My previous Happy Abs Day post was dedicated to Bradley Cooper. Today for lack of inspriration I am going to dedicate Happy Abs Day to another actor again. I will try and come up with a more original theme in the near future but at the moment with a very busy social life and reading schedule you'll have to do with some of my favorite actors. Today feast your eyes on Mr. Shemar Moore.
Just as Bradley caught my eye in a TV series so did Mr. Shemar Moore and while searching for the name of the soap series he first wowed me in (I will share this info later on) I discovered that Mr Moore is half DUTCH!!! He has a Dutch mom and an African American dad. I always said off-spring of white and black turn out to be some of the best specimens of mancandy on this planet ;) The first language he learned was Dutch as he didn't learn English until he was 5!!!! Are you as surprised as I am??

Okay, back to the subject at hand now...the soap series I was looking for was THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. This soap was aired for a very, very brief moment in time on Dutch television some years ago and this is where I first saw Shemar. Then TV crime shows addict that I am I started watching CRIMINAL MINDS and hey.....there was Mr Shemar "Hottie" Moore again! I'm not saying I watch CM for him but if he were to leave the series I am sure I will enjoy it a lot less than I do with him in it.

Enough of the Pearl blabbering...I know you guys want some pics...after all this is Happy Abs Day.

I'm starting off with some non-abs ones, just because I feel like it and I am a woman who notices other stuff than abs first *wink*


Look at that smile, look at those pecs, look at those arms!! And tell me you don't want to haul him off somewhere, fog up those glasses and have your merry (dirty) way with him. I dare you!

And now what you all have been waiting for: ABS!! Shemar Moore's delicious, delectable, bite- and lickable ABS!






And now my favorite of the bunch...I could stare dreamily at this one for hours and hours and hours...and hours and hours...

Mass Market Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books - June 29, 2010
ISBN-10: 1439152950
ISBN-13: 978-1439152950
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book: Book Two in Tracers Series
Main Characters: Elaina McCord & Troy Stockton
On sale at: The Bookdepository Store

Summary:

ELAINA MCCORD WANTS TO FIND A KILLER.
BUT HE’S ALREADY FOUND HER.

Elaina McCord’s dream of being an FBI profiler is in danger with her first case—investigating a string of murders near a Texas beach resort. The victims, all young women, were drugged and brutally murdered, their bodies abandoned in desolate marshland. Elaina’s hunch—met with disbelief by local police—is that these are only the latest offerings from a serial killer who has been perfecting his art for years, growing bolder and more cunning with each strike.

True-crime writer Troy Stockton has a reputation as an irresistible playboy who gets his story at any cost. He’s the last person Elaina should trust, let alone be attracted to. But right now Troy, along with the elite team of forensics experts known as the Tracers, are her only allies in a case that’s turning dangerously personal. A killer is reaching out to Elaina, taunting her, letting her know how ruthless he is and how close he’s getting. Now it’s not just her career that’s in danger—it’s her life. . . .

Pearl's Review: Elaina McCord wants to follow in her legendary profiler father’s footsteps and be a profiler too. Elaina is ambitious and responsible. She’s a no-nonsense type of woman with a hidden softer side. Fresh out of the Academy, she’s sent to a small Texas FBI office instead of one of the hotshot big town offices. A homicide investigation on Lito Island is her first shot at proving herself. Elaina has ideas about the homicide and suspects a serial killer but her male colleagues and the local police don’t care much for her opinion.

One of the few who believes her and is willing to help her prove her suspicions is former newspaper reporter turned crime writer, Troy Stockton. Troy is a smooth charmer and despite his surfer-dude look and his seemingly laidback attitude he’s as sharp as the come. When they start working together the sparks fly between them but both know that they have to focus on the case rather than the sizzling chemistry between them, especially when the killer starts focusing on Elaina.

Just as with all the previous Laura Griffin Books I was entranced from the moment I cracked the spine and started reading the prologue. UNSPEAKABLE is a romantic suspense novel that turned out to be right up my alley as it focuses on FBI and suspect profiling, which is one of my preferred suspense/law enforcement tropes. Reading it felt like watching a mix of my favorite TV crime shows (Criminal Minds and CSI) all rolled into one, topped off with a subtle yet sensual romance. Laura Griffin had me speculating and guessing who the killer was and it wasn’t until about 2/3 into the book that I pegged the killer after two false guesses. With subtle hints and clues she leads you in a certain direction and then steers you in the right one at the end. I love how she does this.

As with the first book in this Tracer series, the Delphi Center (elite forensic lab) and some of the Tracers played a significant role in the solving of the plot and finding the killer. There’s a cold case subplot with Mia Voss, the DNA expert, and police officer Ric Santos that not only gets nicely tied in with the main plot but is also a prelude to the next book, at least I think the romance part of that sub plot is. However, Laura Griffin has been known to lead me in a certain direction when pairing characters and then surprise the heck out of me with the end product, so I am not putting all my money on the Mia and Ric match.

When reviewing Laura Griffin’s books I am afraid I sound like a broken record. Again I loved the clean and crisp writing and the subtle way the romance was set-up, imbedded in the story and woven through the suspense plot. Again I was mesmerized by the suspense that made me go through the book like a warm knife goes through butter. UNSPEAKABLE is a quick-paced read as I couldn’t stop reading and had to know the outcome of the plot and I was kept entranced by the search for a (serial) killer who crept me out. And again I have nothing but praise for Griffin’s knowledge of law enforcement, her excellent writing skills and the amazing way she combines the two to deliver a story that wasn’t as heart-pounding as some of her other books I’ve read but this absolutely didn’t diminish the wonderful reading experience I had with UNSPEAKABLE.

For me Laura Griffin never fails to deliver and I hope this Tracer series won’t end with book 3: UNFORGIVABLE as there were enough secondary characters in UNSPEAKABLE to warrant at least a few more books in the future. Among them are Troy’s friend Cinco Chavez, Tracer Ben Lawson (cyber crime expert) and Tracer Kelsey Quinn (forensic anthropologist). With these three I think there’s enough material there to continue the Tracer series for a while, if not with their own books, maybe with secondary storylines. I’d especially like to reacquaint myself with Cinco in the future.

UNSPEAKABLE is another awesome Laura Griffin book. It was fast-paced with excellent suspense and just enough romance to take it out of crime fiction/thriller and into romantic suspense territory. When the Dutch networks fail in offering me new episodes of my favorite TV crime shows I know whose books I can turn to instead.

Release: 12 October
Genre: Young Adult
Stand-Alone Novel

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Summary

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Release: June, July & August
Genre: Paranormal Romance
The Bone Island Trilogy

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Book 1: Ghost Shadow

There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence.

Katie MacDonald is one who can.

As she’s drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée’s murder?

Worse – the body count’s rising on the Island of Bones, and the dead seem to be reenacting some macabre tableaux from history. The danger is increasing by the moment – especially as Katie finds herself irresistibly drawn to David, who may be responsible for more than just one killing….

Book 2: Ghost Night

A slasher movie turns real when two young actors are brutally murdered on a remote island film set. Their severed heads and arms are posed in macabre homage to a nineteenth-century pirate massacre.

Two years later, Vanessa Loren is drawn back to South Bimini by a documentary being made about the storied region. Filmmaker Sean O’Hara aches to see how the unsolved crime haunts her…and Sean knows more than a little about ghosts.

Lured by visions of a spectral figurehead, Vanessa discovers authentic pirate treasures that only deepen the mystery. Are the murders the work of modern-day marauders, the Bermuda Triangle or a deadly paranormal echo of the island’s violent history? As Vanessa and Sean grow closer, the killer prepares to resume the slaughter…unless the dead can intervene.

Book 3: Ghost Moon

Reclusive collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West—lately, not at all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin’s curious house and discovers the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a horrified rictus where spiders now dwell.

Kelsey Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged grandfather’s collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see his treasures divested properly. But she cannot ignore the sense that she’s being watched, the reports of malevolent black figures, the pervasive smell of death.

Is the Merlin house haunted, even cursed? Liam knows well that some ghost stories are true and he swears to protect Kelsey. But there are forces at work for whom one more life is a pittance to pay for their deepest desire.…

Ghost Memories is the prequel to this trilogy and is available in ebook, for more info visit Heather Graham's website.

Release: 27 July
Genre: Erotica
Stand-Alone Novel

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High above the desert valley, the Falcon Jola circles over the band of warriors below - men who have invaded her land and killed her mate, leaving her alone and longing for the piercing pleasure she once found in her lover's arms. She will resist these outsiders at all costs...But in a moment of human weakness she is caught. Naked and alone, she fights her captor and vows never to submit. Yet as she lies beneath his rock hard length, her traitorous body responds to his touch...Each rough caress creates a smouldering heat inside, a throbbing pressure that demands release. Lost in a haze of sexual pleasure, she is a slave to her desire - and can only beg for more...

Release: 2 November
Genre: Historical Romance
Book 3 in the Dark Sword Series

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A HEART IN CHAINS...

The most reckless and fierce of the MacLeod brothers, Quinn is a prisoner of the god inside him, tormented by his inability to save his family from slaughter. His fury governs him, and day by day he loses himself to the darkness in his soul. But Quinn has a profound yearning for a woman’s love...

A PASSION UNBOUND...

Raised by Druids, the achingly beautiful Marcail is as spellbinding as the ancient magic that surges through her body. To Quinn, she is the most desirable woman he has ever known. But to his enemy Deirdre, she is the perfect bait to lure Quinn into her trap. Once the two lovers are in her wicked grasp, their passion will be put to the ultimate test...

Release: 3 August
Genre: Contemporay Romance
Book 2 of Honky Tonk series

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She's finally found a place that feels like home...

When Cathy O'Dell buys the Honky Tonk, the nights of cowboys and country tunes come together to create the home she's always wanted. Then in walks a ruggedly handsome oil man who tempts her to trade in the happiness she's found at the Honky Tonk for a life on the road with him...

He lives the good life...

Gorgeous and rich, Travis Henry travels the country unearthing oil wells and then moving on. Then the beautiful blue-eyed new owner of the Honky Tonk beer joint becomes his best friend and so much more. When his job is done in Texas, how is he ever going to hit the road without her?

Happy reading everyone!