Let Them Read Books

Blog Tour Review: The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites

2012-02-02T09:09:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Brimming with atmosphere and edgy suspense, The Rebel Wife presents a young widow trying to survive in the violent world of Reconstruction Alabama, where the old gentility masks a continuing war fueled by hatred, treachery, and still-powerful secrets.

Augusta Branson was born into antebellum Southern nobility during a time of wealth and prosperity, but now all that is gone, and she is left standing in the ashes of a broken civilization. When her scalawag husband dies suddenly of a mysterious blood plague, she must fend for herself and her young son. Slowly she begins to wake to the reality of her new life: her social standing is stained by her marriage; she is alone and unprotected in a community that is being destroyed by racial prejudice and violence; the fortune she thought she would inherit does not exist; and the deadly blood fever is spreading fast. Nothing is as she believed, everyone she knows is hiding something, and Augusta needs someone to trust. Somehow she must find the truth amid her own illusions about the past and the courage to cross the boundaries of hate, so strong, dangerous, and very close to home. Using the Southern Gothic tradition to explode literary archetypes like the chivalrous Southern gentleman, the good mammy, and the defenseless Southern belle, The Rebel Wife shatters the myths that still cling to the antebellum South and creates an unforgettable heroine for our time.

My Thoughts:

The Rebel Wife is one of those slow-burning stories that makes great use of setting, description, and hidden human motivations to draw the reader in. It's wonderfully atmospheric, and Polites paints evocative images of a once grand town slowly deteriorating in the aftermath of the Civil War. The story centers around the death of Eli Bransome, a controversial man who polarized the community by fighting for freed slaves' rights and who made many enemies by profiting from the post-war financial downfall of the town's citizens. Eli's death is unexpected--one minute perfectly healthy, the next dying from an unknown illness that causes blood to seep from the pores of his body. His death is terrible and frightening, especially for his beautiful young widow, Augusta--not because she cared for him, but because the executor of his estate tells her Eli was broke and she has no inheritance.

Augusta can't believe it. Her husband made enemies of most of the town and made her a social pariah, but she was able to bear it because they were filthy rich. She'd made their home into the grandest in town, flaunting their wealth while the rest of the town crumbled around them, and now her friends and neighbors are circling and watching, waiting for Augusta to be reduced to their level. But a tip from Eli's trusted servant sets Augusta on a search for the truth. Was Eli really broke, or are his enemies taking advantage of Augusta's situation? She begins to view everyone with suspicion and as she attempts to delve into Eli's life in search of his fortune, someone becomes determined to stop her. The town is suffering an oppressive heatwave, tensions are high and everything is deadly still. Everybody's watching everybody. Meanwhile the terrible blood sickness is spreading, and those who can are getting out of town. Are the residents of the town being punished for their sins? Everyone has secrets--the men ruined by the war, the men ruined by Reconstruction, the men who prospered from both, their wives, their servants. A storm is building, Augusta can feel it coming, but when will it ever break?

The Rebel Wife is beautifully written, but for me it was very slow. Slower than molasses in January, and I was halfway through before I was really hooked. And I can't say that I was too impressed with Augusta as a heroine--she spent a long time floating along in a laudunum-induced haze, and while she's been trying to kick the habit, those who seek to control her know her weakness and use it effectively for a bit to keep her compliant and unquestioning. At first she comes across as naive, but really she just hasn't wanted to know anything about anything, and I don't know that that's any better. She's rather selfish, cold, unfeeling, and not a great mother, but as she looks for her husband's inheritance she slowly comes back to life, she becomes aware of what's going on around her. She finally realizes she can't rely on anyone to take care of her but herself and she takes a bold course of action, but it seemed a little out of character at that point, or maybe it was just too long in coming. As the story neared its conclusion it became very suspenseful as everything came to a head with some surprising revelations and a gripping climax. Though I didn't fall in love with The Rebel Wife, I still recommend it as a worthwhile read, particularly for its insights into Reconstruction and the difficulties former slaves faced in the south, the tensions between southerners who were ready to move on and those who couldn't let the past go, and the disintegration of the Old South.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

The Rebel Wife is on a blog tour!

Visit the tour page to view the schedule

and check out the other great blogs participating.

Check out Taylor's website and blog and find him on Twitter.

Review: Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm

2012-01-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Libby Kelting had always felt herself born out of time. No wonder the historical romance-reading, Jane Austen-adaptation-watching, all-around history nerd jumped at the chance to intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. But at Camden Harbor Libby’s just plain out of place, no matter how cute she looks in a corset. Her cat-loving coworker wants her dead, the too-smart-for-his-own-good local reporter keeps pushing her buttons, her gorgeous sailor may be more shipwreck than dreamboat — plus Camden Harbor’s haunted. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, Libby learns that boys, like ghosts, aren’t always what they seem.

My Thoughts:

The story premise is good: History Geek/Junior Fashionista from Minnesota scores a summer job as a historical interpreter at an eighteenth-century historical seaside village in Maine, helps solve a high-profile ghost mystery, and falls for the wrong guy before wising up and realizing Mr. Right was in front of her all the time. Along the way she has to learn how to deal with the scorn of experienced interpreters who don't think she fits the mold, how to be an effective teacher and role model, and she has to learn what's important to value in herself and in others.

For the most part I thought this book was pretty over-the-top. I just thought a lot of the actions and reactions and situations were really exaggerated. I find it very hard to believe that a museum summer intern program would allow an 18-year-old boy and an underage girl to cohabitate. I also don't think that same museum would dress an underage girl in scanty clothes to pose for pictures at a party where rampant underage drinking is taking place, either. In addition, the requisite gay friend and cutesy, lisping children got on my nerves. And I found the resolution of the ghost story to be pretty hokey, too.

So by now you may be wondering what I did like! In spite of all my complaints, I was hooked enough that I had to keep reading to see how the story ended, and the end was actually really good. Very satisfying and resonant. And though Libby is outspoken and can be fairly rude, (even though she despises rudeness in others), she's actually pretty funny. Laugh-out-loud funny at times. It's got some pretty meaningful messages about judging people, looking beneath the surface, and doing the right thing, and this gets a thumbs up for being bright and different in today's YA scene. I enjoyed the pop culture references, particularly Scooby-Doo and Star Wars, and I think the young adult audience will have fun with this story, and hopefully come away thinking history is cool, too.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This title will be published May 8, 2012, and this review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Review: The Hangman in the Mirror by Kate Cayley

2012-01-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Françoise Laurent has never had an easy life. The only surviving child of a destitute washerwoman and wayward soldier, she must rely only on herself to get by. When her parents die suddenly from the smallpox ravishing New France, Françoise sees it as a chance to escape the life she thought she was trapped in.

Seizing her newfound opportunity, Françoise takes a job as an aide to the wife of a wealthy fur trader. The poverty-ridden world she knew transforms into a strange new world full of privilege and fine things -- and of never having to beg for food. But Françoise's relationships with the other servants in Madame Pommereau's house are tenuous, and Madame Pommereau isn't an easy woman to work for. When Françoise is caught stealing a pair of her mistress's beautiful gloves, she faces a future even worse than she could have imagined: thrown in jail, she is sentenced to death by hanging. Once again, Françoise is left to her own devices to survive . . . Is she cunning enough to convince the prisoner in the cell beside her to become the hangman and marry her, which, by law, is the only thing that could save her life?

My Thoughts:

Well, the back cover copy pretty much gives away every single detail of the plot, so I won't rehash it. I'll just tell you what I liked and didn't like about The Hangman in the Mirror.

I loved the setting, the historical detail, and the writing style. Montreal, New France, 1751. My favorite time period to read about, which is why I was so drawn to this book. The author does a fantastic job of bringing Montreal to life: the sights, the sounds, the smells; the hardships the working class faced--it's all very gritty and realistic, as is the author's writing style. And I love that the author came across a reference in her research to a woman who actually did convince a hangman to marry her and free her from her death sentence, and chose to craft a novel around it. Little historical tidbits like that are fascinating and make for great fiction.

So what didn't I like? Well, Francoise, to be perfectly honest. Not at first--at first I liked her a lot. Tough, calculating, and determined to find a way for a better life. But as the story progresses, Francoise develops a one-track mind and makes some really stupid decisions for a smart girl. And her toughness turns into callousness, and then by the end I was starting to think, well, why should somebody save you from the noose? You're heartless, unapologetic, and have a seriously unjustified sense of entitlement. After deciding I really didn't care for Francoise, I thought the ending would end up making or breaking the book, but it actually does neither. The book ended before the story did, in my opinion, and left me feeling a bit cheated and in need of another chapter or two to give the story an overall sense of purpose and completeness.

So even though I did not care for the main character and felt the story was lacking some elements, I would definitely read future offerings from Kate Cayley. If she spends a little more time developing characters and story structure, her way with words and historical details will earn her many fans.

My Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received via NetGalley, and the finished copy may differ. Though I received this book for review, these are my unbiased opinions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

2012-01-22T09:20:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though--she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

My Thoughts:

Catching Jordan is something different in today's YA, and it's a fun, quick read that kept me turning the pages to see how Jordan would fix the mess she makes of her senior year. Starting out, Jordan has everything. She's quarterback and captain of her high school football team--and hers is a big football school with national attention, so she's a bit of a celebrity. She has a brand new truck, a pimped out gameroom where all the guys hang out on weekends, and a recruiting interview scheduled with the University of Alabama, her dream school. And she has Sam Henry, her uber-hottie best friend, who practically lives with her. But Jordan has zero interest in guys romantically, that is until the day Ty Green walks on to the football team. Having a crush on a boy throws Jordan's stable, purposeful, planned-out life into chaos, and she can't afford to be distracted as the team aims for the state championship. But of course, she is distracted--terribly--and the results are at times humorous, triumphant, and bittersweet.

Jordan's an interesting character. She's grown up playing football like one of the guys, she only hangs out with guys, she only does guy things, but when it comes to matters of the heart she's absolutely clueless about guys! It's fun to watch her discover that having some female friends might not be such a bad thing. Jordan is a real leader too--she's earned the respect of her teammates and her community and she takes the responsibilities that come with it seriously. But she ends up learning a lot of things the hard way, like realizing that what you thought you always wanted wasn't what you really needed, and that sometimes you find what you're looking for where you least expect it. I really like the way the book is constructed, too, with every chapter counting down to Jordan's big interview with Alabama, and a few snippets of stream of conciousness interspersed throughout help make Jordan very real and sympathetic to the reader.

Overall Catching Jordan is a very enjoyable and entertaining read, but I had one big quibble with the book. I was troubled by the casual way these teens treated sex. Ya'll know I like racy reads, but these are kids! Everyone is bed-hopping and nobody seems to care. All the boys on the football team are just looking for their next "lay" and the girls they choose seem to be perfectly content with being used and then hanging out the next day like nothing happened and watching as the boys move on to other girls. Even Jordan, who has really positive self-esteem and a healthy respect for herself--and who was the only virgin at the start of the book--gives it up to the first boy who expresses an interest. At least they're using protection, but I really don't like the message it sends. There are no consequences for such indiscriminate behavior; nobody gets knocked up or catches an STD, nobody's reputation is ruined, there are no broken hearts or even hurt feelings. Even though all of the guys on the team are really supportive and protective of Jordan, I couldn't totally get behind them because guys who behave like that aren't good guys in my book, and I have zero respect for girls that let themselves be used, so I had a hard time with that aspect of the story. (Nothing is portrayed graphically, by the way, it's mostly talked about, but I still would only recommend this for mature teens.)

The book does have some really positive messages, though, about following your heart and your passion--even when it's not easy to do--and turning failed expectations and disappointments into something positive. There's a nice subplot dealing with the gulf that often forms between dads and their teenage daughters, and it was nice to see Jordan and her dad work it out in a fitting and very realistic manner. I also like the way Kenneally depicted a southern high school. The kids on the team all come from different economic backgrounds and home environments, but it doesn't matter to them. Football is the great equalizer. I also thought it was great fun to read about.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Did Catching Jordan catch your interest?

CLICK HERE to check out Miranda Kenneally's Guest Post and enter to win an e-copy of Catching Jordan!

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received via NetGalley, and the finished copy may differ. Though I received this book for review, these are my unbiased opinions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Guest Post + Giveaway: Catching Jordan

2012-01-21T10:06:00.004-05:00

Please join me in welcoming Author Miranda Kenneally
to Let Them Read Books!

Ya'll know I love football, so I jumped at the chance to be on the tour for Catching Jordan (published Dec. 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire). Check out this guest post from Miranda and enter to win an ebook of Catching Jordan. Then check back tomorrow for my 4-Star Review!

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Untraditional Romance: Catching Jordan puts a great emphasis on the untraditional relationship and character roles Jordan possesses in the book. What effects do these types of relationships have on kids and people today? Is it important for people to be exposed to them?

At the beginning of Catching Jordan, Jordan feels she can’t show romantic interest in boys or the guys on her team won’t take her seriously as the captain and quarterback. If you think about it, it’s a pretty ridiculous notion, and it’s all in Jordan’s mind. The guys on her team care that she’s an awesome football player. They don’t care what she does in her free time unless it interferes with her ability to run for a touchdown from ten yards out.

But in Jordan’s mind, the fear is palpable. It’s very real, and I think that many people have similar, yet different fears, depending on who they are.

For instance, how many people out there are gay, but are too scared to share their true nature with the world?

How many people are interested in dating a person of another race or color, but don’t want to admit it for fear of how other people will react?

In the book, Jordan is an extreme tomboy who starts to fall for the alternate quarterback (Ty) on her team. Some of the guys on the team aren’t happy about it for various reasons. But once Jordan makes up her mind that she likes Ty, the other guys sort of shrug and move on with life.

The same can’t always be said for people entering into a homosexual relationship for the first time. Some people will balk at this. It’s just how things are. But some people will shrug and move on with life. It’s all a matter of exposure.

I think if more and more people begin to explore different kinds of relationships with different kinds of people, I imagine – over time, people will get used it.

The more and more we expose teens, and people of all ages, to new experiences and relationships, people and ideals will evolve.

That’s what I hoped to get across with Catching Jordan. It’s okay to think and act outside the box – everything will be okay. And if it’s not, at least you tried and probably learned something and put yourself out there. That’s cool.

Wanna win Catching Jordan?

I'm giving away an e-book version,
winner's choice of a Kindle or epub edition.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment or a question for Miranda and your email address! This giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm on Jan. 30th. My GFC and Twitter followers double their chances to win, so let me know in your comment if you're a follower!

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

My Thoughts:

This book pulled me in so many different directions, I'm not sure how I feel about it. The plot is so complicated and convoluted that I won't even try to summarize it, but here's the crux: College freshman Jackson has recently discovered that he has the ability to jump back and forth in time. He and his genius friend Adam are experimenting with it and documenting their findings. Jackson thinks he's just having some innocent fun and doesn't realize he's been attracting attention. When two thugs break into his dorm room and try to force him to go with them, his girlfriend Holly comes to his aid, a scuffle ensues, and Holly is shot and killed. In a moment of panic, Jackson jumps back in time two years to 2007 and gets stuck there. For the rest of the book Jackson tries to get back to 2009 to save Holly, all the while being chased by other time travelers and the CIA--some of these people want to help him and some of them don't, and Jackson has no one to trust as he tries to figure out what is happening. And because he misses Holly so much, he strikes up a friendship with her past self and falls in love with her all over again. And this causes a whole other set of problems.

I think it's so interesting how people can read the same book and come away with so many interpretations. I've seen quite a few reviewers state that they didn't feel the characters were developed or that the love story was believable. Well for me, the love story was the best part, and I thought Jackson was a great character! He's not conventional and at times he borders on being unlikeable, but Cross does a great job of showing how he came to be the way he is and how Holly completes him. Holly understands him and doesn't try to change him. Jackson doesn't put much stock into emotions or relationships, even though he cares for Holly very much, but when he loses her he realizes how important she was to him. I thought the story was incredibly romantic and I got rather emotional at times. If I were to base my review solely on my emotional reactions and my investment in the characters, it would get five stars. BUT--

Here's what I didn't like about the story: there was so much back and forth time jumping that I think I got whiplash, and the mechanics, explanations, and rules for the time jumping made no sense to me. I could not grasp what was really going on and I got really confused at times. All this stuff about "tagging home base" and "alternate timelines" and "full jumps and half jumps"...it's so complicated and it took away from the enjoyment of the story for me because I couldn't fully buy into the concept or figure out what the heck was going on. I think the premise has a few holes in it and I don't think it had to be nearly as convoluted as it was. So, you can see why I'm torn. This is the first in a trilogy and the ending caught me off guard and upset me, but the jury's still out on whether I'll be lining up to read the next installment.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance copy received from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. These are my unbiased opinions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Event: The Crown Guest Post & Giveaway

2012-01-16T08:03:00.002-05:00

Please join me in welcoming author Nancy Bilyeau

to Let Them Read Books!

Check out Nancy's guest post on writing her debut novel, The Crown, and then enter to win a copy! I really enjoyed The Crown--click here to read my review!

When I was in junior high in Michigan, I used to sleep with my books at night. I was always reading as my eyes closed. My parents and my sister would be woken by the sound of a book falling off the bed as I turned over—it’d hit the floor with a thud.

That’s when my love of historical fiction was born. I read Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts and Anya Seton and Jean Auel. In high school a wonderful creative writing teacher read E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime aloud so we could be inspired by its rich prose. I just kept coming back to the genre over the years, most recently discovering the wonderful Sarah Dunant, Diana Gabaldon and C.W.Gortner.

I also have been fascinated with English history, most specifically the Tudor period, since I was very young. So when I decided to write my first novel, I picked the 16^th century. I wanted to write a thriller but I also sought to make the story historically accurate. One of my favorite parts of writing The Crown was the research.

The main character in my book is a novice in a Dominican Order named Joanna Stafford. There was a single Dominican priory in England before the Dissolution of the Monasteries: Dartford Priory in Kent. I found one book devoted to the nuns’ life in Dartford, and spent a lot of time seeking out references to it in other books and documents. One challenge I had was that the priory was demolished in 1539 by Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Only sections of the stone wall on the perimeter of the convent property survive. There’s a Tudor-era stone gatehouse, it was built by the king to stand outside the luxurious manor house he raised on the rubble of the priory. What I find amusing is that now this gatehouse is used as a reception space for weddings! What would the sisters think of that?

I had to re-create the structure of the priory by reading about other convents of the period in Europe. I live in New York City, so I sought inspiration by going to The Cloisters, which is a collection of medieval art and tapestries and religious objects as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One day I went there—it’s in Fort Tryon Park, the northern tip of Manhattan—in the middle of a blizzard. I loved it, I took a lot of photos that day, and those are what you see on my author website.

But what about my characters’ thoughts and feelings? How did it feel to be a nun in 1537? I found that the most interesting of all. It’s so different from the kind of life I have now—a magazine editor and novelist in 21^st century America, a wife and mother. But after doing a great deal of research into the priories, and the Dominican Order, not to mention daily existence in Tudor England, I had enormous respect—and yes, fondness-- for those Sisters. And I hope that comes through when people read The Crown.

Thank you, Nancy!

Would you like to win your own copy of The Crown?

Simply leave a comment or question for Nancy with your email address and you're entered!

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends at 11:59pm, Tuesday, Jan. 24th.

The Crown is on a blog tour!

Click Here
to view the rest of the tour schedule.

Visit Nancy's website
or find her on Twitter.

Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

2012-01-11T02:08:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

My Thoughts:

I really liked this book! This is the kind of story that grabs you from the first page and keeps you burning through till the end. This was my first time reading Snyder, who I see has a pretty loyal fan following, and I can see why. Touch of Power is the beginning of a new series, and Snyder's epic fantasy world of the Fifteen Realms is well developed, with just the right combination of realism and magic to make it believable and compelling. I like her style, too. She dives right into Avry's story, and you can't help but root for her. The plot is fast paced, deep, surprising, and unputdownable, and though I did think a couple of the elements were a little over the top, I didn't care because I absolutely loved the characters and the dynamics between them.

Avry is a selfless protagonist, but she's also very realistic. She is caring and sensitive, but she's a survivor, so she's tough and smart. She's been on the run for three years, forced into hiding to save her life. But even though each healing she performs brings her pain and suffering--and the threat of discovery--she is unable to keep from using her gift, especially when she sees so many people suffering whom she can heal with just a touch. So Avry has to keep moving. But she's been leaving a trail for someone who was looking hard enough, and Kerrick of Alga and his band of men have been tracking Avry for two years. Not because they want to punish her, but because they need her.

A healer is the only hope Kerrick has of saving his best friend and the man he believes can restore peace and prosperity to the Realms. But Kerrick is wary. He's the product of a generation raised to blame healers for bringing the plague upon them, the very plague that's killing his prince. He's pretty harsh with Avry in the beginning, but as they make the dangerous journey across the mountains and he witnesses what Avry has to go through when she heals someone, he comes to grudgingly admire her, and then to respect her and trust her enough to reveal his secret--that he has special powers of his own. And it turns out, when the two of them combine their powers, good things happen. But it takes both of them forever to admit their feelings for each other and by the end of the story the sexual tension between them is scorching the pages. And Kerrick becomes quite the swoonworthy, dashing hero when Avry ends up in enemy hands.

The supporting characters are varied and well-rounded, and even the villains are intriguing and multi-layered. There's a web of undercurrents and relationships among all the characters that adds great depth to the story. This story really hooked me; I loved it, and I could not put it down. And that ending--gripping, emotional, and oh-so-satisfying! There was a good deal of resolution with some open threads in place for the next installment to pick up on and I look forward to reading it and to making my way through Snyder's backlist.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received via NetGalley, and the finished copy may differ. Though I received this book for review, these are my unbiased opinions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Review: The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

2012-01-10T08:10:00.003-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life.

My Thoughts:

When I picked up this book to start reading I was thinking, OK, how exciting can a book about a nun really be? Well the answer is: VERY! I was pleasantly surprised to discover this book was nothing like I was expecting and Joanna Stafford made for a great protagonist. I think that's mainly because she's really not cut out to be a nun, despite her fervent faith, but she hasn't quite figured that out yet. She's educated and she was raised to be a lady of the court, so she's wise in many ways that her fellow sisters are not. She's opinionated, has a take charge attitude, stands up for what she believes in, and has a hard time keeping her mouth shut. Those qualities don't make for a very good nun, but they do make for an excellent heroine!

This is a mystery and the back cover copy does a good job of setting up the story, so I won't risk divulging any spoilers by describing the plot. But I will say that Nancy Bilyeau is an excellent writer. She really gets into some of the political intricacies of Henry VIII and his advisors, and seamlessly weaves them into a tale of blackmail and the search for a holy relic set amidst the lives of some of the people who have the most to lose from Thomas Cromwell's war against the Catholic Church. The narrative is perfect, the period details are just right, the characters are intriguing, and it really is a well-crafted novel.

But, there are two things that keep me from rating this higher. The story is exciting and takes some good twists and turns, but it also suffers from some very slow periods and I found myself skimming to get back to the action. And, as a hopeless romantic, I was disappointed in some choices Joanna made at the end of the story and I was left feeling a little dissatisfied. So I had to find out if Nancy is writing another Joanna Stafford book, and she is! After the way things played out in The Crown, Joanna should be in for some adventurous times in a dangerous environment and I'm looking forward to the continuation of her story.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

The Crown is on a blog tour and Nancy will be here on the 16th with a Guest Post and a Giveaway!

Click Here to view the rest of the tour schedule.

Visit Nancy's website or find her on Twitter.

Teaser Tuesday: The Juliet Spell

2012-01-03T08:02:00.000-05:00

My Teaser, from page 33:

     "Have ye no beer?"
     "How old are you?" I asked him.
     "Sixteen, near seventeen."
     "You have to be twenty-one to drink beer in California," I said.
     "Twenty-one? What the hell for?" he asked. "Are ye savages?"

Hee Hee! Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

From the Back Cover:

I wanted the role of Juliet more than anything. I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it—even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.

I didn't get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren't any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I'd cast the next best—a Fame spell. Good idea, right?

Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William's younger brother.

Good thing he's sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play...and—ahem—maybe a little bit hot. But he's from the past. Way past. Cars amaze him—cars! And cell phones? Ugh.

Still, there's something about him that's making my eyes go star-crossed....

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Giveaway Winners!

2012-01-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Best of 2011 Giveaway winner is . . .

Evangeline @ Sugarpeach

Evangeline chose Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

And the December Follower Appreciation Giveaway winner is . . .

Amber I. @ AwesomeSauce

Amber chose Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout.

Happy New Year & Reading Resolutions

2012-01-01T19:56:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

From my favorite travel destination:

Charleston, South Carolina!

There's just something about a palm tree with Christmas lights on it . . .

I am really looking forward to 2012--I have high expectations for an exciting and rewarding year and I wish the same for all of you!

Last year I resolved to read 150 books, and I did! I read 167. This year I'll shoot for 168. And I've been seduced away from historical fiction by YA paranormals and fantasies, so I'm aiming to bring more balance to my reading diet by getting back into my beloved histfic. How about you? Do you have any reading resolutions?

Best of 2011 Giveaway + 1000 Follower Giveaway

2011-12-27T00:01:00.003-05:00

You know what I like best about this giveaway?

If you win a book from one of the participating blogs, you're guaranteed a good read!

After careful consideration, I've chosen 25 favorites from the 166 books I've read in 2011, and the winner of my Best of 2011 Giveaway may pick one and have it shipped from Barnes & Noble or The Book Depository! I'll be compiling a detailed post of these picks after the new year, but for now you can click on each pic to read my review!

To enter, simply leave a comment with your email address and choice of book. (You can change your mind later, I just like to see what people are interested in!) CLICK HERE to view the list of the other participating blogs and start hopping to win!

AND . . . I'm so close to 1000 GFC Followers and 500 Twitter Followers . . . I would love to reach both of those milestones by the end of the year! If I do, I'll draw two more winners: one from my GFC Followers and one from my Twitter Followers! If you're a fan of historical fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance and YA, take a look around and if you like what you see, please consider following me!

That's it! Those are my favorite reads from 2011!

Did any of my faves make your list?

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected!
Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Mailbox Monday: December 26

2011-12-26T09:21:00.001-05:00

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! Next month's host: At Home with Books.

This is my second December hosting Mailbox Monday, and I love that it coincides with my favorite time of the year! Fa la la la la . . .

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Last week's Mailbox Monday giveaway winner was Ryan @ Wordsmithonia

I received three for review last week:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life.

He never saw her coming…

Spencer Lark already knows too many secrets about Arizona Storm, including the nightmare she survived and her resulting trust issues. But in order to expose a smuggling ring—and continue avenging his own tragic past—the bounty hunter reluctantly agrees to make Arizona a decoy. Yet nothing has equipped him for her hypnotic blend of fragility and bravery, or for the protective instincts she stirs in him.

Arizona wants to reclaim her life, which means acting as bait to lure the enemy into a trap. Sure it's dangerous, especially with a partner as distractingly appealing as Spencer. But as their plan—and their chemistry—shifts into high gear, Arizona may discover there's an even greater risk in surrendering her heart to a hero…

And I received four books from my wishlist for Christmas!

(Click the pics to read their descriptions)

That's it for me!

Have you read any of these books?

Thank you for joining me this month!

Merry Christmas! Romance Reading Round-Up

2011-12-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ho Ho Ho!

I hope everyone is having a fun-filled holiday!

I read five Christmas romances this month to help get me into the Christmas spirit, and they were all winners! I thought I'd put them all together in one post for your perusal. If you want to keep the Christmas feeling going a little longer, download one of these today!

A fun novella in the Spindle Cove series. A wounded Frenchman crashes the cove's Christmas Ball and makes a beeline for Violet Winterbottom, throwing everyone into a frenzy and the militia into action, fearing a French invasion (The Napoleonic War is raging, after all). He's held on suspicion of being a spy and Violet is tasked with translating any answers he gives. But the stranger is startlingly familiar to Violet. He looks an awful lot like the man who took her virtue and her heart and never looked back--the man who drove Violet to start a new life in Spindle Cove...

No spoilers! But this is an exciting little story covering one night of mayhem in Spindle Cove, with humor, adventure, steamy sexual tension, and of course, love. My only complaint is that there was very little Christmas in this Christmas tale. But I do love this series! 4 Stars!

This was a nice romantic take on the Dickens classic. An English country town, a new mill owner whose hard-edged business decisions are bested only by his hardened heart, protesting out-of-work laborers, a town on the verge of economic collapse, and the woman who wants to make peace between all of them. Joseph Stratford finally sees the error of his ways with the help of intriguing spinster Barbara Limpett and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Good characters, good story--a funny and sexy good time! 4 Stars!

And these three which I've already reviewed on the blog.

Click the pics to read my thoughts on each!

Merry Christmas!

Teaser Tuesday + Review: A Clockwork Christmas

2011-12-20T08:51:00.002-05:00

From the Back Cover:

We Wish You a Steampunk Christmas

Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband's love. A man learns that love isn't always what you expect. A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor. And an American inventor finds love Down Under. Enjoy Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four steampunk novellas.

My Teasers:

From Crime Wave in a Corset by Stacy Gail:

     Damn it all, in this enlightened age no human should know what it was to be beaten so brutally. Violence against women--even against Cornelia--was something he couldn't stand.
     So speaks the man who swore to all and sundry he would bring about her death in five days' time, he thought.

From This Winter Heart by PG Forte:

     Dario was already running toward the blaze, shrugging out of his coat as he went.
     But it was too late. He knew it was too late.

From Wanted: One Scoundrel by Jenny Schwartz:

     "He's always going on about a person defending their rights." She smiled. "'Course, he was talking mining rights, but voting rights for women are just as important. So many women can't fight for themselves, but I can and I will."

From Far From Broken by JK Coi:

     "Did you realize that the operations you agreed to would make me faster than you? Do you know that I can see the sweat beading on your forehead right now with this new eye? That this hand could snap your neck in an instant? You wouldn't even see me move. You wouldn't have time to whisper a plea for your life."

My Thoughts:

This is an imaginative and enjoyable quartet of novellas, and with the exception of Wanted: One Scoundrel, they're very steamy, too. Crime Wave in a Corset finds master thief Cornelia plotting the most important heist she's ever made in order to save herself from professor Roderick's plans for vengeance. Tasking her to retrieve the item she stole from him months earlier or face death, he's determined to bring the heartless criminal to her knees, but soon discovers Cornelia's not all that she appears in this sexy story of opposites attracting. This Winter Heart is wildly inventive, taking place in the southwest after the Confederacy won the Civil War, thanks in part to Ophelia's father's invention of the automaton soldier. But it was not happily ever after for the celebrated scholar, and after his death Ophelia is destitute, leaving her no choice but to return to Dario, the man who broke her heart years ago when he discovered her biggest secret. And now she has another secret to share with him--their son. I thought this story was the most creative out of the bunch, but Dario's close-mindedness was so infuriating and so insulting to Ophelia, that I had a hard time rooting for the two of them to find their way back to each other.

Esme and Jed from Wanted: One Scoundrel were probably my favorite characters, but their story was the least developed. Their story did have the most clockwork, though, with a lot of neat little inventions making Victorian life easier. Taking place in an Australian town on the verge of explosive growth and prosperity, Esme is fighting for women's rights but finds she needs a man in her corner to sway the members of the gentlemen's clubs. Fresh off the boat from America, Jed is more than willing to play a part in a beautiful woman's plans. But he finds he has a rival for Esme's affections, someone willing to go to any lengths to have Esme's fortune for himself. And last but not least, Far From Broken is a story with so much substance, emotion, and backstory that it would've made a great full-length novel. Colonel Jasper Carlisle is deeply involved in the British intelligence game, but kept that information from beautiful ballerina Calliandra when he wooed her and proposed marriage. Two years later, while Jasper was off on a mission, his enemies targeted his wife, abducting her and brutally torturing her. Suffering horrific injuries, a talented doctor reconstructs Callie, but the resulting body leaves her feeling like a monster, and her psychological injuries may never heal. Submerged in guilt and rage, Jasper spends the months of Callie's recovery tracking down her assailants and exacting his revenge. Finally ready to face his wife, Jasper returns and discovers that she's not ready to face him. He is determined to win her back, but as the couple starts to make headway and Callie finds new strength, an enemy returns to finish the job he started.

Overall, I enjoyed each of these romantic stories, but none of them had enough Christmas in them to make them Christmas stories, in my opinion, and in Wanted: One Scoundrel and Far From Broken, Christmas is barely even mentioned. So that disappointed me, because I was really looking forward to some steampunk Christmas celebrations, and I didn't find those in this collection. But if you're looking for something different in romance, you should definitely check this collection out, It's unlike anything else I've read this year, and that's a good thing! And since it's digital, you've still got plenty of time to download it and read it this Christmas!

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received via NetGalley, and the finished copy may differ. Thouhg I received this book for review, these are my unbiased opnions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Mailbox Monday: December 19

2011-12-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! Next month's host: At Home with Books.

This is my second December hosting Mailbox Monday, and I love that it coincides with my favorite time of the year! Fa la la la la . . .

I've got the Christmas spirit and December is going to be full of giveaways, including one just for Mailbox Monday participants! If you've shared your Mailbox Monday post on Mr. Linky this week, leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a book of your choice ($15 or less) from Barnes & Noble (U.S. residents) or The Book Depository (International residents). The Linky will be live until the following Monday when a new MM post goes up. Thanks for joining me this month!

Last week's winner is . . .

Anne @ The Book Garden

So, I didn't actually get any books last week, but I'm posting this one in anticipation of it's arrival later this week. I hope to have a few to put in my Mailbox the day after Christmas :)

The Merchant's Daughter from Amazon Vine. Supposed to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice.Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past.

Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

That's it for me!

Please share your Mailbox through Mr. Linky, and don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the giveaway!

Review: A Winter Scandal by Candace Camp

2011-12-18T17:50:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

The first in New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp’s new Regency trilogy is a Christmas love story featuring a couple who find an abandoned baby in a manger—who may lead them to the truth in their own hearts.

Thea is a vicar’s daughter, dutiful to a fault—even if sometimes she tires of caring for everyone around her. One snowy day in December, Thea goes to church to check on the nativity scene—and finds a crying baby nestled in the manger! The babe has no identification other than a signet ring belonging to Gabriel, the local lord. Before Thea can think twice, she snatches up the child and marches off to give the earl a piece of her mind.

Gabriel at first thinks the windblown, furious woman who appears in his hall is accusing him of fathering her child—but it soon becomes clear that the baby is not his. Then how did the child come to have Gabriel’s ring wrapped in its swaddling? Gabriel, a bachelor, has no notion of how to care for an infant and begs Thea for her continued help. As the two work together to search for his rightful parents, they are powerfully drawn to one another. Gabriel can’t help but admire Thea’s fresh, striking beauty and her tender heart, while Thea daydreams about more than a friendship with the bold but honorable lord. But someone is determined to keep them from finding the truth about this wayward baby—even if it means silencing one or both of them for good.

My Thoughts:

I have really lucked out with my Christmas romance selections this year, and I finished with the best of them all. You know what I like best about this one? It's really, truly about Christmas. It doesn't feel like a romance with a Christmas theme tacked on; it's a real Christmas story with the added bonus of a terrific love story. In fact, it has all the right elements blended perfectly to create one excellent Christmas romance.

It begins with a Christmas ball and a real baby found abandoned in the nativity manger--how great a beginning is that? The romantic leads are well-developed--Thea, the vicar's sister, suffering from a case of perceived ugly duckling syndrome disguised with a sharp tongue, and Gabriel, the jaded lord seeking respite from the falseness of London's high society. It was great fun to watch their banter grow into true regard and affection as they worked together to track down the child's missing mother. It has an idyllic English countryside village setting, full of Christmas traditions and holiday cheer. Intriguing supporting characters, realistic romance, steamy sexual tension and smokin' hot lovin', an unpredictable mystery with a surprise twist I didn't see coming, and a wonderfully romantic ending.

It made me laugh, it made my cry--it was the perfect book to curl up with in front of the fire on this cold weekend before Christmas, and I am looking forward to the next book in this series!

My Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Songs of the Season Music Hop

2011-12-18T08:40:00.002-05:00

Songs of the Season

Event production by

Random Magic Tour

Sasha Soren ~ Random Magic

Dec. 10-25, 2011

Welcome to the Songs of the Season music hop! You're invited to join us every day from December 10-25, to enjoy a virtual round of caroling.

You can visit a different blog each day to find another wonderful music selection, handpicked by a great host. Click here to view the Schedule!

Here's my selection for your enjoyment!

Ya'll know how much I love history, so today I'm sharing one of my favorite Christmas carols from days of yore with you, Past Three O'Clock.

When George Ratcliff Woodward wrote Past Three O'Clock, he took the story of the birth of Jesus Christ and combined it with the traditional cry of London nightwatchmen. This is a popular old song and can be found in any number of places, but I'm partial to the version on my Songs for a Williamsburg Christmas CD, which can be found here. Unfortunately, the Colonial Williamsburg Madrigal Singers don't have a video, so I'm sharing the Monteverdi Choir's version:

PAST THREE O'CLOCK
Old English Carole
(George Ratcliff Woodward)

past three o'clock,
on a cold frosty morning,
past three o'clock,
good morrow masters all.

born is a baby
gentle as may be,
son of the Eternal
Father supernal.

seraph choir singeth,
angel bell ringeth,
hark how they rhyme it,
time it and chime it!

mid earth rejoices
hearing such voices.
ne'ertofore so well
carolling nowell!

hinds o'er the pearly
dewy lawn early
seek the high stranger
laid in the manager.

cheese from the dairy
bring they for Mary,
and, not for money,
butter and honey.

light out of star-land
leadeth from far land
princes, to meet him,
worship and greet him.

myrrh from full coffer,
incense they offer;
nor is the golden
nugget withholden.

thus they: i pray you,
up sirs, nor stay you
till ye confess him
likewise and bless him.

And as a bonus, here's one of my favorite fun country Christmas tunes!

Giveaway! Through Dec. 31, 2011:

Win a pretty box of stationery, featuring quotes by

Charlotte Brontë and her sisters!

Giveaway! Through Dec. 31, 2011:

Win a book-and-DVD set of a romantic drama

set in New York during the Gilded Age!

A Couple of Giveaway Winners to Announce...

2011-12-17T17:21:00.001-05:00

The winner of my

Romancing Christmas Giveaway is . . .

Elf2060 @ The Reading Addict

And the winner of my November

Follower Appreciation Giveaway is . . .

Nicole @ The More the Merrier

Thank you to everyone who participated and to everyone who follows

Let Them Read Books!

Stay tuned, the Best of 2011 Giveaway Hop is only a week away!

Blog Tour Review: The Realmsic Conquest by A. Demethius Jackson

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Throughout its history, the kingdom known as the Realm has never known peace. From its establishment, it has possessed the gift of magic, which is a treasure that exists no other place in the world. As a result, the Realm has endlessly defended itself against conquerors, but now faces its greatest peril.

As our heroes battle the wicked and unlock mysteries, they must also face overwhelming circumstances as they are guided by ancient lore on a quest to find the greatest treasure their kingdom will ever know . . . peace.

My Thoughts:

The Realmsic Conquest follows the brave hero Leoden, who has already saved the magical Realm once before, as he journeys with Kelm, the grand wizard, and General Normandy, the military strategist, on a quest to find the Candle of Crest, a magical relic believed to have healing power. The Realm's beloved King Maebus was severely wounded while defending the Realm from its latest foe, the Empress Saraya, and his comrades are determined to save him, and thus their kingdom. But finding the Candle of Crest leads to unforeseen repercussions, and the questors are forced to face their greatest fears and their greatest foe. The Realmsic Conquest is the classic hero's journey, but with a twist . . . it's written entirely in verse.

I think the concept is wonderfully creative, and I applaud the author's vision and courage, but unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me. I thought the verse was rather uneven--in some places poetic and lyrical, and in others simple and stunted. I would have preferred a narrative approach to a story of this scope, with room for description, world-building, and characterization. But I'm glad I tried it, because it is something completely different. It's a short read, and if you're a fan of epic fantasy looking for something different and creative, you may want to check this one out.

The Realmsic Conquest is on a blog tour!

Click Here to learn more about the book, read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and visit the other blogs participating in the tour.

Twelve Days of Tudor Giveaway @ Royal Reviews

2011-12-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

Day Five Giveaway:

King Henry's Earl Gray Tea ...

A favorite of royal subjects for centuries, this Earl Gray is a healthy blend of Indian and Ceylon black tea infused with bergamot.

Long live the King!

... and a Henry VIII Mug!

The quote on the back reads,
"Order gave each thing view."
From Shakespeare's Henry VIII

Prizes have been selected from Steep Show Teas, carefully selected for quality, flavor and superior health benefits. From the art that celebrates the beauty of the human form to the intoxicating aroma and textures, we give you a tea experience that indulges body, mind and spirit.

Visit Royal Reviews to enter to win this Tudor gift set--but hurry, the giveaway is only open TODAY! Visit Royal Reviews every day for the next week for a different giveaway each day!

Review: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

2011-12-14T11:20:00.002-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.

But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery that will lead her to a life she's never dreamed.

My Thoughts:

According to the author, this novel was strongly influenced by her passion for Jane Eyre and her desire "to recast Jane's journey to fit her own courageous heroine and the possibilities of her time and place." It's been a long time since I read Jane Eyre, but I don't remember it playing out like The Flight of Gemma Hardy does.

When Gemma's parents die, she's taken into her uncle's home as a young child. Her uncle dotes on her, educates her, and treats her as an equal member of the family. This causes tension with his wife and their three children. When Gemma's uncle dies in a tragic accident, Gemma's place in the household slips to little more than an unwanted shadow. Fed up with scorn, ridicule, and secondhand treatment, she latches on to her aunt's passing suggestion that she may qualify for a scholarship to boarding school. Schoolwork is where Gemma really excels, so she throws her all into entrance exams and is thrilled when she secures a "working girl" position at Claypoole. Leaving behind the painful memories of her aunt's house, Gemma prepares to launch her grand adventure. But boarding school turns out to be even worse than her aunt's house.

Isolated, lonely, and constantly walking a tightrope between bullying students and warden-like teachers, Gemma has so much work to do she barely has time for her studies, but she manages as best she can, and her refusal to give up, her determination that something better awaits her, and her clever use of subtle manipulation endear her to the reader. Gemma spends seven years at Claypoole, and when the school is forced to close before she can take her university entrance exams, Gemma has nowhere to go. Desperate for a position, she answers an ad for a nanny in the remote Orkney Islands, and the next chapter of her life begins.

And this is where she started to lose me. Though Gemma finally finds a freedom she'd never had before, and starts to blossom into her own person, I thought the story started to lose its intensity and meaning. Gemma's young charge, Nell, is a difficult child, but Gemma has a fairly easy time bringing her around. Nell's mysterious uncle Hugh is twice Gemma's age and a renowned bachelor, but Gemma seems to have an easy time getting him to fall in love with her. I was hoping for a grand, tortured love story, but it happens so quickly that it's without much substance, and Hugh's character is hardly developed. Gemma's about to have everything she ever wanted, when Hugh reveals his deepest secret, and it sends Gemma literally fleeing into the night. And I can't really understand why. It wasn't that dark of a secret. He definitely doesn't have a mad wife stashed in an attic somewhere, or anything nearly as scandalous. So that was disappointing, and for me, wasn't a big enough impetus for Gemma's "flight." As she goes about putting her life back together and seeking information about where she came from and who she is, I started to lose respect for Gemma. She makes some stupid decisions and seems to have no qualms about accepting aid from people and then leaving them high and dry. Flight becomes a pattern for her. Things start to come around full circle as the story nears the end, but by that time I was pretty much skimming just to see how she would end up reunited with Hugh, and that left me feeling flat, too.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy is beautifully written, and it does shed some light on the shifting world of women's and children's rights in 1960s Britain. I loved the first half of the book. Gemma, the child, was a great protagonist. It's when she became an adult that I lost faith in her. I have seen some rave reviews so don't let me scare you off, but it just doesn't have enough substance and emotional depth for me to sing its praises.

My Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance review copy received through the Amazon Vine program, and the finished copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Teaser Tuesday: The Rose Garden

2011-12-13T08:21:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs.

My Teaser:

This time last year I read my first novel by Susanna Kearsley, The Winter Sea, and I was completely swept away and affected by it. It's one of my all-time faves, and introduced me to this wonderful British author. I've been working my way through her backlist (slowly, for her novels can be hard to find in the U.S.), and The Rose Garden is her newest. From page 59:

"I've always rather liked the Celtic view of life, that this world and the next one aren't so separate from each other. My grandmother believed that. She was Welsh, you know--a true Celt, through and through--and if you'd told her you'd heard whispers in your walls, she would have taken it in her stride," she said with certainty. "She would have said you'd heard the voices of the people living at Trelowarth, sharing space with us, but in another time."

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Dec. 11: Mailbox Monday: December 12

2011-12-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! Next month's host: At Home with Books.

This is my second December hosting Mailbox Monday, and I love that it coincides with my favorite time of the year! Fa la la la la . . .

I've got the Christmas spirit and December is going to be full of giveaways, including one just for Mailbox Monday participants! If you've shared your Mailbox Monday post on Mr. Linky this week, leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a book of your choice ($15 or less) from Barnes & Noble (U.S. residents) or The Book Depository (International residents). The Linky will be live until the following Sunday when a new MM post goes up. Thanks for joining me this month!

Last week's winner is . . .
Teddy Rose
@ So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

I treated myself to two 99-cent ebooks this week:

Once Upon a Winter's Eve (Spindle Cove). I've already read and enjoyed this one, here's my review. Violet Winterbottom is a quiet girl. She speaks six languages, but seldom raises her voice. She endured bitter heartbreak in perfect silence. The gentlemen aren't beating down her door.

Until the night of the Spindle Cove Christmas ball, when a mysterious stranger crashes into the ballroom and collapses at Violet's feet. His coarse attire and near-criminal good looks would put any sensible young lady on her guard. He's wet, chilled, bleeding, and speaking in an unfamiliar tongue. Only Violet understands him. And she knows he's not what he seems.

She has one night to draw forth the secrets of this dangerously handsome rogue. Is he a smuggler? A fugitive? An enemy spy? She needs answers by sunrise, but her captive would rather seduce than confess. To learn his secrets, Violet must reveal hers—and open herself to adventure, passion, and the unthinkable... Love.

Angelfall. It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

I downloaded an audiobook from iTunes:

My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2). When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies. So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand. Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk…

And I received one for review:

The Legacy of Eden. Upcoming Blog Tour & Scavenger Hunt! "To understand what it meant to be a Hathaway, you'd first have to see Aurelia."

For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway's dream to elevate the family name - no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways - and the once prosperous farm.

Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died - alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land, or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia's youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family's once-great name. Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family... and her own part in their mottled history.

That's it for me!

Please share your Mailbox through Mr. Linky, and don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the giveaway!

Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop

2011-12-10T08:29:00.026-05:00

The Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop

is being hosted by

Reading Romances!

Ya'll know how much I love romances, so I had to join this fabulous giveaway hop! After you enter my giveaway, click Mr. Linky to view the other participating blogs & start hopping to win!

Here's what you can win from me:
Your choice of any one of these romances I've read and enjoyed this year, shipped to you from Barnes & Noble if you're a U.S. resident, or from
The Book Depository if you're International:

And the more who enter, the more who win! If I have over 100 entries, I'll draw two winners. Over 200 entries, I'll draw three winners. Won't you help me spread the word by sharing this post?

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me which book you'd like to win, and leave your email address. My followers double their chance to win, so let me know if you follow me via GFC or Twitter.

This giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm on Friday, December 16th.

Thanks and good luck!

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected.

Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Teaser Tuesday: A Regency Christmas Carol

2011-12-06T04:38:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Born into poverty, Joseph Stratford's clever mind has made him a rich mill owner, but he has earned himself a wicked reputation among the villagers of Fiddleton. Only firebrand Barbara Lampett can see beyond the cold heart of this gentleman in disguise.

When visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future Joseph is brought down to earth with three thumps! But as the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, has Joseph left it too late to claim the beautiful Barbara and enjoy learning the most delicious Christmas lesson of all?

My Teaser:

This was a nice romantic take on the Dickens classic. Good characters, good story--a funny and sexy good time! From page 18:

"You act as if you are made of the same rough wood and cold metal gears that fill your factory. If I could see the contents of your heart it would be nothing but clockwork, and fuelled by the coal running in your veins."
Just for a moment she thought she saw a change in his face, a slight widening of the eyes as though her words had struck home. And then he gave a mirthless, soundless laugh, little more than a lifting and dropping of the shoulders. "And a Merry Christmas to you as well, my dear."

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Black Friday Book Bonanza Giveaway Winner!

2011-12-05T21:45:00.002-05:00

And the winner is . . .

Michelle @ Book Briefs

Michelle won the book of her choice
from The Book Depository, and she chose The Warlock by Michael Scott.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and a BIG thank you and welcome

to my new followers!

Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Mailbox Monday: December 5

2011-12-04T08:45:00.002-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! Next month's host: At Home with Books.

This is my second December hosting Mailbox Monday, and I love that it coincides with my favorite time of the year! Fa la la la la . . .

I've got the Christmas spirit and December is going to be full of giveaways, including one just for Mailbox Monday participants! If you've shared your Mailbox Monday post on Mr. Linky this week, leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a book of your choice ($15 or less) from Barnes & Noble (U.S. residents) or The Book Depository (International residents). The Linky will be live until the following Sunday when a new MM post goes up. Thanks for joining me this month!

I received one for review this week:

The Flight of Gemma Hardy from Amazon Vine. Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.

But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery that will lead her to a life she's never dreamed.

That's it for me!

Please share your Mailbox through Mr. Linky, and don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the giveaway!

Teaser Tuesday: Touch of Power

2011-11-29T00:01:00.002-05:00

This week my teaser comes from Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder: Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. That description alone is a teaser, isn't it? This is a real page-turner. Good solid fantasy with great characters. I really liked it and will post my review later this week. Meanwhile, from page 17:

     He unlocked the cell. The door swung open. By this time, I had reached the back wall.
     Straightening, he gestured. "Come on."
     I didn't move.
     "Do you want to be executed?"
     "Some things are worse than death," I said.

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

Review: Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker

2011-11-27T05:34:00.003-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Meghann McCarthy escaped the slums of Belfast to become a rich, successful attorney in London. Yet she can never quite banish Ireland from her heart, or forget Michael Devlin, the boy she once loved with a passion that nearly tore her apart. When Michael, a notorious Irish nationalist, becomes involved in a vicious court case, Meghann agrees to defend him. But even as she jeopardizes her hard-won success, she finds the true power and spirit of the Irish heritage she has too long denied...and the courage to face her love for Michael.

My Thoughts:

Meghann McCarthy is a high-powered London attorney. Meticulous in her career and in her life, she maintains a careful facade of cool glamour, poise, and polish, having buried her Irish working class roots on her way to success. Or so she thought, until one phone call in the middle of the night changes everything. It's her foster mother Annie. The woman who took Meghann in after her parents were killed. The woman who loved her and raised her, and who also raised a family full of political criminals. Meghann hasn't spoken to her in years, and Annie wouldn't call unless something were very wrong. The popular candidate for prime minister has just been assassinated, and Annie's son and Meghann's first love, Michael Devlin, has been accused of the crime.

Going into this, I did not know much about the bloody civil war that has plagued Northern Ireland over the past century, and Ms. Baker does a fantastic job of bringing the horrors of the times to life through the eyes of three exceptional characters: Michael, the former combatant who has found that the pen is mightier than the sword; Annie, the mother who watches her family put their lives on the line in an unwinnable war; and Meghann, who wants nothing to do with any of it, but ultimately can't deny the bonds of family and heritage . . . and love. From these three perspectives, the bloody history of the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein is woven throughout the story: hunger strikes, riots, protests, the Diplock Courts specially designed to suppress Irish political prisoners, armed resistance, urban warfare, and murder.

Michael didn't kill the prime minister, but someone wants him take the fall for the crime. Believing that Michael's life is in danger in prison, Meghann helps bust him out and gets him into hiding, and as the pair journey through the Irish countryside and set up life in a safehouse, Meghann starts having dreams about Nuala O'Donnell, a young woman living in sixteenth century Ireland, fighting for her homeland's freedom from England during the period in Ireland's history known as The Flight of the Earls. She becomes obsessed with Nuala's story, which is a heartbreaking one full of love, betrayal, and sacrifice, and when Nuala starts appearing to her when she's awake, Meghann has to ask herself why Nuala is reaching out to her, and what she's supposed to do about it.

As Meghann searches desperately for evidence that will exonerate Michael, she's forced to go up against some powerful and dangerous people determined to stop her from thwarting their agenda, and she's forced to decide: What's more important--holding on to the carefully constructed, controlled, and emotionless life she's worked so hard for, or reconnecting with the life she ran away from all those years ago, far from perfect but full of love and passion and a sense of home?

I really enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. The characters are phenomenal, the history of both time periods comes to life, and the story is dangerous and passionate and exciting. Two things keep me from rating this higher: One: though I loved both Meghann's and Nuala's stories, I couldn't really see what the common thread was between them. They did not seem to be very connected, so as I was reading I was thinking, this is great, I enjoy reading Nuala's story, but what's the point? Two: the whole story is leading up to this monumental court case with the eyes of both countries focused on it; it will make or break both Meghann and Michael, they've both risked their lives for it . . . and if you blinked you missed it. I think all of three pages were devoted to it and then it was all over. So it ended up being rather anti-climactic, and I felt a bit let down. But those quibbles don't keep me from recommending this to anyone who loves historical fiction entwined with romance, danger, and excitement. Irish Lady is a really gripping and emotional read, and I look forward to reading Ms. Baker's other novels.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received via NetGalley, and the finished copy may differ. Thouhg I received this book for review, these are my unbiased opnions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Black Friday Book Bonanza Giveaway Hop

2011-11-25T08:22:00.003-05:00

It's time for the

Black Friday Book Bonanza

Giveaway Hop!

Hosted by Book Savvy Babe, The Bawdy Book Blog, and Alive on the Shelves.

Skip the crazy crowds and surf some giveaways instead! You've got three days to visit the blogs below and enter to win some fantastic book giveaways!

Here's what you can win from me:

A Book of Your Choice From
The Book Depository
($15 or less)

To enter, simply leave ONE comment with your email address,
and let me know if you follow me
via GFC or Twitter to double your chance to win!

This giveaway is open internationally until 11:59pm on Sunday, Nov. 27th.

Now check out the Linky List below and start hopping to other blogs!

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected.
Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Blog Tour Review: Bending the Boyne by J.S. Dunn

2011-11-23T00:02:00.002-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Circa 2200 BCE: Changes rocking the Continent reach Eire with the dawning Bronze Age. Well before any Celts, marauders invade the island seeking copper and gold. The young astronomer Boann and the enigmatic Cian need all their wits and courage to save their people and their great Boyne mounds, when long bronze knives challenge the peaceful native starwatchers. Banished to far coasts, Cian discovers how to outwit the invaders at their own game. Tensions on Eire between new and old cultures and between Boann, Elcmar, and her son Aengus, ultimately explode. What emerges from the rubble of battle are the legends of Ireland s beginnings in a totally new light.

Bending The Boyne draws on 21st century archaeology to show the lasting impact when early metal mining and trade take hold along north Atlantic coasts. Carved megaliths and stunning gold artifacts, from the Pyrenees up to the Boyne, come to life in this researched historical fiction.

My Thoughts:

J.S. Dunn has spent a decade studying the Bronze Age culture in Ireland and has crafted a mystical story drawn from early Irish folklore and from the objects, carvings, and symbols discovered in the ancient mounds on Ireland and nearby islands. The Starwatchers living at the Boyne in 2200 BC study the night sky in an effort to understand the secrets of the universe. Theirs is a culture based on seasons, cycles, and ceremonies. But their peace-loving society is at a turning point.

The arrival of marauders violently intent on making the land their own as they search for copper and gold threatens their peaceful way of life. And the elders and the younger generation are at odds over how to assess this threat. Boann, the young sweetheart of the Boyne village, has chosen to forgo her training as a healer to study the stars. Her lover Cian, a talented symbol carver, disappoints the village by choosing to live with the newcomers, studying their way of life. What the Starwatcher elders can't understand is that Cian is not embracing the marauding lifestyle, but trying to figure out how his people can coexist with these barbarous and greedy newcomers. His quest to discover the secrets of precious metals and to determine how his people can profit from them takes him far from home, and exposes him to the Seafarers' way of life. Meanwhile Boann valiantly attempts to create a bridge between the two divergent societies, but ultimately has to watch as more and more marauders arrive, chipping away at the Starwatchers' authority and reshaping the future of the island.

It's very interesting subject matter, and my eyes were opened to the plight of the indigenous population, and I was amazed at the advanced understanding the Starwatchers were able to achieve with such primitive methods and instruments. But there was a lot of repetitive description, and long and frequent passages discussing astronomical observances and ore mining procedures at length, and I think the story suffered for it. It slowed the forward motion down, and didn't leave enough room for relationships to be fully developed, for characters to be fleshed out, and for me it didn't have enough emotional impact. It's a fairly primitive society and the style of writing reinforces that; the sentences are shorter and choppy, the language is a little backwards, and at times I thought it made the characters seem simple. Then again, at other times it lent a poetic quality to the prose. Overall, I liked the story, and I think it's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the dawning of the Bronze Age in the British Isles. I admire the author's dedication, meticulous research, and desire to bring this little-known chapter of history to life.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Bending the Boyne is on a blog tour!

Click Here to learn more about the book, read an excerpt and an interview with the author, and visit the other blogs participating in the tour.

Teaser Tuesday: Archon

2011-11-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from Archon by Sabrina Benulis, a wacked out, freaky, creepy, sexy, angels vs. demons horror story. Oh, and it takes place in the Vatican. I like it! From page 139:

     God. She's really going to kill someone this time. It's not just a threat anymore.
     It wasn't just a dream anymore.
     "Nina," Angela screamed. "Nina--"
     She said someone might die. And it's going to be her.
     "Nina!"

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Mailbox Monday: November 21

2011-11-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month finds the meme back with its creator on the Mailbox Monday blog! Next month's host is . . . ME!!

Three for review this week:

Isle of Night. When Annelise left for college, it meant good riddance to her abusive father and stepmother—until a bureaucratic screw-up left her without a diploma, flat broke, and facing an uncertain future Then she met Ronan—tall, dark, and way too seductive for her own good. He promised Annelise a new life, if she had the courage to chance the unknown. One look at him and she certainly had the desire. Sure enough, accepting rides from strangers does yield surprises.

Whisked away to a mysterious island in the North Sea, Annelise is pitted against other female recruits in tests of skill, smarts, and strength. To win is to become a member of the Watchers, an elite and unique partnership—with vampires—that dispatches its teams on the most dangerous missions imaginable. It’s not exactly what Annelise had in mind for a new beginning but it’s livelier than the alternative. Because on the Isle of Night, to lose the challenge doesn’t just mean dishonor. It means death. Let the games begin.

A very cool special format copy of Keowee Valley. Spring, 1768. The Southern frontier is a treacherous wilderness inhabited by the powerful Cherokee people. In Charlestown, 25 year-old Quincy MacFadden receives news from beyond the grave: her cousin, a man she’d believed long dead, is alive—held captive by the Shawnee Indians. Unmarried, bookish, and plagued by visions of the future, Quinn is a woman out of place… and this is the opportunity for which she’s been longing.

Determined to save two lives, her cousin’s and her own, Quinn travels the rugged Cherokee Path into the South Carolina Blue Ridge. Defying her furious grandfather and colonial law, she barters for leverage against the Shawnee with a notorious Cherokee chief—and begins building a daring new home in the Keowee River Valley, a fiercely beautiful place.

But in order to rescue her cousin, Quinn must trust an enigmatic half-Cherokee tracker whose loyalties may lie elsewhere. As translator to the British army, Jack Wolf walks a perilous line between a King he hates and a homeland he loves.

Together they journey across the Appalachian Mountains and into the heart of Cherokee country. They encounter wily trappers, warring Indians, British soldiers, desperate settlers, and a contested backcountry on the brink of changing forever.

When Jack is ordered to negotiate for Indian loyalty in the Revolution to come, the pair must decide: obey the Crown, or commit treason…

The Realmsic Conquest, upcoming blog tour. Throughout its history, the kingdom known as the Realm has never known peace. From its establishment, it has possessed the gift of magic, which is a treasure that exists no other place in the world. As a result, the Realm has endlessly defended itself against conquerors, but now faces its greatest peril.

As our heroes battle the wicked and unlock mysteries, they must also face overwhelming circumstances as they are guided by ancient lore on a quest to find the greatest treasure their kingdom will ever know . . . peace.

And a gift:

The Border Lord and the Lady. Lady Cicely Bowen, daughter of the Earl of Leighton, is sent away by her father when her jealous stepmother threatens her safety. Soon the exiled Cicely becomes best friends with Lady Joan Beaufort, the king's cousin-and when Joan is married to King James I of Scotland she chooses Cicely as one of the ladies accompany her north...

At the Scot's court Cicely finds herself pursued by two men-elegant Andrew Gordon, the laird of Fairlee, and Ian Douglas, the laird of Glengorm, a rough-spoken border lord. When Ian kidnaps Cicely just as Andrew is about to propose, the royal court is sent into an uproar. The queen is demanding the return of her friend and the Gordons are threatening to set the border on fire. But the border lord is difficult to tame-and the lady's heart is even harder to claim.

That's it for me!

Have you read any of these books?

If so, I'd love to know!

Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit :)

Giveaway Winner: Shatter Me

2011-11-20T21:48:00.001-05:00

Congratulations

Katharyn

Check out Katharyn's blog,

Katmunster Reviews.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Stay tuned, the Black Friday Giveaway Hop is just a few days away!

I'm in the Reviewer Spotlight Today!

2011-11-20T10:48:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the Reviewer Spotlight, a feature on my other blog, It's All in the Details, where dedicated book reviewers share their thoughts on reading and reviewing historical fiction!

Today's guest is . . . Me!

Hey, it's my birthday, humor me!

Why do you read historical fiction?

I’ve always been a history geek and I love to be swept away to another time and place when I’m reading. And I like that I’m learning when I’m reading historical fiction. (Mostly. See question five.)

What are you reading now?

I’m just starting Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould, young adult suspense in 1585 Venice.

What makes a great read for you?

A book that takes hold of my emotions and my imagination and doesn’t let go, even after I’ve finished it; a book that brings a time period to life in a way that gives me an appreciation and a better understanding of the history that occurred there.

Read the rest of my interview!

Review: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

2011-11-18T11:04:00.005-05:00

From the Back Cover:

The first book in Perry's bestselling Victorian crime series, bringing together Inspector Thomas Pitt and Charlotte Ellison.

Panic and fear strike the Ellison household when one of their own falls prey to the Cater Street murderer, who strangles young women with a garrotte, leaving their swollen-faced bodies on the dark streets of this genteel neighborhood.The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself curiously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder....

My Thoughts:

I have long heard people talking about Anne Perry, and thanks to Open Road republishing her Pitt mysteries, I finally got the chance to read her myself! The Cater Street Hangman was originally pubished in 1979, but it holds its own against the newer books in this genre. I'm a huge fan of Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, so it's kind of the standard to which I hold other mysteries, and I can't help but compare a bit while reading. Here's how The Cater Street Hangman stacks up:

With this first installment in Perry's series, I felt like the actual mystery was a bit removed from the story. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. There was a lot of focus on human nature and the power of emotions and suspicions, and how a crime affects people on the periphery: friends, neighbors, family. Tension in the Ellison house mounts as the murderer dubbed "The Cater Street Hangman" starts picking off young women in the neighborhood. Charlotte and her sisters, Sarah and Emily, are cautioned against going out alone, and with the whole neighborhood on edge, they can't help but dwell on the murders. As Inspector Pitt begins his investigation of everyone who lives in the neighborhood, in a desperate attempt to catch a madman, he casts seeds of doubt within the family, and they begin to suspect each other. As more women are murdered and hysteria grows, hurtful family secrets are revealed and thrust into the spotlight. There's a tragic twist toward the end that was just all the more awful for the emotional damage the family has inflicted upon each other.

If you're a fan of Raybourn's series, you should like this one. The danger is very real and the depiction of a family unraveling is excellent. I was able to figure out who the murderer was, but the motive turned out to be quite the surprise, and a nice twist. I would've liked to see the romance developed a little more. For me, this story lacks the depth of romantic emotion and sizzling sexual tension that make Julia and Brisbane's story so great. I did not get to know Thomas Pitt very well, but I suspect that will be remedied rather quickly in the following installments. And after such mounting tension and excitement, I thought the ending was too abrupt. I thought it was a great way to end a scene, but not the book! An epilogue would've made me happier. But I still enjoyed it very much and could not put it down past the halfway point. It's a very well-written, suspenseful story with engaging characters and should please historical mystery fans. I've already picked up the second book in the series.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

I received this eARC from the publisher for review. These are my unbiased opinions and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book. Open Road Media is re-releasing the Pitt mysteries as ebooks. Check out their website and this video from Anne Perry.

Teaser Tuesday: Dearly, Departed

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel. It took me a while to get into this one, but on the advice of others I stuck with it and it is paying off! This is really different from anything else I've read--like an alternate history/fantasy/sci-fi mish-mash. Strange, but interesting. And looks like it's shaping up to be a fantastic love story! From p. 124:

"It was an accident!" I hushed my voice further. "He never would have hurt either of you, if he could help it. That's why he didn't tell you. He loved both of you so much. For as long as I've known him, you're all he's talked about . . . he's missed you so much."

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Mailbox Monday: November 14

2011-11-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month finds the meme back with its creator on the Mailbox Monday blog! Next month's host is . . . ME!!

One for review this week, for an upcoming blog tour with

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours:

The King’s Agent is based loosely on the life of Battista della Palla-a patriotic plunderer, a religious rogue-of the 16th century, a lifelong friend to the great Michelangelo. As the cloistered ward of the Marquess of Mantua, Lady Aurelia is a woman with a profound duty, and a longing for adventure. In search of a relic intended for the King of France, Battista and Aurelia cross the breathtaking landscape of Renaissance Italy. Clues hide in great works of art, political forces collide, secret societies and enemies abound, and danger lurks in every challenge, those that mirror the passages of Dante's Divine Comedy. It is an adventurous quest with undercurrents of the supernatural, powers that could change the balance of supremacy throughout Europe.

I absolutely loved Ms. Morin's last novel, To Serve A King, and I am so excited to be on the tour for her newest historical thriller!

And two wins from Paranormal Wasteland:

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. It only makes things worse that everyone now treats Abbey like either a freak show or a charity case. Thank goodness for Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again, but also special. Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth about Caspian that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn't help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago.

What Lindsay doesn't yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead . . . And that someone is Lindsay.

That's it for me!

Have you read any of these books?

Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit!

And don't forget to enter to win a copy of

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi while you're here!

Giveaway Winner: The Faerie Ring

2011-11-13T17:58:00.000-05:00

Congratulations

Mimi Valentine!

Head over to Mimi's blog to say hello!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

And stay tuned . . .

The Black Friday Giveaway Hop is coming up!

Sunday Selections: Silent in the Grave

2011-11-13T11:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Sunday Selections, a meme devoted to sharing and discussing our favorite quotes and passages from our favorite books. If you'd like to share a selection, please leave a comment with a link to your post.

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.

This week I'm sharing the opening lines from the first book in one of my favorite series, the Lady Julia Grey mysteries by Deanna Raybourn.. A blogging friend posted this as her Teaser Tuesday last week and I was reminded of what a wonderful opening it is. Not only do I think this has got to be one of the best first lines ever, but it also sets the tone marvelously for what is to come: a murder mystery with a one-of-a-kind heroine, and the beginning of one of my favorite love stories. If you like your heroines smart, witty, and inclined to mischief, and your heroes dark and brooding, this series is for you!

Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Heiber

2011-11-12T11:16:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

My Thoughts:

This was really different, but in a good way, and I was hooked from the first page. An endearing heroine, a delicious mystery, the ambiance of the seedier side of New York during the Gilded Age, Spiritualism, romance, danger, magic, and a touch of horror all combine into a cohesive and compelling story. Natalie Stewart is probably one of the best YA heroines I've come across in the past two years. She's not a privileged debutante, but the daughter of a prominent art scholar, living on the fringes of high society. She's smart and sassy, yet demure and shy. And she's mute. She witnessed her mother's gruesome death at the age of four and hasn't spoken since. She's fortunate to have a father who adores her, educates her, and gives her the freedom to forge a life despite her disability. I think she's very realistic and very well-drawn. She's an unusual type of girl to go about solving mysteries, but she's the kind of heroine a reader wants to root for.

Her father is the director of the fledgling Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the musem's newest acquisition is the talk of the town. Rumored to be haunted by the spirit of its subject, Lord Jonathan Denbury, whose untimely death is shrouded in mystery, his portrait is sought after by practitioners of the Spiritualism movement sweeping through the country, and by starry-eyed society girls. Natalie is drawn to the portrait, too, and not just because it's the most realistic rendering of the most beautiful man she's ever seen, but because the portrait seems to be communicating with her. Subtle changes in the portrait seem to be designed to catch her attention. After a frightening encounter with a very real and very different Lord Denbury in the museum after hours, the portrait changes again. Touch Me. She does, and her life will never be the same. Jonathan's spirit is trapped in the painting, and Natalie is the only person who can save him.

The situation becomes intense as Jonathan's alter ego prowls the back alleys of New York, leaving death and horror in his wake. Natalie can't stand by and let innocent victims suffer, but she's torn between her desire to help and her fear of the unknown. She's having horrible nightmares. She's hiding from a madman. And she's falling in love with his spirit. But of the two versions she's met, which one is the real Jonathan? Can she trust him? Can she trust herself? With the help of an eccentric and wealthy museum patron, Natalie starts to piece together what happened to Jonathan and searches for a way to rescue him before it's too late.

I really enjoyed this story. It has all the elements I like in a book. I've already told you how much I like Natalie and her character arc is really meaningful and moving. The only thing that bumps this book down a notch for me is the ending. I just think things happened a bit too easily for the level of difficulty of what Natalie and Jonathan were dealing with. And while I liked what happened, I didn't really care for the epistolary style of the ending and the notes from other characters who hadn't really been involved in the story. I'm not saying the ending isn't satisfactory, because it is, I just thought the manner in which it was done took away a bit of the intimacy. But overall Darker Still is creepy, intellectual, and very romantic. I'm a fan of supernatural historicals because they they deliver that glimpse into the past I love so much and combine it with a fanciful story, giving it a bit more weight, and I'd like to see more like this in the YA market.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from NetGalley, and the final published version may differ. Though I was given this copy for review, these are my unbiased thoughts and I was not compensated in any other way for this review.

October Follower Appreciation Giveaway Winner

2011-11-09T05:31:00.000-05:00

October's Winner Is...

Brandy Purdy

Brandy writes historical fiction! Check out her blog!

And a BIG thank you and you rock to all of my followers!

Next drawing November 30th!

Teaser Tuesday: Death Watch

2011-11-08T02:30:00.001-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from an intriguing new book, Death Watch by Ari Berk. I'm not too far along, but so far I'm really attached to the main character, Silas.

Here's the blurb:

They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree. One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.

Here's my teaser, from page 22:

     And what was she jealous of?
     Of Silas?
     Of them?
     Of those folk Amos claimed to help?
     Please, she thought, what kind of man prefers the dead to the living?
     My man, she told herself. Mine does.
     Dolores had started grinding her teeth.
     She took another sip of her warm gin and a deep breath after that.
     I'm not drunk, she told herself.

Shatter Me Surprise Giveaway

2011-11-07T15:58:00.002-05:00

Hey ya'll, guess what?

An extra ARC of Shatter Me just came in the mail today--the same day I posted my review! So in honor of that coincidence, I'm passing this extra copy on to one of you!

To enter, please leave a comment with your email address by 11:59pm Tuesday, November 15th.

Because this is shipping from my house, I can only offer this giveaway to U.S. and Canadian residents. Sorry all you Internationals, you know I make 'em international when I can! (And you're still eligible for The Faerie Ring and Follower Appreciation Giveaways :)

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected.

Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

2011-11-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Thoughts:

I knew from the first page that this book was going to be different, and not just because Ms. Mafi's distinctive style made an immediate impression, but also because the story, and Juliette, had me from the first sentence. Juliette's been in solitary confinement for 264 days, and this girl is in rough shape. She's got the stream-of-consciousness, half-mad thing going on, and it's a raw, gritty, heartbreaking portrayal of what a lifetime of loneliness can do to a person. Juliette is jarred back into reality by the arrival of a cellmate, Adam. A boy. A boy who wants to talk to her, who wants to touch her. But she can never let him, and she can never let him know why. If he knew she killed a boy just by touching him, he would turn away from her like all the others, and she can't bear to lose the only human contact she's had in 264 days.

But someone's been looking for Juliette. Warner, a maniacal leader of the Reestablishment, has been following the trail of rumors about a girl who could kill with a touch. A girl he could use as the ultimate weapon in his bid for power. She is freed from her prison only to be encased in another, as the showpiece of Warner's plans to smash the resistance forces gathering against the Reestablishment. After spending a lifetime shunned, feared, and unwanted, Juliette is thrust into the spotlight, forced into a life of luxurious servitude, alternately pampered and terrified by Warner. She is forced to confront her secret fear that she may grow to like using her devastating power, and to reconcile her growing feelings for Adam. As Warner's obsession grows out of control and his tests of her power grow more twisted and sadistic, Juliette and Adam find themselves in a struggle to survive, and must find the courage and the means to run for their lives and seek out the resistance. And if the rumors are true, Juliette may not be as alone as she thinks she is, and she may yet find a way to harness her power for a better purpose.

I just loved the way this was written. I think it takes a lot of guts to try something different, and a lot of talent to make it work. The words fall like poetry on the pages. I think it's brilliant, but it won't be everybody's cup of tea. And not only are the words mesmerizing, but the story is, too--emotional, unpredictable, suspenseful, and sexy! Juliette, Adam, and Warner are fascinating characters, and the love story is to die for. I can't quite call this perfect because I did find some of the emotional byplay to be a bit overdone. But it's still a great read, and I could not turn the pages fast enough as the story neared its conclusion. This is the first in a series, but it ends in just the right place with a satisfying combination of revelation and intrigue. It's poised perfectly for the next book in the series. I won't go into detail and give too much away, but I will say that I was a big Super Friends fan as a kid, and I get really excited when I think of the potential this series could have moving forward. The teen superhero league/war-torn dystopian combination is deliciously promising :)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance review copy received through the Amazon Vine program, and the finished copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Mailbox Monday: November 7 ~ The Early Edition

2011-11-06T08:32:00.002-05:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month finds the meme back with its creator on the Mailbox Monday blog! Next month's host is . . . ME!!

Two came for review this week:

The Hum and the Shiver from Tor. No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, yet when the first Europeans arrived, they were already there. Dark-haired, enigmatic, and suspicious of outsiders, the Tufa live quiet lives in the hills and valleys of Cloud County. While their origins may be lost to history, there are clues in their music—hints of their true nature buried in the songs they have passed down for generations.

Private Bronwyn Hyatt returns from Iraq wounded in body and in spirit, only to face the very things that drove her away in the first place: her family, her obligations to the Tufa, and her dangerous ex-boyfriend. But more trouble lurks in the mountains and hollows of her childhood home. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, and a restless “haint” lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn’s darkest secrets. Worst of all, Bronwyn has lost touch with the music that was once a vital part of her identity.

With death stalking her family, Bronwyn will need to summon the strength to take her place among the true Tufa and once again fly on the night winds. . . .

A Good Man from Amazon Vine. Wesley Case is a former soldier and son of a Canadian lumber baron who sets out into the untamed borderlands between Canada and the United States to escape a dark secret from his past. He settles in Montana where he hopes to buy a cattle ranch, and where he begins work as a liaison between the American and Canadian militaries in an effort to contain the Native Americans’ unresolved anger in the wake of the Civil War. Amidst the brutal violence that erupts between the Sioux warriors and U.S. forces, Case’s plan for a quiet ranch life is further compromised by an unexpected dilemma: he falls in love with the beautiful, outspoken, and recently widowed Ada Tarr. It’s a budding romance that soon inflames the jealousy of Ada’s quiet and deeply disturbed admirer, Michael Dunne. When the American government unleashes its final assault on the Indians, Dunne commences his own vicious plan for vengeance in one last feverish attempt to claim Ada as his own.

Vanderhaeghe skilfully weaves a rich tapestry of history with the turns of fortune of his most vividly and compellingly drawn cast of characters yet. Vanderhaeghe entwines breathtaking, intriguing, and richly described narratives that contain a compelling love story, a tale of revenge and violence, a spectacular battle scene, the story of an incident in Welsely's past that threatens his relationship with Ada, and much, much more. While raising moral questions, this novel weaves the historical with the personal and stands as Vanderhaeghe's most accomplished and brilliant novel to date.

And I won these!

To Love a London Ghost from Kelsey's Book Corner! When Queen Victoria orders Sexton Dukenfield, premiere phantom hunter, to track down England’s missing ghost he stumbles into Ceridwen, a phantom warrior woman of an ancient Celtic tribe. Not only does he find her intriguing as a piece of the puzzle of the missing spirits, but he’s also haunted by her sultry sensuality. Though they both burn with desire, it’s difficult to quench their fiery passion since Ceridwen is so translucent. Every time Sexton touches her, his hands pass through her misty body. On a mission through the bustling narrow streets of London, to a dreary match factory, and even to the Otherworld and back, to stop a genius scientist and his phantasm debilitater machine, the ghost and the ghost hunter also seek the secret to freeing the boundaries of life and death.

Mr. Darcy's Bite from Diary of an Eccentric! Darcy is acting rather oddly. After months of courting Elizabeth Bennet, no offer of marriage is forthcoming and Elizabeth is first impatient, then increasingly frightened. For there is no denying that the full moon seems to be affecting his behavior, and Elizabeth's love is going to be tested in ways she never dreamed...

Darcy has more than family pride to protect: others of his kind are being hunted all over England and a member of Darcy's pack is facing a crisis in Scotland. It will take all of Elizabeth's faith, courage, and ingenuity to overcome her prejudice and join Darcy in a Regency world she never knew existed.

That's it for me!

Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit!

And be sure to enter my

International Giveaway of The Faerie Ring!

Spooktacular Giveaway Winners!

2011-11-02T21:02:00.000-04:00

Congratulations

Brittney and Kirsten

I had over 250 entries and that means I got to draw two winners. And guess what? Both ladies chose The Restorer by Amanda Stevens, which is one of my favorite reads of the year! (Click here to read my review!) Thanks to everyone who entered and a BIG Thank You and Welcome to my newest followers! Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Teaser Tuesday + Guest Post + Giveaway: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

2011-11-01T04:19:00.002-04:00

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from The Faerie Ring, one of my most anticipated reads this fall. Just look at that cover, isn't it gorgeous? Check out my teaser and Kiki Hamilton's guest post, then enter to win a copy of The Faerie Ring! From page 77:

     She peered at Reiker's face. His eyes were guarded, his emotions veiled. "Why?"
     He reached forward and gently rubbed his thumb along the edge of her bruised lip. "You're bleeding," he said softly.
     Tiki reached up to stop him, but her shaking fingers clung to the warmth of his skin instead. "You didn't answer my question," she whispered.
     "They think I have something they want."

Author Kiki Hamilton graciously agreed to stop by and talk about her inspiration for The Faerie Ring, and the joys and challenges of creating a magical world in a historical setting. She brought a copy to give away, too!

Hi Jenny! Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog! started writing THE FAERIE RING after I read a story I didn’t really like, so I decide to write what I wanted to read. I love Victorian London as a setting – there was such a deep belief in mysticism, magic and the Otherworld, while at the same time the Industrial Revolution was occurring with great technological advances. The era offered a huge dichotomy of motivations and beliefs – which is perfect fodder for a story. I’ve always loved the idea that not all the ‘facts’ of history have been tracked – that maybe some of the stories from the past have slipped through the cracks of time and if we only knew the truth then everything would change….

So, with that in mind, I knew my setting would be Victorian London and I knew that my main character would be a pickpocket. The idea of living on the edges of society intrigues me – how a whole subset of the population can exist, yet remain invisible because society chooses to ignore them.

I knew my setting and I knew my main character, but it wasn’t until Tiki stole the Queen’s ring, that I knew the whole story. Of course, the challenge when writing about a historical setting is to retain the flavor of the era without making it exhausting for the reader to try and muddle through dialect or archaic terms.

In the magical parts of the story I incorporated the well-known foundation of the Seelie and UnSeelie courts, which come from many mythologies in the British Isles, and then used my imagination to build from there. In book two, THE TORN WING, we begin to explore much more of the Otherworld.

I loved the challenge of creating a magical world in a historical setting. In my mind, it all seems to go hand in hand – there is so much mystery to London – it’s such an ancient city with such a rich history–really, anything is possible. Which is what makes it so fun to write fantasy.

Thanks again for inviting me to your blog!
xo Kiki

Want to win your own copy of

The Faerie Ring?

I've got one up for grabs, thanks to Tor Teen!

To enter, simply leave a comment with your email address.

This giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday, November 9th. Thanks, and good luck!

This giveaway is closedand the winner has been chosen!
Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Mailbox Monday: October 31 ~ Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:25:00.002-04:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month's host is Savvy Verse & Wit.

Two came for review last week:

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others are not so lucky.

On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I purchased this special edition as part of Penguin's Read Pink campaign for breast cancer awareness:

Plagued by rumours that she poisoned her fiance, Lucinda Bromley manages to live on the fringes of polite society, tending her beloved plants - and occasionally consulting on a murder investigation. For the notorious botanist possesses a unique talent: she can detect almost any type of poison. But the death of a lord has shaken Lucinda to her core. At the murder scene, she picks up traces of a poison containing a very rare species of fern - stolen from her conservatory just last month. To keep her name out of the investigation, and to find the murderer, Lucinda hires fellow Arcane Society member, Caleb Jones. As a nearly overwhelming desire blooms between them, they are drawn into a deadly conspiracy that can be traced to the early days of the Arcane Society - and to a legacy of madness that could plunge Caleb into the depths of his own tortured soul...

Downloaded a free NookBook:

From the day she arrives at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled—by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in the ways of refined society, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid. But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangled in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs...and their hearts.

And I treated myself to the entire Iron Fey series. I read them all as eARCs and now that the series is over I wanted to have them all on my bookshelf!

That's it for me!

Have you read any of these books?

If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit!

And don't forget to enter my Spooktacular Giveaway!

Win your choice from the spooky books I've read this year!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

2011-10-23T22:29:00.002-04:00

Halloween is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than by giving away a spooky read? This is the largest giveaway hop yet with over 400 blogs participating! Click HERE to visit the host, I'm a Reader, Not a Writer, and start hopping to the other participating blogs.

Here's what you can win from me:

Your choice of one of these spooky books I've read this year:

(Click the pics for more info)

All you have to do to enter is leave ONE comment with your email address. In that same comment, let me know if you're a Follower for an extra entry, and if you Tweeted about my giveaway for an extra entry.

And the more who enter, the more who win!

Over 200 entries = two winners!

Over 300 entries = three winners!

This giveaway is open internationally

and ends at 11:59pm on Monday, October 31st.

P.S - Don't forget, all of my followers are automatically entered in my monthly Follower Appreciation Giveaway to win a book of choice from The Book Depository! Next drawing Oct. 31st!

This giveaway is closed and the winners have been chosen, but stay tuned for more great giveaways on Let Them Read Books!

Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

2011-10-22T10:41:00.000-04:00

From the Back Cover:

In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom….

My Thoughts:

Queen Sabara is dying. Well, her body is dying. Her Essence has lived for centuries, moving from body to body so she could continue her rule of Ludania uninterrupted. But she can't move to just any body--only females of the royal bloodline have magical abilities, and the queen can only transfer her Essence to their bodies with their consent--and there are no more royal females left. Of Sabara's bloodline, anyway. And there aren't supposed to be any heirs of the royal bloodlines that held power before the revolution. Sabara made sure their descendents were wiped out, ensuring that her bloodline will forever rule Ludania. But her plan has backfired on her. In this lifetime, she's only given birth to a son, and that son has fathered several sons, but no daughters. When rumors reach her ears that a female descendent from a rival bloodline is alive and living in the Capitol city, Sabara is determined to find her at all costs.

Meanwhile, Charlie Hart is just trying to blend in. A member of the hardworking vendor class, Charlie spends her days studying in school and working in her parents' restaurant. The people of the vendor class are a step above those in the servant class, and in addition to the common tongue of Englaise, they're allowed to speak Parshon, the language assigned to their class after the revolution, when the queen decided the best way to keep the people from rising up again was to make sure they couldn't communicate with each other. Or look at each other. To raise your eyes to the face of someone in a class above yours means death.

But Charlie has a problem. She was born with the ability to understand all languages, and that makes it hard for her to keep from looking at people above her when she understands the cruel things they say. Desperate to keep their daughter's secret, Charlie's parents have trained her to keep her head down and to keep people from noticing her, and she's used to her best friend Brook getting all the attention whenever they go out anyway. So when she meets a handsome stranger with eyes only for her at an underground club, she doesn't know how to handle the attention. And when Max starts appearing all over town wherever she is, she starts to wonder who he really is and if he has ulterior motives for seeking her out. She's caught the attention of someone else at the club, too, a dangerous and powerful man named Xander. When the city falls under attack, Charlie is separated from her family, and when she discovers who she really is, she has to decide which of these men she can trust, and what the consequences will be, as the queen's net begins to tighten around her, and as the queen's enemies start looking for her, too.

This is another book that started off strong but couldn't carry its elements of mystery and sophistication through to the end. You won't often hear me say that a novel should have been longer, but thats the case for this one. The author takes two-thirds of the book to set up the story and get all of her players in place--and that's fine with me; I like to have a story teased out and the author did a great job--but then everything else felt rushed as the story raced along to a quick and easy ending. And on the way to that ending, our formerly smart characters make some very stupid decisions yet somehow end up coming out on top of some very implausible situations. Though four characters take turns telling the story, the only character who is fully fleshed out is Charlie, since most of the story comes from her first-person POV. Every other player in the story suffers from a real lack of character depth. Max and Xander take a couple of quick turns giving us insight into other aspects of the story, but we only get to know them superficially, and Queen Sabara is so ridiculously, one-dimensionally evil that it's hard to take her seriously.

Bottom line: A fairly original story premise starts out strong with a gritty and dangerous vibe, and a great heroine, but grows weaker and loses its credibility, devolving into melodrama and a series of "yeah, right" moments. But I was hooked and loving it for the first 250 pages, and the sexual tension between Charlie and Max is smokin', so it gets bumped up a notch, and there is a very interesting situation in place for the next book in the trilogy. So not a bad book, but not a great one, either.

My Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Teaser Tuesday + Cookie Contest: A Lawman's Christmas

2011-10-18T00:01:00.001-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from A Lawman's Christmas by Linda Lael Miller. I really enjoyed this heartwarming historical romance. Check out my teaser and then check out Book Trib's Best of the West Holiday Cookie Contest! From page 67:

"You might as well know straightaway that I'm in trouble again," she immediately confessed. "Thomas Phillips tried to steal my bonnet at recess, and near strangled me with the ties while he was at it, and I socked him in the stomach."

A Lawman's Christmas is on a blog tour!

Click here to read my review.

Got a great cookie recipe? Click here to enter to win a trip to Vegas!

Blog Tour Review: A Lawman's Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

2011-10-17T04:20:00.001-04:00

From the Back Cover:

The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman…and twenty-five-year-old Dara Rose Nolan without a husband. As winter approaches and her meager seamstress income dwindles, she has three options. Yet she won't give up her two young daughters, refuses to join the fallen women of the Bitter Gulch Saloon and can't fathom condemning herself to another loveless marriage. Unfortunately she must decide—soon—because there's a new marshal in town, and she's living under his roof.

With the heart of a cowboy, Clay McKettrick plans to start a ranch and finally settle down. He isn't interested in uprooting Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion. And when they say "I do" to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman's Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife…

My Thoughts:

I confess that I have had a hard time getting into Miller's works in the past, but I am glad I gave her another shot with A Lawman's Christmas, because I thoroughly enjoyed it! It's a sweet and heartwarming historical romance, and it's a gorgeous little hardcover holiday keepsake.

December, 1914. When Clay McKettrick steps off the train in Blue Ridge, Texas, and finds a sparky little girl commandeering his horse, he never imagined she'd lead him to his future wife. He took on the marshal's job for the room and board while he builds a home on his new ranch outside of town, and while he knew he'd need a wife at some point, he didn't expect her to be the first woman he laid eyes on in town, nor for her to be a standoffish widow with two young children. Smitten with Dara Rose Nolan and her sweet and sassy daughters, Clay has to figure out how to break through Dara Rose's walls of wariness and distrust.

He's got his job cut out for him, because Dara Rose has learned the hard way that the only person she can depend on is herself. The country's on the brink of war and hard times have fallen on Blue Ridge. It's all she can do to put food on the table and try to figure out how to give her girls a Christmas. She can't allow herself the luxury of dwelling on Clay McKettrick's pretty blue eyes or the promises behind them. Or how they would look at her if he knew the secrets she kept hidden. But when circumstances conspire to put Dara Rose at her lowest point, Clay seems like the answer to her prayers. Can she trust him with her children and her future, and her heart?

I've not read many holiday romances, but of the few I have read, this is the best. It really hit the spot. It's touching and satisfying, perfectly blending humor and hardship with romance and the Christmas spirit. The writing is flawless, the characterization is rich, and the historical detail is excellent. Miller really brings the little town of Blue Ridge to life effortlessly and memorably. I thought it was great and I'm recommending A Lawman's Christmas to all historical romance lovers this holiday season!

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Tune in tomorrow for

A Lawman's Teaser Tuesday and a Cookie Contest!

Mailbox Monday: October 17 - The Early Edition

2011-10-16T08:55:00.000-04:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month's host is Savvy Verse & Wit.

Two freebies for me this week!

This one is my first win from Booktrib. I've been entering their weekly giveaways since they started. Just goes to show, persistence pays off!

Duncan Armstrong, laird of Duffdour, has sworn not to wed unless it is to a lass he truly loves. But when he needs a favor from King James, Duncan never expects what he's forced to pay in return: the taking of a bride he neither loves nor desires.

When Highland heiress Ellen MacArthur's marriage plans are thwarted by a murder attempt, she has no choice but to beg the king for help. The cost for her urgent plea: to surrender her heritage and become a border lord's bride.

The price to be paid by two strangers thrown together by fate is higher than they can imagine. And more dangerous than the passion--and betrayal--that could consume them.

And I had one credit left to use before Goodreads Bookswap

closes down for good, so I chose this one:

Reporter Jane Colby covers crime for the local paper, but the most recent murder is especially shocking--leaving even the most hardened detectives shaken. What she doesn't know is that this killer has struck before--hundreds of years ago--and now he's jumped through time again to find his next victim--Jane . . .

Her only hope is a man names Baran Arvid--a genetically engineered warrior from three hundred years in the future. He's been sent to capture the predatory time traveler, and he intends to trap him any way he can--even if it means using Jane as bait.

Despite her reluctance to trust Baran, Jane can't resist his sexual allure. And this fierce warlord never imagined he could feel such insatiable desire--or that he would risk everything to seduce the woman he was sent to protect. But will their passion survive the galaxies that come between them--and the killer intent on destroying them?

That's it for me! If you've read either of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit :)

A Night to Surrender Giveaway Winner!

2011-10-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

And the winner is...

Molly

@Reading Is My Cup of Tea

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please take a moment to stop by Molly's place and stay tuned for my Halloween Giveaway!

Free Help for Aspiring Historical Fiction Authors

2011-10-13T13:46:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! I don't usually post much of a personal nature on my blog, but I have made some wonderful blogging friends and have seen how instrumental bloggers can be in spreading information, so I wanted to take a moment to share some exciting news with you and to ask for your help. I have been hard at work over the past year, laying the groundwork for my new business venture, and I'm ready to start spreading the word!

As some of you may know, I hold a history degree from Virginia Tech, and this December, after fifteen months of classes, I will earn my professional copyediting certification from UCSD. I am launching my freelance book editing business, Historical Editorial, and I am looking to take on my first few clients free of charge in an effort to build my portfolio and refine my business practices.

I am specializing in editing historical fiction and all of its sub-genres, including romance, mystery, fantasy, steampunk, inspirational, and young adult. If you have completed or are nearing completion of a historical fiction manuscript, please visit my website and consider contracting my services under my special offer. And please, if you know of anyone who may benefit from my services, feel free to pass my contact information along to them!

I have also been working hard to establish a new blog to go along with my business. It's called, It's All in the Details, and it focuses on writing, editing, marketing, and publishing historical fiction. I would love it if you could stop by and take a look, and become a follower if you like what you see. I would also welcome any feedback or suggestions you have for me regarding my professional website and blog. And I will be forever grateful to anyone who would like to share this post and help me spread the word throughout the online reading and writing community!

Sincerely,

Jenny Quinlan
Historical Editorial
Twitter: @EditingHistory
E-mail: jennyq@historicaleditorial.com

Read Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

2011-10-12T18:33:00.002-04:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Penguin Group (USA)

Is In The Pink For

Breast Cancer Awareness

It’s time to think pink

to shrink cancer

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink™ in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in nearly 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. In 2010 and 2011, some 12,000 floor displays also carried the Read Pink message. The result raised awareness for BCRF, the only cancer organization to receive A+ from the Institute for Philanthropy.

The novels chosen for Read Pink 2011 are eight bestselling mass market titles by some of Penguin Group (USA)’s most beloved female authors. Included this year are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig. More than 300,000 copies of the special editions will be printed featuring Read Pink seals on the covers. In addition, Penguin Group (USA) is including information in the back of each book in an effort to make readers aware of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and encourage them to become actively involved in supporting the organization.

For more details about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the 2011 titles and participating retail outlets, please visit www.penguin.com/readpink.

This is a cause that is near to my heart.

My beloved aunt Terri has been breast-cancer free for eleven years!

I just purchased the Read Pink edition of

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick.

Won't you join me in helping Penguin and Read Pink spread the word about breast cancer awareness?

Teaser Tuesday: Anna and the French Kiss

2011-10-11T00:01:00.012-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

If you are one of the bloggers who raved about Anna and the French Kiss, Thank You! After seeing so many gush about this book, I picked it up from the library, fell completely in love with it, and finished it in a day. What an all-around fun, charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and oh so romantic read!! And what a very realistic and honest portrait of a teen romance. And who can resist the backdrop of Paris? LOVED IT! A new Five-Star Favorite! So, of course, I had to share a trifecta of teasers:

Page 16:

"Etienne," he says. "I live one floor up."
"I live here." I point dumbly at my room while my mind whirs: French name, English accent, American School. Anna confused.

Page 84:
     "It translates to 'Point zero of the roads of France.' In other words, it's the point from which all other distances in France are measured." St. Clair clears his throat. "It's the beginning of everything."
     I look back up. He's smiling.
     "Welcome to Paris, Anna. I'm glad you've come."

Page 143:
     But I can't say it aloud, because he's my friend. And friends don't let other friends make drunken declarations and expect them to act upon them the next day.
     Then again . . . it's St. Clair. Beautiful, perfect, wonderful--
     And great. That's just great.
     He threw up on me.

Now run out and read this book!

But first, enter my International Giveaway for A Night to Surrender, one of my favorite historical romances of the year! Ends Oct. 12th.

Mailbox Monday: October 10

2011-10-10T08:00:00.047-04:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month's host is Savvy Verse & Wit.

I purchased two new releases last week:

Sharon Kay Penman is one of my favorite authors, and I think she's one of the best historical fiction writers working today. If you love historical fiction and you haven't read The Sunne in Splendour or her Welsh trilogy, starting with Here Be Dragons, you are missing out on some truly fantastic reading! This one picks up where her Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine trilogy ended and focuses on, you guessed it, Richard I.

And because one of my favorite series had a big re-release this week, I had to treat myself to a signed, hardcover collector's edition of the book that started it all, Dark Lover, of the fabulous Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Dark Lover is not the best book in the series, (I think books two through five are the best), but as soon as I learned the first book in a series I am absolutely addicted to was coming out in a collector's edition, I had to have it. And how cool that J.R. signed it for me? It even came wrapped in red and black paper with a BDB seal!

That's it for me!

Have you entered my International Giveaway for A Night to Surrender? It's one of the best historical romances I've read this year and the giveaway ends Wednesday, October 12th at midnight!

Spoiler-Free Quick Review: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

2011-10-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

From the Back Cover:

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks--with no one knowing where she was or who she was with--she tries to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge her mom's creepy new boyfriend.

But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows. And this unshakable feeling that a part of hers is missing.

Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again.

My Thoughts:

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I loved Hush, Hush and Crescendo and I LOVE Patch. I even went out and paid full price for the hardcover special edition at Walmart on release day.

Silence started off great. Nora wakes up in a cemetery to discover she's lost five months of her life. Nora not remembering Patch?? That's a fantastic plot twist with so much potential, and for the first 300 pages I couldn't put the book down. I liked that it took so long to find out what happened to Nora after Crescendo's cliffhanger ending. But then the story started to spiral out of control. All of these extra rules about mind tricks and special powers and "devilcraft" started showing up in convenient places and extra characters popped up everywhere. One of the things I liked best about Crescendo was that Nora started stepping up and had to get herself out of the scrapes she got herself into, but she backtracks in this one. She made some stupid decisions and had to rely on others to save her. And what had been my favorite part of these books, that all-consuming sexual tension between Patch and Nora, lost its zing. I actually found myself skimming. And I hung on every word in the first two books. I know I sound vague because I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but bottom line is I didn't think it was as good as it should have been. It lacked the urgency and intensity of its predecessors. And that bonus scene from Patch's POV that I was drooling to get to? Eh. Nothing special.

I'm not saying this book doesn't have its good points, and if you're a fan of the series, you gotta read it, but this fan is going to hope for more out of Book Four.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Review + Giveaway: A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

2011-10-05T04:20:00.002-04:00

From the Back Cover:

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men. It is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters...and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders to gather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch--a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle...but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

My Thoughts:

This may be my favorite historical romance of the year! Spindle Cove is a labor of love for Susanna Finch, who grew up on the neighboring estate. Susanna knows what it's like to be a misfit, and she's turned Spindle Cove into a seaside refuge for other women seeking freedom from illness, scandal, unwanted matrimony, and overbearing mothers. It's a place where unusual women are free to be themselves, and where they are relatively free of men. But the ladies' peaceful life of spinsterly solitude is turned upside down by the arrival of Lt. Colonel Victor Bramwell and his orders to recruit a militia to protect their coastline in the event of a French invasion.

The women of Spindle Cove, led by a feisty and determined Susanna, are prepared to fight for the peace and tranquility of their little haven. Susanna is prepared to do whatever it takes to remove this threat to her paradise, but she's about to meet her match. After a devastating battlefield injury, Bram needs this militia. His commission is on the line and he needs to prove to his superiors that he is capable and ready to return to command in the Napoleonic War. But he's about to find out that his biggest challenge is not building a fighting troop of men from the village's ragtag offering, but rather allowing himself to consider a future far different than what he thought he'd always wanted, and finding the courage to take it. And Susanna's about to discover exactly what kind of benefits there are to having a strong and handsome man in the village, in her arms, and in her heart.

This was my first time reading Tessa Dare, but it will not be my last! It's been a long time since I found a romance so genuinely humorous. I grinned my way through the entire first half of this charming novel. I loved everything about it. (Well, almost. My only little quibble is that I thought the sex scenes were a tad overdone.) The premise is refreshingly original and I loved Spindle Cove and all of its residents. The characters are great--no cliched, cardboard supporting characters here--and Bram is a fantastic hero, very authentic and convincing. The women of the village and the men of the militia go toe-to-toe with cutting wit, sparkling dialogue, and one outrageous scene after another. And though we all know how a romance is going to end, this one had a couple of surprises on the way there. The seeds have been planted for the next two books in the series and I can't wait to read them. This is just an all-around fun, charming, superbly-written little gem, and if you love historical romance, you need to add this one to your list!

My Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

I thought A Night to Surrender was so great,
I want to share it with one of you!

Enter to win your own copy by leaving a comment with your email address. Double your chance at winning if you also Tweet this and leave me the link! This giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm Wednesday, October 12th. Thanks, and good luck!

*Please Note: This review references a review copy received through the Amazon Vine program. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Teaser Tuesday: A Night to Surrender

2011-10-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

This week my teaser comes from the most charming romance I've read in a long time: A Night to Surrender. This was my first time reading Tessa Dare, but it will not be my last. I liked it so much, I'm going to give a copy away tomorrow when I post my review, so if you like this teaser, check back tomorrow! This is from page 147:

Listen, you. I don't know what sort of liberties you've taken while I was insensible, or just what your spinster imagination prepared you to see. But I'll have you know, that water was damned cold!

Got a teaser?

Leave a link so I can visit :)

Mailbox Monday: October 3

2011-10-03T09:05:00.002-04:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month's host is Savvy Verse & Wit.

I received two more for review from the Amazon Vine:

A Night to Surrender. Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men. It is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters...and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders to gather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch--a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle...but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

Archon. Angela Mathers is plagued by visions of angels, supernatural creatures who haunt her thoughts by day and seduce her dreams by night. Newly released from a mental institution where she was locked away for two years, she hopes that her time at the Vatican’s university, the West Wood Academy, will give her a chance at a normal life. Unlike ordinary humans, Angela is a blood head — a freak, a monster, the possible fulfillment of a terrifying prophecy of overwhelming death and destruction. Only in Luz, the Vatican’s wondrous enclave, are blood heads accepted and encouraged to discover what kind of powers or special abilities they might possess.

But within West Wood, a secret coven plots, and demons and angels roam the streets searching for the key to open Raziel’s book — a secret tome from a lost archangel. Some are determined to destroy Raziel, while others, like the beautiful Supernal Israfel, one of the highest of the high, wish to free him. And when the Archon — the human chosen to possess the spirit of a dead angel — rises as foretold, they will control the supernatural universe.

Torn between mortal love and angelic obsession, Angela holds the key to Heaven and Hell — and both will stop at nothing to possess her.

Treated myself to this discounted ebook. I've heard it's a Must-Read for historical romance lovers:

Lord of Scoundrels. Tough minded Jessica Trent's sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Diain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And When Daine's reciprocal passion places them in a scandalously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction... Damn the minx for tempting him, kissing him...and then for forcing him to salvage reputation! Lord Dain can't wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place -- and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it -- though Sebastian is less than certain he can continue to remain aloof...and steal his heart to the sensuous, head strong lady's considerable charms.

And I snatched up a trio of free ebooks:

That's it for me!

Have you read any of these books? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Please leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit :)

Sept. Follower Appreciation Giveaway Winner

2011-10-02T17:01:00.000-04:00

September's Winner Is...

Sharn3960

Please visit Sharn

@ Life As I Know it

And a BIG thank you and you rock to all of my followers!

Next drawing October 31st!

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

2011-10-01T10:49:00.001-04:00

From the Back Cover:

Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

My Thoughts:

Mara Dyer has no recollection of the accident that claimed her friends' lives, but it seems that someone or something wants to make sure she remembers. After waking up the sole survivor, she starts to see her dead friends in mirrors, she hears their voices, she has hallucinations of the accident scene, and she loses big chunks of time and often wakes up to discover she's hurt herself. Mara thinks she's going crazy, and she might be. Thinking she needs to distance herself from the accident, she and her family move from New England to Miami. But her troubles follow her, only now she has the added pressures of being the new girl at a snooty private school, of resisting the relentless advances of the resident playboy, and of dodging the media attention when her father takes on a high-profile murder case. Just when she thinks things can't get any worse, people she gets really angry with start showing up dead. Is she really going crazy? Is she a murderer? Or is something entirely different at play here? In a world full of strangers, who can she turn to for help? Well, there's one boy who wants to be there for her; one boy who is determined to prove she's not crazy. But Noah has the worst reputation and Mara's psyche can't take anymore emotional trauma. Can she trust him with her heart and her sanity, and can he really help her?

I was loving this book until the last fifty pages. It's so deliciously cryptic and creepy, and I had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen. Well, now I've finished it and I still have no idea what was going on. And I've re-read the ending three times and I still can't figure out what happened. Just when I thought it was all coming together and racing toward a resolution, the book ended right in the middle of it and I was dismayed to discover this is only the first book in a series. Just seemed to me like this was the kind of story that could have and should have been wrapped up in one book. I know another book is forthcoming, but give me something to hold on to, give me something to chew over while I wait. I was so confused by the last turn of events that I'm left feeling a bit disoriented, with more questions than answers. So frustrating to get all the way through such a good book only to have the ending leave me feeling so dissatisfied.

So the ending bumps it down a notch for me. Otherwise, this was headed for solid 5-Star territory. The writing is fantastic, the story is unputdownable, and the characters are deep, unpredictable, and riveting. If you like a good, angst-y, meaningful teen romance, this is for you. There is angst in abundance as Mara fights her attraction to Noah, and it continues as they come together and try to survive whatever is plaguing Mara's mind. I loved the way their relationship developed and Noah is made of seriously swoon-worthy material, though you'd never guess it when you first meet him. I like heroes like that. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer does not fall neatly into any particular genre, and should appeal to anyone who likes a spooky, psychological mystery, and the backdrop of private school drama combined with a killer romance will give YA lovers the angst and emotion they crave. Just be prepared to have to wait till the next book to (hopefully) get some satisfactory answers!

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references a review copy received through the Amazon Vine program. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Teaser Tuesday + Review: Rebirth by Sophie Littlefield

2011-09-27T04:20:00.001-04:00

From the Back Cover:

The end of the world was just the beginning.

Civilization has fallen, leaving California an unforgiving, decimated place. But Cass Dollar beat terrible odds to get her missing daughter back—she and Ruthie will be happy.

Yet with the first winter, Cass is reminded that happiness is fleeting in Aftertime. Ruthie retreats into silence.

Flesh-eating Beaters still dominate the landscape. And Smoke, Cass's lover and strength, departs on a quest for vengeance, one that may end him even if he returns.

The survivalist community Cass has planted roots in is breaking apart, too. Its leader, Dor, implores Cass to help him recover his own lost daughter, taken by the totalitarian Rebuilders. And soon Cass finds herself thrust into the dark heart of an organization promising humanity's rebirth—at all costs.

Bound to two men blazing divergent paths across a savage land, Cass must overcome the darkness in her wounded heart, or lose those she loves forever.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two "teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

Last week I shared a teaser from Aftertime, and this week my teaser comes from the second book in the series, Rebirth. I am loving this series and I recommend it for anyone who's a fan of edge-of-your-seat action combined with gut-wrenching emotion. Read on after the teaser for my review. This is from page 125, and it really is only two lines!

She'd earned this fury every time Byrn let his eyes linger on her body, every time his furtive hands found her in the dark; she'd stoked it with each man to pass through her doors and back out again; cherished and honed it when Ruthie had been ripped from her, when every scar was laid open at once. This was a dangerous road to take, and one she had found was drawing her more and more in recent weeks.

My Thoughts:

I was so impressed with Sophie Littlefield's Aftertime, that I had to read Rebirth right away. It's very hard to review this series without letting spoilers slip, so mostly I'm just going to tell you a bit about why I like these books so much. Aftertime was my first zombie novel and I thought Littlefield did a fantastic job of immersing the reader in her post-apocalytpic world without bogging the story down in details and backstory. Biological warfare destroyed the world's food supply and poisoned the majority of its population. Those that are left struggle to subsist in isolated pockets of civilization where there is safety in numbers; barricaded against Beaters (former humans who are now super-strong flesh-eating zombies thanks to eating contaminated genetically-engineered crops), and distrustful of the Rebuilders, a neo-military organization trying to re-establish control. It's downright scary and intense. But for me the best thing about this series is Cass Dollar.

Talk about someone who has been put through the ringer and never gives up. She's no wonder woman, no ass-kicking heroine--she just has this deep-seated primal urge to survive and to keep going no matter what. In Aftertime Cass was miraculously recovering from an attack by the Beaters--miraculous because those victims who aren't fortunate enough to be killed outright by them turn into Beaters. But not Cass. Her sheer grit and determination propelled her across dangerous country in search of her young daughter Ruthie, and along the way she reluctantly accepted the help of strong and silent hottie Smoke. Cass had learned the hard way never to trust a man and had vowed never to give herself to one again. But of course, she did. And she slowly came to rely on Smoke, to allow herself the luxury of feeling safer, of daring to hope they could have a future and a family in a world where futures and families don't exist. In the Aftertime.

And then in the beginning of Rebirth, Smoke leaves. Now don't judge--you don't know the whole story. But Cass takes it pretty hard. And ends up making some rash decisions and doing some stupid things and really messing with another man's head in the process. And Dor is such a hard character to read, but I like him. Leader of the safe camp where Cass and Smoke found refuge, he's leaving that safety behind to rescue his teenage daughter from the fanatical Rebuilders, and Cass and Ruthie are going with him, hoping to find a better life on the other side. And that's where I'll leave off with the plot because it is just non-stop action and tension from here on out. Whether it's an edge-of-your-seat life and death struggle or an emotional knock-out, it's all intense. And it's all good. My only real complaint is that I feel like Cass's introspection drags on a bit and gets repetitive. But this leaves off with a cliffhanger and one hardcore, gritty love triangle in place. I only wish I didn't have to wait so long to see what happens next. This series won't be for everybody; it's post-apocalyptic and it's got zombies, and some shock and horror, but at its heart it's really emotional, character-driven fiction, and the kind that makes an impression on you and stays with you long after you've read it.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Mailbox Monday: September 26

2011-09-25T17:12:00.003-04:00

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, is on a blog tour! This month's host is Amused By Books.

Came back from the beach to a mailbox full of lovely books for review! Makes coming home a little easier!

The Faerie Ring follows a young pickpocket on a magical adventure through the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London as she attempts to save the kingdom from a group of renegade faeries who are prepared to stop at nothing to claim England as their own. Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton delivers an irresistible, spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger for readers of all ages.

The Sister Queens. A stunning debut novel of Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence--sisters, rivals, and queens of France and England in the 13th century. Patient, perfect, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. Her husband, Louis IX, is considered the greatest monarch of his age. But he is also a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can Marguerite find enough of her sister’s boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love?

Passionate, strong-willed, and stubborn, Eleanor becomes Queen of England. Henry III, is a very good man…and a very bad king. His failures are bitter disappointments for Eleanor, who has worked to best her elder sister since childhood. Can Eleanor stop competing with her sister and value what she has, or will she let it slip away?

Tempest from Amazon Vine. The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy…he’s in college, has a girlfriend…and he can travel back through time. It's just harmless fun--until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, and can’t get back to the future. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

A Lawman's Christmas. Upcoming blog tour! Linda Lael Miller shares some holiday cheer with her latest novel. Set in the winter of 1914, roamer Clay mcKettrick rides into the wildly popular "McKettricks of Texas" series looking to finally settle down and raise a family on a ranch of his own. He isn't interested in uprooting young widow Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion. And when they say "I do" to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman's Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife…

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer from the Amazon Vine. Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

The Time in Between. The inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II. Already a runaway bestseller across Europe, The Time In Between is one of those rare, richly textured novels that enthrall down to the last page. María Dueñas reminds us how it feels to be swept away by a masterful storyteller.

That's it for me. Have you read any of these books?

If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Leave a link to your Mailbox so I can visit!

Giveaway Winner! To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn

2011-09-24T17:40:00.000-04:00

The winner of To Die For by Sandra Byrd is:

Ann from PA!

Congrats and thanks to everyone who participated!

Did you miss it? Read my review of To Die For and check out my interview with Sandra Byrd!

Teaser Tuesday: Aftertime

2011-09-20T07:41:00.000-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

The breeze was indifferent to the Siege. It was the breeze of Before, and as Smoke lowered his mouth to her, slow and unstoppable, it occurred to her that the breeze had defied the Beaters, the famine, the routed, cracked and poisoned earth. It waited for night and then it came as it ever had and Cass welcomed it and drank it in.