W...W...W... (9)

W...W...W...Wednesdays is a weekly meme MizB of Should Be Reading. 

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

So, here's my answers:


• What are you currently reading?

Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. Okay so I've got this on audio. I've been listening to this on my morning walks and I'm sure all those people I've passed think I'm a loon for grinning and laughing. Jason and Taylor are just so fun together. AND, Julie James will be at RomCon11. Squee!

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl. Um, why have I not picked this up sooner? Oh yeah. I just bought it a week or so ago. This and the rest of the Tumble Creek series. I've read her historicals and now it's time to break out the contemps. I <3 u VD.

• What did you recently finish reading?

Oh sweet JM&J. I didn't do a post for WWW last week so there's been quite a few books. Here it goes:

Dark Lover by JR Ward

Lover Eternal by JR Ward

Lover Awakened by JR Ward

Lover Revealed by JR Ward

Lover Unbound by JR Ward
Lover Enshrined by JR Ward

The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

Breaking Point by Pamela Clare

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Serendipity by Carly Phillips (ARC). This will be my first book of this authors. Plus, she'll be at RomCon. =)

Lover Avenged by JR Ward. Another BDB book. *sigh*

Okay. So I've been on a BDB kick. Sue me. It's like chrack. Yes, with a ch. I blame Jamie Lynn for enabling my addiction. And why yes, those covers both have Jed Hill on them.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a bl0g). Thanks! 

My first... Vampire

I haven't done a My First post since the very first one so I thought I would give you all another taste of my first time. I'm talking about reading people! Get your minds out of the gutter.

Vampires. They are dangerous and dark. They are strong and sexual. What's not like right? Well, for me, they terrify me. I held off reading paranormals for the longest time because I am scared of my own shadow and the thought of some vampire coming to sex me up was just a bit much. I was never big into Buffy or Angel when I was younger so I never understood the appeal of fangs. That is until someone opened my eyes.

Ok, so let me say this and don't judge. My first vampire was Edward Cullen but this post is not about him or the Twilight books because: 1. Vampires don't sparkle. 2. Bella is an idiot. 3. Jasper was obviously the hottest one. 4. Renesme? What kind of name is that?

Ok, so that list could be endless on why Twilight annoys me but it was a nice way to get my feet wet. But now, the real reason I am in love vampires... JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Hi, my name is Jamie and I am a BDB addict.

I fought this for a very long time. A friend of mine at work (a man *gasp*) knew I read the Twilight books and laughed at me. He told me if I wanted some real vampires, with some real smexing then I had to look into JR Ward. I promptly looked up her series and her first book Dark Lover. I also very promptly went out and bought Dark Lover. I then allowed myself about 4 months to actually work myself up to reading it.

I know! I know! Dark Lover sat on my nightstand FOREVER! Hell, I even took it on vacation with me when I went to England for the third time. I just didn't want to read it. There were so many other books to read! But when I finally ran out of historicals (I'm pretty sure I just got tired of them and I didn't have a Kindle yet) I decided to give it a try. I then promptly kicked myself for letting Wrath sit unread for months.

As I soon discover, BDB is like crack. Or should I say crhack? Either way I was sucked right into a world where shitkickers and leather were the norm. Where they listened to ganster rap and waged a war with their enemies. I found myself responding 'True' whenever I could and drinking some Goose. My addiction was a hard one because I had six BDB books available to me. The tough park came when I finished Phury's book and I had to wait for book 7. Not to mention that Lover Avenged, Rhev's book, was coming out in hardcover first. Hardcover!

I wasn't buying the hardcover. I could wait another couple of months for the paperback. (I still didn't have a Kindle) Soon the withdrawls set in. I was itching for a fix that only the Brothers could give me. Thank the Scribe Virgin for the BDB Insider Guide!

When Lover Avenged ws finally released in paperback I rejoiced, praised the Scribe Virgin and devoured it. I also knew that as soon as Lover Mine ws released in Hardcover I was getting it. No more waiting for the paperback. It was worth it!

So now my craving are setting in again, especially with the WARDen posting little snippets of the next book. I'm not telling you who's book it is because I refuse to spoil it for those who are just starting reading the series. BUT, I will tell you that I am excited and scared for it at the same time. I think it's going to be a real hard one for all the BDB addicts to read.

So that was my first vampire story. I love those Brother's and I pimp them out anytime I get the chance. I've been telling Kati over at Romancing Rakes to read them for months now and I can tell you that she has read Dark Lover and Lover Enternal in like 3 days. The addiction continues.

SO tell me... What was your first vampire? Have you read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series yet?

A little bit of this and that

It's Wednesday, hump day, the middle of the week. I don't know about you but here in Jersey it has been miserable! It's been raining for about 4 days and has just zapped my energy. But you know what the best thing about it... I spent a couple mornings watching North and South with the wonderful and sexy Richard Armitage.


That man can scowl at me all he wants! If you haven't seen I suggest you do. Mr Thornton is totally swoon worthy!

Also, for the past week I've been reading Jenn LeBlanc's The Rake and The Recluse. Yes, I said the past week and no I'm not done yet. Why? Because I keep getting distracted by the fabulous pictures! I would highly recommend this book to all historical romance lovers and don't forget, Romancing Rakes is giving away 2 copies of the E-book and Jenn LeBlanc also threw in some swag! So head over to enter!

Also, there was some big news announced yesterday. I am a HUGE fan of JR Ward's and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I've been hooked since Book 1, Dark Lover and cried like a baby in Book 3, Lover Awakened. Now, after 9 books, my man Tohr is next! JR Ward announced Tohr was next at her book signing in April and yesterday she gave us his title: Lover Reborn. I'm not going to give away any spoilers (cause I hate that) but I am SOOO excited and if you're a fan of the series you know what the title means. All I'm saying is that Ward better give Tohr one hell of an HEA! So, I will now be freaking out for the next year waiting for Lover Reborn since it won't be released until late April or early May.

To me, the BDB is my crack and Ward is my dealer! Is there a book that you are just DYING for? I'm also waiting for Lorraine Heath's Waking Up With The Duke which comes out June 28.

Where have all the books gone?

Today I did probably one of my favorite things, I went to the bookstore! I love browsing books, wandering the isles just trying to find a book that screams "READ ME". If you drop me in a bookstore I can amuse myself for hours! If it's a Used Bookstore I may be gone for days! I think it's the smell of books that get me. Plus, it is so rewarding to go searching for a book then it is to just click buy on the computer. And the E-book craze has taken the world by storm!

Now don't get me wrong, I love Richard Henry (my Kindle) more than words but there is just something about holding a real book in my hands. Not to mention the some of the covers are absolutely beautiful that I just have to have them so I can look at them!

So, I was at my bookstore when I discovered that many authors were not stocked. And these are pretty big authors not to have stocked. I also noticed that the Romance section seems to be setting smaller. (Also, the switched the escalators on me so I looked like a idiot trying to go up the down escalator) Plus, I know that this just isn't a ransom day where everyone is buying all the romance novels by these authors and I'll tell you why.

I was at this same bookstore a couple of weeks ago with my friend Gypsy, who I recently discovered loved romance novels when I spied Sabrina Jefferies in her purse. So I told her all about reviewing for The Season and all my Twitter peeps and fellow bloggers who recommend some fabulous books and she wanted my input about some new authors to try. Now, I like to think I know my friends and so far haven't steered them wrong yet. Like Jess, she LOVES vampires and True Blood so I suggested JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series and I haven't seen her since because "she's busy reading" and I need to leave her alone with "The Brothers". Now my friend Karen is new to the whole romance world and has been begging me to tell her what to read. She wanted a contemporary so I gave her Victoria Dahl's Talk Me Down.

There are certain authors that are my go to recommendations. Victoria Dahl is one of them so when they were out of stock of her book 2 weeks ago and told me that they would restock soon I was surprised to find that they didn't have ANY of her books, historical or contemporaries. Gypsy now thinks that I have made Victoria Dahl up but I assured her she is real.

I have also been chasing the elusive Unveiled by Courtney Milan. The didn't have it at any of my stores when it came out so I put it on my Remember To Get List. They didn't have it at my Borders, but sadly it was closing down, so when I went to my big chain store today I looked for it. Again, NOTHING by Courtney Milan.

Another thing was that they only had the most recent book of most authors. I'm big on reading series and reading them in order. I had Pamela Clare's newest book Breaking Point in my hand but where was her back list. Breaking Point is book five in her romantic suspense series but there was no book 1-4. (also there where also none of her historicals) Now, yes you don't have to read a series in order but I like too, especially when I know characters from earlier books are going to pop up.

Now, I did finally cave and order Unveiled but it's just not the same. I like going to the store and wandering around until I find a book. It's like a treasure hunt! I know that everyone is jumping on the e-book crazy but I hope that these bookstores get their acts together and start shelving these amazingly talented authors. How else am I suppose to pimp their books if they're not there.

And PS... I'm a really good book pimp! Just sayin!


Have you noticed the lack of books in your bookstore? Has your Borders shut down? Or... what are your feeling about the e-book craze?