Author: Ambrosia

I love to Travel don’t you?

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I don’t know about you readers but I love to travel, there is just something fantastic about seeing new places and people and adventures to be had. Whether you are going to New Zealand, Russia or visiting new places in the United States there are so many things to see. One place I have not been able to visit yet but I want to is the Highlands of North Carolina.

Aside from the area just being a fantastic and beautiful place the Highlands offer a wide variety of places to see , there really is something for everyone. If you like to adventure outdoors and see some of the natural wonders of the world there are the fantastic Dry falls that you can see or White side mountain offers a stunning view according to everyone who visits. There is the fantastic Highlands playhouse if you want a little bit of nightlife entertainment they put on musicals and have started showing movies. Want to look for an interactive activity you can do with the whole family, boys or girls the Jackson Hole Gem Mine offers a day of fun and you can go home with something pretty that was also educational. For golfers they say that you can find some of the best golfing in the United States in North Carolina including the stunning and challenging Cullasaja Club. No matter what you decide to do, just take a trip and have fun!

50 shades of….SERIOUSLY?

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So this is the current article going about..

You should probably think twice before borrowing erotica from your local public library. I mean, for the obvious reasons, but also because Belgian scientists recently found a library copy of Fifty Shades of Grey bearing trace amounts of herpes. And do you really think that’s an isolated incident?

The experiment was just a fun diversion: a bacteriologist and a toxicologist teamed up recently to analyze the ten most-borrowed books from the Antwerp library, including everyone’s favorite sexy Twilight ripoff. (Again: who was borrowing this book?) The first surprise: they found small amounts of cocaine. No, not in Fifty Shades. In all of them. All ten of the books featured coke as a supporting player—and though the researchers assure their audience that it wasn’t enough to give subsequent readers a contact high, it would most certainly cause them to fail a drug test.

The herpes found in E.L. James’s masterpiece and one other book was also not enough to get future readers sick. But it was definitely enough to gross them out a little. So stay safe, kids: the next time you pick up a masturbatory tome, invest a little in your own copy. That way your herpes can stay your herpes.

Source

My first thought was EWWW. My Second thought was why on earth is someone getting pad to test this kind of stuff? We know that traces of everything is on everything by now don’t we? I mean do we really need to test it and remind everyone of it? I mean really I get my wonderful library books often enough. Yeesh the things they research these days.

Michael Masterson a man of many things..

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Michael Masterson is a well known author, entrepreneur, publisher, real estate investor, and filmmaker and art collector among other things. His real name is Mark M. Ford but he has long been known by his pen name Michael Masterson. His works include Ready, Fire Aim: Zero to 100 Million in no time flat and One hip book among others. I can honestly say in general I am always a little curious and hesitant to read books that talk about how to build wealth, I mean who wouldn’t be with all the ones out there that offer nothing overly fantastic to talk about.
However when I did some research on Mr. Masterson it is clear to see he really is an entrepreneur that has made his money not just on giving advice but in other venues. A man like that just might have something to teach so I gave some of his books a read and I am so pleased that I did because there is valuable knowledge in them. He lays his books out in a very easy to understand format and you can really sink your teeth into the information that they offer. Now I don’t think I am going to have a lot of money overnight (just not my kind of thinking) but I can see where to invest and ways to make my money grow.

Book Review: Vampire Kisses (Vampire Kisses #1) by Ellen Schreiber

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In her small town, dubbed “Dullsville,” sixteen-year-old Raven — a vampire-crazed goth-girl — is an outcast. But not for long…

The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people — especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander’s loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.

Ellen Schreiber’s spooky and stirring romance tells the story of two outsiders who fall in love in a town where conformity reigns, and ends with a shocking surprise

This is a record…breaking out the images twice in one week, but I am going to do it.

Tell me why was this book written? Then tell me why did I read it? I mean really why did I read the whole thing. I can not think of a whole lot to put here other then it was just bad. The characters were not developed at all. And the story was just bad. The title is deceiving too I mean yeah it was just. Do not read this one folks your time is better invested elsewhere.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Winds of Salem (The Beauchamp Family #3) by Melissa de la Cruz

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Modern-day witch Freya Beauchamp is cast back in time to 1692 amongst the Salem Witch Trials by an enemy spell, as her present-day family attempts to reopen the passages of time to bring her home.
SOON TO BE A LIFETIME TELEVISION SERIES!

Freya Beauchamp is trapped in 1692, in Salem of all places, with no recollection of her past. A powerful enemy spell has sent her spiraling away so that she is separated by centuries from her mother, Joanna, and sister, Ingrid. This is not good news for a twenty-first-century witch. Not to mention the immediate threat she faces from the wealthy and influential Putnam family. When little Annie Putnam is one of the first to make accusations of witchcraft, her landowner father jumps at the opportunity to consolidate his power and expand his holdings in Puritan Salem Town. If Freya is caught using magic, she will be forced to relive the witch trials, and this time, even her immortality is in question.

Meanwhile, twenty-first-century North Hampton has its own snares. Joanna and Norm consult the Oracle for advice, and Freddie and his pixie allies search for a missing totem that could reopen the passages of time and help bring his sister home. When Ingrid bumps into an old flame, she finds that her new love for Detective Matt Noble is in doubt.

Moving between past and present, Winds of Salem’s dizzying plot twists and page-turning suspense is sure to bewitch fans old and new.

I start to get twitchy when I see the big announcement of a series being made into a TV series. While I have enjoyed some book to TV shows (Dexter, True Blood) over all I still get twitchy especially such a new series, because you can not help to ask okay so is the book going to start being written more with a focus to the TV show.

I am not sure if that is what happened with this one or not, but I have to say for me a series that Started out with such a Bang getting a 5 gem review from me has ended with a whimper. This book was even more convoluted then the last one and just a lot of it was so sophmoric I do not know what to think about it anymore. Sadly I think this might be a case where the writer has been writing YA long enough they can not dig into the meat of an adult read and progress the characters in the right adult kind of way. I mean these are supposed to be ancient Nordic gods here.. and they don’t act like it.

In fact I do not usually put GIF’s in my book reviews..but I think this one fits..I suspect even the comic book version of Loki would be saying this.. about this group of Nords.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Serpent’s Kiss (The Beauchamp Family, #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

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The intriguing Beauchamp family, introduced in the New York Times bestselling Witches of East End, returns in Serpent’s Kiss, with dizzying plot twists and spellbinding magic. Joanna and her daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild-child Freya, are just settling into the newfound peace that has been cast over their small, off-the map town of North Hampton. With the centuries-old restriction against practicing magic lifted, casting spells, mixing potions, and curing troubled souls has never felt so good for the three witches. That is, until everything gets turned upside down–from Joanna’s organized kitchen to Ingrid’s previously nonexistent love life to Freya’s once unshakeable faith in her sexy soul mate, Killian Gardiner. When Freya’s twin brother, Freddie, suddenly returns, escaped from Limbo and professing innocence on a long-ago crime, Freya should be ecstatic. The golden boy can do no wrong. Or can he? Freddie blames no other than her fiancÉ Killian for his downfall, and enlists Freya’s help to prove it. Now Freya doesn’t know who to believe or trust. And for the first time in–well, forever, really–Ingrid is also busy in love. Matt Noble, the handsome and charming police detective, has won her heart. But can romance work between a virgin witch and a mortal who doesn’t believe in magic? Things get even more complicated when it appears Ingrid is harboring the prime suspects in Matt’s police investigation. To add to the chaos, a dead spirit is attempting to make contact with Joanna–but does it mean to bring harm or help? Joanna asks her sort-of ex-husband Norman to help figure it out, only to accidentally invite him to a Thanksgiving dinner with a dapper gentleman she’s recently begun dating. As the witches pull together to discover the serpent within their midst and the culprit behind Freddie’s imprisonment, everything is thrown into peril. Will the discovery come too late to save those they love most? Melissa de la Cruz weaves all this and more in a blockbuster sequel that is not to be missed by her fans, and one that is sure to enchant new readers of the series.

I had such high hopes for this book because I really loved the first one. However for me Serpent’s kiss just kind of fell short of what I would have expected. The story gets convoluted with just to much going on around it. There were to many sub plots that did not really get hashed or fleshed out enough to really hold my interest. I love a book that has a lot going on, but there is such a thing as to much going on especially when none of it seems to form fully.

So while on some levels it was nice to spend some time with the North Hampton girls again overall this one just kind of left me feeling dissapointed and a little bit cold that had nothing to do with the chilly weather.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #7) by Laurell K. Hamilton

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“You can’t trust anyone who sleeps with the monsters.”

That’s what I’ve always said. That’s what I’ve always believed. But now I’m the one sharing a bed with the Master Vampire of the City. Me, Anita Blake. The woman the vampires call the Executioner. From part of the solution, I’ve become part of the problem. So it hits close to home when an arsonist begins to target vampire-owned businesses all over town — an arsonist who seems to want to destroy more than just property. It’s the monsters who are in danger now. And it’s up the the Executioner to save them from the inferno..

I think if I was Anita I would decide to run away and never return with how much her ass is usually up in alligators. That happens to be the case again in Burnt offerings, and what is worse is that of course her and Jean Claude are at odds with Richard. Not to mention that when the council comes to town they make things even worse on Anita and her gang. So what do you do when the chips are down? Dress up and fight back with a lot of ammo and everything else.

I really enjoyed this installment of the Anita Blake series and I have to say it is the first one that really really made me say OH YEAH this is why I am reading it. We see such a nice variety of vampires that can all do different things. Some are monsters, some appear to be monsters and are not and some are just pretty decent. I give this one a big recommend.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Lost in Time (Blue Bloods #6) by Melissa de la Cruz

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The stakes have never been higher for the young Blue Bloods of Manhattan. After their brief yet beautiful bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force depart for Egypt, desperate to find the elusive Gate of Promise before Jack must face his twin, Mimi, for a blood trial. A blood trial that only one of them can survive. But everything Schuyler thought she knew about the gate turns out to be a lie, and they soon find themselves ensnared in a deadly battle against the demon-born. Schuyler and Jack take up arms, only to realize that there is a much graver threat simmering in the Kingdom of the Dead.

Meanwhile, determined to save the only vampire she still loves, Mimi has followed Kingsley Martin into Hell. With the help of her new human Conduit, Oliver Hazard-Perry, Mimi makes a bargain with the Queen of the Dead that she may soon regret. When the time comes to choose between love and revenge, both Mimi and Oliver will learn the true meaning of sacrifice.

confronted by danger, betrayal, and loss at every turn, the Blue Bloods must find the will to fight – and love – another day

This one is much better then Bloody Valentine the Novella and I feel more on par with what is going on in the series again. So very good on that end of things. Some of it just seemed to drag a little and seemed like filler, but overall I enjoyed this this installment of the Blue Bloods novels. We are getting closer to the end game of finding the gates, having indeed found a gate to hell. I do hope we get to the other gate soon, the actual gate of promise or as is being hinted the gate to paradise.

Kingsley is back as well and there is a lot of very teenage go around with that between Mimi and him while Oliver just kind of hangs out and seems a little gullible. I wish they would make him the solid smart lad he was before. Overall a 4 rating because the story itself was enjoyable. It did not however keep me overly invested in the series other then the fact I have already invested so much time in it and I want to see what happens.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Destined (House of Night #9) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

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Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet – which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx’s gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father’s shadow…

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia’s handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there’s the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more – or possibly less – than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there’s something strangely familiar about him…

Will Neferet’s true nature be revealed before she succeeds in silencing them all? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox’s humanity in time to protect him – and everyone – from his own fate? Find out what’s destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

Okay in general I feel the last line of the book description is a little deceiving as we do not get to much into Aurox and his humanity, some yes more then when we first met him yes but it was not the entire crux of the story. That said I really enjoyed this installment of House of Night. I love the play and different views of characters and what we learn from them. My favorite part although it made me cry and cry a lot was that Dragon who I always enjoyed and wanted to get to know better redeemed himself from the path of being very close to darkness that he was going to walk.

Lenobia gets more of a story in this version as well and we slowly start to learn some more about the horse Mistress. I loved the action in this one but I really loved that we are branching out and getting to know some of the “secondary” and older characters within the book as well not just the teens. I am looking forward to the next installment.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Bloody Valentine (Blue Bloods #5.5) by Melissa de la Cruz

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The Blue Bloods have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shape-shift, and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even those immortal vampires, has total control. In Bloody Valentine, part of the best-selling Blue Bloods series, author Melissa de la Cruz offers three tantalizing stories that delve deep into the love lives of the all-powerful vamps (and their Red Blood friends) from New York’s Upper East Side. Might a witchy new girl help cure Oliver’s broken heart? How did Allegra fall in love with a human? Will Schuyler and Jack finally be bonded?

Romantic and sensual, Bloody Valentine reveals the undying love, the hope and devastation, and the lust and longing that have defined the Blue Bloods throughout history. Prepare to be swept off your feet.

Personally with this one I found that the description promised a lot and the writing did not deliver. It was all smashed in to fit the novella and a lot of what happened was just to fast and not very clear. There was also a pop in by a character from the Witches of East end that just kind of made my eyebrows go up a bit. I guess it does not seem completely off to tie your books together, but still.

So while it was not the worst thing I have ever read but it was not the greatest either. I think the author might have been better off putting it into the first chapters of the next book in the series. It was useful on some things, but other then just getting some loose ends taken care of.

My Gemstone Rating:

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