Book Challenges

  • Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig

    The exotic scent of night blooming jasmine fills the pages of Lauren Willig’s latest Pink Carnation series installment, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. Robert, the entailed Duke of Dovedale, has  returned to England after being abroad in India for 12 years. Though it’s not his nostalgia that draws him home….it’s revenge. There is one debutant that threatens to derail Robert’s revenge….his distant, twice removed ‘cousin’ Charlotte. Charlotte is the granddaughter of the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale–think Maggie Smith from Downton Abbey :). The Duchess rules her family and relations with an iron fist–a duchess to the core. She is strong, ruthless, and stubborn to a fault….Charlotte on the other…

  • Discussion: Who would you cast as your favorite Outlander character?

    I got the idea for this post from one of my Outlander Reading Challenge participants (Jennifer–Outlander Fan Blog). She posted a really awesome post about who she would cast as her fav characters if Outlander were made into a movie. I also saw that Diana Gabaldon posted a similar poll on her Facebook page.  So that got me thinking….who would I cast as my fav characters if Hollywood got on the stick and made Outlander a movie or the very least, an HBO series?? Outlander fans and challenge participants….what do you guys think? Who would you cast? Post your picks in the comments section. FYI this post is NOT part of…

  • Discussion #1: Game of Thrones Reading Challenge 2012

    As promised, I will be posting monthly meme’s/discussions for both reading challenges I am hosting, Outlander and Game of Thrones. These are meant purely for fun and by no means required to participate in the challenges. I will post five questions for you all to mull over and I will answer one of the questions myself to start off the discussion. I also invite you to post your favorite quote or passage from the book as well. You are welcome to link your responses or reviews back to your blog using the Mr Linky on the corresponding Discussion pages (in this case the Game of Thrones Monthly Meme/Discussion page) or you can simply leave your response…

  • Discussion #1: Outlander Reading Challenge 2012

    As promised, I will be posting monthly meme’s/discussions for both reading challenges I am hosting, Outlander and Game of Thrones. These are meant purely for fun and by no means required to participate in the challenges. I will post five questions for you all to mull over and I will answer one of the questions myself to start off the discussion. I also invite you to post your favorite quote or passage from the book as well. You are welcome to link your responses or reviews back to your blog using the Mr Linky on the corresponding Discussion page (in this case the Outlander Meme/Discussion page) or you can simply…

  • Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

    The sparks of rebellion have turned into a raging inferno in Suzanne Collins’s final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. Katniss Everdeen, ‘the girl who was on fire’, is the catalyst for the movement and the symbol of the rebellion–their very own Mockingjay. After the first Hunger Games, whispers of uprising begin when Katniss and Peeta Mellark both emerge from the Games victorious….two winners not one–an open defiance of the Capitol. Then when Katniss, Peeta, and their allies destroy the Games for good in Catching Fire–the letters are on the wall, uprising is inevitable. With District 12 demolished, Katniss and her family are taken to rebel headquarters–District 13. During…

  • Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

    Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire in The Hunger Games is now sparking revolutions throughout the 12 Districts in Suzanne Collins’s second installment of The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. Having emerged from the Hunger Games victorious, Katniss and her now ‘made for TV boyfriend’ Peeta Mellark return to District 12. Their final act of desperation in the Games makes them both symbols of rebellion and hope to the people of the 12 Districts….but targets for the Capitol. President Snow smells deception….he knows their love was just an act and feels that they rebellion in the Games will only incite more uprisings in other Districts….while on their victory…

  • Review: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

    Like the gladiators of ancient Rome, the youth of post apocalyptic North America are put face to face in a ‘fight to the death’ game called The Hunger Games. Blood, complicated strategies, alliances, betrayal, and death are expected to play out, all with the nation watching on live television–twenty four children between the ages of 12-18 go into the games but only one will emerge victorious. The Hunger Games is the first in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In this post apocalyptic/dystopian society, there are 12 Districts. The 12 Districts are ruled by the The Capitol. The tyrannical Capitol keeps the Districts in check by forcing them to send…

  • Review: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

    Winter is coming. The Stark family motto rings in the ears of all the people of Winterfell….but it is ringing loudest in the ears Lord Stark himself…..winter is coming. A Game of Thrones is the first in George R. R. Martin’s epic high fantasy series , A Song of Ice and Fire. Let me just say, epic doesn’t begin to describe this series…..each book is roughly 800+ pages. The story itself is intricate and tedious….you really need to pay attention to what is going on but once you get use to the prose, flow, and points of view….you are rewarded with a richly designed and beautifully written story. Personally, I found…

  • Review: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Pink Carnation #4) by Lauren Willig

    Dapper, dark, mysterious, and mature: Lauren Willig’s latest flowery spy novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose  was the ‘changeling’ in the series. Each book follows the usual pattern of ‘romance’ between a dashing international man of mystery (typically of peerage) and a virginal debutant. The Crimson Rose is principally the same as the other books, but the love story between Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy is more of an intimate, mature, intellectual love not like the previous books that are more of a fairytale romance….Vaughn and Mary for me were more like Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. I was actually surprised that the love story was more intellectual in nature….based…

  • Entry: Austen Murder Matchup Contest/Giveaway

    An author friend of mine, Lynn Shepherd, is hosting a comparative book review contest on her blog. I couldn’t resist entering as the goal is to review two of the hottest Austen inspired murder mysteries on the market, Murder at Mansfield Park and Death Comes to Pemberley. Shepherd is putting both books together in a head to head compare and contrast style review contest. What is the goal of the comparative book review? I’m pitching these two Janeite murder mysteries together, head to head, to see which one you think comes out on top. I’m inviting anyone who’s read both books to write a short review comparing the two, and giving them…