Week in Review: 11/20-11/26

Books Received for Review

Pamela by Shannon Mayer
Legend of Love by Lisa Kessler

Books I've Read

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Overtaken by K.F. Breene
Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Reviews Posted

The Operator by Kim Harrison

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

* Monday- Interview + Giveaway for Children of the Veil by Colleen Halverson

* Wednesday- Promo + Giveaway for Alien Nation by Gini Koch

* Thursday- Happy Turkey Day!

* Friday- Guest Blog + Giveaway for Belle Chasse by Suzanne Johnson

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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.

Guest Blog + Giveaway: Belle Chasse by Suzanne Johnson

UFI welcomes Author Suzanne Johnson. Thanks for Joining us!!

Politicians (and Preternaturals) Behaving Badly

Suzanne Johnson

One of the fun things about writing urban fantasy (other than the chance to introduce some really hot heroes and give them special skills, of course) is the worldbuilding.

In the case of my Sentinels of New Orleans series, my post-Hurricane Katrina hometown was the blank canvas upon which I built the magical world of a young wizard named DJ and her job as sentinel—sort of a border guard between the human world and the preternatural world called the Beyond.  A border, I might add, that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina, leaving New Orleans vulnerable to the flood of paranormal critters that flooded in.

When the hurricane strips away the things DJ has used to define herself—her mentor, her job, her city—she’s forced to step outside her sheltered life and learn more about the world she inhabits. I wanted her to be both a woman fighting for recognition in the male-dominated halls of magical power and someone who respects authority but also isn’t afraid to be a little entrepreneurial in her problem-solving.

For inspiration in forming DJ’s world, I had only to look as far as the TV screen. Let’s see….where do we have leaders of different political persuasions embroiled in constant power plays, bickering, and one-upmanship? Oh yeah, that would be Washington. And note that I wrote even the newest book, BELLE CHASSE, back in late 2014, waaaay before the recent presidential election began. So don’t read anything partisan into this blog post because it isn’t there.

“Politicians Behaving Badly” is bipartisan, and the top group of wizards isn’t called the “Congress of Elders” for nothing.

The Elders are senior wizards who represent four “parties,” or congresses, each with its own partisan interests. The Green Congress wizards, of which DJ is a member, perform geeky ritual magic. Red Congress wizards are flashy physical-magic users, while Blue Congress wizards are the creative types, and the Yellows are the intellectuals.

Reds are controlling bullies; Greens want to take things apart and rearrange them until everyone around them dies of boredom; Blues whine a lot and seek the pity vote; Yellows want to talk everything to death.

    Of course, the preternatural world extends beyond the wizards and their congresses, and once Katrina tears down the borders, some of the other citizens of the preternatural world show up with their own power structures. As they argue over border control, the wizards are forced to join an Interspecies Council—think of the United Nations with fangs and wands and scary brainwashing skills.

There are the Elves, ruled by a four-member Synod and with their own internal power struggles. The vampires have Regents, fanged dictators who allow no dissention within their ranks. The historical undead—famous former humans granted immortality by the magic of human memory—are eclectic and disorganized, which allows the undead 19th-century French pirate Jean Lafitte, their unofficial leader, to do pretty much as he wants. The water species—merfolk and nymphs and naiads—tend to be territorial isolationists.

Into this political maelstrom comes our stubborn, somewhat geeky heroine and her entourage: a smokin’-hot shapeshifter, a troubled rogue werewolf, the ever-helpful undead pirate Jean Lafitte; and an adventurous tattooed Cajun merman named Rene.

As she navigates the twists and turns of her political bayou, DJ’s going to need all the help she can get.

   

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Suzanne Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series but perhaps is best known for her romantic suspense and paranormal romance books written as Susannah Sandlin, including the Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series, the Wilds of the Bayou suspense series, and The Collectors romantic thriller series. Her awards include two Holt Medallions in 2013 and 2015, a 2015 Booksellers Best Award in romantic suspense, and nominations in 2014 and 2015 for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama. Suzanne loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, all things Cajun, and redneck reality TV.

Find Suzanne and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Belle Chasse
Sentinels of New Orleans #5
Amazon BN Book Depository Books-a-Million Indie Bound

 With the wizard-elven treaty on the verge of collapse, the preternatural world stands on the brink of war. Unless former wizard sentinel DJ Jaco manages to keep the elven leader, Quince Randolph, focused on peace and not personal matters.

With no one on the throne, Faerie is in chaos, with rival princes battling for power. The still-undead pirate, Jean Lafitte, is building his own army of misfits, and DJ—stripped of her job and hiding in the Beyond to avoid the death sentence handed down by the wizard Council of Elders—can’t get anywhere near her beloved New Orleans or her significant something-or-other, Alex.

It's time to choose sides. Friends will become enemies, enemies will become allies, and not everyone will survive. DJ and her friends will learn a hard lesson: sometimes, even the ultimate sacrifice isn’t enough.

Excerpt:

I expected Christof to start a snowstorm above Rand’s head. What I didn’t expect was for the prince to lower his head and charge Rand like a raging bull, head-butting him in the midsection. They hit the ground, and I saw my chance at the same time Eugenie spotted me.

    I motioned her toward the woods where the transport lay. To hell with the Blue Congress wizards. We were going to make a run for it while Christof kept Rand too busy to notice.

    She set off for the woods, and I met her halfway. “My family thinks I’m crazy!” she wailed, loud enough to draw the attention of the tall, skinny Blue Congress wizard with the rooster haircut.

    “Hey, stop!”

    Holy crap. I whipped out the elven staff, paused long enough to aim just to the right of the wizards. They already had their hands up and were doing some of their nifty Blue Congress magic when I released my fire and blew up the tombstone next to them, sending a rain of marble and playing cards onto their heads. Around us, evidence of their magic appeared as tombstones began moving to block our escape route.

    I grabbed Eugenie’s arm and pulled her around a marble stag the size of a small SUV. It had lowered its head and pawed the ground as if to charge. Blue Congress magic was so damned cool— create and re-create.

    “Stop, DJ!” Eugenie grabbed my arm as I tried to race past her. “A sinkhole!”

    I looked stupidly at the ground in front of us, which had opened a gulf big enough to drive a Greyhound bus into. “Go around and run fast,” I shouted, sending another shot of the staff toward the Blue Congress wizards and blowing up a ginormous marble eagle perched atop a nearby tomb.

    We didn’t stop to see if the stag was chasing us, but ran for all we were worth. Finally, at the edge of the tree line, I hazarded a look back at Christof and Rand. The faery stood watching us; the elf had crumpled on the ground. Not dead, though, because in my head, far behind my protective barriers, I heard him yelling my name.

    Christof grinned and motioned for us to move along. He didn’t have to motion twice, because the wizards were chasing us, still chanting and doing their finger dance. The stag was getting way too close.

    I raised the staff and blew a hole in the earth in front of the advancing stag, forcing him to change direction. Luck was on our side for a change— the stag began charging toward the wizards instead, who had to stop pursuing us in order to protect themselves from being trampled beneath marble hooves.

    “Let’s run to the transport before those idiot wizards can get out from under the stag.” I grabbed Eugenie’s hand and we ran to the clearing. “Help me roll this werewolf out of the transport.”

    To her credit, she didn’t ask a single question. We tipped the werewolf onto his side and rolled him outside the interlocking circle and triangle, leaving him at an awkward angle with his

feet in the air. Oh well.

    I touched the staff to the edge of the transport and said, “Winter Palace, Faery” just before the Blue Congress wizards reached the edge of the clearing. I waved at them as the transport sucked the air out of my lungs. They were too late.

    As soon as we materialized on the round floor of ice in the Winter Palace, Eugenie screamed. I figured she was getting her first look at the grisly remains of Faerie Princess Tamara until a blinding light knocked me off my feet and a big crack appeared in the ice between us.

    “Where is my brother?”

    I whirled to see Florian sitting on a block of ice behind us bundled in a heavy coat, a blanket spread beneath him, no doubt to protect his royal assets from getting cold and wet.

    “He’s in Shreveport, Louisiana, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church, having a fi stfi ght with an elf,” I said, pretty confident that of all the things he might expect me to say, that wasn’t it.

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Happy Thanksgiving US readers...

Gobble Gobble!!

Here is something that everyone can answer no matter where you live.... 

What book have you been thankful to read in 2016?

Review: The Operator by Kim Harrison

The Operator

Author: Kim Harrison

Release Date: November 22, 2016

Publisher: Pocket

The Peri Reed Chronicles Book #2

ISBN:   1501149911

ISBN13: 9781501149917

Genre: Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

On-the-run ex-agent Peri Reed returns bigger and bolder than ever in this second highly-anticipated installment in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison's new suspense trilogy, The Peri Reed Chronicles.

Peri Reed’s job eats her mind, but for a special task agent in hiding, forgetting the past can be a blessing.

Betrayed by the man she thought she loved and the agency who turned her into the very thing she fought against, Peri abandoned the wealth and privilege of Opti for anonymity riddled with memory gaps and self-doubt. But when a highly addictive drug promises to end her dependency on those who’d use her as a tool for their own success, she must choose to remain broken and vulnerable, or return to the above-the-law power and prestige she once left: strong but without will—for whoever holds her next fix, will hold her loyalty.

Yet even now as then, a love based on lies of omission might still save her life.

THE OPERATOR—Like THE DRAFTER— was filled with a lot of action and suspense, but I had a hard time staying in the story and connecting with Peri in book two.

I really enjoyed THE DRAFTER, in fact, I gave it 5 stars. So when I got THE OPERATOR, I thought that it would be another fast paced, enjoyable read by Kim Harrison. For the most part it was, but I found myself getting bored and really disliking Peri at points throughout the book. I knew from book one that she was impulsive, but it seemed worse in THE OPERATOR and her impulsiveness lead her to some bad situations which was annoying. She was constantly in danger and there was plenty of chances to get the upper hand but she just didn't. It was one cluster after another. It just got to be too much by the end.

Let's talk about the relationships of the book. On one hand we have Silas. I really like Silas, and he really likes Peri. Peri unfortunately doesn't remember him like he remembers her but there was some development on this front and I really enjoyed that part of the story. Then we have Jack. We ALL know Jack from book one. I can't stand Jack and Peri says she can't, but for a lot of THE OPERATOR she had no problem standing him. It was very aggravating and I really could have done without his character all together.

I just don't know what to do about this series. It started out fantastically, but THE OPERATOR fell short for me. I will probably give book three a chance because i really love Kim Harrison's past work and that counts for something.

I gave it 3/5 stars

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

Promo + Giveaway: Alien Nation by Gini Koch

Alien Nation 
Katherine "Kitty" Katt #14

ON SALE: DECEMBER 6, 2016

IBSN: 9780756411435 | 560 pages  | DAW MASS MARKET | $7.99

It’s a typical day of bureaucracy and stress for President and First Lady Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini, made more stressful when alien spacecraft are spotted making a beeline for Earth, none of them from the Alpha Centauri system. Then a cryptic request from an old adversary pulls Kitty out of the White House and into an explosion—and an even more explosive situation. Not only is the Mastermind back in the game, influencing the Club 51 True Believers to find and destroy all Centaurion bases, but he’s also found a dangerous benefactor and created some frightening new cloning abilities.

And, just to make things a little more challenging, those alien spacecraft are coming to ask Kitty for protection, and asylum on Earth. Police stations being blown up and war helicopters in play aren’t enoughto keep Kitty down, especially when she’s got some new alien friends helping out. But what these aliens share will rock the world—the other aliens on theirway to Earth are fleeing an enemy so terrifying that even a Z’porrah ship is trying to get to Earth for safety and protection. And if Earth isn’t able to stop this threat, there may not be anything left of humanity. Now Kitty and Company have to figure out where the Mastermind is and stop him, before any new aliens land. And then they have to save the world from a deadly invasion. Or, as Kitty calls it, Thursday.

Sci-fi action meets steamy paranormal in Gini Koch’s Alien novels, as Katherine “Kitty” Katt faces off against aliens, conspiracies, and deadly secrets. • “Futuristic high-jinks and gripping adventure.” —RT Reviews 

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Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. Touched by an Alien, the first in her Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt Series, received a starred review from Booklist and was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten adult science fiction and fantasy novels of 2010. Gini started writing as an excuse to stay up late playing on the computer while listening to rock music and mooning over pictures of hunky men. She’s thrilled all that drooling has finally paid off.

Find Gini and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

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US/Canada

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New Releases: 11/20-11/26

Tue. Nov. 22nd

 Fate of Flames (Effigies #1) by Sarah Raughley

 Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

 The Operator (The Peri Reed Chronicles #2) by Kim Harrison
 The Revealed (Lakewood #2) by Sarah Kleck

Happy Reading!

Interview + Giveaway: Children of the Veil by Colleen Halverson

UFI welcomes Author Colleen Halverson. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

One thing I don’t talk about a lot is that I have synesthesia, specifically auditory-tactile synesthesia which means I feel sound. Depending on the type of music it can feel like a wave or a tingling sensation. Listening to YoYo Ma’s Bach concertos is like a full body massage. It’s very cool. I had never heard the term until a professor of mine used it to describe Emily Dickenson, and I sat there in class saying, “But that never happens to you? To any of you? Where you feel music?” They all looked at me like I was crazy. I just figured that was normal.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

I like to run and take walks, and I also do martial arts. For a writer, I also watch an obscene amount of television.

What is your Favorite part of writing?

I love drafting the most. Every new story feels like a brand new adventure for me.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

Check Facebook, check Twitter…honestly, not really. But when I do get down to business, I require a nice cup of Earl Grey to get me started.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

I love JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. If I ever met her, I would probably fangirl like a raving idiot. I also love KM Moning’s Fever series. Those books really inspired me to tap into my knowledge of Irish folklore and mythology to write my own novels.

How would you pitch The Aisling Chronicles to someone who has not heard of it before?

It’s about a young woman named Elizabeth Tanner who discovers she is half-Fae and must learn to wield and control her powers in order to take down the patriarchy, I mean, the secret, magical government trying to use her for political gain.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Aisling Chronicles is set in?

In the world of The Aisling Chronicles, there exists a secret government that controls the three magical races of Ireland: the Fae, the Druids, and the Fianna (a kind of warrior class). Half of the novels take place in our mortal world, but Elizabeth and Finn also travel into Tír na nÓg, aka the Faerie realm.

Do you have a favorite scene in CHILDREN OF THE VEIL?

I have so many favorite parts, but I think the part I love the best is when Elizabeth and Finn, her Fianna warrior alpha hottie, go to the underground Faerie court in London. It’s a raucous, wild place and through a series of unfortunate events, Finn has to fight this horrible cyclops for Elizabeth’s honor. I’m not usually one for the damsels in distress, ahhhhh!!! But it sure is cool to see Finn do his thing, which is fight and be a total warrior badass. I’ve probably read that scene a hundred times, but my shoulders still tense up each time.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

My favorite character to write is Malachy Moray. He’s a dearg-dubh, which in my world is like a Fae Irish vampire, and he’s sort of like David Tennant meets Tyrion Lannister kind of character. It’s funny because originally I had wanted to make him this dark, sort of Angel-like vampire villain, but he wasn’t having it at all. He’s very, very silly.

The hardest character to write is probably my main character, Elizabeth. But hard in a good way! Elizabeth challenges me because she takes me to some deeply complex and emotional places at times. I need to paint her with a very fine brush and some of these scenes required a lot of close reading and editing to strike the right notes with her, especially those scenes with Finn.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

I have a new book coming out January 9th called THE CAPTAIN’S REBEL. This is an erotic historical romance that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It features a feisty Irish heroine who, in order to take back her ancestral lands, dresses up as a cabin boy and joins the Royal Navy. She meets a stern and demanding sea Captain, and, well, let’s just say she doesn’t just polish his boots…

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As a child, Colleen Halverson used to play in the woods imagining worlds and telling stories to herself. Growing up on military bases, she found solace in her local library and later decided to make a living sharing the wonders of literature to poor, unsuspecting college freshmen. After backpacking through Ireland and singing in a traditional Irish music band, she earned a PhD in English with a specialization in Irish literature. When she’s not making up stories or teaching, she can be found hiking the rolling hills of the Driftless area of Wisconsin with her husband and two children.

CHILDREN OF THE VEIL is the follow up to her debut urban fantasy novel, THROUGH THE VEIL.

Find Colleen and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Children of the Veil
Aisling Chronicles #2
Amazon BN Kobo iTunes
Amazon UK Amazon CA

Elizabeth Tanner has one goal: to find her mother in whatever dimension she’s imprisoned. But to do that, she has to face her estranged father, and to do that, she needs a shot of whiskey…or seven. But after an attempt on her life and the return of her lost love, she wakes up with one hell of a hangover and a whole barrage of questions.

Finn O’Connell doesn’t know why the Fianna want him to aid Elizabeth in her search, but he’ll take any excuse to be near her again. Together, they dive headlong into the shadows of her mother’s secrets and find themselves embroiled in a Fae rebellion that will test Finn’s loyalties and their love.

With the Faerie realm verging on chaos, Elizabeth and Finn will embark on a quest that will lead them from the streets of Chicago to London’s seedy Fae underground. But rescuing Elizabeth’s mother means journeying to a place Finn can’t follow, and Elizabeth is forced to make a choice between finding her at last or saving her own soul.

Excerpt #1:

My legs buckled and he snatched me into his arms, my head lolling against his chest. I breathed in the smell of leather, fresh folded laundry, and that pure, manly scent of Finn-ness. God, I had missed him.
“Who…?” I managed to say, the words feeling like caked mud in my mouth.
He didn’t answer, but slipped me into his car and I sank into the leather seat, darkness eating at the edge of my sight. The purring engine lulled me into a daze, and I must have passed out because the next thing I knew, we were stumbling up the stairs to my apartment.
“I live here,” I slurred.
“I know,” Finn mumbled, his muscled arm propping me up. “Where are your keys?”
Snowflakes collected on the crown of his head, his eyebrows knitting together. The curve of his mouth filled my vision, and my fingers slipped over the soft skin, tracing the delicate cupid bow on his top lip. His face softened, multiple Finns swimming through the muted streetlight.
“Mmmmm…” I murmured, running my hand against the side of his face, trying to keep from seeing double. “Stay still.”
He placed a gentle hand over my hand. “Elizabeth, your keys. It’s freezing out here.”
I brought his palm next to my face, brushing my lips against his callused fingers. Need burned through my body, and I fell against his broad chest, covering his mouth with mine with a moan. For a moment, he kissed me back, his hands pressing firm against my shoulders. The falling snow tickled my neck, sending icy trails down my spine, and I pressed into him seeking his warmth. He made a low sound in his throat.
“You’re drunk,” he whispered.
“I don’t care.” I whispered into his ear.
Finn disentangled himself from my arms, and I slipped on a patch of ice, falling on my ass with a giggle. He leaned over me, patting my jeans in search for my keys. His hands strayed to my waist, tickling my side, and I laughed, grabbing his hands.
He hovered over me, his hair grazing the firm line of his jaw. “Elizabeth, stop. I mean it. Where are your keys?”
He rifled in my coat, and something landed on the balcony with a thud. The book of Yeats’ poetry lay in the snow, white powder quickly accumulating on its worn cover. Finn made to grab it, but I snatched it away, wiping it off and sticking it safe back inside my coat. He stared down at me and swallowed hard, the tinkling crystal of falling snow the only sound in the silent street.
“Elizabeth…” He whispered, his hand brushing away a wet lock of hair plastered to my cheek.
I shrugged away, rifling in my jeans pocket for my keys and threw them at him. A wave of dizziness washed over me and I curled up on the balcony, willing the snow to blanket over me, desiring nothing but to become the winter so I could sleep for four months and reemerge whole again. Stinging numbness gripped my fingers and toes, and I shivered, burying my head against my arm.
“Let’s get you inside.” Finn’s arm slipped beneath my shoulders and under my knees.

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