honestly, but I am glad I read it. If you're in the mood for something a bit different, I'd give it a try.

I'm also reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix right now in my HP re-read. I just hate Umbridge so, so much. Honestly, she seems more cruel at times than Voldemort. She is a terrible woman. Harry's er... anger in this book isn't bothering me as much this time around because I think he really does have a good reason to be so angry so I'm more invested in him as a character in this book during this read than I think I was during my initial read.

I'm also reading Meg Cabot's upcoming July release, Queen of Babble in the Big City. Typical Cabot, but still fun. :)

I'm currently reading Meg Cabot's newest book, Pants on Fire. I just love her books and this one is no different. And ok, this might sound a bit weird, but I have a huge thing for redhaired men (CONAN!) and yeah... the boy crush in this book is redhaired. It's so hot.

(and erm, my brother is redhaired which has always kind of bugged me because hello, I crush on redhaired men, but I just try to ignore that fact.)

And, up next I have, on wordshaker's recommendation, Larklight. I'm excited to start reading that too. :)

Thanks for all the suggestions on my previous post. I'm adding them to my library hold list.

Well, I'm busy doing my re-read of the Harry Potter series. I'm currently on book four and enjoying every bit of it. But, I may need a bit of a break after book four before diving into books five and six. So, my question is, what are YOU reading, and should I try it?

Leave any suggestions you have!

Though school has been keeping me busy of late, I have been reading some. Most recently, as in today, I finished Marked by PC and Kristin Cast, a mother/daughter writing team.

Marked is a young adult paranormal book that revolves around Zoey Redbird, a sixteen year old girl, who has been Marked to become a Vampyre. This is a world where vampires and humans have always coexisted together, but still, Zoey is shunned and she switches schools to the House of Night, the vampyre "training" school if you will. Of course, it's not guaranteed Zoey will even live through her school years, or survive the Change to become a full-fledged vampire.

It was really very interesting. I found the initial chapters a bit boring, but as soon as Zoey started attending school, the pace and my interest really picked up. There are enemies, new friends, a school bitch, a school hottie. It was a fun book all in all. It's not however released until May 2007 but when it does get released, I highly recommend checking it out.

(Side note: I review books for a bunch of romance websites, which is how I was able to get this book beforehand.)

Up next: I plan on reading more Harry Potter and also, Sarah Dessen's Just Listen which I meant to read when it originally came out but never made the time for.

Any recommends on your part?

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, book 3 in the Bella and Edward stories.

Here's the info so far:

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and amalicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once againfinds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she isforced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship withJacob -- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite theageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduationquickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life ordeath. But which is which?

August 7th! While my excitement for this book isn't nearly as high as for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I'm still excited. I love Edward, Bella, but most of all, Jake. :)

I finished Friday Night Lights a few days ago. Great story! Haven't picked anything up yet though. Any recommends?