Wednesday Wishes

This follows BCC weekly meme, My Wishlist. (All books are linked to goodreads.)

All right I found all lot of new titles this week, as well as some older ones that are new to me!



Angelfire (Angelfire, book 1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Not sure about you guys, but this sounds wicked!

Shadow Walker by L.A. Banks

That's right the writer of The Vampire Huntress Legend series and Crimson Moon series has a YA book coming out. Apparently the YA is supposed to take place in the same universe as her Vampire Huntress Legend ones. I've only read the first one, but I wasn't impressed. Same with the Crimson Moon series. So I have mixed feeling about her YA.



Masques (Sianim, book 1) by Patricia Briggs

Said to be heavily rewritten from the original story of 1993.

After an upbringing of proper behavior and oppressive expectations, Aralorn fled her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. Her latest mission involves spying on the increasingly powerful sorcerer Geoffrey ae'Magi. But in a war against an enemy armed with the powers of illusion, how do you know who the true enemy is-or where he will strike next?

Night School by Mari Mancusi

The book is told from Rayne's point of view and the majority of it takes place at a secret slayer boarding school, deep in the Swiss Alps.

(The title is not yet final.)

Love how the covers for these books have suddenly gotten so serious. I've read the first book and these new covers seem like false advertisement.

New covers:

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Old covers:

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Maybe it's just me, but I kind of like the old covers better, they're the ones I have.



A Tale of Two Demon Slayers (Demon Slayer, book 3) by Angie Fox

Lizzie Brown, demon slayer for just two months, finally has a family of people who love her. Maybe people is not the right word. Pirate is her talking Jack Russell terrier, but the furry chatterbox does love her with all his heart. Lizzie’s Grandma and the rest of her geriatric Red Skull biker club are witches who would eagerly join any fight at Lizzie’s side. Then there is Dimitri, the sexy shapeshifting griffin who has repeatedly risked his life to save her. After all the excitement of the past two months, Lizzie is looking forward to sharing a peaceful vacation with him at his home in the Greek islands. With the way trouble has been following her, she should know not to count on that.

Lizzie gets bombarded by bad news right at the start. A present from Grandma paints a bloody prediction for Lizzie before she even boards the plane, and a secret Dimitri reveals while they are on the plane can only mean trouble for both of them. Then upon arrival, she learns that Dimitri’s sisters and his former fiancé are also staying in his villa. With the never-ending string of bad mojo being directed at Lizzie and those she loves, she starts to seriously doubt her worth, as both demon slayer and woman. As bad turns to worse, Lizzie expects the coming battles to be fierce and deadly. Turns out that some of her toughest battles will be those she fights within, and ultimately against, herself.

Sins of the Heart (Book 1 in the Otherkin trilogy) by Eve Silver

National bestselling author Eve Silver returns with a darkly sexy new series about forbidden alliances... and inescapable desires.

As the son of Sutekh, the lord of evil, Dagan Krayle is one of the most powerful soul reapers. Dagan intends to use every ounce of his power to find his brother's remains and punish those responsible for his brutal death. But he must move swiftly-and carefully-if he is to have any chance of bringing his brother back to this world, because his enemy is on the hunt.

Otherkin Roxy Tam will stop at nothing to keep the soul reapers from resurrecting Dagan's brother. To allow Sutekh access to his remains would wreak havoc and destruction on the mortal world...and would be her unforgivable failure.

Neither Dagan nor Roxy expect to join forces for the sake of mankind. Or have their loyalties tested as they struggle against the potent desire that threatens to consume them both....

Water Keep (Farworld, Book 1) by J. Scott Savage

Other people may see thirteen-year-old Marcus Kanenas as an outcast and a nobody, but he sees himself as a survivor and a dreamer. In fact, his favorite dream is of a world far away, a world where magic is as common as air, where animals tell jokes, and where trees beg people to pick their fruit. He even has a name for this place-Farworld.
When Marcus magically travels to Farworld, he meets Kyja, a girl without magic in a world where spells, charms, and potions are everywhere, and Master Therapass, a master wizard who has kept a secret hidden for thirteen years, a secret that could change the fate of two worlds.
But the Dark Circle has learned of Master Therapass's secret and their evil influence and power are growing. Farworld's only hope is for Marcus and Kyja to find the mythical Elements-water, land, air, and fire-and convince them to open a drift between the worlds.
As Kyja and Marcus travel to Water Keep, they must face the worst the evil Dark Circle can throw at them-Summoners, who can command the living and the dead; Unmakers, invisible creatures that can destroy both body and soul; and dark mages known as Thrathkin S'Bae.
Along the way, Marcus and Kyja will discover the truth about their own heritage, strength of their friendship, and the depths of their unique powers.

Rising Shadow (The Soterians, book 1) by Jacquelyn Wheeler

Ashlyn Woods just transferred to one of the most beautiful campuses on the west coast, where she can't wait to start her life over as a normal college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers that she is a Soterian: a person who develops amazing powers when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil's favor. Soon she and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning to use their powers to prevent California from being plunged into chaos. But they quickly discover that they're up against a much more dangerous enemy than they anticipated. And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #9) by J.R. Ward

The continuing saga of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The author states:

Payne, the female warrior and Manny, the metrosexual motherfucker.

I have a feeling I really need to catch up in this sereis.

Review: Duke of Shadows

The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

From exotic sandstone palaces...


Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn.

To the marble halls of London...

In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous -- and that a single decision can alter one's life forever.

Destiny follows wherever you run.

A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.

Thoughts:

The majority of this book takes place in India and then the rest in London. After reading the authors site apparently regency romances usually don't take place in beautiful India. British influence in India is not a part in history I've really pondered, so it was absolute fun that this book takes place in such an occasion in history. Though the events may not have been much fun for our characters.

The lovely Emmaline Martin survives her voyage to India after her ship sinks and she is the only surviver. Some fisherman save her and deliver her safely. On arrival the British Indian society constantly nag and rub in her questionable virtue, as if the fact that she survived such an ordeal was shameful. After surviving this Emma doesn't want to waist her life listening to the ton, worrying about her what society thinks, she's a surviver. Her eyes are now open and she doesn't want to go back. She's confronting her long time cheating fiancée and is taking her life back. Dipping into a little free will. Emma is a well educated woman and she's not going to hide it. Now the daring Emma is falling for the mysterious Sinclair, who is part British and native—the forbidden hot stuff. A revolution is happening in India, British power is being questioned. Soon Emma will be in the middle of it, a refugee in a strange land.

Emma was a fantastic character. After her life and death experience she's not ready to conform to the trivial confinements of society. I love how she's testing the water, breaking out of the confines of being a woman in her time. Emma is sensible, thinks things through, and just doesn't allow things to sweep her of her feet in the heat of a moment. (Namely our sizzling Duke!) After the scarring experiences she went through to escape from India to get back to Britain, I was a little restless with her new self. She was a little off, no longer my smart and sassy Lady. Sadly, she sunk back a little into her role in Society. Even when she displays controversial paintings of what she witnessed in India. She's scared, which is understandable. Of course with the help of the Duke, she'll snap out of it!

Julian Sincliar, the Duke of Auburn, is a very interesting male lead. He's a man who belongs to both British and Indian society, but both do not want to acknowledge him. British society has made him out to be a rake, everyone knows his scandalous exploits. As we get to know Julian, most of the rumors seem to come with the package of being mixed breeding. Julian ends up being a pretty deep guy. He doesn't hate either societies for hating him, but tries to help preserve both. Which is just a bonus to the tall, dark, and handsome thing he's got going on.

In the case of plot, I'm not sure what I was expecting. It's a romance. Deep down I think I was expecting the usual, maybe a good plot and lots of sex scenes. Instead there are about two sex scenes and then a lot of plot. The sexual tension slowly builds as the attraction comes a long for our couple. I'm wondering if the plot in this book is really out going for the genre? (As this is my first title for Historical Romance.) There was a devious fiancée, a revolution in a foreign country, assassination attempts, and dirty war far. Lots of soap opera drama for our couple, Julian thinks Emma died in India and Emma thinks Julian didn't mean a word and dropped her flat after he got what he wanted.

The writing was awesome! I felt like I was in that era, the writing never felt like I was reading 20th century style trying to pull of regency. It all felt authentic, including the dialogue. I am now officially a fan of the wit of regency books. Insults are so elegant. It's like the French guy from the matrix says, “It's like wiping your bottom with silk.” Though not quite in those words.

Bottom Line:

I loved this book, regency is something I'm coming back to visit. For a first time reader of this genre I think this is a great place to start, I might even venture to say that some long time readers will like it. The plot really shocked me, as I came into this genre thinking that the plot might accompany the sex scenes. This book is rich in everything that a reader is looking for. The dark chocolate of the book world—the kind of dark chocolate you hide under your bed and savor it bit by bit! Plus Julian has got to be one of the hottest, well fleshed out guys (oh, yes pun intended), I've read that doesn't have fur or fangs. This couple didn't need to convince me that they were in love, the author does it all beautifully.

Sexual Content:

Two scenes, which are pretty mild.

5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession.

Blogger, blogger who's the fairest of them all?

That's right, your eyes are seeing A OK! Book Whispers has finally been revamped. You know how I kept saying I was going to get rid of my dark and gloomy theme? The time has come!

I feel bad about throwing out the smoke theme-those pictures took hours to figure out how to take. The allure of colors finally became too strong. So for those of you who were stopping by today, sorry! I was trying out all kinds of new looks and things with the layout. I'm not quite done yet I've still got a few minor things I want to jazz up. Namely my button!

So the cameo will be my "mascot" for Book Whispers. (Hm, can I call a cameo a mascot? Symbol?) That was originally the plan when I got the site up and going, but with me wandering off the intended course is always a must.

So some pointers . . . nothing much has changed besides the logo and colors. Though I do want to draw attention to the awesome navbar. Not only is it helpful, but it changes colors when you pass your mouse over it!! I am so stoked about that. It took a while, but who knew you could build that up from basic code with out Macromedia? I feel accomplished.

Also, the logo picture is another original Shera photograph. It was so much fun trying new poses out with the cameo, plus how different lighting brought our her beauty. Though it looked pretty funny with me crawling on the ground for a shot, or climbing a tree in the case of the logo shot. Just love taking photos! Haven't decided what photo I want to use for the button yet, so that may take a while.

Now that I've bragged and ranted, let me know what you think? You love it. Hate it. Let the thoughts out, I won't be hurt. Let me know if something is linked wrong. Do you see 3 columns or just 2? Love any kind of feed back you want to dish!

PS - It's been hectic but I will be getting back to my normal Quoting on Mondays!

Colters' Woman

Colters' Woman by Maya Banks

Adam, Ethan and Ryan aren't looking for women. They're looking for a woman. One woman to share their lives and their beds. They don't want a casual romp in the hay, they want the woman who will complete them and they're losing hope of finding her. That is until Adam finds Holly lying in the snow just yards from their cabin. He knows shes different the minute he holds her in his arms. But before Adam gets his hopes up, he knows he has to gauge his brothers reactions. Soon its evident that shes the one. There are a few problems, however convincing her she belongs with them and keeping her safe from the man who wants her dead. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, menage a quatre, violence.

Thougthts:

After reading this book, I can firmly say this book is not a good introduction into contemporary romance genre. Mind you I spent a lot of time in researching what titles I would read to take my first steps into this new and uncharted genre. (At least for me.)

Banks had fantastic reviews and many readers even stated that she had smooth and depth to her writing. Apparently something that hard to find in Contemporary Romance? Plus, the sheer thought of a book with more then one hot guy crushing on the girl, and they're all straight, just lead the way.

So first off. When I picked up this title I assumed that the book would build up the love. I've been reading nothing but PNR, so I figured that the contemporary genre would be more realistic. You know none of that at a glance hot lust and pants jumping. To my disappointment, within a few pages all three of the male leads are lusting after her, they've decided she's the one, and they will have her. All like that. No build up, no actual thoughts were taken during this process.

At least the leading lady, Holly, has some hesitations about the guys. She's pretty much on board with the idea after a really winning pep talk from the guys. She holds off for a bit because the last guy she “loved” and trusted killed a man on their wedding night. Now he wants her dead. So she's a little hard up for passing out the love. All of the boys at one point make comments about how much of life she's seen and how hard she's had it. For all of that, Holly is pretty dense. She doesn't think that her evil husband may have been targeting her because she has a vast inheritance. In fact, the majority of the time I felt like Holly's thoughts never really when deeper then artificial. There were times when she was trying to figure out handle being in a relationship with three guys. Those were the moments I loved this book, controversy.

The yummy brothers all fit the standard stereo type man candy of any book. Adam, the serious and poorly misunderstood guy. Even though he seems mean and angry and might kill you. If your one of the people he loves he's there for you. Ethan, is the funny jokster who holds the group together. No matter how much the other guys scare the shit out of Holly, he's there to smooth things out. Ryan is our tortured soul, who will only open up to his lady love. So there they all are. Personally I didn't find any thing else about them that really stuck out or made them different. They all live together and work a hunter's lodge.

The boys are raised in a family were they have three fathers and one mum. (Who we get to meet at the end of the book.) So I can see how they all expect to find the one woman for all of them. Personally I didn't feel it, no doubts or second thoughts plagued the lads. I wished that Banks would have fleshed it out a bit more. So it felt like it wasn't just some idea thought up for a foursome.

Banks got ambitious though, I loved the killer husband idea. Holly has to deal with basically a Mafia type guy and finally has to grow up and realize the problem won't go away. Becoming tougher, slightly more able to take care of herself. Plus I like the fact that the killer husband issue is solved legally instead of him buried in some backyard and a huge secret floating over their heads.

Another thing that constantly annoyed the heck out of me was pussy. Every love scene, really every page, seems to be trashed by the word. I've never really thought that it was erotic, and in general I'm just not fond of it. In general I didn't really think that the love scenes were very good, in fact it was hotter with just one brother at a time.

Bottom line:

This was probably not the best place to start in the contemporary side of romance, but it was fun. I enjoyed the three stereotypical brothers, and the dialogue was pretty witty. For the majority of the book I was giggling, which was the highest part of the entertainment value for me. The author tried to take it a step further and put in a nice suspense with a evil husband Holly is trying to run away from.

Sexual Content:

Foursomes and lots of different twists. Very explicate.

2/5- Average/disappointing, library check-out

Sunday Sweets

This follows The Story Sirens weekly meme, In My Mailbox.

I got some fun goodies in the mail this week, and a Borders book! I'm liking this preordering, it's so nice that the books come to me and I don't have to worry if the book store will get them in. Plus I got one way before the release date!

Overstock:



Gosh! I love this cover it's so hot!

Borders:



Really starting to love this author!!

Oops, also from Overstock:



Wow! I can't believe I almost forgot this one! I was so excited to get it, the cover is even more beautiful then I thought!!

Can't wait to see what everyone else got!

Wednesday Wishes

This follows BCC weekly meme, My Wishlist.

This week I've only got one book to share, I'm just waiting on the paperback release.



Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?


In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.


Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I just keep seeing so much about these books that it's driving me crazy!

Sunday Sweets

This follows The Story Sirens weekly meme, In My Mailbox.

I missed this posting last week so I kind of have build up on the books that came in.

Amazon:

Colters' Womanby Maya Banks
Close Encountersby Katherine Allred
Sanctuaryby Moira Rogers
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rakeby Sarah MacLean
The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
Once Bitten by Kalayna Price
Twice Dead by Kalayna Price
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Borders online:

Daemon's Mark by Caitlin Kittredge
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
No Werewolves Allowed by Cheyenne McCray

Overstock:

Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson
Night Myst by Yasmine Galenorn
Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJanice Davidson
Red River, Vol. 5 by Chie Shinohara
Red River, Vol. 6 by Chie Shinohara
Red River, Vol. 7 by Chie Shinohara
Red River, Vol. 10 by Chie Shinohara
Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson
Chimera by Rob Thurman
Vampire Knight, Volume 1 by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 2by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 3by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 4by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 5by Matsuri Hino
 Vampire Knight, Volume 6by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 7 by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 8 by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight, Volume 9 and 10by Matsuri Hino
Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep
Immortal by Gillian Shields
Cheat the Grave by Vicki Pettersson
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod
 Midnight Awakening by Lara Adrian
Unholy Ghostsby Stacia KaneDemon Hunts by CE Murphy
Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson
 Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill
Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
Click: Volume 1 by Youngran Lee
Undead and Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson
Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian

So those are my awesome goodies!!

Wednesday Wishes

This follows BCC weekly meme, My Wishlist.

Ok, so I've been neglecting my blog for a bit, so forgive me!


Silver Zombie (Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator, #4)
by Carole Nelson Douglas

The fourth installment of the urban fantasy series about a sexy paranormal investigator living in a Las Vegas run by werewolves.


The Smoke Thief (Drakon, #1)
by Shana Abé

In this bewitching novel, Shana Abe transports us to an exhilarating world of romance, adventure, and magic. Here, among northern England's misted hills, live a race of extraordinarily beautiful and sensual beings with the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back again. Now their secret—and their survival—is threatened by two forbidden lovers...and a passion that will break every boundary.
Dubbed the Smoke Thief for a series of daring jewel thefts, Clarissa Rue Hawthorne didn't expect the drakon leader himself to come to London dangling the tribe's most valuable jewel as bait: the Langford Diamond. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, had to catch Clarissa before anyone else did—or risk exposing the entire clan to the world of ordinary mortals. He never expected that the outcast halfling he pursued would have a proposition of her own to save the drakon—a proposition so dangerous, so tempting, that Christoff will find it impossible to resist: to join forces with her.


After the Kiss (Notorious Gentlemen, #1)
by Suzanne Enoch

A Notorious Gentleman...

Sullivan Waring wants only two things: his rightful inheritance, and revenge against the man who stole it from him. By day, Sullivan is the most respected horse breeder in England; by night, he plunders the ton's most opulent homes to reclaim his late mother's beautiful paintings. His quest is going swimmingly...until the night he's discovered by Lady Isabel Chalsey. Clad only in a revealing nightdress, she's an entrancingly different kind of plunder, and how can a thief resist stealing a kiss?


A Curious Lady...


Surprised by a masked man in her own home, Isabel should be quaking with fear. Instead the sight of the sinfully handsome Sullivan makes her tremble with excitement. Who is this man, and why is he so set on this reckless pursuit? Lady Isabel loves a challenge, and she'll dare anything to uncover Sullivan's secret——but she may instead convince him that she is the greatest prize of all.


Private Arrangements
by Sherry Thomas

Love has designs of its own.
To all of London society, Lord and Lady Tremaine had the ideal arrangement: a marriage based on civility, courteousness, and freedom;by all accounts, a perfect marriage. The reason? For the last ten years, husband and wife have resided on separate continents.


But once upon a time, things were quite different for the Tremaines.
When Gigi Rowland first laid eyes on Camden Saybrook, the attraction was immediate and overwhelming. But what began in a spark of passion ended in betrayal the morning after their wedding and now Gigi wants to be free to marry again. When Camden returns from America with an outrageous demand in exchange for her freedom, Gigi's decision will have consequences she never imagined, as secrets are exposed, desire is rekindled and one of London's most admired couples must either fall in love all over again or let each other go forever.

So those are my wishful books! Hope you're all having a great week!

My Wishlist

This is a fun meme hosted over at BCC, where every one can share whats on their wishlists.

Sadly I didn't get time this week to post on Wednesday like a normally do, so for the first time I'm posting on Saturday!


Vixen by Lila Fine

Set in Jazz Age Chicago, the first book, Vixen, follows 17-year-old socialite Gloria Carmody, who longs to be a flapper and is caught between her conservative fiancé and a sexy jazz musician.


Shadow Marked by Anna J. Evans

Samantha Quinn has been in the dark since age six, when her parents sacrificed her sight in a Satanic ritual. She is trying to get over her demonic past, but horrific lifelike visions haunt her. Her intuition gets stronger and clearer after a wild, adrenaline-fueled sexual encounter with Jace, her brother's childhood friend. And now Samantha is more tormented than ever by what she can "see"-and by what she felt in that forbidden encounter...


Samantha must now prevent the deaths she sees in her premonitions and protect her body from the same demon from her twisted childhood. Her dark curse reveals that Jace will be the next victim, and it is crystal clear that she must destroy the demon to protect her love.


Three Quarters Dead
by Richard Peck

Sadly no book description.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

by Lish McBride

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.
Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.


With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?



Forbidden by Tabitha Sazuma

Sixteen-year-old Maya and seventeen-year-old Lochan have never had the chance to be 'normal' teenagers. Having pulled together for years to take care of their younger siblings while their wayward, drunken mother leaves them to fend alone, they have become much more than brother and sister. And now, they have fallen in love. But this is a love that can never be allowed, a love that will have devastating consequences ...How can something so wrong feel so right?


Song of the Moon by Catherine Banks

What if you found out that there was another world inside your own? What if all of the things you thought made you weird, actually made you powerful?


Artemis's life is changed forever when the mysterious man from her dreams, Ares, comes to claim her as his mate. The seventeen year old girl must find a way to adapt to her true life and accept her fate or run from it. She must overcome her fears and human ideals to give her self to the dangerous world, and man, that is her destiny.

Gosh! So many goodies. Can't wait to see what every one else is pining after.

Quoting on Monday

So far Night's Cold kiss is pretty kick a$$ awesome!

"She has quite the effect on the male sex,"Viktor said with a gleam in his eye. "Even I feel like rolling over for a tummy rub." -Tracey O'hara

There's so many great one liners in here, I don't know which ones to share!!

Review: Heart of the Wolf

Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear

Their forbidden love may get them both killed.


Bella is a red werewolf, sole survivor of the fire that killed her entire pack.


Devlyn is a beta male werewolf in a pack of grays.


Forced to flee her adopted gray pack when the alpha male becomes a vicious threat, she struggles to live as a lone wolf, until Devlyn, the gray male who rescued her as a pup, comes to bring her home.


When a local red werewolf goes on a killing spree, Bella and Devlyn must flee the murderer, the police and their vengeful pack leader. With the full moon rising, and her heat upon her, Bella can't resist the pull to her destined mate, even if means Devlyn will have to face the wicked alpha male in a fight to the death...

A sizzling paranormal romance based on extensive research on how wolves live and behave in the wild, creating a fascinating world of nature and fantasy.

Thoughts:

To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for this book. One of the main reasons I bought it was because one of my favorite reviewers had read the latest one in the series and stated it basically rocked. Still leery I decided to check on it while I was in the book store. It was only 2 cents to buy, definitely worth the price to see if I liked it.

Even pressed for time I almost finished the whole book in one day. Spear writes a romance with characters I can connect with. Even if I didn't agree with the main character Bella running away and living in fear all the time, I enjoyed it. I understood why the characters did what they did and how certain characters actions affected them. The story is mainly told from Bella's point, but Devlyn also gets turns narrating. Which I loved the two are so witty—plus when you've got a character as hot as Devlyn you wanna get inside his head.

The plot was more complex then most PNR. Not only was Bella running from Volan, the evil Alpha who wants to posses her, but she gets herself caught and put in a zoo. Now not only does Volan know where she is, but the local red werewolf pack knows she exists. Females are hard to find, so everybody wants a little action from her. While balancing all of that out, there's a serial killer amongst the red pack. Really I thought Spear handled mixing all of those story lines together well. Nothing seemed to be rushed or push one thing off to the side.

At times I felt like there was just one to many romance scenes. Plus I didn't think the scenes where that great, I felt they could have been alluded to, or just skipped completely. However, the author sums it up in her own words:

"Pleasure before business."

Another thing I loved about this book was the sassy humor. Whether it was the pillow talk, or just any old conversation, I was cracking a smile quite frequently with this book. Spear has wit, I'll give her that. One of my favorite lines:

" . . . Devlyn mused that folks in Oregon couldn't ever tan-they just rusted."

Even though Bella isn't part of a pack for pretty much the majority of the book, Spear does an excellent job of showing us the world of her werewolves. It's easy to catch on to the pack politics. Females in the pack really don't get a say, the alpha gets first pick of the bitches. If the female likes, or even loves, another wolf it's not even taken into consideration. Even Devlyn has that mind set . At the first of the book he's ready to hull Bella back to Valon because that would be safer for Bella, because she clearly can't take care of herself. When Bella for the last 150 years has been able to take care of herself and evade Vallon. Yeah, the girl can not be left alone, clearly one slip up in 150 years proves she's one week and feeble female. Next thing you know she's going to be running around with scissors!! (Even if most of the time I wanted to scream about woman's rights and stuff, I got over it.)

Besides the sexism, there was one thing that really stopped me from enjoying the book. Bella ran away to protect the man she loved so that Valon wouldn't kill him with is apparent superior strength. Bella spends most of the the book thinking how week her ALPHA lover and how she needs to protect him. After Devlyn basically kills 4 competitors of the red clan, she still thinks he's weak and ponders running away to protect him. Sure there's being worried, then there's being stupid. They're freaking werewolves, she knows the dangers.

The cast of characters in HotW was really awesome. From Bella's one-woman-neighborhood-watch friend, Chrissie, who's shopping for husband number 2. To the “wolf” man who caught Bella and put her in the zoo—really he was awesome. Other wolves were fun to learn about, and what made them dominate or not. I'm hoping that Devlyn's cousins will be making some appearances in later books. Another character I really want to see from this book is the allusive Red rogue that helps out Bella and Devlyn.

Bottom line:

HotW goes outside of the normal for PNR, it's refreshing seeing the long line of warrior-seeking-life mate series out there. Spear actually does a lot with plots outside the bedroom and pulls it off nicely. PNR fans are going to like the change, UF fans may find this one a little dull. In the end I could look past the sexism.(Really, I think these werewolves skipped the whole woman's rights part of history.) Looking forward to seeing some of the side cast in the next books, even if they can't be the main characters. Bella may not be warrior wolf, but she's still a fun and clever leading lady and I really loved her. Devlyn is a gentleman, who will leave the ladies swooning.

Sexual Content:

These are very tame sex scenes. (I didn't feel the sizzle.)

4/5- Great, really enjoyed it.

Sunday Sweets

This is a fun meme hosed over at The Story Siren, In My Mailbox. This allows everyone to see what books you got for the week!

This past week I've ordered a lot of books online. Sadly only one has come so far.

This one is from Overstock. Indeed it's a Manga, I feel kinda of annoyed because it's volume 10. I've only read up to volume 4.

I've been ordering from Overstock from years, and one of my biggest fears is that they would not send  me a book. After all I make huge orders when I buy from them, and errors are bound to happen. Strangely enough an error has occurred. They sent me an extra book!

Funny thing, it's a Historical Romance. So I got a little freebie to try out for my Romance Experiment, which I am so excited. The first few pages of the book are pretty good and the description isn't bad! Gotta love free books!

Hope everyone had a good book week!

Review: Stormwalker

Stormwalker by Allyson James

Half-Navajo Janet Begay comes to Magellan to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the police chief's daughter. But the people of Magellan sense that Janet is not what she seems, and they're right.



Janet possesses extraordinary power which is tied to the storms that waft across the desert. The only person who can control her when she's caught in the storm's evocative power is Mick, a dark-haired, blue-eyed biker Janet can't seem to touch with her powers. He can weild fire and not get burned, and Janet's never sure where he goes when they're not together.


Together they investigate mysterious disappearances, which Janet fears are tied to her mother's people, the mythical gods from below the earth. They are helped along the way by Coyote and Crow, but these shapeshifting gods have their own agendas.

Thougths:

I've been putting off this review for a while now, because I had mixed feelings about how to rate it and what I actually thought of it. Like all things time is all you need. After reading it I though this book rocked, then after a bit I thought it was kind of average.

Native American themes and ideas have always interested me. Not too many PNR have included Native American themes and ideas, so I was an eager reader for Stormwalker.

The whole mythology was great. The idea of the element powers of earth and then the powers of the Beneath was well thought out. The explanation that James gives us is that there are layers of worlds. The beneath is a world below are own that has been “locked” away so that the creatures of the Beneath can't take over Earth. (Though I think author explains it better then me.) There's skin walkers which are always fun to learn about in Native American legends. In this case they are ugly rotting things that can take the skin of a human or animal, but in the beneath look like angels. Lecherous magic mirrors are also featured in this read, which had me laughing on numerous occasions. Coyote is also featured in here with a great rendition of what I would think he would look and act like. (Coyote is a Native American god, there's lots a legends about him out there.) That's just a tip of some of the magical things.

Janet is the key to opening up this door and bringing on the take over. Janet's mother is basically a goddess in the Beneath and has been working for years, maybe centuries, to get into earth. Wicked mothers have always been a favorite of mine for evil villains, and this one is evil to the bone. The way wicked mother goes about making a key to earth is really chilling and gave the mystery to the book a little edge, and twist on the dark side that I love.

Some things were a little flat, like how Janet moves to this town because she is trying to solve the mystery of a missing girl. She's been there for a year and is now restoring an old hotel to run. Personally the mystery should not have taken a year to solve, I think she just lacked motivation before which was just lazy. Plus, Janet's moved to the town to deal with her mother, but she has no plan or idea how to do it and has no powers to do it. By moving to this town, she is close enough to a vortex that her mother can send some of her power and influence through. Janet knows her mom has plans to use her to open the portals, because her mother had approached her years ago when she came close enough to the vortex. Yet Janet acts like it's a huge surprise when she finds out she's the key to the vortex! Ignorance is not bliss, or a good plot twist.

The love interest is really yummy and I would like more information on him. Of course I think Janet would like more information about him as well. They had been “going out” for about 6 months and Mick had not shared a thing about himself. In fact, he would go out and disappear for days at a time not giving Janet any details about what he was doing. Then he expected Janet to obey like a good little girl. That's why Janet broke up with him and left. When he steps back into her life right at the beginning of the book, Janet doesn't put up too much of a fight. Of course absolution is given at the end of the book. Mick couldn't tell her anything because he was sworn not to. He was sent to kill her because she was too dangerous, but he fell in love and kept talking his people into allowing her to live. That old ploy, is getting old.

So the romantic growth really didn't impress me. Neither did the fact that it took almost the whole book for Janet to figure out what Mick was. Within the first 20 pages I already knew what he is, even before James threw that BIG clue out there.

A save on the disappointing romance was the fun characters that come along with this ride. Maya the rude mouthed and completely annoying electrician is strangely lovable. The plummer, who is a magic wanna be, is really a fun comic relief that some how ends up adding a lot to the book. The over baring and absolutely infuriating police chief was fun butting heads with, and I would have preferred him as a love interest more. Other characters where really fun. Like the family Janet has been running away from and avoiding.

Bottom Line:

Considering how many books she has out, Stormwalker probably isn't as strong as it should be. Still it's a fun debut in a series and I love the Native American lore and what not. Looking on the plot and idea, this probably could be any other old book out there. A good mystery and awesome characters make this book really great! Sure there's an over whelming amount of you're-under-arrest moments, hotel getting recked scenes, and standard drama moments. This series just might go some where and I look forward to seeing the problems I had with this book being resolved.

Sexual Content: As stated above a lecherous magic mirror. Coyote is featured in here and he is a dirty old boy. Sex scenes aren't over powering and they're pretty light.

3/5- Good, I liked it.