Review and Giveaway...Bliss by Opal Carew

This will be my very first Giveaway!!!

I am giving away my copy of Bliss by Opal Carew that I received for judging.

I have wanted to do this for a while and just haven't gotten around to it.  I have several hundred books on my shelf and most of them are waiting to be read so I want someone else to get a chance to get their hands on a new almost new book.

Ok is that cover steamy or what???

Blurb from the authors website:

Kara is a sex columnist who thinks desire is purely physical and steers clear of any romantic notions about love. J.M. is a Tantra master who believes sex is a spiritual union that brings lovers together body and soul. They can’t deny their irresistible physical attraction—but Kara knows they can never have a future outside the bedroom. After all, Kara thinks Tantra is silly and the whole elitist idea of sacred sex really bugs her. But after a few heated nights of hands-on practice with her own personal Tantra instructor, she experiences a soul-shattering bliss more intense than anything she’s ever felt. And she starts to wonder if there might be something to Tantra after all…or could it be that J.M. has simply stolen her heart?

My review:

So let me start of by saying I loved this book, but there were parts that irritated me throughout.

One of my previous professions before I joined the military was a self employed massage therapist.  I know a lot about holistic healing and also learned some about tantra...I'm not an expert mind you, but as far as relating the chakras to different parts of the body and things like that I get whats going on with the energy flow.

*If this confuses you or your absolutely not down with opening your mind to alternative methods there is a chance that you may not like this book, because its pretty deeply immersed in it though the sex is a pretty wide range*

Either Opal did a kick ass job on her research or shes into holistic healing, but regardless I loved the plot in this book.  Its different and I like that.  Kara is absolutely not into the whole love thing.  She doesn't believe in it at all.  She ends up forced by her editor to attend a conference for her sex column to write an article on an tantra master.  That tantra master happens to be JM a man that she had a hot and steamy one night stand with after her flight to the conference got delayed.

JM tries to introduce Kara slowly into the practice of tantra.  Along the way they delve into exploring Kara's fantasies.  There is sex with a stranger, 3 ways, light BDSM, and a mini orgy with her and 4 males.  I started to feel bad for JM near the end, because Kara struggled so hard to keep from feeling for him, but in the end it came out well.

My little hang ups in this book in no way ruined it for me, but it wouldn't be a proper review without stating them.  First was during orgasm the author writes that Kara "wails" almost every single time...Now personally when I think of wailing I think dying cat not smashing sex, but that's just personal preference.  Second was that there was a sex scene that seemed like it was copied word for word from the previous sex scene.  I know its basically all the same and there are going to be signature moves for the characters, but I would prefer not to read the same sex twice in a row.

Beyond those things it was a great book and I enjoyed it.

Kinda makes me think of this song

*My reviews are personal opinion only. Any books that have been given to me were strictly for review and were in no way influenced by monetary gain*

For those of you that want to enter to win the book just leave a comment and a if I don't already have a way to contact you I need that as well.

This giveaway is only for 18 and up and will be open until March 4th

I am offering my first giveaway up internationally

Winner will be chosen and announced on March 5th

Who wakes up at 6am on a freaking weekend...

So its still early here...I'm cranky and tired.

(I really am not a morning person and this is the second day in a row that my little person decided that I needed to be up before the damn sun)

Didn't do much this weekend.  The exception to that was Friday when my friend B and I drove out to Temecula Wine Country (little bit of a trip for us, but so worth it if your ever in SoCal).  The purpose for going was to pick up a wine donation for my sister.  She lives out here and has been in a junior women's club for a while (yuck...not my thing at all) and one of the wineries was donating to her club.  So being the awesome multitasker I am decided to make it a pleasant trip by hitting up a few of the other wineries as well.

I have such good ideas.  B took me to one of that places her mother loves called Leonesse (that girls mom knows her alcohol) and I ended up spending up way to much money on a bottle of dessert wine and a bottle of port.  Both were absolutely delicious and I could not live without them.  Then we went to the winery for the donation and they were a little to high brow for me...I'm laid back and I really didn't want to spend my afternoon with a bunch of people that have sticks transplanted up their asses.

Last stop was not the best winery, but we drove past it and couldn't pass it up...The winery name...Cougar winery.   Yeah couldn't drive past that without stopping in so we went there.  There wine wasn't top notch but the atmosphere was nice and we had a good time.  Talked to some other ladies that were doing the reverse circuit from us and recommended some wines.

I plan on going back very soon.  Most likely for a festival coming up in April.

I cleaned and organized because I'm compulsive about that crap and then did some homework.  That always blows.  My friend B and I watched "A Team" last night and drank some of our new wine.  That movie was hilarious and the wine was as good the second time drinking it.  I'm just trying to stay sane today with my lack of sleep.  I have gotten to the point of feeling delirious from lack of sleep.

Time for me to wrap this up.   I think I have been just rambling uselessly up till this point.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

The Zombie Apocalypse...

Are You Prepared???

(shooting my ruger 40 cal)

(shooting a revolver)

Cause I am :)

(Yeah my aim sucks but at least the majority went in the head)

Had so much fun shooting today.  Such a great idea.  I wanted to be more proficient with my weapon, because I believe in gun safety and the best way to be safe is to learn about it and get used to it.  So, we went to the range and sat for about an hour, because there were a ton of people there.  Met 2 older men that ended up helping us load ammo because my magazines for my new gun were brand new and tough.  Shot about 150 rounds and then we got to shot the revolver that the men next to us brought.  Learned some much needed tips on aiming holding and firing and basically just had a great afternoon.

Afterwards my friend B decided to get me to go geocaching wich is basically searching for crap in the woods.  We trekked through a vast amount of bush before we gave up and called it a day.  Now I'm home and about to clean my gun and do some homework. Yay! (ugh not really)

Oh my aching head...

Last night was a night I probably should have left the red bull and vodka alone...

It bites back hard.

Begining of the night

After alcohol...



Moral of the story kids...

DRINKING IS BAD

Going to get breakfast food and go shooting today.  Then to finish the homework I have been avoiding while sick these past weeks.

Yay for going shooting

Boo for homework

Whats Cooking Wednesday (3)

Sorry it has been a while!

I have been running like crazy and sadly we have had a lot of takeout and not much home cooking since my classes started kicking my butt.

Tonight I am posting an easy one.

Got it from my girl B actually

(you can see her blog here)

Tonight's recipe is...

Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese

Super Simple

Ingredients:

Box of Mac N Cheese (my fav is Velveeta)

Chicken (1 large breast or 2 small ones)

Bacon (3 pieces)

Cube up the chicken and cook it in the pan with a little olive oil.

remove from the pan and set aside

chop up the bacon into little pieces and fry the bacon in the pan (to your desired crispyness)

set on a paper towel to drain off the grease

Prepare mac n cheese according to box

then mix chicken and bacon into the mac n cheese

Super easy...probably not that healthy but absolutely delicious!

The Not So Lonely Valentine...

This Valentine's Day has been a pleasant surprise.  If you would have asked me last month I would have been snarky and said screw Valentine's Day.  I have had a little bit of a change of heart though.  This year I am single, but it has been a great day (minus the 2 hours in math class this morning) full of fun and laughing.

B and I planned on cooking dinner and we asked another friend if he wanted to come over and eat with us.  That was the initial plan a week ago, but his plans changed and he got a date (thank goodness because he needs to get laid!) and he canceled with us.  So this morning I get a text from him asking to use my table...the kitchen table...the one we are planning on eating our dinner on...because he doesn't have one.  Seriously you bail on us then want to take our table and leave us inconvenienced???  Yeah that's hilarious, but no your not getting my table.  I'm not eating my dinner on the floor, because you want to set up a fancy spread to POSSIBLY get laid.  B and I laughed for a while about that one.

We ran errands today like any other ordinary day and had to fight through the last minute valentine's shoppers.  We got tangled in a bunch of ribbons at the dollar store because the place was filled with balloons and we had to fight through them.  It was seriously a balloon ribbon jungle.

*little strawberries that open up into shopping bags*

Then off to the bank and the post office...that was pretty boring stuff, but we have a good time driving around.  Usually we get on the most random topics when we drive around.  I'm serious yesterdays topic was

"What would it feel like if you motor boated someones balls?"

Yeah crap like that.  Good times though.

Our final stop on our day out was to the "toy store", because if your a single girl that's the place to go for your own valentine's present ;)

That place is guaranteed to be a good time.  We spent about an hour perusing the items.  Got a few things and played around with almost all the testers available.  B wrote a blog about the trip as well and you can check it out here.

*just because it was hilarious*

We ended up getting a few things then talked with one of the girls that worked at the shop for a while.  Spread the word about the blog Scary Sextoy Friday then left with our purchases to head home and cook dinner.

*its a toy shop you have to go home with something*

B made an awesome dinner.  Pot roast and mashed potatoes.  Were southern girls and we love our meat and potatoes. We drank out of cheesy plastic dollar store champagne flutes.  Didn't actually drink though...damn week day with class tomorrow.

So that was the culmination of probably the best V Day and all without a man.

I did send out a card to a special someone, but there is an entire Continental US between us at the moment. There will probably be a visit in the near future :)

So for now its just me and my new V Day toy

Hope everyone had a Happy V Day!

  

In My Mailbox (9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to show off the books that you have gotten through out the week be they from someone, a swap, you buy them yourself, or the library. This brings books to light that some people may not normally check out.

I didn't have a post last week, because I got nothing the whole week...It was pretty awful!

I'm a little behind on this.  I usually do it on the weekends, but I have been sick and I slacked on pretty much everything this weekend.  So here is what was in my mailbox.

From PBS:

Mozarts Blood by Louise Marley

Hungry For You by Linsay Sands

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

I got these wish listed books from a friend on PBS

Thanks Teresa

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent



Books for Passionate Plume Judging:

Seriously got girly and jumped around when I got these in the mail.  I have been wanting these 2 for a while.

Forbidden Heat and Bliss

by Opal Carew

Last, but not least

The greatest best friend ever got me a little book for Valentine's Day and wrote a little something for me and I teared up like a baby...seriously sappy I know...she does that to me though

A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You

by  Joan Walsh Anglund

So thats it for IMM this week.  What did you get?

"Cats Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut

Now I must admit that growing up in a small town limited my exposure to good literature and I have been playing catch up since I left.  This is actually the first time that I have ever read Kurt Vonnegut *gasp* I know its unspeakable.  I have missed out on much growing up, but I plan to rectify it during college and in my adult life by broadening my horizons as far as they can go.

Cats Cradle

by Kurt Vonnegut

Review from the Publisher:

*taken from Amazon*

Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers. Cat's Cradle is one of this century's most important works... and Vonnegut at his very best.

My review:

So I must tell you all that I love science fiction.  I'm not one of those cult following sci fi people (I'm not knocking it...Just saying), but I like to read sci fi.  I have friends that have opened me up to this throughout my life (yes they were some of the cult following sci fi people) and it has grown on me over the years.

This book was absolutely amazing.  The humor is very dark so if your not into that you may not like this, but it is well worth the time to sit down and read.  Not only is it very funny, but its also a great thinking book.  We have had so many discussions on religion and science over the past week and what this book means as far as reflecting humanity and what is wrong with us.  I won't get into that here, but even the discussions about the book have been amazing.

The story is about the narrator John, who is a writer, that is reflecting on his life.  In the beginning he talks of traveling around and interviewing people for a book that he is writing about the day the atomic bomb was dropped and what the creator of the bomb was doing on that day.  He travels around and meets the children of Dr Hoenikker.  The inventor of the bomb.  The children are Angela, Frank, and Newt.

Through a series of events while trying to write his book he gets to know the Hoenikker family and ends up on an island, San Lorenzo, where the narrator discovers Bokonon and the path towards the end of the world gets laid out.  I have to admit I was a little confused about the book initially because it feels like hes jumping around in different parts of his life till.  Once you get to the island you start to understand how all the parts together make a whole.

 I really could talk about this book for a while, but I am not going to.  Its a great piece of literature and I suggest you all read it at some point in your lives.  My review doesn't even do it justice, but I am putting it out there anyway.

*side note - I just got done watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and its absolutely retarded, but I love it...I may never grow up*