Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Favorite Lines: “Bloodlust was…destructive for the Breed. The tipping point between the assuaging of hunger and reckless overdose of blood was easily breached.” (60)

Vampires seem to be popping up everywhere. While this drives some people crazy, I’m happily sucking them all up. (No pun intended.) One problem I’ve been having is the use of the term ‘big bad’ to describe everything. I can’t help but flash to Buffy and immediately get pissed.

Thankfully, Ms. Adrian does not go there. She introduces an alien species that happens to be Vampires or the Breed. There are civilians, Rogues, and the Order who protects humans. The Rogues are vampires that have a bloodlust. They are addicted to blood and take more than they need to live while sucking the life out of their human donor.

There are very few females that the Breed can reproduce with and the lucky ones are called Breedmates. (Never would have figured that out, huh?)

Morgan by Lori Foster

Favorite Lines: “I am not sick, you idiot! I’m pregnant.” (43)

Morgan is book two in Lori Foster’s Buckhorn Brother’s series. I’m assuming that these books are re-releases based on the fact that all four books were released on March 13, 2007. I’ve only read Morgan and have no intention of reading the other three books. If you read them or have already read them, feel free to post your opinion in the comments area.

Morgan Hudson is the sheriff of Buckhorn. He is one of four brothers and definitely a bachelor considering settling down. The problem is that he doesn’t have anyone to settle down with…until his new sister-in-law comes for a visit.

Misty Malone had a rough time before going to visit her newly married sister. She has some secrets and one of them is that she’s pregnant and the father wants nothing to do with her or the baby. Her new brother-in-laws insist that she stay with them so that she’s around a family that can support her. Morgan wants to be more than a brother to Misty but isn’t sure that it’s the right thing to do.

One good thing about this book is that Ms. Foster doesn’t use a squeaky clean heroine. Often the heroines in romance novels are strong women who have been wronged. That is true with Morgan, but Misty has a criminal past. I can’t pull more than a few books from the top of my head where the heroines have been arrested for crimes.

The brothers are hot! I enjoyed Morgan Hudson’s character. He’s not above blackmailing Misty to get his way (which also happens to be in her best interest). He genuinely cares for her and her unborn child. He is also the only way that I see Misty having a happily ever after.

Parts of this book were fun to read but I didn’t feel invested in the characters enough to care whether or not they stayed together. Fans of Harlequin books will love this book, I didn’t.

Yay, I had a good day!

Y’all know how much I love to read, right? Well, do you remember me wanting to review books so that I could get them for free? I have a fondness for telling my opinion of the books and I’ve bitched about my family/friends really not being into the books that I  am. That’s where y’all come in. I read to my hearts content then I post. To my surprise (I have a bad habit of doubting myself) I sent off four of my book reviews to Romance Design in an effort to become an official reviewer and I was accepted.

I’m pumped! I’m still going to review here, just not the books that I review for them. The books I review for Romance Designs will be listed on my read in 2007 and linked from that page. So, what’s going on with y’all? Any good news?

A Wicked Snow by Gregg Olsen

Favorite Lines: “But what Hannah loved most about her husband had nothing to do with his ability as a cop, his intellect, or his wit at a social service fund raiser. It was that above all, Ethan was a passionate man when it came to his family. His wife and daughter were his world, the only world he needed.” (39)

Yes, I know how scary it is that I’m reading another book written by a man so soon after the last book (The Secret War). My mom bought A Wicked Snow and I needed a book so…

A Wicked Snow is about Hannah Griffin. As a young girl she was the only survivor of a fire that killed her brothers. Her mother dissapeared and her father preceeded her in death. The same night as the fire, firemen discovered several other bodies on the farm. When the body count ceased, the number was up to twenty. The handyman from the farm was charged with the arson, but Hannah’s mother was never found.

13 Places to Find Treasure

I’m listing 13 places to find treasure taken from Travel Channel

1. Gold- Pine Grove, California (Mine for gold)

2. Diamonds- Murfreesboro, Arkansas (Sift for diamonds)

3. Sunken Treasure- Key West, Florida (Look for treasure)

4. Aquamarines- Spruce Pines, North Carolina (Break rocks & find aquamarines)

5. Sapphires- Philipsburg, Montana (Dig for sapphires)

6. Truffles- Cottage Grove, Oregon (Hunt for truffles)

7. Amethysts- Cleveland, Georgia (Search for amethysts)

8. Thunder eggs- Deming, New Mexico (Pound for geodes)

9. Opals- Lakeview, Oregon and Virgin Valley, Nevada (Hunt for opals)

10. Megaloden Teeth- near Arcadia, Florida (Screen or snorkel for teeth)

11. Meteorites- Glorietta Mountain in New Mexico or Brenham Township, Kansas (Search for meteorites)

12. Civil War artifacts- outside Fredericksville, Pennsylvania (Find artifacts)

13. Fluorescent minerals- Ogdensburg, New Jersey (Pound rocks for minerals)

Other 13′ers

1. Lesley
2. Milady
3. Kids, Cats & Books
4. Susan

Cover of Night by Linda Howard

Favorite Lines: “Do you think I carried you for nine months and suffered through thirty-six hours of agonizing labor to bring you into this world for you to sit on your butt? Get out there and mow that lawn. That’s what I had you for.” (49)

Cover of Night by Linda Howard was released May 1 in paperback format. The blurb sounded interesting and promising, but I was quite disappointed. The story is about a widowed mother of four-year-old twins who runs a boarding house in a remote location. One morning a male boarder climbs out of his window and is not seen again. Out of concern for his safety she calls the police to report the man’s disappearance and is basically told not to worry.

She soon realizes that she has reason to worry. A couple of men come to stay at the boarding house and thinking that Cate Nightingale knows something about the missing boarder hold Cate and her friend hostage. The situation is resolved thanks to shy handyman, Calvin Harris. Calvin sends the terrorists away not knowing that they would come back and hold the quiet town of Trail Stop, Idaho hostage.

This book was longer than it needed to be for my taste. Calvin is portrayed for a good part of the book as a shy man who can barely make eye contact with Cate. That was an immediate turn off for me. Later he blossomed into a take charge character. Cate was consumed with being a single mother. She ran a business and raised her twins while constantly dredging up the past (in her mind).

There are five other story lines taking place as well: a buddying love story between two citizens of Trail Stop, a killer seeking revenge against his boss, a man running from the mob, a country boy trying to make it to the big time, and a killer forming a working relationship with the mob. The story lines were clear but I felt as if too much was happening. The book wrapped up to cleanly and quite unbelievably. I have a hard time with the ending because the villains went to extremes to isolate the town and that seems to be disregarded by the ending.

I won’t be reading this book again. You can read the opinion of someone else that liked the book here and another book review here.

Thief With No Shadow by Emily Gee

Favorite Lines: “Silvia had taught him well. Never mind that the heat from the salamander’s skin scalded his fingertips and singed his hair, never mind that his mouth and tongue blistered as he kissed her breasts, that her strong scent made him want to vomit.” (363)

This book came to me attention via Nalini Singh’s website. If you follow this link you can read her interview with the author Emily Gee. (You have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see it because it’s in the May archives.)

Thief With No Shadow is a fantasy novel about two families and their journey to overcome the past. Melke, a wraithe, has broken a personal vow to never steal. She stole a necklace from Bastien and that is where the book begins. Melke is stuck in a tree with a hound snarling beneath her. The hound belongs to Bastien, so when Bastien calls him he leaves allowing Melke to run for her life. She must take the necklace to the salamanders to exchange for her brother.

Immortals: The Calling by Jennifer Ashley

Favorite Line: “You sound like a reject from a bad movie.” (9).

Book one in the Immortals series is The Calling. It introduces the reader to five brothers, descendants of the old goddesses, created to keep the balance between good and evil. Centuries past, one of the five brothers disappeared during a battle leading to the other brothers scattering across the world.

Adrian is the oldest of the Immortals and is still searching for his brother Tain. During a nightmare about Tain he hears a woman being attacked by a demon and races to the site of the disturbance. He finds Amber, a young witch searching for the truth about her sisters murder. He is just in time to save her from the demon who killed her sister and the two learn that Amber may hold the key to finding Tain.

Bake for a Kid

How would you feel if I told you that by holding a bake sale you can help a hungry child in the United States? According to Share our Strength 1 in 6 U.S. children are in danger going hungry. Lack of nutrition can lead to neurological problems, growth delays, and lower academic grades.

To combat hunger, Share our Strength has joined with the Food Network to promote the Great American Bake Sale. They are asking for groups and people to hold bake sales from May 19 – August 31, 2007. It’s quite simple. Go to the gabs site or call (800) 761-4227 and register. Host a bake sale and turn in the proceeds. The money goes to help out hungry kids in your community.

If you don’t want to hold a traditional bake sale, they offer a virtual bake sale site that I haven’t investigated yet. Another way to help, without holding a sale is to buy from one. To encourage people to participate they are holding a contest. The group/person/organization that earns the most money will win a trip for 2 to the Food Network in NYC, hotel and airfare, tickets to the Emmeril show, $250, and  a gift basket.

The Demon You Know by Christine Warren

Favorite Lines: “Great, Abby thought. I just risked my neck for a horny lunatic.” (19)

This is book three in Christine Warren’s Others series. Book one, Wolf at the Door, introduced Warren’s world of the Others. The others include demons, shape shifters, vampires and fairies. The Others were strategically planning a way to ‘come out of the closet’ to the humans.

Book two, She’s No Faerie Princess, we met the dark and light faeries and discovered more about the plan to reveal the others to the human world. Know in book three, The Demon You Know, we enter a world that has just learned that the Others exist. Rioting is occurring and demons fiends are running loose in the city. This is were Rule steps in.