Bewitching Book Tours Review of Hunger by Karen E. Taylor

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 828 KB

Print Length: 528 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 075826870X

Publisher: Kensington Books; 1 edition (July 1, 2011)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B00551LQHA

Lending: Enabled

Amazon

Book Courtesy of Bewitching Book Tours and Karen E. Taylor, to find out more information on The Bewitching Book Tours Click HERE

Blurb:

Deirdre Griffin didn't choose to be a vampire. But she is. And she's determined to make the most of her fate. For Deirdre that means surrendering to the raging hunger ignited by even the slightest whiff of blood a hunger that pulses through her body like a fever, demanding release. It means making friends in dark places and savouring every hot, salty, bitter, revitalizing drop of life force the night has to offer...

Book Excerpts:

From Book #1 of HUNGER:

After the kiss, I buried my face in his neck. Now, I thought as I heard the blood pulse in his veins, Oh, please, now.

I nipped him at first, savoring the moment, my low moans echoed by his. Then when my teeth grew longer and sharper, I could hold back no longer. I bit him brutally, tapping the artery and was rewarded by the flow of his blood: hot, salty and bitter. He shuddered violently and fought to push me away, but his resistance was futile. Finally his struggles ceased and his body grew limp as I continued to draw on him, gently now, almost tenderly. I drank a long time, slowly, relishing the feel of my own body being replenished, then I withdrew.

Arising from the couch, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. No longer pale and haggard, my skin glowed with life and my eyes shone, victorious and demonic. A few drops of blood were trickling down my chin; I wiped them away with the back of my hand and turned from my reflection in disgust...

From Book #2 of HUNGER:

He was trembling violently under my touch, but that merely encouraged me and I spoke his name again.

"Mitch."

This time I connected. I knew he heard me and understood, his hands tightened on mine and he whispered my name. Then before I could react, he quickly dropped my hands, formed a fist and silently punched me on the jaw, striking me with such force that I fell to the floor.

As I pulled myself up, shaking my head and gingerly feeling my jaw, I saw him running from the room, pursued by a nurse and two orderlies.

I stood, swaying in the air slightly, oblivious to the uproar Mitch's action must have been causing around me. The noise level in the room rose, as if from a long distance. I could hear the laughing and crying and shouting of the rest of the patients in the room. But my eyes were fastened on the door through which he had disappeared.

What the hell did you expect, you fool, I thought, a passionate embrace, a warm welcome-back kiss? His eyes had been the eyes of one who looked on hell, and I had helped to put him there...

Review:

This book was two books wrapped up in one, which there are several things I enjoyed about this book, one being it shows the not so glamorous life of a female vampire I found that with it being written in first person I could really relate to Deirdre as she went about her life as a vampire.

Another thing I enjoyed was the flashback 'dreams' though sometimes it was a bit confusing when she would dream of her former life. In the first book you found out how she became a vampire but you didn't know who her 'maker or creator ' was and that surprised me usually that is mentioned quite early so when it was revealed who it was I was a bit taken back though now that I look back on as I write this review, the clues were kind of there.

This book is so different in what I normally read in the since that you have the typical sexy hot male vampire and though they have issues it still makes you sigh and wish you were the woman he is wanting to be with. This on the other hand Deirdre secretly wants to have that kind of life but knows she can't or won't she doesn't want to watch him grow old.

The second of these books you find Deirdre trying to move on but ends up coming back to help her former lover. And let me say I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did.

Overall I loved the change of pace of the typical vampire story. Would I recommend yes? If you like something different to wet your tastebuds so to speak this book is for you.

Rating:

About The Author:

Karen E. Taylor is a horror/paranormal author, with eight published novels to date and an eclectic assortment of short fiction which ranges from vampires to ghosts to telepathic, romantic dinosaurs. She claims she starts out to write a "normal" story, but then her characters turn spectral or grow fangs or fur or wings. So she writes what she loves and hopes her readers love it too. She started writing her first novel (Beauty Like the Night) in 1988. It was that novel, published in 1993 under the title of Blood Secrets, that started Karen's career.

In real life, she is mother of two sons, has been married for 32+ years, and owned by two cats and a dog. In her spare time she makes candles and cosmetic creams/lotions. Born in Pittsburgh,
PA, Karen attended Grove City College where she earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Communication Arts. She currently lives in Los Angeles, but is planning a cross-country relocation this summer. Her newest book is entitled HUNGER: The Vampire Legacy and is an omnibus edition containing her first two novels (Blood Secrets and Bitter Blood) to be released June 28, 2011.

You can contact Karen via her website at http://karenetaylor.com or join her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-E-Taylor-Writer-of-Supernatural-Tales/125652237503799.

Guest Post and Giveaway with Sarah Kernochan Author of Jane Was Here

I would like to take the time to thank Sarah for stopping by BLH today. Without further ado I turn this post over to Sarah.

Thank you to Book Lovers Hideaway for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful community.

JANE WAS HERE is a suspense story involving the idea of reincarnation. The main character, Jane, has a partial memory of another existence long ago, when she was born in a different town and grew up among different people. She comes to believe she was another Jane, who mysteriously disappeared in 1853. As she searches for answers, she finds herself in dangerous territory. The secrets of the past, if revealed, may destroy the present.

REINCARNATING “JANE”

I was standing on a platform over a limpid blue ocean, a snake in each hand. The serpents twined and tightened around my wrists and bare arms. And I was not afraid.

This was striking because I was under hypnosis to be cured of my snake phobia. Holding snakes should have sent me into a screaming fit.

I never got cured in the end, but I did come away with my first glimpse of past lives. At age 25, I hadn’t thought much about reincarnation. It had nothing to do with me. And yet this image – wherein I was a priestess, someplace in the Mediterranean, in some ancient time, and handling snakes was a solemn ritual – this image was packed away in the drawer of memory, stored as fact. I knew well the mental drawer where I rummage for my creative ideas, the fiction keeper. But this flash of past was remembered as factual, and unlike fantasy, I was standing fully inside the picture, inhabiting it, body and soul.

When writing my (just published) novel Jane Was Here, I returned to this feeling. My title character Jane has a few snatches of memory that suggest she existed in a different time, long before she was born:

Fragments come to me and I don’t understand them. But they have a certainty – I know them to be true, as I know my name is Jane, and if they come not from my memory, then where?

Jane also senses that something terrible happened to her in this other time. She can’t adjust to living in the present unless she can find out what befell her in the past. And so my story begins: Jane’s search leads her to a small New England town. She doesn’t know that her arrival brings with her a host of new terrible events that will engulf the inhabitants. She doesn’t know that she is their Fate.

As for me, you could say I was passing from one incarnation to another when I made the step from screenwriter to novelist. It’s been more than 30 years since my last novel Dry Hustle was published in 1977 – a foul-mouthed erotic romp based on my true adventures with a couple of female con artists. In the meantime I’ve been toiling (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) in the film business. Turning to prose fiction was a step I

made with joy. What a relief to own my own work, and no committee of nervous execs and stars giving me notes, and I couldn’t be replaced by another writer!

I did bring my screenwriter’s sense of plot to the task – how to construct a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep them in their seats. Many readers tell me Jane Was Here was like a movie. They even offer casting suggestions!

Excerpt from Jane Was Here:

Brett steps back in surprise, turning to yank the chain on the overhead lamp; the light goes out. With the kitchen gone dark, he can see outside more clearly.

He surveys the patch of abandoned garden, the scalloped wire border, the single iron chair, the flagstones thrust up at angles by the roots of a lone sycamore.

The woman is gone.

Then: a soft rapping on the glass of the front door.

He walks to the entry, his heart thumping; flips on the porch light. Through the etcheddaisies on the frosted pane, a shadowy head waits. He could call out, “Who’s there?” but he knows who it is.

He opens the door.

The first thing he sees are her eyes: light gray and solemn, full of request. Long muddy-blond hair tangles about her thin face; clam-digger pants and an ill-fitting wrinkled blouse hang on her slim frame. She holds a pink nylon duffel. She’s maybe a few years younger than he, about five-six to his six-three. And she is pale, so pale, as if fed onmoonlight.

She speaks, her voice low and a little husky, as if she has just woken up. “I’m Jane.” She watches him hopefully.

“Hi. Are you looking for someone?” Warily, he scans the street for a possible accomplice.

“This is my house.” A simple statement, without accusation.

Brett shifts awkwardly. “Oh. Well, Father Petrelli’s away. I’m just renting. My lease is ’til mid-August.” Maybe she’s the owner’s daughter. No, impossible: he’s a Catholic priest. His niece?

But the girl is shaking her head. “I don’t know him. Nor anyone,truly.” An odd word, “truly.” For a young person, her manner of speaking is strangely prim. “Yet I am sure, this is where I was born, here in this very house.”

“Did you live here before he moved in?”

“I must have.” She gazes at the house facade. “It resembles exactly the picture in my mind. Sir, if you please, may I come in?”

Her presumption is irritating. “It’s after three a.m., do you mind? Come back in the daytime.” He starts to shut the door, but she clings to the knob, panic flaring in her eyes,her cry shocking the silence of the empty street: “Please—please! I have nowhere else to go!”

“Shh!” Worried about his son upstairs, he steps forward to warn her away, leaving the doorway open. She flits past him into the house.

By the time he recovers, she’s halfway down the hallway. Eagerly she assesses the walls and floor and fixtures, as if she’s considering buying the property.

“Hey! You can’t just barge in.” He helplessly follows her into the front parlor, where she is already setting her pink duffel on the sofa.

“Here is where I belong,” she declares, surveying the room. “I
confess I see nothing familiar. Except…” She is peering over the cheap plaid sofa at a peculiar wooden box wedged in the corner. “It’s possible I remember that.”

He folds his arms testily. “Okay, what is it?”

She turns wondering eyes to him. “I don’t know, sir.”

“The name is Brett. And it’s very late for games, so, sorry, but
you’ll have to leave.”

“But…I live here.”

“No, you don’t. Not anymore. I have a lease.”

“But I am so tired.” She sits on the sofa before he can protest. “I have walked a long way.”

His curiosity gets the better of him. “From where?”“That’s of no consequence. I won’t be going back there ever again.” Removing her shoes, she rubs her feet. The skin curls away from the pink sheen of a blister.

“Is there someone I can call who can pick you up? Don’t you have family?”

“Perhaps I did have, once.” She swings her feet up, tucking them under her. “I imagine we sat in this room after supper.” She nods to the bay window overlooking the street. “It’s an agreeable place to watch the people walk by.”

Brett has a sudden thought: she’s adopted, come in search of her real family. He gentles his tone: “Jane, are you looking for your birth parents?”

She makes a dismissive gesture. “You refer, I presume, to the two people who conceived me? I know where they are living, and want nothing to do with them. No.” She fixes her earnest gaze on Brett. “Truly, I am looking for myself.”

Brett sighs. He’s arguing with an amnesiac, a mental patient, someone having a breakdown, or a stoner. Whichever she is, short of carrying her bodily to the door and dumping her back into the night, there seems no way to get rid of her.

Curling up on her side, she settles her head on her pink duffel, her eyelids drooping.

He tries another tack. “Can I get you some water?”

“Yes, thank you,” she murmurs.

Brett retreats to the kitchen, crossing to the wall-mounted phone. His hand pauses on the receiver. If he calls the police, they will hold her in custody, contact her family or whatever home she walked away from. Maybe he would be returning her to some dire
situation, abuse: some peril that prompted her to flee.

He needs to know more before he decides her fate. Filling a glass with water, he returns to the parlor.

She has fallen asleep, knees drawn up, her shallow breath muffled in the folds of the duffel.

If he can remove the bag without waking her, there might be an ID inside. Setting down the glass, he kneels beside her.

“Jane,” he says in a normal voice, testing. She’s too deep in slumber to respond.

Up close, he can see the lavender halo of fatigue around her eyes, the delicate lashes shivering imperceptibly as she dreams, her lips slightly puckered, like an infant’s seeking milk. Gently he takes hold of the duffel’s strap, his other hand reaching to lift her head and slide the bag out.

Without warning her fingers uncurl, blindly seeking, and wrap around his wrist, dragging his hand to her cheek. Her eyes open, glimpsing him briefly through the clouded film of sleep.

Brett remains paralyzed, even after her lids droop closed again. His hand stays pressed to
the softness of her white cheek. Suddenly, unaccountably, he is drenched in tenderness.

Every cell’s invaded: he loves her as if he already has loved her, as if he started loving her long before he opened the door.

MANY DAYS FORWARD, he will wonder about this moment, when he questions once again why he let her stay on in the house. He will tell himself: it’s like that moment when you’re walking along and a little stray dog crosses your path. It was abandoned long ago, and years of dumb suffering have taught it that there is no rest anywhere, and yet it casts one sidelong look your way, a feeble spasm of hope.

The second your eyes lock, you know that from now on this animal belongs to you. Its need puts the flame to your love. And you stick your hand out, offering an end to its wretched wanderings.

Come. You are already thinking of what name to call it. My Jane.

"Like" Jane Was Here on Facebook
Follow Jane on Twitter
Click HERE for more info. on Jane Was Here
Order the book "Jane Was Here" on Amazon:
Download ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, etc.

Now on to the giveaway, Sarah has generously offered a copy of Jane Was here to one winner, all you have to do is leave your email or some way for me to contact you and answer which you would prefer a hardcover copy or ebook?

The Giveaway will run from July 11th to July 25th and winner will be announced on July 26th!

Midnight Summer Festival Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Artemis Greek Goddess of Hunting

I have been a fan of Greek Mythology ever since High School, though I never actually read too many books until thanks to my niece who introduced me to the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The world building in these books are incredible with a mixture of vampires, weres and the gods and goddesses. This series is at the top of my favorite of all times. Sherrilyn incorporates the Mythology so well in these books.

Dark Hunter Series

One of the main characters in this series mentioned quite frequently and appears alot through out the series is. So lets find out a bit more about Artemis.

Artemis-Greek Goddess of Hunting

The daughter of Leto and Zeus, and the twin of Apollo. Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals, and fertility (she became a goddess of fertility and childbirth mainly in cities). She was often depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead and was sometimes identified with Selene (goddess of the moon). Artemis was one of the Olympians and a virgin goddess. Her main vocation was to roam mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs in attendance hunting for lions, panthers, hinds and stags. Contradictory to the later, she helped in protecting and seeing to their well-being, also their safety and reproduction. She was armed with a bow and arrows which were made by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.

In one legend, Artemis was born one day before her brother Apollo. Her mother gave birth to her on the island of Ortygia, then, almost immediately after her birth, she helped her mother to cross the straits over to Delos, where she then delivered Apollo. This was the beginning of her role as guardian of young children and patron of women in childbirth. Being a goddess of contradictions, she was the protectress of women in labor, but it was said that the arrows of Artemis brought them sudden death while giving birth. As was her brother, Apollo, Artemis was a divinity of healing, but also brought and spread diseases such as leprosy, rabies and even gout.
Being associated with chastity, Artemis at an early age (in one legend she was three years old) asked her father, the great god Zeus, to grant her eternal virginity. Also, all her companions were virgins. Artemis was very protective of her purity, and gave grave punishment to any man who attempted to dishonor her in any form. Actaeon, while out hunting, accidentally came upon Artemis and her nymphs, who bathing naked in a secluded pool. Seeing them in all their naked beauty, the stunned Actaeon stopped and gazed at them, but when Artemis saw him ogling them, she transformed him into a stag. Then, incensed with disgust, she set his own hounds upon him. They chased and killed what they thought was another stag, but it was their master. As with Orion, a giant and a great hunter, there are several legends which tell of his death, one involving Artemis. It is said that he tried to rape the virgin goddess, so killed him with her bow and arrows. Another says she conjured up a scorpion which killed Orion and his dog. Orion became a constellation in the night sky, and his dog became Sirius, the dog star. Yet another version says it was the scorpion which stung him and was transformed into the constellation with Orion, the later being Scorpio. Artemis was enraged when one of her nymphs, Callisto, allowed Zeus to seduce her, but the great god approached her in one of his guises; he came in the form of Artemis. The young nymph was unwittingly tricked, and she gave birth to Arcas, the ancestor of the Arcadians, but Artemis showed no mercy and changed her into a bear. She then shot and killed her. As Orion, she was sent up to the heavens, and became the constellation of the Great Bear (which is also known as the Plough).

Artemis was very possessive. She would show her wrath on anyone who disobeyed her wishes, especially against her sacred animals. Even the great hero Agamemnon came upon the wrath of Artemis, when he killed a stag in her sacred grove. His punishment came when his ships were becalmed, while he made his way to besiege Troy. With no winds to sail his ships he was told by the seer Calchas that the only way Artemis would bring back the winds was for him to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Some versions say he did sacrifice Iphigenia, others that Artemis exchanged a deer in her place, and took Iphigenia to the land of the Tauri (the Crimea) as a priestess, to prepare strangers for sacrifice to Artemis.

Artemis with her twin brother, Apollo, put to death the children of Niobe. The reason being that Niobe, a mere mortal, had boasted to Leto, the mother of the divine twins, that she had bore more children, which must make her superior to Leto. Apollo being outraged at such an insult on his mother, informed Artemis. The twin gods hunted them down and shot them with their bows and arrows; Apollo killed the male children and Artemis the girls.

Artemis was worshiped in most Greek cities but only as a secondary deity. However, to the Greeks in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) she was a prominent deity. In Ephesus, a principal city of Asia Minor, a great temple was built in her honor, which became one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". But at Ephesus she was worshiped mainly as a fertility goddess, and was identified with Cybele the mother goddess of eastern lands. The cult statues of the Ephesian Artemis differ greatly from those of mainland Greece, whereas she is depicted as a huntress with her bow and arrows. Those found at Ephesus show her in the eastern style, standing erect with numerous nodes on her chest. There have been many theories as to what they represent. Some say they are breasts, others that they are bulls testes which were sacrificed to her. Which is the true interpretation remains uncertain, but each represent fertility.

There were festivals in honor of Artemis, such as the Brauronia, which was held in Brauron; and the festival of Artemis Orthia, held at Sparta, when young Spartan boys would try to steal cheeses from the altar. As they tried they would be whipped, the meaning of Orthia and the nature of the ritual whipping has been lost and there is no logical explanation or translation. Among the epithets given to Artemis are: Potnia Theron (mistress of wild animals) this title was mentioned by the great poet Homer; Kourotrophos (nurse of youth's); Locheia (helper in childbirth); Agrotera (huntress); and Cynthia (taken from her birthplace on Mount Cynthus on Delos). When young girls reached puberty they were initiated into her cult, but when they decided to marry, which Artemis was not against, they were asked to lay in front of the altar all the paraphernalia of their virginity, toys, dolls and locks of their hair, they then left the domain of the virgin goddess

Source: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/artemis.html

What I received for June's RAK and July Sign Up

In Case you don't know about RAK its a new feature that Vanessa and Isalys from Book Soulmates - a way to share book love. To find more about it click here


Here is what I received for June and big big thank you to Monique at AsianCoca's Secret Garden I was so so surprised can't wait to dig into these books.

and

I ReRAK'd her

Click HERE for July signup

Sookie Series Reviews Book Seven, Eight and Nine

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 423 KB

Print Length: 336 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0441014941

Publisher: Ace (March 25, 2008)

Sold by: Penguin Publishing

Language: English

ASIN: B000QCSA3Q

Source: Own Copy

Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

The seventh installment of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire saga (after 2006's Definitely Dead) marks a decidedly dramatic turn in the series that features lovable telepathic Louisiana barmaid Sookie Stackhouse. What started out as a relatively lighthearted amalgam of romance, paranormal fantasy, and mystery has gradually evolved into a complex and wildly compelling literary juggernaut comparable to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels.

In All Together Dead, Sookie is trying to put past failed relationships behind her and has a new man in her life: the handsome and mysterious shapeshifter Quinn. But in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, and with the entire Louisiana supernatural community still reeling, Sookie is summoned by Sophie-Anne Leclerq (the Queen of Louisiana) to accompany her to a historic regional vampire summit. However, the conference -- where entire power bases could be gained or lost -- is filled with friction and ill will; and when delegates are found brutally murdered, Sookie finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy-ridden power play where the unlikeliest of suspects could be a cold-blooded killer

Review:

While I didn't care as much for the last book , this book redeemed my faith in these books. I really enjoyed the vampire summit we got to see pretty much how the vampire's handled their politics and trials as well as swift justice.

The storyline this time drew me in and held me to the very end, though the ending was a bit of a shock and I have to constantly remind myself the books and tv show is different.

The characters I connected with much more with this book, Bill didn't see much of him in this book, and he keeps trying to hard to redeem himself with Sookie and its just not working. One scene I love well there was two one at the beginning with Pam and Sookie and their heart to heart and the other is with Eric and Sookie during the summit. I just want to scream at Sookie he does love you. I actually liked Queen Sophie in this book.

Only thing that does drive me a bit nuts is the repetition of the back-story other than that this is my now my second favorite book in this series.

Top 3 favorites in this series so far:

Dead To The World

All Together Dead

Club Dead

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 394 KB

Print Length: 368 pages

Publisher: Ace; 1 edition (May 14, 2008)

Sold by: Penguin Publishing

Language: English

ASIN: B0010SKUG0

Source:Own Copy

Amazon

Goodreads Summary;

Sookie Stackhouse has a lot on her mind. Not only is telepathic Louisiana cocktail waitress still reeling from Hurricane Katrina tragedies and the explosion at the vampire summit; she's also understandably preoccupied with the devilish disappearance of Quinn, her main squeeze. Reviewers have praised Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series as "deliciously fiendish [and] increasingly riotous"; to that praise we would add "addictively alluring."

Review:

It's really hard to find things to say when reviewing a series all at once so some of my reviews might be short and sweet that being said. I have to rate this book in my top 5 favorite of the series. The story-line progressed pretty quickly and I like always enjoyed the characters but there was just a couple moments I may not have cared for as much.

Potential Spoiler Beware;

Like I said I may not have thought Quinn was suited for Sookie, I didn't care for how she just broke up with him the way she did. I can completely understand why but I did feel she was being a bit selfish. Another part was I do like Jason but man I didn't care for him when it came down to the punishment. He should have done it not Sookie and Arlene boy am I really beginning to if I haven't already despise her.

One thing I can say I am surprised just how fast of reads these books are, I don't find myself skipping any parts even though I may not care for how the story is going.

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 387 KB

Print Length: 312 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0441017150

Publisher: Ace; First edition (May 5, 2009)

Sold by: Penguin Publishing

Language: English

ASIN: B0024CEY22

Source: Own Copy

Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps-and nothing about weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works-and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.

But there's a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings-older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves-is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.

Review:

I am sitting here trying to think what to write for this review, I keep thinking just how much more can Sookie take before she actually has her happy ending. Where do I start? The Fae's or Fairy's was a bit hard to read so much world building into this book.

This book left me a bit sad, without giving too much away as to why, just didn't expect some parts to happen. But then when there is war things like this does. One one bright note Bubba is back even for just a brief moment, I loved it- He is truly one of my favorite characters in this series.

Bill redeemed himself big time in this book for me and I was happy to finally see it though he had tried in a couple others this one stood out. Wish could have seen more of Pam, thats another character thats high on my favorite characters in this series list. But what I did enjoy the most Sookie/Eric becoming or so it seems closer together. I just have a feeling it won't last.

Overall these three books had me on a roller coaster of emotions which most of you know by now that is a big thing for me to connect on that level. I can't wait to continue on this journey with the characters of Bon Temps and Sherveport.

Overall Rating:

Teaser Tuesday #20

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read;

Open to a random page;

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page!

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Lest we part on too lovey-dovey a note, I said, “Eric, when I’m back to being myself, I’m going to nail your ass for putting me in this position of being pledged to you.”


“Darling, you can nail my ass anytime,” he said charmingly, and turned to go back to his table.


Pam rolled her eyes. “You two,” she said.

Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9)

Kelly's Review: THE PEACH KEEPER

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm sorry I've been awol for a bit, and unfortunately it hit at a time when Donna could have used my presence because she was awol. Anyway, I hope we weren't missed too terribly much. I think things will be back on track now after this weekend.

Speaking of weekends, I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July weekend! I was just telling one of my friends that 4th of July celebrations are my favorites. It sort of heralds in summar and all the fun things you can do during summer seem to happen in this one weekend. I personally am celebrating by doing NOTHING. I'm staying in a cool house, reading, catching up on some sleep, bbqing some damn good food, catching up on some internet stuff, watching tv and movies and reading. ::satisfied sigh::

So here's my latest review of The Peach Keeper. I hope you enjoy it. I welcome your comments too if you would like to comment.

________________________________

THE PEACH KEEPER

By Sarah Addison Allen

Published by: Bantam Books

First Printing: 2011

ISBN: 978-0-553-80722-6

Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Goodreads

Concept: “The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern Family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam, built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home - has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries between the haves and the have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate - socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood, of the very prominent Osgood family – has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at least, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it. For the bones – those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago - are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also comes to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town. Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families – and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and traditions, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakeable bonds that-in good times and bad, from one generation to the next, endure forever.” [From book sleeve insert.]

Review: Every once in a while, you’ll pick up a book by an author that you love so much that every word they write is like some sort of magical salve to ease your literary wounds. You read a story that comes together so nicely, you don’t see anything negative about it. You enjoy characters so much that you never want the book to end and you want an invitation to the wedding and you’d attend the wedding with the biggest smile on your face and the true glow of love in your heart. That’s what happens for me with this author and her books. The Peach Keeper is her latest installment and it is just as lovely as all of her books. This story introduces us to Willa and Paxton who becomes the type of friends you want in your life. Willa becomes involves with Paxton’s brother and a romance blooms. Paxton has her own romance with a man that nobody can ever seem to figure out if he is gay or not. And the matronly women are as adorable and charming as their granddaughters.

The story moves along so nicely. There are moments of mystery where you will actually gasp. First kisses that will make YOUR heart beat faster. Times too, where you will laugh true belly laughs. I want a movie from this book. I can see a Practical Magic type movie done tastefully and with real stars that can do it justice. I want to *see* what my imagination thinks. Anyway, The Peach Keeper is a true gem of a book and one that absolutely everyone should read because of how lovely it is.

What I liked: I’m prejudiced. Sarah Addison Allen has been and continues to be my favorite author of all time. Her books just make my heart smile and I close each one feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. This book is no different. There was a scene where characters from The Sugar Queen played a part which was interesting and it was cleverly written into the story. You rock Ms. Allen. You just rock.

What I disliked: That it ended. Truly. I wanted more from these characters. I just loved them so much.

My rating: 5 Feathers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.