Romantic Couples - Contest by Dark Faerie Tales!

This fantastic contest is being hosted by Dark Faerie Tales and I love the theme! What she's asking readers to do is choose their top 3 romantic couples (or love stories) and tell why.




There's a whole host of books up to give away -

1. Ecstasy Unveiled
2. Shadow Blade
3. The Iron King
4. Archangel’s Kiss
5. Bone Crossed
6. First Drop of Crimson
7. Darklight
8. Need
9. Betrayals
10. The Secret Year (Signed ARC)
11. Something Like Fate (ARC)
12. Incarceron (ARC & Hardcover)
13. Dirty Little Secrets (ARC)
14. Invisible Girl (ARC)
15. Inked
16. So Punk Rock (Signed)
17. Light Beneath Ferns (Signed)
18. The Princess and the Snowbird
19. The Dark Divine & Nail Polish
20. For Keeps (ARC)
21. Bleeding Violet (ARC)
22. Eleventh Grade Burns (ARC)
23. Spider’s Bite
24. Night Tides
25. Unperfect Souls
26. Blood Magic
27. Succubi Like It Hot
28. Embrace the Night Eternal
29. Beyond the Night
30. Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Who wouldn't be hyped after looking at this list?!? Either way, I am happy to say that after much time and attention (there might have been some agonizing along the way) I picked my TOP 3 ROMANTIC COUPLES!!

**SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT** **CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK**

Buffy and Angel - I have to go with Buffy and Angel, just because of the episode 'I Will Remember You'. It was the epitome of romance, and about a billion episodes of unrequited forbidden love, when Angel turns human and they both get to have this perfect day. But then to have it all torn away because he can't protect her or help save the world? I fully admit that when he was holding Buffy and telling how everything would go back to the way it was and she wouldn't even remember it, I was crying like a baby. Full out, messy, not attractive at all tears. But I loved it and I know I'll remember it forever.

Wesley and Fred - What does it say that two of my most romantic couples are from Joss Whedon and for both the moments that stand out for me are the most tragic? Throughout the entire series of Angel I was rooting for Fred and Wesley, and when Fred died after being possessed by the demon Ileria I didn't think it could get more heartbreaking. Of course, THEN came the series finale where after Wesley is fatally injured, Ileria takes him in her arms and asks the question 'Would you like me to lie to you now?'. She then becomes Fred one last time, cradles him in her lap and tells him how she loves him, how they'll finally get to be together now. Oh! My heart! Again - crying, sobbing, like a baby!

Hannah and Thierry - This last couple is one from my teenage years, but it's always been near and dear to my heart. Thierry is a vampire and Hannah is an Old Soul, a person who has been reborn throughout history. During each of her lifetimes Thierry searches for her, only to find her just before she's murdered and taken from him again. In the present, Hannah is 16 and finally reunited with Thierry but torn between her feelings for him and the premonitions of doom she's been receiving. It all culminates in this beautiful scene where he tells her that he loves her so much he could never turn her into a vampire, instead he'll stay with her through her life and after she dies, wait and find her again. SO ROMANTIC! That Thierry loves her for who she is, and has no desire to change her.

But what are you waiting for?! Click on the link for Dark Faerie Tales and pick your own top 3!

A weekend off? Yeah right!

Well ladies and gents I'm back! I've just finished a whirlwind weekend in NC, where I spent my time playing, shopping, video taping, and as always, reading. NC is a quick 40min jaunt by plane, and while I appreciate finding a flight the same price as a 6hr bus ride, I must say I still don't like fling. It always messes with my inner ear and my sinuses and the whole thing ends up making me slightly ill. Not a good look - especially when you start mindlessly chatting with some cute Indian guy and you realize that this is the sh*tiest you've looked the entire weekend. Only me.

::face palm::

Either way I feel reinvigorated. If not to get back to work, at least to get back to blogger. It might surprise you to know that I only finished 2 books this weekend, with the one I just started finished up today. When I get around to editing and uploading my new YouTube video (in which my friend Jessica plays a starring role) you'll understand how sometimes, just sometimes, I have other things I want to do besides read. I know, shocking right?

The other thing I want you guys to start thinking about now is my giveaway! Wandering about Southpoint Mall I came upon these two items that were just perfect - for me anyway. Random and hilarious and themed to my life, I felt duty bound to deliver them up for your inspection and winning pleasure. I don't think it'll be a contest, just another giveaway probably, but stay tuned because there will be two chances to win - as a subscriber on my blog and as a fan of my Facebook page! Yes I'm on FB - look me up: 'Reading Amidst the Chaos'. It's a whole new chapter of my blogging life. I'm not sure if I should be scared....

More reviews soon!

Dana

Coming Soon - His Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone

Hey Guys! Zooming about the internet with the help of some of the book blogs that I stalk I found a contest with a great sounding prize! Juliana Stone's latest book His Darkest Hunger (out March 30, 2010) is being offered up to the masses! With a little front cover blurb by Christine Feehan it sounds like something right up my alley, an opinion as confirmed by the back description:

Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he’s finally found her. The hunt is over…

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.

I'm very excited to feature the book here and on my other blog Bittersweet Musings. If you want a chance to win this book I suggest you visit Juliana Stone's blog here for all the contest rules!

DSK Jewelry Contest Results!!

So you remember the post from a few weeks ago, where I answered a bunch of questions and even made a YouTube video for DSK Jewelry's contest? Well I won 3rd place! Woohoo! And that's not too shabby considering that Stephanie had 54 people enter her contest. It kind of inspire's me to enter another one, this time a contest put up by Judy from itsjudytime.

But I won't lie, you always hope when you enter something like this that you'll get first place (or why do you bother?) but I'm still happy I placed! Hopefully I'll just do better next time! I won a pair of Swaorvski crystal star earrings ($15 value) and a few other little things that I'm really excited to get in the mail. I decided to go with the earrings in CLEAR AB just cause I want them to be just big and sparkly and something I can wear whenever. You can see them here -

Check back soon because I've decided to do a series of posts on the world of eBooks and physical books and some of the authors/stories that I've found there that have either been incredible or somewhat of a disappointment. Stay tuned!

DSK Jewelry Contest Entry!

So Steph of DSK Jewelry is having a contest to celebrate 200 followers! Yay Steph! For the contest she posted 15 questions she wanted people to answer along with some other stipulations that have actually made me think a lot about myself and use programs on my computer that I barely knew existed. Either way it was a lot of fun so here goes!

P.S. - Oh yeah, here's the URL to the video entry I did!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge2xNqZCttU

QUESTION CRAZINESS!!

1. What is your favorite food? Lasagna. It's probably the first dish that my mother taught me how to make from scratch and that, along with the DELISHNESS of Italian food, make this dish something I can eat over and over again.

2. What is your favorite beauty product that you can't live without!!? I know it sounds bad, but my favorite beauty product is Blistex Medicated Chapstick. I know that's it's not fancy or well known, but have you tried being beautiful with chapped lips? It just doesn't happen! So I say start at the most basic level, and if your lips feel soft and moist then you'll feel that much more comfortable and beautiful.

3. What is the song that defines you, what is your favorite song of all time that could be the soundtrack to your life?? Will you be willing to email me this song (mp3)? :) Through much work and effort I finally picked 'I'll Rise' by the Pitchforks an a cappella group based at Duke University. This song is based on a Maya Angelou poem that really is inspirational in its message of rising above adversity – something that everyone needs to be reminded of at some point in their lives. And I would be more than happy to email it to you – that's one of the rules of the contest! LOL! Hope you like it!

4. What is your favorite magazine of allllll time?! Allure because I'm kind of addicted to learning about makeup and fashion, and this magazine has all the best tips and tricks without being inundated with ads.

5. What is camera you use to take all your pictures for blog? ^_~ I either use the camera on my laptop or my slightly crappy Canon PowerShot A430, but since my blog is mostly devoted to book reviews, I also take a lot of random pictures of book covers from across the internet.

6. What is your favorite color??! Purple. It's always been purple for as long as I can remember, with all it's varieties across the color spectrum just reassuring me on why it's such a royal color!

7. What is your favorite piece by DSK (post a picture (on your blog) sporting DSK Bling if you have some!)?!!! ^^ While I LOVE the piece that I bought themed to my sorority, there are a couple things that have kind of jumped up in the rankings of my favorites. I am so impressed by the Pegasus heart necklace, it's just so incredibly rock and roll and chic! And the new Flower Power necklace with the Swarovski flower and leaf? I'm dying! I love the clear AB with the Green leaf. Unfortunately I'm really poor so I don't know when I'm going to be making these mine, but it's going to happen!

8. What is your favorite casino game!!? I'm really pretty bad at all casino games. I mean really bad. Shamefully bad. My family has the kind of luck that wouldn't even want to be in the same room with you, but if I had to pick I'd probably say that the slots were my favorite. Absolutely no skill is required, just the ability to pull down a handle. Now THAT I can do.

9. If you had to pick just one, would it be Gucci, LV, or Prada? LV but this might be (definitely is ;D) influenced by Kimora Lee Simmons. She loves the designer and I'm a big fan of hers because she's a woman who's made things happen for her instead of waiting for them to happen (kind of like you Steph! No waiting for things to happen to you!). Of course this is all in spite of the fact that it's totally not fair that she's so beautiful AND having a baby with Djimond Honsou (one of the hottest men on the planet).

10. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself. =P I am half black and half white, but no one actually can tell this when they're looking at me. Throughout my life I have been asked pretty much every brownish toned ethnicity under the sun! Sometimes in different languages! I've noticed that it is actually influenced quite a bit by how I wear my hair on any particular day so I find this fact both interesting and funny! LOL!

11. Workout tips!! Your favorite work out tips, I gotta get fit!! While on a normal basis I am a big fan of incorporating some time on the bike and elliptical in my workout routine, I LOVE yoga and see a lot of results with it (when I have the money to take classes). It works on lengthening and strengthening the muscles without making me feel like I'm dying or a failure. So if you could do that 2 to 3 times a week I think you'd be set!

12. Tell me your workout routine if it exists! LOL Ideally, (meaning sometimes, not that often) I break out this complete yoga kit that I have (with mat, stabilizing brick and other stuff) and do an hour/hour and a half of yoga. Though at the moment I've been focusing more on the inner acceptance of my outer form, because no matter how much yoga I do I've been born with the body I've got and I want to be happy with it!

13. If you had to pic between an LV Damier Azur Speedy in 25, 30, and 35, which would you pick and why? I'd have to go with the LV Damier Azur Speedy in 30 because I have to have room for everything up to and including the kitchen sink, but if I go with too big of a bag I'd probably strain a wrist carrying all my stuff! There's got to be a limit, so I usually set it by making sure my purse is not too big. (Of course this is completely offset by the fact that I've been in love with the bigger bag lately.....it's a problem)

14. What would you name your future baby boy? James (Probably? Maybe?) I would go with the one for a boy because it's a great name for someone to grow in to. You can be this cute little man named James and then when you're an adult you're not gonna be stuck with any dorky nicknames from when you were in diapers.

15. What would you name your future baby girl? Jessenia (at least at the moment). This is the name of a friend of mine and I think it flows beautifully and Jessy is a great nick name. It's also this great combination of distinctive and yet not that hard to say (I'm sure you know how annoying it is to have one of those name your teacher can NEVER say. SO AGGRAVATING, thus I hope that I can have my child avoid this)

LOL, I am so weird >.<

I WANT 5 KIDS ONE DAY, so that's why I ask for baby names!!

- I know this isn't a question but props to you Steph for wanting 5 kids. I'm not even sure if I want to have one, though you have the advantage because Asian kids are like the cutest children known to man.