Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L. J. Smith HarperTeen, 2007, 512 pgs. What can I say, I'm on a vampire kick this week, must be the New Moon movie poster that keeps popping up on the Internet! Yesterday I finished Volume 1 of The Vampire Diaries right after I finished Bitten and Smitten ( my review )! I really didn't know these books are 18 years old, so they were published waaayyyy before the Twilight craze, I should have been reading these books years ago! The Vampire Diaries Volume 1 contains the first two of four books from the series, The Awakening and The Struggle. The main characters are pretty, popular Elena and the brooding, dangerous and darkly handsome vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon. Elena feels immediate attraction to Stefan and is determined to catch his eye especially since he doesn't seem interested. Elena always gets what she wants but this time she just might get more than she bargained for. Damon, in a centuries old feud with his...

Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen Warner Books, 2006, pgs . 390 As most of you know I usually read Christian fiction or YA fiction and tend to stay away from adult romances as they usually contain more graphic elements that I really don't need to read. However when I came across Bitten and Smitten as a suggestion on one of my swap sites, swaptree .com, I decided to take a chance on it (I love swap sites because I can get books I'm not "sure" of for free rather than full cover price) I put it on my bookmooch wishlist and just last week I received it in the mail. I got started on it right away and...loved it from the get go! Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen is the first book in the Immortality Bites series released in 2006, by Warner Books. It is the story of a twenty something executive assistant, Sarah Dearly who after a blind date from hell (literally!) finds her life changed forever. So thanks to her best friend Amy's "cupid" tendencies, s...

Okay I just HAD to tell everyone because I'm SOOOO excited for this book! I just found out today that Tracey Bateman is going to release a new book entitled Thirsty in the Fall of this year that's both Christian fiction and PARANORMAL...specifically featuring a vampire! What?! I know right!!!! Combining my two favorite genres, what more could a girl ask for? I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Thirsty and I'll most definitely let you know what I think of it on this blog! For more information visit: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=457150&netp_id=613046&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers

I'm always on the lookout for books that look a little different from what I normally read, last year when I saw the cover for Julie Lessman's first book A Passion Most Pure I was VERY interested...how often do you see Passion in the title of a Christian romance? It's almost taboo, I think. So naturally I HAD to buy the book and I wasn't disappointed, so when the third book was released early this month I HAD to get it!!! I was lucky enough to win a copy from Lena Nelson Dooley's blog (terrific blog you should check it out) so when it came in the mail Saturday I started it immediately...and wasn't surprised that I LOVED it! A Passion Denied is the coming of age story of Elizabeth (aka Lizzie to her friends and Beth to a certain someone ;-)) and her love for spiritual mentor and friend John Brady (aka Brady). Lizzie has been in love with Brady since she was 13 years old but unfortunately Brady thinks of her only as a sister. As Brady begins to realize his feelin...

Hello all, this is just a note to let you all know that I haven't forgotten my blog! I've just been away from my computer all weekend, visiting family! I haven't even had a chance to read or review a book this weekend! I hope to be back up and running with a new review tomorrow! Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! :-) Renee

Yesterday's Embers (copyright 2009) by Deborah Raney Yesterday's Embers is one of the best contemporary fiction books I've read in a long time. I mostly stick with historical fiction but if I hear good reviews or recommendations for contemporary authors I'll give them a try. However, I hadn't really heard of Deborah Raney so I pretty much picked this book up on a whim. I saw the cover, read an excerpt and put it on my wish list on Bookmooch (thank you Ruth) and a few days later it came in the mail. I was not disappointed when I finished this book and I don't think you will be either. Yesterday's Embers is the story of single, 30 year old, daycare teacher Mickey Valdez and recently widowed father of five children, Douglas DeVore. One Thanksgiving Day changed the life of Doug and his family in ways they never thought possible, with the sudden loss of his wife and daughter, Rachel. The hasty decisions made afterwards have lasting effects on Doug, Mickey and...

Head's up to everyone who is a reader of Christian Romance! I just found this great contest on My Friend Amy's blog to win copies of books from Julie Lessman's, Daughters of Boston series. Let me tell you, I loved these books, they're chock full of romance, faith and other issues of the heart and they're unlike any Christian romance I've read before...and I read A LOT of it, so I know!!! So if you have time, check out the contest here and read the great blog articles and reviews posted by Amy throughout the week! You can also stop by Julie's website to learn more about this wonderful series!

Every so often a book comes along that I just can't wait to read. More often than not however, the book disappoints. I don't know if it's because my expectations are so high or it's the fact that after I'm finished there's nothing to look forward to until another pretty cover photo or interesting cover blurb catches my eye. The book I received today and read all the way through in one sitting was an exception. Married In Black by Christina Cordaire , released exclusively through the Crossings Book Club in the Fall of 2008 is the story of Civil War widow, Virginia Davenport and Texas rancher, David Norris. Looking for a new start away from Boston society and a domineering mother, Virginia answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride placed by wealthy rancher, David who's looking for a genteel lady to make his home complete. Believing that David is a Christian she readily accepts his proposal of marriage and the two are married in Boston soon after he arriv...

My Friend Amy asked this question: I often read blogs and reviews where people mention that they think of Christian fiction as being good clean reads. A lot of people turn to Christian fiction to avoid foul language, explicit sex, or violence whether or not they are Christians. Blog reviews are the best place to find out which category a book falls into (strongly spiritual or just a good clean read) and because I read a great deal of general market fiction I try to include that information about those books as well. So...do you have any recommendations of general market fiction books for people looking for books in the good clean reads category? Renee's response: I don't usually read a lot of general market fiction other than YA books, but like Ruth from This That and the Other Thing , I like Debbie Macomber. Her romances are pretty clean as far as sex, and language go and they're just all-around good stories. My favorite so far is The Matchmakers ( my review .) Author Deni...

I rarely have to buy books these days, between Swaptree, Bookmooch, and different blogs I've got books coming out the wazoo! One of these books I was lucky enough to get from an author's blog, arrived yesterday via the UPS guy and it didn't leave my hands until I finished it at 1 AM this morning! This book is Chasing Charity by Marcia Gruver. Chasing Charity is book 2 of a 3 book series, the first book Diamond Duo was released late last year with the third book, Emmy's Equal to be released in the fall of this year. I haven't had the chance to read the first book, Diamond Duo but I am DEFINITELY going to pick it up at some point and if it's anything like Chasing Charity it will be worth reading! Charity and her mama, Bertha live alone in the oil boom town of Humble, Texas. Charity, all set to marry is left at the altar by her groom, Daniel Clark and betrayed by her best friend, Emily "Emmy" Dane who chases after him. A few days later Charity happens upo...

I FINALLY got around to finishing a book! Between enjoying the lovely weather outside, doing housework, and reading other people's blogs, I just haven't had the time to sit down and really enjoy a book! A few weeks ago however, I received a free book in one of my Bookmooch packages, it wasn't the type I usually read (it was a Harlequin) but I decided to give it a shot and...SURPRISE I actually liked it! The book is The Matchmakers by well know author, Debbie Macomber. It is actually a part of the Harlequin Famous Firsts collection, celebrating some of the publishers bestselling authors and the first books they released through Harlequin. I can see why Harlequin chose to re-release this book, it's such a cute story! It's also a quick read, about 180 pages, and small enough to slip in any purse so you can take it to work and read on your lunch break or at the doctor's office. The basic premise of the story is a young boy, Danny, wants a new dad and a husband for ...

Hello everyone, I'm in the process of getting my blog more organized so please be patient, if you stop by and see something "weird" on it just ignore it, chances are I'm in the process of adding or editing. Thanks to my new friend Ruth I'm slowly but surely getting things figured out and improving the appearance of this blog! Please swing by Ruth's blog, it's terrific! She reviews many different types of books including some nonfiction. I hope my blog can look half as good as hers!!! Ruth's blog: http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/