Welcome to my Haunted House & Blog Hop~Enter at your own risk!

Welcome!  I'm happy to be hosting the Nancy Gideon Haunted House Blog Hop this week!  Enter if you dare to enjoy some of my favorite scary movies, spooky music, Halloween memories, and plenty of Bad Boys! 

I have such fond memories of Halloween.  Dressing up and roaming the neighborhood with my friends was both fun and scary!  My brother and his friends often hid behind trees to jump out and scare us when we walked by.  We did exactly what they wanted by screaming and running for our lives!  Later, we would wander home to dig through our bag of treats and sink our teeth into our favorite candy...then argue over who got the best and the most!  That's what brothers and sisters do!

My blog hop giveaway is a $20 Gift ECard from Amazon or Barnes & Noble - winner's choice.  The contest is open Oct. 23 - 30.  The winner will be announced within 2 days after close of contest.  A valid email address must be provided during contest entry.  You may enter the contest below via Rafflecopter.  
 
Happy Haunting, and I'll be sure to leave the lights on for you!  When you finish here, hop on over to the next stop on the blog hop to enter another trick or treat giveaway!  You can find those addresses below.  You can also enjoy the festivities at our Goodreads group Haunted House at Nancy Gideon By Moonlight 

Movies now showing in the Poltergeist Parlor...Enter at your own risk!

Nothing says Haunted Halloween quite like scary movies.  You know - the ones you watch with your eyes squeezed closed...the ones that make you jump at every little sound...the ones that make you double check your door locks...the ones that make you sleep with your lights on!  Remember these movies?

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

One of the scariest movies because: Adolescence is tough enough without worrying about razor-armed Freddy Krueger killing hormonal teens in their sleep.

What the critics say: "Tailor made for those who like their gore leavened with thought-provoking ideas—something that is a rarity in this genre."—James Berardinelli

The Shining (1980)

One of the scariest movies because: Jack Nicholson is seriously freaky as crazed novelist Jack Torrance, who [spoiler alert] tries to chop his family to little bits after a particularly stressful winter.

What the critics say: "Scaring the viewer is easy... What is harder is to accentuate the horrifying aspects of things that are familiar... Kubrick isn't out for screams, but he manages to make his movie thoroughly              unnerving by keeping the horror so close to home."—Janet Maslin

 

The Exorcist (1973)

One of the scariest movies because: Terrible, terrible things come out of a little girl's mouth (which happens to be attached to a spinning head, thanks to a demonic possession). Audiences were so affected by this fearsome film that some theaters even provided "Exorcist barf bags."

What the critics say: "The climactic sequences assault the senses and the intellect with pure cinematic terror. "—Variety

Carrie (1976)

One of the scariest movies because: Thanks to inspired directing from Brian De Palma, every moment in this film is filled with dread as the story inches toward its big, bloody finish.

What the critics say: "Brian De Palma's Carrie is an absolutely spellbinding horror movie, with a shock at the end that's the best thing along those lines since the shark leaped aboard in Jaws."—Roger Ebert

Jaws...1975

Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" is a sensationally effective action picture, a scary thriller that works all the better because it's populated with characters that have been developed into human beings we get to know and care about. It's a film that's as frightening as "The Exorcist" and yet it's a nicer kind of fright, somehow more fun because we're being scared by an outdoor-adventure saga instead of by a brimstone-and-vomit devil. - Roger Ebert.

You can find a slideshow and movie trailers for most of these movies at:   Scary Movies Slideshow & Movie Trailers

Enjoy & don't forget to leave the lights on! 

Visit Nancy Gideon's Haunted Open House & Blog Hop for more fun and giveaways!  Drop in on the other bloggers.  I know they will be waiting for you!

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Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do?

We all love the Bad Boys...you know the ones I'm talking about - big, powerful, bad*ss, alpha males who are usually carrying some emotional baggage.  Shifters, Vampires, Demons, Angels, or Mere Mortals...there's at least one for us all, stealing our hearts and making us weak in the knees.  They are only a book away - enjoy!

 Shifter Max Savoie from the By Moonlight series.  A powerful, sexy, dangerous predator who will make you howl at the moon and go weak in the knees.  Max is a personal favorite!  I would love to hear him whisper, "sha" in my ear.

  Vlad - Prince of the Night...Oh my, just looking at the cover makes me shiver.  A vampire who can control fire -  big, powerful, sexy, and arrogant.  Bad Boy!

 Zsadist - One of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a former blood slave - Dark, tortured, angry, emotionally damaged vampire who is feared by both humans and other vampires.   Hands off...Giulia says he belongs to her!

 Remington "Riptide" (Remy) - a mere mortal?  Not on your life...Remy is a powerful, dangerous, underground boxer.  He's emotionally damaged and needs someone to love him and be his "real".  I volunteer!

Kane "Tack" Allen- President of Chaos Motorcycle Club and one bad, tattooed biker!  Dangerous, bossy, and sexy as sin...a real alpha male.

Roarke - just Roarke - Rich, powerful, emotionally damaged, devastatingly handsome with those Irish blue eyes - definite "bad boy"!  I love his "heart"...ultimate hero, for sure!






So...a shifter, 2 vampires, a boxer, a biker, and a rich, gorgeous CEO...that's my Bad Boys for this month.  I will feature some more soon.  Leave me a comment if there's a Bad Boy you think is deserving of a spot on the list...I'll see what I can do!

Take This Regret Book Review

 Synopsis:

There are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives. For Christian Davison, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth Ayers. For five years, Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do anything to win them back. Can Elizabeth forgive someone who has committed the unforgiveable? Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?




My Review:

What a beautiful yet painful story to read.  So much anger and hurt held inside for 5 years festering and growing in a woman, Elizabeth, who could not or would not forgive the man who had wronged her so badly.  A foolish young man, Christian, who, in a spur of the moment decision, makes the wrong choice and is forced to live with his regrets and without the woman he loves for 5 years and beyond.  A beautiful little girl, Lizzie, so full of joy and innocence with love to give everyone including the daddy who gave her up.  This is a poignant love story that makes you feel like you're riding on a runaway train with no way to get off.  When it crashes, it almost destroys them all.  Christian has so many regrets and is losing hope of ever being forgiven, as Elizabeth has hardened her heart filled with the fear that he will leave her again.  This is a story of love & loss, betrayals that are unforgivable, regrets that threaten to drown them in their sorrow, trust that is destroyed in such a way that it may never allow love to grow again in her broken heart.  Sometimes when two people are in love, the pain they cause each other is too overwhelming and shattering to get past...to ever allow themselves to trust again.  Take This Regret will stir emotions deep inside you and make you pray for this couple to find their way back to each other...even knowing this will be a near impossible feat. 

The downside for me is that the angst in this story went on for a little too long.  It began to be a little too much for me to accept as Elizabeth withheld her forgiveness from Christian over and over again.  She almost lost all my sympathy as I began to feel like she was punishing him more than anything else.  I gave this book 4 hearts as I enjoyed the alternating POV between H/h, allowing us to hear both character's thoughts and feel their anguish and genuine emotions.  The emotional turmoil is real and beautifully written for both characters.  If the turning point in this story had come sooner, it would have been a 5 star read for me.

Rating:  4 Beautiful ♥♥♥♥'s...And that's the truth!

Cross My Heart...xxx

Sandra

Quotes:

I knew she could feel me, conscious of watchful eyes.  Being near her stirred me - my love and guilt and desire - emotions that left my heart heavy and my legs weak.
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Echoes of our past surfaced in my mind, our happiest moments, the way only he could make me smile, the way only he could make me feel, our most intimate times.  I wanted to hold onto them, but they fluttered and flickered and gave way to vivid images so strong I could almost taste them - sick, cold, alone - and I remembered why I could never give into this.
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I closed my eyes as he pried my fingers from the page and wrapped them in his hand.  "I don't want to become like him, Elizabeth."  His throat bobbed in unspent emotion.  "I don't want to waste my life.  I don't want to waste this," he stressed as he squeezed my hand.
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They say cowards run in the face of danger or pain.  I supposed that's what I was, what I'd become, too fearful to love, too fearful to be loved, too afraid to live - so I ran.

          

 

Raphael Book Review

Synopsis:

Malibu, California—home to rock-and-roll gods and movie stars, the beautiful, the rich . . . and vampires. Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he’d give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it’s too late. Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough and sexy, a private investigator and former cop who’s tired of spying on cheating spouses and digging out old bank accounts. When Raphael asks for her help in tracking down the kidnappers, Cyn’s happy to accept. But she soon realizes her greatest danger comes not from the humans, but from Raphael himself. Battling Russian mobsters and treacherous vampires, and betrayed by those they trusted, Cyn and Raphael find themselves fighting for their lives while caught up in a passion of blood and violence that is destined to destroy them both. 

My Review:

Raphael is the first in the Vampire In America series, and I must say I am hooked.  I loved the romance/suspense feel to this book and will admit I have already read book 2, Jabril.  This world of both humans and vampires that D.B. Reynolds has created is intriguing to me in that it is very "real".  This isn't your dark, spooky, coming out of graveyards and caskets vampire story.  This is a modern world where vampires and humans exist, both aware of and living together.  Lord Vampire Raphael rules one of eight regions and has the power of life and death over thousands of vampires.  He is a powerful, rich, sexy, mind controlling hero who has a heart of gold and rules with fairness but with absolute power.  He does not expect his orders to be questioned...ever!  But he has met his match in the human bombshell Private Investigator, Cynthia Leighton.  Cyn (Raphael thinks "Sin" as he looks her up and down the first time they meet & his fangs come out!) is a P.I., formerly a police officer, who is a kick*ss, self-sufficient, fearless, smart heroine who trusts very few people and lets even fewer get close.  She works alone and doesn't give a sh*t whether Raphael likes the way she handles things or not.  The two experience an instant, sexual attraction when Raphael hires her to help find a vampire who is kidnapped from him in a major power-play while he is away.  The abductors were human, thus Raphael needs a human who can think like them and get in their world to track them down.  And so the mysterious and intriguing plot thickens and explodes as their journey begins, and they come to realize that their attraction is much stronger and deeper than just sex.  Sooner or later, they will have to come to terms with the emotions that neither one of them knows how to handle.  This was a great read, grabbing me and pulling me into a world that seems very real and yet sub-real at the same time.  The characters are strong and the sexual tension and romance grows as the danger and suspense builds.  Everything was not resolved in the ending of this book so I recommend having book 2, Jabril, ready to read immediately after although it was not a terrible cliffhanger...just enticement to read more!  I loved it!  A must read for lovers of romance/suspense/pnr/uf.


Rating:  4 beautiful ♥♥♥♥'s...And that's the truth...

Cross My Heart...xxx

Sandra 



Quotes:

"How did you know?" Raphael asked.  He had a warm, rich voice that flowed like sweet honey, a voice she could not only hear with her ears, but taste with her tongue, feel its heat against her lips.  She licked those lips self-consciously and wondered if he was using some sort of magical vampire influence on her.  
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"Yes, I want you.  I want you until I can think of little else," she whispered, not even trying to break away from him.  "You stalk my dreams and haunt even my days when I should be free of you.  Every nerve in my body is tortured with wanting you, wanting to touch you, to fuck you, to have you fill me until I scream with the delicious pain of it and beg for more."
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 Raphael came through the door like a child's nightmare, his eyes glowing an almost solid silver with wrath, his gleaming fangs fully extended, blood painting his mouth a brilliant red, dripping from his chin to shine wetly against the tattered remains of his black shirt.  His huge chest was heaving with the fury of his breath, and his hands curled into claws as his gaze found her and he growled a warning.  "Release her, human."
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Raphael smiled then, a slow, predatory baring of teeth.  "Asshole?  I don't think anyone has dared use that word to me in a few hundred years, at least not in my hearing."

"Which is probably why you're such a big one sometimes."  Cyn grinned up at him, then sobered.  "Listen, I've got a lot of information for you--"

"Later," he said.  "I want you now."    
   

Spook*Tacular Haunted House & Blog Hop!

 

I'm stirring up some frightful fun!  Join me at my first Haunted House & Blog Hop! I'm excited to join Nancy Gideon's Haunted Blog Hop during the week of Oct. 23 - 30.  You can also find the fun at our goodreads group - Nancy Gideon By Moonlight.  Join us for a week of fun, games, and giveaways.
Nancy Gideon By Moonlight