Books to Movies: What are you reading?

www.goodreads.com

Have I posted about this yet? The list of 14 books to read before you see the movie. Granted, there are lots of books to movies these days, and I still haven't seen Life of Pi because I loved the book so much! Haven't read the Game of Thrones series, either. Especially since the series is part way through book 3 (Storm of Swords) and I don't want to be spoiled for the rest of the show!


Besides, I like reading! And would rather read the book than see the movie.

Originally published on Buzz Feed, this is a list of excellent books (according to them) that will soon hit the big screen. I've read 4 of them; 2 I have no interest in; 1 looks depressing as hell. What about you?

Divergent by Veronica Roth (TBR pile)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (TBR pile)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (5 stars, 3 hankies, 1 fantastic book!)
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (only OK, it's a trilogy and I didn't read books 2 and 3)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (TBR pile)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Fantastic story, highly recommended!)
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel (very informative and enjoyable but I love WWII stuff!)
Serena by Ron Rash
Horns by Joe Hill (is that Stephen King's son?)
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

Hot Summer Romance Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Summer Romance Giveaway! Don't forget to enter the grand prize drawing via the Rafflecopter link below (Kindle Fire and a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate). I'll award a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a random commenter. You can enter through July 21 at 11:59 p.m. so don't dawdle!

The topic? Love of course! And now I have Love is in the air running through my head. (As sung by Colin Firth and Rupert Everett--if you've never seen St. Trinian's, then you're missing something!)

So let's talk romance. What draws you to characters? When I read a romance, I know they're going to get together! (They damn well better!) But what draws the characters together? It's one of my favorite parts of writing: Figuring out what makes people fall in love. Opposites, similarities, old friends, old enemies.

In my opinion, love is indefinable. It's that intangible thread that weaves its way around people to draw them together even when there might not be an obvious reason why they love each other.

For instance, what brings a menage together? How do three people fall in love with each other?

Philip Thornton adored his new bride but found she was frigid in their marriage bed.

Lillian did not know how to ease her fear of the bed until she was freed from her past.

Aria was paid to educate and entice, but what she found was more than she ever dreamed possible.

The Parisian Exposition of 1889...the world is changing and the three of them are caught in its whirl. Philip and Lillian went to Paris to save their marriage and to help Lillian overcome her fears. Aria danced and seduced Lillian, but before Lillian left, Aria found herself seduced, in turn, by the beautiful Englishwoman.

When Philip and Lillian break all the rules and escort Aria around Paris for a week, will it be the beginning of their future? Or will this seductive interlude be nothing more than a dream?

Leave a comment about the funniest, sweetest, most heart-melting, truly adorable, or most memorable loveable moment and you'll be entered! 

And it doesn't have to be a romantic moment, love is love. Brotherly love (even when he tosses you into the pool, fully clothed, in front of all your friends); children love (like when they clean off the bottom of their sneakers when you gave them that wipe to clean their hands!) and pet love (even when the puppy eats too many rawhide pieces and has a tummy ache).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#Movie Review: ParaNorman

This weekend I watched ParaNorman and the most I have to say about it is eh. It was only OK. So many themes, none of which were fleshed out well enough to make a whole. And the whole curse thing only made marginal sense, and then only about half-way through the finale.

Truthfully I found it a lot preachier than I expected. In the heavy-handed, bang me over the head way. There were a couple funny one-liners but they never went anywhere. And the family dynamics were confusing. Whose mother was grandmom? And where did the uncle fit in to that family tree?

Overall, an average 3 star movie. Good for a night's entertainment but only when nothing else is on.

Looking forward to Hotel Transylvania! 

#WickedRomanceGIVEAWAY Gremlin and Cursed Love

This is from The Webtender site where they offer loads of cool Halloween beverages!There is no picture, so I can't tell you if it's supposed to look like what you've just made, but it seems easy enough.

Gremlin

Ingredients:
6 oz Crown Royal
3 oz Rose's sweetened lime juice
2 cups Ice

Mixing instructions:
Into a mason jar filled with cracked ice
Pour 6 oz Canadian Whisky
3 oz Sweetened lime juice.
Stir with a fork.

 Cursed Love: A Wicked Demon Tale

 Coming soon...

Like a moth to the preverbal flame, she couldn’t leave. Under any other circumstance, Nikki knew she’d never leave him. She kept postponing the day when she’d pack her meager possessions and disappear into the night. She always wanted just one more night. 

Just one more night.

Cooper’s strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her tight to his body. She could feel his cock hard against her hip and Nikki shuddered, nestling herself against him. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply of Cooper—the musky scent of him, ranch and man. His mouth kissed down her neck, teeth nipping on that spot just behind her ear, the one that made her moan.

“I knew you weren’t in my bed,” he said, voice husky from sleep. “I missed you.”

Smiling, Nikki tilted her head to look up at him, pressing her lips to the underside of his jaw. She felt safe in Cooper’s arms; he kept the demon at bay.

  Sharing My Favorite Read Giveaway Hop was organized by Reading Romances!

What you can win here: $10 gift card to All Romance eBooks

Number of winners: 1

Open to (INT, US or US/CAN): If you can receive an e-gift card, you can enter to win!

How to enter: Leave a comment on your favorite holiday movie WITH email address. Comments with no email or with no holiday recipe won't count.

Hop and enter the other giveaways!

To sign up, please add your link bellow:

Wednesday Regency: Dowton Abby (again)

I know, I know, not Regency. What was I supposed to call my Wednesday post? Wednesday Non-Regency? Well, perhaps. I suppose I can change it but still. Thematic and all.

Still, after watching a couple episodes (I'll write them up in a later post) I know why Downton Abby is so darn popular. That and I read this article a friend sent me from the BBC on The US Cult of Downton Abby.

• Nothing's changed in terms of mannerism or social interaction since the ever-popular Regency period.


• The drama is as real today as it was 100 years ago as it was 200 years ago. Let's face it, human interaction is always fascenating especially if done right and Downton Abby does it right!


• The clothes are gorgeous and worn very well. Not everyone can pull off period dress!

More when I start writing up my thoughts on this series.

And don't forget my in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Regency Era officially beginning contest! I'm giving away random copies of my Regency Ménage Tale series. Simply leave a comment about why you like reading Regency romances to be entered! Any comment left between February 5 and Saturday February 11 will count towards the giveaways.

Downton Abby

Season 2 is coming out on DVD in America soon and I feel the need to watch it. Since I haven't watched season 1 of Downton Abby, I need to catch up. It's set 100 years after the time I usually write in, but it's still a scandalously epic show.

Has anyone watched it? Thoughts?

What I'm reading

The Help cause the movie looks great. I've just started it but am enjoying it so far. What about you? What are you reading?