My Favorite Reads of 2011

I saw some other blogs listing their favorite reads of the year and I thought it was a good idea so I'm going to do the same. Unfortunately, I can not remember all the books I read this year so I will list the few that stood out to me (not all the books on my list were published in 2011).

For the year 2012, my goal is to keep a list of every book I read throughout the year and write a review for each one. 

Adult Books:

Young Adult Books

Gift Card Giveaway Hop: Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Welcome to The Gift Card Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Attack of the Book. 

The Gift Card Giveaway Hop is just in time to help with with last minute holiday shopping!  This hop runs from Friday, December 9th to Tuesday, December 13th! 

Over 100 Blogs are each hosting a giveaway for a gift card.

MY GIVEAWAY!
$10 Amazon.com Gift Card!
One lucky winner will be emailed a $10 gift card from Amazon.com.  Open to anyone who can use a gift card sent from Amazon.com.

To Enter:

I am going to make this easy!  You only have to follow via GFC - Google Friends Connect! Please leave a post below with your e-mail so I can contact you if you win and that is your entry. A winner will be chosen by random.org. That is all you have to do to win, Good Luck!

Now check out all the other great book blogs offering gift cards! 

 

What is your favorite book blogger meme?

I'm looking to see what fun memes there are out there that book bloggers have going on. I've found a few, but what have you found and which ones are your favorites?

Breaking Dawn Countdown Giveaway Hop: Week 4

 

Welcome to week 4 of the Breaking Dawn Countdown Giveaway Hop!

This giveaway hop is hosted by Grave Tells and The Twilight Girl

In honor of the Breaking Dawn part 1 movie coming out on Nov. 18, yes I already have my tickets, I am giving away your choice of a 2012 Breaking Dawn Calender that has pictures of all your favorite stars.

OR

you can choose the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1 soundtrack CD

In order to win you  MUST be a GFC follower of The Book Diva

To enter, leave a comment with your email (so I contact you if you win), name the prize you choose (calender or CD), and an answer to this question:

Do you like the Twilight Saga books or movies better, why or why not?

This giveaway is for the US only!

The giveaway ends 11/17/11 at 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and contacted within a few days, you will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail or a new winner will be chosen. Once I have a confirmed winner an announcement will be made.

Click here to see the other blogs that are participating this week

Thank you and good luck!

Dirty Little Secret (2)

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link, click here.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

"What supernatural power would you NOT want to have?"

 

 

 Lets see...Two come right to mind, Hearing the thoughts of others and the Touch of Death. But between the two, I would have to say the touch of death being the worst.  I could not imagine not being able to touch anyone skin to skin without killing them. :(

 

And the winner is.....

The winner of Jeaniene Frost's One Grave At A Time is Tasha!

Congraulations!
I hope you enjoy this great series! I have already sent you an e-mail, you have through Nov. 1 to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Thank you all who entered and for following The Book Diva. Have a great weekend everyone!

Dirty Little Secret (1)

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link, click here.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

"If you could shape shift into anything, what would it be?" 

Oh I have always had a thing for white tigers!

But a dragon would be cool too. 

What book do you what?

I am trying to decide what books to giveaway in Nov. and Dec. I thought I would ask my followers to tell me what they want! So now is your chance! Leave a comment letting me know!

Review: The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

Title: The Ideal Man
Author: Julie Garwood
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Hardcover, 322 pages
Published:  August 9th 2011 by Dutton Adult
Source: Library
Buy It: Amazon

From Goodreads: Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter's face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation. Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he's definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she's attracted to him in a way she can't explain. Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister's wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she'll be called to testify. But they've been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence-or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie's shadow until the trial, and it isn't long before sparks fly.

I am a big Julie Garwood fan. I love her books and even though her historical's are my favorite, I still enjoy her contemporary novels. When I first found her books I could not stop until I had read them all. Since I have not picked up one of her books in a while I was excited when I saw this was coming out and put myself on the waiting list at the library.

Ellie Sullivan is a very intelligent women and the best at her job. Ellie has lived a hard life being separated by her family due to a violent stalker in grade school so her parents sent her to live with another family for her protection. She has always lived looking over her shoulder and now she has become a witness in a dangerous investigation when she sees a FBI agent shot. She unwilling returns home at attend her sister's wedding who just happens to be marring Ellie's ex-fiance. When she arrives things go from bad to worse when Ellie discovers that her stalker has been released and no one knows his location.

Max Daniels is the noncommittal type, but when he meets Ellie he starts to notice more than just her good looks.  Max is a caring and understanding guy and I loved how close he is to his own family. It does not take long for the sparks fly. When he starts to see how much danger she could be in he becomes protective and joins her for the family wedding. With a hired killer and violent stalker after Ellie, there is no slack on the action.

The romance between Max and Ellie is sweet and I enjoyed seeing them fall in love. Ellie reactions to everything that goes on is very believable and she is written as a strong woman. I was very annoyed with her family. Ellie's sister, Ava is a snob and so selfish, I just wanted to put my hands through the pages to slap and ring her neck. The worst part is Ava never sees the light and sees no wrong with her attitude toward Ellie and the rest of the family puts up with it never saying anything. Ava is constantly telling Ellie how everything is her fault and she's trying ruin the wedding. The mother just kind of goes with flow trying not to step on anyone's toes. Most of the time Ellie and her other sister Anne just laugh and joke about it. I was a little sad that Ellie felt she was inconveniencing her family by being there when danger could come knocking at the door.

Overall I enjoyed the book, although I will say this not one of Julie Garwood's best. I enjoyed the little secondary story with Ellie's sister Anne. I was glad to see things resolved but it felt a little rushed at the end.  I give this book 3.5 stars, I liked it and it was worth the read.

Giveaway at Unabridged Andra

Andra at Unabridged Andra is having a big giveaway. In celebration of reaching 500 followers, she is giving away a mystery box of books. How great is that?! The Giveaway ends Oct. 28 so hurray over to enter!

How long after you read a book do you write the review?

Let's see I usually try to write the review right after I read the book so everything is fresh in my mind. Sometimes I will end up starting another book because I just can not wait! Unfortunately, with one book it was weeks later that I started the review...not good. This week I am working on getting my reviews ahead and ready to be posted each Monday! 

What about you and your reviews?   

On My Wishlist (#4)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too. If you want to know more click here.

Merciless (Long, Tall Texans)
Diana Palmer
Publication Date: July 26th 2011 by HQN Books
Genre: Romance

Tall dark and eligible? That’s all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he’d be at the mercy of husband hunters — but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is.... While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid — fueling the spark that is growing between them. As the attempts on Jon’s life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?- Summary taken from author's site

Book Blogger Hop #3

Check out Crazy for Books to find out more about the Book Blogger Hop and link up your own answers.

This week's question is:  

“What is your favorite type of candy?”

Oh! I love this question! My favorite is a Milky Way. chocolate and caramel...yum. I really like the new simply caramel Milky Ways.

 

 When I'm having a bad day and need a pick me up, I just sit down with a milky way & a Dr. Pepper. When I sit down with a book too, I love to have these along, they are my comfort food for sure. ;)

 

Review: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels #4)

Author: Ilona Andrews (click for author's website)

Format: paperback, 349 pages

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: June 2010 by Ace Books

Source: Library

Buy It: Amazon

Taken from back of book:

Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle—especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.

When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years—and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father.

This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family…

Kate is called by the order to investigate a fight at a bar called, Steel Horse.  She arrives to find a shapshifter hung to a post by a crowbar with a live magic disease. After containing it and questioning witnesses, Kate concludes that a mysterious guy in a cloak comes in and starts the fight, others join in but they are not sure why just that they suddenly became angry. The other shapeshifters who were at the bar left when the fight broke out. The mysterious guy can spread and induce disease. Kate ends up walking away from the scene on high alert due to the disease spreading Mary on the loose that could reek havoc on city and unanswered questions. She ends up with a killer poodle as evidence that may end up as her pet. As Kate continues to investigate more of the mystery starts to unfold. She once again has to work with the People, Shapshifters and Samian. Curran and Kate are at it again, but things will be resolved just not easily. We finally get to see if they will be mated (you will need that to hold onto after you read the prologue). ;) More is revealed about Kate and the magic she possess as she comes to her biggest battle yet.....family.

This is definitely the best in the series so far, you will not be disappointed. Each book in this series keeps getting better and better. You could start with this book, the author does a good job of reviewing but not over doing it. But you will lose the build up of Kate and Curran's relationship, happenings with other characters and progression in revealing Kate's magic. It took me a while to sort out this new world on Magic vs Tech and book one and two were good for that, so I could really enjoy the others. Here are the other books in this series (click to see my review): Magic Bites, Magic Burns and Magic Strikes. I give this book 5 stars!

                  

This book contains adult language and sexual content.

On My Wishlist (#3)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too. If you want to know more click here.

Never Been Bit (Regency Vampyre Trilogy #3)
Lydia Dare
Publication Date: September 1, 2011
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Lydia Dare's paranormal historical romances feature the hottest theme in paranormal combined with the most popular time period in historical romance. This is the third in a trilogy of vampire Regency romances, where the glittering world of English high society is a playground for the rich, titled, and undead.
Vampire Alec McQuarrie's heart was broken long before it stopped beating. Now Alec's after-life is an endless search for pleasure. Young witch Sorcha Ferguson has come to London in search of a man, beast-or even a blood sucker-of her very own... (Goodreads)

While Reading a Book, have you ever looked ahead?

I have to throw this question out there, because I wonder what other people do. When I read a book I enter it's world and become an unnamed character or fly on the wall watching to events take place.  I have two toddlers and I am unable to read a book in one sitting and I'm often interrupted. When I reach an intense part or results are not unfolding fast enough, I get emotional because I have to know. I find myself grumpy and anxious, maybe this is not normal. ;) So I find myself looking ahead just enough to hold me over until I can pick up the book again. Sometimes it's the next chapter, but times I have looked at the end.

Now, once I finish the book do I regret looking? Most of the time no, but I have experienced let down because I already knew what was going to happen and on one occasion lack of desire to finish the book. I found I did not give the "sigh" at the end.
 
So tell me, what about you?