Cover Art--Kelly Meding

Here is the cover image for Kelly Meding's Another Kind of Dead, the third book in her Dreg City series.

No BOC description yet, but will post once I see it! This title will release on July 26, 2011!

Review--Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge

EVER SINCE CROW-MAGE JACK WINTER WAS LOST IN HELL, THERE'S ONLY ONE WOMAN WHO CAN SAVE BLACK LONDON. HER NAME IS PETE CALDECOTT.

Witch hunts are on the rise and supernatural turf wars are reaching a boiling point. Then, just when it seems life couldn't get any worse for Pete, Jack reappears--but he's no loner the man she's always known. Hell has changed him forever. And he's brought back with him a whole world of trouble...

A cabal of necromancers is using ancient, unspeakable magic to turn the tide of war in their favor. Then, as the city is about to sink into chaos, Pete received a chilling directive: To end the war, you must kill the crow-mage. Beset from all sides, Pete finds herself turning to an unholy source for help...even if doing so could destroy Black London--and life as she knows it--once and for all.

Caitlin Kittredge's third book in the Black London series, Bone Gods, wasn't too bad of a read. It wasn't the greatest in my opinion, but it still had its moments. What set me off at first was that the BOC mentions Jack returning, but Jack didn't end up returning for nearly 160 pages. It was a little less than that but not by much. It was hard to get into what Pete was doing, knowing that Jack was supposed to turn up at some point. I guess if that wasn't acknowledged I could've enjoyed the first chunk more, but then I would wonder why Jack was on the cover in the first place. So really there's nothing to be done about that.

Another reason why it was hard for me to get into the story was, one I got a cold about midway and it made reading a little difficult along with comprehending. But it was just something about the story that made me confused with what was happening at certain points. And again, I didn't read over the weekend so maybe that two day break along with my head cold made it harder to remember certain things.

There was still some romance in the book. One very steamy scene between Pete and Jack. Pete and Jack have a very odd relationship which is refreshing, for at times I wonder if they still want one another with the actions they take. There seems to be a confliction between them at times as well. One minute Pete is happy with Jack and content and then a chapter later, she's ticked at him. Of course Jack is a complicated guy, so who could blame her?

The action was still pretty well paced as well.Pete has to take drastic actions to solve this case and it will have leftover results that haunt her. Overall a decent read, but not the absolute best. The ending had quite a bit of a shocker. Two really, but then I figured one out, sort of, but the real shocker was at the end, in the last 3-4 pages or so. Totally didn't see this coming which is odd since the first part happens all the time. Won't go any further that that!

Overall I give the book a 3.5/5 stars. Like I said a decent read that was entertaining at times. Because of the short break I took while reading and getting sick might have muddled my opinion a bit, but it was still a good read if not a great one.

And since my copy of Last Sacrifice still has not come in the mail yet, making me very upset, I will have to dig through my TBR pile to find something else to read!

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 theme is: BOOKS YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!

I actually put a few books on my list for Christmas and my Birthday as well since that's in 4 days! So I'm not sure when I'll get these. So once again these are in no particular order:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I kept hearing many positive reviews on this series so I thought I had to start it so book 1 went on my list!

Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel. Yet another new YA debut that I heard a lot of positive things about so I added that to my list as well!

Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead. Really I'm asking for books 2-5 because I only read the first one!

My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent, which might be hard to get under the tree since it comes out after Xmas!

Ghouls Ghouls Ghouls by Victoria Laurie, another book that releases after Xmas! Opps! :P

And there are a few more books that I want that come out after xmas that I want but might have to wait. The first 3, well 6 really since I want books 2-5 of the Georgina Kincaid series, are ones I know I'm getting for Xmas because I had my mom buy a few when they were on sale! Probably wasn't supposed to see that, but oh well!!

In My Mailbox

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

Well I didn't get my copy of Last Sacrifice this week. Was really bummed out about that. This is what happens when you preorder books!

But I didn't come out empty handed though! Not by a long shot! This week I got SIGNED copies of Changeless and Blameless by Gail Carriger that I won in a contest at Candace's Book Blog. Thanks to Gail and Candance both!

Then I got a SIGNED copy and a magnet of Wait for Dusk by Jocelynn Drake from a contest over at Literary Escapism! Thanks Jocelynn and Jackie!

Then in another contest from Literary Escapism I got a copy of Poison Kissed by Erica Hayes.

Then from NetGalley I got an E-ARC of Nicole Peeler's Tempest's Legacy, which I already read and loved! My review will go up next week. And I also got an E-ARC of Maria V. Snyder's Outside In which will be my next if my copy of Last Sacrifice doesn't come soon!

And while not necessarily a book, I also got a holiday card and calendar magnet from Jeanne Stein! Thanks Jeanne!

So that was my mailbox this week! Not too bad even though I didn't get Last Sacrifice. It should be here tomorrow though! What did you get this week?

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 the thing you like most about reading book blogs? Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely?"

I like it all actually! I like reading reviews, especially when it's a book I may be thinking about reading. I like to know what other readers think of the book especially if they read the same kinds of books I read. I like author interviews, because I like learning about the authors I love to read. And giveaways are always fun as well! Who doesn't like giveaways? And other articles that become of interest are fun too. I like to post those whenever I come across something that I think is interesting and want to share as well!

Cover Art--2 Titles!

First off is the cover art for L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight, this is the final book in the Return series or the "Damon" books. I can't wait to read it! There was quite a cliffhanger at the end of the last one. And I am dying to know who this chick on the cover is! Sort of looks like the chick on the show, not really, but sort of. I can't recall her name, she was Bella on Supernatural though.

Here is a short description from Amazon:

The vampire love triangle that spawned hundreds of thousands of fans-and inspired a major new dramatisation shown on ITV2 -concludes in this powerful final volume of The Vampire Diaries. In Midnight, golden girl Elena Gilbert is back from the Dark Dimension, having successfully freed her vampire boyfriend Stefan Salvatore from imprisonment. Saving Stefan had an unlikely consequence: his vampire brother Damon Salvatore has become a mortal. While the trio reels from this latest twist, they must still deal with the demons that have taken over Elena's hometown, Fell's Church. As in every L.J. Smith novel, no matter how dark the night, there is always a happy ending. MIDNIGHT takes Elena, Stefan, and Damon to their darkest moments yet...Danger, romance, and paranormal mystery will keep readers fascinated with this captivating finale to the New York Times bestselling series.

This one will be released March 15, 2011

And here is the cover art for Melissa Marr's debut adult novel, Graveminder! I can't wait to read this one either! The cover art here was done by the same guy who did all her WL books!

The New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series delivers her first novel for adult audiences-a captivating story about the living, the dead, and a curse that binds them

Three sips to mind the dead . . .

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is dead and Bek must go back to the place-and the man-she left a decade ago. But what she soon discovers is that Maylene was murdered and that there was good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in placid Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected. Beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D-a place from which the dead will return if their graves are not properly minded. Only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.

This title will release May 17, 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.

This week I continue with my January releases, I already did one for Hexbound, so next up is Diana Rowland's Secrets of the Demon! It has a new look with the cover, we get to see more of Kara at a different angle. I kind of like the old look better, but I'm sure this one will grow on me with further books to come!

Homicide detective Kara Gillian has a special talent: she can sense the "arcane" in our world, and there's quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. She's also a summoner of demons, and works on a task force that deals with supernatural crimes. Her partners are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they're not summoners, and they're not telling Kara why they are on this special force with her.

TO make things worse, Kara has pledged herself to one of the most powerful of demons-a Demon Lord-who helped save her partner's life, but now expects things in return. Meanwhile, she's trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and...mud. But how can she concentrate on the case when she's not even sure who-or what-her partners are?

TITLE: Secrets of the Demon
AUTHOR: Diana Rowland

GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: January 4, 2011

White Flame Tour/Contest

Starting December 10, Jordan Deen's Half Moon blog tour will begin! I'll be one of the blogs to stop at for an interview with Jordan and a piece of the puzzle that will allow you a chance to win a copy of Half Moon! I'll be posting my review for the book sometime before Jordan stops at my blog which is January 2, 2011.

There will be 11 stops to make from December 10-January 11. And it ends at Jordan's blog, so really it's 12 blogs to visit!

The prize is Half Moon swag, a signed ARC of Half Moon, a $25 Barnes and Noble Gift card, and a leather bound bracelet!

This bit here is taken from Jordan's blog explaining what you have to do at each blog you visit:

"The tour starts on 12/10/10 and will end on 1/13/11-- 'Half Moon's official release date. There are 11 bloggers total (calendar below). If you want to participate, you start on # 1 and end back here. Each blogger will have a brief interview, exclusive 'Half Moon' review and a word or section of words that you will need to collect. To be entered, you will need to follow each of the bloggers and post a comment on their review/interview posting.

At the end of the month long tour, you will have a sentence. You will email that sentence to: info@jordandeen.com and leave a comment on the White Flame Tour post that will be up on 1/13/11 to conclude the tour."

Sound good?

Here is the list of blogs you'll have to visit in order to participate:

12/11/10 ReadingTeen

12/13/10 Total Bookaholic

12/16/10 The Leo's Den

12/19/10 Bibliophilic Book Blog

12/22/10 Simple Love of Reading

12/27/10 Narratively Speaking

12/30/10 Bookshelf Sophisticate

01/02/11 a GREAT read

01/05/11 A Tale of Many Reviews

01/08/11 Murphy's Library

01/11/11 Mundie Moms

Then it ends back at Jordan's blog:

1/13/11 Jordan Deen

UPDATE: A quick note, the rules have changed, Jordan is no longer doing the sentence portion of the contest. Instead you must leave a meaningful comment on each blog's interview and review including Jordan's at the end of the event to be eligible to win the prize package!

Review--Vampires Not Invited by Cheyenne McCray

Vampire attacks are on the rise in the city that never sleeps. So why is half-human, half-Drow private eye Nyx tracking down Sprites? Sure, these "young bloods" are causing mischief all over town--like painting the Statue of Liberty's toenails neon pink. But it's not until Nyx finds herself at the Pit, the city's hottest nightclub for paranorms, that she understands what she's really up against...

Seems Master Vampire Volod has a plan--and the Sprites are in on it. By targeting the weaknesses of every paranorm in the city, from Elves to Shifters to Zombies, Volod and his fang gang aim to rule the night once and for all. Over Nyx's dead body. She loves a good challenge--and she will seduce danger at every turn to throw Volod off course. It's time for Nyx to enter the beating heart of this dark conspiracy...before driving a stake through it.

Cheyenne McCray's Night Tracker series has quickly become one of my favorites! I'll admit to being skeptical about it at first, but I am totally done with that feeling! This series is GREAT! And the latest in the series, Vampires Not Invited puts the series on its course!

If the Sprites' mischief wasn't enough, now the Vampires are getting involved. They are now the number one problem and the number one enemy. For too long Vampires have never been taken seriously. They are not true paranorms for they were once human. The Vampires are done hiding in the shadows, not literally of course since they still must avoid sunlight!

Big trouble is about to find Nyx and her other Tracker friends. Big, big trouble. The Vampires are after something that will give them total control over the world--in their eyes and their plan really does give them all the control and power they need, so it's not that far off base of taking over the world!

The action was pretty good, hardly any dull moments! And of course there was a good dose of danger that Nyx gets herself into! 

The romance was decent as well, not a whole lot but the bits that were between Adam and Nyx were very intense! That's what I love about these books (along with others), they aren't overloaded with sex scenes, but the romance scenes that you do get are pretty intense and I like how they are tastefully written!

There were quite a few surprises in the story as well, which I won't share. The ending is a doozie though! It makes you think if somethings might carry over into the next book. And if there weren't already enough clues in the past three books and the knowledge that the third book is titled, Zombies Sold Separately, zombies will be the next thing Nyx tackles and since she HATES zombies, the next one will definitely be a GREAT read!

Overall I give this one a 4.5/5 stars. My only problem was I had a lapse in reading time and somethings got lost and muddled, but that was more because of how I read it! It was still just as amazing as the first two!

Teaser Tuesday

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

Still reading Cheyenne McCray's Vampires Not Invited! Really liking it, just have too much on my mind lately to really enjoy it like I should. Things aren't super hectic but enough to put a cramp into my reading.

Teaser Tuesday 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.

"The three of us looked at the rags he was wearing to see how he could possibly be carrying a phone. Olivia and Adam both seemed to be at a loss for words. The bigger surprise was Olivia not having something to say." p 125

TITLE: Vampires Not Invited
AUTHOR: Cheyenne McCray
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2010

NEW LOOK!

I'm giving my blog a new look! I decided it was high time for a change! I'm still tinkering with a few more odds and ends, which might take longer than it should because I am not computer savvy.

Still trying to figure out how I get my "Followers" icons to show up, it says it's there but because the dimensions were likely too big, it didn't put it up at all. If anyone knows how to solve the problem please let me know, otherwise it might be awhile!

Another thing I'm trying to work on is the menu bar. I can't seem to edit the one they gave me so can add my contest page and fix a few other things into it. I had to add my "Pages" bar below theirs and it's kind of hard to see. So if you're looking for the contest page it's in the upper left corner near my "Currently Reading" picture.

So that's what I was working on this morning after I renewed my license which took longer than I thought for going once the DMV opened. Now I'm off to work on a few other things. Not much reading on the schedule today, bummer! But I hope to be back into the thick of things tomorrow!

And again, if anyone knows how to solve my two problems I mentioned above, please leave a comment or you can email me. My email is in my contact page. Which is another thing, my picture of myself disappeared in the "About Me". 

I hate technology sometimes!

**Had to change the template because the purple wasn't working for some with the way the titles were arranged and everything. Trying this blue one now! I also have another saved that I liked that I might try another time. This is kind of exhausting! I like this blue one because I really like the tree in the back, because it reminds me of the forest and every time I see a forest I have a million ideas running through my head! It's pretty inspiring for me for some reason!

So how does this one look to everyone? From my view everything looks fine, layout wise. Not sure how it looks to everyone else. The one thing I don't like is that the time stamp is so small. Not sure how to make that bigger and if I have a post scheduled than that doesn't even get a time stamp since it was scheduled.

Review--Reaper by Rachel Vincent

Tod Hudson was a typical teenager. He liked girls, sports, food and tolerated his younger brother, Nash. In fact, he had his whole life in front of him--and due to his bean sidhe heritage, it was going to be a very long life indeed. And then the car accident occurred.

Suddenly Tod's future wasn't so sure, and he had to make a choice. Life... Death... or something Between....

An ebook exclusive Soul Screamers series novella.

I love just about everything Rachel Vincent writes! No joke! Her Shifters series was amazing and I so can't wait to read her next adult series that should come out some time next year if I remember correctly. And her YA series, Soul Screamers is amazing as well! And the short novellas that Rachel has now written that take place before My Soul to Take are incredible! You get to know the backstory behind certain events. 

The first novella, My Soul to Lose, told us of Kaylee's time in the hospital when she was admitted for being "odd" so to speak. And now in Reaper, we get to find out how Tod, Nash's older brother became a reaper. And boy what a story that was!

It's hard to write a review for a novella since it's already so short, but basically, like in My Soul to Lose and getting a glimpse of Kaylee's life before My Soul to Take, we get a glimpse of what Tod was like when he was still human and how he became to be a reaper. And like I said it was a very interesting story. It shines new light onto some of the other characters involved as well.

Kaylee wasn't really in this one since it was about Tod, but Nash was there and Sabine was mentioned. Sabine will be a character we see in My Soul to Steal that comes out later this month and who is already a problem child. There was a printed published short story called Fearless, that was about her in an anthology that was recently published this year, Kiss Me Deadly. I haven't read that one either.

But overall this was a very enjoyable short story. It took me maybe an hour to read. I can't remember what time I actually started it, but I know it was well before noon! I'm an early riser and I had already been reading. I finished up one book, then read this before starting another one around 11:30ish.

So I give the story 5/5 stars because it was seriously good and I love getting the backstory behind what happened to Tod to where he got to today.

And since it's currently a free download, I highly suggest reading it! Here's a link to Rachel's blog where she has listed the many places where you can get an e-copy of Reaper. Also, please note that this won't stay free forever. I don't know the cut off date, but since it just released December 1, there's still plenty of time to read it!

My Soul to Lose isn't a free download anymore, but you can still read it for free on Rachel's website. Click here for a direct link.

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 theme is:  Best Fiction Hotties I Want Under My Tree! 

Ooh I like this one!! So naturally these will be in no particular order because really, how can a girl choose from so many and then have to number them off? ;)

And since I don't really know how to picture these hunkalicious guys, I'm not going to have the best pictures for them. At the very least it will just be the series cover art.

BONES! How can I have a list of hotties and NOT have Jeaniene Frost's Bones up here! I mean that's like impossible! For me at least!! Ch 32!!! (Had to be said!!)

NATHANIAL from Kalayna Price's Haven series! I love that this vampire is so deeply protective and considerate to Kita. Kita has it rough having been a shifter and then turned into a vampire and she's doing her best to learn the ropes and Nathanial is kind and patience and oh boy was there a WONDERFUL chapter in Twice Dead with him and Kita. Showers can be delicious!

CLAY from Kelley Armstong's the Otherworld series has always been my fave guy and he still is! Even though he can come off possessive, once you really look at him you realize he's just protective and still a good decent husband. He's always had eyes for Elena and I love that about him.

DAVID from Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series! Oh wow, was he a total hottie! Even in the beginning as the simple Djinn that he was! And the hottub scene with him and Joanne! Oh my!

VALEK from Maria V. Snyder's Study series and Glass series too, but Valek was mostly in the Study ones. And even though these books have that "past-y" feel to them, Valek made my heart soar! Oh wow was he a great guy. He was stealthy and dangerous, yet still very passionate about Yelena. Any scene he was in was drool worthy! Totally love him!

Dear Santa, 

I've been really super good this year, so could you please bring me the five delicious specimen of hotties that I listed above and put them under my tree? Along with any other hotties you feel I deserve. ;) 

Thanks Santa!

Love, Jessica

In My Mailbox

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

Well I didn't get any books last week, but I got a ton of them this week to make up for it!!

First I got a bunch that I won in a contest from Vampire Book Club: 

I got The Iron Daughter and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and Intertwined and Unraveled by Gena Showalter.

Then I won a SIGNED copy of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White from a contest over at The Nerd's Wife.

Then I also downloaded a copy of Rachel Vincent's Reaper! That review will be up later today with a link to places where you can download your own copy! This one is all about Tod!! Oh yeah!

Then I bought a few books for myself, which were Vampires Not Invited by Cheyenne McCray and Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge.

Then I bought another book that I intend to use in my own writing that's more of a "research" book because I thought it was pretty interesting and already have 2 others in different categories, but needed one for demons. So I bought The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology by Rosemary Guiley.

So after a week of getting nothing, I'd say I more than made up for that! So what did you get this week?

Cover Art--Cat Adams

Saw the cover for Cat Adams' Demon Song today and had to share! I LOVE it!! Celia looks freaking awesome! I love her fangs hanging over her lips and the orange looks stellar. And her eyes are even glowing. Totally amazing!! This title releases March 1, 2011.

In a world where magic is real and the supernatural is almost normal, bodyguard Celia Graves has survived a vampire attack which made her a half-vampire and awakened her latent Siren abilities. She’s battled a Siren Queen to the death and twice faced down a demon that wants to kill her--slowly. She’s also had her heart broken--twice--by her old flame, magician Bruno DeLuca.

Perhaps the worst thing was the discovery that Celia’s life has been warped by a curse laid on her during childhood--the cause of everything from the death of her little sister to the murder of her best friend the same night that Celia became an Abomination.

An ancient rift between the demonic dimension and our own--sealed during the destruction of Atlantis--begins to open, threatening to loose all the demons of hell on humanity (including the one personally bent on destroying Celia). Celia’s hellish recent experiences have given her the unique combination of abilities needed to close the rift. But to overcome the curse, which nearly guarantees her failure, she’ll need to join forces with people she no longer trusts...and put people she has come to care about directly in harm’s way.

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 very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

One book I heard a lot about and the series being great was Jennifer Estep's Spider's Bite. For some reason I just couldn't get into it. Something about the writing style bugged me and I reflected this in my review. I went in wanting to love it, but I just couldn't. And I hated to talk about all the bad things in the book that everyone so loved. So in my review, I just expressed why this book didn't work for me. That other people still like the series and I wanted to be one, but just couldn't get over some things.

Review--Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

TORN BETWEEN TWO DESTINIES...

Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and her crush keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: She's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she finds her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart. Burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, she will be forced to make a choice that will change her life forever...

Christine Johnson definitely takes a different spin on werewolves with her novel Claire de Lune. Here is a world where no male werewolves exist and only women are wolves.

There is a sense of order to the pack that Claire soon becomes apart of via her mother, but the numbers are still scarce. I'll admit, this was only a so-so read. I would'nt have read this except I won it in a contest so I thought, what the heck? It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't really exciting enough. I mean there were some exciting parts, there is a werewolf on the loose who is killing people, some important people as well.

To make matters more dicey, there is a man who is set to "cure" werewolves--this is also an open world where the world knows about werewolves and humans do their best to avoid them. But this man's idea of a cure isn't nearly so. In fact some of his "success" stories have been males who have lapsed into comas but have been cured of their so called curse. And the clincher? This man is the father of Matthew, Claire's crush and potential boyfriend.

So there was a bit of interest there. The romance between Claire and Matthew was the sweet first love kind between sixteen year olds. So that was just kind of cute, but sometimes it had me rolling my eyes. But it wasn't horrible.

I even thought I had the mystery part of it solved, but I was totally wrong. I thought one character was the murderer because evidence was making them look very suspicious so I thought it had to be this person. When clues turned you towards someone else, I thought no because it was too easy for it to be them. Then I wondered if the two were in league, but that was wrong too, there is only 1 killer werewolf. So I didn't know how to feel about that. When the mystery seemed too easy and yet my answer was still wrong because I didn't want to go with the other more likely and easier answer. I was trying to guess the more shocking one. So that part was a little disappointing.

The ending was another shocker, sort of at least. There was one part that I thought was wrapped up too smoothly when I thought it would be more complicated, but then that wouldn't mesh with some of the other events that shaped one of the characters.

Overall it was an okay read. Nothing spectacular. I really wanted to like it because again, still liking the werewolves right now but my addiction is dying down as I haven't come across many more good werewolf novels. So I would give Claire de Lune a 3/5 read. Not bad, but not great either. It was just okay. If you're still curious to read it I would suggest trying the library or borrowing it from someone else if they have it.

Contests Alert

First contest I have to share is one from Reading on the Darkside! Christine has a lovely interview with Christina Henry up talking about the release of her new book Black Wings. You can enter for a chance to win a copy!

Click here for the link.

Another contest that I came across was over at The Thoughts of a Book Junky! Steph has an author spotlight on Francesa Lia Block. There's a nice interview up and a chance to win 1 of 2 of her books. A vampire book or werewolf to crave your needs for the holidays! 

Click here for the link.

Cheyenne McCray at Bitten By Books

Totally forgot to do this earlier, but Cheyenne McCray is over at Bitten by Books today!! I so can't wait to read Vampires Not Invited! Absolutely love the blue cover and this series has become one of my fast favorites!

Cheyenne will be around to answer questions and there are some fabulous prizes up for grabs like gift certificates to Amazon and copies of No Werewolves Involved!

So head on over, contest ends December 2 at 11:59 PM Central

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.

Now that I finished up the releases I'm waiting for for the rest of the year, I'll move into 2011, which so far has a LOT of GREAT reads!!! I so can't wait to devour them all!

First up I have Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler, the third book in her Jane True series that I became fastly addicted to! And I'm really liking the covers too! I was a little thrown off at first, but after reading the first book, I realized how perfect the covers are for the series. Yes, I still like seeing the kick-ass heroine in dark colors and all that, but these covers are different, it makes a nice change every once in awhile, like Victoria Laurie's covers.

After a peaceful hiatus at home in Rockabill, Jane True thinks that her worst problem is that she still throws like a girl – at least while throwing fireballs. Her peace of mind ends, however, when Anyan arrives one night with terrible news . . . news that will rock Jane’s world to its very core.

After demanding to help investigate a series of gruesome attacks on females — supernatural, halfling, and human — Jane quickly finds herself forced to confront her darkest nightmares as well as her deepest desires.

And she’s not sure which she finds more frightening.

TITLE: Tempest's Legacy
AUTHOR: Nicole Peeler
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: January 3, 2011