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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape

Sketch Me If You Can is the first book in the Portrait of Crime series by Sharon Pape. Rory is a police sketch artist, and has just inherited her uncle's house and private detective agency/client list. At first she doesn't think she wants to pursue being a private investigator, but decides to work on one of the cases that he has left behind at the request of the client. The house holds a surprise for her, she's inherited more than just a place to live, but also a roommate. Zeke was a federal marshall who died in the 1800's, and who had been assisting her uncle in his investigations, and he's more than ready to keep it up with Rory. The two butt heads often, she's a modern, independent woman, and Zeke's an old-fashioned, traditional man who has a hard time letting Rory investigate, or even date! They challenge each other, and even Zeke, though dead, finds out that he can do more than he thought when the situation calls for it! I kept picturing the actor Sam Elliot as Zeke, with his deep voice and rugged looks.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery, I call it that because even though Rory is a police sketch artist, and had to become a full fledged officer in order to have that position, she really is more of an artist, and not involved in investigating on a regular basis, so it is all new for her. I definitely want to continue this series, Zeke is a fun character, and I know that he and Rory have a lot more ahead of them! The second book in the series is To Sketch a Thief and came out in June of this year. For more information on the author and her work, please visit her website.

This was my 7th read for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City, though I'm reviewing a bit out of order!

Water Lily and Fish

Yes I am ridiculously excited about my water lily, and was happy to discover I was wrong, they do last more than a day, they last a few days, they just open and close during the day. Since the fish are never where you want them, and never stay long in one place, I took a little video.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Challenge Check In

Photobucket Photobucket



So the year is past the halfway mark, and I'm way behind on my reading challenges!

I'm doing the worst on the ones I set for myself, I haven't read anything for the "Stranger than Fiction" and "Catching Up With Old Friends" Challenges, and have only read the first 3 Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

For hosted challenges I'm doing slightly better, but only a smidge! I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but it's going to be difficult to get them caught up!

Historical Romance Challenge 2/12 = 17% complete - 1 review outstanding
Paranormal Romance Challenge 4/20 = 20% complete - 1 review outstanding
Mystery and Suspense Challenge 7/12 = 58% complete - 2 reviews outstanding
Horror & Urban Fantasy 5/24 = 21% complete - 1 review outstanding

It looks like the only one I'm doing okay on is the Mystery and Suspense challenge! But there are still 5 months and some left, so I'm going to keep trying! I seem to be reading a lot of teen books, which I'm not doing a challenge for, ah well! I'm still enjoying them, and that's all that matters!

How is everyone else doing on their reading?

Water Lily

It's vacation day two, and we have achieved a water lily flower! Sadly they only last one day, so I'm glad I caught it when I did, as it's already starting to close back up! Had to include the fish picture: "Hey, quit taking pictures and feed me already!"



Saturday, July 16, 2011

Vacation!

I'm on vacation! We're not going anywhere, but still, 5 days off work, which is 9 days in a row of doing whatever we want, yay! So I'm issuing myself a little book challenge, I want to finish one book every day, but since I still want to do all kinds of other fun things too, they'll be easy things like Manga, or fast children's or teen books, but still, it will be getting some things off Mount TBR! I hope to get some challenge books reviewed as well this week. Wish me luck!

I'm not sure what we'll be doing this week, hopefully a lot of relaxing, with a movie and some computer games thrown in. We're going to a concert one night (YES/Styx), a dinner theater production next Sunday afternoon (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and maybe a day trip to get some geocaching in. The possibilities are endless, as long as we don't stay planted in front of the computer! :D

What I'm not excited about is that we might be getting our new roof this week, so that means a lot of hammering. *sigh*

One of my water lily plants also shot up a bloom overnight, so I hope to see that flower soon! Here's a picture of it from this morning (along with some fish action), I'll post again if it turns out good!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The End!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


Reading update:

I decided to go ahead and start on The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor, and it was still before midnight, so it counted! Here are my final stats, with the last few pages I managed before passing out for the night!

Currently reading:

The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor -- Lochlan goes to find his brother but has to save Catrina along the way. I'm pretty confused about what order to read this series in, but they're pretty much self contained stories, so it's okay! They're fast and fun, enjoyable historical romance! Pages read: 38
Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 171



Finished reading:


Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill
The Haunting of
Granite Falls

by Eva Ibbotson
Sketch Me If
You Can

by Sharon Pape
Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94
Pages read: 216Pages read: 293


Total Page Count: 769

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

To be done, or not to be done?

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


Reading update:

I've just finished Sketch Me If You Can and enjoyed it. What I have left is kind of daunting, I just don't think I'll have time to finish another whole book, or even the rest of Blue honestly, and I'm tired! I have 232 pages left in it, the other book I was going to start has 344, and even though the print is kinda big, I know I won't get through that tonight! I'm sure I'll read a little more, but I'm guessing that I'm pretty much done for this read-a-thon for the power reading! I've enjoyed having a longer time period, and actually being able to sleep during, though I've been a little frustrated at having to work and also having stuff come up, how dare life interrupt my reading?! Anyway, I'm going to take it easy tonight I think, and I'll update one more time with my final page count, maybe tomorrow. I've hardly played Pocket Frogs in 3 days, I'm husband is amazed! :D

I would like to thank our hostesses Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog and Angela at Reading Angel, all of whom I had to follow because they have fantastic and beautiful blogs, and I'll have to keep an eye out for this read-a-thon again! Thank you so much ladies!

Currently reading:

Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 163



Finished reading:


Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill
The Haunting of
Granite Falls

by Eva Ibbotson
Sketch Me If
You Can

by Sharon Pape
Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94
Pages read: 216Pages read: 293


Total Page Count: 723

Day 3 - Good Morning!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


Reading update:

It's our last day! Kinda sad, but kinda glad. This has been a much more laid back read-a-thon for me than Dewey's, since that one is such a race being only one day. I haven't really visited any other readers besides my friends that were also participating, I would like to do that, maybe this evening when I get home.

I did pretty well last night, meeting the goal I had set myself for the evening and then some, so I'm pleased. It was almost 200 pages just in the evening after work, which is A LOT for me! I'd really like to finish the two I'm on, plus one more, but we'll see how today goes, that might not be terribly realistic. Have a great reading day everyone!

Currently reading:

Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and Wild West Federal Marshall ghostly house guest. I like what I've read so far! Pages read: 203
Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 123



Finished reading:


Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill
The Haunting of
Granite Falls

by Eva Ibbotson
Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94
Pages read: 216


Total Page Count: 593

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Day 2

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


Reading update:

I’ve finished The Haunting of Granite Falls, a fun and fast story, continued to work on Blue (liking it), and have gotten into Sketch Me if You Can (also good). I've picked out what I will probably read after that one if I get that far, hopefully I can get some good time in tonight, I think my errands for the day are done. Why is it that when you just want to read, stuff happens? Anyway, I plan to make some progress tonight, and check in on some friends to see how they're doing!

Currently reading:

Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and Wild West Federal Marshall ghostly house guest. I like what I've read so far! Pages read: 51
Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 123



Finished reading:


Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill
The Haunting of
Granite Falls

by Eva Ibbotson
Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94
Pages read: 216


Total Page Count: 441

Monday, July 11, 2011

Once Upon a Read-a-thon Issue 1.2 – update and a mini-challenge

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


Mythology Mini-Challenge

Part 1: What is your favorite type of Mythology?

This is a tough one because I like so many! I would have to say that I know Greek, Roman and Egyptian the best, and Egyptian was probably my first love, though I think the Greek and Roman stories are much easier for us to relate to. Native American Mythology is very interesting, but kind of hard for me to follow sometimes, and although I like Celtic, Irish and Norse, I’m not as familiar with them. We’ll go with Greek and Roman as the favorite, judging from my next answer! ;)

Part 2: What is your favorite book with Mythology in it?

Clash of the Titans was an early favorite for me, the idea of Pegasus was enchanting to me, I mean what young girl doesn’t want a winged horse, right?

I’ve recently been listening to the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, a Teen/YA Fantasy/Paranormal story and really enjoying it. The main characters are Banshees, a creature from Irish Mythology, usually female, who wail when someone is about to die. You can imagine the chaos that would cause in a teenage girl’s life! I highly recommend this series!

Reading update:

I’ve finished Hexbound (great series!), worked on Blue (liking it) some throughout the day, and have chosen my next books, so we’ll see what I can get through this evening. With work, a grocery trip, and some internet issues, I haven't gotten much read yet, but I'll keep trying! Hope everyone is having a great first day!

Currently reading:


The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson -- A doting millionaire father transports a haunted Scottish castle, ghosts and all to Texas for his ailing daughter. The description is actually very funny, so I can't wait to see how it goes!
Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and ghostly house guest. Are you sensing a theme here?
Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Started: pg. 43, current page: 82



Finished reading:

Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill
Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94


Total Page Count: 133

Once Upon a Read-a-thon: Day 1 - Let's go!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon


I'm excited to have another read-a-thon to do, I've only ever done Dewey's before, so this will be a nice one in between to tide me over. Or it may have the side effect of turning me into a read-a-thon junkie, we'll see!

I'm going to start with a couple of books that I was already in the middle of, and will only count pages read during the read-a-thon:

Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Starting point: pg. 43
Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill, I'm over halfway in this one, but didn't quite get it finished before the read-a-thon start. Magical kids at a boarding school, fighting evil down in the basement tunnels of Chicago. A fun series, I'm really enjoying it! Starting point: pg 152


I'll check to see what challenges are available when I get home from work! Good luck and good reading!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Once Upon a Read-a-thon July 11-13th

If anyone is interested, I just saw another read-a-thon coming up next week. I'm thinking about joining, though I do have to work those days, I could read in the evenings, and during lunch at work, I do that anyway, in fact, I was just getting to a really exciting part in my book today when it was time for lunch to be over! ARGH!

Anyway, check it out, and I might see you there!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

WWW Wednesday 7/06/11



To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I skipped last week because there just wasn't much of a change, but I'm back this week!

I'm currently reading:

Free image hosting at imagecave.comRadiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4) by Melissa Marr -- My current audiobook, and another excellent teen paranormal series. This one is about fairies, but these are not cute flitting and glittery fairies, they're seductive and dangerous. Another highly recommend!
Free image hosting at imagecave.comNarcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- Still working on this one, will probably finish it up this week as it's my primary read at the moment. Does anyone else just want to slap Richard? He's so hot and cold and moody! Every time he almost comes around, he does something low that you just want to throttle him for! I've always liked Jean-Claude better!


In the last 2 weeks I finished reading:

Free image hosting at imagecave.comMy Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent -- Teen Paranormal featuring Banshees, very good! This one tackles drug addiction and loss of control, but in a great paranormal setting. Highly Recommend this series!
Free image hosting at imagecave.comNylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- I've already passed this one along to a friend, as I recall the cover of the book called it a cross between Mad Max and Blade Runner, and I can see that. It was good, but doesn't really stick out for me. It's a gritty, violent and action packed story set in a future Australia.
Free image hosting at imagecave.comThe Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin is sent to live with his granddad after his mother dies, and while an initial encounter with some not so nice boys makes him doubtful of his future there, his life changes drastically when he finds a golden acorn, and a secret world is opened to him. I would recommend this for young fans of Narnia and Harry Potter, it's a good children's fantasy with talking animals, some mythology and some time travel. I enjoyed it, and got it free for Kindle on Amazon
Free image hosting at imagecave.comKraken by China Mieville -- I had to give up on it, there are just too many other things I'd rather be reading.


Probably up next:

Free image hosting at imagecave.comAssassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb -- This is the July read for Fantasy Faction, and I think it will be a lot more to my taste than Kraken was!
Free image hosting at imagecave.comKiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
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