Book ♥ Soulmates: May 2010

Happy Memorial Day!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Our cool friend Luke wrote a very special blog post and poem dedicated to all those who served in our armed forces (past & present). As patriotic Americans (and Isalys as a military wife), his message speaks volumes to us and we hope it does for you too!

Please take a moment just to read it and spare a thought to all those who serve us!

they fought in the air, they fought on the ground
they all kept their cool when the bullets rained down
brother to brother, they leaned on each other
ready to die for America our mother

they marched through the day, and bled through the night
from bluecoats on riverboats to those dry desert nights
was it left, was it right, now we won't get home tonight
and those caissons go rolling along

here's to the boys that made some noise
for all of the pains, and all of the joys
aren't we so lucky to be standing right here
we can never forget those in our rear view mirror

they prayed to their Gods, and wrote to their wives
setting their sites on the rest of their lives
dreams and intentions of white picket fences
with family and friends and rekindled romances

so here's a salute to the stars and the stripes
we owe it to all who have died for our right
maybe one day we'll learn from the sins of our past
to put down our guns, and all raise a glass

here's to the boys that made some noise
for all of the pains, and all of the joys
aren't we so lucky to be standing right here
we can never forget those in our rear view mirror

By Luke Hooper

No matter what side of the political fence you're on, no matter your views or beliefs...we must take a moment to remember & bless all those who died for our freedoms and those who continue to fight for our future!

If you would like to read the rest of his post, you can find it [here].

God Bless America!

♥ Thank you ♥

Vlogtacular Friday!

T-G-I-F!!

We're baaaaack!!
I know we were M.I.A for the last couple of weeks, but we're back and got lots of books to tell you about.

♥ Vlog ♥

A few notes:
1) While watching the video after we filmed it, Vanessa caught herself giggling during our "shout-out" to Robyn DeHart. Please note that she was NOT laughing about Robyn, but as some noises that Isalys's silly husband was making in the background. Just wanted to clarify that!

2) One of the books Vanessa bought is referred to as a "dystopian" novel and obviously (per the vid) we weren't sure what that meant. We've since figured it out, lol.

Dystopian = (noun)

A society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

We were sorta close, right?

♥ Books We Received ♥
Surrender To A Rogue by Cara Elliott (via mail from HBG)
Desire Me by Robyn DeHart (via mail from HBG)
Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory (via mail from HBG)
Awakened by a Kiss by Lila DiPasqua (via mail from author)
Lover Mine by J.R. Ward (won from Papercut Reviews)

♥ Books We Purchased ♥
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Confessions of a Jane Austin Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
Shiver (paperback) by Maggie Stiefvater
Prophecy of Days by Christy Raedeke
Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Susan Enoch
Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone
Spririt Bound (VA #5) by Richelle Mead
Darkest Passion (LOTU #5) by Gena Showalter
My Soul To Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent

*Phew* that's a lot of books!

♥ Books We've Read ♥
Isalys Read:
Changeless by Gail Carriger (Brilliant - def worth 5 ♥'s!!)
Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse #10) by Charlaine Harris

Vanessa is Reading:
Burned (HON #7) by P.C. Cast (Hasn't finished yet)
Desire Me by Robyn DeHart (that's next in line!)

Got a VLOG you want to share? Enter your link here :)

Have a SPECTACULAR LONG HOLIDAY weekend!!

Be safe, be happy and God bless our troops!

Proud Wifey!

Today, I'm a proud wifey ♥

My honey is now officially a Chief in the U.S. Coast Guard!! We went to the ceremony this morning where I and a Senior Chief & friend of his got to "pin" him with his new Chief pins (see lapels). His sister is also in town visiting and she got to see her big brother get his promotion :)

From now on, he will be referred to as Chief Blackwell by anyone beneath him in rank and hopefully without sounding like a total snob, I gotta admit - that's pretty darn cool!!

Wicked Wednesday Giveaway {Part 2}

May 26 - June 9

Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom
by Queen Latifah, Samantha Marshall (contributor)

Synopsis:
Modeled after Maria Shriver's Just Who Will You Be, Queen Latifah's goal with Put On Your Crown is to help young women build a strong sense of self-esteem. A US Dept. of Justice survey found that females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to partner violence than any other group, almost triple the national average. Cases like Chris Brown's assault on pop star Rihanna showed an ugly side of adolescent life. However, Queen Latifah has always been a shining example of a woman happy with herself and unwilling to compromise to fit into the "hollywood ideal" of what a confident beautiful woman should look like. The result: She's one of the biggest A-list celebrities in Hollywood.

FILL OUT FORM TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY
{Important: Please leave a comment on this post stating you filled out the form. Thank you!}

{ 3 Copies Available }

Rules:
• To enter the giveaway you must complete the form (linked above) and leave a comment indicating that you've completed the form.
• Books will be delivered directly from the publishers so the giveaways are only available for U.S. and Canada residents. No P.O. boxes please.
Note: It may take several weeks to receive your prize so please be patient!
• Winners will be drawn soon after the contest ends and posted thereafter.
• Winners will be chosen using random.org!

Ways to earn extra entries:
+1 for being a follower
+1 for following us on Twitter
+1 for following us on Blogged
+1 for being a Facebook Friend
+1 for subscribing via email or RSS reader
+1 for comments on other posts throughout the week
(Please reference which other posts you've commented on)
+1 for twittering or posting about this giveaway on your blog/site
(Please include a link to the post)

♥ Feel free to contact us via email at booksoulmates[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions ♥

Good luck!

Wicked Wednesday Giveaway {Part 1}

Wicked Wednesday Giveaway {Part 1}
May 26 - June 9

Foxy
by Pam Grier

Synopsis:
Beautiful, bold, and bad, Pam Grier burst onto the movie scene in the 1970s, setting the screen on fire and forever changing the country's view of African American actresses. With a killer attitude and body to match, Grier became the ultimate fantasy of men everywhere. But she quickly proved that she was more than just a desirable film goddess. She had the brains, courage, and tenacity to sustain a career that would span more than 30 years. In FOXY, she chronicles the good, bad, and steamy highlights in her life and career. From her early beginnings as a star in Foxy Brown to her Golden-Globe nominated role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, Grier reveals her hard-won battles against racism and sexism, her victories in Hollywood, and her relationships with Richard Pryor and Kareem Abdul Jabar. Here, we see Pam in all of her incredible roles-from army brat and movie star to cancer survivor and dedicated activist. Revealing, thoroughly candid, and audacious, this is a no-holds-barred look at one of our most enduring screen idols.

FILL OUT FORM TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY
{Important: Please leave a comment on this post stating you filled out the form. Thank you!}

{3 Copies Available}

Rules:
• To enter the giveaway you must complete the form (linked above) and leave a comment indicating that you've completed the form.
• Books will be delivered directly from the publishers so the giveaways are only available for U.S. and Canada residents. No P.O. boxes please.
Note: It may take several weeks to receive your prize so please be patient!
• Winners will be drawn soon after the contest ends and posted thereafter.
• Winners will be chosen using random.org!

Ways to earn extra entries:
+1 for being a follower
+1 for following us on Twitter
+1 for following us on Blogged
+1 for being a Facebook Friend
+1 for subscribing via email or RSS reader
+1 for comments on other posts throughout the week
(Please reference which other posts you've commented on)
+1 for twittering or posting about this giveaway on your blog/site
(Please include a link to the post)

♥ Feel free to contact us via email at booksoulmates[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions ♥

Good luck!

New Releases 5.25.10

♥ Contemporary / Fiction ♥

Anthropology of an American Girl: A Novel by Hilary Thayer Hamann

♥ Thriller/Mystery ♥

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millenium, #3) by Stieg Larsson
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

♥ Fantasy ♥

Daemon's Mark (Nocturne City, #5) by Caitlin Kittredge
Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, #4) by Ilona Andrews

♥ Romance ♥

Married By Morning (The Hathaways, #4) by Lisa Kleypas
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, #5) by Cindy Gerard
Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian, #9) by Keri Arthur

And the book that Isalys is most excited about this week:

The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld, #5) by Gena Showalter
{I cannot wait to add this sexy little bitch to my shelf!! I mean, really, just look at it!}

♥ YA ♥

Perchance to Dream (Théâtre Illuminata, #2) by Lisa Mantchev
Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker, #1) by Jenna Black
Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

So question...

Do you guys like that we include the Goodreads link to each title or is it unnecessary??

Just wondering!

Isalys is back!

Hi everyone!!

As you know, I was away all week and as amazing as Las Vegas is, it feels good to be home again! I missed my hubby, my dogs, my friends and I really missed my bed. Hotel beds are never as comfy as your own.

I went for work so I didn't have any down-time to just "play" but I did get to enjoy some pretty fantastic dinners and do a little dancing - and the best part is I didn't have to pay for any of it *woot*

Here are a few pics that I thought I'd share:

Harrah's ~ My home away from home for the week!

Dinner at Twist in Mandalay Bay with some clients & vendors. Pretty fancy stuff!

View of the strip from the 23rd floor of Mandalay Bay...pretty huh?!

Did a little dancing at Victory inside Hard Rock with my associates :)

I hope you guys didn't miss me too much *hehe* and I look forward to getting back to our regular blog routine :)

XoXo

US vs. UK (Round 3)

Welcome back to US vs. UK - Round 3

In honor of this week's release of Vampire Academy #5 Spirit Bound, we're going to face-off the US cover against its UK cousin.

And here they are:

I think I'mg also going to give my point to the US on this one. Although they are quite similar, I like the inclusion of the guy {Dimitri} on the cover as well as the fence detail on the bottom. The colors, although primarily red on the US cover, are also more vibrant.

What do you all think of them?

Other blogs participating in this meme are: The Book Shopaholic, The Bloody Bookaholic, and Wondrous Reads. Check out their blogs and vote on their selections for the week =)

Teaser Tuesday 5.18.10

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Isalys's Teaser:

"I wasn't directly responsible for most of the deaths that were scattered in my wake, but I was haunted by the feeling that none of them would have happened if it weren't for me. In my darkest moments - and this was one of them - I wondered if my life was worth the price that had been paid for it."

~ p. 6 of "Dead In The Family" {Sookie Stackhouse #10} by Charlaine Harris

♥ I so hope she ends up with Eric! **sigh**

Woot for Winners!

1. Cecile Smith {Submitted}

2. Barbara Elness {Submitted}

3. Neljo Mullins {Submitted}

4. Dawn Warren {Submitted}

5. Cheryl Snyder {Submitted}

1. Julia Holden {Submitted}

2. Sue Ahn {Submitted}

3. Kisah Jackson {Submitted}

4. Kala @ thisstupidlamb {Have Address, NEED last name}

5. Colleen Turner {Submitted}

1. Elizabeth Sutphin {Submitted}

2. Christie Ibarra {Submitted}

3. Gricel Gonzalez {Submitted}

1. Andrew Grigaliunas {Submitted}

2. Nancy Taylor {Submitted}

3. Eileen Elkinson {Submitted}

4. Beverly Sharp {Submitted}

5. Mary Hundley {Submitted}

1. Angie Dubisher {Submitted}

2. Isolda Cespedes {Submitted}

3. Cindy Pliego {Submitted}

4. Charlotte Wills {Submitted}

5. Donna Simmonds {Submitted}

Yayyy! Winners were chosen using randomizer.org. We will email those who we do not have addresses for already. You have until next Friday to get back to us with your address (if we don't already have it). If we haven't heard from you by then, a new winner will be chosen.

If you are still interested in more giveaways, check out our giveaways page {here}!

This is a...

POST!

And aside from the New Releases post from Tuesday, it's the only other one we've done this week. We're sorry guys...I guess you could say we've been in a bit of a blog slump this week. Sometimes, we have tons of stuff we want to share with you and sometimes we don't :(

We haven't been able to vlog this week either *gasp*.

But don't fret, even though Isalys will be in Vegas all next week, we're lining up plenty of posts to keep you guys coming back to us :)

Hope you have a FABULOUS Friday and an even better weekend!