New Releases: 2/24-3/2

Tue. Feb. 26th

 An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley

 Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4) by Faith Hunter
 The Dysasters by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
 Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
 Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury
 Phoenix Falling (Wildlands #5) by Laura Bickle
 The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
 The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
 Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
 We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia
 You Had Me at Jaguar (Heart of the Jaguar #6) by Terry Spear

Happy Reading!!

Early Review: Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter (@HunterFaith, @AceRocBooks)

Circle of the Moon

Author: Faith Hunter

Release Date: February 26, 2019

Publisher: Ace

Soulwood Book #4

ISBN:  0399587942

ISBN13: 9780399587948

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher
via NetGalley

Set in the same world as Faith Hunter's New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, the fourth Soulwood novel stars Nell Ingram, who channels her power from the earth.


Nell can draw magic from the land around her, and lately she's been using it to help the Psy-Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. Joining the team at PsyLED has allowed her to learn more about her powers and the world she always shunned--and to find true friends.

Head agent Rick LaFleur shifts into a panther when the moon calls him, but this time, something has gone wrong. Rick calls Nell from a riverbank--he's naked, with no memory of how he came to be there, and there's a dead black cat, sacrificed in a witch circle and killed by black magic, lying next to him.

Then more animals turn up dead, and team rushes to investigate. A blood-witch is out to kill. But when it seems as if their leader is involved in the crime, the bonds that hold the team together could shatter at any moment.

CIRCLE OF THE MOON ended up being my favorite installment of the Soulwood series yet. Weeks later and I'm still thinking about the story and wanting to read more.

Nell has evolved so much since we first met her in the Jane Yellowrock series. I admit that when I started reading the Soulwood series I didn't fully connect to her, but over the course of 4 books I have really gotten to love her character and the way she thinks and works.

Not only has Nell evolved as a character, but her relationships with her team and Occam have grown as well. They all work well together and the romance between Occam and Nell is getting mighty interesting. I thought at first their slow progress would be frustrating, but it hasn't been and every step they take is a breath of fresh air.

We get quite a bit closer to Rick with every Soulwood installment. CIRCLE OF THE MOON has drawn me closer to him. We learn about and meet the person behind a lot of his bad luck and troubles in book 4.

CIRCLE OF THE MOON made me fall more in love with all the characters and the world they live in. I'm excited to see what will happen next with the storyline.

I gave it 5/5 stars

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

Week in Review: 2/17-2/23

Books Received for Review

Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym Martineau
Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine

Books I've Read

Signs of Cupidity by Raven Kennedy
Gypsy's Blood by Kristy Cunning
Gypsy Freak by Kristy Cunning
Gypsy Origins by Kristy Cunning

Reviews Posted

Evermore by Sara Holland (@Sara__Holland, @harperteen)
Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins (@vegarollins, @HarperTeen)

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

* Monday- Promo: You Had Me at Jaguar by Terry Spear (@TerrySpear, @SourcebooksCasa)

* Thursday- Guest Blog + Giveaway: Heart of the Storm by Debbie Peterson (@DebbiePeterson1, @WildRosePress, @RoxanneRhoads)

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Review: Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins (@vegarollins, @HarperTeen)

Stolen Time

Author: Danielle Rollins

Release Date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: HarperTeen

Dark Stars Book #1

ISBN:  0062679945

ISBN13: 9780062679949

Genre: Young Adult SciFi

Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

Seattle, 1913 // Dorothy is trapped. Forced into an engagement to a wealthy man just so she and her mother can live comfortably for the rest of their days, she’ll do anything to escape. Including sneaking away from her wedding and bolting into the woods to disappear.

New Seattle, 2077 // Ash is on a mission. Rescue the professor—his mentor who figured out the secret to time travel—so together they can put things right in their devastated city. But searching for one man means endless jumps through time with no guarantee of success.

When Dorothy collides with Ash, she sees it as her chance to start fresh—she’ll stow away in his plane and begin a new life wherever they land. Then she wakes up in a future that’s been ripped apart by earthquakes and floods; where vicious gangs rule the submerged city streets and a small group of intrepid travelers from across time are fighting against the odds to return things to normal. What Dorothy doesn’t know is that she could hold the key to unraveling the past—and her arrival may spell Ash’s ultimate destruction.

Say what?? I did NOT see that coming.

I am finding this review kinda hard to write because there were actually quite a few times while reading STOLEN TIME that I wasn't 100% sure if I was liking the story, but then the ending came along and I'm like HOLY CRAP, I need MORE!!

There were a few things in STOLEN TIME that made getting into the story fully an issue. The pacing of the book felt a little off at times. There were a few points in the story that I didn't totally get. Some things were cleared up with the ending, but there are still some things that need to be clarified.

Now that I got that out of the way, I really enjoyed the characters and the settings in STOLEN TIME. The story was unpredictable and I really enjoyed the many times that I was surprised and didn't see things coming. There was plenty of action.

That ending, WOW. It honestly made the whole book. I did not see it coming and I honestly questioned so many things in the book that I am excited to see what book two will bring and reveal.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

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

Guest Blog + Giveaway: Heart of the Storm by Debbie Peterson (@DebbiePeterson1, @WildRosePress, @RoxanneRhoads)

UFI welcomes Author Debbie Peterson. Thanks for Joining us!!

Music is a must have for me when I write. In fact, I cannot write without it. From various conversations I’ve had as well as blog posts I’ve read, it seems that most authors can have all kinds of music playing in the background. I’m not quite that lucky. If I play a song with words, no matter how appropriate for the chapter, I start singing along. This is very distracting and can be a little dangerous because I sometimes write the lyrics while a character is having an important conversation with another character. This. Is. Not. Good. Alas….

Anyway, I do have several playlists and make new ones all the time. They are all mood specific. However, I do have a few favorites that usually find their way on almost all my playlists. So, here are the top ten instrumental songs I used while writing Heart of the Storm!

1.  Thundering Rainstorm - from the album Nature’s Relaxing Sounds

2.  Another Brick in Hadrian’s Wall - King Arthur Soundtrack

3.  Woad to Ruin - King Arthur Soundtrack

4.  Elphame Lullaby - Gary Stadler

5.  Return of the King - Lord of the Rings Return of the King Soundtrack

6.  The Grey Havens - Lord of the Rings Return of the King Soundtrack

7.  The Princess Bride - The Princess Bride Soundtrack

8.  For the Love of a Princess - Braveheart Soundtrack

9.  Gift of a Thistle - Braveheart Soundtrack

10. Nightengale - Yanni from the Yanni Album



Bonus Tracks:

1. Solo - Raúl Di Blasio

2. The All Spark - Transformers Soundtrack  

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Debbie is an author of paranormal and fantasy romance. She has-and always has had-a soft spot for fairy tales, the joy of falling in love, making an impossible love possible, and happily ever after endings. She loves music, art, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and thunder storms.

When she's not busy conjuring her latest novel, She spends time with the members of her very large and nutty family in the lovely, arid deserts of southern Nevada. She also pursues her interests in family history (which she also teaches), mythology, and history.

Find Debbie and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Heart of the Storm
Amazon Barnes and Noble The Wild Rose Press

DEA agent Aliyana Montijo must stop a drug lord's killing orders and find a government mole. With a contract on her head, she trusts no one. While heading back to Florida with evidence, lightning strikes her plane. As it careens into the ocean, she thinks she sees a pirate ship. What she finds is a dashing and most unlikely ally.

Four centuries ago, Wolfaert Dircksen Van Ness captained a vessel for the Dutch West Indies Company. Then an unearthly storm in the Bermuda Triangle blew him into a parallel dimension. After rescuing Aliyana from a similar tempest, he finds himself drawn to the courageous beauty and wants to aid her mission.

In the midst of danger, the two find themselves falling in love. Then a misunderstanding tears them apart, perhaps forever…

Excerpt:

About a half an hour before sunset, the unease she had carried for the past several hours turned into a sudden feeling of dread. Panic overtook all rational thought and settled into her soul. Something terrible had happened. She raced toward her supplies and grabbed her backpack. Her fingers shook as she unzipped the bag and yanked out her phone. She called Greg’s number several times over before it dawned on her that he had already boarded a plane headed for Colombia. She wouldn’t be able to contact him until the morning.
Despite all attempts to banish it, the dread grew stronger with each passing hour. A growing notion that Wolf and his crew never left the sub took firm hold. The conscientious men of the Wieven could very well have remained behind to ensure that all went according to plan. The thought of such an occurrence made her sick to her stomach. What if they could die as she had always feared? What if they died in that sub along with Mercado’s men? She couldn’t sleep, and she couldn’t eat. All throughout the long hours of the night, she restlessly paced along the shore, waiting, hoping, and praying.
By the time the gloomy morning arrived, what little hope she’d carried throughout the long night dissipated. Somewhere in her heart, she finally accepted that her beloved captain wouldn’t be coming for her. Not now. Not ever again.

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Review: Evermore by Sara Holland (@Sara__Holland, @harperteen)

Evermore

Author: Sara Holland

Release Date: December 31, 2018

Publisher: HarperTeen

Everless Book #2

ISBN:  0062653717

ISBN13: 9780062653710

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

The highly anticipated sequel to New York Times bestseller, Everless!

Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

The whole kingdom believes that Jules is responsible for the murders, and a hefty bounty has been placed on her head. And Caro is intent on destroying Jules, who stole her heart twelve lifetimes ago. Jules must delve into the stories that she now recognizes are accounts of her own past. For it is only by piecing together the mysteries of her lives that Jules will be able to save the person who has captured her own heart in this one.

Liked it, didn't love it.

One of the things that really drew me into the story in book one was the concept of time being drawn from blood and used as currency. Unfortunately, it isn't that big of a part of the story in EVERMORE.

There seemed to be quite a bit of info dumping happening in EVERMORE and it happened to be major information at times. This made it a bit hard to keep up. The romance was frustrating. Jules acts like she hates Liam, but she's clearly falling in love with him. Some of her comments to him left my jaw hanging though.

EVERMORE did wrap up the Everless series nicely, but the ending felt a bit rushed after all the lead up to the big finale. When all was said and done I had no problem finishing EVERMORE, but it didn't blow me away.

I gave it 3/5 stars

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

New Releases: 2/17-2/23

Tue. Feb. 19th

 The Afterward by E.K. Johnston
 Tarot by Marissa Kennerson

Happy Reading!!