Skipping to a review or two...

Hello there! I know I said I'd post photos this week but I'm not feeling all that great and I don't have anything truly memorable to show... But I did read two more books and I want to review them now.
If you haven't read the books below beware my reviews might** contain SPOILERS.


Wisdom - By Amanda Hocking
American Vampire - By Jennifer Armintrout




First I finished the latest Vamp book by Amanda Hocking called Wisdom. It was even better than the previous books and I can't wait for the next one which is set to be published in July. This book seems to be Alice's journey towards the Title...Wisdom. She really is starting to lose that whiny quality that teens always seem to have in YA novels. It's not untrue of teens, just a fact of life and a normal part of growing up. What grown woman doesn't have those moments in her past? Anyway, this book continues the crisis of the last book and the possible continuing of the tearing apart of their vampire family. In the previous book we found out that Mae's grand daughter is dying and that Mae wanted to turn her and Ezra did not. As in most vamp worlds, child vamps are evil uncontrollable abominations usually killed upon others finding out they exist. Mae turned the child, Daisy, and they are now living in Australia with Peter. The great thing about this book is that it has started to tie up some of the plot lines that have run through the course of the series. Some in messier ways than others and some are left until the 5th book. (I assume) Alice seems to be growing up and is starting to see the life that is before her. Now that she is a vampire, there is time for pretty much anything and she needs to start living instead of merely existing. While Alice seems to be growing, Jack on the other hand is staying almost exactly the same. He's still jealous of Peter, he's still immature, and he doesn't seem to be growing with Alice. Although since he's a 40 year old vamp already, should he grow more or is this just who he is? It just seems to me that the author may be changing Alice into a person more suited to be with Peter than with Jack. If that happens, I wouldn't mind reading a spin-off about Jack finding his true love IF he manages to start evolving. Mae's evolution hasn't been great. Although that, in my opinion, is where the author sent her and not an opinion on the quality of her journey. From the start you could tell that Mae had a very overwhelming desire to continue to be a mother in all forms of the word. I just hope she is finally going to find some peace and stay with Ezra! At least 3 months until the next book... can't wait! 3 Clovers!



The second book I read this week was American Vampire. I completely devoured this book. I started reading it at 7:30pm and finished at10:45pm. I am a speed reader but I did manage to read almost every word. It took me a bit to get into the book but like her previous vamp books, once I was hooked there was no putting the book down until I was done. I HAD to know what was going to happen. And thankfully the major plot line DOES get resolved although I was entirely shocked at how that came about. This one has a vampire on the way to his sire's 4th of July party when he gets thoroughly lost after hitting a button on his GPS turning all the words into Spanish.... Although I do wonder why a 44 year old vamp still doesn't know Spanish. Anyway he is passing through some random small town in Ohio and sees a gas station he's hoping to get a map from. Turns out the place is closed down and abandoned. He runs into Jessa there, a local woman running from IT... a beast that has been terrorizing the locals for 5 years now. It seems the town is stuck and isolated from the world. No one can enter and no one can leave... Except Graf the vampire did so what happened? I wasn't too keen on Graf and Jessa hooking up for almost half the story because they just don't seem to fit. Plus while I like imperfect heroines... I didn't like her that much. But the story and characters grew on me to the point where this was one of the most refreshing reads I've had in awhile. Maybe I'm too gullible but I didn't see the plot turning the way it did. I'm doing my best now to NOT try and guess the endings so that I can really enjoy my books. And this one rocked. Now I need to go pick up a physical copy for my shelf. 4 Clovers!

Ta ta for now and Happy Reading!

New ratings!

Happy Friday! Today is Photo Friday and I'll be posting pics a bit later in the day. I wanted to hop online to tell you guys that I'm adding a rating system. I regularly visit a bunch of different book blogs and the best thing they have in my opinion, besides looking amazing and having awesome giveaways, is a rating system with nifty little graphics. I haven't designed my graphic just yet but as I'm the Irish Housewife, I know it'll be a clover! So as such I've added my ratings on the left side of the blog. For now it's a 4 Clover system but I may make it 5 if I think I need to be more specific. This is just the first of many things I want to add over the next few months. As I stated above, many blogs do giveaways and I will be starting my own in the future. As of now I will probably do one a month as soon as I hit 10 followers. If that number grows, so will the number of giveaways...hint hint! I read so much and purchase books so often that my shelves are always over flowing. We need bookcases so much that we have stacks of books on our dressers, nightstands, and end tables! And since I pick up so many books, I always end up with doubles here and there or I replace paperbacks with hardcovers for the books I really adored.

So spread the word because the first giveaway will not be one book... or even two. I want to start with a bang so THREE books it is! I need help picking the type of books to hand out so comment and tell me what your favorite genre is and why?

My favorite genre by far is Urban Fantasy. That seems to be the best place to find great Paranormal reads without TOO much erotica or romance. I like a healthy balance. And if I had to choose a kind of paranormal creature to be...Vampire all the way. They've always fascinated me even after seeing True Blood's violent and almost feral vamps. The idea of living so long and being able to learn and see so much is very exciting to me.

That's it folks! Spread the word! Ta ta for now....

In My Mailbox (2)

It's Monday and it's time again for In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren. I got quite a few this week so take a look!

Aurelia - Anne Osterlund
My Fair Godmother - Janette Rallison
Gawain & Lady Green - Anne Eliot Crompton
The Runaway McBride - Elizabeth Thronton
Necking - Chris Salvatore
Haunting Jordan - P.J. Alderman
Why I Let My Hair Grow Out - Maryrose Wood
How I Found The Perfect Dress - Maryrose Wood
What I Wore To Save The World - Maryrose Wood
Shadow of the Vampire - Meagan Hatfield
Seducing the Vampire - Michele Hauf
Blood on Silk - Marie Treanor

Not pictured:
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart - Beth Patillo
The Season - Sarah Maclean
Changeling - Delia Sherman
Morganville Vampires Vol. 2 - Rachel Caine

16 books is a fantastic week. Now if I can get through one or even two I'll be thrilled! Life has gotten pretty hectic lately. One of my best friends is coming home from two years of living in Texas in two weeks time, my mother just got engaged for the 5th time, and we are debating real estate versus renting and having children. Loads going on!

Anyone have any recommendations for what I should read after I finish Wisdom by Amanda Hocking?

Ta ta for now....

Photo Friday

Today is Photo Friday so I'll throw a couple pics in before I get down to chatting. These are a couple of my newest Pocket Dragons and my personal favorite. Pocket Dragons are collectible depictions of friendly dragons in various situations. They were designed by Real Musgrave and his wife from 1989 to 2005 when they retired. They were based on black and white drawings he did in the 70's. There was even a tv show that ran for 52 episodes. I got into collecting them when a friend showed me them on a website. I was instantly hooked by their adorable little faces. My best friends and my husband have purchased all my dragons for me, and some big help from my mother-in-law on Ebay! I have 14 currently in my possession and TEN more on the way! My first two came from my best friend in the world. He's awesome. :)


This is the Dragon called "Hat Box Hideway". Isn't she adorable? I hadn't seen this one before and it came complete with it's unique hat box style original box so I snagged it!



This is "Believe in Dragons". I love it because it's not only got 3 dragons but a book too! I have no idea where this one will go since it's bigger than any of the ones I currently have. I think I'm going to have to make room in one of my glass cabinets for them soon!


This is the dragon that got me into them in the first place. She's called "But Dragons Don't Wash Dishes". Tee hee.... At the time that I saw this one it was almost impossible to get me to do dishes. I hated them with a passion. Even using the dishwasher was a chore I detested. I didn't mind all the other chores but for some reason dishes were more abhorrent than anything else on my list! My wonderful husband bought her for me last year. And the funny thing is, I don't mind dishes nearly so much anymore. Now washing the toilets on the other hand....!


This week I've started Amanda Hocking's "My Blood Approves" Series. I believe it's a young adult series and it's kind of similar to Twilight but I haven't seen any sign of werewolves yet and I'm on book 3. But there is a love triangle and it is set in high school. While there are many parallels to be drawn between the two series, I have to say I prefer this one. It could just be the over exposure of Meyer's work and the endless comparisons to Harry Potter that I find ridiculous but who knows. I really enjoyed the first book and it hooked me pretty quick. The main character is likable enough but I do find her to be tedious at times. I want to kick her and tell her to fight more for what she wants. I think my favorite character so far is her little brother. His story line hasn't been too surprising but it has been great. I can't wait to see what happens to him.


I usually pick my books based on which cover snags my interest and then secondly the storyline. Having over 2,000 books in the house necessitates a different selection process. While I love having so many choices it can be hard to narrow down what to read next! I gravitated to these books because of the lovely covers. There are many new books coming out this year that are just as eye catching, if not more so. I'll do a post soon on my picks for best covers expected this year
so far.

That's it for this post. Ta ta for now!

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a feature most book blogs run once a week about the books they received in their mailbox, in swaps, from the library, or any other way in the past week. This is what I got:

1.) Visions of Magic By Regan Hastings

2.) Homicide in Hardcover By Kate Carlisle (though not in hardcover!)

3.) Jane Goes Batty By Michael Thomas Ford

4.) Georgette Heyer's Regency World

5.) The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance

I'm currently expecting 10 more books soon-ish. And we'll see what pops up on PBS in the next few days too off my wish list!

Happy Reading! Ta ta for now!

Quick Post: Photo

This is my little rug rat kitten Darcy. She's getting bigger every day but she's still not as big as I thought she'd be at 2 years old! But she's very stretchy! :)

I'm BACK!

Hello there! It's been weeks since my last post I know. I got so busy with planning our anniversary vacation, house cleaning, packing, and being sick that the blog had to go on the back burner. But now I'm home and I can relax and get back to my 2011 challenge and updating my blog.


I read a few books over the course of our vacation and I'll review them in this post. Just to warn ya, I did jump genres! But before I get started I'll give you a bit of history on my love of reading and how it went down through the years...

The first books I started reading when I was younger were romances. Yeah, yeah I can hear your teasing... But if it got me into the world of reading, does it really matter?? Nope, not one damn bit. So back to my point... I started reading them but branched out as I got older. And to be honest, I read so fast that the authors and types of romances I was interested in dried up. I simply read too fast. But before I left the romances behind, I stumbled across the A&E Pride & Prejudice special and got sucked in. That led me to Jane Austen and then on to Regency Romances, (books set in the same time frame as Jane's) which I devoured! When I was 12 I went through 100 books in one months time. No book was under 300 pages and most were 400+. Reading was my refuge from the reality I hated. Well...after the romance section dried up for me, I slipped into a Michael Crichton and John Grisham phase for awhile. Jurassic Park is one of my all time favorites and so is The Lost World. Yes you can bite me if you think that book (TLW) and movie sucked. I LOVED them! As for Grisham, I liked Runaway Jury and The Client the most. Although I have to say as hard as it was to read, A Time To Kill was an excellent book too. After those I slipped into the Anne Rice thing for a bit with her Mayfair Witches series and anything that WASN'T the Vampire books. Which is hilarious now since I adore vampire books and anything to do with vampires! (Unless it sparkles, then it's a passing interest...lol) I think my favorite by Anne Rice is The Mummy. Awesome book and I REALLY wish she had written a 2nd. And this is the point that I found Paranormal books of all kinds... Romance, Urban Fantasy, and more recently young adult paranormal fiction. I got started with Christine Feehan's Dark Series and it kinda snow balled from there! I grabbed everything I could find that sounded remotely good. And at the time there was WAY less out there than now. Plus the paranormal stuff didn't get published much unless it was under Romance. That's probably why I prefer them to have at least an underlying romance to the story to be satisfied. While reading Charlaine Harris I found out she had started as a regular mystery author. I jumped into those and liked them too. I've discovered I will read pretty much anything if it sounds interesting. So that is my history of reading.


The first book I read over vacation was "A Matter of Class" by Mary Balogh. I happened to see this by the register of the book store the day before we left. The cover hooked me and reeled me in. And I was not disappointed in the least! This is my first Georgian/Regency novel in years and it was a shorter one than normal for me at 224 pages. It jumps back and forth between the two main characters in the past and present which I found a bit confusing. But once I got used to it, the story really picked up. The ending was a bit of a surprise, although I'm sure if I'd been less distracted by the train ride, I might have picked up on it. I liked both the hero and the heroine a lot. For a short book they were well developed. I'm going to read more by this author since I loved this one so much. It's short and well rounded so it's going on my re-read list.


Next was Kim Harrison's latest, Pale Demon. OMG I loved this book. While LKH is dragging her books into the sewers, Ms. Harrison is really showing how talented she is. This book had so much action I found myself putting it down just so I could breathe! There was some heart wrenching character development but I'm glad she's and author that isn't afraid to make her characters grow! No boring old books here.... That's all on this book because you really need to just go read it and I don't want to spoil it!

After Pale Demon I really needed a light read so I went back to the Regency Romance. I read "The Heiress" by Lyndsay Sands. It's actually the 2nd book in the series but that's ok. This one reminded me in some ways of my early relationship with my husband, so I enjoyed it more than some people might have. The plot was pretty standard for this genre but I liked how it played out. Here's the synopsis:

Desperately seeking a husband . . .

Suzette is not like other heiresses; she wants a poor husband, a gentleman who will be so grateful for her dowry that he will allow her access to it so that she can pay off her father's gambling debts. When this alluring beauty encounters Daniel Woodrow—handsome, titled, single . . . and even more impoverished than she could have hoped for—it seems Suzette's wildest dreams have come true.

But Daniel has not been truthful. Tired of being accosted by an endless stream of vapid coquettes and their fortune-hunting mothers, Daniel has decided to plead poverty to stop them in their tracks. Yet here is a most refreshing and delectable lady, who claims to be thrilled by his penury. Now all Daniel has to do to find true happiness is to keep a little white lie alive . . . while avoiding a villain who's determined to prevent this union by any means necessary.

Sounds a bit cheesy and it was. But I enjoy this kinda thing sometimes and it's not "fluff" as much as regular romances are.

I seem to be stuck on Regency right now but I wanted something paranormal for my next read. I had picked up a trilogy about a year ago about 3 vampires in Regency England. These are SO vamp romance but they aren't bodice rippers which rocks. (I really hate bodice rippers, I skips whole chapters... if I want naughty fun like that, I'll grab my hubby!) I should be done with this one today. Doesn't it look silly?!? I'm enjoying it!

Ta ta for now!