Angels are Kids and Furkids

Can it be that February is already over?  My, my, how time seems to fly.  Seems like just yesterday when I was here typing up the January wrap up.  I have continued to have a fantastic time with my blog and doing book reviews!  I couldn't be happier with how my blog has come to be known to so many out there.  


THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL MY FOLLOWERS AND THOSE THAT STOP IN TO READ MY BLOG!!!  YOU ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED BY ME EVERY DAY!  


Here's what I have read in February:  Grand Total of 14 Books
You can click on the title of the book to get to my review of that book.  :-)
1 Young Adult ARC:
~Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba 


3 Adult Non-Fiction
~Getting Away With Murder by Chris Crowe
~Claudette Colvin Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
~Adventures In Parenting by Alan Guttmacher


3 ARC Fiction
~The Harvest by Duane King
~Unmerciful Lawyer by Scott Gaille
~Bridge of Deaths by M.C.V. Egan


7 Adult Fiction (3 Paranormal Romance/2 Mystery/ 2 Fiction)
~Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Paranormal Romance)
~One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Paranormal Romance)
~At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost (Paranormal Romance)
~The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Fiction)
~Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris (Fantasy/Mystery)
~ Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (Fantasy/Mystery)
~Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim (Fiction)


How are my Challenges looking?
You can click on each challenge and you will go to my post for that challenge to see which books counted for each challenge or what each challenge entails.  

YIPPY!!!  I have completed my first 2012 Reading Challenge that I signed up for this year!  My goal was to read 4 Romantic Suspense Books (aka Level 1).  As of today I have accomplished that goal!  So excited!!!  Below you will find the details of the challenge and the books I read for the challenge.

2012 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge

Rules:

• Anyone can join
• You don't need a blog to participate.  For non-bloggers, please leave a comment with a link (if you review somewhere else) to the review or leave a list of the books you read on the monthly link up post.
• Audio, ebooks, and bound books are ok.
• No re-reads
• Create a sign up post and post the link in the linky below.
• Challenge goes from January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012
• Challenge Crossovers are ok.

Levels:

Level 1 - Read 4 Romantic Suspense novels

Level 2 - Read 10 Romantic Suspense novels

Level 3 - Read 14 Romantic Suspense novels

Level 4 - Read 15+ Romantic Suspense novels

I am very excited to be doing this challenge.  I have read romantic suspense in the past, but we seem to have had a falling out with each other.  lol.  So this will help us reconnect.  ;)


I am going for Level 1 - Read 4 Romantic Suspense Novels


I will track my progress here:
1. Blood Law by Jeannie Holmes
2. Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost
3. One Foot In the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
4. At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost


Challenge Completed!!!!!

Title:  At Grave’s End
Author:  Jeaniene Frost
Pages:  342
Publication Date:  2009
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Fiction/Romance/Paranormal

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. 

As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself—and Bones—from a fate worse than the grave. "

My Review:
What more can be said about this wonderful book except….it is Cat and Bones!!!!!  What’s not to love?  This book had Cat and Bones as a team and newlyweds doing the job they have always done, kill bad vampires.  A lot happens in this book though, it is a true page turner from the start.  Cat is still being hunted by her vampire father, Bones wants to give Cat a “real” wedding, Cat’s Mother still hates Bones, Cat and her team still hunt vampires, but there are many added twists in the road.  A Master vampire Patra is after Cat, and not to talk to her…she wants her dead.  Cat, Bones, and the team go on a hunt for Patra after Cat is almost killed.  I don’t want to give too much away, but one of the surprising things that happens in this book is that one of Cat’s vampire hunting team members wants to become a vampire.  He wants to be a vampire to be more useful to the team and Cat.  As a vampire he will be stronger, harder to kill, and can protect Cat more.  Who does it?  The team member you would least expect that’s who.  Will Bones really agree to make a new vampire though, even if it is part of his deal with Cat’s boss?  Will it really matter at all what they do anyway?  There is a Master, old, really powerful vampire trying to kill them after all who can’t be stopped easily or without sacrifice.  The one person who knows how to end her, is the most powerful vampire of them all, but he also happens to be her husband.  Can he really help condemn his wife to death to save Cat?

Title:  Club Dead
Author:  Charlaine Harris
Pages:  292
Publication Date:  2003
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Fantasy/Mystery/Fiction

Summary Via Goodreads.com:

My Review:
What’s a girl to do when her vampire boyfriend who has been keeping secrets from her suddenly disappears after telling her he had to go on a secret mission to complete a job?  Why should she be worried?  Well, Sookie learns real fast that she does have to worry and that maybe her relationship with her vampire boyfriend isn’t as sound as she thought it was.  Sure, they have had their problems, but what relationship doesn’t right?  Sookie’s world is turned upside down when Pam, another vampire friend of hers, comes into the bar she is working at to tell her that Bill (the said vampire boyfriend) is now missing.  Sookie has to team up with Eric (another male vampire who would love nothing more than to be Sookies new boyfriend if Bill is gone for good) and Alcide (a Werewolf shifter who has the ability to get her into the place she needs to be in to search for Bill).  Along the way she learns that Bill was not only doing a secret project, but he also had no intentions of coming back in the first place.  Bill ran into his “old flame vampire girlfriend” and had every intention of dumping Sookie to stay and be with her.  Knowing this, why should Sookie be risking her life to save Bill from the death that awaits him (the final death)?  As Sookie is trying to find where Bill is being kept and tortured she is posing as Alcide’s girlfriend.  A role Sookie wouldn’t mind having for real all the time.  After all, is it that out of the ordinary to date a werewolf when you have already been dating a vampire?  Why should she be worried about her and Bill’s relationship anyway, he wanted to leave her.  Sookie has to put all feelings aside though to try and find and rescue Bill.  She may be mad at him, but he doesn’t deserve to die because he got mixed up in bad situations.  Will Sookie get to Bill’s aide in time to save his life?  What will she do if she does?  What if Bill still wants to leave her, will she feel even more betrayed that she risked her life to save him and he leaves her anyway?

While I was away at my family function I was given the Kreativ Blogger Award!  What a fun and nice surprise to come home to right?!  I was given this award by Susi over at http://bocafrau.com.  So I give her a HUGE THANK YOU!!!!  I would go even bigger, because that is how much I appreciate the fact that you thought of me and my blog, but I couldn't possibly fit it on the screen.  :-)



So, here's the "skinny" aka....boring old rules (everything comes with rules you know):
1. Thank & link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Answer the form questions below.
3. Share ten random facts / thoughts about yourself.
4. Nominate (at least) 7 other blogs for the Kreativ Blogger Award.


NOW, to the fun part of getting an award.....the answering and sharing of info about me.  ;)
(***All images I used in this post came from a search on google***)

What better thing to come home to than being told you have a lovely blog that is "warm, welcoming blog".  My wonderful fellow blogger McGuffy Ann over at McGuffy's Reader was so sweet to have given me the lovely blog award.  I am truly honored.  I am so glad that my blog is getting read by people and it is being enjoyed.  When I started my blog I was worried, worried that no one would care what I read or what I thought about it.  Once I got into the blogging world I found that lots of people care what others think about books they read and what happens in their lives.  I have made many blogging friends and am SO glad I decided to start a book review blog.  I never knew so many people in so many places in the world loved to read as much as I do...or more.  :-)  


To share my award with a few others will only make my getting it better, so I decided to give a shout out to a few of the blogs that I find myself visiting on a daily basis, or whose blogger has touched me in some way.  I want to thank ANY blog I follow and say that I give kudos to each and every one of you for all the work you put into your blog.  In my book you all deserve the Lovely Blogger Award!  


Here are a few of the blogs that are extra special to me:


~McGuffy's Reader  I know she just received and gave this, but I think if there is a "favorite blogger friend" of mine, this wonderful woman is it.  Her blog is always so organized and easy to navigate.  Her love of animals is HUGE for me too.  :-)  When I come online, hers is the first blog I go to check for new posts (which I always love).  She is a very special woman who deserves so much more than a lovely blogger award, but that is where I will start to show my appreciation for her, her blog, her love of animals, her kind nature, and so much more.  


~I Am A Reader Not A Writer for the many author interviews that give me insight into the lives of those that write the books I read and love.  


~Mommy Wants To Read for being the first blog I ever read, that made me think I wanted to start one.  She gave me the direction I needed and answered a LOT of questions I had when I first started.  


~Grab A Book From Our Stack for having such a kind spirit that they donate money to a different cause every month for every legitimate comment they receive.  That is a wonderful thing to do!


~Feeling Beachie for having the sense of humor to share crazy things that happen that happen to all of us, but we don't want to share.  I love the "feel" I get at this blog, makes me feel calm when I visit it and it gives me smiles and laughs too.  

Hello Everyone!


I wanted to make a post for you all to let you know that I will be out of town at a family function this weekend.  I will not be near a computer, so will not be posting anywhere or answering emails.  I will be gone Saturday through Monday.  I plan to return with a new review for you on Tuesday.  


It’s my Grandma’s 80th birthday!!!  We are traveling to go to her surprise birthday party.  We are all very excited, not only to see her, but to see other relatives too that we haven’t seen in awhile.  Have to love family gatherings, they are so fun.  What’s extra nice is the feeling of picking up on conversations like you never left one another, or it hasn’t been months since you saw each other.  


So excited!  Anyway, that is where I will be for the next few days.  I am not ignoring anyone, just am away from a computer.  I will see and talk to you all when I get back on Tuesday!  


Angie  :-)

This is a fun meme and it's hosted by Hilary at Feeling Beachie.  

Title:  Yellow Crocus
Author:  Laila Ibrahim
Pages:  240
Publication Date:  2010
Version:  E-Book (got free off of amazon.com)
Genre:  Fiction

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned’ her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story... 

So begins Lisbeth Wainwright’s compelling tale of coming-of-age in antebellum Virginia. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her enslaved black wet nurse, Mattie, Lisbeth’s childhood unfolds on the line between two very different worlds. Growing up under the tender care of Mattie, Lisbeth adopts her surrogate mother’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring. In time, Lisbeth realizes she has freedoms and opportunities that Mattie does not have, though she’s confined by the societal expectations placed on women born to privilege. As Lisbeth grows up, she struggles to reconcile her love for her caregiver with her parents’ expectations, a task made all the more difficult as she becomes increasingly aware of the ugly realities of the American slavery system. When Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Lisbeth realizes she must make a choice, one that will require every ounce of the courage she learned from her beloved Mattie. This compelling historical novel is a richly evocative tale of love, loss, and redemption set during one of the most sinister chapters of American history."

My Review:
This book is an amazing tale of a young woman who is a slave on a plantation.  Her name is Mattie.  The story starts about 3 months after she has had her son, Samuel and progresses all the way to when Samuel is in his twenties.  Mattie, due to just having had her son, has milk to feed him.  This may seem like a good thing, but this is what changes Mattie’s life forever.  Because she has milk still in her breasts she is called in to the white owners’ house late one night to take over as the wet nurse for the woman of the house when she has her first baby.  Mattie is to now live in the house caring for this new baby instead of her own baby.  The tale takes the reader through the growing up of the little girl and how she attaches to Mattie in a way that is “not proper” in the South at that time.  The little girl, Elizabeth, has deep feelings for Mattie and sees her as a person, not just a slave.  She is told her feelings are wrong and to stop them.  As Elizabeth grows Mattie is allowed to make visits to the slave lands outside to see her family and friends once a week.  This gives Mattie the chance to still see and have a relationship with her son.  As Elizabeth gets older and is in school she teaches Samuel the things she is learning in school and teaches Mattie how to writer her name.  This is forbidden, but Elizabeth doesn't know any better and is happy to be teaching them.  As the book progresses bad things happen and Samuel is sold and Mattie is beside herself.  Elizabeth tries to help, but is too young to understand the ways of her family.  Eventually Samuel goes missing along with his Father from another plantation.  Mattie is taken to be questioned about what she knows of the runaways.  Eventually Mattie decides, after having her second baby (a girl), to run too.  She knows where her husband and son probably are, they always made plans for if they could run away, where they would go…to Ohio, the free state.  When Jordan, Mattie’s little girl, is big enough Mattie makes the decision and has the chance to run to freedom.  It is a MUCH longer and harder journey than she imagined though.  Will Mattie make it to freedom?  If she does, will she find her family and be able to keep her daughter alive on the journey?  And what about Elizabeth, what will happen to her?  Will Elizabeth forget Mattie and just go along with her family’s ways about slaves?

I can not even begin to describe this book in a way that does it justice.  There is so much that happens in this book and so much that makes you think about the way of the South back then (1800s is when this book is set).  I was drawn into the setting and fell in love with the gentle, yet brave and strong character of Mattie.  I also loved Elizabeth, and how you got to “see” her grow up into a wonderful young woman through the book.  I started this book one day and the next day was up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it.  It just amazed me and drew me in.  I could not put it down.  The writing was wonderful, the language just right for the characters.  The story just flowed without seam until the end, where you were left feeling satisfied and with a sense of calm, yet wonder.  The book depicts the way a slave was made to live and how they were treated.  How they yearned for freedom, even if it meant running away and risking being caught again and punished.  Yellow Crocus was a wonderfully written book that tugged at my heart strings and made me thankful for change.  This book was fiction, but it had a lot of non-fiction base to it I would say.  The situations of the characters throughout the book is phenomenal and there is no way, as a reader, you won’t get drawn in and have feelings for the characters and what is happening in the plot.

5/5 Stars!  AMAZNIG book!

Counts toward the following challenges:  100 Books, 1,000,000 Pages Read, A to Z Title Challenge, Color Coded Challenge, Scavenger Hunt 2012, and Why Buy The Cow Challenge.