Wednesday Reads and Merry Christmas

I did it! I reached my goal (and then some). Whoo hoo! Here’s what I read this week:

Dec 16: “The Best Revenge” by Anne R. Allen, # 3 in the Camilla Randall Mystery series, a novel at 257 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: In this prequel to Anne R. Allen's Camilla Randall mysteries, a young debutante loses everything: fortune, love, and eventually even her freedom when a TV star's murder is mistakenly laid at her feet. Through it all, Camilla perseveres, however, and comes to learn that she is made of sterner stuff than anyone might have imagined, herself included. In typical Anne R. Allen fashion, the plot twists and turns from one breathless misadventure to another, leading to a finish sure to catch the reader by surprise. I follow Anne’s blog and never read any of her work before, so when this one came on sale, I decided to give it a try. Not sure what genre it falls under, but it was an enjoyable read and hard to put down. However, I will not read the rest of the series. I see that they’re written in first person (this one was in third) and she’s divorced—not my HEA after all (not that this was a romance, but still, disappointing to discover). I did like this book, though and I’m glad I read it, even if I don’t know what genre it falls under (because this isn’t your typical mystery since Camilla isn’t trying to solve anything—only survive her naiveté).

Dec 20: “Sudden Death” by Allison Brennan, #1 of the FBI Trilogy, a romantic suspense at 424 pages. Blurb from book: When a homeless veteran is found dead in a squalid Sacramento alley, FBI special agent Megan Elliott vows to find the murdered hero’s killer. Her investigation gets complicated fast, for the victim, a former Delta Force soldier, is just one link in a nationwide spree of torture and murder. Straight off a job rescuing medical missionaries, solder-for-hire Jack Kincaid returns to his home base in the Texas border town of Hidalgo only to receive the news that one of his closest colleagues—also ex-military—has been brutally murdered. Faced with an inept local police force, Jack takes matters into his own hands. Now, as part of a national task force to stop the sadistic killings, by-the-book Megan and burn-the-book Jack form a tense alliance, sparked with conflict and temptation. But they struggle against more than passion, for a vicious pair of killers has only just begun a rampage of evil…and the primary target is much closer than Megan suspects. Whooo! Quite a page turner. I loved getting to know Jack better since I only knew him as a minor character in the Lucy Kincaid series (he’s her older brother). I’m such an addict for this type of book. Give me more!

I will not post anything on Friday, so let me wish you a Merry Christmas now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I’ll be back here Monday (and I’ll let you know how the new Star Wars movie was—I’ve already got the tickets for Saturday!!).

FYI – Last night we watched “Love, Actually.” “Die Hard” has been selected as the Christmas Eve movie. Guess that leaves “While You Were Sleeping” or “White Christmas” for tonight. Hmmm… Hard to decide. Maybe we can watch both!

So… What do you normally do on Christmas Eve? Watch movies? Play games? Open presents? When the kids were small, I used to give them a gift to open on Christmas Eve (something fun or goofy). It was a good bribe to get them to go to bed early. Don’t need to bribe them anymore. They don’t live here! Haha!

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas! Hope you get LOTS and LOTS of books!

Stacy

I Bought a New Laptop—Again

Yeah, I bought a new laptop this time last year, but getting it was a huge mistake on my part. Impulse buy, anyone?

I hate the keyboard on this. I hate that the wifi keeps cutting out on me. I hate that it’s still slower than molasses. I just hate this HP ProBook!

Still, it told me what I DON’T want in a computer and what I DO want, so I started looking and found one. And since it was currently on sale and Hubby said to buy it…I did!

I won’t get my Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series until the 31st, though (I ordered it through the manufacturer and that’s the date they gave me). I didn’t get a touch screen (don’t want one), and I got it in red (nifty!), but it comes with Windows 10, so I’ll find out soon enough if Word 2003 will work on it (I sure hope it does). I did check out the Mac computers, but you know what? They don’t have a backspace key!! I need a backspace key. So that pretty much decided it for me. I’ll just have to tolerate Windows 10, I guess, and whatever word processor I will have to get if Word 2003 doesn’t work. I don’t want the newer version. The menu section takes up too much of the screen. I prefer the smaller icons and drop-down menus, thank you.

*******

This is the week that I’ll probably start pulling out the Christmas movies to watch. Here are some I hope to see:

• “While You Were Sleeping”
• “Love, Actually”
• “White Christmas” (Daughter has not seen this and I must rectify that!)
• “Die Hard”

We have way more than that, but those are the ones I’m most interested in and the ones I’m pretty sure Hubby will watch with me (he doesn’t like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and I don’t feel like watching it alone). We’ve already watched “Donovan’s Reef.” Did you know that movie has spanking in it? So did “McClintock!” (the movie we watched next—Hubby was on a John Wayne kick Saturday night). Who knew John Wayne could be so kinky?

Too bad it wasn’t considered kinky back then, though (both movies were released in 1963). It kind of irks me that men felt they had that right. So glad it’s not that way now (at least, not that I know of!).

So… What Christmas movie(s) do you hope to watch this year?

Have a great Monday!

Stacy

Physical Therapy and My Novella

Today I’m going to my first physical therapy appointment. Seems kind of silly now, since I’m not feeling any pain (yay!), but who knows what I’ll end up doing to myself later on! I’m hoping they’ll be able to tell me what my limits are (or should be). I need more cardio in my exercise program and I don’t necessarily want to use the pool (those aren’t my favorite things). I believe if I’m going to stick with a program, it has to be somewhat fun and easy for me. If it isn’t, I won’t do it. I know myself too well.

^^^^

I’m so darn close to finishing the revision (in other words, adding meat) to A Vampire Wedding (that title is starting to grow on me). I’m working on the second to last chapter (which is kind of an important chapter since the next chapter jumps ahead several months) and it’s just about done. I think I’ve filled all my holes. At least I HOPE so!

I came up with a tag line to go with my title:

What’s said in Vegas won’t necessarily stay in Vegas.

What do you think? Too corny?

So…Hubby is on vacation starting today (he’s using use-or-lose vacation), so I’ve got him until the 28th. Think I’ll get any writing done? I sure hope I do.

Have a great weekend!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

Okay, maybe I cheated a little. I read a couple of novellas to boost my quota so I’d reach my goal (and I only have to finish one more to do that!). I still read more pages than last year. That should count for something, shouldn’t it? Plus, I still have weeks left to read more (like at least finish that 90th book!). Maybe next year I’ll lower my goal so I don’t go all crazy at the end of the year. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? I'll go crazy regardless. Here’s what I read this week:

Dec 9: “Wolf Tales VIII” by Kate Douglas, #8 in the Wolf Tales series (duh!), a paranormal erotica at 265 pages. Blurb from book: In the shadows they transform into beasts and possessed of boundless sexual energy, with the strength and stamina to indulge every primal urge. Now, six new Chanku have appeared—bold, brash, and very much in need of their elders’ wisdom. It is decided to split the young pack: three will travel to Montana to learn from Anton Cheval, and three to Colorado to be mentored by Ulrich Mason and his mate, Millie… Having weathered a series of vicious attacks, the Montana pack welcomes the distraction of breaking in the novices. But everything changes with the arrival of a mysterious stranger whose connection to Millie will bring the she-wolf, her partner, and their protégés—including Matt, the sensitive alpha Millie has brought to his sexual peak—to Montana. The time has come for Millie to confront her past, even as the young Chanku prepare for a future of power, pride, and pure pleasure… This one didn’t hold my attention like previous books in the series. I wasn’t really sure what the book was about. And the ending left me wondering even more. I own the rest of the series, so I will continue reading it. Plus, I like a lot of the characters, so there is that.

Dec 10: “Treasure on Moon Lake” by Amy Gamet, #1 in the Love on the Lake series, a contemporary romance at 118 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: Jewelry designer Tori Henderson’s first year in business was far more expensive than she could have imagined. Faced with closing the doors of Tori’s Treasures, she sinks her last dollar into one final promotion—a widely publicized treasure hunt for a chest of fine, handmade jewelry that could drum up enough business to get her back in the black... or kill her shop once and for all. The last thing she needs is her mother's announcement that she's preparing to marry Edward Trainor, the father of Tori’s long ago summer crush, Gabe - a man who regularly makes his way into Tori's dreams some ten years later. Corporate tycoon Jed Trainor has no intention of attending his estranged father’s wedding, and he certainly doesn’t need to see his half-brother Gabe after the other man put the moves on Jed's one-time fiancée. But with business problems looming, Jed needs time to think, and the small town of Moon Lake seems like the perfect place to hide away while he figures out how to save his empire. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a beautiful woman who thinks she’s in love with his idiot half-brother. Tori is determined to win Gabe’s heart, but Jed has other plans. When they learn Gabe is bringing a date to the wedding, Jed offers to bring Tori himself, knowing any woman on his arm is sure to be on Gabe’s radar. But his ploy for her attention just may blow up in his face. Can Jed prove to Tori he’s the Trainor brother she really belongs with? All I can say is that I’m not the audience for this book, but I gave it a try.

Dec 12: “Ready to Were” by Robyn Peterman, #1 in the Shift Happens series, a comedic paranormal/urban fantasy at 108 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: I never planned on going back to Hung Island, Georgia. Ever. I was a top notch Were agent for the secret paranormal Council and happily living in Chicago where I had everything I needed – a gym membership, season tickets to the Cubs and Dwayne – my gay, Vampyre best friend. Going back now would mean facing the reason I’d left and I’d rather chew my own paw off than deal with Hank. Hank the Tank Wilson was the six foot three, obnoxious, egotistical, perfect-assed, best-sex-of-my-life, Werewolf who cheated on me and broke my heart. At the time, I did what any rational woman would do. I left in the middle of the night with a suitcase, big plans and enough money for a one-way bus ticket to freedom. I vowed to never return. But here I am, trying to wrap my head around what has happened to some missing Weres without wrapping my body around Hank. I hope I don’t have to eat my words and my paw. This was a cute and funny story (with a steamy sex scene) and ended a lot better than I expected (no cliffhangers—yay!). Some people might call this a romance, and in a way it is, but it’s in first person so I never know what Hank is thinking and I need that for it to be a good romance for me. Still, I enjoyed the story very much and I’ll check out the next one in the series.

So…It’s nine days until Christmas. How ready are you? I’m just about done with the shopping. Next is the wrapping. Ugh. I bet I wait until the last minute to wrap. I usually do. Haha!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Pictures From the Madrigal Dinner

I don’t have much to say today, so I’ll just post pictures from Saturday night’s Madrigal Dinner (not that I have a lot of them).

Clockwise from left: Daughter, Son, Son's Girlfriend, and Girlfriend's Daughter (who I think is sticking her tongue out at me--haha!)

Wright State University Carol Singers

Two of the performers

The musicians (not that you can see much of them!)

Daughter and Son dancing a skit (it was quite humorous)

 

So… Are any of you planning on seeing the new Star Wars movie this week? I might wait until the day after Christmas. I know I’ll get tickets as soon as they go on sale (once I determine just how many of us are going--should know tonight).

Happy Monday!

Stacy