Book Of The Week!

This week's book is my absolute favorite of Christine Feehan's Carpathian series. Dark Melody is a wonderful story and the one Carpathian story I love best. Each time I read it the story makes me cry.

Dayan is a member of the Dark Troubadors, a Carpathian musical group. Recently, the rest of the members of his group have found their lifemates. Dayan alone is without color and emotion. These only come back to Carpathian males when they meet their lifemates. Needing some time to himself, he goes on the road. But music is his one passion, the only sensation he has left as darkness creeps into his soul. Unable to resist, he enters a bar and heads up on stage to play his music.

Corrinne is a human with telekinetic abilities. Widowed when her husband was murdered, she is on the run from the killers who took out her husband. But time is running out for Corrinne from more than one direction. Pregnant and desperate to bring her child into the world, neither the murderers, nor her own failing heart may let her.

Dayan must call on all his own immense powers and the combined strength of all Carpathians to save his lifemate from killers, vampires, and her own failing health. Because for Dayan, now that he's found the woman who has brought feeling and color back into world, he won't let even death seperate them.

Dark Melody by Christine Feehan is this week's Book of the Week. I cannot express just how much I love this story. I love the entire Carpathian series, but Dark Melody is my abiding favorite. Have a great weekend everyone.

5th Member!

I have written before about how amazing the musical group Celtic Woman is. And truly, they are spectacular. But, I want to take a moment to talk about the 5th member and newest addition to the group. Her name is Hayley Westenra from New Zealand. And her voice will haunt you.

All the other singers each have their strengths that stand out from the rest of the group. Maev, who is leaving the group to pursue her solo career is an uber soprano. When she sings you don't need to wonder if it's Miramax or Maev. Chloe infuses her singing with a hopeful and playful innocence. Lisa sings with the experience of life and its trials. And Orla has a flowing silky quality to her voice.

But Hayley, the newest member of the group has a haunting voice. She literally reaches down and rips out your soul with the passion of her singing. If you don't believe me, listen to the Celtic Woman album A New Journey. Listen to the song Scarborough Fair. Hayley is the one who sings it and man her voice is hauntingly beautiful. You really do feel the pain of lost love.

Hayley Westenra, like all the girls had a successful solo career before joining Celtic Woman and has several albums out. She is a singer well worth listening to both as part of Celtic Woman and as a soloist.

Book Of The Week!

This week's featured book is an ebook called Woven Dreams by NJ Walters. This is book 3 in her Tapestry series and is my absolute favorite. I think it's because two of the three main characters are wounded souls who find a new chance at happiness and family.

In the world of Javara, women are scarce. Brothers have to compete for the right to marry a woman and the competition is fierce. The brother who wins the woman's hand not only gets the most nights with her, he gets to claim any children born no matter who fathers them. However, the other brother retains the right to be with the bride one night a week.

Jarmon Bakra was badly injured during a battle with the Craddock clan who sought to steal a Tapestry Bride from the Bakra family's allies, the Garen brothers. Scarred both inside and out, he fears neither he nor his handsome, unscarred twin will ever find a woman who would be willing to be with both of them.

Genny is on the run from her violent past. When the two Bakra brothers come across her on their land and refuse to let her leave unprotected, she claims that the mystical tapestry of Javara brought her to them in the hopes of eventually disappearing. All people know of the Tapestry fashioned by a sorceress to help bring women who can handle the rougher lifestyle of Javara to it.

Because they think Genny is a Tapestry Bride, Jarmon and Garrick begin a quick and sensual assualt on her senses. They think they have only three days to convince Genny to stay with them before the Tapestry reappears and offers her a chance to go home. But the the truth may be more than they can handle, especially Jarmon. Can Jarmon put aside his own tortured past and help save the woman he and his brother loves before she ends up dead at the hands of her violent family? And can Genny find the courage to trust the warriors who have every reason to hate her existence?

Woven Dreams is a beautiful story. I love it and re-read it often. Woven Dreams by NJ Walters is available now from Ellora's Cave. Though it is the third installmant of the series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel. I can not tell you enough how good this book is. NJ Walters is a master storyteller and her books are amazing. You will love Woven Dreams without a doubt.

Book Of The Week!

I truly love books. Reading is my all time favorite hobby. So, I am starting a new feature here on my blog called Book of the Week. Every Friday, I will feature a book I have read and totally loved. I am starting this segment with the book that got me hooked on Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. Up first is Dark Needs At Night's Edge.

Now, I had been visiting Gena Showalter's blog for a couple years and she was always gushing about Kresley Cole and how good her books are. But, I never broke down and read them. Then, Dark Needs At Night's Edge came out and once again Gena was gushing. I finally said what the heck and got it from my library to try. I LOVED it. I totally worship this book. It's book five in the series even though the first story about Myst and Nikolai is a short story included in an anthology. I immediately had to get all the previous books and read them. I have since purchased every single book except for book 2 which I will be buying on the 1st of August.

Dark Needs At Night's Edge is a fantastic story and such an original concept even for the parameters of this series. Conrad Wroth is a fallen vampire claimed by madness. Unlike the Forbearers who abstain from drinking directly from people, Conrad not only has but he has also killed while doing it. He is considered by many to be irredeemable, but his three brothers who are generals' in the army of the Forbearers believe he can be saved. Risking being imprisoned for defying their leader, they kidnap Conrad and lock him up in a spooky old house to try and cure him of his blood lust.

Neomi is a ghost. A former burlesque dancer turned ballerina, Neomi was brutally murdered by her jilted fiance and is now trapped within the walls of what was once her beloved manor. Unable to be seen, she questions her own existence until the day a madman vampire is imprisoned by three other vampires in her home. He alone can hear and see her. But the question is can their forbidden love save Conrad's sanity and give Neomi new life before her spirit anchor is destroyed, thus destroying her?

Dark Needs At Night's Edge is my absolute favorite of this series. It was the first of the Immortals After Dark series I read and it holds quite a special place in my heart. Therefore, Dark Needs At Night's Edge by Kresley Cole is my very first Book of the Week! See you all next Friday for the next installment.

Relaxation!

We all need things to do to unwind or to cheer ourselves up after a particulary difficult day. Everyone has different ways of coping with stress or just relaxing after a hard day's work. I used to take long hot bubble baths. That was before I started getting grand mal seizures on a regular basis. Seizures and baths don't mix. I have no desire to drown in my bathtub. But, I have other ways of unwinding.

I love to read. A good book can take you away from reality for awhile and spirit you off to new places. Some of my favorite authors are NJ Walters, Lynsay Sands, Christine Feehan, Charlaine Harris, Alyssa Day and Kresley Cole, just to name a few. In fact, I am currently rereading Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. And sometime this week, the next Alyssa Day novel, Atlantis Unmasked should arrive. I can't wait. Christine Feehan's current release Hidden Currents just arrived today and I am looking forward to it even though it's the final chapter in her Drake Sisters series. And NJ Walters has a new ebook release out today from Ellora's Cave called Amethyst Dreams that I am so eager to read.

I also play video games on my computer and my Playstation 2. I love mystery solving games and hidden object games the most. I also love diner and bar type games where you have to serve wacky customers as fast as you can. Those games are both challenging and extremely funny. I also like watching tv shows on DVD. I love True Blood as you know, but I'm a big fan of shows like Hogan's Heroes, F Troop, NCIS, CSI NY, Gilligan's Island and Burn Notice. I also like a lot of the shows that come out of England such as The Vicar Of Dibley, Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Lewis. Lot of really neat shows from England.

I like movies too, everything from kids movies to the adult action stuff. I'm a big fan of both Garfield films, I love all the Shrek's, both Ice Age movies and am looking forward to the third, all 3 Lord of the Rings, all the X-Men films, anything with Robin Williams, Iron Man, the secon Hulk film which totally outshined the first, Dante's Peak, Poseidon Adventure and other such movies. I love classic movies like Harvey, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, I'd Rather Be Rich, Tootsie, Some Like It Hot and A Night To Be Remembered. About the only type of movies and books I don't like and will neither watch nor read are horrors. There is enough horror in the real world that I don't find fake horror entertaining.

I've also recently discovered a great docudrama called Paranormal State about a group of paranormal investigators who attend Penn State. It's awesome and season three just finished. I can't wait for September when season 3 comes out on DVD. I don't watch much in the way of actual tv programming anymore because to be frank, I HATE so called reality tv. It's all a bunch of horse pucky as far as I am concerned. But I do watch Rachael Ray every morning. I love that show and she has gotten me hooked on cooking which I never used to enjoy. And I watch the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson every night. He's hilarious. I used to watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but since they brought in Conan O'Brien I have stopped watching. He can't compare to Jay. Sorry but he just doesn't measure up.

So that's what I do to relax, besides hug my kitties.:-) I can't forget the cat hugs. That's my most favorite thing to do. And right now, my youngest cat, Spatz, is currently trying to get into the catnip canister. I swear she's a little druggie. I love the little imp. So what do you guys do to unwind?

Goddess Of The Written Word!

As promised the Goddess of the Written Word segment is back and July goes to Alyssa Day! Alyssa Day writes the Warriors of Poseidon series and it rocks. Justice's story was just released last month and it was amazing. It was supposed to be released last year but Alyssa was in a car accident and didn't finish the book. But, to make up for the very long gap between books, three are being released one after the other. June was Justice's story that we have been waiting over a year for. This month, July will be Alexios' story. Alexios was tortured and scarred by the vampire Goddess Anubisa and opening his heart is not something he does with ease. And next month, August we will get Brennan's story. Brennan was cursed long ago by a God to not feel emotion.

Alyssa Day's Warriors of Poseidon series is spectacular and I highly encourage you to read them. If you wish to read them in order, book one which deals with the Atlantean Prince Conlan is called Atlantis Rising. Thus far Conlan's story, Bastien's story, Ven's story, and Justice's story have been released. Bastien's sister's story is part of the anthology Shifter and takes place after Ven's story and before Justice. Alexios story will be released this month and Brennan is next month.

Alyssa Day is July's Goddess of the Written Word and she totally deserves to be. Congratulations to her and I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday weekend. Have a wonderful Independence Day everyone.