Sunday Review: Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

Title:  Bed of Roses: Book Two of the Bride Quartet

Author: Nora Roberts

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: October 27, 2009

Source: Purchased this book on Amazon

Purchase the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo,

Blurb:

As little girls MacKensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker spent hours acting out their perfect make believe “I do” moments. Years later their fantasies become reality when they start their own wedding planning company to make every woman’s dream day come true. With perfect flowers, delicious desserts, and joyful moments captured on film, Nora Roberts’s Bride Quartet shares each woman’s emotionally magical journey to romance.

In Bed of Roses, florist Emma Grant is finding career success with her friends at Vows wedding planning company, and her love life appears to be thriving. Though men swarm around her, she still hasn’t found Mr. Right. And the last place she’s looking is right under her nose.

But that’s just where Jack Cooke is. He’s so close to the women of Vows that he’s practically family, but the architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. When Emma returns his passion—kiss for blistering kiss—they must trust in their history…and in their hearts.


Review:

Oh how I love Nora Roberts! This book was just such a refreshing read and very easy. I was looking for a break from the normal and wanted a book that would take me away into a fantasy land. This is exactly what Bed of Roses did for me.
 
I loved the dynamics that the characters had. Not just with Emma and Jack but all the secondary characters as well. They were clearly a family that worked well together.

Jack and Emma seemed like the perfect relationship. Until emotions and fears got in the way. I loved how Emma's fears were like every other woman's when it comes to friendship and relationships. How they so easily can consume you and can take you on tangents. The way Jack responded to her fears was classic male. I loved seeing how the two of them work through their internal struggles.

This book was a breath of fresh air in my chaotic life. I wish that all the romance books I read were as easy and delightful as this one.

Fire and Ice Book Tour: Adina Falling by Melissa Brodsky

Please welcome Melissa Brodsky to Memories in a Box!

Virtual Tour Dates: 10/29/13 -11/12/13

Series: Threads of Fate, Book 1

Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance

Blurb:

This novella is intended for Mature audiences only. There are scenes not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

Thread One, Adina Falling, is the first novella in the Threads of Fate Series.

Best-selling erotica author, Adina LaCroix lives a fairly charmed, normal life. Born a Vampire , Adina is forever 21. She is successful, beautiful and wealthy, the envy of women and the object of desire for men. Her days are occupied with more human pursuits such as writing and avoiding unwanted phone calls from her publisher and her mother. With nightfall, however, her Vampire nature takes over and her hunt for blood and sex consume her.

Wanting to keep her conscience clean, she refuses to kill her prey, usually men with dark secrets. Instead, she uses the gift of mind control to implant permanent fears into her victim’s minds, ones so horrific that they will live in fear of death if they continue their evil ways. It was her way of doing the world a favor.

After her divorce from Michael Diamante, one of the most power-hungry and evil vampires in the world, Adina has remained single. Threats of permanent death from Michael have made her hesitant to find a mate. However, rumors have begun circulating around plans the Elders, the governing body of Vampires, have in store for her.

Plagued by a recurring nightmare, Adina begins a quest for answers. The only problem, instead of finding what she has been looking for; Adina is faced with more questions. Questions in the form of two men, Caleb Locke and Xander Stark.

One man holds promises of undying love and passion while the other holds the key to unlocking her secrets, and maybe even her heart.

Review:

This was the first book by Melissa Brodskey that I have read. The novella started out really good. I enjoyed learning about her vampire world and how Adina has a part that is obvious in the forward movement of it but hasn't yet been revealed.

Ms. Brodskey's writing style was an easy read and flowed well. It was a breeze to get through and presented in a way that made me want to see what happened throughout the story.

I was a little lost with the scene of Adina and Caleb. I felt this whole part of the story-line was rushed through and then when the Xander factor thrown in I just got a bit lost. The first half of the book was drawn out perfectly then to have this rushed was disappointing.

The way the story ended made me want to go out in search of the next book. I want to know how Michael is involved with the Elders and why he is trying to control Adina so much. I'd like to see more of the mother too. I think I would like that character a lot.

I also wanted to note that while this is a novella inside the erotic genre - I didn't think the sexual scenes were too consuming. They had a purpose and it moved something along in the story. I liked how it was presented and really enjoyed the way Adina sampled from both genders. It was presented very well.

All in all this is a 3.5 star read for me. Had the ending not been rushed and more drawn out like the first half it would have been an easy 4 star. I just wanted more.

Excerpt:

Downtown Birmingham was the happening place tonight. Full of sex, desperation and alcohol. Not a good combination for mortals but a succulent feast for vampires. I could sense that I was the only vampire in the city, at the moment. Most of my friends were hanging out in Detroit. They didn’t want to venture into the “burbs” this evening. No reason to really. So, I was soloing it this evening.

I only preyed on men while many of my kind were indiscriminate.  I went after cheaters and criminals, it was the least I could do to aid society. Savory characters, in more ways than one. Men with hidden agendas and dirty secrets. Like the one I was stalking tonight.  These were the ideal quarry.

Walking a little further, I felt him. Stronger. His thoughts. His essence. I knew I was getting closer to him. I shuddered again, anticipation rolling down my spine.  I probed his mind and for a moment, I actually felt sorry for his wife.  He was a prick, without a doubt.  His character didn’t matter to me, I wouldn’t be with him for the long haul.  I was simply going to use him to meet my needs, however temporarily long that would take.

Without realizing it, I had stopped in my tracks. I had arrived. Looking up at the awning, I realized I was finally at my destination. Effortlessly pulling open the heavy door, I walked down the stairs propelled by the heavy masculine pheromones beckoning me. Taunting me. Teasing me by mixing itself with flowers and spices.  I felt a tugging in my sex, a desire I couldn’t wait to drown in. 

Buy Link:

Amazon

About the Author:

Melissa used to tell everyone she was going to be a writer when she grew up. Well, she is suddenly a grown up and it looks like she was telling the truth.

Living in a modern-day "Yours, Mine and Ours" household, Melissa is the biological mother of 3 children and the full-time stepmother to her husbands 2 children. On some days, she may even be considered "evil"...and not just as the stepmother!

With a strange vampire fascination since she was young, it was only natural that Melissa began writing stories about the Paranormal.

When she isn't writing, Melissa hangs out on Facebook way too much. And on occasion, she's been known to throw out some semi-nonsensical tweets over at @rockdrool.

Amazon AuthorPage 

Facebook 

Twitter

Blog

Giveaway:

Melissa is giving away five copies of her book (ebooks), plus a $10 Amazon gift card and two $5 Amazon gift cards for a total of eight prizes! Enter through Rafflecopter. Starts 10/29/13 and runs through the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Movie Review: Thor The Dark World - My Random Toughts

Title: Thor The Dark World

Creator: Marvel

Genre: Movie – Action, Comic

Released: November 8, 2013
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and Rene Russo

Source: Date Night With The Hubby – Purchased Tickets

Blurb: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Review: Thor is God…haha no, I mean, Chris Hemsworth is god-like. I am very unsure where to start. I’m afraid that if I just say what I feel/think I’ll end up leaving spoilers so beware … this may contain spoilers.

I’ll be honest when I say the ‘super hero’ movies have me leery lately. Superman was a bust and the Avengers didn’t knock my socks off. So when I was told we were going to see Thor for our date night I was hoping to just see a good shot of Mr. God-Like Hemsworth mostly cloths less.

I am very happy to say that Marvel has once again made a fantastic movie. They had everything that you needed, and then some. I am still unsure which part was my favorite. There was quite a lot of banter that produced some great one lines from the cast. The chemistry was there with all of the cast members. I laughed, I cried, I screamed and I mourned.

I’m not sure which character’s death struck me as most shocking. One of the deaths I reached over and grabbed my husband’s hand and said “NO!”

The most comical part of the movie and one of my favorite moments was the cameo by Captain America. I was cracking up laughing during that scene. I loved the scene at the end where Thor shows up and just grabs the girl and kisses her. Such passion. What every woman wants in a man.

Unrelated but one of the most shocking moments of the night when I realized that Stellan Skarsgard AKA Dr. Erik Selvig is Alexander Skarsgard’s father. That floored me. Glad I was sitting down for that one.

Now, the biggest shocker of them all for me would be Zachary Levi. Had my hubby not told me that was “Chuck” I’d have never known until the credits. He was fantastic. Loved him.

The brother dynamic between Thor and Loki was heartbreaking and yet, wonderful. You watch them come full circle together and their story line twists really shocked me. I didn’t see it coming the way it happened. I was almost in tears at one point of it.

All in all this gets a 5 Star review because there wasn’t any movie in 2013 that was better than Thor The Dark World in this authors opinion. I really can’t wait to see where they go with the next installment of this series.

Favorite lines from the movie:

Loki: I was born to be king! It is my birthright!

Odin: Your birthright was to die! If I hadn't taken you in, you would not now be here to hate me.

Loki: [to Thor] This is so unlike you, brother. So... clandestine.

Loki: [tries to steer the boat into a tiny crevice in the mountain wall] If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Thor: Are you mad?

Loki: Possibly.

Oh Me, Oh My ... It's NaNoWriMo

This right here, is my graph. The graph of my writing progress on Maverick Touch: The Highway. It's been a hell of a month already. Day 10 and I have no idea what the hell these characters are doing inside my head. Yesterday I pumped out over eight thousand words and today I'm looking at my laptop going, "Ughhhh no! I want to put you away for the day!" My husband leaves me alone for three nights and I practically kill myself with Microsoft Word.

Friday night I finished the last minute touches on Bud's Christmas Miracle and uploaded all the links for pre-orders. Now I was able to focus on Maverick #2. I have no idea how I was able to pump out that word count. I mean I do, I had people pushing and encouraging me but damn. Now today I have to make sure I write my seventeen hundred words or I'll fall behind again. But I also have edits for Special Assignment I need to do.

Sighs - if I didn't love this job I'd be in trouble. It's just a bit overwhelming sometimes. All the things you have to do when you indie publish. The most important part of course is the writing. Gotta have a product to put out there. But I think the other parts can get over looked. It's not just the words on the page that are important. You have to manage all your own editing. Whether it's trading services with other authors, paying for your own editor, or learning how to edit yourself. Then the formatting. And of course it's not just one style of format. Print books have one, Amazon Ebooks have another, Smashwords has their own, and then the PDF version. Don't forget the marketing, almost as important as the others. Gotta update websites, pay and create ads, schedule posts ahead of time, and of course think up ways to drive traffic to your sites and bring interest in your books.

So now I have NaNo on my brain along with Jake and Charlie from Special Assignment. I'm torn at what my mind wants to write and what my fingers are pumping out. So somewhere I just decided to write a blog.  Too bad these words don't count in my sum total of words for NaNo. I'd be close to 50K by now. I can blog all day long.

I wish there was a way to pause time over a weekend to be able to get everything done ahead of time for the week. That way I could work all weekend and rest during the week in the evenings. I think sometimes people think the life of an aspiring author, indie or traditional, is fun. While yes, the writing is fun, the other crap is tedious and almost more important than the words on the page that you type.

So while I push myself to hit that 50K for the first time in just 30 days I have to remind myself that I can't forget the rest of my 'author' life just because NaNo is demanding my time. What I found really helps me is that support of others in the same or similar situations. Be it fellow NaNoers or authors who are doing the same struggles you are.

And now I'm reading over my randomness and I am laughing. Once again the things on my brain are not what my fingers type. I'm stuck in this complete trance of organic writing and I can't plan anything. Very frustrating yet so rewarding.

Now off I go to finish first rounds of edits on Special Assignment. My editor has gotten tough on me and she's working me over hard. Hopefully tonight after date night with the hubby I can crank out my seventeen hundred words and remain on track for that NaNoWriMo Award!

Sunday Review: Curatur's Curse

Title:  Curator's Curse

Author: Scarlet Hunter

Genre: Short Story, Erotic Romance

Published: February 10th 2013

Source: The author gave me this copy for an honest review 

Purchase the book on Amazon

Blurb

The strongest Curator of the Immortal Bloods, a vampire, gifted with an array of powers, Larken yearns for the female who watched him from a distance. Because as she spied on him, he spied on her. A lady deemed forbidden to one such as he. Yet, Larken fought against all warnings to stay away and succumbed to her silent temptation. And a night that changed his destiny and hers forever.

Layla, a spirit-demon, had been hiding from her father, the king of hell, for two hundred years. Taking refuge in the fortress of the Immortal Blood vampires, she swore to the council never to acknowledge who or what she was to anyone. Until one night, her self imposed isolation is breached when she is approached by the one male vampire she’d watched from the shadows for years. She knew she had to stay away from him. For only he was capable of triggering an evil inside her. And yet for one night she gives in, but her dark secret can bring down the entire race of the Immortal Blood vampires.

 Review

This book has a lot of potential. The ideas beind it were good and it made me want to know more about the world that was created.

I think the my biggest issue with the book is it felt some what disorganized. I didn't realize we were in the middle of a flashback until the end and that had me very lost. I wished that parts of it were elaborated and not rushed through because i wanted to know more about the cahracters.

It wasn't a hard book to read, I didn't struggle getting through it. I wished that the main characters had more of their back story and why they were in love with each other. It was obvious they cared but I just wanted more. Which isn't a bad thing.

This is the first book of Scarlet Hunter's that I've read and I would read another title from her.

 

A Tad Bit of Awesomeness With A Dash Of Thankfulness And A Spoonful Of Randomness

Today is a day for an Ashley Rambling. I've been so busy here lately that I haven't had time for a good rant or a good posting. As I'm sure you have noticed I've branched out here on Memories in a Box to include reviews and blog tours. I figured, I'm reading ( or watching ) the books ( or movies ) already why not just post my thoughts on it. Then I signed up for a few blog tour sites as a host because I love learning about other peoples books so why not do something that brings books to my doorstep instead of me going out there and randomly hoping to find something to love.

But today I am in the mood for some 'Ashley' here on my blog so that's what you're gonna get! Lucky you, right? haha. So here is what's been on my mind. It's a bit of a random with a tad bit of a thankfulness with a touch of just awesomeness.

Friendships - I am a major believer in the people whom you hold closest as a friend become your family. And when times look their darkest that they are the ones that carry you through because they are the ones you spill your heart out too. They are the ones you can be honest with. Who call you on your bullshit. Who keep you in line and make you admit when you're outta line. They are the ones who know the true you and the ones who can tell when something is wrong, even when you say everything's alright.

There are many levels of friendship and I feel like each person inside your circle of people is there for a reason and no two people are there for the same one. Each of us find something unique and wonderful in each true friend we carry with us.

When I'm at my lowest, I need to laugh. There is only one friend who can make me crack the fuck up in an instant. That's not her only job, but some days, that's her most important one. I have another friend who sees through my layers of what I want people to see or believe and exposes my truth.

And then I have my husband, the best friend of them all. The one who holds me when I cry, kisses my tears away. Keeps the evil from hurting me. He's the one who grounds me to reality and keeps me from fluttering away.

My sisters and my husband keep me sane and true to myself. They are who push me to wake up each morning and challenge me to become a better person.

So today, I am thankful for them.

And in other awesomeness - I am also thankful for my job. Now I am sure some of you are like, "Well of course you are, it pays the bills." But no, that's not the reason I'm thinking. And I thought about this today when I was talking with my grandfather about why I don't want to switch jobs, even if one for more money could possibly come up. How many of you can say you love your job? I think I heard a study once that said over sixty percent of people are miserable at work. I've been there done that - thank God I'm not there anymore.

Do I have bad days? Of course. This week has been a fucking bitch on me - but at the end of the day, I love my job. I can be myself. And not the 'myself' that people see when I'm in public or having to be on my best behavior. The myself that Laura has known for almost twenty years, the myself that Tony fell in-love with. The myself that jokes and does whatever she wants with Stacy.

The real me. The me that these friends help me keep in tact.

My boss told me once when he first hired me in 2006 that this job is in the blood. That once you taste it, you will crave it, and never let it go. And he was right. I left the industry for three years and for two years and eight months I regretted that decision.

So now, I'm thankful that I am happy. I might not have the monetary riches that others crave, but I have true wealth. I have a family that loves me and a profession (and a hobby) that bring me more joy than most Americans feel in their day to day life.

And then last but not least, my baby, Toto. I'm thankful for my fur baby that makes sure I'm happy and content every moment of the day. All I need to do is think his name and he's in my lap loving on his momma. In the absence of children, I cannot imagine a happier feeling than Toto coming and crawling next to me when I need him the most. He saved me from myself and brought me out of my shell. One of the best things Tony ever wanted, a puppy.

Sunday Review: Summertime by Chrstina Cole

Title: Summertime

Author: Christina Cole

Genre: Historical Romance

Published: 2013

Purchase: Amazon Smashwords Barnes & Noble

Source: The author gave me this copy for an honest review 

Blurb:
Linn Sparks wanted all life had to offer. Fame, fortune, glamour and excitement. She found it as a star of the stage at the Crown Theater in San Francisco.

For Ed Ferguson, life was far less complicated. All he wanted was Linnie Mae, but she’d left him standing alone at the altar seven years before when she’d run off to pursue her dreams.
Now, Linn Sparks has come home to Brookfield, Kansas.

But coming back means facing a lot of unpleasant realities: a strained relationship with a father who never wanted her, a mother whose grasp on sanity is slipping away, and the feelings she still has for the love she left behind.

Ed still wants Linnie Mae, but he knows she won’t stay. How can he spend the summer being near her and not get his heart broken again?

Between them, passions flare in the heat of SUMMERTIME.

Review:

This book was great. I'm trying to figure out where to start on this review. The first thing that I just loved about this book is that the town took place in Kansas. Not Wichita or another major city but a small town, outside of Wichita. Personally I can't get enough out of mid-west novels. Being from Kansas and all it makes me feel nice and nostalgic  to read them.

Linn was an easy character to like. She had a bit of stubbornness that started to wear down as Ed pushed her. It was really enjoying watching their relationship rekindle. I enjoyed Ed a lot. He was the type of guy you picture when you think of an old style man.

Linn and her father's relationship broke my heart, it brought tears to my eyes and I think that any daughter who is a daddies girl will be able to identify with them. And even if you're not.

Ed and his bother had an odd relationship. Couple times things were said and it made me take pause and go, "What the hell is wrong with the brother." But in the end it all made sense.

I loved Tad, Ed's son. He was adorable.

This book in my eyes gets five stars because when you read it, you're left smiling and feeling light hearted in the end. It was a breeze to read, I was told it was just over 90,000 words but I flew through it in under five hours. I can say, in the 34 books I have read this year, I can only think of three that I read that quickly. 

Thank you Christina for asking me to review this book - it was a major delight!