Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

Are you ready for New Year? How will you celebrate it? My plans are still a little fuzzy - I'll be at home or at the big party :) We shall see... The first thing tomorrow morning is a doctor's appointment, though - I will have the results form my mole operation. Keep your fingers crossed.
Hope you will have a great time tomorrow!
Talk to you in the new year.

Official shelf date for My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent

Official blurb:

YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives. And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

I DON'T THINK SO.

Sounds very interesting :) and I just LOVE THAT TRAILER!
You can buy the book here with the free postage. So, what are you waiting for, hurry!

Merry Christmas!!!!

I hope you are happy as a child!

Some beautiful music for Advent Thursdays...

Do you recognise this one?


It's a Silent Night in Croatian.

The Christmas is almost here - are you ready? :)
Hope you are, and that you are happy and with your loved ones.

Some beautiful music for Advent Thursdays...

I love Celine Dion's performance of this song!

 

Working weekend...

My firm is the organiser of traditional Christmas fair in my Town for the last 4 years. The same was this year, and guess who had to do all the work - mou of course :)
It was very cold -10°C (14 F) and the whole event was held on the city square under the "heated" tent. The heating wasn't working properly, so I'm still defrosting :) I thought you would like to see some pictures?

Me with the man on the stilts
 

 

My colleague and I with Santa

 

The pub

 

Some jummy figs

 

 

And beautiful jewelry and ornaments

 

 

Have a great week!

Something funny before the weekend...

Here are some Christmas themed funnies :) to cheer you (and me) up! While you are reading/looking this, I'll be on the town square getting the tent ready for this weekend's Christmas Fair (and freezing my butt). But it is all in the line of duty...

Have a great weekend!!!



Some beautiful music for Advent Thursdays...

Another great Christmas song! Oh, I love Christmas songs... :)


Hope you are enjoying this time before Christmas and all the commercials, and crowd everywhere you go didn't ruin it for you.

It's St. Nicholas' Day

Here in Croatia we celebrate St. Nicholas' Day. Last evening we shined our boots and put them at/by the window. This morning the presents were awaiting! Mine had a pretty good stuff: scarf, warm socks and some candy - all the appropriate things for this year's cold winter.

If you aren't familiar with St. Nicholas here's a little bit about him from Wiki:

" Saint Nicholas (270–6 December 346) is the canonical and most popular name for Nikolaos of Myra, a saint and Greek Bishop of Myra (Demre, in Lycia, part of modern-day Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose English name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas."

He's a patron saint of travelers and unmarried girls :) as well as children. I wrote about him and our customs last year in one of my posts - if you are interested you can read it here.

(picture borrowed from here )

I hope St. Nicholas brings you a great beginning of the week.

Some beautiful music for Advent Thursdays...

Advent has started - it means only 4 weeks till Christmas - YAY!
For this period the Thursday music will be dedicated to Christmas :) to get us into the holiday spirit.
Enjoy!



One of my favourites! It's old, but great :) The hairstyle, the wardrobe....

The winter is here...

We had our first snow blizzard on Friday. Of course I had to go to my class so I drove for 2,5 hours in one way, arrived to my class only to wait for two hours for professor to arrive. He never showed up - he was stuck in some kind of traffic jam. Then I drove for another 2,5 hours home. This trip usually takes me about 50 minutes, but it was snowing heavily and the motorway was jammed. I arrived home safely (thank God) but many people didn't - there were many car accidences on the way. The same weather continued through Saturday and Sunday morning with -10°C (14°F) but the evening ended with strong wind and rain. Today we have the flood :(

But all in all the winter has come. As you can see from the photo below. It was taken yesterday; you can see the river and the snow all around it.

And wherever you are I hope that you are warm and safe. Have a great week!

Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

Remember this one?



Have a great day!

Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

I hope you are having a great day. Mine is very good so far. I know you'll probably say that lately all I do is finding some interesting videos and put them to my blog. And you would be right, of course. But the thing is I'm really swamped under all the stuff I have to do for my job, school and lately I've been to the doctor's a lot. It's nothing major but it involves 2-3 times a week visit to his office in a town 200 km away. So forgive me for not being around, please.

Have a beautiful and funny day! And I hope you'll enjoy the music, too.

What a spirit!

Janey Cutler - Britain's Got Talent 2010 - Auditions Week 4 @ Yahoo! Video

I want be like that when I'm 80! :)

Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

Hope you are having a great day!

The story of my life...

As you can read at the sidebar I am a web designer who does graphic design. And if you want to know how my day looks like I suggest you look at the video below :)





I hope you'll have a great weekend!

Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

Enjoy!!!

Happy Halloween!

Have a scary night :)

And we have a winner of a digital copy of Wolf Signs!

it is AMYT865!!!

She was chosen randomly, of course:

List Randomizer
There were 3 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.3. amyt865

2.1. 3SpecialK

3.2. JoAnna

Timestamp: 2010-10-29 09:19:56 UTC

I have sent your e-mail address to Vivian Arend, and she will contact you with all the details.

Congrats!!!



Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays...

I thought to make this "Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursdays..." my weekly thing. It's something to lift your mood and make your week easier. And the weekend is just around the corner :)


Enjoy!

Giveaway at Sanna's new blog

I love, love, love Christmas! And a fellow blogger Sanna is a fan too. She has started The Christmas Reading Challenge blog. Her aim is (in her own words): to read as many romances dealing with Christmas during the holiday season. I will start reading on November, 1st and from then on publish at least one review a week. Might be more. Plus, to make the season merrier, I will try some recipes and crafts from Christmas books and tell you all about my experiences.

Check out this interesting blog!

And now she has a giveaway too. She is a very crafty person and I own two of her bags - they are fabulous! For this giveaway she is giving away the book cover and one of her favourite romances. So go there, it ends November 1st.

Some beautiful music for gloomy Thursday...

Look what human voice and hands can do:



Isn't this beautiful? I especially like "the drummer" (in the far right); he moves his hands like he has drums in front of him :)

Have a great day (and I hope it doesn't rain in your part of the world)!

Funny facts :)

 These aren't really facts, but they are funny, aren't they?

And don't forget to enter the contest where you could win a digital copy of Wolf Signs! Just leave a comment here.  I'll choose a winner randomly on October 29th!

Is nobody interested in free book?

It seems like it. I just wanted to remind you that you could win  a digital copy of Wolf Signs by Vivian Arend. The contest is open until October 29th and all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog here.

Nothing special is happening in my life, the college has started again and the life is crazy - again :) I don't have time to read or do anything fun. But that's life. I hope you are having a great week.

Win a copy of A Wolf Signs by Vivian Arend - contest

Robyn Maxwell doesn’t care that her brother has to cancel out on their backcountry ski trip. She can do it alone. The fact she’s deaf doesn’t make her survival skills any weaker. The chance to get away from it all and relax in the Yukon wilderness is just what she’s been craving. Meeting wilderness guide Keil at the cabin starts cravings of another kind. Keil’s one hot hunk of ripped, tasty male. Now she has to deal with raging hormones as well as strange questions about wolves and mates and challenges to the death.Keil was trying for a nice reflective retreat before challenging for the Alpha position of his Alaskan pack. He wasn’t planning on meeting the woman destined to be his mate, or finding out she’s not aware she has the genes of a wolf. Between dealing with his accident-prone younger brother, a deaf mate with an attitude and an impending duel to the death, his week—and his bed—is suddenly full. Far from the relaxing getaway any of them had in mind...

Sounds great, doesn't it? I've heard a lot of great stuff about this book. Leave a comment to this post for a chance to win a digital copy of Wolf Signs! and you could found out for yourself :)


I'll choose a winner randomly on October 29th!

This contest is a part of Moira Rogers' & Vivian Arend's Fall Frenzy Event. For your chance to win books, gift certificates, ereaders and more, visit http://www.moirarogers.com/contests/%22%3Ehttp://www.moirarogers.com/contests/

15 Days to Embrace the Darkside

Remember last week when I posted a trailer for His Darkest Embrace by Juliana Stone? Well besides having another great book published, Juliana is having a great contest, too. Here's about it from her blog:

I will be launching 15 Days to Embrace the Darkside on Monday, October 10th and this is the list of authors participating!
Jeaniene Frost, Pamela Palmer, Anya Bast, Elisabeth Naughton, Shelli Stevens, Sophie Jordan, Merrie Destefano, Suzanne Rock, Amanda Vyne,Tiffany Clare,  Michelle Rowen,Eve Silver, Donna Grant, Kris Kennedy, Cynthia Eden, Maggie Robinson

Weeeeeeeeeeee! Isn’t this an impressive list! Each day you’ll get a chance to win a different featured book! I’ll also be awarding a grand prize of 50$$ worth of (your choice) books ordered through The Book Depository! This way, I can open this contest overseas as well!
The grand prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 26th! So mark this down on your calendar and make sure to visit!


Did you see that list of authors! I can't wait for this contest to start!!
And while we are waiting for the contest we can read the first 4 chapters of  His Darkest Embrace for free.



HIS DARKEST EMBRACE by Juliana Stone

I am really looking forward to reading this book. It sounds great, and Juliana is one of those authors I admire both as a professional and as great human being.
Here is the trailer:



His Darkets Embrace  comes out officially, October 26th 2010. For more info visit Juliana's web

Being With Him by Jessica Inclan - review

I got this book at Tote Bags and Blogs from a very generous author - Jessica Inclan. If you haven't been to this blog I urge you to go there; it is a very interesting and fun blog.

Here is a little bit about the book:

Mila Adams has always known she was different. It’s not just that she’s a Mission District bohemian artist in rarefied San Francisco society. No, it’s that for as long as she can remember, she has had the ability to shift time, and who would believe that? Certainly not the obnoxious blind dates her mother keeps foisting off on her. Mila can’t help feeling there’s someone out there for her, a soul mate who might understand her unique ability. And when she looks into the dark eyes of financial whiz Garrick McClellan, time feels as if it has opened up on its own—and this time, Mila has nothing to do with it.

Any man would lust after a beauty like Mila, but the moment Garrick touches her—feels her shifting time just as he can—he recognizes her as his partner in power. Their connection is immediate, passionate, raw, and beyond anything either has ever experienced. But who are they? What is this gift that joins them so intensely? Are there others like them? And why do they feel that time is running out?

This book is a first in a trilogy. I didn't do a lot of research on the Internet about it, I liked the sound of it (and the cover is pretty great). I thought it's another fantasy or paranormal story. Was I wrong :) It is actually SCI FI book. I was very surprised how things turned out in the end.

But to start from the beginning. I liked two main characters Mila (which is pretty common name in Croatia, btw) and Garrick. They sounded very believable and real. Their instant connection bothered me a little, but these things often do bother me in any book - I just don't believe in instant attraction :( sorry. Halfway through the book things started to become very interesting and intense. Who are Mila and Garrick, why do they have all those special powers etc? I got hooked. I love Sci-Fi books, movies ... name it. So I read the other half of the book in one evening or should I say night. At first there aren't many side characters beside nosy mother and aunt but later on we meet many interesting people who will be explored more in other two books.

The time travel always intrigued me, and I really enjoyed how Ms Inclane explored and explained it.

All in all I love this book, I love the style of writing - it was very smooth. I like how story involved and became more and more believable. I like the connection between.... ah, I can't say between whom because then I would ruin all the suspense :)

And I liked the cover, although I think that cover and back cover blurb should have given some kind of indication that this book is Sci-Fi not paranormal, so that people who are buying the book wouldn't be mislead.

If you want to find out more about the author and other books in this trilogy (INTIMATE BEINGS and THE BEAUTIFUL BEING) I suggest you visit author's page.

Waka Waka

This is something to brighten your whole day :)



Isn't he perfect!?

Have a great day!!!

The Winner

Thank you all for reading my reviews :)
And the randomly chosen winner of my contest is........

Blodeuedd

Congrats!!!

You have 5 days to contact me or I will have to choose another winner.


I hope all of you are having a great week.

The Gladiator - review and the last chance for entering the contest

So I had a few rough weeks at work and at college. I was at the international fair (in another country) for five days and when I came back I had two exams to take. I passed one and I don't know the results for the second one - I wrote it yesterday.  I had really good time during the fair. We had business dinners with interesting people, I met few younger colleagues with whom I had a great time, and we even had a field trip by train! We rode in an open wagon (very slowly of course :)) and saw magnificent nature all around us. We had great lunch in the country and all in all had great time. Here are a few pictures.

This was our wagon - we even had live music :)

The old town we saw from a distance

We passed through some tunnels (they were dark:))

We saw some magnificent waterfalls

Ate by the water

And took a few pictures. I forgot to mention I had no hat and since the train moves at about 8 mph it was a windy ride so I put my shawl around my head to protect my ears :) 

But, this was the first time I had a chance to look at my blog. And I have one more review to write and then the contest is closed. So lets get to work.

The book is The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw (btw, this book is the prise in my contest). Here's a little bit about it from Ms Capshaw's website.

Set in ancient Rome, Caros Viriathos is an ex-gladiator who has everything except inner peace. When he buys Christian slave girl, Pelonia, on a whim, he never expects her or her faith to turn his life upside down and win his heart.

I heard about this book a few months ago and it had good reviews so I decided to buy it. I don't normally read too many books with religious thematic but in August I read the two of them - The Gladiator and Madman (you can find my review of Madman here) and I enjoyed both of them.

The Gladiator tells a story about early days of Christianity when it was forbidden to believe in Christ. I love the main character - the ex-gladiator Caros Viriathos. He was a real alpha hero. He wasn't all charm and beauty but a real man with real problems. He bought Pelonia who is in fact a noblewoman that was sold by her uncle into slavery. Caros threats her well and they become friends. Soon he finds out that she's no common woman and that she's a Christian - a fact that could cost them their lives if discovered. Caros is also very troubled by his past. He was a gladiator from very young age and he had to kill many Christians in arena to survive (hose days Christians were used as pawns in Gladiator games). He's afraid that Pelonia will hate him when she finds out about it. Pelonia is another strong character in this story; she's smart, witty and doesn't take her newfound situation permanent. She's certain that she will find a way out of it.

I won't go any dipper into the story since I don't wish to spoil the book for you. But don't think this is some book that preaches Christianity - it doesn't. The story is about love, faith and character. It questions what would one do for his believes and loved ones; how far would he go; and how strong your character is. It is truly inspirational historical book. I recommend reading it.

I really like Ms Capshaw's website, so if you want to find out more about her and her books please visit it (if for no reason than to see how beautiful it is).

And since I love this book so much I will give one commenter the brand new copy of The Gladiator. All you have to do is leave a comment here. For extra entries, just comment on my previous reviews here and here. Every comment you leave gets you an extra entry. The contest is open until Monday evening (09/20/2010), and I will announce the winner on Tuesday. So stay tuned. It will be the winner's responsibility to get in touch with me. Contest is open to all who can receive a book from The Book Depository.

This sums up my vacation read :)



"No Mercy" (Dark Hunter Series) By Sherrilyn Kenyon

It's finally here - I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Don't forget, you can still enter my giveaway.

Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast - review and another chance to enter the giveaway

I bought this book after I read a lot of exellent things about it and a excerpt - I was hooked form the start. And I wasn't disappointed. Here's a little bit about it (from Ms Bast's webpage):

When you’re a half incubus, your reputation precedes you…

All eyes are on Gabriel Mac Braire the day he makes his first appearance in the Seelie Court, including those of Aislinn Finvarra. Despite deep bitterness over her last failed relationship, Aislinn cannot help but be curious about the half incubus who is known to possess dark magick, both lethal and sexual in nature. Rumors abound of the women who have become enslaved to his irresistible charms.

So when the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn herself to act as his guide in the court, she is understandably on guard. She’s fallen under the spell of far less persuasive men before. In addition, Gabriel might be more than he seems and his true mission is far from innocent.

This time, Aislinn must protect not only her heart, but her very life…

The story is set in the mythological land of Piefferburg where all Fae people have been imprisoned by humans. The world is broken into two main subgroups of Fae: The Summer Queen with her Seelie noble class and the Shadow King ruled in dark with the Unseelie class. Oh I love those powerful people and while I don't especially find incubus attractive Gabriel was something different. I liked him from the start and I cheered for him throughout the whole story. Aislinn is very believable character and I could relate to her angst and feeling of not belonging. And I must admit that I am a sucker for those stories about magic where heroine is not sure if she is involved or under a spell and then hero has to prove himself (in very enjoyable ways *wink*). The world building was amazing. The back-story, the city where all the Fae people now has to live, the villains - everything was beautifully described and believable. When starting a new paranormal or fantasy book I am always afraid I won't be able to grasp all the important facts about this new world whit its special rules. But here everything went smoothly and natural. I liked how court's dynamics were described and all those behind the curtain actions. The story is fast paced and loaded with action. In some places it takes turn in a direction I didn't expect.

And then there is that great cover...

All in all it was a good book and I am looking forward to reading Ms Bast's next instalment in this series called Cruel Enchantment that comes out on September 7, 2010.

I give it 4 feathers because the end was just too much for me; but I don't want to spoil it for you with my negative thoughts. Read it and judge it yourself.

Don't forget to comment on this post since it gives you an extra entry for my contest.

ARCs Galore…A NEW International Giveaway

Check this out - ARCs Galore…A NEW International Giveaway at Carol's Prints!!!

As the name says there are a lot of ARCs available for winning. And the good news is that you don't have to do anything special, just fill out the form at Ms Carolina Valdez Miller's webpage

Giveaway ends September 6, 2010. So hurry and here are just a few of the ARCs available for winning

Madman by Tracy Groot - review

I won this book at fabulous International Christian Fiction Writers blog somewhere back in June. Those days I have been overwhelmed by all the exams I had to take and I just didn't have time to concentrate on anything except college. I decided to read it while on vacation. And that was a good decision. The book is not a light read. It takes time and devotion. But, first let me tell you something about the story. Here's the blurb from the back cover:

If there is a way into madness, logic says there is a way out. Logic says.

Tallis, a philosopher’s servant, is sent to a Greek academy in Palestine only to discover that it has silently, ominously, disappeared. No one will tell him what happened, but he learns what has become of four of its scholars. One was murdered. One committed suicide. One worships in the temple of Dionysus. And one is a madman.

From the author of The Brother’s Keeper comes a tale of mystery, horror, and hope in the midst of unimaginable darkness, the story behind the Geresene demoniac of the gospels of Mark and Luke.

I am a Catholic who goes to mass more or less regularly, I took all the sacraments, I studied Bible and still read it from time to time but I've never registered a part of the story about Jesus on Galilee Lake speaking with the madman. I did remember him waking up in the boat and stopping the storm but not about him talking with the madman. I'm not sure why that is but as I mentioned before I was on vacation with limited access to the Internet and my Bible was at home. So I dove into the story and wasn't left wanting. My curious nature wanted to find out more about Geresene demoniac before the ending of the book but in the end it was a good thing that I couldn't remember this event - it made the story more interesting and I read every page with eagerness.

The story starts with Tallis, an Athenian servant, who has been sent to visit the Palestinian school his master has founded and has been supporting financially. Upon his arrival he found out that the school is no longer in existence and all the teacher are missing and one of them was even murdered. The teacher who went mad was the youngest of them and most promising one. The story grips your attention from the start and I had trouble putting the book down. You want to know what happened with the school and why nobody speaks about it. How is possible that three men disappeared and nobody saw a thing. Although the book is called Madman he is not the main character but the servant Tallis.

Another thing unknown to me was the cult of Dionysius and all the rituals associated; but I don't want to go into details because I don't want to spoil the story for you.

The landscape was beautifully described; I could see it and feel it all. The story gave very good picture about the customs from that time, about the Greeks and Palestinians, their differences and similarities. There were many characters and they were very well developed but the innkeeper's daughter Kes was a character that felt real and believable to me and I enjoyed reading about her.

After finishing the book, the one thing that kept popping up was the sentence that, for me, summarises the whole story: “Quandocumque impellunt, repelle. “ in English: "Whenever they push, push back.". It refers to the demons which posses your mind if you allow them. Demons are not necessarily some mystical creatures but they are real things like insecurity, boredom, egoism, conceit that come knocking at your door but can enter only if you allow them. I think this is the message. You have to push them out of your head because that is the only way to remain healthy both spiritually and physically. Also, it shows how easily one bad thought leads to another and that one to another and soon you are overwhelmed and can't push back anymore. Although the story is based on a gospels don't think this is the book for Christians only. It's not. It's a story about human mind, love and value of friendship. The Jesus is mentioned only on a few pages and not in a way that makes you feel like someone is trying to push you to believe something you don't want to or like you are being pushed toward the religion you don't know/want/need. Like I said it is all about how strong and good your heart/spirit is and do you want to be a good person. The other message is that when you are down and everything looks black there is a light and you can find it if you believe in it.

The thing that really delighted me was the cover. I mean look at it, it is pure perfection. I LOVE it.

I give this story 5 out of 5 feathers. I enjoyed it and loved it.

To learn more about Ms Groot please visit her webpage.

I'm off to order another of her praised books The Brother’s Keeper.

P.S. Don't forget to comment - it will give you an extra entry for my contest.

I'm back to work and contest

I came back to work after 3 week vacation spent more or less by the seaside. I had a great time. I have been to some parts of Croatia I have never been to. It was really relaxing. I'll post some pictures after I get my hands on my boyfriend's camera where he's keeping them hostage. Now it's back to work and learning for two exams I have in September.

I did manage to read a few books. I'll be posting my review in a few days - after I clean my house :(

How was your summer? Tell me and you could win one of the books I'm planning to review

 -  The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw

Set in ancient Rome, Caros Viriathos is an ex-gladiator who has everything except inner peace. When he buys Christian slave girl, Pelonia, on a whim, he never expects her or her faith to turn his life upside down and win his heart.

 

 

 

 

Contest is open to all who can receive a book from The Book Depository. You can get an extra entry by commenting on my reviews for the next few days. When I post all the reviews the contest will be closed. So stay tuned :)

CSN Winner!!!

Thank you all for taking part in  this giveaway!!! And the random winner is

elaing8

Here's what random.org had to say:
There were 10 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.4. elaing8
2.1. CrystalGB
3.2. Mami2jcn
4.3. Cecile
5.8. Debbie
6.6. Domestic Diva
7.7. Debbie
8.10. edmontonjb
9.9. Stephanie
10.5. elaing8
Timestamp: 2010-08-04 19:49:58 UTC

The winner has 4 days to contact me, if not I will have to choose another winner.

Thank you CSN for this giveway!!!

Have a great day!

Just a quick hello

from ferry!

See you soon!  Don't forget to enter CSN giveaway (in the post below).

Of to the vacation

I'm on the beach starting today! Yay!!!!

Pray for the good weather because weather forecast is not so good  :(

Have a great week! See you in 7 days!

And don't forget to enter CSN giveaway.

I've been to a great concert

last night by a famous Croatian singer Gibonni. It was really fun and he had other famous singers as his guests at the concert. The concert was held out in the open at the city square. And in the midnight we also had fireworks  :)
Here is one of his more popular songs called Mirakul (eng Miracle). I hope you'll like it.
And don't forget to enter CSN giveaway.




Have a great weekend!

Giveaway!!!

I was contacted by fabulous people at CSN and you know what that means, right? It’s G I V E A W A Y time :)

Don't you like dining room? I do - it's a place to enjoy and wouldn't you like to have a nice comfy bar stool to read on while having your breakfast?

Or even better - a nice breakfast nook to enjoy your meal and a book?

You can choose these (and many others) at DINNING ROOMS DIRECT and with a help of 60 $ gift certificate that will be so much easier.

Well, here’s the deal: leave a comment and you will be entered into giveaway. The prize is (as stated before) one-time-use $60 gift certificate (the card does not cover any shipping costs) for you to use as you wish at any of CSN Stores.

http://www.allmodern.com/ , http://www.luxebycsn.com/ , and http://www.alloutdoordining.com/ .

Rules:

+ 1 entry - leave a comment

+ 2 entries - post about the giveaway at your blog / facebook and leave the link in comments

Open only to US and Canada residents (sorry, CSN rules)

Ends - 2nd of August 2010

The winner will be responsible for contacting me and then I will send her/his information to CSN and gift certificate will be sent to winner by the store.

Good luck!

Cover alert!

This is an official cover for the last book in Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead called Last Sacrifice. The book comes out December 7, 2010.
What do you think? I kind of like it :) Nothing spectacular but nice.

Stay tuned for my evening surprise!

The Darkest Lie by Gena Showalter, review

I bought this book after I read The Darkest Whisper and The Darkest Passion. I really enjoyed them and I decided to go forward with the books in the series and later read the previous ones. There are nine novels and novellas in this series and I started reading them in the middle, of course :)

About the series:

Long ago, twelve immortals warriors – each more dangerously seductive than the last -- stole and opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the evil from within. Now they carry that evil within themselves. Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath. When a powerful enemy returns, they will travel the world in search of a sacred relic of the gods – one that threatens to destroy them all.

Here's a little bit about The Darkest Lie:

Forced to his knees in agony whenever he speaks the truth, Gideon can recognize any lie—until he captures Scarlet, a demon-possessed immortal who claims to be his long-lost wife. He doesn’t remember the beautiful female, much less wedding — or bedding — her. But he wants to . . . almost as much as he wants her.

But Scarlet is keeper of Nightmares, too dangerous to roam free, and a future with her means risking everything. Especially as Gideon’s enemies draw closer . . . and the truth threatens to destroy all he’s come to love . . .

While waiting for my copy of this book to arrive from The Book Depository, I read some reviews and they were all mostly negative. These reviews spoiled my experience of the story. I had a hard time enjoying it, since all the time negative reviews were at the back of my head. But in the end I loved this story almost as much as the previous two.

I liked the main characters and found them to be believable (as much as two demon possessed people could be). The first 100 pages or so were standard get-to-know-you; and instant attraction was there too. But somewhere in the middle of the book, the story takes the turn in direction I really wasn't expecting. It was a surprise for me; and a pleasant one too. I don't want to spoil things for those who will read this book, so I won't tell what happens but it was a nice turn of events.

The things I didn’t like were Gideon and Scarlet's demons making out, yuck; and the stories about other Lord's adventures were lacking in details and explanations. I know that those are back stories, but they left me frustrated because only hints were made without further explanations of the reasons why things were happening and how they were resolved.

I give this story 3.5 feathers (of maximum 5).

And whatecer you do, never read a negative review if you are planning to read the book, it will spoil your experience and in the end ruin perfectly good book.

For more info, please visit Gena's webpage.

P.S. See my banner? This weekend starts my vacation and I'm planning to spend it sunbathing :) I have a surprise for you tomorrow and then I'm off to beach... Check back to see what I've been planning.