Follow Friday

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers

3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.

4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments

5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers

7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!

8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week's question is: What book are you embarrassed to admit you LOVED? (try to think beyond Twilight)

MY ANSWER: Embarrassed? Hmm...well I am embarrassed to admit that I read the Twilight books, but one that I am embarrassed that I loved/enjoyed? Hmm...that's a little hard. Normally I'm not embarrassed for liking particular books, although there have been some covers that I am shame-faced for reading and have to pull out the book covers!

I guess, maybe sort of...and really this is a sort of hesitation, because I wouldn't say I am embarrassed to having liked these, but yeah, I do get red faced with them and tend to want a hide a cover a bit as well!

Christine Warren's The Others series! 

It was bit more on the romantic side than I thought and I swear every time sex scenes come up and I'm reading in public, I feel like people know I am reading a sex scene!

It doesn't usually help when the covers are a bit racy either. Although these covers here and this one in particular are a bit tamed, even though there are definite suggestions of a sexual nature going on. Or perhaps I think that because I've read the book completely red faced!

Mini Review--Rusted Veins by Jaye Wells

Halloween in New Orleans is usually a treat. But for Sabina Kane and the rest of Team Awesome, this year's celebration has its share of nasty tricks. When Brooks's new waitress goes missing, the Changeling asks Sabina to help him find her.

The problem? The missing mage is one of Adam Lazaru's old flames, and having her show up in their lives is giving Sabina heartburn. Plus saving her may also threaten the fragile peace Sabina's achieved for the Dark Races. Luckily for Adam's ex—but unlucky for her kidnappers—Sabina Kane isn't easily spooked.

Jaye Wells' Rusted Veins is the perfect little read for Halloween and I finished it in one day naturally! Hey, it's a novella, it's short to begin with! *smiles*

Sabina and the gang are back! This takes place awhile after Blue-Blooded Vamp and things are going pretty good for Sabina. She's working on the council, as is her sister. Life is just good. Then upon returning home, she expects to spend some much needed time with Adam. But then a big problem lands in their lap and Adam feels obligated to help since it involves his ex-girlfriend. Sabina still has a few minor insecurities over this matter and wondering if Adam is going to leave her, but they quickly work through that issue with that much needed lovin!

Then Team Awesome is off to find and rescue Cadence. But as it turns out, Sabina is going to have to talk with another vampire ruler in New Orleans, and let's just say he isn't Sabina's biggest fan either. Finding Cadence is going to be a lot harder than she though!

I loved returning to Sabina and her world! Truly loved every moment of her kickass series! The action, the romance, the snark, the characters...just everything! We get a nice little taste of that everything again in Rusted Veins! And it's in New Orleans!! Where RT 2014 is going to be held, so it was fun just to walk the streets of where I'll be next year! I always find it fun to read a book based in a place that I've visited or plan to visit. It's just a fun feeling, like you get when you see a movie being filmed in a place you live in or have visited numerous times.

Rusted Veins is a fast little Halloween read but is filled with lots of good ol' fashion Wells' fun and and snark! Gotta love the snark! And Gighul too!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars

 

Review--Death, Doom, and Detention by Darynda Jones

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.

Goodbye, normal.

Hello, dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late?

I decided to dive into a series I haven't touched in nearly a year...if not more, for the spirits of Halloween! Sort of! All my books can be in the spirit of Halloween! Anyway, Darynda Jones' hit YA series continues with Death, Doom, and Detention. (And what's up with the missing comma on the Goodreads pic?)

Granted it took a bit of meandering to get back into the swing of things. But luckily, I was able to follow along and recall very, very brief details of what happened last go around. Lorelei is trying to adjust to life now that she knows she is harboring Satan's second-in-command and that she is destined to stop a big ol' war from happening between all the mystical powers on earth. No pressure, right? 

But there are always more problems right around the corner and this time the bad guys are taking it out on her classmates at school. Kids are acting weird and it soon becomes obvious that they are being possessed. But by who or what, has yet to be revealed. And then Jared goes missing for a few days and when he returns, he acts kind of funny. Different. Scary different.

It's amazing how much more we can learn about all the going ons with this upcoming war and Lorelei's part in it. We got quite the information overload last go around, and yet, there's still more to learn. More players in this game then we realized.

Lorelei is definitely an enjoyable character. I swear, at times I really think she's Charley's long lost younger sister or cousin or something! There's quite a bit of snark with Lorelei that Charley has in spades. And naturally, Lorelei has her own Angel of Death as a possible boyfriend...if he would ever disobeyed her grandparents' wish that he not "date" her. But there is still lots of romantic tension between them. In the beginning part of the novel, it seems like the silly teenaged kind, but by the end...it gets a little more...steamy tension!

Then of course there's Brooke, one of Lorelei's best friends. Cameron, Lorelei's nephilim protector, is crushing on her and of course so is their mutual friend Glitch. But it kind of becomes obvious Brooke favors Cameron. But then it becomes even more surprising when someone else is crushing on Glitch! So it seems that the trio of friends will all be happy with a romantic partner. You know, if they can survive this upcoming war and all.

After one review, I became a fast fan of Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series and was ecstatic when she started her YA series, because more books from an author a year of course! The Darklight series is looking to be a very fabulous one indeed! I am hoping to get to the third book soon...ish! Darynda Jones is definitely one of my auto-buy authors and I look forward to each and every one of her releases! If you haven't read her books yet, I highly recommend them!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars

Random Thursday

Happy Halloween!!

So I was cleaning out my closet...or trying to reorganize it and it didn't go well. But anyway, amongst all the crap that I can't bare to toss out, I found what is possibly the coolest Halloween card ever that received like two years ago.

Yup! That be Scooby-Doo dressed as a vampire!! How freaking cool is that?! I remember when I opened the card and was soooo excited about it! And it was just a card! But I loooove Scooby and I looooove my vampires. So it's perfect!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Have a frightfully GREAT day/night!

Cover Copy Reveals--Kelley Armstrong & Victoria Laurie

As #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new Cainsville series continues, Olivia’s power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her new hometown.

Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes.

Their success, however, is short-lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel’s past mistakes have come to light, creating a rift between the pair just when she needs his help the most.

Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia’s convinced it’s another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman went missing just days ago—the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has her new home played in this disturbing murder?

Olivia’s effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don’t want revealed.

Visions releases August 19, 2014

In New York Times bestselling author Victoria Laurie’s newest Psychic Eye Mystery, Abby Cooper is trusting her intuition and heading to Sin City to bet on a friend’s innocence....

When police show Abby surveillance video of her best friend and business partner, Candice Fusco, shooting a man in cold blood, she can’t believe her eyes. And when the cops tell her they think the victim has ties to the Mob—and perhaps Candice does too—she can’t believe her ears. Surely there is a logical explanation. But Candice is nowhere to be found.

Abby decides the only way to find out the truth is to go to Vegas herself—which may be the biggest gamble of her life. Once in town she begins to uncover a rigged game of dirty double-dealing where the stakes are no less than life and death. And if she’s not careful, Abby can forget about ever leaving Las Vegas...alive.

Fatal Fortune releases July 1, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...

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

Fans asked for it, and now they've got it! Andrea Cremer is continuing the story she began in in her internationally bestselling trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose. In this new installment, Bosque Mar haunts the dreams of both Adne and Logan, trying to escape for the Nether, where Calla, Shay and the other Guardians trapped him in the final battle in the War of All Against All. Will he turn Adne to the dark side? Will Logan reclaim his birthright? And will darkness take over our world? In a novel filled with magic, romance and breakneck action, master storytelling Andrea Cremer's newest installment will not disappoint!

TITLE: Snakeroot
AUTHOR: Andrea Cremer
PUBLISHER: Philomel
GENRE: Paranormal YA
RELEASE DATE: December 10, 2013

Once a heart is lost in shadow...

Life has been anything but kind to Mary Chase. But the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals has given her purpose. Now she's been tasked with catching a vicious murderer dubbed the Bishop of Charing Cross. But someone is already on the case—and the last thing he relishes is a partner.

Only someone who lives in darkness can find it.

Jack Talent has been alone with his demons for many years. He never expected to have the willful Mary Chase assist him on the Bishop case. Their age-old rivalry reaches new heights—even as their desire for one another reaches a fever pitch. Though he aches to bring her close, Jack's dark secrets are a chasm between them. With dangerous enemies closing in, Jack must find the strength to face the past...or risk losing Mary forever.

TITLE: Shadowdance
AUTHOR: Kristen Callihan
PUBLISHER: Forever
GENRE: Paranormal Romance (think that sounds right!)
RELEASE DATE: December 17, 2013

 

Review--Allegiant by Veronica Roth

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

It was phenomenal! So there has been tons of buzz over Veronica Roth's Allegiant and the epic ending to this wildly popular trilogy and I loved it. It was definitely one of the most emotionally driven series I've read in a long time, but now that it is all over, I still have to say I loved it.

In Insurgent, we had the big reveal. That there is life outside the walls that surround Chicago and we learn pretty quickly what that outside world is. I guess in a way, I should've known what that would be, but the paranormal reader in me had totally different speculations, while I should've listened to that quieter dystopian reader in me. Her voice isn't as strong as the paranormal reader's! 

You would think that there could be some happy shining light about to break on Chicago because of these revelations, but you would be wrong. There is still a lot of chaos going on in Chicago and outside apparently. Now Four's parents are butting heads with one another, Evelyn's way of life for Chicago citizens isn't exactly ideal. Then there's the Allegiant, a group led by Joanna who wants things to go back to the way they were, to an extent. 

On the outside though? There's still trouble and problems abound. After learning what this new group is about and what they've done, Tris has a hard time figuring out who the enemies really are. There's even another group among this new one that wants to change things as well. So basically, we have a whole lot of groups all battling one another! I can't get into the details of who they all are, because I don't want to spoil things for you!

I was so eager to get inside Tobias' head this time around! As you know, this book is told through both Tris and Tobias points of view. I liked getting in his head, it was nice to see what he was thinking, especially in regards to all the chaos that happened last time around. But the couple isn't all about being happy and lovey dovey. They still have a few issues they need to work on, with regards to trust and everything that's happened. And that whole trust issue becomes another glaringly obvious problem for them again. But in between all the drama and hurt, there were quite a few romantic moments that were of the toe curling variety and I loved them all!

There was still tons of action in this one! So much always happens in these books and they are all pretty long, over 500 pages or so, but they are pretty quick reads! I found that I could've read this in one day had I pushed myself!

Now let's get to that ending! There have been tons of reviews already they have said what a shock the ending was. And yeah, it was a shocker! Like mind-blowingly shocking! I don't think I've ever read a book where I was that shocked! Some have said they saw it coming and yeah, I admit that I might have too, but I wasn't positive. I thought maybe another twist would come in and totally change the outcome. People are saying that this kind of ending Veronica wrote took guts and again, I agree with them! This isn't your everyday twisted ending. Veronica wrote a frigging fantabulous trilogy here that is in short, epic!

I truly hope to read more epic reads from Veronica in the future. True, we have the release of Four coming out in February with all his short novellas and I will likely be buying that one too, but I really hope Veronica already has a new world cooked up for us because I have truly enjoyed her writing and would love to read more!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Cover Copy Reveal--Sixth Grave on the Edge

Eep! The cover for Darynda Jones' Sixth Grave on the Edge is up on Goodreads!! I admit to missing the older covers where we saw Charley on them. I thought those were just better for some reason. I like having the heroine on the cover for the most part. But the new covers will just take getting used to! I sooooooo cannot wait for more Reyes! And Charley too of course!!

Few things in life can come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of Satan is one of them. Now that she's agreed to marry Reyes Farrow, Charley Davidson feels like it's about time she knows more about his past. With Reyes reluctant to open up, Charley decides to take matters into her own hands and investigates secretly when the official FBI file of his childhood abduction lands in her lap. Because what could go wrong with that?

Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap, too—one with dangerous implications. Some very determined men want to find a certain witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to disappear.

On top of that, Uncle Bob has a bizarre case involving random incidents of knifing in Albuquerque's Old Town. He suspects supernatural forces are at play, but can't solve the case without Charley's expertise.

Good thing for Charley she's used to multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow.

Sixth Grave on the Edge releases May 20, 2014

Cover Copy Reveal--The Warrior

The final Dante Walker book cover has been revealed!! Can we say holy hotness?!

War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good.

Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll.

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before—faith.

And I still need to read the second book! Where does the time go?


The Warrior releases May 6, 2014

 

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Here are 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.

"Uriah shrugs. 'I don't know, if they want to watch me scratch my butt or eat dinner, I feel that says more about them than about me.'

"I laugh. 'How often are you scratching your butt, exactly?'" p 191

TITLE: Allegiant

AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
GENRE: Dystopian YA
RELEASE DATE: October 22, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Scariest Looking Book Covers

*in no particular order

Wouldn't say these were "scary" covers, but they are definitely creepy!

1. HAUNTED

by Tamara Thorne

2. ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD

by Kendare Blake

3. GIRL OF NIGHTMARES

by Kendare Blake

4. TOUCH OF THE DEMON

By Diana Rowland

5. THE IMMORTAL RULES

by Julie Kagawa

6. RESURRECTION

by Stephen Cole

7. WOUNDED

by Stephen Cole

8. INFINITYGLASS

by Myra McEntire

This one just makes me think of possessions!

9. HUSH, HUSH (Graphic Novel)

by Becca Fitzpatrick & Jennyson Rosero

10. DARKNESS BECOMES HER (Original Hardcover)

by Kelly Keaton

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

Darkness Splintered by Keri Arthur--Review to come later this week

Roaring Midnight by Colleen Gleason (5 stars)

Moonglow by Kristen Callihan (4.5 stars)

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan (4.5 stars)

Review That was Posted:

The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa (ARC) (5 stars)

About to Start Reading:

 Allegiant by Veronica Roth

What I Plan to Read this Week:

The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Follow Friday

2014 Challenge

Stacking the Shelves

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays

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

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 - Feel 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 MALE BOOK CHARACTERS

*in no particular order

BONES

He who needs no explaining!

JANCO

I love Janco! He may not be the main hero but I love his personality and humor!

CLAY

One of my fave alpha males! 

BARRONS

Speaking of Alpha males!

IAN

Still very much hoping Jeaniene writes that Ian book!