Return The Favor hop

Last Wednesday was the fifth week of the Return The Favor hop, and it's proving to be a success week after week! Please spread the word so this second round of GFC is just as successful! I look forward to you all linking up and finding some new blogs to follow!

If you would like to be a co-host in the future, please send an email to chelsea@yourstrulyblog.com and let me know what type of hop {Twitter, Facebook, GFC, Bloglovin'} you'd most like to co-host!

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Follow your host & co-hosts

Share the hop with others, whether it be via Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc!
Come link up with @chelseaoliviaxo for the GFC hop to find new blogs to follow!http://www.yourstrulyblog.com/2012/09/GFCbloghop.html 
Feel free to copy the code for the button from above and put it up on your blog.

Take a couple minutes to visit some other people who have linked up and let them know you stopped by from the Return The Favor hop - and hopefully they will return the favor!

Chelsea from Yours Truly
Dalayna from Pointing Up

Rosie from Craftbotic
Sinead from Sinead in the Sun
Alyssa from Impractical Composition

Ashley from The Sweet Ashley Life
Kara from Making The Most of Life
Misty from Monkeys and Tutus

Puppy Friday on a Saturday

Hello. You have reached a recorded message.

Kara, Shawn, Heidi, and Cupcake are not here right now. We are camping at The Swamp. Hopefully we are playing with the 4-wheeler and going to the beach to swim. And hopefully all the other people who live in our house but stayed home keep it clean and water the garden...

We hope the mosquito problem has been taken care of.

If you are looking for a little Cupcake love, please check out Martie over at Spunkyrella where she featured our little girl on her Puppy Friday post!

See you all next week.

Guest Blogger: Lover Awakened Book Review

Turn Me Gingerly

a book review by GingerSnap

Credit

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series profile

Book 3: Lover Awakened

Theme Song:  “Cut” by Plumb

Lover Awakened is book #3 is the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.  By far, the darkest, terrifying and ruined brother in the Brotherhood, this is the story of Zsadist.

If you know the song “Cut”, by Plumb, I think this is the best way I can sum up the make-up of Z and how he has managed to get through life thus far.  I don’t even know where to start with Lover Awakened. After the rush of the first two Brotherhood stories, Zsadist’s story took on a whole new direction. Abducted and sold into slavery as an infant, Zsadist grows up serving Kings and Queens of his time. Post transition, Zsadist is forced to be a blood slave (amongst other things) to the Queen. These are probably the darkest, most brutal parts of the story. The tale of abuse, humiliation and despair Zsadist suffers through is enough to clamp a vice around your chest. Rescued from the hell he was surviving in, Zsadist learns he has a twin, a family and is part of the most respected band of brothers in the vampire society. Free from the shackles the "mistress" kept him in, Zsadist has never escaped the nightmares, scars, memories and blackness that consume him. He lives in a prison with no walls.

Following up on a storyline from "Lover Eternal", we are reacquainted with Bella, a beautiful aristocrat vamp, who has been abducted by a member of the Lessening Society. After a run-in with Bella during a social gathering at the Brotherhood mansion, Zsadist is on a man-hunt to find Bella and bring her home. Bella's time at the hands of her abductor are eerily similar to those of "Silence of The Lambs"... very, "It puts the lotion on its skin, or it gets the hose again!".  Messed.  Up.  Unusual for a lesser to have any feelings for another being, let alone keep a "pet", the lesser known as David, aka "Mr. O", is consumed with madness as he obsesses over the striking resemblance Bella has to his lost love in his human life. After she is able to release another captive from the cabin she is being held in, Bella hopes the citizen vampire can survive long enough to notify the Brotherhood she is still alive. When David realizes what she has done, Bella suffers the beating of her life and she can only hope her attempt at survival was not in vain. 

It is Zsadist that finds her and rescues her from the brink of death. Upon her healing, is when the story of Zsadist and Lover Awakened truly unfolds. If anyone needed rescuing in this story it is Zsadist who carries the weight of centuries of abuse, rape, beatings and torture. Not even his twin, brother of brother Phury, can reach him at times. Sinister to the core, scarred, you can't help but wonder what Bella sees. Zsadist is not ruined, but absolutely broken.  How can one survive the depths of hell and come out the other side whole? Can one save themselves and be born again?

"I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came... and I was awakened." 

Lover Awakened took my breath away. A story of evil blackness, despair, love & triumph has you reaching into the depths of Zsadist’s soul with him to discover what a life of hope, love and living could be like. In true JRW fashion, I laughed, cried, gasped and nearly fell off the bed on the last page of the book. If you haven't started yet, you must lose yourself into the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Chasing Birdies...

It is Sunday which means I will spend the day clipping coupons, reading the paper, cleaning up the house, doing laundry, and hanging out with my super awesome family.

But I am also taking a giant step out of my comfort zone and working hard to get my blog out to readers outside of my inner circle. In turn I will be helping other bloggers meet my circle. It is all a very exciting win-win situation going on over here!

Today I am Guest Blogging over at Chasing Birdies. Stop by and check out her cute little site, I think you will end up liking Shelby as much as I do!

Guest Blogger: Book Review of Lover Eternal

Turn Me Gingerly

a book review by GingerSnap

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series profile

Book 2: Lover Eternal

Theme Song:  “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last

Lover Eternal, Rhage's story, is book 2 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and it did not disappoint. I am absolutely smitten with Rhage.  You have read an excellent book when the characters, the moments, scenes from the pages, are with you days after you have finished.  During the most intimate parts of this book, I found the song that kept running through my head, the one that feels like the anthem for this book, was “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last.  If you have never heard this song before, please take a moment to listen.  It is has such a beautiful melody and the lyrics brought me to tears the first time I heard it.  I find myself daydreaming at work, in the car, thinking about Rhage, about Mary, about their story.  And so this tale unfolds...

Considered the most beautiful of all the Brothers, he is known to them as "Hollywood". Glorious in his looks, majestic in his conquests, Rhage’s exploits are legends amongst the vampire world. Not all that glitters is gold, and we soon learn that all that glory, all that lust, is indeed a curse. What happens when you piss off the Scribe Virgin? You get served. Reckless in his youth, taking his glory for granted, Rhage made one mistake that will haunt him for the next 200 years. Seeing that he needed a reminder of what happens when you lose control, the Scribe Virgin gives him "The Beast". Beautiful in a Beauty and the Beast sort of way, Rhage is now marked with a dragon tattoo that covers his entire back. When Rhage loses control, the dragon turns real, and takes form as the Beast. Rhage transforms from a warrior, to the Beast with claws, scales, standing 15 feet tall and bullet proof, the Beast is something even the most ferocious in the Brotherhood fear. The only way Rhage has found to soothe the Beast and keep him at bay is through fighting, in a release of violent energy, or through other energy outlets in the form of sexual conquests. This is Rhage, and this is his story. Until of course….the day he meets Mary. Coming out of a Beast stupor, Rhage bumps into Mary (literally) in a hall at the Brotherhood mansion. Rhage is hypnotized by the beauty in her voice, her smell and is consumed with a desire to be near her. Mary, it turns out, has a curse of her own. 

Diagnosed with leukemia several years ago, she has been able to keep the cancer at bay until her most recent checkup. Mary knows her cancer is back, and she is as far from finding love as she is in finding faith. Her job at the law office going now where, her obsessive hours at the Suicide Hotline becoming concerning, all keep Mary from living in the reality of her world. Befriending John Matthew turns out to be first step is what is to become the fate of her existence. After running into Mary at the mansion, Rhage insists on seeing her again. Their first date is not the tale of love stories. So intrigued and caught up in the steal grey eyes of Mary, the eyes of a warrior, someone who has been to battle, the Beast almost emerges.  Confused by his reaction and his retreat from her, Mary convinces herself that the likes of such an amazing looking man, could never be interested in the likes of her. Unable to explain his emotions or his feelings or his ability to keep the Beast at bay, Rhage continues to try and prove to Mary her worth. The song and dance and the story that unfolds between Rhage and Mary have you on the edge of your seat and your heart racing. Unable to deny the love, passion and desire for one another, trying to break down walls and barriers they each hold onto so tightly, both trying to find faith amongst the rage, the unknown, the internal Beast they both battle... Rhage is the first to break. Confessing his love for Mary, he realizes after all this time, the reason he can’t control the Beast around Mary is because he is not the only one who wants Mary and wants to be with her. The Beast inside of him, wants her too. 

As the war continues to rage between the Brotherhood and the Lessers, the fear of protecting his fragile human has Rhage in a tailspin. In the end the cancer, Mary's own personal Beast, is taking over. Unable to bear the thought of losing her, the thought of losing the one he wants as his shellan, Rhage does the unthinkable. He begs with all his worth to the Scribe Virgin, to take away her illness, for once willing to sacrifice everything he is, everything he knows just to have her, even if that means living with the Beast forever.  With the Scribe Virgin, you never mess, and Rhage must agree to the conditions she lays down. The Scribe Virgin allows Mary to choose her own destiny. To live a long and happy life cancer free, with one condition. She has to live it without Rhage, the one she has finally found faith and love in. Or live out her remaining days with Rhage, succumbing to her own beast. Does she live? Does she accept the conditions offered to her? Will Rhage suffer for eternity with the Beast, never having the only love he has ever known? The answer to that my friend is on the last page of Lover Eternal, in which I do highly recommend you read and find out. ;-) Lover Eternal had me on the edge of my seat until the very end and wrenching my heart like no other book has.  So far my most favorite of the series, the story of Rhage and Mary continues to pull at me.

Guest Blogger: Book Review of Dark Lover

Today I will be turning the blog over to my friend who would like to share a book review! She is my first guest blogger so please give her a big welcome!

Turn Me Gingerly

a book review by GingerSnap

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series profile

Book 1: Dark Lover

If you are unfamiliar with the series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, and you are into dark, steamy, vampire genre books, I highly encourage you to give JR Ward’s series a chance.  I started reading this series, and this is my review. 

Oh my JR Ward.... where do I begin. Yoww....sa! That was a breathy little, "yowsa". The first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series introduces us to the vampire warriors that make up the band of brothers: Darius, Wrath, Rhage, Tohrment, Zsadist & Phury. Dark Lover is Wrath's story. 

At first I wasn't sure what to make of Wrath. Brooding, angry and shutting out the world, he is a force to be reckoned with. When tasked with the responsibility of helping a fallen brothers half-breed daughter transition, Wrath's world is turned upside down. Convinced he is a one man show, he has spent centuries ignoring who he is destined to be. His mission has always been vengeance for those slayed; his parents & fellow fallen brothers. But now, Darius has bequeathed to him his final wishes - take care of Beth and help her. What I loved most about this book was the chemistry, lust and love story that develops, unfolds and consumes you. In the midst of helping Beth transition to the world of vampires, there is also the looming force of the Lessening Society always around a dark corner. A war is raging between the Lessers and the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Wrath is leading the fight. Caught up in his overpowering love for Beth, Wrath is torn between fighting with his brothers and protecting his one true love, his leelan, his shellan. After years of running, fighting, shutting the world out, Beth breaks barriers and brings Wrath to new levels of intoxication he never knew. Finally, a rightful King ascends to his intended throne. 

This first story, was an excellent mix of love story, war, mystery and campy, hilarious candor. “Dark Lover” introduces other background characters that help keep this booking clipping along at a pace I had a hard time keeping up with. Butch: a strung out homicide cop on a mission to protect Beth from what he assumes is a pack of drug lords on steroids. Fritz, the ever doting-pleasing doggen, and Marissa, the scorned ex-shellan of Wrath. 

I laughed, I gasped and sweated reading every last page of this book. As another reviewer said, "The Black Dagger Brotherhood owns me...". Dark, magical, full of lust, love and action, this book will possess you. Well, well JR Ward... don’t mind if I do.