Nov 30, 2010

Review--ARC Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

THE MISSING DEAD CALL TO VIOLET. THEY WANT TO BE FOUND.

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.

I finished Kimberly Derting's Desires of the Dead today and it was pretty good. I will admit that I liked The Body Finder a little more, but still this was a GREAT read and I'm glad I read it.

A few months have passed since the time of TBF and Violet is getting used to things going back to normal. With the exception of dating her best friend. But her life is about to take on a totally different spin now.

While on an outing with her best friend she senses a body in a barrel in Seattle near the harbor and at the time Violet tries to ignore it and write it off as a dead pigeon or seagull, something other than human, but when nightmares plague her, she goes back later to confirm her suspicions and then anonymously calls the police, but that is where her troubles begin, when someone from the FBI manages to track her down and wants to know exactly how she knew there was a dead body in the barrel.

If that wasn't enough, Violet soon realizes she has a stalker. And not the good kind--if there is such a thing. This person is obviously dangerous and it is this person whose head we get into. I made a guess to who it was and was right. And I figured it out fairly early which disappointed me. There wasn't enough mystery to it like there was in TBF. Or rather the mystery wasn't as mysterious or dangerous as it was in the first book and that was where part of the excitement and intrigue came from.

Of course Desires of the Dead was still intriguing and mysterious, because you don't know for 100% who the other narrator is. It gets totally confirmed later on and then there's still a mystery to be solved.

And there is a new character who is totally interesting! And the ending only confirmed more of my suspicions about this character! Won't say who it is or even the gender, only that the character was verrry interesting and mysterious and I so can't wait to learn more about the character in future books!

Overall it was decent, but another thing that distracted me was that there was the mystery that led the FBI to finding Violet, I went in thinking that this was the mystery to be solved, but it wasn't. And I totally missed it fading away because a new one came into the picture and it wasn't until the end that I realized that the first case was already closed.

I give the book 4/5 stars. Still a GREAT read, but I still really liked TBF better. I will most definitely will be sticking with this series, as it is still pretty interesting. I love a good mystery every now and then that has some sort of supernatural like elements, and Violet's special power fits into that category vaguely and that's enough for me.

This title will release on February 15, 2011

Cover Art--Carrie Vaughn

Was going to start writing my review for Desires of the Dead, but got distracted by MORE cover art! This time around it's for Carrie Vaughn! Cover art for BOTH Kitty's Greatest Hits and Kitty's Big Trouble!

No BOC description yet, according to All Things Urban Fantasy this one releases June 9, 2011! Nearly 10 days earlier than I originally thought! I had heard June 20, 2011, but now Amazon says June 28, 2011. Okay, now I'm really confused!! Argh! Two dates is bad enough, but now 3! 3!!! Well I guess it's safe to say that this one will release in June 2011, as to which EXACT date remains to be unclear.

And this one is an anthology. Not sure if I'll get this one. Will have to wait and see. Plus it's a HC. This one releases August 16, 2011.

Cover Art--Jeannie Holmes

Just saw this seconds ago! The cover for Jeannie Holmes' next book Blood Secrets! WOW! I LOVE IT!! I like seeing more of Alex's face this time around!! This book will release June 28, 2011.


WHEN ALEXANDRA SABIAN SINKS HER TEETH INTO AN INVESTIGATION, SHE DOESN’T LET GO.

Alex let a case of murdered vamps get personal and is suspended from the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigation. Now she’s facing an official inquiry but has a chance to redeem herself. The catch: she must once again work with Varik Baudelaire, her former mentor and ex-fiancĂ©, as he spearheads a search for a missing college student. But Varik has been keeping secrets from Alex and his mysterious past is on a collision course with his present.

When Alex and Varik discover a carefully handcrafted doll at a crime scene, neither of them can see how close the danger really is or that a killer known as the Dollmaker has made Alex the object of his horrific desire. Now the only way out of the Dollmaker’s lair is through the twilight realm of the Shadowlands, where all secrets—for better or worse—will be revealed.

Contest Alert--at Bitten By Books

Christina Henry is over at Bitten By Books today for her debut Black Wings! I've read quite a few positive reviews for this one and have added it to my list to read some day, hopefully soon!

There is a lovely interview already posted and there's the opportunity for some good ol' Q&A! And the chance to win a $50 e-gift card to Amazon! 

Head on over today! Contest ends December 1 at 11:59 PM Central

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Just getting into Desires of the Dead, an ARC that I won in an auction! Loving it after having finished The Body Finder yesterday! It's so interesting getting the different perspectives from the unknown character!

Now onto the teaser!

The Rules:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"If only she'd been wrong, if only the container had held nothing more than a dead animal, then everything would be different now. But as it was, knowing that she hadn't been mistaken, that she'd somehow known what--or rather who--had been in there, she felt crushed by the burden." p 53 (Page number comes from my ARC copy, quote and page number therefore are not final)









GENRE: Paranormal Young Adult
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2010

Nov 29, 2010

Review--The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies--or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world...and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer--and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer...and becoming his prey herself.

Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder was one interesting read! I thought the idea that Violet could sense the bodies of those who had been murdered to be very intriguing. I mean, she doesn't really sense dead bodies, but more so murdered bodies and she see imprints of victims on the killers. Even unintentional ones, like seeing doctors with imprints of patients they helped to ease their pain.

What was really interesting about this book was the mystery, it was pretty good! I mean once you think you have it solved, it changes on you! Took me completely by surprise, although I did suspect the right person! What was even more thrilling was that every few chapters or so we would get into the perspective of the killer himself. The book is told in third person, so it becomes easy to realize when the perspective changes. His chapters are even italicized.

Violet was a very good character I think. She wasn't necessarily forging ahead to stop the murderer because the police are incompetent, her uncle is even the chief of the police. She finally decides to help when things continue to get worse as more girls go missing, and when Violet accidentally stumbles upon the body of one of his victims, it's when she decides to take action, because she doesn't want someone she knows to become his next victim. So with the help of Jay, she decides to try to track him down, since she knows the echo of the first body she found, she believes she can use that to find the killer, for he will bear her imprint/echo.

The Body Finder was definitely well paced and it intertwined the romance aspects wonderfully! I mean there was a mystery to be solved and yet still a romance to explore. Violet tries hard not to think about Jay too much, but he is her best friend and her feelings for him take her by storm. But just because she wants to be more than friends now doesn't mean it's going to happen lickety split! Oh no it doesn't. There are quite a few obstacles, such as almost every single girl in school has suddenly taken a shine onto Jay and one of Violet's other guy friends has taken a shine onto her. Those definitely present problems for the two.

The ending is where things really pick up and even more suspense comes into play. I really didn't see the major twist coming, but like I said, I did sort of guess to the killer's identity. And the ending had quite shocking result too, I was literally stunned!

Overall a helluva GREAT read! If you're looking for something a little different from the paranormal books, but still want that edge, The Body Finder is the book for you! I give it 5/5 stars! Now onto Desires of the Dead!

Contest Alert

A little late in the game, my apologies, but I found another contest that ends soon. Wednesday. It's Bookspeak's 100 Followers giveaway and she has some awesome prize packs up for grabs! So head on over today and become a follower to win one of five amazing gift packs!!



Confusion...


Okay so I am totally psyched for the release of Shadowfever, the fifth and final book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. Was totally blown away by this series and am dying to read Shadowfever. But it doesn't come out until January 18, 2011! Argh!

But when I was looking at my fave blogs this morning, I saw over at SciFiGuy that the book had a release date for December 14, 2010! But when I checked at all the book websites, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc, they still all say January 18, 2011.

I think it's still January 18, I would love for it to be December 14, talk about a WONDERFUL early birthday present! But I have my doubts, I can't find anything that says it releases December 14, other than SciFiGuy's blog.

I get so confused when I hear two different things regarding release dates or other bits of info, especially when I thought I knew it and I really like the other answer better anyway! So what does everyone else think?

Nov 28, 2010

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Here's a little info about the meme taken from Larissa's blog:

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
 
This week's topic: FICTIONAL CHARACTERS YOU WISH WERE YOUR BEST FRIENDS
Ooh I like this one!! It's different and it's going to take a bit of thinking!! These answers of course, will once again, be in no particular order!

Cat from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. She's a good friend to Denise and yet still kicks ass! Even in her current condition! And no, she's not pregnant!

Faythe from Rachel Vincent's Shifter series! Even though at times she drove me firggin crazy, I still think she was pretty decent person. She just had a lot of tough choices to make.

Shiarra from Jess Haines' Hunted by the Others. I liked that she started out as a character with a little more flaws to her. It helped her grow and yet not change 100%. Plus she too has an attitude that reminds me of my own sometimes!

Rose from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. Another truly devoted girl to her friend. She is completely loyal and protective of Lissa which makes her a great person in my book. Everyone is not without flaws, so even Rose has her own, but I still would want to be best friends with her. Her attitude is another thing I like, and her speaking without thinking at times can be very funny!

Jessie from Shannon Delany's 13 to Life! Of course I would have to pick this book again since I totally loved it! I liked Jessie, she was a good friend with her gal pals, although of course I would tell her my strong opinion on a few things, one in particular, yet despite that she is a good friend. It was her being totally unselfish in a matter where selfishness wouldn't have been such a bad thing.

Nov 27, 2010

Cover Art--Charlaine Harris

Saw the cover for next Southern Vampires novel just this morning! It looks pretty interesting, although I miss seeing a vampire on the cover, whether it be Bill or Eric. This is the first time that there hasn't been one. Interesting...

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . 

I don't know. It still sounds interesting I guess, but I'm starting to get tired of the series. It doesn't have it's mystery element anymore. Even the series title has changed to A Sookie Stackhouse Novel. I only bought last years' book because I got it on sale to the point where it was too good to pass up. Unless I get another deal, I might wait for paperback on this one. I used to adore the series, but now it's kind of dragging on me, I still want to read this one though, just not sure how quickly I'll get around to it.

Nov 26, 2010

Book Blogger Hop

This blogger hop was created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.

Here are the rules:
1. Enter your book blog link in the Linky List below (be sure to include how long you've been blogging and what genres you review!). If you post about the Hop on your blog, please link directly to your Hop post (don't forget to answer this week's question - see below!).
2. Visit other blogs in the Linky List! Make new friends! Follow new book bloggers! Talk about books! Rave about authors! (Please do not leave your link and not visit other blogs - it's just not cool and not in the spirit of the Hop!)
3. Post about the Hop on your blog! Spread the word about the book party! The more the merrier!
4. In your blog post, answer the following question (new question each week!):
"WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK COVER?"

My favorite book cover? Wow, that's hard because I generally love all the covers of the books I love to read! Sometimes I might not like one detail or whatever, but let me think for a minute...okay done! I absolutely LOVED the cover for 13 to Life! As you might know by now it's one of my all time fave reads this year and the cover is what drew me to it to begin with. I loved the blues! I loved the woods and the dark feel to it. I liked seeing Jessie walking in the center and than Pietr's eye in the moon!! Oooh I soooooo love this cover!!!



LOVE IT!!

Happy Black Friday everyone!

Nov 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!



However you celebrate today, I hope you have a nice, relaxing holiday! Enjoy it!

Nov 24, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

For the remainder of the year the books I am dying to read are Killing Rocks by D.D. Barant, the third book in her Bloodhound Files Series.


And, My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent, the fourth book in her Soul Screamers series!




So those are the last two books that release this year that I am waiting on, plus the others from earlier as well since not all are released yet and 2011 looks like another long year of waiting for some GREAT reads!!

Nov 23, 2010

Review--Twice Dead by Kalayna Price

Kita's new undead life as a rookie vampire immediately plunges her into the intrigues and feuds of Haven's vampire clans. Her extrasensory talents, left over from her previous life as a shapeshifter, make her both a prize and a threat. When someone beheads a vampire in the visiting entourage of the powerful Collector, Kita is the first suspect. She and her vampire master, Nathanial, must once again defend her innocence and find the killer, while eluding powerful enemies and battling their own increasingly complex attraction.

Finished Twice Dead by Kalayna Price today and it was just as exciting as the first one!! I truly didn't know what to expect besides what the BOC described and was thrilled to see more returning characters, such as Bobby and Gil. 

There were also a few new characters as well that played into the vampire murder mystery aspect which was done very well. I so didn't guess who the villain was, although I had some suspects and an inkingly of the real killer at one point, but still never made it my final conclusion.

The pacing was done rather well, for it had only been a short time between the novels, for Bobby is still there instead of returning home. And right away Kita is thrown into the thick of things, at the end of chapter 1 the first body is found and the mystery and chaos begin!

I truly loved seeing more development between Kita and Nathanial. OMG, I totally love Nathanial! He is so gentle and patient with Kita and it's clear that he cares for her. And there are quite a few intense moments between them, yet there were also some new problems that kept thrusting them apart as well which became really annoying because I wanted to see them together. But it was a good kind of annoying, not to say I was ever angry with the book, in fact I think when you get emotional over the book it proves it's a great read! And Twice Dead so was!!

And of course after the mystery was solved a new problem arised just at the ending, so now the wait to Third Blood is going to be torture! I don't even know its exact release date yet either. I thought it was supposed to be later this year, which is almost over, or at the beginning of next year.

Kalayna's Haven series is truly different from some of the other urban fantasy books I've read--although each book is always different in its own way. I'm a big reader and love each one for its own details and whatnot!--but I really like the idea that Kita's home, Firth, is a completely different world than ours. It's a whole other dimension and yet there isn't really the eerie Sci-Fi/Twilight Zone feel to it, it's more natural and yet we still havn't been to Firth yet. There's still a lot of mystery to be had here in this series and that's just part of its appeal.

Gil is still learning more about magic and Kita along the way, sometimes unwillingly, but still even being the reader you learn more and more about what is the world we know and details from Kita's mind about Firth. Both are different places entirely and it's just exciting!

Overall I have to give Twice Dead 5/5 stars because it was really truly that GREAT! I so can't wait for Third Blood and finally get a glimpse, well more than a glimpse, of Firth!! Yay!

*I received this book from Deborah Smith at Belle Bridge Books for review. Thanks again Deb!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Finally getting around to reading Twice Dead by Kalayna Price! It's really really good so far!! Trying to remember some characters and such from Once Bitten, but otherwise I can recall a fair amount of details that were important.

The rules to Teaser Tuesday:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"'He certainly looks good for a dead man over a hundred years.'

The corpse opened a pair of blue eyes. 'Why thank you. I was considered handsome once.'" p 221 (page number comes from my review galley which is a combination of Once Bitten and Twice Dead)











TITLE: Twice Dead
AUTHOR:
Kalayna Price
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE:
February 12, 2010

Nov 22, 2010

Cover Art--Vicki Pettersson

Saw the cover for Vicki Petterson's The Neon Graveyard which releases May 31, 2011! Can't wait to read this one, especially with the way Cheat the Grave ended!! Saw the cover originally at A Great Book is the Cheapest Vacation! Thanks for sharing the info Natasha!

The cover is a bit strange, because Jo doesn't look like her Olivia self anymore...wonder if this is still supposed to be her. Too many questions!!! Too long to wait!!! She still looks kick ass though! If you haven't read Cheat the Grave, be advised that the BOC description might be spoilery!


Though once the perceived savior of the paranormal underworld, Joanna is now just another mortal. Yet the dueling factions of Shadow and Light won’t leave her alone. And while she’s being hunted for her duality, she can’t afford to hide. Her lover – her future – is being held captive in Midheaven, the stronghold of a goddess, her greatest foe. Joanna will risk everything she’s fought for up until now in order to bring about the future she really wants, but that includes the prophesized apocalypse that will consume the valley if she fails.

Nov 21, 2010

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Here's a little info about the meme taken from Larissa's blog:

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)

This week's topic is: FAVORITE VAMPIRES AND SHIFTERS!

Oh wow! This will be hard I was hoping for one or the other but it tied!! These will be in no particular order!

Kelley Armstrong has a ton of characters in her Otherworld series and Elena and Clay are one of my fast faves. And I really can't like one more than the other! I usually like them as a couple!!


In Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, I choose Bones! I mean really, if you've read this series you can't NOT absolutely LOVE Bones!!! One of my all time fave Vampires!!


Pretty much EVERYONE in Rachel Vincent's Shifter series! I loved Faythe, Marc, Ethan, even Jace! And the others of course. But if you've finished the series, you can guess which characters I didn't like which was obvious since we were supposed to hate them!

In one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE books this year, 13 to Life was about werewolves and I just adored this book! Dying to read the next one. It's pretty obvious who the werewolf is here so I don't feel like it's a spoiler despite the info not being revealed until the end, I mean you kind of already know. So my fave here is Pietr!

In Kalayna Price's Once Bitten, Kita is harder to define, since she was a shifter and then was turned into a vampire! This was an awesome book and I still have to read the second one! It's next on my TBR pile and I can't wait! It was really interesting and the characters were freaking amazing! And Kita was awesome because she was both shifter and vampire like! Totally cool!!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post by Kirsti over at The Story Siren.

Didn't get too much this week, but since I got sooo much last week I wasn't that disappointed! Was finishing up the Fever series and loving it and dreading the 2 month wait to Shadowfever!

Anyway, this week I got an E-ARC of Half-Moon by Jordan Deen. I actually finished it already and have my review done, but it's going to have to wait. Check back a few weeks and I'll have a date for when Jordan will be stopping by for a short interview!




And while they're not books, I did get some other book-related goodies this week that I feel like sharing in my somewhat empty mailbox!


First is a book cover that I won in the Halloween contest at A Great Book is the Cheapest Vacation, that was gifted from Chas at LovLivLif Reviews



Isn't cute! Little mummies with purple spiders! I like it! Haven't put it to use yet since I mostly read at home and no one really sees my book covers anyway! But it will come in handy later on I'm sure!!

Then the next thing I got is a little hard to see, but they're trading cards for Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series! From the top left we have Shamus, Terric, Zayvion, and Allie! And on the back is their "stats", birthday, age, hair, job, magic, eye color and then a short bio from Daniel Beckstrom!! Totally awesome if you ask me!! And Devon signed Zayvion's card!! These are seriously the coolest thing ever in author swag!! Thanks again Devon!!



So that's what came in my mailbox this week! What did you get?

Nov 19, 2010

Book Blogger Hop

This blogger hop was created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.

Here are the rules:
1. Enter your book blog link in the Linky List below (be sure to include how long you've been blogging and what genres you review!). If you post about the Hop on your blog, please link directly to your Hop post (don't forget to answer this week's question - see below!).
2. Visit other blogs in the Linky List! Make new friends! Follow new book bloggers! Talk about books! Rave about authors! (Please do not leave your link and not visit other blogs - it's just not cool and not in the spirit of the Hop!)
3. Post about the Hop on your blog! Spread the word about the book party! The more the merrier!
4. In your blog post, answer the following question (new question each week!):

"Since Thanksgiving is coming up next week, let's use this week's Hop to share what we are most thankful for and what our holiday traditions are!"

Without a doubt I am thankful for my family. They have always been there for me and my mom is real supportive of me as well. She keeps pushing me to work towards my goal of  being a writer and does a million other things for me that I am so thankful to have her! Some traditions...well we haven't done it in awhile but we usually would go see a movie on Thanksgiving or got to Kmart since they're usually open. We do the family time with our family, but then we, my cousins and me, start to get restless for being in the house all day, we want to go somewhere. Anywhere! So we usually walk around Kmart or go see a movie, but we didn't do that the past year or two. Another thing is we usually try making a new dessert--usually something chocolately and peanut buttery!! After all a Reese's peanut butter cup is the best candy ever! So why not use those ingredients into something else, like a pie!!

Nov 18, 2010

Review--Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

THEY MAY HAVE STOLEN MY PAST, BUT I'LL NEVER LET THEM TAKE MY FUTURE.

When the walls between Man and Fae come crashing down, freeing the insatiable, immortal Unseelie from their icy prison, MacKayla Lane is caught in a deadly trap. Captured by the Fae Lord Master, she is left with no memory of who or what she is: the only sidhe-seer alive who can track the Sinsar Dubh. a book of arcane black magic that holds the key to controlling both worlds.

Clawing her way back from oblivion is only the first step Mac must take down a perilous path, from the battle-filled streets of Dublin to the treacherous politics of an ancient, secret sect, through the tangled lies of men who claim to be her allies into the illusory world of the Fae themselves, where nothing is at it seems--and Mac is forced to face a soul-shattering truth.

Who do you trust when you can't even trust yourself?

OH MY GOD. Dreamfever was freaking amazing!! And it totally leaves you hanging. I advise you here and now that if you have never read the Fever series and are looking for a great new urban fantasy series to read with something other than vampires and werewolves, than this is the series for you. Although there is a vampire in it early on. There's still a ton of other Fae creatures and it is truly incredible. It being shelved in romance is totally unfounded, because there is mostly romantic tension that builds between Mac and Barrons and of course between Mac and V'lane!

But my advice, depending on how much reading time you have, try to time it right that you finish Dreamfever just before the release of the final conclusion, Shadowfever. Because there is one DOOZIE of a cliffhanger! Oh boy it's really bad! Because it's one that literally leaves you dangling off Mount Everest! It's so big! And I can only make guesses as to what it could be, but then I dismiss them because it's too easy, my guess seems like the likely answer and that's what makes me want to dismiss it. And now I have to wait 2 whole months to find out the answer. Thinking it might be safer to not preorder it so that way I can buy it bright and early on release day!

Moving on, Dreamfever picks up where we left off and Mac does the little recap we become used to. If you've made it this far, then you know Mac was in a bit of a pickle in Faefever which might make things difficult for her to tell her story, so Dani comes in for a little while. Hearing the story from Dani's p.o.v. was a different kind of pace. Since she's a teen and ambitious and has quite the potty-mouth she made things fun!

Mac does take over eventually, but she still isn't quite Mac. Barrons works with her to try to bring her back to herself and oh boy, was that a lot of work! Again, I won't say why, but if you're up to date, then you can take a fairly easy guess as to what happens!

But as the BOC says Mac does come back to herself and gets back to work on finding the book. There's more danger and still the same amount of action. It is truly hard to see Mac as the Barbie girl she started out as in book 1. I mean now she doesn't even turn to her bright colored clothing, those are a thing of the past. Mac has truly grown into a different kind of woman, she is no longer the peppy go to it girl, she's the down to business kind of gal.

I like the new Mac, I like that she had to become the new Mac and had to struggle to get there. I was put off by her Barbie-ness in the beginning, but even by the end of book 1 she was changing and I liked how she had to make the transition, that it wasn't automatic, it was a step by step process.

The world as Mac knows it will never be the same for chaos rules her world now. The Fae have escaped and now Mac and her associates--hard to call them friends--have to do everything they can to put order back to their world. Mac wants to find her sister's killer once and for all, she wants to know what Barrons is, she wants to live her life in a safe way without Fae interference, but will she ever get her HEA?

Trying to allude to the details here, but Mac takes quite a journey in this book and deals with a lot of confrontations and challenges and like I said, the ending leaves you absolutely hanging!!! So if you're new, like I said based on your reading speed, try to time it so that you finish Dreamfever just before Shadowfever releases, TRUST me on this! I had heard some stirrings about it, but I wanted to read the series since I had time and was in need of something to read, kind of regret it now, but I really don't know where I'll be job wise come January anyway so I wanted to be up to date.

My rating overall is of course 5/5 stars because I am totally addicted to this series and those first few chapters were quite the read! Things get back to somewhat normal a little quickly, but the action was still just as good!

Come on January!! 2 more months!!!

Happy Birthday Mickey!

Being the total Disney fanatic that I am, I just wanted to say that today is Mickey Mouse's Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE!!

Today in 1928 Mickey made his debut in his first cartoon of what was to be many many more, Steamboat Willie!

A little fact taken from my Disney Days desk calendar, Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released but wasn't the first Disney one. Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho were first made as silent cartoons, then they were shelved to be released with sound after Mickey made his debut into our hearts!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY!

Nov 17, 2010

Cover Art--Kelley Armstrong

Yesterday Kelley showed off the cover for her next Otherworld novel, Spell Bound! I so can't wait to read this one especially since Waking the Witch had a little bit of a cliffhanger! The whole gang's here as well!


Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she’s powerless to help herself. At the conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would help a young girl. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.

And now, witch hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spelling casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Spell Bound gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jamie, Hope, and others, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

This title releases July 26, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

Next up on my list for the remainder of the year is Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie! I love this series and so far to date, have been able to devour each of these books in 1 day! They are that good!! They're mysteries with some ghost hauntings in the mix and they're really good! The mysteries are challenging enough and the ghost hauntings are creepy that I jump when my house creaks and I'm reading it, usually when I'm home alone! Typical!

The last book even had a doozie of a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to read this one!!


When M.J. Holliday and the crew of her cable TV show, Ghoul Getters, venture to the haunted ruins of Dunlow Castle in Ireland, drawn by the legend of hidden treasure, they hope the road will rise up to meet them, that the wind will always be at their backs-and that the resident phantom won't push them off a cliff. If they treasure their lives, M.J. and her ghost busters need to get the drop on the menacing phantom... 

TITLE: Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls
AUTHOR:
Victoria Laurie
GENRE:
Paranormal Mystery
RELEASE DATE:
December 28, 2010


I also decided to add Chloe Neill's Hexbound to the list today because it's been almost a year since I read the first one! And I love the cover here because the greens and blues are just so awesome!!




Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia's School for Girls, but she's already learned that magic can be your best friend-or your worst enemy. That's why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities while fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago's nastiest nightlife-including the tainted magic users known as Reapers... 

TITLE: Hexbound
AUTHOR:
Chloe Neill
GENRE:
Paranormal Young Adult
RELEASE DATE:
January 4, 2011

Nov 16, 2010

Review--Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

HE CALLS ME HIS QUEEN OF THE NIGHT, I'D DIE FOR HIM. I'D KILL FOR HIM TOO.

When MacKayla Lane receives a page torn from her dead sister's journal, she is stunned by Alina's desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister's killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil that it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shapeshifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, a lethal Fae prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man of deadly secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

I am now a total addict of the Fever series!! Heck, I've been an addict since book 1! Karen Marie Moning's Faefever was astounding! I love how the series is all a continual thread with maybe a few weeks or days between books and it's also possible because I'm reading the first four back to back that makes it easier to follow along Mac's journey to remember things incredibly well!

Needless to say Faefever really picks up on the action and mystery as its predecessors have as well. Mac is still working with Barrons to find the evil book that was her sister's dying last request. Besides being the ultimate evil thing, we do eventually learn a little more about the book and its history which was rather interesting.

There is also more to come from the other group of sidhe-seers that work with Rowena, the old lady from way back in book 1 and 2 as well, who was a real you know what! 

I gotta say that I love Mac's narration! It really feels real, she really makes you believe that you're hearing her story. It also helps that she points this out in the prologue, but still when reading you feel like you're sitting across from Mac while she tells you her tale.

The action, like I said does pick up with more close encounters with the book. Then there is even more trouble brewing with the Fae and Mac is doing everything she can to prevent it from happening and getting as much help as she can.

Mac has developed into a totally different character from her first appearance in book 1, something she even points out, she is no longer the blonde concerned with her appearance or tan or any of the other selfish type qualities, she is really trying to save the world from a fate that they aren't even aware of just yet and still try to maintain some of her values from her "past" life that she held dear to her heart.

The romance is still more so tension between Mac and Barrons and V'lane. Both men are still a mystery to me and there is really no way to tell which guy you think she should end up with or who she will end up with. Sure I have a fairly good guess and I know who I want her to end up with which is likely the majority vote, but still you never truly know until the last page.

Overall I give the book 5/5 stars because it is seriously just that good. And I rather like the emphasis of romantic tension rather than just the straight romance. It's more interesting!

And the ending of this book is a real doozie! Be sure to have Dreamfever at the ready for when you finish this one! I did and boy was it a lifesaver!

Contest Alert--Book Loving Mommy

One of my blogs I follow, Book Loving Mommy, Jessica is having a 100 followers contest! Winner will receive a copy of Losing Faith

The more followers she gets the more copies she'll give away. Up to 3 copies if she hits 150 followers!

Open to US and Canada residents only and contest ends December 19, 2010.

Click here for more details.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Totally loving the Fever series! And while I regret not reading it sooner, at least my wait to Shadowfever will not be as long! Almost finished with Faefever now and expect to finish it today and start Dreamfever later on!
Here are the rules to Teaser Tuesday:

The Rules:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER free
4. Name the title, author, etc.
"I felt the electricity of his body behind me as he reached around me and took the card from my hand. He didn't move away, and I battled the urge to lean back into him, seeking the comfort of his strength. Would he wrap his arms around me? Make me feel safe, if only for a moment, and if only a delusion?" p  287









TITLE: Faefever
AUTHOR:
Karen Marie Moning
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy (I say this since there was no HEA in book 1, if you want to argue and say it's PR I won't argue against you. I really have no clue which is the correct genre since it was shelved in romance, and I have yet to see any strong romance in it other than tension, hence my UF categorizing)
RELEASE DATE:
July 28, 2009 (Reprint Edition)

Nov 14, 2010

Review--Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

I USED TO BE YOUR AVERAGE, EVERYDAY GIRL, BUT ALL THAT CHANGED ONE NIGHT IN DUBLIN WHEN I SAW MY FIRST FAE AND GOT DRAGGED INTO A WORLD OF DEADLY IMMORTALS AND ANCIENT SECRETS...

In her fight to stay alive, MacKalya must find the Sinsar Dubh--a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can't trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men; V'lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.

Devoured Karen Marie Moning's Bloodfever in record time! It was so easy to get lost back into her world only having just left it with Dreamfever, and Bloodfever picks up right away with just two weeks of time having passed.

It's amazing how much focus Moning puts into the books, being new to the series I didn't know what to expect and now I see where the thread is going. Mac is searching for the Sinsar Dubhr and I can see this being the major key for the rest of the series. I have to read the next two books though to be sure, but with other books in series you see new problems occurring every book, not all series are like this though. I like a series that takes a problem and sticks with it throughout the series and the Fever series does this!

Mac is adjusting to her abilities rather well, but her problems are only just beginning, literally. The events from Darkfever have left more problems to arise and more mysteries are still left unsolved. Like the mysterious Jericho Barrons. I still can't figure this man out! He's very intriguing and just downright complicated! Sometimes I can't figure out if he really is betraying Mac in some ways or not. I feel as clueless as Mac!

V'lane is still yet another mystery. He's not there as much as I thought he would be. And I still wonder about his role in everything. What he says is one thing, what he does is another! The Fae here in this series truly stick to their mysterious and devious personas.

Along the way Mac encounters new and old enemies and soon finds herself in the thick of things and getting into more danger as the days go on. And the action and suspense is just now stop! It's well paced though, there are moments when you think things might be settling down to give Mac a break and that's when something else happens! And the ending here was sort of cliffhangery!

There was bit more of romantic tension in the book as well. It goes a little farther as well than what I saw in Dreamfever, so reading Faefever is definitely next on my list!

Overall I give it 5/5 stars!

Top 5 Sundays


Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Here's a little info about the meme taken from Larissa's blog:

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
This week's topic is: BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE MADE INTO MOVIES!

I personally love this topic idea! And while I have a ton of books that I would love be seen made into film, if they were to be made into a TV show that would be awesome as well! Some series sometimes might work better as a TV show, but a series of movies works for me too!! And of course with series this way I don't have to pick a fave one, because really in series all the books are awesome and I can never truly pick one from the series to be a movie over the other one!

So in my perfect world, these books/series would all be made into movies or TV show series so that ALL the books in the series can be seen in live action!

And plus there are quite a few books I love that are already being made into film or TV show, like Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries and now the Harper Connelly ones and Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver!

These will be in no particular order whatsoever!!

Rachel Vincent's Shifter series--movie or TV show doesn't matter! I would love to see this one! And Rachel had said that the rights were bought awhile back ago, it doesn't really mean anything, only that someone is thinking about possibly doing something!

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. I know I thought I heard something about this one in regards to film...a likely possibility. I think there was a Facebook page about it too. So because, as far as I recall, that it's still not 100% official into being made into film, I'll add it here.

Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series! OMG, this would be one helluva TV show or even series of movies! I just hope that they would cast Bones right! I have no idea who I would want to see as Bones because I'm terrible at that game of placing actors as characters from books, I create the character image in my head and the actor usually never compares to my version. So they would have to cast Bones right! Man, this would so be an HBO TV show if it went to TV, then I think I would have to add that to our Dish because waiting for True Blood is hard enough, I don't think I could wait for this to come on DVD...if it were to ever become an HBO TV show that is!


Kim Harrison's the Hallows series would be another amazing thing to see in film. Again, TV or movie. Movies are generally better but TV works well for series to stretch things out, but I'm not picky! As long as these things air on regular cable that is! Imagine all the amazing characters they would be able to give face to! I wonder who would play Jenks and how they would film him!



And of course what was probably my fave debut YA book this year, 13 to Life. I still can't explain why I was drawn to this book. Why it sucked me in so deep. And it's not because I share the same name as the MC. I really don't know, only that I was completely compelled with the book and am absolutely DYING to read Secrets and Shadows! Seeing this one in film, particularly movie, because yeah it's book 1 in the series, I think it would be better to have this one in movie film because the SE need to be good and not TV cheesy!

And if I stare at my shelves long enough and really look at all my books, I'm sure I can think of a dozen more that I would want to see, but this is Top 5 Sunday, so I will prevent myself from turning around and looking at my shelves and leave it to these 5 books/series!