Follow Friday time!

Happy Friday everyone! It doesn't feel like a Friday to me, since I'm working the next four days in a row, but help me make it more Friday-y by joining in on Follow Friday.




Welcome! For anyone new to my blog, my name is Morning Glow (aka Amanda), and I've been blogging for a year and a half now. I started this blog so I would have somewhere to talk about the books I've read, since once I finish a good book, I want to tell everyone about it. I read a little bit of everything, but mostly Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance. However, I was raised on Science Fiction and Fantasy, so expect some of those, and I like to throw in the occasional Mystery just to confuse people.

So again, welcome! And have a great weekend! =)
Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Review of "In the Company of Vampires" by Katie MacAlister

 OMG IT'S FINALLY HERE! The book I have been waiting years for! THANK YOU, KATIE for finally get Ben and Fran's story out there.

Disclaimer: This book was purchased for me by my aunt, because she is awesome. I was not given this book, nor anything else, in exchange for a review. I am an Amazon Affiliate, which means... please buy via my link?

Type: Paranormal Romance, Dark Ones, Reunion, Vikings run amok, Weasel Gold, Regaining a soul (or not), A were that knows nothing about relationships

Why this book?: DUH, it's BEN and FRAN! I've been waiting for this since finishing book two of the Goth Faire series!

About the book: Francesca Ghetti's best friend was just kidnapped. Fortunately, Fran managed to find her, but after a frantic phone call or four, she notices her mother has also gone missing. So Fran decides to return to Europe to hopefully find her mother and maybe see her exboyfriend Ben - oops, I mean just to find her mother. But more and more things are going missing, and life with Ben is getting interesting, so maybe she won't be running away again after all... Toss in some secret relatives, a gaggle of amazingly hilarious Vikings, a romance to sigh over, and you have the start of an AMAZING book.

This is it, the book I have been waiting for FOREVER, or at least it feels like it. When I started reading Katie MacAlister, I read *everything* by her, including her teen fiction series, the Goth Faire books, under the name Katie Maxwell. I inhaled them, and I still pick them up and re-read them from time to time. But they ended far too soon, after only two books. I resigned myself to never hearing more, until Katie announced Ben and Fran would be the hero and heroine of the next Dark Ones book. I followed all the status updates giving hints about the books, I eagerly read the blog posts, I entered all the contests hoping to get an advanced copy.. but alas, no. So instead, on the release day, November 2nd, I went to SIX stores to find my copy.. and ended up only getting it at 9:45 PM that night. My Mom ran out with me (it was a 30 plus minute drive there), and my aunt was kind enough to give me a gift card to buy it with. So there you have it, my not-so-epic tale of anticipation for "In the Company of Vampires." Maybe now I should get to the review.

I laughed out loud in the car, earning weird looks from my family. I snorted and threw my hands up during frustrating moments, earning weird looks from people in other cars on the interstate. And when it was over, I felt.. empty still. Katie MacAlister has recently mentioned that while Ben and Fran will feature in other Dark Ones books, they will not be the main characters again, at least it's not likely. And while Ben and Fran's story is mostly told, there are so many questions left unanswered, it was hard not to feel a little let down at the end of the book. In the first few Dark Ones books, things were mostly wrapped up by the end of each book, but we've started getting more and more questions in the past several books in the series - and now "In the Company of Vampires" added a dozen or so more.

I'm not sure readers that are not familiar with the original Goth Faire books would truly appreciate all of the jokes, and most importantly - Ben and Fran's relationship. And lucky for those readers, the two Goth Faire books have been released as an omnibus with a swankified new cover! That's right, Katie MacAlister released "Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend," so any interested reader could get caught up. Even without reading these books, however, I think ItCoV can stand on it's own as a hilarious story - the Vikings will literally make you laugh out loud. But I really do recommend reading "Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend" as well as the previous Dark One novels, not just for the backstory.. but because they are quite awesome. But anyways, I thought the book was handled well - Ben and Fran had been apart for so long (or barely seeing each other), that they had to re-learn who the other is, which means any reader new to the Ben and Fran books can re-learn right along with them... Or just learn, as they would not really be re-learning but.. Well, you know what I mean.

So I'm giving "In the Company of Vampires" by Katie MacAlister a FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). Any book that can make me laugh that hard and squeak in public deserves the highest rating possible. I'd probably give it a six if that wasn't fangirl-y overkill. If you need a laugh, and love a good reunion story with some paranormal friction tossed in, be sure to pick up "In the Company of Vampires".. or really any of Katie Mac's books.

Have you read this book? Tell me your thoughts in the comments! Want to read it? Pick up your copy at Amazon.com by clicking the link to the left.

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow ~!~

Whatcha Got Wednesday?

Yay! Another installment of "Whatcha Got Wednesday!" One of these books I got before my trip.. the rest were waiting for my upon my return (which was an extra special treat).

Received as a gift:
"In the Company of Vampires" by Katie MacAlister - I went to SIX stores the day this was released trying to find it, with no luck. So my Mom called a few stores, found one that had it and had them set it aside for me. And then my aunt gave me a gift card to buy it with. My family can be the sweetest. =)

Won:
"Captured" by Julia Rachel Barrett - she was running a contest via her newsletter, can't wait to read it!
"Hot Wheels and High Heels" by Jane Graves
"The Raven Prince" by Elizabeth Hoyt
"A Hint of Wicked" by Jennifer Haymore - These three were part of a romance collection giveaway.

So that was my week - what about you guys? Get anything you want to share or are excited about? Or maybe you just want to brag? Comment away!

Check back tomorrow for a new review, and Happy reading!!
~!~ Morning Glow ~!~

Review of "Trial By Desire" by Courtney Milan

 I'm back from vacation! Back, and with a host of reviews to share. So let's get right down to it!

Disclaimer: I won this book in a contest. I was not given this book in exchange for a review, positive or negative. But I am an Amazon Affiliate.

Type: Historical romance, Strong women, Tortured men, Trust, Misunderstandings, Reunion

Why this book?: When I first started seeing reviews of this book, I desperately wanted to read it. It just sounded so good! I love reunion stories - where couples were together in the past, but something pulls them apart, and they reunite down the road. Lucky me, I won this book in a contest, and the author signed it for me.

About the book: Lady Kate Carhart has been alone for the past three years. But Kate refused to pine her life away, waiting for her husband to return from China. Instead, she came up with something that kept her more than busy - saving women from their abusive husbands. Up until now they were all women Kate knew only by aquaintence, but this last case was her only friend Louisa. In fact, it is after securing Louisa away in a small cottage that Kate happens gets in the middle of a terrible accident, a horse goes wild after being startled and Kate is almost trampled. She's saved by a kind gentleman who gets her out of harms way and frees the horse from the buggy, and it's only later that Kate finds out the man is none other than her wayward husband. Ned expected things to be different when he came home- he thought he could pick up where he left off, just slightly more in control, but Kate still leaves him feeling powerless. And after a walk down to a cottage that should be abandoned yet now hides Lady Louisa, Ned knows there is way more to his wife than he and everyone else thought. So Ned comes up with a plan to seduce his own wife, learn her secrets, and hopefully earn the right to her heart.

I really enjoyed this book, both of these characters are strong and real - if these two fictional beings were real people I would love to be friends with them. Ned has a great sense of humor, witty little comebacks and such that had me giggling every few pages. And Kate has had to withstand so much in her time alone, and while she has her own set of failings and weaknesses, she is a driven woman who will risk herself to help others. And the villain of this story - Harcroft, is so deliciously evil. He's the type of smarmy, demented man that any reader will love to hate, and the ending is all the more sweet because he's so dark and awful. The characters were what really made the story for me, and while the plot is almost as good, the characters were what really stood out to me as a reader.

And speaking of plot, I knew I would probably like it since I'm such a fan of reunion stories, but this one surpassed by expectations because of the intensity of what these two great characters have to go through to get their happy ending. There are many obstacles in the pair's way, Harcroft and Lady Louisa, the couple's past, and even Ned's mental health, and it was a delight to be caught up in Ned and Kate's story. This is one of those books you just can't put down, because you need to know the characters are alright, that they get some sort of happy ending, that the bad guy doesn't win in the end.

This is the first book I have read by this author, but I know she has another book, "Proof By Seduction." I'll definitely be checking that one out as soon as possible. And be on the lookout for "Unveiled," coming out January of 2011. Trust me, this is definitely one of those authors to watch, especially if you're a lover of Historical romance.
I'm going to give "Trail by Desire" a FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). It has a good, complex plot, it had characters I fell in love with almost instantly, I'll recommend it to any lover of Historical romance (or romance in general!), I'm so going to pick up anything and everything else by this author, and it was just a danged good book. So be sure to pick up your own copy of "Trial By Desire" asap!

Have you read it? Share your thoughts in the comments! Want to read it? Pick a copy up at Amazon.com!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow