Vampire Diaries : Stefan's Diaries Vol. 1 Orgins by L.J. Smith...NOT

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Set during the Civil War, against a backdrop of grand estates, unimaginable riches, and deadly secrets, three teenagers in Mystic Falls, Virginia enter a torrid love triangle that will span eternity. 

Brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore are inseparable until they meet Katherine, a stunning, mysterious woman who turns their world upside down. Siblings turned rivals, the Salvatores compete for Katherine's affection, only to discover that her sumptuous silk dresses and glittering gems hide a terrible secret: Katherine is a vampire. And she is intent on turning them into vampires so they can live together--forever.

....Borrrrrrring.....This is not Stephenie Meyer Midnight Sun! (I know, I know what your going to say I am very aware of the time line of these two book series and frankly I don't think it relates to the amount that one is a rip off of the other...so boo to you!)   

The book reads almost as if it's based off of the television series instead of the novels, which as a book lover I do not like to read.Since this book is based on L. J. Smith's novels as well as the CW TV series...it's an odd mash of both stories.

There could be a bit more to write about this book but honestly I just can not bring myself to write about it since I did not like it at all. Maybe if I'm feeling up to it I will update this post at a later time!

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

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It's not easy being Nikki.  Ever since former tomboy Emerson Watts' accident at the SoHo Stark Megastore--and subsequent brain transplant into the body of teen supermodel Nikki Howard--her life has changed dramatically. Em's trying to handle the demands of school, modeling, fending off Nikki's creepy ex-boyfriends, and living with celebutante Lulu Collins.
Will this former tomboy be able to make it in the world of high fashion? What will happen if she can't?
How can Em balance all her new, crazy life demands of her with school, runway shows, and weekend jaunts to St. Johns--especially when she's got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op; a sister who is headed to the high school cheer leading championships; a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side. . .
Not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren't really airheads after all. . .especially one model in particular.
But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

My thoughts: This is the 2nd book in the Airhead series and I feel that it completely lived up to what I expected! Poor Em is facing the struggles of being a rich & beautiful super model as well as a tired & stressed out student. Life is not as easy being a high-profile celebrity as Em thought. 

Our beloved Em/Nikki goes from cliff diving into shark infested waters, planning her Christmas holidays, meeting her brother and tracking down her lost mother, to meeting face to face the one she never thought to meet.  Our favorite characters (Lulu ❤ ) are introduced again and new, loveable members (Stephen - Nikki's rough and tough military brother & Felix - Christopher's nerdy, sentence serving cousin) are thrown into the mix. Of course we also see once again all of Nikki's ex-boyfriends who love to cause trouble. 

The end of this book will leave you hanging off your couch cushions! Butttttttt, of course I read RUNAWAYS directly after finishing Being Nikki so therefore, I didn't have to wait long to satisfy my Nikki craving. Mwahahahaha!

So grab your books/ebook and start reading this series is you haven't already! Happy Reading!!!!

Groucho Marx

"I find television very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go in the other room and read a book." ❤

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

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He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.

She came to him at dawn, his bleakest hour. As the beast raged inside him, threatening to consume him, he vented his centuries-old despair in an anguished cry that filled the waning night. And she answered, a ray of light, piercing his darkness. A beautiful angel. Her compassion, courage, and innocence awakened in him an exquisite longing and tenderness. He knew he must possess her, for only she could tame his savage side and lift the dark shadow from his soul. Apart they were desolate, bereft. Intertwined physically and spiritually, they could heal one another and experience an eternity of nights filled with love.

This is the first book in Christine Feehan's "Dark" Series, and there are A LOT of them...21 published and still counting!! The series is based on a hidden race of people that have hidden themselves in the Carpathian Mountains. 

Raven Whitney has fled to these mountains to find solitude and peace for her mind. Raven has just finished helping track down a vicious serial killer in the States, using her telepathic abilities. She is mentally and physically worn out from the efforts needed to dwell in the sick and twisted minds of the many serial killers she has hunted down. Raven hopes to relax and restrain from using her telepathic abilities. However, she can not stop herself from reaching out to a mind on there verge of ending its lonely existence. 

Prince Mikhail Dubrinksy, of the Carpathian race, has reached his breaking point. He has been entrusted to find the key to save his dying race of ancient and powerful people. The Carpathians have been granted powerful abilities and longevity in life, but they are faced with a difficult task of finding their one true life-mate. The birthrate amongst their people is slowly declining and the male to female ratio is growing extremely unbalanced. For all Carpathians males finding their life-mate is the most important thing, until they do they slowly loose all feeling of emotion. There is a point where Carpathians males have lost all sense of emotion they either chose to face the sun, which will end their life, or turn into viscous vampire.

Mikhail has decided to face the sun and in one cry filled with angous he expresses his deep feeling of lonelienes. Raven has no way to avoid the soul filled cry she hears coming from another person, her compassionate nature will not allow her to ignore another's pain, even though she has fled to avoid all telepathic connections. When Mikhail hears Raven speaking to him mentally he can not ignore her and tracks her down...only to realize that this human is his true lifemate!

...From that moment on there is nothing that can keep Mikhail away from Raven, even if it's Raven who is trying to deny they are meant for each other...

I LOVED this book! I plan on reading all 21 of them and then some! Mikhail is that over protecting male who borders on over controlling and Raven is a female who is immensely independent to the point where she choices the obviously dumb choice just to say it was her own. Being that the two clash so much leads to fun events between them. 

I would not recommend this book to a feminist however. Mikhail can become annoying with his over controlling ways and "sweet" endearment of "little one". But...being that I'm not an looking at this book with a feminist point of view and more of with a romantic's point of view... I don't mind it.

The story line was fun and exciting and always led me to an exciting end. This was definitely a page-turner and I actually asked myself at time..."There's more!" this book seemed like it was never going to end...but in a great way! The characters introduced in Dark Prince were all great additions to the book and opened the way for so many more great stores. I have to say I think this is going to become my second favorite series by an author. It reminds me so much of my favorite series about the Malory Family by Johanna Lindsey.

I would absolutely recommend this book to others. The immediate spark of romance is everything any romantic at heart dreams of. 

Alinora by Kara Lockley

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Lily had almost everything she ever wanted. Good friends, a nice house, a thriving career. The only thing missing was love. Until she started dreaming of a carefree romance every night. Her dreams were so vivid they made her doubt her sanity. Was too much time at the office forcing her stressed-out mind to create a retreat at night? Or were her dreams somehow... real? 

While ransacking the B&N Free NOOKbook section, for my second book in the 2011 Show Me The Free Challenge, I found this lovely looking book Alinora. The synopsis sounded very romantic and fairy tailed based...which I love! So needless to say I downloaded this book FREE! (making any book sweeter) and dove right in.

Sadly, that's were my excitement ended with this short story. The form of writing is very brutal and choppy. The element of surprise and build up of suspense are destroyed by the lack of variety in sentence structure. I quickly became bored with reading certain sections of Alinora because it was simple to predict where the story would lead.

There is minimal character building, just enough to be able to identify a character and what their purpose is.Your thrown directly into Lily's confusingly sad life with very little backing to give you any feelings for her. Personally, when reading any story I like to be able to relate, like, or cheer for the main characters. 

I would love to read this story as a full novel with more of a substance to everything mentioned. The story line is fun and magical. Who wouldn't love to be transported to a world you can only dream of? I have to say though I would not recommend this book as a short story for others to read, and this is not something I like to say...I would recommend it only if it was potentially to become a novel in the future.

Wish A Novel by Alexandra Bullen

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For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone... until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn't just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can't solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

In a breathtaking debut from Alexandra Bullen, WISH asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

I really really really need to stop picking these tearjerker books. I swear one look at me and you would think my dog died...if I had one that is. Maybe I'm just a sap but this book was so heart tugging it was almost unbearable. What drew me to this book on the Amazon Top 100 Free list was the beautiful cover.

 Poor Olivia has had her world turned upside down. First she witnesses the death of her twin sister Violet, then she is pulled from the world she knows to move across country, her parents all but ignore her, her twin sister then pops back into her life...but is only seen and heard by Olivia, friend and boy drama flares up, and then Violet is once again ripped from Olivia's life. ...Olivia's life is one nonstop roller coaster to an emotional disaster.

Wish is a retold classic "Gene with 3 wishes" story. Alexandra Bullen brings up the intriguing question...what would you wish for if you were granted 3 wishes? She brings about this question and the greatest lesson from it in a surprisingly moving way for a breakout novel.

There are many mixed reviews out there about this book. All I can suggest to you is if your looking for a easy, heartfelt, beautiful read...Wish is the book for you.