Review: Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett

Binding the Shadows

Author:Jenn Bennett

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Publisher: Pocket

Arcadia Bell Book #3

ISBN:   145169508X

ISBN13: 781451695083

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Author

In the third book in this beloved and “riveting” (Romantic Times) urban fantasy series, demon-friendly tiki bar owner Arcadia Bell discovers more about her own evolving, and possibly destructive, magical abilities when her bar is the target of a demonic crime wave.

Renegade mage and bartender Arcadia Bell has had a rough year, but now the door to her already unstable world is unhinging. When a citywide crime wave erupts, Cady's demon-friendly tiki bar is robbed by Earthbounds wielding surreal demonic abilities that just flat-out shouldn't exist. With the help of her devilishly delicious boyfriend, Lon Butler, Cady sets out to find the people who wronged her—but her targets aren't the only ones experiencing unnatural metamorphoses. Can Cady track down the monsters responsible before the monster inside her destroys everything—and everyone—she loves? If she survives this adventure, one thing is certain: it's last call for life as she knows it.

Another slam dunk for author Jenn Bennett and her Arcadia Bell Series. The characters make the series for me and every installment with Cady, Lon, Jupe, and Kar Yee makes me love the series even more.

So much happens in BINDING THE SHADOWS I'm not sure where to start. Ok lets talk about Cady and Lon. LOVE them. Each book pulls them closer together and in BINDING THE SHADOWS you continue to see their devotion to each other grow. Jupe is a huge pot of pure entertainment. His innocence and sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. There is nothing like meeting the ex wife's family and I have to say I enjoyed it. They all share a mutual hate for the ex and it was nice seeing them bond over that even though there were some ups and downs. Yvonne you ask? She makes an appearance and I wanted to punch her teeth out. Cady really shows how much of a mother she has become to Jupe.

I do not want to say too much about the plot because it would be full of spoilers but we get to witness the return of past character, both allies and enemies. We get to see Cady in action. We witness Cady sticking up for herself and those she loves. We watch Cady reveal her true self to Kar Yee and it does not go well. There is humor, heartache, joy, pain, action and entertainment for everyone.

The ending is best described in the email that I sent Jenn the moment I finished BINDING THE SHADOWS (has been slightly edited, please excuse the screaming ). SERIOUSLY?? What kind of horrific ending is that??!?!?!? I'm devastated, DEVASTATED I tell you. And I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR to find out? Wow evil I tell you, evil.

Loved it. But your still evil Jenn ;)


I gave it 5/5 stars

Promo: Pods by Michelle K. Pickett

*June 4, 2013*

Pods (Pods, #1)

by Michelle K. Pickett

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

__________________________________

I’m a wife, mother, author, reader, although not always in that order.  I write young adult urban fantasies, science/fiction and paranormal romances. Reading was one of my earliest passions, writing soon followed. I began writing seriously during college where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting. Why I chose a career that frowns on creativity remains a mystery.

I’m addicted to Reese’s peanut butter cups and eat way too many while I write, have an abnormal obsession with hoodies and can’t write without one, and I hate to cook, but love to watch cooking shows on television. An unabashed romantic, I love a swoon-worthy ending that will give me butterflies for days.

I wrote my debut novel, Concilium, in 2010. The sequel soon followed. Both were published in e-book format through MuseItUp Publishing in 2012. Paperback versions are available on Amazon.com.

I wrote my debut young adult novel, PODs, in 2011. PODs, a science/fiction, post-apocalyptic romance, was released in both paperback and e-book formats June 4, 2013 through the amazing Spencer Hill Press.

My second young adult title, Milayna, a paranormal romance, will release through Spencer Hill Press in March 2014. Milayna is the first book in a trilogy. Milayna's Angel and The Innocent, books two and three of the trilogy, have release dates to be determined.

The sequel to PODs, "The Infected, a PODs novel," will release through Spencer Hill Press in November 2014 in paperback and e-book format.

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan.  I now reside in a small community outside Houston, Texas with my incredibly supportive, not to mention gorgeous, husband, three amazing school-aged children, a 125-pound lap dog, and a snooty cat.

Find Michelle and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

Cover Reveal: Dawn's Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

*Release Date TBD*

Dawn's Early Light

 Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #3

Working for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, one sees innumerable technological wonders. But even veteran agents Braun and Books are unprepared for what the electrifying future holds…

After being ignominiously shipped out of England following their participation in the Janus affair, Braun and Books are ready to prove their worth as agents. But what starts as a simple mission in the States—intended to keep them out of trouble—suddenly turns into a scandalous and convoluted case that has connections reaching as far as Her Majesty the Queen.

Even with the help of two American agents from the Office of the Supernatural and the Metaphysical, Braun and Books have their work cut out for them as their chief suspect in a rash of nautical and aerial disasters is none other than Thomas Edison. Between the fantastic electric machines of Edison, the eccentricities of MoPO consultant Nikola Tesla, and the mysterious machinations of a new threat known only as the Maestro, they may find themselves in far worse danger than they ever have been in before…

Pip and Tee are also running a Kickstarter for a brand new anthology and a roleplaying game set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Check out the project here http://bit.ly/ministry-initiative 

__________________________________

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Philippa has always had her head in a book. For this she blames her father who thought Lord of the Rings was suitable bedtime reading for an eight year old. At the age of thirteen she began writing fantasy stories for herself.

She first earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Political Science and then a Bachelor of Applied Science in Library and Information Science. So soon enough she found herself working in the magical world of libraries where she stayed for over a decade

Her first professional sale was in 1997, and since then she has gone on to produce mostly novel length fiction. In 2006 she became New Zealand’s first podcast novelist, and she has voiced and produced Weaver’s Web, Chasing the Bard, Weather Child and Digital Magic as podiobooks. Her podcasts have been short listed for the Parsec Awards, and won a Sir Julius Vogel award.

Philippa is the author of the Books of the Order series with Ace- Geist and Spectyr and Wrayth out now, and Harbinger to follow. She is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series with Tee Morris. Phoenix Rising debuted in May 2011 and The Janus Affair came out in May 2012. She also has the Shifted World series with Pyr Books, with the first book Hunter and Fox out now.

When not writing or podcasting, Philippa loves reading, gardening, and whenever possible traveling. With her husband, Tee and her daughter, she is looked after by a mighty clowder of three cats.

__________________________________

Tee Morris began his writing career with his 2002 historical epic fantasy, MOREVI The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana. In 2005 Tee took MOREVI into the then-unknown podosphere, making his novel the first book podcast in its entirety. 

That experience led to the founding of Podiobooks.com and collaborating with Evo Terra and Chuck Tomasi on Podcasting for Dummies and its follow-up, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies.

He won acclaim and accolades for his cross-genre fantasy-detective Billibub Baddings Mysteries, the podcast of The Case of the Singing Swordwinning him the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama. Along with those titles, Tee has written articles and short stories for BenBella Books’s Farscape Forever: Sex, Drugs, and Killer Muppets, the podcast anthology VOICES: New Media Fiction, BenBella Books’ So Say We All: Collected Thoughts and Opinions of Battlestar Galactica, and Dragon Moon Press’ Podthology: The Pod Complex.

Tee bought all these skills to the award-winning Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series which he wrote with his wife, Pip Ballantine. When he is not writing, Tee enjoys life in Virginia alongside Philippa Ballantine, his daughter, and three cats.

__________________________________

Guest Blog: Prince of Shadows by Nancy Gideon

UFI welcomes Nancy Gideon Author of The Moonlight Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

Location, Location, Location! By Nancy Gideon

Creating an eerie paranormal setting is easy when you base your shape-shifter clan in New Orleans.  Everything about that old, superstition-steeped city is thick with dark legends and shadows. You can expect to find Creatures of the Night lurking in a fog-filled alleyway if you take a wrong turn. Moss-draped bayous and deathly silent cemeteries are the perfect backdrop for supernatural doings. The city, itself, became a character filled with malevolence and mystery over the course of the first seven books of my “By Moonlight” series.

So how do you create that other-worldly atmosphere when you leave the Big Easy and move to a mountaintop in Nevada?

I love to write about places I’ve been. There’s something about soaking up the scents and sights and sounds in person that transcends to the words on the page. When I started thinking about where to base my rival shape-shifter clan, PRINCE OF SHADOWS’s fierce, materialistic Terriots, I first thought Las Vegas or Reno (which I also love!) but that seemed too glitzy and exposed for the secretive, feudal-like warriors.  At a writers’ conference in Reno some years back, I’d ventured out of the hotel and headed for the hills to explore some of those desert plains and rocky crags I’d described in my earlier western historicals.  I fell in LOVE with Lake Tahoe and used it for a setting for one of my series contemporary suspenses.  Hmmm . . . Could this be what I was looking for?  Time to do a paranormal assessment. What would an extended family of preternatural beings look for in a place to call home if they were consulting one of HGTVs house hunting shows? 

•   Isolation – A fabulously wealthy resort community with secluded properties and constantly revolving visitors, where year around income from even quirky patrons would be avidly courted.
•   Privacy – High security lakeside gated estate out of sight from passersby and impossible to penetrate where they can keep to themselves under the radar.
•   Family living – multiple separate accommodations for individual families with separate communal quarters for unmated males and females as well as a main self-sustaining gathering lodge.
•   Status – luxury living, rockstar-like reception when visiting local clubs where lavishly spending encourages no questions asked, and rugged, protect your own individualism is admired
•   Proximity to investments- A quick drive away from entertainment properties in Reno and air hop to Las Vegas, the perfect place to watch over their Southwest territories yet stay removed from threats.
•   Freedom- vast primal pine forests and trails to hunt, train, and run wild in Jeeps, on muscular off road bikes, and unnoticed in their natural state

Sounds like home, sweet home and a fun creative break from the Crescent City.  Breathe deep and enjoy the scent of crisp, invigorating mountain air as you visit PRINCE OF SHADOWS. And run wild with the Terriots.

__________________________________

Nancy Gideon is the author of over 54 novels ranging from historical and contemporary suspense to paranormal with a couple of horror screenplays thrown in.  When not at the keyboard or working full time as a legal assistant, she can be found feeding her addictions for Netflix and all things fur, feather and fin.

Find Nancy and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

Prince of Shadows
Moonlight #8

Book Trailers for the Series

Amazon   Barnes and Noble

 

A gentle lady held hostage in a deadly play for power, Kendra Terriot’s only means of survival for herself and her family is to play to a careful courtship game. The one she chooses from the dangerous Terriot heirs will inherit the coveted crown, but the one she longs to have rescue her belongs to another.

Favored son of their cruel Shifter leader, the only calm in Cale Terriot’s necessarily violent life is his childhood love for his delicate distant cousin whom he’s pledged to make his queen. With Kendra at his side, he knows he can become the kind of ruler his clan needs, but first he must learn how to become the kind of mate she desires.

In a treacherous race for control, where weakness means death, Cale must prove he’s not the beast his beauty fears and still protect her, especially once her chosen love returns to free her. The only way to win her respect could mean surrendering his throne. The only way to win her heart could mean letting her go

__________________________________

__________________________________