Book Binge contest - Christmas Meme

Okay, being sick has thrown off all my habits and rythm. But better now than never... hmmm, that doesn't sound right. ah well, don't pay attention to me, my brain isn't working that properly. Anyway, here is my entry for the...

Book Binge Christmas Contest!!!

So by now, you've probably seen so many entries of this contest... if you're still wondering why it's so popular, head towards Book Binge and you'll discover that the wonderful ladies at Book Binge are offering as the grand prize...

A new eBookwise eReader!

aren't they just wonderful and generous ladies?


Book Binge Christmas Contest

The Christmas Season is upon us and we have one burning question: Have you been naughty or nice this year?

Regardless of your answer, we are inviting our lovely readers a chance to win an eBookwise eReader!

All you have to do is answer a few simple (okay, 10) questions on your blog/journal and leave the link to your Meme in this post. If you don't have a blog or journal, you can email us your answers. The winner will be chosen on January 5th, so you can enter up until 11:59pm on January 4th.

Merry Christmas!

XOXO

Casee, Holly, Isabel & Rowena



Christmas Meme: **My answers are quite boring and I guess that I don't have much Christmas spirit in me :( **

1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year?

I have none ^^; Any recs?

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie/show?

Euh, none either ^^; When I was young, for me, Christmas vacation meant that I could rent chinese tv series... as a result, that's all I would watch.

3. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Definitively gingerbread :D that is the best!

4. When do you start Christmas shopping?

Hmmm, usually the week before Christmas.

5. Do you re-gift?

Sometimes, but only chocolate or food. usually, those come from acquaintances and are re-gifted to acquaintances.

6. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Euh... jingle bells?

7. When do you get your Christmas tree?

We've stopped setting up a Christmas tree ever since my grandparents died.

8. Wrapping presents: Love it or hate it?

Love it!!!

9. Who is the hardest person to buy for?

My parents... but I guess my mother is the hardest.

10. Christmas tree: Real or artificial?

Real.


__________________________

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog for this Meme and urge all your readers who might participate to do the same. If we don't see the link, your name won't be entered. For those readers who don't have a blog of their own, you may answer the questions in the comment section here, or email us your answers.

The winner will be chosen at random on January 5th, and your prize will be mailed within a week after the winner emails us w/ their snail mail address. Because the prize is large, shipping will be regular ground, which may take longer than usual. Our Canadian readers may enter, but shipping will take even longer for them.

Unfortunately, our *international readers (besides Canada) can't enter. We apologize for this, but it can't be helped, as eBookwise isn't approved for sale outside of the U.S. and Canada. We emailed them, asking if we shipped one internationally if the user would be able to buy/download books, and were told it's against regulations for them to ship outside the U.S. or Canada. In addition, "the device will not work with wall current in many countries, may not be compatible with some foreign telephone systems, and shipping it outside the USA and Canada automatically voids the manufacturer's warranty".

So I'll kick off the Holidays Seasons with this post... and wish everyone Happy Holidays!! Anyone who's going on vacation soon?

Lightning reviews I

*This was supposed to go up earlier this week... but I'm sick :( so it cut down my internet time a little bit :( I seriously hate being sick...

Okay, so let me try my hand at real lightening reviews :P I have a tendency to go off, so dunno if it's going to work LOL :)


Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts
published by Jove in November 2007

Genre: parnormal romance
Series: Book 1 of Sign of Seven trilogy.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the book, probably because I had high expectations. I believe that one of Nora Roberts strength is how well she writes relationships - siblings, parents/children, friends, etc... and she did very good with male bonding relationships in the Chesapeake trilogy... However, I thought that in this book, she was a bit off - love wise and friendship wise. The premise/idea is good though... however, I didn’t like the pacing – everything seems so rushed. For readers that want to know where this trilogy stands compared to the others, I think that this trilogy is more similar to the Key trilogy (with all the paranormal stuff, the guys vs. evil and having to stop it, their previous lives, etc.) than the Chesapeake trilogy. So if you did enjoy the Key trilogy, give a try...

Grade: none yet... I think I'm going to wait till the whole trilogy is out


Mouth to Mouth by Erin McCarthy

published by Brava in 2005 and 2007

Genre: contemporary romance
Series: None

I think Rosie nailed this down when she said that this book was cute and sexy. I thought that this was quite an enjoyable read and it's always fun for me to read about a character that is deaf, mute or blind... because they live life so differently. Lauren was cute and not annoying in claiming her independence. Russ was a great hero except for his inferiority complex because of money... I guess the only thing I'd have liked to see a bit more is how Sean, Russ' little brother, and Russ relationship changes... I thought that their issue was resolved too quickly, that it was too rushed.

Grade : B

California Holiday by Kate Cann
published by Avon in March 2005

Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: Beach series, Book #2

You know how some books are soooo good, you just have to blog about them? Well this book was just sooo bad that I have to rant about it. Usually, Avon is good at delivering romance. I mean, they're not all great, but at least, they are romance... So what went wrong with this book? Seriously, I don't consider this book a romance... First, the heroine wasn't even old enough to have a drink... Secondly, the hero - if we can call him like that, didn't appear before half-way through the book... and seriously, I didn't see much love btw the two of them. This is the story of Rowan who suddenly gets fed up with how her parents "idolized" her little brother, she decided to take a year off and be a nanny in the States (she comes from England). Once in the States, she turns into a nanny, baby-sitter and maid... she can't take it anymore so quits her job without notice (that was sooo irresponsible) and takes the iguana with her (they were going to put him down)... she runs into the hero and they start working at a hotel resort. Hero has a gf already... they were off, but now they're back together... so Rowan is waiting on the side... then, hero breaks it off with gf and get with Rowan... but he won't communicate... and when it seems that he's getting back with the gf, Rowan is fed up and takes off again... goes to Mexico where she can free the iguana... Hero runs after her. Ugh... bad, bad, bad book.

Grade: E


Her Sexiest Mistake by Jill Shalvis

published by New American Library in November 2005

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: None

I couldn't finish this book. I just didn't like the heroine, Mia Appleby. The lady is ashamed of her background and has done her best to become sophisticated and get away from the trailer park where she grew up. She has a high position job in advertising and men are only bed partners for her... So she sleeps with her new neighbor, Kevin McKnight - our hero, and then brushed him off. Then, whenever something didn't go well in her life - problem at work, never-seen teenage niece showing up at her doorstep, she'd used Kevin for sex.... and I hated it. Kevin was a great guy... but I just couldn't stand Mia.

Grade: DNF

Snow and buildings

Boy, we got some snow today! About 40cm of snow... which apparently, equal approximately to 15 inches. It started roughly around 2am in the morning and has snowed almost the whole day... It was definitively hellish this morning to get to work... it took me 4 HOURS to get in... I left at 6am and only got in at around 10ish... Let me tell you, 4 hours is very long when you need to go to the bathroom!!! What are women supposed to do when they are stuck in traffic with no exit? I was stuck on a stretch of the highway for 2 hours! Luckily, it provided me a good excuse to go home early and I did it in about an hour... Not bad when it usually takes me 45min. So basically, a very, very long day. Sigh.

My week-end was okay. As you've seen, I blogged LOL :D I also read the 23 volumes of Hikaru No Go all over again. I just love this series... Definitively in my top 3! Love it, love it, love it. It's also quite realistic in my opinion (okay, except for the ghost part)... since we follow Hikaru and his growth... You see him grow, makes new friends, changes, etc. If you're a fan of manga, you definitively want to give this series a try. It's basically about a young boy, Hikaru, who becomes haunted by a ghost, Fujiwara Sai (he's sooooo handsome!!). Sai lived a thousand years ago and was the emperor's go teacher. (Go is a boardgame where you have to construct territories and stuff like that... so lots of strategies involved). For some reason, he committed suicide, but still wants to play go. About 140 years ago, he haunted another young boy who became the best go player in history - Honinbo Shusaku; unfortunately, Shusaku died young and Sai still couldn't find the Hand of God... so he gets another chance with Hikaru... who doesn't know how to play. However, he learns how to... and also makes a great rival, Toya Akira... both chased each other (or more like Hikaru chases after Akira and Akira, after Sai)... and both embark on the path of a professional go player. I know that summarized like this, it sounds boring... but definitively give it a try! Manga has a way to make things that look boring into really interesting (eg: go, football, baking, etc.). Okay, so anyway, if you have a chance, give it a try :)

On Sunday, I went and help a friend... she's a student master in architecture and next week is her presentation... She needed help with her models... so I spent my day makes little buildings :D I did 24 of them!! but it was all the easy, square ones... My other friend came in a bit later and she did the roof tops. Here are some pics...

Afterwards, we went to eat Japanese as it was an acquaintance b-day. All in all, it was a nice week-end... I just didn't get to sleep that much :( Which might explain why I'm starting to get sick... my immune system is weakening and becoming more susceptible to my sis and dad's germs LOL :)

Books to look forward to in December

It's December already... scary no? And it's freaking cold!! Apparently, -15C tonight... which is nothing compared to other places... but still freezing. Also, we got snow... not too much, but we'll definitively be spending a white Christmas... especially with the amount of snow they are forecasting for tomorrow night (apparently 30cm, ugh). Not really looking forward to it...

Books are another story though. As you can see, November was a so-so month. Also, there weren't many books I was anticipating. December, however, is always a great month since it's Christmas... So here are the books I'm looking forward to:

Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper - Dec. 31 (Hardcover)
*I've already pre-ordered it LOL

This book was supposed to be released in July, but was pushed back in December. I really can't wait for it. It's the first book of the new Blood trilogy of the SCU (Special Crime Unit) by Kay Hooper. Apparently, this trilogy is going to be a bit different as in the plot of the three books are connected (as in, it's a continuous story). Definitively looking forward to it and I hope we'll see some previous characters. I know that Bishop is in it (duh)... and Hollis.


The Haunting of Josie by Kay Hooper - Dec. 26
*I've already pre-ordered it too :P

Another book by Kay Hooper. This is a re-print of one of her earlier works. I don't know much about this one to tell the truth... but to have the name of Kay Hooper on the cover is enough for me to look forward to it.


Elijah by Jacquelyn Franks - Dec. 25

This is the third book of the NightWalkers series featuring Elijah... This series focus mainly on demons, although there are other paranormal creatures. If I'm not wrong, the heroine is a werewolf... actually, the queen of werewolf. I enjoyed the first book (Jacob) very much - thought it was different... Gideon was an okay read... so I don't know what to expect from Elijah... however, the sneak peak at the end of Gideon was interesting :)

The Wicked Ways of A Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke - Dec. 26

This is an historical romance... 2nd book in the Bachelorette series, although I'm not sure if book 1 and 2 are connected. The back blurb is very cute and had made me very curious.

Once upon a time, there was a seamstress named Prudence who lived in a lodging house, worked very hard, and dreamed of a better life. Then she inherited a fortune, met a handsome duke, and fell in love. Her life was wonderful, and it seemed as if she was destined to live happily ever after.

Then she found out money can’t buy happiness, handsome dukes can also be wicked, lying scoundrels, and a broken heart hurts like hell. Will Prudence ever find true love and happiness? Will the wicked duke mend his ways? Will she take him back or kick him to the curb?

I've liked Laura Lee Guhrke historical romances so far, so I'm definitively looking forward to this one :P

Other books that are worth mentioning: Queen of Dragons by Shana Abe (Dec.26)... third book of the series. I'm actually not sure about this one. I liked the first book well enough (The Smoke Thief)... Dream Thief was okay... so I'm still undecided about Queen of Dragons. I guess I'm going to wait and see what are ppl's opinion of it first. Hello Doggy! by Elaine Fox (Dec.26) had a cute blurb... and Get A Clue by Jill Shalvis (Dec.25) is released in paperback format. I've heard good comment about this book.

So there you have it, the books I'm looking forward. January also looks like a promising month. So definitively some good reads in the future. Now, I'm wondering... these books are all coming out btw Christmas and New Year... is there any guarantee that I'll definitively find it in the bookstore on their release date? I sure hope so! I've already pre-ordered two books online... Blood Dreams because that way, I save a lot of money... and The Haunting of Josie because last time I pre-ordered a Kay Hooper, I received it almost 2 weeks in advance :P I hesitated buying Elijah and The Wicked Ways of a Duke... because these are coming out on Dec. 26... and you never know about mail btw Christmas and New Year... so there might be more chance for me to get my hand on them in the bookstore...

So there you have it :D Books that I'm looking forward to :D What about you?

November Reads

Okay, so quickly before I grab a shower and go to work :) Here is my list of books read for the month... quantity-wise, it was a good month... quality-wise, not so much. Lots of ups and downs.

So here we go for the list:

1) Not the Marrying Kind by Hailey North: C
2) Daisy's Back in Town by Rachel Gibson: B-/C+
It was funny, because these two books had basically the same plot...
3) The Séance by Heather Graham: B-
4) Sex & the Immortal Bad Boy by Stephanie Rowe: B
5) Can you Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella: C
6) Creation in Death by J.D. Robb: B+
7) Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas: B
8) The Marriage Lesson by Victoria Alexander: C-
9) If Angels Burn by Lynn Viehl: D
10) Dark Need by Lynn Viehl: C
11) Cath a Mate by Gena Showalter: C+
12) Good Girls Don't by Kelley St.John: C+
13) California Holiday by Kate Cann: E (really bad book, I don't know why I finished it)
14) The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot: A-
15) Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot: B+
16) Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot: C-
17) Her Sexiest Mistake by Jill Shalvis: DNF
18) Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts: B
19) Mouth to Mouth by Erin McCarthy: B

So as you can se, a so-so month... although I managed to read 19 books. I'll try to review a few of them later tonight :D as well as come up with the books I'm looking forward for December :P

End of the month and I want to blog!

Okay, I started this post yesterday (i.e Thursday)... and didn't get the chance to finish it! Man, my last post was Monday… and today is Friday. I swear, I was planning to blog yesterday and the day before and even the day before that... I don’t know what happened… it’s not as if time flew by that fast… (especially when you’re at work… especially when the work atmosphere is crappy). Well okay, today was a bit busy... but still. I want to blog!! (although, what I have to say might not be that interesting... but I know you'll still read it! LOL)

Anyway, I got Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts on Tuesday :D (I actually sneaked out of work around lunch hour…) I also bought: Two Weeks with a Stranger by Debra Mullins, Lord of Scoundrel by Loretta Chase, Take Me Home by I-don’t-know-the-author, Wedding Ring by Emilie Richards, Mouth to Mouth by Erin McCarthy and Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie. Not bad right?

I haven't done much this week except read and sleep... which I guess it's great LOL :) So it's already Friday... tomorrow is December! A new month! I hope it's going to be a great reading month LOL (as opposed to November - you'll see tomorrow in my monthly post). Cindy was wondering what books I was looking forward in December... that'll be a post coming very soon :D

Also, I've been slacking off a bit on my reviews :( So I think I'll have to start doing lightening reviews... my only problem with that is that it kind of sucks when you archive it :(

Anyway, all of this coming this week-end!

Another week-end

Someone, tell me how come the week-end always goes by so fast, while the week days feel like eternity? It really is unfair. Not surprisingly, I didn’t want to wake up this morning and go to work. In the end, it wasn’t bad because my supervisor was absent! (yay!)

My week-end started off okay… I was very excited on Friday, because after checking online, I found out that every bookstore already had Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts in stock!! However, once I rushed to the bookstore after work, they told me they couldn’t sell the book to me, because it was not officially released yet. Hmmmm… Okay… Ames already warned me of that problem, because she got the same answer in 2 bookstores in Winnipeg… but I thought I would be safe, as I know that the bookstore I went usually put out the books a bit early (for example Mira/HQN books are always out about a week or two early… that’s also where I bought Count to Ten early and etc.). I guess Nora Roberts has now reached such a notorious level that they are now very strict on the release date (apparently, the bookstore could lose its license…) I didn’t give up though… I went to a second bookstore and look for a new and innocent employee… but still didn’t get the book :( So I’ll be rushing to the bookstore tomorrow again.

As for my week-end, very relaxing… and kind of boring. I mean, all I did was reading which in itself is not boring… however, that’s all I did :( So when you think about it, yes, it is kind of boring. Anyway, I didn’t read any new books, but actually spent time re-reading :) It was fun. The first book I re-read was Remember Me by Sharon Sala. Remember last week? I did a Top 3 of my favorite books by Sharon Sala… well I forgot to add Remember Me as an honorable mention is the story of Francesca and Clay LeGrand who are newly-weds. One rainy morning, Clay leaves for work and when he comes back, Frankie has disappeared. After two years of hell where the cops and people suspected Clay to have murdered Frankie and when he had to travel to different morgues throughout the country in order to identify corpse… Frankie suddenly shows up in bed as if nothing happened with no memory of the past two years. All the clues that Clay and Frankie have are the needle marks in her arm, the tattoo at her neck, a wad of money and a vague memory of an earthquake. This was definitively a great book, so read it if you have the chance.

Afterwards, I re-read the whole Chesapeake trilogy by Nora Roberts… Partly because Holly has just reviewed them at Book Binge, but also because I just recommended them to a friend. It’s also been a while since I last read them. Again, great books. This is definitively my favorite trilogy by Nora Roberts… I just love the relationship between the four brothers and NR is very good with family interaction and dynamics. Finally, I started Through A Crimson Veil by Patti O’Shea… another of my favorite.

As you can guess, cleaning and re-shelving didn’t really happen ^^; What a surprise! LOL I'm also trying to figure out my online orders and what books I'm going to buy in-store for December. I seriously can't wait till December... I've also gone through my book journal... this year is the first year I'm keeping track of what books I'm reading and when... Turns out that I've read about 160 books already this year (excluding January)­... I think that is great :D

... and I think that's it for now :D So how was your week-end? By the way, I've been meaning to, but keep forgetting: Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! :)