Hello guys! I assure you I'm not a vampire, zombie, or umm TV addict. I've just been in a slump lately - when I got sick a month ago I found myself having no will to blog, read, or move out of bed. So it's been a slow process for me to get the ball rolling again on blogging and reading! I miss it terribly and I loved visiting all the blogs :) I hope to reappear soon :) Thanks for the patience. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (and if you don't celebrate it I hope you had a wonderful weekend!) The holidays are coming up soon and I'm excited. I only like the month of December because people seem to be a bit kinder to each other - I could care less if I got a gift or not (it's the thought that counts!!) That's all for me now - I'm reading a wonderful Sci-fi book that I can't wait to review and then I think I'll read a Harry Potter book (I've been meaning to re-read those forever now!)

Two thoughts with one post

I got this image off of flickrCC and couldn't resist! It bites back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgivings! I had my 1st Italian spin for this holiday, yesterday and it was interesting :) and YUMMY!!

AND . . .

HEY GUYS!! FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT SIGNED UP DON'T FORGET PACKAGES MUST BE SENT OUT BY 12/10!! I'M JUST LETTING Y'ALL KNOW :) (I FORGET OFTEN! - but I'm going shopping now :)!!!!)

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET MINE! I wonder who my S.S. is?!

Bitten to Death

As with all Jaz Parks adventures - they are full of adventure and the constant struggle of keeping one's head on straight.

Jaz and Vayl have been assigned to a wonderful ancient city in Greece (lucky ducks!) The two must head to the local Vampire Trust and stop Samos (the Vampire version of Brain from Pinky and the Brain) from taking the Trust over. This will not be easy because Vayl left the Trust some 100 years ago - and well there are still some sore feelings in regards to Vayl. When they arrive they expect to be greeted by the Deyrar (president) Hamon instead are greeted by a new Deyrar. They quickly find out that the Deyrar they had originally negotiated with found an untimely death.

The new Deyrar is problematic to say the least. Disa was turned by Vayl and is a power hungry . . .witch to say the least. When Disa became Deyrar not everyone was happy - and now the once beautiful lands of the Trust have begun to decay ever since she took the seat. One problem at a time though because Vayl and Jaz didn't come to solve the Trust's problems.

Vay and Jaz have to stop Samos from taking over the Trust (priority #1). If the Trust falls then Samos is closer to taking over the world. Then they have to stop Disa from whatever scheme she is planning (priority #2). Disa is power hungry and is stopping at nothing to get what she wants. Then they have to save Vayl from the unknown trap they walked into. Quite a busy day for Jaz and her team.

Like all her books, it's action packed until the very last page. I find I have such a hard time writing reviews of this book series for that very reason. I always feel like I do these books injustice but please THEY ARE FABULOUS BOOKS! THEY ARE NOT FOR ONE SECOND LAME!!

Ms Darla has some excellent reviews on this series :) So if my review falls flat please jump over to hers! (I only linked to her main blog so you'd have to find the reviews)

This book was recommended to me by Darla D!

Books in this series:

1) Once Bitten Twice Shy

2) Another One Bites the Dust

3) Biting The Bullet

4) Bitten To Death

5) One More Bite

Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin. New York (c) 2008

The Lightning Theif

Many of you have seen this book, but by another cover. When I read this book - this was the cover for moi. I like it a bit more than the other versions.

Percy Jackson is a troubled teen. He's been to numerous schools only staying a year in each. The teachers have labeled him a trouble maker with ADHD and dyslexia. That alone, doesn't cause him to relocate to a new school every year. No, instead it's something entirely different. Weird things keep happening to Percy - sights that are confusing and scary.

When we are introduced to Percy Jackson he is a sixth grader at Yancy Academy. Yancy Academy is a private school in New York for 'troubled kids'. The year was going ok, until he went on a trip with his Latin teacher Mr. Brunner and other kids to Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at the Greek and Roman artifacts. Mrs. Dobbs his mean spirited Algebra teacher accompanies them. Now, that alone is nothing out of the ordinary, except Mrs. Dobbs hates Percy Jackson with a passion and makes sure that she always punishes him. Some kids were picking on Percy's best friend Grover, but Percy is unable to do anything because he already skating on thin ice. He gets angrier and angrier at the girl picking on Grover and suddenly she's drenched by the fountain water. How could that have happened? The water could not have acted on its own.

Mrs. Dobbs zeros in on Percy and tells him to follow her into the depths of the museum. Mr. Brunner is unaware of what's happening (and is Percy's only hope.) When Percy catches up with Mrs. Dobb, they are all alone and suddenly she turns into this hideous creature! Frighted and with nothing to fight back with Percy begins to back up until Mr. Brunner comes to his rescue and gives Percy a mighty sword. After killing Mrs. Dobbs the evil creature Percy returns to Mr. Brunner who doesn't even know who Mrs. Dobbs is.

That's only the beginning for Percy. Soon he's told that he is a demi-God, and even though he doesn't know his father, he has to go to a camp for half-bloods such as himself. While at the camp he befriends fellow half-bloods and learns that there is a feud brewing in Mt. Olympus. Percy has been thrown between 3 fighting gods - Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon. Hades and Zeus are blaming him for stealing Zeus Master Lightning Bolt. However Percy just found out he is a demi-god and Poseidon is his father. He didn't steal the bolt but now he has to prove he didn't. But the odds are stacked against him; he has little training and will be going up against the might of the gods.

Don't worry. I won't finish the paragraph with "Can he prove himself to the gods and live?" Lol. I have always loved Greek mythology. I know all the gods by their Greek names, and Vince knows them all by their Latin names. It's funny b/c I have a little Greek in my family tree and Vince is Italian. So it's always fun for me to say that the Romans copied everything from us Greeks :P Getting back to the point, is I love how this book weaved the mythology into present day life! Chiron (the centaur) told Percy that the gods are very much real and that they follow were the "torch" is. So it once was in Rome but is now in the West. Such a cool idea! Percy has to fight other "myths" such as Medusa (one of the Gorgons) and fight a Minotaur. god it was so good! I read the book in like a day because I was hooked :)

Do y'all read Greek Myths? Vince and I love them and talk about them often. In fact he has this amazing book that has all the Greek and Roman myths told in the best versions. *Swoon*

I suggest quickly re- learning your myths before you read this book otherwise you won't be as impressed and you'll be very confused. Please read this book. It is SOO AMAZING! and Pretty please read up on your Greek Mythology!! Promise? AND PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK !!

Books in this series:

1) The Lighting Thief

2) The Sea of Monsters

3) The Titans Curse

4) The Battle of the Labyrinth

5) The Last Olympian

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. New York (c) 2005

Undead and Unwed

Betsy has just been fired from her job. It just makes so much sense that when a company is going under, the big wigs fire the secretaries who know how to answer phones, order more office supplies, and make the office run smoothly. So obviously you fire the help who makes less. No brainer! Wrong.

On the way home Betsy goes to let her cat Giselle back into the home, but when Betsy notices Giselle in the middle of the road about to face death Betsy runs out to save her. Big mistake. Giselle being the nimble cat she is, jumps out of the way in time. Betsy however, doesn't and the car hits her sending her sailing into a tree, where she dies. Or so everyone including herself, thought. She awakes days later to find herself in complete dark, and in a padded place. When she pushed her hands up she finds that she can push the wall. When she gets out she finds that she was in a coffin! Is this someone's idea of a joke?! As she walks around the funeral home trying to find people, she comes across a poor make-uped woman in cheap ugly shoes. Wait! That's her! Her step-mother dressed her in an ugly suite (totally not her color) and her cheap ugly shoes - fully knowing that Betsy has designer pumps at home.

Betsy can't figure out why she isn't dead. She should be. She remembers flying into the tree and hearing her bones crack and watching her blood flow out of her body. Why isn't she dead? So she decides to re-kill herself. She jumps into a moving truck and watches as she only dents the truck's grill and barely gets a scratch. So then she decides to jump off a building, but again, only a scratch. Finally she decides to walk into church and hopefully burn upon entering. No such luck. She can't figure out why she's not dying! Could it still be that God loves her and has a plan for her?

That night she decides to get all her designer name shoes back, so she pays her step-mom and father a visit. When they see Betsy they freak out! She's alive but she can't be. Betsy goes straight to the step-mother from hell and demands the return of the shoes. As Betsy goes to get her shoes back she runs into her best friend Jessica. They quickly re-unite and go back to Betsy's house. The girls quickly figure out that Betsy is a Vampire, even though the run of the mill Vampire rules aren't applying to Betsy.

One night she gets a call asking if she is Betsy and to meet at a bookstore. Betsy agrees and doesn't care if the guy is good or bad. As she is walking down the street she gets kidnapped by 3 men carrying crosses. Betsy doesn't want to give away the fact that crosses don't scare her. When the limo stops and the guys take her out she is brought to a short, squat balding guy named Nostro who is the head vampire. Betsy burst out laughing because this guy is a walking cliche! She catches the eye of Sincliar who is sinfully good looking and a leader for another coven. When Sincliar gets her attention he tells her that she has to join his side (against Nostro) or it will spell doom for every vampire. Suddenly Betsy finds herself in a battle for power - which side does she choose?

God this book is amazing :) It's so fun and witty! Betsy is a firecracker who is at times, selfish. But aren't we all? I find it interesting that the nemesis is rather short, and ugly. Like Betsy says - the villains are always sexy. Right? Her best friend Jessica is a wonderful addition to the story. Even though this is a vampire book it is 1)written for adults 2)NOT LAME 3) such a wonderful read you won't be disappointed and you'll find yourself picking up the next book in no time.

Recommended to me by Darla D! (Hey that rhymes :)

Books in this series:

1) Undead and Unwed

2) Undead and Unemployed

3) Undead and Unappreciated

4) Undead and Unreturnable

5) Undead and Unpopular

6) Undead and Uneasy

7) Undead and Unworthy

8) Undead and Unwelcome

9) Undead and Unfinished

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson. New York (c) 2004