Transitioning to Booklikes

 

 Doing a little experiment and am consolidating my Blogger site and my Booklikes blog. Running two blogs is just too time consuming ... It might take a while to get it exactly the way that I want but hopefully it will be worth the effort. 

As such, The Hottie Harem can now be found at The Hottie Harem at Booklikes and can still be followed via Bloglovin' -

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Sunday Post #13

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

Its been a busy week. My dad finally had is gallbladder out on Tuesday That was a nerve wracking hour and a half in the waiting room, let me tell you! They released him on Friday and he's recovering nicely at home. 

The semester has finally come to an end but now its all marking all the time. My students have a tendency to write such drivel but there is occasionally that rare glimpse of brilliance from one of them *sigh*. 

I missed last week's Sunday Post, so here is what I read and reviewed in the last fortnight:

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
If You Deceive by Kresley Cole
Storm Born by Richelle Mead
Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton

*Click on titles to see reviews
   
Also got some of books:

Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy (Kobo)
Jane Yellowrock World Companion by Faith Hunter (Kobo)
Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr (Audible)
Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur (Audible)

Pitch Black by Leslie A. Kelley (Amazon)

Black at Heart by Leslie A. Kelley (Amazon)

So what have you been up to this week?

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Feature & Follow #12: Blogging BFF

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop aimed at providing exposure for new bloggers and at expanding blog followers. The hop is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a wonderful opportunity for making new friends and sharing your love for books and reading.
This week's featured blogs are: Mystifying Paranormal Reads and Worn Down Glories

Q: Who is your blogging BFF?

Nope, no blogging BFF for me. I'm a solo blogger.

I do, however, have a real life BFF. We meet in elementary school and have been friends for 28 years. Even though our paths have often taken us away from each other, whenever we do get together its as if we were never apart for long. 
This reminds me that I need to give her a call :0)

Who is your BFF?

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Sunday Post #12

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

Its been a quiet week but I managed to read and review a few books, including:

When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy
Last Dragon Standing by G.A. Aiken
Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long
To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

*Click on titles to see reviews
   
Also got a couple of books:

On Thin Ice by Cherry Adair (Kobo)
Kissed by Darkness by Shea MacLeod (Audible)

Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard by Vanessa Kelly (Borrowed)

After the Storm by Maya Banks (Borrowed)   

So what have you been up to this week?

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Feature & Follow #11: Blogger Resolutions

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop aimed at providing exposure for new bloggers and at expanding blog followers. The hop is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a wonderful opportunity for making new friends and sharing your love for books and reading.
This week's featured blogs are: Dandelion Wine and Little Blog of Geek

Q: Resolutions: Put together your blogger resolution list for all of us to see!

A little while ago I created a blogging bucket list for the rest of 2013. Here is my updated list for 2014:

Abstract goals: 
* Enjoy blogging and make ensure it doesn't become a chore
* Work on developing interesting content
* Find great books to read and recommend

Numbers to reach by the end of 2013: 
* 150 Bloglovin followers
* 200 Twitter followers
* 650 GFC Followers
 
Book and review related: 
* Receive and review a DRC from Edelweiss
* Review one NetGalley ARC per month

Post/Event related: 
* Complete my Goodreads Challenge and post about it
* Write a street team post  
* Write a Series Wrap up post
* Write a guest post for another blog
* Join a giveaway hop

Design: 
* Create original blog button
* Create original blog signature 

Miscellaneous: 
* Go to a book reading/blogging convention (need to start saving up)  
* Make sure to comment back on blogs that visit

And what are your resolutions?

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Sunday Post #11: December Wrap Up (& 2013)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

I am back from the Abyss!!! 

My father had an acute gallbladder attack and was in hospital for 5 weeks so what with working and running backwards and forwards from the hospital, and now oodles of pre-surgery doctors appointments, I haven't had much time left over for blogging. Hopefully things will improve once he has his surgery this month.

So here is my wrap up for December and a general note on 2013:

In December, I read 17 and completed my Goodreads challenge of 150 books with 186 read in 2013.

My favorite book for the month was Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton and the worst was Brighter Than The Sun by Julia Quinn. After finishing and loving the Bridgerton's series, I've been working my way through Quinn's backlist in 2013 and all I can say is she has definitely grown as a writer. Its like her earlier books were written by a completely different person - none of the wit and charm of the Bridgertons. 

New entrants into the Hottie Harem were Patrick MacCallister in Two Weeks' Notice by Rachel Caine  and Marc Joesbury in Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton.

No anti-hotties this month - happy to say :0)

The best Kick-Ass Heroine was Bryn Davis in Two Weeks' Notice

The special power that caught my eye was Mercy's ability to see ghosts in Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs. 
   
I got a few books this week as well:

The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris (Kobo)
When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy (Kobo)

Paradise Awakening by Jaci Burton (Amazon)
Wolf Bundle by Terry Spear (Amazon)

 

So what have you been up to this week?

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Feature & Follow #10: Favorite Books of 2013

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop aimed at providing exposure for new bloggers and at expanding blog followers. The hop is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a wonderful opportunity for making new friends and sharing your love for books and reading.
This week's featured blogs are: The Book Girl and Bookish Findings

Q: What were your favorite books of 2013?

Hmm... I read some great books in 2013 but here are my absolute favorites:

The entire Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Die for Me by Cynthia Eden

Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas

What were your favorites of 2013?

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Clean Out Your e-Reader Challenge: Goals

Hosted by Fantasy is More Fun and Because Reading is better than real life, the purpose of this challenge is to read some of the Freebies and ARCs that have been on your e-Reader since the beginning of time...

This challenge couldn't come at a better time as I have dozens of Kindle Freebies just waiting to be read. I'll be going with the Lightly Clean option and of course, I have already changed my mind about what to read from my initial sign up post. Here are the new possibilities (there is no way I will read them all but maybe I can knock off a couple):




Looking forward to your comments and stopping by the participating blogs!

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Sunday Post #10: September Wrap Up

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

Haven't had much time to blog in the last couple of weeks but now that the academic year has started (and the endless meetings are over), I'm hoping to have more time :0)

I did, however, manage a Hunk of the Week post, yay! 

Anyway, here is the wrap up for September - better late than never...

I read 11 books - mainly  UF with some PNR and romantic suspense reads as well.

My favorite book for the month was Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews and the worst was Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine although it did have its moments and David is a scrumptious hero.

Best hunky hotties for September were Curran in Magic Rises (despite one or two bad kitty moments) and Owen Grayson in Venom by Jennifer Estep.

The Anti-Hottie Hero award goes to Jonathan in Heat Stroke. He really needs to learn to keep his mouth shut to stop all the garbage from coming out - jerk! 

The best Kick-Ass Heroine was Kate Daniels in Magic Rises (of course) and I also loved Gin Blanco in Venom.  

The special power that caught my eye was Rose Drayton's flash in On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
   
I also got a couple of books this week:

My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster (Discover a New Love)
Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione (Borrowed)

So what have you been up to this week?

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Hunks of the Week: Double the Hotties

The My Book Boyfriend group over at Shelfari has a monthly thread dedicated to the hotties that caught members' eyes over the course of their reading. The thread encompasses all genres from romantic suspense and contemporary romance to urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a few historical heroes thrown in. 

The academic year is starting here and I've been swamped in preparation so I didn't manage to post about our hunks last week :0(

The good news is that this week we have Double the Hotties!

 

The Hunks of the Week:

Ty Garrison aka Mysterious Cute Guy in Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis - "I have to say Shalvis certainly knows how to create the perfect male lead. I absolutely adored Ty. He is going in my Top 5 Male Leads for sure".

Styxx in Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon - "I've always been an Ash girl but Styxx did something to me. He is just so sweet...he breaks your heart!."

Jack Harper in Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis - "Man, she writes great heroes" AND "He's a good guy, even though he was a commitment phobe but never really with the heroine"

Thanatos in Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione -  "Loved his vulnerability not to mention the tattoos!"

FBI Agent Finn McBain in Hotshot by Julie Garwood- "A real hero and hot to boot!"

David in Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine - "He is so scrumptious!"

Vikar in Kiss of Pride by Sandra Hill - "What a yummy Viking Vampire Angel he is!!"

Jamie Fraser in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Declan Camarine in On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Cam Rohan in Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas - "Yes please!"

Quinn Braddock in Midnight Lies by Ella Grace - "I alternated between hate and love with this guy, but one thing was always certain, he's a sexy, sexy man!"

Jackson Davies in Wilde Child by Molly O'Keefe - "He's a great guy, almost to a fault and even skirted the edge of the anti harem for a time. He's tall and blond with sky blue eyes and is the town mayor.

Callahan O'Shea in Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins - "I loved him the first time I read the book and I absolutely ADORE him even more now!"

Jake Caplin in In Too Deep by Samantha Young - "This is going to make me sound somewhat creepy, but he was actually sexier as a teenager than an adult. But we don't get to see much of him wooing as an adult, so I'm hoping that changes in the next book. And I don't know what it says about me, but I love a dirty talker. I can't help myself."

Cade in Faking It by Cora Carmack - " I don't usually go for the perfect, good boys, but Cade won me over. He might have a heart of gold, but man, he's pretty sexy. And I liked his teasing, playful side."

Curran in Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews - Oh My God he is such a badass hottie. I loved getting to see him and Kate together again :) Sigh he's just so awesome!"

Noah McCall in Return to Me by Christy Reece - He sexy, smart, dangerous, and Damaged with a capital D. Holy smokes, though he's hot.!"

Whose your hunk for this week? 

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Sunday Post #9

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

The academic year is about to begin and I've been busy working on lesson plans and such, so its been quiet at the Harem.

Nevertheless, I have managed a few posts and reviews...
   

Monday Musings - Censorship at Goodreads
Top Ten Tuesday - back again next week (I hope)
Hunk of the Week
Heart to Heart - Banned Books Week
Covers to Covet

Reviews:

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione
Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine

And these are the books acquired this week:

Omens by Kelley Armstrong (Audible)
Deadly Descent by Kaylea Cross (Kobo)
Sword of Darkness by Kinley MacGregor (Library)
Unchained by J. Lynn (Library) 

So what have you been up to this week?

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Covers to Covet #7: Steampunk Edition

Have you ever chosen a book based solely on its cover?

Sometimes a cover is a complete turn off but other times they make me want to rush right out and buy the book immediately!

Here are some recent additions to my Covers to Covet board on Pinterest

Many of my recent pins seem to focus on a theme: Steampunk. According to the Wikipedia, Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that focuses on steam powered machinery set in an alternative 19th century Victorian world or a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world and includes elements of fantasy and the supernatural.  

Here are some of my favorites:

Love the Victorian feel to the covers for Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series. The backgrounds convey the smoky, foggy atmosphere of 19th century London and the juxtaposition with the models' bare legs adds an air of subtle sexuality.

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster
Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster
My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster

The covers for A. A. Aguirre's  Apparatus Infernum series epitomize the best of the Steampunk genre. The streetlamps in the background and the gears and cogs in the foreground convey the genre so clearly.

Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre
Silver Mirrors by A. A. Aguirre

The models on the covers of Tina Connolly's Ironskin books have a classy, sophisticated yet exotic and dangerous air to them. The light and shading together with the inclusion of masks add another layer of mystery and intrigue.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly
Copperhead by Tina Connolly

*Links to Goodreads

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