9.30.2009

Young Adult Paranormals from Amazon Recommendations



Fallen
By Lauren Kate
Release: December 8, 2009


Summary from Amazon:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.





Dark Guardian #1 Moonlight
By Rachel Hawthorne
Release: March 3, 2009

Summary from Amazon:

I see him and know what this turmoil inside of me means: He's the one. My forever.


kayla is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can't understand why she's so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she's inherited a terrifying—and thrilling—gene that will change her life forever.

lucas is dangerous, gorgeous . . . and a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep within the state park, he has sworn to protect his pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate, his love could put them all in harm's way.

As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny.


Meridian
By Amber Kizer
Release: August 11, 2009

Summary from Amazon:


Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.


9.29.2009

Evidence of Murder Review

Theresa MacLean is a forensics investigator and uses fibers, hairs, footprints, and other forms of trace evidence at crime scenes to help solve mysterious deaths. After surviving being a hostage in a bank robbery, she is just starting to move on with her life.

The latest case is of a woman named Jillian Perry who was found dead in the woods. The obvious assumption would be that she either committed suicide or froze to death out in the cold. But after the autopsy, Theresa learns that there is no apparent reasoning for her death. How does a newly married mother turn up dead without any cause? Was she murdered and the killer performed the best cover up known to man? If so, who is this killer and why would he want to kill Jillian?

Theresa becomes immersed in the investigation and refuses to stop searching for answers no matter what her superiors tell her to do. When Theresa is left with two suspects, it’s the trace evidence that will save the day. Will Jillian Perry’s mysterious death be solved or will Theresa become the next casualty when she gets a little too close to the killer?

Evidence of Murder is the second book in a new series featuring forensics investigator Theresa MacLean. The mystery is tightly woven with all the clues nicely coming together to reveal the shocking outcome. The suspense is intense; the forensics interesting, and the cat and mouse game is exciting as ever.

Readers of Black’s first book Takeover will find a slightly different type of story in this new installment. Forensics weren’t at the forefront with the previous book as it was more a thriller then a mystery. I adored both books and can’t wait to see what Lisa Black writes next.

If you’re looking for more books by Lisa Black, she also writes forensic mysteries under the name Elizabeth Becka. I will definitely be checking them out! Overall, Evidence of Murder is a fantastic forensics mystery that kept me up all night reading.

9.25.2009

Exclusive Book Trailer for Sherrilyn Kenyon's Born of Night

New from St. Martin's Press is #1 New York Times bestselling authorSherrilyn Kenyon's 3-book series, 'The League'!  With over 19 million books in print, Sherrilyn Kenyon is renowned the world over as "the reigning queen of the paranormal genre that she pioneered long before the world had heard of Twilight."  Fans (also lovingly known as 'Kenyon's Minions') are at the edge of their seats in anticipation for this thrilling new series. The first book from 'the League' series, 'Born of Night', will be available September 29th. 


Click here to read the first nine chapters of Born Of Night!
Links to Official Sherrilyn Kenyon Sites:

Link to trailer:


Trailer:




Link to excerpt & press kit:

Link to the first 9 Chapters of 'Born of Night':

9.24.2009

Soulstice Review

Six months ago, Regina ‘’Reggie’’ Halloway found a strange journal called The Devouring that told the story of The Vours and how they possess humans on Sorry Night. She discovered that Vours are real, they possessed her little brother Henry, and she went into his fearscape aka his personal Hell to rescue him and bring him back. Reggie knew that her battle would not end and she was right. The Vours are after her again.

Reggie’s former boss Eben is keeping secrets about what he knows about Vours and she is determined to find out what they are so she could put an end to them. With the help of her best friend Aaron and a Vour who might not be so bad, Reggie tries to rescue others in their fearscapes and bring them back to their formerly stolen lives.

This time things are a little different since the Vours are onto her and know about her abilities to rescue people. They want to take advantage of Reggie’s skills so they can take over humans more then just one night a year. The summer Soulstice is coming and with that new opportunities for the Vours. Will Reggie succeed in her mission or will someone foil her plans and cause catastrophic consequences?

Soulstice: The Devouring Book 2 continues with the story that started in The Devouring. I would recommend reading the books in order to enjoy the full back-story of how everything came to be. This second installment was even more thrilling then the first book and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. The suspense is relentless, everything is described so vividly, and the scariness factor is high.

I was completely absorbed in Reggie’s world and didn’t want this book to end. The story ends with a killer cliff hanger that will leave readers begging for the next book. Book three is due out in the Fall of 2010 and I can’t wait to read it. Overall, this is an outstanding series that I highly recommend to suspense readers.

The Devouring Review

Fifteen year old Regina ‘’Reggie’’ Halloway loves horror stories and movies. She works part time in a bookstore when she isn’t home babysitting her eight year old brother Henry. When Reggie finds a strange journal in a box of books at the store, she takes it home with her to read. The book is called The Devouring and it tells the story of something called Vours that possess scared humans on Sorry Night. Just for fun Reggie and her friend Aaron decide to act out their worst fears in the hopes that the Vours will possess them too. After all, Reggie thinks The Devouring is just a book and that there is no such thing as Vours.

When their plan goes drastically wrong, together the two friends must find a way to rescue Reggie’s little brother Henry from the Vours before he is gone forever. But to accomplish this, they must live out their worst fears every time they face off with a Vour. Will Reggie and Aaron be able to save Henry or will they become the Vours’ next victims?

The Devouring is the first book in a new horror series written for Young Adults. At only 231 pages, it’s a fast read with lots of suspense and scary moments. As an adult, I was shocked at times and could only imagine a teenager reading this book and not being able to sleep at night from being so scared. I wouldn’t recommend The Devouring for anyone under 15 years old as it is very graphic and gruesome.

I adored reading this book and found it very well written for a Young Adult book. I was immediately drawn into the story and almost believed Vours were real and could possess me too! My adrenaline was definitely racing and this book surely lived up to my expectations. Overall, The Devouring is a fast paced, extremely suspenseful, horrifying story that will keep you up all night reading.

Zombie Chicken Award


Jackie from Literary Escapism gave me this award. It's funny because it has such a goofy name and I've never heard of this one. I think she's making it up so I have yet another award to post about. LOL Sorry about all this award stuff but I feel bad if I don't post when someone gives them to me! Thanks Jackie!

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken– excellence, grace, and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

This is an easy one since you dont have to do anything but post the award and nominate 5 more people. The five people I am nominating for the Zombie Chicken Award (lol what a funny name!!) are:

Up Close and Personal with Lady Tink
Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings
Book Binge
The Book Pixie
Angieville

9.22.2009

Superior Scribbler Award


I was awarded The Superior Scribbler Award from Teddyree at The Eclectic Reader! Thank you so much my mystery reader friend. There's not enough of us on blogger!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received the award.

3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this post, which explains the award.


4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives this prestigious honor!


5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.


Here are my nominees: (apologies if you've already received this one, there are over 1000 blogs on the Mr Linky list already)

Jackie at Literary Escapism
Wendy at The Book Lush
Carolyn Crane at The Thrillionth Page
Linda at Reading Is So Much Fun
Dottie at My Blog 2.0

9.20.2009

Quickie Giveaway #2 Afraid by Jack Kilborn


Time for another quickie giveaway! If you would like to review Afraid by Jack Kilborn here on my blog as a guest reviewer, post in the comments section. The first person to post wins the book. Ready, Set, GO!

PS: Ok done with all this editing to my blog. What do you think of the new layout and colors? Pretty? :)

PPS. I love this Followers button! Feel free to follow me via the followers button in my left hand column now. I get very excited when I see new followers. :)

EDITED: Contest is now over. Congrats Scott!

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Well it's super late but I am so excited by the news that I just saw that I had to post! MY friend Carolyn Crane from The Thrillionth Page has her first book coming out!! She posted the cover and I am going nuts over it!!! MY FRIEND HAS A BOOK COMING OUT!!!

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane is due out March 23, 2010 and you can pre order it now from Amazon!

Huge congrats to Carolyn. I am SOOOO thrilled for you!




9.18.2009

Dark Time QUICKIE Contest!

I'm going to do a quickie giveaway. I have a book here that I was supposed to review but it was a little too violent for me and I just couldn't get into it. But that doesn't mean it's not really good because what one person doesn't like...another may love! So here's my mission for you...

I am giving away Dark Time by Dakota Banks to someone who wants to review it as a guest reviewer here on my blog.

As an added incentive....if you win this book and come through with your review, afterwards I will send you a couple books off my shelf as a thank you. No reviews needed for the extra books.

So if you're interested...post now. Also tell me what your favorite genres are so I know when I send you the extra books. The first person to post wins the book. Ready. Set. Go!

PS: I put that followers button up in the right hand column, so feel free to follow me now!

Edited: Contest over! Congrats to Donna from Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings!

9.11.2009

Table Manners Review

Deidre McIntosh has found true happiness in her life and is content with how everything turned out for her. She has a line of gourmet cookies in the works called Sweet Deidre and she’s dating Kevin Johnson, a millionaire who is a great catch. She owns her condo, has a nice car and has high hopes for the future.

But when Kevin’s ex fiancĂ© Sabine Durant starts paying him several unexpected visits, Deidre starts to worry if she is enough for him. After all Sabine runs a highly successful magazine, she’s filthy rich, and she has the kind of looks that make men drool.

If Sabine constantly chasing after Kevin wasn’t enough, Deidre also has his uppity sister Marla Banks to deal with. Marla has her own TV show and is used to the constant dinner parties and charity events that her family attends on a regular basis. When she sees Deidre and Kevin getting serious, she decides that she isn’t good enough for her brother and constantly tries to sabotage things between them. How will Deidre deal with Sabine and Marla and still launch Sweet Deidre?

While everything else is going on, Deidre has a friend’s wedding to help plan and a friend to rescue from a deep depression. When the cookie line takes a turn for the worse and there are rumors that it might never happen, Deidre puts on her chef’s hat and gets to work. Will Deidre and Kevin’s relationship last or will Sabine get in between them? Will Sweet Deidre be a success or will it be another failure for Deidre to deal with?

TABLE MANNERS is the continuation of Deidre's story that was started in Good Things. Although I did not read the previous book, I was able to follow along without a problem. I enjoyed all the scrumptious food descriptions and strongly advise having some sweets on hand when reading this book because you’re going to crave them! Although I did enjoy the writing and the storyline, one thing kept bothering me about this book. The characters were extremely unlikable.

The stuck up attitudes of Sabine and Marla really started to rub off on Deidre and Kevin’s characters to the point where I didn’t like any of them. So although I did enjoy this book, upon finishing it I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I didn’t like the characters and it just left me feeling conflicted.

9.09.2009

Over My Dead Body Review

Simone Sweet has a secret about how she came to reside in Broken Heart, Oklahoma. She was in an abusive marriage and after her husband tried to kill her, she put an end to living in constant fear of him. Unfortunately her daughter Glory was traumatized as a result of that night and hasn’t spoken a word since. They live with her ex husband’s grandmother, Elaine, and they’re a happy family now even though Simone has fangs and drinks blood.

When Simone meets Brady, she falls head over heels in love. But he has a past of working for the Paranormal Research and Investigation Services aka PRIS, and that doesn’t make him very trustworthy. As long as Brady doesn’t find out how exactly Simone and Glory got out of their bad situation, all will be good. But when someone goes missing, Brady realizes that PRIS is back and in full force. What will happen to their relationship when Brady finds out the truth about Simone?

OVER MY DEAD BODY is the fifth book in the Broken Heart, Oklahoma Series featuring members of the community. This was the first book that I’ve read by Michele Bardsley and I was able to follow along as each story seems to be stand alone stories. There were a million characters named at the beginning of the book which was rather discouraging and overwhelming at first, but after all the introductions I was able to dive into the story.

From what I knew of this series, I thought it was light and funny paranormals but this book was rather darker then first anticipated. There was plenty of suspense and mystery which I enjoy and the unusual talents of the vampires in this book was fun to read about. Topics such as domestic violence are a part of this book so if you are picking it up thinking it’s a light read, it’s not really.

Despite the dark theme, I really enjoyed OVER MY DEAD BODY and I’m interested in reading the previous books in this series now. The characters are well developed and I cared about what happened to them. The romance is sweet and I rooted for a happy ending for Simone and Brady. Overall, OVER MY DEAD BODY was a great paranormal romance that I would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy a fast paced story that will leave them guessing until the end.

Belong to the Night Review

In The Wolf, The Witch And Her Lack of Wardrobe, Shelly Laurenston tells the story of a witch, Jamie and the wolf she longs for, Tully. When Tully’s long lost father comes to town to claim territory, Jamie and him must fight for their lives or die trying. With Jamie’s witch craft and Tully’s strength as a wolf, the two fight a pack of wolves that will not stop until someone is dead.

The Wolf, The Witch And Her Lack of Wardrobe is the longest of the three stories in the anthology and was one of my favorites. While it starts off a little slow, the character development and romance shines through in this short story and that’s what makes it a winner. I’ve never read a full length story by Shelly Laurenston but I am interested in checking her out now!

In the Dark by Cynthia Eden brings back a character from the When He Was Bad anthology. Liam was thought to have died but Sadie James, FBI agent and leopard shifter, finds him alive and well in a bar. He is now a vampire and even though Sadie once cared for him, now she is tempted to stake him. Instead the two work together to find a shifter who is on a killing spree. Along the way their romance reignites and leaves for an interesting romance between an unusal pairing.

In the Dark started off with excitement and action right from the start and didn’t stop until the exciting conclusion. Cynthia Eden knows how to lay on the suspense and passion to make readers want to pick up all of her books. This is the sixth story that I've read by Eden, and I have never been dissatisfied with any of them. She is definitely one of my favorite authors.

In The City of the Dead by Sherrill Quinn, a witch named Dori Falcon is on a mission to find the Eye of Baset and her mysteriously missing bother. Along the way she falls for a cop named Jake and gets sidetracked in the bedroom. Will she find her brother in time to save him?

I’ve read two full length Sherrill Quinn stories before and really enjoyed them. The City of the Dead was the story I was most looking forward to next to Cynthia Quinn’s. Unfortunately, it was the shortest of the stories and was 90% erotica. While all three stories have erotica in them, this one had the most and doesn’t compare to Quinn’s full length novels when it comes to overall plot, characterization, and suspense.

Overall, Belong to the Night is an interesting anthology by three popular paranormal romance authors that offers a variation of stories featuring witches, wolves, vampires, and leopard shifters.

9.06.2009

Speak of the Devil Review

Morgan Kingsley has been through a lot in her life working as an exorcist, but now the worst possible thing has happened. She is being sued by the family of someone she exorcised that wasn’t happy with the outcome of the exorcism. As a result, Morgan is now suspended from exorcising and is pretty much penniless because of the lack of work. She is still possessed by the King of the Demons, Lugh, but as always she is the one in the driver’s seat and in control.

When Morgan receives a severed hand in the mail, she realizes that someone is out to get her and won’t stop until they ruin her life. Just when things are looking better for Morgan and her lawyer boyfriend Brian, something puts a damper on their relationship.

Without anyone else to turn to, she finds herself running to Adam, her cop friend, more and more. Lugh is relentless with his attempts at seducing Morgan in her dreams and she’s having trouble resisting him. With everything going on, how will Morgan clear her name so she can practice exorcism once again?

Speak of the Devil is the fourth book in the Morgan Kingsley series featuring an exorcist who is possessed by the King of the Demons. The first person point of view makes for a fast paced story that had me reading non stop long into the night. Adam is a great character and I enjoyed all of his scenes with Morgan as they have an interesting love/hate friendship. Raphael by far is my favorite character since he was introduced as the demon that possessed Morgan’s brother Andy. I was glad to see him back and it was fun to see all of the characters together in one room. For new readers of this series, I strongly recommend reading these books in order, starting with The Devil Inside.

Speak of the Devil is a gritty, sexy, suspenseful and thrilling urban fantasy story that readers will devour in one sitting. Overall, I was immensely satisfied with this book and can’t wait to read the next installment in this exciting series. I look forward to another trip into this strange world when the next book, The Devil’s Playground is released on March 23, 2010.

Reviewed for Night Owl Romance

9.01.2009

Win Whooga Ugg Boots!








Blog owners can go here and place one of the badges on their blog or website to go in the draw to win a pair of ugg boots every month. Contestants may remain entered for as long as they wish and will automatically go in the draw to win a pair of boots each month for as long as they continue to display the Whooga Badge. Shipping is international so it’s open to everyone, everywhere.