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Vampires and Tofu
My vampire fever started way back before I was born 29...OKAY...41 years ago when my momma watched a lil show called Dark Shadows which featured vampires and castles and gothic awesomeness. Anyway, momma decided to name me Angelique, after one of the characters on the show. And vampires have been in my...er, blood...ever since =) And oh yeah, I'm also a vegetarian. Now how would that work out if I got turned??? Email me at willowwind@gmail.com
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    The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle Blog Tour & Giveaway!
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    Book Trailer Reveal: A Sinners Series: Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki
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    Guest Post + Giveaway: J. Meyers and Imaginable
  • Tales of Whimsy...
    A Quote Break From The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires
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    Winner Announcements!
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    Book Review: Still by Mary Calmes
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    Reviewed by Emily: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr.
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    Book Review: A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #2) by Bella Forrest
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Vampires and Tofu

Books You Can Sink Your Teeth Into!

Winners!!!!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Time to announce the winner for BOTH my giveaways!!!

The winner of my birthday giveaway is:

latishajean

She gets her choice of Personal Demons, Shadow Hills, or Clockwork Angel!

And....the winner of my readathon mini-challenge is:

Mrs. DeRaps

...who will be getting Preludes and Nocturnes, the first volume of The Sandman graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman!

Thank you all SO much for entering and stopping by my blog. Stick around, I've got more goodies planned!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 6:06 PM 4 comments  

Reading Through Life's Read-A-Thon Mini Challenge

Saturday, August 28, 2010


Reading Through Life has a fun challenge going on for the From Dusk Til Dawn Read-A-Thon. She asked us to...

"Write a post describing your ideal comfort food meal to break your hypothetical 15 hour fast one of the nights of this week’s read-a-thon. Pictures (yours or from the internet) get you bonus points! Forget about calories, healthiness, or normal portion sizes – anything goes when you’re that hungry."

Tofu is finally coming to Vampires and Tofu! My favorite meal is actually one I make at home, it's a veggie version of fish tacos and it is delicious! (I promise =) Even my meat loving boyfriend loves this one. Here's a link to the recipe if you're interested in trying it...Baha Tofu Tacos
I make a couple of changes...I don't use cilantro in the slaw, I bake the tofu instead of deep frying it, and I throw a little bottled green taco sauce on the finished product.

Now, since we're talking a whole meal here, Mexican rice is a must on the side (I make mine with El Pato tomato sauce cause it's nice and spicy) along with homemade guacamole.

The perfect finishing touch? An ice cold margarita!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 10:47 AM 4 comments  

From Dusk Til Dawn Challenge!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

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Since we're all reading at night for this challenge, I started thinking about how my love of books started out with my mom reading to me at bedtime. I can remember many nights spent listening to her reading the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I couldn't wait til the day when I could read those stories too!

Other bedtime stories I remember her reading to me include Curious George and the Amelia Bedelia books and (digging WAY back here) the Little Golden Books like Doctor Dan the Bandage Man. Anybody remember those???

When my daughter was born, I couldn't wait to carry on the tradition of bedtime stories and started reading to her way before she could understand the stories I'm sure lol. But once she could, her favorite without a doubt, the one we turned to almost every night, was the classic Goodnight Moon. She's almost 17, but that one still sits on her shelf =)

So, for this challenge I'd like you to tell me what your favorite bedtime story was as a kid, whether it was one read to you or one you read yourself. And for the mommies out there, what stories do your babies enjoy the most?? And what stories are you most looking forward to sharing?

I'll select a winner at random (random.org) from the comments and in keeping with the nighttime spirit of the read-a-thon, the winner will receive Volume 1 of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel series The Sandman. This is one of my favorite graphic novels ever and if you've never read one before, DO give it a try! This is a great one to start with!

From Goodreads....

In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his 70 year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman. This book also includes the story "The Sound of Her Wings," which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl Death.

This contest is open to the US and Canada and while I would love to hear everyone's answers, this contest is just for those of you participating in the challenge (there's still time to sign up, click the pic!)

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 5:25 PM 26 comments  

Read-A-Thon Update!

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Good morning...is everyone rested or still sleeping in?? =) Well, last night was the first night of the From Dusk Til Dawn Read-A-Thon and it was SO much fun...the east coast got started first and Twitter was abuzz so I was counting down the hours until it was 8PM here on the west coast so I could jump in too! I finished Catching Fire yesterday afternoon so I could kick things off with Mockingjay. My goal was to read the whole thing last night, but the boyfriend got home from work at 11 and turned on the TV so that was a little distracting, but I knew if I left my recliner to go read in bed it would be all over and I would be OUT.

Anyhow, I cheated and started before 8, SO my actual pages read for the read-a-thon would be page 28 to page 244. Not too shabby =) I'm probably gonna finish it today and start something else tonight at 8. Oh, and I still need to hit everyone's challenges!!!

How did everyone else's night go??? Did you read as much as you wanted? (And Heather...drink some coffee tonight, it was my salvation lol!)

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 9:55 AM 8 comments  

Dusk Till Dawn Read-A-Thon!

Monday, August 23, 2010

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I'm very excited to be taking part in my first Read-A-Thon and it's PERFECTLY suited for me since the reading hours are 8PM to 8AM, which is when I do most of my reading anyway =) It's running from August 25th-29th and it would be great if you signed up too! Just click the pic and it will take you to the sign up page. There will be lots of fun challenges (I'm hosting one!) and great giveaways!

I'm hoping to read:

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
2. Demon Chick by Marilyn Kaye
3. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
4. Epitaph Road by David Patneaude
5. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Lemme know if you sign up!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 6:13 PM 10 comments  

Review: Tyger Tyger

Saturday, August 21, 2010

tyger tygerTyger Tyger

By Kersten Hamilton

Published by: Clarion Books

Publication Date: November 15, 2010

Digital ARC from Netgalley

5 Stars!

(This review first appeared at Under A Star Studded Sky as part of Rachel’s Amazing August Blog-A-Thon 2010. Stop by and check out her site!)

Summary from Goodreads…

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.
Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

There was SO much I loved about this book, but for me, good characters are the heart and soul of any story so let's start there. Teagan has taken over as my favorite YA protagonist because she breaks all the stereotypes. Unlike a lot of girls in YA, Teagan has more on her mind than the hot boy. She has a job (working with animals,) goals, a great family that she actually likes, and a best friend with mafia ties who can always make a call....she KNOWS people. And Finn...sigh. You can just hear his Irish accent when he's talking and when he calls Teagan "girl." It's enough to make you a little weak in the knees. And he breaks the stereotypes too. He's not a bad boy (although his past is a little mysterious) and he never resorts to treating Teagan badly. He's the kind of a boy a girl SHOULD fall for.

As for the story itself, Kersten Hamilton weaves some mighty fine magic with her words. Tyger Tyger has its roots firmly planted in Celtic folklore and mythology, drawing upon tales of the Sidhe and of goblins and the legend of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. I wasn't familiar with any of these stories before, but I'm dying to get my hands on some more Celtic mythology now. I don't want to give away too much, but man, that summary leaves out SO much that it makes it really hard NOT to talk about other aspects of the book. Suffice it to say there is some excellent world building here, replete with supernatural creatures I haven't come across in any other books I've read. I found myself completely immersed in this magical world as I was reading and I gladly went along for the adventure. Here, you'll find a world where there is magic to be found in songs and promises, where the creatures in the shadows just might be real, and where you never know when a roll of duct tape might come in handy...so be prepared!

All in all, Tyger Tyger gets a solid 5 stars from me. I really loved this book and I hope you will too! Add it to your wishlist or pre-order it now...it'll be available November 15th!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 3:51 PM 9 comments  

Labels: celtic mythology, Clarion Books, Kersten Hamilton, Tyger Tyger

eReaders and the Day I Got 106 Books

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a great week so far. I am SO not lol! Well, it hasn’t been THAT bad, but work has been crazy busy which has left me crazy tired and I haven’t been able to do much reading cause every time I snuggle up with a book I CRASH.

But….I would like to hear your thoughts on eReaders and whether you have one, what kind you have or whether you plan to get one. I absolutely hated the idea for the longest time but then I started getting some free ebooks and lemme just say, laying in bed trying to hold up my laptop isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.

Enter my friend Carlos. We met through the magic of MySpace 3 or 4 years ago and actually became real life friends. (Of course we have since ditched MySpace for the greener pastures of Facebook.) He is Mr. Technology and has been reading his books via eReader for quite some time and  has been trying to turn me to the dark side. Which I rebelled against quite vehemently. Until, like I said, I started getting these ebooks. I mentioned on Facebook that I was considering getting one and lo and behold, he sends me a message saying he has an older Sony eReader he doesn’t use anymore (he’s an iPad man now) and would I like it?? Um, YES! So he packaged it up and shipped it out and a few days later it was mine. Awesome friend? Yes! But guess what?? He sent it with 106 books ALREADY ON THE MEMORY CARD! I won’t list them all here, but they included….

Blackwood Farm

Choke

Dead Witch Walking

The Difference Engine

Dracula by Bram Stoker and Dracula the Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker

The Millenium Trilogy

World War Z

The Power of Myth (Campbell)

….and many, many more.

I even managed to learn how to get my ebooks onto the reader through a great site he told me about that lets me convert the files I have into files compatible with the Sony. So much easier to hold in bed at night! And I can even take it in the bathtub!!!!

So let me know what your eReader experiences have been like and lemme know if you have any good sites you visit for downloads!!!! This is the only one I know of so far…

Girlie Books Check it out, they have classic and contemporary works by female writers.

Thanks, and have a great day!!!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 8:11 PM 8 comments  

Labels: ebooks, ereader, Sony

Review: Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Saturday, August 14, 2010

sleeplessSleepless

By Cyn Balog

Publication Date: July 13, 2010

Won from Random Buzzers

Not Recommended

Summary from Goodreads….

Eron De Marchelle isn't supposed to feel a connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce human charges to sleep. While he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to--after all, getting too involved in one human's life would prevent him helping his other charges get their needed rest.
But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia. Julia, with her fiery red hair and her sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. Eron has always felt protective of Julia . . . but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't seem to reach her . . .
Sandmen are forbidden from communicating with humans outside their dreams. But will Eron be willing to risk everything for a chance to be with the person he loves?

I was really excited to read this one, loved the idea of a Sandman~something I haven’t read before~ and thought it had the potential to be a unique and imaginative read.

Not so much.

See, Eron has been a Sandman for almost 100 years, helping his charges go to sleep (referred to as “seducing” them) and seeing into their dreams. So far so good. Where it all started to fall apart for me was when he acted surprised at seeing cars and the way girls dress “nowadays.” You would think after watching people for so long, these things wouldn’t be so shocking. He’s had YEARS to see the changes so this just didn’t sit well with me, not believable at all.

I was really disappointed with what we get to see of the life of Sandmen too. The author had a chance to build a whole new world for them to exist in, but all the Sandmen do when they’re not seducing their charges is SIT IN TREES. Good God, how dull. Such a missed opportunity here. It would have been infinitely more interesting if the Sandmen actually had a world all their own, but no. There they sit. In the trees. Day after day.

As for Julia…the book hints (for a very long time before the reveal) that she went through something traumatic when she was seven years old. Because of this, she has been somewhat of a social outcast, not fitting in and having no friends. Again, I found THIS very unbelievable as well. Teenagers are not the horrible people they are so often made out to be in YA books. Considering what happened to Julia, I think most kids would have way bigger hearts and be better people and actually befriend her. I have a teenage daughter and neither her nor her friends would be so awful to someone.

To be completely honest, by the end of the book I didn’t even LIKE the idea of a Sandman anymore. There is one scene where two Sandmen are watching over Julia as she sleeps and it was actually, well…icky. The idea of two guys you can’t see in your room at night felt just downright creepy.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

I can’t finish up this review without mentioning one other thing that bothered me. Julia’s boyfriend dies in the first chapter of the book and ends up becoming a Sandman. Now he never comes across as having been the greatest guy while he was alive, but as a Sandman he’s downright psychotic. See, his best friend wants to get involved with Julia and yeah, he’s a little pushy about it. We never quite know if he’s actually dangerous or just in love with Julia, but he (Julia’s now dead boyfriend) freaks the hell out and want his best friend KILLED. Seriously? This felt so extreme and out of character that I almost stopped reading. It’s one thing to be upset about something, but to have a pretty normal guy decide he wants his best friend dead was just too much for me.

So to sum it up, sorry, just can’t recommend this one. It was a great initial concept that just didn’t live up to its potential, damaged by poor characterization and lack of creativity.

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 11:27 AM 7 comments  

Labels: sandmen, Sleepless

Oh This Bugs Me!

Friday, August 13, 2010

beautiful delirium

I loved Beautiful Creatures. And I can’t wait to read Delirium. But it bugs me to no end that the font on both of these is so similar! Ok. Just had to get that out there.

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 7:16 PM 8 comments  

New Booty (Cause yes, I like pirate references…yarrr) Part 1

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hi everybody!! And a big, warm hello to all my new followers, thanks for coming by and thanks for entering my birthday giveaway. All the cakes you have been describing have made me feel like I’ve gained about 10 pounds already lol. And I’m now fully convinced that I have to try red velvet cake!

I got 9 new books this week (not to mention eBooks, which is gonna be a whole separate post. Trust me, you’ll know why when I post it =)

I’m only going to post 5 today, I will post the other 4 in a couple of days because I want to include the summaries here (all from Goodreads) but I don’t want the post to go on for miles and miles!

I bought…

hungergames infinitedays

I won…

poison 7souls sleepless

 

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

2. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.
Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

3. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Choose: A quick death and hell or slow poison and hell.
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear.

4.  7 Souls by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando

Mary expected her seventeenth birthday to be a blowout to remember, courtesy of her best friends, fellow New York City prepsters Amy and Joon, and her doting boyfriend, Trick.
            Instead, the day starts badly and gets worse. After waking up in a mortifying place with a massive, unexplainable hangover, Mary soon discovers that nobody at school is even aware that it's her birthday. As evening approaches, paranoia sets in. Mary just can't shake the feeling that someone is out to get her—and, as it turns out, she's right. Before the night is over, she's been killed in cold blood.
            But murder is just the beginning of Mary's ordeal. Her soul gets trapped in a strange limbo, and she must relive the day of her death through the eyes of seven people—each of whom, she finds, had plenty of reasons to hate her. As Mary explores the mysteries of her world, discovering secrets that were hidden in plain sight while she was alive, she clings desperately to the hope that she can solve her own murder, change the past, and—just maybe—save her own life.

5.  Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Eron De Marchelle isn't supposed to feel a connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce human charges to sleep. While he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to--after all, getting too involved in one human's life would prevent him helping his other charges get their needed rest.
But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia. Julia, with her fiery red hair and her sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. Eron has always felt protective of Julia . . . but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't seem to reach her . . .
Sandmen are forbidden from communicating with humans outside their dreams. But will Eron be willing to risk everything for a chance to be with the person he loves?

 

Huge thanks to Maria V. Snyder and Random Buzzers!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 9:20 PM 4 comments  

Birthday Giveaway!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

My birthday is coming up on August 30, and I think this is the perfect time for my first giveaway! The winner will get his or her pick from the following books…

personalshadow hillsclockwork

1. Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

2. Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopkus

3. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

All you have to do to enter is be a follower of Vampires and Tofu and leave me a comment telling me your favorite birthday cake flavor! There’s an extra entry for you if you tweet about the contest, just let me know in your comment. I’ll be selecting a winner at random on my birthday. (Be sure to leave me your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win!) Oh, and those darn high shipping costs force me to limit the contest to US only, sorry…

As for MY favorite birthday cake flavor…that would be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake!

Thanks and good luck!!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 7:28 PM 70 comments  

Labels: books, Clockwork Angel, giveaway, Personal Demons, Shadow Hills

Review: Deception by Lee Nichols

Saturday, August 7, 2010

deceptionDeception

By Lee Nichols

Publication date: June 8, 2020

I won this in a contest

4 stars

Summary from Goodreads…

When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.
After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.

I ended up really liking this book! And why am I excited about that? Well, for the first hundred pages or so, I wasn’t really sure I was GOING to like it. Don’t get me wrong, it was very readable and I found myself tearing through the pages BUT I had a couple of issues. First of all, the story is told in first person point of view which amounted to a whole lot of “I did this and then he did and then I did this and then he did that.” And the sentences were very short. You know how in elementary school you are taught that a sentence needs a noun and a verb? That’s all a lot of these sentences amounted to so it took me a while to get used to the writing style.

Secondly, the way Emma ended up “in the hands of a new guardian” seemed a little bit forced to me. It was a a big convoluted mess of a way for her to get there that could have been handled a heckuva lot easier and a lot more believably by the characters involved. I’m asking for believability in paranormal fiction? Well, yeah! If I’m gonna get into a story involving ghosts or anything else supenatural, I wanna believe in the world that’s being created. And if the characters are doing stuff that just doesn’t make sense then it’s kind of hard.

Anyway…on to the good stuff…like I said, once I got past those first hundred or so pages, I found myself really hooked in the story! I was dying to know what was gonna happen! The cool thing about this book is that it didn’t give itself away…I couldn’t predict what was gonna happen and was surprised several times! Deception is the PERFECT name for this book, because you get the sense while reading that you can never be sure exactly who Emma should trust. Almost everyone is suspect at times, even her missing parents.

Deception has a great ending (one of my favorites of late actually) that leaves you wanting more and I definitely can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 9:39 AM 5 comments  

Labels: Deception, Lee Nichols

Awards!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Pam, over at Midnyte Reader
gave me this one and I am SO honored! (Because it IS incredibly prestigious, it even says so!) She writes great reviews that really make you wanna read the stuff she likes, please check it out =) Anyway, this comes with a few rules...


1. Get really excited that you got the coolest award EVER!
2. Choose ONE of the following options of accepting the OMB award:
(a) Get really drunk and blog for 15 minutes straight,
or for as long as you can focus.
(b) Write about your most embarrassing moment.
(c) Write a "Soundtrack of your childhood" post.

(d) Make your next blog a 'vlog'/video blog. Basically, you're talking to the camera about whatever.
(e) Take a picture of yourself first thing in the morning, before you do anything else (hair, make up, etc) and post it.
3. Pass the award on to at least three, but preferably more, awesome bloggers. Don't forget to tell them.


Well, I'm not gonna drunk blog (I can barely drunk text lol) and I just did a soundtrack post and there is NO WAY I will torture you with pictures of myself first thing in the morning (for the record, rest assured I will never sing to you either...you would thank me for this.) So...here it goes, my most embarrassing moment...

I'm 41 and at this age, little things start changing. For one, you start getting these horrible random hairs that just pop up in the most unpredictable places. Anyway, one night my boyfriend was rubbing my back and when he got to my shoulder area, his hand sorta caught...ya...his fingernail had snagged on a hair growing out of my back...and that sucker was at least an inch long. I was MORTIFIED. He laughed it off (bless him) but STILL!

Now to pass this on three awesome bloggers....

1. wb at wb32 Reads
I recently discovered her blog and it is AWESOME! She has the most amazing content and the FUNNEST contests ever. Go spend some time exploring her blog, you're gonna love it!

2. Laura at Tattooed Books
Lots of great content and contests here too! (And I really enjoy her Nostalgic Fridays posts =)

3. And this blog... "Bites" for the insightful and honest reviews.


AND....I got this lovely award from the even lovelier wb (mentioned up there in my 3 awesome bloggers to check out) How sweet is that?

I'm so happy to be a part of the blogging community =)

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 8:14 PM 4 comments  

Review: Phoenix Rising by Jo Lynne Valerie

Monday, August 2, 2010

Phoenix Rising
By Jo Lynne Valerie
Published: May 12, 2010
Not recommended
I bought this book

Summary from Amazon...

Holly is a successful, eccentric artist who has given up on love. A best-selling novelist hires Holly, asking her to "Paint my hero, my leading man..."
After Holly paints all day and all night, a face has come to life on her canvas. Imagine Holly's surprise when she meets the man she painted - IN REAL LIFE - just days later.
David is a divorced single father, a wolf biologist. On a deep winter night, their paths converge and passion ignites. David surprises both Holly and himself when he asks her to go away with him and his son, for the holidays...
But Holly is held prisoner by devastating heartbreak and a horrifying secret. Can she trust David with what is locked in the farthest recesses of her heart?
As the trio travels southwest for the holidays, the connection and intensity grows between Holly and David. In an end the reader will not see coming, Holly's mystery is solved at last - and a new path beckons them all.

Oh man. Heavy sigh.
This book just wasn't very good, with a number of things that didn't work. First of all, several chapters needed serious editing. The punctuation (waaaay too many commas) was bad enough to be distracting.
Secondly, and most importantly, I felt like the author came up with what she thought was a great idea for a twist, but never fully developed the story leading up to it, or the repercussions after the reveal (which WAS pretty easy to see coming.) There really isn't much going on for the majority of the book and when something finally DOES happen, something that means great change for everyone (and is actually quite disturbing for one of the characters) everything gets summed up in two of the cheesiest pages I have ever read. Seriously. I felt like the author had no respect for her characters and I was quite disappointed with this one. It's too bad, really, because the author has a great blog and posts lots of interesting things on her various social network accounts. As a matter of fact, I think she would kick ass at non-fiction writing as there were some lovely descriptions of New Mexico in the book AND she does really interesting posts on astrology and the like.
On a personal note here, it's really difficult to write a negative review! There is almost a sense of guilt but ultimately I felt like I had to be completely honest about how I felt and not sugarcoat it. I want you all to know that I will always give my honest opinion about a book, good or bad. Not every book is for everybody and this one just wasn't for me.

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 7:39 PM 5 comments  

Top 5 Sunday

Sunday, August 1, 2010


Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. Today marked my first day back at work after a six day vacation...I was definitely having internet withdrawals!

Larissa over at Larissa's Bookish Life is hosting Top Five Sundays which I think is a really cool way to make the blog a little more personal and a great way to get to know other bloggers better. This Sunday's topic is Top 5 Movie Soundtracks, so here's mine =)

5. Queen of the Damned...lots of great music here. Favorite song on this one....hmmm....Down with the Sickness, love Disturbed =)









4. Grease...probably on almost EVERYBODY'S fave soundtrack list, but this one just never gets old for me. Plus, We Go Together was my 6th grade graduation song =)







3. Cats (OK, here is where you find out that I am a HUGE musical fan!) I saw this at The Pantages in Hollywood and it was amazing. My
favorite song from this one is Mr. Mistoffelees (and he is my favorite "cat" from the play as well. Along with Rum Tug Tugger.







2. Practical Magic...probably my favorite movie ever...I can't even tell you how many times I've watched this. Midnight margaritas! I love the aunt's house, I love Sally's herb shop, I love the little town...in my dream world that's all MY stuff! Fave song from this one would have to be Crystal by Stevie Nicks.





And #1 is The Lion King. My OTHER favorite movie ever. I was also lucky enough to see this musical live and it was MAGICAL. If you ever get the chance GO!! No way I can pick one favorite song from this one, I love the whole thing.

And yes, my honorable mentions would have been more Disney movie soundtracks...The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast...I adore all of those!


What are your favorite movie soundtracks? If you did this on YOUR blog, feel free to leave a link. And if not, feel free to list yours here in the comments.

{Coming tomorrow...review for The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston}

Posted by Vampires and Tofu at 6:28 PM 10 comments  

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