Monday, October 31, 2016

Dark Desires Books in Nina Croft Blog Tour

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - October 28, 2016


I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and join the fun.

The Beginning:

"The English Duke is dead."

Page 56:

"We must speak no more on this subject. Bainbridge is happy and the choice of wife is his alone."

From The Adventuress, A Lady EmilyMystery, by Tasha Alexander. This is one of my favorite historical mystery series. It is set in the early 1900 and features setting around the world. I just started reading today and am having trouble putting it down to write this post.


Short and Sweet Book Reviews #53 - The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi, Frost Line by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

The Water KnifeThe Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Water Knife tackles an issue that has its roots in events today. Water in the Colorado River is wanted by many and each group will go to great lengths to get it. Set in the future when many cities have been cut off from their water supple and have died the book follows three main characters. Angel is the water knife for Las Vegas. The Water Knife is the person who cuts the water to one location so that another can use it. Maria seems to be a side character who still keep showing up and
Lucy is a journalist. At risk is the location of a new source of water and Angel is determined to find it. This is a fast paced action driven story that kept my attention through the book. They did find what they were looking for but end left what happened to each of the three main character up to the reader An interesting and timely book. We are not there yet but it could happen unless we act now.

 Frost LineFrost Line by Linda Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Frost Line starts out looking like a murder mystery/thriller. It changes when a terrified young boy accidentally summons Lenna, Strength, one of the people on a long lost set of magical
Tarot cards. From there it is a race to find the man who killed the young boys mother complicated by the fact that Lenna has several Hunters on her trail trying to return her to where she belongs. This is a fun read with lot of action and suspense. I enjoyed meeting Lenna and Caine, one of the hunters who needs to find the cards and bring Lenna back. Of course, Lenna finds that she loves being able to leave the world where she lives and Caine finds that he loves Lenna. A nice blend of fantasy and romance with a interesting supporting cast keeping the action moving. While the book is short the story is complete.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Alien Contact For Kid Sisters by Edward Hoornaert - Review and Giveaway



Alien Contact for Kid Sisters
by Edward Hoornaert

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GENRE: Science fiction

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BLURB:

Marianne Harmon is sick and tired of being just the kid sister of the famous queen of Kwadra Island. Although she daydreams about being a warrior, when rebels bomb the royal ball she’s shunted to one of the many tunnels that honeycomb Kwadra, where she awaits a captain of the valiant Royal Guardians.

Quinn Lebatarde, a scam artist fleeing the police, dons the uniform of a Royal Guardian killed by a tunnel collapse. When Marianne mistakes him for her bodyguard, Quinn can’t decide whether to save the feisty maiden, fall in love with her—or kidnap her. With bloodthirsty rebels pursuing them and a treasure map in his pocket, what will he choose?

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EXCERPT

Marianne’s rage melted around the edges and turned into tears that slipped down her cheeks. She wanted to believe him. Even now, knowing the truth about him, she wanted…something.

He stepped toward her. If he touched her, she would shatter.

"Stop!" She backed into the door and aimed the pistol between his eyes. "You liar! You lied about everything. You probably killed Charleyjohn yourself—"

"No, no." He kept coming, arms outstretched, face ecstatic.

With her butt, Marianne pushed the swinging door open. She backed into the hallway, still pointing the gun. The door swung shut behind her.

Quinn pushed it open again and stood in the entrance. "Charleyjohn was already dead." He stepped toward her. "The bomb dislodged rocks that hit him on the head. I wished him a happy last journey and borrowed—"

"Filch said," she interrupted, "you were probably trying to ransom Elfy and me."

That stopped Quinn, and even sent a ripple of concern across his face.

"Is he right?" Her voice wavered. His guilty expression appalled her. "Admit it, bastard."

"Well…yes," Quinn said, "but. It's a big butt, too." With a merry laugh, he slapped his bottom with the sound of flesh on flesh.

"It's true, then? You've been kidnapping us? Oh, God."

"Yes, but—"

Marianne aimed the needler and squeezed the trigger.
 

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REVIEW:


While this is a romance it is also a story of how two people change and grow as they are forced to work together.  Throw in a young spoiled bratty character who adds to the spice in the story and it gets even better.  Marianne loves her older sister while yearning for something meaningful for herself.  Quinn is a con man who finds that he wants to live up to the uniform he took from a dead man.  Together they go on a journey where they grow into better and different people as they work together.  Look for adventure and romance as the story progresses to a satisfying end.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

What kind of guy can write romance? A guy who married his high school sweetheart a week after graduation and is still living the HEA decades later. A guy who’s a certifiable Harlequin hero in his own right—he inspired Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Rita Award finalist Mr. Valentine, which is dedicated to him.
Ed started out writing contemporary romances for Silhouette Books, but these days he concentrates on science fiction and sf romance. In addition to novelist, he’s been a teacher, principal, technical writer, salesman, janitor, and symphonic oboist. He and wife Judi live in Tucson, Arizona. They have three sons, a daughter, a mutt, and the galaxy’s most adorable grandson. Visit him at http://eahoornaert.com.


Contact links
Website/blog
Goodreads
Amazon
Subscribe to Ed’s World (newsletter)


Buy links:
Alien Contact for Kid Sisters will be Free during the tour.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Edward Hoornaert will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit the other blogs on the tour:

October 12Books,Dreams,Life
October 19Romorror Fan Girl
October 19Ms. J Mentions...
October 26Where Landsquid Fear to Tread
October 26Mixed Book Bag
November 2The Avid Reader
November 2Am Kinda Busy Reading!

Look Back Wednesday - For Heaven's Eyes Only by Simon R. Green

 LOOK BACK WEDNESDAY IS A FEATURE HERE ON THE BLOG.  THERE ARE SO MANY REALLY GOOD BOOKS I HAVE REVIEWED ON GOODREADS SO I DECEIDED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME FROM THE PAST.  THIS MONTH I AM FEATURING BOOKS POSTED ON MY GOODREADS MYSTERY SHELF.  EACH REVIEW IS A DIRECT POST FROM MY GOODREADS REVIEW. 

For Heaven's Eyes Only (Secret Histories, #5)For Heaven's Eyes Only by Simon R. Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I just finished listening to For Heaven's Eyes Only by Simon Green. I have read other series by Simon Green and wondered if I would like this one.

This is book five in Simon Green's The Secret Histories series. The series features field agent Edwin "Eddie" Drood - aka secret agent Shaman Bond.

"A horrifying presence is growing and the threat of a mysterious Great Sacrifice looms. Although Eddie has always been something of an outside, he - with help from his witch lover Molly Metcalf - will have to rise to the occasion to help thwart the menace and save his people."

For Heaven's Eyes Only was fun to listen too but I would not want to read the book. There is a lot of blood and gore. Saving the world involved killing a lot of people. If you read the book don't expect any happy ending. Once the current problem is solved the book ends with a cliff-hanger that will be the theme for the next book.


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #52 - Cowboy Unwrapped by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Ghost Maker by Robin D.Owens, The High Ground by Melinda Snodgrass

Cowboy Unwrapped (Thunder Mountain Brotherhood, #8)Cowboy Unwrapped by Vicki Lewis Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is Christmas and Jake Ramsey has come home to Thunder Mountain Ranch. For Jake home is where the heart is and he realizes that his heart is here where he grew up. Meeting up with his old high school flame, Amethyst Ferguson, turns out to be the start of a hot relationship. He would like more but Amethyst is determined to go off the LA to pursue her singing career. This is another heartwarming story. There is more than just romance involved. Part is following your heart and deciding what makes you feel successful and brings you joy in your life. Since it is Christmas some of the previous men of Thunder Mountain play an important part in the story.


Ghost MakerGhost Maker by Robin D. Owens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clair and Zack are off on another dangerous assignment. This starts off with Zack looking for a missing street kid and Clair looking for a good ghost to heal her spirt wound. Then the two quests collide and become intertwined. Clair and Zack are still working on accepting the changes in their lives and the new love they feel for each other. This quest adds to the tension between the two as they come to terms with those changes. Part of the problem is how short a time they have been together; just a little over a month. There is a very lovely ghost and a very bad ghost that drive this story line that is different from the previous books. Both are part of the both the problem and the solution for our two new lovers. Great addition to the Ghost Seer story line. This can stand-alone but is best if you start with book one.


The High Ground (Imperials, #1)The High Ground by Melinda M. Snodgrass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a lot that is familiar in The High Ground. The setting is a military academy named The High Ground.. Trace, one main character, is there on a charity scholarship. Mercedes, the other main character, is the daughter of the Emperor. The first meeting between the two is accidental and neither knows who the other is. That changes as the two arrive on the first day. The Emperor has no sons and has made his daughter his heir. She is the first woman to go to the High Ground. Trace dislikes the upper class and did not want to take the scholarship. Both are a little off balance and find that they have more in common than you would suppose.

The action is predictable but very well done. Everything in the story helps set the stage for the next book in the series. In Evil Time, book 2, in The Imperials Saga will come out in July of 2017. I look forward to seeing both Trace and Mercedes again. After how the book ended it will be interesting to see how the two interact after they leave The High Ground.



View all my reviews

Monday, October 24, 2016

The Bridesmaid's Checklist: Laura's Wedding by K.T. Castle - Review and Giveaway


The Bridesmaids’ Checklist: Laura’s Wedding
by K.T. Castle

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GENRE: New Adult Chicklit Romance

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BLURB:

Kassandra is a single, independent woman who prides herself on her own success. But when she’s asked by her best friend Laura to be the Maid of Honor in her wedding, Kassandra finds herself questioning her lifestyle. Helping Laura plan the wedding is no problem—she’s done it before for all their other friends. The first time was a blast, the second super fun, but doing it without receiving any help from the rest of the girls gets old really fast.

The whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend's fiancé really is, and she's torn between supporting Laura's future happiness and hiding the deeply buried, intimate past she shares with the groom-to-be. Struggling to be the bigger person and do all the hard work on her own, Kassandra finds surprising comfort in Josh, the best man in the wedding and someone she's been avoiding for years. He's charming, thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of womanizer, but she just can't seem to stay away. All the while, Kassandra can't help wondering if the wedding could be any more cliché—until she finds unexpected ways to change things up a bit.

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REVIEW


While this looks like a story about how to put on a friends wedding it is also a story about personal growth.  Kassandra is about to be the last of her friends to still be single.  What is worse her best friend Laura wants her to plan her wedding.  After all she has done it for her other good friends so it should not be that hard.  Of course things do go wrong and as the story moves forward so do the changes in Kassandra’s life.  It was fun to follow Kasandra but also scary to watch as she realized that she was making some of her own problems and only she could change her life.  It was a nice HEA with a cliff-hanger ending.  Will another of Kassandra’s friends get her own book.  Looks like it.

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EXCERPT

From Chapter 1

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I’d heard that saying more than once now. And I was about to hear it once again.

“Kassie! Kassie, wake up! I’m getting married,” a high-pitched voice squealed at me at 3:00 a.m.

Who the hell is this? I had picked up the phone without even looking at the caller ID. Oh, Laura. Great.

“Kassandra, are you listening? I’m engaged!” Laura screamed from the other side of the phone.

“Yeah, wow,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“I can’t believe you, Kassie. You should be more excited. You’ll get to be my bridesmaid!” The volume of her voice kept rising.

“I’m happy for you, Laura.” I really didn’t know at the moment how I felt. I was trying to look around to see exactly where I was. “Believe me. It’s just…it’s three o’clock, and I was sleeping.”

After looking at my surroundings, I remembered I was in my own house. I had a minor headache, probably from all the drinking the night before, and my body ached a bit. I looked beside me and found the reason for my hurt.

Next to me I found the silhouette of a beautiful man. The memories of the few hours before my abrupt awakening came back at me:

A bar. A blond. My home. Some sex...in that order.

“I know it’s late, but I had to give you the good news.”

“And news it is.” She was the last of my best friends who was single; not so long ago we roamed all the bars in town together, looking for men to hook up with, and suddenly she was engaged.


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

K.T.  Castle  is  an  author/artist  in  progress.  She's on  a  quest  to  find  the  words,  forms,  and  colors  to materialize    the    worlds    and    people    of    her imagination.    She    never    saw    herself    as    an incurable romantic, but lately, that's what she finds herself  musing  about.  Love  is  found  everywhere, regardless  if  it  comes  from  a  nice  person,  an ass — mundane or even vampire. When  she's  not  busy with  work,  in  front  of  a computer  placing  many  thoughts  in  order,  she makes her best to be creative or relax with a good book and a snack. Some of her favorite characters are Sookie, Rule and Shaw, Bella, Edward, Clary, Jace, Wrath, Hollywood, Blaire, Woods, Ethan, the Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel.

Get to know her more on her social media pages.

Facebook: @KTCastle.author

Google+: K.T.Castle

Twitter: @KTCastle_author

Pinterest: KTCastle_author


Get a copy of her book on Amazon


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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner, and a copy of THE BRIDESMAID'S CHECKLIST: LAURA'S WEDDING plus an ARC of the next book in the series to another randomly drawn winner, both via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #51 - Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson, Do You Want to Cause a Scandal by Tessa Dare

Undead and Unappreciated (Undead, #3)Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJanice Davidson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Betsy just keeps getting better and better. This time there are several new character who play a part in Betsy's life as the new vampire queen. I love the way fashion is mixed into whatever new danger or problem Betsy finds herself in. I have to laugh about who she is so hung up on fashion. Shoes have never had as big a role as they do with Betsy. It best part was when she turned evil and did not care about what was on her feet. I am listening to the stories and the reader really does have the role down pat adding additional enjoyment to the books.


Undead and Unreturnable (Undead, #4)Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Betsy is getting married and nothing will stand in her way. There are things that are trying to intrude. Like a recently murdered ghost who want help in stopping her killer. Does Betsy do the smart thing about the killer. Of course not and poor Eric her intended groom is beside himself. This series is great fun. The audio book reader puts just the right tone of voice into her reading.


Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Spindle Cove, #5)Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everyone needs a good laugh and what is better than a lot of good laughs while reading a very entertaining book. Do You Want to Start a Scandal gave me the laughs and a good story to boot. Once again Tessa Dare manages to write a historical romance that had great characters who cause laugh out moments with their dialog. I loved the mystery attached to the story and the surprise near the end bought on more smiles. Charlotte Hightower is the last of the three Hightower sisters to find their HEA and Piers Brandon, Lord Granville is the perfect match for her.

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