Synopsis~

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into a reluctant relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. Katie must choose between a life of transient safety or one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. — IMDb 

I was surprised at how well I liked Safe Haven. I would characterize the movie as a romance with a touch of suspense. I enjoyed getting to know Alex and Katie, watching them overcome their past and fall in love. It didn’t hurt any that Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel are absolutely gorgeous. 

Though the acting was fair, spots in the movie felt slow at times. And despite the twists, I found the movie to be a little predictable. Surprisingly, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

David Lyons did a fabulous job acting, coming off as determined and creepy at the same time. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I’ll stop there. If you have a lazy afternoon and are looking for a satisfying romance, you might like Safe Haven.

Favorite scene: It’s a toss up between when Alex begs Katie to give them a chance and the snippets of Katie’s past.

Rating:  

Did anyone else see the new movie previews out this week? I saw a quick glimpse of one, and I can’t wait to see it!

 Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Wanderer, the invading “soul” who occupies Melanie’s body, finds its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Soon Wanderer and Melanie-reluctant allies-set off to search for the man they both love.

The Host opens in theaters on March 29, 2013.

I have the book, but haven’t read it yet. For those of you who know me, I like watching the movie before reading the book, so I think I’ll wait.

What about you? Are you going to go to this movie? I might wait until it comes out on DVD.

Any other movies you must see?

These aren’t in the movie theatres anymore, but I can’t wait to see them:

What’s on your must watch list?

Sorry for being gone for so long. I’ve been working my fingers to the bone with late nights, but I finally have some exciting news to share!

After weeks of edits, I finished BloodSworn. I never thought I would get it done. When I realized that I was only re-wording sentences…over and over…I decided enough was enough and drew my line in the sand. lol

BloodSworn is now live and available to order in both ebook and print on Amazon!

Don’t you just love the name of the book and the cover? I’m more than thrilled the way things have turned out. I hope you join Merrick and Trina as they go on a wild adventure, fighting for their lives, and the love that neither of them ever expected to find.

Below is the blurb and excerpt. I hope you enjoy!

Blurb:

The last BloodSworn witch must confront her fate if she hopes to save the man who forced his way into her lonely heart.

Ten years after they bound her powers and banished her, Trina Weyebridge had successfully carved out a new existence in the human world. She put her life as a witch behind her. But, her magic would not be denied, the bindings holding them in check are weakening. Vampires who crave a taste of the powers stored in her blood are hunting her with deadly force and have kidnapped her sister to lure her out. In a desperate bid to free her sister and gain her own freedom, Trina bargains with the all-too-tempting lion shifter who calls out the long forgotten wild side in her…she would be his concubine in return for pack protection. She’d be safe…until they found out the truth.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE. FORBIDDEN LOVE. INESCAPABLE DESTINY.

When Merrick spots a female intruder living on his property, he’s intrigued by her daring. Curious to find out more, he follows her and comes to her aid when she falls prey to an attack. After weeks of unnatural silence, his beast awakens at her touch, and he suspects that she might be the only one able to save his race from a disease killing his kind. Not willing to take the chance of losing her, he binds her to him the only way he knows how…by claiming her as his own. All he has to do to save her is uncover the secrets of her past, stop a pack revolt, convince her that she’s desperately in love with him in return, and prevent a war.

Here is a little peek:

Trina was halfway bent down to kneel and grab her bag when she saw him.

The same man from her dreams.

A very naked man.

Merrick.

Her mind rebelled. She couldn’t have had a sexy dream about the man who might very well destroy her. Vampires had been in this very house not a day ago. She couldn’t forget that, no matter how much her body wanted to be worshiped by him.

Merrick lay stretched out, dwarfing the extra-large couch. He didn’t look comfortable, but that wasn’t what captured her attention. The sun highlighted the golden color of his skin. It was just how she imagined his cat would appear.

The only thing blocking her view was the sheet draped haphazardly over his slim hips. Her brain short-circuited at the thought of him completely nude.

Him sleeping within a few feet of her and all without a stitch of clothing on struck her dumb, and her emotions jumbled at the conflicting emotions.

She swallowed hard and fanned her face. No matter how much she might have wished it, there was no way that image would ever be far from her mind. Every time she saw him now, she would picture him stretched out as if for her pleasure.

It didn’t matter that she was a doctor, that she’d seen hundreds of naked bodies. She knew layers of skin and bone, but nothing in her studies had ever shown a man structured quite like him, with muscles quite so defined and begging to be stroked.

Doctor.

She shook her head at the reminder, as if she could banish the impulse so easily. She needed to get a closer look at him to decide what was the best course of action…for medical purposes she told herself sternly when her pulse betrayed her and sped up.

She just didn’t know if she’d survive it.

One thing would help…getting him clothed.

But she couldn’t tear her gaze away from that sheet. Or more precisely, what it hid. Where was a gust of wind when you needed one?

Her fingers itched to explore all that exposed flesh, but she feared it had nothing to do with science. Her body urged her to touch, while the sane, sensible part of her mind seemed to have taken a vacation.

Then she saw the lines of strain, the stiff way he held himself even in sleep. She needed to see his back.

“Merrick, roll over.”

Trina found herself sprawled across the floor with a lion, in all but animal form, half sprawled over her with his face just inches from hers.

She hadn’t even seen him move.

Was it her imagination or were his teeth sharper, his body larger, and his eyes shaded just this side of golden?

She gave a tentative smile, knowing better than to try and escape. “Hello.”

“Are we under attack?” He blinked as if confused, finally recognizing her. His sleepy expression sent her heart thumping hard against her ribcage. The rumpled appearance only made him more attractive, more approachable and more touchable than was good for her.

Especially when she felt the sheet tangled around her feet.

No matter how much she told herself not to do it, it was too late. Her eyes flickered downward.

Yup, naked.

And such a nice naked backside, too.

It was her turn to blink when she felt his arousal.

“Attack?” It sure felt like it, and she was unarmed. She cleared her throat when he continued to gaze around the room. “I woke you to begin your physical therapy.”

Vivid green eyes met hers. The wildness had retreated, yet she very much felt like a mouse under a cat’s paw. Heat seeped in her pores, but the calculated look he gave her brought back some of her sanity.

“Get up.” She resisted touching him. It would be a mistake as once she started, she was very much afraid she wouldn’t stop.

Frown lines crinkled the corner of his eyes, and he levered himself up on all fours. Trina didn’t wait, but scrambled backwards, her eyes anywhere but on him and his now very happy dangly parts.

“It’s safe.” The humor in his voice had her head snapping up. He stood, the sheet tucked around his waist. He wore a slightly disgruntled expression that looked sexy as hell and a too-knowing gaze that did things to her body that should be illegal…or bottled.

It’s been a hectic week. Have you ever had those days where you never seem to get anything done? That’s my week/month. I set aside a couple of hours each night to write, but ‘things’ always seem to come up. Did you know that kitchen remodeling can take over your life? Sigh…

Not everything that happened was bad (like the computer getting a virus that took hours to fix). Final edits are done, and the printed proof of BloodSworn came in the mail today. One more read-through, last minute changes, and the book should be ready to go live next week. Yay!

To show my excitement, I’m going to share the book cover. Isn’t it wonderful?

THE LAST BLOODSWORN WITCH MUST CONFRONT HER FATE IF SHE HOPES TO SAVE THE MAN WHO FORCED HIS WAY INTO HER LONELY HEART.

Ten years after they bound her powers and banished her, Trina Weyebridge had successfully carved out a new existence in the human world. She put her life as a witch behind her. But, her magic would not be denied, the bindings holding them in check are weakening. Vampires who crave a taste of the powers stored in her blood are hunting her with deadly force and have kidnapped her sister to lure her out. In a desperate bid to free her sister and gain her own freedom, Trina bargains with the all-too-tempting lion shifter who calls out the long forgotten wild side in her…she would be his concubine in return for pack protection. She’d be safe…until they found out the truth.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE. FORBIDDEN LOVE. INESCAPABLE DESTINY.

When Merrick spots a female intruder living on his property, he’s intrigued by her daring. Curious to find out more, he follows her and comes to her aid when she falls prey to an attack. After weeks of unnatural silence, his beast awakens at her touch, and he suspects that she might be the only one able to save his race from a disease killing his kind. Not willing to take the chance of losing her, he binds her to him the only way he knows how…by claiming her as his own. All he has to do to save her is uncover the secrets of her past, stop a pack revolt, convince her that she’s desperately in love with him in return, and prevent a war.

Stay tuned for a sneak peak in the next couple of weeks.

Have you ever fallen into a reading funk? When nothing seems interesting? I got struck hard. I read a book or two in the last few weeks, but nothing satisfied me. I turned on my kindle yesterday and brought it to work, thinking I had to find something on the darn thing.

Only to find that the battery I checked before I left wasn’t fully charged. Nadda. So, I’m going back to basics with two of my favorite writers today.

Here are the blurbs:

Once Burned~

Synopsis~

A rambunctious group of five college friends steal away for a weekend of debauchery in an isolated country cabin, only to be attacked by horrific supernatural creatures in a night of endless terror and bloodshed. Sound familiar? Just wait. As the teens begin to exhibit standard horror movie behavior, a group of technicians in a control room are scrutinizing, and sometimes even controlling, every move the terrified kids make! With their efforts continually thwarted by the all powerful eye in the sky, do they have any chance of escape?

I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon, so when I learned he had a new movie coming out, I had to see it. The Cabin In The Woods is a cross-genre show. It wasn’t really a horror story or a scary movie, but played to both genres. If you expected either, you might be disappointed. The less you know about the movie, the more you will enjoy it.

 

 

Whedon is a unique writer, so I knew not to expect the normal. He likes to add odd twists and turns to keep the viewers guessing. Don’t you love the two way mirror in the picture? Very creepy!

 

 

 

Like most classic shows, you have the jock, the good girl, the beauty queen, intellectual, and the stoner. As you might have guessed, the sexy Chris Hemsworth played the jock. I loved his character. Very masculine and macho. Co-stars Anna Hutchison and Kristen Connolly played equally sexy rolls for the guys to enjoy. Fran Kranz played a key roll in the movie and kept me laughing! Believe it or not, he’s the person you want with you if you ever get caught in a horror movie.

 

 

 

To give the show a little twist, all the characters are smart. Too smart. The people behind the scenes need them to panic and make mistakes, so they set the scene against them. Only things backfire, and the kids end up escaping into the underground labs. They witness things only seen in horror shows. Things that couldn’t be real.

  

 

To be truthful, I liked the movie. I liked the cast. The special effects were adequate. The only thing that put me off the movie was the last five or so minutes. They opted to give the movie a unique twist…the predictable twist. They had an option for an alternative ending, but they passed on it.  

 

I’m still debating if I want to purchase a copy or not. I’m leaning toward ‘yes’.

*Please see the comments for spoilers*

Rating:  

Synopsis~

In the epic action-adventure Snow White & the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart  plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was dispatched to kill her.

I had high hopes for this movie, but didn’t expect much. I purchased it when it was first released, then it languished on my movie shelf. This weekend, I finally cracked it open.

First, Charlize Theron did a fantastic job. Great acting. Visually stunning, she made the perfect evil queen.  She carried a large portion of the movie and did it effortlessly.

The main male character, Chris Hemsworth, the Huntsman did an equally good job. It didn’t hurt that he was something yummy to look at either. Big grin. 

I’ve never been really impressed with Kristen Stewart acting. It always seemed so wooden. What surprised me is that I didn’t notice it until later in the movie. I actually thought she did a pretty good job with only a few hiccups.

Overall, the story fell in the category of an epic fantasy. The stunning scenery quickly drew me in to the world. I loved the touch of fairytale and magic threaded throughout the movie. I liked that the story went dark instead of light and fluffy…it deepened the story and characters. Everyone had a great back-story, and the movie built on them. The battle scenes were well choreographed. There’s nothing quite like seeing a great sword fight. This was a wonderful new twist on the old fairytales. I hope to see other stories follow in a similar tone.

Rating:  

Confessions of a bookworm.

You probably guessed that I have a little addiction. I’ve been good this year, a lot better than what I have been in the past.

I used to shop at the thrift shop to see what books they got in that week.

 These days, I might pick up one or two books a month at the local store.

My book shelves hold more books than what you see in these pictures. A lot more books. Heck, I have a whole room for them (plus some). Wouldn’t you love to visit this guy and his books? ->

I broke down Wednesday and purchased some books online. I try not to do it often. I try to restrain myself. Yeah, that doesn’t always work. And I blame it on you. Oh, you know who you are. You’re the one who found these great books and told me I should read them.

So like a good friend, I put the books on my wish list. (Hubby, if you are reading this, look away. Look away now! You don’t want to know. lol) Well, I bought them (paperback only this round). Fourteen of them. Ouch! All the while, there is part of me that is rubbing her hands together with glee! I reason with myself that I’ve read some books. I have to replenish the stacks. The rest of the books were getting lonely.

I can’t wait!

Now, it’s the fun part, a hobby ever writer and reader has indulged in from one time or another. It’s time to stalk the mail carrier. *big grin*

Now that you know my addictions (movies and books), what are yours?  

Here are the blurbs:

Deadly Desire (Riley Jenson, Guardian, Book 7)~

Seduction that kills. Pleasure to die for.
She just can’t resist . . .
 

Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used—and discarded—in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil—or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.
 
 
Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread.

Bad Blood (Crimson Moon, Book 1)~

Sasha Trudeau knows all about working beneath the shadows, back-alley deals, and things that go bump in the night. She also knows that the world is unaware of the existence of the paranormal—and that the government would like to keep it that way.

As a highly trained Special Ops soldier, Sasha and her team are an elite group of individuals who are survivors of werewolf attacks, now trained to be loyal to only to each other and their government. But when she returns from a solo mission, she finds that her team has mysteriously gone missing. Shocking government conspiracies, double-dealing vampires, and a host of stunning revelations about who—and what—she really is are only just the beginning…

Have you read eitther of these series yet? The Riley series is a little hot for me, so I have to spread out reading them. I haven’t started the Crimson series yet, but I ended up with the first four books in the series because they all sounded so darn good.

What do you think?