Thursday, December 30, 2010

Enquiring Minds Want to Know

Enquiring Minds Want to Know is a weekly meme hosted by Dollycas's Thoughts that I thought would be fun in which to participate.  Due to the nature of my job (and my husband's too), I tend to keep pretty strick guidelines around my privacy and the privacy of my family and I think that somewhat limits the free nature of my blog as there are some things which I cannot reveal or discuss openly on here.  So when I see a meme like this where I can participate I like to join in as it's fun!

Every Thursday, she will post several questions that you answer, and then link back to her page so share with everyone.

Here are today's questions:

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?

All I wanted for Christmas this year was a Kobo ereader and yes, I did get it.  I received enough gift certificates from Chapters that I was able to purchase the ereader and I was super excited.  The lady at the counter was amazed I had so many gift certificates so that I didn't have to pay anything, even the dreaded H.S.T.  I'm even going back today to pick up the cover as they finally got some new ones in.  I'm going to spend some time today playing with it as I haven't been able to (I just got back from the in-laws and I haven't been able to set it up as of yet) and I have a number of books to download from Adobe Digital Editions.  I can't wait!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

Of course!  And pretty much break them all by the first week.  I've set up some more doable resolutions this year.  I've already started to get back in shape after my ACL surgery so that one should be pretty attainable.  I'm taking it slow and working towards three days/week rather than the six I used to do.  I'm taking up Kung Fu this summer which should also be pretty attainable as the rest of my family is already involved in Martial Arts.  And the rest are reading goals.  I've pretty much neglected my love of Fantasy/Science Fiction this past year so I've decided to rekindle that as well as focus again on Historical Fiction as I absolutely love that genre.  I've also put a lot of energy into my blog and I can't keep doing that as my job and my life are just too busy.  I'm going to have to reprioritize.  I also need to read more for fun instead of always for reviewing as I find myself not always wanting to read which is not like me at all.  It's time to pull some of those books off the wish list instead of the review pile and rekindle that reading magic.

How will you spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day this year?

We were going to go out, but I'm exhausted from all of the travelling and visiting so we're staying home.  It will be fun to spend some quiet time together, play some family games (maybe Catan), watch a movie, and just relax.  Unfortunately, New Year's Day I will probably be doing work as I go back on Monday and need to get ready for that.  January is incredibly busy.  Of course, I will probably sneak in some reading time during the day as I do every day of the week. 

Either way, I am ready for 2011.  Are you?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010

WOW: The Queen's Lady

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  It is a great way to highlight those books being released that we can't wait to read.  Here are a few that I can't wait to read:

The Queen's Lady (Book 2, Tudor Series)
by Eve Edwards
Release Date: March 29, 2011

1584 – Surrey, England When Lady Jane Rievaulx begins service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled at the court’s newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey. Despite her previous courtship with his older brother, James is the man she truly loves. And for his part, he cannot deny his fascination with her. However, James is setting sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Lady Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, there is only one man to save her. Will Master James return to his lady ­- before it’s too late?





Timeless
by Alexandra Monir
Release Date: January 11, 2011

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor's world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she's never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century's worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life - a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.


Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves - a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.


Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Upcoming releases - December 27 - January 2

Wow! I'm now entering new releases in 2011.  Where in the world did 2010 go?  I am really excited about many of the books being released in 2011 and can't wait for their release dates.  Here are some of the books I am looking forward to reading this week:

In Too Deep (Book 1, Arcane Society: Looking Glass Trilogy)
by Jayne Ann Krentz
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Scargill Cove is the perfect place for Fallon Jones, confirmed recluse and investigator of the paranormal. It's a hot spot, a convergence point for unusually strong currents of energy, which might explain why the town attracts misfits and drifters like moths to a flame. Now someone else has been drawn to the Cove - Isabella Valdez, on the run from some very dangerous men.


When she starts working as Fallon's assistant, Isabella impresses him by organizing his pathologically chaotic office - and doesn't bat an eye at the psychic element of his job. She's a kindred spirit, a sanctuary from a world that considers his talents a form of madness. But after a routine case unearths an antique clock infused with dark energy, Fallon and Isabella are dragged into the secret history of Scargill Cove and forced to fight for their lives, as they unravel a cutthroat conspiracy with roots in the Jones family business.and Isabella's family tree.


Secrets to the Grave (Book 2, Deeper Than the Dead Series)
by Tami Hoag
Release Date: December 28, 2010

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."


Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.


Sapphique (Book 2, Incarceron)
by Catherine Fisher
Release Date: December 28, 2010
 
Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside.






The Lost Saint (Book 2, Dark Divine)
by Bree Despain
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desparate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung.


Rosebush
by Michelle Jaffe
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run.


Everyone believes it was an accident, despite the phone threats Jane swears were real. But the truth is a thorny thing. As Jane's boyfriend, friends, and admirers come to visit, more memories surface - not just from the party, but from deeper in her past . . . including the night her best friend Bonnie died.

With nearly everyone in her life a suspect now, Jane must unravel the mystery before her killer attacks again. Along the way, she's forced to examine the consequences of her life choices in this compulsively readable thriller.


Prospero Burns (Warhammer: Horus Heresy Series)
by Dan Abnett
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Dan Abnett returns to the best-selling Horus Hersey series in this latest instalment of the saga!







 Bloody Valentine (Book 6, Blue Bloods)
by Melissa de la Cruz
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even the strikingly beautiful and outrageously wealthy Blue Bloods, has total control.
Broken Fences
by Camilla Noli
Release Date: December 30, 2010

Clair lives in the leafy suburbs and has worked hard to create the perfect life for her husband and two children. She knows it's a big bad world out there and her beautifully painted garden fences keep that world out. While her children are young, Clair is determined to do everything she can to keep them safe. But then a new family move in next door. The first time she sees Chelsea, Clair has her pegged as a spoilt only child who is used to getting her own way from her doting parents, beautiful yet spiteful. As Chelsea befriends Clair's children over the fence, Clair's unease increases. The girl is not a good influence, and she has Clair's son in her sights. Soon the children are running in and out of each other's gardens. But then events take a tragic turn. A terrible event shatters the cosy suburban community, proving Clair was right to remain vigilant. To protect her family, Clair tightens her grip on her children. The more she reins them in, the more they rebel. And the less control she has. Teetering on the edge of madness, Clair will do anything to save her family, and in doing so risks destroying all their lives.


Prom and Prejudice
by Elizabeth Eulberg
Release Date: January 1st, 2011

After winter break, the girls at very prestigious, very wealthy, girls-only Longbourn Academy are suddenly obsessed with the prom, which they share with the nearby, equally elitist, all-boys Pemberly school. Lizzie Bennett, who attends Longbourn on scholarship, isn't exactly interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London. Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance, but less than impressed by Will Darcy, Charles's friend, who's as snobby and pretentious as his friend is nice. He doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. It doesn't help that Charles doesn't seem to be asking Jane to be his prom date, or that Lizzie meets George Wickham, who tells her that Will Darcy sabotaged his scholarship at Pemberly. Clearly Will Darcy is a pompous jerk who looks down on the middle class--so imagine Lizzie's surprise when he asks her to the prom!




Monday, December 27, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I never thought I'd do it! I never thought I would cave in!  But yesterday I went to Chapters and did it!  I bought my first ereader.  And I was really excited about it.  As usual, all I wanted for Christmas was a gift certificate from Chapters, but this year it was for a grander purpose.  In the past, I would usually come up with a list of books I wanted to read and go over the list many times, usually blowing it as soon as I walked in the store, buying whatever I fancied at the time.  But this time, I went into Chapters with a clear purpose and to my hubby's complete amazement, I didn't even look at the books.  (I think he's forgotten about all of the other online gift certificates I've been collecting all year!!!!)  As soon as I figure out how to download the books, I will begin using my ereader.  And since I'm going to Europe in March, I've been breathing a collective sigh of relief at not having to carry all of those books overseas anymore.  And that pretty much sold him too.  Hubby is now thinking about buying his own.  I almost fell off my chair when he mentioned it. But the thought of sharing mine...I don't think so (lol)!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey where we share the books we read last week, the books we are currently reading, and the books we are planning to read.  It's a great way to share books we are excited about, and to discover new books we may not have heard about.  And you may even win a prize!

What I Read Last Week:
The Julian Game by Adele Griffin
Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb
The Other Countess by Eve Edwards - Review coming soon.

What I am Currently Reading:
Nightshade by Andrea Cremers - I am almost finished this one and it's great.
Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill

What I am Planning to Read:
Delirious by Daniel Palmer

I don't know what else I am planning to read as I will be playing around with my new ereader so I can see myself reading something I download just to see how that goes. 

Happy reading everyone!

Friday, December 24, 2010

12 Pearls of Christmas: An Unforgettable Gift


Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom"! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL ... there's also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS!  Pearls - a tangible reminder of God's grace to us all.
~~~

An Unforgettable Gift
by Karen O'Connor

On Christmas morning, 1912, in Paducah, Kentucky, fourteen-year-old Charlie Flowers and his three brothers and two sisters huddled in their beds, fully dressed, trying to keep warm as the wind howled outside their small frame house.

It was a desperate time for the family. Earlier that year the children's father had died. And their mother had not found work. The coal had run out and there was little money––none for gifts. Their scrawny tree with decorations made from scraps of colored paper had been given to them the night before by a local merchant.

"Can't sell this one," the man said with a nod of his head before handing it over to the eager children.

To pass the time, the siblings joked and shouted stories from their bedrooms across the hallway from one another. Then suddenly a racket from the alley at the rear of the house broke into their games.
 
"Charlie," his mother called, "would you see what's going on out there?"
 
Charlie pulled on his shoes, grabbed a thick overcoat from the hook by the door, and ran out back.

There stood a man in a wagon bent over a load of coal, shoveling it into the shed as fast as he could.
  
"Hey Mister, we didn't order any coal," Charlie shouted. "You're delivering it to the wrong house."

"Your name's Flowers, isn't it?" the man asked, still shoveling. 

Charlie nodded yes.

"Well then, there's no mistake.  I've been asked to deliver this to your family on Christmas morning." He looked the awe-struck boy square in the eye. "And I'm under strict orders not to tell who sent it," he teased.

Charlie ran into the house, his coattail flapping in the cold morning wind.  He could hardly wait to tell his mother and brothers and sisters. God had provided––just as he had on that first Christmas morning so long ago when He sent his only son to a needy world.

Charlie Flowers died in 1994 at age 96. And right up to the last year of his life, not a Christmas went by that he didn't tell the story of that sub-zero Christmas morning of his boyhood when two men gave his family an unforgettable gift.
 
It wasn't the coal that was remembered or cherished, Charlie often said––welcome as it was––but rather what two men brought to his desperate family. One, for his gift of recognizing their great need and taking the time to do something about it. And the other, for being willing to give up part of his own Christmas morning to deliver it.
 
That gift of so long ago has continued to warm the Flowers family from one generation to another, as Charlie's son––my husband, Charles––calls to mind these two unknown men each Christmas morning and whispers a prayer of thanks.
 ~~~


About Karen: Karen O'Connor is an award-winning author and writing mentor living in Watsonville, California with her husband, Charles Flowers. Karen’s latest book is 365 Reasons Why Gettin’ Old Ain’t So Bad (Harvest House 2010).

For more information, please visit Karen on the web at http://www.karenoconnor.com/.
~~~


A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. One entry per person, per day. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com/) on New Years Day!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit http://www.pearlgirls.info/

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!



I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Christmas holidays!

It is now Christmas Eve and I am amazed at how fast the year has gone.  It was just after Christmas last year that I tentatively started my blog for the first time, not knowing what I was doing, exploring my way around Blogger, actually losing my first post because I had no clue what I was doing, and here I am a year later, excitedly looking forward to the New Year.

I love Christmas Eve because it is so relaxing in our house.  I don't have any relatives where I live, so we spend the time together, and have a tradition of going to the same restaurant for dinner (which we have now done for three years in a row).  I look forward to it because I don't have to cook anything today.  We come home relaxed (and full) from dinner, watch a movie (The Santa Clause) and have a nice evening together.  Thankfully, the presents are all wrapped (due to a late night session the other night), so hubby and I can relax in front of the fire once the kiddies go to bed.

Christmas Day however, is another story.  We get up early, open presents, have breakfast, and then pack the car where we head to first one grandparent's house, and then another's to open presents and spend some time together.  It usually takes us between 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours to get there so we spend a few days visiting.  This year it's dinner at my parents house and I can't wait to see my nine-month-old nephew again; he's so adorable.

Boxing Day is one of my favourites as we have a big bash at one of our friend's houses.  This is a yearly tradition and it's so much fun!  A whole bunch of us get together and play road hockey, eat, drink, eat, drink, open presents, eat, drink....and so on.   We've been friends for years, but with marriage and kids and moving to different cities, we don't get to visit as often so it's great to get together and we have a blast!  The kiddies are getting old enough (well, most of them anyways) to play hockey too, and it's nice to see them involved.   I'm especially excited as I'm fully recovered from my ACL surgery and I get to play this year.  Yippee!!!

And the few days after that, it's SHOPPING time!!!!

I also want to say, Happy 80th Birthday to my father-in-law!! 

Joyeux Noel tout le monde and Bonne Nouvelle Annee!!! 


Thursday, December 23, 2010

12 Pearls of Christmas: Just Give me Christmas This Year!


Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom"! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL ... there's also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS!  Pearls - a tangible reminder of God's grace to us all.
~~~

All I Want for Christmas… Is to be able to have Christmas this Year
by Melissa Mashburn


This is a simple request, isn’t it? In the previous years, we had great big bountiful Christmases with our family. Gifts, goodies and general Christmas cheer but this year it was different. The year before has been chock full of disappointments, failing businesses and severe cutbacks for our family. 

Sitting with my husband one night we hammered out the bare minimum that we could spend that year for Christmas and even still the total was four hundred dollars. It does not sound like a whole lot compared to what we’ve spent on Christmas before, but this year it could have been four thousand dollars because we just did not have it.

We prayed, I cried, we prayed some more and decided that we would cut back anything else that we could that year so we could have Christmas for our kids. We did not know how we would make this happen, but we knew that we needed to step forward in faith that it would happen.

Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God. Galatians 3:5 the Message

Not even two days later, we hear a knock on our front door. We open the door to see some friends of ours from church. With tears in their eyes, they handed us an envelope and said that the felt they needed to give us this. We opened the envelope and inside there was four hundred dollars cash.

Shocked, stunned and with tears flowing down our face we just sat there in a state of crying and laughing at what God had done. We never shared with anyone that year what we needed, how bad it was, what was going on or what that number was for us to have Christmas for the kids, but God knew.

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”  2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT

He took a willing servant, led them to our front door and changed Christmas for us that year. After many years of being in full time ministry we knew that God would provide, but when He shows up just at the right moment, you know that it was all a part of His plan to show how much He loves, provides and cares for His people.

Father God, thank you that after all the years of serving and loving you in ministry that you continue to teach, guide, love, shepherd and care for us.  You, Father, are abundantly gracious and kind, thank you for showing up for us at just the right moment every time, forgive us when we forget that.  In Jesus name, Amen.
 ~~~



About Melissa: Melissa is the founder of the blog Mel’s World Ministry, co-founder of the Praise and Coffee Nights Ministry with Sue Cramer, Kids Ministry Director at her church.  Just last year she launched a new weekly series called Godly Gals ~ Real Women, Real Life, Real Faith where we meet new women each week who are “Taking their everyday, ordinary lives and placing it as their offering to God.” Romans 12:1 the Message. You can find her on twitter and at her blog. She loves encouraging women to live with an authentic faith by being transparent, renewed and transformed. ~ Romans 12:2.

~~~


A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. One entry per person, per day. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com/) on New Years Day!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit http://www.pearlgirls.info/

Review: The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

The Julian Game
by Adele Griffin
Release Date: August 26, 2010
2010 G.P. Putnam Sons
Softcover Edition; 208 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-399-25460-4
Genre: Young Adult
Source: ARC from Publisher

3.5 / 5 Star

Summary 
All new girl Raye Archer wants is a way into the in crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker picks her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity so she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. It's a fun and dangerous thrill at first, but Raye hadn't counted on falling for Julian herself - and igniting Ella's rage.

As Raye works to reconcile the temptress Elizabeth with her real-life self, Ella serves up her own revenge, creating an online smear campaign of nasty rumors and trashy photographs. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find a way out of the web of deceit that she's helped to build, and back to the relationships that matter.

My Thoughts
The Julian Game was a quick, easy read about revenge and the lengths one will go to be included in a popular group in school, and how easily those lengths can backfire on you.  While I found the novel to be somewhat predictable and formulaic, there were some interesting moments and some witty dialogue in the writing that I quite enjoyed.

One of the things that really has not changed since my high school days is the concept of revenge and the lenghts one will go to get that revenge; I think just the means of getting that revenge has changed.  With the onset of technology in our society today, the possibilities for revenge are endless and that is easily demonstrated in this novel when a reluctant Raye and a headstrong Ella set up their plot against Julian on Facebook.  Do I think something like is possible today?  Absolutely, and unfortunately, things like that happen all of the time.  These are things I am not allowed to even discuss online, but I know for a fact that these things can and do happen.   What I would have like to have seen is a little more 'meat' to the story as I felt somewhat disappointed by some of the events against Julian, as if they were just filler pages to get to the revenge against Raye.  I also would have liked to have seen more repercussions for students using a school webpage the way it was done as in a real school I know that type of slander would not have lasted for long and students would not have gotten away with it; there are a lot of restrictions in a school for that kind of thing.  There was no mention of anything happening after Raye and Natalya complained to school administrators. 

One of my favourite characters in this novel was Natalya.  I loved her direct attitude and her no-nonsense approach to life.  She was very comfortable in her own skin and accepted things the way they were.  She also understood people in a way that naive Raye did not and I really wanted to shake Raye at times.  I can see why people will change and do things they are not proud of just to be popular and to be thought part of the in-group, but Raye was a frustrating character as she couldn't see what was in front of her face.  She was likeable, yes, but I liked Natalya a lot more.  I didn't feel anything for Julian, but I loved his friend Henry and really hoped something would come out of that connection.  It's a credit to Ms. Griffin's writing as I realized at the end I was being led in my emotions to feel the way I did, even feeling the way I did towards Raye as she was not always likeable at times when she got caught up in the Ella machinations.  Yet, I did not feel sorry for her when she became the victim of vicious lies herself.  How to explain?  I don't believe in bullying, but I also believe that "what goes around, comes around" and you need to be careful in what you do.  I was proud of Raye when she finally stood up for herself towards the end and to keep going to school amidst all the bullying and everything else certainly took a lot of courage.

Verdict
The Julian Game was an enjoyable novel that delves into many social issues.  It deals with teen cyber bullying which is becoming a real problem as well as insecurity issues and the lengths to which one will go to be popular.  While I found some of the lingo and language between the characters to be a little too much at times, and the plot was somewhat predictable, I still had fun with this novel and look forward to reading more books by this author.