Early Review: Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep

Spider's Revenge
Author:Jennifer Estep
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Pocket
Elemental Assassin Book #5
ISBN:   1439192642
ISBN13: 9781439192641
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Author

Old habits die hard for assassins.
 And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen. Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson—to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me . . . no matter what I have to do to make that happen.

**WARNING CONTAINS PREVIOUS BOOK SPOILERS.. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK**

What can I really say about Jennifer Estep's Gin Blanco series that I have not already said? I love this series. It was one of the very first series I picked up when I first started reading and I was hooked form the very first chapter of SPIDER'S BITE. Whenever someone asks me what UF character I would love to be or who i would love to have as a best friend I have always said Gin Blanco. If you have not yet read the previous books in this series I would not suggest jumping in at SPIDER'S REVENGE even though some say you can read it as a standalone.  There is way to much back story and character/world development that you would end up missing out on some of the best scenes and experiences so far. Having said that I also recommend you stop reading my review as there will be spoilers for previous books mentioned.

WOOT its finally here, the final showdown with Mab Monroe. I cant even begin to tell you how excited I was to get a copy of SPIDER'S REVENGE so that I could jump in and see what would happen.  For me it was pretty much a given that Gin would defeat Mab but the way its done and everything that Gin and her friends have to go through was a roller coaster of emotions and events. There is a ton of action as you can imagine, more then one attempt to get the job done, allies in the most unlikely places and emotions displayed you never thought you would see out of Gin.  I never guessed who would do what, I never saw what was coming, every twist and turn had me on the edge of my seat trying to see around the corner. Owen and Gin are perfect for each other I'm so glad that he is part of the series now, I cant picture him not in her life (If Donovan comes back and ruins this I will boycott... ok not really but I would be VERY dissapointed ) With Mab gone I can not even begin to guess what will happen next. The whole storyline of the last 5 books is tied up with a nice bow and I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what could possibly beat what has already happened. I have said it before and I will say it a hundred more times to anyone that asks for an Urban Fantasy recommendation, You MUST pick up Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassins series. BY A THREAD comes out February 2012 and I will be first in line.

I gave it 5/5 stars

Need Opinions....

I got an invitation to use Raffle Copter and need opinions on weather to use it or not.

How do you like to enter giveaways? Do you prefer the comment only route, Google doc route or would you like to do raffle copter?

Since you all are the ones that enter what would be the easiest for you? If we do Raffle copter there still might be commenting involved as authors sometimes like us to ask questions so keep that in mind.

New Releases Sept 18-24

Mon Sept 19

The Business of Death (Death Works, #3) by Trent Jamieson

Tues Sept 20

Cast in Ruin (Chronicles of Elantra, #7) by Michelle Sagara West

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions: Anthology

The Rift Walker (Vampire Empire, #2) by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Sacrifice (Crave, #2) by Melinda Metz, Laura J. Burns

If you see a mistake or anything missing let me know. Happy Reading =)

Early Review: Blood Rights by Kristen Painter

Blood Rights
Author:Kristen Painter
Release Date: October 1, 2011
Publisher: Orbit
House of Comarré Book #1
ISBN:  1841499692
ISBN13: 9781841499697
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: ARC Swap

The lacy gold mapped her entire body. A finely-wrought filigree of stars, vines, flowers, butterflies, ancient symbols and words ran from her feet, up her legs, over her narrow waist, spanned her chest and finished down her arms to the tips of her fingers.

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré—a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world…and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.

Chrysabelle is a Comarré. A human that was bred to feed the vampire nobility. They pretty much sell there blood rights to the highest bidder. She runs after finding her patron dead and ends up being accused of his murder. She has to prove her innocence to remain free but it turns out that isn't going to be as easy as she wants it to be. Malkom is an outcast vampire who was cursed twice. Once for killing his sire and another time by killing someone after being locked in a dungeon to rot. He wears the names of all his victims on his body and he cant feed from a vein without killing them and then hearing their voices in his head.

I liked the Idea of the Comarré, I loved that they aren't exactly what the vampires that "own" them think they are and that Chrysabelle is fighting to stay free. The whole idea was definitely unique and I want to know more about them and what they do. I enjoyed all of the characters that were aligned with Chrysabelle. Although they all had their reasons for being with her they all were fun to read about and very unique and likable in their own ways. I had no problem connecting to the story and the timeline of events. There was some good action scenes thrown in but not a lot of romance. I was kinda disappointed that nothing really happened between Chrysabelle and Malkolm. There is tons of feelings and hints but nothing really progresses past that. It was frustrating.  There is a lot of things left in the wind by the end of BLOOD RIGHTS that I can not go over without giving away spoilers but I have a ton of questions that I hope are answered in book 2 FLESH AND BLOOD that is thankfully set to release October 25, 2011. 


I gave it 4/5 stars

Review: Ardeur by Danielle Gavan

Ardeur
Author:Danielle Gavan
Release Date: August 15, 2011
Publisher: Red Hot Publishing
Abbey of Angels Book #1
ASIN:  B005HFK7SI
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Bewitching Book Tours

Born a necromancer.......Sold by parents who wanted a normal child, Ardeur Lisle now hosts a demon and was trained to be a killer for hire. As an adult possessed, dreaming of escape and of a kind face from her childhood helps keep her sane.

If she breaks free from her captors, what will this new world full of paranormal beings hold for her? Ridding herself of her demon parasite will be her first priority.

A promise kept...

Brody Callaghan never forgot the angelic blonde from his childhood. After years of military service, he swears to track down the face still haunting him from his youth.

But Brody has a furry secret of his own; one unveiled with each full moon. Will the two hold onto love with danger, deception, and an obsessed angel driving them apart?

I think the decription of the book is pretty straight forward so I skip the summary part of my review.

I didn't have any troubles getting right into the story. The plot was interesting and unique. The flow had some ups and downs every once in a while but it wasn't a big issue. There are a LOT of characters in ARDEUR. It took me a little bit to figure out who was who, I got really confused when the names started popping up one right after each other. There is an index in the beginning of the book but since its an e-copy its hard to flip back and forth while your reading. As far as the main characters went. I enjoyed Ardeur and the love interest Brody. They had remembered each other over the years and their love for each other comes out instantly. There was one scene when Ardeur and Brody first found each other again that I found to be written kinda badly. The whole situation was extremely awkward, uncomfortable and just didn't mesh with the characters personalities. With the exception of that one scene I found the other scenes between the two easy to get into. The romance was steamy when it needed to be and I felt their love for each other throughout. I would have liked to see some justice done to the people that originally held Ardeur captive, I think it would have done the things she went through justice but  I very much enjoyed the ending of the book. This looks to be one of those series that will have a different set of main characters for each book so I will see which character will be up next to decide if I will continue the series. 

I gave it 3/5 stars

Week in Review 9/11-9/17

Books Ive Bought/received

* Purchased from Borders (Mine didn't close until Wed so I just had to go back)

• Concrete Angel by Yvonne Navarro
• First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
• Double Cross by Carolyn Crane
• Darkness Dawns by Dianne Duvall
• Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix
• Black Heart Loa by Adrian Phoenix

* Simple Touch NOOK- Bought it from Barnes and Noble. Decided to upgrade my Sony Pocket.

* BloodStone by Nancy Holzner- From Publisher for Bewitching Book Tours review.

* Blood on Silk, Blood Sin and Blood Eternal by Marie Treanor- From Publisher for Bewitching Book Tours Review

* Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance-Signed and Personalized- Win from Tyngas Reviews 

* Shadow Kin by M.J. Scott- Purchased from Barnes & Noble


Books I read

Witch Song by Amber Argyle
Eve by Anna Carey
Blood Rights by Kristen Painter
Ardeur by Danielle Gavan
Bloodstone by Nancy Holzner

Reviews posted


Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
Her Dear and Loving Husband by Meredith Allard
Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
Dragon's Oath by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast AUDIO

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?


*An Interview with author Amber Argyle went up on Tuesday.

*Wednesday a giveaway for a copy of Dreamland by Alyson Noel went up.


* Thursday Author of Her Dear and Loving Husband joined us. She is also offering up a e-copy of her book.


* Saturday with my review of Dragon's Oath by P.C. and Kristin Cast I am offering up my Audio copy to one lucky winner.

*If you see something on my books Ive read list that you are dying to know about let me know I'm back logged on reviews and can move it up on the list if I know people are wanting one.

* I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Audio Review & Giveaway: Dragons Oath by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

Dragon's Oath
Author:P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
House of Night Novella #1
ISBN:  1427213909
ISBN13: 9781427213907
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Publisher

The first in an enthralling new mini-series of novellas from the #1 bestselling authors of the House of Night, Dragon’s Oath tells the story behind the House of Night’s formidable fencing instructor – the love that will transform him, and the promise that will haunt him
In early 19th century England, long before he’s a professor at the Tulsa House of Night, Bryan Lankford is a troublesome yet talented human teen who thinks he can get away with anything… until his father, a wealthy nobleman, has finally had enough, and banishes him to America. When Bryan is Marked on the docks and given the choice between the London House of Night and the dragon-prowed ship to America, he chooses the Dragon – and a brand new fate.
Becoming a Fledgling may be exciting, but it opens a door to a dangerous world.... In 1830’s St. Louis, the Gateway to the West, Dragon Lankford becomes a Sword Master, and soon realizes there are both frightening challenges and beautiful perks. Like Anastasia, the captivating young Professor of Spells and Rituals at the Tower Grove House of Night, who really should have nothing to do with a fledgling…
But when a dark power threatens, Dragon is caught in its focus. Though his uncanny fighting skills make him a powerful fledgling, is he strong enough to ward off evil, while protecting Anastasia as well? Will his choices save her—or destroy them all?

My first experience with an audio book was a few weeks ago and I immediately found it interesting to hear the different emotions and scenes played out in someone else's voice. Starting with what I thought of the audio version of DRAGON'S OATH I can honestly say the speaker was very pleasant to listen to. I was able to understand everything while she was reading and was able to picture what she was saying.

I have enjoyed most of the books in the House of Night series. I feel that some of the the conflicts are starting to drag on a little to long though so it was nice to get a little breather and learn a bit about Bryon "Dragon" Lankford and Anastasia. The Novella was fast paced while it takes us on a short journey of Dragon and Anastasia's love that really helped bring me closer to these two background characters. This was a great little read (or should I say listen) and I'm glad I was able to add it to my House of Night knowledge.

I gave it  4/5 stars

__________________________________

 

*shipped from UFI*

Winner will receive
- One Audio Copy of Dragon's Oath

 RULES
1)  Tell me what your favorite House of Night novel is. =)
2) This giveaway is open to US followers only
3) Must leave an email address so I can contact you.

Giveaway Ends 9/24/2011 at 10pm EST
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