Friday Fill Ins....

And...here we go!

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a little rabbit."

2. "I'm tired again but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, and it lulled me to sleep."

4. "Come forth from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and it tried to grab me and not let go."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, so watch your back."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my Godson's birthday dinner and Chuck E Cheese with our best friends, tomorrow my plans include movie theatre birthday party for said Godson and Sunday, I want to have a nice family day!

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

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Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act — suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun — and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life — but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

Wow, this book completely blew me away!!!! This is my first read by Ellen Hopkins and most definitely will NOT be my last!!! I knew going into the book that it was dealing with some heavier subject matter, which is clearly pointed out in the book description. What I did not know was the impact the verse style writing would have about such subject matter. Although the book reads quickly because of the verse style it is jam packed with emotion and a subject matter that will stay with you. I found myself reading many pages out loud to myself, which I never do, but felt compelled with this particular novel. Just amazing, I can't wait to get and read more of Ms. Hopkins work!!!! 5/5

Paper Scissors Death by Joanna Campbell Slan

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Every scrapbook tells a story. Memories of friends, family . . .and murder?

Mousy housewife Kiki Lowenstein has two great loves: scrapbooking and her young daughter, Anya. But her happy family album is ruined when her husband, George, is found naked and dead in a hotel room. As Kiki tracks down George's murderer, she discovers his sordid secret life.

Cruel taunts by George's former flame compel Kiki to spout an unwise threat. When the woman is murdered, Kiki's scissor-sharp words make her the prime suspect. She could be creating scrapbook keepsakes for the rest of her life-behind bars. Supported by her loyal friends, along with a little help (and a lot of stomach flutters) from the dashing Detective Detweiler, can Kiki cut the true killer out of the picture and design a new life for herself and Anya?

This is a great start to a new series!!! Kiki is a great main character who is easy to like, you want her to succeed as she's been thrown some major curve balls in the recent past. I really enjoyed the many friendships that were formed as well as the mystery aspect. I was wrong about who I thought the killer was a couple times, I always like being wrong when I read a mystery!!! :) Great start to a new series, and I can't wait for the 2nd book to come out!!! :) 4/5

Redneck Cinderella by LuAnn McLane

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Raised by her widowed father, Jolie Russell could keep up with any man—that is, until wealthy and sexy land developer Cody Dean struts into her life.

Cody buys the Russell farm with an impossible-to-refuse multimillion-dollar offer, then relocates Jolie and her dad to the Copper Creek Estates. But the country club atmosphere isn’t ready for Jolie’s kind of country. As her two worlds collide, Jolie wonders how she can ever hope to capture Cody’s heart without giving up her grits.

LOVED this book, as I have with all of McLane's, she is most definitely one of my very favorite authors of all time!!! :) This book surely does not dissapoint. I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with Jolie Russell and her attitude. She's a tough cookie with a soft side to her that she doesn't like to let show. And a girl who comes into money but realizes that doesn't have to change who she truly is!!!! Love, love, love the characters in this book. Another fantastic read by McLane!! :) 5/5

Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Untamed by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast's spellbinding fourth House of Night novel.

I really enjoyed this 4th book in the House of Night Series!!! There were lots of twists, turns, and unexpected incidents which arose, that kept me very intrigued!!! :) I love this series because it takes a totally different twist on vampires than most of the series out there, and I enjoy the unique depiction we are shown by this mother/daughter pair of authors. I am VERY excited to get my hands on the next book in the series, to see where indeed these characters go from here!! :) 5/5

Friday Favorites....

Ok, so I'm a day late, but I think Lori will forgive me.....hahaha ;)

Friday Favorites is something new that Lori at Lori's Reading Corner has decided to run with, visit her blog to find out all about it and post about your Friday Favorite!!! :)

For this week I'm going to go with one of my favorite authors and that will be Sarah Addison Allen!!!

Her first book Garden Spells
Shop Indie Bookstores was the first keeper book I added to my shelf in a VERY long time. I am not a keeper of books so to speak, I love to share my books with fellow reading lovers over at PBS. So when I declare I am keeping a book and plan to re-read it, that's a BIG deal!!!! ;) Her writing is so mystical and magical, it truly transports you into the story and you feel as if you are walking beside each of the amazing characters she creates. Her 2nd book The Sugar Queen
Shop Indie Bookstores was much the same way, it was an amazing tale filled with wonder, magic and comfort. I am SUPER anxious for her 3rd book, The Girl Who Chased The Moon
Shop Indie Bookstores to hit bookshelves this May........Oh such sadness, I just checked the website and the release date has been pushed back to 2010, I don't think I can wait that long!!! :( If you have not yet tried the magical writing of Sarah Addison Allen, you must..........and then let me know what you think of her magical journeys!!! :)

Friday Fill Ins....

It's been awhile since I've done one of these....hehe I forgot how fun they are!!! ;)

And...here we go!

1. When I look to the left, I see out the window to my backyard.

2. The Kitchen is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work out for the best.

4. Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap!

5. Respecting civil servants is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any extra cash feel free to send it my way. hehehe

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to playing guitar hero with our best friends, tomorrow my plans include mother/son bowling and Sunday, I want to veg out and do a whole lot of nothing!

Chili Con Corpses by J. B. Stanley

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Things are chugging merrily along for librarian James Henry. He has a closet filled with new clothes, a trimmer waistline, and a closer bond with his father. His only real problem is that his girlfriend Lucy's interest in him seems to have inexplicably cooled. When schoolteacher Lindy suggests the club members join a Mexican cooking class, James jumps at the idea. Over cervezas and black bean dip, the supper club members warm to their new adventure. The class heats up even more when a reporter and her friends, twin sisters with supermodel physiques, enroll. But when people start turning up dead, and the evidence points toward Lindy, things become hotter than a jalapeño. James, who was looking to add a little more spice to his life, gets much more than he bargained for.

OMG, I am simply in love with this series!!!! It's full of fun, food, mystery and even a little tiny bit of romance!!!! I loved how some of the character development took a little turn in this book, shaking things up a tiny bit and keeping Quincy Gap interesting and oh so fun to visit!!!! This is definitely one of my very favorite series right now, easy for me to relate to and my goodness I just love these characters!!!! Another hit for the Flab Five, definitely can't wait to read more about the goings on in Quincy's Gap!!! :) 5/5

Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels

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She sees dead people

Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life -- until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry.

Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwanted ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased . . . and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers -- and threatening to haunt her until she does.

I really enjoyed this book!!!! It covers my first in a series challenge and it is definitely a series I will be continuing with!!!! With a little bit of a *ghost whisperer* feel to it, this book was a fun and quick read filled with lots of great characters!!!! I just love Pepper, she is a great leading lady, and I look forward to getting to know her better through the rest of the series!!!! A great start to a new to me series!! :) 4.5/5

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

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Claire Danvers's college town may be run by vampires but a truce between the living and the dead made things relatively safe. For a while. Now people are turning up dead, a psycho is stalking her, and an ancient bloodsucker has proposed private mentoring. To what end, Claire will find out. And it's giving night school a whole new meaning.

Once again this series book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more. Thankfully I have the next book on my TBR pile already and will get to it soon I hope!!! ;) That said, I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the 2 prior. It was really good though and we see some character development happening. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the series goes now with the new changes that developed in the last couple chapters!!! :) 4/5

Slightly Married by Wendy Markham

Slightly Married by Wendy Markham

One small step for Tracey, one giant leap for the groom.

After three years, the man who bought a lifetime subscription to Tivo without trying it finally committed to a lifetime subscription to Tracey Spadolini.

All Tracey wants is to get hitched without a hitch--but as the calendar marches toward her late-October wedding date, suddenly she and her fiance can't agree on anything. From where to get married (New York City or Buffalo?) to how many attendants they're going to have (she's already asked eight, he was thinking of just a best man). Meanwhile, Tracey's friends are caught up in their own dramas. There's newlywed Raphael, who just had his gay wedding; newly pregnant Kate, trying to adjust to impending motherhood; and Buckley, who is acting inexplicably strange. When Buckley unexpectedly calls off his own engagement, all but leaving his fiance at the altar, Tracey is stunned to discover that he might be in love with her.

With plenty of snafus to keep them distracted, is being Slightly Married the road to happily ever after, after all?

A cute addition to the series!!! I have to say I really enjoyed the 2nd half of the book more than the first though. Tracey deals with all kinds of pre-wedding problems in this installment to the Slightly series. It was quite comical as many are things I remember dealing with myself. The who's invited, who's in the wedding and the where will it be's are just some of the issues that are dealt with in this quirky look at getting ready for the wedding. Oh and let's not forget those unresolved issues Tracey has to deal with!!!! Over all an entertaining and enjoyable read!!! 4/5

Snipped in the Bud by Kate Collins

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When I swapped the thorny problems of law school for the budding business of my flower store, Bloomers, I vowed that I, Abby Knight, wouldn’t be caught dead visiting that hateful campus ever again. But sometimes a girl’s got to face down her dragons....

PLANT OF ATTACK

Someone orders a black rose for Abby’s old law school nemesis, Professor "Snapdragon" Puffer. But her plans for a speedy delivery are foiled when he catches her putting the bloom on his desk and sends it straight into the trash. Abby flees in terror, only to run smack into Carson Reed, the professor who recently had her arrested at an animal rights protest. After a biting exchange, Abby storms out of the building. But if there’s anything she can’t stand, it’s injustice and bullies. So, even though she knows bad luck comes in threes, she ignores the advice of her sometimes boyfriend, hunk-a-licious Marco Salvare, and heads back in to retrieve her dignity and her flower -- only to find the rose now decorating a dead professor, and herself the prime suspect....

Another really cute addition to this series!!! I am enjoying getting to know Abby Knight and her friends and family!!!! Great character progression from book to book so far, and love learning new things about Abby. I really enjoyed seeing so much of Marco and watching their relationship move forward a bit and cousin Jillian is always up to something!!!! 4/5

February Books Read - Total Pages 3401

• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Leftover Dead (Trailer Park Mysteries) by Jimmie Ruth Evans
• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
• It Had to Be You (Gossip Girl Prequel) by Cecily von Ziegesar
• Honeymoon by James Patterson & Howard Roughan
• Asking For Murder by Roberta Isleib
• Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
• Playing Dead by Allison Brennan
• I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
• Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins
• Serendipity by Louise Shaffer
• Fit to Die by J.B. Stanley

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

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"Dead girl walking," the boys say in the halls.
"Tell us your secret," the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia's descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

Wow, is one word to describe this book. This was such a beautifully written book, but in a very heartbreaking way. Tough content matter is tabled, but you are engulfed into Lia's world, and see things through her eyes. This book brings to the table the reality of eating disorders in our world today and how they can effect not only the one who is suffering with the disease but those surrounding them. Also, seeing things through the eyes of Lia made me understand slightly more what the life of an anorexic girl is like. This book was insanely good, and highly recommended!!!! 5/5

Leftover Dead by Jimmie Ruth Evans

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Waitress Wanda Nell Culpepper is barely hitched to her new husband, Jack, before the couple starts digging into an unsolved murder from thirty-one years ago. But a new death puts this cold case on the front burner.

I absolutely love this series, and am so sad this is the last or second to last book in the series. The characters in this series are so much fun to get to know and I will miss reading about them all and their crazy lives. Love that this book finds Wanda Nell married and truly happy, but still involved in another crazy murder mystery. I really liked that they worked a *cold case* this time around, it threw a different spin on it and was really enjoyable to read about!!!! Love, love, love, this series!!! :) 4.5/5