How a Bowl is meant to be licked!

My email buddy sent me these pictures and just thought all the pet lovers like myself would maybe enjoy the puppy and his "treat"!

It must have been hard for the person taking these pictures not to get mad at the pup instead of snapping these cute shots, I am very glad they took the pictures instead!

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened."

Truer words were never spoken! Our animal friends who become "family members" are very precious and for those who have never made this connection I feel sorry as you have missed out on one of life's joys, the love and companionship of a pet!What would you do if your pet puppy did this mess? Your hamster chewed up your favorite book, your ferret tore up your prized art, your cat threw up in your favorite pair of expensive leather shoes?I don't think most of us would think it was cute and take pictures but I would hope we would understand that it was not meant as a malicious act but mostly done out of boredom...Any thoughts from the Peanut Gallery?

The Eternal Kiss Anthology {My Thoughts}

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire

by Trisha Telep (Editor), Rachel Caine, Cecil Castellucci, Cassandra Clare , Melissa de la Cruz, Karen Mahoney , Maria V. Snyder , Holly Black,Kelley Armstrong, Libba Bray, Sarah Rees Brennan, Nancy Holder,Debbie Viguié, Lilith Saintcrow, Dina James

Photo and info from goodreads.com

Blurb also from goodreads.com

There’s an allure to vampire tales that have seduced readers for generations. From Bram Stoker to Stephenie Meyer and beyond, vampire stories are here to stay. For those fresh-blooded fans of paranormal romance or for those whose hunt and hunger never dies, these stories have what readers want!

This collection of original tales comes from some of the hottest, most popular, and best-selling YA writers, including:

• Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tithe)

• Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty)

• Melissa De La Cruz (Blue Blood)

• Cassandra Clare (City of Bones)

• Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires)

• Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie (Wicked)

• Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof, Queen of Cool)

• Kelley Armstrong (Women of Otherworld)

• Maria V. Snyder

• Sarah Rees Brennan

• Lili St. Crow

• Karen Mahoney

• Dina James

They will make everyone a sucker for eternal kisses.

I have to confess to reading this book over the period of a  weekend as a kind of "filler" book because the novellas were quick and could be read one at a time and were not time consuming in the way a full length read is.... I found quite a few new authors to me in the listing above and also have developed a fondness for a couple of them like Dina James and Holly Black who I hope to be reading more of now that have found their work to be my kind of entertainment!Story list follows....
Falling to Ash by Karen Mahoney

Having never read Karen Mahoney's work this short about a young female vampire who has to carry out an errand for her "maker" was not a bad introduction to her work, not really a fave though...

Shelter Island by Melissa de la Cruz 

This offering was to me one of the more maudlin and at the end a heartbreaking tale....

Sword Point by Maria V. Snyder

Again a new author to me and as a short it was okay reading and again not really a stand out for me....

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Unapologetic dark and gruesomely drawn tale of the vampire lore. No glamorous romantic vamps in this one from Holly Black, it is a good short story that will give you second thoughts on becoming a " creature of the night"! I would like to read more on this line by the author but novella is a stand alone....

Undead is Very Hot Right Now by Sarah Rees BrennanI know that the author has other works out besides the tongue-cheek-at-times look at the "rock star" vampire who is the "gimmick" in a boy band. I need to reserve judgement until read something a bit more lengthy and with less forced "vampire" humor..... 
Kat by Kelley ArmstrongThis novella is based on the Darkest Powers series and is the story of Kathy one of the youngsters from the Edison Group Experiments. This one was one of my other favorites as it centered on a story line that I was familiar with even though this is only a small stand alone in the scheme of the whole series....
The Thirteenth Step by Libba Bray New author to me, I enjoyed this somewhat twisted tale of Vampire Do-Gooders who in order to "help" in my opinion do not "help" in the least....
All Hallows by Rachel Caine I have got read my Morganville Vampire series, this is a novella stand alone story from the characters and it was hands down by far my favorite read of the entire lineup....
Wet Teeth by Cecil Castellucci This story just goes to prove that Vampires having human friends is a really lousy idea....
Other Boys by Cassandra ClareGoing in you see the plot twist from a mile away, and yet this tale is strangely intriguing reading and makes for a good short story in the end...
Passing by Nancy Holder and Debbie ViguieIf someone told me tomorrow that this writing duo would have a full length book releasing with the premise that was the basis for this short story I would want to read it very much. The idea of having a Hunter School that pairs the human norms with a supernatural partner and then sends them out to slay the rogue vampires may not be totally unique but in the short it has a dynamic that is fresh and if developed further would make a great full length book or even a series...
Ambition by Lili St. CrowTo say that the story really has no point at the end would be over done, but it does leave you feeling unresolved as to what, why, when and where....
All Wounds by Dina JamesThis is the one that I would truly love to see brought back and expanded and in going to the AUTHORS SITE it turns out that it is the first story in her "Stranger Things World."
Okay 13 different takes on the lore of vampires, some familiar authors and some not. As Anthologies go it  had a good mix of humor and angst and lots and lots of dark dangerous vampires that are not exactly the norm for today's fans....

  

 

The Exercise Block....

I want one of these, don't you?

IMHO this is better than trying these:

This lady can do something I will not even try!

I want some pills like they took!

Yes we all wish to look like we are ready to explode, NOT!

This kitty just appeared in here somehow!

And I really do not think I want to be the "rat in the cage"!

Okay now that we have all had a good laugh, what kind of Exercise do you do? Daily, weekly, monthly, NEVER?

Lucan-Pendragon Legacy Bk #1 {My Thoughts}

Lucan

photo, info and blurb from goodreads.com

THEIR LOVE IS FORBIDDEN

Healer and high priestess of her people, Lady Cael is fated to life without a mate. But a mysterious explorer named Lucan Rourke doesn't know her secrets, and his touch makes her crave a future that her extraordinary birthright has forbidden her....

BUT DANGER IS NO MATCH FOR DESIRE

Lucan has just one mission on Pendragon: to find the mythical Holy Grail, Earth's only hope for survival. His powerful attraction to Cael is a distraction he can't afford, unless he convinces her to join forces with him. Yet working so closely together only heightens their passion...even when the terrifying truth of Cael's heritage threatens to shatter Lucan's every belief-and the galaxy itself.

My fascination with Arthurian myths and legends started years ago. I love pretty much any movie ever made about King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table, Merlin the Magician and all the rest of the lore!
Susan Kearney has captured  a new fan base with this very interesting Pendragon Legacy series and in "Lucan" book 1 we are given a story filled with the legend but presented in a way that has not been explored until now... The quest for "The Holy Grail" is a story in itself and as the main reason for Lucan being on the planet of Pendragon it creates quite a dilemma as the relationship between Cael and Lucan heats up...
Lucan and Cael's story is one of forbidden passion, enormous courage, sci-fi action adventure and is a wonderful start to the trilogy which includes "Lucan", "Rion" and "Jordan"...
I thoroughly had a good time with the interplanetary travel in the tradition of "Star Trek" with a very unique twist on the "Transporter" and the very well fleshed out characters that will easily segue from book to book lead me to look forward to reading the next 2 books in this trilogy...
MORE ON AUTHOR AND BOOKS

Romance Lover's Book Giveaway!

UPDATE:CONTEST IS OVER & NOW CLOSED TO COMMENTS!
RULES ARE EASYDo NOT need to follow, can if you wish on GFC...MUST be at least 17 to enter due to sexual content of books....MUST leave a VALID Email in Comment to reach winner....{once again no email no entry, will not track down anyone}US ENTRY ONLY as I will mail books to winner.....

  

Winner will be chosen by List Randomizer and have 48 to confirm my email announcing the win or new winner chosen...Winner will be posted no later than  Thursday September 2nd...1 Winner will receive all 3 gently used Mass Market Paperback books when chosen by Random.org List Randomizer and when I confirm will ask for address to send the books to...Emails and mailing address will be used and discarded once contest is over and will not be shared with anyone else.....

The books came to me  gently used from Paperback Swap and have read and thoroughly enjoyed each of them and would like another lover of Historical Medieval Romance books to have the same reading experience from Margaret Mallory's wonderfully sketched stories!!!

                                                    

In My Mailbox#34 (August 29th)

In My Mailbox is a MEME hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.

IMM at The Story Siren  

DEMONICA #5 Won in middle of August from LEA AT CLOSETREADER

CAN YOU HEAR MY SQEEEE'S OF JOY Lea!!!!!!!!

J K BECK SHADOW KEEPERS SWAG FROM AUTHOR

Book #1 in STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL series from Paperback Swap

Book # 1 PENDRAGON LEGACY SERIES from Paperback Swap

SIRANTHA JAX #2 From Paperback Swap Member

 ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN #2 GIN BLANCO FROM THE BOOK DEPOSITORY

NIGHT TRACKER #2 From THE BOOK DEPOSITORY

SOUL SCREAMERS #3 From THE BOOK DEPOSITORY

What did you get in your mailbox? Come share!

Marked-Eternal Guardians #1 {My Thoughts}

Marked (Eternal Guardians, #1)

photo and info from goodreads.com

(free e-book from B&N read on Nook App on my Mac)

THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld. 

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her. 

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body. 

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice. 

On Friday the 13th of August I came across the exciting news that "Marked" was an E-Book FREEBIE to download from Barnes and Nobles. I downloaded then read the E-Book on my Nook app for my IMac computer over the next several days.... "Marked" is the first book written in the "Eternal Guardian" series and is the first book that I have read by Elisabeth Naughton. To say that I loved the book would be stretching it quite a bit, I did like it enough that the next book in the series "Entwined" is still on my "want to read list"...... "Marked" is an interesting mixture of both Myth and Legend, the author has created a world with  Paranormal twists that add a "punch" to what would otherwise be an ordinary tale. The story is inventively written to include not only the Greek Gods, but the Fates, mortals and immortals, and introduces the reader to an entire cast of Eternal Guardians besides that of the main hero Theron. For those of us who watched the movie "Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief"earlier this yearthe cameos from Hades and Persephone will strike a remembered chord as the author has IMO channeled and expanded on the way these two were portrayed by the movie characters.. I enjoyed most of the world building, although it was a little much to keep track of at times. There are still events in the book that were thrown out to the reader that were never made clear by the ending of the story. Hopefully some of them will be cleared up in the next book in the series.....All in all the book was okay, it did not really live up to the "hype" that was going on prior to it's release earlier in April. I think that for lovers of Paranormal Romance who do not mind having the main M/F characters "have to fulfill their destiny" as being the main plot it will be a wonderful reading experience. For myself it got very repetitious. I will say that the book  was a "good read"for me but not a "great" one. I had really strong expectations before reading that were not quite met by the time I turned the last page. I am going to say that and then say this that my problems with the book, the story, the characters stem from my own disenchantment right now for the "fantasy" romance genre which this falls into for me. I am growing more aware that it is getting harder to just read a book where boy meets girl and in the space of a few seconds knows "she is the only one" and the girl goes along not only with that but any other outlandish notion thrown her way without a lot of thought or trouble accepting everything pretty much at face value....

MARKED INFO PAGE AND EXCERPT ON AUTHORS WEB SITE
ENTWINED BOOK #2 ETERNAL GUARDIANS INFO PAGE AND EXCERPT
ELISABETH NAUGHTON'S BOOK SHELF FOR MORE INFO AND READING ORDER

Knight Of Passion {My Thoughts}

Knight of Passion (All the King's Men)

photo and info from goodreads.com

Blurb and excerpt link from AUTHOR'S SITE

HOW CAN THIS PASSIONATE KNIGHT…

Renowned beauty Lady Linnet is torn between two desires: revenge on those who destroyed her family or marriage to her childhood sweetheart Sir James Rayburn. One fateful night, she makes a misguided choice: she sacrifices Jamie’s love for a chance at vengeance.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST?

Jamie Rayburn returns to England in search of a virtuous wife—only to find the lovely Linnet as bewitching as ever. Their reckless affair ignites anew, even hotter than before, although Jamie vows to never again trust her with his heart. Then just as Linnet begins to make amends, she’s tempted by one last opportunity to settle old scores. But a final retribution could cost her Jamie’s love – this time forever.

Last book of the trilogy and we find a grown up Jamie and Linnet 5 years after having broken off their passionate affair. Now older and seemingly wiser Jamie finds he is as helplessly drawn to the beautiful and saucy woman as he was to the young minx he left all those years ago....In a story of passion, more political intrigue, the quest for those who caused Linnet and her brother Francois to be orphaned and destitute as children, rounded off by a very disturbing cabal of devil worshipers we are once again taken on a well penned  journey that never slows down until the very ending.....In the course of all the drama where we see Jamie and Linnet time and again almost "grasp" their chance at happiness before once more something drives them apart we never lose sight of the all encompassing love each one has for the other. For the time period of the history though Jamie is a fairly modern thinking male, he is also obstinately set on having the woman he loves be someone who puts all his needs and wants first and foremost. Of course with Linnet being the exact opposite of the dull, stay-at-home type that Jamie thinks he truly wants this causes major problems with them  reaching their much longed for HEA!When push comes to shove and as Jamie and Linnet both come to the same conclusion that life without each other would be no life, cruel fate steps in once more and creates a dilemma that almost causes the pair to not only be lost to each other but lose their lives as well. The end is as exciting as the beginning and the middle of the book, you will not be able to stop reading until you find out what happens because I am not telling!!!Margaret Mallory created some lovely characters for each of the books in the series, though read in order they can also be read alone and still enjoyed fully each on it's own merit. If you truly enjoy historical romance and are looking for books that shine with the lust for life characters that make you want to join them as they struggle to find their way with courage and humor and strength of will you really need to read them soon!End of Chapter 42 is where Jamie finally sums up his feelings for Linnet:"What was he to do with a woman who would act like that? A woman who would throw herself in the way of danger for him without a second thought? He would love her forever. That was what he would do..."
Chapter 43 after a sweetly tender reunion lying in Jamie's arms we are privy to Linnet's thoughts on what Jamie has come to represent for her:"Afterward she lay in the arms of the man who would be her ballast in stormy seas and her shelter in times of trouble...."What are you waiting for?






MORE ON AUTHORS BOOKS AND ORDER TO READ THEM