Review: Secret Life of a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

I just finished up Secret Life of a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks. It is the 6th book in the "Love at Stake" Series. This is the first book I have read by her because I hadn't realized it was a part of a series, but I was able to follow it just fine.

Summary: Lara Boucher is a young police officer in NYC. She makes a call to a bachelor party at a hotel that is getting out of control. When she arrives on the scene, she encounters Jack, a vampire (though she is unaware). There is an immediate physical attraction between the two, but something doesn't seem right to her. She tracks him down again and discovers he has supernatural powers such as super strength and ability to teleport. She is frightened by his abilities and Jack refuses to explain himself, despite their attraction towards one another. He is afraid that he cannot trust her to keep his secret of being a vampire, which would put the entire vampire race at risk. He also fears she will no longer want to be with him if she knows the truth about what he really is. Their relationship grows, and they have begun to fall in love, though she is resisting at times because he will not tell her the truth. Then suddenly, kidnappings of college girls begin occurring, which Jack believes is being done by a Malcontent (the bad vampires), and now Lara, as well as the entire vampire race, are in danger . . .

My Thoughts: This was my first Kerrelyn Sparks novel and I enjoyed it a lot. At the beginning, I was unsure because I just felt it was too cheesy. Jack and Lara fell in love in what seemed to be a split second, even though right before, they couldn't stand each other. After I got past that, I found the book to be excellent. It was entertaining, exciting, and romantic, especially the last 100 pages or so. I definitely plan on reading the rest of the "Love at Stake" series, hopefully from the beginning. Even though this is book 6 of the series, I would say the books are stand alone, because I was able to follow the story fine, but it probably would have been better to read starting from the first book, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, which I plan to read soon.

The Bottom Line: Highly recommended for fans of paranormal romance. Will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rating: 4/5

Currently Reading: Heat Wave by "Richard Castle." This is a novel based on the ABC show Castle, which is one of my favorite shows, about Richard Castle, an author of mystery crime novels who follows a NYPD cop for inspiration. The book is supposed to be one of his mystery novels. The reason I put his name in quotes is because he is obviously not the real author, as he is a fictional character haha.

Review: Ruby's Diary by Ruby Gettinger

Ruby is the star of the Style Network's reality show Ruby, which I love. It is a funny, sweet, and inspirational show that chronicles Ruby's journey to weight loss. At her heaviest, she was over 700 pounds. Ruby's Diary is essentially a "diary" written by Ruby, though it does not seem like a real diary at all. It is obviously written based off of the show and the events in it.

Summary: This small book is told from Ruby's perspective about her weight loss journey. She talks about many things including her friends, family, and difficulties with the weight loss. The end of each chapter contains a letter from one of her friends or family members, talking about Ruby and why she is special to them.

My Thoughts: I love this show, and I think Ruby is hilarious. This book was pretty good, but not what I was expecting. I was hoping for more of a memoir, whereas this book is all over the place with no focus whatsoever. While it was nice to see Ruby's thoughts, it was essentially just the show on paper. Many of the incidents she talks about are what was already seen on the show. Some of it was insightful and funny (such as Ruby talking about her made up words that she uses frequently such as "hacky" which is happy/wacky), but I was slightly disappointed with the book overall. If you watch the show, you would probably like this book, but I would not recommend buying it. I borrowed it from the library, luckily. If you don't watch the show, I would highly recommend you do not read this book as you would more than likely not enjoy it.

The Bottom Line: A slight disappointment that was not nearly as insightful as I had been hoping for. This book is meant for fans of the show only.

Rating: 3/5

Currently Reading: Secret Life of a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks. This is the first book I'll have read by her. Apparently this is the 6th book of a series, but I didn't know. I seem to be having no problem with it though. It seems to me like maybe the books in the series are stand alones. If any of you have read the Love at Stake series, is this correct, or should they be read in order?

Review: The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

I just finished The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. I read it in about two days because I wanted to make sure to have it finished and reviewed by Christmas. I thought it was a quick, short, and cute read!

Summary: This is a story of 12 women friends who meet up every December for a cookie exchange. Each brings thirteen sets of a dozen cookies to pass out to each member, as well as a year full of stories and (a lot of) heartache. The story is narrated by Marnie, the "head cookie bitch," as she's called because she is the host of the party each year. A lot of the story is centered around her and her life. She has two pregnant daughters, one an unwed eighteen year old, and the other in her 20's who has had a tough time with her pregnancies. Each chapter is about a different member of the cookie club, but is narrated by Marnie. The beginning of each chapter starts off with a cookie recipe which is nice. All of the women seem to be going through some kind of hardship - cancer, divorce, death of a child - just to name a few. The women help each other get through these issues which is evident, though the story takes place in one night (the cookie exchange). It helps that we get a lot of back-story from Marnie.

My Thoughts: I thought this was a really cute book about friendship that was nice to read at Christmastime. Though it takes place around Christmas, I really think it could be read and enjoyed any time of the year, so don't let that deter you. It was a feel good story, though it did have its flaws. My main issue was that there were so many characters and various stories going on in only 270 pages that it could get confusing at times. I felt it would have been better if there were less characters. Nonetheless, I did think this was adorable and inspirational. It makes me want to have a Christmas Cookie Club of my own!

The Bottom Line: A nice, quick read about bonds and friendship with slightly too many characters.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Currently Reading: Ruby's Diary by Ruby Gettinger. This is a memoir by Ruby Gettinger, star of Style Network's show Ruby, about an obese woman's journey to losing weight. I love the show which is why I decided to read her book.

Update on book giveaway - six books, two winners!

Hey everyone. I am having a book giveaway that is ending January 17th (my 21st birthday)! I have six books to choose from and will now have two winners. First place gets 3 books, Second place gets 2. I have just added the second place winner in honor of reaching the 100 followers like I promised. Check it out here!

Review: Moments With Baxter by Melissa Joseph

I just finished Moments With Baxter: Comfort and Love From the World's Best Therapy and was incredibly touched by Baxter's story.

Summary: This is a book of 30-something short stories, with pictures, about Baxter, a certified therapy dog, who volunteers with his owners Melissa and Dennis at a hospice. While there, Baxter visits many of the fatally ill and dying patients to provide them and their families comfort in their time of need. He often sits on the bed with the patient, or on the couch with the family - whoever needs him most at the moment. He is a calm and soothing presence to the patients, families, and staff, and is often called an "angel" by the patients he visits. He provides hope and love simply by being there with the patient. All of these stories are different in that the circumstances surrounding each of the patients is unique to the individual (some are children, some are elderly, some have cancer or a disease). The stories are all similar in that each of the patients forms a special bond with Baxter, who is old and frail, like many of the people he visits.

My Thoughts: This was an incredibly sweet and moving book. It made me fall in love with Baxter too. He truly seems like an angel. Baxter's story goes to show how animals truly can touch people's lives. The story also provides hope because despite the illnesses of the patients in the story, many of them still wanted to be happy at the end of their lives and Baxter helped them with that. My only complaint about the book is that some of the stories are too short and I mean that in the best way possible - I found myself caring about the people in these stories, and I would turn the page, and their story was finished. I would have liked to see less stories that were more detailed then many stories that were not as detailed or in depth. While reading this book, I found myself smiling at times, and choked up at others. I thought the pictures were beautiful and heartwarming.

The Bottom Line: A must read for any dog lover!

Rating: 4.5/5

*I heard very sad news a couple of months ago. Baxter passed away in October, at 19 and a half years old. He was truly a hero in the eyes of so many people, and I think his story is beautiful. He was an amazing dog, and he touched so many lives. I am including a wonderful video that I first saw several months ago that introduced me to Baxter and his story. You will need Kleenex if you watch it!



Currently Reading: The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. I thought it was an appropriate read for the week of Christmas!

Review: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Last night I finished up Haunted: A Novel of Stories by Chuck Palahniuk, who is known for his offbeat and sometimes disturbing stories. This book is certainly both of those things. I think Palahniuk is completely brilliant and I very much admire him; I'm not completely sure how I feel about this book though.

Summary: This book is quite complex, so I'll do my best to describe it. The book is made up of 23 short stories inside of one larger story. The larger story is this: a group of people responded to an ad for a "writer's retreat" in which they would abandon their lives for three months and create their masterpiece. None of the characters knew what to expect, they just boarded a bus and wound up at an old abandoned theater, at this retreat, run by an elderly man, Mr. Whittier.

Each chapter of this story is followed by a free verse poem about one of the people, then some sort of story about their life that they are telling the rest of the group. All of these stories are disturbing and unusual, brilliant and shocking.

As far as the main story goes, as time goes on, the people are increasingly growing more disturbed and insane. Some of them begin dying, and cutting off their own fingers and toes. They ruin the food and break the heater, all in hopes of being discovered by the outside world, and then becoming famous by having movies and shows created about their experience. They appear to be locked up and victimized, yet we soon discover, they are prisoners of themselves.

My Thoughts: The premise of this story is absolutely fascinating. The book is shocking, grotesque, and extremely unique. It is provocative, bizarre and unusual, as Palahniuk almost always is. With that said, I think the format of the book was interesting and the writing was brilliant. Palahniuk did not let me down there. However, something about this book just didn't click with me. It wasn't as gripping as some of his others, and that may be a result of the character's short stories intersplicing so often into the main story. While the short stories were fascinating (I particularly enjoyed "The Nightmare Box"), it disrupted the flow of the main story. This book is intense and disturbing, but an interesting read. If you have not read Palahniuk before, I wouldn't recommend this being your first. I adore his novel Invisible Monsters, and would highly recommend checking that one out if you are interested in his work. I must admit, I was kind of disappointed with this book.

The Bottom Line: Be prepared for a disturbing read with this one. It is not recommended for the faint of heart. If you are already a fan of Palahniuk, then I'd say: read it. If you have not read any of his books before though, I would not recommend starting with this one. Instead, try Invisible Monsters.

Rating: 3.5/5

Currently Reading: Moments With Baxter by Melissa Joseph. This is a book of photographs and short essay stories about a therapy dog named Baxter who has been specially trained to comfort dying people in hospice. Baxter has recently passed away, but he touched so many lives in his time here.

A 6 Book Contest!

Hey Everyone! It is time for another contest. I have 6 books up for grab... a wide variety of books, so a little something for everyone. I'm going to have two winners. First place will get to pick three of the following books. Since I have reached 100 followers, I will add a second place winner who will get to pick two of the remaining books. These books are all used and from my collection - just wanted to throw that out there.Titles:
Lasher - Anne Rice
Welcome to Temptation - Jennifer Crusie
Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin (Hardcover)
Isabel's bed - Elinor Lipman
The Backup Plan - Sherryl Woods
Bag of Bones - Stephen King

Entering:
You must be a Google friend connect follower in order to enter. If you're not a follower yet, then become one and enter! Also, please be in the USA. Leave me your e-mail address in the comment, if you don't mind, so I can get in touch if you win.

Here are some chances for extra entries by helping to spread the word:
+2 for adding it to your sidebar, twittering about it, etc.
+5 if you mention it in a blog post.
---Please leave links for all.

The contest will end on my 21st birthday... January 17th! It will close at 11PM.

Good luck and happy reading to all!

Review: Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison

I finished Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison last night. For me, it was a fairly quick read and very interesting. It's a memoir of John's life with Asperger's Disorder, a mild form of Autism. Briefly, people who have Asperger's may be highly intelligent (Savants) in certain areas (John is highly intelligent in engineering), but are socially isolated and have a hard time expressing emotion and communicating with others. For example, John discusses several instances where he heard about someone's death, and despite feeling sad, or knowing it was bad news, was grinning while hearing it.

Summary: John is now in his 50's, but grew up almost his whole life never having a diagnosis for what was wrong with him. As a child and young adult, he had a very tough time fitting in with others and was often made to feel like an outcast or misfit. Many people wrote him off as just being "bad" or troubled, as Asperger's was really not heard of until more recent years. His childhood was difficult because of his inability to connect with others, and a very disturbing household with mentally ill and somewhat abusive parents. This memoir chronicles a lot of John's life from childhood until now. He regales us with many stories, both funny and sad. It is broken down into 30 or more chapters, each a story of its own that chronicles something about his life. Despite his Asperger's, he has managed to live a fascinating and successful life. At one point, he talks about how he got into engineering and the music scene, even going on tour for awhile with the band KISS and engineering guitars for them with special effects. He now owns a successful car repair business, is married and has a son. In his 40's, he was finally diagnosed with Asperger's, which revealed a lot to him and helped him understand himself.

My Thoughts: I thought this was a fascinating read. I really enjoyed having a peak into the mind of an Aspergian (don't know if this is the correct term, but it's what John uses). This story was funny at times, talking about how he has always given people his own names that he actually uses instead of their real names (Cubby for his son, Little Bear for his first wife, Varmint for his brother). He is also lighthearted and genuine about Asperger's, and makes light of it while still being honest and true. Some of this story was sad as well because John had to go through a lot of hard times to get to where he is today. It was nice to see that he was able to overcome the disorder though, and live a very happy life. This story was quirky, entertaining, and eye-opening. A must read for memoir lovers, or those that are interested in learning about Autsim disorders. His brother, Augusten Burroughs, is also the author of the very famous memoir, Running With Scissors (which is somewhere waiting to be read in my mammoth stack(s) of books!). Special thanks to my friend Sarah for recommending and loaning this book to me!

Rating: 4/5

*To learn more about Asperger's, I'd recommend visiting this website.

Currently Reading: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. This is a novel written in 20-something short stories, that is supposed to be pretty scary. I'm a big Palahniuk fan, so am looking forward to this one.

Blog Monster Award from Eleni!

I got a new award from the fabulous Eleni at La Femme Readers! She made the new award called "Blog Monster" and I was one of the people she nominated for it so I am very excited and VERY honored! Here is what the award is all about, from Eleni's blog:

"It signifies all the bloggers out there who constantly work hard to keep an updated and insightful website. They aren't afraid to take a bite with their honest reviews and enjoyable content. You amaze me, you inspire me so I call you a blog monster."

I'm going to nominate some of my favorite bloggers too in a few days (once my hectic semester is over! haha).

Thanks so much Eleni! You rock!

Secret Santa Gifts Part 2!

Today, I had a lovely surprise in my mailbox: my gifts from the Book Blogger Holiday Swap!

I got two AWESOME books from my second Secret Santa (I did this one, and the one being hosted at The Neverending Shelf - I posted yesterday about that one, thanks again to Elie for the wonderful books!). Here is what I got:

1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, a novel that I have actually been wanting to read for awhile now! It looks amazing. My mom read it a couple of months ago and really liked it, so I can't wait to delve into this one!

2. The Midwife by Jennifer Worth, which is a memoir about a young woman who was a midwife in London. This looks fascinating, and as some of you know, I LOVE memoirs. I'm excited to read this one too!

Thank you SO much to my Secret Santa, whoever you are! I am dying to know who sent them! These are great choices for me, and I did not own either of them until now, so thank you! I cannot wait to read them. Here is a picture of my lovely new books:

Scret Santa Gifts!

I signed up for two of the book blog Secret Santa's this year, and I got my first gift in the mail last week. Let me just say, I got the best gifts EVER! My Secret Santa is amazing. I got:

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster which is my number one favorite book . . . that I didn't own until now! I am ecstatic to finally have this book! It is truly my favorite. I think everyone should read it! Haha.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult who is one of my favorite authors. I am psyched to have gotten this book because I haven't read it yet and have been dying to!

Thank you so much Elie at Ellz Readz!!! Barnes and Noble put her name on the box, I'm sorry for ruining the "secret" part, but I was kind of glad so that I could thank her personally for my amazing books! Elie, you rock!

I used way too many exclamation points in this entry. Can you tell I was a little excited?

Here are my beautiful new books :-) :

Awards I have Received

Here are the awards I have received from some of my fellow book bloggers. Thank you so much!

I received the Honest Scrap award as my very first one from Alexia's Books and Such. Thanks to her, and the other people who nominated me too, but she was the first! Click here for my list of honest facts for the award!I have received the One Lovely Blog award from several of my bloggy friends, so thank you to all! It is such a pretty award. I Want to Read that was the first who nominated me. Thank you!

I was given the Best Blog Award by Southern Princess. Thank you!

I was given the Blog Monster award by Eleni at La Femme Readers. This is what Eleni says about the award: "It signifies all the bloggers out there who constantly work hard to keep an updated and insightful website. They aren't afraid to take a bite with their honest reviews and enjoyable content. You amaze me, you inspire me so I call you a blog monster." Thanks, Eleni!

This is the Splash Award and "it is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs." Thanks so much to Smart Girls Read for giving me this one!

Thanks to Michele at Southern City Mysteries and Kari at A Good Addiction for passing the Happy 101 award along to me. My list of ten happy things for the award is here.


Lots of thanks to BrandyLee at The Book Chubi and Jessica at Book Bound for passing the Over the Top award along to me! My questionnaire for this award can be seen here.
Thanks to Stephanie at Laughing Stars for passing this adorable Super Comments Award on to me!

Thanks to Darlyn for giving me the Dragon's Loyalty Award!

Darlyn gave me the "Who Loves You, Baby?" award. She is one of my favorite bloggy friends, and I am so honored that she passed this on to me!

Katie from The Life and Times of a Teaching Mommy gave the "Beautiful Blogger Award" to me. I'll be making my list of 7 facts for this very shortly! Thanks, Katie! (2-7-10)

I got the Sunshine Award from Melissa Silver, who does gorgeous blog designs. Thanks a lot, Melissa! (2-8-10)I received the Prolific Blogger Award from Allie at A Literary Odyssey (2-15-10) and Jennifer at Crazy for Books (2-18-10), two amazing bloggers! This award is for "all those prolific bloggers, who read voraciously, blog tirelessly and have made the blogging community such a vibrant place. This award is in recognition of their achievements and their enthusiasm. They are the people who keep me going! A Prolific Blogger is one who is intellectually productive… keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content." Thank you so much, ladies!

I recieved the Blogger Buddie Award from Alexia's Book and Such (2-17-10). This is an amazing award, and I am so honored and happy to receive it because I have made so many great blogging friends, especially Alexia, one of my very first friends here. Thank you!

Winner for The Sign for Drowning

Hi everyone! I drew the winner today from random.org for The Sign for Drowning by Rachel Stolzman and the winner is The Tulloss Family! Congratulations to you, and thanks so much to everyone for entering. I'm going to have another giveaway soon, and I hope you will all enter.

Stop in at Rachel's site to learn more about the book.

Review: "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner

I just finished Best Friends Forever, one of Jennifer Weiner's newest novels. I thought it was pretty interesting, and very different.

Summary: Addie Downs is a single woman in her early 30's, living in her deceased parents old home. She mostly keeps to herself, venturing out only to visit her mentally ill brother and go on blind dates from the internet. On the night of her high school reunion, her former best friend, Valerie Adler, shows up at her house after years of no contact with blood on her coat and a plea for help. It turns out that while at the reunion, Val struck Dan Swansea with her car and believes she may have accidentally killed him. We find out that Val and Addie had been best friends since childhood, but a serious incident in high school, involving Dan, occurred which led Val and Addie to stop speaking to each other, leaving Addie, an overweight and awkward girl, to be friendless and lonely. Addie is wary about reconnecting with Val, but agrees to help, despite the years of silence. A lot of the story takes place when the two women go on the run, (Val's idea), for fear of being caught by the police.

There are a lot of "side stories" going on as well, such as the journey of the police chief, Jordan, on his quest to solve the crime. They also delve into his personal story as well, which is equally as sad as Addie's. The story also contains a lot of flashbacks of the girl's childhood, leading up to the event that altered their friendship and lives.

My Thoughts: I'm a fan of Jennifer Weiner. If you haven't read her novel, In Her Shoes (which was made into a movie), I'd recommend that one as well. I haven't read any of her novels in a while, but I enjoyed this one. I thought it was a unique and different story concept, with an exciting plot line. The characters were realistic, and Addie especially, had my sympathy from the get-go. Some parts of it dragged a bit, but all in all, it was a fast paced and intriguing novel. I especially liked the ending, and thought the book really picked up pace in the last section. I liked the aspect of friendship that this novel focused on as well. It spoke a lot of past, regret, and family relations. Overall, an interesting read, though not light. I would not classify this as chick lit, which I typically think of Jennifer Weiner as, but it did have a touch of romance.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Currently Reading: Look Me in the Eye, by John Elder Robison, a memoir about a man living with Asperger's. As a college student studying Elementary Special ed., this book held a special appeal for me and I've been looking forward to reading it. Thanks to Sarah, a friend from work, for loaning me her copy!

Reminder for Book Giveaway

Hey everyone, sorry I have not posted in a week. I am in my second to last week of the semester and have been completely bogged down with schoolwork. I should have a book review up over the weekend though.

I just wanted to remind everyone that my first contest ends tomorrow night (Friday) at 11:00 PM so if you haven't entered yet, be sure to ASAP! It is for a brand new copy of the novel The Sign For Drowning by Rachel Stolzman. It's a great book that I really enjoyed.

To enter the giveaway, click here.

I also recently posted an interview with Rachel, as well as a review of the novel, so check those out too! Good luck! I will announce the winner tomorrow shortly after 11:00.