Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This Teaser Tuesday is going to be a little more exciting @ Realms of an Open Mind this week. A few days ago, I held a voting poll to see which book you wanted to read next, in celebration of 200 GFC followers :). You picked Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols, and there's no way the other books are gunna catch up in the polls. So, in addition to the teaser, there will be a giveaway!

"And sure enough, his chuckle faded into a frown. His blond brows knitted. He seemed to be concentrating on the puzzle of my hair. I knew he was sliding away from me already. Now the unexpected sweetness that made him Grayson was fading, and he seemed like any other guy out there."

I just finished this book last night (review to come) ~ it exceeded all my expectations. Not my usual type of read ~ I'm kind of a paranormal junkie ~ but it called to me, I had to read it, and I have no regrets.

Now on to the even better stuff. Enter to win your own copy via the Rafflecopter form below. (International entries welcome...)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy Reading Everyone :)




~ Keely ~

Because nobody likes Mondays...

What is it about Monday's that are just so darn difficult? I probably hit my snooze button 7 times, and I just can't seem to get my writing mojo to work... Thank goodness for coffee....

Here's some warm and fuzzy to get through the day :)

Hope that shakes the Monday Blues... definitely lifted my spirits :)

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~

200 Follower Giveaway Celebration!!!

I friggin' love book blogging! There aren't many other places that I can talk, rave, and ramble about the books that have me smitten (or annoyed ~ works both ways, I guess). And what's even better...the book blogosphere is a realm where people understand an obsession with books, characters, and just a good story.. So I never need to explain they why's and how's of my addiction to reading.. So refreshing!

I love following new blogs, seeing what others are reading, writing, and thinking.. It's such a wonderful virtual sanctuary :) Not to mention I love seeing the number of my follower friends go up in that little squared off area for GFC. 

I was so excited to wake up this morning and discover that I had reached my 200th follower! So in celebration, I will be hosting a giveaway :)

Much like the last giveaway I held, I want to put this up to a vote to see what you would like to add to your shelf..

Here are the contestants:

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. 

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism. 

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

Something wicked this way comes...

She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

AND last, but definitely not least.... (my current read, and lemme tell you, so far, it's awesomeness exceeds all expectations I had...)

A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.     

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

SO, whattaya think? Three very different books (all *stand alone* by the way) to choose from.. Cast your vote!!

200th Follower Giveaway Celebration!! What would you like to read?
	Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick
	Hollow Pike by James Dawson
	Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
pollcode.com free polls

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Review: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Holy. Crap. I just don't get why people are so afraid of this book! There's more appalling stuff in the news, movies, t.v. shows ~ everywhere.. What's the big friggin' deal?

I know, I know. Being strapped up sounds degrading, demoralizing, a total offense to women everywhere, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, Ana becomes a part of that lifestyle and...appreciates...certain aspects of it. It's not like Christian does anything against her will ~ quite the opposite, in fact. The book isn't about lowering women, it's about a man who lives a certain - consensual - lifestyle ~ that really exists, by the way ~ and how he decides to change that lifestyle dramatically for a woman he grows to love. At least that's the way I see it.

Personally, I'm a big fan. Loved the first Fifty Shades and immediately had to open the second. The story is evolving rapidly and Christian is barely recognizable from the *fifty-shades-of-effed-up* he was in the beginning. Ana is causing quite a raucous ~ in a good way ~ and Christian envisions a life for himself that he never before thought possible. I have to agree with those that didn't like the book ~ Christian began as an overly-dominant, bossy, and suffocating ass. He's learning though, and is beginning to turn into someone who can and wants to be in a relationship full of trust and respect.

Lots of drama in this one. Psycho exes, sex-offender-type bosses, vengeful creeps. Ana and Christian encounter more trouble than any normal couple should have to deal with. But then again...I guess they're not that normal. Their relationship grows tremendously and the bond between them strengthens. They take HUGE steps, and it all feels quite fast but somehow, it works for them.

I will admit that the writing gets a little redundant at times with the "Oh my's" and repetitive gushing. I swear I read the same paragraph at least four times. But no one ever claimed this book to be genius in a literary sense. It's a fun, easy read with a good storyline.

There is quite an abundance of romance, but it's not just in the form that the book is known for. There's a sweetness that begins to show itself more clearly in the second book, and it's starting to stand out as the BDSM lifestyle Christian had known before begins to disappear.

If you haven't started this series, I'd say it's worth a shot if you're willing to have an open mind about a type of preference that may be way outside the realm of your comfort zone. It's turned out to be worth it for me as the story evolves. Can't wait to read the third!


Happy Reading Everyone :)




~ Keely ~

Reading is Sexy ~ Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

And my personal favorite...

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~

Feature & Follow

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Feature & Follow is a weekly tradition hosted by the lovely Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Gain new followers, friends, connections, books, etc. by hopping through the list of amazing blogs and adding yourself to their list of followers... Of course, they'll return the favor :)

Each week, a book-related question is asked, allowing us to learn a little more about each other. Good stuff :)

Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?

Without a doubt, it would be Shakespeare's Macbeth. If I remember correctly, we received the book on a Friday, I read it all on Saturday, and was all too happy to be re-reading it aloud with the class daily. Everyone thought I was nuts... but I LOVED that book...

Follow me, I'll follow you :) Have a GREAT weekend!!!

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Review: The Savage Grace by Bree Despain

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.

I've been in love with this series from book one, following it for years, since it first came out. I'm a little sad to see it finished, but all good things must come to an end, right?

The Savage Grace is quite a bit different from the first two books. Start off with the cover.. It's completely different from the way the woman is positioned in the picture to the font and location of the title. It's less delicate-looking and more dramatic than the first two covers, and even though there was such a fuss about it by readers, I think it suits the content pretty well.

Grace is no longer helpless and she finally learns to trust not only Daniel, but her own judgement. She comes into her own in this final novel, carrying courage for everyone who has a moment of weakness. Where I thought she was naive and sometimes annoyingly ignorant in the first two novels, she's definitely grown into an admirable character, learning from her mistakes, trusting her gut instinct, and becoming the backbone of strength that holds everyone together.

Her relationship with Daniel, as always, is sweet, although it doesn't dominate the pages ~ something I quite admire. It's become a nice, steady presence in the story, and I won't ruin it with *spoilers*, but I'll say Despain provided a LOT of closure for their relationship. Romantics will be pleased :).

I love the unique background of the Urbat/Hound of Heaven legend, and it's nice that it's not the typical werewolf curse. The complexity of the packs, their dynamic, and history create a solid, believable world where these sophisticated beasts exist. It's not all *happily ever after* because, hey, they're all cursed and because not everyone has a loved one willing to stab them in the heart, but in a way that makes it feel more real and less hokey.

As always, Despain's writing style flows and is a pleasure to read. She's very descriptive, creating scenes that easily conjure up whole pictures in the readers mind. From the sweet moments between Grace and Daniel, to the pain each of them feel as they face loss, to the rather bloody fight scenes, each image and emotion is tangible through Despain's excellent choice of words.

The characters grow, the storyline evolves, and everything is brought to a close very nicely. Grace and Daniel still have obstacles to face, but Despain leaves that to the imagination. Besides, after all they've been through, I think they can handle what lies ahead.

Great read, wonderful series!

Find The Savage Grace on Good Reads

Find Bree Despain on Twitter ~ Good Reads ~ Website

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

What's Next??

What's Next? Here are a list of books I hope, want, need to read soon! I'm about done with The Taker and Fifty Shades Darker, and I'm notorious for reading two, three, four books at once... So many books, so little time... How to choose? Here's the lineup..

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.
When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism.

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Decisions, decisions....


What are you looking forward to next?



Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

The Taker: Immortal vs. Mortal ~ Which would you choose?

So, no, I'm not finished with this book yet ~ my reading speed is slightly disabled lately ~ but it has certainly taken me all over the place. I'm in love, appalled, sympathetic, joyous and hurt as I travel through the pages with Lanore.

The biggest question that's come to mind while reading is the torn feelings about immortality. Is it a gift or a curse? 


On one hand, immortality ~ at least based on the point of view in The Taker ~ allows you to have no regrets being that you'll outlive any remorse you carry. Days are unlimited and there are no consequences for experiencing everything the world has to offer ~ even if certain situations are ones you would never have allowed yourself to be in otherwise. (Basically, 'what's the point of having morals if we'll never have to face Judgement Day?)

On the other hand, immortality also disintegrates a person's identity. We identify ourselves based on our beliefs and, most importantly, our family and those we love. Maybe belief would remain intact, but it would become such a changing thing over centuries of experience, that I think it would cease to matter or even exist anymore. Family, well, you'd outlive them all and they might take notice that you never age, limiting the time you have with them even more than if you were mortal.

Immortal or not immortal? That is the question I'm asking myself while reading this book. I'm gunna go with not immortal.. In this case, every moment is precious and every day is a gift.

What would you say??

Would you accept the "gift" of immortality, or choose to remain mortal?
	Immortality! I wouldn't mind living forever...
	Mortal... Life is short, but beautiful...
	Not sure...
pollcode.com free polls

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we book addicts talk about the books we just can't wait to get our hands on...

Here's mine this week:

Black and White by Tiffani Madison
Release Date: December 2012

Despite being jaded and disillusioned by the horrors of war, Jason Keller is profoundly grateful to be alive. After being gravely injured in the city of Ramadi, Iraq under circumstances he cannot fully remember, he is discharged from the United States Marine Corps with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Upon leaving the military hospital, Jason isolates himself in his ancestral home in Pandora, Tennessee. Far from family and friends, he undertakes recovery on his own, wanting nothing more than to be worthy of the life he has retained, working to “get right” by living a regimented routine. But his methods aren’t working, and the best he can seem to achieve is a state of numbness.

Enter Ava Taylor, a Vanderbilt college student on summer break. Born the oldest daughter to a Southern Baptist minister, she was raised in a strict religious household. Away from the academic life and close family she loves, Ava is humbly enjoying her independence. In her own way, Ava is as isolated as Jason, living as she does through her studies, with few real-life friends around.

But Pandora is a small town, and it isn’t long before Ava and Jason meet. Despite his initial attraction to her, he is determined to remain alone, and forces himself to stay away from her. She cannot stop thinking about him, but her shyness and inexperience keep her from doing anything more than that. Thrown together once more under dangerous circumstances, Jason helps Ava, to the detriment of his own resolve. She is different from anyone he has ever known and he can no longer resist or avoid her. The tentative friendship they form eases their mutual loneliness, and soon they are spending most of their free time together.

Wanting to protect Ava from the darker aspects of his past and his PTSD, Jason still keeps her at a distance; especially once he knows that what he feels for her surpasses mere friendship. Their relationship begins a path that both must equally decide to follow.

You know when you read about a book and you just get this ball of emotion in your center, and you know you have to have it? The synopsis alone gave me chills... It hits a little close to home for me as my wonderful husband served overseas in the Marine Corps.. can't wait to read it :)


AND since I can never pick just one...

Black City by Elizabeth Richards
Release Date: November 13, 2012

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Post-apocalyptic paranormalness? Yes, please :)


What are you waiting for?


Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Well, at least Monday has come and gone! I can barely keep my eyelids open as I type here ~ it's actually turning into quite a feat. I can hear the coffee percolating and right now I'm wishing I had made it last night and set it on a timer. Hopefully Teaser Tuesday will get me going :)

This week's teaser is taken from the pages of Alma Katsu's The Taker:

I know now that it was a common cargo ship, but at the time it was as exotic as a full-masted British ship-of-the-line, or an Araby baglah, the first real seagoing vessel I'd ever seen up close. Fear and excitement rose up in my throat--they would be my ever-constant companions now, fear of the unknown and an irrepressible willingness for adventure--as I strode up the gangplank to the ship, another step further away from all I knew and loved, and another step closer to my mysterious new life.

This book is turning out to be incredible. Intense and amazingly in-depth. Lovin' it!


Happy Reading Everyone :)




~ Keely ~

Because nobody loves Mondays....

Obviously, none of the photos are my own, but they did help me get going and drag me out of my Monday Blues... 

Have a great week!

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~