Completed Seconds Challenge for 2009

I wasn't sure I was going to make this one as I had about 3 hours of listening left today to finish Ink Exchange, but I've done it! This is a tough one to pick favorites on, since it's a seconds challenge, that means I liked all the authors enough to give them another try, and I enjoyed them all, none were disappointing!



The 2009 Seconds Challenge: Read 12 books by authors that you have only read once. It doesn't have to be a series.

1. Magic Burns (Kate Daniels #2) - Ilona Andrews - finished 1/4/09
2. Succubus Takes Manhattan - Nina Harper
3. Lover Eternal (#2 The Black Dagger Brotherhood) - J. R. Ward - finished 6/11/09
4. High Heels are Murder(#2 Mystery Shopper) - Elaine Viets - finished 8/4/09
5. Practical Demonkeeping (2nd book by Moore for me) - Christopher Moore - finished 8/23/09
6. Corpse Pose (2nd book by Killian for me)- Diana Killian - finished 10/2/09
7. The Demo Tapes - Year 2 - Susan Helen Gottfried - finished 12/6/09
8. Reign of Shadows (2nd Chester for me) - Deborah Chester - finished 12/9/09
9. New Moon (Twilight #2) - Stephanie Meyer - finished 12/17/09
10. Wanderlust (Grimspace #2) - Ann Aguirre - finished 12/24/09
11. Into the Labyrinth (sequel to The Great Good Thing) - Roderick Townsley - Finished 12/27/09
12. Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely #2) - Melissa Marr - Finished 12/31/09

Challenge completed 12/31/09!

Giveaway Winner: Holiday with a Vampire

I kind of missed posting my winner yesterday as promised, sorry about that! But I'm here today, and just about to embark on a cooking baking marathon with my mom, so I wanted to post my winner really quick before I go!

The proud new owner of Holiday with a Vampire is....

Justpeachy36

Her favorite holiday treat is buckeyes (which my husband will find amusing since he's from Ohio), which are very similar to one of my own favorite treats that we only make at Christmas, Peanut Butter Bon Bons. How can anything that involves peanut butter and chocolate not be wonderful?

Thanks for entering everyone, stay tuned for my next giveaway, not sure what it will be yet!

Murder with All the Trimmings by Elaine Viets

Murder with All the Trimmings is the 4th installment of Elaine Viets' Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series. Poor Josie's love life becomes extremely complicated when she is forced to mystery shop the new Christmas shops, one of which is run by her current flame's ex-girlfriend who is also the mother of his daughter. The shop is atrocious (pornaments?!), as is Mike's daughter Heather, and while Josie is afraid it will ruin her new relationship with Mike, she must do her duty. As if that weren't enough trouble, Josie's past comes back to haunt her in the form of her daughter's father, Nate, whom she never believed she'd see again, and whom she'd also told Amelia was dead. The lie she'd told to keep her daughter safe from Nate's dangerous life threatens to wreck her relationship with Amelia. As always next door neighbor Mrs. Mueller adds to the trouble with her constant nosiness! Could Josie's life be any more difficult and hectic? Somehow most things work out in the end, and there's a little bit of a surprise for those who've been following the series and know about Josie's neighbor, good and dependable but boring Stan. I can't wait to see what happens with him next! I'm really enjoying this series and highly recommend it, it's very entertaining!

For more information on Elaine Viets and her books, check out her website HERE

Giveaway Winner: The Gift by Nora Roberts

I really enjoyed reading all the things that you like to do that get you in the mood for the holidays. I've gotten my tree up finally and the cats are sort of leaving it alone, which is an improvement! I may try to achieve some outdoor decorations today, we'll see! I think the thing that has put me most in the spirit was our toy shopping spree for a donation to Toys for Tots, it was a lot of fun!

And now on to our winner for The Gift by Nora Roberts!

*cues the Little Drummer Boy*


Jonita


Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon to get your address and get The Gift sent out to you soon!

Giveaway: Holiday with a Vampire by Maureen Child and Caridad Pineiro

This one is for those of us who like our holidays with a little more "bite" than normal. This is my second read for the Christmas Reading Challenge I joined. It contains two stories: Christmas Cravings by Maureen Child and Fate Calls by Caridad Pineiro.

In both stories we have human ladies bringing their male vamps back to life from a dull grey and sad existence, showing them they are still capable of loving and having a wonderful life with their new partners. Both stories do end happily (again with the Christmas Magic thing), but with opposite results! You'll have to read it to see what I mean!

I'm ready to pass along these vamps with a new lease on life to make a new friend. As always, my giveaway copy is Bookcrossing labeled and while I would love an entry from telling me what you thought and what your plans for the books are, it is not required, and the book is yours to do with as you please. Journal entries can be made anonymously, check the site for details. To enter, comment on this post and tell me what your favorite type of Christmas/Holiday cookie/treat or other food is, something that you only have at this holiday time of year. I will choose a winner on Dec. 19th!