Author: Ambrosia

Teaser Tuesday 8/13/13

- Ambrosia 4 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“And John….” she breaks off. “John is a loss to me and to his generations.”, she says quietly. “Your Brother John has his whole life ahead of him.” pg 101 The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory

Musing Monday 8/12/13

- Ambrosia 1 Comment

Musing Monday is hosted over at Should Be Reading.

 

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My muse today is a pretty simple one. Are there any books that you wish would be made into movies? Oh but not just movies epic 18-20 hour ones that are perfectly cast? I can think of many yes I can MANY….presently I am pondering the whole Cynster series…

Book Review: Blood and Roses by A.K. Alexander

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Someone is torturing and killing high-stakes players in the horse-racing world, deliberately mimicking equine injuries. Legs shattered, knees hobbled, shot point-blank between the eyes, all signs point to an animal activist gone rogue. But San Diego CSI Holly Jennings knows better. She’s seen enough violence in her time to know the difference between a killer bent on revenge and a killer seeking sheer destruction.

To stop him, Holly must venture beyond the gleaming facade of jockey silks and Derby hats into the seedy underbelly of the racing world, where ambition and greed trump ethics and fair play, and people will do anything—even kill—to win. But just when she thinks the killer is within her reach, a ghost from the past returns to threaten it all: her case, her job…and her life

It has been a while again since I have read a dirty and gritty crime novel, but what can I say I love anything in the horse racing area so I thought I would give this one a try. I love the idea behind this book and the writing pretty much carries that out. There were a few parts that for me dragged a little and could have either been cleaned up more, or left out all together.

Other than that this really is a win if you are a lover of mystery and thriller genre. It has everything you could want for that and set in the horse racing world. I will be looking for some more by this author when I am in the mood for a good thriller again.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Yip/Tuck (Pampered Pets Mystery #4) by Sparkle Abbey

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

A killer has been unleashed.
Book Three in the bestselling Pampered Pets Mystery Series

One of Laguna Beach’s best-known plastic surgeons may need a new leash on life. Unless he’s just taking a very long nap on the bench outside Melinda Langston’s Bow Wow Boutique . . .

This was a short, fun and enjoyable read for me. It was actually the first book I have read by this author, and I plan now to go back and read the other books in the series. I really enjoyed this as a cozy it was fast, fun and I finished it really fast. If you are new to the cozy mystery genre I think this would be a good place for you to start. If you are not new you are going to enjoy it anyways. I think I smiled the whole way through this one if that gives you any idea of the fun I had while reading it.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra’s daughter is the one woman with the power to destroy an empire…

Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.

The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra’s daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother’s throne be more than she’s willing to pay

In this second book of the Cleopatra’s Daughter Series we see Selene start to really come into her own. Once she is married and away from the Evil Octavian (I won’t even start on what he did to her on her wedding night) she starts to find her own way. She reveals in the power she has as a Queen to make peoples lives easier, she has a beautiful Daughter with her Brother Helios (modern minds don’t judge this was common in Egypt) and her magic really is coming to itself as well.

I loved this book and can not wait to read more. Of course I have my personal wishes and wants whenever I read a book from this era (more Antony!) but truly this was a well written story. There is not much really known historically about Selene besides her parents and she was a Queen in her own right. So it is interesting to watch the path she walks, eagerly towards getting Egypt back in the name of her Mother, but is that really what she wants?

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss by Deb Marlowe

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The Wicked Lord DayleCharles Alden, Viscount Dayle, is intent on reform, having misspent his youth on hard living, soft women and outrageous pranks. Forced by circumstance to hold a title he never wanted, he’s determined to live up to his noble name.

The Unconventional Miss Westby

Sophie Westby is the last woman who should attract his interest. And yet she comforts his battered spirit, captivates his wary mind and tempts him with her exotic beauty. But the reformed rake cannot cause another scandal–can he?

This book is exactly what you would think it should be, a typical formatted bodice ripper. Reformed Rake, lovely Lady and in the end they fall in love. Moreover I positively love this book for being what it should be. While it follows the formula that you see in bodice ripper books it is still unique and so enjoyable. There were times I wanted to clout both characters around the ear and say “COME ON NOW YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO BE TOGETHER”. I love that Sophie is who she is and does not apologize for it and I positively love how Charles goes about declaring himself in the end. That made me smile the most in this book. If you want a fast and enjoyable read I would say pick up this book it was such fun.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Dragonwich

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Who Will Dare to Face the Dragonwitch?

Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.

But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.

And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice…and for the one person who can wield it.

I was not aware that this was part of a series when I signed up for the tour, but I am so glad that it is. I am now going to go back and read the others. That said Dragonwich can stand on it’s own feet and is a book apart. The story is deep and entrancing and takes you on an adventure as you flip through each page. There were moments when I thought I had it all figured out, and then I was shown that I really did not know anything at all. This is one of the better Fantasy reads that I have read all summer.

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 8/13/13

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

My Gemstone Rating:

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Challenge Updates as of August 1st.

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Wow okay I have not done an update of my challenges in a little bit and after going through and updating my challenge page I can say I am completed with all but two. I have 6 more books I need to read this year for challenges. Not to bad if you ask me! I have more more Animal challenge book and 5 more for the TBR challenge. Going great if I do say so.

I had to update my overall challenge again because of how much I am reading. I took the jump and named 100 books for the year to be my goal. Don’t think I will fly by this one like I have the last two but you never know. Great year for books!

Book Review: The Goddess Chronicle (Canongate Myths #13)

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

From internationally bestselling crime writer Natsuo Kirino comes a mythical feminist noir about family secrets, broken loyalties, and the search from truth in a deceitful world.

In a place like no other, on a mystical island in the shape of tear drop, two sisters are born into a family of oracles. Kamikuu is admired far and wide for her otherworldly beauty; small and headstrong Namima learns to live in her sister’s shadow. On her sixth birthday, Kamikuu is chosen to become the next Oracle, serving the realm of light, while Namima is forced to serve the realm of darkness—destined to spend eternity guiding the spirits of the deceased to the underworld.

As the sisters serve opposite fates, Namima embarks on a journey that takes her from the experience of first love to the aftermath of scalding betrayal. Caught in an elaborate web of treachery, she travels between the land of the living and the Realm of the Dead, seeking vengeance and closure.

At the heart of this exquisitely dark tale, Kirino masterfully reimagines the ancient Japanese creation myth of Izanami and Izanaki. A provocative, fantastical saga, The Goddess Chronicle tells a sumptuous story of sex, murder, gods and goddesses, and bittersweet revenge

Oh I wanted to love this book instead I only liked it. I can not complain with how it was written, or the plot and how everything was presented all of that was well done. To me there just seemed to be a little something missing, and I think that happens when you can not read the book in the original language. I think something just comes off as missing and a little bit try. That is how I felt about this one anyways. I would still recommend it to people to at least give it a try, you might not feel anything was missing like I did.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Teaser Tuesday 7/30/13

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

With a jar of wine and a basket of barley cakes, I went to the old temple of Isis. With Saturnalia celebrants still stumbling drunk about the city there was no one to stop me. Pg. 206 Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

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