Stacking the Shelves - October 18, 2014

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their 

shelves.

For Review:

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The Viscount’s Christmas Temptation by Erica Ridley

Death Defying by Nina Croft

From the Library: 

Festive in Death by J.D.Robb

Complete Guide to Natural Home Remedies by Joe and Terry Graedon

Hellhole Inferno by Brian Herbert and Kevin J.Anderson

Purchased:

Reckoning by S.J. Harper

Daring by Elliott James

Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56, October 17, 2014

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.

I have two blog tours posted today. Both have prizes. Click here and here to register to win.

Book Beginning:

Three Constellation warships descended through a sky that was spider-webbed with vapor trails.

Page 56:

Bolton didn't think it was a wise plan, but he could see the Redcom wouldn't change his mind.

From Hellhole: Inferno by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

What Else I Read/Listened To in September 2014

Books:

 Slimy Underbelly by Kevin J. Anderson - I have a hard time defining Slimy Underbelly.  What I can say about it is that it is great fun to read.  Much of it seems to be very tongue in cheek.  

Dan Shamble is a zombie detective who arrived back on the scene after an event that changed things on Earth.  He is joined with other paranormal characters who live in the Unnatural Quarter.  Look for fun characters, unusual events, new mysteries,and just a plain fun read.  It  amazes me how Kevin Anderson changes his writing style to match the story.  I have read several of his series and each has its own style.  The writing in Slimy Underbelly is a great fit for the characters, the plot and the series.

Beauty's Beast by Amanda Ashley - This is a reverse take on Beauty and the Beast.  Kristine is the Beauty and Erik is the Beast.  Unlike the original story where the Beast turns into a handsome prince here Erik is slowly turning into a beast.  Nothing anyone can do can stop the transformation.  Erik has been cursed and the witch who did the cursing is not about to change what is happening.  Love does not conquer all in this book.  It takes something else to get Kristine and Erik to their HEA.  This is a nice story filled with unusual characters.  If you like takes on the Beauty and Beast theme you will enjoy the story.

Free Agent, A Grimm Agency Novel by J.C. Nelson -   This is a

new take on Grimm.  Here he is a Fairy Godfather and he can grant wishes for a price.  Marissa Locks is one of his agents as a result of one of those wishes.  Her parents sold her to Grimm In return for her sisters health. There is quite a bit of world building and character development required for Free Agent.  All of that is done as a part of story line.  The plot is complicated and the results sometimes surprising.  It is a good story to set  up the series.  Many things are solved in Free Agent and with the solutions come the hooks for future stories featuring Grimm and Marissa.

Trial by Fire (Tales of the Terran Republic #2) by Charles E.

Gannon - Trial by Fire is a good follow up to the action in Fire with Fire.  This time there is war and humans are in the cross-hairs of several different species.  Military action is the backbone of Trial by Fire.  It was interesting to watch as humans fight for their lives against the invaders.  There are secrets buried within secrets and not all are on the human side.  A great follow up to the action in book one and a set up for further books in the Terran Republic series.  

The Littlest Cowboy (The Texas Brands Book One) by Maggie

Shayne - I became a Maggie Shayne fan with her de Luca and Brown books so when I saw a The Littlest Cowboy was free on Amazon I picked it up.  While this is a romance it is also a mystery.    Garrett finds a baby on his door step with a note naming him as the father.  Chelsea shows up after identifying the body of her sister who is the baby's mother.  It just get better and better as the book progresses.  Chelsea has issues with men, the baby's actual father (not Garrett) is not a good man and will do anything to get the baby.  Great plot construction, character development, and world building (in this case it is the Brand family of brothers and one sister that is the world).  I love the Brands and want to read the other books in the series. 

The Governess Club: Sara by Ellie MacDonald - Sara had that

one voice in her head for most of her life and the voice was telling her all the things she should not do.  Then she meets Nathan Grant.  Nathan has done some things in his past that make him think he is a very bad man. It takes both of them to change and finally realize they belong together.  I loved both Sara and Nathan.  Sarah quits listening to that voice and Nathan realized he is a better person than he thinks.  It was fun to watch them change, grow and come to their HEA.

The Owner Trilogy:  The Departure, Zero Point, Jupiter War by Neal Asher - This is a very large story divided into three volumes.  There is a surprise at the end.  Earth is in trouble, Alan Saul is escaping, and the adventure starts.  Be prepared for a lot of excitement, interesting characters and very ruthless action on the part of almost everyone.  This is a very dark story so if you want something light to read this is not the series to pick.

In Your Dreams (Blue Heron #4) by Kristan Higgins – With In

Your Dreams I have read all of the Blue Heron series and enjoyed them all.  Emmaline Neal and Jack Holland are the couple in this book. Emmaline needs a date for her ex’s wedding and Jack Holland just needs to get away.  There is a cute dog, a killer cat and visits with the couples from the previous three books.  There was a lot of back-story about both Emmaline and Jack.  That was told in long scenes that slowed the book down for me.  This is the weakest of the four books but still an enjoyable read.

Rock Courtship (Rock Kiss #1.5) by Nalini Singh – I love Singh’s

two paranormal series so wanted to give her New Adult series a try.  Rock Courtship is very well written with two appealing characters.  Thea has been burned.  David has been attracted to Thea from the first moment he met her.  Rock Courtship tells how they finally become a couple.  It is a nice story but I never felt the tension when the big problem arrived.  There is a big however for me.  I just skim the sex scenes in books and Rock Courtship is filled with sex both real and imagined.  I know this is what New Adult is so I was not surprised but that did not leave much actual story.  If you like New Adult you will enjoy the story.  For me I think I will stick to Singh’s other two series.

Christmas Brides by Suzanne Enoch, Alexandra Hawkins, Elizabeth Essex, and Valerie Bowman – If you are ready to start reading fun Christmas stories Christmas Brides comes out today, September 30.  The book contains a collection of previously published Christmas e-novellas.  Enoch has a kidnapping and a rescue, Hawkins a lady whose dowry is bringing in fortune hunters and maybe a murderer, Essex story has a arraigned bride who has unexpected qualities and Bowman’s story brings two people trying to escape marriage finding that maybe with the right person marriage would be very nice.  All four are nice well-written and developed stories that you can read in very small bites.

Audio Books:

1920:  America's Great War by Robert Conroy - This is an

alternate history that has Germany winning World War I and then invading the US.  It is an interesting take on what could have happen but did not.  It was interesting to see characters who I knew were real and to see how they reacted in a different setting.

Stacking the Shelves, August 2, 2014

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their 

shelves.

For Review:

It's In His Kiss by Jill Shalvis

Nexus by Nicolas Wilson

Slimy Underbelly by Kevin J. Anderson

Purchased:

A Daughter’s Place (Family Matters Book 1) by C.J. Carmichael

Broken Protocols 2 (Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series) by Dale Mayer

Caterpillar: A Short Sci-Fi Story by Ashlyn Forge

Obsidian (A Lux Novel) by Jennifer Armentrout

The Dark Between the Stars (The Saga of Shadows #1) by Kevin J. Anderson

Science Fiction

What Goodreads says:

Twenty years after the elemental conflict that nearly tore apart the cosmos in The Saga of Seven Suns, a new threat emerges from the darkness. The human race must set aside its own inner conflicts to rebuild their alliance with the Ildiran Empire for the survival of the galaxy.

Galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and factions of humanity are pitted against each other. Heroes rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale seven years in the making.

Saying I was thrilled to go back to the Universe Kevin Anderson created in The Saga of the Seven Suns would be an understatement.  I loved the Seven Suns and the Saga of Shadows promises to be just as great.  It has everything good Science Fiction should have.  There is danger, strange characters, aliens, tension, interesting world-building, a threat, and even a little romance.

It was great to find out what had happened to some of the characters from the Seven Suns.  It was even greater to meet the new characters and the new threat.  But wait!  I did meet one threat but there is another and there are just hints about what scares that threat we have met.  It seems everyone may be in trouble.

The writing in The Dark Between the Stars follows the same pattern seen in Seven Stars.  The chapters are short and each usually goes to a different location and different characters.  They don’t seem to be connected but as I read I could see how they were all beginning to weave together..  Don’t look for any conclusions in The Dark Between the Stars.  All of the characters and stories set the stage for the next book.

I do recommend reading the Saga of the Seven Suns first.  Since I knew the back-story of both the characters and the events I had no trouble knowing what was going on.  I think without that knowledge it would be much harder to get into the story.

I visited Anderson’s blog and saw where he had finished Blood of the Cosmos, the second book in the trilogy.  There was not publication date but hopefully it will be out soon.

Tor published The DarkBetween the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson in 2014.

Stacking the Shelves July 19, 2014

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their 

shelves.

From the Library:

The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey

By Its Cover by Donna Leon

Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes by Marcia Muller

Won:

From Sourcebook a tote bag with a great saying.  Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History .  The bag came with five books by Grace Burrowes.  Four I had already read, The MacGregor's Lady, The Bridegroom Wore Plaid, Gareth, and The Captive.  One I had not read.  In fact The Traitor has not been released yet.  It is due out August 5th.   

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56, July 18, 2014

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

Come Join us!

The Beginning:

"He had to run, and he fled with the boy out into the dark spaces between the stars."

Page 56:

"Since Ildirans didn't understand economics or payment, it was had to convince the swimmer kith to bring in regular deliveries of ingredients so Del could plan his distillery process line. But they were good neighbors, he supposed. He made do."

This is from Kevin J. Anderson's new trilogy set in the Universe of The Saga of the Seven Suns. The Dark Between the Stars is book one in the Saga of the Shadows. I loved the Seven Suns Saga and am very happy to see Anderson return to that world.

Book Beginnings on Friday, August 31, 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.


"I'm dead, for starters - it happens."

This is the beginning sentence for Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson.  This is a fun read with an unusual main character.  Read the Goodreads summary below to see why that beginning sentence sets the tone for the book.

Ever since The Big Uneasy unleashed vampires, werewolves, and other undead denizens on the world, it’s been hell being a detective—especially for zombie P.I. Dan Chambeaux. Taking on the creepiest of cases in the Unnatural Quarter with a human lawyer for a partner and a ghost for a girlfriend, Chambeaux redefines “dead on arrival.” But just because he was murdered doesn’t mean he’d leave his clients in the lurch. Besides, zombies are so good at lurching.
Now he’s back from the dead and back in business—with a case load that’s downright unnatural. A resurrected mummy is suing the museum that put him on display. Two witches, victims of a curse gone terribly wrong, seek restitution from a publisher for not using “spell check” on its magical tomes. And he’s got to figure out a very personal question—Who killed him?
For Dan Chambeaux, it’s all in a day’s work. (Still, does ***everybody*** [delete: the media] have to call him “Shamble”?) Funny, fresh, and irresistible, this cadaverous caper puts the P.I. in R.I.P….with a vengeance

Kevin J. Anderson always does a good job with his books and this is no exception.  Pick it up for a funny, twisted zombie tale.