Since I'm pressed for time as I'm writing this, as I have still to start packing and we leave in less than 24 hours I'm not going to make it a very long story but instead I'm going to leave you with a few pictures.

The first few are of the house we rented to stay in during the coming week.


The next pictures are of the pile of books and e-reading devices I'm taking with me because any self-respecting book-addict will surely take this many books, even if you know you will never be able to read them all because:

- The first and the last 3 days of this vacation I will be driving every 2-3 hours
- I will also be going to want to do some sight-seeing during the vacation
- I'm taking my DVDs of seasons 1 & 2 of Prison Break with me too, so the spare hours won't be just spent reading
- I have a hubby going with me who grows restless if we spend more than an hour just lounging about, reading...
- Do you see the e-reader and the iPad? Print books will not be the only books read on this vacation!


Still, this was the best I could do in terms of keeping myself in check since I always lose control with the amount of books I bring with me when we go on a car vacation. With airplanes I have the baggage restrictions which are just torture as I MUST make choices and limit myself to a certain amount. When we go on holiday by car...The limitations are so much less...I always go crazy...

During my vacation very few reviews will be posted. If there are any posted they will most likely be back-logged reviews as I'm still trying to play catch up on my to-be-written reviews, and sadly I didn't make my goal of having caught up before going on holiday.

When I get back, I have 3 days to prepare my departure to New York City for RWA Nationals 2011. In these 3 days I must unload, unpack, do laundry, buy last-minute necessities, buy goodies for my giveaway gift-bags, repack, schedule some stuff on the blog and then I'm off again to what I've come to consider the event I've been most anticipating ever since I booked the flight in January and registered for it in February.

But for now I'm going to enjoy a very much deserved and relaxing vacation with my hubby. By the time you're reading this hubby and I are probably nearing the border between France and Spain so take care and see you in a little less than 2 weeks!

It's been a while since I posted a Quotes-post...*goes to check when the last Quote-post was* To be precise tomorrow it'll be a year since the last Quote-Post...hmmm coincidence much?

I've decided to revive the Quote-post Feature as once in a while there are books that are just so quotable that I it's very, very hard to stick to the 2 or 3 I usually use in my reviews, and I'm not even talking about the times I sneak in an extra few on top of the 2 or 3...

I'm kicking it off with quotes from a book I had the honor of reviewing for Fiction Vixen Book Reviews...When I saw it on the list for reviews I first hesitated to put my name up for it, but then I saw it was romantic suspense and everyone knows by now, my weakness is romantic suspense so I put my name in, waited for the book to arrive and left in on the shelves until on the evening of August 10th, when I suddenly was brutally reminded of the fact that Fiction Vixen was expecting my review of SHADOWS AT MIDNIGHT on August 15th and I hadn't even cracked the spine yet. So I got my behind in gear and opened to the first page that same evening and totally unexpected was blown away by this book.



Fiction Vixen has my review up so you can read HERE why I gave it 5 stars...

A LOST SOUL
Claire Day’s promising career as a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst comes to a shattering end in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Laka, West Africa. For more than a year, Claire has been rebuilding her life and her confidence when she suddenly remembers the man who tried to protect her, and who might hold the key to the mysteries haunting her nightmares

A LOST LOVE
Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Weston believed Claire was dead. But the woman he grieve for has just come back into his life seeking to reconnect with her past, unaware of the feelings he has for her. Determined not to fail Claire again, Dan vows to help her heal.

A LOST TRUTH
Together, they begin to unlock Claire’s lost memories only to uncover a conspiracy that puts them –and any future they might have together– in deadly danger…

And as I didn't want to deprive you all of the wonderful quotes I found while reading this book, it has the honor of being the first Quote Post on the Blog again since a year. I hope you all enjoy the quotes as much as I did the book!

Dan's thoughts when he sees what's going on outside the embassy. It was a serious scene but the QT on crack remark made me smile:
Shit.
It was a Quentin-Tarantino-on-crack-scene.
Hundreds of screaming soldiers, firing their weapons crazily in all directions, pouring into the city

Several "smell" quotes from Dan's POV, the sense of smell was used a lot in this book:
*He could smell individual bits of her and they all smelled wonderful. Freshly shampooed hair, some lemony lotion on her hands and something fresh and springlike that he imagined was the smell of her skin. Jesus, he’d like to smell all that up close. Just put his nose next to her neck and inhale, even though he doubted she’d like him pulling a dog imitation on her.

Dan looked away for a moment, trying to get back into his own head. He definitely needed to go out and get laid, asap, if holding a woman's hand briefly while looking in her eyes nearly overwhelmed him.

He forced himself to smile into her eyes instead of closing his, leaning down to her and sniffing her like a dog.

Claire about to sleep with Dan for the first time and citing the reasons why she wanted to:
He wanted her and she wanted him right back, but for all the wrong reasons. Because he was so hot he melted the icy chill that surrounded her. Because he had strong hands that wouldn't let her fall. Because he was completely, gloriously sane and she was...she was slightly loony on her best day. Because he was a Marine and was guaranteed to make her feel safe when she woke up at three in the morning, alone and terrified with the echo of danger and voices clamoring in her head.
Those were not good reasons to take a man to your bed.

Clair has a "smell" quote too, she's dressed in Dan's T-shirt after a shower:
She sniffed at the material but all she could smell was detergent. She'd been hoping for the smell of Dan. His smell would be embedded in the deepest recesses of her brain to the end of time.
Oh, God. A mixture of soap and musk and man. Intoxicating. Enthralling (...) The smell of him , musk and male, the taste of him, salt and spicy, the feel of him, hot and amazingly hard all over, the sound of him, breath heaving in and out of his lungs(...)

Dan's fear for Claire's life described while he hugs her after an ordeal they go through:
Dan hung on for dear life, sweating and shaking, completely undone. Later when he could think straight, it would astonish him.
He was known for his cool under fire (...)
But now he was shaken to the core, the adrenaline of the escape coursing through his system like poison and the only antidote was Claire, safe in his arms.

Claire asking Jesse to buy her and Dan supplies while they go into hiding:
"(...) And buy me a parka." She narrowed her eyes on him. "Can you buy women's underwear?"
His eyes rounded and he took a step back as if she'd asked him to French-kiss a rattlesnake. "No ma'am."
Claire sighed. Pity. Though God knew what he'd choose. She was fanatic about nice underwear, but sending Jesse into a La Perla store would probably give him a heart attack.

Another Dan quote that made me smile:
He forced himself to take his clothes off normally, not in a frenzy like last time. Sweater off, placed on the chair he'd been sitting in. He didn't fold it. There were limits to what a man could do but at least he didn't rip it off and toss it over his shoulder. His shirt seemed to have a million buttons, all tiny. He was never going to buy a shirt ever again, not with Claire around. Maybe he'd just wear one of those Arab thoubs, go commando underneath, pull it up and off and there you were.

Claire ogling Dan:
Naked he was an extraordinary sight. Broad, heavy shoulders, tapering down to a narrow waist, smooth buttock, hard hairy thighs with the muscles very visible as he walked.
If I can admire his ass, I'm feeling better, she thought.
Walking back, he was even more admirable.
(...)
"Thanks I feel much bettter"
"I know." He leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You were checking my butt out. Then my package."
That earned him an elbow in the ribs, which he took like a man.

Dan and Claire, hot and heavy and emotional:
"Can I use my hands now?" He asked quietly.
She nodded, unable to speak. The feelings in her were so intense she felt as is she could hardly contain them. (...)
"Dan, I--"
"Sh." He put a finger over her mouth. "I know."
Kissing her deeply, he turned them over and entered her, a long, slow, tender penetration.
He lifted his head and looked down at her, wiping the tear that had escaped with a rough finger. "You're mine now," he whispered.

Another example of Dan's protective feelings:
* He’d made love for hours to Claire, as if joining his body to hers could create a magical aura of protection, as if the more time he spent inside her, the safer she’d be. If he could have, he’d have tucked her right into his own body and kept her there.

Sweet, disarming Dan:
Dan sighed and she turned around, her face lighting up when she saw him.
Oh man.
He rubbed his chest. When she smiled at him like that his heart just gave this enormous thwack inside his chest, even after (...CAN'T QUOTE THIS PART AS IT IS SPOILERISH) . He should maybe see a cardiologist.

(The ones with the * made the official review)

So a quick update post on how the spur of the moment Read-a-Thon went.

To be honest I'm a little bit disappointed in myself. I spent less time reading than I had planned. Sometimes this was due to unexpected stuff, like hubby feeling under the weather and me having to spend 2 hours doing grocery shopping by myself or sleeping through the alarm this morning and losing about 4 extra hours to read but mostly I have only myself to blame because I couldn't stay away from Twitter, was distracted by the Hungrian Grand Prix (Formula 1 racing) on television and simply not concentrating on the reading enough. Still I didn't do bad because where I normally read about 5-8 books in a month this weekend I read 5 books so I have to be satisfied with the little victory of that. And I also read some requested reads and ARCs which gives me some breathing space this coming month as I have a few more to tackle before the beginning of September, next to the daunting Mt. TBR of the books I own and buy...

Still I only finished 2 full length books, the other 3 books were novellas of ranging between 80 and 120 pages. I know these are books too but still I have trouble classifying them in the same category as full-length books of around 300 pages.

Here's the list of books I read, they'll all be reviewed in due course (sometime this month depending on which request/ARC it is and on some other reviews I have to write and some that are already lined up).

01. Full Disclosure by Cari Quinn
02. A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl
03. A Hollywood Affair by Sally Royer-Derr
04. Ex Appeal by Cari Quinn
05. Whirlpool by Vivian Arend
started Naked Dragon by Annette Blair

I was blown away by the Cari Quinn's Full Disclosure and Ex Appeal. They were an unexpected treat during this read-a-thon weekend and I hope to read much more of her contemporary work in the future

The historical by Victoria Dahl was my first taste of her historical work and all I can say is that I prefer her contemporary work but I did enjoy A Little Bit Wild

A Hollywood Affair was a very tough read for me. The book was well-written and fast-paced but the subject of it was something that was so not to my liking that I had a lot of trouble reading this book. I'll explain more in detail in my upcoming review of it.

I closed the read-a-thon with a great read, Whirlpool is the second book in the Forces of Natures series by Vivian Arend and though I had trouble with the pace of Tidal Wave (it's predecessor), I flew through Whirlpool and enjoyed every page of it. Once again, well done Viv!

That's it for now, I am going to finish the review I left hanging when I started the read-a-thon on Friday.

And speaking of reviews FYI as of tomorrow my reviews will be having a slightly different lay-out as I am fusing the lay-out of my QnD-reviews and my full reviews together a bit in preparation of closing down my QnD Romance Reviews blog in the near future. Because it's not really working like I had envisioned so I've decided to do the QnD reviews here on Pearl's World of Romance, so all my reviews will be kept in the same place. I hope you all will like the new format and the future move of the QnD reviews to PWOR.

This weekend I had plans. Saturday was for grocery shopping, a bit of reading and shopping for some family birthdays presents, Sunday we had some family visits to do the whole day in view of some upcoming birthdays. Then we got an email that the family birthdays were being postponed until next Friday and a plan started forming in my mind. It was triggered by an invitation I received on Goodreads for a read-a-thon event in the weekend of August 13-14-15 and I thought: I can do that on my own too, especially now that I have an unexpected free weekend.

After the plan had formed I knew the biggest stumbling point was going to be hubby-dearest. He is NOT a reader and doesn't quite understand my reading obssession (I can't in good faith call it a hobby anymore LOL), he is very supportive of my reading but we also have some hefty discussions about it when he feels a bit neglected and all I can talk about are books (or blogging about books or tweeting about books) or all he sees of me is the top of my head sticking out above a book while my nose is in said book. Sometimes he's right, sometimes I think he's being unfair and we really fight about it. But most of the time he's very supportive as he's proved yet again by not fussing about me wanting to do this 48-hour reading marathon. Don't get me wrong: I had to drive a hard bargain and came up with some good arguments as to why I wanted to do this and showed him that it would be opportune for him too if I could do a reading spree for 2 straight days and then have more time in the coming month to spend some quality time with him. But me reading all weekend, means he's on his own for more that 48 hours, he has to do the groceries, buy the birthday gifts, cook, eat alone and pretty much be ignored by me until Sunday evening...He's a real trooper!

So now I am really going to do this. I'm going to read for 48 hours, with the only interruptions being a few hours of sleep tonight and tomorrow night.

Below is the pile of books I have layed out for this read-a-thon...mind you, I will not be able to read them all but am going to do my very best to make a big dent in this pile. The two covers shown are 2 e-books I'm reading at the moment (only read a few pages in both) and I am planning to at least also finish those two this weekend.



I'm starting this read-a-thon on Friday (today) 4 PM (CET) and will read at least until Sunday 4 PM (CET) but may extend it into Sunday evening, depending on how much I get read by Sunday afternoon.

I'll be checking/updating the below list as I go and hope to have a decent list by Sunday evening:

01. Full Disclosure by Cari Quinn
02. A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl
03. A Hollywood Affair by Sally Royer-Derr
04. Ex Appeal by Cari Quinn
05. Whirlpool by Vivian Arend
started Naked Dragon by Annette Blair

Well, wish me luck and I'll be back Sunday evening with an update of how it went. Right now I have to work on a review that's coming up Monday and which I have to write before I start the read-a-thon.

Just a post to let you all know that I won't be around the coming two weeks due to a long awaited vacation to Cape Verde. The Islands where my parents were born and grew up. They came to the Netherlands in their early twenties. And their courtship and marriage was one that belongs in a romance novel, but that's for another time because I want to keep this about the vacation.


I was born in the Netherlands but my roots lie on the Cape Verde Islands as both my parents are from there. I have been there a few times, both as a child and as an adult but the last time I went there was 10 years ago. I met my hubby 9 years ago so he's never been there and this vacation is his first encounter with my roots, which both he and I are very much looking forward to. We will be going to 4 of the 9 islands: Boa Vista, S. Vicente, Sto Antao and S. Tiago. And on S. Vicente we will celebrate my mom's 60th birthday, which she wanted to celebrate in her home country.




We'll start and end our trip on Boa Vista in a wonderful hotel hubby found and negotiated a sweet deal for. Below are some pics of it. Can you see me lying in one of the beach chairs, sipping on a cocktail? I can!















The fact that I'm away on vacation doesn't mean the blog won't be updated. I won't participate in the IMM and OMW memes these two weeks but I do have a few nice posts scheduled for your enjoyment:

I start with a ROOB-review on February 4th: TAMING THE BEAST by Heather Grothaus
On February 7th you can read my ARC-review of CROSSROADS by Moira Rogers
On February 12th there will be a reading round-up of 2009 post. A bit belated but better late than never, right?
On February 15th there will be another ROOB-review: THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE PRINCESS by Michelle Styles

And on February 17th I'll be back and ready to catch up on all you have been doing while I was slacking away on vacation.


Well after much debate, picking books, putting them back on the shelves, picking others, putting those back and getting the first again....and after many repeats of this cycle I have the following print books packed to take with me:

• FRAGILE by Shiloh Walker 
• COMING UNDONE by Lauren Dane 

(I wanted to have read these two books before my vacation but didn't have the time to finish them, so I hope to finish them on during the flight)

• BROKEN by Shiloh Walker (a bit of ARC reading on vacation)
• TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS and NO RESERVATIONS by Megan Hart and Lauren Dane
• REESE'S BRIDE by Kat Martin
• SPANISH MAGNATE, RED-HOT REVENGE by Lynn Raye Harris
• SHAKEN AND STIRRED by Kathleen O'Reilly
• PRIME TIME by Hank Phillippi Ryan
• FEEL THE HEAT by Cindy Gerard
• ORIGINAL SIN by Allison Brennan
• MARK OF THE DEMON by Diana Rowland
• PLEASURE UNBOUND by Larissa Ione

So that is 13 books for a 2-week vacation. Want to start placing bets on how many I will have finished by the end of the vacation? Be my guest, I couldn't even dare to tell you. I do know I read a lot more when on vacation than when I'm at home and two 6 hours flights will definitely put a dent in this pile of books. And for the unfortunate event that I might not be in the mood to read these books I'm taking with me I have a spare pile too: a digital one on the iPhone, among those are:

A very special beta-read which will remain unnamed till further notice, BUTTERFLY TATTOO (Deidre Knight), GLORY IN DEATH (J.D. Robb), PACK CHALLENGE (Shelly Laurenston), BLOOD VICE (Keith Melton), TAMING ELIZA JANE (Shannon Stacy), SEDUCING SIMON (Maya Banks), ROCKY MOUNTAIN HEAT (Vivian Arend), DARKFEVER (Karen Marie Moning), PLAYING WITH FIRE (Gena Showalter)...and many more...

Welll I think I have informed you of all the relevant information surrounding my vacation. I hope to see you all again in a few weeks, when I hope to return refreshed and ready to take on the jobhunting world and with a nice dent in my Mt. TBR.

This challenge doesn't require much, just reading...and that's exactly what I plan to do a lot next year. However, I am not sure if I'll be able to complete it since to reach the goal of 100+ books in one year requires me reading 2 books a week and this has proven to be difficult sometimes. Nonetheless I am going to give it my best to reach the goal.

Some details from J. Kaye's Book Blog:

1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Library books, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.

3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Books started before the 1st do not count.

THE LIST:

01.

With as many erotic romance and erotica that I have on the shelves and in my ebook-folders on the computer, not joining this challenge never even came into mind. This is one challenge that won't be hard to complete at all.

The challenge is hosted by Erotic Horizon and here are some details:

Timeline: 01 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010
Rules:
To read TEN(10) Erotica Romance in 2010

You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone!

The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the links I have set up below with the buttons to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun.

If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in.

You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

You must be 18 years or older to join.

Find below the "work-in-progress"-list of my books for this challenge. Some have been and will be put in the list beforehand, others will be added along the way in the course of next year.

THE LIST:(in random order)

01. Lora Leigh - Forbidden Pleasure
02. Lora Leigh - Marly's Choice
03. Lilli Feisty - Bound by Pleasure
04. Sharon Page - Blood Red
05. Kate Douglas - Wolf Tales II
06. Lauren Dane - Coming Undone - Click here for my review
07. Shayla Black - Decadent
08. M.C. Halliday - I Came Up the Stairs
09.
10.

I have decided to join  the In Death-reading challenge hosted by Christine from The Happily Ever After. I am looking forward to finally read the books after NAKED IN DEATH. A little background for my reason to join:

A while back, more than a year ago to be exact, one of the ROOB-messageboard members was ranting and raving about J.D. Robb's IN DEATH books and she really thought I should try them out. The reason I held of reading them before that was because I am not a fan of Nora Roberts' writing......I know, a severe sin in the world of romance lovers, but I really tried and I had to  accept that for me Nora Roberts is that author that the majority of readers loves, but just not for me. And come on...we all have an author like that....
But back to the subject at hand, I decided to put my Nora Roberts fear aside and tried out NAKED IN DEATH and....lo and behold...I really liked it! I have a review of it on this blog but am not linking it here yet because I want to use it as my first review of the challenge. Yes, I know, that's cheating a bit...but hey with my lack of time I make use of any loophole I can find. So sue me...

The most important rules for this challenge:

NEW RULES:

1. Anyone can join at any time.

2. Read one 'In Death' book by J.D. Robb per month, starting in January 2010 until you're caught up in the series.

3. To join, make a post on your blog about the challenge where you will keep a running list of the books that you'll edit as you go along. (See my own entry post HERE as an example). Once you've made your entry post, come back to this post and enter the link to your entry post in Mr.Linky below.

4. If you don't have a blog and you'd like to join the challenge, you can come back here and leave a comment as you read the books, or at the monthly 'In Death' Challenge post that I'll make on or around the last day of each month.

5. Reviews are optional. I will make a post on or around the last day of each month with a Mr.Linky for you to link any reviews or commentary from your blog so that we can find each other's posts easily and engage in some dialogue about the books.

6. If you miss a month, don't stress over it. This is all for fun and camaraderie! To motivate everyone from stay on track, however, I plan on awarding prizes at regular intervals (maybe every four months) to a randomly selected participant who has stayed on schedule for that time period.

7. Feel free to grab the 'In Death' Reading Challenge button on my sidebar for your blog.

8. Have fun!

The List:
(and yes, I get a major case of jitters when I see how many books J.D. Robb has already written in this series! This challenge is going to take me years to complete...)

01. Naked In Death - Click here for review
02. Glory In Death - Click here for review
03. Immortal In Death
04. Rapture In Death
05. Ceremony In Death
06. Vengeance In Death
07. Holiday In Death
08. “Midnight in Death” Silent Night anthology
09. Conspiracy In Death
10. Loyalty in Death
11. Witness In Death
12. Judgment in Death
13. Betrayal in Death
14. “Interlude in Death” Out of this World anthology
15. Seduction in Death
16. Reunion in Death
17. Purity in Death
18. Portrait in Death
19. Imitation in Death
20. Remember When
21. Divided in Death
22. Visions in Death
23. Survivor in Death
24. Origin in Death
25. Memory In Death
26. “Haunted in Death” Bump in the Night anthology
27. Born In Death
28. Innocent in Death
29. “Eternity in Death” Dead of Night anthology
30. Creation in Death
31. Strangers In Death
32. Salvation In Death
33. “Ritual in Death” novella in Suite 606
34. Promises in Death
35. Kindred in Death
36. “Missing in Death” novella in The Lost
37. Fantasy in Death (available February 23, 2010)

2010 challenges have been coming out of the woodworks since the start of December and I have decided to join quite a few, but I've decided to also host one of my own. Regular blog visitors and people who know me, know Contemporary Romance is one of my favorite subgenres within romance.

While searching and coming across challenges to join for 2010, I didn't find the contemporary romance reading challenge I was looking for. And what do you do when you don't find what you're looking for?
You create it yourself. So here it is...and I hope you will join me in the Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 2010!


Before I list the details, I do want to make one thing clear: by contemporary romance I mean straight contemporary, so without paranormal, fantasy or time-travel elements. Sexy, steamy contemporaries are eligible and so are category romances. (i.e. Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Super Romances, Silhoutte Desires, etc.)

Details:

1. Read at least 10 contemporaries between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010

2. You don't have to pre-select your books, you can just add them as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed. Nothing is set in stone! Also, the books you choose can crossover into or from other challenges you are participating in.

3. Feel free to grab the button below for the sidebar of your blog. It would be great if you would link it back to this post so others can find their way back to this post and join the challenge.

4. If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others and feel free to add a link back to this post so others can join in the fun.

5. I will be creating review posts where you can link your own reviews, but reviews are optional.


Find below the "work-in-progress"-list of my books for this challenge. Some have been and will be put in the list beforehand, others will be added along the way in the course of next year.

THE LIST: (in random order)

01. Kristan Higgins - Fools Rush In
02. Julie James - Something About You - Click HERE  for my review
03. Julia London - Summer of Two Wishes
04. Lisa Kleypas - Sugar Daddy
05. Carly Phillips - Cross My Heart
06. Deidre Knight - Butterfly Tattoo
07. Jill Shalvis - Slow Heat - Click HERE for my review
08. Deirdre Martin - Straight Up - Review coming soon!
09. Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Heat and Rocky Mountain Haven - Review coming soon!
10. Louisa Edwards - Can't Stand the Heat





HAVE FUN and HAPPY READING!

<a href="http://pearl72.blogspot.com/2009/12/contemporary-romance-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Pearl’s Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/MaggieBdC/overig/ButtonCRC2010.jpg" /></a><br/>

When signing up below for Mr Linky, please add the direct link to your post where your Contemporary Romance books will be listed as it makes it much easier for others to find.
If you don't have a blog, just leave the URL blank.
If you have trouble signing up below, please leave the name you want posted with your bloglink in the comments of this post or email them to me via this Contact Form

This challenge is hosted by BookChickCity

Timeline: 01 Jan - 31 Dec 2010
Rules: To read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010

Details:

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of 2010.

Contrary to my earlier statements this year (both here, on twitter and IRL) that I didn't want to do reading challenges anymore because I feel the pressure of obligatory reading and reviewing next to all my other (reading) obligations, this was a challenge I couldn't resist and I have a few reasons for it:

First, I don't have to select any books ahead of time, so the sense of obligation is somewhat diminished. This, however, doesn't mean I don't have some books in mind for this challenge specifically and I know this is a challenge that I won't have trouble meeting "deadlines".

My second reason is linked to the first: I think reading twelve Thriller/Suspense/Mystery books will not be a great challenge as I had already planned to read more in that genre, next to the romantic suspense I already read plentily and I suspect the romantic suspense genre also falls under the regulations of this challenge, so this will be a challenge that won't be hard to meet at all.

For this challenge we are supposed to read 12 Thriller and Suspense Books. BCC, through J. Kaye has provided a list of sub-genres that work for this challenge. To view go HERE.

Find below the "work-in-progress"-list of my books for this challenge. Some have been and will be put in the list beforehand, others will be added along the way in the course of next year.

THE LIST: (in random order)

01. Lori Armstrong - Blood Ties - Click HERE for my review
02. Jordan Dane - No One Heard Her Scream
03. Barry Eisler - Rain Fall
04. Stieg Larsson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
05. Ashley Gardner - The Hannover Square Affair
06. Karen Rose - Have You Seen Her?
07. Chelsea Cain - HeartSick
08. Robert Craig - Random (ARC supplied by publisher via BookChickCity)
09. Allison Brennan - Original Sin - Click HERE for my review
10. Shiloh Walker - Broken Click HERE for my review
11.
12.

Sorry for the terrible picture and the messy state of this post but had to make the pic last night in the dark since I am at work today. And had to choose between not doing the Tuesday Treasure post at all or doing a quickie like this. I went for the quickie. Normally Tuesday is my day off and I have all the time in the world to prepare this post but due to some circumstances at work, I had to work today.





THIS WEEK'S BOOK-LOOT:







These books came in over the past week via mail, ordered at The Bookdepository:Anthology: Sexy Beast VIIJulia London - Summer of Two WishesAnn Aguirre - GrimspaceAnn Aguirre - WanderlustLouisa Edwards - Can't Stand the HeatJill Shalvis - Double PlayElisabeth Naughton - Stolen HeatPamela Britton - Slow BurnKathleen O' Reilly - Hot Under Pressure
These books I bought at the book fair in Utrecht, which I went to with hubby:Dictionary of HomonymsColleen McCullough - Antony & Cleopatra (HC)Bettany Hughes - Helen of Troy (HC)Karyn Bosnak - 10 Times a Lady (TPB)Toni Blake - Swept AwayRachel Gibson - Tangled Up in YouRachel Gibson - Daisy's Back in TownGennita Low - Into Danger
I also received the won ARC of SKIN GAME by Ava Gray (aka Ann Aguirre) in the mail the past week. Can't wait to read this one! 



TODAY'S PRINT RELEASES THAT ARE ON MY ORDER LIST:
No print released today for me


§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

-----DIGITAL CORNER-----



Added to the Stanza Library over the past week:




Songbird by Maya Banks





All Fired Up by Kristen Painter





Calder by Allyson James____________________________________

TODAY'S DIGITAL RELEASES THAT ARE ON MY BUY-LIST:

No digital releases for me today.

As stated in my post about the lack of time I have been in a very busy phase in my life the past few months and still am. I am juggling married life, social life, work life and my passion for reading/reviewing and TV. And to be honest I'm not doing a very good job of it in my own eyes. The post mentioned above, some hefty and emotional discussions over the past weeks with hubby and finally a good talk with fellow booklover and friend Leontine, have made me stop, think and assess what I am doing and why I am trying to do it all and have it all.

Over the passed months the fun of reading has been slipping away in small doses. Reading slumps were coming more frequently than the usual once a year little slump I used to have. And I have also experienced some serious reviewing slumps (am in one again as we speak). There are reading challenges I've put myself up to. There is the ever-growing TBR pile which has become Mount TBR in my eyes, an insurmountable mountain of which I will never reach the top because I just keep buying and buying books I will need at least 5 lifetimes to read. Combine this my reviewing for ROOB, which I absolutely love to do (do not get me wrong on that!) reading is becoming kind of a chore. And the way I do things, I am a real ALL or NOTHING kinda person, the fun of it was beginning to disappear. And I want reading to be fun and not a chore or an obligation hanging over my head like Damocles' sword. In order to bring the fun back, steps need to be taken. I must say that this self reflection has been brutal and confrontational. I don't like to deal with confrontations, not even when I am the one confronting myself and avoid them as much as I can, but sometimes it must be done and decisions and changes must be made. The decisions I have made are not as final as to stop with my blog or to stop with my reading and reviewing because I have too much fun doing these things and they are very helpful in keeping my sanity when "real life" beats the crap out of me. Nonetheless, some pretty drastic changes are coming in the foreseeable future.

The first change has been in the making for a while now. As some might know (if you follow my presence on Twitter) I am in the process of doing a make-over of my blog. This was not inspired by the self-reflection by the way, it is a recurring phase I go through periodically (been blogging since 2004, book blogging since 2007). Sometimes this phase is after 6 months, sometimes after a year, sometimes after 2 years but there comes a point when I am fed up with the colors, header and lay-out of my blog and I go for a change. Well, I hit that bump again a few months ago. Wanting change, something else, a fresh wind, something new and unique. Since then own domains, websites from scratch, WordPress, Blogger pre-made templates and even considering hiring someone to make a custom template are all options that came up but failed to mold to my wants and needs. A lot of frustration ensued that literally made my head hurt and when I was about to give up, I found a pre-made Blogger template that, with a little online help, fits my needs perfectly. When the newly formatted blog is up, props will be duely given to the one who made this template.
At the moment I am doing the conversion to the new template, which is a time-consuming process and I am afraid to say when the made-over blog will be launched, but rest assured that it IS coming, and hopefully within a few weeks, but it would be safer to think in months...


Linked to the first change (blog make-over) is a change in my reading and reviewing. A question in the interview I did for Heather Long's Blog made me stop and think and set the spark for this change. The question was:

When you read, do you find yourself mentally writing a review or does that process begin after you've finished the story?

When I was answering this question it dawned on me (I am sometimes a bit dense, I know) that when reading I AM mentally writing the review or at least part of it. I read books with reviewing them in mind, making notes, marking quotes. Even when not reading the book I am busy thinking of what I can use in my review, hearing things on TV, movies, radio and from people and thinking: Oh I could use that in a review. It's becoming almost obsessive (who am I kidding?...it already is obsessive!) and I am not liking that. This has prompted me to review my own reading and reviewing habits and I decided it has to change!

Don't worry! I am not going to stop reviewing books, I am just going to do it differently and I'm going to allow myself to not review EVERY book I read. The books I do review aren't all going to get the extensive reviews I am used to making. I have decided I want to read for fun and relaxation and enjoy reading, instead of analyzing a book to pieces because I must review it. This is going to be hard, because I am a creature of habit, as most human beings are, and breaking some of my habits have proven to be very, very hard. Of course my opinion of the books I read will still be voiced only in a less extensive and for me less pressing manner. I will be doing mini-review round-ups of books read in a certain period of time, so there will be short impressions/reviews of multiple books in one review-blogpost. Occasionally longer and more extensive reviews will appear, naturally for the ARCs and requests read for ROOB and the occasional ARCs and requests for my own blog. I also know there will always be books that drive my fingers to the keyboard and they start typing away effortlessly, which will lead automatically to writing "full" reviews and I will welcome those moments. But no more forcing myself to write extensive reviews. Maybe that way I can bring the joy of reading back for myself!

Linked to this second change is the rating system I use on this blog. I started out using the star rating system from ROOB, after a while I somewhat modified the descriptions and added flames for the heat level in books but I never was comfortable with either the stars or the flames. I have been debating for a while what to do with the rating. First I thought to completely get rid of any rating but that isn't it either for me. I still want to rate a book so comparison can be made between books without having to read an entire review. So I decided I wanted a different rating system since the stars aren't working for me that well anymore. I contemplated the popular A-F/DNF rating I see a lot around blogland, contemplated 1-10 rating I also frequently encounter but ultimately I have decided to use the 0-100 rating because it gives me more and plenty of  room for nuance between different book ratings than stars, A-F and 1-10 do. Following the change in rating I have also decided to drop the heat level rating (flames) I use now. Same as with the stars they are not working for me the way I intended them to. And thirdly I am not giving descriptions for the ratings given. With a range from 0 to 100 I assume the numbers will speak for themselves as to show how much I liked or didn't like a book.

The fourth change, and this is one is going to be the hardest, has to do with my book-buying addiction. I buy too many books, really. I kid you not. For every book I read I buy at least 3 or 4 new ones. I have a TBR pile which I have started calling Mount TBR of over 800 books!! Take into account that I read on average about 4-8 books a month....well you can do the math...This has to stop. I have to stop. I was well on my way to lessen the amount of books bought by not starting with new authors but since Twitter that resolution has been thoroughly flushed down the drain. Tweeting with other booklovers and authors is THE way to discover new books that just beg me to buy and read them. But I am going to have to be strong and wield some major will power on this. I have to stop buying new books because someone else has bought and read them and is raving about it. But more importantly I need to stop glomming! When I buy one book by a certain author I have this compelling need to buy their entire backlist, if possible and all new releases by that author, the moment they hit the stores, even without having read a single word by that author! And believe me I have tried not to do this but have failed profoundly and miserably. But I am determined now. As I said, this has to stop. I will need a few more lifetimes to read all the books I already have and that is hoping I'll live to get very, very old!!

In order to tamp down the book-buying frenzy the first thing I decided, is to cut down the genres (to a certain extent) I buy. I have always said that I am a waste basket when it comes to reading. You can put almost anything in front of me and I'll read it. This is still true but over the almost 3 years I've been reading English romance fiction I have developed certain and clear preferences. When I read solely in Dutch I already had a preference for chicklit, contemporary, thrillers and historical. When I switched reading in English, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and erotic romance were added to the mix and you can imagine how much money I spend, keeping up with all the books I want to read in all these genres, not to mention new voices (authors) coming out of the woodworks practically every month to add to the pile.

Since I have started reading in English I have read 300+ books and from those I have discovered what I like a lot and what I like a bit less and it comes down to liking contemporay romance (including erotic), (romantic) suspense/thrillers/mysteries the best. So I have decided to focus on these genres with both my reading and buying. However, this doesn't mean that paranormal, historical or (urban) fantasy romance will not be bought/read any longer. Are you kidding me? I have series on the shelves in those genres that must be either read or finished and couldn't even think not to do that! But still focus will be on contemporary and suspense.

The second thing I am going to try in making Mt. TBR a bit smaller is I am going to review my bookshelves with an extremely critical eye again (yes I have done this before) and purge all the series I have this "meh" feeling about after I bought them AND series that I know aren't going to be read in this lifetime because there are always other books that are screaming louder to be read and these books just stay on the shelves, unread, taking up space. And I have discovered that once an author has been purged from the shelves, the compulsion to buy said author's new releases also disappears. So for me it is the only way to reduce the buying.

If I could donate these books to charity, for example Maya Rodale's SHARE THE LOVE initiative, I would,  but sending books in bulk to the US is something I truly cannot afford at the moment. So I will try and sell the books second-hand as much as I can, and probably do some giveaways on the blog. That way I can make sure the books go to a place where they won't just sit idly on the shelves but will be read and treasured in a better way than I have been able to do. And I will raise a bit of money for the "Get Pearl to an RT or RWA Convention Someday"-fund. This way I hope to get Mt. TBR to a reasonable size and to control my book-buying frenzies. That's not to say I won't try out new authors when the gut-feeling makes itself known, but it won't be in the amounts it has been and is at the moment.

And with all these changes I hope my enjoyment in reading and blogging and consequently life in general will return and I will be able to remain the happy reader, reviewer and person I have always been. So stay tuned for the new and improved look and layout, the mini-reviews, the new rating system, the giveaways of the purged books and the lessening of Mt. TBR. All coming soon to this blog.

Happy Reading!!

---From love at first sight to a HEA---

What I would like most right now is time to read and review AND watch my favorite TV shows without compromising the "day job", quality time with hubby and fullfil the many social obligations (like birthdays, visiting friends and family, have sleep-over weekends with the nieces, nephews and god children, etc). This is wishful thinking and could only happen if the day had twice as many hours as it has now. Lately my standard phrase is: Too many books, too little time!! And we're not even talking about keeping this blog up to date, Tweeting and making my bloghop rounds on the blogs I follow.

Still I find myself seeking ways to do all of the above and more. On my (almost) daily rounds of the blogs I follow I sometimes see people reading 2 or more (have seen up to 5) books at a time and every time I stumble on this I turn green with jealousy. I just can't do that. I sometimes try to read 2 books at a time, deceiving myself by thinking it will make the TBR pile diminish quicker but it's just smoke and mirrors because reading 2 books at a time doesn't equal reading 2 books in the same time I would read 1 book. And even if it would, it'd just postpone the lack-of-time problem because I can't review two books at the same time. Have to write the reviews one by one, the one after the other.

Crap! I forgot to take a picture of the book with the markers still in it! Ah well, you'll have to do with a "naked" picture of the book then. *smile*



July, especially mid -> end of July was a period of great books for me! After Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter which is now Quotes recold holder, came Victoria Dahl's Start Me Up and though the record still stands.

After the Quote-posts of Whisper No Lies and Atlantis Unleashed it's time for another Quote-post!!



This time the honor goes to Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter. I'm a sucker for Gena's books and these quotes show why. I love her writing style and her characterization. Her books make me laugh, swallow lumps away and chew my nails, all in the space of 300-400 pages!

At the moment Gena Showalter's SEDUCE THE DARKNESS holds the Quote-record, with 17 quotes. It'll be tough for other books to top this! But hey I thought that with the other Quote-posts too so who knows...

Hope you enjoy these quotes as much as I did! But be warned...the quotes may contain spoilers so read at own risk!


A youthful Devyn lusting over a maid, which got him in a lot of trouble:
When her lush, pink lips had curled in greeting, his heart had nearly beaten its way out of his chest. He'd wanted to rush to her, put his hands all over her body, lick her and kiss her and thrust into her the way a prince was only supposed to thrust into his wife.

Bride's thoughts when she first encounters Devyn
Clearly, he was an otherworlder, though which race, she didn't know. Whichever one, she had to wonder if they were all like him: perfection wrapped in dazzling and sprinkled with every woman's fantasy.

Devyn and Bride:
"I smell like a woman, hmm?
"Yes."
"Well, you smell like sex." He leaned down as if he intended to share a secret with her, moonlight caressing him as though it couldn't help itself. Maybe it couldn't. "The dirtiest kind of sex, at that. Which happens to be my favorite.

Dallas and Devyn's loving banter:
"You're scary, you know that?" Dallas said with quiet affection.
"I know. It's hardly far to others that I am a triple threat. Pretty and talented."
"That's only two, moron."
"I'd thought it would be rude to mention my c#ck."

Mia, Devyn and Dallas:
"So, you've actually met one? Other than this Bride person?" Mia asked him (...). "A f#cking bloodsucker?"
He shrugged, downed the last bit of the Scotch. "If by met you mean bedded, then yes."
Dallas rolled his eyes. "Is there a race you haven't bedded?"

Devyn when he and Bride are negotiating kisses in exchange for questions answered:
"Don't worry. I'll be keeping score inside my head, and I'm very good at math. Example: Devyn plus Bride minus clothes plus a hard, flat surface multiplied by roaming hands equals greatest pleasure ever. When shall we begin?"

How Devyn and Bride discuss things:
"Do you want to see (name of a person I won't mention due to spoiling) or not?"
She bit her tongue, probably drawing blood. To keep from biting him? "You know I do. And if you've hurt her, I swear to God I'll cut off your balls and feed them to you."
"Kinky."

Another bout of Dallas and Devyn banter (Devyn has just "disabled" a landlord who was bugging Bride):
Dallas had his arms crossed over his chest.
"What?" Devyn said, all innocence. "He annoyed me."
"So nearly killing him was necessary?"
"Completely."
A roll of his friends baby blues. "Are you sure you're not in loooove with Bride? 'Cause, dude, you're like a knight in crotchless armor right now."

Devyn's seductive moves:
He shrugged. "You don't have to worry about giving in to my wicked advances. Not yet. Right now, you're going to strip and shower, and then we're going to talk."
She raised her chin. "Like hell."
You will. I'll force you if necessary. And Bride," he said, his voice dipping huskily. "I hope it's necessary."

Push-and-pull mating dance by Devyn and Bride (Bride is under the shower and Devyn wants in):
"Invite me in."
"Beg."
"Invite me in, Bride."
"I told you. I will when you beg."
"I don't have to beg for a woman."
She grinned sweetly. "Then you'll never have this one."

The moment my heart broke for Devyn:
Her uncertainty reminded him of the boy he'd once been. The boy who had put on his best clothes and snuck into his mother's wing of the palace to give her a birthday present. The boy who had knocked on his mother's door, hoping, praying for a smile, even a hug, when he gave her the picture he'd drawn for her. The boy who'd had to throw the gift away, because his mother had looked at it, thanked him, and placed it back in his hands before shutting the door in his face.

Devyn to Bride:
"You confuse, fascinate, irritate, and delight me." he said, "and I swear to God the only thing I was thinking about while tasting and touching you was you."

Devyn watches Bride take a real shower (with water, not the futuristic enzyme showers):
Never had Devyn see a more beautiful sight. She was an angel, a siren, a goddess, all wrapped in Temptation's skin. Her joy was palpable, and he had given this to her, he thought, his pride intensifying.

Devyn's thoughts:
He needed to feel her, to know she was here and that she wasn't leaving him. Yet. He needed her goodness to mute his darkness.

Bride and Devyn:
"Nothing you do to me is shameful, swear to God. Well, besides letting me suffer from withdrawals. You gave me a taste of you, then took it away."
He gave a hoarse chuckle. "Well, the first taste is always free. You have to pay for the rest."
"Name your price."
"You. Just you."

Devyn's feelings for Bride:
You're...you. You make me hot, you make me laugh, and you make me angry. You look at me with those emerald eyes, and all I want to see is happiness inside them. You confuse me, you arouse me, you make me want to be better.

The moment it clicks in place for Devyn:
Variety was no longer what drove him. Bride was. (...) She had shown him what his life was missing. Then, with her smile and her touch, she'd patched him up and made him whole.