When Projects Attack! How DIY Home Projects Are Ruining My Reading Time!

A little over a year ago the Hubby and I moved into a house we love - it's perfect for us and we were excited about all the "little" DIY projects we would do to make it our own. And yes, I dared to call those pojects "little" every single time we started one. The joke is most definately on me.

We did the basics right when we moved in - repainting the entire interior and exterior of the house. EVERY SINGLE ROOM IN THE HOUSE.

Likewise, I did small projects like adding a shelf in the laundry room, fixing plaster cracks, paiting baseboards white, etc. The hubby has been tackling painting all our ugly yellow-brown raw wood doors to a lovely bright white. Poor thing - that's an insane job. Both sides, 3-4 coats each. He's so tired of painting I might never again get his help with anything.

A few months ago we tackled remodeling our kitchen all by ourselves on the cheap. I think we did AWESOME! Those are the before and after pics I've included of just one part of the kitchen. Excuse the mess in the before pic! :)

So why am I mentioning all this on a book blog? Well, all these projects have cut into my reading time and it's starting to effect how happy I am. I can always tell when I start getting cranky it's because I haven't taken time for myself and read a good book. That also means I haven't had time to write reviews to post here. I HATE THAT!

Last weekend I gutted the only room we haven't laid a finger on - the Florida room (Sun room). We've never spent a second out there becuase it was HORRID. Bright Neon yellow walls and ceiling, indoor-outdoor carpet that had been obviously well-loved by the past owners pets. (Yes, I do mean THAT when I say well-loved).

I ripped out carpet and padding, tore up wood carpet strips, patched concrete from the nails, painted primer over all that crazy yellow and then painted the ceiling white and the walls a lovely shade of blue-grey. The hubby came out and replaced the 80's brass gaslights on the sides of the sliding doors to these amazingly modern brushed nickel ones with frosted glass (A STEAL at only $26 for a pair!).

Then, I cleaned and cleaned the concerete floor and painted it this luscious dark chocloate brown oil-based paint color. I'm waiting for that to dry and then I can move all the furniture back in and decorate!

So why all the rush on getting all these projects done now after a year? We invited the Hubby's family to stay with us in August. We thought "how awesome...this will give us a good deadline for tackling all those "small" projects." So, here we are now, racing against time to get as much as possible done before the 2nd weekend in August.

And all I want to be doing is reading a book!

Do you feel "withdrawls" when you get busy and don't have time to read? How do you keep your mind off it, or if you can't, do you make a big deal out of the first book you get to read when you have free time again?

Monday Morning Cuteness!

funny pictures - mai revenges  i plots it
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Monday Morning Cuteness!

funny pictures - Colonel Mustard with the lead pipe in the lounge?
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

A Comment Is All It Takes - Help Blogger Limecello Raise $$$ For Charity

Awesome Blogger Limecello is holding her 2011 Social Good Drive, a humanitarian charity drive, to raise funds for Save The Children which is helping with the current drought and famine around the Horn of Africa. Today and all you have to do to help is to leave a comment. ANY COMMENT!

Just saying "Thank you" is enough to help raise money for those in need. You don't have to contribute anything more than just a minute of your time. Less, you can raise money in less than a minute.

AND you could win prizes. Authors are donating books to be given away to commentors who help raise $$$ simply by commenting.

Seriously people - JUST COMMENT! It's so easy. And yet, that $1 can feed a human being starving to death. Just for spending less than a minute leaving a comment on a blog.

I feel pretty strongly about how doing something so simple should be a no-brainer for all of us. So, join the romance community in helping make this the most successful campaign yet. Leave a comment - share the link with others asking them to comment. That's it.

Here's the link to the post by Limecello where you can read more and leave your comment to raise money.

THANK YOU!

Borders Stores Will Close - Liquidations Coming Soon

It's with an incredibly sad heart that I write about the demise of my FAVORITE bookstore Borders. If you haven't been following the news, they've been having financial problems for the past few years and the hole just got bigger and bigger. Buyers fell through and Borders is now officially closing all it's store, laying off 11,000 employees, and liquidating all their inventory.

If you want the full details, check out this link to the Wall Street Journal articles.

Personally, Borders is where I buy all my books. I happen to work across the street from a store, and write this blog in the Cafe there on my lunch break most days. I don't know where I can go now for a break from my desk and to play in Romancelandia online.

I noticed that today on Twitter the #hashtag ThankUBorders has popped up and readers and authors are sending their appreciation and best wishes to the stores and employees. If you are on Twitter - please add your thoughts to the mix by using #ThankUBorders in your tweet.

Did you shop at Borders? Or did you shop somewhere else? Where do you buy most of your books? Lastley, what do you think the close of Borders means for readers in the future?

Romance Book Review: It's In His Kiss by Caitie Quinn

Romance Book Review: It's in His Kiss By Caitie Quinn
5 Heart Review

Jenna’s been letting life pass her by as she works on her career. But, when she needs to do some research of this kissing kind, things may get a little more heated than she expected.

Research has never been so fun.

WARNING: This 10k short has no vampires, shape shifter or scorching sex, but it might make you snort your diet Coke out your nose.

A good friend of mine sent me this lovely little story and told me I'd enjoy it. She was right! Although it's only 10k long, this story really is a satisfying and complete read that had a voice exactly like I love to read - cute, witty, sarcastic and just plain fun. Throw in emotional depth and you've got a winner!

This is pure sweet sass and delivers to the reader one of my favorite parts of any romance - the meet cute. I loved it and it's sweetness.

I know some will be worried about the short length, but I thought it worked perfectly and at the end of the story I knew that this couple would have their HEA. It was almost sweeter to get to have the fun of thinking up their future together in your own imagination.

That's the thing with short stories, not everyone can leave you feeling like you got enough of the story. This story left me totally satisfied and smiling. Enough so that I've read it at least 3 times now.

So, if you like sassy, cute, emotional and witty sweet romances I would highly recommend this story to you. Even better? It's only $.99 for your Kindle at Amazon!

A Double Dose of Desire: 2 Harlequin Desire Book Reviews

Double the Desire Book Reviews: The Sarantos Secret Baby by Olivia Gates - 2 Heart Review
Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day LeClaire - 3 Heart Review

I thought I would do short reviews of 2 Harlequin Desire books I read and just never had time to write up my thoughts. Since they are past the month they are available in stores, but still available online in print and ebook format, I thought I should still tell you a little about them.
 
Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire – January 2011

“I'm having you baby.”

With those words Emma Worth changed Chase Larson's life forever. Having been bron on the wrong side of the marriage bed, the millionaire vowed no baby of his would be so cruelly labeled. There was just one thing that might keep him from making Emma his wife: their feuding families.

She'd never dreamed one night with Chase would bind them forever. The pregnant heiress desperately wanted to raise their child together, but only if Chase could forget they were enemies...

A complex and emotional story, I really enjoyed seeing Chase and Emma grow together. Particularly with Emma helping Chase heal some wounds with his father and past. I'd give this a solid 3 Heart Review and say you would enjoy this book and it would be a fast read.


The Sarantos Secret Baby by Olivia Gates – April 2011

Forbidden Lover...Hidden Heir

He was as tall and dark as the devil...and was her family's hated adversary. But that didn't stop Selene Louvardis from wanting Aris Sarantos with her every breath. Or grabbing her one chance for a forbidden night with him.

He was never supposed to learn she'd borne his child. But when Aris stormed back into Selene's life and discovered the truth, nothing would stop the ruthless billionaire from claiming his own. Not her family, not the billion-dollar contract at stake and certainly not something as inconvenient as love.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but as I read it just didn't keep my attention. Small things in the story bothered me, even though the story itself was fine – there was nothing I can pin-point as being wrong, it just didn't feel right for me. Some of the love scenes seemed over the top for me, but I think they were supposed to be. All in all this wasn't a bad book, but it just wasn't one for me. I'd give it a 2 Heart Review.  

The Long Series: When There Are 5+ Books Already Out, Are You Game?

So last night on Twitter I chatted about how if there is a series I didn't manage to read a book of yet and that series gets past 5 books, then I'm out. It's overwhelming to me to think of 5 sometimes 10-20 books to read in a series to catch up.

Now, this makes me sad. And yes, it means that if I loved book #1 I would have a entire gaggle of books to read and love - BUT...BUT...maybe it's the fact that I review books that I feel the need to "catch up". Not really to read and enjoy, but literally to hurry up and read these damn books before the next one comes out. Again, maybe becuase I feel the pressure to be able to review that "Hot" book when it comes out. Maybe. Although readers of this blog know I'm not always about the latest and greatest book.

Twitter also chimed in with the series they believed I just HAVE to read no matter how many books back I'll need to catch up on. So I decided to take a leap. I asked for any and all suggestions of longer series - meaning 5+ books already out - and that I would pick a series today to try out.

So, here were the suggested series from my Twitter peeps last night. I've actually read a few, but I wanted to list all the suggestions:

The Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by JR Ward
The Guardians Series by Meljean Brooks
Tairen Souls Series by C.L. Wilson
The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost
The Trixie Beldon Series by Julie Campbell Tatham
Riley Jensen Series by Keri Arthur
The Otherwold Series by Kelley Armstrong
The Kitty Norville Series by Carrie Vaughn
The Chelsea Cain Series of books
The Dave Robicheaux Series by James Lee Burke
The Hornblower Series by C.F. Forester
The Chronicles of the Warlands Series by Elizabeth A. Vaughan
The Chesapeake Bay Series by Nora Roberts
The Carsington Series by Loretta Chase
The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher
The Dragonriders of Pern Series by Anne McCaffrey
The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

So which series I've never tried before have I decided to tackle book #1 of?

I'm going to go with The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. I've heard so much about these books and although I know they aren't typical romances, I feel like they might be the best fit for me. (Also, I was horrified to realize that I've met and chatted with Ms. Gabaldon before and had NO IDEA who she was. GASP! Um yeah. So next time I'd like to at least have read 1 book!)

Which series have you read and loved even though it was 5+ books? Do you start a new-to-you series even if you are behind by 5+ books? Which series would you have picked to read book #1 of?

Tuesday Morning Cuteness - Cause Monday I Was Hung Over!

Not really! But I was traveling with family and forgot to schedule this to post at the right time. So, I present Monday Morning's Cuteness on Tuesday and it asks a most very important question for today:
funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

The Golden Lady: Who's Gonna Win A RITA This Year?


One of my favorite things about the RWA National Conference is the RITA and Golden Heart Awards. Basically they are like the Oscars of Romance Books. So kind of a big deal. :)
Books on Board is holding a contest this year for the person who can predict the most correct # of RITA winners. I totally took the plunge and sent in my predictions. The delima was: Do you go with who you want to win or who you think will win? I decided to go with who I hoped would win.

Here's all the info about Books on Board's contest - you can win a $25 gift certificate! You can see all the nominees and categories there too.

I'm going to put it all out there and share my predictions below, but I hope you'll tell me who you want to win too!

Best First Book: When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer
Contemporary Series Romance: Christmas With Her Boss by Marion Lennox
Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure: A Cop In Her Stocking
Contemporary Single Title Romance: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl
Historical Romance: His At Night by Sherry Thomas (I would tie this with A Little Bit Wild)
Inspirational Romance: Finding Her Way Home by Linda Goodnight
Novel With Strong Rom Elements: The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Rayborn (Would tie with Killbox)
Paranormal Romance: Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver
Regency Historical Romance: When Harry Met Molly (Would tie with His Christmas Pleasure or Nine Rules to Break - so many good chocies!)
Romantic Suspense: The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks
Young Adult Romance: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The awards are given out Friday night, so we'll see how I do. Some of these are personal favs that I'm not sure can pull off the win but I'm crossing my fingers! Who do you want to win?

CONTEST ALERT! Susan Mallery Giving Away A TON of Goodies

Enter the Summer Love Giveaway From Susan Mallery

One of my favorite authors Susan Mallery is giving readers a chance to win a Kindle with wifi plus 3G, a $50 gift card from Amazon.com, plus 25 paperback romances from some of your favorite authors! 

Check out her contest page here for all the details and to some of the books you could win! It's a fantastic giveaway that I couldn't help sharing.

Happy Reading & Good Luck!
Cheeky Reads

Monday Morning Cuteness!

funny pictures - I FEEL A MONDAY APPROACHING
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

WINNERS! COME CLAIM YOUR BOOKS!

Sorry I'm a day behind posting, but here are the winners of my recent giveaways:
The winner of my ARC copy of Demons Prefer Blondes by Sidney Ayers for a 2nd Chance Reader Review here at Cheeky Reads is:

Comment #2 - JenM!






The winner of an eBook copy of Whirldwind by Robyn DeJarnett is:

Comment #4 - Karen!

Congrats Ladies! I'll send you an email with details on your prizes.

Happy Reading!
Cheeky Reads

READ FOR A CURE! Special Guest Post from Author Maureen O. Betita

A Special Guest Post From Author Maureen O. Betita:

Read For a Cure!

Happy first day of summer to all! Been a long winter, hasn’t it? Well, perhaps not for everyone…but it sure seems like it. I’m an author who lives along the central coast of California and our weather is never much weather if you compare it to the rest of the country. That is true!

Regardless, things have been crazy this year. So many challenges these last few years. Job changes, health challenges, new opportunities, sad news, good news…

Good news! I’m with a wonderful publisher and this year I had my first book come out. It’s been pretty exciting and for the month of June, I’ve had the opportunity to give back. Every month, Decadent Publishing donates the proceeds from a chosen title to finding a cure for cancer. This month, that title is The Kraken’s Mirror, by yours truly!

Why do they do this? Well, Heather Bennett is one of the owners of Decadent and she’s been fighting cancer in her family for far too long. She’s lost too many relatives, too many friends. So, when she began Decadent, she dedicated the company to the cause she believes in.

A cause the authors of Decadent have embraced. For the month of June, help Decadent in the good fight! This cause is important to me and to my agent. We’re both donating our sales for the month to the cause.

If you’ve considered trying something new, a quirky adventure story featuring a matchmaking kraken, a feisty widow and pirates wearing i-pods…check out The Kraken’s Mirror and help battle cancer. For everyone who have lost a loved one or knows someone who deals with the reality of cancer on a daily basis… Let’s do it!

Buy now link to Decadent

Monday Morning Cuteness!

Start Your Week Off Right With Monday Morning Cuteness!

What shenanigans did you get into this weekend?

Funny Pictures - Cute Cats
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Welcome To The Whirlwind Blog Tour & Enter To Win An eBook Copy Of Whirlwind!

Whirlwind Blog Tour

Welcome to Cheeky Reads and the Whirlwind Blog Tour! I'm excited to showcase Robyn and her new book Whirlwind - a sexy romance with a mystery/thriller plot.

To start, here's the low-down on Whirlwind:
Love at first sight is a myth to aspiring journalist Melissa Williams, but when she meets Jason McAlister at a friend’s wedding, a Cinderella-like fantasy turns her no-nonsense world upside down. She sees in his penetrating blue eyes not just an evening, but a lifetime together that includes much more than a glass slipper and a kiss.

Realizing she shared a few salacious emails with Jason months ago, a humiliated Melissa loses herself in the crowd, thankful he doesn’t know who she is. But he does know—and with a gentle touch and a steamy kiss, he soon picks up their flirtation right where it left off.

As midnight strikes, Melissa succumbs to Jason’s sexy pull, unaware that a woman’s body has been discovered in the wake of the party. When evidence points to Melissa as the killer’s next target, the lines between fantasy and reality blur. She goes into hiding, charmed by one mysterious man and hunted by another.

Cinderella lost a shoe—Melissa could lose both her handsome prince and
her life.

Cheeky Summary: What I enjoyed most about this book was the relationship between Melissa and her friends, as well as the one with Jason. I felt like Melissa's inner monologue about her friendship with Mitch and her insecurities were nicely done and appreciated some well done, but not over the top, sexy scenes! I will say that it was hard to get comfortable with the 1st person point of view at first since that's not traditionally what you find with a romance. But, having that insight into Melissa's thoughts helped explain some of her reactions to Jason and the relationship that otherwise might have been hard to decipher. I had fun reading this book and would give it Cheeky Reads 3 Heart Review!



TOMORROW JUNE 18TH:
LIVE Chat with Whirlwind author Robin DeJarnett, plus eBook giveaway!
LIVE CHAT link: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/99133

Want to win an eBook copy of Whirlwind for youself? Leave me a comment letting me know what you think about the idea of love at first sight and you'll be entered to win! This contest is open internationally so anyone can enter and I'll pick a random comment and post the winner on Thursday June 23rd - good luck!

Book Review: Demons Prefer Blondes by Sidney Ayers - Win My ARC Copy!

Book Review: Demons Prefer Blondes
By Sidney Ayers
Sourcebooks Casablanca
2.5 Heart Review

A Bad Day For A Demon

Rafe Deleon is a senior demon and he resents like hell his assignment to Earth to retrieve the Chest of the Damned before it falls into the wrong hands. But then he meets beautiful, intriguing succubus Lucy Gregory, and she's just unleashed a whole load of trouble...

Really Sucks For A Succubus

Lucy's chic suburban beauty salon has suddenly become the Underworld's center of mass chaos and destruction. The only good thing in a day going rapidly down the tubes is the arrival of a gorgeous demon who's adamant that he can help her...

But Lucy has quite a few deeply unpleasant – not to mention deadly and hateful – surprises ahead of her, and surely there's never been a worse time to try out a new boyfriend...

Cheeky Summary: This book was a slow start for me. In fact, I almost didn't stay with this story. There were too many WTF moments in which I felt the author was trying to hard to be cool and instead came off totally ridiculous. But I kept with the book mainly because of the side characters who kept my interest much more than the hero and heroine did. The world-building was much more interesting than the love story itself was and I think it’s because I had a hard time getting past those cheesy lines at the beginning of the book.

What I did really enjoy about the book was the very interesting world that Ms. Ayers built. I especially loved the character of Kalli. I will actually pick up any sequels that include Kalli’s story. She was the most interesting character of the book and I found myself wanting to skip the scenes that didn’t include her.

I will say that the book got much better as it went along and got over trying to be cool and settled into a voice that felt much more authentic. Part of me wants the author to rewrite the first few chapters to match the rest!

Again, there were great supporting characters in this book and I really liked the world that unfolded and all the different types of characters and what it might mean for a series of books. I’ll be keeping an eye on new books because really, the only thing off for me was those chapters that felt like they tried to hard to be cute. The rest of the story did enough for me that I’ll give this series another chance.

I’m also interested in what other readers think of this book! So, I’m offering up the ARC I received from Sourcebooks to a commenter for a 2nd Chance Review. To enter, you must be willing to read the book, and do a short write up for me with your own thoughts. I’ll post the review here on Cheeky Reads.

If that interests you, leave a comment telling me what you love most about paranormal romances or what type of paranormal characters are your favorite! Make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. I’ll post the randomly selected winner on Wed. the 22nd!

AudioBook Review: Trust Me On This by Jennifer Cruise

Audio Lovin: AudioBook Review of Trust Me On This
By Jennifer Cruise
Narration by Angela Dawe
Brilliance Audio – Unabridged – 5 hours
Story – 3 Heart Review
Narration – 4 Heart Review

Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career. Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter. When they meet by accident, it's a case of mistaken identities at first sight. What they don't mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they'll do everything in their power to resist – because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler. As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other, and what begins as a romantic comedy of errors may just end in the love affair of a lifetime.

Jennifer Cruise says at the beginning of this story that this is the only screwball comedy she's ever written and I think she should write more! It still has her signature voice and wit all over it, but it is slightly different than her other books. That's one of the reasons I gave this a 3 Heart Review for the story. The story works so well – really it does, but because of it being a comedy of errors, one of the “rules” of romances is not to let the conflict be something that if the couple just sat down to talk it would all be worked out. There is definitely an aspect of that to this story as it's a case of mistaken identity. I wanted Dennie and Alec to have that talk to discover this long before they did – but again this is part of writing this type of story and I'm just not used to it.

The narrator Angela Dawe has done other stories I've listened to and yet her voice really does change based on the tone of the story. From book to book she constantly seems to take on the characters and transform her voice.

She is great at hitting just the right inflection to make you feel the story is flowing in the same way it would be in your head if you were reading. She also does the male voices in a way that doesn't annoy or take time getting used to. Each of her characters is distinctive and she even changes the cadance of her speech to match the personality of the character. She's very good and I usually enjoy her performances. She brings the books and characters to life in a a way that doesn't make you feel like you could have imagined it any better.

I really enjoyed this audio book and hope that one day Jennifer will attempt to write another screwball comedy. If you don’t mind the whole “just have a conversation with each other” aspect to the story, then I think you’ll love this one.