What Does the Bookworm Say?: Love Triangles

Hi and welcome to a new feature here on Nite Lite called What Does the Bookworm Say? that I am doing with my friends at The Reader's Antidote, Elegantly Bound Books and The Windy Pages. We often get into bookish discussions over email and thought it would be a fun idea to discuss these topics as a bi-weekly feature on our blogs. Hopefully you find these topics interesting and learn a little about the blogger behind the review. This week's topic is Love triangles: Love 'em or hate 'em?

I have a love/hate relationship with love triangles. On one had, if they're done well, with well developed characters and relationships, I think they can be really great - adding drama and complexity to a story. On the other hand, when done badly, they seem gimmicky and serve no real purpose. They also usually involve a girl who, until then, hasn't had much luck in the love department who suddenly becomes the object of attention to two super hot males. I'm all for fantasy but sometimes this is just too much.

Examples:

Good - I like the love triangle in Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. I can see why Calaena would be attracted to both Dorian and Chaol. They are both well written characters with both their weaknesses and strengths and I can see why she would be attracted to each of them for different reasons. I can also see why she would be attractive to them.

Bad - So don't throw stones at me but I really did not like the love triangle in the Twilight series. I never understood why Jacob kept hanging around Bella when she treated him so poorly and clearly was never going to be with him. And I think the bigger mystery was always why either of the two hot male leads wanted to be with Bella. Sorry, I know. I like the series but the whole triangle thing was always super annoying.

So that's what I think about love triangles. What do you think? Do you have a love triangle that you think will change my mind about them?

Be sure to check out the other lovely bloggers who are also participating - The Reader's Antidote, Elegantly Bound Books and The Windy Pages. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, just leave it in the comments below. Thanks!

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Uncovered (93): The Kiss of Deception

Uncovered is a weekly post on my blog where I share a cover that I am currently lusting over. Enjoy!

Hello and happy Friday, everyone. I hope you've all had a good week. I've been a bit crazed at work this week because we are packing up to move offices. It's a big move and a new, much longer commute but I'm trying to just stay positive and go with it. I have a fun knitting party planned this weekend (knitter and proud!) and also hope to get some reading done. I've been in a bit of a slump lately and am hoping that I can get some of my mojo back this weekend. Also, the new Jack Ryan movie came out and you know I am going to see it. :)

Today's cover love is for The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson. This cover was just revealed this week and I love it. The washed out colors and ominous clouds give it a really spooky air. The figure in the background is also hard to see. Is he friend or foe? The lettering and illustrative touches are great, and really tie everything together. Her is the blurb for The Kiss of Deception:

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assasin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

Sounds fun, right? I see the beginnings of the dreaded love triangle but, since it's Mary Pearson, I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Anyone else excited about this one?

Have a great weekend, all!

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Trailer: Transcendence

Transcendence is a movie that has somehow managed to slip my radar until today, when I stumbled across this trailer. Looks like a futuristic sci-fi movie with an existential twist. I can't tell if it looks creepy or cool. I'm on the fence about this one. What do you guys think?

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Review: The Professional: Part 1 by Kresley Cole

Title: The Professional: Part 1

Author: Kresley Cole
Publication Date: December 16, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
Genre: Adult Contemporary Erotic Romance
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Kobo
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

He makes the rules . . .
Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.
Rules are made to be broken . . .

PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.
Are you ready to play?

Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true.

The Professional: Part 1 is the first installment of an erotic romance by Kresley Cole, author of the Immortals After Dark and Arcana Chronicles series. The book is being published in 3 parts, with each part being a little over 100 pages. This is my first Kresley Cole book and I wasn't sure what to expect. While it has its faults, I found this story to be sexy, entertaining and extremely addictive.

Life is pretty normal for grad student Natalie Cole. To make ends meet, she works 3 jobs when not at school. This leaves little time for romance. But even if she did have the time, Natalie isn't interested in any of the men she meets. Then one evening, tall, dark and Russian wanders into her bar and the attraction is immediate. But Aleksandr Sevastyan isn't an ordinary customer but a hit man and bodyguard sent to protect Natalie. Stevastyan informs Natalie that the biological father she's been searching for is the head of a Russian mafiya clan. As his only heir, she is in danger and Stefavtyan whisks her away to Russia and introduces her to a life of wealth and forbidden pleasures.

Part 1 of The Professional throws you right into the thick of things. To say that the plot moves quickly is a bit of an understatement. One minute Natalie is cozy in her Midwestern house and the next, she is given a new life in a Russian palace, complete with jewel and a new wardrobe. I generally enjoy fast paced plots, but I wish we could have slowed down just a little. Natalie seems to accept her new life a bit too quickly and I would have liked to have seen a little more of her internal struggle. Though, to be fair, if a hot Russian came up to me and told me I was a millionaire Mafia princess, I might not argue either.

Natalie and Sevastyan are not the most original characters, but I liked them. Natalie is feisty and funny and loves pushing Sevastyan's buttons. Sevastyan is your typical alpha male. He's domineering and possessive, and also very sexy. I was a little annoyed at how hot and cold Sevastyan was. One minute it's "you're mine" and the next he's sworn off of her. Natalie is quite frustrated with these mixed signals and I can understand why.

While there isn't anything groundbreaking about this story, it's a fun guilty pleasure read. The love scenes are hot and I have a feeling that they're going to get even hotter in the next installment. I am not sure if I am sold on the serialized format. I do not see the point of it, though the cliffhanger ending does leave you wanting more. And I've already downloaded Part 2, so Cole must be doing something right. Now to read Part 2 and find out what happens in that sauna!

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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Visit the author online at kresleycole.com, Facebook and follow her on Twitter @kresleycole

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Manicure Monday (47): Ketchup Clouds

Manicure Monday is a weekly feature that combines my love of nail polish and reading. Each week I'll show you one of my current reads along with what's on my nails.

Hello, again! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine was pretty chill and I got to knit and do some shopping. I am still reading quite slow lately and haven't managed to finish a whole book yet. I know, crazy. But I am hoping to finish a couple soon. Today on Manicure Monday I have Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher. It's about a girl writing letters to a death row inmate because she feels guilty about killing a boy. I am just getting into it but it's interesting and a little creepy so far. This cover just begs to be a manicure.  

I used 2 coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls as a base for the manicure. Then I used black, red, and white acrylic paint and a small nail brush to pain on the ketchup clouds and the bird. I also decided to stamp some dandelions on my pinkie and ring finger. Very early on in the book the main character talks about dandelions and there is even a little illustration in the book. I could have drawn it but I really wanted to try this stamping plate. The plate is Vivid Lacquer VL006 and I stamped it with Kleancolor Black.

I am really not great at stamping so it took a few tries to get them right, but I finally managed it. you can see the dandelions below in the close ups.

with thumb!

up close and personal

I hope you liked today's manicure. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Has anyone read this book yet? 

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