Week in Review: Feb 5-11

Books Ive Bought/received

*Fair Game by Patricia Briggs- From Publisher

*Croak by Gina Damico-eARC- Teen Book Scene/Netgalley

*The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda-eARC- Publisher

*Operative by Kate Kaynak-Arc- Publisher

* Fever by Lauren DeStefano- Arc- Swap 

* Fated by Benedict Jacka- Publisher


* Black Howl by Christina Henry- Publisher


Books I read

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton
Deceived by Stephanie Nelson
Torn by Amanda Hocking
Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Operative by Kate Kaynak
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Reviews posted


Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory
By A Thread by Jennifer Estep
Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding
Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

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


*A promotional post and giveaway went up Monday for Rachel Caines newest Unbroken.

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*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.

Review: Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Wings of the Wicked
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Katharine Tegen books
Angelfire Book #2
ISBN:   0062002368
ISBN13: 9780062002365
Genre: Young Adult

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Ellie wants nothing more then to have a normal life outside of her Preliator duties. She wants to have a relationship with her the man she loves but will keeps pushing her away. More of her memories come back until her mind is completely free and she remembers everything of her past human lives. The demonic players are more determined then ever to get their hands on her making being normal harder and harder as the days go on.

I enjoyed ANGELFIRE but was not overly into it. I have to say the WINGS OF THE WICKED was much easier to get into. There is plenty of drama and danger to keep you turning the pages. The frustration of Will and Ellie's non relationship keeps you determined to see them move on in their relationship already. We get to meet a few more allies in their war against the evil and Caden proves to be more then meets the eye. I really enjoyed the characters and the way they fit into the story. The plot continued to be unique and interesting and the pace had a nice flow to it. I really like the world that Courtney has built for her story and will continue reading her future books in this series.

I gave it 4/5 stars
 

Review: Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding

Wrong Side of Dead
Author: Kelly Meding
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Bantam
Dreg City Book #4
ISBN:   0345525795
ISBN13: 9780345525796
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Monster hunter Evangeline Stone woke up on the wrong side of dead this morning—and now there’s hell to pay.

Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever.

WRONG SIDE OF DEAD ended up being my favorite Dreg City book yet. Its been a few months since the events of book 3 ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD. The story jumps a bit between the past (couple months ago) and the present day. There were a few points that that got a bit annoying but only because something good or suspenseful was going on and I was impatient to find out what would happen next.

I couldn't imagine a better fit in the series then Evy and Wyatt. They have been through so many ups and downs that you would think they could survive anything at this point but Evy's latest kidnapping really did a number on both of them and they are on a break when WRONG SIDE OF DEAD starts. We get taken through a lot of growing, soul searching and realizations. It was very easy to imagine being in the story with them. Kelly did a fantastic job conveying feelings and situations. All of the characters in the Dreg City Series are very strongly portrayed. I can picture the way they look and the way they act when they are described. There wasn't as much action as in previous books but the emotion was high and it still left me flipping the pages to find out what would happen next.

If you are new to the series you really should start with book 1, Evy has been through A LOT. She has been tortured, she has died, she has come back to life in a new body, she has been tortured again. There is way to much back story that you would miss if you jumped in at this point and its worth starting at the beginning. I don't think this is the last book in the series but if it ended up being the last I would be happy with where it ended. This is a great darker urban fantasy series to add to your book shelf.

I gave it 4/5 stars

This is to cool.....

First off I want to thank you all for reading my blog everyday, I love being able to tell you what I think of a book, bring authors on to let you know about them or what they have to say as well as offering you a chance to win some books.

When I started blogging my book reviews I really never imagined it would lead to the amount of followers I have acquired or that I would have a friendly relationship with some of my favorite authors.  A few weeks ago it came to my attention for the first time (to my knowledge that is) that one of my reviews would be quoted in an up coming book. The author sent me an eARC for review and I was so excited to see it actually in there. Today I got another review book in the mail and was browsing the review quotes and I am in there too. Its just to cool so I thought I would share them with you. Please let me know if you have seen UFI quoted in one of your books I would love to know about it.

To appear in Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett, April 24, 2012; Pocket books

“I was hooked from the first page. ... The story was fun and original. ... The twists and turns came at every intersection. ... I can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about the book. I didn’t want to put it down.”

—Urban Fantasy Investigations

To appear in Operative by Kate Kaynak, March 15, 2012; Spencer Hill Press

"Packed to the gills with twists, turns, action, and suspense. There is so much awesomeness... I can not wait to see what Accused brings to the table. "

        —Urban Fantasy Investigations

Early Review: By A Thread by Jennifer Estep

By A Thread
Author:Jennifer Estep
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Pocket
Elemental Assassin Book #6
ISBN:   1451651767
ISBN13: 9781451651768
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher

When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation.
 
Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis Mab Monroe a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco. So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all. Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently.

Now that Gin's identity is completely revealed everyone who is someone is looking to be the one to kill her. She cant go a day without an attempt on her life. She is bad ass but that would wear on anyone so she took Finn up on the idea of a vacation with him, Bria and Owen. We all know by now that Gin never catches a break so it isn't surprising that she doesn't get a moments of peace before she is back in the action.

I have to admit that when Jennifer said that Donovan Caine would be back in a future book I was worried why and what he would do, but after reading BY A THREAD I can not even begin to describe the immense satisfaction I got out of most if not all of the Gin/Donovan scenes, especially the very last one. And that is all I will say about that so that I don't give away spoilers.

I have always loved Gin, there isn't much else I can say about her that I have not already said a million times. I love that all her friends and family are there for her when she needs them and I love that she is always there for them. She meets her match and gets pretty close to deaths door in BY A THREAD but she pushed threw it and came out on top once again. I love Owen. He is supportive, loving and they are really the perfect match for each other. Gin and Bria's relationship has been kinda up and down. They finally get there feelings out in the open and I cant wait to see how there relationship will be in the future.  As with all of Jennifer's Books BY A THREAD was faced paced, super suspenseful, filled with action and all around hard to put down. The Elemental Assassins series continues to be a favorite on my bookshelf.

I gave it 5/5 stars

Winner: Burned by J.F. Lewis

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize:Finished copy of BURNED

The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....

Early Review: Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory

Witchful Thinking
Author: H.P. Mallory
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Batnam
Jolie Wilkins Book #3
ISBN:   0345531450
ISBN13: 9780345531452
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Librarything

Jolie thinks she’s seen it all, but life continues to spring surprises. The latest shocker? She’s just been crowned Queen of the Underworld. Jolie may possess a rare gift for reanimating the dead, but she doesn’t know the first thing about governing disparate factions of supernatural creatures. She can barely maintain order in her own chaotic personal life, which is heading into a romantic tailspin.

First there’s sexy warlock Rand, the love of her life, from whom Jolie is hiding a devastating secret. Then there’s Sinjin, a darkly seductive vampire and Jolie’s sworn protector—though others suspect he harbors ulterior motives. As the two polar opposite yet magnetic men vie for Jolie’s affection, she must keep her wits about her to balance affairs of state and affairs of her heart. Overwhelmed, under pressure, and longing for love, Jolie decides it’s time to take charge—and show everyone that this queen won’t take jack.

WITCHFUL THINKING left me feeling confused. I was enjoying how it started out then bam we are in the future and know nothing about the past. The past is slowly revealed to teach us what has happened up until the point we are at and then at the end its bam again and we are in the past before the past. Are you confused yet? Yeah me to.

I have to say my favorite character was Sinjin. He is a vampire that is in love with Jolie and wants to protect her, or at least that was what I got out of his character. Rand is a warlock and the person that Jolie loves, he is super broody and refuses to stick with one emotion for longer then a minute. Just when they BOTH decide that they want to be together and are about to stick with the decision stuff happens that throws that out the window. Jolie was super indecisive. She has no clue what she wants out of the situation she is in. I really never connected with her character and I wish the book wouldn't have jumped to the future as I think those years leading up would have made me understand her more and unfortunately I didn't see that this was book 3 in the series until after I won it and read it or else I would have seen that the back story is in the previous 2 books that are offered as ebooks published by the author. All in all I just never connected with the story and had to force myself to read through most of it.

So my advice? Although I think you could start with book 3 WITCHFUL THINKING, you might be as lost as me so I would recommend you read book 1 and 2 first.

I gave it 2/5 stars