2011 Reading Challenges

Browsing through some of my favorite book blogs I've discovered some challenges for the next year. Since I'm now in the phase when no book seems interesting enough to read (maybe it's the cold or something) I decided I need some serious motivation. So I'll sing up on a few of them and see how it goes :)
I'll be keeping you posted and I'll be writing reviews to most of the books I'll be reading. So...let the signing up begin :D

Ooops

Sorry for missing this past few months. Real life tends to sometimes come between me and my fun. Fortunately, I've graduated and I got my degree. Also, I moved to another country. I have to start to speak the language and then get a job...until then, I'm trying to catch up on all the reading I missed during summer.
I really hope your summer was good or better than good.

This and that and Happy Easter!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately. It's just that my projects are catching up with me *sniffles*. Anyway, I got a very interesting visit from the Easter Bunny (hey, don't laugh, he was quite cute! )

See how cute he is? Anyway, he had some goodies in his basket (more like eye candy goodies) and I thought to share. I hope you have a really great weekend and a Happy Easter! And here are the prezzies:

On my wishlist (1)

"On My Wishlist" is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City to share the books that we haven't bought yet but are waiting to be bought and devoured. Below are some of the books that I am looking forward to reading!

 MONTANA LEGACY


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 They're the McCords...three rugged, sexy cowboy cousins who'll inherit the family range--if they seek the treasure hidden on it. But even more precious are the women who can tame their wild hearts...

She was the one person who shook Jesse McCord's quiet determination. She was the only one he ever let in, body and soul. Then suddenly Amy Parrish was gone and the oldest McCord cousin devoted his life to the family ranch. Now Amy is back, offering help to Jesse find the McCord gold. Yet Jesse's not about to give her a second chance, and he hopes his pride will protect him from her irresistible charms. But under the wide prairie skies a dangerous, unseen enemy is fast closing in, threatening Amy and Jesse's very lives and the promise of their ...

HIS DARKEST HUNGER

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Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he’s finally found her. The hunt is over…

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.


But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine… 

THE MISTS OF AVALON

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 A Literary Guild Featured Alternate

Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. A spellbinding novel, an extraordinary literary achievement, THE MISTS OF AVALON will stay with you for a long time to come....

DEAR JOHN

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An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.

Musing Monday (1)

MUSING MONDAYS are hosted by Rebecca

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about dust jackets.

Do you prefer books with a dust jacket? What do you do with your dust jacket while reading? Leave it on or take it off? (Question courtesy of Kim from Page after Page)



I don't like dust jackets. Mostly because it means that the book is hardback and I like paperbacks just fine. Hardbacks are heavier and bigger and they don't fit into a normal handbag. Plus, they're uncomfortable if I want to read during a slightly boring class *blushes* . That's the reason why I don't have many books with dust jackets. But for the ones I have, yes, I take it off.

Another reason why I don't like dust jackets is that because usually, when you take it off, you'll get a book with black/gray/green cover that looks...well, in my humble opinion, it's ugly!
So no, no dust jackets for this reader.

Book review - Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

He's a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She's a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen...
Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact--and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.
Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.
Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild..

I've been thinking about this first review. I kept wondering what book to review first, since in the past year I've read lots of good books. And then I saw Riding Wild on my bookshelf and I thought that this was the one that should get the first review.

I really loved this book. After all, the hero is a bad boy. You girls know the type, the boy your mommas always told you to stay away from. The one that skips classes in high school, who likes getting dirty working in a garage, who smokes and rides a bike. The type of boy "good girls" should always avoid. And that's Mac. He has the bike, he works in a garage, he steals and he's hot. But then something goes bad and he has to choose: does he want to go to jail or not? So he ends up working for the government and instead of ending up a bad boy behind bars he's a bad boy with handcuffs and a gun. Well, several... And he still has that Harley of his.

Enter Lily. Even her name says it: she's the typical good girl. The one wearing sensible shoes, the one that loves her daddy very much and doesn't do a thing against rules. When she meets Mac, they're both in high school. She's an innocent young girl falling in love with the bad boy, the one her daddy can't stand, of course. And so she realizes that the future she accepted, the one her daddy chose for her is not what she wanted: she doesn't want to be a lawyer, married with a boring man that probably doesn't know how to pleasure her like Mac did. So, after Mac breaks up with her just minutes after taking her virginity, she gets rid of that good girl image and, after graduating from the Academy, becomes a cop. Of course, daddy dearest doesn't like that one bit, so she moves from her hometown and becomes a PI. But something is still missing. Yes, she's independent. Yes, she managed to make her own decisions, but the bad boy she still loves isn't there. She still dreams of him and no other man can beat his memory.

So when Mac and Lily meet after ten years, both of them have to deal with their feelings for each other. Will they manage? Will they make it to the finish line together, or will they end up hurting themselves?

I really loved this story. Forget about the hot bad boy, forget about the very fast bike he's riding or about his handcuffs and his gun, this book is all about that first love, the one you can't forget and the one that you'll keep remembering for the rest of your life. This is why I'm giving this book 5 cups.