TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to: Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!Please avoid spoilers!
Book Review: Dating Mr. Darcy by Sarah Arthur
Any girl who has seen Pride and Prejudice or read the Jane Austen novel knows that the much misunderstood Mr. Darcy is the ideal gentleman. But is it possible to find your own Mr. Darcy in today’s world of geeks and goons? With smart tips, spiritual insights, and discussions of Jane Austen’s popular stories and movies, best-selling author Sarah Arthur equips young women to gauge a guy’s Darcy Potential (DP) according to his relationships with family, friends, and God.
Weather you’re a single girl or not you can use this book as something to look at. It really does offer some practical advice to dating and just relationships in general. And if you’re a Jane Austen fan there is no doubt that you will enjoy the references to it. Dating Mr. Darcy was a fun and fast read that if you have just a couple of hours you can knock it off and have fun while doing it.
Musing Monday #13 – Gift Certs
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about gift certificates…
Do you give gift certificates to book stores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?
Oh yes I do. I give them out often. Usually I give out regular store ones. Unless I know the shopper prefers to shop online if that’s the case than I get them an online one.
Now for me I like Book Store GC (duh) and I will take ones for a real store or online. I do prefer online as it’s just easier for me right now with what’s going on. But also the most affordable shop so far is online.
Winners for Testimony by Anita Shreve
Book Review: Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Schuyler Van Alen is a freshman at the prestigious Duchesne School. A loner by nature, she finds her life thrown into turmoil when she turns 15. Suddenly she is allergic to the sun, craves raw food, and if she cuts herself, her blood is blue. Schuyler has no idea what is happening to her. As more and more curious things happen, Schuyler must confront her family and friends to discover the truth behind her blue blood. But there are bigger problems soon to be faced. When a girl in school is found dead, with mysterious bite marks on her neck, Schuyler is more confused than ever about her heritage…and her destiny.
While you can tell that Blue Bloods is obviously the set up book for the next book in the series it was still an enjoyable read. It has a likeable group of characters, and of course like others it has its dislikeable ones as well. One thing that makes me giggle a bit is that it seems the “bad guy” or bully is always blonde. In Blue Bloods it’s the popular girl Mimi Force. Ah but Mimi has a twin brother named Jack, who Schuyler ends up getting a crush on. To bad for them it doesn’t seem to be meant to be. Or so it seems. Never know what will happen later in the series.
You follow Blue Bloods along the line that it’s setting up, giving you information about the history of the Blue Bloods. Some of the better bits are when they comment about their exploits in Rome, and Egypt. It would seem as long as they have been on earth they are the people of influence and power. They have money, and are pretty much the elite. It was a fast read, and a good read but it is obvious that it’s a set up book.
When the book comes to its conclusion it’s not a conclusion at all. It is obvious you wont find out about the bad guys of the book (now I can’t tell you who that is it would give away a plot twist) are fully up to. You also won’t learn how to bring them down, unless of course you read on. Which I plan to. If you’re a series reader, like different takes on Vampires and don’t mind a smattering of religion and history Blue Bloods is for you.
The Sunday Salon – My First
This is my first Sunday Salon, so you will have to bear with me while I get my feet wet. Today I am going to talk a little bit about my trouble reading this month. I feel like it was a reading slump. I started the month ahead in my book reading, but I quickly fell behind because I could not keep focus on what I was reading. This is not the books fault; all of the books I have read have been good. Maybe not the greatest but none the less.
So what’s wrong with me? I will sit down to read and my mind will wander off to all the other things I should be seeing about doing. And I end up heading off to do those things. Or I end up taking a nap. I can say this month I have also been fairly sick this month perhaps that has something to do with it.
I am happy to report however that I have gotten myself back on task this week. And I am reading Blue Bloods currently which has gone fairly quickly I expect I will finish it today as long as I can keep my focus. So my fellow readers have you ever had reading slumps? And if you did what did you do to break it? I am enjoying my challenges and I am enjoying trying to keep on top of them as I know when renaissance comes I will fall behind. I have accepted that, Renaissance will keep me busy and I will have make up to do after it. I am planning on bringing books down there with me, but there’s no saying if I will have time to read any. Ha ha.
Quotable Sunday #10
This week I am a new Kitty Grandma again,one of my baby girls had some babies. So I am going to do Cat Quotes in their honor.
You can’t help that. We’re all mad here.” – The Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland
“No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Of all God’s creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” – Mark Twain
“With their qualities of cleanliness, discretion, affection, patience, dignity, and courage, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats?” – Fernand Mery Her Majesty the Cat
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” – Hippolyte Taine
Actually, cats do this to protect you from gnomes who come and steal your breath while you sleep. – John Dobbin
Don’t think that I’m silly for liking it, I just happen to like the simple little things, and I love cats! – Michelle Gardner
Everything I know I learned from my cat: When you’re hungry, eat. When you’re tired, nap in a sunbeam. When you go to the vet’s, pee on your owner. – Gary Smith
Fans think they want to see more than the 10 to 20 seconds of Itchy and Scratchy that we put on the show, but my feeling is less is more. Once you’ve skinned and flayed a cat, ripped his head off, made him drink acid and tied his tongue to the moon, there really isn’t that much to say. – Matt Groening, 1993
God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things. – Pablo Picasso
Book Review: The Wild Irish by Robin Maxwell
The glorious, turbulent sixteenth century is drawing to a close. Elizabeth, Queen of England, has taken on the mighty Spanish Armada and, in a stunning sea battle, vanquished it.But her troubles are far from over. At home she is challenged at every turn by the brilliant but reckless Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose dangerous mix of passion and political ambition drives the aging queen to distraction. Just across the western channel, her colony Ireland is embroiled in seething rebellion, the island’s fierce untamed clan chieftains and their “wild Irish” followers refusing to bow to their English oppressors.
In the midst of the conflict is Grace O’Malley, notorious pirate, gunrunner, and “Mother of the Irish Rebellion.” For years, the audacious Grace has plotted and fought against the English stranglehold on her beloved country. At the height of the uprising Grace takes an outrageous risk, sailing up the River Thames to London for a face-to-face showdown with her nemesis, the Queen of England.
The historic meeting of these two female titans — perfectly matched in guts, guile, and political genius — sets the stage for the telling of the little-known but crucial saga of Elizabeth’s Irish war, a conflict at the very root of every subsequent Irish uprising. No one breathes life into these strong and pugnacious women as does Robin Maxwell in this captivating novel, a rousing tale that makes history gloriously real.
Being Irish and the fan of the reign of Elizabeth I as well naturally I was drawn to this book. Now it did start off a little slow, I will not lie to you there. But once you get through about the first 30 pages or so the book picks up. After that first hard block it is like the writer found their rhythm and settles into telling you the story.
Getting to be privy to a fun fictional look at the meeting between the famous Queen and the famous Irish pirate is fantastic. Grace O’Malley was one tough cookie! The Irish Pirate Queen is a fantastic woman who stood up for what she believed in against the English. Now granted in true life not all of what she did was thought of as good, but nor was the tyranny the English committed against the Irish. And as much as I love Elizabeth I she was one of the worst with Irish relations.
But you have to admire how the famous meeting went between the two women when Ní Mháille (Grace)
Sons were taken captive she wasted no time in petitioning the great Queen and her enemy. She met with Elizabeth at Greenwich Palace, wearing a fine gown, the two of them surrounded by guards and the members of Elizabeth’s royal Court. Ní Mháille refused to bow before Elizabeth because she did not recognize her as the Queen of Ireland, and wished to show Elizabeth this. It is also rumored that Ní Mháille had a dagger concealed about her person, which guards found upon searching her. Elizabeth’s courtiers were said to be very upset and worried, but Ní Mháille informed the queen that she carried it for her own safety. Elizabeth accepted this and, though the dagger was removed from Ní Mháille’s possession, did not seem to worry The women were only 3 years apart in age, an its said they got along very well. Their meeting was conducted in Latin as Elizabeth did not speak Gaelic, and Ní Mháille spoke no English.
If you have a passion for history, and love the time period this is the book for you. It gives you a close look at not only the meeting but the inner workings of the court of the mighty English Queen. And just how much her courtiers were after. Generally their own purposes.