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.

While Merit didn’t choose to become a vampire or Sentinel of Cadogan House, she vowed to fight for her House and its Master, and she’s managed to forge strong alliances with powerful supernaturals across Chicago. But even though Merit has had wild adventures, this may be her deadliest yet...

A killer is stalking Chicago, preying on humans and leaving his victims with magical souvenirs. The CPD hasn’t been able to track the assailant, and as the body count rises, the city is running out of options. Vampires and humans aren’t on great terms, but murder makes for strange bedfellows. Can Merit find the killer before she becomes a target?

Sooo cannot wait for this one! I won an ARC of it, but at the time of writing this post it still hasn't arrive, but then I still have to wait until August to get it with the awesome cover!


TITLE: Blood Games
AUTHOR: Chloe Neill
PUBLISHER: NAL Trade
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: August 5, 2014

Review--Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore

Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare-a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules.

Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.

Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.

Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

I received this ebook from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review. 


Jaclyn Dolamore's Dark Metropolis sounded like an intriguing read! There was a buildup of mystery, magic, and monsters! But somewhere along the lines it began to fall apart for me.

Perhaps it starts with the beginning, things moved along really fast, almost too fast. I enjoy a good fast, paced read every now and then, but I felt like this was so fast I struggled to keep up. I couldn't understand who my characters were other then a first name basis. What exactly was the point of everything that just happened? I really wouldn't be able to tell you.

Thea is your not-so-typical teen; she waitresses to support herself and her mother instead of going to school. Her father is presumed dead in war, and it has made her mother totally heartsick and a tad bit crazy. Her parents were magically bound to one another at their wedding--a practice that wasn't enforced at the time, but her parents did it anyway. Basically, it makes them attached to one another so completely, should they lose the other...well, bad things happen. And so they do. Then suddenly Thea's mother is "found out" as Thea was trying to keep her mother's illness a secret so she wouldn't be left alone. 

During the thick of all this, she meets Freddy, a mysterious boy with a talent of his own. As we learn rather quickly, he can bring the dead back to life.

Throughout all this, I still couldn't exactly understand what the greater impact was. It becomes clear it involved Freddy and his unique powers. But then, Nat, Thea's friend who goes missing ends up playing a larger role than I anticipated. For a good chunk of the novel we are with her and dealing with her issues, that I was left wondering who are main character actually was. Thea shared a good chunk of page time with both Freddy and Nat.

As far as romance went, there wasn't a whole lot of that either. We get teases between Freddy and Thea, but it was like any romance between them wasn't really important to the story, which is usually fine, but it seemed like the two really connected and were involved with one another, it just sort of seemed expected that romance would play a part in their story, but it kind of didn't.

Overall, I just really couldn't grasp this story. There was a lot of potential for a thrilling read, but I wasn't so thrilled. I had to force myself into finishing it. It's a nice read if you're wanting a sort of slower paced kind of read, where the story takes longer to build, but the action still moves forward pretty quickly. But it really just wasn't for me.


Overall Rating 1.5/5 stars

ARC Review--The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

I received this ARC from the publishers via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was a huge fan of Jodi Lynn Anderson's Tiger Lily, so I was excited for her new release. The Vanishing Season seemed to have quite a lot going for it, a murderer on the loose and that just screams mystery! But sadly, this really just didn't live up to any of my expectations. As a paranormal/fantasy reader I was hoping for that excitement and intrigue, but what I got was a contemporary novel. If you enjoy contemporaries than this just might be the read for you!

Maggie and her parents just moved to this small town of Door County. Maggie is the sort of shy and quiet teenager, she's nice and friendly and ambitious.  She soon meets Pauline, her neighbor, who's a girl her age who's like the complete opposite of Maggie, being bold and daring and outgoing. She's kind of scattered-brain sometimes too. Then there's Liam, who's hopelessly in love with Pauline. The three of them form a friendship of sorts.

Lately, there have been girls going missing around the area, then they turn up later, dead. I was really intrigued by this part. Expecting a whole murder mystery going on, but sadly, this part played such a minor role in the story. It does lead to Pauline's mom sending her away until the murderer is caught. Which leads to Maggie and Liam spending a lot of time together. It wasn't really insta love, remember, Liam is in love with Pauline, but she doesn't see him that way. So Maggie and Liam have a sweet romantic relationship going on.

In the midist of all this, there are excerpts in the chapters that come from a mysterious voice. I wasn't sure if it was a ghost or even a wisp, since it doesn't seem to know who it is either. It might be a wisp. It might be a ghost. But this entity sees everything going on. It seems to know things too. It was quite strange, and this is what kept me hooked for awhile.

That was about it as far as the story goes. Granted, Pauline does come back and there's huge relationship drama going on when she sees Maggie and Liam together. Even though, she's found herself her own boyfriend, but she doesn't like him all that much. So yeah, the drama runs very high in this one.

I guess what I was expecting from this was a great murder mystery going on. I didn't get that. True, there is a murderer on the loose, but it wasn't the main part of the story. It was barely even a key point. This is solely about Maggie's life in a new town. She finds love quickly, has it taken away. Her parents are great, but money is extremely tight, so that's always a pressing issue. She's homeschooled, but doesn't mind it. There just was never anything that stood out to me in this one. Maggie is an ordinary girl who does ordinary things and experiences ordinary things. It was basically completely ordinary, with the exception of those excerpts from the mysterious entity.

I just couldn't enjoy this one. I kept going and going, thinking that something is bound to happen! I wanted to know who or what this entity, voice, thing was. And that does get revealed. But it didn't make up for anything. I was completely devastated by this book, because I thought it was going to be so much more than it seems. But sadly it just wasn't. 

However, I want to state again, that I am a paranormal reader. I thought that this one was going to have some paranormal twist to it. And the entity is a very minor sort of twist, I was just expecting more from it. But if you are a contemporary reader, I would recommend this one to you. You might just love it! But as someone who loves the paranormal, like myself, I would say it's not your or my cup of tea.


Overall Rating 1.5/5 stars--again this rating is more so based on the fact that it turned into a contemporary novel instead of a paranormal read. I don't care for contemporaries and thought that the paranormal twist to this one would've been stronger, and it wasn't. Hence my low rating. This rating is based on a paranormal reader's interest. 


The Vanishing Season releases July 1, 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

"'You're the one,' he said. 'The reviver. It's true. But are you the only one?'


'I am the only one.'" Kindle location 49%*






*Quote comes from ARC edition, therefore it and its location may not be final.

TITLE: Dark Metropolis
AUTHOR: Jacyln Dolamore
PUBLISHER: Disney-Hyperion
GENRE: Dystopian YA
RELEASE DATE: June 17, 2014

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: Ten Book Cover Trends I Like/Dislike

*in no particular order

Likes:

 1. Moons/Woods--are you surprised this is my example? For some reason these nighttime, woodsy covers with moons really get to me! Or maybe it was just this series' covers! I loved them soooo much!

2. Cartoony Covers--sometimes they can be hit or miss, but for the most part I love them! Especially on these paranormal cozy mysteries! They just look so appealing!

3. Kickass Heroine--and what better cover than a Kim Harrison one?! She was my first KA Heroine! And I really liked how For a Few Demons More turned out--COVER WISE!!!

4. Fire--yup, gotta love a cover with flames! Vlad's pretty nice next to them too!

5. Weapon Wielding Peeps--whether it's a heroine or hero, when they have their weapon of choice out, looking badass, it's pretty appealing! This is different from my kickass heroine one because that one doesn't require weapons and this one is specific to the hero/heroine's weapon of choice being pictured with them!

Dislikes:

6. Ravish Me Covers--yeah, not too much of a fan of the covers where the couple is all grabby-grab and half naked. Still totally LOVED reading this book though! Although it did require a hide-a-cover since I read it at my pt job and school and I did not need other people seeing this cover and getting the wrong idea!

7. Blah?--how to describe this one, I really liked the original hardcover of The Immortal Rules then this one came out and it was just so plain. There wasn't much to see other than these veins. It just lacks pizazz! Still an AWESOME read though!

8. Cartoony Gone Wrong--now I like a good cartoony cover, but sometimes they don't look so right. When the H&W Investigations series started, the covers were cartoony but the heroine just looked wrong. Her face looked kind of warped or something. Still a FAB series!

9. Nakedness for Naked Sake--now I have no problem with a shirtless guy on a cover, if there's something else going on! Like with Vlad up there, there's flames, he's turned to the side, there's a bat! There's just MORE to it! This guy, is just front and center, here's my chest. It's just boring. But again still a GREAT read!!!

10. Too Small Pictures--I joined the Fever scene late in the game, so I have the re-released mass market paperbacks. Mac is just so tiny. You don't really get a feel for the story in some ways. I don't know, I just wish the scene was bigger! But again, this is another INCREDIBLE series! Still need to read Iced too!

Mini-ARC Review--Queen of Hearts by Kristen Painter

Welcome to Las Vegas, home of the Sin City Collectors. The job description is easy: Bring the offending supernatural in to the Boss and don’t ask any questions.

Feline shifter Claudette Marchon traded life as a showgirl to become a Sin City Collector, giving up the glamour to earn some serious cash in order to buy her own business. Mission accomplished, she now runs a pawn shop specializing in gems and jewelry.

Life is good until a Collection job requiring her specific skill set lures her back in. The Queen of Hearts, a museum-worthy ruby and diamond necklace has been stolen from the Boss’s private collection and she’s his last hope to do what two other Collectors have already failed to do. Bring in the necklace. And the thief.

But gargoyle Jason Tennant isn’t quite the dangerous criminal Claudette expects. In fact, he’s not a thief at all. He’s former Special Ops and being set up by the real mastermind, forcing her to decide between the man she’s falling for and the man she works for. Proving Jason innocent may risk the Boss’s wrath, but Claudette’s heart says it’s a gamble worth taking.

What’s Collected in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Kristen Painter is yet another of the fabulous authors who contributes to the Sin City Collectors! Queen of Hearts is her first novella in this fantastic series!

Claudette is a former show girl turned former Collector turned pawn shop owner, yet one never really leaves the Collector business. Her retirement came with the stipulation that she could be called in if necessary and the mysterious Boss has claimed it necessary.

Jason Tennant, a gargoyle, has stolen the famed Queen of Hearts--a necklace that's worth a LOT--and the Boss wants Claude to bring in Jason and the necklace. Going undercover, she soon learns that there's a lot more going on then meets the eye. Such as Jason is being held prisoner of a sort by a magician.

Having just read a gargoyle novel, I was delighted to see another in this one! Jason was one hot hero! I loved that he had a complex background, well, complex enough! There's always more than meets the eye in Sin City! And that goes for Claude as well, she's got her own secrets and buried past. Jason was a total badass in some ways, but then he had a softer side that came to light where Claude was concerned and it was completely endearing!

As with most novellas, the pacing here was pretty quick. It didn't move so fast you couldn't keep up, but just a nice fast paced so there are no dragging moments! There's humor and romance spread throughout and a good dose of suspense as well!

This one didn't end like I initially thought and that was a pleasant delight! Filled with some pretty good action, juicy paranormal bits and of course some sprinklings of hot romance, this is one novella series that just totally rocks! And I am sure it will continue to rock with the other authors' contributions as well! I gotta find out who the next author is and the title! 
 


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Queen of Hearts releases July 1, 2014

ARC Review--Enslaved by the Others by Jess Haines

Vampires, werewolves, magi and worse-the Others have joined the mortal world, and there's no turning back now...

As a New York P.I. and Other specialist, Shiarra Waynest has been in plenty of trouble before. But waking up in a windowless room the prisoner of a vampire slave trader is a shock for anyone. Shia has her wits, her bravado, and a couple of used staples, so maybe she can take on a mansion full of serious evil.

But although she's desperate to escape, Shia needs some answers too. Her friends are in danger. There are betrayers and spies among them. And even if she can figure out what's going on and somehow get a message out, she's still a captive of the worst kind...

I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Jess Haines's Enslaved by the Others picks up where the explosive ending of Forsaken by the Others left off! And wow! Just wow!

Shiarra's character is beyond my favorite when it comes to character development. In the beginning she was a bit...hateful towards supernaturals, but she has grown so much over the course of six novels. True, she has her setbacks and moments, but that's what always makes her struggles realistic. She's not the same character she was from Hunted by the Others by a long shot!

Shia wakes up in the hands of her enemy, Max. She's his prisoner and she has no idea where she's even at. There are other prisoners with her, but Max has plans for Shia. Ones she really doesn't even want to know about, all in order to get at his enemy, Alec Royce.

For a good chunk of the novel, Shia is at Max's hands and caters to his whim. He tortures and torments her and a few of the other women as well. I was wondering if anyone would ever come to Shia's rescue, because despite having some power on her side, she was in a great need of some assistance. But Shia proves that determination and a will to live and be free are all enough to make an escape and that she does. But the story is far from over, because she will have to go back into the enemy's hands in order to rescue her best friend and all the other prisoners Max keeps locked away.

I struggled to remember what had happened with Shia last time around, but luckily Jess gives us enough lines to spark a decent memory of it all. Because really, Shia's current predicament is vastly important and relevant to whatever happened last time around! But as I said, we get the details that are necessary to recall what's gone down and that works perfectly for me!

I guess what upset me most with this one, as with the last one, is that we don't get enough of Alec. It was like after that surprise ending of Stalking the Others, Shia got shipped off right away in Forsaken by the Others. She and Alec have been apart wayyy too much. I miss their dynamics together! Especially since they were just getting romantic.

And while the two are apart for a good chunk of the novel, they do see each other again in this one. Won't get further into that, other than saying it was just as explosive as it was when they were last together! 

The pacing to this one was pretty good! For the first chunk of the novel I was reading in anticipation, waiting to see if Shia could escape, what would Max do to her next and all those sorts of dangers when you're in the hands of the enemy! The tension truly never let up! And that's a good thing!

The ending here left us a little bit more content with where the characters are. Sure, there are still some unresolved problems, but they seem minimal for the moment. I'm sure they will play much larger roles in the next book or two! So it's all a matter of waiting, yet again, for the next installment in what is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars


Enslaved by the Others releases July 1, 2014

Random Giveaway!

So as I said in my STS post, while I was at RT this year, the beloved Goodie Room--a magical room filled with ARCs or recently released books, a pretty wide variety actually--had copies of The Beautiful Ashes! But as we all soon learned, these were like the first draft of the book! Jeaniene was pretty embarrassed, because they were quite literally her first draft of them, the pubs put them together super quick for RT, which was nice and all, but still. 

So she said if you wanted to have a better edited ARC to turn them into her and she'd send them to the pubs and get the edited ARC and send them back out to us! Which was SUPER nice! I wasn't even really expecting to get 2 back really, I had grabbed an extra to giveaway. And lo and behold...this weekend I got 2 ARCs in the mail!

So GIVEAWAY time!

I'll make it a really simple giveaway, but sadly I will have to make it open to US followers ONLY! Terribly sorry, but I am getting close to 1600 followers and that will open up an international giveaway! As soon as I hit the magic number there'll be a contest! 

Simple rafflecopter form below, you know what to do!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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:

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz (5 stars)

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (ARC)--Review to come at a later date

Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch (4 stars)

Stone Embrace by Danielle Monsch (4 stars)*

Darksider by Erin Kellison (5 stars)*

Captured by S.J. Harper (5 stars)*

Queen of Hearts by Kristen Painter (ARC)*--Review to come later this morning

*These were all short reads, like novellas! So they were rather quick. I'd say combined all them and it was about another novel's length! So It's not like I read a WHOLE lot! ;)

About to Start Reading:

Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore (ARC)

What I Plan to Read this Week:

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays 

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Follow Friday

Top 5 Sundays

Stacking the Shelves

 

Stacking the Shelves

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


So yeah, I added yet again more books to the TBR mountain this week! Why I thought I could get caught up somewhat in June I had no idea!! It's laughable now that I said that earlier this month!

Anyways, here's what I bought:

 Captured by S.J. Harper--already read and reviewed! One less to the TBR mountain!

Dead Girl Walking by Ruth Silver--a kindle sale for .99!

Shattered by Kevin Hearne--a SIGNED B&N Copy!

Blood Bath & Beyond by Michelle Rowen--because I apparently bought book 2 at RT!

Then I got some swag from Gretchen McNeil and Amanda Carlson:

There's postcards, bookmarks, a button & a bag, coaster, bookmark, stickers and signed post card!!

Thanks Gretchen & Amanda!!

Then awhile back I won Becky at Book Bite Reviews pre-BEA contest!! I chose a SIGNED copy of Talon!!

Talon by Julie Kagawa (ARC)

So it was mistakenly signed to Jennifer! Whoops! It's still a TALON ARC!!!

Thanks Becky!!

Then for review from the publisher and author I got:

Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore (ARC)

Queen of Hearts by Kristen Painter (ARC)--already read and review to come next week!
The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost (ARC)--I actually got 2 of these, because while at RT, I picked 2 out of the Goodie Room, but they were such a rough draft that Jeaniene said to send them to her and she'd send the proper ARC out! And I got them this week! So look for a giveaway of the extra soon!

Thanks Disney-Hyperion, Netgalley, Kristen, & Jeaniene!

So that was my week, but at least I read 2 of the novellas that I got! And Dark Metropolis is my last Netgalley read (at the moment!) then I got that outlet cleared up, just 1 of Edelweiss to read and quite a few real ARCs/review books to read still and there's still some coming! What did you get?