BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Open Season by Linda Howard - CONTEST CLOSED

Librarian Daisy Minor awakes to her 34th birthday ready to make a change. Hillsboro's renowned "old maid" is determined to find herself a man. But first, a makeover is necessary. New hair - check. Make-up - check. New clothes - check.. With a few tips from her gay friend, Todd, Daisy is ready to make the rounds of the dance clubs and get her husband. But what she sees while she's out puts a big target on her newly made-over tush.

That target puts the attentions of Chief Jack Russo on Daisy's tush - er - person as well. And in order to protect said person, Jack feels that he has to be near her as much as possible, even if it means that people think they're together! But how on earth is Daisy supposed to find a man if everyone already thinks she has one? And besides, manly and athletic Jack Russo is so NOT her type! That's what she thinks!

I was delightfully surprised by this book. I was expecting more thriller than romance, but it was exactly the opposite. And, as it turns out, it was just what I needed! Jack and Daisy are clearly opposites, but they come together so nicely. They argue and poke and prod each other like only two people meant to be can do.  My rating: 4/5.

This one is up for a raffle! In order to enter, please comment below. Since the title is Open Season, I want to know what your favorite season is and why! For me, that season is fall. Of course, my birthday and anniversary are in the fall, so that helps! And I love the colors and the smell of burning leaves! A winner will be chosen at random on December 14th!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: More Than It Hurts You - Darin Strauss

Josh Goldin has the perfect life. He's a star TV ad salesman. He has a beautiful wife at home - Dori. And his infant son Zack is the light of their lives. Things go well for Josh. He has the kind of personality that makes everyone adore him.

One Friday afternoon the bottom drops out of Josh's life. His little boy is rushed to the hospital. He coded - for a person like Josh, what does coded even mean? The doctors bring him back - but can't find a reason for the toddler's illness.

Dr. Darlene Stokes, head of Pediatric ICU, steps in. Even with all of her training, she can't determine a cause for the sickness. But something doesn't feel right, and these ill feelings all point to devoted mom Dori. Dori, who used to work in the medical field. Dori, who was too argumentative with the doctors. Dori, who didn't want "unnecessary tests" for her young child. Dr. Stokes' diagnosis: Munchausen syndrome by proxy .

I really really think this book could have been so much better. It has such an interesting premise. Unfortunately, the author spends more time going into Dr. Stokes' backstory than he does on the real story. The climax was a let-down. And the reader, Arthur Morey, was just awful. I'm not kidding. He never finds a happy medium. He's either overly dramatic or deadpan. And his women sound like idiots! I'm pretty sure that I've listened to him before - and disliked his work then, too! My rating: 1/5

Thankfully, this goes back to the library to no longer sully my countertop. I don't recommend this book at all!

BOOK REVIEW: Date Me, Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe

Justine Bennett is bored. As Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth (currently an espresso machine), she and her successor Theresa (cursed into a dragon) have barely left their apartment in 200 years. Theresa hasn't left for obvious reasons (hello, dragon?), and Justine needs to stay close to Mona, the Goblet/espresso machine. Plus she hasn't had sex in a few centuries!!! She could really use some action - in more ways than one!

Enter Derek LaValle. He's out to kill Justine and steal Mona. If he doesn't, he and his twin brother will die, just like all of the male LaValles before them. If only Justine weren't so hot. Derek and Justine are drawn to each other in a way neither one can explain.

This book was such a hoot! Justine and Derek try to fight their feelings, knowing that one of them will have to kill the other before the crazy trip is over. Plus Justine has the added pressures of being watched by The Council, facing her Qualifying Incident which will determine if she and her mother will spend their eternities in hell, and oh yeah - Satan is courting her mom! I enjoyed this First in Series book quite a bit, it made me laugh out loud several times. My rating: 4/5.

Unfortunately, I can't offer this one up for raffle. But go out and buy yourself an early Christmas present if you're looking for a fun paranormal read!

Winner!!!

CHRISTYJAN has won my copy of Storm of the Century!  Please e-mail me your address and I will get the book to you shortly!!!!

Everyone else, don't forget to sign up for The Search!  A winner will be chosen on 12/3!

BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: The Search by Iris Johansen - CLOSED

Sarah Patrick and her golden lab Monty are one of the best search-and-rescue pairs in the business. That's exactly why John Logan wants them, has to have them. A key employee of his has been kidnapped in South America - the kidnapping has nothing to do with the employee and everything to do with Logan. Once he forces Sarah into the job, Logan realizes the grave danger he has exposed Sarah and Monty to. Now he'll do everything he can to protect her from the constant threat of his past - whether she likes it or not.

This book is part of Johansen's Eve Duncan series - sort of. Eve and Joe Quinn are in the book, but merely as extras, side-line players. Think of The Search as an off-shoot of the Duncan series. That being said, I really don't think the reader needs to have read the earlier books to make sense of The Search (or any of Johansen's other books). She does a great job of creating separate stories, even when using the same characters.

I really liked this book. Logan's character has always been a favorite of mine. He's a strong and powerful man who (sometimes reluctantly) can accept a strong woman. Logan, Sarah and Monty (yes, he's an important part of the story!) create a fierce unit together, protecting each other from the outside forces that press in. My rating: 4/5.

This book can be yours! A winner will be chosen randomly 12/3 from the comments below. Since the title is The Search, tell me of something you lose constantly - or your most memorable search for something or someone! For instance, I've always been one to lose one earring from a set. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing half a set today in my 2nd piercing because one earring fell out of my ear - somewhere. That has been happening to me since I first got my ears pierced when I was 10!

Contest Won!

Kiss of Paradise has won my copy of Horror Stories collected by Susan Prince!  Please e-mail me with your address!  Congrats!!!

For everyone else, don't forget to enter the contest to win Storm of the Century!  You still have 5 more days to go! 

Book Meme

I saw this meme for USA Today's Top Selling Books of the last 15 years on J. Kaye’s blog.


Here are the rules:

Bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star* books on your TBR list!



1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

2 Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins

3 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre

10 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson

11 The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston

12 Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom

13 Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

14 What to Expect When You're Expecting - Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway

15 The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren

16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom

17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey

18 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray

20 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne

21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter

22 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

23 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... And It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson

24 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

25 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

26 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

27 The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks *

28 The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards *

29 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

30 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden *

31 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle

32 Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss

33 The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

34 Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

35 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold *

36 Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso

37 New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

38 Night - Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway *

39 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

40 The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw

41 Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield

43 Wicked - Gregory Maguire

44 Good to Great - Jim Collins

45 Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

46 Eragon - Christopher Paolini

47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells *

48 Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen

49 In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley

50 Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach

51 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

52 A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

53 The Testament - John Grisham

54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger

55 Deception Point - Dan Brown

56 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

57 Marley & Me - John Grogan

58 Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins

59 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

60 The Brethren - John Grisham

61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston

62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham

63 For One More Day - Mitch Albom

64 The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg

65 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

66 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow

67 What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway

68 Love You Forever - Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw

69 Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss

70 A Painted House - John Grisham

71 The Rainmaker - John Grisham

72 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

73 Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier

74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

75 Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw

76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand

77 The Summons - John Grisham

78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt *

79 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

80 The Runaway Jury - John Grisham

81 Goodnight Moon Board Book - Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd

82 The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger

83 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson

84 The Giver - Lois Lowry

85 Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie

86 The Chamber - John Grisham

87 You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz

88 The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson

89 Holes - Louis Sachar

90 Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

91 The Shack - William P. Young

92 The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger

93 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen *

94 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

95 The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav

96 Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff

97 The Partner - John Grisham

98 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini

100 The Broker - John Grisham

101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham

102 A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket

103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

105 The King of Torts - John Grisham

106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans

108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris

109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs

111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls

112 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

113 The Last Juror - John Grisham

114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show

117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

118 John Adams - David McCullough

119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans

120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares

121 Sugar Busters! - H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart

122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper, Cecil Murphey

125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

126 1776 - David McCullough

127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller

128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts

129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw

130 Protein Power - Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades

131 Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff

132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer

133 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin

135 You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz

136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz

137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw

138 She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

139 1984 - George Orwell

140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren

144 The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve

145 The Lost World Michael Crichton

146 Atonement - Ian McEwan

147 He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo

148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman

150 Cross - James Patterson


Wow - I've only read 18!  I own & plan to read 9 others though.  I guess that's a start!

BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Storm of the Century by Stephen King - CONTEST CLOSED

February, 1989; Little Tall Island, Maine

It's all the weathercasters can talk about - the Storm of the Century. It'll be a blizzard, white-out conditions that will last for days. The tiny island community of Little Tall Island is ready. They've stocked up on provisions. They have the emergency shelter prepared. The islanders can take whatever the storm throws at them, ayuh. They have no way of knowing that evil is about to break through, an evil that will take and take, an evil that will change them all.



As usual, King delivers a wonderful thriller. From the start, you know things aren't going to go well for Little Tall. But how bad will it be? Will they fight back? Will evil overcome? That's the genius of King! The reader never can guess what he's going to do. Happy ending? Tragedy? Toss the coin, Mr. King! I was riveted until the end, guessing and wondering how things would turn out.



This one was a bit different to read, as it is a SCREENPLAY. Instead of an author's description, you get set directions. It all works out though. My rating: 4/5



Now you all get a chance to win the book! Please keep in mind that it is NOT a normal novel. It is a SCREENPLAY. To enter, you must comment below, and the contest is international. A winner will be drawn Thursday, November 20th. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know there's a catch.



Here's the catch - the comment needs to be about a severe weather phenomena you have lived through. Torrential rain, blizzard, earthquake, hurricane, etc. Even if it just seemed wild and wooly to you, I want to hear the story! Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday - Early Morning Cemetery

Happy Election Day!

It's Election Day in the U.S., and I was quite worried when I drove by my polling location this morning - I couldn't see the end of the line as it wove around the block!  But by 5pm, it was busy, but no line.  So the voting is finished and I am part of the process, for better or worse.  I hope all of you here in the U.S. voted, too.  It's our most important right, privilege and duty as Americans!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Jane Margaux is a lonely 8 year old girl. Daughter to Vivienne Margaux, the legendary Broadway producer, Jane spends much of her time alone. As many lonely children do, Jane finds an imaginary friend, Michael. Michael is the light of Jane's life. Only he can make her smile no matter what. She can be just Jane with him.




Cut to 23 years later. Jane is all grown up and has written and produced her own Broadway hit. Still under her mother's thumb and still lonely, Jane remembers Michael. Why is it that no man can stand up to his memory?



I read this book for one of my group reads. I like Patterson's books because of the short chapters, but I seldom think to seek them out. If they are all like Sundays at Tiffany's, I definitely should be reading more of them! I just loved this story. Jane comes to be her own woman, and the love stories in the book will just wow you. Before you say to me, Susan, I don't like romances, let me say that the love in this book isn't all about romance. It's just a beautiful and touching book and I am SO GLAD that I read it!!! My rating: 5/5.

I can't offer this one up, it is back at the library waiting for another person to love it.