It's Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday... Guess what happens today? That's right. Twihards will be creaming their panties (if they haven't done so at midnight) during the headboard breaking smexing scene in Breaking Dawn Part 1. Really? Part 1? Just because Potter did it doesn't mean that every tween book turned movie has to do it with the last book in the series. The only good thing about the last Twilight book were Jacob's chapter titles. Anywho, rant over. Let's get on to the good stuff.
This weeks Five Friday Favorites:
December Joyathon. Not that I'm tooting my own horn or anything. The banner is fabulous (done by Ms. Jenn LeBlanc), the authors are totally awesome and my co-conspirators(Laura & Jamie Lynn) have sooo amazing. It was this tiny idea with just a name and then it took a life of its own becoming this 24 day event that I hope to hold annually on the blog. Gah! Just so flipping excited about it. Why yes, those abs on the banner belong to the guy in my header. :)
Pride & Passion by Charlotte Featherstone. Danger, betrayal, pride, secrets, passion, the occult. Hello Charlotte Featherstone, where have you been all my life? And yes, I picked this book up because of it's gorgeous cover. Let me tell you, I'm not a fan of orange but this cover is just fantastic. I missed out on Scandal & Seduction, the first book in the series and have been running all over town looking for it. Apparently my bookstores have no appreciation for romance books.
Forever and A Day by Delilah Marvelle. This is her first book in her new Rumor series. Confession: I have been hankering DYING to read this galley. It's floating in the Kindle, taunting me. I keep telling it that there are other books that I must read and it needs to buy me flowers and dinner before I jump into bed with it. Seriously, Delilah Marvelle is one of my favorite authors. She was the first to introduce me to ass play. No joke. I've had a girl crush on her ever since. :)
GIMP. Okay, I've had this photoshop-like program on my computer for a while now and just started playing around with it. OMG. How could I not have discovered the wonders of it until now??? It takes a while to figure out filters and cutting and dragging and all that good stuff. My favorite is smudging. *giggle*
Model Mayhem. Once again, I lost over an hour during the writing of this post just looking through Model Mayhem. What?! It's the best place to find man candy. Some of your favorite Man Candy Monday staples come from there. Seriously. Like this guy:
Now that I've shared my five favorites for this week, what about YOU? Any new movies, books, videos, man candy or what have you that you've been loving this week? Sharing IS Caring. :)
Ahhh!!! HAPPY FRIDAY!!! So many wonderful books came out on the first and I'm back to reading things on my Kindle. Thank you Netgalley. I didn't eat much Halloween candy but I indulged in a few pumpkin spice lattes. A fair exchange right? I've been reading quite a few holiday themed books and Glee returned after this World Series business. The house smells like cookies thanks to the candles and only 8 days until a (hopefully) naked Henry Cavill in Immortals.
Now on my Five Favorites for this week:
If You Give A Girl A Viscount by Kieran Kramer. *sigh* This made my day. I giggled, I guffawed, I belly laughed, I snorted, I laughed until I cried. There's a bitch of a stepmother who could use a bottle of Rogaine, a mean girl stepsister, another stepsister who could be a drag queen, a charming viscount instead of a prince and a Cinderella desperate for funds to restore her castle to its former glory. Oh, and the son of a son of a Highlander. You'll never look at kilts the same way ever again. Review coming soon...
Spinach. What?! I'm eating my leafy green vegetables. I don't know what's happening to me but I find fresh steamed spinach to be delicious with fish. I've been eating this combo a lot lately. Ignore the rice and the lemon in the picture.
Revenge on ABC. Some people are dubbing this as a new spin on The Count of Monte Cristo. I dub this my guilty pleasure. Murder, betrayal, love, adultery, revenge. It's got the girl from Everwood (yeah, you remember that WB show), the guy from Roswell (the sherriff's son), the kid from Gossip Girl (the one who played Serena's brother), the guy from Legend of the Seeker (he played the younger version of the wizard), the girl who played the younger version of Jennifer Garner's character in 13 Going on 30, and the chick who played Gerard Butler's woman in Gamer. Yup, a smorgasbord of "oh, I know you from somewhere" actors playing in the Hamptons.
Sourcebooks Casablanca on Netgalley. Squee!!! Another auto approval. No longer have to wait in line, wondering, anxiously crossing my fingers in hopes of getting approved for a galley that I want to read. Badly.
Harlequin on Netgalley. Another auto approval. Not that I'm bragging or anything but I had to tell someone before I burst in excitement. I get their Harlequin Historicals in the mail through the Reader Service and now, I might just go ahead and cancel that. The books are stacking up, gathering dust and just waiting to be read.
What about YOU? What has you jumping up and down in total excitement? A new movie, a new CD (Florence and the Machine, anyone?), a new book, a new restaurant? Remember, sharing is caring...
Happy Friday!!! For me, this week has seen quite a bit of pirates. Yes. Those swashbuckling, totally suave yet sexy men wielding pistols, cutlasses, swigging rum and swiving wenches. But the pirates I'm talking about are one woman men and they're dangerously seductive. Also, the sun decided to come out after a jillion days of fog. At least on the coast. My favorite photographer/author is burning up the Time Travel charts on Amazon of which I'm doing a giveaway of her book. I've reached 200+ followers which might be a drop in the bucket in comparison to the established blogs but I'm also doing a giveaway for that too. Holiday books are showing up at my door, my local Michael's craft store has all holiday decorations 50% off and I bought a half naked man yesterday.
Now on to the good stuff. You can play along too, just leave a comment at the end of the post.
Here are this Friday's favorites:
Gossip Girl on Netflix. The first 4 seasons are streaming and I can't get enough. It's deliciously scandalous and I have a girl crush on Leighton Meester aka Blair Waldorf. I'm catching up on all the seasons I missed, as in seasons 2-4. I discovered the books in high school and totally loved them. I really like that the show doesn't fully go plot by plot according to the books, it's quite refreshing.
Shana Galen's THE ROGUE PIRATE'S BRIDE. For those of you who have access to Netgalley, I recommend on requesting this book. It's just gah! I want to tell you but at the same time I don't. At least not yet. The book release February 2012 so I'll be posting a review a month before. Seriously, the cover is gorgeous, the story is just quite... and there's something about a man named Bastien.
Completely gratuitous. You're welcome.
A shirtless Henry Cavill. What? In case you haven't noticed, I've got a thing for Henry Cavill (rhymes with travel). He's dirty, he's hairy and he's buff. Holy Tudors, is he buff and scruffy. Thank you director of Superman. I'm crossing my fingers for a naked Henry a la Tudors season one episode one. That picture is NSFW. Seriously.And mark your calendars for 11.11.11 because that's when Immortals comes out.
eBay. I love this site. It helps fund my romance book addiction and as of right now, I've got an iPad2 fund going. I'm $200 short so all things Twilight that have been sitting in a box in my closet are going up for auction. Yeah, I went through a phase. Judge me all you want but Edward Cullen is going to get me that new iPad2. I've been DYING for one. Or even a tablet of some sort. I just want it so I can finally read Jenn's book in the way that it was meant to be read or viewed or ogled. (Take your pick.)
Warehouse 13. Oh man. Thanks to Aislynn at Stitch, Read and Cook turned me on to this series. The first 2 seasons are streaming. Basically, these 2 ex-Secret Service agents are transfered to the middle of where South Dakota to search out artifacts that make people do crazy things. I spent 2 days watching the series and am anxiously awaiting for the current season to stream.
What about YOU? Any new books this week that you picked up? How about a new TV show like Once Upon A Time? Share in the comments.
Happy Friday!!! It's been a while since I've done this. Sorry I've been slacking but I've been planning something wonderfully fabulous for you guys in December involving some of your favorite authors, books given away and lots of fun festive interviews and guest posts. I'm so flipping excited about this and the awesomesauce known as Laura Chaplin (former tweeter behind the RomConInc twitter handle and you can now follow her here) has been helping me every step of the way, my personal cheerleader. :)
Anyway, enough gushing or Laura's head might explode. *kidding*
Here are my Five Friday Faves:
Pocket Books. They've been gracious enough to send me 2 books to review which will be releasing on Tuesday. Freakin' Pocket Books you guys!!! That's really huge for me. You can find my review of A NOVEL SEDUCTION by Gwyn Cready here and I'll be posting a review of A WINTER SCANDAL by Candace Camp as soon as I'm done reading it.
Avon Netgalley Requests. I went on a Netgalley bender requesting everything in sight. Hey! What can I say? There's some awesome releases coming out that I've been dying to get my hands on. I have been auto approved to view/review titles by Avon. Thanks Pam Jaffee! That means I don't have to wait for someone at Avon to approve my request for any of their titles. I can automatically download them. I've been smiling like an idiot since finding out and I had to tell someone.
Holiday scented candles. Yeah. Like Karen Erickson, I'm a candle freak. I just love the smell of them, especially the sugar cookie and spice market ones from Michaels. I'm also a fan of Yankee Candle.
Sugar cookies. I've been baking like there's no tomorrow which, isn't good for RBW. Seriously. High in sugar, fat, calories and everything under the sun. See the thing is, my mother in law send a large priority box of Halloween candy and among the candy are Pumpkin Pie Hershey Kisses. Yes, they taste like the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I decided to bake thumbprint sugar cookies and smash the Hershey Kisses in the middle of them and send all the cookies to school with my husband. Apparently he's got a math book club. Yup.
SCANDALOUS DESIRES by Elizabeth Hoyt. ZOMG! This book arrived yesterday afternoon and I've been dying to get my hands on this. Thanks to Grand Central and Brianne B for providing a review copy. One step closer to the reveal of the Ghost of St. Giles. The cover is gorgeous, the step back is steamy and I'm slowly savoring this book. P.S. There's an excerpt at the end for the final book in the series. *dies* I can't bring myself to take a peek. Gah!!!
Sooo...what about YOU? What are you loving this week? New books, movie (speaking of, The Three Musketeers is out today), music (oh dear lord, JBiebs has a holiday song out already), or new product?
Ah, another Friday. Hope you've had a good week so far and an even better weekend. This week has been quite busy planning something fabulous on the blog for December (with help from wonderful friends), reading review books, requesting review books and scheduling posts so I don't have to stay up every night typing away, going cross-eyed. Anywho, let's get on to this weeks favorites, shall we?
MY 5 FRIDAY FAVES THIS WEEK: A Vampire for Christmas by Laurie London, Michele Hauf, Caridad Pineiro and Alexis Morgan. Ah yes, Christmas has come early and let me just say that a dark, brooding, fanged man is the way to kick off the season. 4 wonderful authors, 4 novellas full of love, lust, laughter and the holiday spirit. A huge thank you to Ms. Laurie London for providing me with a review copy. And it's signed! Be on the lookout for the review once I'm done drooling over these men.
Drop Dead Diva. Judge me all you want, Netflix has sucked me in. This show is quite addictive. An aspiring model and a lawyer at the top of her game die on the same day (sounds like the beginning of a horrible joke doesn't it?). The model hits the return button and ends up in the lawyer's body. She must come to terms with the fact she must now live that lawyer's life. Throw in an awkward guardian angel, a bubbly smart dumb blonde bff (she has her moments), a slew of guest actors (*ahem* Jake Pavelka, really??), a law firm with snarky, multidimensional characters AND Margaret Cho as her personal assistant and I've lost a whole afternoon.
Holiday themed books. Okay, so I opened with A Vampire for Christmas but I love, love, love this time of year. Holiday themed books are my absolute favorite, not only because of the gorgeous covers but the stories seem more magical. The discovery of new love, the healing of a broken relationship, a sleigh ride tucked next to a loved one, stolen kisses under the mistletoe. *sigh*
Mandy Moore. Hear me out. I grew up listening to her music, watched her go from cookie cutter bubblegum pop princess to versatile actress to soulful singer (all the while changing her haircut and color) and not once has she ever been arrested, tried to beat the crap out of a car with an umbrella, or end up in rehab. She was my Taylor Swift growing up. What brought this on you ask? I blame Katharine Ashe and Netflix. Tangled aka the updated Rapunzel Disney movie, is streaming and I've watched it multiple times. Mandy voices Rapunzel. Then I broke out The Princess Diaries, Saved!, Chasing Liberty, A Walk to Remember and streamed Love, Wedding, Marriage (hello half naked Kellan Lutz).
CLIF bars. Ah yes, Romances Biggest Winner is halfway over and CLIF bars have become my friend. Instead of grabbing the chips or polishing off a bowl of popcorn, I just grab one of these and the hunger goes away. Plus, they're yummy and the seasonal flavors are out. Mmm... gingerbread and spiced pumpkin pie.
So lovely readers, what do YOU love this week? A new movie I should go see? A new book I should pick up or add to The List? A new food I should try? Sharing is Caring. :)
Happy Friday everyone! Not much happening this week. It's kind of a been a slow and quiet week which is slightly surprising. No giant explosion of book releases. No movies I really want to see. Although, SMG returned to television. Who is SMG you ask? Sarah Michelle Gellar, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. Back to The CW which used to be The WB which was the network for all late 90s must watch teen dramas. I think my mailman has a fascination with romance books because I haven't gotten any books that I've been waiting on. The least he could do is leave me a note right?
So, these are my five friday faves: Casting Perry Kickstarter Project: Gah! If you haven't seen or read Jenn LeBlanc's THE RAKE AND THE RECLUSE, at least read an excerpt. The book has gorgeous photographs inside the book. No, it's not pornographic, it's tastefully done. It's artistic. No naughty bits and pieces are shown. If you'd like to help cast Perry (the hero in Jenn's next book) check it out here.
Real Men Will by Victoria Dahl. Okay, so this book doesn't release for another month or so but out of the Donovan Brothers Brewery trilogy, this one is scorching hot. I have to keep putting it down, afraid that if I keep reading, the pages will suddenly burst into flames or my Kindle would combust. Laughing hysterically, almost breaking my Kindle due to the scorching smexing, twice AND sobbing uncontrollably all in the span of an hour and a half does not make me crazy. I swear.
Words with Friends. It's like Scrabble for your phone. You can play with any of your Twitter or Facebook friends. Slightly addicting, super hilarious and sometimes, it won't let you play words you know exist. What the hell is a Qi? And Clit is a word. My romance books tell me so.
Nutella. It's hazelnut spread and delicious. Slightly chocolaty in taste and heavenly on toast, english muffins, bananas, with peanut butter, on vanilla ice cream or by itself. Go ahead, just dip that spoon in and eat. It's almost like eating a liquid-ish Ferrero Rocher candy.
Monopoly. It's been overcast recently on the coast so no tanning for this girl. Sometimes I just need a break from reading and well, Monopoly is one of my favoritest games ever. It's starting to cool down and board games are in season at my house. Bring on the beginning of the JOYathon!
So what has made your week? Any new movies, television shows, books, games, food, music, new places? Share in the comments. Have a fabulous weekend!
It's been a few Fridays since I've done this feature. I do apologize. The power went out last night so I wasn't able to post this early. But anywho... HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Without further ado, I give you my 5 favorite things this week:
LORD AND LADY SPY by Shana Galen and ROMANCING THE COUNTESS by Ashley March. Gah! Both of these books were ah-mazing, I'm still trying to put into words how I feel about them. Shana's book is Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Regency style. Ashley's is about a man and a woman, whose spouses die in a carriage accident as they're running away together. Both books are a must read. We even had both ladies on Romance Lately on the 6th.
Book Trailer for The Rake and the Recluse by Jenn LeBlanc. I shall just let you watch it. No words necessary.
Coronado. I just love it. Mr. Kati and I usually go there on Sundays for Panera (yum!) and then we like to walk over to the Hotel del Coronado, sit on one of the benches by the beach and people watch. This was also where Some Like It Hot was filmed. Yes, the one with Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag.
Candles. Usually I buy candles because I love the smell. (We're not supposed to have any in the condo but shh...) Last night, the power went out so they came in handy. AND, I finished ROMANCING THE COUNTESS by Ashley March by candlelight. I was that amazing.
Chick-fil-A. I know my fellow Romance Biggest Winner teammates are probably going to kill me for this but I indulged in some of those delicious nuggets, sweet tea and waffle fries. Yum! Sorry Trainer Derek.
What are you loving this week? What made your week? Share in the comments. :)
Oh sweet Pete! I haven't done my Five Friday Favorites in a while. Um, I've got quite a few. Perhaps I should just categorize it? Oh the agony! Decisions, decisions. RomCon11 was the bomb dot com. Seriously. It rocked. Hardcore. Red dildo included. I have a new appreciation for law men and highlanders. My love for certain authors have skyrocketed. I actually got some reading done the past few days. My bookshelf is groaning from all the new books I got from RomCon. I was famous for a hot minute and I apparently am a mauler of all things hot and in kilts. I'm slightly obsessed with my aviators and is it next June yet? I met Jamie Lynn and Rita in person. Neat-O! And what is up with this marine layer crap going on?! Drove up to Santa Monica Pier and cruised the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)-- thanks Veronica Mars!
So after much deliberation, I give you my Five Friday Faves: Derek "Highly Inappropriate" Hutchins. Besides being good looking, he's a pretty funny guy. And he's got some pretty inspiration worthy friends or rather friend, named Will. He was such a good sport during RomCon letting us tag along. Remember his name, he'll be famous one day. He was already stopping traffic on the street and random women were taking pictures and sending it to their daughters. [Photo courtesy of Jamie Lynn. Thanks friend!]
Jamie "I'm here for business" Lynn. FINALLY met her in person at the Denver Airport before rocking hard at RomCon. Hilariously funny. She's the blogger behind For The Love of Romance. She brought a riding crop, won some handcuffs and red rope. I was tied and handcuffed and cropped. I might have liked it. She also sends me stories in my inbox. They are amazing. [Photo courtesy of Book Reading Gals FB album]
Jenn "Always Professional" LeBlanc. The awesomest host/chauffeur/tour guide/photographer/writer/model sharer EVER! She's just all sorts of amazeballs. She has THE best job ever. No joke. Have you seen my sidebar. Yes, that's her book. Yes, that's Derek. Yes, it's an amazing read. Yes, there are pictures throughout the book. Yes, go and buy it now cause you're missing out. [Photo taken by Jamie Lynn on my camera]
Highlanders. So right now I'm reading In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks and am almost done. There's just something sexy and primal about a man willing to protect his clan, his keep and his woman. Oh yeah, can't forget the kilts. Er, trews. I've been on a highlander kick thanks to Heather of Book Reading Gals. The hero of Build A Hero at our table was a highlander, there were models in kilts at RomCon, there was highlander panel with Kimberly Killion, Margaret Mallory and Melissa Mayhue, and quite a few books picked up at RomCon featuring highlanders.
Denver, CO. What is there to say? The weather is lovely, the scenery is so flipping green, there's a creepy blue horse with glowing red eyes by the airport, Denver International is HUGE, downtown is all sorts of fun, the Tilted Kilt (I kept calling it the Kilted Tilt) was hopping, Cricket burgers are fabu and oh yeah, this thing called RomCon is held there.
So what are you loving this week? What made your Top 5? A new book? Author? Place? Movie? Song? Artist? New friend? Random how stranger? Remember, sharing is caring...
Oopsie! I didn't do a post for last Friday. Sorry friends. I've been debating on whether it should be 10 to make up for last week or 5. 5 won out. I heart Fridays because it's when movies usually come out. And this Friday marks the end of my childhood. For real. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part 2 comes out today (or for you Potterheads, last night at midnight) and the journey will be complete. The battle for Hogwarts will end in a bloodbath, not some sparkly showdown. It's been a productive week for me. Lots of work done writing random stuff and trying to piece it together. Spent a lot of time sunning at the beach, getting inspired and rocking out to Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Mandy Moore and Miley.
So without further ado, I give you this weeks Five Friday Favorites (in no particular order): Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I can't say much more or it would ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it. Just wow!
Cowboys! Yeah, those 10 gallon wearing, bronc riding, tight jean donning, horse cutting cowboys. Not that football team. Geez! I think I'm getting myself pumped for RomCon's Wild West Dinner Event. Cookout, cowboys and cowboy boots. 3 freaking weeks from now, I'll be in Denver!!!!! Oh man. Yeah, I'm also excited about Cowboys and Aliens. What of it?? (Just an excuse to post some Daniel Craig ass.)
Sushi. Why? Because it's yummy. That is all.
Red High Heels. Both the song by Kellie Pickler and the ones that I bought last week. I'm loving them.
Jamie Lynn. The girl behind For the Love of Romance. She has saved my romance book reading life. I would still be clueless as to how funny and wonderful a Julia Quinn or Lisa Kleypas book could be or never discovering BDB. Don't gasp. I'm going to start on the first book next week. Promise. She's a Henry loving, romance book reading, laugh out loud, totally awesome person. For those of you going to RomCon, be on the lookout for her. She'll probably be wearing a tiara the whole time. Because that's how she rolls. If she were a boy, I'd totally date her. Just saying.
So... what are you loving this week? New books? New movies? New men? New foods? Share!
Pride & Passion by Charlotte Featherstone. Danger, betrayal, pride, secrets, passion, the occult. Hello Charlotte Featherstone, where have you been all my life? And yes, I picked this book up because of it's gorgeous cover. Let me tell you, I'm not a fan of orange but this cover is just fantastic. I missed out on Scandal & Seduction, the first book in the series and have been running all over town looking for it. Apparently my bookstores have no appreciation for romance books.
