Blog Tour (Review): The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter #TLCBookTours #Giveaway @genashowalter @HarlequinBooks

Happy Friday! Thank you so much for visiting my stop on the tour promoting Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series! Today I'm reviewing The Darkest Night, the first book in the series. There is also a great giveaway at the end of the post, so be sure to check that out before you leave!



Title: The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: HQN (Harlequin)
Tour Organizer: TLC Book Tours
Release Date: May 3, 2008
All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member--a man trapped in a hell of his own.

Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments...and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction--and a soul-shattering test of love....

My Review

I've never considered myself a romance reader. True, I'll read the occasional historical romance as a palate cleanser, but it's never been my go to genre-of-choice. I haven't read paranormal romance in years, as I tend to prefer high or urban fantasy. However, as I read The Darkest Night, I realized that there might be a romance reader inside me after all.

Review: Her Wicked Ways by Darcy Burke @KHeniadis #HistoricalRomance #BibPleaseReview

Title: Her Wicked Ways (Secrets & Scandals #1)
Author: Darcy Burke
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Acquired Via: Author
She was his savior...

Banished from London for her reckless behavior, Lady Miranda Sinclair is robbed by a dashing highwayman en route to the country. By offering him a kiss in lieu of the jewels she had to leave behind, she commits the very type of act that caused her exile. When her dour guardians extend her punishment to performing charitable work at the local orphanage, she’s further tempted by the home’s owner, a provincial gentleman who stirs her passion in a most wicked way...

He was her downfall...

Desperate to save his orphanage from financial catastrophe, Montgomery “Fox” Foxcroft leads a double life as a highwayman. The arrival of wealthy, well-connected Miranda, whose kiss he can’t forget, presents a lawful opportunity to increase his coffers. His problems seem solved—until she rejects his suit. Out of options and falling for the heiress, Fox must risk what principles he has left and take advantage of her wicked ways—even if it ruins them both.

My Review

I really enjoyed the premise in this novel. Miranda is sent to the country for the summer instead of enjoying the season in London. She is spoiled and use to doing what she wants. She meets Fox who, although not titled, owns a lot of land, a house and an orphanage. But he is overworked and does not have enough money to keep up repairs. Miranda is made to help at the orphanage, and she slowly grows into a caring partner.

Review: Romancing the Earl by Darcy Burke #historicalromance #BibPleaseReview @KHeniadis

Title: Romancing the Earl (Regency Treasure Hunters #2)
Author: Darcy Burke
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Acquired Via: Author
Major Elijah Hollister never wanted to be an earl, particularly not when it meant losing his brother. When a bold adventuress shows up at his door seeking a treasure map, Elijah suspects his brother’s death may not have been accidental and that the lady knows more than she’s willing to share. Whether she’s a friend or foe, Elijah plans to keep her close—and hope the temptation of her kisses doesn’t ruin them both.

Miss Catriona Bowen can almost taste the fruits of her years-long quest to find one of Britain’s greatest treasures. The discovery will deliver the recognition and respect she deserves as an antiquary, despite the fact that she’s a woman. However, to find the map that will lead her to success, she must ally herself with a stoic, yet provocative gentleman with a different goal. And when a villain threatens their lives, she realizes too late that love is the greatest treasure of all.

My Review

This is the second book in Darcy Burke’s Regency Treasure Hunters series. It can be read as a standalone book, but if you were to read the first one in the series, The de Valery Code, you will get even more out of some of the side characters. And you will know a lot more about Catriona’s (or Cate) parents.

Review: Alice by Christina Henry #AceRocStars #Horror #adultlit

Title: Alice
Author: Christina Henry
Publisher: Ace (Penguin)
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Acquired Via: Ace Roc Stars
A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll…

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood...

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

My Review

If I could only choose two words to describe Christina Henry's Alice, they would be "whimsical" and "gruesome". The book deftly captures the essence of Lewis Carroll's classic, while giving it a gory twist that will thrill horror fans. Readers familiar with the original work will find most of their favorite characters, but none of them are as they will remember.

Review: The de Valery Code by Darcy Burke #historicalromance #regency #BibPleaseReview #5starreview @kimheniadis

Title: The de Valery Code (Regency Treasure Hunters #1)
Author: Darcy Burke
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Release Date: August 18, 2014
Acquired Via: Author
In the quest for fortune, love may be the greatest prize...

Miss Margery Derrington and her dear aunts are in dire straits. Their discovery of a rare medieval manuscript will hopefully stave off their creditors—if it’s worth what they hope. Margery reluctantly allies with a reclusive scholar to use the book to pursue a treasure that could exceed her expectations. Amidst danger, secrets, and an insatiable attraction, is Margery gambling just her financial future...or her heart?

Academic Rhys Bowen can’t believe he has his hands on the elusive de Valery text. Solving its hidden code and unearthing its legendary treasure would establish him as one of Britain’s leading antiquarians, finally casting him out of his brilliant late father’s shadow. But when a centuries-old organization convinces Rhys of the perils of disturbing the past, he must choose between his conscience…and the captivating woman he’s sworn to help.

My Review

I was very excited when I received a copy of The de Valery Code. I’ve been reading Darcy Burke’s Ribbon Ridge series and have been enjoying it, so I was eager to try one of her historical romances. And the Regency Treasure Hunters series was a perfect one with which to start. I have always enjoyed stories regarding treasure hunting. I can not even begin to count how many times I have watched the various Indiana Jones movies. And I also enjoy the Arthurian legends, though my interests lie more toward Morgan Le Fay and Merlin.

Blog Tour (Review): Mercy House by Adam Cesare #Horror @TLCBookTours

Title: Mercy House
Author: Adam Cesare
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly crisp, clean, and orderly . . . but nothing could be farther from the truth. In Adam Cesare’s thrilling novel, the residents will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.

Harriet Laurel notices the odor at Mercy House as soon as she sets foot inside, brought there against her will by her son, Don, and his wife, Nikki. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown resentful of Nikki, blaming her daughter-in-law for failing to supply grandchildren. Yet even Harriet must admit that her mind becomes clearer as soon as she crosses the threshold. If it wasn’t for that annoying smell.

Arnold Piper is an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, a proud man who has cared for himself his whole life. But no longer. Betrayed by his aging body, Arnold is learning that the trials he survived long ago in war-torn Korea pale beside the daily indignities of growing old. Little does he know that his greatest nightmares are still ahead of him.

Sarah Campbell is an idealistic nurse whose compassion has been stretched to the breaking point at the chronically understaffed facility that is Mercy House. But now Sarah’s list of unpleasant duties is about to take a terrifying turn. For something wicked is brewing in Mercy House. Something dark and rotten . . . and deadly.

Praise for Mercy House

“Of all the new writers busting out on the scene—and there are some great ones, without a doubt—Cesare’s the young guy with the greatest encyclopedic gorehound know-how, blistering cinematic pace, unquenchable love of both fiction and film, and hell-bent will to entertain. . . . [He] does just about everything right.” — John Skipp, Fangoria

My Review

I'm glad that I've reached the end of the horror reviews that I have scheduled because I think my opinion of Mercy House suffered from me being burned out on the genre. I mean, it's set in a nursing home, which is horror in itself to many people. It sounded so good before I jumped into the horror swarm, but I was bored and skimming by the time I got to read it.

Blog Tour (Review): Love is Red by Sophie Jaff #Thriller #Mystery #AdultLit @TLCBookTours

Title: Love Is Red (Nightsong Trilogy #1)
Author: Sophie Jaff
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Redefining the thriller's tale of the hunter and the hunted, This electrifying, hypnotically beautiful debut spins dark suspense and literary fantasy into a mesmerizing story of survival.

Katherine Emerson was born to fulfill a dark prophecy centuries in the making, but she doesn't know it yet. However, one man does: a killer stalking the women of New York City, a monster the media dubs the "Sickle Man" because of the weapon he uses to turn his victims' bodies into canvases for his twisted art. People think he's the next Son of Sam, but we know how he thinks and how he feels...and discover that he is driven by darker, much more dangerous desires than we can bear to imagine. He takes more than just his victims' lives, and each death brings him closer to the one woman he must possess at any cost.

Amid the city's escalating hysteria, Katherine is trying to unknot her tangled heart. Two very different men have entered her previously uneventful world—handsome and personable David, alluring yet aloof Sael—and turned it upside down. She finds herself involved in a complicated triangle...but how well does she really know either of them?

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Katherine and the Sickle Man, Sophie Jaff's intoxicating narrative will pull you in and hold you close. As the body count rises, Katherine is haunted by harrowing visions that force her to question her sanity. All she wants is to find love. He just wants to find her.

Ablaze with fear, mystery, and possibility, Love Is Red is the first book in the Night Song trilogy. With this unforgettable novel—one that combines the literary and the supernatural, fantasy and horror, the past and the present—Katherine's moment of awakening is here. And her story is only just beginning.

Praise for Love is Red

“The writing in this debut thriller is evocative and, simply put, gorgeous. Jaff does an amazing job at conveying all five senses at every moment…. The lush language and intricately fleshed-out characters make this a series — and author — to watch.” — RT Book Reviews

“The excitement (and there’s plenty of it) comes from the serial killer’s creepy, second-person accounts of his moves and from watching the cat-and-mouse game with Katherine... Frightening.” — Booklist

“The kick of this ridiculously entertaining book is the haze of delirium it creates in the reader’s brain... Jaff’s woozy supernatural saga is effectively scary and great fun to read.” — New York Times Book Review

My Review

The great thing about reading adult literature, I get to learn things about myself, as well as visit the worlds within the novels that I read. What I learned about myself in Love is Red is that it is extremely difficult for me to read about anything to do with sexual violence. Making it even worse (or better, if it doesn't bother you), is that Jaff is a tremendously talented writer who is able to pull you into each scene - good, bad, and ugly.

Blog Tour (Review): Consumption by Heather Herrman #Horror #Giveaway @TLCBookTours

Title: Consumption
Author: Heather Herrman
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
For fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Sarah Langan comes a thrilling new vision of American horror. In Heather Herrman’s heart-pounding debut novel, evil is ready to feed—and it’s got one hell of an appetite.

In the wake of tragedy, John and Erma Scott are heading west in search of a new life. So when car trouble strands them in sleepy Cavus, Montana, they decide to stay for a while, charmed by the friendly residents and the surrounding ambiance. Here, they hope, is the healing balm that their marriage needs.

Then John and Erma find themselves in a fight not just to save their marriage, but their very lives. For this is no ordinary town. Its quiet streets conceal a dark and bloody secret that has slumbered for centuries. Now, that secret is awake . . . and it’s hungry.

Like a slow infection, evil is spreading through Cavus. Soon John and Erma—along with the local sheriff, an undocumented immigrant, a traumatized teenage girl, and an old man with terrible secrets of his own—must join together to battle an all-consuming force that has set its sights on its prey: the entire human race.

Praise for Consumption

“Both the evil that suffuses the pages of Consumption and the motley gang of innocents who defend against it are much more interesting than those usually found in your average scare fare. Solid writing elevates this imaginative fright-fest from an invigorating new voice.” — Sophie Littlefield, bestselling author of the Aftertime series

My Review

I haven't read as much horror as I've been doing lately since I was a teenager. That used to be my genre of choice, but I'm really starting to drift away from it. Heather Herrman's Consumption was a good, solid read, but it also helped me to realize what I do and do not like when it comes to horror.

There are several characters that are focused on in Consumption, and they are all utterly human. (Major kudos on character development!) They all have their secrets, fantasies, darkness, and lies, and it made them all a little more relatable while being harder to like. If they didn't have any flaws, there wouldn't be a fear (at least for me) of them succumbing to the evil forces at work in the novel.

Blog Tour (Review): The Witch of Painted Sorrows by @MJRose

The Witch of Painted Sorrows Tour Schedule
Welcome to my stop on international-bestselling author M.J. Rose's virtual tour for The Witch of Painted Sorrows that is running from February 16th – April 30th.



Title: The Witch of Painted Sorrows (The Daughters of La Lune #1)
Author: M.J. Rose
Publisher: Atria Books (Simon & Schuster)
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.

READ AN EXCERPT.

Praise for The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Rose’s new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris—a perfect match for the author’s lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers hungry for the next volume. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A haunting tale of possession.” – Publishers Weekly

My Review

M.J. Rose is one of the first authors that I ever reviewed as a blogger, so when I got the opportunity to read and review The Witch of Painted Sorrows, I was very excited. The Witch of Painted Sorrows is almost as good as what I've read in Rose's Reincarnationist series. I mean, we can all agree that Rose writes some beautiful stuff, right? Right.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (ARC)

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

My Review

Whoa.

Seriously. Whoa.

Okay, let me start off by saying that A Court of Thorns and Roses is outstanding. I don't know if Sarah J. Maas could write a bad book if she tried. I loved Throne of Glass so much that it was also difficult to put to words, but obligation requires me to tell you guys about this book. So I shall. Prepare for gushing.

Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Crown (Random House)
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet? With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

My Review

On the day of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne discovers that his wife Amy is missing. Told in alternating points of view, a stressed and frazzled Nick depicts quite the different story about his marriage than Amy’s telling diary entries. While Nick’s story is told mostly in the present (flashing back to explain bits and pieces of his wife’s relationship with his dying mother and woman-hating father), Amy’s diary starts in the past and moves to catch up to the present day action. As the story unfolds, the reader learns quite a bit of history about the less-than-perfect marriage through both unreliable narrators. When the police get involved and find evidence of foul play, it is up to the reader to discover what happened to Amy and decide whether or not Nick is involved.

Dystopian Giveaway Hop #2 (INT)

Happy Halloween! Welcome to my stop on the Dystopian Giveaway Blog Hop. This hop is co-hosted by April & Kat at My Shelf Confessions and Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

What You Can Win

One of the best dystopian novels that I've read this year is Pierce Brown's debut novel, Red Rising. I read and reviewed this book a earlier this year, and I enjoyed it so much that I want to share it. Here's a little about the book:



Title: Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1)
Author: Pierce Brown
Publisher: Del Rey (Random House)
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”

“I live for you,” I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Buy Links
Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond


Giveaway

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Dark Aemilia by Sally O'Reilly

Title: Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare’s Dark Lady
Author: Sally O'Reilly
Publisher: Picador (Macmillan)
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Blog Tours
A TALE OF SORCERY AND PASSION IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LONDON—WHERE WITCHES HAUNT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND HIS DARK LADY, THE PLAYWRIGHT'S MUSE AND ONE TRUE LOVE

The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano came of age in Queen Elizabeth’s royal court. The Queen’s favorite, she develops a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a young woman known not only for her beauty but also her sharp mind and quick tongue. Aemilia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, but her position is precarious. Then she crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair.

A decade later, the Queen is dead, and Aemilia Bassano is now Aemilia Lanyer, fallen from favor and married to a fool. Like the rest of London, she fears the plague. And when her young son Henry takes ill, Aemilia resolves to do anything to save him, even if it means seeking help from her estranged lover, Will—or worse, making a pact with the Devil himself.

In rich, vivid detail, Sally O’Reilly breathes life into England’s first female poet, a mysterious woman nearly forgotten by history. Full of passion and devilish schemes, Dark Aemilia is a tale worthy of the Bard.

Selected by O, The Oprah Magazine as one of 17 Books You Won’t Be Able To Put Down!
My Review

I have never read anything by Aemilia Lanyer that I can recall, but I was interested in Sally O'Reilly's Dark Aemilia because of the Elizabethan setting. While I enjoyed the setting and Aemilia as a character, I must warn you that the book had some fairly graphic scenes that I found difficult to read.

Spotlight (Excerpt & Giveaway): Built for Power by Kathleen Brooks

Title: Built for Power (Women of Power #2)
Author: Kathleen Brooks
Publisher: Laurens Publishing
Release Date: September 8, 2014
Bree Simpson has her dream job at the family company. However, recent events have turned that dream into a nightmare. Bree has learned to tolerate a lot as one of the few women in an executive position in the construction industry. But when the normal bullying tactics turn aggressive and threaten her project in Atlanta, Bree decides to go on the offensive. Convinced an architect is out to destroy her project, Bree decides it's time to give Logan Ward a piece of her mind.

Despite being thousands of miles away in London, successful architect Logan Ward finds himself on the receiving end of "B. Simpson's" angry messages from across the pond. Deciding to handle B. Simpson’s demands himself, Logan heads to Atlanta only to discover things are not what they seem, starting with the sexy woman he rescues after an accident on the job site.

Only time will tell if a case of mistaken identity can turn hate into love—but time may not be a luxury they can afford. Can Logan and Bree discover their real selves and true love in time or will everything be torn down around them?

Excerpt

“I’m done waiting, Bree. There are things we need to discuss. And we will . . . in the morning. Tonight you’re mine.”

He bent his head and captured her lips in a fiery kiss. Bree responded, threading her fingers through his hair. Logan pressed his body against her. His erection throbbed with need as he ran his hands over the curve of her hips.

Blog Tour (Audiobook Review & Giveaway): The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee

Title: The Typewriter Girl
Author: Alison Atlee
Publisher: Audible Studios
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Blog Tours
Audible Release Date: April 4, 2014
ALL BETSEY DOBSON HAS EVER ASKED IS THE CHANCE TO BE VIEWED ON HER OWN MERITS, BUT IN A MAN'S WORLD, THAT IS THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN

When Betsey disembarks from the London train in the seaside resort of Idensea, all she owns is a small valise and a canary in a cage. After attempting to forge a letter of reference she knew would be denied her, Betsey has been fired from the typing pool of her previous employer. Her vigorous protest left one man wounded, another jilted, and her character permanently besmirched. Now, without money or a reference for her promised job, the future looks even bleaker than the debacle behind her. But her life is about to change. . . Because a young Welshman on the railroad quay, waiting for another woman, is the one man willing to believe in her.

Mr. Jones is inept in matters of love, but a genius at things mechanical. In Idensea, he has constructed a glittering pier that astounds the wealthy tourists. And in Betsey, he recognizes the ideal tour manager for the Idensea Pier & Pleasure Building Company. After a lifetime of guarding her secrets and breaking the rules, Betsey becomes a force to be reckoned with. Now she faces a challenge of another sort: not only to outrun her sins, but also to surrender to the reckless tides of love ...

My Review

I jumped at the chance to review The Typewriter Girl when it was presented because I've not done a lot of blog tours for audiobooks. (They're my favorite way to sneak in my personal reading choices.) I was also drawn to these two words: "Victorian England". I haven't read a lot of books set in that time period, but most of what I have read revolves around royalty. Or were written by Marion Chesney, but that's neither here nor there. So I took on The Typewriter Girl to expand my reading horizons from the comfort of my car.

Excerpt (Giveaway): Light Up The Night by M.L. Buchman

Title: Light Up the Night (The Night Stalkers #5)
Author: M.L. Buchman
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Trisha O’Malley rebelled against her affluent family by joining the U.S. Army’s secret helicopter regiment, the 160th SOAR. Now a Chief Warrant Officer, she found her toughest fight yet in the pilot’s seat of an MH-6M attack helicopter.

William Wallace Bruce is an undercover CIA agent who doesn’t trust the military. But when the Horn of Africa is threatened by Somali pirates, Trisha flies out to recover ships and hostages…including one very ungrateful Will. Everything about Trisha triggers his mistrust: her elusive past, her wild energy, and her proclivity for flying past safety's edge. Even as the heat between them turns into passion's fire, Bill and Trisha must team up to confront their pasts and survive Somalia's pirate lords.

Excerpt

Trisha looked up at Billy. His narrowed eyes revealed that he was indeed totally perplexed.

It was perfectly clear to her, and she just figured out that meant she was too damn stupid to live. She shrugged to herself, feeling the warm weight of his large hands still resting on her shoulders.

Well, stupid is something I'm really good at, she had to admit to herself. With one foot she shoved the door to her cabin closed until the latch clicked. Then putting a hand on either side of his neck, Tricia pulled his face down to hers.

Audiobook Review: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Title: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2)
Author: George R.R. Martin
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Publisher: Bantam Spectra (Random House)
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
Release Date: November 16, 1998
George R. R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. In his widely acclaimed A Game of Thrones, he introduced us to an extraordinary world of wonder, intrigue, and adventure. Now, in the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come.

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.

My Review

You can read my review of book one, A Game of Thrones, HERE.

If you are wondering about the look of concentration on my face and the strange little dance that I'm doing, that would just be me kicking myself in the ass for not picking up these books sooner. Yes, these volumes are large and intimidating, but A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the best fantasy series that I've ever read.

Blog Tour (Review): The Heiresses by Sara Shepard

Title: The Heiresses
Author: Sara Shepard
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
You know the Saybrooks. Everyone does. Perhaps you've read a profile of them in People or have seen their pictures in the society pages of Vogue. Perhaps while walking along that choice block on Fifth Avenue, you've been tempted to enter the ornate limestone building with their family name etched into the pediment above the door.

The only thing more flawless than a Saybrook's diamond solitaire is the family behind the jewelry empire. Beauties, entrepreneurs, debutantes, and style mavens, they are the epitome of New York City's high society. But being a Saybrook comes at a price—they are heirs not only to a dizzying fortune but also to a decades-old family curse.

Tragedy strikes the prominent family yet again when thirty-four-year-old Poppy, the most exquisite Saybrook of them all, flings herself from the window of her TriBeCa office. Everyone is shocked that a woman who had it all would end her own life. Then her cousins receive an ominous threat: one heiress down, four to go.

Was it suicide . . . or murder? In the aftermath of the tragedy, the remaining heiresses—Corinne, the perfectionist; Rowan, the workaholic; Aster, the hedonist; and Natasha, the enigma—wrestle with feelings of sadness, guilt, and, most of all, fear. Now they must uncover the truth about their family before they lose the only thing money can't buy: their lives.

The Heiresses is a whip-smart mystery that simmers with the wicked sense of humor and intrigue that made Sara Shepard's number one New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series a must-read, must-watch phenomenon.

My Review

Oh dear Bob, The Heiresses... What can I say? I've never read anything by Shepard before, but I was sold on the premise alone. (I found out the author's bio and stuff later.) Was it what I expected? Oh yes, and so much more. Drama, betrayal, mystery, and hot mess fills this book as well as any daytime soap opera or copy of Star. The Heiresses is delicious, delicious trash, and I loved every second of it.

Blog Tour (Interview & Giveaway): Blackness Awaits by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

Tour Schedule



Title: Blackness Awaits (The Blackness Series #2)
Author: Norma Jeanne Karlsson
Publisher: It's Publishing
Release Date: April 11, 2014
As he enters the room looking like death personified, lifeless and haunting, she knows…blackness awaits.

Aaron Kavanagh is not to be trifled with. He’s powerful, commanding, fierce and currently homicidal. The only thing that matters in Kavanagh’s world is Shannon Kelly. She’s the beat of his heart (yes he has one) and the peace to the fury that constantly simmers within him. Without her, his life is empty and barren. Someone took what is his and he’ll stop at nothing to get her back.

Dylan Kellerman is lost. The love of his life has been ripped from him, leaving a tattered tortured shell of a man. On the brink of murderous insanity he must battle to find Shannon, even if she hates him. Dylan has betrayed her and he knows she won’t forgive his indiscretions. None of that matters now. All that matters is finding her. As long as she’s safe Dylan can continue to live a sad wasted existence without her by his side. Shannon brought Dylan back to life, without her in the world he’ll cease to exist.

Shannon Kelly is gone. Stolen from her home and loved ones, she must now fight. Fighting has never been an issue for her, but this is a new opponent that she isn’t prepared for…her past. When every reality she thought she knew is called into question, Shannon learns her life isn’t what she thought it was. With the promise of a future with Dylan stolen from her before her world implodes, Shannon must rely on the family that has protected her for the last thirteen years to come for her. She won’t win this fight on her own…Shannon is going to lose.

Interview

Welcome to Bibliophilia, Please, Mrs. Karlsson! Please tell us a little bit about Blackness Awaits in your own words but with a Twitter twist – 140 characters or less.

I’m absolutely crap at this, but here’s my attempt:

If Shannon Kelly can't be found and she can’t save herself…a blackness awaits her and her family that none of them will survive. #beguiling

Do we have to read Blackness Takes Over before reading Blackness Awaits?

Audiobook Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Title: Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1)
Author: Pierce Brown
Narrator: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Publisher: Del Rey (Random House)
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Acquired Via: Publisher
Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”

“I live for you,” I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

My Review

Red Rising is Pierce Brown's dystopian, science fiction debut novel that is set far into the future on the planet Mars. It has been compared to The Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Shockingly, I have to agree with these comparisons (though I usually won't on principle) because Brown gives us a gritty, dark novel that speculates on what human civilization can become and how powerful love can be, no matter how downtrodden the ones feeling it.