Quote-Tastic: Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

This quote made me laugh but it also nicely illustrates differences in time and culture. Cormac is a former monster hunter and an American who is currently teamed up with Amelia, the ghost of a female British magician. She died over a hundred years. My review will be up later this month at Romance at Random then next month here at the Nook.

You know, he thought to Amelia, nobody says spinster anymore.
Well, yes, certainly. Etymologically, the word was doomed, considering so few of the women called spinsters actually spun wool anymore. So what do people call unmarried adult women now?
Um. Women, he said.

The Friday 56 Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I just started reading an urban fantasy, "Kitty in the Underworld", by Carrie Vaughn. I have the newest one for review and realized I hadn't read this one yet so I got it from the library. The quote is from page 56  in the paperback.

You didn't drug and kidnap someone, then lock them into a dark room and leave them there for no reason.

What do you think,would you keep reading?

Quote-Tastic And Review of A Little Christmas Jingle by Michele Dunaway

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks 
Series: Man of the Month #1
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 7, 2014 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads ~

Women, men, stray dogs—everyone's looking for love this holiday season. Sometimes all it takes is a LITTLE CHRISTMAS JINGLE to get into the spirit. . . 

Kat Saunders doesn't believe in miracles—though she sure could use one. She's devoted to her veterinarian business, and all she wants for Christmas is for her practice to include a no-kill shelter. But amidst all the holiday hoopla she forgot about getting the required permits...and time is running out. Just when Kat fears her dream career is DOA, a to-die-for handsome detective shows up at the vet with a desperate puppy. Could it be that Jack Donovan—otherwise known as Mr. December on the Sexy Public Servants Charity Calendar—is the answer to her prayers? He agrees to help Kat with her legal needs, and she will do whatever it takes to express her appreciation. But could this Man of the Month also end up being Kat's true love for all days? A kiss beneath the mistletoe may be all it takes to find out.

The Friday 56 Night Shift by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, and Milla Vane

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm trying to decide what to read next; I just finished a couple of thrillers. I decided to grab the nearest unread book, and that was an urban fantasy/paranormal romance anthology,  "Night Shift". The quote is from page 56  in the paperback, which is the first story, "Secrets at Midnight"  by Nalini Singh.

"Frenchie, huh?" she said, once they were on their way again, the laughter in her tone welcome.
"I really need to strangle him. Surely, my folks wouldn't notice one less son."

Quote-Tastic and Review: On the Naughty List by Lori Foster, Carly Phillips, Sugar Jamison, and Beth Ciotta

Publisher: St. Martin 
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Kobo | ARe* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The most wonderful time of the year is back with On The Naughty List, bringing perennial favorite holiday stories from Lori Foster and Carly Phillips, along with two Christmas stories that delighted readers a year ago. This sexy anthology will make you want to give your heart to Christmas again and again…Lori Foster has two co-workers plan a Christmas party side-by-side-and discover a love worth celebrating in Christmas Bonus Carly Phillips explores a "mistletoe moment" when a no-nonsense lawyer intent on seducing her boss meets his twin instead--and gives him a scintillating kiss that leaves him begging for more in Naughty Under the Mistletoe.In Sugar Jamison’s Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas, former wild child Dina Gregory returns home to New York to find the father of her young son. Instead, she finds his stuffy older brother, Ben. Ben can’t help but admire her tenacity—and her bold beauty. Could it be that Dina has reignited his Christmas spirit? Beth Ciotta brings two friends who, after years apart, together at home for the holidays. They don’t seem to have much in common anymore, but when the two get stranded together during a blizzard, they are forced to reexamine if they are better off as "just friends"? Or could it be that true love was there all along? in Some Kind of Wonderful.

The Friday 56 Tokyo Kill by Barry Lancet

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm about to start reading a thriller, "Tokyo Kill", by Barry Lancet. The quote is from page 56  in the hard cover.

Good thing the yakuza enforcer was on my side.
Apparently, he knew where I lived.

Related articles

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Quote-Tastic & Review - Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Publisher: Harlequin
Series: O'Neill Brothers #3
Format Read: egalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

This winter, ex-skiing champion, reformed heartbreaker and single dad Tyler O'Neil has only one mission—making sure his daughter, Jess, has the best Christmas ever. The fact that his best friend, Brenna, is also temporarily moving into his chalet at the overbooked Snow Crystal resort is a delicious distraction he's simply going to have to ignore. Theirs is the one relationship he's never ruined, and he's not about to start now.

Ski pro Brenna Daniels knows all about the perils of unrequited love—she's been in love with Tyler for years. But living with him is absolute torture…how can she concentrate on being his friend when he's sleeping in the room next door? Then when Tyler kisses Brenna, suddenly the relationship she's always dreamed of feels so close she could almost touch it. Could this be the Christmas her dreams of a happy-ever-after finally come true?

The Friday 56 Symbiont by Mira Grant

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

After the glut of Christmas romances that I read for the Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon, I needed something with some meat to it. I decided the newest Parasitology book, Symbiont by the ever fabulous Mira Grant, fit the bill. It's a science fiction dystopian, set 13 years in the future. The quote is from page 56  in the hard cover.

The man standing on the other side was almost an anti-climax. He was barefoot, and his pants were unfastened, like he had been in the process of getting undressed when his thoughts became scrambled and unclear. 

Quote-Tastic All I Want for Christmas Is You by Jessica Scott

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

Sharing from a new novella by one of my fave authors, Jessica Scott. That woman makes me cry every damn time; her books are so emotional and heart-breaking. This story, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was released individually a few weeks ago and tomorrow it will be released as part of a duet, "Home for Christmas". The other story in the duet is by JoAnn Ross.

Come back tomorrow to join in the celebration - there will be a guest post by Jessica, a mini iPad giveaway, and more!

She was his best friend.

And he kissed her like he was dying without her.

Because he was.

He wanted his Samantha back. The warrior goddess who'd laughed when they'd been at the range and she'd outshot him. The fierce lover who took her own pleasure while driving him wild. 

The woman who didn't take shit from anyone.

He kissed her like it was his first taste of pleasure in months. 

Because it was.

The Friday 56 #61 The Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's the annual Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon and I'm neck deep in Christmas stories. Currently, I'm reading a romance, "The Heart of Christmas", by Brenda Novak. The quote is from 56%  in the eGalley.

Gangs had never been part of his privileged existence-other than what he saw on the news reports on TV-and he resented that Rex hadn't led the same kind of uncomplicated, pristine life.

Doesn't exactly match the cover does it? The whole book has been different from what I expected, still not sure if I actually like it.

Related articles

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Quote-Tastic The Princess and The Bodyguard by Morgan Ashbury

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

"The Princess and The Bodyguard" is part of a trilogy about a royal family and a common middle class family who get involved. There's a light sprinkling of fantasy but mostly it's a contemporary romance. This scene occurs after the titular bodyguard has kissed the titular princess. The princess, Rachel, enjoyed the kiss, to say the least, but not what happened afterward. I think they need to have an honest talk.

That kiss had eaten away at Rachel all afternoon.    

Dinner had been nearly impossible to get through. She'd been painfully conscious of Peter sitting across the table from her, trying to act like he hadn't kissed her brains out that very afternoon.

All right, so she'd practically begged him to do it. But that had been no do-it-for-king-and-country kind of kiss he'd laid on her, either. His tongue had been down her throat, he's pulled her so tight against him that her nipples had stood at attention. She had caught the telltale sign of his erection, despite the excellent cut of his suit. 

And then the rat bastard had the nerve to apologize?  

Heh, I think that man is in trouble. :D

Quote-Tastic #60 You Have No Shame or Guile

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

Another month, another J.D. Robb quote. :D I do love her In Death books. While this one wasn't my favorite, it had some good quotes. Eve is a sneaky, clever woman who understands how people think. In this scene, she is telling her police partner, Peabody, how to get her grandmother to mail her some homemade chicken soup. 

"I'm totally charged up again. Maybe I should go buy a gallon of that soup. No! I'll e-mail my granny, and I'll sweet-talk her into sending me some."
 "You have no shame, or guile." Eve led the way out, still sipping her soup. "You e-mail her and tell her you just had some soup that's as good as hers - subtext, maybe better - and it made you think about her, blah blah. How good it was, on a cold, crappy day in New York, yadda, yadda. She'll cook up a batch and ship it out to prove hers is better."
Peabody slid into the car, stared at Eve. "Have you met my granny, because that exactly what she'd do. That's brilliant."

Related articles

• Quote-Tastic #58 If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
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Quote-Tastic #59 You Look So Respectable, You Know.

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

Another oldie but goodie this week; this one is a cozy adventure story. I have mad love for the Mrs. Pollifax books by Dorothy Gilman. Mrs. Polliifax was a widow and grandmother who was bored with her life so she applied to join the CIA. Through a series of mix-ups, she gets hired and proves herself to be amazingly resourceful. She's eccentric, wise, compassionate, level-headed, and clever. Most of the earlier books are quite dated now but their mix of zaniness, wisdom, and gentle satire keeps me coming back. "The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax" is the second book in the series.

In this scene, set in Turkey, Mrs. Pollifax and her new friend Colin are trying to dispose of a body, another CIA operative, that they've temporarily stored in Colin's uncle's van.
.

"Cemetery!" exclaimed Mrs. Pollifax thoughtfully.
Colin looked at her. "You can't possibly-"
"But we must find somewhere appropriate to leave Henry."
He groaned. "You look so extremely respectable, you know." 
"I have a flexible mind-I believe it's one of the advantages of growing old," she explained. "I find youth quite rigid at times. Why not a cemetery?" 
Colin sighed. "I daresay there's a certain logic there. You're not-uh-thinking of burying him as well?"
"That would be illegal," she told him reproachfully, "and scarcely kind to Henry."

The Friday 56 #58 Wolf Slayer by Angela Addams

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm reading a paranormal romance, "Wolf Slayer", by Angela Addams. The quote is from 56%  in the eGalley.

She snapped her gaze up to find Chris-blond, built, and hotter than hot. She'd known him most of her life, his family being Order supporters just as hers was. Young, early twenties, he was part of her and her sister's cohort of Hunter/Huntress hopefuls, training together at times, socializing together often. He was a trusted family friend-someone she could count on to watch her back.

Related articles

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Quote-Tastic #58 If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

I've had this book since 1990; it's a bit warped and battered but still legible. McCrumb has been a favorite author since I was in college a million years ago. D: This was the beginning of her second series, the Ballad books, which she's still writing. In fact, I'll have a review of the newest book, "Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past" on Thursday. "Peggy" is solidly mystery while later books in the series have a mystery in them but are more Southern literary fiction.

The Friday 56 #43 Jackaby by William Ritter

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm reading a young adult historical paranormal mystery, "Jackaby", by William Ritter. The quote is from page 56  in the hardcover.

Mona's stance faltered. She looked briefly to Charlie and me, finding only equal bewilderment, and then back at the detective. He smiled at her again with charming, innocent curiosity. The left side of his face was red, and the outline of four dainty fingers were slowly gaining definition. He was behaving in precisely the manner in which a man who had just been walloped across the face should not behave.

Quote-Tastic #57 When Men Were Worth Marrying

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

This quote is from The Little Things by Moira Rogers. It's a paranormal romance with werewolves, lots and lots of werewolves. Have I mentioned lately that I love werewolves? :D The quote is pretty hot too. :)

"I have a different question. What's a courting gift?"

Gavin rubbed his hands over his face. "Let's sit over here." He led the boy to the bench in the hallway and sat. "A courting gift is something you give someone you want to spend more time with, or maybe marry. Like the darkroom for Sam."

"So the darkroom is a courting gift? Mom said it was and Dad said no one gives people courting gifts anymore and Mom said they did back when men were worth marrying."

Quote-Tastic #56 A Step Up from Being An A**hat

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

I have a review of this book up today and I wanted to share a bit of it. It was hard to pick one scene but I went with this scene between one of the lead characters and a major secondary character. Both are important to the story. The asshat in question is an ex-boyfriend of the lead character, Eva. Nate and Grace are at school talking in between classes; they live in a small town. I have to say, I do not miss high school or the social politics. I do live in a small town but at least I'm an adult now.

The Friday 56 #41 Deadly Gift by Heather Graham

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm reading an romantic mystery with a hint of paranormal, "Deadly Gift", by Heather Graham. The quote is from page 56  in the paperback.

"So where's Amanda?"
"At the hotel. She was feeling all wrung out from the stress of worrying about me, taking care of me...you know. Anyway, I told her to take some time today. Get herself a massage. She'll be around later tonight. She's anxious to see you." 

Quote-Tastic #55 Reckoning by S.J. Harper

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

This is from an urban fantasy mystery, "Reckoning", by S.J. Harper. It's the second book in the series. Emma and Zack are FBI partners and former lovers. In this scene, they're on their way to arm themselves for a rescue.

You can read my review of "Reckoning" here. 

"Betty?"
"Sweetest custom tactical you'll ever see."
"You named your rifle Betty?" I can't help myself, laughter breaks through my shell of anxiety and bubbles out. "Why do men insist on naming things-cars, guns, their junk?"
Zack shakes his head, "Couldn't tell you. Although. I can say that Mr. Peebles objects mightily to the term junk."
"Mr. Peebles?" Now I'm laughing so hard I can hardly breathe and can barely see. "Mr. Peebles?"
"I'm pretty sure laughing at a guy's...junk...constitutes harassment." He's grinning from ear to ear.
I try to catch my breath. As soon as can manage it it I say, "It's just 
I would have thought you'd pick something more, I don't know, manly-like Conan, Thor...Hugh Jackman."
"Wolverine? Seriously?"