Wake to Darkness (Brown and De Luca #2) by Maggie Shayne

Mystery/Thriller
 

What Goodreads Says:

"Stranded with a murderer...
Rachel de Luca's uncanny sense of perception is the key to her success as a self-help celebrity. Even before she regained her sight, she had a gift for seeing people's most carefully hidden secrets. But the secret she shares with Detective Mason Brown is one she has promised to keep. As for Mason, he sees Rachel more clearly than she'd like to admit...
After a single night of adrenaline-fueled passion, they have agreed to keep their distance—until a string of murders brings them together again. Mason thinks that he can protect everyone he loves, including Rachel, by taking them to a winter hideaway, but danger follows them up the mountain.
As guests disappear from the snowbound resort, the race to find the murderer intensifies. Rachel knows she's a target. Will acknowledging her feelings for Mason destroy her...or save them both and stop a killer?"

Wake to Darkness has a great deal of tension.  Like Sleep With the Lights On it is still focused on Eric Brown’s suicide and the people who got his organs as transplants. Mason Brown and Rachel de Luca are again thrown together because of a killer.  This time instead of the killer being someone who received a transplanted organ from Eric the victims are recipients of his organs.  That puts Rachel in the killer’s path.

I loved the interaction between Mason and Rachel and this time there are the members of each ones extended families in the mix.  This is a well written thriller that keeps the tension at a peak through the story.  I thought I thought knew who the killer was but I just could not see why they had a reason to hunt people down like they were.  That threw me off for much of the book.  There is also the tension between Mason and Rachel as they try to ignore the attraction they feel and just concentrate on the murders.

If you like a lot of tension with some off again on again romance thrown Wake to Darkness is a good choice.  It is OK as a stand alone but is much better if you read Sleep With the Lights on first.  There is a novella that is set in-between the two books if you want to get more of Brown and De Luca.

Mira published Wake to Darkness by Maggie Shayne in 2013.

Stacking the Shelver, December 7, 2013

Some of the Books Stacked on My Shelves

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.

My front yard 24 hours ago.  There is more snow on the ground now but no more coming down.

I am trying to refrain from adding to my TBR pile but I visited Netgalley and found six  book I had been waiting for.  Then I saw a free book I wanted to try and a .99 one I could not resist.  Then my Amazon Vine books came so here I am with 10 new books Stacking My Shelves.  

From Amazon Vine:

The Bride Says No by Cathy Maxwell

Alien Honor by Vaughn Heppner

From Amazon:

Love at Any Cost by Julie Lessman

Poison Princess by Kelsey Cole

From Netgalley:

Sweet Revenge by Rebecca Zanetti

The Chance by Robyn Carr

Four Friends by Robyn Carr

Let Me Be the One by Bella Andre

Come a Little Bit Closer by Bella Andre

Antonement by B.D. Daniels

Book Beginnings, December 6, 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 the title and author so others know what you're reading.

"You know that saying about lightning never strikes twice in the same place?  Well, I'm the living proof that it's totally false."

From Time Thief by Katie MacAlister.  This is the first book in a new series and has been on my TBR pile about 3 weeks.  I have gotten as far as the first two sentences.  Of course by the time you read this I will have read a lot more.

This is the front of my house at 5:00 a.m. today.  We have 6 inches of snow and it is still coming down.  This is the south so we just stay home when this happens.  Good thing to because all of the streets that would take me out to the highway are closed. 

Have Wormhole, Will Travel by Tony McFadden

Science Fiction

What Goodreads says:

"Vampires? No Such Thing.
Aliens, though, that's something else.
They've been here, living quietly among us, since before the Industrial Revolution.
Their goal: To ensure we never leave our Solar System. We have a bad habit of wiping out indigenous populations, and theirs is the nearest inhabited planet to ours.
So when a scientist at Sydney University harnesses the power of wormholes, making interstellar travel a virtual walk in the park, one of these tall, pale-skinned aliens, Callum, is forced to choose: destroy us, or help us survive the inevitable Armageddon.
8 billion Earthlings, and our survival is in the hands of one guy - alien - meant to wipe us out."

Start with three female friends who belong to a group looking for vampires.  Add two tall pale skinned men who they start to stalk and you have the beginning of a fun book.

I loved all the main characters.  The three female friends were wonderful main characters, the scientist was so typically self-centered and the aliens played off of them all.

McFadden took that old saying; “What comes around goes around” and used it to build a great story.  Pick up Have Wormhole, Will Travel for a fun read.

Createspace published Have Wormhole, Will Travel by Tony McFadden in 2013.

The Descartes Legacy by Nina Croft

Science Fiction/Mystery

What Goodreads says:

"Lucas Grafton has spent the last ten years hunting the Conclave, a secret organization who took everything from him: his wife, his child, his very identity. Now he has a lead—an imminent terrorist attack on London—code-named Descartes.
Born with a genetic illness, Jenna Young has always known she was different. But the unexpected death of her father catapults her into a world of murder and terrorism she never expected. In order to stay alive, she must solve a twenty-five year old mystery—and her only ally a hard bitter man in search or retribution, her only clue the Descartes Highlands, an area on the near side of the moon.
Luke’s need for revenge collides with Jenna’s hunt for the past, and together they must stand against the Conclave. All the while uncovering the truth behind Jenna’s illness, a truth that will make Jenna question her very humanity."

At the end of The Descartes Legacy Nina Croft tells how this book came to be.  It seems that one morning at breakfast Bob, her other half, asked her why she didn’t write a good book?   She says; “He survived (just) and I discovered his idea of a “good book” was one with no romance, no vampires, werewolves, or aliens.  I managed some of that, although the romance crept in (hey, I like romance) and just a tiny, little alien.  I hope he likes it.”

I don’t know how Bob feels about the result but I really liked it. 

Jenna Young is a great character. She is pro-active, stronger than she thinks and does not wait on others to save her.  She has been taught to keep others out of her life but changes when she needs to in order to survive. I loved her reaction to all that happened and how she took control in the end.

Luke Grafton is the ultimate loner, shutting everything personal out of his life.  He has a single-minded goal, find and destroy the Conclave.  When Jenna shows up on his radar as a way to get answers he tries to maintain his distance.  That is where the romance crept in.

The Descartes Legacy is a very well written and plotted story.  From start to finish the tension never lets up. Just when I though I knew what was going on a new surprise that changed everything was dropped into the action.  Everything from the world building to the character development kept the story moving.  Look for an exciting finish but it only solves part of the problem.  Now I have to wait for the sequel to see what happens next.

Entangled: Edge published The Descartes Legacy by Nina Croft in 2013.

Teaser Tuesday December 3, 2013

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.

"Ah,", Rafe said, resetting himself more comfortably.  "She's safe.  She's sleeping. I imagine it might be a couple of hours before she wakes up, so you could-"

"You will take me to her right now,"  the man said sharply."
(page 37)

Royal Airs (An Elemental Blessing Novel)    by Sharon Shinn
 

Musing Mondays, December 2, 2013

Musing Mondays is sponsored by Should Be Reading and 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).
 • What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
 • Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

I had knee surgery 13 days ago and for some time before and a lot of time after I have not felt like doing much.  Writing has been out but reading as been OK.  So I have spent my time reading down my TBR ebook pile.  Here are the Netgalley titles I have finished during this time and the date they are due for publication.  I felt like doing a little writing yesterday and three have reviews scheduled for publication.  That is the second date.  As you can see the date of publication does not affect my reading order.

Have Wormhole, Will Travel,  Nov 1 publication date, Review on December 5, 2013

Happy New Year, Baby Fortune, Dec 17 publication date

A Wicked Pursuit Feb 25 publication date

The Martian, Feb 11publication date

The Descartes Legacy Oct 2 publication date,  Review on December 4, 2013

Wake to Darkness, Nov 26 publication date

Big Sky Secrets, Dec 31 publication date

Everlasting Enchantment Dec 3 publication date

 Now to answer this weeks question:

 Do you have a preference between “person” in the books you read? Do you prefer third-person to first-person? Or don’t you care? And, why?

While I am reading more and more in first person I prefer third.  I think you get a bigger picture when written in third person.  Another preference is writing in the active instead of the passive mode.  I don't like to spend a lot of time in a characters head, I prefer dialog and action to tell the story.
 

Legend of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper

Paranormal Romance

What Goodreads says:

"The MacAlasdairs are not like other men.

Descendants of an ancient alliance, they live for centuries, shifting between human and dragon forms. Some wander the earth; some keep to their lands in Scotland. And Stephen MacAlasdair, the newest lord of the family, must go to London to settle his father’s business affairs. He brings an object of great power and greater darkness. He finds an enemy from his past, whose wrath is still living and deadly. And he meets an ally he’d never have expected.
 
1894 London, doesn't provide an easy life for women of the lower class, but Mina Seymour has managed to work herself up to a position as the secretary of a famous scholar. When a tall, dark Scottish stranger demands to see her employer, Mina is irritated; when MacAlasdair's departure leaves the professor worried, she’s suspicious. Determined to figure out the situation, she investigates further - and finds a world and a man she could never have imagined."

I love dragons and Stephen MacAlasdair in Legend of the Highland Dragon does not disappoint.  He and Mina Seymour have to carry the story and they both do a great job.  Stephen is the oldest in his clan.  Mina is a modern woman in 1894.  She is smart, strong, and driven.  They are thrown together when an old enemy reappears.

Their chemistry is wonderful but both fight the attraction even as they work together.  Mina had taken typewriter training and worked up from her lower class birth.  She sees the class difference as the problem.  Stephen is a shape shifter and in his other form is a dragon.  He sees that as the problem.

The story brings the two together in a well thought out plot that requires they to get over their per-conceived notions.  This is an interesting story that moves in a consistent manner to a great conclusion.   The writing is good, the characters are interesting, and there is a great journey to the HEA.

Stephen has a brother who shows up in the book.  It looked like there were hooks for future stories about the MacAlasdair family.

Sourcebooks Casablanca published Legend of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper in 2013.

I received an ARC of Legend of the Highland Dragon from Netgalley.