Blog Tour (Review): Clarina Nichols by Diane Eickhoff #TLCBookTours #nonfiction #kidlit

Title: Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women's Rights
Author: Diane Eickhoff
Publisher: Quindaro Press
Tour Organizer: TLC Book Tours
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Everyone knows about the "Votes for Women" campaign that led to the 19th Amendment in 1920. Few know just how long the struggle really was. Decades earlier, brave women began breaking the taboo of remaining silent at gatherings that included men. They began signing their names to petitions, flexing political muscle long before they had the vote. They wrote millions of words and published some of the most influential books and journals of their day. No one represents this early struggle -- the small triumphs and discouraging setbacks -- better than Clarina Howard Nichols (1810-1885), the Vermont newspaper publisher whose speeches made a powerful case for equality.

Nichols, herself the victim of a failed marriage, was a magnet to abused and mistreated women and was their advocate at a time when her sex was just beginning to speak up. And when she felt progress wasn't coming soon enough, she moved west, to Bleeding Kansas, where she would make history and show the world that feminism could thrive on the frontier.

Diane Eickhoff, who first wrote Nichols' biography in 2006 as Revolutionary Heart, has reimagined her story for all ages. Booklist declared, "The name Clarina Nichols deserves to be placed next to those of such luminaries as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton," and readers of this inspiring historical biography will heartily agree.

My Review

Before reading Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women's Rights, I had never heard of Clarina Nichols. As a librarian and history major, I'm pretty embarrassed to admit this. Thankfully, after reading the book, I know more about her, the women's rights movement, as well as the fight to abolish slavery in Kansas. It includes lots of pictures, maps, and copies of newspaper articles really showcase that time period.

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.

Harlequin Video Blitz & #Giveaway - Not to be Missed! #TLCBookTours #Romance @HarlequinBooks

I try not to participate in too many blitzes these days (I know a lot of readers don't like them), but this one is different. Not only do I love TLC Book Tours, who put it all together, but I watched this video yesterday, and I was laughing my head off. I know my co-workers thought I was insane. I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.


Giveaway


Here’s the giveaway! Readers get 17 free books when they sign up for the Harlequin newsletter! Easy peasy!

Link to website: http://bookpages.harlequin.com/romance/

If you're hesitating at all - I've already downloaded my books!

Blog Tour (Excerpt): Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster #TLCBookTours #Giveaway @LoriLFoster @HarlequinBooks

Title: Fighting Dirty (Ultimate #4)
Author: Lori Foster
Publisher: HQN (Harlequin)
Tour Organizer: TLC Book Tours
Release Date: February 23, 2016
He's the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own in an unforgettable new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

With the life he's led and the muscles he's gained, Armie Jacobson isn't afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter's effect on him. It's not just that she's his best friend's little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that's all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.

Good girl meets bad boy. It's a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they're both about to learn what's truly worth fighting for...

Excerpt

Bestselling author Lori Foster shares a fighting scene from the last book in her Ultimate Series, Fighting Dirty
Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster is the final book in her addicting and wicked hot MMA-themed Ultimate Series. Check out the excerpt below to see just what we mean. Happy reading!

***
Merissa loved her brother. She’d always seen him as Superman, larger than life, a rock whenever she’d needed one. He was only a couple of years older than her, but for as long as she could remember he’d seemed grown-up.

Right now, Superman was in her kitchen, insisting on getting her a drink when all she really wanted was the time alone to let go. She knew if she fell apart in front of him, Cannon would never leave her.

He didn’t need to be a savior, not right now.

Blog Tour (Review): The Determined Heart by Antoinette May #TLCBookTours #historicalfiction #MaryShelley #Frankenstein

Title: The Determined Heart: The Tale of Mary Shelley and Her Frankenstein
Author: Antoinette May
Publisher: Lake Union Press (Amazon Publishing)
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
The Determined Heart reveals the life of Mary Shelley in a story of love and obsession, betrayal and redemption.

The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?

My Review

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite novels, but I've not had much luck with anything written about her life. Since I've been craving historical fiction, and Amazon Publishing puts out some pretty stellar books, I figured that I should give The Determined Heart a chance. Believe it or not, I got exactly what I was looking for.

Blog Tour (Review): Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters by Lida Sideris #Giveaway #BibPleaseReview #TLCBookTours

Title: Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters
Author: Lida Sideris
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Release Date: September 30, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Watch out Southern California! There’s a new entertainment attorney in town and she’s got game. Only problem is, it’s not the one she should be playing. Corrie Locke belongs behind a desk, not behind a Glock. She should be taking VIP calls, not nosing around a questionable suicide. Instead, she’s hot on the trail of a murderer.

Luckily, she’s the daughter of a late, great private eye and she’s inherited his love of sleuthing...and illegal weaponry. It doesn’t help matters that her gene for caution is a recessive one. Corrie finds herself in the center of a murder case, unearthing suspects in shocking places. With a cold-blooded killer on the loose, Corrie will have to up her game, or die trying.

My Review

When Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters was pitched to me for review, it was described as being similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Since I think those books are incredibly cute, I figured I'd give Lida Sideris' book a shot. Honestly, I wasn't disappointed at all because Corrie Locke is just as bungling and adorable as Stephanie Plum, and the book was a really fun read.

Blog Tour (Review): Mistress of the Court by Laura Purcell #historicalfiction #giveaway #TLCBookTours #BibPleaseReview

Title: Mistress of the Court (Georgian Queens #2)
Author: Laura Purcell
Publisher: Myrmidon Books
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
The second in Laura Purcell’s captivating and acclaimed series of novels chronicling the lives and loves of the consorts and mistresses of Britain’s rash and reckless Hanoverian kings.

Her first novel in the series, Queen of Bedlam, was shortlisted for Best Historical Romance 2014 and was Editor’s Pick, in Historical Novels Review.

Orphaned and trapped in an abusive marriage, Henrietta Howard has little left to lose. She stakes everything on a new life in Hanover with its royal family, the heirs to the British throne. Henrietta’s beauty and intelligence soon win her the friendship of clever Princess Caroline and her mercurial husband, Prince George. But, as time passes, it becomes clear that friendship is the last thing on the hot-blooded young prince’s mind. Dare Henrietta give into his advances and anger her violent husband? Dare she refuse?

Whatever George’s shortcomings, Princess Caroline is determined to make the family a success. Yet the feud between her husband and his obstinate father threatens all she has worked for. As England erupts in Jacobite riots, her family falls apart. She vows to save the country for her children to inherit – even if it costs her pride and her marriage. Set in the turbulent years of the Hanoverian accession, Mistress of the Court tells the story of two remarkable women at the center of George II’s reign.

My Review

I have always been fascinated by the British monarchy (to the point that I've taken college classes about them), and I can honestly say that I've never read any fiction about the Georges or their brides. How could I have possibly not picked up Mistress of the Court? I was glad that I did because it portrayed an aspect of being royal or around royalty that is usually glossed over.

Blog Tour (Review): The Visitant by Megan Chance #giveaway #TLCBookTours

Title: The Visitant: A Venetian Ghost Story
Author: Megan Chance
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (Amazon)
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
A crumbling palazzo in nineteenth-century Venice holds a buried secret.

After she nearly ruins her family with a terrible misstep, Elena Spira is sent to Venice to escape disgrace and to atone by caring for the ailing Samuel Farber. But the crumbling and decaying Ca’ Basilio palazzo, where Samuel is ensconced, holds tragic secrets, and little does Elena know how profoundly they will impact her. Soon she begins to sense that she is being watched by something. And when Samuel begins to have hallucinations that make him violent and unpredictable, she can’t deny she’s in mortal danger.

Then impoverished nobleman Nero Basilio, Samuel’s closest friend and the owner of the palazzo, arrives. Elena finds herself entangled with both men in a world where the past seeps into the present and nothing is as it seems. As Elena struggles to discover the haunting truth before it destroys her, a dark force seems to hold Samuel and the Basilio in thrall—is it madness, or something more sinister?

Praise

“Chance’s Venice is glittering, mysterious, sophisticated…” – The Seattle Times on Inamorata

“…provocative and haunting. Chance’s quietly powerful tale will appeal to fans of well-detailed, mysterious, and romantic historical fiction.” – BookList on Bone River

My Review

I wanted to read The Visitant: A Venetian Ghost Story because I am always interested in a spooky or gothic historical, especially if there's also a mystery involved.

My problems with The Visitant started with my wrong assumption that the story was set in the late 1700s rather than the late 1800s. The entire first third of the book resulted in my shaking my head because I couldn't believe how progressive the Venice in the story was. When I realized that the story was in the late 1800s, I began to like the story better, but I still didn't think that Venice was that progressive. Toward the beginning of the novel, Samuel attempts to make a deal with Elena, swearing if she reads a racy novel he will stop acting like a spoiled child. I was a little worried that my hopeful Italian gothic mystery would then change into an erotica novel, with naughty passages filled with nurses and patients and nuns and priests. Thankfully there are only a few sex scenes, and none of them are out of the ordinary of the run-of-the-mill historical romance. However, I just couldn't believe that men and women were that outspoken about sex in the late 1800s, even in Venice.

Blog Tour (Review): Dark Screams Volume Four by Clive Barker, Ed Gorman, and Heather Graham #TLCBookTours

Title: Dark Screams: Volume Four
Authors: Clive Barker, Ed Gorman, and Heather Graham
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Clive Barker, Heather Graham, Lisa Morton, Ray Garton, and Ed Gorman lead readers down a twisted labyrinth of terror, horror, and suspense in Dark Screams: Volume Four, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the revered Cemetery Dance Publications.

THE DEPARTED by Clive Barker
On All Hallows’ Eve, a dead and disembodied mother yearns to touch her young son one last time. But will making contact destroy them both?

CREATURE FEATURE by Heather Graham
What could be better publicity for a horror convention than an honest-to-goodness curse? It’s only after lights out that the hype—and the Jack the Ripper mannequin—starts to feel a little too real.

THE NEW WAR by Lisa Morton
Mike Carson is a war hero and a decorated vet. He doesn’t deserve to be trapped in a hospital with some black thing sitting on his chest as patients die all around him. His only hope is to take out the nurse—before it’s his turn.

SAMMY COMES HOME by Ray Garton
It’s what every family prays for: a lost pet returning home. But when Sammy, the Hale family sheepdog, appears on their doorstep, he brings back something no parent would ever wish upon his or her child.

THE BRASHER GIRL by Ed Gorman
Cindy Marie Brasher is the prettiest girl in the Valley, and Spence just has to have her. Unfortunately, Cindy has a “friend” . . . a friend who tells her to do things . . . bad things.

Praise for Dark Screams: Volume Four

“Collectively, Volume Four constitutes the most cohesive, narratively enriching and entertaining Dark Screams entry to date. Be it the presence of genre icons Barker and Morton, stories from the lesser-known but equally talented Garton and Gorman, or the pure fun of Graham’s tale, fans of horror of every variety will find something to love in these pages.” — LitReactor

“The best of the bunch so far.” — Examiner.com

“Stacks up well with any of the other three books so far [with] a fairly good variety in the kinds of horror stories too . . . If you’re new to the series, this is a good jumping-on point.” — Wagging the Fox

“Dark Screams is one of the best values on the horror market. . . . Do yourself a favor, and pick it up.” — Adventures Fantastic

My Review

I'll break down my review of Dark Screams Volume Four by short story to make things simple.

The Departed by Clive Barker

This story was not at all what I had expected from Clive Barker. I've read some of this other work, which was mostly horror-laced fantasy, but The Departed was about a single mother who is coping wtih her new status as a ghost. It affected me emotionally, as I also spent several years as a single mother myself. That emotional reaction to this story was the most unexpected thing of all, and this was my favorite story in the collection.

Blog Tour (Review & #Giveaway): #TheUninvited by Cat Winters #historicalfiction #TLCBookTours #BibPleaseReview

Title: The Uninvited
Author: Cat Winters
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (HarperCollins)
Release Date: August 11, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Twenty-five-year-old Ivy Rowan rises from her sickbed after being struck by the great influenza epidemic of 1918, only to discover that the world has been torn apart in just a few short days.

But Ivy's lifelong gift—or curse—remains. She sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked for and unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918, Ivy sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother's chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death in the Great War of Ivy's other brother, Billy.

Horrified, she leaves home and soon realizes that the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for today, because they could be stricken by nightfall. She even enters into a relationship with the murdered German man's brother, Daniel Schendel. But as her "uninvited guests" begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once again, and terrifying secrets will unfold.

My Review

I know I've said before that I tend to avoid American historical fiction when I'm choosing my reading materials, but I had no problem with picking up The Uninvited by Cat Winters because I enjoyed her writing in her debut, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. The writing in The Uninvited was just as good, if not better, because putting the book down and doing other things (like work) made me pretty angry.

Blog Tour (Review): Name of the Devil by Andrew Mayne (ARC) #Thriller @AndrewMayne @HarperCollins @TLCBookTours

Title: Name of the Devil (Jessica Blackwood #2)
Author: Andrew Mayne
Publisher: Bourbon Street Books (HarperCollins)
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
In this electrifying sequel to the crowd-pleasing thriller Angel Killer, magician-turned-FBI agent Jessica Blackwood must once again draw on her past to go up against a brutal murderer desperate for revenge at any price.

After playing a pivotal role in the capture of the Warlock, a seemingly supernatural serial killer—and saving the FBI’s reputation in the process—agent Jessica Blackwood can no longer ignore the world she left behind. Formerly a prodigy in a family dynasty of illusionists, her talent and experience endow her with a unique understanding of the power and potential of deception, as well as a knack for knowing when things are not always as they appear to be.

When a church congregation vanishes under mysterious circumstances in rural Appalachia, the bizarre trail of carnage indicates the Devil’s hand at work. But Satan can’t be the suspect, so FBI consultant Dr. Ailes and Jessica’s boss on the Warlock case, Agent Knoll, turn to the ace up their sleeve: Jessica. She’s convinced that an old cassette tape holds the key to the mystery, and unraveling the recorded events reveals a troubling act with far-reaching implications. The evil at work is human, and Jessica must follow the trail from West Virginia to Mexico, Miami, and even the hallowed halls of the Vatican.

Can she stop a cold-blooded killer obsessed by a mortal sin—or will she become the next target in a twisted, diabolical game of hunter and prey...?

My Review

You can read my review of Angel Killer (Jessica Blackwood #1) HERE.

If you read my review from yesterday, then you know that I absolutely adored Andrew Mayne's Angel Killer. I was so excited about reading Name of the Devil that I actually bought a Kindle copy (even though I had an ARC) so I could read it on my phone at work, in the bathroom, in line in the grocery store, etc. These books are that unable-to-put-downable. In this follow-up to the first book, there is a very different sort of mystery, but I enjoyed it just as much.

Blog Tour (Review): The Tide Watchers by Lisa Chaplin (ARC) #HistoricalFiction #TLCBookTours @Morrow_PB

Title: The Tide Watchers
Author: Lisa Chaplin
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (HarperCollins)
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
In the winter of 1803, one woman stands between Napoleon and the fall of Great Britain

The free-spirited daughter of an English baronet, Lisbeth defies convention by eloping to France. When her husband abandons her, she must find a way to survive and be reunited with her young son, who is in the care of her mother-in-law.

A seasoned spy known as Tidewatcher, Duncan apprenticed under Lisbeth's father and pledged to keep his mentor's pretty daughter safe—a promise complicated by the wily Napoleon Bonaparte. The British believe he is planning an attack, and Duncan is sent to search for signs of invasion on the French coast—where he draws dangerously close to adventurous and unpredictable Lisbeth.

A sensational new invention may shift the tide of a French victory. A brilliant and eccentric American inventor named Robert Fulton has devised a deadly weapon that can decimate an enemy's fleet. To protect English ships, Tidewatcher must gain control of Fulton's invention and cross enemy lines . . . but he cannot do it alone. Left with no other options, he enlists Lisbeth's help in outwitting the American inventor and uncovering Bonaparte's secret plans.

Going undercover for the handsome and duty-bound spy, Lisbeth risks her freedom and her life as she navigates double agents and submarine warfare to outwit the greatest military tactician in history. The only question is . . . who can she trust?

My Review

Before I get good and started on my review for The Tide Watchers, which I enjoyed very much, I have an issue that I want to address in romance and some historical fiction. Can we please ease up on the rape scenes that allow a woman to be saved for whatever reason? I mean, seriously, I know it happened all the time historically and even now, but its use as a plot catalyst (or whatever) in fiction is getting out of hand. I almost DNFed a really good book because of it. Please and thank you. (Rant over.)

Review: American Wife by Taya Kyle #Memoir

Title: American Wife: A Memoir of Love, War, Faith, and Renewal
Author: Taya Kyle
Publisher: William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Release Date: May 4, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
The widow of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle shares their private story: an unforgettable testament to the power of love and faith in the face of war and unimaginable loss—and a moving tribute to a man whose true heroism ran even deeper than the legend

In early 2013, Taya Kyle and her husband, Chris, were the happiest they ever had been. Their decade-long marriage had survived years of war that took Chris, a U.S. Navy SEAL, away from Taya and their two children for agonizingly long stretches while he put his life on the line in many major battles of the Iraq War. After struggling to readjust to life out of the military, Chris had found new purpose in redirecting his lifelong dedication to service toward supporting veterans and their families. Their love had deepened, and their family was whole, finally.

Then, the unthinkable. On February 2, 2013, Chris and his friend Chad Littlefield were killed while attempting to help a troubled vet. The life Chris and Taya fought so hard to build was shattered. In an instant, Taya became a single parent of two. A widow. A young woman facing the rest of her life without the man she loved.

Chris and Taya's remarkable story has captivated millions through Clint Eastwood's blockbuster Academy Award-winning film American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as Chris and Sienna Miller as Taya, and because of Chris's bestselling memoir, in which Taya contributed passages that formed the book's emotional core. Now, with trusted collaborator Jim DeFelice, Taya writes in never-before-told detail about the hours, days, and months after Chris's shocking death when grief threatened to overwhelm her.

And yet throughout, friendship, family, and a deepening faith were lifelines that sustained her and the kids when the sorrow became too much. Two years after her husband's tragic death, Taya has found renewed meaning and connection to Chris by advancing their shared mission of "serving those who serve others," particularly military and first-responder families. She and the children are now embracing a new future, one that honors the past but also looks forward with hope, gratitude, and joy.

American Wife is one of the most remarkable memoirs of the year—a universal chronicle of love and heartbreak, service and sacrifice, faith and purpose that will inspire every reader.

My Review

This has to be far and away the most difficult review that I have ever written. I've always tried to challenge myself as a reader, so I decided to go outside of my normal reading zone and read American Wife. I do like the occasional memoir because it's so fascinating to learn about someone's life. To an extent, seeing into Taya Kyle's life was no different - she's an interesting lady. However, the difficulty in reviewing American Wife comes with disagreeing with the book without seeming to attack the author, who it is about.

Blog Tour (Excerpt): Untamed by Diana Palmer #Giveaway #Western #Romance @TLCBookTours @HarlequinBooks

Title: Untamed
Author: Diana Palmer
Publisher: HQN (Harlequin)
Tour Organizer: TLC Book Tours
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Stanton Rourke lives life on the edge. The steely mercenary is dangerous in every way…especially to Clarisse Carrington's heart. She and Rourke were playmates as children, but she's not the innocent girl he once knew. When tragedy robbed Clarisse of her entire family, her life was changed forever. Besides, she's a grown woman now, and there are secrets that hold her back from succumbing to her pursuer. As she struggles to keep her distance, sparks as hot as a Texas summer fly between them. But danger is following Clarisse, leaving her no choice but to rely on Rourke, even as the old wounds lying dormant between them flare up again…

Excerpt

Chapter 2

Rourke spent the night getting drunk. He was out of his mind from his father’s revelations. Tat had loved him. He’d pushed her away, for her own good, but in doing so, he’d damaged her so badly that he’d turned her into little better than a call girl.

He remembered her in Barrera, her blouse soaked in blood that even a washing hadn’t removed, the stitches just above one of her perfect small breasts where that animal, Miguel, had cut her trying to extract information about General Emilio Machado’s invasion of the country.

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): The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen @TLCBookTours @harperbooks

Title: The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2)
Author: Erika Johansen
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
In this riveting sequel to the national bestseller The Queen of the Tearling, the evil kingdom of Mortmesne invades the Tearling, with dire consequences for Queen Kelsea and her realm.

With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, Kelsea has crossed the brutal Red Queen, who derives her power from dark magic and who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what she claims is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing. She finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. Soon Kelsea herself begins to change; she does not recognize either her reflection in the mirror or the extraordinary power she now commands. The fate of the Tearling—and that of Kelsea's own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Queen Kelsea is running out of time.

In this second volume of the compelling trilogy begun with her bestselling The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen brings back favorite characters and introduces unforgettable new players, adding exciting layers to her multidimensional tale of magic, mystery, and a fierce young heroine.

My Review

The Queen of the Tearling (Book 1)
Kayla's Review
Amber's Review
The Invasion of the Tearling (Book 2)
Amber's Review

As you can see, Amber and I are pretty big fans of this series, and I've personally been following it since it sold, and Emma Watson jumped on board to be in the movie. The Queen of the Tearling was a really great debut novel, and I was excited to get on the blog tour for The Invasion of the Tearling, too. The Invasion of the Tearling picks up where the first book left off and takes the story to a much deeper level.

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 (Guest Post): Consumption by Heather Herrman @horrorandbrains @TLCBookTours

Title: Consumption
Author: Heather Herrman
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: May 26, 2015
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

Guest Post

Why the Best Horror Authors are Fem
Heather Herrman
Look at any “best of” list of horror authors, and you’ll find them dominated by, if not entirely composed of, men. You might think this is because mostly men write and read horror. And if we limit the definition of “horror,” you may be right. Often women horror authors are kept out of the genre discussion because of misleading labels (i.e. by calling their work paranormal romance, gothic, etc.). So, I’d like to posit something different: the best horror authors, male or female, are Fem.

Good horror is inherently Fem.

Blog Tour (Review & #Giveaway): Dark Screams Volume Two edited by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar

Title: Dark Screams: Volume Two
Editors: Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
Robert McCammon, Norman Prentiss, Shawntelle Madison, Graham Masterton, and Richard Christian Matheson scale new heights of horror, suspense, and grimmest fantasy in Dark Screams: Volume Two, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the renowned Cemetery Dance Publications.

THE DEEP END by Robert McCammon
Everyone thinks the drowning death of Neil Calder in the local swimming pool was a tragic accident. Only his father knows better. Now, on the last night of summer, Neil returns in search of revenge.

INTERVAL by Norman Prentiss
Flight 1137 from St. Louis by way of Nashville has gone missing. As anxious friends and family gather around the gate, a ticket clerk finds herself eyewitness to a moment of inhuman evil.

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK by Shawntelle Madison
Eleanor has come from New York City to prep an old Victorian house in Maine for America’s Mysterious Hotspots. Although she’s always thrown herself into her work, this job will take her places she’s never dreamed of going.

THE NIGHT HIDER by Graham Masterton
C. S. Lewis wrote about a portal that led to a world of magic and enchantment. But the wardrobe in Dawn’s room holds only death—until she solves its grisly mystery.

WHATEVER by Richard Christian Matheson
A 1970s rock ’n’ roll band that never was—in a world that is clearly our own...but perhaps isn’t, not anymore...or, at least, not yet—takes one hell of a trip.

Praise for Dark Screams: Volume Two

“Dark Screams: Volume Two [is] a worthwhile read and a great entry to this series. If this upward trend in quality continues, we are sure to see amazing things in the volumes to come.” — LitReactor

“[Brian James Freeman] and Richard Chizmar set themselves a high standard with the first volume, and it’s good to see that they have maintained that level of excellence. . . . If you like good, solid horror, check it out. I’ve found some new authors to read.” — Adventures Fantastic

“Five fun-to-read stories by top-notch horror scribes. How can you lose? The answer: you can’t.” — Atomic Fangirl

“Once I started this book, I didn’t want to read anything else.” — Carole’s Random Life

My Review

I don't read that much horror now, as a blogger, but I still enjoy the genre. When I was offered Dark Screams Volume Two, I had to take it because it's been quite a while since I've read anything creepy or scary.

The Deep End
Robert R. McCammon

Sometimes there is little I love more than an unreliable narrator. (Just because something is horror does not mean that I will believe that a character believes to be true.) The protagonist, Glenn, just lost his son two weeks before in a swimming accident at the public pool. He's convinced that there is a monster lurking in the deep end and that it's his job to kill it. Being as this is a horror anthology, maybe Glenn hasn't gone "off the deep end" himself, and there's a monster after all.

Interval
Norman Prentiss