Mailbox Monday (Aug 25, 2012)

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books.  This is where I share the titles I have received for review or purchased during the past week.  Mailbox Monday will be hosted in August  byJennifer D at 5 Minutes for Books.

Eve and Adam

by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

In the beginning, there was an apple.

And then there was a car crash, a horrible, debilitating injury, and the hospital.  But before Evening Spiker could even lift her head out of the fog of unconsciousness, there was a strange boy checking her out of the hospital and rushing her to Spiker Biopharmaceuticals -- her mother's research facility.  Just when Eve thinks she will die -- not from her injuries, but from boredom -- her mother gives her a special project:  Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation that her mother claims is designed to teach human genetics, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up: eyes, hair, muscles, even a brain, and potential personality traits.  Eve is creating Adam.  And he will be just perfect. . . won't he?

Heaven Should Fall

by Rebecca Coleman

Alone since her mother's death, Jill Wagner wants to eat, sleep and breathe Cade Olmstead when he bursts upon her life -- golden, handsome and ambitious.  Even putting college on hold feels like a minor sacrifice when she discovers she's pregnant with Cade's baby.  But it won't be the last sacrifice she'll have to make.

Retreating to the Olmsteads' New England farm seems sensible, if not ideal:  they'll regroup and welcome the baby, surrounded by Cade's family.  But the remote, ramshackle place already feels crowded. Cade's mother tends to his ailing father, while Cade's pious sister, her bigoted husband and their rowdy sons overrun the house.  Only Cade's brother, Elias, a combat veteran with a damaged spirit, gives Jill an ally amidst the chaos, along with a glimpse in to his disturbing childhood.  But his burden is heavy, and she alone cannot kindle his will to live.

The tragedy of Elias is like a killing frost, withering Cade in particular, transforming his idealism into bitterness and paranoia.  Taking solace in caring for her newborn son, Jill looks up to find her golden boy is gone.  In Cade's place is a desperate man willing to endanger them all in the name of vengeance. . . unless Jill can find a way out. 

A Father First

by Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade, the eight-time All-Star for the Miami Heat, has miraculously defied the odds throughout his career and his life.  In 2006, in just his third season in the NBA, Dwyane was named the Finals' MVP, after leading the Miami Heat to the Championship title, basketball's ultimate prize.  Two years later, after possible career-ending injuries, he again rose from the ashes of doubt to help win a gold medal for the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  As co-captain, he helped lead the Heat to triumph in the 2012 NBA Championship.  Little wonder that legendary coach Pat Riley has called Dwyane "B.I.W." -- Best in the World.

As incredible as those achievements have been it's off the court where Dwyane has sought his most cherished goal: being a good dad to his sons, Zaire and Zion, by playing a meaningful role in their lives.  Recounting his fatherhood journey, Dwyane begins his story in March 2011 with the news that after a long, bitter custody battle, he has been awarded sole custody of his sons in a virtually unprecedented court decision.  A Father First chronicles the lessons Dwyane has learned as a single dad from the moment of the judge's ruling that instantly changed his life and the lives of his boys, and then back to the events in the past that shaped his dreams, prayers, and promises.

As the son of divorced parents determined to get along so that he and his sister Tragil could have loving relationships with both of them, Dwyane's early years were spent on Chicago's South Side.  With poverty, violence, and drugs consuming the streets and their mom descending into addiction, Tragil made the heroic decision to take her younger brother to live with their father.  After moving his household to suburban Robbins, Illinois, Dwyane Wade Sr. become Dwyane's first basketball coach.  While this period laid the groundwork for Dwyane's later mission for fathers to take greater responsibility for their kids, he was also inspired by his mother's miraculous victory over addiction and her gift for healing others.  Both his mother and his father showed him that the unconditional love between parents and children is a powerful guiding force.

In A Father First, we meet the coaches, mentors, and teammates who played pivotal roles in Dwyane's stunning basketball career -- from his early days shooting hoops on the neighborhood courts in Chicago, to his rising stardom at Marquette University in Milwaukee, to his emergence as an unheralded draft pick by the Miami Heat.  This book is a revealing, personal story of one of America's top athletes, but it is also a call to action -- from a man who had to fight to be in his children's lives -- that will show mothers and fathers how to step up and be parents themselves.

Every Day

by David Levithan

Every day I am someone else.  I am myself -- I know I am myself -- but I am also someone else.  It has always been like this.

Every morning, A wakes in a different person's body, a different person's life.  There's never any warning about where it will be or who it will be.  A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live:  Never get too attached.  Avoid being noticed.  Do not interfere.

It's all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.  From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply.  Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with -- day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights.  He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A's world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day. 

Murder Most Austen

by Tracy Kiely

A dedicated Anglophile and Janeite, Elizabeth Parker is hoping the trip to the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath will distract her from her lack of a job and her uncertain future with her boyfriend, Peter.

On the plane ride to England, she and Aunt Winnie meet Professor Richard Baines, a self-proclaimed expert on all things Austen.  His outlandish claims that within each Austen novel there is a sordid secondary story is second only to his odious theory on the true cause of Austen's death.  When Baines is found stabbed to death in his Mr. Darcy attire during the costume ball, it appears that Baines's theories have finally pushed one Austen fan too far.  Aunt Winnie's friend becomes the prime suspect, and Aunt Winnie enlists Elizabeth to find the professor's real killer.  With an ex-wife, a scheming daughter-in-law, and a trophy wife, not to mention a festival's worth of die-hard Austen fans, there are no shortage of suspects.

This fourth in Tracy Kiely's charming series is pure delight.  If Bath is the number-one mecca for Jane Austen fans, Murder Most Austen is the perfect read for those who love some laughs and quick wit with their mystery.

What books came home to you this week?

Mailbox Monday (May 21, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in May by Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.  I got another win this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!


I also bought some books this week at a Scholastic Warehouse sale and also found a few books at some local thrift stores.


For Review:

Play Him Again
by Jeffrey Stone


It’s the Roaring Twenties but silence remains golden for Hollywood. Sound is scorned by movie moguls. It’s too expensive. Only two studios have sound equipment. Only one picture has contained limited spoken dialogue.

Matt Hudson, a rumrunner and the preferred bootlegger of the movie industry, wants to produce a talking picture. Hud’s gut tells him a talkie would rake in the dough at the box office but neither sound studio will lease him their facilities.

Hud’s oldest friend, con man Danny Kincaid, uses the talkie gold mine angle to con a transplanted Chicago gangster into buying a bogus sound device. But when the gangster gets wise, Danny ends up dead.

Now Hud has a score to settle and nothing can stop him from finding Danny’s killer. After Hud unravels a web of deception, blackmail, and murder that leads to a studio controlled by the gangster, he sets up another con to play the gangster again. A con that will either avenge Danny or get Hud killed. 

Foreign Identity
by Becca J. Campbell


Two nameless strangers, a man and a woman, find themselves imprisoned together. With no memories of their own identities, let alone their captor and tormentor, escape is the only option. The pair faces a bizarre labyrinth of rooms and clues that confuse more than they explain. Every discovery only brings more questions.

Who captured them? Why were they taken? What does their captor want from them? What can the riddles mean?

Who are they?

Lacking allies and options, the duo must learn to trust one another. Mazes, puzzles, and even strange, lurking creatures force them to rely on their wits--and each other--for survival. But survival isn’t enough. They need answers.

Will the answers be enough? Will the truth bring them closer together, or drive them forever apart? Will discovering their identities finally bring them home?








Purchased from Scholastic for my daughters (okay - for me too)

Rot & Ruin
Jonathan Maberry


In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash—but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Acclaimed horror author Jonathan Maberry makes his young adult debut with this detail-rich depiction of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has fallen, the dead have risen, and danger is always imminent.

Bad Girls Don't Die
by Katie Alender


 Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence.  Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy thirteen-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.


When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction in to danger.  Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior.  Their old house is changing, too.  Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.


Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening -- to her, to her family, and to her budding relationship with the class vice president.  Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore? 

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand


In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Won from Letters Inside Out

The Crescent
by Jordan Deen


Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever known.



I bought these for my son from Scholastic:

The following were purchased at a community thrift store:

WHAT BOOKS CAME HOME TO YOU THIS WEEK?

Mailbox Monday (May 7, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in May by Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.  I got some more nice wins this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!




The first book I got from Amazon Crossing.  It is my first Amazon Crossing book!

Vertigo

By Kristina Dunker

Eva is sixteen and in love.  And this weekend promises to be special, as she and her boyfriend, Julian, will be spending time together at his parents’ house in the country.  Nothing could be more romantic and perfect.  Except that the journey there goes horribly awry, and Eva’s dream weekend turns into a total nightmare.

After bearing witness to a terrible crime and narrowly escaping the scene, Eva loses her diary, an incredibly personal book that holds all of her secrets – including details of her visits to a therapist.  So when she meets a helpful stranger who seems to know a great deal about her, she has to wonder if he is a kindred spirit or something darker.  Vertigo spins a psychologically intense tale of when to walk away. . . and when to run.

Exploring the chaotic emotional terrain of adolescence, Kristina Dunker captures the heart of youth – and the dangerous area between wanting too much and wanting it too soon.

I won the next two e-books at Ren's Rambles.

Reveal

By Brina Courtney

Shay Tafford's childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to those who have passed on. She does this while hiding her unique ability from those living around her. She can't tell her best friend, or her brother, and she definitely can't confide in her psychologist mother for fear of her mom locking her up.That's why it's been comforting to have Jeremy, a seventy year old child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he's been absent, perhaps lost as her father is.  When Shay meets Hugh, the boy she's had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too she's just starting to find a normalcy in her life. But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases all chances she had at a normal existence.  Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save an entire race of beings. But can she? 

Now there is the threat of an attack from a dark force with unlimited power and she must decide if she accepts her fate as a part of the prophecy.  Can Shay and Hugh defeat this evil and save the people they love, before they too are lost forever?

Capture

By Brina Courtney

As the highly anticipated second novel in the Cryptid Tales series, Capture is sure to satisfy the YA SciFi reader. This action packed story picks up right where Reveal left off with Shay realizing that someone she holds close may not be totally lost. But can Hugh, her cryptid mate, protect her from the evil Malsumis? Or will she fall victim to his horrible plans?

One this is for sure, Shay is in for the fight of her life.

I won Hounds Abound at Lori's Reading Corner.

Hounds Abound

by Linda O. Johnston

Saving animals and solving murders seem to go paw in paw for shelter manager and amateur sleuth Lauren Vancouver.   But this time, mixed up in a murder that may close a much-needed new shelter, whe's perhaps too quick to catch the scent of the killer. . .

For Lauren, Save Them All, the newest no-kill shelter in Los Angeles, is just what the vet ordered: a place for handicapped kitties and senior spaniels to find a loving home and a second chance.  There's just one problem.  Its charming owner, Bella Frankovick, is now suspected of murdering her ex-husband, a powerful and animal-hating cosmetic surgeon.  And it's up to Lauren to use her bulldog grip on the case to rescue Save Them All and decide Bella's fate, while keeping herself and her own critters safe from an unleashed killer. 

The following books are all review books: 

Goddess Interrupted

By Aimee Carter

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part.  Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever.  And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive.  Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. 

Guest of Honor

Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation

By Deborah Davis

In this revealing social history, one remarkable White House dinner becomes a lens through which to examine race, politics, and the lives and legacies of two of America’s most iconic figures.

In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to have dinner at the executive mansion with the First Family.  The next morning, news that the president had dined with a black man – and former slave – sent shock waves through the nation.  Although African Americans had helped build the White House and had worked for most of the presidents, not a single one had ever been invited to dine there.  Fueled by inflammatory newspaper articles, political cartoons, and even vulgar songs, the scandal escalated and threatened to topple two of America’s greatest men.

In this smart, accessible narrative, one seemingly ordinary dinner becomes a window onto post-Civil War American history and politics, and onto the lives of two dynamic men whose experiences and philosophies connect in unexpected ways.  Deborah Davis also introduces dozens of other fascinating figures who have previously occupied the margins and footnotes of history, creating a lively and vastly entertaining book that reconfirms her place as one of our most talented popular historians. 

Saving Ruth

By Zoe Fishman

Growing up in Alabama, all Ruth Wasserman wanted was to be a blond Baptist cheerleader.  But as a curly-haired Jew with a rampant sweet tooth and a smart mouth, this was an impossible dream.  Not helping the situation was her older brother, David – a soccer star whose good looks, smarts, and popularity reigned at school and at home.  College provided an escape route and Ruth took it.

Now home for the summer, she’s back lifeguarding and coaching alongside David, and although the job is the same, nothing else is.  She’s a prisoner of her low self-esteem and unhealthy relationship with food, David is closed off and distant in a way he’s never been before, and their parents are struggling with the reality of an empty nest.  When a near drowning happens on their watch, a storm of repercussions forces Ruth and David to confront long-ignored truths about their town, their family, and themselves. 

So Far Away

By Meg Mitchell Moore

Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gallagher is trying to escape: from her parents’ ugly divorce and from the vicious cyber bullying of her former best friend.  When she discovers a dusty old diary in her family’s basement, she escapes into its pages and is inspired to unlock its secrets.

Kathleen Lynch, an archivist at the Massachusetts Archives, has her own painful secret: she’s a widow estranged from her only daughter.  Natalie’s research brings her to Kathleen, who is inspired by the diary’s story – and sees in Natalie traces of the daughter she has lost.

What could the life of an Irish immigrant, a domestic servant from the 1920s, teach them both?  Through the pages of the diary, the troubled girl and the lonely widow will connect – and learn that their fears and frustrations are timeless.

So Far Away is an affecting story of mothers and daughters, and how solace can be found in the most unlikely places. 

By Faith, Not By Sight

The Inspirational Story of a Blind Prodigy, a Life-Threatening Illness, and an Unexpected Gift

By Scott MacIntyre with Jennifer Schuchmann

A piano prodigy, a nineteen-year-old college grad, a Marshall scholar, and an American Idol finalist.  This guy had it made.  He could sing.  He could ski blind.  What couldn’t he do?

Even if you saw him in concert, you might not believe that Scott MacIntyre is blind, and you’d never guess that at nineteen, he faced a diagnosis that rocked his family and nearly took his life.

So how did he do it?  How did he overcome the odds?

This is Scott’s story, but he’d be the first to tell you that it’s not really about him.  This is the story of how God used a dedicated family, a selfless acquaintance, hardship, and a host of characters to give him life, faith, determination, and experiences most can only imagine.

Peek behind the scenes to see how he learned to overcome his disability, how he made it in the music industry, how he found the love of his life, and how God taught him that in all things, we can truly achieve our dreams By Faith, Not by Sight.

The Rock Star in Seat 3A

By Jill Kargman

It's Hazel's thirtieth birthday and she has everything she's ever wanted: a kickass job, a dream apartment in New York City, and the perfect boyfriend—who's just days away from proposing. Hazel thinks she's happy but isn't quite ready to settle down. So when her most far-fetched fantasy enters the realm of the possible, shouldn't she drop everything to see it through?

The morning after her birthday, Hazel boards a flight to L.A. only to get the surprise of her life. When she's bumped up to first class, extra legroom and free drinks are absolutely the last things on her mind when she catches sight of her seatmate: her all-time biggest celebrity crush, rock star Finn Schiller! Only the night before she'd confessed her infatuation with the gorgeous musician, and her boyfriend joked that she had a free pass if she ever met him. Hazel can't believe fate has actually thrown them together.

Even more unbelievable is that during the flight they genuinely connect. Finn likes her uncensored cursing and wicked sense of humor, and that she's unlike all of his groupies; Hazel likes his killer looks, ripped physique, and soulful music. But what started as a fantasy quickly becomes a real attraction, and after a dream date and taste of the rock-star life with Finn in L.A., Hazel is forced to examine the track her life is on. Indulging in a passionate affair with a rock star seems crazy—but could she ever forgive herself if she walked away from her wildest dream coming true? And is her wildest dream the stuff that happiness is made of?

A lively novel about a down-to-earth New York City girl who suddenly finds herself in a rock 'n' roll Cinderella fantasy, The Rock Star in Seat 3A is seasoned with Jill Kargman's signature wit and hilarious dialogue. This is a fairy-tale romance with a twist.

The Unseen

by Katherine Webb

A vicar with a passion for nature, the Reverend Albert Canning leads a happy existence with his naïve wife, Hester, in their sleepy Berkshire village in the year 1911.  But as the English summer dawns, the Cannings’ lives are forever changed by two new arrivals:  Cat, their new maid, a disaffected, free-spirited young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the law; and Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, enticed by tales of elemental beings in the water meadows nearby.

Quickly finding a place for herself in the underbelly of local society, Cat secretly plots her escape.  Meanwhile, Robin, a young man of considerable magnetic charm and beauty, soon becomes an object of fascination and desire.  Sweltering in the oppressive summer heat, the peaceful rectory turns into a hotbed of dangerous ambition, forbidden love, and jealousy – a potent mixture of emotions that ultimately leads to murder. 

The Secrets of Mary Bowser

By Lois Leveen

All her life, Mary has been a slave to the wealthy Van Lew family of Richmond, Virginia.  But when Bet, the willful Van Lew daughter, decides to send Mary to Philadelphia to be educated, she must leave her family to seize her freedom.

Life in the North brings new friendships, a courtship, and a far different education than Mary ever expected, one that leads her into the heart of the abolition movement.  With the nation edging toward war, she defies Virginia law by returning to Richmond to care for her ailing father – and to fight for emancipation.  Posing as a slave in the Confederate white House in order to spy on President Jefferson Davis, Mary deceives even those who are closest to her to aid the Union command. 

Mailbox Monday (April 30, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in April by Cindy at Cindy's Love of  Books.  I got some more nice wins this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!


Review books first:

The First Warm Evening of the Year
by Jamie M. Saul


"The first time I saw Marian Ballantine she looked like a burst of bittersweet among the winter branches. . ."


And so begins a tale of love lost and found, the rekindling of a passion for life that two people discover with each other, and the complex dynamics of family and friendship.


Geoffrey Tremont is untroubled by his neat, contented bachelor life in bustling New York City, filled with sophisticated friends, an undemanding lover devoted to her own career, and his wise brother, a psychiatrist who is the only one who sees and understands him completely -- just the way Geoffrey wants it.  On an ordinary day, Geoffrey arrives home to find a letter awaiting him with a postmark from an unfamiliar town: Shady Grove, New York.  An old friend has named him the executor of her estate.  Twenty years ago, in college, Geoffrey and Laura Welles had been each other's confidant; as their lives diverged, they went their separate ways.  Now, she's reached out of the past to ask him a final favor.  Laura's death has also brought her brother, Simon, to Geoffrey's doorstep.  With his sister gone, Simon has no one but her old friend Geoffrey with whom to settle past grievances.


With Simon in tow, Geoffrey travels up to Laura's hometown -- the place she chose to live her final years -- where he meets Marian Ballantine.  A widow living in the shadow of an idyllic marriage, and now grieving the loss of her best friend, Marian knows a lot about Geoffrey, Laura often spoke of him, she tells him, and though he's flattered, he's also thrown off balance.  From the moment he first sees her, Geoffrey instinctively knows this attractive, plainspoken woman has the power to upend his cool, compartmentalized life.  What Marian knows is that life comes with no guarantees, no promises of lasting happiness, and although she finds herself unsettled by this persistent, compelling man, she's unwilling to trade her hard-won, quotidian existence for an indefinite future.  Faced with the decision to embrace the unknown or retreat to the safety of the familiar, they will both have to discover the courage it takes to tumble into the abyss of love.

The Big, Fun, Sexy, Sex Book
by Lisa Rinner and Ian Kerner, PH.D.


Just say O!


- Have flannel pj's replaced your silky negligees?
- Are you more likely to nod off cuddling the remote -- instead of your partner?
- Are you too tired for sex?
- Is foreplay becoming "boreplay"?


Sure, being comfortable in your relationship is great.  You can finish each other's sentences, love your partner's extra ten pounds, and know just the right buttons to push in bed (or at least think you do). But too much comfort can strip your sex life of the XXX rating and render your love life . . . lifeless.


New York Times bestselling author and nationally recognized sex counselor Ian Kerner and vivacious television personality Lisa Rinna, who spoke candidly about rediscovering her own lost libido in her New York Times bestseller Rinnavation, are on a mission to help you get from "no-go" to the Big O.


Mind-blowing sex is just pages away!  Turn down the lights and cozy up under the sheets with this intimate bedside guide to igniting your mojo.  Overflowing with candid advice, tips, techniques, personal revelations, sexercises, and even a ten-step plan guaranteed to rejuvenate your relationship and keep you and your partner coming back for more, The Big, Fun, Sexy Sex Book proves that knowledge isn't just power -- it's also pleasure!


Now, let's have some fun!

My Cross to Bear
by Gregg Allman


The definitive story of a man who has seen it all, and a band that lived to tell the tale.


As one of the greatest rock icons of all time, Gregg Allman has lived it all and then some.  For almost fifty years, he's been creating some of the most recognizable songs in American rock, but never before has he paused to reflect on the long road he's traveled.  Now, he tells the unflinching story of his life, laying bare the unvarnished truth about his wild ride that has spanned across the years.


The story begins simply: with Gregg and his older brother, Duane, growing up in the South, raising hell with their guitars, and drifting from one band to another.  But all that changed when Duane and Gregg came together with four other men to forge something new -- a unique sound shaped by soul, rock, and blues and brimming with experimentation; a sound not just of a band, but of a family.


Bringing to life the carefree early days of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg holds nothing back -- from run-ins with the law to meeting girls on the road, from jamming at the Fillmore East to experimenting with drugs.  Along the way, he goes behind the scenes of some of the greatest rock music ever recorded, without shying away from the infamous and painful deaths of his brother, Duane, and Allman Brothers bassist Berry Oakley.  Speaking for the first time about the profound impact that his brother's death had on him, Gregg offers a tribute to Duane that only a younger brother could write, showing how, to this day, he still confronts the grief of losing his big brother, even as Duane continues to guide and inspire him.


Setting the record straight about the band's struggles in the face of death, Gregg shows how the decision to persevere came with a heavy price.  While the rock and roll excesses of drugs, alcohol, and personality clashes led to a series of breakups that culminated with the band's permanent reunion in 1989, Gregg fought his own battle with substance abuse, going to rehab no less than eleven times and floating through a string of failed marriages, including his tabloid-frenzied relationship with Cher, before finally cleaning up once and for all.


Capturing the Allman Brothers' ongoing, triumphant resurgence as well as his own recent fight against hepatitis C, Gregg presents a story as honest as it is fascinating, providing a glimpse inside one of the most beloved and notorious bands in the history of rock music and demonstrating how, through it all, the road goes on. . . forever. 

The Body in the Boudoir
by Katherine Hall Page


It's 1990, and Faith Sibley is a single young woman leading a glamorous life in New York City.  She has good friends, a cozy apartment, and her own flourishing catering business, Have Faith.  Then, at a catering event, she meets the handsome, charming Reverend Thomas Fairchild.  A daughter and granddaughter of clergymen, Faith has sworn to avoid a parish's fishbowl existence.  But it's love at first sight, and before she knows it her life is changing drastically.


To begin with, she's beckoned north to chilly New England to visit her future residence and prospective in-laws, not all of whom welcome her with open arms.  Thankfully, back home she has her adoring great-uncle Sky to rely on, even if his much younger wife has always struck Faith as slightly odd.  For the ceremony Uncle Sky has offered up the use of his mansion on Long Island, which would be the perfect location if only the brickwork wasn't suspiciously falling off the roof.


Her path to the altar is made even rockier when Faith faces two other baffling mysteries.  Her new assistant, Francesca, appears to be hiding a family secret with roots in Italy.  Then Faith's sister, Hope, becomes a target.  Who could be plotting to derail her high-stakes financial career?


In spite of being overwhelmed by her decision to leave her home in the Big Apple and the multitude of tasks involved in getting married, Faith has no doubts about being married to her beloved Tom.  But someone out there is dead set on making sure that she doesn't reach the altar.  Before it's too late, she needs to figure out who is trying to sabotage the wedding -- by eliminating the bride!

The Hunt
by Andrew Fukuda


Don't sweat. Don't laugh. Don't draw any extra attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.


Gene is different than the other kids at school.  He can't run as fast, he can go outside during the day and he doesn't have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is human and each day is a battle to keep his secret locked away or risk being devoured by everyone around him.


When he is chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the few remaining humans, he is thrust into the fight of his life and into the orbit of a girl who makes him feel things he'd never thought possible. 






The following two books I won from Cassandra's Reviews:

Blood Noir
by Laurell K. Hamilton



Werewolf Jason Schuyler needs Anita Blake -- not as a vampire hunter, federal marshal, or necromancer, but as a friend.  He wants to pretend, just for a few days, that he's an everyday guy in an everyday relationship with a pretty woman who loves him, so he can say good-bye to his dying father.  It shouldn't be hard to keep their real identities under wraps for a few days in Jason's small hometown.


Really, by now, Anita Blake should know better.


Marmee Noir, ancient mother of all vampires, pick this weekend to make a move.  Somehow she has cut the connection that binds Anita and Jean-Claude, leaving Jean-Claude unable to sense what is happening.  Dangerous even as she sleeps, buried in darkness for a thousand years somewhere beneath the old country of Europe, Marmee Noir reaches for power.  She has attacked Anita before, but never like this.  In Anita she senses what she needs to make her enemies tremble. . . 

The Harlequin
by Laurell K. Hamilton


The Harlequin's warning to Anita Blake is presented in a gift box, left where she'd be sure to find it.  Inside, carefully wrapped in folds of pristine tissue paper, is a white mask, utterly plain.  The fact that it's white, Jean-Claude tells her, is the good news.  White means they are only being observed.


The flow of power that connects Anita Blake with Jean-Claude, vampire Master of the City, and with Richard, Ulfric of the werewolves, has been growing and changing, increasing exponentially.  Their power seems to have attracted attention, and it's a kind of attention no one would desire.  Jean-Claude and Richard need to be strong allies now.  Nathaniel and Micah need to give all their love and aid.  And Anita will need to call on Edward, whose utterly human ruthlessness in her defense makes him the right man for the job.


Anita Blake has the authority to pass judgment on vampires.  The Harlequin have the authority to pass judgment on her.  It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you've been contacted.


And to contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death. 






What books came home to you this week?