ARC Giveaway: Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur

Darkness Hunts
Author:Keri Arthur
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Publisher: Signet Select
Dark Angel's Book #4

Risa Jones, half-Aedh/half-werewolf, can enter the realm between life and death. She can speak to the dying and the dead, and she can see the reapers, collectors of souls. What she can not yet see is the identity of a stranger murdering women and draining their blood. Now Risa must summon her gifts to find him, even if it means putting her own life in danger. But Risa needn’t look far. The killer knows who she is.

He tells her his victims are infected by darkness and he’s fated to destroy them. Fascinated by Risa, he engages her in a sinister game: the chance to save the life of his next victim by deciphering his series of clues. In a race against time, she enlists the help of the reaper Azriel.

But as an attraction between them grows, so does the fear that the stranger’s motives are only part of a larger, more dangerous stratagem—one that that has lured Risa and Azriel into the dark.

US ONLY 

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Review: Conjure by Lea Nolan

Conjure
Author:Lea Nolan
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
The Hoodoo Apprentice Book #1
ISBN13: 9781620610985
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Be careful what you search for...

Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.

When a strange girl appears, bent on revenge; demon dogs become a threat; and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before summer—and her friends--are lost forever.

CONJURE was a unique story about a girl whose brother is struck by an ancient curse and their journey to cure him. The story started a tad bit slow but picked up and stayed on a nice course a few chapters in. The characters were easy to like (or dislike in some cases). You tend to forget the Main character and her brother are only 14 at some times when they are thrust into situations that a normal 14 year old wouldn't be able to handle, then you turn around and feel that they are extremely immature at other times. 

There is some very light romance in CONJURE. Emma has had a huge crush on Cooper for as long as she can remember and Jack crushes on a mysterious girl they meet on the beach before all their troubles start. The Hoodoo parts of the book was interesting. Ms. Delia's character was my favorite character of the book and I looked forward to the parts she was involved in.The premise of the curse was fascinating and the location of the story fit in perfectly. For the most part the situations were pretty easy to guess and not much was a surprise when it was revealed. 

CONJURE is geared pretty low on the YA spectrum in my opinion and would be a great fit for the younger, Young adults. A neat little adventurous start to The Hoodoo Apprentice Series. 

I gave it 3/5 stars

New Releases: 11/11-11/17

Tues Nov 13

Ashes of Twilight (Ashes Trilogy, #1) by Kassy Tayler
Bad Hair Day (Kate Grable, #2) by Carrie Harris
Black City (Black City, #1) by Elizabeth Richards
Echo (Soul Seekers, #2) by Alyson Noel
Greta and the Goblin King (Mylena Chronicles, #1) by Chloe Jacobs
Luminosity (The Raven Chronicles, #1) by Stephanie Thomas
Night's Darkest Embrace by Jeaniene Frost
Reached (Matched, #3) by Ally Condie
Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Souders
River Road (Sentinels of New Orleans, #2)by Suzanne Johnson
Speed of Light (Fenestra, #3) by Amber Kizer
Witch World by Christopher Pike

 

Happy Reading!!!

Review: Magick by Trish Milburn

Magick
Author:Trish Milburn
Release Date: September 27, 2012
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
The Coven Book #3
ISBN:   1611941784
ISBN13: 9781611941784
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

The covens are coming for her.

But is she a White Witch or a Dark Witch? In a war for control of the witch world, the answer will save-or doom-everyone she loves.

In White Witch, Jax gained friends she'd die for and a staggering power that threatens them all.

In Bane, Jax did the unthinkable and killed a supernatural hunter to protect her friends. She found herself lost in darkness and prisoner to the Bane, a secret society of witches sworn to prevent the use of the dark magic.

Now, in Magick, the powers of Jax and her friend Egan have been magically bound by the Bane. She must convince the Bane she can learn to control her power and become a White Witch in truth. She's their only hope now that the dark covens have called a Conclave with one purpose-to kill this generation's White Witch and anyone who has ever stood with her. If Jax can't amass an army of her own, rebuild the trust of her friends and boyfriend, and find the White Witch's elusive weapon against the dark, it may be too late.

Jax and her friends with the help of the Bane finally figure out the full extent of being a White Witch and Jax finally comes fully into her powers. It seemed a bit silly the way her powers worked, you witness one of the witches after her turn from a murdering hit man to a sniveling depressed guy who is sorry for all he has done wrong in the blink of an eye.  After such a huge buildup and training I found the fight against the coven a bit of a let down.They start the fight Jax touches everyone one by one and tada the fight is over. :/ Yeah It would have been nice to have it a bit more drawn out and I would have liked a bit more action and danger to happen like some past fights. I'm a bit surprised that this is the last book. It feels like a lot more could be explored and a lot more story could be told in the aftermath of the events in MAGICK.

The Coven series has been a quick to the point series. The pace has always been fast with a lot happening at once and with the characters developing quickly. The storyline was interesting and easy to follow. As I said above I felt the ending was a bit of a let down but it was still a good quick series to read.

I gave it 3/5 stars

Week in Review: 11/4-11/10

Books Ive Bought/received

* Shattered Circle by Linda Roberston-Arc- Publisher

* Rengade by J.A. Souders- eCopy- Publisher/Netgalley

* Leashing the Tempest by Jenn Bennett-eARC-Author

* The Stone Demon by Karen Mahoney-eARC-Netgalley

* Tempted By Evil by Amber Lynn Natusch and Shannon Morton- eARC- Author

* Returned by Keely Smith-ecopy- Bewitching Book Tours

Books I Read

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
Magick by Trish Milburn
Magic For a Price by Devon Monk
Renegade by J.A. Souders

Reviews Posted

Deity by Jeniffer L. Armentrout
Out For Blood by Kristen Painter
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet by Darynda Jones
Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur

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

* Monday- A Giveaway went up with my review of DEITY by Jennifer L Armentrout for her Book release Tour

* Thursday- A Guest Post by Krystal Wade went up with a Giveaway for her Darkness Falls blog Tour

* Lots of winners were chosen this week and not all have claimed their prizes so make sure you check your spam folder if you saw that you were a winner. 
 

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

Review: Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur

Darkness Hunts
Author:Keri Arthur
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Publisher: Penguin
Dark Angels Book #4
ISBN:  0451237129
ISBN13: 9780451237125
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur returns to the enthralling Guardian World—and a twilight realm of danger and desire…

Risa Jones, half-Aedh/half-werewolf, can enter the realm between life and death. She can speak to the dying and the dead, and she can see the reapers, collectors of souls. What she can not yet see is the identity of a stranger murdering women and draining their blood. Now Risa must summon her gifts to find him, even if it means putting her own life in danger. But Risa needn’t look far. The killer knows who she is.

He tells her his victims are infected by darkness and he’s fated to destroy them. Fascinated by Risa, he engages her in a sinister game: the chance to save the life of his next victim by deciphering his series of clues. In a race against time, she enlists the help of the reaper Azriel.

But as an attraction between them grows, so does the fear that the stranger’s motives are only part of a larger, more dangerous stratagem—one that that has lured Risa and Azriel into the dark.

On top of trying to find the missing keys for her psycho Dad Risa now has a serial killer messing with her, sending her on wild goose chases to save his victims and waiting for his chance to take her on. I really have enjoyed following Risa's story and I can not imagine anyone not loving this series. I would recommend starting from book one to make sure you don't get lost at any point in the story.

Risa has zero downtime as usual. In the very first chapter Risa meets the new murdering stalker. I am a huge fan of Arthur's Riley Jenson Guardian Series so I absolutely love that the characters are also involved in this one. The love triangle between Risa, Azriel and Lucian is hopefully gone for good. I must admit I have been way over Lucian for a few books now and I'm SO HAPPY for the revelations that come to light in DARKNESS HUNTS. I still love the frustrating reaper Azriel. Him and Risa have a fantastic connection and a lot is revealed about the Reaper and his feelings. There is once again more hints at the reason for their connection and I really hope the full extent of it is revealed soon.  Risa once again finds herself in the hands of the enemies. How many times can one person get kidnapped by the same people? Its starting to get a bit ridiculous that they keep getting her away from Azriel.

DARKNESS HUNTS was filled from start to finish with action. Risa gets in to some pretty sticky situations as usual and thankfully comes out ahead once again with all those she cares about safe. DARKNESS UNMASKED is set to release June 2013.

I gave it 4/5 stars

Winners:Running in the Dark by Regan Summers

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: 2 Ebook copy of winners choice (Don't Bite the Messenger (book #0.5) or Running in the Dark)

The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....

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Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.