Book 5 of 2008: Bound by Sasha White

WOWZERS!!!!!! I loved this book! I flew through it VERY quickly (well, for me anyway... started it Saturday evening I believe and finished it up on my lunch break Tuesday). This is one HOT book! Sasha definitely is an intriguing erotica author, though I wouldn't say ALL erotica readers would enjoy her. I have a very open mind and enjoy reading all genres of erotica, but this book leaned heavily on submission and domination. So... with that said, I wouldn't recommend the book to someone that just likes things vanilla in the bedroom even if they do like a little bit of chocolate sauce and sprinkles from time to time. On the other hand, for those that DO enjoy spicy sex and trying out new things, I HIGHLY recommend this read! My only complaints with the book are the typos that the editor missed (just like my issue with SEXY DEVIL) and that the book ended! I so wanted to see what other adventures Katie would get into with Joe/Karl. (granted, the scenes with Karl definitely weren't long enough!!! thank goodness he is reappearing in my current read, TROUBLE, and is the main character in Sasha's latest HEAT book, WICKED!!! I can't wait to hear what all he gets into! )

Book Description:

Bound by fantasy.

Everyone thinks small town Katie Long is the good girl looking for tender romance. All she needs is to find the right man. Katie couldn't agree more. She too has always fantasized about the "right man." But what she's looking for is one who'll give her exactly what she wants. And everything she needs.

Bound by desire.
Joe Carson is that man. A security guard at a local casino, he's the answer to her sensual prayers. But there's more to Joe than even Katie realizes. And more to their nightgames than just master and slave.

Now Katie wonders just how far she'll go with a man who's more than ready to take her...

Movie 11 of 2008: Knocked Up

I had been wanting to see KNOCKED UP even before it came out. I loved the trailer for the movie, but just now got the chance to see it. I watched the TV show UNDECLARED when it was on (though very short-lived... 17 episodes) and was disappointed to see it go off the air. So... it was refreshing to see both Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel in a movie together. The movie was just as funny as I expected rather than being one of those comedies where all of the funny moments appear in the trailer. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good comedy and doesn't mind some college humor to go along with it.

And for Cindi/Laura... I rate it 3 snorts!

Book 4 of 2008: Disposal by Jeff Strand

Yet another great Strand read! This is a short novella (only like 100 pages) but it's jam-packed with Jeff's witty off-the-handle jokes and gruesome descriptions. The book initially starts off with several popular authors (incluing J.A. Konrath & MaryJanice Davidson) blurbing their NEGATIVE opinions of both Jeff Strand and his book and then ending with a rebuttal from Mr. Strand himself before the story itself starts off. (if you read this book do NOT skip over the introductions because they are classic!!!)

The story starts off with the main character, Frank, robbing a dry cleaning facility and Frank's day just goes downhill from there as the girl he robs asks him to kill her husband (who she's already tried killing plenty of different ways with absolutely no luck in taking his final breath away), he gets mugged, pissed on by a wino, questioned by the cops, devoured (almost) by a couple of homeless guys, etc... This story is full to the brim with events that you can't possibly fathom actually happening, but that's what we love so much about Jeff's stories. He truly allows us to step away from reality and just shake our heads & bust a gut laughing at this truly bizzare situations he puts his character's in.

Once again, I have to raise a glass up to cheer Jeff Strand for another fabulous story! (or kiss ass to as Cornelius would tell me)

Description of Disposal:

Meet Frank, a truly reprehensible human being. An egotistical sexist morally vacant scumbag who gets off on committing armed robbery. The kind of creep whose smirk you want to rub off with razor blade-laced sandpaper.

But when he robs Gretchen at gunpoint, he'll get a lot more than the twelve bucks in her cash register. She makes him an offer he can't refuse: Kill her husband in exchange for sex. The problem is that her husband is hard to kill. Really hard to kill. Like, the bastard just won't frickin' DIE!!!

Lots of bad and occasionally disgusting things happen.

Book 3 of 2008: Sexy Devil by Sasha White

Okay girls... enjoy the cover art for a bit and then you can come back and read my review of this book... hee hee!!! *DROOOOOOOOOOL*

I hadn't heard of this book, but was browsing around Barnes & Noble and could NOT leave this guy sitting on the shelf. Do you blame me!?!?!? At any rate, in my defense, the book itself sounded good as well. It's somewhat paranormal, somewhat action, and lots of romance/erotica! So... a VERY good mix for me! The story consists of 3 short stories all intertwined at least somewhat.

I'd break the stories down to say a little bit about each of them, but honestly, I'd be repeating myself for each one. I LOVED the characters in each of the stories. Story 1 is focussed on Gina and Caleb... Story 2 is about Angelo (Gina's brother) and Jewel, and story 3 is about Mac (who is Gina's friend) and Nikki. Two other main characters, Drake and Nadya, were mentioned in stories 1 and/or 2, but we don't get to learn a great deal about them. I am hoping that Sasha will follow-up the stories in this book with more stories or novels based on these characters because they are quite likeable! In the 2nd story they are actually battling against a demon in order to save Nadya and it's quite the adventure, especially with the sexual tension building between Angelo and Jewel! I read a review somewhere where someone said that there wasn't enough sex in the 2nd story because it was just all the build-up, but honestly, that doesn't need to be the main focus of the full book IMO. I mean, yeah, I like sex scenes just as much as the next (probably more than some people in all actuality), but I like having other meat (no pun intended) to my books as well. So... I think the balance Sasha has of sex/action/romance/etc... was quite good. I highly recommend this read & I enjoyed this book so much that I'm actually reading another book by her now called BOUND. (more to come about that later in a future blog!)

Here's the description of SEXY DEVIL:

No one can resist the spell of a bad boy.

Surrender to Sasha White's sensual world, where red-hot passions simmer-and desires are unleashed with sinfully wicked pleasure.

"The Devil Inside"

Workaholic Caleb Mann used to think blind dates were a waste of time, but when his ex-girlfriend calls him boring in bed, Caleb becomes bent on changing his image fast -ÿwith the help of the incredibly sexy woman standing in front of him.ÿ He barely knows his date's name, but her sassy mouth is almost hypnotizing, in more ways than one, and he can't stop fantasizing about replacing the sleek motorcycle between her firm thighs and letting her ride him all night long...

"Devil's Jewel"

Ex-soldier and psychic hunter Angelo Devlin has seen evil first-hand. He knows how perilous his assignments can be, and he doesn't welcome outside help, which makes his run-in with Jewel Kattalis all the more infuriating. But instead of sending her away, he wants to grab her, take her, and tease every inch of her beautiful body. This woman may be more dangerous than any mission he's ever been on before.

Movie 10 of 2008: Cloverfield

This blog should've been done almost a week ago as I saw this last Friday night, but... I haven't had time, so here it is!

If you have not seen this movie yet... GO! It was awesome! (albeit very short... only like an hour if you don't count trailers and credits... the credits were like 15-20 minutes in themselves and with a crappy song playing... though that was the only part of the movie I didn't like!) The movie was intense and had you on the edge of your seat wondering what was to come next, who would survive, what would be left (if anything) of the city, etc... VERY action-packed! There actually weren't a lot of visuals of the monster within the movie, but... I think that made it that much more "scary" (for lack of a better word). I believe I jumped once or twice in the movie, but the movie itself wasn't scary... just suspenseful... and sometimes that gets me worse than so-called scary movies.

A lot of people were concerned about whether or not this movie would cause motion sickness. I don't typically get sick in a car unless I'm trying to read or if I get overly warm, but... I honestly don't think this movie was bad in that sense. Yeah... the camera was shaky a lot of the time (I honestly feel that in some scenes it should've been shakier, but I'm sure they were trying to limit that out some) but it needed to be based on what was going on. As for the guy carrying the camera around everywhere... good god he had some balls! If I'd been in his predicament, I would've lost the camera way in the beginning of that movie!!! But again... it's what needed to be done.

At any rate, this movie (so far) is my favorite of what I've seen this year. I'm sure that there will be others that rate as highly or almost as highly, but this was a REALLY good flick. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspenseful movies and/or movies that are filmed a bit differently from the norm.

Book 2 of 2008: The Sinister Mr. Corpse by Jeff Strand

After all these years I didn't think Jeff would ever write a book that I loved more than his Andrew Mayhem series, but I was wrong. I have a new favorite... THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE!!! I absolutely loved this book! The storyline was great, the characters were beyond creative, and Jeff's humor kicked ass as usual! There was one scene in the book that I still can't stop thinking about where I actually got laughing so hard I had a snorting fit (and I have my snorting pretty well under control nowadays... LOL!!) and was crying! Jeff's books, albeit grotesque at times, have the ability to make me laugh even if I'm in the worst of moods. THAT is why he is my favorite author of all time. Anyone that can cheer me up with just 1 sentence or even a couple key phrases is someone I will never stop reading. So... THANK YOU JEFF!!! I honestly haven't read all of your books/stories yet (though I think I only have 2 novels left), but mainly because I'm savoring them and trying to make sure I have something "fresh" by you when an occassion comes that I truly need your books to brighten up my day a bit more. To EVERYONE ELSE... if you haven't read any of Jeff Strand's books... what the hell are you waiting for?!?!?! Go to his website and I promise you that you won't be disappointed!

Here's the description for THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE:

Zombies…

Sometimes they rise from the grave, hungering for human flesh…

Sometimes they're created by a mad scientist intent on forming an unstoppable army of the undead…

Sometimes the zombie plague is transmitted by a horrific virus…

…and sometimes, they're resurrected in front of millions of viewers as part of a live primetime television special.

This is the story of Stanley Dabernath, zombie. A regular guy who dies, is brought back to life as a ghastly walking cadaver, and becomes the international sensation hailed by the press as The Amazing Mr. Corpse. Fame! Wealth! Groupies! Despite his ghoulish appearance, Stanley finds himself living the dream.

But in many ways, it's harder to be a celebrity than a zombie. The suits behind Project Second Chance want to tell him how to behave in public. It's difficult to enjoy a simple restaurant meal in peace. There's constant pressure coming at him from all sides–not to mention that many people consider him a vile blasphemy that should be erased from existence.

And does Project Second Chance have Stanley's best interests in mind, or is the real reason behind his reanimation something much more…SINISTER?

Movie 9 of 2008: The Exorcist

As many people know, I'm trying to go back and watch a bunch of horror movies that I missed out on, including many "classics". I ended up picking up The Exorcist after a discussion in The LAIR about why people actually laughed during this movie. I had to see if I'd be another one to laugh or not... ha ha! So... I watched... and I enjoyed! I didn't like laugh out loud or anything, but I was amused at some of the antics of Raven and also because I kept spotting scenes that had been spoofed in SCARY MOVIE (peeing on the floor, spitting the pea soup, etc...). At any rate, I am glad I finally watched this film and am excited about continuing my movie journey. I want to thank everyone yet again for all of the recommendations... NICK YAK, CHRIS RAMONE, BETH, TOM PICCARILLI, DAELITH!!! Keep 'em coming!

Movie 8 of 2008: A Tale of Two Sisters

Okay, I heard many good things about this movie and I enjoyed it while I watched it, but... I had no clue what was going on!!! There was a scene that made me "jump" so that always makes for an interesting movie. Ha ha! Anyway, back to the plot... since Tom Piccirilli was one of the people that highly recommended this to me I had to message him and find out if he could explain it to me, which he did... in quite detail I might add. I can't believe how much I missed about what was going on within this flick. Of course, I think my multi-tasking and lack of complete focus might've had something to do with it... though most asian films tend to be along the weird & bizarre side and hard to follow a lot of the time. I'm definitely going to re-watch this movie to see if I can grasp a better understanding of it though because the movie is extremely interesting and now that I've had it explained a bit I think I can try to follow it quite a bit better. Thanks Tom!!!

Book 1 of 2008: A Red Hot New Year by Various Avon Red Authors

Okay, I got a slow start in reading this year because I was having trouble focussing on any one book. I have been alternating between several various books in various genres. I finally managed to stick with this one, probably because it was an anthology, and thoroughly enjoyed it! I hadn't read anything by any of the authors in this anthology and have now found 4 new erotica authors that I really enjoy! :) I think that Cynthia Eden's story was my favorite in the book, but only because it was about a werewolf and I love my vamps and wolfies! However, I really liked Virginia Reene's SNOWBLIND as the story was just HOT!!!

Book Description

This New Year's Eve, turn up the heat . . .

At the stroke of midnight a new year begins—a time for passionate resolutions and brand-new pleasures; a time to let go of past restraints and embrace new sensual boundaries. Four masterful writers offer a quartet of boldly erotic tales guaranteed to heat up those winter nights.

Anna has always been the good girl, until a mysterious and powerful encounter with a wolf brings out her wild side! Now she's unleashing her long-repressed desires on the sexy stranger who comes to her rescue . . . in Cynthia Eden's New Year's Bites.

Seducing her lover at a lavish party seems like the perfect way for Chantal to rekindle their lost passion. But the tables are turned when she finds herself the target of an even more intoxicating man's desire . . . in Diana Mercury's Night Resolutions.

During a weekend getaway at a cozy mountain cabin, two couples decide the long winter nights lend themselves to exciting sensual exploration. But no one expects their red-hot sessions will turn good friends into lovers for life . . . in Virginia Reede's Snow Blind.

Gina is your average female who just happens to become a bit of a . . . dragon when she's turned on! Good thing she's found the kind of savagely sexy man who can bring out the beast in her . . . in Denise Rossetti's Coming on Strong.

Movie 7 of 2008: Dead & Breakfast

Upon Beth's recommendation and also the video clip she posted on her blog, I HAD to rent DEAD & BREAKFAST. I was right... this movie was frickin' hilarious!!! I absolutely loved the soundtrack (and thank you Chris for correcting the fact that I was told originally that there was no soundtrack made for this film... I MUST get it!!!) There was a bit more blood-shed in this movie than I wanted to see, but even the scene where the guy had the chainsaw stuck in his head was cracking me up. I am going to have to re-watch this movie because I have a feeling that I probably missed some stuff due to laughing so much.

Below are 2 videos about the movie... the first being the trailer and the latter being the clip Beth posted that I was laughing so hard at...

Movie 6 of 2008: Rock Star

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED this movie!!! I didn't realize that Mark Wahlberg or Jennifer Aniston had even done any movies early on, but this movied kicked ass! The soundtrack to the movie was kickin' and the whole cast was really cool. (I'm starting to see that the guy who played Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies actually is doing a lot of other stuff as he was both in this movie and Sweeney Tood) I absolutely loved the scene where Jennifer pierced Mark's nipple and also the scene where he was practicing talking about how his vocals have improved from "eating pussy" (as he put it) and Jennifer was in the background asking him if he was going to talk about it all day or do it. HA HA!!! I'm so glad Chris suggested this movie as well because I loved every minute of it!!!

Movie 5 of 2008: The Fog

After re-renting this movie because I had the remake rather than the originally I finally got the chance to watch this movie to see what all of Chris Ramone's hype was all about. I have to agree with him though, THE FOG was a great movie! It was very different from other movies I have seen. I was very happy that they didn't show all of the gory details of each killing, though, because I have a feeling that I would've been sick from seeing all of the murders done with that hook the main bad guy was carrying around. I'm looking forward to checking out more of John Carpenter's works. Thanks for introducing me to his stuff Chris!

Movie 4 of 2008: Phone

I just finished watching PHONE. I have to praise the young little girl that played Young-ju, Seo-woo Eun, beyond words. WOW!!! Her acting in this movie was awesome!!! If you don't mind Asian films, definitely give this one a watch... if nothing else, to watch Seo-woo. Her facial expressions alone in this movie made the movie for me. She would have the sweetest little angelic face one second and the next she would have the most horrific, evil look you can imagine. I think her best scene was right before she fell down the stares. I don't have any idea how young this little girl was in the movie, but she is going to be a great little actress if she keeps this up!

As for the movie itself, I thought it was quite suspensful and entertaining. No, it didn't really scare me, but then again... I don't think I'm as scared easily nowadays. I did find the movie quite creepy an had the soundtrack been more creepy and less classical it's quite possible the movie would've seemed a lot scarier to me. I believe this is my first Korean film I've ever scene, but I thought it was very well done and I plan to check out some other Korean films in the near future. I think I'll be trying to track down A TALE OF TWO SISTERS based on strong recommendations from both the following horror authors... Nick Cato & Tom Piccirilli.

Movie 3 of 2008: The Station Agent

Still working my way through the DVDs I picked up at Hollywood Video Friday night. Last night I watched THE STATION AGENT upon Nick's recommendation. I have to agree that this was a great flick! I probably would've enjoyed it even more so had I not been trying to multi-task at the time, but I still really liked it. I was more focussed on it than the work I took home to take care of at the same time. LOL! Peter Dinklage, as well as the rest of the cast, put forth an astounding performance. The story behind this movie was unique and very heartfelt in my opinion. If anyone else has seen this movie, I'd love to hear your opinions. If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out.

For more info on this movie, check out the movie's site.

Tonight's movie... either HALLOWEEN or PHONE!

Movie 2 of 2008: Kamikaze Girls

Just finished watching my 2nd movie of the new year and I have to say I enjoyed it much more than the first one. However, I'm really not sure how to explain the movie. LOL!!! I think that Japanese movies/shows/etc... are something one has to aquire a taste for as the Japanese have a tendency to create extremely weird and bizarre things. This movie started off completely weird and had a lot of oddities in it. There was a major story line in it about two completely opposite girls becoming friends and all, but I just loved the outfits and the weird stuff in the movie. LOL!!! I definitely am interested in rewatching it as there is a special mode on the DVD called "Sideways Mode" that supposedly gives an extra look into the Kamikaze Girls throughout the movie. It's just a really interesting film. For those that enjoy Japanese films and such, definitely check this one out. If you are someone who does not enjoy weird Japanese stuff, I don't recommend it because it is odd. I was laughing a lot during the movie though... especially the first half of it. Two thumbs up from me! :) Check out the trailer...



Now... off to try finish reading my first book of the New Year as I'm already falling behind on my 2 books a week goal... eep! I also need to get myself doing crunches tonight... that's an even more difficult goal to force myself into. Ugh!

Movie 1 of 2008: Night of the Living Dead

So I watched my first movie of 2008 yesterday. After visiting the LAIR of the YAK so often I decided I needed to give horror movies a try again. When I was younger I used to get scared of them, but I've always been able to read the books so assumed it was just the music and visuals that got to me. So... I took some recommendations from Nick the Yak and Chris Ramone on what some good horror movies would be. Nick's first suggestion was NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD so I started there. I gotta admit, I realy didn't enjoy the movie. (sorry Nick!!!) Granted, this movie is from the 60s so I'm sure some of the cheesiness is from that because a lot of older movies are quite cheesy, but I just didn't think there was much to the movie. Maybe that's the way it was supposed to be though... if so, well, they did a great job. LOL! I will admit that I enjoy the chase scene at the beginning of the movie after the first zombie killed Barbra's brother. She did pretty good with her acting job in being numb after the death and with the occasional hysterical outbursts. At any rate, it was probably a good starter horror movie for me, but definitely not a scary movie. Last year I watched 1408 based on a short story by Stephen King... now THAT movie made me jump... granted, only once. But... 1408 was also more of a suspense/thriller rather than a monster movie. So... I'm wondering if it's just the monster movies that I'm not into, but I'll give some more a try and see. I currently have HALLOWEEN here to watch so that's coming up later this week. I'll try posting my opinions regarding all of the movies I've rented and hopefully Nick and Chris get to pop by and read what I had to think. If not, I'm sure we'll get to talk about it in the LAIR. (assuming Op11 finally get up and running properly again *sigh*)

Beth (or anyone else)... I know you're quite into the horror movie scene as well... any recommendations? I don't like a ton of gore in my movies though so please keep that in mind. I don't mind killings and some blood, but it can be too much and I really don't like seeing the insides ripped out of a person's body. Bleech!