Review: The Leveller by Julia Durango

The Leveller

Author: Julie Durango

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins

The Leveller Book #1

ISBN:  0062314009

ISBN13: 9780062314000

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

Nixy Bauer is a self-made Leveller. Her job? Dragging kids out of virtual reality and back to their parents in the real world. It’s normally easy cash, but Nixy’s latest mission is fraught with real danger, intrigue, and romance.

Nixy Bauer is used to her classmates being very, very unhappy to see her. After all, she’s a bounty hunter in a virtual reality gaming world. Kids in the MEEP, as they call it, play entirely with their minds, while their bodies languish in a sleeplike state on the couch. Irritated parents, looking to wrench their kids back to reality, hire Nixy to jump into the game and retrieve them.

But when the game’s billionaire developer loses track of his own son in the MEEP, Nixy is in for the biggest challenge of her bounty-hunting career. Wyn Salvador isn’t some lazy kid looking to escape his homework: Wyn does not want to be found. And he’s left behind a suicide note. Nixy takes the job but quickly discovers that Wyn’s not hiding—he’s being held inside the game against his will. But who is holding him captive, and why?

Nixy and Wyn attempt to fight their way out of a mind game unlike any they’ve encountered, and the battle brings them closer than either could have imagined. But when the whole world is virtual, how can Nixy possibly know if her feelings are real?

Gamers and action fans of all types will dive straight into the MEEP, thanks to Julia Durango’s cinematic storytelling. A touch of romance adds some heart to Nixy’s vivid, multidimensional journey through Wyn’s tricked-out virtual city, and constant twists keep readers flying through to the breathtaking end.

I found THE LEVELLER to be a unique read with interesting characters and an inventive plot.

Nixy is really good at her job and I found her job to be the most interesting part of THE LEVELLER. Wyn was also an interesting character. There is a bit of mystery around him when we first meet him, but we quickly start getting the information we need to understand him and the predicament that he has found himself in. The slow romance between Nixy and Wyn was expected, but I found it sweet and powerful by the end of the book.

I found the world building to be very strong. I loved all the descriptions of the MEEP, it was very imaginative and colorful. I am not a gamer of any kind, but even I would have to try out the MEEP if we happened to have it. The plot was filled with action, twists and turns, but I found some things to be a bit weird and I didn't always understand the characters slang.

THE LEVELLER isn't super long, so it was an easy and quick read for me. I think anyone with an interest in YA science fiction and gaming will find this interesting. I am not totally sold on continuing the series, the second book would have to have a really good blurb to draw me in.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

New Release: 6/28-7/4

Tue. June 30th

 Angel Lover (Angel Assassins #2) by Tricia Skinner

 Heat of the Moment (Sisters of the Craft #2) by Lori Handeland

 Prize of Night (Parallel Parks #3) by Bailey Cunningham

 The Silenced (Krewe of Hunters #15) by Heather Graham

 Soul Scorched (Dark Kings #6) by Donna Grant

 Spellbinder (Shadow Falls Novella) by C.C. Hunter 

 Storm (Paper Gods #3) by Amanda Sun

 Supervillains Anonymous (Superheroes Anonymous #2) by Lexie Dunne

 The Undying Legion (Crown & Key #2) by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Happy Reading!

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Idol of Blood by Jane Kindred

UFI welcomes Author Jane Kindred. Thanks for Joining us!!

Oh Mighty Isis 

You’re welcome, five people who got the reference in that title. One of the prizes for this giveaway is a Cult of Isis necklace. You may be wondering what Isis has to do with my new release, Idol of Blood, Book 2 in the Looking Glass Gods. Isis, herself, was not a goddess of blood or vengeance, as this title would imply. But as I was writing the original draft of the novel that became the Looking Glass Gods series, the first thing that came to me was the character’s name: Ra. This Ra was female, and not the Ra of Egyptian mythology, but the world that began to develop around her had a decidedly ancient-Egyptian feel.

The gods in Ra’s world are a race called the Meer, worshipped for their ability to conjure with a word. The cities they ruled from the temples they conjured are situated along a river named the Anamnesis—which means remembering—in a place much like the Nile valley.

As I wrote Ra’s story about remembering her forgotten past, I felt more and more connected to the goddess Isis. In Idol of Blood, one of the characters recovers memories of childhood abuse, and as I wrote those scenes, I remembered some things that had happened to me as a child that I’d pushed into the dark corners of my mind. They were nothing to what happened to my character, but they were enough that I had some issues with feeling safe.

Isis became my image of a protector goddess during that time, and I even got a tattoo of something called a “tyet” or Isis Knot as a permanent symbol of protection and to mark the completion of the book.

The two Sanskrit characters on the sides of the tattoo represent the Hindu goddess, Kali, whom my character MeerShiva—another case in which the character herself insisted on the name—came to represent for me. MeerShiva is the goddess of vengeance in Idol of Blood.

While it isn’t an Isis Knot, the Cult of Isis necklace I’m giving away is an image of the Isis headdress often seen in Egyptian art. It features a red solar disc cradled in the horns of a cow, with the throne representing Isis above it. When I saw the necklace, it reminded me so much of the design on the cover of my book (by awesome cover artist Kanaxa) that it seemed like fate. Fate and synchronicity have marked my experiences with writing Looking Glass Gods from the start. But that’s another post for another time.

For those of you wondering about the reference I made in the title (and as a special treat for those who got it), here you go:

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Jane Kindred is the author of epic fantasy series The House of Arkhangel’sk, Demons of Elysium, and Looking Glass Gods. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.


Find Jane and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Idol of Blood
Looking Glass Gods #2
Amazon BN iTunes Kobo Samhain

 The price of revenge may be her sanity…and the lives of those she loves.

No longer haunted by memories of her life—and death—as the Meer of Rhyman, Ra looks forward to a quiet existence with her lover Jak in the Haethfalt highlands. Having made peace with Ahr, her consort from her former life, Ra can finally explore her new relationship, free of the ghosts of the past—until she unwittingly unearths Jak’s own.

Out of instinct, she uses her Meeric power to heal the pain of Jak’s childhood trauma. But all magic has a price, and Ra’s bill has come due.

Succumbing to the affliction inherent in her race, Ra flees to the mountain ruins where her mother’s temple once stood. As the madness takes hold, she resurrects the ancient city of AhlZel in a tremendous act of magic that seals her fate—and threatens to destroy those who would give up everything to save her from herself.

Warning: Contains dark themes, violence, gender-bending sex, and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Excerpt:

Since the light was beginning to lower, they set up camp, only a dozen leagues from the green riverbanks of Rhyman. Jak and Geffn lay on either side of Ra, a peculiar triad of necessity, and Geffn, fatigued, was asleep almost instantly.

Ra curled away from him toward Jak beneath her blanket, eyes seeming to glint like a cat’s, though nothing else was visible in the darkness. “We haven’t really had a moment alone since…” The soft murmur trailed off. Jak knew precisely what moment Ra meant. Before they’d left Rhyman; before Ra had disappeared in the night to rescue little Pearl—a Meerchild bred in captivity and kept in a cage by the prelate of In’La; before Ra had set fire to the temple there, and the prelate with it, Jak had thrown caution to the wind and climbed into bed with a goddess. The commitment to celibacy Jak had tried to maintain since before Ra’s arrival in Haethfalt had been tossed aside like a cheap shirt.

After returning to Rhyman with Pearl, Ra had made no further overtures toward Jak, and Jak hadn’t presumed to make any toward Ra.

“It’s all right. We don’t need to—” The weak protest died on Jak’s lips as Ra’s descended on them. Her kisses had a tendency to take one’s breath away, as if she gathered it all into herself, holding it, holding time, before giving it back.

When she finally let them both breathe, Ra slid beneath the blanket and rested her head on Jak’s breast. “I could deepen Geffn’s sleep.”

Jak considered it for a rash moment before squelching the thought. “No. That wouldn’t be fair to him.” That was an understatement. Screwing one’s new lover while asleep next to the jilted lover whose heart one had recently broken would be in bad form, to say the least. And it would add more to that invisible price Ra must be paying if she were to expend magical energy when she had so little physical energy to spare. “We’ll have time enough when we get home.”

“Home.” Ra snuggled closer. “That sounds very nice. I’ve never had a home before. Just a temple.” She said the word as if it meant “jail”. While she spoke, however, her hand moved down Jak’s arm with feathery strokes, dipped over Jak’s hip and across Jak’s belly, and played at the loose drawstring waistband, fingers just inside it.

Jak placed a hand over Ra’s, meaning to stop her, but Ra entwined their fingers and slid them lower. As if it were an act of self-pleasuring, Ra used Jak’s fingers to delve deeper and press against the supple flesh, tentative, leisurely motions encouraging Jak to show her how to proceed.

“When we return to Mound RemPetaJakGeffnMelKeirenRa—” She murmured the absurdly long name of their Haethfalt household as if they were only having a quiet conversation—“I’d like to make a quilt by hand.” She drew Jak’s fingers in a complex pattern, up and down, over and across, doubling back in infinity symbols that ended in sharp, insistent points, like the edges of rings bisecting each other. “Do you like this pattern?”

Jak shivered and breathed ascent as Ra pressed Jak’s fingers into the center point of the bisection. Her motions became smaller, tighter and more definitive.

“Some little rosettes where the squares join,” Ra whispered. “One. Two. Three. Four…” She demonstrated. “With a diamond in the center. Right…there.”

Jak had to grab the blanket and bite down on it to keep the sweet little crooning howl Ra had inspired from escaping audibly.

“And another, there.”

Jak struggled not to thrash, rationing sharp rhythmic breaths into the fabric of the blanket.

“And there.”

Oh gods.

“And then just there.”

In the grip of a wave of pleasure so intense it was almost unbearable, Jak clutched Ra’s hand so she could no longer effect her blissful torment, the other hand digging into the bedroll as pantomimed moans were buried in the crook of an elbow.

“Perhaps in peacock blue with threads of gold,” Ra continued as if she hadn’t just destroyed Jak utterly, her other hand casually stroking once more up Jak’s arm. “The colors of Ludtaht Ra. Though it may be time for new colors. I’ve always liked indigo.” She nestled against the hollow of Jak’s neck, putting a little kiss there before relaxing with a sigh to match Jak’s heaving breath. “Does that work for you?”

It took a moment to remember how to swallow and speak. “Work for me?” Jak let out a nervous, whispered laugh. “Just about killed me. I’m crazy about it.”

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Tour Wide

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: 6/21-6/27

Books Received for Review

- The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling- eCopy- NetGalley

- Old Dog, New Tricks by Hailey Edwards -eARC- NetGalley

Books I've Read

Angel Lover by Tricia Skinner
Breakwater by Shannon Mayer
The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling

Reviews Posted

Angel Lover by Tricia Skinner
Dying to Date by Victoria Davies
Shades of Loss by L.M. Pruitt
Shades of Vengeance by L.M. Pruitt

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

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

* Wednesday- Interview + Giveaway for Hunter of Her Heart by Kaylie Newell

* Saturday- Cover Reveal for Deep Kiss of Winter + Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

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

Cover Reveal: Deep Kiss of Winter + Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

Check out the next two covers for the repackaging of Kresley Cole’s phenomenally popular Immortals After Dark series.

Deep Kiss of Winter
Immortals After Dark #8

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR KRESLEY COLE delivers a breathtaking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time... and a Valkyrie aching for his touch.

A brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time…

Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden–the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can’t be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure.

A Valkyrie aching to be touched…

Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Immortals After Dark #9

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole enraptures again with this seductive tale of a fierce werewolf prince who will stop at nothing to protect the lovely archer he covets from afar.

A DANGEROUS BEAUTY...

Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her -- and those she loves.

AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED...

Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.

THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED....

From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia's greatest weakness -- her wanton desire for him.

Each of the above will be available in eBook format at a special price of $1.99 from June 29^th – August 2^nd.
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Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Gamemakers series, and five award-winning historical romances.

A master’s grad and former athlete, she has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings.

Her IAD books have been translated into twenty foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, a Hall of Fame induction, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists, in the U.S. and abroad.
Cole lives in Florida with her family and “far too many animals.”

Find Kresley and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Early Review: Angel Lover by Tricia Skinner

Angel Lover

Author: Tricia Skinner

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Publisher: Entangled: Select Otherworld

Angel Assassins Book #2

ISBN:  1633752690

ISBN13:  9781633752696

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher

There’s no danger greater than falling for your enemy…

The Nephilim are bound. Their powers cursed. But half-angel Kasdeja will do anything to free them from Heaven's tyranny. When Kas is approached by a striking, mysterious woman, she tells him his greatest enemies hold the key to his freedom.

Mariel keeps herself shrouded in secrets, using them to hide her true self. For she is not just employed by the Renegades--enemy fallen angels—she is a double agent, working on the sly for Heaven. Her directive is to seduce the gorgeous Nephilim—despite her insecurity about such sensual acts.

For Mariel is playing a dangerous game, and falling for Kas could only cause trouble; her assignment isn't just seduction. It's destruction.

ANGEL LOVER is the second book in the Angel Assassins series. It was a quick and easy read with a good amount of action and deception. The book focuses heavily on the budding relationship of Kas and  Mariel. Kas is a bound Nephilim who is super loyal to his brother Nephilim and wishes he were free from the bonds holding him and his brothers back and Mariel is a broken angel working undercover with the Renegades to earn her wings back.

The relationship part of ANGEL LOVER was great. There was a ton of chemistry between Kas and Mariel and the sexy parts were hot and heavy. They come from different worlds, but fight to overcome the problems that are put in front of them.

I didn't feel like as much happened in ANGEL LOVER compared to ANGEL KIN. There was still a good amount of action, but I found the overall storyline to be less. I missed the other Nephilim in ANGEL LOVER. Most of the book takes place without them and I really wanted to get to know them more and see Katie and Cain together again and get a glimpse into their relationship now that their book is over.

There was a surprising amount of twists in ANGEL LOVER and the characters have a good amount of depth to them. Some things happen at the end of the book that make me think I know who the next half-angel featured will be. I am hopeful that the next book won't take too long to come out.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Dying to Date by Victoria Davies

Dying to Date

Author: Victoria Davies

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Publisher: Entangled: Covet

Fated Match Book #2

ISBN:  163375314X

ISBN13: 9781633753143

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher

Vampire socialite Melissa Redgrave has the worst luck with men. Frustrated, she decides what she needs is a little help...from New York's biggest supernatural dating agency. Except that sometimes, a vampire doesn't always find her match.

Until she does. And he's delicious enough to bite.

Tarian Drake keeps his necromancy background quiet. After all, the ability to control the dead isn't exactly welcomed in the supernatural community. When he runs into the beautiful Melissa, she tempts him in a way that has never happened before. She’s his perfect match in every way.

But just as they are about to take their relationship to the next level, his family decides to make a stand—by kidnapping his new girlfriend. Now, if he ever hopes to date again, he’s going to have to get control of his family and free the girl. Oh, and stop a war.

Melissa and Tarian have an instant connection and fall for each other pretty quickly, but Tarian has a huge secret that could change their relationship in an instant.

We met Melissa in LOVE AT STAKE, she is Lucian's daughter. She is ready to fine her mate and she turns to Fated Match to accomplish that. She is very strong willed and knows how to take care of herself. Tarian has been hiding for a long time and he is ready to settle down. The only problem is that the paranormals have shunned his race. He never thought he would fall for a vampire, but when he does, their families issues threaten to tear them apart. The couple had a rocky go of it after Tarian's secret was revealed, but their connection was always there.

I enjoyed the danger and suspense that DYING TO DATE brought to the table. There is a considerable of action involved as things heat up. We were introduced to another race of paranormal with the necromancers. The world building was continued from book one, LOVE AT STAKE, and it was nice that there was more to learn.

Fated Match dating agency is of course featured in DYING TO DATE, but Tarian and Melissa hit it off right away so there isn't a bunch of dates being followed or much going on at the agency for these two. In fact, a lot of their time together takes place outside of New York. We do get a few visits with Lucian and Abbey and they are still going strong. They are mates though, so that was expected, but it was still nice to see them after the fact. I imagine there will be more to come out of the Fated Match series and I look forward to seeing who is featured next.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.