Book Binge

It's that time of year again, when we look back on the year and think about all the great (and not so great) things we accomplished. We had a pretty good year here at Book Binge. We had some amazing authors visit, gave away some great prizes and read some amazing books. We also read some not-so-amazing books.

We've spent the last few weeks going over all of our reads for the year and we've come up with what we consider to be the Best and the Worst of 2010. We'll be posting them over the next week. The categories we came up with are:

Best

Author
Read
Hero
Heroine
Series

Worst
Read

We've selected our top five favorites (along with a few honorable mentions) in each category. It was really hard coming up with only 5.  I think we're all a little stingy with the 5 star grades, so there were only a few who received 5 star grades from us. But I don't think a 5 star grade necessarily makes for the best book of the year. There were some books I read that only received 4 stars that I ended up re-reading 50x throughout the year. And there are some that received 5 stars that I can't remember a thing about now. Strange how that works, isn't it?

What about you? Do you have your Best (and worst) reads of the year put together? Is there one read in particular that stands out as THE BEST BOOK OF 2010? Just one? It's hard to do, isn't it?

Tracy’s review of How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling

Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is a man with a mission: find a wife he can tolerate as long as they both shall live. Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...

Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.

The Duke of Shelbourne, on more or less of a whim, decides that matchmaker Tessa Mansfield shall find him a bride. He’s ready to get married and with all the girls in London fawning all over him he can’t seem to make heads or tails of who will qualify to be good enough for his bride. He’s made a list of what he’s looking for in a bride and he’s not going to make exceptions.

For Tessa this is the chance of a lifetime. She’s one of the richest women in England, although she doesn’t flaunt her wealth, and she never takes payment to find a match. She really wants to find love for all of the women that London tends to overlook. She agrees to help find the Duke a match as she thinks it will help get her name out to all of the men and women who need to find love. But the Duke doesn’t want love, he just wants a bride to further the Shelbourne line and not let the title fall back into the hands of the Crown.

What Tessa comes up with is a historical version of The Bachelor. She couldn’t find any one woman who fit Shelbourne’s idea of the perfect bride in one woman so she chose many who had at least some. She came up with 24 women who would be eliminated or given invitations week by week. Shelbourne is more than a little pissed at the spectacle that Tessa has created but decides he’s got nothing to lose. The problem is that while he’s speaking to the “contestants” and doing a little “speedy courting” he’s thinking the whole time of Tessa. How can he focus on finding a good bride for himself when he can’t stop thinking about the matchmaker?

When I first started this book I was a little irked. I couldn’t believe that the author had done a historical version of The Bachelor! I decided to read on and keep an open mind. Next thing I know Tessa’s got the Duke doing a little speed dating. Arg! It was almost too much! However, I’d liked what I’d read so far (not including the contest and speed dating) so I powered on. Well I’m happy to say I’m so glad that I did. How to Marry a Duke ended up being a really good book. Yes, there was a contest going on but the story really focused on Tessa and Tristan’s budding relationship. The tension between the two was really great at times and by the time the two ended up kissing it was pretty explosive.

Tristan was portrayed as a rake, but if he was, he was a pretty mild one, I think. Yes, he’d had affairs with widows but he’d really kept things on the down low in order to avoid scandal. I think his supposed rakishness came from him not being completely circumspect while at parties and speaking with former lovers - I guess in those days that was scandalous enough. But I really liked him. He seemed to me to be a man with a good heart. He loved his family dearly, even though he didn’t understand his mother at all. He did have issues with his dead father and was determined to be nothing like him but after hearing about his father I didn’t blame him at all.

There was yet another part of the story that included Tessa’s past. Tessa’s past was the basis for her decision to remain independent and not marry. Unfortunately the past had reared its ugly head in the form of a former beau that Tessa wanted nothing to do with. The problem I had with this part of the story was really that it wasn’t until almost the end of the book that we found out what the big secret was – and we found out when Tristan did. I wasn’t any happier than Tristan when I found out but for a different reason all together. I understood that it was meant to be suspenseful and keep you reading but I found it a bit annoying.

So I’ve told you my niggles but overall the book was pretty darned good. On top of what I’ve mentioned the story also had some wonderful secondary characters. The Duke mother, his friend Hawk and Tristan’s sister Julianne were all lovely supporting characters and made the book that much better. I think if you’re looking for a fun historical but one that has some great romantic elements this would be a good book for you.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Forever. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Ames’ review of As My Warrior Commands by Gwen Campbell

When a kingdom crashes down around her, will his love be enough to save her?
Sibyls are old crones. Everybody knows that. So what's a warrior supposed to think when a beautiful young woman turns up in the middle of a siege, says she's a sibyl, predicts the downfall of a kingdom and tells him he's going there with her to prevent it? He does what any hot-blooded warrior would do. He follows the woman. She's intelligent, brave, can see the future, has an ass he can't stop staring at and she knows how to make him laugh. What he doesn't know is that the sibyls have predicted the downfall of the Kingdom of Jareb-Phar if a young sibyl enters their throne room. What they don't know is if her arrival will be coincidental or cause the kingdom's fall. The only thing the warrior does know for sure is that beneath his beautiful, young sibyl's discipline is a woman as lusty and wanton as he is.

As My Warrior Commands is a sci-fi romance that begins with the Sibyls (a matriarchal society of women with mystical and technical talents) discussing the siege that is currently taking place outside their fortress. You see, Sibyls are not from the Caspiun planet – they landed there three hundred years ago fleeing their own planet and decided to stay when they realized the DNA of the locals was compatible with their own. And in order to remain autonomous, Sibyls have sent out wise, older women (referred to as crones) to all the kingdoms of Caspiun, as advisors to the ruling powers. This allows them to keep a close eye on the political doings of their neighbors and also reinforces the air of mysticism around them. Now in the Kingdom of Jareb-Phar, the Sibyl has died and the women refuse to send another woman in her place because they have prophesized that taking a Sibyl into the Throne Room of Jareb-Phar will destroy that kingdom. But the current ruler, Pominus, is not heeding the Sibyl’s prophecy and sees them not sending a replacement as an insult. Thus the siege – he will steal a Sibyl if he has to.

Leading the so-far unsuccessful siege is Warrior Thain. And when young Sibyl Jessica spots Thain, she volunteers herself to go to Jareb-Phar. She needs to go on a Seer’s Quest and she sees Thain as the perfect opportunity. So Jessica allows herself to be caught by Thain and so begins an eight day journey to the kingdom of Jareb-Phar.

At first Thain believes he has the upper hand over Jessica. But she is wily and beautiful and shows him who’s really in charge of their expedition. Since these two are in such close proximity, they begin to fall in love and it’s not long before they give into their mutual lust. But once they reach Jareb-Phar, Pominus wants Jessica. Can these two lovers stand up against a ruler?

What did I think of As My Warrior Commands? Despite the simplicity of the plot and the shallowness of the characters, I liked it. LOL Jessica was a strong character who had great confidence in herself. And Thain was a big, strong, strapping warrior who thought he knew best but quickly realized Jessica had it going on. I say these characters are shallow because we didn’t really get to know them. AMWC was only 80 some pages and so there wasn’t enough page time for us to really get to know them. I think this book suffers from its short length. But Gwen Campbell has built an interesting world and I’d like to see how things turn out after the events of the ending.

As My Warrior Commands gets a 3 out of 5.

This book is available from Shadowfire Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

You can read more from ~ames~ at Thrifty Reader.

Tracy’s review of Must Love Kilts by Allie Mackay

Margo Menlove loves everything Scottish-especially the legendary warrior hero Magnus MacBride. But while exploring in the Highlands she picks up a magical stone on the shore, and awakens to the sight of MacBride himself. And the reality may be much more dangerous-and passionate-than her dreams could ever be.


Margo is working at a new age shop in Pennsylvania when she comes across an old book about myths and legends from Scotland. She opens the book and gazes upon a beautiful warrior. They seem to connect, but how is that possible when he’s in a picture in a book?! Later she has what she feels is a dream, only she’s awake in the shower, about kissing the same warrior. She wakes up more than a bit confused but she can’t get the warrior out of her head.

Margo was born loving everything about Scotland. When she wins a vacation to Scotland she’s more than thrilled. But the tour is such a whirlwind she doesn’t get to see all the charming places that she’s drawn to, and she certainly doesn’t just get to stand on a windswept cliff and enjoy the silence. She decides, one night, to get away and she sneaks from her hotel out to the beach to get a little quiet time to herself. The next thing she knows she’s on a the same beach she was on before but now it’s morning and she’s watching kilted Scottish warriors fighting Vikings!

Margo is quite surprised when the warrior from her dreams stalks up to her accusing of her of being a witch but Magnus soon simmers down and realizes that she’s just as frightened to be there as he is to see her. You see, Magnus was having the same visions of Margo as she was having of him. They’ve already got a weird bond but what does it mean and where do they go from here? Magnus is determined to kill a specific Viking and a real witch who practices black magic is out to get Magnus. Life isn’t all that easy in 13th century Scotland!

Must Love Kilts is a fun book in many ways. I always like a good time travel story and this one was good in the fact that Margo really loved the 13th century, and Scotland, so she was prepared for the cultural changes. She also realized right from the start that she had time traveled and she wasn’t confused about what was going on, which was refreshing.

Magnus and Margo had clicked from moment one when they saw each other from the pages of the book and the dream so when they saw each other they weren’t looking on a stranger. My problem with that was that I think the romance suffered for it. They were incredibly attracted to each other and had no problem in the bedroom. They felt for each other but it wasn’t explained why. Yes, it was sweet that they found each other but what about the other person was the attraction besides outside beauty? The author had shown Magnus's inner self and thoughts to the reader which were very compelling, but Margo never saw or heard that part. I didn’t see it.

Despite the lack of romance the book seemed more romantic because of the descriptions of Scotland that the author described so well. You can really tell that the author loved the land as she made me want to pack my bags and head on out. Lol

So even with the issues I had with the romance it was still a good book filled with strapping Scottish warriors, evil curses and lots of fighting of the Vikings. Not a bad way to pass an afternoon.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Ames' review of Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt.

A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows the area like the back of her hand—she cares for its children at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk...

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST

Caire makes a simple offer—in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as a cold bargain soon falls prey to a passion neither can control—and may well destroy them both.

I really enjoyed Wicked Intentions. The characters were different and this book had a very dark feel to it.

Temperance is a widow who runs a school for orphans in the worst part of London, St. Giles. Wicked Intentions opens up with Temperance returning to the orphanage with a sick newborn in the middle of the night. On the way, she runs into Lord Caire looking like he’s beating a man in the middle of the street. Temperance puts her head down and moves on. Once she’s dropped the baby off with the wet nurse, Temperance decides to relax with a cup of tea before bed. Waiting for her in her little sitting room is Lord Caire. He propositions Temperance…but not in the way you would think. He’s looking for a murderer and he wants Temperance’s help maneuvering the streets of St. Giles and speaking to the locals. They’ll divulge information to her they won’t to others. Temperance agrees, but only if Lord Caire introduces her to some potential backers for the orphanage. Their patron died suddenly and he didn’t leave any stipulations for the orphanage in his will, they’re barely making ends meet.

I found the beginning of Wicked Intentions a bit slow. But it definitely picks up once Temperance and Lord Caire spend more time in each other’s company. You see, Temperance is a widow and she felt some affection for her husband, but she had some desires and she feels like those desires led to her husband’s death. Ever since the events leading up to her husband’s death, she’s put a pretty strong stranglehold on her libido, and she refuses to give into her primal nature. And Lord Caire, Lazarus, is infamous for his dark desires. So while Laz and Temperance are running around the seedier underbelly of St. Giles looking for a murderer, Temperance has to come face to face with her desires, which match up perfectly with those of Lazarus. It created a delicious tension.

I liked these two characters. Temperance is a widow who chooses to cloister herself (basically) and she's also not nobility. The set up of the novel was perfect to cross her path with Lord Caire's because besides being a mistress, how else is a non-noble woman going to be in the circle of a Lord? Temperance is strong and even though she's not totally confident in herself, she shoulders those burdens (like the broke orphanage) and has come up with some interesting walls to keep herself invulnerable. And there's Lord Caire to create little cracks in her defenses and that's what I liked. Here the man is the pursuer and the woman is the woman who is holding herself back. Add to that the interesting setting (London's worst neighborhood and not so much the glittering ballrooms of the ton) and throw in some spicy sex scenes (how hot was that voyeur scene? HOT I tell you!!) and Elizabeth Hoyt has written herself a winner. I can't wait to read the next book in the Maiden Lane series.

4 out of 5!

The series:


This book is available from Grand Central Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

You can read more from ~ames~ at Thrifty Reader.

Tracy's review of Love Letters from Ladybug Farm (Ladybug Farm series #3) by Donna Ball

Renovating a broken-down mansion in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley gave three lifelong friends a welcome second chance. But after taking the biggest risk of their lives, are these women also willing to risk their hearts?

All the effort Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget have put into transforming an historic but overgrown farm into an upscale winery and special events business is paying off-Ladybug Farm has been chosen to host a society wedding. What this really means is that they are about to be invaded by warring mothers-in-law, a Bridezilla, and a completely clueless groom. They have their hands full keeping Ladybug Farm from descending into total chaos.

But there's something about a wedding...

After an article in a popular Virginian magazine Cici, Lindsay and Bridget's farm has become quite the talk of the town. The blog that Bridget began has gotten more hits than ever and she's actually getting orders for gift baskets - a lot of orders. On top of that their friend Paul has a friend of a friend of a friend who needs a location for a wedding...in 3 weeks.

The women decide to take on the wedding project because they really need the massive amount of money that the brides family is paying them, but they're wholly unprepared for the many, many, many emails and phone calls that they constantly get from both the mother of the bride and the bride herself. They question themselves daily as to the wisdom of their decision.

Then there is real life that goes on whether they're planning a wedding or not. Accidents, people dying, old loves coming back, friends having marital problems...it's never ending chaos. But it also makes the women stop and think about what's important in their lives.

This was a very sweet book that had a lot of mad cap things happening in it. It was kind of like Murphy's law hitting everything in the women's lives at once and though it was crazy they handled it quite well.

There was nothing wrong with the book, it just wasn't my kind of story. I'm not a person who enjoys bad things happening to good people and though it was all remedied in the end, it put me on edge just reading about it and wondering what the heck was going to happen next and was it going to be as bad or worse than the thing before? As I said, the women handled it and it made them all the stronger for it but I had a hard time enjoying the book because of the difficulties they were facing.

Rating: 3 out of 5

The series:


You can read more from Tracy at Tracy's Place


This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Holly's review of Second Chances by Lauren Dane

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself—and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.

Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.

Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

I didn't realize this was a re-release. I'm glad there was a note in the front of the book to warn me. Things like that annoy me (not being told ahead of time, I mean). Don't get me started on the time I paid $20 for a 190pg Jennifer Crusie book in hardcover, not realizing it was a reprint of her first novel. Talk about frustrating.

Moving on.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. Based on the blurb, I thought it might end up being a menage story, but that isn't the di ...moreI didn't realize this was a re-release. I'm glad there was a note in the front of the book to warn me.Not being told ahead of time really annoys me. Don't get me started on the time I paid $20 for a 190pg Jennifer Crusie book in hardcover, not realizing it was a reprint of her first novel. Talk about frustrating.

Moving on.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. Based on the blurb, I thought it might end up being a menage story, but that isn't the direction Dane went. I'm still on the fence about the way it turned out. While I appreciate the growth of the characters and the overall progression of the novel, I'm still unsure. I really liked that Jude grew as a character. We really saw him change from a person no one wanted to be around to a stand up guy. 

I also liked how strong Rori was. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it, but she also wasn't afraid to cut her losses when things didn't work out. Jude acts like a complete ass in the beginning, and Rori walks away. That was very refreshing. 

I think the main thing that bothers me about this book is the way Zach was portrayed. It was obvious that he cared for Rori and she for him. But there were small things Zach did that made him less likable to me. It was almost like Dane wrote those things so we'd have more sympathy for Jude in the end? 


I also wish Rori had stood up for herself more with Zach. The few things he did that were over-the-top should have been handled better by Rori - or dealt with more severely, I guess. She was too quick to forgive him considering the things he pulled. 


Having said that, this is an intense novel. Dane really grabbed me emotionally, especially as the novel wore on. It was very good. Just unexpected. I think the story arc took the right direction. My issues stem more from the actions of the characters. Overall an excellent novel of love and growth.

3.75 out of 5

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

Tracy’s review of No Place to Run (KGI #2) by Maya Banks

The last person Sam Kelly expected to save was Sophie Lundgren. Once they shared a brief, intense affair while Sam was undercover and then she vanished. She's spent the last few months on the run, knowing that any mistake would cost her both her life and that of their unborn child. Now she's resurfaced with a warning for Sam: this time, he's the one in danger.

Five months ago Sam and Sophie came together in an extremely hot yet brief affair when Sam was on assignment in Mexico. Now Sam finds Sophie floating in the river outside his home, beaten, bruised, shot and…pregnant – about 5 months along.

Sam’s not sure what to think about the reasons that Sophie is now in his home. He wants to hold her in his arms and take care of her yet he doesn’t quite understand how she found him. When he finds out that she is the daughter of the arms dealer he had been in Mexico to bring down his distrust meter goes haywire. Now Sophie is saying that she’s on the run from her father and uncle’s men and that now that she’s with Sam his family is in danger as well. Sam doesn’t know all of the why’s and how’s but he’s not about to take a chance with his families well being. He takes measures to get his family to safety but things don’t always work out as planned. Besides the safety issue – what the heck is Sam going to do with Sophie?

This was a non-stop action read. There was never a dull moment while reading and I couldn’t put it down. Ms. Banks drew me in with the intensity of Sam and Sophie’s affair right at the beginning of the book and kept me turning page after page.

There were so many things that I liked about the book. I loved, loved, loved the camaraderie between Sam and his brothers, especially Donovan and Garrett. The dialogue was written just like brothers actually talk and it gave such a feeling of reality to the book. Another aspect of the book that felt very real life to me was Sam and Sophie’s relationship. Yes it was hot and intense when they first met but when Sam fishes Sophie out of the river he doesn’t ignore the warning bells in his head and jump into bed with her. He really acts like a man with trust issues who’s not following his dick, but his heart and head.

There was very little about this book that I didn’t like and I will definitely be reading subsequent books in the series. In fact I didn’t read book 1 of KGI but will be rectifying that oversight very shortly. Definitely a book you don’t want to miss.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The series:


You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place


This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Rowena's review of Wedding of the Season (Abandoned at the Altar, Book 1) by Laura Lee Guhrke.

Hero: Will Mallory, Duke of Sunderland
Heroine: Lady Beatrix Danbury

Being jilted. It’s awful for a girl.

Especially if your fiancé was also your childhood sweetheart , your prince charming, and the handsome, rakish duke you’d built all your dreams around. Even more awful if he jilted you two weeks before your wedding and took off for Egypt. It would take a girl a long time to get over that sort of humiliation.

But what if six years later, on the eve of your next wedding, he returns and he decides he wants you back? Too bad, you say? But what if he’s as hot, handsome, and rakishly charming as ever? What if his return stirs up all the old passions you thought you’d conquered? What if you find yourself longing for the past and questioning the future? What if you have to spend a whole month at the same house party with him and your new fiancé?

Well, for Lady Beatrix Danbury, that sort of situation is more than awful. It’s impossible. It’s intolerable. It’s a nightmare. But it might also turn out to be her dream come true.

I've never in my life read a book by Laura Lee Guhrke but in the space of a couple of days, I read two. This book was the first of the two. I'm pretty impressed with what I've read and I will definitely be reading more from her in the future as well.

Six years ago, Lady Beatrix was jilted at the altar when her fiance' (and best friend) Will Mallory, chose to go to Egypt to dig up King Tut instead of stay in England and build a life with her. It took her five long years to be okay to move on from him and when she finally does and is going to marry a good man, of course he pops back into her life.

Will's back in England because he needs a sponsor to fund his work. He's so close to finding King Tut but he's blown through his inheritance and needs money to keep the work going. He's back in England to ask Beatrix's cousin and his dear friend, Paul Danbury, for a loan...and okay, maybe Beatrix's wedding to Aidan Carr, Duke of Trathen has something to do with his interest in coming back. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't but one thing is for sure, Will is heartbroken about what happened six years ago just as much as Trix is.

This story is one of those first loves stories. Will and Beatrix grew up together, they played together with Beatrix's cousins Paul and Julia, they fell in love together. They loved each other passionately as only first loves can love and they got engaged. They were going to live the rest of their lives together, build a family together but real life and dreams got in the way.

Beatrix couldn't believe that he didn't want to stay in England and start their life together and Will couldn't believe that Trix wasn't going to come along to Egypt to follow his dream. Watching these two battle wits, fight their attraction (that was still burning hot) and not fall in love with each other made for some entertaining reading.

There were times when I didn't understand where Beatrix was coming from and there were times that I wanted to kick Will in the nuts for being an idiot but for the most part, I enjoyed both characters and wanted them to get their happy ending. To finally get things right.

My favorite part about reading this story was how real the characters felt to me. Guhrke did a great job of making me connect with both Beatrix and Will. I felt both of their pain and I enjoyed getting to know the both of them. Even more, I loved how slick she was with the jump start to the next story. The bits and pieces of that story had me curious and eager for more.

Overall, this story was a good one. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, I enjoyed reading through the story to get to the end and though I felt the ending was a bit rushed, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story and I very much looked forward to reading the next story.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

The turkey has been carved, the potatoes mashed, the presents opened..now it's time to relax with a good book. To help make that a little easier, we're giving away a NOOKColor!!!

We want to know what your perfect reading day would be like, if you could access everything on one device. Would you travel to the beach, listening to a book along the way, then relaxing in the sand with the sound of the surf behind you? Would you curl up in your favorite chair in front of the fireplace on a cold winters day? Snuggle with your kids and read together? What book would you settle down with? An old favorite or something new?

If you'd like a chance to win, tell us what your perfect reading day would be like, and what book you'd choose to curl up with. You can leave a comment on this post, or email your entries to contests @ thebookbinge . com (no spaces) with NOOKColor Contest in the subject line. Mention this contest on a social media site (Blog, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc) and leave a link in the comments and we'll throw your name in an extra time..one entry for each site you mention the contest on (ie, if you mention this on Twitter and Facebook, and give us a link to both, that gives you 3chanes to win!).

You can learn more about NOOKColor at the official Barnes and Noble website, their Facebook page or on Twitter.

Contest ends Wednesday, January 5, 2011. All entries must be received before 11:59pm.


*Disclaimer: Barnes and Noble is sponsoring this contest and will be providing the device to the winner.

Judith's review of Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

With bold colors and a sleek design, NOOKColor is a thing of beauty. The gray-black plastic surround and black rubber back make this the prettiest eReader on the market, hands down.

Readers want a user-friendly device on which to read eBooks. In this, NOOKColor doesn't disappoint. Many readers are concerned about the LCD screen being hard on the eyes. With adjustments to the contrast and brightness, I haven't found this to be an issue. Night reading and reading in direct sunlight are a snap with the touch of a button. With 6 options for reading brightness (night reading, sepia, beige and others), readers shouldn't have trouble with the screen. With B&N's VividView screen treatment, glare is greatly reduced as well.

The pixel-dense homescreen is amazingly sharp and clear. The images are crisp and very life-like. The device comes with a tutorial video. It ran through the basic set-up of NOOKColor, along with some tips to make it easier to navigate. After watching the video readers should have no trouble logging in and managing the settings. The touchscreen keyboard was easy to use and very intuitive, though I do miss having cursors on the keyboard.

There are advanced menu options for customizing your reading experience. The font and text size are adjustable, notes and highlights are now searchable and passages can be shared direct to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook through the internal WiFi connection.There is no 3G access for NOOKColor.

The web browser is fully functional, unlike that of the Nook 3G, though it does run on the slow side. Users can check email, visit social media outlets, do online banking and keep track of their reads though Goodreads and LibraryThing. Because NOOKColor is using an outdated version of the Andriod operating system, I'm not sure how many will want to. A computer or even a smart phone will run faster. There are rumors that the device will be updated to Android 2.2 sometime in January, but these are as yet unconfirmed. If so, that along with an app market could bump this device from a strict eReader to an option for a cheap tablet. In the meantime, the device is meant for reading and that's the primary focus.

B&N did release a software update last night that improved the wifi functionality and made web browsing a bit faster. It took about 10 seconds to load Goodreads.com this morning, a noticeable 15-20 second improvement.

ePub files are easily sideloaded from the computer via a USB connection. There still isn't an option to send external content wirelessly (which the Kindle is capable of via email), but this isn't too much of a hindrance. Drag and drop is the name of the game. With 8GB of internal memory and expandable memory options, readers can carry up to 30,000 books with them at a time.

NOOKcolor reads pdf files, but the menu options for them are severely limited. The current page being read isn't saved, so each time you close the document your place is lost. Upon opening the document, you start on page one, regardless of the number of times you've opened it. Fonts and text aren't adjustable, there is no option for highlights or notes, sharing via social media is out and there's no search option. Readers will want to convert files to ePub before loading.

The menu options for ePub files are great. The contents of the book are available so you can jump to chapters/pages. Making notes and highlights is easy, though I don't see an option to highlight large sections of text at a time. The same is true for sharing quotes - it seems only one word at a time can be shared. There is an internal dictionary, so looking up words is very simple. There's also an option to find more information via Google or Wikipedia.

The homescreen can be customized with the books, newspapers and magazines of your choosing. As with the 3G, personal shelves can be created to organize the library. For reviewers this is an absolute godsend, though I think readers will enjoy it just as much. Covers aren't available for sideloaded content however, so making sure the metadata is correct for each ePub file is a must (Calibre is a great resource for this).

NOOKColor features "extras" such as Pandora radio (readers who like background noise as they read will love this), Sudoku, Chess and Crossword puzzles, as well as the option to add your own music and photos. Photos can be added to the gallery, then used to create a slideshow or customize the background on the homescreen. There's also a "Contacts" folder, which stores all your contacts, which can either be manually added or imported from email contacts. These contacts can be used with the LENDME feature, which allows the sharing of books. Unfortunately each book can still only be lent once.

One area where NOOKColor really shines is the children's books. My children are too old for the stories that came free with the device (The Elephant's Child: How the Elephant Got His Trunk and Richard Scarry's Colors), but we still enjoyed reading them together. With the "read it to me" option, parents are off the hook reading the same book again and again to their child, and the narrators are excellent. The colors really standout with these books and make this a great tool for parents and children alike.

I'm impressed with the device as a whole. I feel this really opens the market and expands what we thought we knew about eReaders. The lack of options for PDFs (something I dislike greatly about the Kindle), slower internet browser and lack of covers on sideloaded content are drawbacks, but the enhanced reading options, beautiful color touchscreen and ability to read magazines and newspapers make this a strong contender as an e-reading device for of all ages. Though I have to admit, I don't see a big draw for existing Nook owners to upgrade. I'm going to reserve judgment until after the (possible) January update.

Disclaimer: Barnes and Noble supplied us with this device.

How would you like to win a NOOKColor of your own? Check back later this week for additional commentary on the device and to see how you can win one!