Discard Friday

Hmmm, any ideas on why this book is getting discarded? 

Mail surprise!

Nothing like coming back from a vacation and having two ARCs waiting on you!

Thanks HarperCollins! 

Final Night Huntress Book by @Jeaniene_Frost

Today is the day. The final Night Huntress book, Up from the Grave, is being published and I am going to be a basket case. 

Most of you know of my love for Jeaniene Frost, whether it be Cat & Bones or Vlad....Vlad *swoon*

I know she will keep writing and I will continue to buy multiple copies (seriously, I need to stop this), but the Night Huntress series is probably hands down my favorite paranormal romance series, if not one of my favorite romance series. Cat and Bones are epically wonderful. 

I could rave about the series, Ms. Frost, or Cat and Bones for hours, but you can just travel over to the Saucy Wenches Book Club site and read their thoughts on the series, which happen to be expressed way more eloquently than I ever could. 

Now, I must run off to Books-A-Million and search for an autographed copy of Up from the Grave because my Barnes and Noble copy has not arrived (I really need to learn not to preorder books....they never arrive on the street date and I cannot wait)

Vacation Return!

I’m back!

Aren’t you lucky that I scheduled a couple of posts while I was away, so you are in withdrawals right now?

While I had an absolute blast, I didn’t get as much reading done as I wanted. I ended making a bet with BF that I could read 10 books on the trip. Well, I didn’t factor in all the rum I would be drinking....which was a lot. The end result is that I tackled 5 books.

Daisy Miller by Henry James

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Fight Within by Andrew Grey

The Boy Book (Ruby Oliver #2) by E. Lockhart

Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George

I recently read the first Ruby Oliver book, The Boyfriend List, and I found that the 2^nd installment was just as great. This is another book that had been on my TBR list for years!

I am very proud of myself because The Goddess Test has been on my TBR list for 2 ½ years. I love the story of Persephone and this book gets a lot of requests at my branch. I am intrigued to continue with the series. Do you have a favorite Persephone retelling?

Well, after being off work for 10 days, I must run and play catch up.

Oh, here is a video of when we went on a glass bottom boat ride and got a little bit more than we bargained for....

Which one of these does not belong....

Can you find which book is out of place?

 Good Job Publix

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch Review

Hey, what do you know? I read a YA book!

I’m sure by now y’all are a little tired of romance novels. I have decided to diversify my reading in 2014!

I usually have 3 or 4 YA novels checked out, especially since I belong to the FYA book club.

Whether or not I actually read them remains to be seen…

But 2014 is a new year and I’m turning over a new leaf. I do a lot of YA book talking at my library. Even though I’m the Reference Librarian, I have read tons of YA, so patrons ask me about it. I have several patrons that regularly come to me for YA recommendations. Well, I’m running low on recommendations now!

How I found out about If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch: A friend of mine who reads YA like it is going out of style added it on Goodreads. I saw it in my feed and thought the synopsis had a lot of potential.

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

If You Fine Me is a quick read and impossible to put down until you are finished. I read it in one sitting, even though I told myself I was only going to read 75 pages before bed. Ha!

I thought Murdoch did a beautiful job of handling difficult situations. She didn’t use a lot of vulgarity to describe the situations and I thought this was refreshing and just right for Carey’s story.

Carey’s story is heartbreaking, there is no doubt about that, but I enjoyed how Carey grew to learn about trust and love. Reading about how Carey deals with being forced into a new world and with the loss of the woods is a poignant growth throughout the story.  I thought I knew where the ending was going, but Murdoch surprised me. Though this is a stand alone novel, it has the potential for a sequel. If you have the opportunity to read If You Find Me, you will not be disappointed. 

Vacation Time - My Beach Reads

See you later cold weather! I’m trading in this dreary winter weather for sand and sun! I’m off on a well deserved vacay with BF. We will be spending one glorious week on the shores of the Grand Bahama Island. Actually, it really isn’t cold where I live, but I still need this vacation. This is the first time I will ever be using vacation time. With my first full time job, I had a to wait one year before being awarded vacation time and on my one year anniversary I put in my notice for my current job. Though I was cut a check for the vacation days, I immediately started with my current job. Well, my one year probationary period is up, so me and the BF are heading South for the Winter and my e-reader is loaded down.

Here is what I’ve selected for my beach reading:

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews 

Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon 

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig 

I doubt I will get all of these read, but I sure am going to try! Bon Voyage! 

Discard Friday

Time to go...

Seeking Her by Cora Carmack Excerpt

I have a present for y'all! A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting New Adult author Cora Carmack at RWA's Librarian Day. I attended a workshop on New Adult and I was extremely impressed with how well Carmack articulated not only her opinions, but the response and direction of the New Adult genre. You can read more about my experience at RWA's Librarian Day.

Since then I have been following Carmack and keeping up with all the work she is doing to not only promote her works, but New Adult as well.

I'm happy to say that I'm going to share an excerpt of Carmack's new novella, Seeking Her. 

Here is a quick synopsis:

Jackson Hunt gets his turn in this Finding It prequel novella …

Jackson Hunt hasn't been out of the military for long, but he needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he is going to keep his demons at bay. The job that falls into his lap, though, is anything but normal.

Becoming bodyguard (and babysitter) to spoiled rich girl Kelsey Summers isn't exactly what he had in mind, but it's a chance to travel, to get away. The catch: Kelsey's father doesn't want her to know she's being followed.

She's vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar. When Jackson sees her falling into the same patterns he suffered years ago, he decides it's time to stop watching and help her instead. But getting to know Kelsey is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her.

Oooh, I can't wait for this one! If you aren't familiar with Cora Carmack, then I suggest you immediately get your hands on Losing It, which is delightful. Also, you can follow Cora on Twitter at @CoraCarmack

Now on to your present!

Exclusive Excerpt of Seeking Her by Cora Carmack by WilliamMorrowBooks

Restricted Reads...

So you have probably realized that I read some pretty smutty material...and that's okay. I deal with nonfiction all day long, so I balance it out with my trashy reads. Plus in the summer, during SR, I read nothing by romance (my Summer of Smut, if you will). Sometimes with the erotica books, I can get a little embarrassed to have them delivered to my library. I try just to stick to e-books or having a friend check them out at her branch (her branch owns most of them in the county) and just give them to me later. Mainly, I am embarrassed because my branch is small so I don't want to be teased. The fiction librarian knows about my trashy reads and jokingly teases me, which I don't mind, but I would be slightly more embarrassed if my director or the circ. manager saw them. So I don't have them sent to my library. Sometimes I'll send them to my old library (in the adjacent county) and have BF pick them up on the way to work. He just loooooves that. 

Four days a week, we have a van go around to all the libraries and pick up holds and other routed materials. Usually the fiction librarian will unload the boxes after they are dropped off, but sometimes me or the circ. manager will. Today, I was assisted the fiction librarian with the holds. We were casually chatting about various books, when she mentioned one that was a little risque. 

Fiction Librarian: Look at this! It even has a sticker warning that it is restricted to 18 years old and up. It must be pretty hardcore.

(I didn't look up, but I was listening)

Fiction Librarian: Sometimes it just cracks me up what people put on hold! *Scans Barcode of Book*

Hey, this is on hold for you!!! 

Review: Heather Wells Mysteries by Meg Cabot

If you have been wondering what has happened to Project Read All The Books….well…I have lost count. Mainly because I went to the Magic City Luncheon in November. I picked up lots of great books and I can’t wait to read them. This plus the fact that I did buy a bunch of Harlequin Presents from my library booksale has resulted in more books. Too many for me to think about. So I am going to resume Project Read All The Books after the New Year. During that time I am going to become a reading demon! I’m hoping to make a slight dent in my TBR pile so when the project starts back up I won’t be so far behind. That is the plan anyways.

I do want to let y’all know about a great series I just finished up. For a long time, I have had Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot on my TBR list. I have read some of Meg Cabot, but I haven't found one that I loved. I liked the Princess Diaries but I thought the Abandon trilogy was decent (I'm biased because Persephone's story as always been a favorite). Anywho, I was looking for a light hearted ebook a few weeks back so I added my name to the holds queue for Size 12 is Not Fat.

I am not a mystery person. It isn’t a genre that I avoid, but I definitely don’t seek it out. Maybe I just haven’t read the right mystery yet. Feel free to recommend a title or series to me! I didn’t really didn't know what to expect from the first Heather Wells Mystery.

Size 12 is Not Fat introduces us to former teen pop star, Heather Wells. After losing her record deal, all her money (thanks Mom!), and her fiancé, Heather is the poster girl for “down on your luck.” Landing a job as an assistant director of the local college dorm residential hall isn’t exactly on Heather’s goal list, but a girl has to do what a girl as to do. But when the students start mysteriously dying, Heather gets way more than she bargained for. Now with the help of her dreamy landlord (also the brother of her ex-fiancee), Heather sets out to solve the recent mishaps at Death Dorm.

Heather Wells is a wonderful character filled with tons of sass and insecurities. She is real and I think that is why I connected with her so much. Also, the character of Cooper (landlord/brother of ex-fiance/private investigator/man of Heather’s dreams) is a delightful addition. I love the fact that he is so logical. Find a dead body? Hmmm, lets call the police! I read about plenty of big macho men, so Coop, who is logical (but deadly!) is definitely a refreshing change.

I ended up tearing through the whole series in a week. After reading the latest novel, The Bride Wore Size 12, I was scared that I reached the end of the series. Cabot was only contracted for 5 novels, but there is always a possibility that the Heather Wells Mysteries could continue. I loved the books. Each was witty, charming, and laugh out loud funny. As I tore through them, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one. I was filled with such sadness when I finally finished The Bride Wore Size 12, but at the same time Cabot wrapped up the story beautifully. I have read plenty of endings to series, but I have never read one that was as perfect as this one. Cabot gives her readers exactly what they want with a big bow on top.

If you have the time, I highly recommend this series. They are light enough you can probably knock them out in one day. Make sure you have the other ones around though! They aren’t cliff hangers, but you just don’t want them to end!

1. Size 12 is Not Fat

2. Size 14 is Not FatEither

3. Big Boned

4. Size 12 and Readyto Rock

5. The Bride Wore Size12

Thrift Store Tuesday

Got this for 99 cents! 

TBT - Librarian Workout

In honor of Throwback Thursday ...