Teaser Tuesday, January 21, 2014

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!)

My teaser is from a book that has been on my TBR pile for a few weeks.  It is Hell Bent: A Broken Magic Novel by Devon Monk.  It is the first in a new series by Monk.

Here is the teaser:

"She laughed, truly laughed.  It was a musical sort of thing that filled the silent places in me."

Here is why Goodreads says about the book:

"Instead of the deadly force it once was, magic is now a useless novelty. But not for Shame Flynn and Terric Conley, “breakers” who have the gift for reverting magic back to its full-throttle power. In the magic-dense city of Portland, Oregon, keeping a low profile means keeping their gifts quiet. After three years of dealing with disgruntled magic users, Shame and Terric have had enough of politics, petty magic, and, frankly, each other. It’s time to call it quits.

When the government discovers the breakers’ secret—and its potential as a weapon—Shame and Terric suddenly become wanted men, the only ones who can stop the deadly gift from landing in the wrong hands. If only a pair of those wrong hands didn’t belong to a drop-dead-gorgeous assassin Shame is falling for as if it were the end of the world. And if he gets too close to her, it very well could be."

Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Steampunk

Goodreads Summary:

"In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother's death. Then he's offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.

In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he's going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all."

I think the cover on Dead Iron is one of the best I have seen.  It just made me want to read the book and was one of the reasons I purchased the book.  It has also been on my TBR pile for some time and is another I wanted to finish before I left on my cruise.

Dead Iron is the first book in this series and as a result there is a lot of world building.  The setting is in the old west (Oregon).  There are witches, shapeshiffters, curses, and The Strange.  This is a land shaped by magic, steam and iron.

Cedar Hunt is one of the main characters.  He is a bounty hunter who has been cursed , becomes a wolf at each new moon, and reacts as a beast with no memory of what he does during that time.  He thinks that he killed his brother during one of his changes.  To make up for this he uses his skills to help when there is trouble. 

Rose Small is another of the main characters.  She was left as a baby and has never fit in.  She can see the Strange.  Mae Lindson is a witch.  One of the Strange has killed her husband.  She and Rose join Cedar in fighting the Strange and what they want to do to the world. 

The Madder’s are the last characters that join in the fight.  No one quite knows what they are.  They add a comic element to the book as they also help in the fight.

The plot is a good set up for future books in the series.  The story was well thought out, there is plenty of tension, and the hint of things to come. Dear Iron is a good story and a good start to a new series.

ROC published Dead Iron by Devon Monk in 2011.

Stacking The Shelves November 10, 2012

Welcome to my Stacking The Shelves post!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews so follow the link and check out what other stacked on their shelves this week.  

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books I am adding to my shelves each week letting me share with you my excitement for my newest books.

From Amazon:  I got a large order this week.

Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison

Unclaimed Bride by Lauri Robinson

Polterheist by Laura Resnick
Kris Longknife:  Furious by Mike Shepherd
The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Still Life with Shape-Shifter by Sharon Shinn

From Barnes and Noble:

Clean by Alex Hughes
Dead Iron by Devon Monk

From Netgalley:

Wildcat by Cheryl Brooks

Won:

Wild Encounter by Nikki Logan (From contest at Reading Reality)
Murmur of the Lonely Brook by Debashis Dey (From contest at The Readdicts) 

Book Beginnings on Friday October 19, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include  include the title and author so others know what you're reading.


My book beginning this week is from Magic in the Blood (Allie Beckstrom #2) by Devon Monk.  Barnes and Noble sent me a 15% off coupon yesterday and since I was out and stopped and used it to buy Magic in the Blood.  

Here is the beginning:

"I dunked my head under the warm spray of the shower and rubbed shampoo into my hair, wondering where my next Hounding job, and paycheck, were coming from."  

I am about a third of the way into the book.  There is a lot of back story at the beginning but it is worked as Allie finds herself with one job and and problems with three separate people.  

Here is the Goodreads summary:   

Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.