Tuesday, May 29, 2012

My birthday, I got these books :)

Long Walk to FreedomNelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. The foster son of a Thembu chief, Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, but at an early age learned the modern, inescapable reality of what came to be called apartheid, one of the most powerful and effective systems of oppression ever conceived. In classically elegant and engrossing prose, he tells of his early years as an impoverished student and law clerk in Johannesburg, of his slow political awakening, and of his pivotal role in the rebirth of a stagnant ANC and the formation of its Youth League in the 1950s. He describes the struggle to reconcile his political activity with his devotion to his family, the anguished breakup of his first marriage, and the painful separations from his children. He brings vividly to life the escalating political warfare in the fifties between the ANC and the government, culminating in his dramatic escapades as an underground leader and the notorious Rivonia Trial of 1964, at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Herecounts the surprisingly eventful twenty-seven years in prison and the complex, delicate negotiations that led both to his freedom and to the beginning of the end of apartheid. Finally he provides the ultimate inside account.



Variant (Variant, #1)
Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.
He was wrong.
Now he's trapped in a school that's surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.
Where breaking the rules equals death.
But when Benson stumbles upon the school's real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape--his only real hope for survival--may be impossible.








Eve (Eve, #1)The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Breathe's ONE year anniversary

a scene from Breathe in Jax point-of-view. It is where Jax sings to Sadie on the beach...
 
This had been a completely selfish decision. Although it was serving it’s purpose, the fear that I’d gone too far was there in the back of my mind. Reminding me that this was not safe. Sadie’s life could completely blow up after tonight. But I’d wanted to do this. Making sure everyone in this small town knew Sadie White was taken had been more important than anything else at the moment. I hadn’t thought through the repercussions of coming here tonight. 
“So, is Star seeing anyone? They only ever show her with you.” A guy sitting across the fire from us asked as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees in wait of my answer. His gaze shifted from me to Sadie quickly and I could see the interest in his eyes. He wasn’t interested in Star. He was trying to call me out in front of Sadie. The girl beside him shot an annoyed frown in Sadie’s direction and confirmed what I’d already picked up on. He was interested and Sadie of course was completely clueless. She had no idea the affect she had on guys.  
Sadie cleared her throat to cover up a small chuckle and I turned my attention from the curious crowd we’d gathered to look down at the reason I was here tonight. Sadie smiled up at me with an amused grin before taking a bite of the hot dog I’d roasted her over the fire. 
“I’m not sure. I don’t exactly keep tabs on Star’s love life,” I replied not taking my eyes off Sadie. 
More questions were asked but I didn’t hear them. I’d answered enough questions for the night. Sitting among her peers and making sure every guy here knew Sadie was mine had been accomplished. Now, I wanted her alone. No more questions about my music, Star, or personal life. 
I stood up and reached for Sadie’s hand. “If you’ll excuse us, I want to go dance with Sadie.”
Her big blue eyes flashed a surprised smile up at me as I pulled her close against my side before leading her to a secluded moonlit section of the beach......
 

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Vincent Brothers June 5, 2012


A new exclusive excerpt from The Vincent Brothers 
       Before I reached the door, Sawyer walked inside. His eyes seemed a little glassy and his normally perfectly styled hair was messy. I stopped and watched him as he scanned the room until his eyes found me and stopped. A slow grin spread across his lips and he sauntered toward me. Or was he st
aggering a little? 
       “Hey Lana, what you doin’ all alone?” 
       I swallowed the nervous knot in my throat as he stood so close my arm was touching his. “Uh, well, Ash and Beau went,” I pointed toward the stairs unable to tell him what they’d gone to do. 
       His amused smile became an angry snarl as he shifted his focus to the steps leading upstairs like they were repugnant. Great, I’d got him all worked up over Beau and Ashton, again. 
       A warm hand closed around my hand and I squeaked in surprise. Sawyer chuckled and slipped his fingers between mine, “Come on sweet little Lana. You can come entertain me since you’ve been stranded. Besides, I’ve been looking at those sexy legs of yours all night. You make them shorts look real good.”
        I gaped at him as he pulled me over to an empty couch. Had Sawyer just said my legs were sexy? I didn’t have time to think about his statement before he was pulling me  down to sit in his lap. 
       He buried his face in my hair and inhaled loudly, “Damn you smell good,” he murmured. One of his hands slipped around my waist and his hand spread out across the front of my bare stomach while he wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger with his other hand. 
By Abbi Glines

Thursday, May 17, 2012

August 7, 2012 release of BITING COLD


BITING COLD ARC Contest Begins Now!

INTERNATIONAL!

 http://www.chloeneill.com/?p=1804

 

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.
Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

Need more Merit? Read the first chapter now, 
or preorder now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indiebound!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Currently reading:Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent, #2)
War looms in sixteen-year-old Tris’s dark dystopian world as disputes between the factions grow. Tris must now fight against all odds to discover the truth that can save her and the people she loves. Sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge – and the choices she makes will have devastating and unexpected consequences.



My opinion: 3 of 5 stars false

Monday, May 07, 2012

Currently reading

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) Fifty Shades of Grey 

by

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.



My opinion:  4 of 5 stars false

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Elixir - Aiden's Novella

"Aiden St. Delphi will do anything to save Alex.
Even if it means doing the one thing he will never forgive himself for.
Even if it means making war against the gods."

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Tempting the Best Man

Tempting the Best Man by J. Lynn"Madison Daniels has worshipped her brother's best friend since they were kids. Everyone thinks she and Chase Gamble would make the perfect couple, but there are two major flaws in their logic. 1) Chase has sworn off relationships of any kind, and 2) after blurring the line between friends and lovers for one night four years ago, they can't stop bickering.

Forced together for her brother's wedding getaway, Chase and Madison decide to call a truce for the happy couple. Except all bets are off when they're forced to shack up in a tacky 70’s honeymoon suite and survive a multitude of "accidents" as the family tries to prove their "spark" can be used than for more than fighting. That is, if they don't strangle each other first…"

I personally liked this book a lot, it is short, sexy, engaging....I read it in a few hours and enjoyed every bit of it. I could have done with an extra chapter or two :) 
This author is Jennifer Armentrout actually and I have always liked all she has written so far...it is not an exception...she nailes everything she writes...this is an adult book, I think she uses a pseudonym just because of it. 


My opinion:  4 of 5 stars false

A NEW excerpt from The Vincent Brothers

 "The last time I sat on Ashton's bed talking about the Vincent boys, I had told her that she needed to let both of them go. Even then, I knew she wouldn’t be able to actually do it. They were so much a part of her life. Beau especially. 
“Is Sawyer dating?” I asked trying to sound as casual as possible.
Ashton let out a short laugh,”I wish.”
That was odd. He was gorgeous, talented, athletic, polite, funny - how did someone like him go six months without some girl managing to snag a date?
"Not even one date?”
Ashton shrugged and pulled her knees up to her chin wrapping her arms around the front of her legs. “I think maybe one or two dates. Not sure. I don’t ask. Sawyer still acts weird around me and Beau gets very territorial if I bring up Sawyer. He doesn’t like me talking about him much.”
How sad for Sawyer. Ashton had been a big part of his life since they were twelve. Now, he couldn’t really talk to her anymore without Beau standing over them. As much as I wanted Sawyer over Ashton, I didn’t like the picture in my head. Sawyer alone bothered me. He didn’t deserve that. He’d been so good to both of them. 
“Welcome to the Jungle” started blaring from Ashton's cell phone. She reached over and picked it up from the table beside the bed. I didn't miss the silly grin on her face.  
“You can not already be in bed,” Ashton purred into the phone. That had to be Beau."
 
by Abby Glines