WWW-Wednesday (1)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

01. Currently Reading:
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin and I'm absolutely loving it! This is the fourth book in the Song of Fire and Ice series that I'm reading for Spring Into Reading 2012 hosted by Callippider Days. 

02. Recently Finished:
Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas, and I'm sad that it was the last novel in the Hathaway series. But on the bright side, I didn't start with book one so perhaps I'll read that one soon!

03. Reading Next:
I honestly don't know. :) My to-be-read list is actually finished. A trip to the bookstore (and some teaser tuesday posts) is definitely in order so I can stock it up again! Suggestions are welcome! :D

Teaser Tuesday (8)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week it's back to the Spring into Reading 2012 challenge! :) 

A Feast For Crows (p. 25)
     - George R. R. Martin

"Rise," he told the sputtering boy as he slapped him on his naked back. "You have drowned and been returned to us. What is dead can never die."

Should Be Reading @ Wordpress

Love in the Afternoon

Simon Howden

"As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even thought she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted... and she resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man--just to avoid spinsterhood?

Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix's friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul--and it's becoming clear that Christopher won't come back as the same man.

When Beatrix learns of Pru's disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru's letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep...and when Christopher comes home, he's determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix's innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love--and a passion that can't be denied..."

* * 

As the last installment in the Hathaway series, Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas was a must read for me. And again, Kleypas did not disappoint. Beatrix has been one of my favorite characters throughout all of the Hathaway novels and after completion of this book, she immediately jumped to the top of the list. 

SAMMAI

I formed an immediate connection to Beatrix. She's an honest girl with a love for animals beyond any normal bond and as the proud owner of a dog, a cat, and a rabbit -- I must say we share that love for four-legged friends. 

Beatrix's longing for true love is a main factor in forming a connection. She wants a husband that accepts her with all of her peculiarities, a man that doesn't want her to be like every other girl in London society. A man who won't make her hold back her thoughts, or hide her love and desire for the world she lives in. Kleypas writes Beatrix's character in a way that allows readers to understand her, their dreams and desires coinciding with those of Beatrix. 

This novel was a wonderful ending to the series bringing tears of sadness and of joy, and of course out loud laughter. However, it disturbs me to say that I found one huge typo in the novel in which (upon reading) I yelled "Noooooo" to my ceiling (not claiming that I don't make frequent typos in my own writing). I was greatly disturbed when I realized it was impossible to reply to a letter written in December ten months before it had been written. 

Ignoring that small fact, Love in the Afternoon captured my heart. I may even read it again tomorrow, or on some rainy day when I have nothing to do but revel in Beatrix's soul-warming story. 

Love in the Afternoon
                     on Amazon
                     
                  rating : 4/5 cups

Espresso Shot

zole4

"Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi rarely gets steamed. But ever since her ex-husband announced his plans to remarry, she's been making some vows of her own...

Roped into creating a gourmet coffee and dessert bar for her ex-husbands's wedding, Clare faces off with the bride-to-be. Wealthy and sophisticated, the snarky Breanne has never been a low maintenance kind of gal, and now she's in full blown bridezilla mode. The only way Clare can possibly deal with her is to focus on business. But murder is Claire's business, too, and when fatal accidents begin befalling people close to Breanna, Clare become suspiscious.

Is someone trying to sabotage this wedding? Kill Breanna? Clare decides to investigate. But what she uncovers, between steaming cappuccinos and roasting the world's rarest coffee beans, may just get her burned..."

* * 

Espresso Shot, by Cleo Coyle (pseudonym), is one novel in the coffeehouse mystery series. The book takes place in New York City, specifically around the Village Blend (Clare's coffee shop) stationed in Greenwich Village. 

Clare and her ex-husband, Matteo (aka Matt), run the coffee shop together. Clare acts as manager while Matt does the coffee exchange leg work. When the book opens it is a week until Matt ties the knot with Breanna, a character most readers would call an uptight selfish b----. 

Most of the characters in this novel are very easy to like, even Matt, though him and Clare have a complicated and distressing past. But Breanne simply is not one of those characters. She sticks to the true form of "bridezilla." 

Paul

Clare was an easy character to connect with. The entire novel was told in her point of view. The flow of the language morphed the novel into a conversation between friends. I felt like Clare was telling me the story, over the phone or in-person. I wasn't reading it, per se, but listening to a friend divulge details of her week. It was a nice change from the "show, not tell" method writers are told to follow. 

The plot of the novel was well thought out. I made a few predictions throughout reading it, but all of them were wrong. Which is great when reading a murder mystery. All of the events happen in a pretty steady pace, so there was no real waiting for the plot to continue, but at points it did seem slower than a murder mystery should have been. However, throughout the novel I never felt the "Omigod what's going to happen? MUST FINISH" sensation like I normally do with novels of this genre. 

                                                                       

    Espresso Shot

                             on Amazon

               
                          rating: 3/5 cups

A Storm of Swords

Scottchan

"Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall.

Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons left in the words.

And as opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable.

As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords..."

* *

Over one thousand pages makes up this amazing novel, the third installment in the series A Song of Fire and Ice, A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. 

Dreamstine

The characters who offer their point of view, have changed again from the first and second book. This creative angle is an effective method to draw the reader in by allowing them to see some events from various perspectives to better understand the underlying motives of the characters. It serves to bridge the reader to different characters throughout the series, changing the way the readers perceive them.
And where their loyalties lie...

However, I found myself stopping to consider how the characters had gotten to where they were. The ever changing perspectives creates the problem of forgetting where certain characters were while simultaneously offering the aforementioned understanding. 

The plot, which I just have to mention briefly, literally had my mouth hanging open, the word "what" perched on my tongue. It was completely unpredictable! So many things happen constantly: characters die, known plans fail while secret plans succeed, and betrayal is everywhere. Loyalty a hope lost on the raven's wing. 

I was a little disappointed, okay more than a little, when three of my favorite characters "died." I put the quotations around the word because more and more people who die in these novels are re-appearing as... I'll let you figure that our for yourself. 

And not to spoil anything, but the last page will blow every reader away. It makes the previous 1126-ish pages totally worth it.

A Storm of Swords 
on Amazon

rating: 3/5 cups

Teaser Tuesday (7)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser is "A Coffeehouse Mystery", perfect for this blog. :D

Espresso Shot (p.2)
         - Cleo Coyle

"Even beautiful birds were made to die unfair deaths. This was something the stalker knew firsthand. Breanne's fate was a necessary reckoning: A treasure had been taken. Now a price would be paid."


Should Be Reading @ Wordpress

Married by Morning

"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"

zirconicusso

A.k.a. Catherine Marks and Leo Hathaway, Lord Ramsay. 

Which is which? That's up to the reader. 

Leo is, and has always been, a notorious rake with a history of self-destruction. After his first attempt at love, he isn't to keen on the idea of doing it again. While Catherine Marks, governess to the Hathaway ladies, is the picture perfect example of propriety... with a past that haunts her, promising to catch up. 

Every time they meet, an argument undoubtedly ensues. But there's something about Miss Marks that has Leo more than intrigued. And he's overly determined to shed light on her past, no matter how much she resists, hiding behind her spectacles. Perhaps he can win her with one of the kisses he simply cannot stop himself from giving her... 

* *

Lisa Kleypas definitely outdoes herself in this amazing novel, Married by Morning. With a love story that travels through all of the previous books in the series (Mine Till Midnight, Seduce Me at Sunrise, Tempt Me at Twilight, and Love in the Afternoon), Leo and Catherine are characters that readers have already come to care for throughout the previous novels. And the story that Kleypas gives them is, without a doubt, the most interesting one so far. 

Readers will not be able to resist Leo's charm or his heart-breaking history that almost sent him over the edge. His quick-witted nature will cause out loud laughing, while his internal demeanor tugs at the reader's soul. 

Catherine will not be left out, by any means, however. She's a timid woman who had plenty of reasons to fear life itself. Her background will have readers cheering for her to overcome all of her fears as they simultaneously understand every feeling she has. 

Though it isn't necessary that readers start with the first book of the series, or read any of them before this one, it definitely makes the connections with the characters that much stronger. Once read, these books are those that will never slip from memory. The loves stories within the pages will remain, always. 

 Married by Morning
                             on Amazon

               
                          rating: 5/5 cups

Teaser Tuesday (6)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Married by Morning (p.83)
       - Lisa Kleypas 

"He had tried it once, letting himself fall madly in love, nearly losing everything as a result.
And there were some risks a man couldn't take twice." 

Should Be Reading @ Wordpress

The Lucky One

A walk from Colorado to find the woman in a photograph. A lost photograph.

Found in Kuwait by Logan Thibault. His lucky charm throughout his career in the U.S. Marines.

Kahn

A woman whose photograph saved his life.

But what happens when he finds her? If he can find her? Why is he looking for her? What does it mean? Logan Thibault can't even answer these questions himself. He just knows that he must find her.

With a dark cloud around the past he wants to forget, Logan walks across the country with only his dog, Zeus, in hopes of finding where the photograph was taken, and the beautiful woman in it.

* *

Nicholas Sparks' novel The Lucky One completely absorbed me. Right from the start the reader is introduced to the three main characters of the novel: Beth, Logan, and Keith. Characters that are as different as night and day. And although each have their good and bad qualities, readers can identify with each one. 

Logan Thibault is an ex-marine who came home from Iraq completely lost. With horrific events happening in the safety of his home country, Thibault finds himself glancing at rooftops and over his shoulder, waiting for a gun shot to ring through the air. He's a quiet man, who doesn't feel the need to fill the silence. Yet he finds himself unsure of who he can open up to about his past. 

Janaka Dharmasena 

Beth is a single mom who teaches second grade children and works with her grandmother training dogs. Her son Ben is the light of her life, but she wants something more. She wants love. Readers can identify with her because of the universal need to give love and be loved in return. 

Keith Clayton is the villain of the story. And although he isn't an over-all good guy, readers can relate to some of his nicer motivations. He isn't a very good father, but he does seem to love his son. Keith's main problem is connecting with people who are different from him. Acceptance isn't something he's used to giving out. Instead he chooses anger and projects that on the people he doesn't understand. 

The Lucky One was one of those novels I read in one sitting. I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. But I'm glad I didn't. Too many intriguing story lines to pause. However, I did have one small problem with the book and sadly, it was the end. 

Not that I didn't like the ending. It was dramatic, thrilling, and even a little heart breaking. But the epilogue was the barest chapter in the novel. It was bones. There was no muscle, no flesh, no feeling of accomplishment when the book was closed. Sparks did an amazing job throughout the entire novel digging up the details, making the reader question motives, and keep turning the page. And the end fell flat. Another chapter, instead of an epilogue, would have been so much better. It would have left the reader with a smile verses a disappointed grimace. 

The way the novel ended: good. The explanation of what/how it happened: not. 

    The Lucky One

                            on Amazon

               

                         rating: 3/5 cups

Teaser Tuesday (5)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Another teaser this week from George R.R. Martin's series! :) Spring Into Reading really has me racing through these books and I'm absolutely loving it! (I've even started the watching the HBO series) :D 

A Storm of Swords (p. 404)
              - George R.R. Martin

"Down in the square, a thrown stone caught the captive on the cheek, turning his head. Not the Kingslayer, Arya thought, when she saw his face. The gods had heard her prayers after all." 

Should Be Reading @ Wordpress

Nowhere Near Normal

Poppy Hathaway longs for a normal life. Her family, though nowhere near normal, is wonderful and loving but Poppy doesn't want that life for herself. She wants a routine. She wants predictability.

Simon Howden

And marrying Michael would do just that.

Marrying Harry Rutledge, hotel owner and inventor, would not.

After a scandal, including Poppy, erupts at a society ball, she is made an offer of marriage... from Harry, to save her reputation.

Harry has already made it clear that he'll do anything to make sure she says yes, because he refuses to not have Poppy for himself.

* * 

Tempt Me At Twilight by Lisa Klepas, (whom I've come to love as an author !) was absolutely thrilling, heart wrenching, and loving. The Hathaway family is a circus of various amusements with Poppy quickly becoming one of my favorite sisters. I read the entire book in one sitting, :)

Poppy is a strong young woman who accepts herself. She loves politics, debating, questioning motives, basically everything a woman should not talk about in London society. But, she also longs for normalcy, which is impossible for a Hathaway to obtain. 

Harry Rutledge though is a different matter. I liked the character well enough but he had a few traits that I couldn't imagine in a man for Poppy. He was controlling, domineering, selfish, and had to have his way - no matter what it cost. Not that he wasn't civil, even nice, to Poppy, but as the story played out I kept thinking that she didn't deserve this man. Although, the end did take out my tongue for saying that. :) 

Tempt Me At Twilight 
                            on Amazon

                
                         rating: 3/5 cups