Nov 7, 2011

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:
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (4 stars)
Angel Town by Lilith Saintcrow (4 stars)
Trance by Kelly Meding (4.5 stars)


Currently Reading:

Drink Deep by Chloe Neill


What I Plan to Read this Week:


Darkness Rising by Keri Arthur


Other Posts of Interest:


Have a busy week ahead of me towards the end, so I'm not entirely sure that I will be able to read a whole lot. So I'm setting the bar low, I might be able to squeeze another book in if things go well!




Nov 6, 2011

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

The end of the year is slowly wrapping up and so are book releases, but there are still plenty to be had! Got a few more titles this week and already diving into one of them!
Reckoning by Lili St. Crow
Drink Deep by Chloe Neill
The Hollows Insider by Kim Harrison (and I got the 1st edition with the glow in the dark cover!!)
Touch of Power (UK ARC SIGNED) by Maria V. Snyder*



*Received from Maria for review, thanks again Maria! One of my few foreign edition books!! Love this cover!!



Nov 5, 2011

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 GUN-TOTTING HEROINES!


*in no particular order

ALLIE BECKSTROM

Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk
Okay, so Allie is a newly gun-totting heroine, but still as of now she carries one!! And she looks so kickass!


SABINA KANE

Sabina Kane series by Jaye Wells
Sabina totally knows how to wield a gun! And look killer doing it!


CASSANDRA ARCHER

Earth Witches series by Lee Roland
The new UF series that debut this year tat I totally loved!! Even the cover is beautiful and totally says UF!! Cass is one of my new fave heroines too!


KARA GILLIAN

Kara Gillian series by Diana Rowland
Kara is definitely one of my fave cops! She's a good shot and knows how to handle demons as well!!


NIKKI GLASS

Descendants series by Jenna Black
Totally love Nikki! She's one of my fave new heroines from 2011 as well! First I love that her story has Greek mythology intertwined in it and that she's a descendant of Artemis--who was my FAVE Greek goddess!! 


Other Noteworthy Gun-Totting Heroines




ALEXANDRA SABIAN (Alexandra Sabian series by Jeannie Holmes)
ANNA STRONG (Anna Strong Chronicles by Jeanne Stein)
MORGAN KINGSLEY (Morgan Kingsley series by Jenna Black)
MALIHA CRAYNE (Mortal Path series by Dakota Banks)
EUGENIE MARKHAM (Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead)
JACE VALCHEK (The Bloodhound series by DD Barant)






Nov 4, 2011

Review--Trance by Kelly Meding

Kelly Meding’s war-ravaged Los Angeles is ground zero for the ultimate Meta human showdown in this sexy, action-packed new series.

Fifteen years ago, Teresa “Trance” West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she’s bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they’re completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they’re threatening to destroy her.

Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons.

Kelly Meding's new series takes off with Trance, in a new kind of place with new characters! Trance has a slight dystopian feel to it, but not entirely. The world is just a different place. Not entirely great, but not horrendous or filled with a lot of new tech.

Things are explained nicely, but basically we have heroes and villains, but something odd happened 15 years ago when Trance, Teresa was just 10 years old, her powers, along with the powers of her friends just disappeared. Teresa than began living a life of a normal human, but her life wasn't anything grand. Until one night her powers suddenly come back, slamming into her like a freight train. Only her powers aren't the same as they were when she was 10. She seems to have gained some of her grandmother's abilities as well.

Feeling compelled to go back to LA where it all ended and started, Teresa is joined by a few of her friends from her childhood. The ones that lived anyway. And Gage is one of them. The boy she had a secret crush on in the past.

I honestly really enjoyed this book, I did have my doubts when I read a so-so review, but it was far better than I expected. We basically have a book with superheroes, but not comic or graphic. Teresa and her friends have superpowers and abilities that they use to help people. Only not all of society likes them, but Teresa and her friends want to change that.

But the big bad guy from their past, the one their parents were trying to fight, is on the loose and taking them out one by one. Diminishing their numbers, Teresa will have to get her act together and get her team together to stop him before there's no one left.

There is a bit of romance sparking between Teresa and Gage that I enjoyed. It wasn't insta love, but it did happen kind of fast, yet they did know each other years ago. Yet they both have their issues that they must each get through so that they can trust the other completely--it's that part I liked. I like the romances that are challenged by one or the other. Sure sometimes the hangups can be annoying, but it is somehow real.

The ending was good! There were some surprising outcomes that I didn't expect, yet one I did have an inkling theory on! But the ending is not the ending, as Teresa says, it's only the beginning, the beginning of a new series!

There were just a few things that made reading a little challenging, Teresa and her friends all have code names, and they go back and forth with referring to one another with them. I got Teresa and Gage's down pretty good, but it was the others that made me pause because I had to remember their other name in order to remember their code name. The other part was some of the politic issues--which weren't a lot--that made it hard to grasp as well. But again, the politics weren't even that big of an issue, it was just some things that also dealt with the Ranger Corps and Meta War history that kind of befuddled me for a bit, but I got over it pretty easily!

Still, LOVE this series now! Not sure if I rate it above her other series or not. It's a tough call! But I will definitely be sticking with this one til its end!

Overall rating 4.5/5 stars



Friday Hops

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!):

Check back later!

MY ANSWER:



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: Today’s Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.


MY ANSWER: Forgive my wild hair, I just got out of the shower when I got on my laptop to do my blogging!













Nov 3, 2011

Cover Art--Kiersten White

EEP!! The cover for Endlessly is live!! Kiersten has posted it on her blog and already it's hitting the blogosphere elsewhere and I have to say I LOVE it!! Looooove the purple, think it's so beautiful and for some reason think it's a good color for Endlessly!!

No cover description yet, but will post once it's up!

Endlessly releases July 24, 2012



Cover Copy Reveal--Meg Cabot

Saw this earlier today in the blogosphere and had to post! I know that not everyone loved this one or liked it. But I did! I so <3 Greek mythology and this cover is just wicked!!! Totally brings the Greek myth to life when Hades snatched Persephone!!


From #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, the dark re-imagining of the Persephone myth begun in Abandon continues ... into the Underworld.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn't dead.

Not this time.

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.

Her captor, John Hayden, claims it's for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they've come back as Furies, intent on vengeance . . . on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.

But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there . . . and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there'll be no escape.

Underworld releases in May 2012! So can't wait!!!



Random Thursday

Okay I couldn't find the right picture that I wanted to go with this random post, but I'll explain it!

In the mornings I tend to watch reruns of What I Like about You, and actually I caught this when the show was still airing. Anyways...back when Val was running her bakery, Sugar Babies--and it was a bakery, not the cafe like in the last season, they tended to show the menu behind the register.

It was the drink menu in particular, listing all they had, coffee, teas, soda, water...well if you notice Tap Water (which is at the very bottom of the list) costs $5 for a small and $10 for a large, but if you notice the other drinks they are all cheaper! So yeah, you can pay $10 for a large tap water or like $3.50 for a large sparkling water!!

That was always something I thought was kind of funny. That tap water--usually the thing that's free, costs the most at the bakery.

I used to read this magazine as a kid that pointed out other MOVIE bloopers that had similar mistakes. It was always interesting I thought of the little mistakes that slipped past the film people. But I think this was more of a joke for viewers who are very observant!



Nov 2, 2011

Review--Angel Town by Lilith Saintcrow

Jill Kismet is back from the grave in this explosive conclusion to Lilith Saintcrow's urban fantasy series.

She wakes up in her own grave. She doesn't know who put her there, she doesn't know where she is, and she has no friends or family.

She only knows two things: She has a job to do: cleansing the night of evil. And she knows her name.

Jill Kismet.

SPOILERS FROM HEAVEN'S SPITE IN REVIEW, DO NOT READ IF HAVEN'T READ HEAVEN'S SPITE AND PLAN TO DO SO!

Lilith Saintcrow's final book in the Jill Kismet series, Angel Town, wraps things up nicely! 

As you might remember Jill died last time at the end, so when the new book came out I was wondering what was going to happen. And the answer was quite simple, she came back. That's nothing new in the world of the supernatural, it's more shocking when someone stays dead! So Jill returns, yet her memory is slow to come back.

But she's not without it the entire time or anything, it actually comes back faster than I thought it would. Of course there are still things she doesn't always remember about herself. She may know she's Jill, but she doesn't remember 100% who Jill is. Get it?

Besides trying to gain her complete memory back, Jill has to save the world. Only this time she's going to need some help. There's also the pesky Pericles that she still has to deal with as well.

Things between Jill and Saul aren't the same though. Saul was in a bad place himself when he found out Jill died. When she returns though he's determined to never let her leave his sight again.

I don't want to get into a lot of details about this one since it is a series ender. Which it was really good too! Thought the ending was good with many surprises towards the end!

Overall rating 4/5 stars



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.


Despite feeling overwhelmed with so many books to read, there are still sooo many books that I want to read that aren't out yet!! The woes of a bibliophile!



Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.

Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs.


Sooo can't wait to read this one! Love Nancy and Debbie's writing! They've done witches, vampires and now we'll get werewolves!! Oh yeah!!!

TITLE: Unleashed
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011



In the acclaimed Night Tracker series by New York Times bestselling author Cheyenne McCray, the vampires are back to make a brand new start of it—in old New York…

With zero tolerance for bloodsuckers, Nyx and the Trackers have made the streets safer for warm-blooded New Yorkers. Unfortunately, they didn’t drive a stake through the problem nationwide. Vampire attacks are on the rise. Proctors are dropping like flies. And Volod—New York’s ousted Master Vampire—is trying to make a comeback…

Nyx is worried—about her city, her job, and her neck. But mostly she’s concerned about her former lover, Rodán, a Proctor who’s gone missing. Scarier still, Volod is capturing and “turning” paranorms to help him paint the town red. Which sucks. Because some of these new vampires are Nyx’s old friends. But hey—if she can stake them here, she’ll stake them anywhere…



Really getting into this series! And the last book was just killer! Can't wait for this one!!
TITLE: Vampires Dead Ahead
AUTHOR: Cheyenne McCray
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE:
November 29, 2011


Nov 1, 2011

Spooktacular Giveaway WINNER!!!!

Once again, sorry for the lateness of this post! Was out shopping all day. So yeah, didn't get any reading done. Oh well!

It's time to announce the winner of my Spooktacular Giveaway!! And the winner is.........


 JEANETTE JACKSON!!


Congrats! I have contacted the winner and she has 48 hours to respond to my email or else a new winner will be chosen!

And stick around, as soon as I get things settled down after this, I'll have my 600 followers contest! There will definitely be more than one winner since I gained 200 followers in this week!



Teaser Tuesday

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.


"They? Whoever it was left me in the desert. In a grave. I rotted, but I came back." p 49














TITLE: Angel Town
AUTHOR: Lilith Saintcrow
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE:
October 25, 2011