Random Musings from the Mind of a Maniac (2)

As we get closer to BBAW- September 14- 18. I have been thinking about the different blogs that are out there and thanks to some of my blogger friends on Twitter who got me thinking. I need to acknowledge them more often. I read lots of blogs but I don’t think I actively post on them as much as I should. I, like many other people see cool contests so I do enter those but when I read a post that I feel I may not have anything new to say that adds or enhances to the conversation I don’t say anything. Well, I make my pledge this week to stop that, I think that we all need a little encouragement once in a while so let's encourage each other. For this week's contest, I will be giving out 4 books and a blank journal that I have sitting on my shelves at this minute. I have been catching up on my review reading so I haven’t posted as much as I would like, but I will try to find at least 2 non contest posts a day to comment on.




What do you have to do to be a winner you ask? I want you to introduce me to some of your favorite blogs. New or old, show me what you like and tell me why you like them. You need to post your email address, what site you like and why and tell me what you’d like to see from me in the future.


Won’t you join me and do the same?


Books to be given away-

The Devil’s Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis – (never read, needs loving home)

Naamah’s Kiss by Jacqueline Carey- (I haven’t read this series and I feel bad with this beautiful hardcover sitting on my shelf looking unloved.)

Strange Angel’s by Lili St. Crow- (Loved this book, am looking forward to the next one)

Night World (#3) by L.J. Smith –( bought 2 copies of this without even realizing it , so my overbuying is your good fortune)

And a Hardcover Blank Journal ( its green sorry I don't have a pic of it)

Random Musings From The Mind of a Maniac (1)

Awakenings

Eyes open,

Sunrise to See.

Breath Deep,

My love lies beside me.

I am alive

And with you I Thrive.

In My Mailbox (4)

This is my book haul for the last 2 weeks.



In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren . This meme focuses on books we've bought, checked out from the library, received for review or won in contests.

Bought:

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son -and enforcer -of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer -or Charles will take the fall.
Wolf Tales VIII by Kate Douglas

In the shadows they transform into beasts possessed of boundless sexual energy, with the strength and stamina to indulge every primal urge. Now, six new Chanku have appeared - bold, brash, and very much in need of their elders' wisdom. It is decided to split the young pack: three will travel to Montana to learn from Anton Cheval, and three to Colorado to be mentored by Ulrich Mason and his mate, Millie...Having weathered a series of vicious attacks, the Montana pack welcomes the distraction of breaking in the novices. But everything changes with the arrival of a mysterious stranger whose connection to Millie will bring the she-wolf, her partner, and their proteges - including Matt, the sensitive alpha Millie has brought to his sexual peak - to Montana. The time has come for Millie to confront her past, even as the young Chanku prepare for a future of power, pride, and pure pleasure.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.

Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

From @janicu Alphas by Lisi Harrison along with a cool Alphas t-shirt which my demon spawn promptly swiped and took into her cave of horrors.

Won in Contests:

From @BookReaderTimes

Sunlight, Moonlight by Amanda Ashley along with a cool booklight.

From Wonders and Marvels

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davies

The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley from Bloomsbury c/o Shelf Awareness

From RomanceJunkies

My Sister's Ex by Cydney Rax

The Blue Enchantress by M.L. Tyndall

From Elise @ Scorched Sheets
In Deep by Simon Sheppard
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Be With Me by Maya Banks

Booklover or Not???

What made you a booklover? Also, how do you classify someone as a booklover?

Defined:
Booklover- noun- Someone who loves ( and usually collects) books.


I keep having this conversation with my husband, for some unknown reason it really “chaps his hide” so to speak for me to call myself a booklover. His reasoning is if I don’t like all books then I am not technically a booklover. I think if I am open to reading new books in or outside of the genres that I prefer then I am in fact a lover of books, whether I finish the entire book or not.
There are many books that he would like for me to read and though I try I can not make myself finish them. One of the books that I wasn’t able to finish , The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, I can not for the life of me get past the first few chapters. Others that he gives me like The Cleric Quintet by R. A. Salvatore and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I just sail right through.


So tell me how you feel about this, do I really have to love all books to be a booklover or can I just like what I like while being open to new, exciting reads?

What do you think?

For this post I want you to tell me what book(s) got you hooked on reading? As a child or after you became an adult.

Review: My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel

TORN BETWEEN...


Alexandrine Marit is a witch in mortal danger. An evil mage craves the powerful, mysterious talisman that supplies her magic, and the only person who can keep her safe is a dark and dangerous fiend called Xia. With his fierce animosity toward witches, he's hardly the ideal bodyguard. Yet as days turn into nights, she can't deny the white-hot passion between them.


DESIRE AND TEMPTATION


Xia hates witches. They enslave and mercilessly kill his kind. But he's been ordered to protect Alexandrine, who, to his surprise, has a spirit he admires and a body he longs to possess. With the mage and his henchmen closing in, Alexandrine and her protector must trust the passion that can unite them...or risk losing everything to the enemies who can destroy them both.



Author's Website

Buy

Read Chapter 1 here

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main characters and I think they fit well together. The characters were very well written, the action was intense and the conflict between the main characters could start a forest fire. I certainly hope there are more novels set in this world and since I haven't read My Wicked Enemy I am going to pick it up soon. . It is the second in this series, but I was able to jump right in and there were no hard to understand parts that sometimes happen when you read a book out of sequence. This story was very exciting and on par with some of the best that paranormal has to offer

What I liked about My Forbidden Desire:

1. Lots of intense action

2. Sexual tension and some sex but not so much that it obscures the story

3. Well written characters and plot

4. Intriguing world of blood twins, magehelds, witches, mages and fiends

5. Left me wanting more

I rate My Forbidden Desire 5 stars

SF/F/H Reviewer Linkup Meme, 2nd Edition Compiled by John Ottinger

This list was compiled by John Ottinger @ Grasping For The Wind

If you would like your blog added to the list go here.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Romanian French Chinese Danish Portuguese German

A

---

7 Foot Shelves

The Accidental Bard

A Boy Goes on a Journey

A Dribble Of Ink

Adventures in Reading

A Fantasy Reader

The Agony Column

A Hoyden's Look at Literature

All Booked Up

Alexia's Books and Such...

Andromeda Spaceways

The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Ask Daphne

ask nicola

Audiobook DJ

aurealisXpress

Australia Specfic In Focus

Author 2 Author

AzureScape

B

---

Barbara Martin

Babbling about Books

Bees (and Books) on the Knob

Best SF

Bewildering Stories

Bibliophile Stalker

Bibliosnark

Big Dumb Object

BillWardWriter.com

The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf

Bitten by Books

The Black Library Blog

Blog, Jvstin Style

Blood of the Muse

The Book Bind

Bookgeeks

Bookrastination

Booksies Blog

Bookslut

The Book Smugglers

Bookspotcentral

The Book Swede

Book View Cafe [Authors Group Blog]

Breeni Books

C

---

Cheaper Ironies [pro columnist]

Charlotte's Library

Circlet 2.0

Cheryl's Musings

Club Jade

Cranking Plot

Critical Mass

The Crotchety Old Fan

D

---

Daily Dose - Fantasy and Romance

Damien G. Walter

Danger Gal

It's Dark in the Dark

Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews

Darque Reviews

Dave Brendon's Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog

Dead Book Darling

Dear Author

The Deckled Edge

The Doctor is In...

Dragons, Heroes and Wizards

Drey's Library

The Discriminating Fangirl

Dusk Before the Dawn

E

---

Enter the Octopus

Errant Dreams Reviews

Eve's Alexandria

F

---

Falcata Times

Fan News Denmark [in English]

Fantastic Reviews

Fantastic Reviews Blog

Fantasy Book Banner

Fantasy Book Critic

Fantasy Book Reviews and News

Fantasy Cafe

Fantasy Debut

Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

Fantasy Literature.com

Fantasy Magazine

Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' Blog

Feminist SF - The Blog!

Feybound

Fiction is so Overrated

The Fix

The Foghorn Review

Follow that Raven

Forbidden Planet

Frances Writes

Free SF Reader

From a Sci-Fi Standpoint

From the Heart of Europe

Fruitless Recursion

Fundamentally Alien

The Future Fire

G

---

The Galaxy Express

Galleycat

Game Couch

The Gamer Rat

Garbled Signals

Genre Reviews

Genreville

Got Schephs

Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

Grasping for the Wind

The Green Man Review

Gripping Books

H

---

Hasenpfeffer

Hero Complex

Highlander's Book Reviews

Horrorscope

The Hub Magazine

Hyperpat's Hyper Day

I

---

I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away The Ending

Ink and Keys

Ink and Paper

The Internet Review of Science Fiction

io9

J

---

Jenna's Bookshelf

Jumpdrives and Cantrips

K

---

Keeping the Door

King of the Nerds

L

---

Lair of the Undead Rat

Largehearted Boy

Layers of Thought

League of Reluctant Adults

The Lensman's Children

Library Dad

Libri Touches

Literary Escapism

Literaturely Speaking

ludis inventio

Lundblog: Beautiful

M

---

Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Review

Mari's Midnight Garden

Mark Freedman's Journal

Marooned: Science Fiction Books on Mars

MentatJack

Michele Lee's Book Love

Missions Unknown [Author and Artist Blog Devoted to SF/F/H in San Antonio]

The Mistress of Ancient Revelry

MIT Science Fiction Society

Monster Librarian

More Words, Deeper Hole

Mostly Harmless Books

Multi-Genre Fan

Musings from the Weirdside

My Favourite Books

N

---

Neth Space

The New Book Review

NextRead

Not Free SF Reader

Nuketown

O

---

OF Blog of the Fallen

The Old Bat's Belfry

Only The Best SciFi/Fantasy

The Ostentatious Ogre

Outside of a Dog

P

---

Paranormality

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

Patricia's Vampire Notes

The Persistence of Vision

Piaw's Blog

pornokitsch

Post-Weird Thoughts

Publisher's Weekly

Q

---

R

---

Random Acts of Mediocrity

Ray Gun Revival

Realms of Speculative Fiction

Reading the Leaves

Review From Here

Reviewer X

Revolution SF

The Road Not Taken

Rob's Blog o' Stuff

Robots and Vamps

S

---

Sandstorm Reviews

Satisfying the Need to Read

Science Fiction and Fantasy Ethics

Science Fiction Times

ScifiChick

Sci-Fi Blog

SciFiGuy

Sci-Fi Fan Letter

The Sci-Fi Gene

Sci-Fi Songs [Musical Reviews]

SciFi Squad

Scifi UK Reviews

Sci Fi Wire

Self-Publishing Review

The Sequential Rat

Severian's Fantastic Worlds

SF Diplomat

SFFaudio

SFFMedia

SF Gospel

SFReader.com

SF Reviews.net

SF Revu

SF Safari

SF Signal

SF Site

SFF World's Book Reviews

Silver Reviews

Simply Vamptastic

Slice of SciFi

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Solar Flare

Speculative Fiction

Speculative Fiction Junkie

Speculative Horizons

The Specusphere

Spinebreakers

Spiral Galaxy Reviews

Spontaneous Derivation

Sporadic Book Reviews

Stainless Steel Droppings

Starting Fresh

Stella Matutina

Stuff as Dreams are Made on...

The Sudden Curve

The Sword Review

T

---

Tangent Online

Tehani Wessely

Temple Library Reviews

Tez Says

things mean a lot

Tor.com [also a publisher]

True Science Fiction

U

---

Ubiquitous Absence

Un:Bound

undeadbydawn

Urban Fantasy Land

V

---

Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic

Variety SF

W

---

Walker of Worlds

Wands and Worlds

Wanderings

The Wertzone

With Intent to Commit Horror

The Wizard of Duke Street

WJ Fantasy Reviews

The Word Nest

Wordsville

The World in a Satin Bag

WriteBlack

X

---

Y

---

Young Adult Science Fiction

Z

---

Romanian

---

Cititor SF [with English Translation]

French

---

Elbakin.net

Mythologica

Chinese

---

Foundation of Krantas

The SF Commonwealth Office in Taiwan [with some English essays]

Yenchin's Lair

Danish

---

Interstellar

Ommadawn.dk

Scifisiden

Portuguese

---

Aguarras

Fernando Trevisan

Human 2.0

Life and Times of a Talkative Bookworm

Ponto De Convergencia

pós-estranho

Skavis

German

---

Fantasy Seiten

Fantasy Buch

Fantasy/SciFi Blog

Literaturschock

Welt der fantasy

Bibliotheka Phantastika

SF Basar

Phantastick News

X-zine

Buchwum

Phantastick Couch

Wetterspitze

Fantasy News

Fantasy Faszination

Fantasy Guide

Zwergen Reich

Fiction Fantasy

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Romanian French Chinese Danish Portuguese German

Intertwined Sweepstakes

Time for Some More Movie Reviews

Bradley Cooper stars as Leon Kauffman, an ambitious New York photographer whose reckless search for a serial killer (Vinnie Jones), known as "the Subway Butcher," leads him down a dark and dangerous path. Leslie Bibb, Dan Callahan, Brooke Shields and Tony Curran also star in this spine-tingling thriller from director Ryuhei Kitamura, a chilling tale based on a short story by horror giant Clive Barker.

Very weird movie, but not in the manner you would expect it to be. Its horror but with a very strange horror twist. GORY!!!!!! If you don't like heavy gore DO NOT WATCH this movie. I have to say this is the strangest Clive Barker movie I have ever watched. My husband liked it and honestly I am at a loss to say I LIKED it but I didn't hate it. Sometimes you just need a gory horror movie.

I rate this 3 stars.

*******************************

Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker and Aaron Yoo headline director Marcus Nispel's chilling remake of the classic 1980s slasher-thriller that spawned a legendary horror franchise. Ignoring the warnings of the locals, a group of teenage camp counselors takes on the job of reopening Camp Crystal Lake -- on Friday the 13th no less, and raise the ire of Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears), a masked, homicidal maniac.

Almost on par with the other Friday the 13th movies, but i must say that I enjoyed them more. The one consolation for me was seeing Jared Padalecki for more than the standard Supernatural hour. Without him I don't think I would have finished this movie.

One aspect of the movie made no sense to me---Who in their right mind would have a vacation home ( especially when they are rich enough to have it anywhere they want) in a town known for loads of murders and disappearances.

3 stars


*****************************