Social Media Connects and Buttons

I've finally done it and joined twitter and facebook. I've also added new follow buttons for them as well as GoodReads and RSS. Check them out and start following the fun!! I now can follow the fun as well, so leave me a comment and I will return each of the follows respectively.

Book Review: House of Cards

By Kim Stagliano
Publish Date: December 2011
Genre: Mystery, Chick Lit
Source: Free Download from Amazon
Buy from Amazon
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Author's Amazon Page

Book Description from Amazon:

Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum would think her life is easy compared to Kat Cavicchio's. When a car crash with a New England Patriot lands her sister in the hospital, Kat has to move in with her brother-in-law to take care of her young niece and nephew – with autism.

The windfall accident settlement should turn around her financial woes and help the kids too, until the football player kicks his last field goal in a gruesome murder that lands Kat's entire family in the cross hairs of a drug dealer who thinks she is hiding something from the football player that he wants. Can a sexy State Trooper throw a Hail Mary pass and save her life before the clock runs out on her life?

My Review:
Rating: 3 stars
 Freebie for the Kindle

This was an okay book. It wasn't a complete flop, I just found that at times it was so serious that when there were the funny moments I wasn't quite ready for them.

Kat Cavicchio is still single and of course her mom is worried about the singleness, but when she gets in a car wreck with her sister, she now becomes primary caretaker of her sister and her two kids. Mom’s idea.The two children have autism which from the book you learn that they are both differing degrees and how you handle each one is different. This was very interesting and educating.

There were lots of great characters. Kat, her sister Gina, her brother-in-law Vince, her parents, Connie her best still single friend, Gina’s neighbors, Officer Bertrand, Sgt. Strohmeyer, and the landlord and his son. My favorite were Gina’s neighbors who some were nice and some not so nice at times. They seemed to be irritated with the “trash” that had arrived when Kat started staying with Gina. They weren’t really accepting of the police car on the street all day and all night. They showed up at the house to make sure Gina knew how they felt. Sometimes they were still in their bathroom and/or just out of the shower.

Verdict: 3 stars. If the serious moments weren’t so serious, I think I would have enjoyed the story a lot better. There were some great laughter moments and the character developments really enhanced the crazy times.

Quote from the book:

“Wanna laugh? I had a better sex life in high school. And you know I graduated a virgin. How’s that for depressing?”
Stagliano, Kim (2011-12-19). House of Cards (Kindle Location 187). Kindle Edition.

Friday Follow (Apr 6)

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs! Check out their blogs to participate and for the Feature Bloggers of the day!

Q: Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review?

I have not ever gone out and purchased a book because of a bad review. I take "bad" reviews in stride and read several reviews before I make my decision if I want to dedicate any time to reading such a book. I think there are many different reader personalities and therefore different books to fill those different personalities.

What about you? Do reviews affect your book purchase?

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop

April 6th to 12th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Yara @ Once Upon A Twilight

Join in the Easter fun!!

To enter, please leave a BLOG TRICK OR TIP in the comments as an entry for a random drawing. The prize is $15 in merchandise (your choice) from Gone Reading which helps to support libraries and other reading related charities. International Giveaway!

Book Review: Juliet Immortal

By Stacey Jay
Genre: Young Adult
Published: August 2011
Personal Rating: 4 stars
Source: Library
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook | Author's Website

Summary from GoodReads:
Fans of Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush will relish this intense paranormal love story featuring Romeo and Juliet, literary history's most tragic couple, who meet again, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

My Review:
I read a review right before I began reading this book and the reader/blogger did not love this book at all. The review indicated this style was not for them, they didn’t care for retold classics. As I began reading, I kept thinking “What if I don’t like this?” Wow, was I wrong. As the summary from GoodReads indicates that it’s for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, which I am a fan of, they were not wrong.

The love story(ies) are amazing and heartbreaking. Ariel, Ben, Gemma, Dylan, Mike. I grew to love all the characters and after figuring out the premise of the book, I was completely taken in. It is a Romeo Juliet Love Story Tragedy, but even more. The involvement of all the other characters into the main plot of the story consumed me. As you’re reading, you think “Oh she’s not going to get her man” because of course it’s a tragedy. But don’t think too soon!! The ending is amazing.

I was able to snag Romeo Redeemed from Netgalley and can’t wait to read it! Of course, the actual book doesn’t come out until October 2012 and so my review will not follow until about a week or so before.

Advice to Readers: Don’t begin reading it and wanting to compare it to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Yes, it does have a basis off that original story, but the premise of this book is amazing. If you want a great love story like Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, read this book.

Teaser Tuesday (Apr. 3)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works..

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share does not give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author too so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser...

"That's always been your way, hasn't it? To tough it out. Never complain."
The Apprentice: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel by Tess Gerritsen (Kindle Loc 908)

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Blog Carnival

Check it out!! A Blog Carnival!

Mystery and Crime Fiction Blog Carnival April 2012

Some great reviews of all types of mystery and crime fiction. Quick links to reviews by many different bloggers. Go check it out and find yourself a new read!! You can also find out how to participate in the carnival yourself.

Come join the fun!

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Apr 2)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It let's you plan your week, as well as look for book suggestions from other bloggers.

It was a crazy week so I am still finishing up The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen and A Kiss in the Wind my Netgalley read of the week. Almost finished, but not quite so at the time of this post. I plan to continue with the High Heel Mystery Series, books 3 to 5 I still need to finish, and trying to decide on another Netgalley to finish up. That pile is surely growing.

How about you, What Are You Reading?