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Alec flinched as Scarlett’s teeth pierced his skin, causing him to jerk his hand back in stunned surprise. He couldn’t believe it. She’d bitten him. He stared at his hand in disbelief. The wretched little brat had actually drawn blood.
Two years later
Lost in thought, Alec Weston idly rubbed his left thumb across the pliant flesh between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, along the four, faint white scars that permanently marred the top of his hand. They were barely visible, unnoticeable to anyone but himself really, but he had developed the unwitting habit of rubbing his thumb over the tiny ridges, most often when he was agitated.
The Hellion and The Heartbreaker by Jennifer McNare
Scarlett McPhearson has four doting brothers and has been spoiled by them. She is as fiery as her red curls. She has always known the Duke of Worthe and secretly vowed to have him since she was 13. Alex is attracted to her but he does not wish to dally with his best friend's sister. Scarlett sets out to seduce him and he makes her no promises.
Set in the Regency period, the novel has good potential. Scarlett offers Alex her love but he is not ready for that. What I liked about the novel the way her brothers stood up for her. They did not berate her for falling in love. They supported her and were always with her.
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It has finally found a permanent home at Mailbox Monday with the following new administrators:
Leslie of Under My Apple Tree
Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit
Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach
I received the following, thanks to the authors/publicists:
The Dead Don't Dance by John Enright
Rumored to hold more spirits than people, the remote tropical paradise To’aga frightens many Samoan locals—but not Detective Apelu Soifua. Reeling from the loss of his young daughter, Apelu retreats to the haunted island for a self-imposed exile. He spends his days drinking, trying to ignore the ghosts in his head, and receives few visitors other than a shamanistic recluse and a pair of dedicated marine biologists conducting research.
But after a crew of surveyors arrives, Apelu makes a disturbing discovery: foreign investors plan to build a resort hotel on the coast, a project sure to destroy the To’aga coral reef and shatter the island’s peaceful way of life. When tensions rise and someone—or something—commits a gruesome murder, Apelu must force himself out of retirement to solve the case. Can the heartbroken detective navigate both modern and mystical forces to find the killer and appease the angry spirits of To’aga, in this third book of the Jungle Beat Mystery series?
Heads I Win Tails You Lose by S H Villa
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Currently reading:
Dead Set by Will Carver
Books finished:
1. Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham
2. The Virgin Concubine by Shyala Black
Running total of pages read: 660
Running total of time spent reading: 8 hours
Snacks: Tea
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Mini Challenge:
Best of Your Reading Year
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Currently reading: Dead Set by Will Carver
Books finished: Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham
Pages read: 46
Running total of pages read: 323
Amount of time spent reading: 4 hours
Running total of time spent reading: 4 hours
Snacks: I had Dinner, no snacking!!
Mini-Challenges Completed: 3
Blogs Visited and Commented On: None
Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Currently reading: Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham (from Page 28)
Books finished: None
Pages read: 54
Running total of pages read: 54
Amount of time spent reading: 65 min
Running total of time spent reading: 65 min
Snacks: green tea
Shortlisted books for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon April 26-27, 2014
Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
If she hadn’t been dusting the reading nook so beloved by customers, young and old, Mrs.Honoria Duchamp, owner and proprietress of Evans Books, would not have heard the cruel comments about her from some society mum shepherding her daughter to matrimonial slaughter.
Now it echoed in her mind: “Did you see that woman, Margaret? Did you? Take a close look at her and at this cramped, suffocating little shop. This is the best you can hope for if you don’t marry well. Do you think that shriveled-up mouse of a woman wanted this menial life?”
The mother’s sharp voice had grown shrill toward the end of this little speech. It just goes to show, she thought, nothing good can come of dusting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She stared back into his eyes and nodded. “Sometimes we have no choice but to sacrifice ourselves for our families, for the greater good.”
Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice
Never Too Late by Amara Royce
Honoria Duchamp is a widow owning a bookstore. She is 40 years of age. Lord Devlin is in his mid 20s. He comes to her shop to "investigate" her role as pamphlets containing “incendiary materials” have surfaced and she is believed to be the source. He falls for her and wishes to marry her. But Honoria knows nothing can come out of it. Nora, the heroine, is in trade, and no, she is not some heiress or inherits loads from a relative from a long lost relation. Alex isn't just some bored Duke, but a Viscount who loves his family and does everything he has to do to protect his brother and mother. Alex's attraction to Nora is genuine and he is the one who keeps pursuing the possibility of a relationship. He is not a rake, or a roguewho needs to be needed to be reformed. Even though he's only 26, he knows he has something special with her and isn't willing to give it up.
Lord Devlin's mother is not averse to their relationship. I liked the way she encourages "Nora" to go for Lord Devlin. The story line is unconventional and I liked that. Nora is a do gooder for social causes.
Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.
England, 1840
When he finished reading, the paper fell lightly from his fingers and settled onto his lap. He sat immobile for several long minutes, his mind reeling in complete and absolute shock. This was insanity. He picked up the discarded letter and read it once again, shaking his head in outrage and disbelief. He had been abducted to impregnate a woman. That was it. No reason why, and no explanation as to why he in particular had been chosen, was given. If he failed to cooperate, made any attempt to escape or tried to discover the identity of his captor or the woman, his sister, currently held at an undisclosed location would be killed.
Dreaming of You by Jennifer McNare
Melody Settrington is married to Charles Cavendish, the elderly Earl of Edgington. He is impotent and wants an heir at any cost and he can go to any length to achieve that. He chooses Gavin Montrose, son of the wealthy Duke of Rutherford, to be the father. Gavin is kidnapped and is forced to abide by Cavendish or his younger sister would be harmed. He has to perform in utter darkness without seeing the woman's face. And he won't have any contact with his own child.
Melody is as reluctant as Gavin but she too has no choice, or her family will be destitute and her brother will die without the care needed for his special illness. As soon as Melody gets pregnant, Gavin is released. And then they meet after some years...
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It has finally found a permanent home at Mailbox Monday with the following new administrators:
Leslie of Under My Apple Tree
Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit
Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach
I did not receive anything in my mailbox....
Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
I'm on Air France, destined for Los Angeles. Fleeing Aziz, my husband of twenty years, the man I married when I was fifteen. The only lover I've ever known. He believes that I will return to him. I will not. Why? Because I can't resist his drunken eyes, velvet words, and persuasive hands that know where to press softly and where to stroke hard, where to linger and where to slither away, where to cup and hold and warm.
And I won't return because I can't free myself from Parvaneh.
Title: Scent of Butterflies
Author: Dora Levy Mossanen
ISBN: 9781402284434
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark/2014
Pages: 282
It is 1999. Soraya is a wealthy Jewish Iranian, with blond hair and green eyes. She has left behind her husband in Iran and flown to Los Angeles. Unknown to Aziz, she does not intend to return to him. She thinks her best friend, Parvaneh and Aziz are lovers. She had seen them together in intimate position.
Aziz thinks she is visiting US on a photographic assignment and would be back soon. We see Soraya musing about her life in Iran in the post Shah era. Her love and obsession for Aziz, so much so that she has been on the pill all these time as she does not want to share her husband with anyone not even their children.
Soraya buys a mansion in Bel Air which has a huge garden in the back. She is into collecting butterflies and growing exotic plants. When she is not thinking about her husband, she is thinking about plants and insects. Her best friend, Parvaneh's name means "butterfly" and Soraya thinks only of revenge, and punishment for Parveneh.
When Aziz and Parveneh visit her, she comes to know about a hidden truth which totally breaks the thread for all her relationships. Soraya is not a likable character. She is unstable and obsessive. When Aziz discovers about her being on the pill, it breaks him apart. She had always gone to all kinds of fertility clinic for him.
"I almost died because a criminal with a gun shot at you and I pushed you out of the way and was hurt. Jac, please." He put his hand on her shoulders and pulled her toward him so she was twisted around, facing him again. "You can't throw us away because of something you don't even believe yourself."
~~~Posted for That's What HE Said Thursday
Title: The Collector of Dying Breaths
Author: M.J. Rose
ISBN: 9781451621532
Publisher: Atria Books/2014
Pages: 384
Author: John Sibley Williams
