The Librarian Interviews…Shannon Stacey

It’s The Kowalski Family Finale (of Doom! lol)

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the week with the Kowalski family. And that I’ve peaked your interest in their love stories. As a finale to all the fun, or “Doom” as the Kowalski’s like to say, author Shannon Stacey is stopping by to give some insight on the series as well as a little sneak peak at her next project: A Christmas novella Margaritas and Mistletoe coming out this December. So read on to learn a little more about Shannon and her Kowalski’s…

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and riding her four-wheeler. From May to November, the Stacey family spends their weekends on their ATVs, making loads of muddy laundry to keep Shannon busy when she’s not at her computer. She prefers writing to laundry, however, and considers herself lucky she got to be an author when she grew up. You can contact Shannon through her website, where she has maintains an almost daily blog, or visit her on Twitter, her Facebook page, or email her at shannon@shannonstacey.com.

The Questions:

1. The Bio on your blog starts with your marriage to Prince Charming…Can you give us a little synopsis of your own love story?

I was a waitress and he was a coffee counter regular, but it wasn’t love at first sight. Or second. (He learned fairly quickly to lower his newspaper and make eye contact with a waitress offering him more coffee, though.) But I’m a sucker for hardworking, smart guys with a wicked sense of humor and we’ve been married eighteen years now.

2. As a Romance writer when did you first fall in love with the genre?

As with many romance readers, I fell in love with romance novels snuck from my mother’s collection during my teen years. Before that were Louis L’Amour’s westerns, which quite often featured swoon-worthy love stories. But the first romance I ever fell in love with was between Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder in the “Little House” series.

3. Where did the idea for the Kowalski family come from? And are any of the Kowalski characters based on people in your own life?

The first story, Exclusively Yours, grew from my own family’s enjoyment of four-wheeling and the campground we stay at. The characters aren’t based on people I know but rather grown from the story, although some have traits “borrowed” from reality. For example, my husband can’t do dishes because I can’t stand that he washes them in the “wrong” order. And he never lets me drive.

4. Ok, there are a lot of Kowalski events that end with the threat of “Doom”…Does your own family practice these hilarious Doomsday events or do they only exist for the Kowalski’s?

“Of Doom” is an expression that’s always been used in my house, though I’m not sure where we picked it up. My boys don’t have Nerf gun battles. They have Epic Nerf Gun Battles of Doom! It just seemed to work for the Kowalskis, too.

5. Of all your books is there one that holds a special spot in your heart? One that was the most fun to write?

I think Exclusively Yours will always be a little special to me because of how it came to be written. I didn’t think it would be very marketable, so most of it was written just for fun. I wrote the romance I wanted to read. But Yours To Keep is always going to be the first (though hopefully not last) of my books to land on the NYT list, so that’s pretty special, too!

6. Each book has two separate romances running through it. And these romances run the gamut from traditional leading man/woman to mid-marriage rough patches to the spark of love between grandparents! What is it about the quirky love that you love so much?

The secondary romances weren’t storylines I planned before I sat to write the books. They just kind of grew out of the story as I went along. I have a big family with lots of interesting twists and turns in the family tree, so I’ve seen my share of rough patches and second chances at love.

7. I have to ask…The couples…I’m personally a Sean & Emma fan…but Terry & Evan had me laughing out loud during their make-up sex!…As a reader I have a hard time picking a favorite…do you have one?

If I tried to pick a favorite couple, I’d be talking in circles for days. I loved writing Sean and Emma…but Joe and Keri were so much fun and made me laugh out loud…but Kevin’s so sweet…but… See? I can’t pick a favorite!

8. Heroines be damned…Is there one leading man from your books who you’d want to end up with?

I’ve got my leading man, but there are little bits and pieces of him to be found in the Kowalski guys. Sean’s reluctance to let Emma drive. Kevin’s love of snowmobiling. Joe’s way with kids. And overall, their sense of humor and devotion to family. My husband could’ve been a Kowalski!

9. I was so happy to see in Yours To Keep that the Kowalski Family is going to provide more romance in the books to come…Can you describe your next hero or heroine in 5 words or less…

Can I describe Mitch Kowalski in five words or less? No. But his heroine, Paige: “Immune to Kowalski charm…maybe.”

10. Any last Kowalski tidbits to whet our appetite for the next title? Christmas is months away…Secrets Please!

Christmas won’t bring a Kowalski this year. The next Kowalski book will release in September of 2012, though I’m working on a Super Secret Kowalski Project of Doom I hope to share with readers this fall. My Christmas novella from Carina Press is a stand alone story titled Mistletoe & Margaritas. Justin McCormick may not be a Kowalski, but he’s not too shabby in the hero department, either! And to whet your appetite, the first line:

When Justin McCormick was fourteen, a dirt bike crash had put him in the hospital for two weeks, but even three broken bones and a concussion hadn’t hurt as much as loving his best friend’s widow did now.

Thank you so much, Sara, for having me and for your enthusiasm for the Kowalski family!

* * *

Thank you Shannon for taking the time to answer my questions! I love the five words used to define Paige…something tells me Paige won’t hold out for long (maybe my lifetime love of romance plots? someone always has to give in to love right? lol). Boo, to waiting a year for more Kowalski…But I know what I’ll be looking for in my stocking this year…Mistletoe & Margaritas 😉 I do live on the beach so a margarita in December it is…no need to ask me twice. I’ll take it on the rocks, with salt, and a little romance please!

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TGIF (2)…Character Envy

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads. It’s about answering/asking our readers a random book related question. The question posted by Ginger today is…

This Friday’s Question:

Character Envy: If you could be one character from a book, who would you choose & why?

Geeze, well, no character has a straight path or perfect life. Every character I can think of has had a very crooked path to happily ever after! I suppose this is why I’ve never really wished to be a specific character from a book…But to choose this answer would be a cop-out so let me think a moment…

hmm…

I think I’d like to be: Bella from Twilight

Ok, no one gag out there, lol. It’s every teenage girl’s choice too…except I’m not a teen which in some circles means I should know better. I suppose I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have an insta-love connection.

My husband and I met at ages 1 and 3…we played together for a day during a high school home-ec class project. But, we’ve dated since age 16. I suppose if insta-love for high schoolers exists I experienced it. But still, I never thought at 16 that I’d end up with my boyfriend as my husband at age 25. Never would have bet on that! Not that I didn’t love him, I’ve loved him for all these years. But I guessed that the odds were against us. I assumed that college and jobs would move us apart. While blessedly untrue…my meeting the love of my life was not instant…not even after a few years of high school dating and a prom.

So that brings me back to Bella. To know, so instantly that you would give your life…risk your eternal soul to become another being for someone, is an amazing thing. Something I would be hard pressed to find outside of fiction. How many of us would give up our conventional life for another?…to become paranormal? I think if I had to experience something, it may be that.

I’ve know a love that lasts and grows over years. It would be a guilty pleasure to see such confidence after mere days…

So there, I choose Bella…feel free to comment upon my decision 😉 I can take the critique.

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Yours To Keep (Kowalski Family #3) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

Day three of this Kowalski extravaganza focuses on Stacey’s latest title in the series Yours To Keep. If you’re just joining this party check out Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours for an introduction to the large, loving family that is the Kowalskis. I’m not gonna lie. This was by far my favorite title of the series. You get a couple worthy of each other, lots of post-it notes, and a little granny romance. Oh and more Kowalski abs. Those Kowalski’s are genetically blessed in the six-pack area and this title does not fail to represent the feature well! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s finale…an interview with the series’s author: Shannon Stacey.

So without further ado…Kowalski Family #3: Yours To Keep

BookTalk

Sean Kowalski has just gotten out of the Military. A free man for the first time in years, he’s ready to explore life, kick back a few beers, and sow some wild oats.

Emma Shaw is an independent woman. She started a landscaping business from scratch and refinished her grandmother’s home and made it her own. Basically, she’s created a life she loves.

Too bad Emma got a little too creative in sharing her life with her Grandmother. You see, while Grandma has retired to Florida a large part of her still worries that Emma is a little lost living alone in that big old house. Enter the Fake Fiance. What started as a little white lie about a man around the house to put Grandma at ease has blossomed into a very complex engagement with a very real man…Sean Kowalski.

So begins this tale of laughs and love…Emma Shaw proposing the wildest of schemes to Sean Kowalski. She’s asked him to play the fake fiance for Grandma’s month-long visit. The gig comes with a job in Emma’s landscaping business and a bed…not 10 feet away from Emma. What neither counts on is the spark of attraction and the slow burn of a fake relationship that begins to feel very real…

Review

I. Loved. This. Book.

Ooooh, this one was my favorite in the series so far. This title centers around another branch of the Kowalski family tree, cousins of the Kowalski’s we’ve all come to love. Sean has just returned from a tour in Afghanistan looking forward to some freedom in his life. Just the ability to do whatever he wishes…to find himself…

Well, Emma Shaw finds him first. She’s integrated Sean into a year-long Grandma deception. Emma’s Grandmother (who raised her from the age of four, after Emma’s parent’s death) while retired in Florida, can’t stop worrying about her granddaughter. Constant phone calls centering on the care of the house and Emma’s single status caused Emma to invent a relationship to put her grandmother’s mind at ease. What starts as a little white lie to help her Grandmother enjoy her retirement has grown into a full-fledged marriage proposal. And Sean comes home just in time for Emma’s Grandmother’s visit.

Crazy right? I think Sean himself uses the term “batshit”. And normally I’d have to agree. I’ve done the invented relationship a few other times in my romance reading…And I don’t usually enjoy it. I always think that a woman who needs to make up a fictional man has issues, not to mention a lack of independence or strong-woman traits. I like my heroines to be strong…Which is where this book started to go so right.

Emma is one strong gal. She is fully independent, but still willing to let love into her life. The relationship that develops between Sean and Emma is balanced, respectful, and flirty. I love a couple that enhances and challenges each other. Emma and Sean are this type of couple. Add to that the fact that Sean helps rationalize Emma’s lie…seeing that it was done out of love rather than an insecurity. And that’s key. Sean and Emma are both very family oriented so purveying an untruth to save a family member from worry…no matter how harebrained the scheme…rings true for both characters.

But back to the romance. My most favorite part of this book, besides Sean’s abs, were his post-it notes. From the first tip about his dislike of broccoli to the final declarations at the end of the novel these post-it notes were the cutest way to watch their relationship grow. I think that most women have a soft spot for love letters and whether it comes in the form of a hand written note, email (that would be mine! lol), greeting card, or post-it the sentiment within is usually enough to melt. So, Sean’s sharpie-penned thoughts were a very special part of the romance.

And what would a Stacey book be without a side romance to complete the package? In this book Emma’s Grandmother gets a second shot at love with an old acquaintance. While the love between the older couple is far easier to achieve it does set a nice balance…Showing the reader that with age also comes the realization that everyday should be lived to the fullest. No need to push away the gift that love is. Which, obviously, is what Emma and Sean end up doing. Youngins…too stubborn to give into good sex, sweet friendship, and true love!

Pick up this book immediately. It’s a quick read and the book will stand-alone if necessary…but why wouldn’t you want to start from the beginning with Joe and Keri. The Kowalski family is a group that keeps the romance flowing and the love alive…They’ll suck you in I swear!

Rating: 10/10

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Undeniably Yours (Kowalski Family #2) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

Today is day two of my reviews/booktalks for Shannon Stacey’s Kowalski Family series. I recently discovered these books and blew through them in three days! It’s a series all about a large, loving, laughing family that is way too involved in each other’s lives. Lets just say I’m in love with watching all of them fall in love. Stick around because the week ends with an Author interview where she’ll spill the beans about writing the Kowalskis.

Without further ado…Undeniably Yours (Kowalski Family #2)

BookTalk

Beth and Kevin had a one night stand….At Kevin’s brother’s wedding. Kevin had met spunky Beth previously during a brawl at his bar. At the wedding Kevin finds Beth tending bar. And after a night of calculated flirtation Beth has no more fight left to combat Kevin’s roguish charm. Enter one hot night…followed by an early morning walk of shame.

3 weeks later Beth and Kevin learn first hand that the 2% failure rate for condoms is a real statistic. Beth is pregnant and Kevin is all for an instant family. Over the next nine months Kevin finds himself falling in love with the mother and excited for the baby…But Beth isn’t willing to trust in a love blooming between two people who only know each other through a surprise pregnancy. Will Beth and Kevin remain friends with a baby?…Or can Beth trust in the love and family Kevin is offering her?…

Review

I was super excited for this title. I liked the character of Kevin in the first of this series (Exclusively Yours) and I was intrigued by the pregnancy aspect of this book. Any situation that forces two characters to be so intimate so fast usually makes for some really great emotion and scenes.

This book didn’t disappoint in the emotional aspect. I loved how much Kevin loves Beth. Seeing him care for both Beth and their future child was super sweet. From the very beginning he is supportive of Beth and their decision to keep the baby. And the man doesn’t stop flirting for the whole book! He wants Beth. He wants her bad. And he’s willing to wait till the time is right to get her.

Where I got lost a little was with Beth. She is so insistent that she do everything on her own. EVERY. THING. She pushes Kevin away so many times the guy should apply for sainthood just for sticking around. Beth jumps down the poor guy’s throat for buying her a cell phone, even for offering to help her move to a better apartment. While I expected the independent streak to last quite awhile I had no idea that it would last the entire pregnancy.

Beth spends quite a bit of time talking about hormones making her a little lusty and yet she manages to resist Kevin and his amazing abs. I was so frustrated by this! lol. Maybe its just because my hubby doesn’t have to do a lot of convincing to get me feeling lusty…hormones or not…And as sexy as the hubs is, he doesn’t have Kevin’s 6-pack. Come to think of it, no one may have the Kowalski abs in real life…they only exist in our photoshopped imaginations, lol.

But back to my Beth frustrations. At one point she’s a new mother and everyone is tripping over themselves to help; to give her a break. And she accepts nothing! First off, what new mother doesn’t accept the offer to take a shower while some one watches the baby? Crazy talk for not accepting that. Second, Kevin spends a lot of time running around with no shirt and lots of abs…While begging Beth to accept him in a relationship. Crazy talk for not giving in months before she does.

I’m probably being a little hard on poor Beth…she’s just not my favorite type of character. I think that a little give and take would have saved her a lot of stress. That being said, even Kevin agrees that it was best for them to wait until post baby to truly get involved in an intimate relationship. Without the excitement of a baby on the way, and with the real life schedule of a newborn all fantasies are disproved…and if love is still there then the couple will have a stronger love than most for their sacrifice.

The ending is worth waiting for because of this. The emotional buildup yields great results, results that wouldn’t have had the impact had Beth given in months earlier. Also, the beginning of the novel had some of the sweetest scenes. Watching Kevin and Beth come together over such a big change in their lives while getting to know each other presents smile inducing moments. Throughout it all while I didn’t love Beth…Kevin is by far my favorite Kowalski brother. His looks, his sweetness, and that little naughty smile (he’s always giving shirtless!) had me at hello. He makes this story for me…and by the end Beth knows what an amazing guy she has too.

Rating: 7/10

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Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family #1) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

So last week I fell in Love…with a books series! I started Shannon Stacey’s series about a large, loud, loving family from the North East. I read the first book and then quickly devoured the rest. So my booktalk/review posts of the week feature the three books currently released in the series. The week ends with an interview with the Author herself to give us a peek into writing about Kowalski family.

Without Further Ado…Kowalski Family #1: Exclusively Yours…

BookTalk

Joe Kowalski was Keri Daniels’ first…Her high school sweetheart, her first serious boyfriend, and her first lover. Together they created memories to the tunes of Whitesnake on lover’s lane. And that fresh young love is still the best sex she’s ever had. But at graduation Keri surprisingly drops Joe heading to the west coast to pursue a name for herself in journalism.

After years of no contact Keri finds herself one step away from the masthead of a major celebrity magazine and Joe has become a bestselling but reclusive author. Once, Joe had been in a relationship splashed across the tabloids, it ended in lawsuit mystery…and no one knows what happened behind courtroom doors. Now Keri’s boss has found out her childhood connection to Joe and has laid an ultimatum at Keri’s feet: Get an interview, and the dirt, on Joe and the promotion she’s worked her whole career for is hers…Fail and she’ll find herself with a pink slip searching for a new job.

Keri wrangles the interview…In exchange for spending a two-week vacation in the country with the Kowalski family Joe will answer one question a day. You see, Keri isn’t the only one with an agenda. Keri is the girl Joe never got over, and after seeing her again he doesn’t plan on letter her go anytime soon…But can a high school love stand the test of time?…and the test of two solid weeks with the family?…

Review

I’ll admit I wasn’t so sure of this book at the start. The main characters were close to 40 and while I’m not ageist, it does tend to mean that the romance is going to be of the mature variety. Full of romantic meals and steamy scenes that end at the bedroom door…what’s happening in the sheets not meant for the readers eyes. While that can be enjoyable it wasn’t quite what I was in the mood for…

So I guess it’s a good thing that this was NOT that mature romance book…Steamy scenes, witty banter, and hot muscles abound!

Keri and Joe had chemistry in high school and from the first time they meet in Exclusively Yours they have it again. The references to the couple’s 80’s love are sweet and funny. Full of clichés including big hair, bad cars, and Whitesnake. What really got me was when Joe puts Keri in “the Locker Pose”. The one where a girl would be leaning against a locker and the guy has one leg in-between hers with either hand on the locker beside her head. I suppose I’m describing this poorly…but I could just picture that pose from high school! Where the couple of the moment flaunted their relationship for the whole 5 minutes between periods. Like a pre-Facebook relationship update.

This family is definitely of the down-home American kind. For the family vacation they take off to camp grounds (granted in a few luxury RV’s because Joe is a famous millionaire author) to take ATV’s (four wheelers) off-roading and cook some smores by the campfire. The family is honest, sweet, and completely involved in each other’s lives. But some of my favorite relationship moments came from the other family couples…

An extravagant anniversary gift that cleared up any hesitation about love in the marriage…

The purchase of an ugly marble table and shoes with sex…

Honestly, the scene with the couple and the table (don’t want to spoil anything!) had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud…an honest to goodness ROTFLOL moment. It was sooo sweet too.

I liked Stacey’s characters. They were real people with real issues. Which makes seeing them reconnect their love over these everyday issues all the more squeal-worthy and heart-warming.

This is the first of a series of 3…and I’ve already started book 2, Uniquely Yours. The promise of the hot, ex-cop, ab-baring, younger brother falling in love was too much to bear! And from the start it seems even better than the first.

Rating: 8/10

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Mondays Bite (4) Twilight Discussion Questions Ch. 16-20

Discussion questions for chapters 16-20 provided by: The Secret Life of an Avid Reader

Monday’s Bite is a weekly meme hosted by GReads, Lisa the Nerd, Secret Life of an Avid Reader, and The Reading Housewives. It’s a reread of Twilight. Taking us all back to the time where we fell in love with the story…And definitely clearing up a few misconceptions I had about the fact of the book and the fiction the movie has clouded my mind with!

This week we read chapters 16-20. The Reading Housewives
will be answering The Secret Life of an Avid Reader’sdiscussion questions from chapters 16-20, as well as proposing new questions for the final chapters of the book.  Be sure to check out their blog for all that fun stuff!

Without further ado…The Questions:

1. {SERIOUS question} If you were in Carlisle’s position, do you think you would have been able to fight off your vampiric urges? Would you ever bring someone into that life, as he did with Edward and Esme?

I have pretty strong willpower so I think I could handle controlling my vampiric urges. Chocolate cake is no threat to my diet. But I do think I’d have to bring someone into my world. With Edward I think it was desperation more than anything. Carlisle needing companionship after all those years alone. With Esme, I like to think it was a love bond that caused him to turn her. It seems as though the rest of the vampire couples found each other in an instant bond and I’d like to think that Carlisle saw Esme as his love and turning her was just fate.

2. {FUN question} We are introduced to Edward’s playful side in these chapters, before he gets all manic about the new vampires, I think we have a better picture of who he is. If you had to describe him in 5 words, what would they be? Good and Bad qualities, whatever you like!

Intense, Obsessive, Sexy, Loving, Hopeful

Happy would be my 6th adjective if I was allotted the space 😉 He ends up being so torn for the rest of the novels…I went with Hopeful over Happy because later he’ll spend so much time worrying about Bella’s soul he looses a bit of that hopeful vibe.

3. {LONG question} While re-reading I have been taking notes: observations that I have come across re-reading and comparisons to the movie. One of my notes deals with page 383, in which Edward screams at Alice there is no other option. The first time around I didn’t get that he meant the future that Alice saw for Bella as a vampire (because we obviously hadn’t gotten to that part), but now that I know the whole story I see that is what he meant… Has this happened to you? Do you have any examples of things that are clearer now or things that you have realized while re-reading?

I don’t know if things are clearer this time around because I had read it more than once pre-movies, but post-other books. Since this is my first re-read post-movies what is really hitting me is the differences between the movies and the books. Seeing Edward and Bella happy…the whole lighthearted aspects of their love. I know I’ve said this before but it continues to amaze me…I love seeing Edward laugh at Bella when she’s nervous about running with him. Watching them talk and tease…It’s just so much sunnier of a love than those gray movies make it look.

4. {PERSONAL question} We haven’t talked about this yet, but I think the idea of your human gifts amplifying in your vampire life is interesting (Jasper’s control of emotions, Edward’s mind reading), what do you think your gifts would be?

Hmm, I think I’d be more like Esme…the domestic-type. I’d like to think I’d be this super analysis person…reader and thoughtful reviewer extraordinaire. But my true nature probably lies in my ability to make things homey…yep, homey…The number one adjective given to my home and me. It’s taken me quite awhile to realize this is a good thing, lol. But, I’d like to think I’d be able to create situations where people felt loved and comfortable. So I guess an Esme/Jasper combo 😉

5. {SURVEY question} We are coming to the end of the book, what has been your opinion on this re-read? First, when was the last time you read it? Second, do you feel you like it more, the same, or less this time around?

The first time I read Twilight I borrowed it from my cousin. I had to read a bunch of YA for a class during Library School (yep, this is how I refer to my MSLS degree…Library School, lol) and I raided her stash so as not to have to buy tons of YA on a grad school budget. I got Twilight without a cover and absolutely no idea of the plot of the book. I like to think it was a very special way of experiencing the story…with no expectations, no preformed ideas. I loved it so much – no re-read could ever top that.

What I love about this time around is reading it with others who love the books just as much. I’m ready to hit the rest of the series after this one is done! Who’s with me? 😉

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TGIF (1): Bookshelves

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads. It’s about answering/asking our readers a random book related question. The question posted by Ginger today is…

This Friday’s Question:

Bookshelf Tour: Where do you keep your books at home?

Are they organized?

I have combinations of bookshelves and books as home decor happening for my book storage. A little over a year ago my husband bought me a Nook for my birthday. My book storage had hit a point where it was either buy a new bookshelf (which we really didn’t have room for!) or go digital. I’ve made the switch and I’ve never looked back!

Sure sometimes I wish I had a book I loved in physical form. As any reader knows it’s wonderful to sit surrounded by the memories of books loved…able to glance over to a shelf and remember a favorite character or scene. That being said, I love even more the instant gratification of the ebook as well as the ability to carry hundreds of books around with me at a time. Does anyone else get a little shaky when they don’t have a book to start immediately after finishing one?…Really, just me?…Suppose there’s some type of support group for reading addictions?

While I look into that feel free to glance around the shelves still remaining in my house…they are organized in no particular manner. I know, as a librarian you’d think I had some type of master plan. Nope. I like it when series stay together but beyond that it’s more of a size/stacking kind of thing. I like the shelves to look visually pleasing…thus all the random junk that’s littered in them, lol.

Note, I’ve taken advantage of the books to make an entertainment center of sorts…please ignore the boxed wine on the floor…I’m classy like that.

This is a close up showing off my random stacking style as well as the more nostalgic clutter in my shelves…Again ignore the bottles of alcohol between the books. My husband likes to show them off…must be a guy thing…Ignore the fact that I too am showing off hundreds of dust catching books…Must be a bookish thing…

More shelves, more pictures and clutter…no organization, lol

An example of books as decoration. I also collect salt and pepper shakers…yet another hobby my husband supports. Mental Note: be more supportive of random liquor collection…my collections are becoming more unsexy by the day, lol.

More Decor…pretty love books…and a children’s beer book for adults…again with the classy combos…

Guest room bookshelf. This was made by my Pop-pop when I was a child. Love it 😉

So there it is. In all its bookish, clutter-wine-picture-salt-shaker storing glory. Now I ask you: What do your bookshelves look like?

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Library Musings…The Bookstores of Ireland

So, I went to Ireland last week with my family. The trip was in honor of my father’s 60th birthday, and for 5 days my husband, parents, and I drove around the country (on the left side of the road!) trying to dodge sheep and raindrops, lol. It’s a beautiful country full of history and these amazing ruins. Seriously, just driving you pass these farms and houses with this beautiful half-fallen-down castle in the backyard. How cool would it be to grow up with that to play on?

But one thing I was not expecting was the mass amount of bookstores Ireland has. Every small town, even the ones with, like, 4 buildings on their main streets had a bookstore, used or otherwise. Ireland is a country of readers! My hubby claimed it was because there is little else to do stranded in the country, lol, but I choose to think of it as a genetic trait. One I inherited along with the red hair and inability to tan ;).

I didn’t get any pics of the Galway stores…I assumed the city had so many because it was a larger town by Irish standards. When I got to Ennis and saw that the amount of bookstores per capita was even larger…I started snapping away. The bookish people of the world should know about this little known fact…Ireland is a book-lover’s dream country!

The Ennis Bookshop was a cute little independent bookstore…Love all the wild colors they paint their shops!

This one is apparently one of their big chain stores…I didn’t see one Barnes and Noble or any other American chain anywhere.

O’Mahony’s was stuffed to the gills with new releases.

Books Upstairs was a bookstore in Dublin…Very cute and Very Busy!

Sceal Eile was my favorite bookstore. It was all used books but I loved the Mark Twain quote on the doorway of the building and it was so warm and inviting inside…Books stacked everywhere! Too bad the family was with me, I could have gotten lost in the store for a while, lol…

Mark Twain Quote: “good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience

this is the ideal life”

Imagine an afternoon with a little fire and a cup of coffee spent in one of those chairs *sigh*

Seriously, I went picture crazy in this store…Good thing no one minded!

All of the signs were in Galic as well as English…Keeping the traditions alive 😉

It was a perfect trip with my family. One where I didn’t read much as after touring all day we hit up some pubs for a Guinness and Irish music rather than my bed and a book, lol. But I was seriously blown away by all the bookstores and even regular stores that offered books for sale or swap. Very cool part of the culture that I didn’t know about. Now I’m off to sort through my 1,006 photos…Seriously…I have it narrowed down to about 468 at the moment but that still WAY too many for Facebook, lol. I need strength to cut a few more sheep photos from the lot…Wish me luck!

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Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

Click Here to enter to win a Signed copy of Forever

*Spoilers*

Review

This was by far my favorite book of the series. I know it ends without resolving the wolf/human problem…but still, it seemed strangely finished to me. Having that last image of a fall leaf as a wedding band around Grace’s finger is a beautiful one. Leaving the couple on the verge of transformation and future. Whether that future be a traditional marriage and family, or a life in the wild as wolves remains to be seen. But I guess ultimately the reader feels as though whatever the choice, the love between Grace and Sam will have its forever together.

I think Isabel and Cole will also have a future. Maybe if Cole is ever cured he’ll join Isabel in California. Their relationship was always far more realistic than Sam and Graces…never an instant forever attraction…instead it seems like one that will grow over time. Not everyone needs to find marriage at 17.

Now for just a few things I loved about Cole and Isabel’s relationship this book:

• The little black mustang Isabel gave Cole, and that scene where Cole drives the car around Isabel’s body. Seeing Cole play with it at inopportune moments. Very endearing.
• The scene where Cole and Isabel are hiding underneath the lab table – making out!? – and getting caught by Isabel’s mom…who (luckily, lol) just kind of rolls her eyes and lets the two of them off the hook.
• Isabel watching Cole give his life for Sam and Grace and then rolling that SUV off the road to save the pack. She, more than anyone, has given to a cause that has done nothing but hurt her throughout this series. For that I will always love Isabel as my favorite character from Mercy Falls. That girl has heart and guts and deserves the kisses and affection of that hot St. Claire boy.

*sigh*

Now more random notes about Forever…

I also loved the scene in the beginning of the book where Isabel loses it at the Italian restaurant and her mother again saves the day with understanding rarely seen in parents in this series. The way her mother instantly understands the situation and helps her daughter was unique and heartwarming. It was just perfect to see Isabel finally show some emotion over all that she’s been dealing with and then getting the support of her mother. That scene made me very happy.

Another happy moment was when Sam and Grace drive off to see the northern lights. Throughout these novels Grace and Sam get one good scene per book. One happy, uncomplicated, field trip where they just get to be two crazy kids in love. The whole thing reminded me of getting lost in the country with my hubby when we were teens. Granted he was never lost because he has a good sense of direction…where as I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag with a map. Still it’s the thought that counts, and it’s always kind of romantic to be alone in a car watching the stars with the man you love.

I guess I’m a little sad to be leaving Mercy Falls. Part of me wishes I knew what really happened to all the characters in the future. But I think that the strength in the ending is really that Stiefvater picked her battle. She chose to focus on the struggle to find a new leader of the pack and the escape from the shotgun of Tom Culpepper. Her characters matured and are now ready to face their lives as adults. At the age of 18 there’s no way to ensure a happily ever after anyway…Because fans of Mercy Falls are all hoping for a long life and relationship between Grace and Sam and to have a full life is to have one full of both joy and sorrow. The ending of this series is really the beginning of life for its characters.

Who else is hoping for a 10 year update? lol. Maybe Stiefvater will return to the falls someday…

Rating: 9/10

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Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater *Spoilers*

*Spoilers*

Review

One of my favorite parts of this book was when Grace told off her parents. I normally don’t support this type of outburst from teen characters. I often find that either the adult they are ranting at was such a caricature of a person that it seems unfair…or that they aren’t seeing a valid adult point of view. Not so in Mercy Falls. Grace’s parents aren’t super strict or super unfair, they just kind of ignore the fact that they have a child. And they have a good child. A cooking, homework completing, friend-having child. And that they finally care after all these years…after Grace has finally assembled her own support system is both realistic and the epitome of the word injustice. I read the section where she tells them off twice! And my only critique was that if I was Grace…I would have run away that night!

And Sam had his own bit of empowerment. In this book Sam really begins to come into his humanness. It’s like watching the thaw from winter to spring. Even when Grace is dying/changing into a wolf, Sam is still secure in his choice to stay human. It’s what makes their love so heart-wrenching…They’re obviously meant to be together but both are driven by what’s inside them to desire wolf or human. Neither feels the need to force the other to stay one way or another. You can’t help but fall for the connection these two have. Everyone who sees them feels it.

Now to the eye candy of the novel…I’ll say this first, Cole is hot! But he’s so self-centered. I just don’t think that his issues stand up to his attitude. I mean, I get that stuff went wrong in his life – jaded rock star and all. But others in these books have more valid issues and less trouble interacting with others…Sam’s parents tried to kill him, Isabelle’s parents are on the verge of divorce and she’s lost a brother, and Grace could be dying. What’s so wrong with being Cole St. Claire anyway? He’s a rock star genius whose parents believed in him. Wow, bad luck with that one. When he throws Sam into the bathroom with the tub, or is unable to help Victor…to watch Victor die because of Cole’s decision. I was really seeing no redeeming qualities in Cole. Until he saves the day at the end of the story by finally getting with the program and helping, I was ready to kick Cole out of the pack…call up Tom Culpepper!

But wait…if we got rid of Cole we wouldn’t have the relationship between Cole and Isabelle. There were those scenes where they began to break down each other’s walls. So amazing. Probably my favorite part of the book. Watching them begin to save each other – to see the life and the fight come back to each of them was invigorating. Between the kissing, muscles, and opening up I was hooked. They keep dropping lines claiming that their love is nothing like Grace and Sam’s but I think they aren’t seeing how special it is that they are able to open up to one another.

In the end I admit, sometimes in these novels I get a little lost. There’s so much seriousness…the looks, longing, moments to read into. I can get a little bogged down. But then Stiefvater writes those endings. Victor’s burial where Cole cracks, Grace’s hospital bed yearning for Sam, Cole stepping in at the 11th hour to save the day. Seeing it all come together is worth all the heavy setup. It makes me even more excited to finish the series. For an author who is so amazing at endings the finish of a series should be the ultimate read. Excited to see what she does with it.

Rating: 8/10

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