Feature and Follow Friday - okay, Sunday, but I'll do better next time!

I am having a fun time looking at other blogs and meeting new people. I truly do love the ease in which the internet allows me to chat with fellow book nerds!

So much for my moratorium...

One of my book buddies over in the OSRBC posted some wonderful, yet terrible information last week.  Amazon was having a .99 cent sale on ebooks.  I was kind of looking, until something even more horrible was shared - Search for "Avon Romance" and filter by price. Holy spending frenzy, Batman!!

Old favorites - Johanna Lindsey, Liz Carlyle, and so much more Johanna Lindsey!!

New favorites - Kerrelyn Sparks, Victoria Alexander, Loretta Chase

Authors new to me - Miranda Neville, Sandra Hill, Jennifer McQuiston, Caroline Linden, and so many more!!!

I have one week until this crazy state test for my students is over.  Until then, I will be looking over this list with joy and avarice...and planning my attack!!


---And not that any of that stopped me from going to one of my favorite used bookstores today...It's a disease!!

My March Reading List

I have put myself on a two part moratorium for books until March 31st. No books bought and no new books read. I had to do this for a few reasons.
First of all, school is going to be pretty hectic until March 31st. I teach 7th grade writing, and in Texas, students will be taking their STAAR Writing Test on March 30th and 31st. I really need to focus on what's going on at school, so I'm planning on doing re-reads of my comfort books to get me through with my sanity intact. Doing this is a very good thing because I haven't tracked books as "read" on Goodreads since I'm still fairly new to the site. Also, I am CRAZILY behind with my Malory re-read and the corresponding posts-- Three birds, one stone.
Second, books cost money and there are several new books coming out on March 31st. Perfect timing- paycheck, testing is done for me, and I will need to celebrate!!


Here is a pic of my iBooks library collection for March. Let's get this done!!

Review: Breakaway by Catherine Gayle

Synopsis from Goodreads.com: 

She’s reaching for a breakaway pass.

Dana Campbell has spent the past seven years in self-imposed isolation for a crime she didn’t commit. The danger is well in the past, but her panic attacks make it impossible to have a normal, healthy relationship with a man. Even her counselor has given up on her. She has to find someone she trusts to help her fight through the panic, or her seven-year ordeal will become a lifetime sentence. There’s only one man she feels safe enough to ask.

He got caught with his head down.

As the captain of the NHL’s once elite but now fading Portland Storm, Eric Zellinger knows a thing or two about keeping his focus on the job. Questions are flying about his ability to lead the team back to the playoffs. If they don’t make it, he might be shipped out of town. It’s the worst time possible for his best friend’s kid sister to divide his focus. How can he give her what she needs without jeopardizing both the Storm’s playoff hopes and his future with the team?

It’s her only chance, but it’s his last shot.

My review:

I absolutely loved this book!! Catherine Gayle's style is straightforward but still evocative of every emotion available. I frequently found myself having to stop reading so I could pull myself together- it drew me in that much.  The pain and insecurity that Dana experiences, as well as Zee's thoughts and feelings...sigh. The various relationships that are developed with others also played a huge part of understanding the two of them and what they are going through. 

 It was just a beautifully written story of two people who need each other more than they possibly imagine, yet stumble and fumble to that point.  

If you haven't read sports romance, this would be a great place to start. Even if you aren't a hockey fan - and I can forgive you for that- give Breakaway a shot!

Oh, Spring Break- I've been waiting for you!!

 As per usual- I'm behind on things that I wanted to post. But that is the beauty of having my own blog where I have no real responsibility- if I want to delay, I can delay. If I want to binge read, I can binge read.

BUUUUT-- I do have a list of things I said I was going to do, so I need to get on them. Luckily, Spring Break is here and so I don't have real-life things to stop me.

A few things for this week:
Reviews:
Alexandra Ivy - Darkness Eternal
Chloe Neill - Dark Debt
Sabrina Jeffries - How the Scoundrel Seduces
Suzanne Enoch - Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid

I have a few more, but those are my priorities.

Blog Posts:
Continuation of Malory read-along
One of my favorite bookstores - Murder by the Book

Worth the Read! Trust Me!!!

Review: When the Marquess Met His Match

From Goodreads.com:

What happens when a carefree, disreputable, stone-broke bachelor is forced to find a wife in a hurry? He hires a matchmaker, of course. What happens when the matchmaker doesn’t want to help him? Well, that’s when the fun begins…

Nicholas Stirling, Marquess of Trubridge, loves his life just as it is: dissolute, scandalous, and deuced good fun. His father, the Duke of Landsdowne is not amused, and when he cuts off Nicholas’ trust fund, the fun-loving marquess is forced to find an alternate source of income—in other words, he has to marry an heiress.

Every new-money American heiress knows Lady Belinda Featherstone is the key to social acceptance. Once a new-money nobody herself, Belinda discovered first-hand how heartbreaking the game of love and matrimony could be after a reprobate British earl married her for her money. Now a respectable widow, Belinda has become England’s most successful matchmaker, guiding young American heiresses through the hazards of the London season and helping them to find husbands worthy of them. To her mind, the Marquess of Trubridge is nothing but a fortune-hunting scoundrel and she has no intention of allowing him to charm his way into any American girl’s heart, including her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, let me start by saying again that I had really wanted to read How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days, then found out that this book was book #1 in the An American Heiress in London series. I'm one of those that prefers to read books in order, just because it drives me nuts when they overlap and things are not chronological.

I started When the Marquess yesterday, and it was kind of hard for me to get into.  It started a bit slow and the setup of the characters and the situation was kind of drawn out, at least to me. (Oh- I don't do spoilers! I try to keep things a bit vague because everyone has their own druthers as to what they are okay with learning before they read a book!)

Anyway- it took a bit for me to really get into the story- chapter 7, to be exact. But once Ms. Guhrke got my attention, it wasn't difficult for me to just sit and finish the novel.  I loved the way Belinda and Nicholas got to know each other- so many novels have everyone declaring love within the first week, but not this one! And yes, I found myself cheering out loud when Belinda did what needed to be done to ensure their HEA.

I wasn't the only one to struggle with staying with this love story, as many in my book group felt the same. However, I certainly encourage anyone who loves Ms. Guhrke's work to trust that she will definitely make it worth it!!

And now--- on to the next!!

My TBR just keeps growing!!!

I love being on Facebook. I love being a part of various book groups on Facebook.  The discussions are lively, thoughtful and often silly.  But the number of books that I keep adding to my TBR list is just CRAZY!!! And that, of course, means that books that have been patiently waiting are having to wait even longer.

So, in an effort to keep myself honest, I am going to keep myself with this schedule. It helps that next week is #rollbackweek with Under the Covers bookblog, so I know that I'm not alone in this struggle!!

Marissa Meyer - my students absolutely rave over this series and consider me a loser because I haven't read it yet.

Johanna Lindsey- I've been staying on track with my re-read and while #rollbackweek isn't for re-reads, I'm gonna fudge a bit because I only read it once when it came out.

Laura Lee Guhrke - I had been looking forward to reading How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days, then I found out that there was a book 1. Now I finally have a long weekend in which to relax and read away!!!