Contents of blog copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2023
I've been gone a while. I started reading fanfiction to escape and I got sucked in an abyss.

I have no idea if someone else is hosting similar challenges. I just grabbed some of what I have hosted before.

Here's to a happy year of great reading
Jan2023: Not much has changed. Writing a fanfiction now O_o as well as reading but I bought 7 new books in December and hope to get those read soon. Crossing fingers about adding challenges (late!)

Monday, May 26, 2014

Happy Monday, Memorial Day Edition


Happy Memorial Day to all my USA friends.... remember those who have paid for our freedom. And the families they have left behind. (please see this post for the distinction that Memorial Day holds)








Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Don't forget to link up your list



~ here are the new books in my house this week ~

The Right Bride by Jennifer Ryan
The Hunted, 2013, ebook 

High-powered businessman Cameron Shaw doesn't believe in love—until he falls head over heels for beautiful, passionate, and intensely private Martina. She's perfect in so many ways, immediately bonding with his little girl. Martina could be his future bride and a delightful stepmother … if only Cameron weren't blinded by his belief that Shelly, the gold-digging woman he's promised to marry, is pregnant with his child.

No matter how much his friends protest his upcoming marriage to Shelly, Cameron knows he has a duty to his children, so he's determined to see it through.

Will he find out in time that Shelly's lying and Marti's the one who's actually carrying his child? It'll come down to the day of his wedding. After choosing Shelly over Marti at every turn, will he convince Marti she's his world and the only woman he wants?


Captain Of My Heart by Danelle Harmon 
Heroes of the Sea, 2013, ebook

He wanted no woman, except one made of sails and wood and wind ...

Handsome, wily Irish privateer Captain Brendan Jay Merrick is running from a painful past -- and fighting for a new nation's future when he arrives in the colonial town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, with plans for shipwright Ephraim Ashton to build his magnificent new schooner. Brendan's daring sea battles against His Majesty's fleet have made him a legend in his adopted country -- but one look at the dashing stranger and Ashton's daughter Mira starts making plans of her own. . . .

She wanted no man -- but him.

Brash, hot-tempered, and born at sea in a raging gale, Mira Ashton is more than most men can manage. Disguising herself as a crew member and sneaking aboard Brendan's newly-built Kestrel, she becomes the schooner's finest gunner . . . and the captain's most outrageous distraction. As desire ignites between them, Mira finds herself competing against Kestrel for Brendan's love. But when tragedy strikes, Mira must join forces with her mighty rival in a daring adventure that turns the tide of battle and brings glorious victory to the colonists, the captain . . . and the lady who has captured his heart.

Everything That Remains by The Minimalists
non-fiction, 2014, trade paperback

What if everything you ever wanted isn't what you actually want? Twenty-something, suit-clad, and upwardly mobile, Joshua Fields Millburn thought he had everything anyone could ever want. Until he didn't anymore.

Blindsided by the loss of his mother and his marriage in the same month, Millburn started questioning every aspect of the life he had built for himself. Then, he accidentally discovered a lifestyle known as minimalism...and everything started to change.

That was four years ago. Since, Millburn, now 32, has embraced simplicity. In the pursuit of looking for something more substantial than compulsory consumption and the broken American Dream, he jettisoned most of his material possessions, paid off loads of crippling debt, and walked away from his six-figure career.

So, when everything was gone, what was left? Not a how-to book but a why-to book, Everything That Remains is the touching, surprising story of what happened when one young man decided to let go of everything and begin living more deliberately. Heartrending, uplifting, and deeply personal, this engrossing memoir is peppered with insightful (and often hilarious) interruptions by Ryan Nicodemus, Millburn's best friend of twenty years.

I'll be Home for Christmas by Jessica Scott
A Coming Home Novella, 2013, ebook

There's nothing in the world Army Sergeant Vic Carponti loves more than his wife and his country. Smart-mouthed and easy tempered, he takes everything as a joke . . . except his promise to come home to his wife, Nicole, for Christmas. As he prepares to leave for his latest deployment into Iraq, Vic will do everything he can to shield his beautiful, supportive wife from the realities of war . . . and from his own darkest fears.

As a career army wife, Nicole Carponti knows just what to expect from her husband's tour of duty: loneliness, relentless worry, and a seemingly endless countdown until the moment Vic walks through the door again. But when the unthinkable happens, Nicole and Vic's bond is tested like never before and changes everything they believe to be true about the power of love and the simple beauty of being home for the holidays.


Because of You by Jessica Scott
A Coming Home Novel, 2011, ebook

Keeping his men alive is all that matters to Sergeant First Class Shane Garrison. But meeting Jen St. James the night before his latest deployment makes Shane wonder if there’s more to life than war. He leaves for Iraq remembering a single kiss with a woman he’ll never see again—until a near fatal attack lands him back at home and in her care.

Jen has survived her own brush with death and endured its scars. And yet there’s a fire in Shane that makes Jen forget all about her past. He may be her patient, but when this warrior looks her in the eyes, she feels—for the first time in a long time—like a woman. Shane is too proud to ask for help, but for Jen, caring for him is more than a duty—it’s a need. And as Jen guides Shane through the fires of healing, she finds something she never expected—her deepest desire.


The Dreamkeeper by Mikey Brooks
kids - Fantasy, 2013, ebook

Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.

When an evil shifter takes over the gateway to the realm of Dreams, it falls to 14-year-olds Parker and Kaelyn to stop him. Their only hope lies with Gladamyr, the Dream Keeper, but can they trust a Nightmare to save their world?




*REVIEW BOOK* review scheduled for May 28

Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan
Teen fiction, release date: May 1, 2014, ebook, hardcover

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue--the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word--at least not in a language Josie understands.

~*~*~*~*~ 

I haven't received any review books, won any contests or received any books as a gift. I have added several others to my ereader, most were even free.

added to my ereader: (kindle app, html, etc.) ~ I find out about free/discounted ebooks at amazon mostly from Pixel of Ink. This week it was Bookmarked Bargains. I do go through the Top 100 at amazon once in a while. I'm getting better at pinning my new ebooks, 2014's books




What are you Reading?

A weekly Monday meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey. Post what you read last week and what you're planning to read this week then link to Shelia's post. Then visit others and be prepared to add to your TBR pile!




Finished:
Why I Love Waiters by T.A. Chase
Pete at the Beach by James Dean (Pete the Cat)
Sawyer by Lori Foster
Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick
A Grand Prix Romance by T.A. Chase & Devon Rhodes 

Books stacked by my reading chair:
Smitten anthology
Dragon's Teeth by Mercedees Lackey
Cats in Space and Other Places anthology
In Mint Condition anthology
The One And Only by Emily Giffin
Morgan by Lori Foster
Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick 
. . . and 6+ unread library books



Started in 2013 but not finished until 2014:
What the Duke Desires by Sabrina Jeffries (on page 34/384) . . . just start over!
Pegasus by Kate O'Hearn (on page 44/384) . . . just start over!
Dragonwriter edited by Todd McCaffrey (on page 42/271)
Mischief and Mistletoe, anthology (on page 312/402)
Jockeys and Jewels by Bev Pettersen (ebook - 21% read in 2013)
Montana Standoff by Sharon Dunn (18/280) . . . just start over!
Home for the Homicide by Jennie Bentley (on page 18/284 + Home-Renovation and Design Tips)

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Enjoy your new books!

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Hope you like them all!

Kathy Martin said...

Looks like you had a good week. Lots of interesting new additions and lots of reading done. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

The Reading Date said...

Love and Other Foreign Words looks so cute. Looking forward to your review. Have a great week!

Juli Rahel said...

'Everything That Remains' sounds really good, but it was the cover for 'Love and Other Foreign Words' looks amazing and really makes me want to read it! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you enjoy all of them!
My Monday posts
Juli @ Universe in Words

Anna (herding cats-burning soup) said...

Ooo a couple of those I've read and enjoyed. Hope yall had a peaceful Memorial Day!

Disclaimer

In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Book Dragon's Lair. All books I review are either borrowed, purchased by me, given as a gift, won in some kind of contest, or received in exchange for an honest review.