Covet (Fallen Angels, Book 1) - JR Ward

Description~
Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty, both personally and professionally, is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. His weapon: the power of love. His enemy: the darkest of evil. And failure is not an option.

Vincent Di Pietro has surrendered himself to his business—until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior, and a woman who will make him question his destiny. With an ancient evil ready to claim him, Vin has to work with a fallen angel not only to win his beloved over…but to redeem his very soul.
SPOILERS!!!

What can I say...not much.

I REALLY adore JR Ward so dont get me wrong. I think she is an awesome writer! I LOVE my Brother books to pieces and run out and buy them as soon as they come out. Unfortunately this start of the fallen angels series has seriously come up short.

Jim get chosen to fight evil by helping people make the right decisions in their lives. Sounds pretty solid right?!?! Well he soon meets his first "client" Vin. Vin is with this slut that you later find out is a demon. She has latched her claws into the man and it is Jims job to help him see that shes not the one for him.

One cool thing would be that we get to see a character from the Brother books...Marie-Threse. She used to work at Zero Sum but now works at the Iron Mask. Obviously shes a prostitute BUT the big story is she isnt who she says she is. She used to be married to this mobster type guy who ended up kidnapping her son and running away. She finally gets him back but is still struggling to make ends meet (hence prostitution).

When Jim and Vin come into the club one night Vin totally falls head first for MT and decides shes the woman he wants. Btw other things have happened by now that lead Vin to believe he would be making a HUGE mistake by marrying his demon slut. ANYWAYS...MT doesn't want much to do with the guy at first until he saves her from two punks at the club. Bigger problems arise when people start getting murdered and they all seem to link back to MT and Vin!

Jim buddies with some fallen angles to help fight off the demon slut and fix Vin and MT together...blah blah the end.

Ok...I hate to be like this...I really dont know what my problem was reading this...first off it took me like a week to read it. That right there tells me that theres a problem. It wasnt keeping my interest. It also kinda cracked me up that Vin and MT were SO Pretty Woman in this book...Vin being rich going after a ho etc! lol The gist of the story was plausible but to me it just wasn't enough. I liked they threw in some side characters (the fallen angles) but it all just felt so half way to me. Their were parts I eventually started skimming and felt like I ended up not caring for Vin and MT's relationship. Also their ending sorta dropped off for me.

So...unfortunately this one is probably gonna fall off my radar. Ill stick with my BDB books (Yay JM's book is coming up) and be a happy camper.

I give this book a total of...





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Check this out!!! :o) Fiction Vixen Book Reviews posted my love story!!! Thanks again Fiction Vixen for the chance to get my story out there! YOU ROCK!

Monroe’s Story: Love With A Twist?

Monroe

Welcome Monroe from Monroe With A Twist. She’s sharing her love story today.

When I was 20 I was totally DONE with guys. They were crap to me and I was sick and tired of feeling that I tried more than they did. I remember telling a girl at work that I just KNEW that the man for me wasn't in Crestview, Florida...little did I know he was only 30 miles down up the road...



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Mine to Possess (Psy-Changelings, Book 4) - Nalini Singh

Description~
Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered.

Yet ANOTHER wonderful book by NS!

In our fourth Psy/Changeling book we get Talin and Clay’s story. Talin and clay were childhood friends. Clay tried to protect Talin from everything bad that came her way but one day when things got to rough with her foster dad Clay went over the edge. Ripping and roaring into the man, Clay painted the walls (and Talin) with blood. After Clays arrest Talin basically went comatose. Fearing her best friend was a first for her and she decided to do the unthinkable…fake her death. Years later Clay is still haunted by the ‘ghost’ of his Tally. When things get to be too much Tally decides to re-enter Clays life…but will it have been too long to forgive? And will Tally ever be able to get over her fear of the only man that has ever stuck by her side?

If NS wrote the phone book I’d read it…this woman seriously rocks and in this book she doesn’t disappoint. Like I said Clay and Tally have a huge background that left both parties in shambles. So when they first meet again things are a bit awkward. It’s been about 20 some odd years since Tally seen Clay rip into her father and she still hold the fear deep inside her soul. I think the beauty of this story was a rekindling of lost love. Tally had to overcome her fear…she thought her fear came from his beast, but when she looked deep into herself she realized it was the fear of him leaving again that made her stay away all these years. For Clay…him AND his beast always put Tally above everything. He knew he’d never love again so when he had her back into his life he knew he’d never let her go again.

This posses a few problems…well Tally mentors foster kids for a company called Shine. Lately the kids have been coming up murdered and now the murderer is after Tally! With Clay at her side she knows things will get taken care of BUT what about her even deeper problem…Tally is dying! There are even SOME things a man can’t solve and Clay is beginning to see this. Which death will come first…Tallys stalker/killer or her disease?

Besides the banter between long lost love/friends I think the side characters were a biggy for me! You get to see Tally interact with the other women in the pack. She always seemed to be on guard with the Psy women but once her intentions where seen things got cleared up. It was warming to see her fitting (for once) into a family that accepted her for who/what she was. The other side character I fell for was her special foster boy that was kidnapped. It was a race for time trying to find the boy but when she did it was as if he was one of her own. Their relationship was a beautiful that mirrored what tally sought as a child. Love and respect. I really hope to hear more about him b/c I know he talked about moving up within the pack etc…so that would be cool!

Snippet~
Talin's hands clamped down on the steering wheel with white-knuckled force. She could feel blood rising to flood her cheeks as her heart thudded in remembered fear. Parts of Orrin, soft and wet things that should have never been exposed to the air, flecking her as she cowered in the corner while Clay--

No!
She couldn't think about that, couldn't go there. It was enough that the nightmare images--full of the thick, cloying smell of raw meat gone bad--haunted her sleep night after night. She would not surrender her daytime hours, too.
Sweat trickled down her spine at the sight of the cop cars. Her brain had learned young to associate their presence with violence. Then the door banged open again and she forgot everything and everyone but the man framed by the light inside the bar. He had one boy slung over his shoulder and was dragging another in the same way the blond had.

"Clay."
It was a whisper that came out on a dark rush of need, anger, and fear. He'd grown taller, was close to six four. And his body--he had more than fulfilled the promise of raw power that had always been in him. Over that muscular frame, his skin shone a rich, luscious brown with an undertone of gold.
His every move screamed tough male confidence. He didn't even seem to feel the weight of the two boys as he threw them into the pile already in the back of the truck. She imagined the flex of muscle, of power, and shivered...in absolute, unquenchable fear.

Dumping Cory and Jason into the cab, Clay was about to turn to say something to Dorian when he caught an almost-sound on the breeze. His beast went hunting-still, then pounced out with the incredibly fine senses of a leopard, while the man scanned the area with his eyes.
He knew that sound, that female voice. It was that of a dead woman. He didn't care. He had accepted his madness a long time ago.
So now he looked, looked and searched.

For Tally.

His beast kept growling that she was his and, right this second, he wasn't feeling civilized enough to argue. That would come later, after he had discovered the truth about this ghost. Until then, he would drown in the rush of wild sexuality, in the familiar-yet-not scent of her.

Even her hair was that same unusual shade as Talin's--a deep, tawny gold streaked with chocolate brown. A mane, he'd always called it. Akin to the incredible variations of color in a leopard's fur, something that outsiders often missed. To a fellow leopard, however, those variations were as obvious as spotlights. As was this woman's hair. Beautiful. Thick. Unique.
"Talin," he said softly, surrendering completely to the madness.
Her spine stiffened, but at last, she turned.
And the entire world stopped breathing.

Overall this book was amazing! NS always seems to give me what I need at that particular moment! I am soon picking up the 5th book b/c I just cant wait any longer! Lol happy reading gals!

I give this book a total of...



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Angels' Blood (A Guild Hunter Novel, Book 1) - Nalini Singh

Description~
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

I LOVE Nalini Singh!!!

Ok heres the deets. Elena is (in simpler terms) a vampire bounty hunter. She kicks ass and takes names! The head honcho/archangel Raphael wants Elena on his side in bringing down a rouge archangel! Elena is deathly afraid of committing to the task. Raphael can make Elena do things...think things...and could easily kill her. YET they are both strangely attracted to each other. Elena tries to keep her distance but Raphael is drawing her in day by day.

So this arch angel has basically went cray cray and is feeding and killing everything and everyone in site. From what I understood (b/c at times it could get confusing) hes turned into a vamp and is bat shit crazy! This is a big secret among the world that archangels can turn rouge so the need to find him is dire.

Going from murder to murder Elena starts the break under the pressure. You learn she has seen lots of death and blood in her life. Shes also been shoved out of her families life. They think of her as total trash and that breaks your heart! Even though she is a tough Guild Hunter she has a weak heart for the casualties. I liked that about Elena...it made her very easy to relate to. Also you get to meet her best friends that are in the Guild. The relationships between the three friends is very easy and fun to follow.

I love how Raphael was really scared that Elena made him start to "feel". He was beginning to feel that he was starting to break as an archangel and they soon too would have to hunt him down but really it was his love making him feel human. Once he starts taking up for Elena and his feelings are shown past the normal lust Elena falls head over heels in love.

The final showdown was a biggie for me! I was at the edge of my seat with anticipation as to what would happen. And in the end you were holding your breath thinking of what really happened to Elena. I dont want to give ANYTHING away b/c its such an awesome book but lets just say the ending was a surprise to me!

Snippet~
Raphael came to a standstill. “Do you intend to use that knife?” His words were ice. She felt blood scent the air and realized it was her own.

Looking down, she found her hand clenching on the blade of the knife she’d drawn instinctively from the sheath at her ankle. He was forcing her to hurt herself, showing her she was nothing but a toy for him to play with. Instead of fighting, she squeezed harder. “If you want me to do a job for you, fine. But I won’t be manipulated.”

“You might be able to control me,” she said, in response to the silent mockery on his face, “but you need me, Elena Deveraux, not one of your little vampire flunkies. I’m ready to walk away without a backward look, return the deposit you paid the Guild.”

“That,” he said, picking up a napkin and wrapping it around her hand, “is not an option.”

Startled by the unexpected act, she closed her hand to help slow the bleeding. “Why not?”

“I want you to do the retrieval.” he responded.

Relief began to wash through her like the rain she could feel so close. But no, it was his scent, that fresh bite of water. “All I need to start with, is something the vampire wore recently. If you have a general location, even better. If not, I’ll get the Guild’s computer geniuses on tracking public transport and bank records etcetera, while I hunt on the ground.”

“You mistake me, Elena. It’s not a vampire I want you to find.”

That halted her in her tracks. “You’re looking for a human? Well, I can do it but I really don’t have any advantage over a good private investigator.”

“Try again.”

Not vampire. Not human. That left…“An angel?” she whispered. “No.”

“No,” he agreed and, once again, she felt the cool brush of relief. It lasted until he said, “An archangel.”

Elena stared at him. “You’re joking.”

Her stomach curdled at the reference to the Cadre—if Raphael was any example of their lethal power, she never wanted to meet that august body. “Why are you tracking an archangel?”

“That, you do not need to know.” His tone was final. “What you do need to know is that if you succeed in finding him, you’ll be rewarded with more money than you can hope to spend in your lifetime.”

Elena glanced at the bloodstained napkin. “And if I fail?”

“Don’t fail, Elena.” His eyes were mild but his smile, it spoke of things better not said aloud. “You intrigue me—I’d hate to have to punish you.”

Her mind flashed to that image of the vampire in Times Square, that broken mess that had once been a person…Raphael’s definition of punishment.

This book to me is put on a different plane than the other books by NS. The Psy/Changeling series is among my fav out there but this Guild Hunter book I feel is coming in right behind it. It you are looking for something thats not 100% mushy romance but is drenched with action and excitement this one is for you! Now dont get me wrong...this book was HAWT but it was more of a here and there touch. Its nice sometimes to have a break from IN YOUR FACE romance isnt it???


I give this book a total of...




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Happy Valentines Day!



Just wanted to tell all you lovely ladies out there to have a WONDERFUL Valentines Day with your special someone!!! Does anyone have any special plans? What didja get? Flowers...candy...jewelry? Lets hear it! :o)



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Slow Heat - Jill Shalivs

Description~
After a woman claims she’s pregnant with Wade O’Riley’s love child, Major League Baseball’s most celebrated catcher and ladies’ man is slapped on the wrist by management and ordered to improve his image. His enforcer is the team’s publicist, the tough and sexy Samantha McNead.

When Wade needs a date for a celebrity wedding, Sam steps up to the plate as his “girlfriend.” But given her secret crush on him and that one awkward night a year ago in a stuck elevator with too much scotch, the whole thing is an exercise in sexual tension.

Wade is thrilled when the pretense turns into an unexpected night of hot passion. But the next day Sam is back to her cool self. As a catcher, Wade’s used to giving the signals, not struggling to read them. Now, to win the love of his “pretend” girlfriend, he needs a homerun–even it involves
stealing a few bases…

Ok I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jill Shalivs and her Baseball books are my FAVORITE!

In the second story we get into Wade and Sam’s story! We met the two in Double Play as side characters that had a past! I was super excited to see them get their own book b/c let me tell you I believe it was even hotter than the first!

Sam is the Heats publicist and Wade is the infamous play boy catcher on the team. The two shared a wild night of passion while stuck in an elevator at a hotel during an away game. Since then both have thought of nothing but the other person…even though they weren’t able to react on their feelings. Now Wade has put himself in a pickle by having Tia (the crazy stalker from the first book) claim to be carrying his BABY! So Sam being who she is steps in to save the day by playing “girlfriend” and making Wade look like a stable man. The problem arises when the fine line of pretend and reality gets blurred. Will the two be able to call it quits after the deadline of a month? Or will they finally give into their true feelings?

I loved how in this story the h/h already has a past! Like I said they had hot sex in an elevator but after that night avoided each other at all costs. Sam went along with her work as did Wade. At one point in the story Sam tells wade that it took her a year to get over their actions of that night and my little heart squeezed! Wade is TOTALLY scared of commitment! He’s never even attempted but who could blame him. His mother and father both were drunks and never had a true relationship with their son. This bleeds into his life now. Going girl to girl Wade is anything but ready for a relationship. That’s what’s so great b/c it seemed it took the right woman to show him the real man he truly was! Sam was that woman!

Besides us getting to see our fav’s from book one we also get a few new side characters that really made the story more dynamic! One of these characters in Tag, Sam’s nephew. Tags father is Jeremy (the baddie from book 1) and hes :trying” to get his life in order by going to rehab. So what does he do? Ship his 10 year old son to Sam to watch for 3 months. It was hard at first for Sam to crack Tag’s harsh exterior but when she realized the hardships he’s faced she soon gets to his level and they find a common ground to walk on. Their relationship warmed my heart! By the end of the book they are really like mother and son! Also Tag and Wade really got along. Wade saw a bit of himself in Tag which helped him to steer him towards being a good boy and straightening his act up.

Another great character was Wades dad John. John was a drunk all Wades life…all the way up until he sought Wade out to seek his help. Wades puts him off for years. Just shoving money at his father seemed to ease the pain inside him but when his father gets serious about changing his life he tells Wade all he wants is him! I loved when John came into the picture! He was funny and interesting. You got to see Wade heal old wounds and grow! :o)

My last thing I have to mention would have to be the chemistry between Wade and Sam! I loved their relationship! They banked on it always being pretend when inside they knew there was something more. They could never help themselves when they were around each other! Sam made Wade grown up while Wade loosened Sam up! (No pun intended lol) It was great seeing this small little family start to form between the 4 characters! Sam, Wade, Tag and John are by no means perfect but in each other found a strength that no one could break! :*)

Snib Bit~
“When were you going to tell me they want us to do this boyfriend/girlfriend thing for a whole month?”
“You heard?” she asked in surprise. She’d been asked to talk him into it.
“I work with a bunch of women, Sam. They tell all. Is your father’s okay with it?” he asked carefully.
With good reason. Her father was one of the owners of the Heat.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “My father thinks it’s a good idea.”
“So they’re willing to pimp out their princess when it suits them.”
Ouch. But the answer was yes, a McNead was expected to stick to the pack. She’d known that by the time she could talk in full sentences. “It’s just an illusion.”
“It’s an entire month.”
The reminder made her stomach quiver. An entire month of being his girlfriend. “We’re grown-ups.”
“Really?” His stark green gaze was more genuine curiosity than sarcasm. “Because we’ve not spent more than two minutes together without snarling at each other.”
“Well, except for the elevator,” he said.
Also true, and her stomach executed a double gainer with a twist as the memory flew back, hot and sexy, resurrected by nothing more than the sound of his voice and the sudden sleepy look in his eyes.
It’d happened last season. The Heat had just lost, bad. The press had been ruthless, and her father had been pissed at her for somehow not being Super Woman. She’d been in desperate need of some alone time.
What she’d gotten instead was stuck in an elevator on the way to her hotel room with Wade and a couple little bottles of airplane Scotch, and her pity party for one had turned into a naked party for two. The erotic, alcohol-tinged memories came to her in slow-mo and as always, always, sent her spinning between total and complete humiliation and an even more devastating aching hunger and desire.
If she could just erase from her memory banks the picture of Wade taking her straight to heaven in under five minutes she would, but the pictures in her brain only seemed to only strengthen with time instead of lessen. "I don’t want to discuss that night.”
Wade shrugged. No skin off his nose. Hell, he’d probably had lots of nights like that since. She concentrated on the view. Not a hardship. Santa Barbara wasn’t called the American Riviera for nothing, and she watched as they passed four-thousand-foot peaks covered in unique and beautiful chaparral and sandstone outcrops. “So we’re good?” she asked quietly.
Wade smiled. It was his professional smile, the one that could melt a woman’s panties at fifty paces and make men wish that they had half his athletic prowess, and it was a charmer. She knew its potency, braced herself for it, and still felt her panties begin to melt. “What the hell.” He stretched out even further, his leg sliding to hers. “We’re good. Girlfriend.”
“Fake girlfriend,” she corrected.

If you haven’t checked this series out you need to! They are not only hot but very heartwarming!

I give this book a total of...




Also check out our buddy review at Breezing Through!


Succubi Like It Hot by Jill Myles

NOBODY SAID SUCKING WAS EASY.

With a hot new figure, her dream job as an archaeologist, and two gorgeous boyfriends to scratch her seductive Itch — an angel and a vampire — Jackie Brighton is totally getting the hang of life as a succubus. Then she accidentally knocks the pizza guy unconscious with her touch. Great — she's cursed. After striking a deal to get the curse lifted by a crafty demon, Jackie and her best friend Remy take a road trip to deliver a cryptic message to the nation's oldest succubus. Unfortunately, neither of her jealous lovers is talking to Jackie right now, and due to the curse, she's desperate to get her Itch scratched very soon. Their journey gets weirder with every mile — demonic possession, a charming stalker, a cryptic warning — and when they get to New Orleans, Jackie discovers a dangerous catch to her supernatural bargain. Someone wants her dead — again. Can a brainy vixen in a miniskirt outsmart the forces of evil?


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Heir to the Shadows (Black Jewels, Book 2) - Anne Bishop

Description~
In Heir to the Shadows, Jaenelle's vampiric, adoptive father, Saetan, and her foster-family of demons shelter her. To restore her memory and emotional balance, they move to Kaeleer, where Jaenelle befriends the kindred--animals with magical and communicative powers--and gathers a circle of young Queens. She also heals Lucivar, Daemon's half-brother, who offers a brother's love and a warrior's fealty. As she recovers strength and memory, Jaenelle resolves to restore Daemon and cleanse Terreille.

Gosh…it seems like it’s taken me FOREVER to get back to these books! Now that I’ve dug back in im 100% addicted! ;o)

Last time we left Janelle she was tainted by being raped in that horrible hospital where her family sent her. We also lost both our men (Daemon and Lusivar) to prisons. Daemon is lost in the Twisted Kingdom while Lusivar is in the salt mines wilting away.

We open up the story with Janelle still being damaged by coming to Cassandra’s alter in book one where she almost died. She fled for her life and shut out everyone refusing to come back into her own world. Finally they get Janelle well enough to come back to her own body yet we still see her damaged psychologically. Janelle is now under Setans care and he is determined to heal her emotional scars by bringing in her friends form the different worlds she has visited. At this point we get to see a ton of different characters that are both colorful and funny! Watching Janelle heal with her friends (that mind you she hasn’t seen in 2 years) was a wonderful experience.

And it was also nice to see some age going into everyone. We finally get to see and hear discussions that are showing Janelle’s age! Sex…boys and even beauty is brought up in this book and to me that really showed how true Bishop was trying to be to a young woman growing up…even if that young woman is growing up around demons and has supernatural powers! ;o) One of my favorite parts is where Setans catches Janelle reading a romance book! Lol I lol’d at that part b/c its so refreshing that you see that Janelle has a natural/normal side of just being a girl!

Lucivar ends up breaking out of the salt mines but is determined to find Deamon b/c he thinks that he killed Janelle! He extremely crushed that his Queen he was to serve died by his on brothers hands! He ends up getting hurts and Janelle comes to mend him. Then he realizes his mistake and stays with Janelle to serve her. I loved Janelle and Lucivars relationship! He gave her some tough love at many points of this book! He understood she had been raped but forced her to push through it to be the Queen he knew she needed to be. By the end Janelle (with the help of her family) sets up court!

All in the mean time poor Daemon is still living in the Twisted Kingdom actually LOOKING for Janelle. I think about 5 years passes in this second book so its really sad to bounce back from everyone living their lived then going to Daemon. Daemon feels like he has failed Janelle, the one he loves. Janelle is finally able to track down Daemons body and goes to the Twisted Kingdom to help him out. This part of the book was a big milestone for Janelle and Daemon. She ends up telling him she is the one who failed him and that eh needed to come home! :*) OH also at some point in the book she fights with someone about Daemon and she says he is her MATE! EPP! I got so excited! :o)

Ok well we end the story with Daemon FINALLY coming out of the Twisted Kingdom and Janelle setting up her court (which btw consists of her friends and family) :o). I cant wait for Janelle and Daemon to reunite in the 3rd book! Janelle is older and now she can take her man! ;o)

Its really hard to review these books b/c SO MUCH goes on in them. I did however find that this book was WAY easier to read than the first one. You really have to understand how their world works to understand the meaning of a ton of things in these books. Its NO easy reading…BUT once you grasp it, the effect of the book will leave you wanting more.

I give this book a total of...





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Dear John - Nicholas Sparks

Description~
An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.


*SPOILERS*

I started reading this book in preparation of a girls night out...Mexican, Margaritas & Movies!!! BUT needless to say this book has turned out to be an experience that I cant wait to get over with! :o/ Yes yes...I know its Nicholas Sparks and he likes to rip your beating heart out of your chest but I figured at least we'd get a HEA...NOT! Lets start off with a quote from the book that explains a bit.

"Our story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. And although this is the way all stories unfold, I still can't believe that ours didn't go on forever."

So you know right off the bat they don’t end up together…I was sorta ticked but had hoped that both would get their HEA. Ok so we open the story up meeting John. He was a troubled kid with no mother. His father was very closed off and collected coins so much that it effected how they ate and lived! :o( John ends up going in the military and while on leave meets Savannah at the beach! Instantly they fall pretty hard for eachother and spend non-stop time together.

"Even now, I'm still not sure how it happened. One instant we were talking, and in the next she leaned toward me. For a second, I wondered whether kissing her would break the spell we both were under, but it was too late to stop. And when her lips met mine, I knew that I could live to be a hundred and visit every country in the world, but nothing would ever compare to that single moment when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and knew that my love would last forever. "

We also get to meet Savannahs childhood friend Tim that you knew just adored her! RIGHT THERE was when I didn’t want to finish the book. I KNEW Tim and Savannah would end up together! UGH! Either way they you really liked Tim and that’s what made everything so wishy washy for me :o/ Ok so John ends up having to go back and they decide they will stay together b/c he’s getting out in 1 year! So the letters start…

"I love you, not just for now, but for always, and I dream of the day that you’ll take me in your arms again."

He visits a few times but its hard and they start to fight which was really sad but you could tell it somewhat made them stronger. BUT it also showed they were beginning to really be strained by him being away. Both were counting down the days till he got to come home. Then 9/11 happens! :*( Everyone started to re-up their stays in the military and the decision that John made changed his path and Savannahs. He decided to re-up as well. Savannah tried to be understanding but it was hard. She ended up writing him a ‘Dear John’ letter letting him know she had fallen in love with someone else!

John was more of heartbroken than anything. Savannah was all he had ever known. His focus switched however very quickly to the war and his now dying father. His father’s situation was SO heartbreaking. Turns out his father had a disability (I think they said he had Asperger's syndrome) so John found a way for they to bond which was great but when his father started having multiple heart attacks he seen that it was staring to come to an end. John had pretty much hit rock bottom in his life and didn’t know where to turn after his father passed.

So John turns to find Savannah. Little did he know hed find her MARRIED TO TIM!!! Then an even bigger shocker was that Tim was in the hospital with Melanoma! He was dying!!! OMG! LIKE SERIOUSLY?!?!? John talks with Tim and Tim decides that if he leaves that John should take care of Savannah b/c he knows that she still loves him. (Savannah had settled for Tim) Tim needed special treatment that cost $$$ so what does John do…sales his father coin collection and discreetly pays for Tims treatment…slipping out of Savannahs life forever. And he ends up alone! WTH?!?!

"It's possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems, and that in time, the grief . . . lessens. It may not go away completely, but after a while it's not so overwhelming."

And we end the book with him secretly spying on Savannah during their full moon they always watched. It broke my heart! She still loved him yet he knew it was wrong and that their time had passed. Couldn’t NS given us SOME hope that John would eventually have a happy ending?

"And then I feel as if I'm witnessing a miracle, as ever so slowly she raises her face towards the moon. I watch her drink in the sight, sensing the flood of memories she's unleashed and wanting nothing more than to let her know I'm here. But instead I stay where I am and stare up at the moon as well. And for the briefest instant, it almost feels like we're together again."

*sigh…I wanted to rip the book in half!

My BIGGEST issue with this book was the fact that while Tim was in the hospital John came over for like 2 straight nights and ate dinner etc. Well in that time they almost kissed! AND She had to change at one point and he seen her naked back from another room…she knew he did and she turns around to show him…almost an invitation. I understand NS was trying to show us she was scared and confused but omg that was just WRONG!

I WAS however happy that in the end Savannah asked John could she write to him and see him and he shut her down! Not in a mean way and I know that was the hardest thing he had to do but it was the RIGHT thing. He gave Savannah to Tim :*(

"I finally understood what true love meant...love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be."

Sorry this was a pretty much play-by-play of the book but it truly speaks for itself! The writing was great...I mean it is Nicholas Sparks after all. But if youre not wanting your heart ripped out STAY AWAY! Im sure some of you might agree or disagree…but I wanna hear it! What did you think?

And btw next time I try to read NS will someone slap me and remind me about this book please? Everyone is like "oh it was bitter sweet"...I tell them "im just plain bitter"! lol


I give this book a total of...



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Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1) - Charlaine Harris

Description~
Lily Bard is a loner. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. But when her landlord is murdered, Lily is singled out as the prime suspect, and proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.

I think its obvious why I wouldve picked this book up...its none other than Charlaine Harris...our dear maker of Miss Sookie Stackhouse!! I thought that alone would make her other work sit right with me...unfortunately I was wrong :o/

You open the book meeting Lily Bard. She is a house maid and errand runner for a few different people in her neighborhood. You spend a HUGE amount of the beginning of the book just basically going throughout her day! I found myself skimming pages in my ebook and wanting to throw it into my DNF pile!

At this point the only thing interesting thats happened was she witnessed someone getting rid of a body and discreetly calls the police. THEN we go back to her repetitive life as a maid. Now I do understand why Harris did this. Lily had a horrible thing happen to her in her past (tons of rape in one night by many men and almost dieing...followed by her shooting and killing someone) so I think Harris was trying to show us she was skimming by in life blending into the back ground...she was numb to the world. I GET THIS...believe me but does it have to get to the point where her job is 80-90% of the book??? UGH! That killed me...

Well in the mean while someone has found out about her past and is taunting her by leaving scary objects where she is working. This leads her into believing that the killer and her stalker are one in the same. She meets a cop thats sorta older than her but we all know she digs and he starts to join her in the find of the killer. Also we meet her karate instructor thats totally head over heels for her. At this point in the book I was liking it but then yet again it went back to the same junk...her job.

So ya blah blah they end up finding the killer and a love triangle is sorta formed. The end...

Will i try the 2nd one...its a SUPER stretch for me to say maybe so...idk. should you read this...you know Ive read good reviews on this book but when you cant even remember who the killer was and the names of some of the characters you know thats not a good sign so I would think youd be ok with skipping this one! :o)

Sorry guys!

I give this book a total of...






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