Lisa's Ladies' Pot Luck Reading Challenge

[Catherine]

As long as I actually get through the challenge I'm already doing this month! :)

[D.G.]

BTW...meant to say...I want Kev's Manly Morsels. :p

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

At D.G.'s suggestion, I've added a "meal plan" with only 1 "dish." I had to renumber the "meal plans," but everything else stayed the same."

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

D.G. wrote: "BTW...meant to say...I want Kev's Manly Morsels. :p"

Does that mean you're signing up, or you just want his manly morsels? LOL **waggles eyebrows**

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Thanks, Mollie. I also found an error. Sword of Darkness wasn't written by Sherrilyn Kenyon, it was written under her Kinley MacGregor name. But Goodreads has it as Sherrilyn Kenyon

[D.G.]

UniquelyMoi *~*Dhestiny*~* wrote: "D.G. wrote: "BTW...meant to say...I want Kev's Manly Morsels. :p"

Does that mean you're signing up, or you just want his manly morsels? LOL **waggles eyebrows**"

I meant that I want his actual manly morsels :-9 .You know I don't have staying power to go all the way with Kev this month...but maybe soon! 8-D

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

LOL!

[Anja]

I'm in though it will probably be a lighter meal plan since I have 3 other challenges to complete next month.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Glad to have you, Anja! And I completely understand about reading time. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You can even choose 1 book as long as it's from a genre you've never read before.

[Katherine]

D.G. wrote: "Oh I have a question...let's say that I already read one of the books recommended but I haven't read the next book in that same series...would it count for the challenge or not? I ask because I'd l..."


Lover Eternal is on the list, I saw it somewhere under Paranormal.

[D.G.]

Yup, I noticed...I couldn't find it because the # in the series is wrong in the list (#6 instead of #2.)

Also, I noticed a few books that are two lists:
The Host is in both paranormal and sci-fi
The Forbidden Rose is in both romantic suspense and historical

[Mandy]

#3. Kev Merripen’s Manly Morsels – Your choice of any 4 or more “dishes” selected from any 2 or more “food groups.”

By combining this with my "Spell November" challenge, hopefully I can make this one. I still have TWO books to read for my October challenge!! Sigh . . .

1/6
Contemporary
Virgin River-Robyn Carr

Erotica
Hot in Here - Sophie Renwick

Historical
To Seduce A Sinner (Legend of the Four Soldiers #2) - Elizabeth Hoyt
Outlaw - Susan Johnson

Steam Punk
The Iron Duke-Meljean Brook

Paranormal
Caressed By Ice - Nalini Singh

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

D.G. wrote: "Yup, I noticed...I couldn't find it because the # in the series is wrong in the list (#6 instead of #2.)

Also, I noticed a few books that are two lists:
The Host is in both paran..."

Which book do I have numbered incorrectly, DG? I'm sorry for all the mistakes. I really did try to catch them all, but it was such a long list. I'll go make the corrections right now.

[Becky]

Wow! What a great idea Dhes! I am in, I just have to decide how hungry I am!! After over committing this month I feel I should go on a diet for November, but with such a great idea it is hard to skimp. I will post what I decide soon!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Thanks, Becky! I'm glad you like the idea :) I'll add you to the list and just let us know when you've decided.

[Becky]

I would be extremely excited if someone would serve me. In my real life I am always the server and it would be refreshing to be served for once;) So if someone is willing to serve up a heaping plate of Jack Travis I would happily lick clean my plate!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Wooooot!!!!!

Ok, ya'll heard that. Becky would like to be served up some Jack Travis! Any takers?

UPDATE - - Ladies, this "job" was taken by DG.

[D.G.]

I can do it!!!

[D.G.]

UniquelyMoi *~*Dhestiny*~* wrote: "D.G. wrote: "Yup, I noticed...I couldn't find it because the # in the series is wrong in the list (#6 instead of #2.)

Also, I noticed a few books that are two lists:
The Host is in ..."

Awww...don't worry, Dhes! A list this large is bound to have a few mistakes here and there...you've done a great job!!

The book in question is Lover Eternal in the paranormal group. It says Book 6 when it's indeed book 2.

[Becky]

Yea!! D.G. you are hired!! Scoop me up a plate full. I am pretty open as to what is being served! I indulge in paranormal and historical the most but am willing to try anything at least once.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Thanks, DG. I've fixed everything I could find. If you see any more mistakes, please let me know because I intend to keep this list around a very long time.

Eventually, I'll go through and number the ones what are part of a series, too.

[D.G.]

I'm hired! How exciting!

OK...I need to walk around the buffet to see what's available...I'll BRB! :)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

How fun!

Have you all checked out the Coming Soon to a Challenge Near You thread? I've posted an idea to run past everyone.

[D.G.]

Hey Dhes...a question as to how to do the selections for Becky...

Should I just give her the option of 3 books to read? Or can I choose a few extra just in case?

I'm tempted to pick 3 books from her TBR and 3 others that are not in her TBR. :)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Wellllllllllllllllllllll, LOL This challenge IS about trying something new, so I think I'd use her shelves as a reference, but pick 3 for her that YOU'd recommend. If she doesn't like what you've chosen, then offer a few more and if she still doesn't like them, pick 3 from her TBR shelf for her.

How does that sound?

[D.G.]

Sounds good, Dhes!

I need to go to the gym now but I'll be back with the dishes for Becky later! :)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

I can't wait to see what you choose for her.

[Becky]

This is so very exciting! I am awaiting with fork and knife in hand at the dinner table in anticipation, I love it!

[D.G.]

Your comment made me laugh Becky because I'm having my lunch as we speak!

I'll post as soon as I finish eating. :)

[D.G.]

Ok, Becky...here's what I got:


As You Desire by Connie Brockway (H): I loved this book. It's a historical set in Egypt during the Victorian era but the different setting doesn't detract from the romance, on the contrary, it adds to it. The hero and heroine are absolutely charming, smart and perfect for each other.

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (P): This is the first book in one of my favorite paranormal series. It has some familiar elements (shifters) and some very unique characters (the Psy).

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (F): Another favorite of mine…this book is part fantasy, part fiction and part contemporary romance. The author did a great job blending all the elements though. :)

Please let me know if you are OK with these. Two of these books are not on your TBR so if you have problems getting them or just want new stuff, let me know and I'll choose some new stuff for you!

[Becky]

Perfectly yummy, I am ready to dig in!! Thanks DG I think this will be great!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Great recommendations, DG!

Remember, you can't start until November, Becky. No sneaking!!!! LOL

[Becky]

Don't worry I won't taste test!! I am still over indulging on October's challenges, I have to get my butt into gear to finish:)

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

I am in! I am going to go for Hardy Cates

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

Ok, I would like to be served as well by Jack Devlin! Or.. I mean by one of my fellow Kleypasaholics. My meal plan is #6, help!!!

:-)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Suzanne, we're glad to have you with us!!!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Ladies, Bekah would love to be served a healthy helping of Jack Devlin! Any takers?

UPDATE - Alycia has taken this job! Thanks, Alycia :)

[Alycia]

I can help her out, how many books does she need?

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Alycia wrote: "I can help her out, how many books does she need?"

#6. Jack Devlin’s Devine Delectables – Your choice of any 7 or more “dishes” selected from any 5 or more “food groups.”

So I'd work it that way, Alycia, unless we hear otherwise.

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

Hey Becky, this passage from As You Desire made me buy the book (so excited for you!!!):

“And Blake.” Harry shook his head in disgust. “Such affectations.”

“You are calling someone affected?” she asked, raising her brows. “You, who employ two secretaries, one for your Arab dealings and one for your English? You, who are too high and mighty to write your own correspondence?”

Harry grinned. “That’s different. At least I don’t commit the sin of triteness. Calling you a ‘rose.’ An ‘English rose’ at that. You must forgive him the hackneyed compliment. Old Blake’s not much for originality, I’m afraid.”

“I thought him charming.”

Harry made an unconvinced sound.

“I did. I suppose you could do better?”

“Well were I to make the effort to extol a woman’s beauty, I could certainly do better than to drag out some tired old cliche about a rose.”

“You are the most monumentally egocentric man I know,” Desdemona said, trying to keep the trace of admiration out of her voice.

“You are unconvinced?” Harry asked, taking a sip of coffee and crossing his legs. “Allow me to demonstrate… and please bear in mind that I improvise.”

He spread jam over a piece of toast, studying her quizzically as he did so. She felt like a specimen, standing there under his scrutiny. She took the chair next to his and started buttering her own toast with supreme indifference. She was not a specimen.

“Let me see. Nothing floral. In fact, I think we’ll dispense with the vegetative allusions all together. Animal?” he asked rhetorically. “Perhaps a gazelle? No,” he dismissed the idea, chomping into his toast. “Too meek. Too inconsequential. This is difficult, Diz. To blandish a woman about her physical appearance is so limiting.”

“Yes,” she said dryly, burying a pinprick of hurt. He couldn’t think of anything to compliment her on.

“All right, then,” he finally said. “I’d begin with the way you stand.”

“Stand?” He’d caught her off guard. She blinked.

“Slender. Upright. Face lifted for the sun god’s caress,” he murmured slowly, musingly, as if to himself. He cocked his head, his eyes traveling lingeringly over her body, and she recognized the potent attraction other women must feel when Harry looked at them this way. As if she were the central point upon which all of his world turned. As if he lo—

“Why, look,” he asked in a hushed voice, some thing surprised and painful and pleased in his tone, “even Ra himself cannot resist you. Only see how he lathes your cheeks and brow with his heated tongue”— he reached out, brushing his fingers over her tanned cheek— “marking you with his golden kiss?”

His words were too graphic, too carnal, and she was too aware of his fingers skating along her cheekbone and over her jaw line. He’d never spoken to her this way before. Her heartbeat quickened, thrumming in her throat and in her wrists. She shivered. He smiled. His hand retreated.

“How can a mere mortal man stand a chance if even the gods are so enamored?” he whispered. “And how can one single image describe you? You are a country, a country of unexplored sensation and whim, veiled in dawn, shining, shedding light. See how the long fluid line of your throat flows to your breasts?” If he heard the intake of her breath, he ignored it. “Or how their blue-shadowed curves ripen above the smooth plain of your belly?”

She should stop him, he went too far, but his voice mesmerized her, like sweet, honeyed wine, warm and languorous.

“Your mouth.” He paused, and her lips felt suddenly sensitized, tingling as his gaze fixed on them. “Your mouth is a sweet well sealed against me, keeping me thirsting for the clarity of your kiss. Your flesh is like the desert sand, warmth and shifting strength beneath its golden color. Your palms open, fingers flexed, are minarets, delicate and elegant. And your body… it is the Nile itself— the camber of your back slipping so easily by the narrows of your waist and jettied hips to the lush delta below.”

He stopped. She heard the intake of his breath. “You are my country, Desdemona.” Yearning, harsh and poignant and she felt herself swaying toward him. “My Egypt. My hot, harrowing desert and my cool, verdant Nile, infinitely lovely and unfathomable and sustaining.”

She gasped.

His gaze fell, shielded by his lashes. An odd, half-mocking smile played about his lips. “You’ll never hear old Blake say something like that.”

She swallowed, unable to speak, her senses abraded by his stimulating words, her pulse hammering in anticipation? Trepidation?

“Remember my words next time he calls you a bloody English rose.”

[Catherine]

That was such a fabulous scene, Bekah. Thanks for the trip down memory lane for those of us who have already read it!

How can you not fall for a guy like that?

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

I haven't read it yet, but as soon as I read that I knew I had to meet Harry! I can't wait!

[D.G.]

Sigh....oh Harry...I wuv you! :*

When I was thinking as to what to write about this book and why I liked it, I read a review that had that scene...and couldn't help melt on the floor.

[Alycia]

Bekah wrote: "Ok, I would like to be served as well by Jack Devlin! Or.. I mean by one of my fellow Kleypasaholics. My meal plan is #6, help!!!

:-)"

Ok Bekah, Let me know if any of these you have already read.
Contemporary:


Erotic:


Historical:


Paranormal:

Sci Fi:


Steam Punk:


Another Contemporary:

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

Hey Alycia - thanks!!! The only one I've read is A Kingdom of Dreams which is an alltime five star read for me so I'm really excited about your other choices for me!!

[Alycia]

Bekah wrote: "Hey Alycia - thanks!!! The only one I've read is A Kingdom of Dreams which is an alltime five star read for me so I'm really excited about your other choices for me!!"

I've read all of these books and loved them... let me pick another historical

Here are a few options :)

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

oooh, Scandalous sounds delish!!! Never heard of it either. I'm going with that one because the other one is on my to read list already so I'll get to it one day and Where Dreams Begin, I've read!!

Thanks so much Alycia!!!! That was fun for me!

[Alycia]

Bekah wrote: "oooh, Scandalous sounds delish!!! Never heard of it either. I'm going with that one because the other one is on my to read list already so I'll get to it one day and Where Dreams Begin, I've read!..."

Its a good one. I read it recently... you are welcome :)

[D.G.]

Ohhh I love . You may have heard me say that it's the only book I've read that I've wanted to re-read the moment I finished it.

[Alycia]

I want to reread it some day too!