Darkly Reading

Review of The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle

2010-10-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

Title: The House of Dead Maids
Author: Clare Dunkle
Pages: 146 pages, hardcover
Genre: Gothic ghost story
Standalone/Series: standalone (written as a prequel to Wuthering Heights)
Release: Sept. 14, 2010
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Received from Blue Slip Media
Author info: http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/maidsjacket.htm
Spoiler Alert: In the clear
GoodReads Blurb: Young Tabby Aykroyd has been brought to the dusty mansion of Seldom House to be nursemaid to a foundling boy. He is a savage little creature, but the Yorkshire moors harbor far worse, as Tabby soon discovers. The ghost of the last maid will not leave Tabby in peace, yet this spirit is only one of many. Why do scores of dead maids and masters haunt Seldom House with a jealous devotion that extends beyond the grave?

As Tabby struggles to escape the evil forces rising out of the land, she watches her young charge choose a different path. He is determined to keep Seldom House as his own. Though Tabby tries to befriend the uncouth urchin, her kindness cannot alter his fate. Long before he reaches the old farmhouse of Wuthering Heights, the boy who will become Heathcliff has doomed himself and any who try to befriend him.

This is definitely an atmospheric book from the creepy cover to the dust covered and haunted Seldom House you learn about inside. Though The House of Dead Maids is not the typical type of book I read, I really enjoyed the gothic feel of the book and the stark and dreary ghost story. We start the book with Tabby's journey to Seldom House and the crossroads she takes and a mysterious boat journey which all leads her to a house that seems sinister and uninviting. Little hints are dropped thoughout the beginning of the book that something is not right with her companions or the house she is going to but the truth of what is going on is all the more spine-chilling.

Tabby, the main protagonist in the story, has a no-nonsense way about her and faces her challenges well for an eleven year old. Tabby is based on the Brontë sisters housekeeper whose ghost stories might have inspired the sisters future tales, such as Wuthering Heights. I highly recommend this book for those looking for a good ghost story to read during Halloween.

4 out of 5 stars, a great and goose-bump raising gothic tale.

Don't miss the author's guest post and your chance to win the book here.

Guest Post and Giveaway with Author Clare Dunkle - Author of The House of Dead Maids

2010-10-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

Today we have Clare Dunkle visiting - the author of The House of Dead Maids - a sufficiently creepy gothic ghost story that is perfect to read on a cold fall night. Stay tuned to the end of the post to find out how to win The House of Dead Maids and check back later today for my review of the book. Enjoy! Also are there places you have visited in your life that fill you with a sense of dread or give you the creeps?

When I wrote my new novel, The House of Dead Maids, I wanted to create an atmosphere that would disturb my readers. I didn’t just want to scare them because scares are temporary, and they often end in a laugh. No, I wanted to make my readers uneasy. I wanted them to feel unsafe. So I thought about places where we humans feel unsafe, and why they make us feel this way.

One of my earliest memories has no words or data attached to it. In essence, it’s nothing more than a snapshot. I see in my memory a small room brightened by a single grimy window. Flyspecks and dirt obscure the window so that I can’t make out a view beyond it. A spindly table stands in the center of the room, but it is cheap, old, and gray with dust and time. I notice a rug on the floor beneath the table, but its pattern is obliterated by dust.

In my memory, I feel wonder. This room is so like other rooms I know but so completely different. I am afraid of who—or what—might be living here.

I have no idea now where this place was, but when I went to college, I learned its name and why it frightened me. My dusty room was a liminal place, and such places awaken in us a feeling verging on instinctive dread. Liminality is a transitional state, emptied of one thing but not yet another, and the deepest, oldest layers of our brains warn us of its danger. Twilight, for instance, is neither day nor night. So is an eclipse. Caves, springs, volcanoes, mountaintops, and shorelines mark places where things change from one state to another. Our ancestors worshiped such places and peopled them with dangerous sprites. Magic rituals focus on liminal places and objects in liminal states. The corpse is such an object—it is, temporarily, neither the loved one we knew, nor is it dust, a part of nature. And the abandoned house is neither a place to live nor a place with another use. It is a “corpse” house—a place to avoid.

Liminal places seem supercharged with possibility. The normal rules don’t apply there. Anything can happen. These possibilities frighten us because they threaten to overturn our orderly world. The devil waits for us at the crossroads. Closets—small uninhabited rooms—make us uneasy. Monsters hide in the empty darkness under our beds. We feel nervous about long, dark hallways.

My book is a prequel to Emily Brontë’s Victorian novel, Wuthering Heights, and that classic story is all about intruding upon liminal places. Over and over, the text mentions doors, windows, fences, and stairways. Over and over, characters force their way into places where they are unwelcome. The focus of the novel is a woman who has been dead for seventeen years—a liminal figure. The story ends at her grave—a liminal place.

So my novel, too, lingers on liminal places and liminal states. My main character, Tabby, comes to her new house over the ancient pathways of fire, water, earth and air—driven down dirt roads, ferried upriver like a lost soul entering the underworld, and carried in, at the end, with a lighted lantern before her. She finds herself in a place that is not really lived in but not abandoned, a dusty maze of a house where she is the Young Maid, neither a servant nor a person in charge. She discovers that the furthest point inside Seldom House is an empty courtyard, neither inside nor outside. This empty courtyard contains an empty grave. And it isn’t long before she meets the last Young Maid: that most liminal of figures, neither alive nor dead—an empty-eyed, gray-faced ghost.

Special Brontë-themed giveaway!
One Grand Prize winner will receive The House of Dead Maids, a gorgeous Brontë sisters pocket mirror, and the HarperTeen edition of Wuthering Heights! Two lucky runners-up will receive the two books. To enter, send an email to DeadMaidsBook@gmail.com with your name, email address, and shipping address (if you're under 13, submit a parent's name and email address). One entry per person and prizes will only be shipped to US or Canadian addresses. Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on October 31. Winners will be selected in a random drawing on November 1 and notified via email.

The next stop on the tour is Adventures in Children's Publishing at http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/.

Review of Healer's Choice by Jory Strong

2010-10-05T10:43:00.000-04:00

Title: Healer's Choice
Author: Jory Strong
Pages: 384 pages
Genre: Post-apocalyptic paranormal romance
Standalone/Series: Series (Ghostland World #3)
Release: September 7th, 2010
Publisher: Berkeley
Received from author for review
Author info: http://www.jorystrong.com/
Spoiler Alert: Some spoilers for previous books
GoodReads Blurb: In a post-Apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, ancient, unseen enemies play a game that began at the dawn of human civilization. War is coming and neutrality isn’t an option. For Were shapeshifters, a healer’s gift holds the key to their survival…
Born into a world of violence and paid-for-sex, Rebekka longs for a family of her own and dreams of freeing those trapped in the shapeshifter brothels of the red zone. A witch’s prophecy claims she’ll one day use her gift to heal the Weres made outcast by their mixed human-animal forms. But Rebekka knows all too well that everything comes at a cost. Made a pawn in a game she can barely glimpse, by beings whose motives she can only guess, she must navigate a dangerous course that might well cost her life. With her gift changed in terrifying ways, a plea to save five children sends her into the arms of Aryck, a Jaguar enforcer—and into territory controlled by pure Weres. It’s a place where humans and outcasts aren’t welcomed. Where dead ancestors watch from the shadowlands and have the power to judge and punish the living. It’s a place where plague threatens and the fate of the Weres hangs in the balance. And where the choices Rebekka and Aryck make are paid for with their hearts…if not their souls.

REVIEW: This post-apocalyptic paranormal romance (say that three times fast) takes you on a dark journey into a world that has been ravaged by catastrophic wars and now is run by Vice lords who deal in human and were (shifter) flesh. The protagonist of this story, Rebekka, uses her powers of healing to help these abused sex workers and carve a niche for herself in her dark world. This is the third book in the Ghostland series and the first of the series I have read, though I was lost at a few parts, particularly in the beginning, you don’t need to read the previous books to delve into this story. Rebekka really draws you into the story as you try to comprehend the cruel world she lives in and really I don’t know if I could be as strong and compassionate as she is given all she faces. Quickly in the story, Rebekka gets caught up in another dangerous situation when she is called on to go the aid of the Jaguar clan that lives in the hills outside Oakland, her home. Some cubs have become gravely ill and Rebekka is seen as these kids last hope. It turns out that the disease these kids suffer in is a lot more ominous than first believed and hints at someone wanting to unleash germ warfare to systematically destroy all weres. The bad guys in this story are seriously sinister and creepy and once again drive home the brutality of this world. This is definitely a dark book and even though the story is good and engaging after reading I had to medicate with some lighter paranormal romance afterward.

Rebekka also gets entangled with an enforcer for the Jaguar clan, Aryck. Aryck’s animal soul instantly is attracted to Rebekka but his rational human half knows that nothing good can come of them being together. Aryck is constantly fighting a battle between his animal instincts and his better sense when it comes Rebekka – while ratcheting up the sexual tension it also gets frustrating. Aryck is dark and sensual while Rebekka has remained untouched for fear of what giving herself to someone will do to her magic. She has plenty of reason to stay away from the sexy jaguar enforcer, including her fear of how Aryck will judge her once he finds out more about her upbringing, her mother was a prostitute, and the marks it has put on her body.

Overall 3 out of 5 stars for me, an interesting tale of a strong and loving healer in a dark and sinister world.

Review of Sin Undone by Larissa Ione

2010-09-30T00:34:00.000-04:00

Title: Sin Undone
Author: Larissa Ione
Pages: 400 pages, mass market paperback
Genre: paranormal romance
Standalone/Series: Series (Demonica series #5 (last of series))
Release: August 24th, 2010
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Purchased by me
Author info: www.larissaione.com
Spoiler Alert: Small spoilers for previous books, small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: HER TOUCH IS DEADLY
As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she’ll die before she’ll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin’s innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence.

HIS HUNGER CAN’T BE DENIED
Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she’s no stranger: He’s bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld’s most wanted and Con soon learns he’s the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.

REVIEW: This is the last entry into the Demonica series and by far one of the best books of the series (though really I love them all). Ms. Ione’s writing is as dark and sexy as the black leather pants her heroine Sin wears. Sin and the Sem brothers are a tough and loyal bunch and the backdrop of Underworld General makes an excellent setting. Sin is the only known female Seminus demon, a hybrid of human and demon genes that shouldn’t exist. Sin’s life has left her with a huge chip on her shoulder and the inability to trust and rely on anyone since everyone she has relied on in the past has left her. She has a hard time with her brothers due to this, her full brother Lore and her half brothers, E, Shade, and Wraith. It also doesn’t help that Sin’s Sem powers let loose a highly contagious plague that affects wargs (weres) that now her brothers are frantically trying to find a cure for before humans start noticing the massive amounts of deaths. Add in a dark and sexy dhampire, Conall, who both wants to destroy Sin for the disease she unleashed and do naughty things to her, and Sin has a lot to handle.

The story does an excellent job of drawing Sin out of her tough and jaded shell as she starts to let go of her hard assassin exterior and remember what it’s like to feel again. Though she retains her sharp wit and even sharper tongue – a characteristic of her I love! It doesn’t hurt that Con is there to help her along this journey in so many ways. And as we learn along the way Con has a dark past and a lot of secrets as well which keep him walled off from most of his friends outside the dhampire community. Con and Sin’s relationship is complicated to say the least and with all the secrets they keep from each other it seems doomed from the start. Though as they dodge the attempts on Sin’s life the action heats up and of course this wouldn’t be a Demonica series book without a lot of action on and off the sheets (they are sex demons so what do you expect..).

The book kept me happy with glimpses of the other Sem brothers and their women as well as an introduction to the Lords of Deliverance – which will be Ms. Ione’s new series based in the Demonica world and comes out early 2011 ( I can’t wait). We also get to see more of Luc – who has been a paramedic at Underworld General since the first book in the series and has generally ended up getting beat down by the world throughout the series. I was happy with his side story and I thought it tied in nicely with Sin and Con’s story though I wish there was a little more Gem in the story since I love the Goth girl half-demon doctor.

Overall 5 out of 5 stars, sad to see one of my favorite series end!

Early Review of Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

2010-09-23T09:54:00.000-04:00

Title: Bayou Moon
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 480 pages
Genre: Rustic Fantasy or Redneck Romance (according to authors)
Standalone/Series: Series (The Edge #2)
Release: September 28th, 2010
Publisher: Ace
Received from agent
Author info: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/
Spoiler Alert: small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one. But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life. William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster. When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed ... and survive.

REVIEW: Hands down Ilona Andrews (a husband and wife writing team) is one of my favorite authors, the worlds they build are starkly beautiful knotted messes that you just want to start pulling on the threads to see where they lead. They have the ability to build books that create action sequences that make you forget how to breathe, complicated but ultimately satisfying romance, biting humor, and worlds you would like to see for yourself. Bayou Moon, the latest book by Ilona Andrew, contains all those things I love wrapped up in a great heroine and hero, Cerise and William, and one of the weirdest and most interesting worlds out there – that of the Broken/Edge/Weird. We were first introduced to this world in On the Edge – though you don’t need to read the first book to understand what is going on in Bayou Moon it was another awesome book so why wouldn’t you want to? – Broken is basically our world with no magic and lots of technology; Weird is a world full of magic; and the Edge is what exists between. The Edge has both magic and some technology but is a hard place to live – like some kind of refugee camp for those trying to escape or where exiled from the Weird but have too much magic to survive in the Broken for long. Therefore the Edge is inhabited with a lot of people who will kill to keep their secrets hidden, distrust outsiders to the point of killing them on sight, and like to take care of their problems themselves. And in the Mire – the part of the Edge Cerise is from and where the majority of this book takes place – those Edge attributes take on a more sinister form since the Mire is basically a gigantic prehistoric deadly swamp with gators the size of houses and 15 foot dead eels piloted by necromancers – so being an outsider there is definitely a one-way ticket to deadsville. The outsider in this story, William, is a tough and deadly sort that could do some damage to those gigantic gators and is no stranger to secrets since he has many of his own to hide. William is sent to the Mire to hunt Spider, his nemesis for many years who leads a team of magically altered spies. This isn’t a pretty alteration either, the spies don’t sparkle in the sunlight or have beautiful wings, no they have tentacles, poison sacs, fangs, scales, and other nastiness. This was definitely a case where I was glad I was reading a book rather than having to see the disturbing images on TV. Unfortunately Cerise and her family become a target for Spider and his team of spies known as the Hand and William works with Cerise and her family to bring them down.

William and Cerise were a great pair from the start – so many hilarious misunderstandings had me giggling throughout the beginning of the book as well as their pet names for each other. The author does an excellent job of conveying that William thinks differently than most people due to his being a changeling and growing up in the equivalent of a harsh military school environment. This difference in the way William thinks led to some great foot-in-mouth moments for him as well. It also gives William a primal edge when it comes to battles and when it comes to what he wants from Cerise as well. Cerise is definitely tough enough and brave enough to attract William’s interest. Her ability to smash things up and to kill are quite the attractive attributes to him. Cerise also has a lot of responsibilities resting on her shoulders as the leader of her family and she has many of the attributes I love in an urban fantasy heroine –strong-willed, non-whiny, sarcastic, witty, deadly, and likes those strong and deadly types of men.

This book is definitely a 5 out of 5 for me, Cerise and William make up a deadly and awesomely entertaining team!

Winners of Blogfest!

2010-09-22T10:02:00.000-04:00

Since there were so many entries to my Blogfest post and many hours spent tabulating entries to figure out winners I decided to do 2 winners!

Winner of the YA prize pack is:

Flufferwuffer

Winner of up to $15 in books at Book Depository is:

Mariska H

Congrats to the winners and you will be receiving an e-mail shortly! Thanks for everyone for entering and telling me which new releases you are most looking forward to - I like to see that I have alot of book choices in common with my readers!

Review of Warrior by Zoe Archer - An excellent cross of Tomb Raider and Mummy on the Mongolian Steppes!

2010-09-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

Title: Warrior
Author: Zoe Archer
Pages: 354 paperback
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance/Adventure
Standalone/Series: Series (#1 of The Blades of the Rose)
Release: September 1st, 2010
Publisher: Zebra
Purchased by me *right now on sale at the Kindle store for $4.47 so go get it and pre-order the next three at the same price!
Author info: www.zoearcherbooks.com
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: To most people, the realm of magic is the stuff of nursery rhymes and dusty libraries. But for Capt. Gabriel Huntley, it’s become quite real and quite dangerous…

IN HOT PURSUIT…The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond—where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn’t be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress—just what he needs.

IN HOTTER WATER… Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artifact Thalia is after. Huntley’s assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn’t easy to deceive…

REVIEW: What do you get when you mix Laura Croft from Tomb Raider and Rick O’Connell from Mummy – you get Warrior by Zoe Archer. Though since the story takes place in 19th century England and Mongolia at least where the Laura Croft analogy is concerned there is less technology and other “enhancements”. The book is a great mix of swashbuckling adventure with a dash of paranormal and a very satisfying helping of romance. The protagonists in this story, Gabriel and Thalia, are thrown together as they try to stop the Heirs of Albion from stealing a magical Source. In this story the British Empire is the bad guy as it tries to take over and subjugate the world by finding Sources imbued with magic that if they fall into the wrong hands can be used by the empire to rule the world. The Blades of the Rose, a group that Thalia’s father belongs to, works to stop the Heirs from obtaining the Sources and to return the Sources to their natural protectors, the people or groups that the magic was borne from in the first place to create the Source. Thalia takes up her father’s cause when he becomes too injured to go out on a critical mission and Gabriel comes to her rescue again and again while the attraction that burns between them gets hotter and hotter. Thalia is a great character – she has grown up on the steppes of Mongolia most her life and loves the land and acts and dresses like a Mongol although she was born an English lady. She is no meek English rose to shy away from action or to be outraged at bad language which is good because Gabriel, a former captain in the British Army, has a very filthy mouth. The chemistry between these two was burning hot and made my heart go a-pitter patter as they both fought the passion they felt for each other. And the love scenes Ms. Archer writes are panty scorching hot and fit well in the flow of the story. It was one thing that stuck with me from her Blades of the Rose novella in Half Past Dead (another favorite of mine) is how well balanced the love scenes are with the main story – there is no sacrifice of overall plot to have gratuitous sexy time and the sexy time is just as well written as the action scenes - though it is very descriptive so be warned if you are not a fan of explicit love scenes.

I also loved the setting of the book – I think historical paranormal romance/ action-adventure is becoming a new favorite genre of mine. The settings and descriptions of the Mongolian steppe and Gobi desert were stunning – I found myself looking up pictures of many things described in the book and much of what Ms. Archer described is real. Although I do not have a heightened desire to go riding around on a camel, I now have a new locale added to the places I wish to visit! I’m looking forward to where Ms. Archer takes us in her next books since a new book from the series will be published in the beginning of September/October/November/December. The language of the book is authentic (at least as far as I can tell) and charming as well – now I know how a British soldier might swear or a lady raised on the Mongolian steppes speaks – and it fits the time period of the book and the characters very well. That’s a pet peeve of mine –when the language does not match the character and time period the book is written in – thankfully Ms. Archer’s writing is delightfully British.

Overall a 4.5 out of 5 for me – delightful romance and swashbuckling on the Mongolian steppes!

Review of Cold Magic by Kate Elliot

2010-09-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

Title: Cold Magic (Spiritwalker #1)
Author: Kate Elliot
Pages: 384 paperback
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Standalone/Series: 1st of Spiritwalker Trilogy
Release: September 2nd 2010
Publisher: Orbit
Received from author for review
Author info: www.kateelliott.com and twitter @KateElliottSFF
Spoiler Alert: In the clear
GoodReads Blurb: 'I was not a bard or a djeli or an historian or a scribe and I was certainly not a sage, but that didn't mean I wasn't curious ...'
Young Cat Barahal thinks she understands the world she lives in and her place in it, but in fact she is merely poised unaware on the brink of shattering events. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood, betrayal and old feuds, she will be forced to make an unexpected and perilous journey in order to discover the truth, not just about her own family but about an ancient secret lying at the heart of her world.

Cold Magic is a captivating mix of high fantasy, steampunk, romance, alternative history, mythical creatures, mysteries, epic betrayals, and adventure - all surrounded by a wall of ice. If you feel a little intimidated by the mix don’t worry – Kate Elliot is an excellent story teller (she’s been one of my favorite fantasy authors for years) and her main heroine Cat quickly draws you into the story. The story revolves around Cat as she deals with very personal betrayals and faces a world turned upside down though thankfully as her name implies – she’s a cat and always lands on her feet. Even though Cat is young and just coming into her age of majority (twenty years old) she has already had a difficult life since her parents passed away when she was very young and the only way she has to connect to her father is through his travel journals which she still has. She also belongs to a social group, the Phonecians, that is much maligned in her society and has learned to be a fierce defender of her heritage as well. Cat faces many of these challenges with her best friend and cousin Bee. Though Bee is more like a fanciful teenage girl with her crushes on boys at school, both girls are very loyal to each other and thankfully don’t fall into the trap of many YA heroines do by bemoaning and complaining about the unfairness of life. Through the course of reading the book you definitely get to see the girls grow up as the world they thought they knew changes completely and irreversibly.

Another favorite part of this book is the world building. The Romans, Celts, and Phonecians have a much different historical trajectory than what we are used to in our world’s story and these familiar names exist alongside things such as trolls, cold mages, ghouls and otherworldly portals. I am not a big history buff so I enjoy books that play with what I know and twist the story a bit. Another big theme the story highlights is that history always favors the victors. With that in mind, there is great upheaval in the world Cat lives in when people who have nothing left to lose decide it's time to fight back against those "victors". I loved the story of the cold mages and I am looking forward to learning more about the world Cat lives in where zeppelins rule the skies and cold magic trumps technology.

5 out of 5, I can’t wait for the next part of Cat’s adventure!

It's a Party! Welcome to Blogfest!

2010-09-09T23:22:00.000-04:00

Today is Blogfest 2010 - over 250 blogs are giving away just about everything - books, jewelry,candles, gift cards and tons of other fabulous gifts! Don't forget about the massive BlogFest 2010 grand giveaway! Head on over to http://ajourneyofbooks.com/blogfest/ to use the exclusive tracking site. Once there you can register with a valid email address (to be used solely for the purpose of contacting the winner for the Grand Giveaway). This site will allow you to track your progress through BlogFest 2010! You can log on from anywhere at any time and continue where you left off. The best part is that every blog that you visit and mark off through this tracking site will give you one entry into the massive giveaway! You can also find out more about the giveaways at http://ajourneyofbooks.halfzero.net. We have a great collection of books, goodies and other swag that is looking for a new home!

I am number 216 on the blog list (when I last checked) if you are keeping track and you should check out the giveaway over at http://peacefulreader.blogspot.com number 217!

The Giveaway is International! If you are from the US there are two options: you can win the YA book prize pack or choose the fabulous International Prize pack where you can chose up to $15 in books from the list here (some of my favorite September releases) anywhere book depository delivers. For those International entrants you can only chose the International Prize pack.

YA Prize Pack

To Enter:
- Leave a comment that includes (1) name; (2) e-mail; (3) Release coming up that you can't wait for!
- Extra entry - blog follower (+1) but you do not need to be a follower to enter!

BlogFest goes from midnight September 10th to midnight September 12th. If you get a chance check out the blog while you're entering and I hope you enjoy the festivities!

ARC Review of Cruel Enchantment by Anya Bast - Don't Mess with the Blacksmith!

2010-09-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

Title: Cruel Enchantment (Dark Magick #2)
Author: Anya Bast
Pages: 336, paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series (#2)(see my review of Wicked Enchantment here)
Release: September 7th
Publisher: Berkeley Sensation
Received ARC from author
Author info: http://www.anyabast.com/
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
Blurb: Even the most powerful hands need a delicate touch…
Emmaline Gallagher is a master of wielding personal glamour. As a free fae who lives among humans, she must hide her true self at all times as she works undercover within the powerful Phaendir—for if certain factions within the Phaendir gain control, the fae will be wiped from existence. Now, an object of fae power lies within a locked ancient box. And there is only one fae who can forge the key.
Known as “the Blacksmith” Aeric O’Malley can create or destroy almost anything with his forging skills. Emmaline has come to him in need, but he and Emmaline have a past—and he has spent centuries wanting to take revenge on her for her transgressions. But now that he has her within his grasp, something about her keeps him from exacting his vengeance—or is it merely her glamour blinding him?
Trapped by fate, Emmaline must hope that she can reach Aeric’s furious heart before it’s too late…

Emmaline has been trying to atone for her past sins as the Summer Queen's assassin many centuries previously by trying to find a way to destroy the detention center that the Phaendir built to imprison the fae - Piefferberg. Emmaline's ability to use personal glamour has allowed her to avoid being imprisoned in Piefferberg and to get close to the Phaendir who run the prison to gain a way to enter and exit Piefferberg in the guise of a human Faemous crew member (the fae "Entertainment Tonight" equivalent that resides in Piefferberg). Emmaline uses this "in" to seek out Aeric the Blacksmith to ask him to build a key that will hopefully unlock a relic that is needed to tear down Piefferberg's walls. Unfortunately for Emmaline, Aeric hasn't forgotten or forgiven her for murdering his fiancee centuries earlier while she was the Summer Queen's assassin. Quickly Emmaline's trip to Piefferberg changes from asking Aeric to build a key to asking Aeric to spare her life.

I loved the main character Emmaline! She is a survivor and isn't afraid to kick a little ass. Since Emmaline has been living on her own away from other fae for centuries one of the scenes that really struck me in this book was when she first steps in Piefferberg. She expects it to feel like a prison but is surprised by the connection she feels with the land and many of the things she's missed from living away from the fae for so long. That revelation was the first of many for Emmaline during her adventures in Piefferberg - the second was that Aeric put the equivalent of a magical lo-jack on her to know the instant she stepped inside the fae prison. Though Aeric captures Emmaline with the intent to kill her, his life instantly gets more complicated as he begins to have conflicting feelings about killing Emmaline and learns more about the situation surrounding his fiancee's death. Of course Aeric faces these conflicting emotions like any grumpy alpha male does by drinking some whiskey, smashing stuff up, and stealing some kisses that end up leaving him more conflicted. Thankfully things change from comflicted to more steamy as Aeric begins to forgive Emmaline for her past mistakes and starts to see her as a woman rather than an assassin.

The bad guys in this book are truly evil. Gideon, the Phaendir member who we first meet in Wicked Enchantment, is still trying to take over the leadership of the Phaendir and is eliminating those who stand in his way by any means necessary. He really is a creepy character who practices self-flagellation to such an extreme that he nearly passes out from blood loss afterward and justifies the murders and foul acts he commits by saying it's his god's will. Another big bad guy from Emmaline's past is Lars who we learn shaped Emmaline into an assassin when she was just a teenager. What Emmaline went through at Lars's hands was truly terrible and helps explains many things that happened in her past. Though the biggest bad guy in this book is the Summer Queen, as we get further into the series the more evil and questionable the actions of the Summer Queen are - she seems like she should belong to the Black Tower with all her underhanded dealing and tricks.

The overall story is complex and engaging as we delve into Emmaline and Aeric's past and developing relationship while following the parallel story lines of Gideon and the Human's for the Freedom of Fae, the organization that Emmaline works with on the outside. We also get glimpses of the hunt and the rulers of the Black Tower and the Unseelie court, who we met in the first book, though I don't think it's necessary to read Wicked Enchantment to understand what is happening in Cruel Enchantment, but it will help to understand the back story of some of the characters.

Overall this book is a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Emmaline is a tough heroine who earned her chance at love with the sexy blacksmith Aeric.

September-mas! So many great releases this month it's Christmas in September!

2010-08-30T23:12:00.000-04:00

via crooked house

There's so many great releases this month that I am giddy with excitement as I eye the new releases list though my credit card is quacking with fear of being repeatedly used and abused all month - it's not used to this kind of work out. First I want to point out my favorite early book gift to myself this September-mas season and that is Sin Undone by Larissa Ione. I love the Demonica series - I reviewed all 4 previous books at Darkly Reading and had a couple giveaways of her books when Ecstasy Unveiled came out (my first giveaways ever). The author, Ms. Ione, is a sweetheart and left nice comments on all my reviews and then afterward asked for my full name to put it in the acknowledgments for Sin Undone. And guess what - when I picked up my copy of Sin Undone and turned to the acknowledgments - there was my name listed with some other great blogging ladies and readers. I was grinning from ear-to-ear of course and had to resisted the urge to grab complete strangers at the bookstore and point to my name and say "hey look that's me that's me!" though when I had a few friends over later I did grin ear-to-ear and point out my name - couldn't help it! So I wanted to say a big thank you to Larissa Ione for putting my name in her book! I plan on snuggling up with Sin and Con from Sin Undone this holiday weekend - it's always bittersweet to read the last book in a series but I'm looking forward to reading Sin and Con's story! And then we have the Lords of Deliverance series based in the same world coming out starting in March of 2011 so I don't have to completely go demon-loving cold turkey.

Me at Hachette booth at BEA

Now that we got my early September-mas gift out of they way I wanted to point out some other releases I'm super excited for (All Things Urban Fantasy and Wicked Lil' Pixie also have great new releases lists)-

August 31st/September 1st
Blameless by (Parasol Protectorate #3) Gail Garriger
Married with Zombies (Living with the Dead #1) by Jesse Petersen
The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan #2) by Kelly Gay

September 7th
Assassin's Heart (Order of the Sicari #2) by Monica Burns
Cruel Enchantment (Dark Magick #2) by Anya Blast
Healer's Choice (Ghostland Worlds #3) by Jory Strong
No Mercy (Dark-Hunter #13) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Warrior (The Blades of the Rose #1) by Zoe Archer
An Artificial Night (October Daye #3) by Seanan McGuire

September 9th
Cold Magic by Kate Elliot

September 28th
Bayou Moon (The Edge #2) by Ilona Andrews
Double Cross (The Disillusionists #2) by Carolyn Crane
A Midwinter Fantasy by Leanna Renee Hieber, L.J McDonald, Helen Scott Taylor

Many of these releases are books in series I love and have been waiting patiently (or not so much) for the next in the series to arrive. There are so many good books in this list I am bouncing up and down with anticipation (poor hubby!). One of these books - No Mercy by Sherilyn Kenyon - is a recent addition to the list. I read the first book in her Dark-Hunter series - Night Pleasures - over the weekend because it was on sale in the Kindle store for $2.99. So if you've been thinking about starting the series now is a great time to start (though in my copy there were some weird typo's - maybe that's why it was on sale ;).

Now onto the gifts of September-mas - Blogfest! This September 10-12 Darkly Reading is taking part in BlogFest - where a bunch of blogs get together and coordinate giveaways. You can check out the list of participating blogs here - it looks like close to 100 blogs or more are participating and giving away some great gifts. I'm going to be giving away 2 books from my list of favorite releases above so stay tuned to find out which books. I also will be giving away some ARCs from my shelves later this month so stay tuned for that as well!

So what releases are you excited for this month?

Review of Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch - Love in a Elevator baby!

2010-08-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

Title: Touched by an Alien (Katherine "Kitty" Katt, #1)
Author: Gini Koch
Pages: 389 pages, paperback
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Standalone/Series: Series (#1)
Release: April 2010
Publisher: DAW
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.ginikoch.com/
Spoiler Alert: Minor plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

Surprisingly I've never read a book before that has aliens taking the center stage much less being romantic leads. I've read about vampires -sparkly and otherwise, werewolves, weresnakes, witches, demons, zombies, and the list could go on but no aliens from another planet. Perhaps I was a little worried to try out a new genre - aliens can be scary you know with the alien abductions, aliens bursting from chests a la the Alien movie and Spaceballs, and we know they might already be here with Area 51. So I wasn't sure what to expect with Touched by an Alien. Thankfully there was no need for alarm since the alien good guys looked like super models and the story that Ms. Koch wrote was humorous, entertaining, and had some excellent rock song references in it.

Kitty gets thrown into the saving the world business which she stops what looks like an angry husband turned monster from destroying the Pueblo Caliente courthouse. Soon she gets approached by sexy men in Armani suits that want to recruit her to their organization, she starts receiving marriage proposals, and learns that her Mom could definitely kick her ass. Kitty takes all these revelations in stride and doles out her own brand of sarcasm and wit that keeps the book entertaining throughout.

I loved the tongue-in-check approach to aliens in this books - all the good aliens were super model sexy and the women aliens were all scientists that were attracted more to mental attributes (think Stephen Hawking) than the package it came in, even if the women were surrounded by Brad Pitt look a-likes. Although the aliens are easy on the eyes, it turns out that they have a convoluted back story as to why they ended up on Earth and what their connection is to the bad aliens that seem to be able to turn regular humans into monsters. As Kitty tries to get to the bottom of what is going on she has an excellent distraction from the new dangers in her life in the form of Jeff Martini - who proclaims his intentions to marry Kitty and have lots of babies within minutes of meeting her. The action in this book is fast-paced - the entire book only covers a few days in Kitty's life but it is filled with excellent interactions between Kitty and Jeff and some great patented glares from Jeff's main romantic rival Christopher. Add in some Aerosmith, a few hot and heavy elevator scenes, and some alien ass kicking and overall you have a great book.

5 out of 5 stars for me, a unique sci-fi romance that will have you head banging to the soundtrack.

Why my reading habits are like a Journey song

2010-08-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been working alot, reading alot, and blogging not at all (opps), I feel like my reading habits are like Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " song just substituting the "Believin'" for "Readin'" and you got the same song stuck in your head now too. Just imagine me jammin' away my hair all teased up and playing air guitar with some awesome books and you've got the full picture - I know pretty lame but sometimes you got to call them like you imagine them at least.

Since my last book review I've read about 16 books:

Re-read the Aisling Grey by series (you can read about my reason's why you should read the series here)
Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MacAlister (can't get enough of the demon Jim)
Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost (Yummy Mencheres)
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch (Loved this book and the use of rock and roll and elevators)

A Girls Guide to Vampires and Sex and the Single Vampire (Dark Ones books 1&2) by Katie MacAlister - I didn't love these ones as much as I did the dragon's books - maybe cause the vampires in these books weren't as growly as her dragon book men.
Cruel Enchantment by Anya Bast - Loved this book! Review coming soon!
Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill- Oh Ethan how you make me melt and make me angry within a few pages!
Eternal Hunter by Cynthia Eden- Ohh - White Tiger shifter!
Demon Night by Meljean Brook - Hmm bad boy Guardian - ahh yes!
Healer's Choice by Jory Strong - Post-apocalyptic paranormal romance - quite a mouthful!
Demon Moon by Meljean Brook - Vampire so beautiful he mesmerizes other vampires - yes please!
Ecstasy by Jacquelyn Frank- I think the title pretty much covers it!

I plan on posting reviews for some of the books soon! So when your life gets busy what do you find suffering the most - your reading, review posting, laundry pile, video game addiction, etc.?

Mmmh..more medicine please..and dragon shifters..the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister

2010-08-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

I find when I get really stressed out, like I have been alot lately, I tend to medicate myself with some of my favorite reads. One of those favorites is the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister. I first read this series when I was still coming to terms with the fact that yes I read romance and man do I love it. Though with my romance there has to be the bad boy alpha male, a bit of action, and some smoking hot love scenes. For me, the Aisling Grey series has to be hands down it one of the best combinations of urban fantasy, humor, and romance - not an easy combination to achieve. The heroine of the series, Aisling, is kind of a mess though she tries to pretend she is professional and in control. Unfortunately for Aisling from the first book of the series (and there are four total) she is kind of like Alice falling down the rabbit hole as she gets further ensnared in the paranormal world she was abruptly introduced to. Thankfully her introduction to the paranormal world is by Drake Vireo - dragon shifter, alpha, and bad boy all rolled into one who I think probably looks a bit like Jared Prudoff (I included a pic for your viewing pleasure). Although Aisling and Drake's relationship is fiery from the start there is alot of passion there which makes it very entertaining to read about - Drake is used to bossing women around and Aisling is not standing for it so their constant struggles with each others nature make for an entertaining read.

What makes the series even better Aisling's sidekick - a demon in dog form known as Jim. He loves his canine Newfie form, has to wear drool bibs (oh man am I happy my dog doesn't drool that much), and is in love with a Welsh corgi named Cecile (he likes to suck on her ears- eww!). He really sets the tone for his comedic sidekick status when he discovers the amazing things a dog can do (from You Slay Me).

"Give me a couple of minutes. You're not going to believe what I found I can do," Jim said, its voice muffled as it engaged in a bit of groinal hygiene.
"The eww factor on that is borderline vomit territory," I (Aisling) said, tugging on its leash until the great furry black head emerged from the depths of its crotch. I ignored the glazed look in Jim's eyes and got to my feet, heading out of the park and toward the nearest Metro stop. "Come on, you'll like the Merto. As a dog, you've got carte blanche to smell strangers' crotches."
"Really? That's something, although not nearly as good as licking my own-" Jim

To round out Aisling's inner group of friends is Rene the cab driver who teaches her some interesting French phrases like: "J'ai une grenouille dans mon bidet" (I have a frog in my bidet) for when Aisling needs help, and "Tu as une tete a faire sauter les plaques des egouts" (You have a face that would blow off the cover of a manhole) for when a man hits on her when she doesn't want him to.

Overall these books have me laughing out loud, on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next, and makes my ereader steam up at the sex scenes so if you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend it!

You can find more about Katie MacAlister's books here: http://katiemacalister.com

So do you have any books or series you like to "medicate" with when you've been having a rough week? Do you go for the more humorous/sexy/action-packed books or a combination of all three?

I'm Back! Announcing some winners!

2010-08-09T21:37:00.000-04:00

So I took a work trip for a professional development seminar (which was surprisingly really awesome)/ visit with the family in Michigan and I ended up not posting for a few weeks. I counted on being off for a week of blogging but didn't factor in the week of preparation before I went and the week to catch up with work after I got back. Oppsie! I will blame it on being a kinda newbie blogger - I can still use that excuse right *bats eyelashes and smiles innocently*! I have a few winners to announce as well as a welcome back to Darkly Reading..sorry it's been so quiet!

Onto the winners - who will also get get lovely e-mails in their boxes as well!

Books and Bane wins these two lovely books by Sean Cummings!

Christine wins a copy of one of my favorite reads this summer - Siren!

Review of Frost Moon by Anthony Francis - What magical tattoo would you chose?

2010-07-20T11:54:00.000-04:00

Title: Frost Moon
Author: Anthony Francis
Pages: 284 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series (Skindancer #1)
Release: Already out (March 2010)
Publisher: Bell Bridges Books
Purchased by me (was 99 cents at iBooks!)
Author info: www.dakotafrost.com
Spoiler Alert: In the clear.
Good Reads Blurb: In an alternate Atlanta where vampires and werewolves prowl the night, magic is real, and tattoo magic is the strongest magic of them all, a serial ki...more In an alternate Atlanta where vampires and werewolves prowl the night, magic is real, and tattoo magic is the strongest magic of them all, a serial killer is targeting the magically tattooed on the full moon. Dakota Frost, best magical tattooist in the Southeast, learns from the police she may be a target ... just when she receives a lucrative commission to ink a magic tattoo for a werewolf before the next full moon. Caught between the rough and tumble world of the werewolves, the law and order rules of the vampires, and a sexy man-in-black whose motives are in doubt, Dakota must tread carefully to survive - because she doesn't know whether her werewolf client is the tattoo killer ... or the next victim.

What would you do if you saw a six-foot tall woman with a deathhawk walking down the street covered in beautiful tattoos that seemed to move while decked out in leather – run to the other side of the street and hope she doesn’t see you or giggle a little when you notice her climbing on to her fierce vespa and slowly driving away? (For me I’m going with the giggling part – as long as she doesn’t see me) Dakota Frost is an interesting mix for a deathhawk sporting tattoo artist – she tries to be green (hence the vespa which gets 65mpg), she’s vulnerable (still hiding from the emotions of seeing her now vampire ex-girlfriend again), and she’s fiercely loyal to her friends. Oh and did I mention she is a magical tattoo artist – it adds a whole other layer of awesomeness. Dakota lives in Atlanta but an Atlanta with a paranormal twist that contains the Edgeworld which is inhabited by vampires, shifters of all shapes and sizes, and others that deal in magic. Dakota is a member of both worlds, the dark and dangerous Edgeworld and the human world as well. The magic of Dakota’s tattoos can lead to extraordinary feats – by using the energy stored in her body she can power her butterfly tattoo to fly off her hand, get the elaborate dragon tattoo that covers her from foot to shoulder to dance, make flowers blossom on her back and the gems in her tattoos sparkle. As we learn through the book - the tattoos also have more powers than just putting on a good show.

Dakota gets pulled in to consult with the police on a case where someone has been stealing magical tattoos by skinning them off the person when they are still alive. Of course since Dakota is a magical tattooist she is concerned not only for her clients but also herself when it turns out that this is the work of a serial killer. Dakota is also drawn in to help a mysterious and sexy man in black, Phillip, who works for the Department of Extraordinary Investigations – and man does he have all the cool toys (including a stealthy black hawk helicopter). Dakota is a big flirt and is drawn to the secret agent man from the start while conflicted about how much information about other Edgers she should give-up to the Feds. As the search for the killer heats up Dakota finds herself drawn more into the Edgeworld and seeking help from her Edger friends – including her ex-girlfriend Saffron (the scene in which she first lays eyes on her ex again is pretty awesome and that “cage” had me giggling). Unfortunately, Dakota’s friends aren’t able to protect her from all her enemies but Dakota is tough and finds a way to deal with her nightmares while helping find the killer. And let me tell you I totally did not guess who the killer is – I love it when I can’t guess who the bad guy is until the big reveal!

Mr. Francis expertly interweaves the present day Atlanta into his take on the world. He describes many of the neighborhoods, like Little Five Points and Buckhead (and there is quite the twist with that one), along with the streets and stores in the area that I feel like I could go to the neighborhood right now and get a tattoo at the Rogue Unicorn where Dakota works. This is one of the parts of a story I love when an author can expertly describe the location in present day terms – like how St. Louis was described in the Anita Blake series so well that readers actually started to track down the locations (including specific houses) that Laurell K. Hamilton describes in the books (imagine the homeowners surprise when a stranger tells them their house was the scene of a fictional paranormal partner swapping). Mr. Francis has created a character in Dakota and a paranormal world that I can’t wait to read more about. Thankfully a second book, Blood Rock, is already in the making.

4 stars out of 5 for me, loved the flirty tough girl Dakota and her magical tattoos.

Interview with Sean Cummings - author of the Valerie Stevens series and a Giveaway!

2010-07-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

Today I would like to welcome Sean Cummings to Darkly Reading. He is the author of a new urban fantasy series that takes place in Calgary, Canada. There are shadowy forces, a mentor that seems alot like Yoda, and a zombie borg brain hive. His heroine - Valerie - is a great no-nonsense girl that may not be as tough as nails but is tough enough to get the job done. Stay tuned till the end of the interview for your chance to win a copy of Shade Fright and Funeral Pallor - and the giveaway is international.

Q: Thanks for visiting Darkly Reading Sean (love the zombie pic btw)! Could you do a quick introduction to your books for my readers and why you decided to place a hot bed of paranormal activity in Calgary, Canada?

A: Thanks for having me! Calgary is where I grew up so I wanted to write a setting that I was familiar with. What I learned was that because I was familiar with, say for example the giant statues outside of the Calgary Board of Education, I came up with a whack of ideas I could use for the plot. (Hint hint to anyone who hasn't read the book - statues are awesome at kicking demon butt.) It's a great city and a great place to have an urban fantasy series. :)

Q: I loved that the books were located in Canada! Do you base some of your locations on actual places in the Calgary and the area? When you were going through the editing process did you ever get responses back that something in your books was too "Canadian" and might not be understood by non-Canadian readers? I was also wondering what a Mickey pocket is and if Tim Horton's is just like Dunkin' Donuts?

A: Excellent questions. There isn't enough Canadian urban fantasy out there and from the outset, I wanted to write something as seamless as any other quality urban fantasy novel available in bookstores today. My mindset had always been, well damn ... why NOT Canada for a setting? All of the places in both books are actual places and I've peppered book one in particular with Canadianisms, like Tim Hortons. Canadians LOVE Timmies. (Dunkin Doughnuts is pretty good, but Timmies coffee is addictive!) A Mickey pocket is an inner breast pocket of a jacket or blazer where one can slip a flask of hootch.

Q: Valerie has some interesting friends in the book - D.T.a troll who is her mentor who looks alot like Yoda, Fifty Dollar Bill a ghost and a former Prime Minister, and Caroline - a zombie who retained her soul. How did you come up with this cast of characters? And is D.T. really based on Yoda?

A: D.T. sort of happened by accident and Yoda was a big part of it. I'd intended for her mentor to be a human but it seemed to me the story would be far more interesting if there was a diminutive creature from the preternatural world who spoke in King James English. Plus in having a dwarf troll as a mentor, I get to make all the characters refer to him as "The Yoda Dude". Fifty Dollar Bill is by far my favorite character in both books, though he's much more prominent in book one. William Lyon Mackenzie King during his life was a huge occultist and when I started writing book one in 2007, it seemed to me that I thought it would be cool/ironic that he was interested in hanging out with the living now that he's dead. He's eccentric, wise, a pain in the butt and a really fun character, so I hope readers will get a kick out of him. As for Caroline, well - I love zombies and I hate lawyers. :)

Q: How many books do you hope to do in this series? What do you have planned for future books? Do we get a final showdown with the Conclave? Does Caroline regain a living body? Any hints?

A: The Conclave is going to be featured extensively in book three because someone is going to be kidnapped before someone's big day and someone is going to have to come to the rescue. Someone is going to die - a central character - and Valerie is going to be tempted by the Conclave as well as a dead sexy guy who wears black and doesn't do sunlight.
I have three more books I'm planning so I might well end the series at five - we'll see.

Q: In the first book,Shade Fright, we are first introduced to the love of Valerie's life - Dave the dump truck driver. But rather than being a typical tough guy boyfriend like many an urban fantasy love interest he is freaked out by the supernatural world - why did you decide to give Valerie a boyfriend who is not as embedded in the supernatural world as she is?

A: One word: Fargo. Anyone who has seen the BRILLIANT movie Fargo will know that Marge Gunderson has a steadfast husband who loves her unconditionally and supports her 100%. He is the inspiration for Dave - as well, (and I might take flack for saying this) but urban fantasy is filled with male love interests who aren't named Dave - they're always STEEL or RICARDO or something like that. I wanted a down to earth love interest for Valerie and no serious complications. It would suck if he died though, eh? Val might go off the deep end. (Not saying I'm killing him off. There are things far worse than death that can happen to Dave.)

Q: In book two, Funeral Pallor, Calgary is having a bit of a zombie problem that Valerie and her friends have to solve - and these zombies aren't your typical shuffling and mumbling type but seem to work together and possibly have a hive mind - did you base your zombies on the Borg from Star Trek?

A: You bet - 110% ripoff from the Borg and I'm not ashamed to admit it! They lack a Queen though and readers will hopefully pick up on the rather large hint I've dropped in FUNERAL PALLOR.

Q: I loved the newest cast of supporting characters in book two - the Newby brothers and Reaper - will we be seeing more of them?

A: The Newby Brothers are really fun characters so they'll be back. They're my homage to heavy metal music (I'm a bald headbanger). Tim Reaper is getting his own novel (which I'm doing revisions on right now) and you can read the first chapter at http://goodgirls-badjuju.com/?p=701 . I'm planning a series for him because he's just a blast to write. He's a misogynist, he's amoral, he kicks butt and he tries to do the right thing.

Q: The covers for your books are great - do you have any input on their design? What do you think of them?

A: I do, actually. Anna Torborg did my cover art and from the start we wanted cover art that didn't feature scantily clad women in leather pants with tattoos on the small of their backs. That's what most urban fantasy covers look like where there's a female protagonist. Shade Fright was all Anna and for Funeral Pallor, I was really lucky because I wanted to do an homage to the Queen II album cover. :) I love the cover art - it's unique - it's fun (like the characters) and it contrasts all the other urban fantasy novel cover art that's out there.

Q: Do you know when we'll be seeing more of Valerie and Calgary?

A: I've just started writing book three - finished the outline in the last month, actually. I don't have a date for it but I would expect it to be available sometime in 2011.
Thanks for stopping by Darkly Reading Sean!

Places you can find Sean:
twitter.com/saskatoonauthor
http://sean-cummings.ca
facebook: Sean Cummings
Good Reads: Sean Cummings

Now for the giveaway - Sean is giving away a copy of each of his books and the contest is international. To enter leave a question for Sean or answer the following - what public figure would you most like to be haunted by? (Would you go for a government figure like Fifty Dollar Bill or maybe a "100 Dollar Ben" or would you prefer a haunting by Elvis Presley or another celebrity?)
Extra entries:
+1 Tweet the contest (leave link in your comment)
+1 Follow @DarklyReading or @saskatoonauthor
+1 Follow blog

Contest will go till July 24th!

Review of Funeral Pallor by Sean Cummings - beware the zombies!

2010-07-16T08:51:00.000-04:00

Title: Funeral Pallor
Author: Sean Cummings
Pages: 320, paperback
Genre: urban fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series (Valerie Stevens, #2)
Release: Already out (July 1st 2010)
Publisher: Snowbooks
Received for review from author
Author info: http://sean-cummings.ca Twitter: @saskatoonauthor
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for book #1
GoodReads Blurb: There's a nest of rotting husks in an old Calgary warehouse and they've got a hankering for human flesh, but that's the least of Valerie Stevens' problems. While necromancers are a dime a dozen, these mindless killing machines all share one thing in common: they're former occupants of every funeral home in the city.

The evidence points to the zombie Caroline, especially now that she's been experiencing short term memory loss and an inability to account for her whereabouts. If Valerie plans to clear her best friend's name, she'll have to move fast: someone has dispatched a zombie assassin and Caroline's only hope may rest with a pair of middle-aged head-bangers with a few secrets of their own.

In this installation of the Valerie Stevens series, we catch up with Valerie many months after the events in Shade Fright. She is still under the tutelage of the ancient mage/Yoda-like mentor D. T. and still trying to learn about her powers including the “clarity” she apparently glows with before her next encounter with the Conclave. Valerie is still dragging her heels with trying to find a solution to Caroline’s undead situation and has had some bumps in her relationship with mustached dump truck driver Dave. Unfortunately for Valerie, the big baddies of the supernatural community are still interested in her and one evening during the course of her job she gets trapped in a warehouse by a gaggle of flesh-eating zombies. This near-death experience is just the start of wild adventures for Valerie as she tries to get to the bottom of why zombies are loose in Calgary and what her undead friend Caroline might have to do with it.

Funeral Pallor starts out the action pretty quickly with one of the most fearsome (at least for me) supernatural creatures out there – the zombie. And these zombies seem to be working together to get their little piece of flesh like a borg-hive (double shiver) so Valerie needs to get all the help she can get – including the aid of metal loving headbanger brothers, the Newby brothers. The Newby brothers cracked me up with their modified Zombie killing pick-up truck with a snow plow attached and their constant reverence to Valerie as “toots”. Although their headbanging may have dislodged any higher level reasoning skills they do seem to be good at killing zombies and are important to unraveling the mystery of why all these zombies are roaming the streets of Calgary. We also see a lot of Caroline in the installment and the lengths she’s had to take to preserve her zombie form (self-service embalming anyone) though less of the rest of the cast of friends from Shade Fright including Fifty-Dollar Bill, D.T., and Dave. Caroline has been having black-outs that have Valerie worried that Caroline is giving in to her darker zombie nature and while investigating what is going on they delve into conspiracy theories, shady business organizations, and survive a few assassination attempts. We also meet a new character – Tim Reaper – along the way who I hope we get to see in future book installments.

Overall it was a well formed mystery –although I had a good idea who the bad guys worked for I had no idea who the bad guys were till the end – one of my favorite things with a mystery is not guessing the outcome from the beginning. The ending of this book is very sweet too – Valerie’s got quite the man in her life.

3.5 out of 5 stars for me, fearsome zombies and head-banging zombie killers make an interesting mix.

Review of Shade Fright by Sean Cummings - Something supernatural is happening across the border

2010-07-15T22:23:00.000-04:00

Title: Shade Fright
Author: Sean Cummings
Pages: 320 pages, paperback
Genre: urban fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series (Valerie Stevens, #1)
Release: Already out (March 2010)
Publisher: Snowbooks
Received for review from author
Author info: http://sean-cummings.ca Twitter: @saskatoonauthor
Spoiler Alert: In the clear.
GoodReads blurb: 'I fell into this job quite by accident, when I discovered that I possessed the ability to see the preternatural world. There are a handful of people with similar abilities, and part of my job is to locate them, since Government Services and Infrastructure Canada like to keep track of these things. Don't ask me why'. There's a malevolent force in town, and it's quite literally Valerie Steven's job to determine who's behind it and why they want to destroy the world, starting with Calgary. She'll have help, in the form of her best friend (now more or less a zombie, unfortunately), a powerful dwarf troll, and the ghost of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (but he goes by 'Bill' these days). But that's not all - Valerie has some tricks up her sleeve and, she hopes, luck on her side. Oh, and her boyfriend, Dave. He drives a dump truck.

Valerie Stevens is an alchemist who works for a shadowy arm of the Canadian government (I know it is kind of hard to believe the Canadian government can have a shadow arm - but you know there has to be a darkside to all the Canadian niceness right?). Most the time Valerie's job involves tracking or capturing supernatural elements in Tupperware and sending them to her boss near the North Pole and to avoid attempts on her life by unhappy elements of the supernatural community. This time Valerie's job is alot tougher than trapping the supernatural element she finds herself up against a terrorist organization with dark magic at it's roots. Thankfully, Valerie has friends in the form of an ancient mage, a former Canadian prime minister now ghost, a zombie that has retained part of her soul, and her dump truck driving boyfriend Dave.

Although this book starts out a bit slow for me with much of the world building by way of Valerie's inner monologue - once the world and the players are established the book really starts to take off as Valerie rushes to find out who or what is behind the attempts on her life and stop them before they bring about more death. Valerie is a great character and has an interesting group of beings that she calls friends. She is the kind of no-nonsense heroine I can appreciate that doesn't do more than the usual amount of grumbling about the deck she has been dealt in life and she does some serious bad guy supernatural butt-kicking. Her friends also add some interesting spice to the mix with Fifty Dollar Bill being just how I would imagine the eccentric former Prime Minister William Mackenzie would behave with long winded speeches and antiquated views of how a woman should behave (though he does pop in on her in the shower), while her friend Caroline is a unique mix for a zombie - though she is one of the undead she retains her soul and therefore her sharp wit yet she has a zombie's strength and immunity to pain, and flesh eating habits as well (though she stays away from humans). Another great character, though we don't see enough of him, is her boyfriend Dave. Dave is a dump truck driver and is totally freaked out by the supernatural though he is sweet and cooks for Valerie, listens to opera, and sticks by her through all the craziness because he loves her so much.

And let's not forget the location - Calgary, Canada. Though I have read books that have been based in Canada before but they never made good use of the location and local flavor as Mr. Cumming's book did. Several of the locations used in the book actually exist in Calgary and he includes the all important Tim Hortons (if you ever meet a Canadian and are looking for things to discuss just bring up Tim Hortons and they'll be talking about how wonderful it is for a while..and then bring up hockey and they'll talk all night ;) Overall this was a good first entry into a new series that I am looking forward to reading.

3.5 out of 5 stars, some serious butt-kicking of dark forces by a tough Canadian heroine who has the best dump-truck driving boyfriend ever.

Interview with Tricia Rayburn - author of Siren and a Giveaway

2010-07-13T10:17:00.001-04:00

Today we have Tricia Rayburn visiting - the author of Siren. It was one of my favorite YA reads so far and Tricia agreed to stop by Darkly Reading and answer some questions. She is also giving away a copy of her book! So please check out the interview and follow the details below to enter the giveaway (US only) and make sure to wish Tricia a happy release day while you're here!

Darkly Reading: Could you give a little introduction about Siren for my readers and talk about why you decided to write this book?

Tricia: Siren tells the story of 17-year-old Vanessa Sands, a self-proclaimed scaredy-cat who's used to hiding behind her fearless older sister, Justine—until Justine jumps off a cliff and that's no longer an option. While everyone else thinks Justine's death is a tragic accident, Vanessa knows better and returns to the scene of the crime to figure out what happened. Along the way she finds romance and faces some of her greatest fears...including one that will change her life forever.

I'd been wanting to do something different from my younger books, so when the idea occurred to me, I ran with it. And the idea came about because of my somewhat recent fear of all creatures of the deep!

Siren takes place in Winter Harbor, Maine - Is there such a place and if not did you base the town on a real place off the coast of Maine?

Winter Harbor is a real town, and I chose it after learning that it earned its name because the harbor never freezes, not even in the middle of winter. That, as you know, plays a key role in the story! But you won't find Betty's Chowder House or the Lighthouse Resort there—they were inspired by other New England places I've visited over the years.

Siren touches on alot of great themes for summer vacation - traditional ones like summer vacation boyfriends, townies versus vacationers, summer jobs and some non-traditional themes like murder, paranormal seductresses, and unusual weather patterns- did you have some experience with these as a teenager (either traditional or non-traditional)?

I've lived near water most of my life and spent many childhood summers at the beach, and my family and I also used to rent a cabin once a year in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Those experiences combined helped with the setting and tone of the book. And I live on eastern Long Island now, which definitely sees its share of townies and vacationers. Thankfully, I don't have any personal experience with murder, paranormal seductresses, or unusual weather patterns...at least not yet!

Vanessa is such a great character, fearful of alot of things though strong and true to her family and friends, whereas Justine is what I think alot of girls want to be - fearless and beautiful. Why did you decide to make these two very different girls into sisters?

I wanted to play with the idea that you may never know someone as well as you think. Vanessa idolizes Justine for being all the things she wishes she were, but she'll eventually learn that Justine acted the way she did for a very specific reason...and that they were much more alike than Vanessa realized.

I was checking out your blog - Maggie Musings & More and it features alot of oddities from the sea - any favorite or book idea inspiring oddities you would like to share?

The Montauk Monster is a recent favorite. It washed onshore two summers ago and no one ever decided what it really was; it could've once been a dog or raccoon, but that wasn't definitively confirmed. This suggests to me that maybe there are OTHER mysterious creatures lurking beneath the surface that we don't know about...which is as intriguing as it is scary!

Vanessa has a very specific favorite breakfast food - do you have a favorite vacation or breakfast food? How much are your characters based on your or people you know? Do you see any celebrities fitting with your characters?

When my family and I vacationed in NH, my brother would make amazing breakfasts (pancakes, eggs, bacon—the works!), and we'd all eat together by the lake. That's definitely a favorite pasttime!

The only character who's somewhat based on a real person is Vanessa, who has some of the same fears I do. And I think Dakota Fanning would do a fabulous job playing her! :)

Although many questions were answered by the end of Siren there were definitely a few about Vanessa's future that aren't tied up - do you have more books planned for Vanessa's story?

There are currently two more books planned. The sequel will be out next summer, and the third book will be out Summer 2012!

Thanks Tricia for stopping by Darkly Reading!

Thank you for having me!

Where to find Tricia:
Website: www.triciarayburn.com
Blog: www.triciarayburn.blogspot.com
Twitter: @triciarayburn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/triciarayburn

To enter to win a copy of Siren from Tricia Rayburn (US only) please leave a comment with any questions you have for Tricia or any oddities of the sea stories or summer vacation tales you would like to share. You also need to follow Tricia on twitter to be entered so be sure to leave your twitter name as well in the comments. The contest is open till July 18th.

Favorite Firsts Birthday Bash Winners!

2010-07-11T17:30:00.001-04:00

Last weekend was the closing of the Favorite Firsts Blog Bash at Darkly Reading and man was it a busy week! First I want to say thank you to all my guest bloggers and authors who visited Darkly Reading and made my birthday extra special - Carolyn Crane, Tori the Book Faery, Amanda from NRSVamp Chick, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Rebecca from Dirty Sexy Books - they are all great ladies and I hope you will take the time to check them out.

Now onto what you have all been waiting for (drumroll please) the winners. I'm going to start first with the book that Amanda is giving away from NRSVamp Chick (see she's very generous - another reason to visit her blog). And the winner is entry 5 which was Angel. She will get to pick any of the books (under $10) mention in the post for her prize.

For Favorite Firsts we have 2 winners! Winner #1 gets to chose 3 books while winner #2 gets to chose 1 book. So now for winner #1 (entry #58)....it's Tori the Book Faery and her books are: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler, Red Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells, and Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready. Winner #2 (entry #354) is Sandy Giden who picked Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland. Excellent choices ladies and I can't wait to hear what you think of them!

Some of you might remember that you also got to chose my book birthday
presents from the list below:

I said I was only going to get three books for my birthday but lets face it - my book addiction cannot be denied! So in the end I will probably end up with all of them! I think I might start with Touched by an Alien though - the reviews I've read make it sound fabulous! Thank you all for entering the contest and if any of the prizes go unclaimed for a week I will pick new winners.

Guest Posting Today over at Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick about Mind Games - are you Team Kebab or Cucumber?

2010-07-10T18:24:00.000-04:00

Today I'm over at Amanda's blog with my top 5 reasons you should read and love Mind Games by Carolyn Crane along with an "are you Team Kebab or Team Cucumber" question. Amanda's hosting the Book Bloggers Anonymous book this month Mind Games - as you may have guessed already - and she's having a contest for the ARC of Double Cross - the second book in the Disillusionists Trilogy - so get over there and check it out.

Siren by Tricia Rayburn - Starts with a cliff dive and ends with a cliff hanger of a question!

2010-07-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

Title: Siren
Author: Tricia Rayburn
Pages: 352 pages, hardcover
Genre: paranormal, YA
Standalone/Series: Series (Book 1)
Release: July 13th, 2010
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Received ARC at BEA (Signed by author)
Author info: author website
Spoiler Alert: In the clear.
GoodReads Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything—the dark, heights, the ocean—but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is, until Justine goes cliff-diving one night near the family’s vacation house in Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day. Though her parents hope that they’ll be able to find closure back in Boston, Vanessa can’t help feeling that her sister’s death wasn’t an accident. After discovering that Justine was keeping a lot of secrets, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor, hoping that Justine’s boyfriend might know more. But Caleb has been missing since Justine’s death. Soon, it’s not just Vanessa who’s afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes host to a string of fatal, water-related accidents in which all the victims are found, horrifically, grinning from ear to ear. Vanessa turns to Caleb’s brother, Simon, for help, and begins to find herself drawn to him. As the pair try to understand the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance—and will change her life forever. A seductive paranormal romance full of unexpected twists, Siren is certain to make a big summer splash.

Summer vacations as a teenager are all about milestones, first kiss, first job, first time sneaking out of the house but in Siren Vanessa goes through a lot more milestones than anyone would want – exposing her family’s secrets, taking on a family of deadly women, and of course some kissing of boys. Vanessa starts out this book at quite the crossroads – to let go of her fears and jump off the top of a cliff to kick-off her summer vacation with her sister, Justine, in Maine or to continue to let her fears hold her back. Of course Vanessa takes the path any sensible person would and does not jump off the cliff while the bold and fearless Justine jumps off in the middle of a freak thunderstorm. Unfortunately things continue to go downhill for Vanessa and after a big fight with her sister in which Justine walks off into the night to waking up to the news that her sister is dead. Vanessa is devastated, and returns with her family from the coast of Maine back to Boston for the funeral. Justine was always Vanessa’s best friend and Vanessa assumed she new everything about her older sister but as she begins to do a little unintentional snooping in her sister’s room she learns that maybe she didn’t know her sister that well at all. Vanessa’s investigations into her sister's secret life lead her back to Winter Harbor, Maine and her childhood friends the Carmichael boys who are also trying to deal with Justine’s death. Vanessa’s mission to learn more about her sister leads her to make some interesting discoveries about one of the families in Winter Harbor and about herself.

This book was a perfect summer read for me – I love the location of Winter Harbor and the tensions between the town and the vacationers as well as the eerie feeling the book gives you that all is not right in Winter Harbor. There are so many subtle clues about what is going on from the ghostly visits of Justine, to the freaky weather patterns that just hang over Winter Harbor, to the bodies that start washing up on the town’s shore with smiles on their faces (ok maybe that one is not so subtle). Ms. Rayburn crafts an excellent suspense filled mystery that honestly I think might be too scary for me to watch in movie format (I am a huge scary TV wimp) but is built expertly between the pages. Although I had my suspicions on who was the bad guy early on I was never sure what exactly was going to happen or how the story would end (and let me tell you the ending was perfect for me).

I loved the main character Vanessa, I connected with her from the beginning of the book and felt for her as she had to go through her sister’s death and deal with the fact that she didn’t know her sister as well as she thought. Her interactions with her remaining family definitely evolved throughout the book and Vanessa makes some startling discoveries about her origins and what her parents have been hiding from her.

Since I mentioned this was a beach read I would be remiss if I didn’t touch upon the romance in this book. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the mystery and suspense in this book but there are some cute and tender moments that any teenage girl would be happy to experience on their summer vacation.

4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Starting with a cliff-dive and ending with a cliff-hanger of a question – Ms. Rayburn crafts an excellent book.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Werewolves are so not sexy here!

2010-07-07T18:46:00.000-04:00

Title: Sisters Red
Author: Jackson Pearce
Pages: 326 pages hardcover
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Standalone/Series: Series (book #1)
Release: Already out (June 2010)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young
Received through Book it Forward ARC tours
Author info: Author website
Spoiler Alert: In the clear.
GoodReads Blurb: Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Werewolves are so not sexy in this novel based loosely on Little Red Riding Hood. Werewolves are called the Fenris – who in human form are usually alluringly attractive to draw their prey but change into a disgusting wolf like form with clumpy oily fur and otherworldly stench when they attack. The two sisters in this book, Rose and Scarlett, know the Fenris intimately since they were attacked by one as children that left their life broken and Scarlett horribly scarred. Now fast-forward a few years and the sisters spend their time battling this threat that most humans don’t see as well as growing into young women. For Scarlett, being a woman only means she is better bait to lure the Fenris away to kill them but for Rose she starts to question as she grows older if she just wants to hunt and kill Fenris for the rest of her life. When their neighbor Silas, a boy the sisters grew up with, returns after spending a year away Rosie begins to question even more what she wants out of life when she lays eyes on him.

The story is told in first person alternating between Scarlett and Rose’s point of view. Although effective in getting across a more complete picture of the overall story it is a little jarring to jump back and forth between the two view points since the sisters are so very different. Scarlett’s whole life is the hunt – I think if she could live off the thrill of killing another Fenris she would chose that rather than sleeping, eating, or even talking to other people. And the sisters do not have an easy life, they both dropped out of highschool to devote more time to hunting and their only source of income is from hawking items of their mother, who abandoned them, and grandmother, who died trying to protect them. Not a very easy choice to sell off belongings of people you loved to supply your hunt for the beings that destroyed your life. The hunt takes Scarlett, Rose, and Silas to Atlanta to take down more Fenris who seem to be invading their town. Many things happen while in the city – betrayal, romance, surprising discoveries, and a nail-biting fight in the end.

3.5 out of 5 stars for me, a gritty new world where werewolves aren’t sexy and sisters hold two-halves of one heart.

Review of Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien - which side of the wall would you be on?

2010-07-06T19:37:00.000-04:00

Title: Birthmarked
Author: Caragh M. O'Brien
Pages: 362, Paperback
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Standalone/Series: Standalone?
Release: Already out (March 2010)
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Received through Book it Forward ARC Tours
Author info: Author website
Spoiler Alert: Minor plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested. Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned. Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, Birthmarked explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.

Birthmarked was my first dystopian read and I think I need to start reading more in this genre! The novel immediately sets-up the two discordant societies: the thriving city, the Enclave, inside the wall that survived an apocalypse and the poor shanty town that grew up around it with survivors that have little comfort in their lives. The main character, Gaia, comes home from her first baby delivery (she is a midwife) and advancement to the Enclave to find her parents arrested and a strange officer in her house. This is just the first crack that leads to the shattering of the pedestal that Gaia has put the Enclave on – it’s easy to accept the society you are born into but when you have to start questioning your devotion you life becomes infinitely more complicated. The realization that the Enclave isn’t a model society is a slow one for Gaia, even after they take her parents, and for the first part of the book Gaia continues to assist in births outside the Enclave’s wall then advance babies for adoption inside the Enclave. Those from outside the Enclave cannot enter the wall therefore they can never see their children again once they have been forced to give them up.

Although the first part of the book was a bit slow for me, once Gaia decides that all is not right inside the Enclave walls and goes on a mission to save her parents the novel definitely picks up. Once inside the wall, Gaia begins to track down her parents and unfortunately gets captured and imprisoned. On the inside Gaia begins to learn how the Enclave is founded and why the advancements occur, what the Enclave wants with her parents, and when they occasionally let her out of prison, how the people in the Enclave live. It was easy to see how the Enclave could have been developed from our world and also eerie to think what would happen to our society if there was no more fossil fuels (the apocalypse in Gaia’s world). While in prison Gaia makes some unlikely friends, including the officer that she first met in her home the night her parents were taken, learns the truth about what happened to her parents, and plans her escape. She also learns the truth of the birthmark on her face and experiences her first kiss and the excitement of budding romance. Though now life for her is dangerous in the Enclave as well as in her town and huge sacrifices are made on the way to freedom for Gaia.

This was a 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, realizing the world around you is not what it seems is a difficult trip that Ms. O’Brien writes surpassingly well.

Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams - Sometimes what washes up on the beach is pretty sexy!

2010-06-30T09:50:00.000-04:00

Title: Tsunami Blue
Author: Gayle Ann Williams
Pages: 290 pages, paperback
Genre: post-apocalypse, paranormal romance
Standalone/Series: standalone (I think?)
Release: already out
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company
Won in a contest
Author info: http://www.gayleannwilliams.com/ and Twitter @GayleWriter
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: "To some I was a freak; to others, a fantasy. I was Satan or savior; a witch or a goddess. I was legend, I was lies. And tonight it really was, just all too much." -- Kathryn "Blue" O'Malley. NO SAFE HARBOR. With her badass rain boots, her faithful dog, and the ability to predict the monster tsunamis that have reduced the US to a series of islands, Kathryn O’Malley isn’t afraid of much. Cut off from all society, she takes to the airwaves as Tsunami Blue, hoping to save something of humanity as the world around her crumbles. But Blue should be afraid—because her message reaches the wrong ears.

Now she’s the target of ruthless pirates known as Runners who want to use her special talents for their own profiteering—as soon as they can find her. Blue’s only shot at survival lies with the naked stranger who washes up on her rocky beach. A man who might just be working for Runners himself. Torn between suspicion and attraction, the two will have to navigate a surging tide of danger and deceit if they hope to stay alive.

What would have happened if the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004 was just the first of many that ended up destroying the world as we know it. This is the world the Blue lives in – one where there are no countries since the waves destroyed almost everything and a lawless and dangerous world now exists. But Blue has an advantage over the other survivors – the ocean speaks to her and warns her when other waves are coming. Though this gift also has made her a target for those who wish to control the waves – the ruthless pirates known as the Runners. Blue is currently living on an island trying to keep hidden from the Runners while broadcasting what the ocean tells her to save other survivors. The only “person” she has for company is her dog Max who she often chats with (I talk to my dog too so I can appreciate a heroine who does this as well). One night when Max and Blue are out for a stroll they come across the body of a man that appears dead. Blue is quick to resuscitate him and brings him back to her cabin to later determine whether or not he is an enemy when he wakes. Though Blue doesn’t get much time to determine whether the man, Gabriel is a friend or foe, since the next day the Runners catch up with her and she is forced to trust Gabriel and flee with him.

There was definitely a Mad Max/Water World feeling to the book and the lawlessness and brutality of Blue’s existence was engaging as it was scary. Blue has been raised since a child in this increasingly dangerous world and she struggles to maintain hope that there are people out there that listen to her warnings from what the ocean tells her. One of her greatest fears is that there are no children that survived the waves and as Gabriel helps Blue escape the Runners she gets glimpses of what’s left of the Pacific Northwest area. And for the most part it isn’t pretty.

This book is a great mix of action, adventure, and romance in one quick read. Gabriel, otherwise known as "what the ocean washed up", seems to want to help Blue though he does have ties to the Runners. It’s hard to know whether Blue should trust him or not since he keeps his intentions hidden from her, though Blue can’t help but be attracted to him, he gives her coffee and red meat – things in short supply in their world. Truthfully a world without coffee would be a very difficult one for me to survive in – so I can totally understand her attraction to Gabriel. Though coffee isn’t the only thing Gabriel has going for him and as Blue gets to know him better she feels drawn to him as well. I have to admit I loved reading about their little “lessons” during the book and what buds between them is pretty hot. The constant threat of his possible betrayal also kept the story engaging since you’re never quite sure what his intentions are for most the book.

Overall 4 out of 5 for me, the ocean washed up a pretty sexy package for Blue and she knows how to use it.

Review of Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler - Love the snarky half-selkie!

2010-06-29T08:24:00.000-04:00

Title: Tracking the Tempest (Jane True #2)
Author: Nicole Peeler
Pages: 320 pages, paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: June 29th/ July 1st
Publisher: Orbit
Received for review by publisher at BEA
Author info: http://www.nicolepeeler.com/ and Twitter @NicolePeeler
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for book 1
GoodReads Blurb: Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and Ryu - Jane's bloodsucking boyfriend - can't let a major holiday go by without getting all gratuitous. An overwhelming dose of boyfriend interference and a last-minute ticket to Boston later, and Jane's life is thrown off course.

Ryu's well-intentioned plans create mayhem, and Jane winds up embroiled in an investigation involving a spree of gruesome killings. All the evidence points towards another Halfling, much to Jane's surprise...

Jane True is a half-selkie after my own heart – she gives smutty paranormal romances to a horny succubus and has an internal monologue that has me snorting in hysterics. In this entry into the Jane True series (The first book Tempest Rising is a favorite of mine), Jane takes off on a romantic get-away with her hot vampire boyfriend, Ryu, for Valentine’s day weekend. Unfortunately, Jane in her typical uncoordinated form stumbles into some problems of her own that end up following her back to Rockabill. Now Jane’s fears of her supernatural life putting her normal mortal friends and family in danger looks like they might come true.

Jane has dealt with a lot in the past few months, from learning that the a supernatural world exists to learning that she half belongs to it, to also finding out that there are some factions out there that just want to kill her because she is a halfling. The paranormal world is still a secret to mortals in Ms. Peeler’s novel and she has created a rich landscape that includes many different paranormal beings, the rules that govern them, and the territories they can exist in. I think it is one of my favorite parts of the Jane True novels, all the different creatures that exist and we meet new ones with each novel. Another favorite is Jane’s inner dialogue – she is so snarky and self-depricating it is hilarious and I have to admit I love her pop cultural references – it makes me love the books even more because you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth or her thoughts. And lastly I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the men in Jane’s life, Ryu her hot vampire lover is always good for a sexy romp and Anyan – her protector and friend. There are some interesting developments in both these relationships that I can’t wait to read more about in the next novel.

4 out of 5 stars, Jane True is an awesome half-selkie ball of sexiness and snark!

Birthday Bash Wrap-up | Favorite Firsts Giveaway Update | and a Winner!

2010-06-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all your visits during my Birthday Bash where we discussed favorite firsts with some amazing authors and bloggers! I hope you all had a good visit - there was some lively discussion about Black Jewels Trilogy (which I need to start reading!), a little mutual shuddering at the thought of baby powder smelling Lessers, and some concern about being disillusioned by hypochondriacs (double shudder!). It seems like many of us secretly or not so secretly got started reading paranormals by picking up that sparkly vampire novel known as Twilight and like a gateway drug it lead us to the dark side of fiction. While other ones of us started out our addiction as gamer-girls and readers of fan fiction. Some of us seek revenge through recommending depressing books while others lament the dangers of falling in love. And lastly we learned that the ultimate villian of them all is - Eve.

I am now the owner of a shinny new ipad and already got this great cover from Etsy (bertie's closet) so thank you to my hubby for such an awesome birthday gift! If you guys have any recommendations for apps it would be much appreciated!

Now onto updates for the Favorite Firsts Birthday Bash - it's still going on till July 5th and as promised if I get 50 more followers during the bash a new winner is added - now there are 2 winners - 1st place gets 3 books and 2nd place gets 1 book. And wait there's more (I feel like a infomerical) the winners will get to chose from both the favorite firsts and my birthday bash list (don't worry if you already picked your books earlier - I will give you a chance to change your picks if you win before I order them). Thanks for all those who have entered so far and tweeted about the contest - you are awesome!

So the winner of the Chloe Neill prize pack of Chicagoland Vampires related swag is rachel445. Congrats! Alot of you were split on whether it mattered that a book location is fictional or real - some favorite locations were Chicago, New Orleans, London, NYC, and Diagon Alley (from Harry Potter fame of course). I would also throw in Atlanta - I love the beat-up version from Ilona Andrews series.

Favorite Villains of All Time with Rebecca Baumann of Dirty Sexy Books

2010-06-25T08:20:00.000-04:00

Bad Boys Rule! My Favorite Villains of All Time
By Rebecca Baumann of Dirty Sexy Books

Hardly anybody takes the time to build up a really good villain anymore. It’s a lost art form, and I didn’t realize there was a dearth in bad guy greatness until Heather brought up the idea of doing a guest post about my favorite villains.

Then I started listing them, and I only got to three.

That’s pathetic! A truly menacing enemy is the cornerstone of most fantasies, and a lot of romances too, so you’d think I’d have heaps of baddies to choose from, but not so. Most series writers cycle in new bad guys for each installment, like changing out the paper targets at a practice range. They pin up somebody new for the hero/heroine to blow away, but it’s kind of a shame, because it’s rare to have a really satisfying relationship with someone I can love to hate.

So here they are… a short list of my three favorite villains.

1) I’ve got two words for you. Baby powder.

If you’re a fan of J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, you’re having an ‘oh yeah’ moment right now, because the villains in her on-going paranormal romance epic (‘series’ is too tame a word for what Ward’s constructed), all smell like baby powder. They are known as Lessers, and their sickly sweet odor is just one of the details that makes these albino bad guys stand out. They’re not obvious monsters, and on the surface they even seem benign, but these heartless, soulless beings are pure evil, and they creep me out! The only thing about them that pleases me is that they’re impotent (ha ha, no sex for you), but I can’t wait for the brothers to slice and dice these guys to bits.

Photo Caption: Alright, there aren’t any pictures of Lessers, but Paul Bettany’s turn as Silas in The Da Vinci Code is the closest I can get. Just imagine that he smells like baby powder all over. Ick.

2) This next one is so famous, he’s practically in the Boogeyman club. I’m talking about Lord Voldemort from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The Dark Lord was an ever-present menace throughout the entire series, but Rowling really brought him to life when she shared parts of his tragic childhood. It wasn’t an excuse, or even an explanation for why he became such an evil guy, but my hatred for Voldemort was tempered with pity too. If you only watch the films and have never read the books, then you’re missing out on a lot of the nuances that I’m talking about, and you’ll have to take my word for it. Voldemort is much more than just a simple caricature, and Rowling knew that Harry would only be as great as his greatest foe.

Photo Caption: Geez, it looks like Ralph Fiennes is auditioning for a role as a Lesser, but this is how the Harry Potter movie crew pictures Lord Voldemort. I always thought he had glowing red eyes, but perhaps that’s my overactive imagination making him even more demonic. The snake-like nose is a nice touch.

3) I’ve saved the best for last. The ultimate villain of all time is Mr. “I am your father.” You may be wondering how I’ve slipped Darth Vader into a list of favorite book villains, but there are a whole bunch of Star Wars novels out there, so I say he counts. Have I read those books? No, I’m going off the movies alone, but it’s enough. That black masked visage is more recognizable around the world than our last five Presidents combined, I’ll wager. Vader is the iconic epitome of bad guys everywhere, and I can only hope that someone somewhere is dreaming up a villain who can top him.

Photo Caption: I’m going to go on record stating that I pretty much hated the three latest Star Wars movies, although seeing how Anakin got stuffed into the Vader suit was interesting. Nothing can compete with the originals.

As I close out my list, it occurs to me that I’ve chosen male villains only. I’m wracking my brain for a really good female example, and I’m coming up blank. Unless you want to count the ultimate female villain in history - the hapless Eve who gets humanity booted from the Garden of Eden. What do you know? It turns out that a woman trumps them all.

Great post Rebecca! Be sure to check out her blog - Dirty Sexy Books - she does great reviews and very entertaining book news and book related posts.

Favorite Firsts with Jeri Smith-Ready - Author of WVMP series

2010-06-24T08:15:00.002-04:00

Today we have Jeri Smith-Ready, the author of the WVMP series (check out my reviews of her books Wicked Game and Bad to the Bone) which has some of my favorite flawed vampires ever and a vampire dog! Jeri's book Wicked Game was the first book I ever reviewed so I figured that she was the best person to invite for a guest post during my Favorite Firsts week and thankfully she agreed! I hope you enjoy her guest post as much as I did! Don't forget to comment to get more entries for my Favorite Firsts contest where you can win Wicked Game!

Heather asked me to do a guest post about “firsts” to go with a giveaway of WICKED GAME, the first in my WVMP RADIO urban fantasy series. In Monday’s interview she mentioned that WICKED GAME was the first book to make her want to write a review. I’m tickled she loved it that much!

I don’t know about other authors, but to me, writing the first book in a series is like falling in love. It’s that time of discovery, when we meet the characters and many of them meet each other. Subsequent books are loved just as much—if not more—but they fall into the “deep, mature love” category. There’s nothing like the rush of that first time.

Last fall I was on the way to speak at a book club, mulling over my rewrite of BRING ON THE NIGHT (WVMP Book 3, coming out July 27). In this installment, events take a dark turn, and the emotions become more complex. The heroine, Ciara Griffin, is forced to ask and answer some hard questions about what she wants in life, and discovers that much of it is out of her control.

So as I was driving, “Read My Mind” by the Killers came on the radio. This song appears near the beginning of the WICKED GAME playlist. I chose it to be the “latest Killers song” (as described in the text of Chapter 3) blaring in the background at the Smoking Pig, the bar where Ciara’s best friend Lori works. Ciara stops by after a really crappy first (and last, or so she thought) day at her new job.

Here she has her first conversation, then first adventure, with Shane McAllister, the man she’ll later fall in love with, a man who happens to be a vampire and, even more problematically, an obsessive-compulsive (later that night he’ll pause his seduction to alphabetize her CD collection).

Hearing “Read My Mind” made me ache for the “good old days.” Hearing it again and again and again (I have satellite radio and can replay songs for up to half an hour) made me ponder that innocent beginning. Back when all Ciara had to worry about was earning tuition money and evading the attack of a vengeful bachelorette. Back when she was merely a recovering con artist and Shane was just a hot, mysterious DJ. Before a communications conglomerate and later a group of anti-vampire vigilantes tried to destroy the station. Before the vampire dog came along needing a new owner. Before the zombies arose. Before the infamous dishwasher scene.

It’s dangerous to fall in love with falling in love. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I tended to abandon relationships when they evolved into long-term situations, because I was so addicted to the rush of romance. When I started writing, I shied away from creating series, for the same reason.

Luckily I’ve grown out of that infatuation with infatuation, in both real life and in writing. I stick with things now, even when they’re not all flowers and fun and bouncy songs. Even when they require change and growth and a melancholy tune. And yes—even when the dishwasher is improperly loaded.

Because long-term love is worth it.

The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun
When you read my mind.

---
Jeri can’t read your mind, but she would love to read your e-mail! Come visit her at www.jerismithready.com, or even better, at www.facebook.com/jerismithready or http://twitter.com/jsmithready.

Don't forget to comment to get more entries for my Favorite Firsts contest where you can win Wicked Game (or if you already have it you could chose Bad to the Bone or a pre-order of BOTN)! What moments do you love going back to - the first meeting, the first fight, or the first time making up? (I'm naughty and go back to re-read the smexing scenes ;)

Favorite Firsts Guest Post by Book Blogger Tori-Book Faery

2010-06-23T09:25:00.000-04:00

Today we have the lovely Tori from the Book Faery Blog stopping by to talk about her favorite firsts in books.

Favorite firsts. So where exactly should I begin? Typically, when I think about "firsts," what comes to mind is a first kiss, a first date, your first time driving the car (and not crashing said car as you try to avoid running over a squirrel carcass)--basically, the "monumental" occurrences in life. However, we're not talking about life changing experiences here.... or are we?

Since Heather and I are both book bloggers, it would only make sense to talk about books during this post. When she first approached me about this topic--this is my FIRST guest post ever, by the way--I thought long and hard. Would discussing the first book series which transformed me from a gamer-girl into a book-junkie be interesting? I thought so, since it is a profound change in my eyes. (anti-reading to rabid-reading seems like it'd be a profound change, at least...)

Typically I've been hearing about bloggers gushing over the Twilight series, and how the books were what convinced them to give reading another shot. That wasn't what happened for me. Twilight didn't appeal to me, and while I was obsessed with vampires at the time--Interview with the Vampire, the movie, anyone? Brad Pitt and Antonio were sexy, sexy vamps--I wasn't an official 100% paranormal addict yet. That would come later.

I read a little bit between my high school classes, soccer practices, and Final Fantasy (for PlayStation) binges. But the type of reading was... well, fanfiction. Which is ironic, because my beloved series was actually discovered through a fanfiction. The person basically was doing a spin-off of the plot from some random book, and the idea of a long awaited queen, pleasure slaves, and a love story smack-dab in the middle intrigued me.

Hauling ass to B&N, I discovered the trilogy I so desperately yearned for. Sitting beautifully on the shelf, in the science fiction section was The Black Jewels Trilogy written by the wonderful author Anne Bishop.

Daughter of the Blood was my first real excursion into the world of fiction, and boy was that a journey. Before then, I had never read anything truly involving romance (read: sex) before. Yeah, there were books that alluded to it, but there was nothing that truly explored the idea. Of course I was curious to see what would happen. If you have read this series, then I'm sure you remember the heartbreaking scenes in the first book and what happens to little Jaenelle. I'm actually scared of re-reading it, because it made me so sad.

Despite the heartbreaking scenes in the first book, I finished it in a day. When the heck do I read books in a day? Aside from Harry Potter, which was a one time deal when I was a little goober, reading books that quickly was blasphemous. Well, now it happens more often than I would have expected... But back then? NEVER.

I dug into Heir to the Shadows next, growing even more invested in this world. The points of view of Daemon, Lucivar, and Saetan were intriguing. When the heck did I ever care what a dude thought in a book? I used to enjoy--whenever I read fanfictions, because I never set foot near a real book before then, ew!--experiencing the world through the heroine. I used to want to imagine the dreamy pixels on my tv screen from the girl's perspective. Now, I suddenly savored the emotions all three of these alphas experienced. They ripped my heart to shreds, taped it back together, and then ripped it apart once more. Once again, finished in a day.

Finally, I tore into Queen of the Darkness the "end" (except not really because there's like 5 more books out now based in this world [which is totally awesome]) of this trilogy, and I was so mad as I closed the book, because the ending wasn't as happy as I wanted it to be. What the hell happened to Daemon and Jaenelle's happily ever after? I WANTED A HEA! As you can see from my little outburst/outrage, this was one of the true starts to my honorary HEA addiction. I don't tend to enjoy stories unless there is some sort of romance involved, and I'll usually be discontent if the hero/heroine aren't together at some point. I blame The Black Jewels Trilogy as a major contributor to this obsession.

Just as I was about to give up hope, guess what I found out? There was a fourth book! Dreams Made Flesh was the happy ending I yearned for. And I suddenly found myself hooked to not only my first favorite author, but also a new phenomenon: alpha males. While I read BJT, I never noticed how alpha the three men in this series were. Suddenly, however, upon reading DMF, it clicked. And boy, were they even sexier in my eyes because of it.

Which--don't ask me how--leads me to the first paranormal romance series I ever read: The Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. This woman is a genius. Werewolves. with. Scottish. accents. GIVE ME MORE!

The addiction's only worsened after that, I'm afraid.

So the moral of the story? 1) Don't write your guest posts at 5 in the morning. 2) Don't hate on fanfictions--that's directed towards you, authors--because when people do spinoffs of your work, it helps spread the word.

But more importantly? 3) Sexy alpha males = win.

Happy birthday, Heather! :)

Thanks for doing your first guest post for Darkly Reading! I am very honored! I feel after your post I need to rush out and start reading Anne Bishop and more fanfiction - great post! Please check out Tori's blog and follow her on twitter!

So now I'm dying to know: have any of you heard of this author? Do you enjoy her books? And more importantly, what was your first book/series that made you into the bookaholic you are today?

Don't forget to enter in my favorite firsts giveaway!

Favorite Firsts Interview with Carolyn Crane - Author of Mind Games

2010-06-22T09:49:00.001-04:00

Please welcome to Darkly Reading the lovely author and blogger Carolyn Crane. If you haven't guessed by now her book Mind Games (my review) was one of my favorite books so far in 2010!

First of all, Happy Birthday, Heather! Thanks for having me for your fabulous firsts event! I feel very honored. I hope you have a wonderful year of books, blogging (and excellent real life stuff, of course).

Your book, Mind Games, has kind of a comic book feel with the creation of a city that is modern but fantasy (Midcity is like a less dark version of Gotham City), a group of humans (the highcaps) that it is theorized to have gained their powers by way of environmental pollutant induced genetic changes, and a shadowy group of vigilantes that work for the greater good (the disillusionists) - was that your plan with your world-building - to build it with a comic book feel or did it just turn out that way? Are you a reader of comic books - any favorites?

I love your description of it! I didn’t grow up with a major comic book thing, but I consumed a lot of wacky 1970’s TV after school, like Get Smart, Batman, Wonder Woman, Six Million Dollar Man, graduated to action adventure movies. And I was the biggest Nancy Drew junkie ever. So, I feel like I’m coming out of more of an adventure tradition. That said, I was heavy into Judge Dredd comic books for some time, and I know that’s in Mind Games a bit.

Midcity is a character on it’s own (it even has it's own website) - did you build "the tangle" based on any "favorite" traffic mess in the cities Midcity is based on? What cities did you base Midcity on?

Midcity is a blend of the fantastical Chicago/Milwaukee of my childhood imagination. Basically, I grew up in suburbs of Chicago and Milwaukee. Once a year or so, we’d pack into the station wagon and head to a downtown museum, so all I ever knew of Chicago, and later Milwaukee, besides museums, was the dark, magical, foreboding stuff out the windows—giant highway loops, screaming metal bridges, towering buildings, masses of people who looked nothing like they did in the suburbs. Chicago in particular was like the city version of the enchanted forest to me, full of danger and exciting possibility.

The tangle has a bit of “the spaghetti bowl” in it (a Chicago highway exchange) but it’s also based on some highway exchanges encountered on car trips to Florida.

This is one of the first more urban fantasy books I've read that have a love square..or maybe love star going on - are you going to start making Team shirts for Packard, Sanchez or maybe even Cubby? Which man have your readers loved the most? Do you have any particular actors in mind when you think about the characters (I think of Benjamin Bratt for Sanchez)?

Actually, I’ve had some people split into “team cucumber” and “team kebab.” I totally loved that, though I feel bad that one of those teams will be losing. In a big way. What’s interesting is that in my mind the hero seems totally evident to me - I was actually surprised anybody went on the team of the one who is not the hero. Though, I won’t be saying who that is. But, it will be plain by the end of Book 2.

Cubby? LOL. Poor Cubby is out. I like the idea of Benjamin Bratt as Otto, though I’ve always pictured Otto as a larger man, like Raul Julia (RIP). And, Kevin McKidd would make a fine Packard.

I love the idea of the disillusionists - truthfully I think I would be most susceptible to Justine's power since I'm a bit of a hypochondriac myself - which disillusionist would you be most susceptible too? Which one is your favorite? Will we meet any new disillusionists in future books?

I would be most susceptible to Helmut, because I can easily get darkly obsessed about current events, though I have a bit of hypochondriac in me, too. My fave is probably Shelby. I love to write her lines.

How did you come up with the idea?

The way it happened is that I had just read a hugely depressing sort of philosophical book (Straw Dogs by John Gray) that takes a dismal view of humanity. It made me feel really awful, and I thought, if I had an enemy, I would give them this book as a gift, so that they could feel as disillusioned as I did. In fact, I actually recommended it to somebody I was mad at. Then I thought, what if there were people who disillusioned other people for money? Hey, that would make a great fantasy book!

How did you come up with the ideas for vein star syndrome and Osiris virus? Are they based on real diseases? Also how does a rakishly worn beret protect your head from bumps that can lead to an onslaught of the vein star syndrome - unless beret is made of hard hat material?

To a hypochondriac, diseases are just a version of monsters in the closet, so I didn’t need to use real ones. Plus, I never want to seem like I’m mocking real health issues, which are scary and hard for so many people. That said, they all contain a grain of true diseases. Vein star syndrome is a fancy brain hemorrhage, and there really is a skin condition like Osiris - it’s called Morgellons. I don’t suggest Googling it. It’s kind of a freaker.

On the beret, it doesn’t protect the head. It’s a clothing form of placebo for Otto.

Will there be new evil masterminds like the brick slinger from Mind Games in future books - any teasers you can give us about Double Cross? Your series is listed as a trilogy - are you hoping to write any more books beyond the first three in the setting of Midcity?

Teasers: Okay, in Double Cross, there’s this trio of serial killers going after highcaps—they are immune to highcap powers, and Packard, Otto and all their friends are in great danger. Justine makes some hard choices about what she is doing with her life. Also Otto and Packard evolve a lot: one is on a journey of redemption, and the other “descends into a pit of moral depravity.” (that’s from the unreleased back blurb) I won’t say which guy is on which journey.

I may do short pieces beyond book #3 - definitely one for Simon.

If you were trapped in Mongolian Delights by your archenemy (like Packard is) - what would be required for you to survive your incarceration? Also what foods would be required to be served on the menu?

Oh, boy! That is a great question. I would want to be in a Mexican restaurant instead of Mongolian Delites for sure. The menu can’t be changed once a person is trapped, but maybe beforehand, could we put some burritos on the menu? And, hopefully my computer and my cats could be there. And, if my husband would come visit, then it would more or less duplicate my life in my office.

Great answers Carolyn - I would also chose to be trapped in a Mexican restaurant! Mmmmh fajitas and burritos every day - I think I would grow a big food belly!

Please stop by Carolyn's blog, website, and you can follow her on twitter too! And don't forget you can enter to win her book in my favorite firsts giveaway so make sure to sign up!

The questions today are (if you don't have questions for Carolyn) - what disillusionist would you be most susceptible to - hypochondriac, negative world view, gambling, anger issues, etc.? Or are you team kebab or team cucumber (go team cucumber!) ?

Favorite Firsts with Darkly Reading and Not-Really Southern Vamp Chick

2010-06-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

Today we have one of my favorite bloggers - Amanda from Not Really Southern Vamp Chick visiting Darkly Reading and we are doing a little Q & A of our favorites and firsts. Stay tuned to the end and read how you can enter in Amanda's giveaway for my birthday!

(I love Amanda's button!)

FAVORITES:
What are your favorite stand-alone and series books of all time? What have been some of your favorite reads from this year?

Heather: Some of my favorite series are - Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series, Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series (Ohh Curan!), and Larissa Ione's Demonica series. Some favorite reads from this year are Mind Games by Carolyn Crane, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber, Angels Blood and Archangels Kiss by Nalini Singh. I must also mention I started the Black Dagger Brotherhood series this year at the urging of many of my smart book buddies from the blog and twitter. I am loving the BDB boys but things got a little intense so I'm taking a bit of a breather during V's book. So far my favorite has been Zsadist!

Amanda: Let's see, my favorite stand-alones would have to be The Giver by Lois Lowry, Mandy by Julie Edwards (I loved it as a kid, probably b/c I was called Mandy when I was little,lol. I still have it too!), and A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. My favorite series are The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, anything by Richelle Mead, Nightworld by L.J. Smith, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Favorite reads from this year are the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, Soulless by Gail Carriger, Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler, Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells, Moonshine by Alaya Johnson, and Embers by Laura Bickle.

H: Great picks from this year Amanda - add Tempest Rising and Red-Headed Stepchild to my list too!

Do you prefer vampires/ werewolves/ angels/ demons/ other? What has been your favorite paranormal being you've read in books that you had never heard of before reading that book?
H: So I'm an equal opportunity paranormal reader - I love them all (except perhaps the lessers from J.R. Wards BDB series - they are super creapy!) I think my favorite new to me paranormal are probably the disillusionists from Carolyn Crane's new series.

A: I've always loved vampires and always will. They are very much my favorites. In the past few months I've become very fond of shifters as well, though. Hmmm, something I hadn't heard of before reading that book... Embers had a unique thing or two that I really hadn't heard much about before. I've read a lot of mythology so I don't run across much that I haven't heard of before in some form or another.

What is your favorite type of hero/ heroine?

H: I totally have a Mr. Darcy complex - I love those heroes that are stand-offish and don't want to fall in love with the heroine but when they do they fall hard!

A: I like all kinds. It gets boring to read the same kinds of books all the time, so I like having different kinds of people to read about. With that said, I don't like reading about whiny, pitiful girls that can't do anything without the hero. Bleh!

Favorite sexy scene in a paranormal romance?

H:Umm..Chapter 32 from Jeanine Frost's Night Huntress series is one of my favorites!

A: It's more of an urban fantasy, but Night Huntress's Cat and Bones! You all know what Chapter if you've read it! :D

H:See great minds think alike :)

FIRSTS:
First paranormal you read?
H: I was a big fantasy reader when I was younger (David Eddings, Robin McKinley, Terry Goodkind) then I went through a literary fiction phase, and then I read Twilight and the Sookie Stackhouse series and I've been reading paranormals ever since.

A: Umm, Does a Wrinkle in Time count or is that more fantasy,sci-fi? I guess Twilight.

First book to make you tear up a little?

H: I don't want to give to much away for those who haven't read the Night Huntress series but I think it was in the third book when a certain favorite vampire of mine might be dead I got a little misty-eyed.

A: Anne of Green Gables I think.

First book full of smexy scenes?
H: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris...ohh Eric!

A: Hmmm. Maybe one of Christine Feehan's Dark books? Not sure, something from the library. Oh wait no it was some awful romance book that I've tried to block from my memory.

First book to make you want to post a review about it?

H: Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready - loved that book!

A: I posted a few before this, but I really wanted to post reviews for the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost.

First author to do a guest post/interview on your blog?
H: Leanna Renee Heiber interview - it was lots of fun and she had some great pictures.

A: David Naill Wilson guest post.

Thanks Amanda for stopping by and you can find Amanda here:

Blog: Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick
Twitter: @NRSVampChick

Now onto Amanda's giveaway - she has offered to buy one of my lovely readers a book present (under $10 from book depository-so international!) of any of the books we mentioned in the interview (and we mentioned alot). All you have to do to enter is answer one of the questions in the interview in the comments section. And since she is such a wonderful person make sure to visit her blog and follow her on twitter!

Don't forget to enter my Favorite Firsts Birthday Bash if you haven't yet!

Birthday Bash Week

2010-06-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone! So my birthday week has arrived and I have a birthday bash full of guest posts and an awesome giveaway! Darkly Reading will have visits from some of her favorite bloggers and authors this week so be sure to stop by and join in the fun. Now onto the giveaway - I've had alot of fun during my first six months blogging and now that it's my birthday I wanted to give my lovely readers some books - so please fill out the form and pick which book from some of my favorite series you would like to win (and the giveaway is for where ever the book depository delivers!). You also get to help me pick which books I should get for my birthday from the birthday bash list - I'm horribly indecisive so I'm looking forward to see what you guys pick. 1st place winner gets to pick 3 books from my favorite firsts list and for every 50 new followers a new winner will be able to pick 1 book off the favorite firsts or birthday bash list. So remember come back and comment all week for extra entries and I hope you enjoy celebrating my birthday with me!

Favorite Firsts

Birthday Bash

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The contest goes till July 5th!

Come by tomorrow (Monday) for my interview with Amanda from Not Really Southern Vamp Chick as we discuss favorites and firsts and she is giving away a birthday pressie too!

Interview with Chloe Neill - author of Chicagoland Vampires series and a Giveaway

2010-06-17T08:46:00.000-04:00

Today we have Chloe Neill the author of the Chicagoland Vampires series (see my review for Some Girls Bite here and my review of Friday Nights Bite is coming up tomorrow). As you can tell from my review I am a big fan of the series and recommend everyone to check it out! So please read Chloe's interview and answer the question below to be entered to win some Twice Bitten swag (open to US/Canada). And don't forget Twice Bitten comes out July 6th!

Chloe: Hi, everyone! *waves*

Darkly Reading: In the Chicagoland Vampires series, the vampires are part of society's elite, they even have paparazzi that follow them - why did you decide to make your vampires part of the elite rather than have them part of the dark underbelly of society?

Because I thought the elite and celebrity aspects were more in keeping with what the reality might look like. If vampires really existed under the radar for so many years, I think they would have slowly worked their way into the political system and the financial system in order to protect themselves from humans. Whereas, if they were part of the dark underbelly, the police and such would be more apt to look at them. And in our society, the new and different often becomes celebrities, so it made sense to me that (after some initial panic) vampires would, as well.

I love the idea of the vampire houses in the series. Besides the house emblems and fancy Armani "uniform" do the houses have any other traditions, secret handshakes, or special dances we'll learn about in future books? Do we get to read about Merit's adventures as the social chair in Twice Bitten?

Actually, crises keep Merit from truly diving into the social chair aspects, but we definitely see her becoming more involved with the other House vampires. We also learn about an important Cadogan House tradition in Twice Bitten, and we discover what the "RG" cards in Friday Night Bites referred to. So, yes, some House secrets will be revealed!

Talking about Merit, I admire a girl, or vampire, with a whole drawer in her kitchen devoted to chocolate. What's up with Merit's chocolate stash? What are her favorite and chocolate non grata for the drawer? Do you have a similar drawer as well (I have a chocolate shelf in my kitchen cabinet)?

Thanks!! Merit loves chocolate, and collects it a bit obsessively, I suppose. :) She loves dark chocolate, and I think she'd be all about the chocolate-and-bacon fad. She'd probably have four or five of those bars.

I don't have a chocolate shelf of my own right now, although I do have a few favorites in my snack bowl- including the dark chocolate Moose Munch bars from Harry & David. And I always have a bag of snack size Kit Kats in the freezer. (They're even better cold!)

One of my favorite parts of the Chicagoland Vampire series is the men! Ahh Catcher, Morgan, and Ethan (sometimes) are equal parts deliciously sexy and infuriating (especially Ethan). Did you realize when you wrote the books that your readers would form "Teams" for your characters and on-line battles would ensue? Do you have a favorite or do you find it changes as the series goes on?

I actually figured readers would form teams around the Houses--which are teams in and of themselves. But I guess we don't see too much of the other Houses initially, so it makes sense there's a Team Ethan and a Team Morgan. I even made T-shirts in my Cafepress store! I love all my leading men in different ways, although I'm definitely rooting for one to ultimately win Merit's heart. But we'll have to see if he can rise to the challenge!

Since I mentioned my favorite - mmmhh Catcher - I'm wondering if you have any plans to write any books or short stories based on some of the side characters in the books?

I would love to write some short stories--and I think Catcher, Mallory and Jeff would be perfect for that. It's just a matter of having the time to do it! :)

Are we going to need any new "Team" jerseys after reading Twice Bitten? With the shifters coming to town I can already see Gabriel becoming a favorite!

I suppose you "Team Jonah" t-shirts might be popular. :) And that's all I'll say about that. Gabriel is definitely a fun character; I have a lot of fun writing about him.

I love Chicago and was wondering how you decided on setting your series there? Do you ever find yourself somewhere in the city and think "Merit would love this store!" or "Ethan wouldn't be caught undead here"? Any late night Cubs games in the future for the series?

I also love Chicago--the history, architecture, politics and food. I thought all of those things created a fabulous--well, I almost said "background," but the city really is its own character in the novels. (I think someone said that about NYC in Sex and the City, and I feel the same way about Chitown.)

There are definitely places the characters would love--Merit would adore Greer and Lou Mitchell's (which I also love). Ethan, not so much Lou's. He's more of a prix fixe kind of guy.

Will we be seeing a published version of Canon of the North American Vampires - I thought that chapter 2 about servicing your lord looked particularly intriguing?

I would LOVE to write a Canon. I have an outline, and there are a couple of snippets online. Again, it's a matter of finding the time, as I have a dayjob that I very much love. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Lastly are there any hints you can give us about what's coming up in Twice Bitten? How many books are you hoping to publish in the Chicagoland Vampire series?

I'll keep writing as long as folks keep reading them. I'd originally planned eight, but things escalate somewhat in TB, so I'm currently reimagining the timeline. :) (Does that count as a hint??)

Thanks for visiting Darkly Reading Chloe!

Thanks so much for having me! It was an absolute pleasure.

Places you can find Chloe Neill:
Her blog: Daily Snark
Website: ChloeNeill.com
Twitter: @ChloeNeill

(note: images from www.chloeneill.com (Cadogan House & Cadogan emblem or Lou Mitchell's website)

Now onto the Giveaway: How important is location to you in your books? Do you like the location being a city that exists or a fictional town?

To Enter: Answer the question above and leave your e-mail address in the response. Please remember that this is a US/Canada giveaway only for Twice Bitten Swag. You have a week to enter. And since you're stopping by please feel free to follow me and Chloe's blogs or twitter accounts!

Review of Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill - Vampires + Chicago = Awesome!

2010-06-15T22:48:00.000-04:00

Title: Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires #1)
Author: Chloe Neill
Pages: 341 pages, paperback
Genre: urban fantasy
Standalone/Series: series
Release: already out
Publisher: NAL Trade
Purchased by me
Author info: www.chloeneill.com
Spoiler Alert: In the clear
Good Reads Blurb: First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires. Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead. Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.

I don't know what I love more about this book - the heroine was a graduate student that now wields a katana or that it takes place in Chicago and has so many awesome Chicago details from Cubs, to hot dogs with green relish and peppers, and the Loop. Merit is heading across the campus of University of Chicago late at night when a violent attack changes her life forever. Merit's savior, and maker, turns out to be Ethan Sullivan, the head of Cadogan House, one of the four vampires houses in Chicago. Merit has to deal with issues of being turned a vampire without consent, losing her position at the univerersity, and having to swear allegiance to an arrogant and rude Master vampire. Merit also finds out that her attack wasn't the only one perpetrated by a vampire in her city and she ends up tangled up with a larger plot and mystery that might resolve in her second death.

Merit is thrown into the world of vampires and expected to accept and adapt to her new world immediately, but like any good graduate student she questions - the rules she is now bound by and the motivation for the attack and her change by Ethan. The vampires in Ms. Neill's world have recently come out to the human world following the lead of one of Chicago's other house masters - Celina of Navarre House. Thankfully, Merit doesn't have to face her new life as a vampire alone, she has her quirky and humorous roommate Mallory to help her out with her new blood requirements (bagged blood with some Tabasco sauce and celery on the side) and new extreme sun allergy. Mallory also gets tied up in the supernatural world and gets entangled with the ridiculously sexy sorcerer Catcher. (Go Team Catcher!) I must also mention the other guide to Merit's new supernatural life - The Canon of the North American Vampire Houses - which has such winningly titled chapters as Servicing your Lord and Vampires - who's on top?

I can't tie up this review without mentioning the incredibly handsome and incredibly arrogant Master vampire - Ethan. Ethan definitely has the "Mr. Darcy" complex going on when it comes to his attraction to Merit and man am I a sucker for a potential love interest who is arrogant and aloof yet having a dark and hungry passion burning just below the surface for Merit. The sexual tension between Merit and Ethan is a burning thing but can Merit really give herself to someone who hates the fact that he is attracted to her? Thankfully for Merit, now that she's dropped the books and been changed into a super strong vampire the boys seem to be lining up for her.

Overall this book is a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Merit has emerged from the library stacks to kick some vampire ass!

Review of Devil Inside by Jenna Black - Dark and sexy with lots of ass-kicking!

2010-06-15T08:00:00.005-04:00

Title: The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley #1)
Author: Jenna Black
Pages: 336 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Spectra
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.jennablack.com/
Spoiler Alert: mostly in the clear
Good Reads blurb:Posession. Murder. Mayhem. Let the games begin...Exorcism isn't a job, it's a calling and a curse. Just ask Morgan Kingsley, a woman who has a stronger aura than any Demon. Or so she thought. Now, in a pair of black leather pants and a kick-ass tattoo, Morgan is heading back to Philadelphia after a nasty little exorcism and her life is about to be turned upside down by the Demon that's gotten inside her. Not just any Demon. Six foot five inches of dark, delicious temptation, this one is to die for;that is, if he doesn't get Morgan killed first. Because while some humans vilify Demons and others idolize them, Morgan's Demon is leading a war of succession no human has ever imagined. For a woman trying to live a life, and hold on to the almost-perfect man, being possessed by a gorgeous rebel Demon will mean a wild ride of uninhibited thrills, shocking surprises, and pure, unadulterated terror. . . .

This book had a little of everything – demon ass kicking, betrayal, and possession as well as phone sex, some S & M, and a little man loving sprinkled in. Morgan Kinsley, the reluctant heroine of this story, is a modern day exorcist who has very personal reasons to hate both the legal and illegal forms of demon possession that occurs in her world. Unfortunately she gets mixed-up in a battle between different factions in the demon world and is forced to choose a side. Her decisions and her position on the matter make her some very powerful enemies that will stop at nothing to destroy her. Unfortunately, Morgan also has serious trust issues, and she is really good at making enemies of potential allies. With all the mistakes Morgan makes along the way while she continues to be the reluctant heroine, it will be amazing if she makes it out alive.

The action in this book is non-stop as Morgan gets herself out of one deadly situation then makes mistakes and lands in a worse situation. Morgan has a gigantic chip on her shoulder, so big I wouldn’t be surprised if she lists towards one side while she walks, and it stops her from trusting others and she tends to make really bad situations even worse. So many times during the book I wanted to shake her and say –what were you thinking – which is also the mark of a good book too since I cared so much about the choices she makes. During the novel Morgan definitely is reluctant to grow up and change her world view but she does and I can’t wait to read what happens to her in the future installments.

This book does have a good dose of sex and darkness too that made me a little twitchy. Though all this mixes in well with the main story so at least there is no gratuitous S & M but this book is definitely not for those who get squeamish with such things.

This is a 3.5 out of 5 for me, dark and sexy with a fair amount of ass-kicking!

What's up on Darkly Reading? - Need Some Birthday Book Recommendations!

2010-06-14T20:44:00.000-04:00

I thought I would give you guys a heads-up for up-coming events on Darkly Reading over the next two weeks - first off I will have the lovely Chloe Neill, the author of one of my favorite vampire series, Chicagoland vampires, coming by to do an interview on the 17th and reviews of Some Girls Bite and Friday Nights Bite (books I just re-read this weekend) coming up on Wednesday. The new book in the series - Twice Bitten - is coming out on July 6th and I am so excited. Perhaps I am so excited because this book combines a graduate student (which I am) going from book worm to kick-ass (I'm still waiting for that transition to happen) and one of my favorite cities - Chicago. Stay tuned for more about this series (and Ethan) and the secrets on Merit's chocolate drawer later this week.

Also, I'm having a birthday next week and to celebrate I'm having a giveaway/contest. The contest is called my Favorite Firsts contests and I will be hosting authors and book bloggers on my site and we'll be talking about our favorites or our firsts (all referring to books of course) as well as having a giveaway. To get things rolling I wanted to ask for book recommendations for books I should get myself for my birthday - are there any books you think I would love and suggest I run out now and buy - let me know! And next week will be the vote for what I should get for my birthday! So start those suggestions!

Review of Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur - I will miss you sexy vampire Quinn!

2010-06-10T10:39:00.000-04:00

Title: Moon Sworn (Riley Jensen, #9)
Author: Keri Arthur
Pages: 368 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Purchased book
Author info: Keri Arthur's website
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for previous books
Goodreads Blurb: Some nights never end. Some desires never die. . . . She ventures where no one else dares—into realms of peril and pleasure. But will this next journey be her last?

Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death–causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead–and at Riley’s own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley–including her job at the Directorate. Now, the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. For a vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her brother–and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever…

Moon Sworn is the last installment in the Riley Jensen series is a bittersweet moment for me, I want Riley to get her happy ever after, or some kind of happy ending, but I’m sad to see the series end. Throughout this nine book series Riley has been betrayed, beaten, and broken as well as had surprisingly bad and good taste in men. I haven’t always liked Riley during this series, though she has definitely developed from a self-centered girl into a woman who has learned to care about more than herself. Now in the last novel a Riley has emerged that is capable of taking the time to evaluate what is important to her, finally is letting in and depending on people who love her, and dare I say is willing to compromise on those dreams she had as a child to find some future happiness.

Moon Sworn picks up a few months after the events from Bound to Shadows. Riley is still trying to recover from the guilt and pain of Kade’s death as well as Kye’s – her soulmate. The first scene of this book (you can see an excerpt here) had me tearing up as Riley is paying her respects to Kade. Riley is definitely more broken emotionally at the start of this novel than in previous books and is having to face a lot of her personal demons. Add to the mix the ominous warning that Kye imparted to her about her old corrupt alpha Blake still plotting his revenge and Riley has a lot to worry about. And the type of revenge move that Blake puts into play was not what I expect but evil all the same. Thankfully, Riley has family and friends like Rhoan, Liander, and we must-not forget sexy vampire lover Quinn who are always looking out for her and try to protect her. Though I wasn’t a big Quinn fan in the earlier novels, Quinn is so sweet and supportive of Riley in the later novels of the series and this book is no exception. If the book was lacking anything it was more Quinn time for me - I'm greedy like that.

When Blake puts his diabolical plan in motion to ruin Riley and Rhoan’s life, I was definitely on the edge of my seat hoping that Riley’s friends would make it to her in time to save her. Even though this is the last book, Ms. Arthur does not go easy on Riley. Riley is also still fighting her internal struggle of whether she is a killer or not and meant to be a Guardian as she sees herself sliding down the same life path that her brother Rhoan has taken. There are some resolutions to these struggles and now I hope Riley can finally have a slightly more peaceful life! The ending of the book was a great series ending though we will get to see peeks into Riley and her family's life in the new series based on Risa (a side character in these books) that Ms. Arthur is writing.

4 out of 5 stars for me, it's hard to let go of such a deliciously sexy series but part we must! I will miss you Quinn!!

Review of The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

2010-06-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

Title: Mage in Black (Sabina Kane, #2)
Authors: Jaye Wells
Pages: 326 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Orbit
Received from publisher
Author info: Jaye Wells website
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for book 1 - Red Headed Step Child (see review here)
Goodreads Blurb: Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, leader of the vampire race, wants her dead. So when she arrives in New York to meet her mage relatives, the reunion puts the fun in dysfunctional. Not only is mage culture completely bizarre, but everyone seems to think she's some kind of 'Chosen' who'll unite the dark races. Sabina doesn't care who chose her, she's not into destiny. But the mages aren't Sabina's only problem. In New York's Black Light District, she has run-ins with fighting demons, hostile werewolves and an opportunistic old flame. Sabina thought she'd take a bite out of the Big Apple - but it looks like it wants to bite back.

How can you go wrong with a book that has a Demon Fight Club in it – I mean really? This second entry into the Sabina Kane series is, dare I say it, even better than the first – Red-Headed Step Child. In Mage in Black, Sabina is recovering from the betrayal of her grandmother, the head of the vampire race, and is going to New York City to meet the twin sister that she just learned she had who is also the leader of the mages. Sabina’s life has been thrown into real upheaval and she faces all these problems with her same type of sarcastic and stubborn demeanor that has earned her so many friends in the past (not really). Soon upon her arrival to the city, Sabina faces new attempts on her life though the person behind these attempts still remains a mystery. Sabina also has to learn how to deal with family, her twin sister Maise, who is genuinely happy to meet her – which is not something Sabina is used to dealing with.

Sabina doesn’t just have family to deal with but also a potential heating up of her relationship with the sexy mancy Adam. Sabina is still struggling with her prejudices against mages and having any type of romantic relationship with a mage, even one as sexy as Adam, makes the situation pretty complicated. Especially considering the ill-fated love affair her mother (a vampire) and father (a mage) had. Add in her reconnection with an old “friend” and she has a lot to contemplate. Thank goodness Sabina faces all these crazy upheavals in her life with her trusty demon minion Gighul. I love Gighul! He is such an awesome demon minion/ comedic sidekick and always says the most inappropriate comments at the perfect moment. And leave it to Gighul to get tied up with a Demon Fight Club ring (guess what the first rule is..hehe..) and spend all his earnings with some sexy nymph playmates.

There are many plot developments in this story and you start to see some developments in Sabina beyond the constant tough girl attitude. Although there is less mythology in this book about the development of the Dark Races we do learn a little more about the Caste of Nod and about Sabina’s destiny. Though as you can guess with Sabina she is not a fan of following her destiny.

This book was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Sabina Kane and her demon minion Gighul make an awesome comedic and ass-kicking team.

Weekend Wrap-Up: My first reading challenge - Yummy books!

2010-06-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

This weekend I participated in my first reading challenge (hosted by Mother Reader) - do I really need an excuse to read all weekend - nope - but now I know how much time I spend reading during a weekend. And since I have alot of awesome books to read I have a good reason to join the challenge! So here is my finish line post of what I've read.

Friday:
7:30-11:30 Kicked back with some Chardonnay and started Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey
Saturday:
9:30-11:30 After 2 cups of coffee was finally able to open my eyes and finish Blood Feud
11:30-12:30 Did some blog reading and twittering since I can't stay away from twitter!
12:30-2:30 Started on Siren by Tricia Rayburn (So good and spooky!)
2:30-4:30 Girl's gotta eat..and shop
4:30-5:30 More Siren time!
5:30-5:45 Little break to rest my heart from Siren
5:45-10 Back to Siren
Good Night!
Sunday:
9:30-12:30 3 cups of coffee this morning and I finished Siren so good! Now on to Wolf Flight by Vivian Arend - so good and short it was quickly consumed!
12:30-2:30 shower, web surfing, and food
2:30-3:00 trying to write reviews
3:00-6:30 Read and finished Into the Dark by Gena Showalter (Those warriors are hot!)
6:30 - met to write reviews but ended up having dinner and watching MTV movie awards (how'd the Parks & Rec dude ended up being host I just don't understand!)
Total Reading/Review Time: 21.5 (started at 7pm on Friday and ended at 7pm on Sunday)

So there's my weekend reading snapshot - are you guys big book consumers on the weekends?

Winner of autographed Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready!

2010-06-03T21:58:00.000-04:00

Hi guys - thank you all for entering the contest for Bad to the Bone while I was off at BEA. You guys all listed some great authors to meet for an autograph. I got to meet Jeri Smith-Ready at her Shade signing and got to have my fan girl moment about the WVMP series - she handled it well and we got to chat a little bit about one of my favorite vamps - Shane!

The winner is - Christine H who wrote: "I'd love to meet a few Authors Toni Blake, Alexandrta Ivy, Shayla Black, Shiloh Walker, Janelle Denison and so many others."

I'll be in contact Christine and thanks to all of you who entered!

Review of Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

2010-06-03T10:08:00.001-04:00

Title: Mind Games (The Disillusionists Trilogy, #1)
Authors: Carolyn Crane
Pages: 371 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Spectra
Received from an author for winning a contest
Author info: Carolyn Crane's website and blog
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
Goodreads Blurb: Mind Games follows the adventures of Justine Jones, a hopeless hypochondriac who longs to be normal. Instead, she is recruited to join a psychological hit squad in a city terrorized by criminals with strange powers…only to fall for her most dangerous target!

This book is an absolutely unique entry into the urban fantasy genre and I loved every word of it! The heroine of this story, Justine Jones, suffers from an affliction that I'm passingly familiar with, hypochondria. She is convinced she has vein-star syndrome, and this fear leads her to late night trips to the ER, scans, and disbelief when the doctors tell her she's okay. She has a life changing event when she stalks a childhood enemy with her boyfriend Cubby into a Mediterranean restaurant and meets the enigmatic Packard. Packard offers Justine something she cannot refuse, a chance at a normal life without fear. When Justine gets one hit of what Packard has to offer she eventually comes back for more and agrees to join Packard's team of disillusionists - people with heightened phobias, anxieties, and vices that have learned to channel their fears into others as a way to break down criminal's illusions so that they reform. And Packard is no normal vigilante group mastermind - he is also a highcap that due to genetic changes has extra-human powers. And we quickly learn that Packard isn't the only highcap out there and that there are others with supernatural powers, criminals and otherwise.

Justine is the epitome of the reluctant heroine, she is constantly questioning her involvement with the dissillusionists and the motivations of Packard. Which is good because the more we learn about Packard, the more murky his intentions and dealings with Justine seem. Though that doesn't stop him from being mysterious and sexy even while he is sneaky. While Justine struggles to maintain her normal and stable relationship with Cubby she is constantly tempted by Packard who thinks she needs something more, and those two aren't the only potential love interests for Justine. I think Justine is the first urban fantasy heroine that I've read who is part of a love square perhaps or rectangle...maybe a love parallelogram. Such tough decisions! Justine also has a huge crush on Midcity police chief, Otto Sanchez, who is trying to save the city from an evil serial killer.

Although the beginning of the book was a little slow for me, the ending more than made up for it. I was never quite sure what was going to happen and there were so many interesting twists and turns, both in the plot and in Justine's love life that I raced through the last pages hungry to see what happens with Justine. I loved the side stories of vein star syndrome and the Osiris virus as the diseases that Justine disillusions others with - they definitely kept me a little twitchy while reading them. And with the ending of the book I can wait to read what happens next in Double Cross which comes out in September.

4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Love a hypochondriac set-up as the heroine in a world with a Gotham city vibe - and a love square!

Don't miss Double Cross when it comes out September 28th!

Review of Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrew - this book is made of awesomeness!

2010-06-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

Title: Magic Bleeds
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 349 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series-book 4 (3 previous books + novella out already)
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Ace
Purchased by me
Author info: Ilona and Gordon Andrews website (they also have Curran POV snippets that I recommend checking out after reading the book)
Spoiler Alert: for previous books and some small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it rose. Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle—especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community. When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years—and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father. This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family…

I'm going to join the litany of urban fantasy book bloggers out there and say that this book is made of awesomeness! The Kate Daniels series is one of my favorites and this addition to the series I would say is the best so far. Kate is such a great heroine - she is tough and true to her friends and beliefs - even if it goes against how her step-father, Voron, raised her. And man is Kate put to the test in this book on so many different levels - her relationship or lack thereof with Curran is called into question as well as her position at the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid. Kate also has to face the worse kind of enemy to her - family. After all her years of hiding and training, her family finally catches up to her and she has to face them or leave Atlanta. But by now we know Kate well enough to know she would never abandon her friends and she stays in Atlanta to fight her enemies and of course fight with Curran a little more too.

This book starts with quite the mystery - besides why Curran didn't show up to their special dinner date - Kate shows up on the scene of a bar fight that turns into a potential plague outbreak. No one knows how the bar fight loser became the next patient zero for a blooming plague of syphilis and Kate is hard pressed to contain it. As Kate delves deeper into the mystery of the plagues, she begins to be concerned that Atlanta and her and the Pack are targets of an ancient god. One of my favorite parts of this series is the mythology interwoven into the story and the mythology comes into play as Kate begins to research who or what could be at fault for the plagues. Along the way Kate picks up another potential family member and it was a shining moment of Kate's humor and snarkiness as she deals with her new family member.

My favorite part of this book though were the Curran filled parts. He's his usual pissy, uptight, controlling, alpha sexy self. Which pairs with explosive results with Kate's stubborn and abrasive attitude. These two could just as easily tear each other apart as make love to each other and I think that is what makes their relationship so compelling - can they compromise to make the relationship work? And really can Kate let someone into her life that will become such a big target for her father? As it says on Ilona Andrews website "This is the book where Kate and Curran decide". Enough said - I don't want to give anything away!

5 out of 5 stars - the Kate Daniels series is made of awesomeness!

This book also gets the giant microbes stamp of approval for the

true life portrayal of bad-ass magical plague!

Wrap-up of Book Expo of America/ Book Blogger Con

2010-05-31T13:46:00.000-04:00

So this past week I went to BEA and Book Blogger Con and it was awesome! I'm already planning out my strategies for next year - which involves hiring a book sherpa or maybe acquiring some minions (I think a zombie would be perfect for this job) and learning how to be multiple places at once. For most my time there I teamed up with Tori from the Book Faery Blog and we tried our best to conquer BEA. There were the author signings, publisher booth book giveaways, and the mad dash for book shwag. I've shared some of my pics below from this amazing event. Let me say I loved meeting fellow book bloggers and talking books and the publicity people at the different publishing houses that I did get a chance to meet were all great. And don't let me forget the authors, they were all super nice and smiling at the book signings I went to, and I even got a chance to chat with Jeri Smith-Ready and talk to her about the WVMP series a bit while I was getting her latest book, Shade, signed. All in all it was a great experience I hope to repeat next year!

You can see the crazy signing area above and the picture below it is me at Tricia Rayburn's signing - her book, Siren, comes out this July and it looks awesome!

Most the publisher booths had pics of their upcoming release covers and I just couldn't resist getting my picture next to some hot urban fantasy leather clad booty.

I've managed to wedge most the books I got onto a couple bookshelves that you can see above, I got some great reads and I hope to do a post later in the week about the books I got and release dates when I get a chance. One thing I didn't realize that was given away at BEA is awesome book shwag. I got some great bags (two of my favorites are shown above), t-shirts, and posters. I do have some book duplicates and shwag duplicates so stay tuned for future giveaways coming up this month.

Review of Half Past Dead by Zoe Archer and Bianca D'Arc and a few zombie confessions!

2010-05-30T13:05:00.001-04:00

Since I feel a little bit like a zombie after going to BEA this week I thought it would be appropriate that my first review when I got back would be zombie oriented since I was a bit like a book zombie at BEA. I shuffled around mumbling "books..books.." I probably had some otherworldly moaning and grumbling going on due to the pain of carrying all those books, and I definitely felt like I was dragging my body and lurching around everywhere trying to get books. There were alot of us book zombies there picking up review copies and mumbling to ourselves while we took out innocent civilians with our totes as we tried to shuffle by. Stay tuned for more of my book zombie con/BEA wrap-up later!

Title: Half Past Dead (Includes: The Blades of the Rose, Prequel -Undying Heart; Guardians of the Dark, #1-Simon Says)
Authors: Zoe Archer & Bianca D'Arc
Pages: 150 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series (Both start new series)
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Brava
Downloaded for free from Sony Reader Store
Author info: Zoe Archer & Bianca D'Arc's websites
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: The Undying Heart by Zoe Archer - Samuel Reed had no idea magic existed, until it almost destroyed him. Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend's little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he's become, and stirs a desire he thought he'd lost forever.

Sam, once an officer in the British Army, has returned to England to track down the man who has destroyed his existence - Colonel Broadwell. Little does Sam know that someone else is also hunting Broadwell, Cassandra, his best friend's younger sister. But Cassandra is no longer a little girl and has been charged with tracking Broadwell for the Blades of the Rose - an organization focused on keeping powerful magic or Sources, out of the hands of evil men like Broadwell. Though Cassandra has grown into a fearless woman, Sam is no longer the man he once was, his being warped by the magic Broadwell possesses to make him into the living dead. The hunt for Broadwell pushes these two together but they find they might need each other for more than just for tracking down the evil they face.

I have a bit of a confession to make, I'm afraid of zombies. You would think that with all the dark urban fantasy I read that other paranormal creatures would prove to be a more frightening but zombies have always been a one-way ticket to nightmare-ville for me. I think it's the relentless push to destroy the living that gets me..like a telemarketer trying to sell you something you don't want and who doesn't believe in the word no (telemarketers and door-to-door sales people also freak me out). Or maybe it's the whole biting and tearing of flesh thing, I'm not a big fan of that either. Thankfully in the Undying Heart, the main zombie character (or "living dead" as he prefers to be called) Sam is sexy and has wrestled control of his mind back from his creator so he is no longer a mumbling shuffling flesh eater and his flesh re-generates so he doesn't look as horrific as most zombies are portrayed. Since becoming a living undead, Sam has only thought of vengeance on his creator, but when he meets Cassie again new thoughts begin to interrupt his plans. He is shocked when Cassie doesn't run from him in fear when she finds out what he now is and she is actually attracted to him. Cassie slowly dismantles the walls Sam has built around his heart and makes Sam more human again. Cassie also shows Sam the he is still a worthy male that she desires. I loved Cassie's independence as well as her forwardness towards Sam. Even though this book is set in the 1800s in England, Cassie definitely doesn't act like a typical lady - she has a naughty streak and we get to read all about it. She gets turned on a bit by facing life threatening situations and so her and Sam are getting busy alot through the book since Cassie's life and Sam's existence are constantly in danger. For a novella length story there was alot of both kinds of action and the battle to destroy Sam's creator as well as the developing relationship between Sam and Cassie were well-crafted and satisfying for me.

4 out of 5 stars - Loved Sam the sexy zombie-kicking ass and getting busy with Cassie!

Simon Says by Bianca D'Arc - Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn't stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he'll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded.

Simon, or Si as his friends call him, is forever changed by his last mission that took him away from his lover, Mariana. Now Si is back and hunting the creatures that changed him though he refuses to go back to Mari because he is afraid of what he has become and doesn't want anything to harm her. Si watches Mari from afar as he defends the area around her house and the military base she works at from the creatures the military scientists created, zombies. Unfortunately these zombies aren't the sexy kind but the I want to eat your brains, mumble mumble, shuffle shuffle, kind. When Simon was first ordered to take them out he got bit but rather than becoming one his body is immune to the zombie contagion and now he hunts them.

Simon re-enters Mari's life after he suffers some severe injuries while out zombie hunting. Si ends up showing up at Mari's clinic for help and from there the two of their lives get more entangled although neither of them intended for that to happen. As the two spend more time together, old passions begin to re-ignite and since the zombies sleep during the day they really have to find something to do with their free time - right? The battle with the zombies really does take second stage to the relationship between Simon and Mari, but for someone like me who has severe zombie fear (almost as bad as my fear of spiders) I think it was the right amount of scary zombies for me.

3.5 out of 5 stars - Between defending his lover's life and playing a sexy game of "Simon Says", Simon is one hot ex-marine zombie hunter!

The next read of Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose, Warrior, will be out this September with a new book in the series released October, November, and December.

Bianca D'Arc's next book in her Guardian's of the Dark series, Once Bitten, Twice Dead is already out -

Off to NYC I go - attending BEA and BBC this week!

2010-05-25T23:53:00.001-04:00

This week I'm off to the BookExpo of America and Book Blogger Con in New York City. Hopefully I'll get the chance to connect with bloggers I've already met through our blogs and twitter as well as meet new people. And of course meet great publishers, authors, and come away with a few new books. For those new to my blog I primarily review all books paranormal and occasionally do book giveaways and author interviews. Please check out my review policy and previous reviews as well as the methods behind the madness of my ratings.

Also please feel free to contact me by e-mail at darklyreading (at) gmail (dot) com or on twitter @darklyreading

For my readers:
Don't forget to sign up for my Bad to the Bone giveaway and stay tuned for my BEA/BBC wrap-up on Friday!

Review of Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready - Vampire Dogs and an Authographed Book Giveaway

2010-05-21T18:19:00.000-04:00

Title: Bad to the Bone (WVMP Radio, #2)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Pages: 384 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Pocket
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.jerismithready.com/
Spoiler Alert: some if you haven't read first book Wicked Game
GoodReads Blurb: Turn On. Tune In. Drop Dead.

If you’re just joining us, welcome to radio station WVMP, “The Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.” Con-artist-turned-station-owner Ciara Griffin manages an on-air staff of off-the-wall DJs—including her new boyfriend Shane McAllister—who really sink their teeth into the music of their ‘Life Time” (the era in which they became vampires). It’s Ciara’s job to keep the undead rocking, the ratings rolling, and the fan base alive—without missing a beat.

For Halloween, WVMP is throwing a bash sure to raise the dead. They’ve got cool tunes, hot costumes, killer cocktails—what could go wrong? Well, for starters, a religious firebrand ranting against the evils of the occult preempts the station’s midnight broadcast. Then, when Ciara tracks down the illegal transmission, the broadcast tower is guarded by what appears to be…a canine vampire? And behind it all is a group of self-righteous radicals who think vampires suck (and are willing to stake their lives on it).

Now Ciara must protect the station while struggling with her own murky relationship issues, her best friend’s unlikely romance with a fledgling vampire, and the nature of her mysterious anti-holy powers. To make it to New Year’s in one piece, she’ll need to learn a few new tricks.…

I loved the first book in this series, Wicked Game, that introduced us to Ciara - the con-artist with a tarnished heart of gold. We also met the vampire DJs that have their own decade themed shows at WVMP and Shane - the smokin' hot grunge music god/ vampire that won his way into Ciara's heart. Now we fast forward a few months and Ciara is still hoping to keep the radio station profitable and free of takeover by a big radio conglomerate while posing as her now deceased boss. The big live Halloween eve show for the station at the Smoking Pig, the bar her best friend Lori works at, starts without a hitch but soon goes down hill when their live radio show is pirated by a belligerent anti-vampire religious group. Soon they find out that the group pirating the show might have some ties to "the Control" - the group that regulates the vampires in the U.S. Ciara ends up in some very dangerous situations as she tries to get to the bottom of who is pirating the station and she will have to put all her con skills to good use to try and stay alive.

While trying to figure out the shadowy group targeting the radio station Ciara still has to deal with the aftermath of her father's betrayal of her and the Control from the previous book. Her feelings about her father are all mixed up, the need to report on him to the Control conflicts with the need to keep her family safe. I have a feeling that her daddy issues will take several books to resolve if they can ever be resolved and further bombshells are dropped on her about her family as the book progresses. I'm curious to see how it plays out in the future books along with her anti-holy blood that can heal wounds inflicted by holy water. Is it based on how she was raised by her family who in the end made a mockery of Christian faith by fleecing believers of their money or is it genetic and all her family members have the same trait. It's an interesting twist that Ciara's blood does have those properties.

Ciara is also still in a relationship with Shane - her vampire DJ with OCD, good taste in music, and is good in bed. For Ciara it's the longest relationship she's ever had with a man, four months, and she's terrified that she will screw it up like she seems to do everything in her life. Shane on the other hand wants to move their relationship to a new level and live with her. Though life with Shane isn't going to be easy - with his OCD it drives him to leave detailed multi-page notes about proper dishwashing etiquette even though he doesn't need to use dishes himself. Though in return she gets to live with her hot musician DJ vampire boyfriend who loves to ravish her body. Decisions, decisions....

I think one of my favorite "new characters" in this book is the vampire dog that Ciara rescues from death by sunlight when someone from the group terrorizing her radio station leaves him changed up outside. The dog is fiercely loyal and protective of Ciara and thankfully can survive on blood donations from dogs so we never had to read about the vampire dog feeding from other dogs - thank goodness. His fierce loyalty and protectiveness also create some mayhem in Ciara's life as well.

This book is a 4.5 out of 5 for me - I love Ciara's dry and snarky humor as well as her smokin' hot vampire boyfriend. And yeah for vampire dogs!

So I have a signed copy of Bad to the Bone to give to one of my readers (US/ Canada only giveaway). Since Jeri Smith-Ready is one of the authors I'm hoping to meet at BEA (she's doing a Shade signing/ YA panel/ and blogger reception -I swear I am not a stalker ;) I thought my giveaway question could be BEA/author oriented. If you're going to BEA who are some of the authors you're hoping to meet/ which signings are you going to? If you can't make it to BEA but have an author you would love to go to a signing of let me know?

To Enter:
-Answer a question from above

-To get extra entries: follow my blog/ follow me on twitter/ tweet about the contest - just let me know (and leave the name you use to follow me with) and leave a link if you tweet! (each counts as one extra entry)

The contest ends on June 2nd so make sure and enter!

Review of Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith - Love a dark tortured hero!

2010-05-18T19:45:00.000-04:00

Title: Be Mine Tonight (Brotherhood of Blood #1)
Author: Kathryn Smith
Pages: 384 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Avon
Purchased by me (and signed by the author)
Author info: http://www.kathryn-smith.com/home.html
Spoiler Alert: in the clear

GoodReads blurb: For nearly six centuries I have roamed the night, a mortal man no longer. Would that I could undo the past -- when I entered the sanctuary of the Knights Templar to wrest from them the Holy Grail, only to discover the chalice I raised to my lips was not the sacred relic but a hellish cup of damnation. Now I shun the day and all things human, driven by an ungodly thirst. And yet...

Never have I known a maiden the like of Prudence Ryland, whose beauty and spirit awaken a heart I feared long cold and dead. But her young life is slipping away, and she also seeks the deliverance of the Grail -- unaware that the cost of her search could be her soul. I must help Prudence, for in six hundred years, no other woman has stirred my passions so. But dare I tender to my beloved that which she most desires -- the sensuous "gift" of forever that is both rapture and a curse: my immortal kiss?

Pru, a young and tempestuous Victorian woman, is searching for the Holy Grail - not for fame or fortune but as her last resort to hold on to her life which is quickly slipping away from her. While her desperation may have lead her to the true resting place of the Grail - it may not be the Grail she was hoping to find but one far more sinister. As her search begins to heat up and her illness begins to rob her of more time, the search also draws the attention of the church and Father Molyneux and Chapel. The moment Chapel and Pru meet something passes between them - maybe the call of kindred spirits. Both of them are desperate to be saved - Pru from the cancer slowly killing her and Chapel from the curse that has made him immortal but a monster for the past 600 years. Soon Chapel and Pru learn that the treasure they are chasing may not be the Holy Grail and that another deadly faction is after the Grail - which is most likely the Blood Grail - the same cup that cursed Chapel.

I have to say that Chapel takes the concept of catholic guilt to a whole new level. Living under the control of the church for the past six centuries while constantly punishing himself for a mistake he made all those years ago - Chapel can see no good in the curse he suffers. Although Chapel is cursed by the Blood Grail to desire to drink human blood - Chapel seems far from the monster he portrays himself as. Even Father Molyneux can see some advantage to the long life and strength that Chapel has but Chapel can only see a monster. Soon Chapel is forced to reconsider what his curse means as he spends more time with Pru and watches her struggle with her cancer quickly destroying her body. He also has to protect her and her family from the Order of the Silver Palm who are after the Blood Grail and Chapel for sinister reasons. There is an interesting backstory and mystery surround the Blood Grail and the Order of the Silver Palm that I'm looking forward to learning more about in future books.

The love the blooms between Chapel and Pru is so very fragile and heart wrenching - I must admit I got a little misty-eyed as Pru continues to get worse and sicken while Chapel refuses to change her into the soulless monster he sees himself as. Though Chapel and Pru make the most of her remaining days or nights since Chapel can't survive sunlight, by learning how to drive (the book is set in 1899), going to the theater, and getting busy inside the gates of Buckingham Palace. Soon though Pru isn't able to leave the house anymore and despair eats at Chapel and Pru's family as she gets worse. Though even in Pru's last few days she still wants to make Chapel see that he isn't the monster he thinks he is and that he is someone worthy of love.

Overall this is a 4 out of 5 stars for me - Chapel brings dark and tortured to a whole new level as he fights with his beliefs to determine whether or not he can save his love.

Weekend Wrap-Up: I'm a naughty book buyer-In my mailbox and in my hot little hands!

2010-05-17T14:47:00.001-04:00

Hi guys! So I've got a few book prezzies over the past few weeks that I thought I would share with you all. First off is Lover Mine - I won this book at Smexy's blog and am making my way through the whole BDB series so that I can enjoy this book soon! I also won an ARC of Demon Blood at Meljean Brook's blog - I've only read a novella by Meljean (from the Must Love Hellhounds anthology) - and I loved it so I'm looking forward to checking out more of her Guardian series. My other book prezzies include Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams and Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix.

So...I've been a very naughty girl. On Ilona Andrews blog last week (one of my favorite authors!) she (though I think it was Gordon who did the post) mentioned that it was okay for readers to buy Magic Bleeds (her new release coming out May 25th) before the release date. Some of her readers were asking her about whether or not it was okay to buy the book before the release date (since it's better to wait till release date for best-sellers lists) and being the great Kate Daniels Popes they are they absolved their readers of early purchasing guilt. So I thought to myself..huh..that means some bookstores have put it on shelves early and I really really want the book.. so I casually checked out one..or maybe three bookstores and found it! Yeah! Am I a bad reader for not waiting till the release date...maybe.. but I am also a very happy reader.

I figured since Magic Bleeds features some very nasty diseases I would have my giant microbes welcome the book home. That's Salmonella on the left hand side with it's cute flagella along with Herpes (the sun looking microbe) and MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). So me and my giant microbes are going to kick back and enjoy some Kate Daniels!

ARC Review of Assasin's Honor by Monica Burns - He does it with a sword!

2010-05-12T21:36:00.000-04:00

Title: Assassin's Honor (The Order of the Sicari, #1)
Author: Monica Burns
Pages: 352 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: June 1st 2010
Publisher: Penguin/Berkley
Received as part of Book it Foward ARC tour
Author info: http://www.monicaburns.com/index.htm
Spoiler Alert: You're in the clear
GoodReads Blurb: Archeologist Emma Zale sees the past when she touches ancient relics. It’s how she uncovered evidence of an ancient order of assassins—the Sicari. When a sinfully dark stranger shows up on her Chicago doorstep demanding an ancient artifact she doesn’t have, he drags her into a world where telekinesis and empaths are the norm. Now someone wants her dead, and her only hope of survival is an assassin who’s every bit as dangerous to her body as he is to her heart.

Ares De Luca comes from an ancient Roman bloodline of telekinetic assassins. A Sicari, he’s honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. But when the woman he loved was murdered, Ares broke the Sicari code and used his sword for revenge. Love cost him dearly once before, and he’s not willing to pay the price again. At least not until hot, sweet, delectable Emma walked into his life. Not only does she hold the key to a valuable Sicari relic, she might just hold the key to his heart.

Emma Zale is an archeologiest with a secret gift - she can tell the history of relics just by touching them. Though Emma tries to avoid using her gift at all costs since she wants her success as an archeologist to be based on her knowledge and not the unwanted ability that has plagued her and left her open to being used by people trying to further their own careers all her life. Her parents were both prominent archeologists who were murdered while hunting for relics of an ancient society of assassins known as the Sicari. The book opens five years later while on a dig in Egypt - Emma's dig leader and good friend Charlie meets the same fate as her parents. Now blamed for both her parents and Charlie's murder, Emma is barely able to escape an Egyptian jail cell. Emma returns to dark and rainy Chicago and despair envelops her while she deals with the aftermath of Charlie's murder and her continuing pain about her parents death. Little does Emma know that factions in an ancient battle are drawing closer to her as they try to use her to get at what her parents were searching for before they died - the Tyet of Isis. Thankfully, one of the people she attracts the interest of is Ares DeLuca, a warrior who is part of an ancient order and an enemy of those that most likely murdered Emma's parents.

When Ares and Emma meet it is like two storm fronts colliding - violent, exciting, and sexy as hell. Emma is afraid of Ares at first - who wouldn't be afraid of a stranger who breaks into your house and demands information from you that you don't have. Though she is at least smart enough to acknowledge how beautifully built the man is and isn't opposed to his seductive methods to try and get information from her. For Ares, all his tight emotional control is broken when he meets Emma. As one of the leaders of his order he should just take the information he needs and leave but he finds himself more than a little attracted to her. And Ares isn't just a normal mortal - he is bestowed with the gift of telekinesis that comes in quite handy in fights as well as in seduction. The ability to use his mind to touch Emma's body was a hot one and he definitely put it to good use.

Emma and Ares are thrown together as someone tries to kill Emma and they constantly dance around their developing feeling for each other. Neither one of them want to admit what they are feeling - they are both stubborn and have trust issues. The pigheadedness of both of them keep them from realizing they are falling for each other until almost everything between them is destroyed. The relationship between Emma and Ares was both rewarding and frustrating. I did love the mix of Italian, Latin, and English that Ares spoke and I am always a sucker for pet names spoken in a different language.

As for the world the Ms. Burns created - I loved the honorable assassins order of the Sicari and I am looking forward to learning more about the order in future books. Strong and sexy warriors who wear black leather and fight with swords - how can you go wrong? There are also female order members - including Ares godmother who I adored as well as Phae, Ares sister - so not just men do it with swords in this book.

Overall this is a 4 out of 5 for me, Sexy sword-totting warriors who speak Italian words of love and like to fight in leather.

The next book in the series that features Phae and Lysander from this book (I loved Lysander and am so looking forward to his book!) is coming out in September of this year!

Review of Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh - I want to earn me some wings!

2010-05-09T23:25:00.000-04:00

Title: Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter #2)
Author: Nalini Singh
Pages: 323 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.nalinisingh.com
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for book one if you haven't read it
GoodReads blurb: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed—an angel with wings the colors of midnight and dawn—but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, is used to being in control—even when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority…

They’ve barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing—and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena…

Elena wakes up after a year long coma to discover her life completely changed. She awakes laying on a pair of beautiful midnight and dawn colored wings which she "earned" through being loved by the sexy and dangerous archangel Raphael. Now the two of them cautiously get to know each other more, though both of them are still haunted by the terrible things that happened to them in their past. Elena is greatly weakened by her year long sleep and has alot to learn about her new life including how to use her new wings. Unfortunately she must learn fast since she is being pulled into the world of angel intrigue and will soon have to face one of the scariest archangels, Lijuan. As Elena starts to recuperate and work with her new wings, murders and grave attacks occur on vampires and angels in the Refuge where she is now living. Elena who despite the wings is still a guild hunter and still feels the need to hunt down murders and protect the innocent. As she begins to track down what is happening she also finds that she might be a target in someone's plot to grab more power.

Raphael finds himself battling between the need to protect and shelter Elena and the need to let her be his sexy warrior woman. One of the more heart-pounding parts of the book for me was when he holds off on taking pleasure from Elena for fear that his savage passion will break her since she is still so weak. Though that doesn't stop him from pleasuring Elena in other ways - the sexy lovin' in this book definitely gets the pulse pounding. This book is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy that was more prominent in the first book Angel's Blood as it focuses on Elena's and Raphael's developing relationship. I thought the relationship was well developed, since these are two independent and powerful individuals they didn't instantly find their balance in the relationship but had to work at it. Elena is caught between her all too human heart and finding out how to find her balance with her archangel lover. And Raphael is sexy and sensual as well as hard and cruel in the same heartbeat.

The mystery in the book about who was destroying the peace and protection of Refuge and the need to get Elena in shape to meet Lijuan also gave an excellent backdrop to introduce us to the other members of the Seven. Illium is my favorite of the seven and he also seems like the one least likely to kill Elena to protect Raphael from having a weakness, unlike Galen and Dimitri. Though I worry over "Bluebell" as Elena calls him since I'm afraid that his feelings for Elena will put him at odds with Raphael in the near future. Though I do hope we get to read more about the sexy and lethal Seven in future books. Elena regains her strength in time to face the challenges surrounding her and Raphael and with Raphael's promise to soon teach Elena how angels dance I can't wait for the next book!

Overall this is a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me - the powerful and lethal archangel Raphael giving wings and his heart bit by bit to his warrior woman lover ... heartwarming and hot!

We have a Winner of one of the Strangely Beautiful Books by Leanna Renee Hieber!

2010-05-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, you might notice my postings are a little sparse this week - I've been a busy worker bee at my day job and haven't had a chance to work on the blog of late... but don't fear - I have picked a winner or rather Buzz my Blog Contest Winner Picker has a winner of one of the Strangely Beautiful books by Leanna Renee Hieber. And never fear the posts are coming soon about my Black Dagger Brotherhood reading adventures (another reason I haven't been at the blog lately because I've been getting cozy with the brothers).

So the winner is....Patti (BookAddictPatti) who gets to chose between one of these lovely books

Thanks to everyone who entered - there were actually alot of great Victorian era book recommendations in the post - more reading for me to do.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series - Welcome home boys!

2010-04-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

The UPS man was generous today and dropped off the first six books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series a whole day early..Yeah! I finally followed the advice of many a twitter and book blogger friend and dived into the BDB series. I also loved reading peoples reviews of Lover Mine and re-enactments and recreations of scenes from the books - if people love the series that much to use action figures to express their feelings I can't go wrong right? (check out Mandi at Smexy Books, Fiction Vixen, and Katiebabs blogs if you missed it) So before I go into book hibernation mode and go read all these books my wolfies and I wanted to show them off with a little wine and chocolate. I was wondering if you you guys have read the BDB series and what's your favorite and least favorite books. What other series would you compare these books too? Favorite and least favorite characters? Any particular books I should have kleenex for or not read in public?

Thanks for the book advice and I'll see you in a few days!!

Wicked Wednesday Review of Blind Spot by Meljean Brook from the Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

2010-04-28T16:46:00.001-04:00

Title: Blind Spot (The Guardians #5.5)/ Must Love Hellhounds Anthology
Author: Meljean Brook
Pages: 361 Pages (anthology), Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://meljeanbrook.com/
Spoiler Alert: minor
Blurb: The job was simple: find her boss’s niece, bring her home safely, and hand out a whole lot of pain to whoever had abducted her. But Maggie hadn’t counted on her boss’s nephew, the hellhound who loved to make her life difficult, or her own past rearing its complicated and ugly head.

This was my first introduction into Meljean Brook's Guardian series and I'm sold on checking out more of her books after reading this novella. You do not need much of a primer for the Guardian world to understand what is going on in this entry but if you get lost Meljean has a great series primer on her website that will introduce you to the world and let you know what you missed if you are starting in the middle of the series. This entry into the series starts out with Maggie who is the head of security for a vampire known as Ames-Beaumont. Maggie is tasked with retrieving her employer's nephew Geoffrey Blake and saving Blake's sister who was kidnapped. The retrieval of Mr. Blake turns out to be quite interesting as she finds him chained up to a radiator in a house in New York City with just his smiley face boxers on. Though Maggie works for Blake's uncle, she doesn't realize until Blake opens his eyes that he is blind. What Maggie doesn't know if that through a twist in the family tree both Blake and his sister have some special abilities. Blake's ability allows him to see through other people's eyes which presents for some interesting situations before Maggie figures out that Blake has some ability to see.

The hellhound in this entry of the anthology was there more for comic relief and demon chomping back-up than as a main part of the story. The main plot line was the twisted connections between Maggie and the kidnappers as well as the growing attraction between Blake and Maggie which was very entertaining. This novella is told as a third person from both Maggie and Blake's point of view which was a little confusing to me at first but soon I figured out the POV switches. I also enjoyed the glimpses I saw of the Guardian world and I think next I'm going to jump to Savi and Colin Ames-Beaumont's story (Demon Moon) who we meet in Blind Spot.

Overall a 4 out of 5 - a sexy story with a smokin' ending that leaves some good parts to the imagination.

Wicked Wednesday Review of Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews in Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

2010-04-28T09:49:00.000-04:00

Title: Magic Mourns (Kate Daniels #3.5)/ Must Love Hellhounds Anthology
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 361 Pages (anthology), Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/
Spoiler Alert: Small spoilers for previous books

Blurb: Kate is on medical leave and Andrea is sitting in her office. Everything is going well, until a a giant hell dog escapes the Underworld and Raphael, the smoking-hot and very persistent werehyena, asks Andrea to help him track down…

I read this novella in the Must Love Hell Hounds anthology to help tide me over until the next Kate Daniels series release (1 month to go) on 5/25/2010. I love the Kate Daniels world with the alternate Atlanta, the magic and tech waves, and the People and the Pack. I also love the characters in the series, Kate and Curran of course, as well as the secondary characters. This novella focuses on Andrea and Raphael who also play a big part in Magic Strikes (Book 3). The way Raphael is described in previous books, as basically sex on a naughty stick, you have to wonder how Andrea could be putting up resistance to him for this long, especially with all the entertaining courting customs that occur with the Pack. I mean he created a beautiful metal chandelier for you and hung ornaments full of thongs, how can you turn down a sexy man who gives you sexy underwear?

In this novella, Andrea is filling in for Kate while she heals at home after her battles in book three. We get small appearances and mentions of Kate but this novella mainly focuses on Andrea and Raphael's discovery and battle with a Cerberus who is running into some resistance when trying to collect a soul for Hades. This of course makes the Cerberus, or hell dog the size of a house, a little angry and he seems intent on taking out his anger on whoever gets in his way, including Andrea and Raphael. Andrea gets forced to spend some up close and alone time with Raphael while trying to fight the hell dog and she also spends time trying to figure out her feelings for Raphael. For a novella length story it was a very satisfying read and delivered the twists and turns in plot that I love in Ilona Andrew's books. And Andrea delivers a magnificent work of guy liner with magic marker to get back at Raphael while he was sleeping.. that part had me snorting.

For a novella this was a 4 out of 5 for me - How can you resist the sex on a naughty stick and a woman who knows how to pack some serious heat.

Review of Angels' Blood (Guild Hunters Book 1) by Nalini Singh - I love those deadly sexy angels!

2010-04-26T19:03:00.001-04:00

Title: Angel's Blood
Author: Nalini Singh
Pages: 339 Pages, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.nalinisingh.com or twitter @NaliniSingh
Spoiler Alert: Small plot hints

GoodReads Blurb: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

Elena is a vampire bloodhound - she is a hunter-born who can sniff out the unique scent of the a vampire and track them anywhere. Born hunters are rare and Elena is the best. In Elena's world, vampires are created by angels - and the archangels are the most powerful among them. The angels have always existed in her world, occasionally worshiped and revered but also feared for their immense power. Among the angels, Archangel Raphael is one of the most powerful and a member of the Cadre of Ten - the ruling class of angels. Raphael rules over New York City and most of North America with a cold and ruthless heart. When he first meets Elena he tries to rule over her as well but she is having nothing to do with it. Elena has always been enamored with the angels and their beautiful wings but that doesn't stop her from wanting to be an independent person. When she is called before Raphael to fulfill a Guild contract, he instantly tries to gain the upper hand, even using her body against her but Elena forces him to back down, which rarely occurs in Raphael's world. The job Elena is hired for is beyond the normal vampire hunt, she is hired to hunt down a rogue archangel - something she is most likely not going to survive.

As Raphael and Elena spend time together hunting the rogue, attraction between the two of them grows. Elena fights her attraction to Raphael as hard as she can because she knows her life will never be the same if she submits to the handsome and deadly archangel. Raphael wants to posses Elena and admits he only takes warrior women for lovers, though his feelings develop beyond the simple need to posses Elena's body. Both Raphael and Elena have dark pasts that haunt their waking hours and deep emotional scars that make them well suited for each other as well. As the hunt for the rogue heats up so do their feelings for each other, the dark crimes the rogue commits causing the pair to look for comfort in each other. And let me say I loved the special magical properties of angel's dust and the sensitivity of the wings when the angels are aroused. Such fun details!

The story of this world was an interesting one, our world but with beautiful immortal angels populating it - angels that can destroy whole cities in fights for power and territory. Also angels making vampires - a new twist to the vampire story that I definitely haven't read before. The secondary characters in this book added another layer to the story - the seductive vampire Dimitri and beautiful angel Ilium. Both are part of Raphael's inner circle that are sworn to protect him with their life. Elena's friends are great too - Sara her best friend and boss who is super protective of Elena, as well as Ransom, a fellow hunter and friend with a cocky attitude and sex-appeal. All of these secondary characters added to the richness of the story and made it even more enjoyable.

Overall this was a 4 out of 5 stars for me - a kick-ass heroine, sexy archangel Raphael, and unique and interesting world building. I was so lucky that the second book was already out when I read this one because the ending had my diving right into the next book of the series - Archangel's Kiss.

Interview with Leanna Renee Hieber - Author of Strangely Beautiful Series and a Book Giveaway

2010-04-22T08:44:00.000-04:00

Today we have the author of the Strangely Beautiful Series (you can find my review of book one and the soon to be released book two on the blog this week) Leanna Renee Hieber answering some questions about her books and about herself so check it out and stay tuned for contest details at the end of the post!

Welcome to Darkly Reading, I am so happy that you are my first interview on the blog! Can you give a little introduction to my readers about your Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and the soon to be out release - Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker?

       Thank you Heather! It’s such an honour to be your inaugural interview! The Strangely Beautiful series is Gothic Victorian Fantasy Romance. Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show described Strangely Beautiful as “Bulfinch’s Mythology, Harry Potter and Wuthering Heights in a blender.” *grin* And I think that’s about right. The Darkly Luminous Fight picks up exactly where The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker leaves off, keeping Percy and Alexi in the main focus. From the back cover:
       “With radiant, snow white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun. Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.”

Where do you get your inspiration for your characters? Are there any specific book characters or actors that inspired Alexi and Percy?

       I’ve always been inspired by the Victorian Era, since childhood, when I fell in love with Dickens and Poe. The era speaks to me; all its grit and grandeur, struggle and romance, a conflicted society rife with passions hid under preened exteriors. I’ve always been drawn to the Gothic too – and the Gothic revival in the 19th century, and that’s where my love for the paranormal, spiritual, fantastical and the neo-classical finds a natural home.

       Professor Alexi Rychman is very much the picture of a Gothic hero; he is all my literary love affairs wrapped up into one. One reviewer described him as a cross between Mr. Darcy and Severus Snape. *grin* And I think that’s about right too. As for actors – well, ten years ago when I began Strangely Beautiful, the actor playing Alexi was (and shall always remain, in my mind) Alan Rickman. However if it were to be made into a movie today, I’d certainly cast Richard Armitage – and I’m thrilled that other reviewers (such as yourself) have pegged him the same, some reviewers even referencing that the delicate, aching dynamic in his BBC production of North and South reminds them of the simmering dynamic between Alexi and Percy. It’s such an honour to be compared to that.
       While Miss Percy is very much the typical Gothic heroine, orphaned, alone, meek, containing powers she doesn’t yet understand, dear Percy became a force all on her own. She came to me as a fully formed character, looking like a ghost, and demanding (ever so sweetly, mind you) that I write her Tale. My vision began with the two of them and their aching dynamic. The tension between them begged me to unearth all of their secrets, ghostly or otherwise. I wanted them to be surrounded by a rich, vibrant community of secondary characters that would allow us to get to know them better through outside, colourful eyes. Certainly my characters have parts of myself, of friends and family within them, but only certain traits. Percy, Alexi and the Guard truly have evolved into unique people entirely on their own. At this point I just sit back and take dictation.

The titles for your books are unusual - how did you come up with them? Have you found any interesting misspellings of the titles on the web?

       The initial title came entirely from my agent who figured the best way to market a cross-genre book like mine was to give it a descriptive title, to give the readers a sense of what they’re about to read. When he made the point, I absolutely agreed with him, and it became a marketing coup of his. The subsequent titles have been brainstorms between my editor and I. I can’t say I’ve found many misspellings – a few words switched around perhaps, and not everyone gets the series title of the “Strangely Beautiful” series correct, but nothing atrocious.

Do you have any favorite secondary characters in your books? Will they be getting books of their own?

       I can’t pick a favourite from my Guard. I love them all equally, for all their differences. I adore books with rich group dynamics, and The Guard have all been so much fun and are each so dear to my heart. I’m so excited that Rebecca and Michael get their own novella this fall, releasing September 28th! “A Christmas Carroll” will be featured in Dorchester’s A MIDWINTER FANTASY anthology. I’d love to offer the same novella opportunity to Elijah and Josephine, we’ll have to see!

What is the future of the Strangely Beautiful world? How many books do you see in the series?

       Four books and two novellas (Rebecca and Michael get theirs this fall, I hope Elijah and Josephine can have the same next fall). Book 3 is a prequel and Book 4 will continue with the Rychman familial legacy up to and broaching World War I.

Your books have many influences - Victorian England, ghost stories, gothic novels, and Greek mythology - do you have any particular favorite stories you came across during the course of your research?

    In college I pursued a focus in the Victorian Era and I loved researching all these disparate aspects that are a part of Victorian society – they were ardent spiritualists and fascinated with ghosts. And so to honour this, why make up all the ghosts when I could just use some that actually exist? So all of the ghosts in the books- save for the spectral residents of my fictional Athens Academy and those in the Whisper-World- are real, documented London haunts. Picking my ghost stories was my favourite part of the research process, as well as trailing Jack the Ripper in Strangely Beautiful #1. You can learn all about them by joining in my Haunted London Blog Tour beginning April 26th! Schedule: http://www.leannareneehieber.com/haunted-london-blog-tour/

When you write do you have any rituals to put you in the mood - or can you be found jotting down a few lines on a cocktail napkin while out at the bar? How do you avoid writers block?

       Yes and yes to the first two questions. My rituals if at home (though I have been known to have very productive sessions at a good coffee shop): spend a few quiet moments daydreaming, get the lighting right (turn on the stained-glass lamps) put on atmospheric classical or movie soundtracks without words – something period or particularly sweeping. Brew a cup of spiced, clove tea because that’s Alexi’s scent; “all clove tea and leather-bound books” because I want his essence near me. I always have pens on hand, everywhere (dry erase markers for the washroom). My characters talk to me all the time (I know, it’s a fine line between being an author and a schizophrenic) and so I have to be ready to take dictation no matter where I am. I’ve been known to pause when I’m out and about with my boyfriend or my friends and say. “Hold on, Elijah just said something really funny.” (It’s usually Elijah who interrupts me. Thankfully, most of my friends are authors or actors and they get it, and my boyfriend is just a saint of a good sport.)
       Writer’s block is just something you can’t accept when you’re a contracted author on deadline. You have to get around it. Since I write very character driven stories, my characters help me avoid writers block. If I have a problem, I ask my characters to fix it and let them percolate on it. Generally within a day or so they present me with an answer (which comes to me in the form of a mental movie that I then translate into words – I write like a cinematographer, director and an actor all at the same time.) As a director of my book, I have a cast of actors, my characters, and with my asking the right questions, they come up with the solutions.

I noticed that you are quite that expert at connecting to your fans through social media (facebook page, twitter, website) - do you think it's helped promote your book to a wider audience and have you ever had any strange encounters of the fan kind - besides me of course? Do you have any favorite fan encounter stories as well?

       I’d not dare call myself an expert, though I’m definitely active in the social media spheres. And it’s absolutely made the series. I thanked book bloggers in the acknowledgements of Darkly Luminous because it really was connecting with bloggers like you that was the defining factor in getting me, a debut author with a new series, off the ground. It’s one aspect of many factors that make a successful book, some of which end up being random (like book covers since authors have no control over them, titles; often authors have no control, the time of year its released, whether or not the publisher pushes the book to sales reps or not, etc), and then some of which we can control, like how much we ourselves try and get the word out about our work – and social media is the easiest, fastest and most cost-effective way to do so. I balance a lot of social media presence with a bunch of public appearances around the release of my book, as well as a few print media advertising spots. I confess it gets utterly overwhelming, and often I get scatterbrained. Each author has to establish for themselves how much they can do and can balance while keeping to their book deadlines. It isn’t easy.
       No strange encounters of the fan kind, just lovely ones. Truly, when people write to me or review my book saying how much they connected with my characters, there’s just nothing better than that. My Strangely Beautiful characters have been with me for a decade and are family to me. When readers take them into their hearts as their family too, it’s such a great honour. My favourite fan moments: The stuffed kookaburra Mary sent me from Australia and the “If you like Twilight you’ll like Strangely Beautiful” YouTube video that Hanna made me.

Now onto questions a little off book topic -
Favorite Tea?

Bigelow’s “Constant Comment” – it has cloves in it. As I mentioned, it Alexi’s scent. Yum.

Favorite Sweet Treat?

Sour apple gummy things.

Favorite deep dark secret TV show?

I have no secrets, nor shame. I’m proud of my love of Beauty and the Beast (my favourite from back in the day). I’m a Star Trek Next Gen fan, a Battlestar Galactica fan (the new one) and I’m most proud of my eldest television obsession that began at age 8: with Doctor Who (old and new – Baker and Tennant are my Doctors).

Favorite character you've ever played on stage?

See pictures: Lucy in Dracula (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company). Yep, that’s me. Favourite stage photo ever. (Thanks Rich Sofranko) And then, going as Miss Percy for Halloween to a costumed ball (replete with photography by Steven Rosen) really took the cake last year. People think at first glance that picture of me as Miss Percy is a painting. Hee-hee.

What are your favorite authors and books?

All the 19th century greats, particularly the Gothic and fantastical authors like Poe and Stoker. The list continues with King, Gaiman, Tolkien, Lewis, Austen, L. M. Montgomery and last but most certainly not least: J.K. Rowling. As for favourite books; the whole of these authors’ work.

Favorite music?

Classical (Dvorak, Vaughan Williams, Debussy, Chopin, Sibelius, Glass), Goth (VNV Nation, Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk, The Cure, Depeche Mode), Alternative / Folk (Over the Rhine, Radiohead)

Before you go - do you have any special events planned around your latest release that you want people to know about?

Join me for my Darkly Luminous Haunted London Blog Tour (full of giveaways) and my contest, all details available at http://www.leannareneehieber.com and I really hope you’ll pick up The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker starting April 27th! I’ll also have lots of updates regarding the option agreement for the musical theatre adaptation of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker up on my blog: http://www.leannareneebooks.blogspot.com
and via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/leannarenee and the Strangely Beautiful Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/sbsfan Also, I’m all over the country this year at conventions and conferences, see if I’m coming to a town near you: http://www.booktour.com/author/leanna_renee_hieber

Thanks for your answers Leanna!

Thanks, Heather, for this wonderful opportunity!

***Book Giveaway Time***

So I'm giving away a copy of one of Leanna's books - either Strangely Beautiful or Darkly Luminous - winner's choice. The contest is international (anywhere Book Depository ships) and will go till Saturday May 1st.

To Enter:
-Leave a comment/ question for Leanna (she will be on later this afternoon to answer questions) or answer this question: What's your favorite novel set in the Victorian era?

-To get extra entries: follow my blog/ follow me on twitter/ tweet about the contest - just let me know (and leave the name you use to follow me with) and leave a link if you tweet! (each counts as one extra entry)

-Check back on the blog on May 2nd to see if you won!

Review of The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

2010-04-21T11:45:00.000-04:00

Title: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Pages: 320 Pages, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Victorian Paranormal/ Gothic Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: April 27th 2010
Publisher: Leisure Books/ Dorchester Publishing
Received book from author
Spoiler Alert: Review contains some spoilers if you haven't read first book

GoodReads Blurb: With radiant, snow white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun. Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.

Darkly Luminous picks up directly where Strangely Beautiful left off. After facing deadly nightmares in the previous book, Alexi and Percy now get to have a dream come true and be wed. Although the newlyweds as well as The Guard know that their fight is not done and that Darkness may still try to claim his now mortal bride. While Alexi and Percy enjoy their new married life together dark signs begin to gather in Athens Academy that point to a great war coming with the Whisperworld and allies appear in the form of ghosts of previous guard members.

Though this book had its fair share of complicated love stories, Micheal's love for Rebecca as well as Josephine's love for Elijah, it starts on a happy note - the marriage of Percy to her dark and stormy professor, Alexi. Finally, the moment that I hoped would occur but feared would never happen in the previous book is laid out in delicious detail in this book. Thankfully, Ms. Hieber allows her readers to also witness the event rather than start the second book after the marriage and we get to tag along on their honeymoon as well. The romance between Alexi and Percy is young and they have alot of growing pains to go through in their relationship. Since they were both solitary creatures in their pasts they have to learn how to live with another person and learn to establish their relationship dynamic beyond professor and pupil and more as partners. One of the biggest changes in this book for me was Alexi becoming a bit unhinged at the thought of Percy being in more danger and of the possibility of losing her. Alexi who was always the calm and cool leader has so much tumultuous passion in his breast when it comes to his wife he doesn't know how to cope. Percy also slowly learns how to develop a backbone when it comes to Alexi and stand up to him, even when what she wants goes against his wishes. And it's important that they work out this difficult part of their relationship quickly since they face a war with the Whisperworld. Though Alexi and Percy certainly do have passion for each other that even overcomes them while in their magical chapel (oh my!).

Another favorite part of this book was learning more about the other members of The Guard and their loves and desires. You had to feel for Rebecca as she watched the man she loved and felt she should spend the rest of her life with married to another. You also felt for Micheal since he had to watch Rebecca go through this and her feelings were not for him. And learning about Jane and her mystery lover was surprising as well, as well as learning more about the mystery of her life and her multiple names. The Guard is integral to the fight with the Whisperworld and Darkness himself, and the sacrifices that have to be made to win the war are heartbreaking.

This book was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, a fitting end to this chapter of the fight against Darkness and it was lovely to see Alexi being an emotional mess about his beloved Percy.

**Make sure to stop by tomorrow for an interview with the author Leanna and a book giveaway!

Review of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

2010-04-19T11:07:00.000-04:00

Title: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Pages: 320 Pages, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Victorian Paranormal/ Gothic Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Out Now
Publisher: Leisure Books/ Dorchester Publishing
Received book from author

GoodReads blurb: What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent-and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death...

I loved this strangely beautiful tale from the start. The combination of gothic ghost story, paranormal thriller, re-worked Greek mythology, and heart-wrenching love story was wonderfully woven together and kept me engaged throughout the story. Miss Persephone Parker is a very unusual woman with her incredibly pale and ghostly looks as well as her peculiar gifts for seeing and hearing ghosts as well as her visions. Though I have to say what struck me most about her was not her ghastly looks but her tenacity. She believes that a fate awaits her and believes beyond what people snicker about her behind her back that she deserves love as well. When Percy first lays eyes on Alexi Rychman, her mathematics and alchemy professor, she hopes that one of her wishes has been answered. Unfortunately for Percy, mathematics is her worst subject so instead of catching the professor's eye with her mathematical genius, she is forced to get remedial math lessons from him instead. Though since it means spending time alone with him in his office every week, perhaps it is not so ghastly.

Professor Rychman and the school Headmistress hide a secret life from their students as well, they are part of The Guard that has been charged by a mysterious goddess to protect the mortals from ghosts that are still trapped in the mortal realm. The Guard has six members that come from all walks of life and serve a unique purpose within the Guard. Each member as well houses a spirit that gives them special abilities to fight the ghouls they face. When each member was given a power they were also given a prophecy to wait for a seventh to join their ranks as well to stop the Darkness from overwhelming the world. Alexi was given a personal prophecy that the seventh would be his true love and that he must wait for her and have faith. Several years later with no direction from their silent goddess, The Guard is on edge and questioning their reasons for following a prophecy that they have seen no signs of happening yet.

My favorite part of this book was reading the interactions between Percy and Alexi. Percy's desire for her intimidating and aloof Professor was sweet and her responses when he was close, even when it was to ridicule her math ability, had my heart going pitter-patter along with hers. Alexi was a great foreboding presence as well, though as you begin to learn more about him between the pages of the book you learn that he is vulnerable and has very human weaknesses as well. Although Alexi always puts up his emotional armor in the presence of The Guard, you begin to see the cracks as he spends more time with Percy. And their story was both tantalizing and heart-rending as well. I loved to read their forbidden romance budding as they discussed mathematical theorems and he gave her private dance lessons. After I finished this book I went back to re-read all the sections of the book that they were together in since I loved their story so much.

Overall this was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, a well-woven gothic tale with a tender romance that gets me all worked up - and the yummy tortured Alexi Rychman - le sigh...

Weekend wrap-up: In my mailbox / On my blog/ In the blogosphere

2010-04-18T21:02:00.000-04:00

This week I got to one review - Ecstasy Unveiled - by Larissa Ione, thus ending my Demonica series book reviews until the next book comes out - Sin Undone - in August of this year! I also posted my Sinful Saturday Views of Gabriel from Molly Harper's Jane Jameson series - if you haven't read that series yet and love snarky humor that will have you snorting out loud then I recommend running out and buying the books!

I have a lot of book booty to show off this week - first off are the books I received from Bloomsbury Publishing by way of Terry Kate from Romance in the Backseat from attending the Book Bloggers On-line conference a few weeks ago.

There are some great reads here and the books look like a great introduction to YA novels for me. I'm particularly looking for to reading Alyxandra Harvey's books since I love the idea of a vampire princess - reviews to come!
Books: Hearts at Stake and Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey, Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George (One of my favorite book premises - a twist on common fairy tales), Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, and Deception by Lee Nichols.

I went to a book signing this weekend in North Haven, CT (which is about 10 minutes from me) and got to chat with some lovely authors. The always well-dressed and lovely Stella Price was there (I got her book - Entwined by Fate at the last book signing I went to and loved her weresnakes!) and she was rocking some wicked heels that would probably kill someone uncoordinated like me and she had on a rockin' black corset. I also chatted with Bianca D'Arc and Kathryn Smith. They were both great people to chat with about books and BBC programming, it was alot of fun and soon the two hours passed and I had some great new book goodies to take home and enjoy.

I've received some lovely swag from Vivian Arend (the cute wolfies, book swag, and olympics souvenirs) and from Moira Rogers (book marks and character cards). I also won Laced with Desire from Marissa's Booklair and got a signed bookplate from all the authors from Joey Hill. Yeah for book swag - now I just have figure a way to display it..or maybe I'll give it away with a book though I'm keeping that Keith card under my pillow!

I also received The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker from Leanna Renee Hieber. I met Leanna through twitter and when I tentatively asked her to stop by my blog she agreed and was kind enough to send me books too. I will have reviews of both books up on the blog this week as well as my first writer visit and interview on Darkly Reading with Leanna Renee Hieber. She will be stopping by on Thursday and I'll be hosting a book giveaway so be sure to stop by!

Sinful Saturday Views - Gabriel from the Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper

2010-04-17T19:56:00.000-04:00

This is a new weekly post hosted by me and Incident over at Sordid Fantasy. We will list some of our favorite fictional men along with why we love/lust them. Pictures will also be included.

This week my sinfully sexy pick is Gabriel from the Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper. Though the main event of these books is Jane and her quirky friendships and family - I think her sexy sire and boyfriend Gabriel earns a mention as well. As you can see from the book covers he is a sexy and mysterious part of the story, though it kind of makes me twitch when he or Jane refers to their relationship as sire and childe (ohh Daddy issues). I just finished this series of books last week and I love it! You can see my review of the first book Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs here. Gabriel is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome as well as mysterious, pompous, and occasional pain in the ass.

Quotes:

"I am your sire. I am to guide you through your first days as a vampire. Your first feeding is a rite of passage, a sacrament. It will not be wasted on some hormone-driven frenzy. This is why I wanted you to feed from me.” (Gabriel)
“I will not drink it in a house, I will not drink it with a mouse. I will not drink it here or there, I will not drink it anywhere,” I wheezed, hoping I was able to communicate adequate sarcasm through the crippling belly cramps. (Jane)
“Did you just quote Green Eggs and Ham?" (Gabriel)*from Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs

"I haven't had a lot of good, soft things in my life," he said against my forehead. "Not since my family sent me away. Apart from being your sire and feeling that pull to you, it's that goodness, that softness and warmth, along with the resolve and strength in you, that I love. Being turned hasn't taken that from you. If someone were going to design the perfect mate for me, it would be you. Even when you infuriate me with your pigheaded stubbornness and your temper and incredible lack of anything resembling self-preservation—" (Gabriel)
"Stop describing me please." (Jane)
"You're the most fascinating, maddening, adorable creature I've ever met," he said, sighing and pushing my hair out of my eyes. "So, when I seem possessive or I'm raving like a lunatic, it's just that part of me is still very afraid that I'll lose that—that I'll lose you. I love you."(Gabriel) *from Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men (this quote makes me swoon a little)

My pick from Gabriel is the hunky James Marsden - let me know what you think!

Review of Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione - Can't get enough of the sexy demons!

2010-04-13T22:06:00.001-04:00

This is the book that first started me on the Demonica series. I won this book in a contest, read the first chapter, and decided I needed to read the rest of the books right away before finishing Ecstasy Unveiled. And really how could you not get tempted by this series when the book opens on Lore getting busy with "AprilMayJune" (he doesn't remember her name) and then almost ends up getting eaten since his lady of the month ends up being a Dire Mantis (yup she eats her partners after sex). Needless to say he doesn't get eaten and thus begins my obsession with the Sem brothers.

GoodReads blurb: DEMON ENSLAVED. Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master's assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister's life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he'll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

AN ANGEL TEMPTED. Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She's determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.
Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.

Lore is the most recently discovered half-human and half-demon brother of the Sem brothers. Technically, offspring from a Seminus demon and a human should not exist, unfortunately for Lore and his twin sister Sin - the little demon sperm that helped make them didn't get the memo. Lore is just getting to know the brothers after almost killing them in the previous book yet their relationship is greatly strained when Lore finds out that to save his sister from being sold as a slave by their assassin master, he must kill Kynan - a human that is like a brother to the Sem brothers. Kynan is also the man that Lore saved the life of using his demon powers in the previous book, though Lore has been regretting it since Kynan ended up with the sexy goth demon Gem and Lore ended up alone again. Though soon Lore is distracted by sexy and dangerous Idess who is an angel in training - tasked to protect Kynan to earn her wings.

Another side plot in this book is the troubles that are facing Underworld General Hospital. All the employees are on edge, including the Sem brothers for some unknown reason. The fights and lines being drawn between the brothers are heart-wrenching as they argue over what to do with Lore once they find out his mission. Since we met E, Shade, and Wraith in the previous books I have a tender spot in my heart for them and hate to see them really fight. In the midst of the fighting, the brothers also learn that they are related to the impossible, a Seminus female, Sin, a being that shouldn't exist. It's interesting to watch how the brothers learn to deal with the new members of their family.

But of course you don't just read Ione's books for the story of family dynamics but for the love story as well. And this story, I have to admit, I did some back of the book peeping just so I could make it through. Idess is just the right mix of hard and soft for Lore, and she's one of the few people who won't die due to Lore's touch. Finally Lore can find release with a woman without fear of killing her. This is the third book of Ione's in which chains are used in the course of the romance, I think all except Wraith ends up in chains during the course of his book - which is kind of surprising knowing Wraith. Though my favorite person of this book is Sin - she's the female version of Wraith and an assassin as well. I can't wait till her book - Sin Undone - comes out in August!

This was a 4.5 out of 5 for me - true star-crossed lovers and a sarcastic assassin sister.

So this is my pick for the dark and brooding Lore (I found him over at Demon Lover's Book Reviews) let me know what you think of the half-human/ half-demon all sexy assassin pic.

To check out more about the sexy demon brothers head over to Larissa's site here!

Review of Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione - Some More Sexy Demon Brothers!

2010-04-08T21:54:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm a little more rested from my marathon reading weekend of naughty demon brothers I'm ready to tackle my review of Passion Unleashed. This was a brother I didn't think I was going to like, he was selfish, a total ass, and also completely broken from events in his past - so how could you build a story around someone who had no capacity to love and how was it going to be believable. Much to my surprise, this was one of my favorite stories of the bunch. Check out my review below along with my picture pick for Wraith.

Goodreads Blurb: FORBIDDEN TEMPTATIONS. Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter-and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she's been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn't all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she's finally met the one man she cannot resist.

FATAL DESIRES. Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe-her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: He's falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

Wraith finds himself in life-threatening trouble after a "hunting trip" ends badly for him. After finding out he's living on borrowed time due to a slow acting poison, he and his brothers can only come up with one possible cure, to be given a magical charm from a woman who will die without the charm. Well the woman in possession of the charm, Serena, has no plans of handing it over and giving up her life and to keep the magical ability of the charm she must remain a virgin. Though a sex demon can be quite persuasive when he puts his body and mind towards achieving a goal. Wraith doesn't have much experience seducing a woman though, especially a human, and he has to take pointers from his sister-in-law, Tayla, about how to woo a woman. The idea of Wraith sitting there taking notes about how to seduce, something he hasn't had to do in his almost 100 years as a incubus, from Tayla had me giggling.

My favorite part of this book was the developments that Wraith made. We finally get to learn more about the torture he suffered at the hands of the vampires, something that was always mentioned in the previous books but no details were given. Now we know more of why he avoids human females and understand even more about why he is so broken due to his treatment at the hands of vampires. Now that he is dying he really has to evaluate what is important to him and take a look at how his decisions affect more than himself, something I don't think he has ever done. Wraith faces seducing a woman who his life depends on and finds himself caring for her as well. As the stakes get more dire, Wraith gets stuck with an impossible decision to make.

Serena was an interesting character, she was a mix of Indiana Jones and Super Man. Indiana Jones due to her love of treasure hunting and Super Man because her magical charm makes her impervious to physical harm. Though as she and Wraith continue to spend more time together and dark forces are trying to steal something from her possession, she finds herself vulnerable and turns to Wraith for help. Serena's story is alot more complicated than it first appears and leads to a whole new story arc that I was surprised at and I look forward to finding out how it resolves in future books. I love the overarching theme of more than just finding a mate but also that the bad boys are important for saving the world too.

Overall this was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, treasure hunting, world saving, and smoking seduction all wrapped up in one story.

Now for how I see Wraith. Wraith looks different than his brothers, he's not dark and brooding, he is blond haired, blue-eyed and smoking (and so is model Lucas Kerr)- so let me know what you think. Just imagine longer hair!

Review of Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione - I love me some demon action!

2010-04-06T22:44:00.000-04:00

So this weekend I purchased book 2 & 3 from the Demonica series (I have book 4 and have reviewed book 1 here) and then proceeded to tune out the rest of the world for about 2 days while I read book 2-4 (I apparently have to eat and sleep or I definitely would have devoured the books in a day). Now a day later, I have dark circles under my eyes, the inability to focus on people's conversations without daydreaming about sexy demon brothers, and a slightly worried hubby. So I thought I would share the delicious reasons for my sleepless nights with my lovely readers and review the lovely Sem brothers books for you guys. Along the way I plan to share some pics of how I picture these brothers and will hopefully leave you a little hot under the collar and panting like I was through the books. Enjoy!

GoodReads blurb: Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.

Runa never planned to be kidnapped and chained up to the arrogant ass who broke her heart a year before - but apparently fate isn't done playing with her. Shade never expected to see Runa again after she ran out his door after catching him in bed with two females, he broke her heart like he did with so many females before - he's an incubus and knows better than to get attached. So when Shade wakes up in a dungeon chained to a wall the last person he expects to see next to him is Runa. But one thing he notices right away is that Runa isn't the same sweet girl that ran away from him after his betrayal. She is tougher - both physically and mentally- due to being attacked by a werewolf the night she caught him cheating and she is itching to make him pay for what he did to her. Unfortunately they are both at the mercy of a sadistic killer who is hell bent on making Shade and his brothers pay for a tragic event in the killer's past that left him scared and broken. This black robed killer also has intimate knowledge of the Sem brothers and uses that knowledge against Shade by binding him to a woman that he must never love or he will suffer a fate worse than death.

I love this opening scene - you can check out the rest of Chapter 1 excerpt here at Larissa's website:
It had been at least two decades since Shade had awakened on a strange floor, hungover and without a clue as to his whereabouts. The heavy weight of a manacle around his wrist and the sound of a rattling chain made him smile. It had been even longer since he’d been in this situation and chained up.
Cool.
Sure, he preferred the females to be the ones in chains instead of him, but he'd roll with it.
“Shade.”
The female voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it through the ringing in his ears. He couldn't open his eyes, either.
"Shade. Wake up." A hand shook his shoulder, not gently, like he'd expect a female to do after a spending a night with him. Hell, she should be waking him with her mouth on his– "Shade, damn you, wake up!"
Groaning, he rolled onto his back, wincing at the dull ache pounding against the back of his skull. "I'm awake, baby. I'm awake. Climb on. I'll catch up."
"Thanks, I'll pass. But call me baby again and I'll rip your lips off."

The antagonistic banter between Shade and Runa is great from page one, and as the banter continues so does the increase in sexual tension between the two. Though they are thrown together by unfortunate circumstances they begin to care for each other as well, which could not be worse for Shade since he was cursed long ago with maluncoeur, if he falls in love, he will suffer a shadow existence of thirst, loneliness, and unslaked sexual desire. The closer the two of them get the more Shade tries to push Runa away and convince himself he doesn't care for her. Runa is constantly being thrown mixed signals and despairs that she is forever bound to someone who will never care for her.

To distract them from their terrible situation is their kidnapper who is still focused on making the Sem brothers pay and does not go easy on them. The action in this book is one of the things that impresses me about Larissa Ione's novels, the action doesn't suffer for the sake of romance, the heroines in these books are just as tough as the men, and she isn't afraid to put her characters through hell. What the characters get in the end does not come easy and there is usually a high price to pay for any hope of happiness. Besides the heart-pumping fight scenes is also a sharp sense of humor - another favorite line in this book is the re-naming of PMS to be Pre-Moon Syndrome which describes the on-edge mood were's are in a few days before the full moon. Though I would be remiss if I didn't mention another favorite part of Larissa Ione's books - the love scenes. Shade is a bad boy so it is a given that when he makes love to a woman, it isn't going to be sweet - it's going to be hard and leave the woman panting for more. And wow does he deliver.

Overall this was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, an excellent ill-fated romance, bloody battles, and a bad boy hero that loves to wear leather and is covered in tattoos!

Now onto the pictures of how I see Shade. For this one I picked Joe Manganiello - he's the actor for Alcide in the new 3rd season of True Blood though with a few glyphs on his arm and the long hair I could totally see him as Shade.

So what do you think?

Sinful Saturday Views - Tybalt from the October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire

2010-04-03T16:59:00.000-04:00

This is a new weekly post hosted by me and Incident over at Sordid Fantasy. We will list some of our favorite fictional men along with why we love/lust them. Pictures will also be included.

This week's pick is Tybalt from the October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire. Tybalt is the local King of the Court of Cats of the Cait Sidhe. Toby describes him as having the "sort of sleek, muscled build that only comes from a few specific types of exercise programs." Though Toby was referring to the exercise to keep Tybalt's throne, I definitely came up with a few others. To learn more about this great series, you can see my reviews of Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation. So far the only interactions of our heroine, Toby, with Tybalt have been mostly antagonistic and snarky, but who doesn't love a man who is able to dole out the sarcasm.

Some favorite Tybalt quotes:

“I’m a cat. We aren’t required to make sense.” - from ALH

"You were sleeping so peacefully that I was loath to wake you. Duke Torquill, after demanding to know what I was doing in your apartment, has requested that I inform you of his intent to visit after ‘tending to some business at the Queen’s Court.’ I recommend wearing something clinging, as that may distract him from whatever he wishes to lecture you about this time. Hopefully, it’s your manners. You are truly endearing when you sleep. I attribute this to the exotic nature of seeing you in a state of silence."- A note from Tybalt to Toby from ALH

For how I see Tybalt, James McAvoy comes to mind so I included some pics.

So have you read the October Daye Series? What do you think of my pick for Tybalt?

Review of A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire - Go Team Tybalt

2010-04-01T20:37:00.000-04:00

GoodReads Blurb: Toby Daye-a half-human, half-fae changeling-has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world had other ideas...

Now her liege, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills, has asked Toby to go to the Country of Tamed Lightening to make sure all is well with his niece, Countess January O'Leary. It seems like a simple enough assignment-until Toby discovers that someone has begun murdering people close to January, and that if the killer isn't stopped, January may be the next victim.

Ahh.. what can I say about A Local Habitation, it has location (San Francisco Bay Area), hot and broody potential love interest (Tybalt), awesome heroine job (knight errant), and amusing sidekick (Quentin). All the perfect elements to make another great entry into one of my new favorite urban fantasy series. This is book two in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series - if you want to check out my review of book one, Rosemary and Rue, click here. ALH starts out a few months after the end of Rosemary and Rue, with Toby stumbling home after have having a girls night-out with her friends she's finally starting to reconnect with after her stint as a fish. Luckily for Toby and her feet, Tybalt shows up to help get Toby home and one of my favorite scenes ensues: (The full excerpt in on the author's site here if you want to check it out)

“The skirt passes muster,” said Tybalt, finishing his survey. “I might have called it a ‘belt’ rather than a ‘skirt,’ but I suppose you have the right to name your own clothing. While we’re on the subject of apparel, tell me, were you intending to walk all the way home in those shoes?”
“Maybe,” I hedged. The straps were starting to chafe my ankles, making walking even less comfortable than it had been to begin with, but he didn’t need to know that.
“You’re drunk, October.”
“And you’re wearing really tight pants.” I paused. That hadn’t come out right. “I mean, those are really nice pants. I mean...”
Crud.

Shortly after that little episode, a slightly hungover Toby gets called away by her leige lord, Sylvester, to check on his niece, January, the Countess of Tamed Lightning. Toby and her charge, Quentin, head down to Fremont to determine what is going on in Tamed Lightning and end-up getting entangled in fae politics and enigmatic murders. Unfortunately for Toby, her sense of honor doesn't allow her leave when she and Quentin both almost become victims of a murder attempt, and as Toby stays to try to figure out who or what is behind these deaths she needs the help of not only Quentin but other friends to figure out what is going on and survive.

I loved the setting for this book in Silicon Valley, it was a great backdrop to bring-up issues of Faerie integrating with modern technology and the question of whether or not Faerie is in decline. It also added to the eeriness of the murders since Toby had to investigate throughout the Tamed Lightning County which primarily resided inside a tech company. Endless mazes of cubicles and hallways made even more confusing by the strange physical properties of a faerie knowe reflected all the confusion and false leads surrounding the murders.

Besides the murders, Toby also gets more entangled with the men in her life. Although this book was light in the romance department it is definitely setting the stage for some potential relationships in future books. I love the snarky banter between Tybalt and Toby where they thinly veil their regard for each other with sarcastic dialogue. Toby's relationship with Connor is still very murky since he obviously cares about Toby (probably more than his wife) yet he is married to Sylvester's daughter so the two of them can never be together. Although I'm on Team Tybalt, Toby still has a soft spot for her now married former flame, Connor.

Overall this book was a 4.5 out of 5 for me - Toby is a great damaged and dark heroine trapped between two worlds..... and go Team Tybalt!

Book three of the October Daye series is set to be released September 7th, 2010. I can't wait!

Weekend wrap-up: On my blog/ In the blogosphere (4) - a bit belated

2010-03-29T19:39:00.001-04:00

So I was a bad blogger this past week and didn't get to do my Sinful Saturday Views and only two reviews - I blame it on the day job - got to feed the hubby and doggy baby. This past week I reviewed 2 books:
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready
Part 1 of the Serial of Vampire's Kiss by Laura Stamps

Thanks for stopping by and chatting - there are alot of fans of the WVMP series out there. The books are great and I need to start plowing through my to-be-read pile so I can get to the next book in Jeri Smith-Ready's series.

In other news - my dog got some recognition for cuteness over at Diana Rowland's blog. My dog was hanging out with my copy of Blood of the Demon. I thought this was a great contest - take or make pictures with any one of her books to win other books. I captioned my pic "My doggy thinks demons are tasty." If you haven't had a chance to check out some of the great entries you can go here.

Darkly Reading

Review of The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle

Guest Post and Giveaway with Author Clare Dunkle - Author of The House of Dead Maids

Review of Healer's Choice by Jory Strong

Review of Sin Undone by Larissa Ione

Early Review of Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

Winners of Blogfest!

Review of Warrior by Zoe Archer - An excellent cross of Tomb Raider and Mummy on the Mongolian Steppes!

Review of Cold Magic by Kate Elliot

It's a Party! Welcome to Blogfest!

ARC Review of Cruel Enchantment by Anya Bast - Don't Mess with the Blacksmith!

September-mas! So many great releases this month it's Christmas in September!

Review of Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch - Love in a Elevator baby!

Why my reading habits are like a Journey song

Mmmh..more medicine please..and dragon shifters..the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister

I'm Back! Announcing some winners!

Review of Frost Moon by Anthony Francis - What magical tattoo would you chose?

Interview with Sean Cummings - author of the Valerie Stevens series and a Giveaway!

Review of Funeral Pallor by Sean Cummings - beware the zombies!

Review of Shade Fright by Sean Cummings - Something supernatural is happening across the border

Interview with Tricia Rayburn - author of Siren and a Giveaway

Favorite Firsts Birthday Bash Winners!

Guest Posting Today over at Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick about Mind Games - are you Team Kebab or Cucumber?

Siren by Tricia Rayburn - Starts with a cliff dive and ends with a cliff hanger of a question!

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Werewolves are so not sexy here!

Review of Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien - which side of the wall would you be on?

Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams - Sometimes what washes up on the beach is pretty sexy!

Review of Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler - Love the snarky half-selkie!

Birthday Bash Wrap-up | Favorite Firsts Giveaway Update | and a Winner!

Favorite Villains of All Time with Rebecca Baumann of Dirty Sexy Books

Favorite Firsts with Jeri Smith-Ready - Author of WVMP series

Favorite Firsts Guest Post by Book Blogger Tori-Book Faery

Favorite Firsts Interview with Carolyn Crane - Author of Mind Games

Favorite Firsts with Darkly Reading and Not-Really Southern Vamp Chick

Birthday Bash Week

Favorite Firsts

Birthday Bash

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The contest goes till July 5th!

Come by tomorrow (Monday) for my interview with Amanda from Not Really Southern Vamp Chick as we discuss favorites and firsts and she is giving away a birthday pressie too!

Interview with Chloe Neill - author of Chicagoland Vampires series and a Giveaway

Review of Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill - Vampires + Chicago = Awesome!

Review of Devil Inside by Jenna Black - Dark and sexy with lots of ass-kicking!

What's up on Darkly Reading? - Need Some Birthday Book Recommendations!

Review of Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur - I will miss you sexy vampire Quinn!

Review of The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

Weekend Wrap-Up: My first reading challenge - Yummy books!

Winner of autographed Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready!

Review of Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Review of Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrew - this book is made of awesomeness!

Wrap-up of Book Expo of America/ Book Blogger Con

Review of Half Past Dead by Zoe Archer and Bianca D'Arc and a few zombie confessions!

Off to NYC I go - attending BEA and BBC this week!

Review of Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready - Vampire Dogs and an Authographed Book Giveaway

Review of Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith - Love a dark tortured hero!

Weekend Wrap-Up: I'm a naughty book buyer-In my mailbox and in my hot little hands!

ARC Review of Assasin's Honor by Monica Burns - He does it with a sword!

Review of Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh - I want to earn me some wings!

We have a Winner of one of the Strangely Beautiful Books by Leanna Renee Hieber!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series - Welcome home boys!

Wicked Wednesday Review of Blind Spot by Meljean Brook from the Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

Wicked Wednesday Review of Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews in Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

Review of Angels' Blood (Guild Hunters Book 1) by Nalini Singh - I love those deadly sexy angels!

Interview with Leanna Renee Hieber - Author of Strangely Beautiful Series and a Book Giveaway

Review of The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Review of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Weekend wrap-up: In my mailbox / On my blog/ In the blogosphere

Sinful Saturday Views - Gabriel from the Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper

Review of Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione - Can't get enough of the sexy demons!

Review of Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione - Some More Sexy Demon Brothers!

Review of Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione - I love me some demon action!

Sinful Saturday Views - Tybalt from the October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire

Review of A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire - Go Team Tybalt

Weekend wrap-up: On my blog/ In the blogosphere (4) - a bit belated

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