I'm in this for the love of the .....technology?

Okay, as you've probably guessed from my blog title and list of books I read monthly - My name is Patti and I'm a Book Addict. I started this blog to talk about books and read about books and lust over books and....you get my point.

I started up on Goodreads last month but I still don't really have the hang of it - like linking my reviews and stuff. I still can't figure out how to put in what I'm currently reading!!! And I keep forgetting to put in a photo too, grrrr!

Yesterday I joined Twitter - if I haven't found you yet please look me up: BookAddictPatti- I tried looking people up but apparently Twitter was overwhelmed and told me to come back later. And apparently this morning was not later enough. I still need to figure out how to link stuff in my tweets and pick up the "twingo" (tweet lingo).

Shattered by Joan Johnston

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so I'm just going to jump right in; this book had a lot going on. This book is #8 in Ms. Johnston's Bitter Creek series and I have not read any of the other books in this series. I could tell while reading that there are a lot of backstories, but I didn't have any problems following along. I would be interested in reading the other books in this series to get a more in-depth background to these characters, but it's not necessary to do so in order to enjoy the story.

Kate Pendleton is a single mom raising twins. She's in love with Texas Ranger Jack McKinley. Jack is separated from his wife, Holly. As the story opens, we soon learn that Kate's former husband, J.D. Pendleton, whom the world thinks is deceased, is not dead, but hiding from the mob boss Dante D'Amato. We also find out that Kate's eight-year-old twin boys are not J.D.'s sons, but the product of a one-night stand Kate had with Wyatt Shaw after walking in on J.D. having sex with another woman.

Wyatt Shaw is Dante D'Amato's illegitemate son. He's a highly successful businessman and hates his father because he believes his father killed his mother. He has refused to take over the "family business", which angers his father. The general public thinks that because he's successful, Wyatt must be involved in his father's business and he has been accused of murdering a woman in his bed.

As soon as Wyatt learns about the twins, he rushes to find out the truth. When he learns Kate's husband is J.D., whom Wyatt knows is still alive and in a LOT of trouble, Wyatt whisks Kate and the boys off to his private compound for protection. He's got eight years of missed time with his sons and he wants very much to know and love them.

At the same time that this is going on, Jack learns that his soon-to-be ex-wife is pregnant and will be having his baby in about four months! Holly is a pediatric oncologist and is moving back to the area and wants Jake to live with her and their son while they wait for the birth of the baby. She knows how Jake feels about Kate but is hoping for a reconciliation with Jack instead of a divorce.

You would think that with all this going on it would be hard to keep up with who's who and what's what, but it wasn't. J.D. was such a slimebag! He really, really just kept making Kate's life miserable and sooo many people were unhappy with him. I also didn't like Jack at all. He struck me as such a jerk - he was going back to live with his ex-wife whom he got pregnant while Kate was in a coma, but he got upset about Kate going to live with Wyatt who is the father of her children?!? As the story progressed, by the time I got to the last page of Chapter 36 I decided I was right and he was an ass. I liked Wyatt. He was doing his damdest to get together with Kate; granted, he was going about it all wrong at first, but I could kind of see his point of view and felt like even though he looked like a bad guy he really wasn't.

As I mentioned above, there was a lot going on in this story: political inrigue, double-crossing, mob action, secret pregnancies....but Ms. Johnston wove it all together and made it work. There were one or two scenes where I said to myself, "really?" but then when I sat back and thought about it I saw how the circumstances could lead the character to those actions. Ms. Johnston did use multiple POVs, and while some people find that annoying it didn't bother me at all. I enjoyed this book and was pleased with the way it ended.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

More End-of-Year Musings...

Hmmm...I noticed I haven't posted a book review since Dec. 21 (shame on me!) I've still been reading, although not as much, but just haven't felt like reviewing anything I've read recently. I had a bit of a disappointing run and I hope I'm over it now. I don't know if it's just my general funk-ishness (work and home stress) or if the books just weren't that great, but I just feel lik if it's the first then that's not fair to the authors. If it's the latter, well, then, sorry I didn't warn you!! It really sucks because one of them I was really anticipating and it was just okay.

AND, I should just go ahead and shout it from the rooftops: I get to join the Cool Kid's Club ---> I got a Kindle for Christmas *squee* !!! (Thanks Mom and Dad) Is it scary that I've already put 72 books on it? Many, many thanks to Fiction Vixen for her tutorial on how to convert files to the Kindle-friendly version. I had a lot of books on my PC that I was able to convert, so I'm lovin' it! Also, I can read all the smut I want and don't have to try to hide the cover - Yay for modern technology!!

Richelle Mead is coming to New Orleans on January 16!!! I can't wait! The only complication is that my son (aka Book Mule) doesn't get off of work until 3pm and the signing starts at 5pm, which means we might be there awhile. I told him this is a good signing to attend as Ms. Mead has a lot of teenage girl fans :) And let me add here, if you haven't read her Vampire Academy (YA) or Georgina Kincaid (not YA) series - what are you waiting for?!?

received a few awards in December:

Minx at Loose Knickers and Window Lickers (I love that title!) and Janna at Erotic Romance Reader both awarded me the Over the Top Award. Thanks ladies!!

Here are the rules for this award:
1.) Thank and post URL to the blog that gave the award.
2.) Pass the award along to 6 brilliantly over the top blogs (blogs you love!) Alert them so they know to receive the award.
3.) Copy and paste this quiz... Change the answers, ONE word only. (2 are acceptable!)

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? Brown
3. Your mother? Lovely
4. Your father? Chiapop!!
5. Your favorite food? Greek (for now)
6. Your dream last night? Weird
7. Your favorite drink? Margarita/rocks
8. Your dream/goal? Finish Degree
9. What room are you in? Office
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Failure
2. Where do you want to be in 6 years? European Vacation
13. Where were you last night? Sick
14. Something that you aren't? Skinny
15. Muffins? Huh?
16. Wish list item? Nothing
17. Where did you grow up? Southeastern US
18. Last thing you did? Work
19. What are you wearing? dress
20. Your TV? High Def
21. Your pets? 3 kittehs
22. Friends? A few
23. Your life? Very good
24. Your mood? Happy
25. Missing someone? Nope.
26. Vehicle? Blue car
27. Something you're not wearing? Suspenders
28. Your favorite store? Bookstore
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Don't remember
32. Your best friend? still Hannah
33. One place that I go to over and over? Crazy
34. One person who emails me regularly? Hannah
35. Favorite place to eat? Too many



AND, Collette over at A Buckeye Girl Reads awarded me the Happy 101 Award:





I'm supposed to list 10 thinks that make me happy (in no particular order):

1. My Family
2. My New Kindle *squee!!*
3. Going to the Museum
4. My collection of antique Mardi Gras beads
5. Going to the bookstore
6. Climbing into a freshly made bed
7. Driving my car
8. Getting books in the mail
9. Opening all the windows in the house
10. Blogging!
Thanks Collette!


Lastly, my December reads (I know there are still three more days until December is over but we're going to Houston on Wednesday so I don't think I'm going to be doing a lot of reading over the next few days. Here they are:

1. Glory in Death - JD Robb
2. Sweet Persuasion - Maya Banks
3. Getting Lucky - Susan Andersen
4. Just for Kicks - Susan Andersen
5. Colters' Woman - Maya Banks
6. Sweet Seduction - Maya Banks
7. True Confessions - Rachel Gibson
8. Highland Knight - Hannah Howell
9. Not Another Bad Date - Rachel Gibson
10. Soulless - Gail Carriger
11. Saving Grace - Julie Garwood
12. Shattered - Joan Johnston
13. To Desire A Devil - Elizabeth Hoyt
14. The Highlander - Heather Grothaus
15. Lead Me On - Victoria Dahl
16. Hot and Bothered - Susan Andersen
17. Sweet Restraint - Beth Kerry
18. It Happened One Night - Lisa Dale (currently reading)
19. Crossroads - Moira Rogers (currently reading)

Hmmm...I think that's everything! Have a good one!

Colters' Woman Winner!!

First, let me say, that every time I've typed in the title of this book, I've typed in "Colter's Woman" then had to go back and change it to "Colters' Woman". Apparently that apostrophe likes to mess with my head....

Anyhoo, there were less than 10 entries in my Silly Little Giveaway, so we wrote down the names on paper and I let my middle child pick the winner ('cause 8-year-olds luuvvvv that kind of thing). And here to announce the winners are the Colter Brothers:

SusiSunshine!!!!

Congratulations! Please send me your mailing address (my e-mail is in my profile) and I'll get it out to you - I have to be honest though, I'm not going anywhere near the post office before Christmas, so expect it sometime in the New Year!

Last Day to Enter My Contest and Bloggish Thoughts of the New Year

Today is the last day to enter my Silly Little Giveaway! Enter here to win a copy of Colters' Woman!


I just realized my blog is 6 months old! Very cool. I have always loved to read and I really enjoy the comraderie and friendships in the book blog world. I think I've mentioned before that I have three kids, each about 8 years apart. With the birth of each child, I stopped reading for a few years, until they didn't need constant supervision and I could sit back with a book, confident that I could get in at least a few pages before Mommy was needed to grab something out of reach or assist with a task. My youngest child is three now, and when she was two I picked up reading again - I read the Twilight saga. Then a co-worker recommended Sherrilyn Kenyon, and then I found the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Oh my! I trolled the internet for more, more, more! Then, while I was googling sexy vampire books, I found Ms. Moonlight , Mandi, VampFanGirl, and Cecile. I had no idea there were blogs dedicated to books out there! I had been keeping a personal blog for awhile, and thought to myself, why not? My co-worker who recommended the Dark Hunters had moved to another job, and I didn't know anyone else who was into these kinds of books, so I jumped in with both feet and am so glad I did!


Now that 2010 is peeking around the corner, I'm thinking of ways to improve. I see features on other blogs that I like and thought about incorporating some of them here:

I'm wondering if I need a button? Are they better than a regular link?
I'd like to try a rating system (probably stars, I guess: 1-5 like Goodreads system?)

I'd like to link to reviews by other bloggers to the book I'm reviewing.

I've seen where some people put the ISBN # and where you can purchase it, price, etc., do people really find that helpful? I usually just write down the author and title and go to my local bookstore.

We're doing Christmas at our house, so I'll be around a bit, but headed out to Houston for New Year's Eve. I'm looking forward to the three Challenges I've signed up for and if my sidebar is any indication 2010 is going to be a great year for reading!!

WANT!!!

I stumbled across this today, and want one (or more!); They're available here or here.

Beloved Highlander by Sara Benentt

Gregor Grant was the son of the laird of Glen Dhui. Then, there was a rebellion against the English, and England won. He and his father were thrown from their land and the English took over.

Years later, General Mackintosh now owns Glen Dhui. His daughter, Meg, is his only heir. He has promised her in marriage to the Duke of Abercauldy, but recently found out the Duke was responsible for the death of his previous wife and is scared for Meg's future. He sends Meg out into the country to find Gregor and bring him back to Glen Dhui. Meg does not know it but her father plans to ask Gregor to marry Meg - that way she'll be safe from the Duke.

When she finds Gregor, he is drunk and injured from a duel over a woman. He eventually agrees to go back to Glen Dhui for a fee, and she patches him up. Of course, on the way back to Glen Dhui she finds she is attracted to him and he is attracted to her, but stubbornly they each decide not to act on it.

Once they arrive at Glen Dhui, her father fills Gregor in on his plans and all the problems that would be solved by the marriage. The people who rely on Glen Dhui for protection will all rally under Gregor, whom they all remember and respect, and Meg will be safe from the Duke. When Meg learns of the plan, she fights it but eventually agrees it would be the best solution. The wedding is rushed when some of the Duke's men come over to the castle to check on Meg. Passion abounds in the marriage bed, but neither is sure if the other cares for them or if the marriage is just one of convenience and sex.

To make matters more confusing, the woman Gregor had dueled over in the beginning of the book shows up on their doorstep! Gregor grabs her to tell her to leave, but Meg sees and thinks he's embracing her. Hurt, she turns away. While this is going on, the Duke has learned of the marriage and is enraged. He sends a party back to Glen Dhui and kidnaps - the wrong woman!!

This story was pretty good. It's better than my review makes it out to be. There was a secondary story going on with some of the side characters that was interesting. I liked watching Gregor's development from a gruff, grumpy loner to an upstanding and honest character.