The Kari AnnAlysis

Archive for December, 2009

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did and my bookshelf reflects that. No more wasting time, look at the loot I brought in this year:

A couple of years ago, I got one of the Private Series books and made my goal this year to get the rest. I had a gift card from the wedding that I bought the first few. I had my brother get me a couple and my mother-in-law got me the rest. I can’t WAIT to start this series.

Since we do Christmas with my brother at both of my parents house, I have him get me books at both places. At mom’s house he got me the Private books and at dad’s house, he got me The Luxe books 2 and 3. I absolutely LOVED the first one.

And I had my dad get me the 3rd in the Poseur Series called Petty in Pink. This was actually one of the first YA books I read when I started reading like a feign. It’s very cute and I’ve gotten one for Christmas the past 3 years.

It wasn’t all about the books though, when I finally get my TBR list down to about 25 (yes I have about 40 books on my shelf to read right now lol), I have plenty of gift cards. I got $80 worth of gift cards for Christmas this year. My family sure does know how to make a girl happy. And if you look closely at the picture above, my sister-in-law got me a Borders card WITH A WEDDING PIC ON IT! How cool is that? I will definitely be keeping that card after I spend it

It wasn’t all about the Christmas presents this week though. I also got two books from the author/publisher. First, Pet Peeves is the 3rd book by West Virginia author Bart Harper. I actually just gave a copy of this away on my blog. I’ve read all of Bart’s books and am excited to start on this. I imagine I’ll be agreeing with most of his peeves and will have many of my own to add.

The other, Truly Madly, I won on Librarything.com. I also won this on Goodreads.com so now I have 2 copies. Within the next week, I’ll start a giveaway so I can get it out and let you read it before it hits the shelves in February!

I got one more bundle this week that was sent to work and must have come on Christmas Eve. I had the day off and just knew I would get something. My boss told me today he accidentally took it with him thinking it was a resume tape. I can’t wait until Wednesday to get it! I am hoping it’s my presents for the Holiday Swap that I took part in!

Did you guys get any great reads this year????

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! You have a couple more hours, ENJOY!

And guess what? We have a winner for Bart Harper’s Pet Peeves! And the winner is (drum roll, please) ANITA! Congrats!

Check out my other giveaway (Duty of Love) and keep an eye out for my giveaway of Truly, Madly. It’ll be up soon!

Silver Bells is part of my Christmas Reading Challenge. I got it last year for Christmas, but of course, had to wait until this holiday season to read it. You can’t read about Christmas when it’s not Christmas.

What I didn’t realize about this book was that it is actually 4 romances. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it because I get really into characters and always want to learn more about their lives, but they were all written well enough that you weren’t left with questions.

First, there is Silver Bellsby Fern Michaels. Amy Lee is Hollywood startlet who decides it’s time to move home. She hasn’t been home in 20 years, that’s when her aunt whisked her away to California when her parents died. She goes home looking for something, closure, history, memories. But what she finds is her grade school boyfriend who has also come to town for the holidays. Hank is his name and while his brother is overseas with the Marines, Hank is left with more on his table than he is used to.

This story was VERY predictable, but it was cute. I liked the relationship between Amy and Hank, but I think the part I liked most about it was Hank’s drama. I don’t want to spill the beans, because it’s an integral part of the book, but as messed up as the drama is, it’ll keep you reading.

Second is Dear Santaby JoAnn Ross. Mystery author Holly Berry’s SUV breaks down and she ends up in Santa’s Village. While many would love being in a town like this on Christmas, Holly is not a fan of the holidays. Christmas Eve was when she was born, but it was also the day her father was murdered. Gabriel O’Halloran is Holly’s knight in shining armor. He stumbles upon her broke down SUV and just happens to have one of the only places in town to stay. And his little girl, Emma, has a Christmas wish for a new mom. Would Holly be her Christmas wish?

I liked this story because it was a little harder than the first one. I really liked the plot. If I ever got stranded somewhere during the holidays, I would REALLY hope it would be a place like Santa’s Village. It’s so small and quaint and Christmasy! Beware though, there is so major sexual activity in this one. I wasn’t prepared for it and I always find myself blushing wondering if my husband knows what I am reading

Third is Christmas Past by Mary Burton. Photographer Nicole Piper is finally getting back on track after escaping a violent husband. But when she gets clues to the murder of the woman who helped her escape, she must give the family closure before Christmas. Homicide detective David Ayden goes along for the ride with Nicole and as they deal with the danger that awaits Nicole, they rekindle the relationship they started but abruptly stopped a year before.

Every story in this book got better. The first one didn’t have much action. I liked the second one because I loved the town they were in, but this one was by far my favorite. It had action, a mystery, a couple of murders and some major drama. Yes, this one has some heat between the sheets as well! If the other stories don’t sound like something you would like, I would definitely buy the book just to read this one!

Fourth is A Mulberry Park Christmas by Judy Duarte. Alyssa Ridgeway is moving to her childhood home. Her husband left her for another family and she needs to get her life in order and get her kids adapted to a new life. The first day in town, because of some neighborhood drama, she runs into her high school boyfriend James “Mac” MacGregor. In just two days the two become a team and tackle the neighborhood drama, two young children and their long lost love.

This story really didn’t do it for me. Yes, Mac came in and saved the day. He was very much a super hero for Alyssa in this book. But there just wasn’t much to keep me reading. It was very predictable but not much of a page turner.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve read 5 holiday books in the past month, but they’re not really keeping my interest anymore. This was one that I’ve had for a year and hadn’t read, and it wasn’t what I expected, but it’s turned me off of holiday books for the year. I know there are just a couple more days left until Christmas and I have one more book to read, but I’ve gone back to normal reading. I love holiday reads and don’t want to burn myself out for next year.

I give this book/4 small books 3 bookmarks.

Christmas Reading Challenge
1. Ex-Mas
2. Snowed In
3. The Christmas Sweater
4. Secret Santa

This week all the books I got were for review.

The first two are from The Kelley and Hall Company.

A father offers his advice, opinions and many useful stories gleaned from his past experiences in order to help his beloved daughter not only survive, but thrive in the dangerous and unpredictable world of young adulthood.

From the pen of a former abused child, drug addict, womanizing frat boy, and suicidal depressive, comes faith the emotionally stirring account of a young man’s battle with crippling inner demons and his eventual road to enlightenment. Peter Greyson calls upon his wisdom as both father and school teacher to gently lead teenage girls through a maze of truth, deception, and adolescent uncertainty, Greyson’s literary style sparkles with a youthful enthusiasm that will capture your heart and provide a boundless inspiration

On the outside, Nick O’Reilly has it all; a high-flying legal career, as a partner of an elite Wall Street law firm, and financial security, with an apartment overlooking Central Park. Having grown up in a working-class family, as far back as Nick can remember this was his dream. But at the age of 36, after several years of sacrificing his personal life for professional gain, Nick has started to ponder his future and consider the mark he wants to leave on society both professionally and personally – his legacy.

After being chstised in the press for turning a cold shoulder to the community, the firm calls upon Nick to help rehabilitate its image by handling its first pro bono case. Nick is asked to represent Dawn Nelson, a domestic violence victim who is fighting for custody of her young son, Jordan. A far cry from Nick’s specialty of defending the misdeeds of Corporate America, it is up to Nick to set Dawn and Jordan on a path to a better life. But Nick gets much more than he signed on for, as Dawn forces him to reassess his life choices and, ultimately, be true to himself. Only when Nick finally realizes what is truly important in life does he face his toughest-and possibly final-challenge: a battle for his own survival.

And finally, I won Truly Madly from Goodreads and Librarything. I got a copy in the mail this week, but I’m not sure which one it is from. When I get the other copy, I will be holding a giveaway. Keep your eyes peeled if you are interested.

 

Lucy hails from a long line of matchmakers known as Valentine, Inc. According to family legend, the Valentines have been blessed by Cupid with psychic ability to help couples find true love. Trouble is, Lucy’s powers were zapped away by an electric surge and now all she do is find lost objects. What good is that in the matchmaking world? You’d be surprised. In a big city like Boston, love is a mystery – and Lucy’s upstairs neighbor, Sean Donahue, is a hot private eye whose job is murder. With a little luck, she can help solve the perfect crime and find her own perfect match - with Sean.

Holy Snow Storm! Winter may not start until Monday, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in West Virginia. This is what the snow looks like outside of my apartment RIGHT NOW (2:30pm). And it’s still coming down! Yippee!