Anyone But You

Synopsis From Goodreads
Jennifer Crusie's many fans will be delighted to discover (or rediscover) her wonderful debut novel. It's an exuberant, romantic, and occasionally goofy comedy, with two unlikely love stories. The first is between 40-year-old Nina, happily divorced and looking for a puppy companion, and Fred, an overweight, grumpy basset/beagle spending his last day in the shelter. It's fortunate for everyone that Nina adopts him, since Fred ends up playing unwitting Cupid, introducing Nina to ER doctor Alex Moore, her handsome 30-year-old neighbor. That's where the second love story comes in, but it's not easy. Nina rules out any man 10 years younger, but she's happy to watch old movies with Alex -- night after night after night.

There are a lot of characters to love here, including Nina's best friend, who has a black thumb when it comes to romance, and her 75-year-old neighbor, who's got a very different attitude. As Alex and Nina inch toward romance, neither is willing to make the first move until they discover some basic home truths about the power of unconditional love

My Review
When I received this book, without reading any words on the front and back cover, I thought it would tell me about a great life of one dog. But when I found out that this book was romance, I doubt that I could finish this book. I am not that into this kind of genre. once I left one romance book because I can not stand with the drama inside. But this book is out of line. I could easily read it. Not only because it is light and fun but also the phrases inside did not trouble me much. It is a quick reading. I found many humor inside.

Talk about Nina, I felt pity for her loneliness. But that risk that she has to cope with. Divorce was her decision, ready or not. For Alex, she might be everything. But not for me. She was kind, a good friend, but I just could not find something interesting in her. She seems so weak and lack of confidence. Alex, himself, was actully loveable. But in it took many chapter till finally fell for him. I loved the development of his character. It worked better than Nina. Overall I like the relation between them. How they spent their time with movies, shared stories even the Oreo.

But actually I liked Charity the most, the secondary character, rather than the those two characters above. I enjoyed all of her dialogues. I found myself searched what happened next. She was one of the reason why I could finish this book. And Fred, the dog, who started everything between Nina dan Alex, I wish I could read more about him.

I think I am going to give another chance for a romance book like this

Cover
I wish Fred was a cute dog and found another background color.

3/5

~~~

Author: Jennifer Cruise
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: HQN Books (December 1, 2006)
Language: English
Source: Bought with cheaper prize

Follow Friday(2/25)

What I have this week:
Guest Post and Giveaway : Heartsblood by Carolyn McCray
Open Internationally till 2/28

This week feature:
Nakesha from Totally Obsessed

This Week Question:
Share your current favorite television show! Tell us a bit about it...
Since move to this town I rarely watch tv. I do not follow any show. But everytime I watch TV, I will watch old tv series such Cosby Show, Full House, etc. There is one channel here who play them 24 hours. Unfortunately they do not have Friends.

Feel free to leave the link of your blog. I will follow you back

Guest Post and Giveaway : Heartsblood - Carolyn McCray

Today I have a guest post. She is Carolyn McCray, the author of Heartsblood. Keep reading it because she is giving away one free ebook of Heartsblood for you. All you have to do is just leaving a comment and a valid email address before February 28, 2011. As simple as that.

~~~

I like vampires. No, actually I love vampires.

However, I didn't want to write about them.

Whenever I write a book I want to bring something fresh and unique to the genre and after the sparkling thing that ship had pretty much sailed.

But I did love the essence of the mythology. Blood as a potent force and the sensuality of the bite. I didn't want to be tied to the over-worked nocturnal/silver hating/immortal thing.

I wanted something seeped in fable yet new.

Allowing this idea to percolate for a few weeks, my muse finally created Praxis. Blood Magic.

Depending on a person's emotions at the time of the the blood letting, their blood held varied properties. Love, hate, and fear all take on new meaning when used by someone skilled in Praxis.

I then toyed with the notion that any technology advanced enough appeared to be magic.

Was Praxis magic or a science so complex we simply cannot understand it.

From those humble beginnings sprang HeartsBlood.

A tale set in present day San Francisco entwined with an ancient magic that turns out to be nothing as it seems.

HeartsBlood.

Here is a sample of my novel. If you enjoy it, leave a comment below to be entered in a free eBook give away of HeartsBlood!

Excerpt

“Maria!” Sal yelled, remembering it all. How could she have forgotten that this man had nearly killed her friend?
“Leave,” he growled.
Despite her body wanting to do exactly the opposite, Sal found her feet turning back toward the stairwell. While she tried to rationalize that it was her desire to get to security, Sal knew that it was his word, his commanding tone that forced her feet to move. Nothing else mattered but following his edict.
In obeying, Sal’s path brought her past the blood bank’s door. She caught the sight of red. Her feet stopped.
“No!”
Before her lay a bloodbath. Literally. Two inches of the sticky fluid covered the floor. The blood bags had been ripped to shreds, their contents spilled. And a single body lay in the middle, slashed open like a wild animal kill. White innards spilled across the crimson sea.
Sal stood stunned, then caught sight of a blonde streak. Blonde bangs against blue-black shorn hair.
Maria!
Her best friend’s eyes lay open, glazed over with death. A wrenching nausea threatened to topple Sal, then his hand was on her shoulder.
His hand. The man who had done this. The man who’d killed Maria.
Her feet took over, reeling her backwards, propelling her away. She had seen a phone. It was halfway to the stairs. Running, Sal found the phone and jerked it from its hook. “Security!”
But it was dead. Not even a dial tone. She dropped the handpiece and went to run for the stairwell, but a strong hand caught her jacket.
Sal tried to scream, but his hand grabbed her throat, choking her, picking her up off her feet and slamming her back against the wall.
He brought his face so near that stubble raked her cheek. “Hold.”
As much as Sal wanted to squirm from his grasp, she could not. The man lowered her to the ground, then ever so slightly released the pressure against her trachea. She took in a harsh breath, then coughed.
His grip cut off her windpipe again. “You draw him!”
From under his coat, he drew his knife, the same blade she had seen earlier. The thin steel glistened at its impossibly sharp tip. Sal flailed as the light from the blood bank suddenly extinguished, leaving only inky black.
This was it. She was going to die like Maria. Here alone in the dark.

Till Death Do Us Bark: 43 Old Cemetery Road: Book 3

Synopsis From Goodreads
When a dog arrives at Spence Mansion, Seymour is overjoyed. His adoptive parents, Ignatius B. Grumply and Olive C. Spence, are less enthusiastic—especially when Secret, the dog, begins barking all night long. Is it possible Secret just misses his old companion, the late Noah Breth, whose children are fighting like cats and dogs over their father’s money? Or does Secret have a secret that, in the end, will make the entire town of Ghastly howl with delight?

This third book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series, a runaway mystery told in letters, limericks, a last will, and loose change, is guaranteed to please anyone who’s ever tried to keep a secret

Review
I love this book. Not only light but also a fun reading. The book format and the illustration inside are great.The characters were interesting. Olive C. Spence got my big attention. She was different from any other characters.

The story is told through letters, drawings, announcement on the board, invitatio, local newspaper, even a meeting transcription. Some of them made me giggle and the other was touching. I was amazed with the way they arranged all of them and made the story run well.

As you can see in the title, this is the third book of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series. I have not read the first and the second. So I have a lot of questions for Seymour, Ignatius and Olive who lives in 43 OldCemetery Road. I might find the answer if I have read their previous handwriting.

But It ended too soon. I wish I could find more intrict.

I chose this book from the list of e-ARC from Net Galley. I have downloaded few weeks ago. Then I just realized that there were only two days left before it was disappear from my notebook. I should have not downloaded that much.

Cover
It is lovely. Now the list of my favorite illustrator is getting longer

4/5

~~~
Author: Kate Klise
Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (May 2, 2011)
Language: English
Source: e-ARC from Net Galley

Waiting on Wednesday(2/23) : Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road

Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can crack a wicked case of writer's block. But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive. It's hard to say who is more outraged. But a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this gr...more
Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can crack a wicked case of writer's block. But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive. It's hard to say who is more outraged. But a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man--and the abandoned kid? Well, let's just say his last name's Hope.
Sisters Kate and M. Sarah Klise, the creators of the award-winning Regarding the . . . series, offer up this debut volume in a clever new series told in letters, drawings, newspaper articles, a work-in-progress manuscript, and even an occasional tombstone engraving

I have read the third book and fell for it. I got it from net Galley. I love the illustration. But there are so many question left. But I can not get the answers but reading the first book. I wish one fairy god mother will bring it to my mailbox. It's a very light reading and recommended for middle grade.

This book has been published on September 6, 2010.

~~~
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

Here we go again.

Last week I did not read many books. I just finished Human Blend. I liked it. Since it's a trilogy, big hope that the second and third book will come to my mailbox as well. :)

I am still reading A Discovery of Witches. It's so thick. The language is also not easy for me to understand. I keep shouting for my dictionary. Many vocabularies are found. But overall, I enjoyed it. I am about to finish it this afternoon.

This week I plan to read any book without any supernatural creatures inside. I just little bit tired with anything about them. I need my vacation. XD

So I have checked my pile of books. And these books below are what I plan to read

If you ever feel like falling into a beautiful comic-book story--in the same way one falls back into a warm field of grass--reach for Michel Plessix's lush adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. The artwork is an aquarelle, with thin, precise, detailed lines. It's no wonder he received numerous awards for his previous effort, Julien Boisvert, a contemporary take on the Tintin character type. In Wind in the Willows, Plessix breathes life into Mole, Rat, and Toad (of Toad Hall) as they picnic on the riverbank, indulge in Toad's latest fad, and get lost in Wild Wood. The pacing is masterful: each panel lingers just long enough to make you appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

I also choose Wilma Tenderfoot

Somewhere between France and England there is an island that no one has ever bothered to discover. On it, lives Wilma Tenderfoot, a determined ten-year old girl who dreams of one day becoming a World-Famous Detective. So she can't help thinking it's destiny when, dispatched from the Institute for Woeful Children to her new home as a live-in skivvy, she discovers that the genius gentleman detective Theodore P. Goodman lives next door. A ten-year-old girl of great determination (and her pet beagle, Pickle) and a World-Famous Detective of great repute might not be the most obvious crime-solving duo - but Wilma Tenderfoot is not about to let that put either of them off! And it looks like their first dastardly case is about to begin ...Feisty but funny, cheeky but charming - Wilma Tenderfoot and her unique mystery-solving methodology is hard to resist!

The first is between 40-year-old Nina, happily divorced and looking for a puppy companion, and Fred, an overweight, grumpy basset/beagle spending his last day in the shelter. It's fortunate for everyone that Nina adopts him, since Fred ends up playing unwitting Cupid, introducing Nina to ER doctor Alex Moore, her handsome 30-year-old neighbor. That's where the second love story comes in, but it's not easy. Nina rules out any man 10 years younger, but she's happy to watch old movies with Alex -- night after night after night.

There are a lot of characters to love here, including Nina's best friend, who has a black thumb when it comes to romance, and her 75-year-old neighbor, who's got a very different attitude. As Alex and Nina inch toward romance, neither is willing to make the first move until they discover some basic home truths about the power of unconditional love

I hope all of them are light reading and can help me recover. So I can take back those fantasy literatures. :D

How about you? What are you reading? Feel free to leave any link.
I am going to visit your blog back.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is weekly meme which is hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey Through a World of Books

In My Mailbox #4

This week I only got one book from local bookstore, one book from the postman and one e-book from an editor. Let's check the cover and its synopsis.

From bookstore, I bought How To Cheat A Dragon's Curse. It is the fourth book of the series. We have been waiting for this book FOREVER. I do not why the local publisher postponed it for ages.

From Goodreads
Reluctant hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III must rescue his best friend, Fishlegs, from the deadly disease Vorpentitis. The only cure is rare and impossible to find... a potato. But where will Hiccup find such a thing? He'll have to dodge the terrible Sharkworms Battle Doomfangs, and outwit crazy Hooligans if he's going to be a Hero. Again.

And this book below was arrived in the office. Thanks to Lisa Roe from Online Publicist

From Goodreads
"We are dealing with an influential fundamentalist international that has a clear strategy. In order to secure women's rights, we need a democratic international of women otherwise we have absolutely no chance of conquering this beast. Not only Algerian, but Sudanese, Iranian, and Afghani women know what I am talking about. They know the horror of God's State all too well. But alone, without your support, without the women's and human rights movement of the countries of the West, we are losing this battle of life and death." -Khalida Messaoudi, AlgeriaIn a world where the strident demands of Islamic extremists capture the media's attention, the courageous protests of Muslim reformers barely receive any notice. These include a surprising number of women who are prepared to challenge institutionalized persecution, risking derision, arrest, physical harm, and even death.In this inspiring compilation of Muslim women's stories from around the world, the voices of these long-oppressed women ring loud and clear as they question ideology and culture, patriarchal and religious beliefs, and demand the social and political rights women lack in many Muslim countries. The reformers speak out with passion, humanity, and sometimes humor in these compact and often poignant biographies, bringing alive the harsh realities for women in many parts of the world. By surveying a wide range of Muslim reformers, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe and North America, author Ida Lichter uncovers some significant emerging trends. For example, she notes that the majority of Muslim feminists would like to see reform contained within Islam. Many criticize their patriarchal culture for suppressing egalitarian views that they believe the Koran expresses and so they advocate a reinterpretation of the holy text. Some demand changes to discriminatory Sharia-based laws. Others campaign openly for political and educational reforms.Complete with a glossary and a list of helpful Web sites, this vibrant anthology makes use of reliable translations from original languages to demonstrate the groundswell of grassroots change that promises eventually to bring even the most conservative sectors of Islam into the twenty-first century

And this is what I got from an editor. This is not the cover. The Indonesian version is not released yet. I am about to read it this week.Look at this colorful cover. I hope its Indonesian cover will be nice also.

The Sword And The Stone recreates, against the background of magnificent pageantry and dark magic that was medieval England, the education and training of young King Arthur, who was to become the greatest of Britain's legendary rulers.

Growing up in a colorful world peopled by knights in armor and fair damsels, foul monsters and evil witches, young Arthur slowly learns the code of being a gentleman. Under the wise guidance of Merlin, the all-powerful magician for whom life progresses backwards, the king-to-be is trained in the gusty pursuits of falconry, jousting, hunting and sword play. He is even transformed by his remarkable old tutor into various animals, so that he may experience life from all points of view. In every conceivable and exciting way he is readied for the day when he, and he alone of all Englishmen, is destined to draw forth the marvelous sword from the magic stone and become the rightful King of' England

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren