Lips of Velvet gets 4 Coffee Cups!!

Lips of Velvet got reviewed again...this time by Coffee Time Romance and More! I'm so happy, I could squeal! *throws confetti*

Some snippets of this review:

"It is hard to believe you can pack this much punch in such a few words, but Ms. Nelson delivers with startling results. I love that Sandra’s character is a great mix of eccentricity and innate shyness. It would be easy to picture Sandra as the crazy cat lady on the block, but thankfully Lucy shows up just in time to save her from herself. Their hot little episode in the ladies’ room is more than enough to have you wiping the steam from your screen."

You can check out the whole review on their site here.
Or grab your copy on Amazon, Bookstrand, Barnes and Noble or All Romance Ebooks!
Happy writing!

Pale Demon

When Rachel Morgan heads west to go before the council of goodie goodie witches, bridesmaid dress firmly in tow, she thinks that arriving on the west coast is going to be the exciting part of her adventure. But when you toss an elf, a witch, a pixie and a ghost in the car and pick up the person who is following you... things are bound to get a little more interesting.

I have loved Trent, bad guy or not, since the first books of this bestselling and awesome series. I was thrilled to find that he played a major role in the newest of Harrison's The Hollows series.

And Trent lived up to expectation, sparking arguments while looking dashing as we travel with this mixed up cast of paranormal favorites. I can compare the Rachel Morgan books to cooking. If you like the ingredients, it only tastes better when you mix them up, let them simmer and then blow off the steam so you can gobble up the tasty treat. Harrison has deftly built this world, building book upon book and as we get this far in, readers who have followed this plotline will find this book a treat that was well worth the wait.

My only complaint? I didn't want it to end and am now itching to get my grubby paws on Book 10!

Buy it here.

Review of Possession

Having been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle and gobbled up her books when I was younger, I was amazed to find what seemed to be a voice similar to hers. While capturing a very modern and fresh spin on YA Dystopian fiction, this story still had that eerie feel that L'Engle was so good at creating.

Vi, the snarky and fiercely independent lead character in this stunning work, is tossed around in a sea of lies and control freaks. Rebelling against the control and trying to see through the lies, she wants to find a way to live outside what society has planned for her. Teenage girls, so easily pressured by what the world expects of them and what the media determines to be correct behavior/dress, will hopefully be inspired by this headstrong heroine.

To balance out Vi's fears and desire to break from her predetermined mold, Johnson created a hero who was equally willing to challenge the expectations put upon their people. I won't give any spoilers but I will say he was the kind of hero that made you want them to work it out while he appalled you by his occasional flipping of sides and abandonment of Vi.

All in all, the characters worked well together. The world building was exquisite and detailed making it very believable. I couldn't put it down and was actually irritated when my real life got in the way of me finding out what would happen next. I hope that this book will receive the acclaim it deserves as I found it fascinating. I will be reading it to my kids in the near future and know it is one of those books that won't gather dust as I am sure I will be rereading it often.

Preorder it here.

Odd Stuff gets another great review!!

Bitten By Books reviewed Odd Stuff and gave it 5Tombstones
You can view the whole review here at http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=26115

"Janie Smith, recently divorced mother, is returning to her home town, and is not altogether happy about it. Being able to stay at her best friend Mia’s is infinitely preferable to living with her mother, and Janie is grateful that Mia made the offer. So what if she has to help run Mia’s shop and participate in a few community events while Mia is out of town? Janie has a safe place for her and Vickie to stay, and some time to find a job and get settled. No problem.

Mia’s instructions about the shop had not been too clear, but knowing there is a manager of sorts, named Sven, calms Janie a bit. However, she is not prepared to see a huge man, wearing a leopard blazer and a fuzzy pink scarf, materialize outside the car window. Entering the shop, Janie is surprised to learn she is expected to make a late-night visit to the cemetery with a group of ghost hunters, and upon entering the upstairs apartment, is stunned to discover a drawer with bags of blood in the refrigerator. Odd Stuff is not only Mia’s shop, it is Mia’s life. Janie tries so hard to appear normal, but would she be able to maintain in this environment, or would her secret come out?

I can relate to Janie on several levels. Being a newly divorced, single parent…been there. Not feeling like I fit in…yep, been there, too. While I never kept a secret as huge as Janie’s, there are still some things I do not want the world to know. I love Janie’s sense of humor, and that she is not broken too badly from the divorce. She is still strong, and showing her attitude all the way, even at times when she should keep quiet. Wow…another similarity!

This fast-paced story moves smoothly from vampire to witch to ghost, has a lot of humor, and easily draws you in and makes you care about the characters. Mia’s generosity in allowing Janie and Vickie to stay in her apartment, Sven’s kindness at helping Janie with the shop and with Vickie, Vance’s protection of Janie, and Janie’s own determination to clear Mia’s name of false charges are just a few examples of the caring within this community. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and would love to read more about Janie and her friends."

So exciting and so thankful to Bitten By Books for this fantastic review!!

:D

New Moon Review--Midnight Premiere

So the kids earned the midnight premiere of the sparkling vampires. I admit it. I liked the Twilight Saga. I read all the books... in reverse. If I had not read Breaking Dawn first, however, I would have gotten mad at Bella and never made it through. But I am not ten or twelve, my kids are, so their devotion is not tainted by adult perspective and frustration.

The movies, however, are twice the fun for me. Not only do I get to enjoy something I enjoyed in print on a big screen... I get to enjoy seeing my kids and seeing it through their less critical eyes.

Then again, at some points, they were more critical than I was.

All in all, the directors and actors and everyone involved did a truly fantastic job bringing Meyer's world to the big screen. I was laughing out loud at some lines. "Sure, when you put the dog out," quipped Alice and I was rolling. One of the werewolves fights had my daughter cringing, my son breathless and me grinning. Edward said quite charmingly at one point, "Bella, I will protect you from anything and everything..." In the background you hear Alice calling them. "Except my sister." I roared.

Other bits were disappointing. Victoria had zero lines. I could have sworn she had SOME. I love Victoria. Okay, I love Jane, too. I just love sparkly bloodsucking vampires. So much cooler than vegetarian vamps. Jane was awesome, by the way. But then again, as I have raised a beautiful little blond girl and realized a long time ago the true creepy potential in a blond sweet girl and always thought Dakota was missing her calling, I knew she was MADE for this role. She nailed it by the way.

Oh, and Aro? Yeah, creepy buggar. Other than the fact that his and Dakota's makeup looked a bit gooped on and with modern photoshopping I was sure we could have made them pale without using an inch of putty (couldn't we have?) he was wonderful. Three fave characters stayed the same as the book... Alice, Jasper and Jane with Victoria running a silent but red, banner of hair flowing third.

And my daughters one true love, JACOB?? Yes, my kid is a team Jacob. Actually, my whole brood are team Jacob (how did a vamper raise three shifter kids?) and he was great. Sharkboy has come a long way. I think he looks... A lot like little Carl. Really. And I mentioned that to Justice. She glared at me. Okay, that said, don't really get the tattoos other than great marketing idea, pretty and I still do not remember a darn thing in the book about shifter tats. Anybody? Tats?

*crickets*

Okay, that said, they were awesome looking and well done and those were really big MUFFINS. WTF. They were the size of Bella's HEAD. When you see the movie, watch for the werewolf muffins. Just saying.

Moving onward and upward, lovely cliffhanger ending to which I advised my kids they will have to READ ECLIPSE to find out what happens next *snark*

Actually, as it cuts off, I believe a ch or two into Moon, they may have to read a bit of that *chuckle*

But only if they want to know what happens next in a timely manner...
*Smiles sweetly*

Not that I planned that or anything when being a cool mom and bribing them with this movie... Nah. I am totally not that devious.

*Goes off to plot next 'way to get kids to read' plot*