150 Follower Contest

  I have 150 followers! As a thank you for being a follower (old or new), I would like to give you a chance to win a book (under $20 US) that you have been longing for. You may choose any book that you would like. If you want to pre-order something that releases later, you may do so.  Here are the rules:

1. Contest is only open to old and new followers of Inside of a Dog.
2. Contest is open to anyone who lives where The Book Depository ships.
3. The contest will end at Midnight CDT June 20. Winners will be notified and books ordered on June 21.
4. The winner(s) will be chosen using random.org
5. Duplicate entries will be deleted.

If I reach 200 followers, I will add a second winner. I will add an another winner for each 25 additional followers above 200. Edited to add: I hit 200 followers on June 18, there will now be two winners.

What book is high on your wishlist? Here is a chance to win it.

Please complete this form to sign up.

In My Mailbox (June 6, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

This are the books I added to my towering TBR stack this week.

For my Kindle and from NetGalley:

Turned by Julie Kenner is the third in the series. I had one and two but not this one. I haven't had a chance to read these yet but a friend who is using my second Kindle is reading these and called me in a panic one Sunday evening to say that she couldn't find this book in the archive. (Apparently the second book ends on a cliffhanger.)  I thought I bought it before and found that I had not.

Dragonborne by Chandra Ryan was an inexpensive ebook that someone talked about on a blog. I like dragons and thought it sounded good.

Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon was a free offering. I haven't read it and thought that it would be good to put on my Kindle for a rainy day.

Dreamveil by Lynn Viehl is the second in a series. I liked the first one and bought this as soon as it was available.

Time Weaver by Shana Abe continues a series that I am following.

Rebels and Lovers by Linnea Sinclair is by an author I like.

Sureblood by Susan Grant was available from NetGalley. I usually pick YA books there but this one sounded good.

Here are the print books I added this week:

Two of these made very brief stops on the TBR stack. I have already read and reviewed Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews and Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur.

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn is a book by a favorite romance author.

These have all been getting good buzz on the blogs I read.

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase

Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow

Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon

Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep (I did read and enjoy the first in this series.)

These are the ones I couldn't resist this week. What made it home with you?

Also, I am having a 150 Followers Contest. Winners can choose whatever book they want from Amazon.com or The Book Depository as long as it costs less than $20. Please check out the contest post here for the rules and to enter it.

 

Booking Through Thursday: Long or Short

Which do you prefer? Short stories? Or full-length novels?

This is an easy one for me. I much prefer full-length novels (and I even like series). I think a full-length novel gives much more time for character development and allows for a much more complex plot.

I usually feel unsatisfied when reading short stories because I want to know more. The only time a really like short stories is when they are about characters I have already "met" in a previous novel.

Sometimes, I will read an anthology that contains stories about charcters I already know and meet a new character in another story that I want to know more about. I am quite disappointed if I learn that there is no more about the character.

  

Review: Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur

Moon Sworn

(Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 9)

Author: Keri Arthur

Publication: Dell (May 25, 2010)

Description: Some nights never end.
Some desires never die. . . .

Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death—causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead—and at Riley’s own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley—including her job at the Directorate.

Now, the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. A vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her brother—and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever.

My Thoughts: This was a great conclusion to the series. Riley is having even more second thoughts about working as a Guardian. She hates seeing herself become more eager to kill. She is on the case of a murder ring that kills recently released prisoners who they feel haven't paid the proper price for their crime. Meanwhile, an old enemy captures her and takes away her memory. But Riley is still Riley and finds a connection to her case even if she doesn't know who she is.

I liked seeing how her relationship with Quinn is growing and I liked the resolution of the series. I will miss these characters but am interested in seeing what Ms. Arthur writes next.

Challenges: RYOB Reading Challenge

WW28: Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur

Here is the Wednesday meme that I plan to participate in when I am not waiting for anything special and can't do Waiting on Wednesday. This was begun at Cherry Mischevious and here is an explanation in her own worlds:

Why Wicked Wednesdays? ... because on top of it being a weekly meme which happens on Wednesdays, it is also an opportunity to showcase your favourites! A shameless and wicked promotion of your favourite books, author or series!! But, you only show what is in page 28 (theoretically).

 

This "meme" is a variation from Tonya's Friday 56... you know, sometimes a book does not even reach page 56. I got quite a few short story books. And I do not want to exclude eBooks! I now read plenty of eBooks... so I thought I would scale it down to Page 28. Which is hoping to hit the first chapter really. And viola! We have: WICKED WEDNESDAYS! Or in short WW28.

 

And then these are the rules:

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

My sentence is actually 2 from page 28 of Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur. It is my current book and I am really enjoying it.

Rhoan was waiting with the door open by the time I got there."I smell chocolate croissants."

What are you reading?

 

May 2010 Summary

Here is an overview of what I read and what I got in May.
I read 18 books this month.

Young Adult
Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Changeling by Steve Feasey
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

Middle Grade
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Adult Books
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
Out of Mind by Stella Cameron
Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MacAlister

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

And I'm currently reading Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Added to the TBR Stack

This month I added 101 books to my LibraryThing account.
Right now 92 are still TBR.

Young Adult - 51
Middle Grade - 1
Kindle Books - 29

Progress on Challenges

2010 YA Debut Author (Goal = 24 books)

Jan. - March = 10
April I read: 3
May I read: 1
Total to Date: 14

2010 YA Reading Challenge (Goal = 25)

Jan. - March = 19
April I read: 8
May I read: 11
Total to Date: 38

Flashback Reading Challenge (Goal = 6)

Jan. - March = 3
April I read: 0
May I read: 1
Total to Date: 4

2010 E Book Reading Challenge (Goal = 20)

Jan. - March = 18
April I read: 1
May I read: 3
Total to Date: 22

RYOB Reading Challenge (Goal = 100)

Jan. - March = 47
April I read: 17
May I read: 18
Total to Date: 82

2010 TBR Reading Challenge (Goal = 12)

Jan. - March = 4
April I read: 1
May I read: 1
Total to Date: 6

Bottoms Up Reading Challenge (Goal = 36)

Jan. - March = 6
April I read: 1
May I read: 2
Total to Date: 9

In the Middle Reading Challenge (Goal = 10)

Jan. - March = 9
April I read: 4
May I read: 2
Total to Date: 15

This was a busy month at work. I am generally pleased with the amount I read. I am looking forward to my summer vacation beginning a just over a week. I really hope to whittle down the TBR stack. My goal is to read a book a day for the days I am on vacation. I have 85 days from the last day of this school year until the first teacher workday of the next one. I read 85 books last summer. I hope to do better this summer.

Teaser Tuesday: Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson, Guardian, Book 9)
Author: Keri Arthur

Publication: Dell (May 25, 2010)

Some nights never end.
Some desires never die. . . .

Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death—causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead—and at Riley’s own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley—including her job at the Directorate.

Now, the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. A vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her brother—and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever.

Here's my teaser:

Quinn was here, still standing by my side through all the tears and the heartbreak and the more than occasional bad mood. He loved me and he wouldn't go away - he'd told me that so often in the last few months that it had almost become a joke between us.

 

I am sorry that this series is coming to an end. I have grown very fond of Riley, Quinn, Rhoan, Leander and the other characters that make up this world.