Whatcha Got Wednesday? (Holy cow edition)

Another installment of Whatcha Got Wednesday! And.. it is indeed a "Holy Cow!" edition? Mostly in thanks to one person... Anna from Anna's Book Blog!  I entered a contest on her blog, and won a box of books! TWENTY of them! A big huge giant thanks to Anna! And be sure to visit her blog - she has some great content, and awesome contests.

                                             
WON:
"Every Which Way But Dead" - Kim Harrison, "The Immortal Hunter" - Lynsay Sands, "Play Dirty" - Lorie O'Clare, "Desire Unchained" - Larissa Ione, "Sleeping With the Fishes" - Mary Janice Davidson, "What Happens in London" - Julia Quinn, "The Rogue Hunter" - Lynsay Sands, "The Selkie" - Melanie Jackson, "Seducing the Heiress" - Olivia Drake, "Shadow of Midnight" - Lara Adrian, "Passion Unleashed" - Larissa Ione, "The Renegade Hunter" - Lynsay Sands, "Vampires are Forever" - Lynsay Sands, "Then Things I Love About You" - Julia Quinn, "The Accidental Vampire" - Lynsay Sands, "Twice as Hot" - Gena Showalter, "Dark Slayer" - Christine Feehan, "Bite Me If You Can" - Lynsay Sands, "Taming the Highland Bride" - Lynsay Sands, and finally "A Bite to Remember" - Lynsay Sands.
      Good thing I love Lynsay Sands, hmm? Her Argeneau/Rogue Hunter series is one of my all time favorites, and her historicals are great - Strong men and witty women, my favorite!

BOUGHT:
"City of Glass" by Cassandra Clare - I wanted the whole trilogy before I started reading.

FOR REVIEW (For Romance Reviews Today):
"The Bards of Bone Plain" by Patricia McKillip
"Demon underground" by S.L. Wright
"Mercy Blade" by Faith Hunter
"Absolutely, Positively" by Heather Webber

Funny story about the Lucy Valentine books (by Heather Webber) - I have received all three of them to review, from different places. The first through Librarything.com, the second directly from the publisher, and now the third via Romance Reviews Today.

I can't wait to read these. Plus I have a huge tote bag of library books to get through - it's going to be fun!

So ends my last post of the week; I'm taking the rest of the week off for a little Thanksgiving break. To those that celebrate Thanksgiving - Happy Thanksgiving! To those that don't - Happy Almost Friday!

I'll be back Monday with new reviews, and there might be a contest in the future - I'm in the holiday gift-giving spirit ;)

Happy Reading everyone, and I'll see you next week!
~!~ Morning Glow aka Amanda ~!~

Review of "One Enchanted Evening" by Lynn Kurland

Holy cow, I was told I'd be getting this book to review back in May.. I received it earlier this month (November).

Disclaimer: I was sent this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. No funny business here.

Type: Historical Romance, Time Travel Romance, Faeries, "Paranormal Oddities," Castles then and now, This entire family is cool, I hate Cinderella, Total Fashion Domination

Why this book: Ever since I read "Outlander" I've been a little obsessed with Time travel romance.. so when I saw this book as something to request to review, I was like "YES!" - I was told to expect a copy.. I had just about given up hope when it showed up out of the blue.

About the book: Persephone, aka Pippa, is on her way to England to begin her total Fashion World Domination plan. A wealthy Englishman is interested in helping her with her design business, and her sister Tess has set up a meeting for the two. But like always, Pippa's oldest sister Cindi comes in to ruin the day, trying to keep Pippa from reaching her dream with a series of "mishaps" - one of which is "accidentally" shoving Pippa... right through a gate in time, and back to the 1200s. Lucky for her, the owner of the ramshackle castle, Montgomery, is there to catch her as she falls. Filled with evil sisters, amusing banter, battles between Montgomery and the castle's former owners, and a love that literally spans the ages, "One Enchanted Evening" is not a book you want to miss!

This is my first book by Lynn Kurland. But if this book is anything to go by, I will be needing to read the rest of this series, featuring more of Montgomery's amazing family. I should mention there there are indeed other books, and for the most part, "One Enchanted Evening" seems to be able to stand alone. Near the end, when Montgomery meets more of his family in both time zones, things can definitely get a little confusing. In the beginning, I found this book to be a little dry, but once Pippa lands in England, it's one thrill ride after the next. And beware, it's addicting.

Pippa and Montgomery are amazing characters. Pippa is resiliant, bright, and willing to work hard for her family and for her dreams. She's an excellent seamstress, and she has worked and planned for years to finally get the chance that Stephen, the Englishman, is offering her. Unfortunately, things get a little sidetracked when she gets thrown back into the past. Even more unfortunately, Cindi falls back in time too. While Pippa is such a shining character, Cindi is the evil wench. Cindi is the character readers will love to hate, and eagerly want to throttle. You have to hand it to the author, she wrote an excellent evil character, even if said character can get on your nerves. Montgomery had moments of modern-ness to him, but that can be explained by the odd-ness of his family and their history (and future). Montgomery was by far my favorite - witty, wise, and brave. Despite the turmoil occuring in his own home, he put Pippa, and even Cindi's life above his own.

As mentioned, the ending can get a little confusing, once different relations start showing up - it's just too many people at once. But don't let that stop you, the ending is worth it. I hope to see this series continued, and Pippa's sisters, or at least the good ones - Peaches and Tess, get their own happily ever afters. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical romance, and definitely time travel romance. I would probably recommend the whole series, despite not reading it - though now it's all added to my Wish list. Lynn Kurland knows how to weave a fantastic tale of adventure in both the past and present, and I cannot wait to see more from her.

I'm going to give "One Enchanted Evening" by Lynn Kurland a FOUR POINT FIVE out of FIVE (4.5/5). Loved it, can't wait to read more, and I want a Montgomery of my very own.. actually, if I could get a time gate of my own, that would be great. And a castle. This would be a perfect 5 out of 5 except for the confusion at the end, which would probably be avoided by reading the rest of the series first. But as I said, this can, and does pretty well, stand alone.

Have you read this or any other book by Lynn Kurland? Share your thoughts in the comments! Want to pick up a copy? Find it at Amazon.com via the link on the left.

Up next: Whatcha Got Wednesday, then a break for the Thanksgiving Holidays!
Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow ~!~

Review of "How to Say Goodbye in Robot" by Natalie Standiford

 Another example of my YA addiction. I blame Forever Young Adult.

Disclaimer: This book is on loan from my local library. I am review this book for my own pleasure (sanity, maybe?).

Type: Young Adult Fiction, Awesome loner dude, Robot Girl, Ghost Boy, Twins, Parental troubles, Radio shows.

Why this book: Ugh, seriously, blame FYA. I'm still working my way through their "Top YA couples of all time" but they mentioned this book, and I couldn't pass it up. So I went searching and found it via the library (yay libraries!).

About the book: Beatrice Szabo and her family just moved to Baltimore so her father could teach at Johns Hopkins. This means another new school, this time a private school filled with kids who have known each other since kindergarten. But Beatrice, aka Robot Girl, manages to make friends all the time, yet finds herself more and more drawn to the ultimate loner dude Jonah, aka Ghost Boy. Jonah hasn't been the same since his mother and twin brother died years ago, still feeling like a part of him is missing. Bea begins to hang almost exclusively with Jonah, and after an extremely important call from a care facility, the two learn Jonah's brother is still alive, and begin to search for him. But Jonah has an ultimate plan, will Beatrice be a part of it?

About halfway through this book, I paused and just thought about it for a second. By that point, we had already hit several major points, things I was sure had to be the major reveal of the book, so where could this story be going? It's the type of book where it just keeps going and I'm not sure where, but I like it so much I'm going to follow along, dangit. And man am I glad that I did. I think, if pressed, I would compare "How to Say Goodbye in Robot" by Standiford to "Sweethearts" by Sarah Zarr. They had a similar thing going for them - with the awesome (yet slightly creepy) loner dude. So if you like "Sweethearts," you'll love "How to Say Goodbye in Robot." Even if you didn't like "Sweethearts," you'll probably love this one.

No spoilers here, but I LOVED the ending. It felt so right. What Jonah did, how Bea reacted, it was perfect. But I still wanted something more. And lord love Natalie Standiford - she gave it to me. The last two chapters were exactly what I needed and wanted, and as I said - it felt right. And the characters felt so right, as well. Being a teenager is awkward enough, but Bea has moved several times, been thrown into new schools, of course she's going to be a little more awkward than most. And she's not your normal kid (being normal is soo overrated, in my opinion), but she's just so cool. What amuses her is just.. fascinating. She's funny, witty, morbid. And she finds a match in Jonah, who is so similar.

But this book isn't some sappy teenage love story. These two characters bond, deeper than either of them can explain, but it's not really love. They're not dating, they're just together - as friends or something even better than that. And I think that is part of what makes this book so great. It's hard to classify, it's just perfect. And to add to the awesomeness of this book, there is a Midnight Radio talk show, that Jonah gets Bea to listen to. And the occasional scripts we see from this show are great. Even better when we get to meet these people for a Holiday dinner.

So.. in conclusion, I'm giving "How to Say Goodbye in Robot" by Natalie Standiford a FOUR out of FIVE (4/5). Loved it, really. Such a good story with such great characters. And yes, there is heartbreak, there is drama, but still - Read it, people. You'll thank me for it in the end.

Have you read "How to Say Goodbye in Robot"? Tell me your thoughts in the comments! Want to read it? Get your copy at Amazon.com via the link on the left.

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow ~!~