Short hiatus

Hello my lovelies! I'm taking a very short break from blogging due to some personal reasons. Nothing serious, I just need to study a little. It won't be long, just until the end of this month. I'll still be available on email, so if you need anything I will try to  respond pretty quickly. Until next week, stay safe!

Blog Tour Review: Dancing Naked in Dixie by Lauren Clark

Author: Lauren Clark

My Rating: 5 cups

Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Travel writer Julia Sullivan lives life in fast-forward. She jet sets to Europe and the Caribbean with barely a moment to blink or sleep. But too many mishaps and missed deadlines have Julia on the verge of being fired.

With a stern warning, and unemployment looming, she's offered one last chance to rescue her career. Julia embarks on an unlikely journey to the ‘Heart of Dixie’—Eufaula, Alabama—home to magnificent mansions, sweet tea, and the annual Pilgrimage.

Julia arrives, soon charmed by the lovely city and her handsome host, but her stay is marred by a shocking discovery. Can Julia's story save her career, Eufaula, and the annual Pilgrimage?

This is the first Lauren Clark book I've read and I know for sure I'm going to add her on my auto-buy list. It's been a while since I had this much fun reading a book. I love chick lit and Dancing Naked in Dixie reminded me of why I fell in love with this genre in the first place. You get humor, romance, sad moments, happy moments, some really strong characters and some life lessons if you pay extra attention, all in one package. I really think this book had these and more.

There were some very funny moments where I laughed out loud (actually, I tried to muffle the giggles because it was really late and every sane person was asleep, but that's another story). The point is you will laugh a lot while reading this book!

But more than a humorous story, you get to read a story about self discovery. You get to see Julia, used to traveling the world, going to all these cool places like Bermuda, Spain, Italy, Belize, Hawaii, (but she's not actually seeing those places), discover herself and discover the little things in life that are amazing. And she  does that in a very small town, Eufaula, Alabama, a town so rich with history.

Speaking of history. I loved those parts of the book, where you get to learn about the town and how if was built and when. I also loved the fact that it wasn't like a history lesson, boring and full of unnecessary details. On the contrary, it was fun and I was looking forward to learning more about the town.

I also loved the characters. You meet some interesting people in this book and I enjoyed getting to meet each and everyone of them.

I couldn't put this book down. It was one of those "I hope the world goes away until I finish reading" books. If you love chick lit and contemporary romance, do check this book out. You won't be disappointed!

Dirty Little Secret (10)

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under The Covers.

The rules are simple:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the weekly question.

For more information and for signing up, go to the Under The Covers blog.


This week's question:

What's the sexiest item of clothing a hero can wear in a novel?

Ooooh, I know. Picture a hot guy that just finished taking a shower and he's just wearing a towel. JUST a towel!

Also, a black leather biker jacket is so hawt and sexy! Ummm...Jeans too. 

But my personal favorite has got to be a man dressed in a suit. (I am a fan of How I Met Your Mother, yes, but I've loved guys in suits before that :D ). There's just something extremely sexy about a man in a suit and it makes me want to grab him by the tie and have my way with him *giggle*

What about you? 

Cover Reveal: Soul Weaver by Hailey Edwards

I'm so excited to share this brand new cover. It's for Soul Weaver, one of Hailey Edward's upcoming releases. Here it is: *drum roll, please*

*swoons* Isn't that a HOT cover? This book is the first from the Wicked Kin paranormal romance series. Here's the official blurb:

Since the accident that nearly took her life, Chloe suffers from acute agoraphobia. Living alone above her family’s bookstore, she spends restless nights terrified by strange visions . . . until a mysterious stranger appears and offers her salvation. Chloe is drawn to the ethereal, gorgeous Nathaniel—but her haunted soul warns her there is more to him than meets the eye.

An archangel who roams Earth collecting souls of the newly departed, Nathanial is the sole witness to the accident that should have taken Chloe’s life. Seduced by the purity of her soul, he defies Providence by saving her life. But his attempt at kindness marks Chloe for damnation, and makes her an unwitting pawn in a game of unholy ambition. Now together they must fight the demons of Hell itself—for a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth.

If there's something sexier than vampires and werewolves, it's got to be archangels. Not angels, their bosses. *dreamy sigh* It seems only natural that we have to wait until August (*gasp**whimper*) to read this book.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about this book or other books by Hailey Edwards, check out her website: http://haileyedwards.net/

You can pre-order Soul Weaver at B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/soul-weaver-hailey-edwards/1109890576?ean=9781455523467

And at iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/wicked-kin/id514087029?mt=11

Cover Love (16)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My picks this week:

*sigh* Now that I've read the book, I love the cover even more. Or maybe I should say Kaidan, but *shhh* Don't tell!

Seriously though, the book is amazing and it has a great cover too. Just look at that dress! It's a creepy-sexy cover if you ask me ;)














Aw, how can I not like this cover? I saw that all books in the Hex Hall series are like this. Half-student, half-something else. I like that. Sort of like "look beyond the surface and you'll be surprised of what you find". I also like the fact that the title and author's name are reflected in the purple-ish lake.

Also, LOVE the black cat!!









What's your pick this week?

Book Review: The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner

Author:Theodore Wessner

Source: review copy offered by publisher (check it out here)

My Rating: 3 cups

Blurb: (from Goodreads)

It’s 1959. Sixteen year-old Alex Housman has just stolen his fourteenth car and frankly doesn’t know why. His divorced, working class father grinds out the night shift at the local Chevy Plant in Detroit, kept afloat by the flask in his glove compartment and the open bottles in his Flint, Michigan home.
Abandoned and alone, father and son struggle to express a deep love for each other, even as Alex fills his day juggling cheap thrills and a crushing depression. He cruises and steals, running from, and to, the police, compelled by reasons he frustratingly can’t put into words. And then there’s Irene Shaeffer, the pretty girl in school whose admiration Alex needs like a drug in order to get by. Broke and fighting to survive, Alex and his father face the realities of estrangement, incarceration, and even violence as their lives hurtle toward the climactic episode that a New York Times reviewer called “one of the most profoundly powerful in American fiction.”
In this rich, beautifully crafted story, Weesner accomplishes a rare feat: He’s written a transcendent piece of literature in deceptively plain language, painting a gripping portrait of a father and a son, otherwise invisible among the mundane, everyday details of life in blue collar America. A true and enduring American classic.

When I read the blurb my ears perked up a bit. I mean, really. A young boy, Alex, abandoned by his mother, his father was either working night shifts or drinking. So Alex starts skipping school, stealing cars, smoking. I thought it was really interesting.

And it was, don't get me wrong. It was an interesting story. The reader gets to see Alex grow up from a troubled teenager to a young man enlisted in the Army. And you get to see the struggles he overcomes. Stealing cars, getting arrested, being released from detention and going back to school where he's just as alone as before. You get to see all that.

I felt the pacing was a little too slow for me. The inner monologue at times dragged a little too much for my comfort.

Also, there where moments where I didn't connect at all with Alex. I mean, I understood his reasons for doing what he did. He wanted attention, he needed to fit in and he did whatever it took. But there were too many moments of "he didn't want to do this, but he kept doing it", "he didn't want to be here, but he didn't leave", "he didn't want to eat, but he kept eating" and other similar moments. It was in those moments that I couldn't help but think "well, if you don't want to..., don't". Those moments pulled me out of the story a few times.

It is possible that I had high expectations to begin with. My experience with coming-of-age stories isn't that big, so maybe that's a factor.

If you like coming-of-age stories, this could be the book for you.