BDBR: Giant George by Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee

 

 Title:  Giant George: Life with the World’s Biggest Dog

Author:  Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee

Genre:  Pets, Pet Memoirs

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date:  April 10, 2012

Rating:

BLURB: 

“With his big blue eyes and soulful expression, George was the irresistible runt of the litter. But Dave and Christie Nasser’s “baby” ended up being almost five feet tall, seven feet long, and 245 pounds. Eager to play, and boisterous to the point of causing chaos, this big Great Dane was scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size and, most of all, scared of being alone.

GIANT GEORGE is the charming story of how this precocious puppy won Dave and Christie’s hearts and along the way became a doggie superstar. In 2010, George was named by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Dog in the World-ever. He appeared on Oprah, and even has his own global fan club. But to Dave and Christie, this extraordinary animal is still their beloved pet, the one who has made them laugh, made them cry, and continues to make them incredibly happy.”

REVIEW:

I have to say that when I first heard about Giant George I was in awe, it was on one of the news channels online and they said you can friend him on facebook, so I did. 🙂  Then I heard about his book and knew I had to read it. Bottom line is, the book is good. I enjoyed every minute of it and I even learned some new things about the great dane breed. Being a fellow animal lover and dog owner myself I couldn’t help comparing how George and my lovable goofy dog, Bear aka Bubba Dog, who is also rather big, are so much alike. I kept thinking, “wow that’s too funny, Bear does that too!” or “how interesting, Bear is also afraid of water…” 

Yes, it’s true, Bear is by all means part ‘water dog’ (he’s a black labrador retriever and from what I’ve been told part great dane mix) and is afraid of water. He avoids puddles at all costs, hates baths and refuses to go out in the rain, and yet he loved playing in the snow when we lived in Minnesota. I know my dog is weird. Luckily though we don’t really have to worry much about his water phobia problem anymore now that we live in Arizona.  Giving him a bath though is a whole nother story, but I’ll leave that for another day, back to the review.

There were several laugh out loud moments and moments that will probably make you cry, I know I was tearing up. I also liked the fact that this story wasn’t just focused on Giant George as an animal in general, but the story focused on his family as a whole and how he affected them, and helped them along the way through all their good times and bad times. He is not just a pet to them, but a part of the family.

Obviously, being the “World’s Biggest Dog” being big sometimes has it’s disadvantages. Taking a quote from page 76, Dave says, “He was big and, to a lot of people, big equaled scary.” I cannot even describe how that is so true. To people who have big dogs it’s not a big deal to them, they know their dog is big and they are used to it, but sometimes for someone who is meeting this person’s dog for the first time, they get scared, they seem to think that because this dog is so big it might hurt or bite them, they feel intimiated, which is understandable. I can’t keep track of how many times I have to tell people that my big dog is the nicest dog ever and won’t bite, of course they aren’t going to believe me, my dog doesn’t know them and they don’t know him so anything can happen. It’s just sad sometimes to see these gentle giant dogs being utterly avoided because of their size, but it happens.

Over all, it’s a great story and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good pet story.

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If you’d like to purchase Giant George just click on one of the links below:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Also be sure to check out Giant George’s website (click on the author’s name above, Dave Nasser) and friend Giant George on facebook and twitter! Bear and I are fans! 🙂

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Book Provided for Review by:  Bullhead City Mohave County Library

BDBR: Love, By George by Debra Salonen

Title: Love, By George

Author: Debra Salonen

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin

Publication Date: August 1, 2007

Rating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLURB:

“Name: George

Breed: Harlequin Great Dane

Identifying Traits: One blue eye, one brown eye… and a propensity for trouble!

George was last seen escaping from the hoem of his recently divorced owner, restaurateur Brad Ralston. He wasn’t wearing a leach and had a mischievous glint in his eye and is probably headed for Paws Spa, where single mom Kara Williams can be found grooming dogs and nursing her old crush on Brad.

Canine suspect is unarmed, but has an agenda-possibly recognizing two of his favorite humans, Brad and Kara, are so busy protecting their wounds from past hurts they can’t see what’s plainly under George’s nose. If you see this dog, please do not report him immediately. He’s got matchmaking to do.”

REVIEW:

I have to say this book caught my eye because of the cover. I’m a sucker for love stories involving pets, especially dogs, and when I saw this cover with one of my favorite dog breeds on it, a Great Dane, I just had to get my hands on it and read the story.

George, is a big, lovable, gentle, sweet, “talkative”, Great Dane who reminds me so much of Bear aka Bubba Dog. I’m not sure if anyone else notices these sorts of things about their pets, maybe it’s just because I tend to notice more things than some people, but my dog has a very expressive face just like George and is very “talkative” too. Bear has this thing where he raises his eyebrows a lot and talks back to me when he doesn’t agree with what I’m saying or when he just needs to voice his opinion. It’s quite adorable and I can’t help laughing everytime he does it, he especially knows to do it when he’s in trouble because he knows I just can’t stay mad at him when he talks back to me and gives me his puppy dog look. Throughout the whole story just the little things George did made me giggle and smile, those are the best kinds of stories, if you can make me laugh and bring a smile to my face your story is worth the read.

Kara, the heroine of the story reminded me a little of myself. She’s very kind hearted and talks to the animals like they’re human beings and are involved in the conversation right along with you. I’m the same way. I know I sound crazy, but I honestly believe pets can understand what we’re saying and if they could talk they’d definately answer. They’re great listeners and even though they can’t speak they’re there for you no matter what. She’s also afraid of being hurt and doesn’t want to get involved with Brad even though she still has a crush on him, and she puts her twin 5 year old daughters, Sadie and Sophie, above all else, they’re her world and are just like their mother, they’re love for animals is absolutely adorable.

Recently divorced Brad, the hero in the story, has a 14 year old son named Justin. Brad is a hard working man, but is also very distant and isn’t close to his son. He was too hurt and mad at his ex-wife, Lynette, to bother and fight for her and try to make their marriage work. He ends up noticing these things, wanting to change. and make his relationship stronger with Justin. He’s also a restaurant owner and a chef which I just love! Some of the recipes he cooked in the story I’ve never tried making and I’m tempted to look for the recipes. They sound amazing, especially the pear tart with chocolate hazelnut sauce dessert, sounds yummy, huh? 😀

Another character in the story I just had to talk a bit about is Justin, Brad’s son. Justin is a rebellious 14 year old who reminded me a bit of my younger sister, Demitra. When our parents divorced my sister rebeled just like Justin and got in to quite a bit of trouble in school. The author did a great job of explaining how some children react to parents divorcing, every child is different, but divorces effect children in a lot of the same ways. I felt for Justin and knew exactly how he was feeling.

Overall, the story was a good read. I’d recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for animals and enjoys a good light romance story with a few kids thrown in. 🙂

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If you’d like to purchase Love, By George just click on one of the links below:

Amazon

Amazon (Kindle Format) 

Barnes & Noble (only available in ebook format and used format)

Also, be sure to check out Debra Solnen’s other books and her website!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

BDBR: SEALed with a Promise by Mary Margret Daughtridge

Title: SEALed with a Promise

Author: Mary Margret Daughtridge

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book In Series: #2 of The SEALed Series

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Rating: 

BLURB:

“Navy SEAL Caleb Delaude had a less-than-ideal childhood. His biological father abandoned his family at Caleb’s birth and left them to a life of poverty, refusing to help even as his mother lay dying. So when he is assigned to protect the powerful senator who he suspects is his father, his vicious grudge turns into a strong urge for revenge.

But then he meets biology professor Emmie Caddington, a close friend of the senator’s daughter. He thinks he’ll use her to spring the secret of his illegitimate birth on the senator’s unsuspecting family, but his interest in Emmie begins to get complicated.

He’s a SEAL 24/7, and that doesn’t leave much time for women or love. Her fascination with him finally makes him feel good about himself, but when the truth finally comes out, will their budding relationship be nothing more than a means to revenge… or is she the key to his salvation?”

REVIEW:

I love a good “Men in Uniform” love story. Anything from firefighters to military men, but my favorite is definately Navy SEALs. I think what really draws me to them is their whole take charge, protective, and stubborn attitudes. Plus, I love the whole suspenseful plots in a lot of the stories I read.

At first I thought Caleb “Do-Lord” Delaude and Emmie Caddington were an odd match. Emmie was against everything Caleb is: a SEAL and Caleb thought Emmie was too “plain” for him and yet she intruged him, but once you got more into the story and found out more about each character they actually did have a few interesting things in common and it shows that opposites really do attract. Their love connection though seemed to be put on hold somewhat throughout the story until towards the end because Caleb was so full of guilt and anger and wanted revenge so the story tended to focus more on that aspect then the relationship itself.

The relationship between Caleb and Vicky (10 year old Senator Teague’s daughter), also known as “Little Bit” (the nickname Caleb gave her) interested me more then the actual love relationship between Caleb and Emmie. Caleb and Vicky are a lot alike, they are both strong-willed, determined, and brave. The fact that they both had Trypanophobia- a fear of needles- was interesting as well. I really liked how the author focused on and explained their phobia, it really showed me from the characters point of views how they felt about it and how Caleb helped Vicky to understand her phobia and not exactly over come it, but learn to face it and somewhat accept it. Some people tend to just brush aside phobias and think they are nothing to worry about or that they are not real, but they are very real. I actually live with someone who has Arachnophobia- a fear of spiders- and you truely don’t fully understand what they are going through unless you yourself are the one with the phobia.

In all, the story was a good read though the ending seemed somewhat rushed. If you enjoy a good “Men in Uniform” story then I’d recommend you pick it up and give it a try.

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If you’d like to purchase SEALed with a Promise, just click on one of the links below:

Sourcebooks, Inc.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Be sure to check out Mary Margret Daughtridge‘s website to find out more about the SEALed Series!

Hugs,

       Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

BDBR: A Duke To Die For by Amelia Grey

Title: A Duke To Die For

Author: Amelia Grey

Genre: Historical Romance

Book In Series: #1 of The Rogue’s Dynasty Series

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Rating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLURB:

“Responsibility is the last thing the carefree Duke of Blakewell is looking for when it arrives on his doorstep in the form of a beautiful young lady. In a sequence of unfortunate events, the guardianship of Miss Henrietta Tweed falls to Blake.

Blake doesn’t know if he’s irritated or impressed by Miss Tweed’s boldness, but he can’t be responsible for her. His feelings for the seductive and captivating Henrietta are far from what a guardian should feel for his ward. Finding it hard to resist his desire for her, Blake decides the only honorable thing he can do is find her a suitable husband.

Henrietta Tweed has been controlled by men since her parents died when she was a young girl. She’s not interested in her roguish new guardian finding her a husband.

All of her previous five guardians have died, causing her to believe she is cursed. Not wanting the appealing Duke to die because of her, she tries to warn him off. Blake isn’t one for superstitious nonsense, even though mysterious accidents are happening that put him in danger.

Blake considers possible suitors, but eventually rules them all out and concedes that Henrietta has captured his heart.

But has he pushed her away for too long?

Henrietta must find a way to escape the curse, and Blake, before he becomes the next “duke to die for.” “

REVIEW:

The main thing in the story that caught my attention the most was “the curse.” Curses intruge me, not that I think they are positive things or that I would wish one upon someone because I sure wouldn’t want one bestowed upon me but, they just make the story more mysterious and I like that. Curses are one of those kinds of things where you are not sure what exactly will happen or when, it’s basically a mystery.

I really enjoyed how Amelia had Lord Chesterfield’s (a character) wise quotes throughout the book, they were quite interesting. She also did an excellent job at explaining what each character looked like in great detail. I felt I was actually seeing the characters through her eyes. I especially LOVED the description of Henrietta’s ball gown for her debut at Lady Windham’s party, the dress sounded absolutely beautiful.

Blake and Henrietta’s love for each other was… undescribable. You could just see how the two were perfect for each in so many ways and how when they looked at one another, thought about one another, and talked to one another their eyes, thoughts, and words showed how much they were falling in love with each other throughout the story. Now when I say undescribable I mean that when you see two people fall in love whether it be in a book or in real life you can’t entirely try to explain that love to someone else. I know that there is a definition for the word “love” but, that doesn’t give it much justice does it?

All in all, this book was a good read. If you enjoy historical romances then I’d definately recommend you pick up this novel. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens to Blake’s cousins’ Race and Morgan and how they find love. Race’s story releases in October 2009 and is called A Marquis To Marry and Morgan’s story releases in April 201o and is called An Earl To Enchant. You can read more about each of their stories HERE.

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If you’d like to purchase A Duke To Die For, just click on one of the links below:

Sourcebooks, Inc.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Be sure to check out Amelia Grey‘s website to read more about The Rogue’s Dynasty Series and her other great books!

Hugs,

      Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

BDBR: Rogue by Cheryl Brooks

The first of my book reviews! I know, finally! Just on a side note all of my book reviews will have BDBR (stands for Bubba Dog’s Book Reviews) at the beginning of the post title followed by the book title and author. Plus, each of my book review posts will be under the catergory of “Bubba Dog’s Book Reviews” as well as be listed on the Bubba Dog’s Book Reviews Page.

I’ll have several more book reviews coming up for the next few days along with a few more guest authors so be sure to check them out! 🙂

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 Title: Rogue

Author: Cheryl Brooks

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Book In Series: #3 of The Cat Star Chronicles

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

Rating:

 

BLURB:

“No woman has ever tamed him before…
Enslaved for years, Tychar belongs to the Queen of Darconia. His feline gene gives him remarkable sexual powers and every female on the planet is in love with him. Then, the Queen gives him to Kyra…

Does she even stand a chance?
Or will she be just another one of his conquests? Why would he choose the modest piano teacher? Yet the two are drawn to each other with a powerful, magnetic attraction unlike any he’s felt before… Then the palace is attacked in a coup, and Tychar has to choose between freedom and love…”

REVIEW:

When books are written in a series I tend to like to read them in order so I don’t feel that I’m missing something. I honestly didn’t have that problem when reading Rogue. Everything was explained in great detail so I didn’t feel “lost” in the story and feel like I have to read the first two books – though I definately plan to anyway. I found out why brothers, Tychar and Trag were enslaved so long ago along with others from their destroyed planet Zetith and why it was destroyed. The descriptions of the palace, the planet, its people, everything were in great detail. I felt that I was right there in their world, seeing and experiencing it all through the characters/authors eyes.

I really enjoyed discovering the world of Darconia – where Tychar and Trag are enslaved. I love being introduced to new unknown worlds. Now when you think of the word “enslaved” you most likely think of it in a bad way which is what I assumed as well but, for being slaves they were actually treated very, very well. I’m honestly glad the author didn’t make them being slaves into a horribly, bad, and depressing part of the story, that would have ruined the story.

The world of Darconia I found facinating from their dry, rock infested desert land to their many resourceful products/resources like the glowstones and cleaning cloths – I would explain in more detail why I found these things so facinating but, I don’t want to give too much away. Also that their planet was pretty much inhabited by talking lizard people was pretty interesting as well. I’m not a big fan of reptiles they kind of creep me out so if I would have ever seen them talk it would have taken some getting used to.

Now onto the good part, Tychar and Kyra’s romantic chemistry was beyond amazing. You could just feel it crackling and sizzling in the air. It was really funny seeing Kyra struggle with trying not to (pardon my french) jump his bones even though she really wanted to and I found Tychar absolutely charming. I did find it kind of weird to hear Tychar talking about love so soon in the beginning of the book. Usually if a woman even mentions the word love to a man they go running. Well, I guess Tychar isn’t exactly human so it doesn’t count but, still it was really weird.

On the other hand Tychar’s brother, Trag he seemed to catch my eye more. I think it was the fact that he was so cocky and had a sense of humor with a temper to match. I tend to be drawn more to male characters with those characteristics for some odd reason.

In all, this book was a great read and I definately recommend it. Even try picking out one of the other books in The Cat Star Chronicles series, I’m sure they’re as good as this one. I’m hoping to get my hands on the first two books in the series so I’ll for sure do a review on them when I manage to get my hands on them. You will be expecting a review from the 4th book in the series called, Outcast by the end of the month. It releases from Sourcebooks, Inc. on June 1, 2009!

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If you’d like to PURCHASE Rogue just click on one of the links below:

Sourcebooks, Inc.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Borders

And be sure to check out Cheryl Brooks website for more info on the other books in The Cat Star Chronicles series along with future releases as well!

Hugs,

       Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Bubba Dog’s Book Reviews

 Hi, my name is Bear aka Bubba Dog! My mom (who you all know as Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict) and I review Romance and YA books of all sub-genres. She reads ‘em I rate ‘em.

Here is our rating scale:

 

 

=Not A Fan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=It Was Okay.

Didn’t Really

 Catch My

 Interest.

 

 

 

 

=Liked It

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=Really Liked It

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=LOVED IT!

Definately A

Recommended

 Read!

 

 

So there you have it. If you’d like your book reviewed by my mom and I then just drop us an e-mail at romancebookaddict @ hotmail.com (without the spaces) for details.

***NOTE: We CANNOT guarantee a time frame that the review of your book will be finished but it WILL be reviewed.***

You’ll notice a new page up titled “Bubba Dog’s Book Reviews.” We’ll have all the previous book reviews listed on that page once we post them of course.

What to expect the next few days…

Tomorrow (5th)- The Animal Rescue Site and The Literacy Site

6th- PaperBackSwap and BookMooch

7th- Pet Story (Bear aka Bubba Dog)

8th- Book Lovin’ Penpals Group

Since my mom (Dani) is sick in bed today… she told me I could pick the daily question(s)…

So the questions are…

Do you like book reviews? Is that one way you discover if you should read the book or not? Are you a book reviewer yourself?

Well, that’s it… Thanks for stopping by!