Week in Review: 5/22-5/28

Books Ive Bought/received

* Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep- Bought at Borders with 50% off coupon

* Vampires Not Invited by Cheyenne McCray- Bought from Borders.com

* Stork by Wendy Delsol- A Win from My Bookish Ways 

* Tempest Rising by Tracey Deebs- Signed- From Author for Blog Tour




Books I read

Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz
Graveminder by Melissa Marr
The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen
Zombies Sold Separately by Cheyenne McCray
Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Reviews posted

Mind Gamed by Taylor Keating
Hard Day's Knight by John G. Hartness
Gods & Monsters by Lyn Benedict
The Deadliest Bite by Jennifer Rardin
Unnatural by Michael Griffo

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* New Releases for the week.


*UFI is taking part in the Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop. Check it out and enter Ends 5/31

* Feeling creative?? My book club needs some help creating a name and logo. There are some great prizes for the winner.

Review: Unnatural by Michael Griffo

Unnatural
Author: Michael Griffo
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Archangel Academy Book #1
ISBN:  0758253389
ISBN13: 9780758253385
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Publisher for Blog Tour

In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it’s a place filled with secrets. Just like its students…

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he’s ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran’s enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he’s ever known.

But Michael’s only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire—part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy’s confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here—and a danger more powerful than he can imagine…

I loved the cover for UNNATURAL, Unfortunately that is all I loved about it. I liked it so little I couldn’t even finish the book and that is very rare for me. I think I didn’t even get half way through it until I had to put it down and move onto something else. The whole plot just didn’t do anything for me. It was slow and there was way to much info added in that wasn’t needed that made it drag on even more. Because I only got at the most halfway through the book I can only speak of that portion. The writing was slow, the events were boring, the characters were blah, it was all together just lacking what I would need to get into the book. So my final thought to you is I'm glad I didn’t pay for this as I would have returned it the same day =(

I gave it 1/5 stars

Early Review: The Deadliest Bite by Jennifer Rardin

The Deadliest Bite

Author: Jennifer Rardin

Release Date: June 2, 2010

Publisher: Orbit

Jaz Parks Book #8

ISBN: 0316043818
ISBN13:  9780316043816
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Netgalley 

I have two choices. Carve Brude's name into Hell's bile-encrusted gates. Or lose my soul.

After an assassination attempt on Vayl, I find myself pulled into a tangled web that takes the gang to Romania. So how will I save a ghost, rescue a demon, and cheat the Great Taker out of a soul he's slavering for while defeating my nastiest foe yet so that Vayl can, at last, cherish a few precious years with his sons? With careful planning, major violence, and one (hopefully) final trip to Hell.

So many great series have come to an end lately. I have enjoyed all of the books in Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks series and I'm so sad to see it come to an end. After 8 books all of the characters are well developed and have been through the ringer a few times. All the ends were tied up, the story is action packed, and all the gang is included. Jennifer was never big on recapping so make sure you review what the previous books were about or you might forget some stuff and be a bit lost at times. I love all of the technology Bergman brought to the books. I love all the characters support of Jaz, they have always been behind her and there for her. I'm so glad certain characters have moved on and know what they want out of life now. All in all I'm sad the series is at a close but happy with the way it all ended, You wont be disappointed.

I gave it 4/5 stars

Testing

Blogger wont let me log in so I’m trying to post via Windows Live Writer so I can make sure to have a review up for all you lovely followers tomorrow. Please ignore =)

Review: Gods & Monsters by Lyn Benedict

Gods & Monsters
Author: Lyn Benedict
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: ACE
Shadow Inquiries Book #3
ISBN:  0441020380
ISBN13: 9780441020386
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual and unbelievable. When she finds the bodies of five women in the Florida Everglades, Sylvie believes them to be the work of a serial killer and passes the buck. But when the bodies wake and shift shape, killing the police, Sylvie finds herself at the head of a potentially lethal investigation

Sylvie has been through a lot and learned a lot about her self since book one in the Shadows Inquiries series.  I'm going to start out by saying I really missed having Demalion by her side and I really hope he returns in book 4. Wales from book 2 comes back and helps a ton with the case that Sylvie is working. He was a great addition to her team and I hope that he stays on. There is also the return of another character from a previous book but I cant tell you who as it would give away the surprise. The plot has many layers that are pealed back as the story progresses. The pacing gave the right amount of information at the right times. The mysteries remained mysteries until the perfect moment of reveal. GODS & MONSTERS was a great addition to the series, I would recommend you start at book one SINS & SHADOWS though as there are continuing story lines within the new events and you might have a hard time following along. 


I gave it 4/5 stars

Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop

Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop

May 25-May 31

Hosted by I am a Reader, Not A Writer

and Page Turners Blog

Are you ready for summer? I know I am. Again I have decided that you do not have to be a follower to enter although if you like my blog followers are always appreciated. Giveaway is open Internationally to anywhere the book depository ships to. One entry per person.

________________________________________

Winner will receive

Your choice of ANY 1 book valued Up to $10USD from Book Depository.

*Open to anyone the Book Depository ships FREE to.*

*US residents- I reserve the right to order your book from a US book store*

RULES
1) Open internationally as long as the Book Depository ships to you.
2) One entry per person.
3) Fill out the FORM 

Giveaway Ends 5/31 at 11:59pm EST

Winner will have 48 Hours to reply to my email or I will pick another.

Winner chosen randomly with the help of random.org

Review: Hard Days Knight by John G. Hartness

Hard Day's Knight
Author:John G. Hartness
Release Date: October 21, 2010
Publisher: CreateSpace
Black Knight Chronicles Book #1
ISBN:  1453873252
ISBN13: 9781453873250
Genre: Adult Paranormal 
Review Copy source: Ecopy provided by The Bookish Snob Promotions

Children are missing.

The police are stumped.

Halloween is coming, with an ancient evil on the horizon.

The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, NC. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to keep a young client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil into the world, and enlist the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.

It took me a bit to get into HARD DAY'S KNIGHT but it ended up being pleasantly entertaining. There is a ton of sarcasm and humor and the author did a good job with making fun of the typical vampire myths. The private detectives Jimmy and Greg are not your typical vampires, I found them to be a bit nerdy and determined to be the good guys. They were a good team and I enjoyed the bantering between them. There was a lot of things going on in the story and the pacing was nicely kept.  Since I live in Charlotte I thought it was pretty neat that the story took place there. There was a good mix of the paranormal. There were witches, demons, zombies,  and even Lilith makes an appearance. The only thing that annoyed me is some typos and missing words. There were a few times that It ended up ruining my reading concentration because the paragraph wouldn't make sense and I would have to go back and read and interpret what it was supposed to say. This was the first book of Mr Hartness' that I read and I enjoyed it.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars