Thank you to everyone who entered!!
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Review: The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin
The Grendel Affair
Author:Lisa Shearin
Release Date: December 31, 2013
Publisher: Ace
SPI Files Book #1
ISBN: 0425266915
ISBN13: 9780425266915
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: PublisherWe’re Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. Things that go bump in the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to contain, even for us…
When I moved to New York to become a world famous journalist, I never imagined that snagging a job at a seedy tabloid would change my career path from trashy reporter to undercover agent. I’m Makenna Fraser, a Seer for SPI. I can see through any disguise, shield, or spell that a paranormal pest can come up with. I track down creatures and my partner, Ian Byrne, takes them out—usually saving my skin in the process.
Our cases are generally pretty routine, but a sickle-wielding serial killer has been prowling the city’s subway tunnels. And the murderer’s not human. The fiend in question, a descendant of Grendel—yes, that Grendel—shares his ancestor’s hatred of parties, revelry, and drunkards. And with New Year’s Eve in Times Square only two days away, we need to bag him quickly. Because if we don’t find him—and the organization behind him—by midnight, our secret’s out and everyone’s time is up.
I will start this review by admitting that I don't love the cover, but don't let that stop you from picking up THE GRENDEL AFFAIR! Book 1 in Shearin's new SPI Files series was full of action and humor.
The main character Makenna moved to NY to follow her dreams to become a journalist. She is now an undercover agent with the SPI. As a rare seer she is usually in the background and protected. She doesn't get the defense training the others at the agency get but that slowly starts to change as the story progresses. Her partner Ian is her muscle and starts off kind of boring but turns out to be pretty interesting and protective of Mac. I wanted them to get together from the beginning of the book. They made a good team and I wanted more for them. This isn't a romance novel but I still have romance hopes for the future though.
There is a great deal of action. Mac finds herself in sticky situations pretty often. Besides the non stop action there is a ton of humor as well. I found myself laughing quite a bit throughout THE GRENDEL AFFAIR. Makenna is pretty accident prone and I loved how her coworkers decorated each others desks. I even told my boss at work we should start doing that.
There are many different characters that make up the world of this series. Dragons, werewolves, elfs, vampires, doppelgangers and many more. Everywhere you looked someone new was introduced but it was done in a way that it wasn't overwhelming.
Any fan of Lisa's past works will enjoy the writing style and flow of THE GRENDEL AFFAIR. It was a great start to her new series and I can't wait to see what Mac and the others do next.
I gave it 4/5 stars
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year! 2013 in Review
Happy New Year!!
In 2013 I.....
Read 240 books
Wrote 126 reviews
and
Posted a total of 443 blog posts
Here is to another excellent year to come!
Review: Ashes by Sarah Gilman
Ashes
Author:Sarah Gilman
Release Date: December 30, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Covet
ISBN: 1622661869
ISBN13: 9781622661862
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: PublisherAccidents happen for a reason...
Journalist Ambrosia Pellerin accepts an assignment involving the legendary phoenix, expecting, if nothing else, a little entertainment. Instead, she winds up pregnant—by a surprisingly human-looking firebird, Reece Bennu.
As the Phoenix prince, Reece is next in line to the throne and expected to marry a purebred royal. A common human such as Ambrosia is not in the cards. He swears, though, he’ll never be an absentee father.
As Ambrosia’s due date grows closer, so do the soon-to-be parents. But will their tentative love survive the prejudice of Reece’s grandmother, who will stop at nothing to tear the two apart?
We have so many great books that came out in December of this year and ASHES is right there at the top with many others. I wanted to read ASHES because it sounded unique and it was that and more.
Ambrosia stumbles upon the house that Reece is in as she is searching for help after she was attacked. She's surprised by Reece's sudden need for her to leave after he was so tender and caring taking care of her injuries and when the house Reece is in blows up as she is getting in his borrowed car she's horrified he didn't make it out. She has no clue how that event is going to change her life forever.
I really enjoyed Ambrosia's character. She's suitably skeptical when Reece explains who he is and how she got pregnant. She doesn't blindly jump on board but makes him prove himself. There is nothing worse in a story as having someone blindly and immediately believe anything that comes out of a strangers mouth so this made me like Ambrosia right away. I also liked Reece. He is honest from the beginning and although I thought he was a bit of an ass at times I understood where he was coming from and he redeemed himself in the end. The romance was well written and the couples struggles felt genuine.
The story was fast paced, smooth and kept me interested. I loved the world that ASHES takes place in. I loved the Phoenix storyline and everything that Sarah put into their history and way of life. I don't see anything that makes me think this will be part of a series and the ending completed the story nicely but I can't help wish there was more to read about Ambrosia and Reese.
I gave it 4/5 stars
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
New Releases: 12/29-1/4
Monday Dec 30
Ashes by Sarah Gilman
Beg Me to Slay by Lisa Kessler
Tue Dec 31
Born in Blood (The Sentinels #1) by Alexandra Ivy
The Cormorant (Miriam Black #3) by Chuck Wendig
Deadshifted (Edie Spence #4) by Cassie Alexander
The Grendel Affair (SPI Files #1) by Lisa Shearin
Heart of Stone (Gargoyles #1) by Christine Warren
How to Run with a Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf #3) by Molly Harper
Love Your Entity (Entity #3) by Cat Devon
Othersphere (Otherkin #3) by Nina Berry
The Sharpest Blade (Shadow Reader #3) by Sandy Williams
Shatter (Phoenix Rising #4) by Joan Swan
Sunroper (Goddesses Rising #3) by Natalie J. Damschroder
Happy Reading!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Guest Blog & Giveaway: Chaos Bound by Rebekah Turner
UFI welcomes Rebekah Turner Author of the Chronicles from the Applecross series. Thanks for Joining us!!
Love Triangles: the Do's and the Dont's
Even though it's quite the cliché, especially in urban fantasy and YA, I don't mind a good love triangle myself, if it's done well. The first time I read a series with a good triangle in it was in the early Anita Blake books, between the werewolf Richard and the vampire Jean-Claude. There are other great ones out there, but there are also some clunky fails I've read in the past that make me shudder and pretend to throw my iPad across the room.
When I'm writing, there are certain devices I try to avoid if I want to bring the love triangle element into my story. So ... behold! A list I keep in mind when writing geometry influenced loving:
· Story is king. Your love triangle must to further the plot. Nothing is worse than having no reason for your Love Problem. If it's just some chick who can't decide between two cute guys, then she's just bragging. Fail.
· The triangle is predictable. If I can guess what's going to happen, or there's an obvious choice, then there's no tension. Why would I finish reading? The characters must have their own stakes in the story and also be appealing to the reader. It's a no brainer if one is eeeevil and one is a freaking saint.
· The decision should resonate with a deeper ideal. Make the decision a reflection of the life choices the protagonist is facing. Make the decision they have to make, have character developing elements.
· Don't make your protagonist a whinger. Someone who just goes on and on about it all. See first point about bragging. FAIL.
· Make the choice hard. Kind of relates to my second point. Engage the reader with interesting, three dimensional characters. Each character must offer the protagonist some different, something unique.
Keeping these elements in mind, I think a steamy triangle or even hexagon of mad hot love is always going to be a winner.
__________________________________
Her vices include eating overpriced ice cream, over analyzing 80s action and horror movies and buying stationery she just doesn’t need.
Find Rebekah and her books
Chaos Bound Chronicles from the Applecross #2
Amazon
The long-awaited sequel to Chaos Born takes us back into the Applecross, where Lora faces increasing threats to her survival and her chance at love.
Lora Blackgoat — mercenary and smuggler — has only just recovered from the last threat on her life and hasn’t even begun to sort out the mess of having both a nephilim warrior and a reborn hellspawn as potential lovers. Work should be a refuge, but a job finding missing persons puts her in the crosshairs of a violent gang and a merchant with a taste for blood sport.
Reluctantly, Lora turns to the two men in her life for help. Roman — the nephilim — professes to be her soul mate and turns to her when he feels the darkness of nephilim madness descending. But though Lora is drawn to Roman, it is Seth, ex-lover and reborn hellspawn, who Lora must ultimately ask to protect those she loves. Can she trust Seth to save Roman and her adoptive family, or will this be a fatal mistake?
__________________________________
__________________________________
International
Covet Release Day Blast
Covets have all the sexiness, emotion, and happily ever after that readers have come to expect and love from Entangled. They are firmly grounded in the contemporary world, but each novel brings in supernatural twists, breaking the contemporary and paranormal rules, alike. To find out more about their titles, chat with authors, participate in special events, and to find out what books you’ll be coveting next, visit the Entangled website and follow them on Twitter, LIKE their Facebook page, and join the Book Club.
Today I'm happy to be featuring Covet's December releases:
</
a>
Beg Me to Slay by Lisa Kessler
He’ll slay her demons, but it may cost her heart…
Four years ago Tegan Ashton was attacked. Determined never to be a victim again, she devotes her life to martial arts and self-defense. When her assailant returns to finish what he started, only one person can help her.
Gabe is a private investigator by day and demon slayer by night. After losing loved ones, he vows to defend people from a threat they don’t realize exists.
The relationship is supposed to be strictly business, but fighting demons together stirs up emotions they never expected. Turns out demon slaying is a breeze compared to facing their scarred pasts and even worse - hearts.
Ashes by Sarah Gilman
Journalist Ambrosia Pellerin accepts an assignment involving the legendary phoenix, expecting, if nothing else, a little entertainment. Instead, she winds up pregnant—by a surprisingly human-looking firebird, Reece Bennu.
As the Phoenix prince, Reece is next in line to the throne and expected to marry a purebred royal. A common human such as Ambrosia is not in the cards. He swears, though, he’ll never be an absentee father.
As Ambrosia’s due date grows closer, so do the soon-to-be parents. But will their tentative love survive the prejudice of Reece’s grandmother, who will stop at nothing to tear the two apart?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)