What Do The Holidays Mean To You?

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be comforting and relaxing. You don't like the holiday rush... you just like the simple pleasure of the holidays. Your best holiday memories are warm and intimate. You remember special moments more than gifts or parties.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Dallas Does It Again

Eve Dallas is by far my favorite fictional female character! Ever! I absolutely love her. Strong, independent, and a kick ass attitude. When I grow up I want to be Eve Dallas! And I want Roarke too!

Here's the blurb of the latest book of the series:

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged "The Groom"-because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. The victim was washed in products from a store Roarke owns, and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures.

With the Groom's monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. Time is running out on another woman's life.

And chances are he's working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve.

Like the rest of the series, this one has the usual fast pace of J.D. Robb. The usual "suspects", I mean, characters, were present: Roarke, Peabody, Feeney, Mira, McNab and Sommerset. And as usual I found the Sommerset and Dallas scenes were "scene stealer's". I wanted more Sommerset!

I'm not going to go any deeper than this, because I don't want to spoil the plot. If you haven't read this book yet, you NEED to! I enjoyed it that much!

Rate: 4.5/5, Library book

Barefoot

I discovered this book at the library. Just one of those trips, browsing around while waiting for my children's program to end. I admit the cover was what attracted me to the book but the sign that was above the shelf helped a bit too. That sign said: "Have You Discovered A Gem Lately?".

Here's the blurb for Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand:

It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy, home from college. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way tothe sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something more, while the women confront their pasts and map out their futures.

Although all three women all going through their own problems, the only one that really grabbed me was Vickie's. She battling cancer, she has two small children, and for some reason it really hit home. I found her character believable, her struggle, and at times her inability to cope with her future or the lack thereof, felt so true. How can she do all she needs to do in one summer? Will the chemo help? How do you say goodbye to the people that you love the most?

This was my first book by the author, and although I didn't find it stellar, I enjoyed it. And I will definitely be looking at her other titles.

Rate: 4/5, Library book

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

It came!

It's here.

I'll be having a Sissi marathon....

The Sweater

Finally finished hubby's sweater!



I'm off to the next project...

Pharaohs and Dallas

The beauty of audiobooks.... I get to "re-read" my favorites and still do all that other work that keeps on pilling up in the K household.



I really enjoy listening to audiobooks, it's a wonderful experience, I already have a few favorite readers, I love listening to Christina Morsi, Barbara Rosenblat, Cristine McMurdo-Wallis and Simon Prebble, just to name a few.

Fast Food Nation

I read this book for the Fall Into Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days



I've had this book in my TBR shelf for a long time. I've started reading it several times, but never got a chance to finish it. So I thought that having a reason to finish it would be a good thing... Well, yeah! Fall Into Reading was the little push I needed to do it.

I'm amazed on how much money companies put into their fast food divisions. I always knew that they put oodles into research and marketing, but I never thought that they had even schools for their employees.

I admit that their marketing techniques have persuaded me to stop off and pick up a few goodies, and also it helps that they also target children. My children like many others are addicted to certain little toys that are given with their meals, but I'm trying to cut down the number of times that we visit fast food restaurants. I guess that watching Supersize Me is helping my resolve, but that another topic.

Rate: 4/5

AAR Top 100 Romances

I found this list through Ana's blog. Well, that sparked my curiosity and I went to check out the list myself. You can find the list here.

These are the books listed that I've read:

#2 Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (1994)
#3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
#4 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)
#6 Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh (2004)
#7 Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas (2006)
#8 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (2004)
#9 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie (2000)
#10 The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (2000)
#11 Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward (2006)
#13 The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (2000)
#14 It Had To Be You by Susan E. Phillips (1994)
#16 Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (2002)
#17 The Bride by Julie Garwood (1989)
#19 Naked In Death by J.D. Robb (1995)
#20 A Summer To Remember by Mary Balogh (2002)
#21 Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan E. Phillips (1997)
#24 Paradise by Judith McNaught (1991)
#27 Dark Lover by J.R. Ward (2005)
#28 The Secret by Julie Garwood (1992)
#29 Son of the Morning by Linda Howard (1997)
#30 Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward (2006)
#31 Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens (1998)
#32 A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (1989)
#35 Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught (1990)
#36 Match Me If You Can by Susan E. Phillips (2005)
#39 A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught (1989)
#42 Ravished by Amanda Quick (1992)
#43 Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas (1993)
#45 Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught (1988)
#46 This Heart of Mine by Susan E. Phillips (2001)
#48 Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas (2001)
#50 Honor's Splendor by Julie Garwood (1987)
#51 Saving Grace by Julie Garwood (1993)
#52 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)
#53 When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (2004)
#54 Persuasion by Jane Austen (1818)
#56 It Happened One Autumn by Llisa Kleypas (2005)
#57 Born In Fire by Nora Roberts (1994)
#62 Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas (2002)
#63 The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh (1991)
#64 Once and Always by Judith McNaught (1987)
#65 More Than A Mistress by Mary Balogh (2000)
#67 See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson (2003)
#71 Whitney My Love by Judith McNaught (1985)
#72 The Duke by Gaelen Foley (2000)
#73 One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney (1997)
#74 Shattered Rainbows by Mary Jo Putney (1996)
#77 Frederica by Georgette Heyer (1965)
#80 The lady's Tutor by Robin Schone (1999)
#82 Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas (2003)
#83 Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth (2000)
#84 My Dearest Enemy by Connie Brockway (1998)
#88 Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (1996)
#91 Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward (2007)
#92 Open Season by Linda Howard (2001)
#93 Born In Ice by Nora Roberts (1996)
#94 Ransom by Julie Garwood (1999)
#95 Venetia by Georgette Heyer (1958)
#99 The Prize by Julie Garwood (1991)

Wow! Pretty good, if I do say so myself...

Lisa Kleypas...

Is back! Well, that's just my opinion...

I really didn't care for her contemporary novel, Sugar Daddy, but her latest book, Mine Till Midnight takes us back to the mid 1800's, one of my favorite time periods.

Here's the blurb:

When an unexpected inheritance elevates her family to the ranks of the aristocracy, Amelia Hathaway discovers that tending to her younger sisters and wayward brother was easy compared to navigating the intricacies of the ton. Even more challenging: the attraction she feels for the tall, dark, and dangerously handsome Cam Rohan.

Wealthy beyond most men’s dreams, Cam has tired of society’s petty restrictions and longs to return to his “uncivilized” Gypsy roots. When the delectable Amelia appeals to him for help, he intends to offer only friendship—but intentions are no match for the desire that blindsides them both. But can a man who spurns tradition be tempted into that most time-honored arrangement: marriage? Life in London society is about to get a whole lot hotter….

I'm so glad that Kleypas hasn't stopped writing her historical novels. I would miss them...She has a wonderful voice. The characters are wonderfully written.

In this book we get the chance to get to know Cam Rohan a little better, the character was first introduced in Devil In Winter. He a "uncivilized" Gypsy, living and working in London, but he missing living outdoors and the space and the freedom of his Gypsy roots. But then he meets Amellia Hathaway and he then starts questioning his decision.

Both Cam and Amelia are great characters, but I have to say that Win and Merripen were the scene stealer, and I'm looking forward to reading their book...if there will be one, keeping my fingers crossed.

Rate: 4/5, Keeper Shelf

Hmm...candy...

Saw this quiz at Ana's blog and I thought it would be fun to try out...

Butterfinger

They call you sticky fingers for a reason!

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Pss, just between us, I hate Butterfinger! I'm more of a KitKat girl.

Sissi

Read this as part Callapidder Days Fall Into Reading challenge.

I started my obsession with Empress Elizabeth of Austria when I was eleven or twelve. That's when I watched a series of movies starring Romy Schneider as Sissi (the Empress's nickname). At that time I didn't care about historical accuracy, I thought that the setting was so beautiful (Bavaria, Vienna, Venice, Madeira), the actors were amazingly attractive, and they had a great love story. And of course I thought all of what happened in the movies were true fact... Was I ever wrong!



The biography, The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria by Joan Haslip, shows us the young girl who fell in love, the young woman who lost something precious and the loneliness that she felt throughout her life. No longer I am the starry eyed girl who fell in love with the movies, but the woman who can (sometimes) understand the intricacies of life and love.



Has the obsession quiet down? No, not really. I will still watch the movies, and read about the actress that portrayed that special character that I love so much. Actually I just ordered a five DVD box set, The Sissi Collection from Amazon. I cannot wait to cuddle up on the couch and watch all five of those movies.

Rate: 4.5/5 Keeper Shelf