Blog Tour (Guest Post): Night of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper #giveaway @SourcebooksCasa

Title: Night of the Highland Dragon (Highland Dragons #3)
Author: Isabel Cooper
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: June 2, 2015
“They say,” said the girl, “that people disappear up there. And I heard that the lady doesna’ ever grow any older.”
“The lady?” William asked.
“Lady MacAlasdair. She lives in the castle, and she’s been there years, but she stays young and beautiful forever.”

In the Scottish Highlands, legend is as powerful as the sword—and nowhere is that more true than in the remote village of Loch Aranoch. Its mysterious ruler, Judith MacAlasdair, is fiercely protective of her land—and her secrets. If anyone were to find out what she really was, she and her entire clan would be hunted down as monsters.

William Arundell is on the trail of a killer. Special agent for an arcane branch of the English government, his latest assignment has led him to a remote Highland castle and the undeniably magnetic lady who rules there. Yet as lies begin to unravel and a dark threat gathers, William finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Highlands...and the woman he can neither trust nor deny.

He prays she isn’t the murderer; he never dreamed she was a dragon.

Guest Post

My Typical Writing Day
Isabel Cooper
This is very prosaic, I’m afraid.

A typical day of writing for me is just a typical day. I wake up, swear a lot because for some reason it’s morning *again*, work out, shower, eat some variety of breakfast, catch a train, hate everyone on the train for taking up too much space, get to work, and so forth. Usually either during my lunch break or sometime later in the afternoon, when I’ve gotten my work done and am waiting for people to send me email, I’ll get my day’s worth of writing in.

Review: Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire

Title: Pocket Apocalypse (InCryptid #4)
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Acquired Via: Library
Alexander Price has survived gorgons, basilisks, and his own family—no small feat, considering that his family includes two telepaths, a reanimated corpse, and a colony of talking, pantheistic mice. Still, he’s starting to feel like he’s got the hang of things...at least until his girlfriend, Shelby Tanner, shows up asking pointed questions about werewolves and the state of his passport. From there, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to Australia, a continent filled with new challenges, new dangers, and yes, rival cryptozoologists who don’t like their “visiting expert” very much.

Australia is a cryptozoologist’s dream, filled with unique species and unique challenges. Unfortunately, it’s also filled with Shelby’s family, who aren’t delighted by the length of her stay in America. And then there are the werewolves to consider: infected killing machines who would like nothing more than to claim the continent as their own. The continent which currently includes Alex.

Survival is hard enough when you’re on familiar ground. Alex Price is very far from home, but there’s one thing he knows for sure: he’s not going down without a fight.

My Review

I came upon Seanan McGuire’s books when I read the first one in her October Daye series, Rosemary and Rue. The title caught my attention, which is often why I choose a book. I knew rosemary I used in spells, and it's meant for remembrance, so I figured this book would have something to do with the supernatural. While it’s not about witches, it does have to do with Fairies and their Courts, along with some other supernatural creatures.

Blog Tour (Excerpt & Giveaway): Powerless by @TeraLynnChilds & Tracy Deebs @heroagenda @SourcebooksFire #yalit

Title: Powerless (The Hero Agenda #1)
Author: Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Kenna is tired of being "normal."

The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating when you're constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Sure, Kenna's smart and independent, but as an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world, it's hard not to feel inferior.

So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She's not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too.

But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless...


Excerpt

“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”

Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”

His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you even authorized to be down here?”

Waiting on Wednesday (109): The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1)
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: Roc (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: September 19, 2015
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...


Jim Butcher writing steampunk! Squee! This does remind me that I still need to finish his Codex Alera series...
What are you waiting on this week?

Interview: Nova by Margaret Fortune @mara_fortune @dawbooks #yalit #scifi

Title: Nova (Nova #1)
Author: Margaret Fortune
Publisher: DAW (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
*36:00:00*

The clock activates so suddenly in my mind, my head involuntarily jerks a bit to the side. The fog vanishes, dissipated in an instant as though it never was. Memories come slotting into place, their edges sharp enough to leave furrows, and suddenly I know. I know exactly who I am.

My name is Lia Johansen, and I was named for a prisoner of war. She lived in the Tiersten Internment Colony for two years, and when they negotiated the return of the prisoners, I was given her memories and sent back in her place.

And I am a genetically engineered human bomb.

Lia Johansen was created for only one purpose: to slip onto the strategically placed New Sol Space Station and explode. But her mission goes to hell when her clock malfunctions, freezing her countdown with just two minutes to go. With no Plan B, no memories of her past, and no identity besides a name stolen from a dead POW, Lia has no idea what to do next. Her life gets even more complicated when she meets Michael Sorenson, the real Lia’s childhood best friend.

Drawn to Michael and his family against her better judgment, Lia starts learning what it means to live and love, and to be human. It is only when her countdown clock begins sporadically losing time that she realizes even duds can still blow up. If she wants any chance at a future, she must find a way to unlock the secrets of her past and stop her clock. But as Lia digs into her origins, she begins to suspect there’s far more to her mission and to this war, than meets the eye. With the fate of not just a space station but an entire empire hanging in the balance, Lia races to find the truth before her time—literally—runs out.

Author Interview

Kayla: Hi Margaret, thank you so much for your time and willingness to answer a few questions about Nova and yourself for the readers at Bibliophilia, Please. To start things off – how did the idea for Nova come to you?

Margaret Fortune: Oftentimes, my stories start with a setting, and the same is true of Nova. This story started with a random thought along the lines of, “I want to write a story that takes place on a space station!” As I was brainstorming ideas for the story, the line “My name is Lia, and I’m a genetically engineered human bomb,” popped into my head. I knew at once I’d struck gold.

Kayla: Can you tell us a little bit about the two factions taking part in the war mentioned in the description of the novel?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Would Love to See as Movies/TV Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books I Would Love to See as Movies/TV Shows



1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I recently finished this book, and I was very taken with it. The story follows nine different people and shows how their lives intersect. Some people I’ve talked to who have read this book had a hard time following the stories, but if this was made into a movie, and if you could put a person to the names, it would make it much easier.





2. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
I love this series! I will take a vacation day from work so I can read her books as soon as they come out. Charley is a Grim Reaper who helps people into the light. She also solves mysteries, is super funny and lusts after a hot man who may not be human.

Review: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker (ARC) @TheNovl #TheWitchHunter #yalit @littlebrown

Title: The Witch Hunter (The Witch Hunter #1)
Author: Virginia Boecker
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (Hachette)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Acquired Via: NOVL
The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.

Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

My Review

I was really excited to read The Witch Hunter, obviously, because my favorite paranormal creatures are witches. While it didn't exactly wow me, The Witch Hunter was a solid historical and paranormal YA.

The beginning is slower than the rest of the story, which may have been why I was a little underwhelmed. Although I did enjoy the beginning, I wasn't sucked in to the point of not being able to put the book down. When I picked it up again, I enjoyed myself, but there was no compulsion that I NEEDED to be reading it at all times. Once the prophecy comes out, the story starts to unfold rapidly, and the last third of the book goes by in a blink of an eye.

Review: The Shadow Revolution by Clay and Susan Griffith

Title: The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key #1)
Authors: Clay and Susan Griffith
Publisher: Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

My Review

I jumped at the chance to read The Shadow Revolution, because I really enjoyed the other of the Griffith's series that I read, Vampire Empire. Plus, I really love a good steampunk novel done right. I'll blame it on Sean Connery and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. :) (Yes, I know the movie is terrible, but it's Sean Connery).