I'm lost in the moment ...

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day. 

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again. 

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse? 

Julian of Macedon

Just so you understand my point of view on this one, when I first read Fantasy Lover, I was looking for an exciting paranormal romance that would cure my addiction to Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood and nothing would really do. So I went to the library and tried this one out.
It was a wonderful surprise and I read it through a single day.

We have Julian of Macedonia, a man that was never loved as a child, a great warrior of it's time, cursed into a book with the sole purpose of being a sex slave.
And then we meet Grace Alexander, a sex therapist, a woman that never knew how it was to be loved by a man, hurting from a big deception from the past.

How would it be to have a birthday gift that would change your hole life and the conception of reality has you know it ?
To meet a man that could make you feel what you been missing in your life ... Have the chance to be truly fulfilled and happy with someone, especially with a man like Julian.
All this considerations come o mind when reading this book.

It has a little of everything and is actually a good start to the dark hunter series.
It didn't kill my love for the Black Dagger Brotherhood, I have to say that they are my perfect little world and my addiction, but this series is really a breath of fresh air.

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

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Jill Cooper loves tea more than coffee and is obsessed over finding that perfect recipe. Early on she had dreams of writing romances and mysteries. It was something she did when most kids were trying out for softball or out riding bikes.

She's always loved dark mysteries, but also enjoys a great comedy so she tries to include both these things in everything she writes, one way or another.

She lives in Danvers, MA with two cats, a toddler, a husband, and a 1964 yellow taxi. Her life is chaotic, but fun. She is the author of the YA series, The Dream Slayer, and the dystopian series Glistening Haven. She can be contacted at http://www.jillacooper.com.

Good news for those who like BookLikes and Goodreads and want to stay active on both. Now you can synchronize your Goodreads profile with your BookLikes webpage. Just connect your GR account in Booklikes Settings/Import and fill up your both bookshelves at one go from your BookLikes webpage.

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"A book a day keeps reality away."

Happy Birthday, Edward Cullen! (from Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer)

(from Goodreads) :

CLAIMING LAUREN

One night should have been enough...

Twenty-seven-year-old Lauren Brant is the perfect society wife. She hosts dinners for her husband’s colleagues. She attends charity functions. She’s entirely appropriate…except for her clawing need to submit to a man she knows only as Master.
Unable to deny her cravings, she arranges to meet Master. No names, no faces, nothing but submission and sensation. Except it isn’t enough. Even before the night ends, Lauren needs more.

But “more” isn’t part of the arrangement and she returns to her polished life only to discover her estranged husband has come home. After five years of being invisible to Jacob Brant, Lauren doesn’t know what to do with him. He, however, knows exactly what to do with her…

DOMINATING AMY

Till-death-do-us-part should have been enough…
Mac Corcoran spent a long time running from the specter of his parents’ abusive marriage. He’s worked hard to suppress his dark urges and channeled his energy into building his own relationship upon a bedrock of respect and equality.
It takes two people to make a marriage work, however, and when Amy Corcoran’s submissive needs hit a breaking point, her only options are to walk away from the man she loves or force him to acknowledge her as the woman she is now. Even if that woman isn’t the same one he married ten years earlier.
With no more time for running, can Mac overcome his fear and be the Dominant man Amy needs him to be or will fear of repeating the past cost him the only woman he’s ever loved?

So, I'll be living here the link for the review from a while back on "Claiming Lauren", http://bookloverandotherjourneys.blogspot.pt/2013/05/netgalley-claiming-lauren-by-emily-ryan.html,I simply loved this short story and then I said that I was left wanting more, well I'm glad M. Davis heard me and sent me more, not of the same but another perspective of a troubled relationship.

Mac and Amy are a couple but with a crisis brewing in the background, a loss of communication and issues from the past clouding their judgement. Even though they can't live without each other, they can't seem to find the courage to face one another and just talk, put it all out in the open.
For me, this was their major problem and it almost cost them their marriage. Now I ask myself, how many couples go through the same problem and just give up because they don't have the courage to face the problem, sexually or otherwise, it doesn't matter ...

This author is great in creating a fiction work that we as reader's can relate to issues and troubles of the real life.
I know that this kind of books fall into erotica and BDSM life style, which I see no problem but I also know that it's not for everyone, but they have so much "juice" when they are well written that if you're willing to enlighten the strong ideas that come out of it, you can relate to the characters and maybe avoid errors in your real life book of stories.

As a hole, this bundle is worth purchasing and either if you feel getting naughty or just reading for curiosity of the life style, or even to spend some time off, this stories don't live you empty they make you realize that there is so much out there to explore.

-Icons by Margaret Stohl

We’re happy to announce that BookLikes was chosen as one of the 12 most innovative startups and is the finalist at the European BizSpark Summit which brings together leaders in the entrepreneurial community across Europe.

BizSpark Summit will take place in Berlin July 4, 2013. We’ll be there taking part in The Startup Showcase, pitching live to the audience and expert judges. Wish us good luck and keep your fingers crossed :-)

Here is a list of 50 books, one for each year from 1963 to the present year, that everyone needs to read. I found this list randomly and I thought it was pretty neat. I might turn this into a challenge at some point.

(Obviously, the books shown here are only a sample of what is on the list)

Love this series! It's so easy to read, so hard to put down and I can't wait for the next book!

Talking about being in the wrong place at the wrong time or maybe not ... After all, from one disaster comes what is meant to be.
When Gabrielle witnesses the brutal attack on a human she never would have guessed that it would be a life changing moment and the needles would set track for a trip into a dark world full of dangers, decisions and an undeniable passion that would mark her forever.
Lucan, on the other hand, never thought that after his long life, he would have to wrestle his feelings and put all at stake to keep a woman by his side and turning his world around to be with the one that is his only reason to exist.

Vampires are my favorite supernatural creatures that I choose first when I read paranormal and after having become addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series I've read and visited various worlds where vampires live. I've gone and fell in love with the beautiful creature that author's words describe and their macho, alpha, passionate loving and their fierce combative skills that win all the evil villains they face.

When I read "Edge of Dawn" for NetGalley, I realized that I was missing out on an ancient world that had come before and after I've finished it I got my sights on starting the series from book one and enjoying another ride in one of the most acclaimed author around.

I've found that with time this genre is beautiful and unique because of all it's world building factors, usually dark and dangerous, they arouse our senses and get us running, page after page with the fabulous characters we find along the way.
M. Adrian kicks off this series with what I call "a gold mine", something rich that can bring you all the riches in a book and keep you coming back for more. She created with her rich imagination a world I enjoyed and experienced through her most able writing, action at every corner and twists along the way, and a most sexy hero, vampire, and a strong kick ass heroine.

Lucan and Gabrielle couldn't make a better couple. He runs from blood lust, trying to be what his kind needs and protect his people, so here there's character and spirit of sacrifice.
Gabrielle is a woman out of her skin, not quite belonging to the human world but trying to fit in a life that she created for herself.
Their passion bursts out like fire and again M. Adrian did the best in writing their love story, giving us what we crave, a sexy and intense physical relationship and making our imagination run free.

The little details that are part of the plot and follows the action through out the book spikes our interest and this is one book you will not be able to put down.
When it's over, you'll be ready to jump on the next book and get yourself together for another hard ride. You'll always come back for more.

Awesome! The book series gets better and better. Nice, fast-paced story-telling-- clean and smart. Kick-assed actions, and mysteries revealed. There's a mole in the company.  Deaths were inevitable, characters were threatened. :( Witchcraft was introduced. Vlad(from the Night Prince book series) entered! 

What can you ask for besides reading the next one? 

My favorite book from the series so far.

:)

---

this girl reading

I keep hearing people say that they're becoming burnt out on the dystopian genre... Well, let me tell you, Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing might just rekindle your love of the genre. 

The Testing has been pitched as a must read for Hunger Games fans and does feel very similar... even the cover shares the same simplicity and a similar focal concept sure to catch the eye of HG fans. But I assure you, The Testing is not The Hunger Games. Charbonneau introduces readers to an entirely new dystopian society that, at least initially, feels quite safe, but turns out to have a much darker, sinister side than our heroine ever imagined. 

The novel follows Cia, a mechanically gifted girl who has been chosen to participate in The Testing, which is a means of determining which individuals from various parts of the United Commonwealth will be able to continue their education at university and eventually become an important leader. Only a very small number of individuals are selected to compete in The Testing and most individuals know they will never be chosen, even if they dream of the honor. Cia hopes to be selected, like her father once was, but knows her chances are slim. When she learns that she, and three others from her district have earned a spot in the competition, she's amazed and incredibly proud - and is confused as to why her parents seem less than excited. Before she leaves for the capital, her father takes her aside and shares one of his deepest fears: that the testing is not the dream that it seems. He reveals to her that, while participants minds are wiped after they've completed the testing, he's been left with terrifying nightmares that he fears may be lingering memories rather than products of an overactive imagination. With this knowledge now lodged in her mind, Cia leaves for The Testing, anxious and guarded. She soon learns that her father was correct to fear The Testing and that she'll need to use everything in her to survive.

There is a romantic plot line within The Testing and, while it does contribute to the story, especially when considering the complications a romance can cause when an individual is unsure who can be trusted, it isn't the main focus of the novel. That is to say, this is not a love story, though it does contain one. In this way, it is much like The Hunger Games. 

Some may wonder how like Cia is to THG's Katniss. While both heroines are strong and capable of taking care of themselves, Cia, in my opinion, is definitely more motivated by emotion than Katniss and is more naturally trusting and sympathetic. It always seemed to me that Katniss wasn't above manipulating or using others for her own gain when she knew they were emotionally attached to her (for example, Peeta); Cia, on the other hand, is more likely to be the one manipulated, not because she's weak, but because she feels deeply for others. There was never any point where I felt she was weak or unintelligent, though she does have weaknesses.

For the most part, The Testing had really great pacing and twists. Although, it did take me perhaps 50 pages or so to be completely hooked. It is around this point that Cia has reached the capital and has begun the testing... and then all hell breaks loose!

Whether you're a Hunger Games fan, a dystopian junkie, or just looking for a great, action packed read, The Testing is for you. Do not miss this book!

A TBR Jar is where you write down on small peices of paper all the books you still need to read from your bookshelves (which is a lot) in a Jar and once a month you draw a peice out and read that book.  I had my son do this for me he loved it.  This months pick was The Name Of The Star.  So far it is really good so a good pick for the month.  Wondering if I should do a TBB (to be bought) Jar?  I have so many books I need to buy to complete my series and just books I have to have so this might be a way to keep me on track of what I need to buy instead of inpulse buying?