Review: Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent

Shadow Bound
Author: Rachel Vincent
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Publisher: Mira
Unbound Book #2
ISBN:  0778313433
ISBN13: 9780778313434
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

If you live in the dark long enough, you begin to forget the light…

KORI DANIELS is a shadow-walker, able to travel instantly from one shadow to another. After weeks of confinement for betraying her boss, she’s ready to break free of the Tower syndicate for good. But Jake Tower has one final job for Kori, one chance to secure freedom for herself and her sister, Kenley, even if that means taking it from someone else…

The job? Recruit Ian Holt—or kill him.

Ian’s ability to manipulate the dark has drawn interest from every syndicate in the world, most notably an invitation from Jake Tower. Though he has no interest in organized crime, Ian accepts the invite, because he’s on a mission of his own. Ian has come to kill Tower’s top Binder: Kori’s little sister.

Amid the tangle of lies, an unexpected thread of truth connecting Ian and Kori comes to light. But with opposing goals, they’ll have to choose between love and liberty…

BLOOD BOUND was a slam dunk for me so when I saw that SHADOW BOUND was set to release it was a must have on my wish list. I was all set to purchase the book so that it could join BLOOD BOUND on my bookshelf and then I read a review on SHADOW BOUND and was so disappointing that I might not like the book so I was all set to not even read it at all. Netgalley ended up throwing it up for review so I was like what the heck at least I will know what happens so I can read book 3 when it comes out and not be lost. I just got done reading it and THANK GOODNESS I didn't pass it up It looks like SHADOW BOUND will be joining book 1 on my shelf after all. 


If you have read book 1 you know who Kori is and what went down. SHADOW BOUND starts up 6 weeks after the previous events with Kori getting out of her punishment for her role in what happened in the Tower house. She has been beaten, raped and all around tortured. She is then send for more punishment as Tower forces her to be a new recruited personal recruiter and get him to sign anyways she can or else he will subject Kori's sister to the same treatment she herself was forced to endure. Ian is on a mission to kill Kori's sister to save his brother from a binding that was placed on him and that is slowly killing him. He never expected to be attracted to Kori let alone not want to kill her sister for fear of hurting her.


The main parts of SHADOW BOUND takes place over a very short couple days so some of the stuff written is a little unbelievable. Kori and Ian's attraction right off was a little off because of what Kori went through but in her defense she was far from throwing herself at Ian. I think Vincent did a good job of writing in her feelings I just think it would have made more sense if a little more time had passed. I enjoyed both of their characters and the world building of the unbound series was again pretty darn awesome to witness. I love that past characters got a little role and I hope that that continues with the next books. The emotions are pretty dark and I admit I was bawling my eyes out a few moments throughout. I went in thinking that I was going to hate SHADOW BOUND but I ended up pleased with the outcome. I'm interested to see who will be the main characters in OATH BOUND.


I gave it 4/5 stars

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Review: Wilde's Fire by Krystal Wade

Wilde's Fire
Author: Krystal Wade
Release Date:May 13, 2012
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Darkness Falls Book #1
ISBN13: 9781620070574
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

“There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most.”—Katriona Wilde.

Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she’s ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she’s dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. Kate’s forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What’s worse, she has no control over her new future, and it’s full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will Kate discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?

Katriona, her sister and best friend set out on a camping trip and were sent into another world through a cave portal. Katriona learns not only was she born to this world but she is the one who will bring it back to life.

I enjoyed the world that Wade created. The fact that it is dark and only Kate with Arland beside her can light it up was easy to imagine with the way it was presented to us. I loved that Kate had always dreamed of Arland so that when she saw him in real life all her feelings were already there and she was instantly drawn to him. Its clear from the beginning that they were born for each other and I had no trouble imagining them together and rooting for them. WILDE'S FIRE also had some great supporting characters. They all brought something new to the story.

The story progressed at a nice speed, revealing just enough to get to the next step without giving to much away. I wasn't so crazy about the ending but that is just because I don't want to go through most of book 2 without some of my favorite characters. I hope book 2 isn't far off.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars 

Early Review: Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

Dark Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Mythos Academy Book #3
ISBN:  0758266960
ISBN13: 9780758266965
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Author 

I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again.

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me?

It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life.

DARK FROST starts with action and ends after action. A lot develops in DARK FROST, Gwen and Logan are finally advancing with a relationship, Loki's champion is finally revealed, and the Helheim Dagger is found leading up to events everyone was fighting to stop. 

Gwen has grown so much since book 1 and I have thoroughly enjoyed following her. One of my very favorite things about Gwen is that she isn't overconfident. She is brave, strong, and sticks up for those she loves but she has no doubt that she has flaws and cant do everything. Character development continues and we learn more about our favorite characters. An old friend comes back to Gwen and I absolutely loved how it was worked into the storyline. We get to see that Grandma isn't your normal fragile Grandma. Logan and Gwen work very well together and I loved watching them get closer to each other even if there is a little drama on the way.


I have yet to read anything from Jennifer Estep that I didn't enjoy. DARK FROST is fast paced and full of action and suspense. Book 3 so far is my favorite of the series and I'm impatiently waiting to see what happens next in CRIMSON FROST. 


I gave it 4/5 stars

Interview & Giveaway: Jenn Bennett

UFI welcomes Jenn Bennett Author of The Arcadia Bell Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

This or That

Coffee or Tea

Both. Lon drinks jasmine tea in my books, and I'm afraid that blossomed out of my own personal love for it. I've spent a fair amount of time in China and Hong Kong, which is where my devotion to this tea started. I remember the first time I tasted it: when I was getting a haircut and massage at a Taiwanese hair salon in Taipei . . . with a transgendered man who owned a karaoke bar. I could not make this stuff up!

However, I am also a three-cup-a-day coffee addict: best beans I can afford (grind myself), French press.

Angels or Demons

Demons, naturally. Preferably Earthbound ones.

Pizza or Pasta

Pizza. Wood-fired. Sauce made with San Marazano tomatoes. Thin crust.

Left or Right

Left. Far, far left. As far away from the Right as I can get.

Reading or Writing

Both. Daily.

Coke or Pepsi

Does Pepsi still make products? They do? Well, I'll be damned. Coke all the way, baby. I live in Atlanta, where Coke was born. To drink anything else is blasphemy. We even have a World of Coca-Cola Museum that has a tasting room where you can sample crazy Coke flavors from around the world.

Book Signing or Panel Speaking

Signing. Speaking of, I'm doing a book signing at the RWA national conference in Anaheim, California at the end of July. Come and see me if you're in the area. I'll be giving away exclusive trading cards.

Vampires or Werewolves

Wereroaches that live off vamp blood?

YA or Adult

I love YA, but I always miss the graphic sex. Is that wrong?

Facebook or Twitter

Twitter. No competition. FB makes me want to tear my face off with all its weird, illogical changes.

Virtual or Real

Virtual *is* the new real, isn't it?

Up or Down

Is this a dirty sex question? Most definitely down.

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Jenn Bennett is an award-winning visual artist-turned-urban fantasy author. Born in Germany, she’s lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. She believes rebellion is an under-appreciated art form, has conjured more demons than you’ve had hot lunches, and likes her fairy tales like she likes her coffee: dark. She currently lives near Atlanta with her film-geek husband and two very bad pugs.

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Find Jenn and her books

Website / Twitter

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Summoning the Night
Arcadia Bell #2
April 24, 2012

MAGICAL TRICKS. DEMONIC TREATS.

After narrowly escaping her fate as a sacrificial scapegoat, Arcadia Bell is back to normal. Or at least as ordinary as life can be for a renegade magician and owner of a tiki bar that caters to Earthbound demons. She’s gearing up for the busiest day of the year—Halloween—when a vengeful kidnapper paralyzes the community.

The influential head of the local Hellfire Club taps Cady to track down the fiendish bogeyman, and now that she’s dating red-hot Lon Butler, the Club’s wayward son, she can hardly say no. Cady and Lon untangle a gruesome thirty-year trail of clues that points to danger for the club members’ children. But locating the person behind the terror will require some metaphysical help from Cady’s loyal bar patrons as well as her potent new Moonchild powers—and she’d better figure it out before the final victim disappears and her own darkest secret becomes her biggest enemy.

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 International

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New Releases: 5/20-5/26

Tue May 22

Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers #1) by Michelle Rowan
Dark Magic by James Swain
The Enemy's Kissby Zandria Munson
Fated (The Soul Seekers #1) by Alyson Noel
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles, #2)r by Kady Cross
Guardian of the Night by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) by Larissa Ione
The Lost Code (The Atlanteans #1) by Kevin Emerson
Midnight's Master (Dark Warriors #1) by Donna Grant
Nightshifted (Nightshifted #1) by Cassie Alexander
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Shadow Bound (Unbound #2) by Rachel Vincent
Taken by Storm (Raised by Wolves #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Zombie Island (Shakespeare Undead #2) by Lori Handeland

Happy Reading!!

Interview: Tara Hudson

UFI welcomes Tara Hudson Author of The Hereafter Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

 

I can quote every word in the movie GHOSTBUSTERS.  You may think I’m exaggerating, but I’mnot.  I think just about every syllable in that movie is applicable to everyday life, including (but not limited to): “I’ve been slimed,” “She sleeps above her covers…FOUR FEET above her covers,” and “Shhh…do you smell that?”

 

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ ParanormalGenres?

 

In the world of non-YA, I adore Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill, who both dabble in the paranormal.  As for YA, the list is pretty enormous, but my most recent favorite was FURY, by Elizabeth Miles.  It was so atmospheric that I just couldn’t put it down.

 

How would you pitch Arise to someone who has not heard of it before?

 

A ghostly girl and the living boy she loves must face malicious spirits, Voodoo priestesses, and a legion of demons in the darkest corners of New Orleans’ French Quarter. 

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that Arise is set in?

 

Arise has two major settings.  The first is the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the world of living.  But if you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you know that the boundary between the living and the dead is pretty thin.  This is a city known for its history, its Voodoo, and its cemeteries – and my main characters get to discover all of it!  The second major setting is the netherworld, an evil world just beyond ours.  I don’t want to give too much away, but there may or may not be a demonic version of the Mississippi River… J

 

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

 

Right now, I’m finishing up the third book in the Hereafter Trilogy, which is entitled ELEGY.  I have to admit, I’m kind of sad to say goodbye to Amelia, Joshua, Eli, Ruth, and all the rest of my characters.  But I’m really enjoying my newest project, a YA murder mystery told from the perspective of the three possible killers.

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 Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tara Hudson graduated with a degree in law, mostly because she believed all the horror stories about English majors and their careers in the food-service industry. Luckily, she soon remembered how much she loved telling ghost stories, particularly to her girlfriends who liked visiting abandoned cemeteries as much as she did. Tara currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband, son, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets

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Find Tara and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

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Arise
Hereafter #2
June 5, 2012

 Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

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