Showing posts with label Karen Marie Moning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen Marie Moning. Show all posts

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Weekly Round-Up of the Daily Featured Book


It is that time again... The time when I do a quick review of all the books that have been shared on Facebook as "Featured Books of the Day"! I have begun cross posting the featured books on to Twitter, Instagram and Tsu as well so you will begin to see them more frequently there too. As promised the books will all be available in the Ups & Downs Shop - but please remember sale prices at the time of posting may become unavailable, so get them while they're good!

So here we go with the Daily Featured Books from March 14-19, 2016!

ROOKIE MISTAKE by Tracey Ward

Trey Domato is the next big thing in football. A quarterback with a cool head, smoldering eyes, and a cannon for an arm, he's collected awards, trophies, and hearts across the country. He's on every girl's mind. Every coach's dream sheet. Every agent's wishlist.

Including Sloane Ashford's.

Sloane grew up at her father's side in the Ashford Agency. He built the company from the ground up, representing some of the biggest names in sports, and now Sloane is determined to find her place among its top agents. She's got the knowledge, she's got the drive, and if she can land Trey, she knows she's got her 'in'.

But it's hard to keep your eyes on the prize when the sweetest, sexiest smile you've ever seen is constantly on your mind. When the hottest hands in the nation are in your hair. When you're whispering the name thousands of fans are screaming at the top of their lungs.

Sleeping with a client is a mistake, but falling in love with him? 

That's some rookie shit right there.


LICHGATES by S.M. Boyce
 
The final page will leave you breathless.

When Kara Magari uncovers a secret door in the middle of the forest, she discovers (and trips through) a portal to a hidden world full of terrifying things: Ourea. She just wants to go home, but the natives have other plans for her. She clashes with immortal shapeshifters, is carried off by a dragon, nearly dies on several occasions, and somehow becomes the master of an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire. Every time she thinks she's safe, her new "friends" show their true colors.

Kara needs an ally, or she might not survive Ourea's monsters. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn't know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this stranded girl, there's something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.


BURY THE HATCHET by Catherine Gayle
Book 1 of the Tulsa Thunderbirds series 

They both need to make amends…

But they might be making more than that.

Tulsa Thunderbirds goaltender Hunter Fielding has a lot of kissing up to do following a few brash and uncalled-for statements. Now he needs to prove to the watchful eyes that he’s changed for the better. But cozying up to Little-Miss-Perfect-Gone-Bad isn’t his idea of making amends.

Agreeing to marry a hockey star to clear her “bad girl” reputation is the worst idea Oklahoma’s former sweetheart, Tallulah Belle Roth, has ever heard. With cameras constantly in their faces, Hunter and Tallie need to prove their sickeningly-sweet, do-good lives are the real deal—just to Bury the Hatchet once and for all.


But when the cameras are off, desire burns hot. Can fake and just for show turn into something real and forever?

Gayle’s Tulsa Thunderbirds and Portland Storm hockey romance series have quickly become among some of my favorite contemporary romances. Since the first time I read about these rough-and-tumble but super sweet hockey players, who lets be honest are simply HOT, and the women who come to fall for them, I haven’t been able to get enough!


ST. PATRICKS DAY – IRISH THEMED FAVORITES

Irish settings are among my favorites for story settings. So for St. Patty’s day I decided to share a couple of my Irish favorites with you. 

JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts
Book 1 in the 'Gallaghers of Ardmore' Trilogy

Determined to reevaluate her life, Jude Murray flees America to take refuge in Faerie Hill Cottage, immersing herself in the study of Irish folklore and discovering hope for the future of the magical past.

Finally back home in Ireland after years of traveling, Aidan Gallagher possesses an uncommon understanding of his country’s haunting myths. Although he’s devoted to managing the family pub, a hint of wildness still glints in his eyes—and in Jude, he sees a woman who can both soothe his heart and stir his blood. And he begins to share the legends of the land with her—while they create a passionate history of their own.




Also in the 'Gallaghers of Ardmore' trilogy:
Book 2 - TEARS OF THE MOON 
and Book 3 - HEART OF THE SEA

DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning
Book 1 of the Fever series

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….



GUARDING HIS OBSESSION by Alexa Riley

When Drake Hart's security team is hired to find a stalker, he has no idea what's in store for him. However, the day Zoey Lewis' picture lands in his lap, there's nothing he won't do to save her. He's always been quiet and shy, but seeing her changes everything.

Zoey is missing a filter when it comes to interacting with people. She's used to being lost in her computer and being taken care of by her sister. She's an oddball, and people find it hard to deal with. But when Drake Hulk-smashes his way into her world, she doesn't feel so out of place.

When Zoey is threatened and needs protection, will Drake save the day? With a body like his, all signs point to yes!


DARK PROMISES by Christine Feehan
Book 29 in the Dark/Carpathian series

Gabrielle has had enough of battles, of wars, of seeing the man she’s engaged to nearly lose his life when it isn’t even his fight. Once Gary was a gentle and very human researcher. Now he’s a fearless and lethal Carpathian warrior with the blood of an ancient lineage coursing through his veins—a man Gabrielle still needs and dreams of with every breath she takes. All she wants is a life far away from the Carpathian mountains, far from vampires and the shadows cast by the crumbling monastery that hides so many terrible secrets. But Gabrielle soon learns that promises made in the dark can pierce the heart like a dagger.

And she isn’t the only one in search of answers in the corners of the unknown....

Trixie Joanes has come to the Carpathian mountains in search of her wayward granddaughter, fearing that she has been lured there by something unspeakable. Instead, Trixie has stumbled onto the path of a desperate woman on the run. And they’re all fated for the lair of a mysterious ancient with revenge in his soul and the undying power to make bad dreams come true.


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Happy Reading Everyone and ENJOY!!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Round-Up of This Week's Daily Featured Books


The week of March 7-12 was a good one. It included a new release from a debut author, a couple contemporary favorites, some paranormal favorites, and, in honor of the time change this weekend, a couple time-traveler favorites too.  You even ended up getting a couple extra recommendations out of me during Thursday’s double-double-header features (2 sets of First- and Last/Most Recent- in a series) after I forgot to post a featured book on Wednesday.

So let’s get to the round-up of this week’s daily featured books!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Full Scene Spread


So I’ve had a lot going on for the past, well, several months.  Truthfully I went through something of a depressed stage (trying to figure out “what to do with my life now?”), that was preceded by months of a different type of depression - the kind where you do what you have to do day-to-day, but most of it barely registers except for those extremes: the joy, the bliss, the sorrow...


But most recently I’ve been in super busy mode, having finally (metaphorically) slapped myself to awareness and made myself realize that I could continue to be miserable, or I could do something about it.  So I decided to do just that.  Now my personal life is on something of an upswing, plans and actions are moving along reasonably well in that sphere, and I figured it was time to start working on that “balance” thing.  You know, shaking off the tunnel vision every once in awhile and focusing on something else.

So here I am.

tt1843230.jpgBesides trying to keep up-to-date with “the favorites” on TV: Criminals Minds, Law and Order: SVU, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Bunheads, and Once Upon a Time - I actually haven’t been spending a lot of time watching TV.  (Not to mention that my VOD service has been spotty, and my husband has been monopolizing the DVR with Pawn Stars and Lizard Lick Towing.) But because of how busy I’ve been in other spheres of life, by the time I sit down to watch TV I’ve been lucky lately if I make it through a single episode of anything before I’m passed out, and most likely snoring in my lazy boy.
That said, if you haven’t been keeping up with Once Upon a Time - or are within the set of TV viewers that haven’t watched any of this simply amazing show - you need to take the time to GET CAUGHT UP!  Season 2 has thrown us a bunch of twists, turns and “what the?...” moments, that I honestly think makes Once one of the best dramas on TV right now.  Don’t miss out!


I’ve actually seen a handful of the newest cinema releases lately.... 



The Call - while perhaps not Halle Berry’s best movie ever, it attempts to dig in deep and hook you.  This drama/thriller(??) aims to grip you by your emotions, but mostly missed the mark.  I enjoyed it overall but it’s definitely not a movie that I’ll be clamoring to watch again... ever.


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G.I. Joe: Retaliation - I was actually really excited to go see this movie.  Both my husband and I loved the first movie when it came out a few years ago, I think we may even have gone to see it twice in the theater, but sadly - Retaliation did not live up to our expectations!  The were very few, if any Joe-gadgets - something that made Rise of the Cobra a distinctive success for me, and in the end Retaliation became just another action movie.  Entertaining, but clearly lacking the WOW factor that we’d expected!

And lastly, The Croods - perhaps one of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year. (Granted there are a couple movies out right now that I’m dying to go to...) This was a fun movie that entertained everyone - from my 4-year old daughter, to her 55-year old grandma!  With Laugh-Out-Loud parts, and sweet and serious tear-jerkers, The Croods will be one pick that will definitely end up on my shelf.

Despite how busy I’ve been lately, one thing that I have spent a considerate amount of time doing is reading.  Mostly because my insomnia has been acting up again and reading is one of only a couple of compassionate activities to partake in at 3:30am.  For the most part I’ve been doing re-reads of favorite series: Jean Johnson’s Sons of Destiny series, Stephanie Laurens’ Bastion Club and Cynster series, The Highlander series and the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, a couple of the novellas from the Carpathian series by Christine Feehan, some Lora Leigh books and some Lara Adrian.  Lots of my favorites and all stories that I would recommend to any and everyone!

Most recently I wrapped up a re-read of the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward - which started and finished with reads of Lover at Last, the newest release in the series and the long awaited story of Blaylock and Qhuinn.  Because I love the BDB novels so much I’m going to leave deeper discussion of this book and it’s place and impact on the series for another time, and just say that I loved it, I recommend it to absolutely everyone and leave it at that.  For now.

In the last couple months I’ve stumbled upon a few new authors (or new to me anyways) and a couple new series that I think have a lot of future potential.  I’m going to wait and talk about them in another update too and I hope you’ll check back to find out who and what has caught my interest now!

And in Fan-Fiction news... I haven’t published anything recently, as anyone who checks or is a fan would know, but I am working on a couple things.  I’m (still) working on the next chapter for The Best is Yet to Come - this story can be alternately easy and difficult to write, and this next part to come has been one of the most strenuous parts to write so far.  Rest assured though that I have not given up on this story though, its just a [hard] labor of love.

I’m also working on a new story.  Well, it’s sort of new.  It’s basically a companion story in the An Ending or a New Beginning world.  I’ve been jotting down a bit here and there, and it’s coming along, but I have to make sure that it matches up to the timeline from An Ending or a New Beginning and that I’m not compromising the original story with anything from the new one.  That is after all one of my FF pet-peeves = when a FF-author creates a world, has a whole bunch of stories that fit into it, but constantly contradicts themselves with the details.  So I’m really trying to make sure that I do it right!

Last but DEFINITELY not least - music.  There are always songs that catch my attention, or ones that I just fall in love with right off.  This song is one of those.

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men


It’s an amazing song, and something of a confusing, messed up video that one YouTube video likened to the ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’... Love, love, love this song!