Stacking the Shelves September 21, 2013

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I am adding to my shelves. 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.

This was the week for a Amazon Vine Newsletter.  There were only a few books and none that I wanted so I hit the Last Chance button and picked several romances I had passed on before.

The Man from Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller
Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden
To Make a Match by Liana LeFey

Purchased or Free From Amazon:

A Disappearance in Drury Lane (Captain Lacey Regence Mysteries) by Ashley Gardner

Battle Scars by Sherly Nantus

The First Law Trilogy Boxed Set: The Blade Itself, BeforeThey are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

The Last Rakosh – A Repairman Jack tale (Repairmen Jack) by Paul Wilson

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Science Fiction

What Goodreads says:

"Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge."

Let me start by saying that I love Steelheart.  I received an ARC from Amazon Vine so got to read it before it came out.  That is the good news – the bad news is that I have to wait until the Fall of 2014 for Firefight, book two to come out.  So on to why I loved the book.

World Building:  It was spot on.  Steelheart is told in the first person and by page 13 the world had been explained in action and dialog, all from the view of an 8 year old.  As new elements were needed they arrived in the same way, through action and dialog.

Characters:  You meet David first in the prolog as an eight year old.  The next time you see him he is 18 and you get to watch him grow and change.  Next you meet the Reckoners (Tia, Prof, Cody, Megan, and Abraham) and get to know them as individuals.  You see much of their character as you watch them planning and then acting on their plans.   Then there are the Epics.  They are the focus of the story and each has an individual talent and a weakness.  You learn a lot about the Epics from the dialog between the Reckoners.  By the end of Steelheart you know and like David and the rest of the Reckoners team.  There are some surprises as some of the characters are not what they seem.  I saw some foreshadowing that gave a hint of things to come.

Plot:  This story focuses on taking out one of the more powerful Epics, Steelheart.  That drives the story and the actions of the characters.  It sounds like a very simple plot but as the story develops so do the characters and while the focus stays the same the reason for the action and the reactions of the characters keeps the plot from being one-dimensional. 

Tension:  There is internal tension within the team.  The fact that David is young and a new member sets up some of that.  There is the external tension as the team takes on Epics with super powers.  And then there is the tension when the plan and action do not work as planned.  All in all this is a tension filled book.

Writing:  I think all I need to say here is that Steelheart is written by Brandon Sanderson.  He is a master of the craft and Steelheart is a very good example of the mastery.

Pick up Steelheart for a book that is exciting, suspenseful and surprising.  There is a satisfying conclusion to the story in Steelheart but as I mentioned at the beginning this is the start of a series.  There are loose ends and the end of Steelheart is just the beginning of new problems.  Book Two, Firefight, comes out in the Fall of 2014.

Delacorte Press published Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson in 2013.

Book Beginnings on Friday September 20, 2013 - A Disappearance in Drury Lane by Ashley Gardner

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 the title and author so others know what you're reading.

My Book Beginning this week is from A Disappearance in Drury Lane ( a Captain Lacey Regency Mystery) by Ashley Gardner.  Today is the release date so it is hot off of the eBook press.  I pre-ordered the book and got the email telling me it had been sent to my Kindle this morning.  We are all getting the book beginnig on the same day.  For those of you who do not know Ashley Gardner is a pen name Jennifer Ashley.  

A Disappearance in Drury Lane 

Chapter One

"Late December 1817

Marianne Simmons came to me on a cold December day when I was packing away my old life in order to begin my new."

The Captain Lacey Regency Mystery series is one that started in print and was discontinued by the publisher.  When Jennifer Ashley got the rights back she published them in eBook form along with a book she had written before the series was canceled.  They sold so well that she has written additional books (there are eight in all) in the series.  A Disappearance in Drury Lane is the latest.  The Hanover Square Affair (Book One) is .99 at Amazon.  If you like Historical Mysteries give it a try.  The prices for all the books in the series range for .99 to 2.99.  I love the series and hope some of you give it a try.

 

A Tryst with Trouble by Alyssa Everett

 I published this review the first time on April 6, 2012.  I knew the book was purchased by  Dorchester Publishing and was in limbo when they closed their doors.  I loved it and went ahead and wrote a review hoping it would get picked up by someone else.  Well, it did.  Carina Press has published several other books by Alyssa and when the rights cleared they picked up A Tryst with Trouble.  When I saw it on the schedule I emailed Alyssa and told her I would re-post my original review near the release day.  I debated whether to cut the first paragraph of the review and decided to leave it in as it is part of the history of the book. Here it is my review of A Tryst with Trouble.  This is a really good book so I hope you will pick it up.

Historical Romance

I debated publishing this recommendation. Dorchester Publishing had A Tryst with Trouble scheduled to be released on April 1, 2012.  In March of 2012 Dorchester closed it doors and no one seems to know what will happen to the books where they had rights.  So I don’t know when this book will be available but because I really liked ( I don't give many 5 stars but I gave 5 on Goodreads) it I decided to mention it and hope it becomes available soon.  

Here is the Goodreads Summary:

"Dogged for years by painful gossip about his father’s homosexuality, the Marquess of Beningbrough—Ben, to his friends—has protected himself by becoming the ultimate man’s man. Passed over by suitor after suitor in favor of her pretty but vapid younger sister, clever, forthright Lady Barbara Jeffords has reached the disappointing conclusion most men are shallow, boorish clods. When a philandering footman turns up dead, the two square off: he’s sure she’s determined to pin the crime on his hapless young cousin, while she thinks he means to shift the blame to her sister. To find the real killer, Ben and Barbara must declare a truce that threatens to expose both their buried insecurities and their growing desire for each other."

I loved the characters, the dialog, the tension, and the romance.  Alyssa Everett used a difficult situation to great advantage in the book, one that you seldom see in main stream historical fiction.  I loved how she handled the Duk'es preferences for men and when finally asked by his son “why” she had an elegant explanation.  That preference was a driving force in his son’s development and affected much of his action.  You would think that would weigh down the book but it was handled with good taste and a lot of humor.  

I think Alyssa Everett has a great future as a historical romance writer.  Fortunately, Alyssa does have another book coming out so we will not have to wait for Dorchester to get sorted out to read her next book which will probably be her first published book. Ruined by Rumor was released by  Carina Press on May 25, 2012. I got a copy from NetGalley. You can see what I said about Ruined by Rumor in my What Else I Read in April post.  

I do plan to keep an eye out for future books by Alyssa Everett and hope this book will be published soon.

The Ultimatum (Rystani #3) by Susan Kearney

Science Fiction Romance

What Goodreads says:

"Dr. Alara Calladar needs a man...
...but she sure as krek doesn't want one.

If Alara doesn't make love soon, her cells will fail to regenerate and she'll die. Unfortunately, her only option is an enemy--Rystani starpilot Xander, her abductor... and a member of the race who has been battling hers since the beginning of time.
Xander issues an ultimatum: He'll make love to Alara only if she will use her psi-talent of identifying DNA to help him find the cure for the deadly Terran virus spreading across the galaxy.
Alara is trapped. She gives Xander what he wants--and gets when she needs. But Alara holds a pair of secrets: the more they make love, the more Alara's cells adapt to Xander's body, until the only person she can make love with is him--and the more time they spend together, the more Alara likes Xander.
When it seems that all the forces in the universe have aligned against them, can Alara trust Xander with her life... and her heart?

The Ultimatium is book three in the Rystani series but it works very well as a stand alone.  Some of the characters from the previous two books are mentioned but are not really a part of this story.

Backstory:  Everything is presented as part of the current story and explains the tension between the characters and the reason for the mission the characters undertake.  While this is part of a series there was never a time when I felt that I did not have the background I needed to understand the world.

Characters:  Susan Kearney knows how to create interesting and unusual main female characters.  Alara’s is unique because during certain times she has to have sex to regenerate or she dies.  At times that overshadows how intelligent she is.  Xander is the alpha male who brings her on his ship without knowing about the need Endekian women have.  Both are strong intelligent people who have to work out their problems in order to sued in their quest.  There are some very well developed secondary characters who add interest to the story.  Then there are the Perceptive Ones who show up in small segments scattered between the chapters.  

Plot:   It is fairly standard.  There is a virus that will kill everyone unless a cure is found.  There is a time limit that adds to the tension.  Secondary is the attraction between Alara and Xandar.

Writing:  The writing moves the characters and the plot along in an interesting manner.  The dialog was crisp, the action fit the plot and the characters moved in the manner that fit their development.  A very well done book.

I liked the story.  I am looking forward to reading next book in the series, The Quest.  If you like SFR this is a good choice for you.

Bell Bridge Books published The Ultimatum by Susan Kearney in 2013. 

This is a reprint as Tor published this in 2006.

I received an ARC of The Ultimatum from Netgalley

Teaser Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Hunter and the turtle.  Who is teasing who?

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!

My teaser today is from a book I received from Netgalley; Charming (Pax Arcana #1) by Elliott James.  If the title makes you think of a fairy tale think again.  This tease sets the tone for the book.  Charming is Urban Fantasy written in the first person and John Charming is the main character.  I loved the book.  If you want to know more look for my review of Charming on September 26.

"But make no mistake:  the reason there are so many stories about "Prince" Charming is that there was never one man - the Charming were an entire family line standing between humanity and all others generation  after generation, and in the old days it wa common to give any monster killer in a story royal status.  That is a heavy burden, but I carried my name proudly for as long as I was able."

Musing Mondays, September 16, 2013

Musing Mondays (http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/) asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits. • 
Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).

 • Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

Today my musing is about Science Fiction movies.  I have to admit I am not much of a movie person. When I go it is with a  group of friends and  they don’t like Science Fiction.   When a Science Fiction movie comes on I will say that I am going by myself but then I will pick up a book and read instead.   For the same reason I don’t have any of the premium movie channels but when the free weekends come on I record all the movies I meant to see but did not.  That same reading a book gets in the way of watching what I record so they pile up on my DVR.   I don’t feel like I have to hurry to see them but now I am up against a deadline.

 Friday I go with a new cable provider and a new DVR.  I will lose all of the movies I recorded to watch later so today is Sunday and I am on a movie marathon. I started with John Carter.  I know the critics panned it but I liked it.   It was different from the book but still entertaining.  I would give it a B or B+.
 

Cowboys and Aliens came next.  That one I found a little slow and fast forwarded through parts.  Something I could not do in the theater.  I would give it a C- or D+.

I, Robot was next.  I like Will Smith and the movie is good.  Again not much like the book but entertaining. It gets a B+.

I have a few to go before Friday.  Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter was next.  Fantasy instead of Science Fiction but not something  my movie buddies would go to.  It turned out to be a DNF.  Since I did not pay to see that was OK>

 This does have something to do with books as all of these movies are taken from books - I have read I, Robot and Edgar Rice Burrows Mars books.

I will report on my progress during the week next Monday.  By then what I have not watched will be gone.

Summer is for Lovers by Jennifer McQuiston

Historical Romance

Here is what Goodreads says:

"His heart is unavailable.

Luckily, her interest lies in the rest of him…

Though she was just a girl when they first met, Caroline Tolbertson’s infatuation with David Cameron remains undimmed. Now fate has brought the handsome Scotsman back to Brighton for what promises to be an unforgettable summer. Soon, Caroline will have to choose a husband, but for now she is free to indulge her curiosity in things of a passionate nature.

That is, if David will agree to teach her.

Past mistakes have convinced David he’ll make a terrible husband, though he’ll gladly help the unconventional Caroline find a suitor. Unfortunately, she has something more scandalous in mind. As the contenders for her hand begin to line up, her future seems assured…provided David can do the honorable thing and let them have her.

(Formerly called Brighton is for Lovers)

When a spirited young woman is determined to break Society’s rules, all a gentleman can do is lend a hand…or more."

I like stories that move away from London and the ton.  Summer is For Lovers does just that.  It is set in Brighton and while the ton is involved they are visiting and life is not as structured.  

Trope:  A man who feel he is unworthy of any one because of a past mistake.  A woman who must marry for money in order to help her family.

Plot:  Caroline met David years ago when she was 11.  Now she is older and feels that she must marry for money.  The only problem is the only one she wants is David and he says he will never marry.  There are twists and turns.   Some caused by two Mother’s who are busy interfering.  There were a lot of elements in the story that required me to suspend disbelief.

Characters:  I loved Caroline.  She is very independent  and does not even try to act as society thinks a women show behave.   David on the other hand is not as strong.  He knows what he wants but refuses to let go of the past.  There are some very good secondary characters who are essential to the story.

Writing:  The writing is very good.  I like the way everything moved and most of the story was introduced in dialog and action. 

Summer is For Lovers is a good choice for a lazy afternoon read.  Summer is For Lovers has a beautiful cover that matches the story. 

Avon will release Summer is For Lovers by Jennifer McQuiston September 24^th,  2013. 

There is still time for you to pre-order.

I received an eARC of Summer is For Lovers from Edelweiss.