Merry Christmas Everyone!

I want to wish all my Followers and Blogger Friends A Very Merry Christmas!

Library Haul 2011 (Dec 24 - 31)

Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Bride of the Night - Heather Graham
2.  Smoking Seventeen - Janet Evanovich
3.  Unraveled - Gena Showalter
4.  Twisted - Gena Showalter

What books did you pick up from the library?

In the Mail Saturday 2011 (Dec 24)

In the Mail Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.

Manga:

Black Bird, Vol. 12 [Paperback]

Product Details
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421540525
ISBN-13: 978-1421540528

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 8 [Paperback]

Product Description

Reads R to L (Japanese Style).

After orphan Teru Kurebayashi loses her beloved older brother, she finds solace in the messages she exchanges with DAISY, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. Meanwhile, mysterious Tasuku Kurosaki always seems to be around whenever Teru needs help … Could DAISY be a lot closer than Teru thinks?

When Teru mistakenly tells Kurosaki to disappear from her life, she gets consumed by guilt because he actually vanishes. In order to get him back, she'll have to uncover his past relationship with her brother along with the exact details of his crime ...

Product Details
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421539977
ISBN-13: 978-1421539973

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Vol. 8 [Paperback]

Product Description

Reads R to L (Japanese Style).

Masked Hero vs. Vision Hero The next series of duels at Duel Academy are about to begin and Reggie Mackenzie's father, possessed by an evil spirit determined to wreak havoc, makes his move. By manipulating members of the group of visiting duelists from America, Mackenzie plants the seeds of destruction on Duel Academy Island. When Jaden takes on his next opponent, will he realize the evil he faces, or will an ancient spirit's scheme to resurrect itself go forward?

Product Details
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421539969
ISBN-13: 978-1421539966

Thanks Simon and Schuster Canada!

What did you get in the mail this week?

Head Over Heels Giveaway Winners

I have picked the three winners of my Head Over Heels Giveaway and they are:

CONGRATULATIONS:

1.  Na (won already)
2.  winnie (confirmed)
3.  Helen Livermore

Please fill out this form with your contact information, so I can send the info. to the publishers, thanks!
http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=640430

Please comment on this post if you have won this book on another blog, so I can pick a new winner, thanks!

You will have 2 days to get back to me or else I will have to pick new winner(s), thanks!

I want to let you know that I'm getting your forms, thanks!  If you haven't received your books please only get in touch with me once letting me know and I will fill in the form again, thanks!  I'm not responsible if the publisher doesn't send them to you.

Follow My Blog Friday #79

If you are new to the FF fun, Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, myself of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. If you are interested in becoming a Feature click on the drop down link above FEATURES > Features and Follow Friday and get on the waiting list!  It is also required, that if you participate you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee and Alison Can Read) and the two Feature blogs.

This Meme is hosted by Rachel from Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read on Fridays.

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host {Parajunkee.com} {Alisoncanread.com}and any one else you want to follow on the list.

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - Ce-Ce's Garden and Reviews and From the Shadows I Review.

3. Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing.

4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments

5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers

7. If your new to the Follow Friday Hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

The Friday Follow Feature is ... 


Ce-Ce`s Garden of Reviews

Im sixteen years old and already a writer and blogger. Love curling up with a book and some coa-coa, and is one hundred percent in love with books. I try my hardest to get books for my bookshelf, which has less than one row left.

I love making new friends and finding new and cool things to learn on the internet. Learning all that blogger has to offer is what Im dealing with now. Now, if only I could figure out why I can't join Google+ ….

From the Shadows I Review

Hi everyone! My name's Charmaine but everyone calls me Char. I'm a 20 year old woman/girl... either or, I never know which to put. I live in the UK and I absolutely love to read books. I started blogging because I always have an opinion on what I'm reading and I guess that I wanted to share my opinions with the world. When I'm not reading or blogging I'm a full time carer for my mum. Sometimes I manage to find some spare time to crochet or write but it's not always a guarantee.

I love to read just about everything but the majority of the time I'll be reading YA. My favourite books are Stolen by Lucy Christopher, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Before I Die by Jenny Downham.

Question of the Week: If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why? 

I would be happy to spend eternity in "Dance With the Devil" by Sherrilyn Kenyon because I would love to interact with Zarek, Sasha and the whole Dark-Hunter World.


I would also love to spend eternity in "Lover Awakened" by J.R. Ward because I would love to interact with Zsadist and the whole Black Dagger Brotherhood World.

ARC Review: Hot Zone (Elite Force: That Others May Live) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Hot Zone" the 2nd book in her Elite Force series by Catherine Mann.

Product Description
 
HE'LL TAKE ANY MISSION, THE RISKIER THE BETTER ...

The haunted eyes of pararescueman Hugh Franco should have been her first clue that deep pain roiled beneath the surface. But if Amelia couldn't see the damage, how could she be expected to know he'd break her heart?

SHE'LL PROVE TO BE HIS BIGGEST RISK YET...

Amelia Bailey's not the kind of girl who usually needs rescuing ... but there are anything but usual circumstances.

About the Author

Catherine Mann's military romances have sold over 2 million copies and have been on the USA Today and WaldenBooks bestsellers lists. She has won the RITA and Bookseller's Best Award, and finaled in many other prestigious contests. Her husband is an Air Force colonel and they live near Pensacola, Florida.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (December 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402244983
ISBN-13: 978-1402244988

My Review:

Amelia is a lawyer is helping her brother and sister-in-law with their new adopted son Joshua in the Bahamas.  An earthquake occurs and she is trapped underground with her new nephew Joshua for two days.  Hugh finds them and then feels obligated to make sure they are safe.  Amelia is dealing with an awful divorce and a painful relationship with her dad which makes her wary about having relationships.

Hugh lost his wife and four year old daughter in a plane crash five years ago.  To numb the pain he has thrown himself into work as a Pararescue Jumper.  Being around Joshua makes him very uncomfortable because it reminds him what he has lost and makes him deal with the feelings he hasn't wanted to think about for so long.

Amelia's brother Dr Aiden Bailey and his wife Lisabeth is also his nurse. Both have worked for Doctors without Borders and now with Operation Smile. They have come to the Bahamas to adopt Joshua when the earthquake hit and separated them from Amelia and Joshua. Aiden's father was pedophile which is the reason why he never wanted any children but Lisabeth has convinced him to adopt.

Major Liam McCabe is Hugh's boss and he has had three wives and 3 divorces.  He has a reputation of falling very fast for a women which happens when he meets Urban Search and Rescue member Rachel Flores.  Rachel has just come out of a bad relationship and isn't looking for another one.

This book has a steamy romance with a lot of action especially the one with the baby snatching plotline.  The hero was super sexy with a kick ass heroine.

3.5/5

Thanks Sourcebooks for sending me this ARC to review, greatly appreciated!

ARC Review: Wild Thing [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Wild Thing" by Robin Kaye.

Product Description

IF HE THINKS A GROUP OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IS A HANDFUL, WAIT UNTIL HE MEETS HER ...

White-water rafting guide Hunter Kincaid is psyched to lead a group of fashion models into the Idaho wilderness for a photoshoot. But it's Toni, the feisty manager of Action Models, who creates enough sparks to start a forest fire...

When rugged outdoorsman meets the original city girl, worlds will definitely collide in Robin Kaye's fresh new series.

About the Author

Award-winning author Robin Kaye grew up in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge next-door to her Sicilian grandparents. Living with an extended family that's a cross between Gilligan's Island and The Sopranos explains both her comedic timing and the cast of quirky characters in her books. She currently resides with her husband and three teenage children in Mount Airy, Maryland.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (December 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402257279
ISBN-13: 978-1402257278

My Review:

When Toni Russo was six years old she was left in the wilderness for three days so now she is afraid of doing anything outdoors.  Her boss can't make it Toni is left to manage the photo shoot and she thinks she could handle it if only she could step out of her cabin and not have a panic attack.

Guide Hunter Kincaid plans to distract her and when he notices a book on her dresser called "How to Get a Man to Marry You" he asks his sister to get him a copy so he could become Toni's ideal man.

During their trek through the wildness both fall in love and have a thrilling adventure with some hot and hilarious models.

I love the dynamics between the Kincaid siblings and the scenes between his brother's Fisher and Trapper and the male model. 

3.5/5

Thanks Sourcebooks for sending me this ARC to review, greatly appreciated!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection are:

Spirit Bound (A Sea Haven Novel) [Paperback]

Product Description

Lethally sexy undercover agent Stefan Prakenskii knows a thousand ways to kill a man - and twice as many ways to pleasure a woman. So he's looking forward to his new mission: arrive in the coastal town of Sea Haven and insinuate himself in the life of Judith Henderson, an ethereal beauty with ties to the crime lord he's determined to trap ...

Product Details
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Jove; Original edition (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 051514956X
ISBN-13: 978-0515149562

Changeling Dawn [Paperback]

Product Description

Kenzie Macleod has spent her whole life hiding the fact that she's a werewolf. She's not about to open up to any man, even one as powerfully attractive as wildlife expert Josh Talarkoteen. But legend says that a Changeling cannot escape the call of her true mate, even in the wilderness of backcountry Alaska. An isolated archaeological site, a terrified Changeling cub, a shadowy research facility - as Kenzie and Josh face the ultimate betrayal, his obsidian eyes promise untold pleasure and hint at dark secrets of his own ...

Product Details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: BRAVA (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758265182
ISBN-13: 978-0758265180

Hidden Summit (Virgin River) [Mass Market Paperback]


Product Description
 
Sick of running into her cheery ex-husband and his new wife, Leslie Petruso accepts a job at the Virgin River branch of Haggerty Construction and takes the high road right out of town. Now she's got Paul Haggerty's business running like a well-oiled machine. In fact, things are so busy Paul jumps at the chance to hire an extra set of hands.

Just like Leslie, Conner Danson has been burned by love. But if Leslie was disappointed by her relationship going bad, Conner was decimated. He's got no time for women … although he spends an awful lot of time pretending not to notice Leslie. And she's pretty busy "ignoring" the chemistry between them.

According to Conner and Leslie, they have only one thing in common — they're done with love. But everyone in Virgin River can see that things are heating up at Haggerty Construction. And as far as Paul Haggerty can tell, the best thing he can do is hang on to his hard hat and watch the sparks fly!

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Mira; Original edition (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 077831300X
ISBN-13: 978-0778313007

Sleepwalker [Hardcover]

Product Description

It’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office. Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop — and the security cameras — have gotten a real good look at his face. Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him. Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later . . . if they survive.  But will they ever get a second chance at love?

Product Details
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439183724
ISBN-13: 978-1439183724

Down the Darkest Road [Hardcover]

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with the latest entry in her riveting Oak Knoll series.

Deeper Than the Dead introduced Tami Hoag's millions of fans to Oak Knoll, a small California town that, in the mid-eighties, seemed as idyllic as any . . . until the See-No-Evil killer shattered that notion. It took FBI agent Vince Leone and a new technique called "profiling" to put an end to the trauma.Secrets to the Grave brought Leone's teacher-turned-child- advocate wife, Anne, into a central role. Together with Vince and local sheriff 's deputy Tony Mendez, she solved an Oak Knoll murder with a particularly challenging mystery: The victim never existed.And now Hoag returns once more to Oak Knoll for the third installment of this bestselling series. Through Leone's pioneering, science-based investigatory skills, Hoag explores the early days of forensic police work. And through the chilling case at the heart of Down the Darkest Road, she hooks ever more readers into the meticulously crafted, all -too -terrifying world of Oak Knoll, where the scariest secrets of all can be found . . . Down the Darkest Road.

Product Details
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 052595239X
ISBN-13: 978-0525952398

Sweet Reward: A Last Chance Rescue Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Description

WHEN RISK IS THE REWARD — LET THE DANGER BEGIN

Adrenaline junkie Jared Livingston has found the perfect blend of exhilaration and danger in his new job at Last Chance Rescue. Raised to depend only on himself, Jared tried marriage, but the end of the relationship renewed his belief that he was meant to be a loner. Now a desperate plea from his ex-wife puts Jared in the unique position of using the skills she despised to rescue her missing daughter. The case brings Jared face-to-face with Mia Ryker, the only agent ever fired from LCR — for playing too far outside the box. Now Mia’s back, and as a team, they’re as compatible as fuel and fire — blowing off tension in each other’s arms, blowing open the secret life of a wealthy philanthropist and his shameful dealings. Their search for the innocent child takes them to places neither have been before — to the edge of danger and to the edge of their hearts.
Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition (December 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345524098
ISBN-13: 978-0345524096

Hidden [Hardcover]

Product Description

Hiking through the snow, holiday baking and playing board games by the fire -- what's not to love about an old-fashioned family Christmas?

Werewolves Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers want to give their four-year-old twins, Kate and Logan, something their parents never had: a nice, normal holiday. No Pack responsibilities, no homicidal half-demons or power-hungry sorcerers to deal with -- just the four of them, alone, at a chalet outside Ontario's Algonquin Park. Then a strange werewolf shows up at their door ... while the town is buzzing about a young man, back from college, found half-eaten in the woods. And there's the missing little girl ...

With all the signs pointing to a rogue mutt with a taste for human flesh, Elena and Clay have no choice but to investigate. But are they the hunters -- or the hunted?


Product Details
Hardcover
Publisher: Subterranean; Deluxe Hardcover Edition edition (December 31, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596064234
ISBN-13: 978-1596064232

ARC Review: Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Demons Like It Hot" the 2nd book in her Demons Unleashed series by Sidney Ayers.

Product Description

Serah SanGermano runs a successful catering company in a Midwestern town. After she inadvertently helped her friend unleash a legion of demons, she's been trying to hide her own newly discovered powers. Matthias Ambrose, a mysterious demon mercenary sent to protect her, has his own secret - one that will embroil them both in the scandal from hell.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (December 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402251777
ISBN-13: 978-1402251771

My Review:

The Fore-Demon Council assigns Paladin Rafael DeLeon to be Matthias Ambrose handler.  Rafael assigns Matthias the job of making sure that his fiance Lucy's best friend Serah SanGermano stays alive.

Matthias wants nothing to do with Serah because he knows her from before.  He doesn't want to remember her haunting blue eyes, her sexy smile or her powers.  She's gotten under his skin but finally relents and agrees to protect Serah.  In the past he kidnapped and erased her memories.

Serah is a great cook and her catering business is in high demand.  She is preparing for her stint on American Chef and refuses to believe the chaos around her is directed at her but just a case of bad luck.

During their adventure they fall in love and when Serah wants to know his secrets he restores her memory.  Then she doesn't want anything to do with him since she believes he's a bully.

I really enjoyed the cigar smoking and talking cat and how he protects Serah.

I loved the sarcastic remarks the characters banter back and forth between each other.  It was hilarious and refreshing.


3.5/5

Thanks Sourcebooks for sending me this ARC to review, greatly appreciated!

New Release 2011 (Dec 20)

On a Dark Wing (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Product Description

The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over.

I would learn a lesson I wasn't prepared for.

And Death would be my willing teacher.

Five years ago Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her lucky break came at the expense of her mother's life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death -- by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky -- she would never be normal again.

Now she's the target of Death's Ravens and an innocent boy's life is on the line. When Nate Holden -- Abbey's secret crush -- starts to climb Alaska's Denali, the Angel of Death is with him because of her.

Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.

Product Details
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (December 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373210418
ISBN-13: 978-0373210411