Library Challenge 2009

J. Kaye is hosting a couple of challenges for 2009 that I am anxious to join!! The first being Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge. She is a big supporter of her local library and what better way to encourage others to use their library than to have a challenge such as this.

The rules are simple. Just read books checked out from your local library. They can be any kind of books including audio, downloads, children's, and YA. The challenge runs from 1/1/09 to 12/31/09.

There are three levels of challenges:

1. Read 12 books from your local library.
2. Read 25 books from your local library.
3. Read 50 books from your local library.

The only stipulation is that they HAVE to be read in 2009 (no starting early LOL). You can join anytime. The other thing is that you have to choose which level you are going to complete when you join.

That's it - just go to j. kaye's and sign up on Mr. Linky.

Since I am also going to try to complete the 100+ challenge again in 2009 - I think I will sign up for the 50 book level.

I will list my books below as I read them.

1. Dead Sexy - Amanda Ashley 2/12/09; Review
2. On Mystic Lake - Kristin Hannah 2/20/09; Review
3. Divorced, Desperate, and Dating - Christie Craig 3/6/09; Review
   
4. Seaview Inn - Sherryl Woods 3/9/09; Review
5. Night's Touch - Amanda Ashley 3/17/09; Review
6. 
   

10th Challenge Completed

I completed the Ghostly Challenge on 10/31/08 - I know I am late in posting this - LOL. I chose not to read horror stories, but instead light, fun, romantic reads. This was a great challenge hosted by Callista at smsbookreviews. The rules of the challenge were to read 2 ghostly books before October 31, 2008. Thank you Callista for posting my url's of my reviews on your blog (I forgot to do that :-) ).

Here are the 2 books that I read:

1. Stardust of Yesterday - Lynn Kurland - 9/26/08 - Review
2. A Babe in Ghostland - Lisa Cach - 10/7/08 - Review

Here is a link to my original post on this challenge.

Thanksa again, Callista, for hosting this fun challenge!!

Summer Light - Luanne Rice

Title: Summer Light
Author: Luanne Rice
Published: 2001
Publisher: Bantam Books
Pages: 462
Genre: Romance

Summer Light is a tale of how love can triumph over the most difficult of circumstances. There is an underlying theme of what it is like to be a star hockey player's wife.

May Taylor is a single mother with a successful wedding planning business. On the outside, things seem to be perfect for her - however, the one problem on the horizon is that her daughter can see and sense things other people don't.

Martin Cartier is a sports legend - he plays professional hockey and is the star player for the Boston Bruins.

Martin and May get married pretty early in the book. The story centers around their ups and downs during their marriage. Events from Martin's past threaten to tear them apart, they have to deal with the daughter's special ability, and future tragedy strikes the family.

I do have to warn that tissues need to be on hand while reading this book.

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 5/5
Pages: 462
Completed: 10/27/08

The Healer - Sharon Sala

Title: The Healer
Author: Sharon Sala
Published: 2008
Publisher: Mira
Pages: 329
Genre: Romance/Paranormal

Whew...it has been so long since I've updated this blog. I have a few reviews to post and a couple of completed challenges that I haven't blogged about. I need to catch up!! LOL.

I have recently rediscovered this author. I had forgotten that I had read her a long time ago and really enjoyed her books. Then, Maya Banks (a fantastic author too) was talking about her favorite authors on Writeminded message board and Sharon Sala was one of them. It reminded me of how much I had enjoyed her in the past.

So, off to the library I went and picked up one of her newest releases - The Healer. What a fantastic book!! I loved the main characters.

Jonah Grey Wolf has the remarkable ability to heal the wounded and communicate with animals. He is on the run because someone wants to harness his powers for their own gain. He meets up with Luce Andahar who is being tormented by a stalker of her own. Jonah has vowed to protect her at all costs - but will his own troubles take Luce away from him forever.

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 5/5
Pages: 329
Completed: 10/20/08

A Babe in Ghostland - Lisa Cach

Title: A Babe in Ghostland
Author: Lisa Cach
Published: 2006
Publisher: Pocket
Pages: 340
Genre: Ghost/Light Romance

With the coming holiday of Halloween - I have been trying to find books that have "spooky" themes but not horror. This was a quick, fun read that concentrated mostly on the ghost story and not the romance.

Case buys a haunted mansion and hires Megan, a retired psychic, to help him with his problem. The story is cleverly written and keeps you guessing as to who the ghosts are and why they are haunting the mansion.

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 3.5/5
Pages: 340
Completed: 10/7/08

9th Challenge Completed

I am late in posting this completion, but I did finish it on time. Thank you Trish for hosting such a fun challenge!!

Here is a list of the books that I read for this challenge:

1. A Whole New Light - Sandra Brown 6/16/08
2. Talk Before Sleep - Elizabeth Berg 6/25/08
3. Irish Thoroughbred - Nora Roberts 7/12/08
4. Untamed - Nora Roberts 7/20/08
5. Sam's Letters to Jennifer - James Patterson 7/21/08
6. The Australian's Housekeeper Bride - Lindsay Armstrong 7/30/08

Here is my original post with links to my thoughts on each of these books.

Thanks again for hosting this challenge!!

Line of Scrimmage - Marie Force

Title: Line of Scrimmage
Author: Marie Force
Published: 2008
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 356
Genre: Romance

This is Marie Force's debut novel, and she comes out with a sensational book that has me waiting for more from this author!! It involves divorce, reconciliation, forgiveness, communication - true and honest emotions. There was deception, holding on to past hurts, passion, anger, and finally honesty.

Ryan and Susannah are ten days away from finalizing their divorce. When suddenly, Ryan shows up at her door demanding that they spend every minute of the last ten days together. He wants a chance to right his wrongs, show her that he has changed, and possibly reconcile their marriage. Susannah has no option but to agree. Ryan has threatened to stall their divorce, and she is getting married at the end of the month.

Ryan is the star quarterback for a pro football team, and Susannah has the ability to bring Ryan to his knees and ground him. There is witty dialogue, places that made me laugh and places that made me cry. Susannah has trust issues with Ryan in believing that he has changed - she's heard it all before. But through his actions as well as his words, Ryan slowly gains Susannah's trust only to be broken by outside influences.

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 5/5
Pages: 356
Completed: 10/5/08

Stardust of Yesterday - Lynn Kurland

Title: Stardust of Yesterday
Author: Lynn Kurland
Published: 1996/2001
Publisher: Jove/Berkley
Pages: 350
Genre: Romance/Ghost

I can't remember who, but this book was recommended to me, and it did not fail to become one of my favorites.

Kendrick de Piaget haunts the halls of Seakirk keep hoping to drive the last descendant of the woman who cursed him to sign over the castle to him. This will break the 700 year curse that has caused him to be a prisoner in what is rightfully his own castle.

But Genevieve doe not scare that easily. She is more charmed by his ghostly tricks than scared by them. So Kendrick chooses to seduce her instead which causes Genevieve to face her greatest fear of falling in love. But...how do you love a ghost?

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 350
Completed: 9/26/08

Cutting Loose - Susan Andersen

Title: Cutting Loose
Author: Susan Andersen
Published: 2008
Publisher: HQN
Pages: 379
Genre: Romance

I am trying to get caught up on a couple of reviews that I need to post. I want to start October off fresh and up-to-date.

This is a fun, quick, easy read. It is filled with humor, a great cast of characters, family issues, and a touch of mystery/suspense. Susan Andersen does a excellent job weaving a fun and romantic tale filled with witty dialogue and passion. I enjoyed this book immensely.

There was a little problem with editing...at one point the brother, Bren, had three sons...then some pages later...he had three daughters. Then there was the problem that I wanted to slap the main character, Jane, during the first part of the book...but then she her attitude settled down and I grew to like her.

You can view a trailer to her book here.

You can read my full review here.

Rating: 3/5
Pages: 379
Completed: 9/19/08

8th Challenge Completed

This isn't really a reading challenge, but it has to do with reading blogs so I thought it could be included in my challenges.

The Bloghopping Challenge is just that...bloghopping. It is being hosted by Alpha Heroes and I am copying the rules from her post.

RULES:

1. Starting here, find a linked blog that you’ve never been to before. It does not have to be book-related. If none of the links in my sidebar are new to you, hit the BBAW list and start there.


2. Go to the blog you’ve chosen and browse through the posts until you find something you find interesting. Leave a comment. Mention where you found the link. Mention of this challenge is optional.


3. Using the links in THAT blog, repeat. If you find yourself somewhere that does not have any new-to-you links, go back to the BBAW list. Be sure to leave a comment in each location, mentioning where you found their site linked.


4. Repeat until you have visited 10 new blogs.


5. Write a post on your blog showing your bloghopping trail. Content is up to you; you can highlight your favorites, critique the sites, or just post the list of 10. I recommend you open up a word document (or whatever you use) and list out the urls as you go. It's really REALLY easy to get distracted doing this and lose track of where you were.


6. I’d love it if you link back to this post.


7. Optional: add your favorites to your own sidebar, or temporarily put up a blogroll widget with the 10 sites you visited.


8. Optional: Come back here and leave a link to your post in comments.

This sounds like a great idea and here is my blog trail....

Romance Rookie - chosen at random from the BBAW List. Not any links...so I read through some of her comments and chose a commenter to visit. I tried to leave a comment on one of her posts, but it wouldn't allow me to post it. Hopping over to...

Natuschan - books, books and more books - She is another romance reader (I love this genre) and I look forward to reading more of her posts. Hopping over to...

Dev's Good Reads - From looking at her sidebar - she has listed a lot of authors that I enjoy. I even found a couple of books to add to my TBR . Hopping over to...

Nose in a Book - Another romance blog (are you catching a theme here??? LOL) Hopping over to...

The Book Smugglers - Awesome reviews on Lisa Kleypas books (it is Lisa Kleypas week over there). Ana and Thea write fantastic reviews and I can't wait to read more of them! Hopping over to...

Scooper Speaks - Reviews on nonfiction, historical romance, paranormal, and contemporary. Hopping over to...

Shape Shifter Romance - I think the name speaks for itself! Unfortunately, no links :( So, hopping back to the BBAW list.

Book Junkie Melissa - She's a reviewer at a couple of sites but wanted her own review blog. From what I see...she reviews romance and mystery. I have been to all her blog links...so I have to go back to the BBAW list and try again.

Amy's Corner of the World - Loved this little blog - and the fact that she is from Ohio!! Go Buckeyes! Hopping over to...

Rip My Bodice - Need I say more!!!

Well, that concludes my trip around the blog world - came across a lot of sites that I added to my Google Reader!!!

Thank you Alpha Heroes for hosting such a fantastic challenge!!!

Fall Into Reading 2008

COMPLETED 12/20/09

Katrina over a Callapidder Days is hosting another Fall Into Reading challenge.

The rules are simple...make a list of all the books you would like to read this fall. That's it...nothing to it!! The challenge runs from Sept. 22 - Dec. 20, 2008. Go to her post on the challenge (link above) to sign up on Mister Linky after you have created your list on your blog. If you don't have a blog - you can post your list in her comments.

Without further ado...here is my list:

1. Purchased: His Perfect Wife - Helen Bianchin 10/14/08
2. The Healer - Sharon Sala 10/20/08 Review
3. Summer Light - Luanne Rice 10/27/08; Review
4. Line of Scrimmage - Marie Force 10/5/08; Review
5. Out of the Mist - Joann Ross 11/3/08
6. Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband - Melissa Mayhue 12/7/08; Review
7. Call of the Highland Moon - Kendra Leigh Castle 11/25/08; Review
8. My Lord's Desire - Margaret Moore 11/30/08; Review
9. Night's Kiss - Amanda Ashley 11/6/08; Review
10. Deep in the Heart - Sharon Sala 11/27/08; Review
11. The Lady Flees Her Lord - Michele Ann Young 11/20/08; Review
12. Stardust of Yesterday - Lynn Kurland 9/26/08; Review
13. A Babe in Ghostland - Lisa Cach 10/7/08; Review
14. Only By His Touch - Catherine Anderson 11/18/08; Review
    

These are mostly books to finish up some other challenges I am participating in. I will add more if my reading goes faster than expected!

A Man to Call My Own - Johanna Lindsey

Title: A Man to Call My Own
Author: Johanna Lindsey
Published: 2003
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 344
Genre: Historical Romance

This is a historical romance set in the 1870's on a ranch in Texas. It is a book about good twin/bad twin and which one ends up with the rugged, masculine cowboy.

I enjoyed this book - it was a quick and easy read. There were a couple of things that weren't quite realistic, but I enjoyed the tension between Marian and Chad; the suspense as to which twin would end up with Chad; and the twist at the end about the girls' inheritance.

You can read my full review here.


Rating: 3/5
Pages: 344
Completed: 9/21/08