Contest Alert

Quite a few book bloggers have birthdays this month and they are having amazing contests on their blogs! Wow! Their birthday and yet they're giving books away!

Over at Once Upon a Review, Khelsea has 4 prize packs she's giving away! All are amazing! Head on over today to enter and be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday! The big 2-0! No longer a teenager! Yay Khelsea! Happy Birthday again!!

Her contest ends September 25, 2010 at 11:59PM EST

Review--Total Eclipse

UNNATURAL DISASTER

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has defeated her longtime enemy and saved the world--again. But at what cost? Standing at ground zero for the last attack, Joanne, the Djinn David, and the Earth herself have been poisoned by a substance that is destroying the magic that keeps the world alive.

Joanne and David have already lost their powers, but that's just the beginning. The poison that has seeped into the planet is destabilizing the entire balance of power, bestowing magic on those who have never had it and taking it at critical moments from those who need it. It's just a matter of time before the delicate balance of nature explodes into chaos, destroying mankind--and every living thing on Earth--with it.

Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series comes to an end with Total Eclipse and it was a very fast read. Mostly because I couldn't put it down yesterday and finished up the last few pages this morning. I'm sad to see the series go, but the characters deserve some rest after all the chaos they've gone through for the past 8 books.

But first they have to endure the chaos of book 9 before they can rest of course! And that's just where Total Eclipse starts. The Wardens are still on the cruise ship after the events of Cape Storm (you can see my review here if you want, it's an older one so it may not be pretty!) and as we know, David and Joanne are now both powerless, they're simply human. And what a time to be without their powers when the end of the world is coming. Mother Earth is waking up and she is not happy. She really wakes up this time and the chaos is seen across the world, not just in the states or wherever Jo happens to be.

The pacing was definitely gripping because the Djinn feel the call from the Mother and they are subjected to answer it and it results in many nasty scenarios. Bad enough that the Djinn like Ashan already wanted Jo dead, now she has to deal with ALL the Djinn wanting her dead whether the Djinn like it or not. The Mother controls them now.

Jo, David, Cherise and Kevin are off to do what they can to protect people from the devastation of the Mother. And their best bet is to try to talk to the Oracles to talk through them with the Mother, but as always complications arise! Djinn attack them heedlessly and that's only the beginning of the attacks. Soon there are animal attacks in just about every place they go.

Filled with lots of action this made the book go by so fast that I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw that I was halfway finished yesterday, and then I read some more!

While there may be tons of action and the pace is well set to be gripping, where you don't even know if Jo will make it out of the situation alive, there wasn't a whole lot of romance between Jo and David unfortunately. There wasn't time. There were some moments between them that were tender and endearing, but as I said, there wasn't enough time for the characters to have some down time.

There was definitely some heartache towards the end and I won't tell you why. Because that would be really big spoilers. But yeah, there were definitely moments that made my heart ache. Won't say more.

There is a nice epilogue in the end that wraps up the series nicely. There are definitely some surprises to be had as well. Which is mentioned in the last chapter before the epilogue. But still many more small surprises as well. One of which I could sort of see coming once the end was nearing and the heat of the moment was picking up and you could feel the intensity and danger.

Cassiel and Lucas even make an appearance in the book and I can't wait to see where their next adventure takes place and if it is within the time frame of the epilogue which is set some years later. But we will have to wait til February for that answer!

Overall a fabulous read! 5/5 stars! This was without a doubt one of the best series that I read that went away from vampires and other supernatural creatures and was one of the first adult series that I read when I jumped from YA to adult. I've been a fan since book 1 and still am with book 9! It's tough to say goodbye to old friends (characters) like Jo and David, but that's why we buy the books so we can re-read them again and again!

Waiting on Wednesday

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

Next up on my list of books is...Chosen by Jeann Stein! The next book in the Anna Strong series!



Anna Strong's primitive vampire instincts are getting harder to control. And a new enemy wants to take advantage of that fact, for Anna has been chose...more Anna Strong's primitive vampire instincts are getting harder to control. And a new enemy wants to take advantage of that fact, for Anna has been chosen to shape the destiny of all vampires-and all humans.

TITLE: Chosen
AUTHOR: Jeanne C. Stein
ISBN-13: 978-0441019175
RELEASE DATE: August 31, 2010

Contest Alert!

Over at Larissa's Bookish Life she is having a MAJOR contest to celebrate her birthday, which is today, Happy Birthday Larissa! There are tons of prize packs with books to win and swag! And some of the books are even SIGNED! The holy grail of all booklovers! SIGNED BOOKS!

Head on over today to enter!

Review--As Lie the Dead

EVANGELINE STONE, A ROGUE BOUNTY HUNTER, NEVER ASKED FOR A WORLD DIVIDED BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT...

...or the power to die and live again in someone else's borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help--even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.

Amid weres, Halfies, gemlins, vamps--and increasingly outgunned humans--war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it--unless, of course, her own side gets her first.

Finished As Lie the Dead earlier today, but I immediately jumped to my next read because I am utilizing the time I have today since I'm off and tomorrow it's back to work.

As Lie the Dead was a terrific followup to Three Days to Dead. It's been awhile since I read it, so it took me a little while to catch up and remember who the players were, other than Evy and Wyatt of course. It didn't take too long for me to get caught up because basically they wrap up the aftereffects of the last book in the beginning chapter.

Evy plans to take a nice week long nap, but her plans are waylaid on the way to the car directly following the cleanup. Literally. In the form of a man with wings, and no he's not an angel! Basically the cover shows you the first glimpse of the event with the winged man on the car.

After my initial slump of trying to play catchup the book became an increasingly fast paced read. Once again Evy is working on a timeline, but this time it's to save the life of another person. One she considers her friend, *cough, not lover, cough*. ;) Just a little hint for you.

But complications arise, when one event leads to another. She has to take on protecting a pregnant shapeshifter to help save their race, a race she had a minor part in destroying by default, and then another task weighs her down when she has to do everything she can to prove a man's innocence.

With Wyatt and the shapeshifter as her backup, it should be easy, right? Not a chance! Especially when complications of Chalice, the body she now resides in, arise in the form of an unexpected visitor.

Of course that's only the beginning of unexpected visitors in this book!

I said it was fast paced, but I guess well paced is better because it was well paced and yet still there was a dire need to know that the clock was ticking, hence our getting the time again like we did in the first book. It definitely built up the tension.

The characters were all great, both new and old. Evy is the perfect snarky female protagonist that I love. She tends to act and speak before she thinks, which isn't that how we all are sometimes? Wyatt, still a pretty secretive guy, but a lot about him gets revealed and you gotta love a man with a bit a mystery to him. Although Wyatt has a bit more than a bit!

New characters such as the shapeshifters, Phineas and the female Aurora were entertaining as well. Phineas is a strange one because you never quite know what his game plan is, can he be trusted or is he playing Evy? Quite a few of his actions leave some lingering doubts. Aurora, the pregnant female was definitely a surprise. Sure she starts out pregnant and helpless, but her character definitely becomes something stronger and she's more than someone in need of protection.

The romance was a little sparse in the book, but there are definitely certain moments that are mindblowing. No matter how small. Just tender moments between Evy and Wyatt, you know, when they actually get the chance to have a moment when they aren't running for their lives.

Overall I give it 4/5 stars! Definitely a series I'm sticking too! Can't wait for the next book, which sadly, isn't until next year. It's okay, since my TBR pile just keeps on growing instead of decreasing as I finish books!

Almost finished with Total Eclipse as well! It's turning out really GREAT, part of why it took so long for this review to come up!

An Award

Thanks to Christine over @ Reading on the Dark Side for this shiny new award! I was just checking the blogs before I wrote my review and saw this and was totally wowed! Thanks Christine, be sure to check out her blog too for she reads a lot of the same kinds of books that I do, urban fantasy!

Here’s the guidelines that come along with receiving The Versatile Blogger award:

1. Thank and link back to the blogger who gave you the award. (This is just good manners.)
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered and find fantastic.
4. Give the aforementioned bloggers a heads up about the award.

1. I am diligently trying to finish up my first novel so I can start querying an agent, I need a little more work and then I have to pass it on to some friends for their opinion before I begin my querying.

2. I graduated college just this past May and despite the over abundance in student loans, still feel quite proud of myself for finishing in 4 years.

3. Going to RT this past April is without a doubt the second best trip I've ever taken! **First one was when I went to Greece and Italy my senior year in high school.

4. I've been addicted to urban fantasy and vampires, before I even realized urban fantasy existed, since I was 13 and read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' vampire books.

5. I love Disney movies and Grimm Fairy tales equally despite one being kid friendly and the other being insanely dark and creepy!

6. One of my all time favorite movies is Jaws!

7. Despite my love of vampires and other things that go bump in the night, I am without a doubt looking forward to the movie Vampires Suck!

Now to pass on the award to 7 other bloggers (I changed it to 7, because I saw another blogger do the same and 15 blogs is a LOT!)

Cem@ Cem's Book Hideout
Angela@ Reading Angel
Spav@ Fiction Kingdom
Sara@ Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog
Natasha@ Bookmark Your Thoughts
Lisa@ For the Love of Books
Khelsea@ Once Upon a Review

Teaser Tuesday

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

I'm just nearing the end of As Lie the Dead as well! But thought I would stick with a teaser from this one since it is my current read.

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.

"He [Wyatt] shifted his weight and I looked up, meeting his gaze. Curiosity burned there, along with something else--something that had nothing to do with my news and everything to do with my proximity to his nearly naked body. The towel was such a meager barrier now between the part of me that longed--Focus, Evy!" p43-44










TITLE: As Lie the Dead
AUTHOR: Kelly Meding
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2010

Upcoming Release

I've recently come across news about Kalayna Price's soon to be released Grave Witch. The cover alone is amazing! It's definitely going on my list of books to buy for this October. It releases October 5.

Here's the BOC if you're interested, and as you can see on my sidebar I already have the countdown added!

Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say . . .

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around . . .

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life . . . and her soul.


For more info check out Kalayna's website.

Cover Art

Shannon posted this yesterday on her blog! The cover for Secrets and Shadows! OMG, I LOVE it! It's totally awesome and filled with promises! And does anyone else notice the person with the moon in their eye is a girl this time around??

Can't wait til February 15, 2011!

For my review of 13 to Life, click here.


I also just found Rachel Caine's Unseen cover on her website. I'm really getting into this series and love that it's in the same world as her Weather Wardens. This one also releases in February but on the 1st!

February 1, 2011

And the Winner is...

And the winner of the SIGNED copy of Dark Oracle is...

Reading Angel!

You have 48 hours to claim your prize and I will mail it out to you as soon as I can!

You can email me at jessica.stewart42@yahoo.com

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post by Kristi over at The Story Siren. This week I didn't get too many books, which is sort of good since I still have so many too read!

I bought these myself this week as well, I got the LAST Weather Wardens novel by Rachel Caine which I can't wait to read! Total Eclipse is going to have to be my next read!



















Then I got the wonderful anthology Death's Excellent Vacation edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner. I sooo can't wait to read Jeaniene Frost's Cat and Bones story!! Might have to read that one first despite the book's order!


















So that's it for me, what did you get?

Contest

Don't forget today is the LAST day to enter my contest for a SIGNED copy of Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams!

You have til 11:59pm Central. There are only a 6 entries so far, so if you want a chance to win, now's the time to enter!

Click here for details!

Cover Art--Tracey O'Hara

Just saw the cover for Tracey O'Hara's Death's Sweet Embrace on Goodreads through Tracey's website! I'll admit it's interesting, but I still love her first cover better. Perhaps Antoinette's appearance here is due to the events of Night's Cold Kiss. Hmm...

Here's the BOC, courtesy of Goodreads as well:


After thousands of years of secret conflict, humans and parahumans have reached an uneasy truce. But unspeakable evil now threatens to shatter the tenuous peace.

Teenaged shapeshifters are being slaughtered by a twisted, sadistic serial killer who rips their still-beating hearts from their paralyzed bodies. A task force must be formed to halt the madness—a union of avengers including the vampiric Aeternus, Christian Laroque and Antoinette Petrescu, as well as Kitt Jordan and Raven Matokwe, members of enemy Animalian tribes…and forbidden lovers.

A centuries-old blood feud has divided their peoples—pitting wolf against snow leopard in a battle to the death—and if their passion is discovered it will doom them both. But past hostilities must be put aside in light of the scourge that is now upon them. For the killer they seek is but the first sign of a blossoming terror rising up from their long-buried pasts: the all-consuming nightmare of The Dark Brethren.

Death's Sweet Embrace releases January 25, 2011.

Review--Jealousy

THE REAL WORLD IS A FRIGHTENING PLACE.

Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken her fair share of bad guys. She's armed dangerous, and not going down without a fight. So it's gonna take her a while to figure out who she can trust...

Just when Dru thought she was safe, everything exploded in her face. Her mom and dad are long gone, her protectors Graves and Christophe kinda want to rip each other's throats out, and a four-hundred-year-old nosferat named Sergej won't stop hunting her until his bloodthirsty army of suckers has torn her to shreds.

Dru's finally made it to the Schola Prima--the Real Deal djamphir training facility and home of the Order--and life is about to get even more Real World. There's a brand new svetocha in town--a redheaded vixen named Anna who's got the Order wrapped around her pretty little finger, and who'd rather kill Dru than share the spotlight. Turns out Dru's got something Anna wants. And his name just happens to be Christophe Reynard...

How can Dru trust the Order to protect her, when its leader wants her gone?

Finished Jealousy in just two days! And it was fantastic!

The timespan between getting the books and the timespan between when the books take place are great. For us we wait forever! For Dru and crew (hee-hee, a rhyme!) there's just a few days if even! It's great to pick up where you just left off, but for me I read Betrayals a looong time ago. But still the pickup is pretty smooth and you flow right into it. It was just like taking a quick break and bam, action starts!

Which is pretty much how Jealousy takes off. There's a small episode in the beginning and then the next day Dru is off to meet the Order after being at the new schola for a few weeks or so. Things are weird at first, because the Order just wants to hear Dru's side to the story of what happened at the other schola. And other events.

But that's when the trouble starts to occur, ever so slowly with just a taste here and a taste there. Then the explosion occurs and other events quickly fall into place.

I won't go into what those events were, but for the most part they do involve Anna, and as from the BOC you already know she is a foe, not friend. One all around beetch! Man, that girl is pure wicked. Evil to the core! Lili really makes you hate her and her actions warrant hating!

Then of course there's the love interests yet again, if you are me and still can't decide who you like best, you'll first fall for Graves who's been there for Dru from the first day, the first moment when her life went to crap. He's a constant rock that Dru leans on and they grow even closer in this book.

But then there's Christophe, he eventually pops up slightly past the halfway mark and right away you get sucked back into the intense chemistry between him and Dru. He's got the whole mystery thing down pat, but that's also the problem. He's too mysterious and Dru barely knows him. She learns more and more about him on her own and his connection to her mother and it throws her through a loop. But he too is there for her when Graves isn't around at certain moments.

So again, I am at an impasse. I don't know who I like more for Dru. I want to lean more towards Graves. He has proven himself worthy of friendship and more time and time again. He's the perfect match for Dru in my opinion and I know my friend Cem agrees! ;)

There are definitely a LOT of surprises towards the end. Some that you can kind of see coming in a certain way. They hint at it, by making speculations and then all is revealed at the end. Along with a big, devastating secret. One that you might be able to guess at while reading, I didn't but afterward it became like, "well that explains it" kind of thing.

Let's just say it's going to be a long wait til Defiance which comes out next spring. Hopefully early spring!

Overall I give it 4/5 stars! a GREAT read!

Review--Eternal Kiss of Darkness

AN IMMORTAL WAR HAS BEEN BREWING IN THE DARKNESS...AND NOW ONE WOMAN HAS STUMBLED INTO THE SHADOWS.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears--this fearless, beautiful...human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

It was freaking amazing!! Better than just a GREAT read, it was INCREDIBLE!! Eternal Kiss of Darkness was an outstanding edition to the Night Huntress World series!

This seriously blew me away! I loved it from beginning to end and hopping back and forth between Kira and Mecheres p.o.v. in third person was a great way to tell the story through both their eyes.

The beginning, as the BOC says after Kira rescues Mencheres from a dangerous situation had a Beauty and the Beast feel to it, the fairy tale more so than the Disney movie. Where Kira aka "Belle" has to stay with the "Beast" aka Mencheres in his castle or mansion in this case. The reason...can't say. Or won't say. But it that's what popped up in my head. Of course there was no Disney feel to the feelings stirring between the two.

The relationship buildup was great, it was steady at first and then BAM! Hits you right there and then it gets explained away which I love. Kira is now my favorite secondary female character in this World series, well in the World series she is one of the MC but from the Night Huntress series she could be called secondary despite her non-appearance so far. But basically I LOVED her character. She is the perfect strong-willed female that makes the book kick butt. She has her doubts about the vampire thing when exposed to it at first but then accepts it because the proof is right in front of her.

She is quick witted too. She says what she's thinking even if deemed "inappropriate" in the situation. Nothing raunchy, just saying what she thinks. Sort of going with the concept of speaking before thinking, but what she says has value to the situation and makes the other person or vampire as the case may be, stop for a minute.

She is a tough as nails kind of gal with her P.I. experience and she goes through a lot of trying situations.

Mencheres, wow. I didn't really care for him too much in the Night Huntress series, but now I totally feel for the guy because we get inside that head of his to see what he was thinking the whole time. The grief and guilt he still feels over his wife's death that he caused. But Kira is there to help him through it all.

And Vlad even returns! Gotta love that guy and his quirky ways.

The plot itself was good too. The BOC kind of downplays it, but basically someone from Mencheres' long past comes to make his life hell. Which is still downplaying it...but I don't want to ruin it for you.

It was a well-paced book too and the changes of perspective between Kira and Mencheres flowed smoothly. Loved it from beginning to end! Definitely a 5/5 stars!

Also there was a sneak peek at This Side of the Grave that releases February 22, 2011. I skimmed it a little, first scene was WOW! That one I didn't skim as much! ;) But the rest I did, because I knew I would get sucked in and then it would end and then I would have to wait til February for the conclusion. So read at your own risk! On another note I've seen a few little pieces of the cover art for This Side of the Grave that Jeaniene had been posting on her blog and someone tech savvy has put the pieces so far together and already my imagination is roving! It's going to be AWESOME! And be sure to notice the new piece in the corner of the post and visualize where it needs to be!

Also, word is from a friend of mine who was lucky enough to attend one of Jeaniene's signings, that the next Night Huntress World book will feature Vlad!!! And that his story will have to take two books. This is what my friend said, so I so can't wait to read those books! Still hoping there's an Ian book too!

Also she learned that the series will have possibly, possibly, 9 books. It wasn't set in stone. But there won't be a never-ending supply of Night Huntress books basically. There is a ROUGH estimate to its end.

And don't forget about my contest I'm holding! There's only a few days left to enter! Click here for details.

Stay reading!

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.

All righty, next up on my list that amazingly is starting to dwindle down, but I do have new reads that aren't listed that will have sequels so there will still be more to come in the calendar year! Anyway, next up is Gail Carriger's Blameless! Which I just found out has been bumped up to August 31! Granted it was due to come out September 1, but still 1 day sooner is definitely better!

**SPOILER ALERT**

Below I have posted the BOC description of the book and if you haven't read Soulless and Changeless and are planning to, don't read the BOC description, there are spoilers!




Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

Blameless by Gail Carriger
ISBN-13: 978-0316074155
RELEASE DATE: August 31, 2010

Review--Waking the Witch

At twenty-one, Savannah Levine--orphaned daughter of a notorious dark witch and an equally notorious cutthroat sorcerer--considers herself a full-fledged member of the supernatural race that rules the Otherworld. The once rebellious teen has grown into a six-foot-tall, motorcycle-riding jaw-dropper with a full arsenal of spells that she's not afraid to use when she gets caught int a bind. There's only one small problem--her adoptive parents, Paige and Lucas, don't always trust her. Of course, she's given them plenty of reasons...but those are in the past. People can change, right?

When Paige and Lucas take off on a romantic vacation alone, leaving her in charge of their detective agency, Savannah is presented with a a case that she can't turn down, and one she can finally call her own. Recruited by another supernatural detective, she travels to Columbus, Washington--a small, almost shell of a town. Two troubled young women have been found in an abandoned warehouse, murdered. Now a third woman is dead, and darker forces seem to be at play.

Savannah feels certain she can handle the case, but with supernatural activity appearing at every turn, things quickly become more serious--and far more dangerous--than she realizes. Caught up in a web of lust, false identities, and lies, Savannah must summon strength from her depths and fight like she's never fought before.

Finished Waking the Witch, as promised and WOW! I love Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series and Savannah, now all grown up is a wonderful addition to the gang!

It's amazing to have read the first books and see her as a preteen and now she's twenty-one and trying to prove herself to her adoptive parents that she's not the same girl anymore and that she can be responsible. So she takes on this case when another supernatural passes it her way. It's the chance to prove herself.

The case is quite complicated and there are a few suspicious characters in the small town of Columbus. To top it off, the local law enforcement is very forthcoming with much info, nor very helpful. Then another detective comes in to work the same case as well, Michael has a more personal investment in the case but Savannah is drawn to him in some ways. He's a nice guy, human, but nice.

The love interest fell between two guys, Michael and Adam. Yes, Adam returns, he was one of my fave demons because he can be pretty funny and as mentioned early one, Savannah has always had a crush on him. Adam's feelings for Savannah though remain a little unclear.

Savannah is determined to solve this case no matter what it takes, she wants the experience and the chance to prove herself. She wants to be accepted in her role of being an adult and no longer the rebellious teen. Of course, no one is perfect. Savannah still has the same snark and wit she had when she was just a 12 year old and is still quite entertaining in speaking before thinking in some instances.

The pacing was great too! Really intense, because Savannah has to follow leads that can get pretty dicey and leading to unsavory characters. There is definitely something dark and evil brewing in Columbus and Savannah is making herself a target for it by her investigation. The secondary characters and subplots were superb! They intertwined so miraculously that I am envious of Kelley, subplots are hard for me to wind in for some reason in my own writing!

There are several suspicious characters as I already mentioned, but did I mention the cookie making cult? That's just a little teaser for you there and it plays a major part in Savannah's investigation. And of course free cookies! ;)

The mystery itself was very shocking! I really didn't see any of it coming and Savannah started putting the clues together at some point and came to a conclusion near the end. It's a really mind-blowing, shocking, cue dramatic music revelation! And still there is more to be had with Savannah and the rest of her story, for as I was warned by my friend, there is a cliffhanger at the end that really nags at me! I was expecting it and yet not expecting the depth of it!

There are still quite a few leftover repercussions that will likely move on into the next book, but to some extent the mystery was solved. Case closed. There are just other factors that popped up that will be the leading problem in Spell Bound!

There are some other things I would love to mention but they lead to spoilers which I am against, so I will cut my review here. But if you've read Kelley's books before than you already know that this is a must read! Savannah has always been a interesting character in the Otherworld and I'm glad we get to hear her story for the next 3 books, including this one. Still hoping for a Cassandra novel, myself, someday. And if you haven't read any of the Otherworld novels but love Urban Fantasy, this is the series for you! There are a wide variety of characters that you get so absorb with, everyone has a favorite! Any UF lover can find their fave character/creature in this series.

Overall it was a GREAT read, really fantastic! I give it 5/5 stars!

And once again I remind you to check out my contest that I'm holding til the end of the week Check it out here.

Teaser Tuesday

You gotta love Teaser Tuesday! I must admit that I have a LOT of fun trying to find the right teaser from whatever my current read is and I was having a hard time doing that with Waking the Witch. Any time I came across one it was sometimes too spoilery or other times it was too long and I try, keyword being TRY, to stick the two line rule. If I break it, it's only by 1 line!

My teaser probably falls a little under the average category. I was reading for most of the day before I realized I should be looking for a teaser, so my teaser is slightly tamed this week, yet still teasing enough. I hope!

Also be sure to check back later today for my review on Waking the Witch, right now I have just under 100 pages to go and it will be done before the day's end.

And once again, I stress: don't forget about the contest I'm holding for a SIGNED copy of Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams, it was truly a GREAT read and you can see my review here.

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

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

"I turned to a flashlight shining in my eyes. Beside it, the barrel of a gun. The phone fell. My hands shot up. Sparks sizzled from my fingertips." p 154

*Yup broke my record for going over two lines over my 3 lines and went for 5. But once again, in my defense the middle two sentences are incredibly short and I really wanted that last sentence in there. Besides it completes a rather decent teaser. ;)

TITLE: Waking the Witch
AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2010

Contest Alert

One of my good friends is having a contest over at her blog for a gift card for the Book Depository! If BD ships to you then you're good to go!

Check it out over at Cem's Book Hideout, she also has a lot of good reviews for books I haven't read yet because she got them before me!! ;)

Hurry you only have til August 27 at midnight, British Summer time.

And don't forget about my contest here!

Review--Shade

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a crucial gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone else born after the Shift, Aura can see and talk to ghosts. This mysterious ability had always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she could undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because Dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding--and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and living grows ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift...

Finally got around to reading Jeri Smith-Ready's Shade and I was actually quite pleased with it. I will admit it did take me a little while to get into it with the beginning. There was quite a pacing in where the action takes off, but once it did, it was well worth the wait.

The world-building was great. This is sort of an alternate reality book where the Shift happened and after a certain point in time people who were born after that mark can see ghosts, ones born beforehand can't. Some of it got a little confusing, but it ended up getting explained in small bits here and there. Some of it had to do with the stars as far as I could tell, the stars and the timing become greatly important as we learn further on. And Aura learns something critical regarding the Shift towards the end as well as well as a few other surprises.

The emotions Aura is hit with regarding Logan's death really hit you and having Logan's ghost still there definitely takes a toll on Aura, but she's happy because it's like the old Logan, but she soon realizes that telltale differences between Dead Logan and the Logan that was alive.

Zachary is just yet another surprise, he's a mysterious character as well being the new boy at school and he has one amazing accent! It's especially noticeable when Jeri writes his lines with the rolling of the tongue and emphasizing his accent! Loved it! The feelings growing between him and Aura is really intense as well because we don't know much about Zachary and he is so mysterious.

And we get to learn some of those mysteries as well towards the end, but I will admit some of the mysteries are still mysterious to me because the government of this world gets drawn in as well and along with science, government/politics are not my forte!

But overall it doesn't matter because it gets explained in little details here and there, enough to try to explain some things and not enough to leave a little mystery behind.

The characters were all great too, Aura and her friends were really intense, you could really see them and their character. Some of their actions were visual as well and touching in some ways, won't go into what those were, you'll see. You can tell that Aura and her friends are a tight knit group and it shows.

I will definitely be looking into the sequel of this book as well! Overall I give the book a 4/5 stars! Right now I am already getting lost in Waking the Witch and am already loving it! Took a short break and am ready to dive back in!

Once again, don't forget about my contest I'm holding here on my blog! A chance to win a SIGNED copy of Alyana Williams' Dark Oracle! Click here for details.