Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) November 30, 2011

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

This weeks WOW is by Jayne Ann Krantz.  Copper Beach is the start of a new paranormal trilogy and is due out in January of 2012.  All the books in this trilogy will be written as Jayne Ann Krantz. In several of her past paranormal trilogies she has written one book as Jayne Ann Krantz, the next as Amanda Quick and the last one as Jayne Castle.

"Within the pages of very rare books some centuries old lie the secrets of the paranormal. Abby Radwell's unusual psychic talent has made her an expert in such volumes-and sometimes taken her into dangerous territory. After a deadly incident in the private library of an obsessive collector, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and rumors swirl that an old alchemical text known as The Key has reappeared on the black market.

Convinced that she needs an investigator who can also play bodyguard, she hires Sam Coppersmith, a specialist in paranormal crystals and amber-"hot rocks." Passion flares immediately between them, but neither entirely trusts the other. When it comes to dealing with a killer who has paranormal abilities, and a blackmailer who will stop at nothing to obtain an ancient alchemical code, no one is safe."

What Else I Read in November 2011

Romance:


Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt - This is the third book in the Maiden Lane Series.  I met both of the main characters in the previous books.  "Charming" Mickey O'Connor and Silence Hollingbrook met when Mickey stole cargo from a ship captained by Silence's husband.  Silence made a deal with Mickey to get the cargo back.  Now Silence in a widow and Mickey put her in danger when he left his daughter on her doorstep.  This is a fun story and a good addition to the series. 


The Famous Heroine and The Plumed Bonnet by Mary Balogh - Both of these are books that were originally released in 1996 and have been re-released in one volume.  They contain some of the same characters and are both a fun read.  I noticed themes in both that Mary enlarged on in later books. 


Affair Without End by Candace Camp - This is the last book in the Willowmere Series.  It was OK but I found myself putting it down because it did not hold my interest like the previous two.  It has two HEA stories, one was Vivian and Oliver and the other was the last Bascombe sister. 


Paranormal:


Vamparazzi by Laura Resnick - Esther has a good part in an Off Broadway play about Vampires.  She and everyone knows that vampires are not real.  Or are they?  Esther is attacked by fans who are out of control.  When one of the fans is murdered Detective Connor Lopez shows up to make sure Esther is all right.  Esther seeks help from her friend Max, the 350 year old magician.  All the gang is back along with some fun new characters.  The only thing I would change about the book is to have more of Connor.   Laura, if you see this "More Connor."


Character Driven Science Fiction (Science Fiction Romance:


Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews - This was my Teaser Tuesday on 11/15.  Claire Shannon has enhanced mental capabilities that were used in a war her side lost.  By hiding those abilities she is allowed to live but must go off planet and start a new life.  She must continue to hide what she can do but finds if difficult.  The attraction she feels toward her new boss does not help.  This has great world building and wonderful characters.  I hope to see more in this universe.


His Warrior Bride by Lara Santiago - Erotic Character Driven Science Fiction.  Lara Santiago is one of my favorite authors of erotica.  She always has a good story to go with the sex.  This time an astroid has hit the Earth and caused massive damage.  Craig Hauser was hired to protect a group living inside a mountain in Colorado.  Forced to stay with the group when the astroid hits he must accept a wife.  That wife has a mission of her own.  She is there to take down the leader of the group.  Neither count on the attraction that grows between them or complications it causes. 

Teaser Tuesday November 29, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This weeks teaser is from Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook.  This is a Novel of the Iron Seas and is a great addition to the Steampunk series.  Page 47

"Yasmeen had been taught to stand like that - to hold herself silent and watchful, her weight perfectly balanced, her hands clasped."

"Yasmeen knew that under the woman's robes was a body more metal than flesh.  Designed to protect.  Designed to kill."

Musing Mondays November 28, 2011

 This week’s musing asks…

Will you be buying books for the holidays, this year? If so, for whom, and why?

To Find out what others are saying go to Should Be Reading. 

I won't be buying books but I will be buying Barnes and Noble gift cards.  All of my sons are readers.  Two have Nooks.  Barnes and Noble gift cards are something all three will use.  They are one size fits all.

Military Science Fiction Book-covers with Female Protagonist

I just finished reading Kris Longknife: Daring and A Soldier's Duty.  They have very similar covers so I went to my book shelf to look at Peacekeeper:  A Major Ariane Kedros Novel.  Again a similar cover.  All three of these books are Military Science Fiction with female protagonist.  All three have women with big guns wearing a tank top.  Who runs around with a big gun dressed like that?  I guess publishers think this sells books.  I wonder?  So they do the same with male protagonist?

In My Mail Box November 27, 2011

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren
and is an opportunity to share the books
I get each week.  

Click on this link to see what books other bloggers received this week.

I have at least two books from Amazon Vine in my mail box but I am not at home to get them out.  I am visiting two of my sons for Thanksgiving and will not go home until tomorrow.  I have not purchased any books this week. I brought my Nook and am reading to reduce my eBook TBR pile.  

The Ninth Circle, A Novel of the U.S.S. Merrimack by R.M. Meluch

Science Fiction/Space Opera

The Ninth Circle is science fiction written the way I love.  There is action, adventure, great characters and a wonderful plot.  Once I started reading I did not want to put it down.  

There is peace between the Terran and Palatine Empires but that peace is very fragile.  There are problems on the planet Zoe.  Glenn Hamilton is traveling with her husband Patrick, a xenolinguist, where they discover DNA based life and another alien race on the planet.   The expedition leader refuses to take any action so Glenn reports the aliens to Admiral John Farragut.   He sends the Merrimack under Captain Calli Carmel to see what is going on.   Zoe attracts more than the Merrimack.   There is a pirate group made up of exiled Romans, an alien Mother ship, and a Roman ship carrying the Emperor all arriving in Zoe space.

There is a lot going on in The Ninth Circle.  The U.S.S. Merrimack was featured in four previous books.  While The Ninth Circle has some of the same characters it is an entirely new story. It appears to be the start to a new series featuring the Merrimack.  When I went to Meluch’s web site I found that her husband had recently died.  Having been there and done that I know that it changes what was normal in your life.  It takes awhile to find a new normal.  I hope that when she finds that new normal she continues to write.

DAW published The Ninth Circle by R.M. Meluch in 2011.

Book Beginning on Friday November 25, 2011

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Katy from A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

I am reading Tanith Lee's The Silver Metal Lover.  This is a book that was first published by DAW in 1981 with the second publication by Bantam Spectra in 1999 so it has been around for awhile.

"I grew up with my mother in Chez Stratos, my mother's house in the clouds.  It's a beautiful house, but I never knew it was beautiful until people told me so."


I am just getting started on the book so I will let you know if I like it.

November's Bella Vista Library Science Fiction Book Club Selection

Steal Across The Sky by Nancy Kress


This was our Science Fiction Book Club selection for November.  Usually at least one of us dislike the book and in some cases we really trash our selection.  That was not the case with Steal Across The Sky.  Everyone gave it a thumbs up.  


I did a post on Steal Across the Sky on October 29th, 2009.  Follow this link to see the post.


http://mixedbookbag.blogspot.com/2009/10/steal-across-sky-by-nancy-kress.html

Kris Longknife: Daring by Mike Shepherd

Military Science Fiction

Kris Longknife: Daring is the 7^th book in this series.  I was attending a panel where Mike Shepherd was talking about the Kris Longknife series.  He said that he decided to write a series with a female protagonist after his granddaughter was born.  He wanted her to have books with main characters she could identify with. 

The Kris Longknife series certainly meets the requirement for a strong female main character.  In Daring Kris is sent off to try to find the aliens that are destroying the Iteeche scouts.  She wants to go with a small swift scouting group; one that can look, run and report back.  What she gets is a mix of vessels from different groups.  When they meet up with an alien starship that fires without warning Kris must fight to have any chance of returning. 

Look for non-stop action, unexpected consequences and a cliffhanger ending.  Kris Longknife: Daring is a good addition to the series.  This is another one where it would be better to start at the beginning.  While there is some back-story in Daring Kris has some issues that can only be explained and understood if you read the books in the following order:

Kris Longknife: Mutineer

Kris Longknife: Deserter

Kris Longknife: Defiant

Kris Longknife: Resolute

Kris Longknife: Audacious

Kris Longknife: Intrepid

Kris Longknife: Undaunted

Kris Longknife: Redoubtable

Kris Longknife: Furious is in the works and is the next book in the series.

ACE published Kris Longknife: Daring by Mike Shepherd in 2011.

Thanksgiving Thanks 2011

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  I though I would list some book related thanks today.


I am thankful for:

• Authors who spend hours and hours researching and writing.
• Publishers who buy what those authors write.
• Authors who are doing some self-publishing to keep series alive when the publisher does not continue to buy.
• eBook readers that let me collect books without taking up shelf space
• All of you who write other blogs and read mine
• All other who read my blog

If you have other books related thanks you can add to my list by leaving a comment.

Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) November 23, 2011

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


I am down to three books on pre-order from Amazon.  Here is one that is scheduled to be shipped between December 12th and 16th. 

Award-winning author Robin D. Owens returns to the futuristic world of Celta with four original romantic fantasies as four different couples find their HeartMates and their destinies on Celta.  It includes the discovery of Celta; an older couple story' Genista Holly Furze's new life and new love; and the Clovers win a noble title.


I love this series and have all the books.  This looks like it will have some great side stories in the Heart world.

Teaser Tuesday November 22, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

I am re-reading Hope's Folly by Linnea Sinclair, one of my favorite Character Driven Science Fiction authors.  This is from page 60.

"Bennton's little girl...a downright annoying, definitely pudgy, freckle-faced imp with wildly curly hair gathered on the sides of her head like two exploding reddish pom-poms.  She's bounced in her chair through cocktails, bounced in her chair thought dinner, was soundly reprimanded for launching peas at him across the table with her fork, and had weaseled her way into going to the shooting range afterward, because obviously the brat never heard the word no in her entire short life."

Hope's Folly is one of those books that is new every time I read it.  As you might guess it is on my comfort book shelf.

Musing Monday November 21, 2011

 This week’s musing asks…

How do you decide to read a book by an author you haven’t read before? What sort of recommendations count most highly in making that decision?

To Find out what others are say go to Should Be Reading. 

There are several things that affect my decision to read a new author.

• If it is Science Fiction I will almost always give a new author a try.  That is my all time favorite and I am always looking for new books and authors.
• Because I like books set in historical settings I will give a new mystery author a try based on the time period it represents if the book sounds interesting.  
• Sometimes I try a book by a new author if I get a copy free.  If that book does not catch me quick I will put it down and not continue reading.
• I read reviews and recommendations on other blogs, that my Goodreads friends post and that appear on author's web sites.
• I like to browse bookstores and read the first few pages to see if the book interests me.
• I sometimes try a new author when their book shows up on my Amazon recommendations.
• I belong to several book clubs and often read picks by  authors I have not read.  

The Sleeping Partner by Madeleine E. Robins

Alternate History/Regency Mystery

The Sleeping Partner is the third in the Sarah Tolerance Mystery series and I think the best story yet.  This is another series a publisher decided not to continue after the first two books.  Fortunately the series and Miss Tolerance found a new home.

"It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a Fallen Woman of Good Family must, soon or late, descend to Whoredom."

Miss Tolerance is a Fallen Woman but she is not going to descend to Whoredom.  She has chosen to be an Agent of Inquiry and she has a lot to contend with in The Sleeping Partner. There is a missing girl, an unexpected reunion with the family that disowned her, the strange behavior of her aunt and then there is her friendship with Sir Walter Mandif.  All add up to an engrossing story.  It is fun to move with Miss Tolerance through all the different levels of London, see the rules that are followed and the different characters that live in this period. 

Madeleine Robins has used a slightly changed history in writing the Sarah Tolerance Mysteries.  Most things have stayed the same but some of the politics and people have followed slightly different paths.

You can read this as a stand-alone. The characters drop small hints about the back-story to keep you from being lost but it would be better to start with Point of Honor and Petty Treason.

Plus One Press published The Sleeping Partner by Madeleine E. Robins in 2011.

Click here to see my post on Point of Honor.

http://mixedbookbag.blogspot.com/2011/02/point-of-honour-by-madeleine-e-robins.html

In My Mail Box November 20, 2011

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren
and is an opportunity to share the books
I get each week.  

Click on this link to see what books other bloggers received this week.

I only purchased one book this week.  My TBR pile is getting a chance to go down instead of up.

Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare

A Soldier’s Duty by Jean Johnson

Military Science Fiction

I saw a recommendation for A Soldier’s Duty on another web site and decided to check it out.  It is the first in a new series, Theirs Not to Reason Why,  by Jean Johnson.

The story is riveting.  Ia (this is her only name) is a precog .  She has visions of the future and when she was 15 she sees a future where everyone dies.  As she searches all the many time streams she finds only one where there is a chance of survival but only if she works very hard to make sure certain events happen.  That is what drives and shapes Ia’s life and leads her into a life in the military.

The first book chronicles Ia’s first few years as a member of the Terran United Planets Space Marines.  A Soldier’s Duty is just the right mix of science and action.  Since the story is told from Ia’s point of view it is easy to see how she uses her precog to shape events around her but even Ia is not infallible.  Sometimes events do not spin exactly as she expects and that increases the tension in the story

I was spellbound by this book.  Events shape this story and Ia is in control of the events.  I found the concept new and fresh and look forward to second book in the series, An Officer’s Duty that will be published in August of 2012. 

ACE published A Soldier’s Duty by Jean Johnson in 2010.

Book Beginnings on Friday November 17, 2011

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Katy from A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

Here is my opening sentence this week or my opening sentence + one more.  It is from Hal Spacejock by Simon Hayes:

"Hal Spacejock was hunched over the Black Gull's flight console studying the small chessboard balanced amongst the toggle switches, warning lights and status display.  Recently he'd read an article promoting the ancient game, claiming it would sharpen his mind, improve his memory and increase his attraction to the opposite sex."

I am 40 pages into this and so far it is light, fun and funny.  It is also a free ebook at Barnes and Noble. 

She Can Run by Melinda Leigh

Romantic Suspense

“Amazon cuts publishers out of book cycle” was the title of the lead article in the Business/Technology section of my Sunday paper.  In smaller print was “It lets authors offer works directly to site’s customers.”  What does this have to do with She Can Run you are asking?  She Can Run appears to be is one of the 122 books Amazon’s fledging publishing program will release this fall.

I received an ARC of She Can Run from Amazon Vine.  One of the first things I noticed was the thanks to the Amazon Publishing team.  I had just read the article and everything clicked.  So how was the book that cut publishers out of the book cycle?  It was OK.

Beth Baker is on the run after discovering a dangerous secret about her politician husband.  She has been aided by James, her almost uncle and has just gotten a position as caretaker at an out of the way estate in Pennsylvania.  When she arrives she finds that her new employer has died and his nephew, Jack O’Malley, has inherited the estate. 

Jack O’Malley is a policeman who was injured in the line of duty.  He and Beth are immediately attracted to each other.  He knows Beth is hiding something but decides to let her stay as his caretaker.  Jack wants to help but Beth must learn to trust him with her secret.

I said She Can Run was only OK for several reasons.  The story tries to be too many things while including too many story lines.  It is romance (which happened with out any buildup only immediate attraction), suspense (there is more than one bad guy after Beth and there are times when it leads to confusion), and a little paranormal (the paranormal shows up with a side character that does not have much of a role and is in only a few scattered scenes).  I don’t think She Can Run cut out a publisher as much as it found one willing to publish and promote.

While there is no publisher listed on the front pages of the book on the back there is the following:

“Montlake Romance connects reader with fresh, innovative, and swoon-worthy love stories across a broad range of categories – from historical to contemporary, romantic suspense to paranormal fantasy.”

Montlake Romance published She Can Run by Melinda Leigh in 2011.