8 Awesome Bookends

Most of us have hundreds of books in our homes. If you are like me they are double stacked on bookshelves, bedside tables and desks. But for the new year let’s promise to clean up at least one shelf. How? Well get a couple of bookends and de-clutter that shelf!

Perfect for the person who loves to rock out.

Very chic.

Who doesn't think these are full of awesomeness?

Bright and colorful, these would cheer up any shelf.

These would look great in the right office.

 

These are the only mice I want in my house!

Try a classic 3 piece bookend set.

 

Add movement to your shelf by using fish bowl bookends.

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Review: Enchanted No More by Robin D. Owens

Enchanted No More by Robin D. Owens
Trade: $14.95
Harlequin-Luna (January 2011)
ISBN: 9780373803231

Favorite Line: “My family needed you and you failed them.” (p. 23)

Jenni Weaver left the magic community after it failed her in her time of need. She lives on the Mystic Circle cul-de-sac in the human world and has tried to bury her past where she was known as Jindesfarne Mistweaver. She wants to forget the day her family was butchered as they balanced energy to help the royal fae travel to another dimension, and the salt and silver her only surviving relative threw at her as he disowned her. But when her former lover, Aric Paramon re-enters her life with urgent news about her brother, Jenni can no longer distance herself from the magical machinations which destroyed her family.

I am thrilled with the introductory book in Robin D. Owens’ newest series: Mystic Circle. It begins in the human world 15-years after the heroine’s family was massacred as an urban fantasy. But then it moves to the fae world and becomes an epic fantasy novel. The book follows Jenni on her path to accepting who she is, making peace with the past and finding love. It is a romance. With all of those factors in place, you know you’re in for a wild, yet satisfying ride.

Enchanted No More shows a world where half-bloods (half-fae/half-human) are sneered at and treated as second class citizens. It is blatantly prejudiced and everyone accepts it as the norm. There is no bucking the system until Jenni arrives. Jenni is a half-blood who knows from experience the lowly status given to halflings.  She wants no part of that world. She actively works to change the system by encouraging half-bloods to strike out on their own away from the feudal system the fae employ. It is aggravating and at times infuriating.

The over arching story line, which connects all of the story lines is about a darkness trying to consume the light. That story allows Jenni to be put into different, enlightening situations with her former lover, Aric.

Aric has no idea why Jenni is so angry with him and herself. He is loyal to the fae court, but he also has watched the Eight (ruling lightborn fae) ignore the lesser fae and fail to assist Aric’s family. He wants change, but I don’t think he would ever reach or actively fight for change without Jenni.

Enchanted No More will take you on a journey of redemption. It will make you burn with anger, smile with triumph and nod your head with approval as Jenni learns from and about the past and chooses to make a future.

I read an electronic copy courtesy of Netgalley, but this is definitely a book that I will buy and shelf with my other keepers.

Books I Want: January 2011

Y’all are gonna shit when you see the super LONG list of books which are coming out in January. Most of them have been on my buy list for quite a while.

Flip this Zombie by Jesse Petersen (Jan. 3)

The Zombie Apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David. Their marriage is better than ever. They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they’re starting a business. ZombieBusters-for all your zombie extermination needs.
There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers…Except one of them doesn’t want the zombies dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation. Mad scientists make for difficult clients and this time, Sarah and David might have bitten off more than they can chew.

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas! Advice from Scooper: Wear sweats to dinner so you can eat a little bit of everything tonight.

Review: Dead, Undead, and Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare

Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare
Trade: $11.50
Eternal Press (February 2010)
ISBN: 978-1-77065-022-0

Favorite Lines: “Some people are beyond repair, and I’m one of them. I can’t be fixed, not by you, or anyone else.” (p.95)

Rhiannon Murphy has tried to ignore the fact that she’s a necromancer. She is content to be a bartender at a strip club in New York City, until a vampire realizes she is capable of seeing vampires after death. That vampire, Disco, is determined to get Rhiannon’s help in finding a killer stalking the undead community.

I put Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between on my buy list earlier in the year. It always seemed to be put on the back burner as other books were released. Then I began to question my desire to have it. Did I really want to invest in a trade sized book written by an author I’d never read and published by a house I never heard of? The answer is yes.

Rhiannon was a strong woman who had been through a hellish childhood. Her ability to see the dead was more traumatic than helpful. Everywhere she looked were brutalized bodies. Rhiannon’s necro abilities didn’t make her a fan of vampires, but as she got to know them her prejudices seemed to slip away.

I had fun getting to know the characters, so knowing who the killer was as soon as he was introduced didn’t really bother me. Looking back, I can see the foreshadowing surrounding Rhiannon’s eventual interaction with the killer which forced her to deal with one of her biggest life issues. The book isn’t perfect, but it is engaging and like many good books lately, has a killer ending.

The next two books in the series are Renfield Syndrome and The Ripple Effect. Both will be published by Mundania Press. The first book will be released in the fall of 2011. (SIDE NOTE: The covers at Mundania are not impressive at all, but if you read Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between you’ll want to know what happens bad enough to not care.)

Review: Eternal Prey by Nina Bangs

Eternal Prey by Nina Bangs
Mass Market: $7.99
HarperCollins/Avon (December 28, 2010)
ISBN: 9780062018953

Favorite Lines: “He grabbed her arm and pulled her close even as she used the hand that wasn’t fumbling for her sword to try to push him away. So close that she was pressed against his chest and stomach. Heat spread from every contact point. She was surprised steam didn’t start rising from their damp clothes.” (p. 17)

Review: Crimson Wind by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Crimson Wind by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Mass Market: $7.99
Pocket Books (December 28, 2010)
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9815-2

Favorite Lines: “She sagged, slumping over onto her side. She felt oddly warm and comfortable, and though her compulsion spells flogged her like whips, telling her to fight, she didn’t move.” (p. 44)

Review: Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Mass market: $7.99
Pocket Books (November 2009)
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9814-5

Favorite Line: “The yearning in the creature’s voice made Max want to weep for its pain, even as fear thrust skeletal fingers around her heart.” (p. 304)

Now this is Love…True Blood Style

Comforting Romance

It’s no secret that I have always love Julie Garwood’s Scottish romance novels. I love the strong alpha who isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to protect his heroine. I love the innocent brides who can be defiant without saying an unkind word. I just love them. I never try to analyze them…they are pure entertainment for me. Or they were before two days ago.

What happened? Well, I went on a Garwood binge. I even hit the used bookstore to replace two books I couldn’t find. I read: “The Secret,” “Saving Grace,” “The Bride,” “Honor’s Splendour” and “Ransom.” Yeah, I know the storylines by heart, but I never realized how similar they are. (Honor’s Splendour isn’t Scottish, but it reminds me of them.)

The brides are all fragile and delicate with iron backbones. In some ways almost all of them are damaged by their families. There’s the abusive uncle, mother, stepfather, stepbrother, husband and usurper who take out their problems on the brides. Some don’t even realize they’ve been abused; their husbands figure it out and express rage on their behalf. At some point most of them are attacked and have a leg or arm slashed open. They bravely deal with the pain as their wounds are treated.

You know what? I’m good with that. I started to get irritated when I realized they all sounded the same. When the men and woman talked it was like their names and locations had been slightly changed, but the spirit filling the shells remained the same.

Am I over analyzing? You bet. I won’t be giving up my Garwood books anytime soon, if ever. But I sure shocked myself when I started sighing while reading the books. Maybe it’s just cause I’m older and review books more often. Regardless, I still find her books to be comforting.