Review: Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn

Shadow Silence

Author: Yasmine Galenorn

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Publisher: Jove

Whisper Hollow Book #2

ISBN:  0515156256

ISBN13: 9780515156256

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher

New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn invites readers to Whisper Hollow, where spirits walk among the living and the lake never gives up her dead…

Fifteen years ago, I ran away from Whisper Hollow, Washington, a small town on Crescent Lake in the Olympic Peninsula. But truth is, if you were born here, you can never really leave. I'm Kerris Fellwater, and I'm a spirit shaman. It's my responsibility to drive the dead back to their graves, because around Whisper Hollow, people—and secrets—don't always stay buried.

My best friend Peggin finds herself under a curse after she is almost taken by the Lady of the Lake, and the Unliving are determined to drag her back to the hungry waters. As Bryan—my guardian and mate—and I work to break the hex, we uncover a dark and violent mystery from the past. One the Hounds of Cú Chulainn will do anything to guard—even if they must summon a legion of the dead to destroy Whisper Hollow.

AUTUMN THORNS was a fantastic read that quickly had me wanting to read more about the world and the characters of the Whisper Hollow series. I was really excited to get my hands on SHADOW SILENCE and although I really enjoyed it, it didn't wow me as much as I was hoping.

So as I finished SHADOW SILENCE and prepared to write this review I had to sit down and ask myself what was wrong with it. Not a ton, but I quickly pinpointed that the over descriptive explanations and irrelevant additions added to the story killed some of the flow for me. I can't even begin to tell you how many times Kerris mentions that her breasts are big—giant really—and how she has to get special bras and how men in her past just dated her because they had big boob fetishes and oh yeah, her boobs are giant. I got it the first time, I didn't need it repeated and cried over throughout the whole book. The info was injected into situations that it just didn't seem to fit in. On top of that there were a lot of filler things added into SHADOW SILENCE that I could have done without—having to read the steps in which Kerris feeds her cats, washes her hair, etc.

Having gotten that out of the way, I still really enjoyed the characters and the overall storyline. There is a lot of focus on Peggin in SHADOW SILENCE and I enjoyed learning more about her and her relationship with Deev.  Kerris and Bryan's relationship continued to grow as well, but I felt like their relationship aspects of the book were kinda just thrown into the story as a background subject. I will pick up book two when it's time to see if the Whisper Hollow series stays on my must-read list.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

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

Promo + Giveaway: The Graveyard Shift by Jamie K. Schmidt

The Graveyard Shift
Amazon

Erotic, sexy and sweet tales of vampires, ghosts, mages, shifters and dreamers of dreams. 

In this anthology, you will enter an adult bookstore run by two vampires and partake in the blood letting and sex. See a witch accidentally summon a vampire who gains power through love making, and then go clubbing with an urban vampire. 

But vampires aren't the only supernatural beings in this compelling collection of stories. Ghosts jam with their favorite rock bands. A Grail Maiden helps protect Arthur's cup, and a paralyzed cyber mercenary finds love inside virtual reality.

Excerpt:

DEIRDRE WAS A EUROPEAN PRINCESS whose lineage, no one dared question too closely.  She kept close companionship with Viola, a dark Countess of equal renown and deadly beauty.  In a time where the night was feared, they flourished and fed at all the best parties of the nobility.  

The Princess was as fair and fey as a moonbeam with silver hair and cerulean eyes.  She lived for excess and to play with her new found friends.  

The Countess was the opposite side of the coin.  With raven locks and soulless black eyes, she was a lithe viper who struck quickly and gleaned minions from the throngs of addled noblemen.

But good times always end, even for immortal royalty and when the church's mercenaries, The Prophecy of the Eye, became too interested in the beautiful thralls encircling the Princess and the Countess, the parties suddenly stopped.

This cycle continued for many centuries.  Deirdre and Viola graced Czarist Russia, continued on to Gay Paris and finally to the New World in gin joints and sleazy jazz dives of the Big Easy.  

While America lacked the polished old world charm and the distinct respect for one's betters, it also provided more of everything else, from money and thrills, to gambling and illegal liquor.

Its wide terrain allowed the Princess and the Countess to move from state to state until technology caught up with them and they learned the value of keeping a low profile.  They were able to exploit the innocence of the forties and fifties, but were swept away into a drunken frenzy of Free Love.  

By the late seventies, they reached a rhythm that was blown away by the "Me" generation of the eighties and the cynical creep of the 90's that exposed the world's monsters in vivid detail across television screens and eventually the Internet.

Now in the new millennia, there is nowhere to hide and no other frontiers to explore.  They found out the luxuries of the day could be gone in an instant.  Swiss bank accounts could be seized and the Princess and the Countess could be among the nouveau poor, scraping their living feeding off homeless and runaways.  They have become merchants, biding their time and hoping for another renaissance of excess.

An ignoble end for two from the finest Carpathian bloodlines.  

Perhaps a fitting end some may say, for however pretty the monsters are, they are still creatures of the night— or from hell as the church's mercenaries proclaim.  

The church's vanguards have also migrated from Europe. And like the Princess and the Countess, they have morphed and remade themselves to fit the times.  Always hunting, they are similar to the women they chase, although they would balk to see the comparison.  The church mercenaries seek to destroy magic and any evil that lives outside their doctrine.

Whether their victims deserve their fate or not is irrelevant.  

It was so much easier for both during the simple times, where murder was accepted and random acts of violence and carnage need not be explained for helicopters with news teams or amateur videographers.  They've learned a new dance for the modern world and it is kept to a very fine line.  Like the sword of Damocles, the truce poises hair thin.  It is not a matter of if that strand will break, but when.

And darkness save the innocents caught between.

__________________________________


USA Today bestselling author, Jamie K. Schmidt, writes erotic contemporary love stories and paranormal romances.  Her steamy, romantic comedy Life’s a Beach reached #65 on USA Today, #2 on Barnes and Noble and #9 on Amazon.  Her Club Inferno series from Random House’s Loveswept line has hit both the Amazon and Barnes and Noble top one hundred lists and the first book in the series, Heat put her on the USA Today bestseller list.  Her dragon paranormal romance series from Entangled Publishing, has been called “fun and quirky” and “endearing.” Partnered with New York Times bestselling author and former porn actress, Jenna Jameson, Jamie’s hardcover debut, SPICE, continues Jenna’s FATE trilogy.

Find Jamie and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

Spooktacular WIde

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Releases: 9/25-10/1

Tue. Sept. 27th

 The Bloodsworn (Bloodbound #3) by Erin Lindsey

 Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Untitled #1) by Rosamund Hodge 

 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

 Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20) by Heather Graham

 The Dead Boyfriend (Fear Street Relaunch #5) by R.L. Stine

The Dreaming Hunt (The Sleeping King #2) by Cindy Dees, Bill Flippin  

 The Fall of the House of Cabal (Johannes Cabal #5) by Jonathan L. Howard

 Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon

 Like a River Glorious (The Gold Seer Trilogy #2) by Rae Carson  

 A Night Without Stars (Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers #2) by Peter F. Hamilton

 Shadow Silence (Whisper Hollow #2) by Yasmine Galenorn

 The Sinner (Graveyard Queen #5) by Amanda Stevens

 Swarm (Zeroes #2) by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti

 The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics 

Happy Reading!

Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

Stealing Snow

Author: Danielle Paige

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Stealing Snow Book #1

ISBN:   1681190761

ISBN13: 9781681190761

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she's not crazy and doesn't belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is.

Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. Suddenly, everything isn't what it seems, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and she finds herself in icy Algid--her true home--with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai, none of whom she's sure she can trust. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change the fate of everything...including Snow's return to the world she once knew.

This breathtaking first volume begins the story of how Snow becomes a villain, a queen, and ultimately a hero.

I was able to finish STEALING SNOW, but only because I skipped a lot of it by skimming paragraphs to get to the end.

I can't think of anything in STEALING SNOW that would make me recommend it to someone. I was so completely bored and for some reason, instead of putting it down and marking it DNF (did not finish) I forced myself to keep reading in hopes that it would get better. Unfortunately it never did.

Where was the world building? I was thrown into a world that I didn't know anything about and at the end, I still felt like I knew nothing. I had a hard time picturing where the characters were and when I could picture where they were I felt like something else was introduced before I could get comfortable in knowing the last place. There was a LOT of jumping around going on and I was always left feeling like things were unfinished. Snow jumps from group to group and never really finishes anything with any of them.

The love triangle—or should I say square? — was just another part of STEALING SNOW that I couldn't stand. Snow is in love with Bale, a fellow insane asylum patient, but then he's kidnapped and on her mission to find and save him there is Kai. But wait, it gets better! Here enters the thief. There is a lot of kissing other boys while her 'love' is sitting in a dungeon somewhere or maybe dead. I wasn't feeling any of her feelings at any time in STEALING SNOW. 

I am really surprised I didn't put STEALING SNOW down and was able to make it to the end. I absolutely hate that I was insanely bored with everything about it because I hate writing bad reviews. There was just way too much going on with zero development to fall back on in every part of this book.

I gave it 1/5 stars

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

Week in Review: 9/18-9/24

Books Received for Review

Of Flame and Light by Cecy Robson
Venom and Vanilla by Shannon Mayer
The Continent by Keira Drake

Books I've Read

Quanta Reset by Lola Dodge
Beast of All by J.C. McKenzie
Witch's Pyre by Josephine Angelini

Reviews Posted

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

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

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

* Monday- Promo + Giveaway for Pocket Full of Tinder by Jill Archer

* Thursday- Promo + Giveaway for I’m Not Afraid of Wolves by Erin Hayes

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

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

BlogLovin

Networked Blogs

Facebook
Pinterest Board

You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.

Twitter

Goodreads

Librarything

Google+

 

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

Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Three Dark Crowns

Author: Kendare Blake

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Publisher: Harper Teen

Three Dark Crowns Book #1

ISBN:  0062385437

ISBN13: 9780062385437

Genre: Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

Although there were quite a bit of slow points in THREE DARK CROWNS, I enjoyed the overall story line and the characters circumstances were interesting enough to keep me wanting to find out what would become of them.

While I didn't find the characters super interesting on their own, the situations and their stories kept me wanting to read THREE DARK CROWNS. Each sister has different powers/talents/lives, but they all share one thing, their all queens fighting for the crown and they will have to kill two of their sisters to get it. There is a lot of learning about the characters and the different magic they have and the communities they belong to in THREE DARK CROWNS. The problem is, I still don't think we learn enough about the world that they live in and why it's the way it is. Of course each 'group' wants power, but I felt like we never got the whole story and I was left with a lot of questions.

As I stated above, there are a lot of slow points in THREE DARK CROWNS. Maybe now that we know—sorta—the sisters and their different lives, maybe book two will have a faster pace with less down time. I do have an idea of how this series will end, just because it's clear the current way of doing things doesn't seem to be working for this generation of triplets. I will be interested in seeing if my prediction is correct.

I didn't see the twist at the end coming, but it sure does make a few things make more sense and I am actually really interested in reading book two JUST to find out what the fall out from that bomb will be. I think you are either going to love THREE DARK CROWNS or be disappointing with it, I don't think a lot of people will be stuck in the middle like me. If you have the chance to borrow THREE DARK CROWNS from a friend or the library, give it a shot!

I gave it 3/5 stars

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

Promo + Giveaway: I’m Not Afraid of Wolves by Erin Hayes

I’m Not Afraid of Wolves 

Erin Hayes

(The Cotton Candy Quintet #4)

Publication date: September 22nd 2016

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Christine would do anything to get away from it all.

After escaping an abusive marriage and heading up a group of brand new performers, she’s tired and in need of a vacation. So when her sister Sara wants her to go camping out in the mountains of Georgia with the girls, she packs her bags for some rest and relaxation. Not even meeting a gorgeous park ranger like Colton Donnelly is going to distract her.

Except Sara didn’t tell her the real reason for the trip: she’s running away from a terrible secret. One that puts all of their lives in danger.

Now the vacation that Christine so desperately needed is ruined, but that’s the least of her worries. She has to use her wits and skills to save them all. Because she soon finds out that werewolves are very real. And they’ll stop at nothing to get their claws into her sister.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

When the sliding door locked, I turned my gaze onto Sara and watched her, waiting for her to bring up her story. I wanted her to be the one who talked first, if only because I didn’t want to prod her too much if she was traumatized by whatever this was.

But if she was going to try to weasel her way out of talking to me, she had another thing coming.

“Wow,” she murmured softly. “Look at that full moon.”

I picked up a note of fear in her voice. “Yeah,” I said cautiously. “It’s beautiful.”

“I used to think so.” Sara turned around and looked back at me. Her eyes were wide with fright and the rigidity told me something else was going on with her.

Finally, my patience snapped.

“Sara, what’s wrong?”

“You won’t believe me,” she repeated, using the same phrase she used when we were putting food away.

I crossed my arms. “I think you’ll be surprised.”

Sara’s jaw worked. “I think I’m going to need more wine for this.”

I held up my glass. “Just drink mine.” Don’t think I’m letting you back in the kitchen that easily. She’d run away and hide and hoped I’d forget about it. She wanted to talk about it, but she was too afraid to.

She took my glass and downed the rest of it in one chug. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

“Okay,” she said, as if warming herself up for our talk. “Okay.”

“It will be all right,” I told her.

“No, it won’t.” Tears started filling her eyes. “Christine, do you believe in werewolves?”

Author Bio:

Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.

She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she's a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.

You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Twitter / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
Tour Wide

a Rafflecopter giveaway