Scarlet Rubies

by Carol6 Comments
They were his signature, those pale, stark virgins with their scarlet rubies. It gave him a little shiver to think of them. They brought him millions he didn't need and the adoration he deserved. And no one but him knew their true worth. Soon there would be another. (pg. 135, Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon) I haven't gotten to this point yet, but I'm pretty sure there's a deadly secret connected to these paintings. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I received my copy from the publisher for review and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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BBAW- First Treasure

by Carol7 Comments
Today is the first day of Book Blogger Appreciation week and we are being asked to highlight a book blog we've come to treasure over the last year. One of the blogs that I've recently discovered is vvB32 reads. I absolutely love the events that Velvet puts together. I think I first ran across her blog during her SteamPink week back in June and was in awe. Then there was the Mansfield Park Murder Mystery and Fairy Tales in Bruges, and now I'm a definite admirer. Her creativity and organization astound me. Right now she's in the middle of a horde of September Zombies , apparently an annual invasion that I find a little scary. What are some of the new-to-you blogs that you cherish? Join in the discussion at BBAW's site....
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“A Questionable Client” by Ilona Andrews

by Carol4 Comments
"A Questionable Client" by Ilona Andrews This story is the first in the Dark and Stormy Knights anthology and takes place before the first in Andrew's Kate Daniels series, but I think it does a great job describing the world she lives in, an Atlanta that endures waves of magic, where technology sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Kate Daniels, a mercenary with the Knights of Merciful Aid, is hired as a bodyguard for a mysterious client whose current bodyguards are ditching out of the assignment. When Kate gets to the address, she meets the shape-shifter Saiman. For those who have read the series, this first meeting is especially interesting, but for those who haven't Saiman is still a fascinating character, in kind of a creepy way. Kate spends the night protecting Saiman from all kinds of nasty things intent on killing him, all because he has something, actually swallowed something, very powerful. Even for those not familiar with Kate Daniels, this is...
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Game Night – Rowboat

by Carol6 Comments
Rowboat Manufacturer: Moosetache Games Year: 2010 Players: 2 - 4 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 13 and up Ah, summer's over here in eastern Ohio. The temperature has been in the sixties and low seventies for a while now. I love autumn, but I kinda miss summer too. However, this winter when I'm longing for the beach, for warm weather, I can at least pull out Rowboat, a very pretty trick-taking card game. These are some of the "face" cards, but there are also the standard 2-10 of the four suits, shells, waves, oars and maps. Isn't the nautical theme beautifully done? The game play itself is reminiscent of several other card games, but put together in a unique way. The dealer lays cards out on the table face up until all four suits are showing. This is called the Tide. The number of the cards varies each game. Each card in the deal represents a round and is the card that controls trump for that round....
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The Princess and the Frog

by Carol4 Comments
The Princess and the Frog I'm a slight Fairy Tale Friday failure this week. I haven't watched any fairy tale flicks lately, so I'm going back to one we saw in December last year in the theater, but it is out on DVD now and it's one I would definitely recommend. It's a twist on the traditional Grimm tale, "The Frog Prince." Hardworking New Orleans waitress Tiana hopes to one day fulfill the dream of her father  and own her own restaurant. But the plan isn’t going so well until she meets Prince Naveen—who doesn’t exactly sweep her off her feet in the traditional sense. He’s been turned into a frog thanks to a curse from the nefarious voodoo doctor. When frog Naveen sees Tania dressed in a ball gown he thinks she’s a princess, and her kiss might break his curse. Instead the kiss turns Tiana into a frog as well, and the...
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