What Book Is That?

Review: A Hint of Frost

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:18:00 +0000

Title: A Hint of Frost
Author: Hailey Edwards
Page Count: 193 pages
Publisher: Samhain
Genre: fantasy romance, first in a series
Copy for review was purchased by me

Synopsis:
Hope dangles by a silken thread.
Araneae Nation, Book 1

When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.

Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.
*****

This book was absolutely amazing to read. I had heard great things about it from other reviews and the premise grabbed me right away, and it took having some free time over the holiday weekend for me to sit down and read. I'm so glad I did! If you love fantasy romance and if you're looking for something that's definitely not the same old same old, look no further than this.

I should mention, though, that if you have a thing against spiders, be prepared to have your paradigms adjusted. The elements of silk weaving and the people in the book having such spider like characteristics was super unique, but it meets you right at the front door, so to speak.

Anyway, where do I even start in talking about the fun I had while reading this book? The setting is as good a place to start as any- it's lush and vivid, with just enough detail to grab your attention and keep you salivating for more. I freely admit that there could have been another hundred pages just of world building and background on all the different clans in the world of this story and I would have gobbled it right up.

The characters, too, are dynamic and engaging. The use of first person narrative here was an excellent choice, as we got a really good sense of Lourdes and her motivations for doing things. She's a heroine whom I absolutely love- she makes a decision and goes with it and doesn't dither or apologize unless she's genuinely wrong. She does what she thinks is right and is guided by her strong principles. She also doesn't hide from things that are right in front of her face- like her feelings for Rhys.

As a partner to Lourdes, we couldn't have gotten a better hero than Rhys. He's deep and has a lot going on, and he's so enamored with Lourdes from the first moment he meets her. It's very sweet. He doesn't think Lourdes will really care for him, and when he realizes she does, he's overwhelmed. Alpha without asshole. It's nice!

I love the tone and banter of writing and between the characters as well. Take this exchange between Rhys and Vaughn, his brother:

Vaughn stifled a yawn. “Is there a point to this bedtime story?”

Rhys picked the fork from Vaughn’s plate and drove it into his brother’s thigh. “There. I’ve made four points for him.” He yanked it free. “Show him respect or I’ll make four more.”

Vaughn spoke through clenched teeth. “A warning would have sufficed.”

Speaking of Vaughn, he's an interesting character too, and one I hope we learn more about in future books.

I could seriously go on and on about this book and how much I enjoyed it. I'm a definite fan of this series now and will be reading the next book when it comes out. I highly recommend making room for this book in your summer reading schedule- it's one of my favorites of 2012 so far.

Overall Rating:

Two Audiobooks: Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:08:00 +0000

I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday weekend! I'm traveling this weekend which involves a lot of time sitting in airports. That coupled with the fact that the end of the school year is seriously kicking my butt makes it an excellent time to listen to audiobooks. I've been on a huge Agatha Christie kick lately, between my audiobooks and the Poirot movie series. My dearly beloved jokes that I've heard David Suchet (the guy that plays Poirot in the movies and also is the narrator of these two audiobooks) talking more than I've talked to him! Audible is full of excellent renditions of Christie classics, so between that and other series I'd like to get as audiobooks I'd say my credits are well spoken for.

Here's what I've been listening to lately:

Death on the Nile- the version shown here isn't the exact version, as this one is full cast and in my version, David Suchet narrates the entire story, but this is still a good story nonetheless. It's one of the ones where there are definite acts to the story, with different locations and events and lots of red herrings for everybody. The main event happens as Poirot and the rest of the cast are cruising up the Nile and then the body count starts piling up. I've read this as a print book before so I knew who the murderer was and how all the plot pieces fit together in the end, but it's still fun to see the events unfold and to follow along. I listened to this one while trudging through a mountain of work paperwork and it made the whole experience much more fun. Gotta love it!

My second book for this post, Evil Under the Sun, got me throguh my flight delay on Friday and was a great way to spend my traveling time before I got to my destination. In terms of the overall timeline, this book happens after Death on the Nile and the events of that story are referenced briefly in the beginning of this one. There are some similar plot elements between the two, particularly when you get down to who the killer actually is here and what their motives are. I had seen the movie adaptation of this one and vaguely remembered some of the details so it was a lot of fun getting reacquainted. When it was all said and done this ended up being one of my favorite Poirot mysteries.

Now I have to decide what I'd like to listen to next! I have a bunch of other titles waiting in the wings, especially from past sales at Audible, but I also get to pick a new book soon with my monthly credit. Any recommendations?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Sites I Read that AREN'T About Books

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Believe it or not, it was pretty hard for me to come up with ten sites that I visit regularly that don't in some way pertain to books. I know they exist, but actually pulling the names out of my memory took a second. Especially in light of *yet another* round of blog drama going on right now, it's nice to have some other things to read. Just saying.

Anyway, on to the list! Notwithstanding Facebook and the Angel site for my class and my work email and junk like that, here are...

Top Ten Sites I Visit That AREN'T Book Related (In No Particular Order)

1. Feeling Stitchy- I love needlework and embroidery and the pictures on Feeling Stitchy are always so inspiring and beautiful.

2. and 3. XKCD and Questionable Content- my two favorite comics.

4. The Worst Things for Sale- Drew from Toothpaste for Dinner brings us the most horrible things ever to be vomited out of the internet that we can purchase for ourselves if we are silly enough to want to do that.

5. Pinterest- Pinterest is actually a good way for me to recharge my batteries because it combines a lot of my favorite things in one place- cooking, craft projects, neat ideas for activities for my classroom, visually appealing stuff.

6. Design Seeds- I could look at these little color swatches and corresponding photos forever.

7. Bakerella- Mmmm cake. And other things.

8. Foodgawker- If you find yourself in need of new food/cooking blogs to follow, look no further. Yum.

9. BoingBoing- There's always so much to see here that I end up with a massive starred folder to go through later. Life is rough.

10. Hyperbole and a Half- Although it hasn't been updated lately since the author has a book coming out, this is one of my favorite places to go to read funny things. How Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas is now a family tradition for us.

Happy Tuesday!

This Just In: SYNC Has 20 Audiobooks for You!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Major props to Ms. Martin Teaches Media for posting about this!

Sync is a project that aims to get audiobooks into the hands of listeners, especially students, and also emphasizes that required summer reading doesn't have to be done with a print book- you could do it with an audiobook instead! To that end, for ten weeks this summer, Sync will have one YA book paired with one "classic" book to download for FREE! Here are all the details, according to the press kit:

SYNC YA Literature into Your Earphones

2 Free Audiobook Downloads Each Week
June 14 - August 22, 2012

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature will have the opportunity to listen to bestselling titles and required reading classics this summer. Each week from June 14 - August 22, 2012, SYNC will offer two free audiobook downloads.

The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading lists. For example, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the first book in a new series about a girl who opens a door to two otherworldly cities at war, will be paired with Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities.

To find out when you can download titles to listen to on the run this summer, visit www.AudiobookSync.com or text syncya to 25827.

SYNC Titles
Summer 2012

06/14/12-06/20/12
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Read by Dan Bittner (Scholastic Audiobooks)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Frank Galati [Adapt.], Read by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, and a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

06/21/12-06/27/12
Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie (Listening Library)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Media)

06/28/12-07/04/12
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones
(Listening Library)
Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens
(Naxos AudioBooks)

07/05/12-07/11/12
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross (AudioGO)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm (AudioGO)

07/12/12-07/18/12
Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot (Harper Audio)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz (Recorded Books)

07/19/12-07/25/12
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter (Oasis Audio)
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast (AudioGO)

07/26/12-08/01/12
Pinned by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan (Listen & Live Audio)
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Brilliance Audio)

08/02/12-08/08/12
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam (Hachette Audio)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble (Blackstone Audio)

08/09/12-08/15/12
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas (Harper Audio)
Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast
(Galaxy Press)

08/16/12-08/22/12
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga'aia (Bolinda Audio)
The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Read by William Roberts (Naxos AudioBooks)

I'm already signed up to receive text alerts and am looking forward to scoring some seriously awesome free audiobooks! Check out the website to sign up for email or text alerts and to read up on all the titles being offered this summer. I can't wait!

You've Lost That Loving Feeling...

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:05:00 +0000

Hello friends! It's been awhile since my last bloggy confession, and while lots of things have been going on since my last post, reading hasn't really been one of them. I'm trying to read some more nonfiction and so I've been taking a little bit more time to get through books in order to make sure I don't miss anything. I've also got a bunch of audiobooks going and am enjoying them all, but I just need to hunker down and finish them!

I confess that blogging has not really had much appeal lately. I always enjoy reading other people's reviews and comments and discussions but lately I haven't really been motivated to generate much content of my own, as the space between reviews no doubt indicates. I blame a lot of this on recent drama in Mudville, and I won't rehash it here because UGH, but when my time is so limited to begin with it seemed like other things would be a better use of it.

This happens to me periodically, and I usually get my groove back sooner or later- I anticipate the end of the school year will help me out in that department. Summer also means that my two big anticipated reads of 2012- Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh and Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews- will be released and that I will be hitting the beach with excellent books in tow. This summer I really want to use my beach time to catch up on and revisit series that I really love- the Dark Hunter series, the Pink Carnation series, Pendergast, Harry Potter, the Charles Lenox mysteries, and so many others- so it should be a good summer indeed. We only have five weeks of school left so the break is very close! Even though I teach summer school I find that my time and motivation for reading definitely increases over the summer.

What are you all up to? What's the last great book you've read? What are you reading now?

Review: Enemy Within

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:28:00 +0000

Title: Enemy Within
Author: Marcella Burnard
Page Count: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: science fiction romance, first in a series
Copy for review was purchased by me

Synopsis:
An intergalactic cold war-and some heated passion- from an inventive new voice in futuristic romance.

After a stint in an alien prison, Captain Ari Rose wonders why she even bothered to survive. Stripped of her command and banished to her father's scientific expedition to finish a Ph.D. she doesn't want, Ari never planned to languish quietly behind a desk. She wasn't built for it, either. But when pirates commandeer her father's ship, Ari once again becomes a prisoner.

As far as pirate leader Cullin is concerned, Ari's past imprisonment puts her dead center in Cullin's sights. If she hasn't been brainwashed and returned as a spy, then he's convinced she must be part of a traitorous alliance endangering billions of lives. Cullin can't afford the desire she fires within him and he'll stop at nothing, including destroying her, to uncover the truth.
*****

Gracious I love a good science fiction romance. This one was definitely unique, and not for the faint of heart- Ari has overcome a lot of trauma in her past and that trauma is almost a character in and of itself. Trigger warnings should abound so consider them included prior to anything else.

By all accounts, Ari Rose shouldn't be alive. After a stint as a prisoner of war under some ugly, grotesque, tentacled, reptilian horrors who don't typically leave survivors, Ari is trying to overcome a crippling case of PTSD and somehow pull her life back together. People walk on eggshells around her and she absolutely hates it but at the same time she understands that the trauma she's experienced does set her apart from others; people just don't understand what she's been through and how that affects her.

So there she is, working on an advanced science degree under the tutelage of her father, a famous scientist himself, and into her world crashes Cullin Seaghdh, a space pirate and a whole lot else. I can't get into a whole lot about Cullin's true identity because that would be telling, but suffice it to say that he is much, much more than he appears and he has an agenda that has to be seen to be believed.

The fact is, Ari is an unusual person because of her ordeal, and because of many other factors that are revealed throughout the story. The level of detail in this story is perfect- not so much that the plot grinds to a halt but not so few that the pacing is off. The supporting cast, too, is excellent; I especially enjoyed reading about Ari's relationship with her father. Turns out everyone gets things wrong sometimes, and the resolution of that conflict was sweet in many ways.

This book is also interesting because there are definitely parts where it's more of a sci-fi novel and parts where it's more a romance. Cullin and Ari are perfectly matched; they like the same things, have the same values, and Cullin understands the impact that Ari's experiences have had on her and is on her side. I loved the ongoing element of the Art of the Blade and the role that it played in their relationship, as they're two most skilled practitioners. The fact that Cullin is a bit of a fanboy for Ari even before he meets her is very sweet.

Like I said, there were parts of this book that were tough to read, but I understand why they were included. Not everyone would approve, and that's okay, but if you're willing to give it a go then I highly recommend Enemy Within as an example of really engrossing science fiction romance. I can't wait to read book #2 and beyond!

Overall Grade:

Review: Alpha Instinct

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:31:00 +0000

Title: Alpha Instinct
Author: Katie Reus
Page Count: 398 pages
Publisher: Signet
Genre: paranormal romance
Copy for review was purchased by me

Synopsis:
Fear has a scent. So does desire…

Ana Cordona has been a strong leader for the lupine shifters who survived after all the males and most of the females in her pack were mysteriously poisoned. As tough as she is, with no Alpha male, the pack is vulnerable to the devious shifter Taggart, who wants to claim both their ranch and Ana as his own. When Connor Armstrong comes back into her life, promising protection, it’s almost enough to make Ana forget how he walked out on her before—and reluctantly accept his offer to mate.

The minute Connor sees Ana again, it reawakens a raw hunger. He must have her for his bondmate—his wolf cries out for it. But his human side knows he must proceed with caution because of their complicated past. If he is to truly have her body and soul, he must go beyond his burning desire and win back her heart. Whatever it takes, he is determined not to leave her side again.

But Taggart and his rival pack are not their only enemies. A human element in town is targeting shifters. Their plan not only threatens Ana and Connor’s future, but the lives of the entire pack…

I freely admit a couple of things, to start this review off honestly- I read this book back in February, and I had really, really (perhaps unfairly) high expectations going into it. With that said, I don't feel as if this book completely lived up to my expectations, but I would be open to reading more books in the series to see if some of my issues are resolved in future installments.

I think this book suffered from having too much going on all at the same time. There's the unsolved poisoning that killed many, many members of Ana's pack, the political uneasiness that was caused by the power vacuum left when Ana's father died, the emotional drama caused by Connor reappearing on the scene, Taggart's icky advances, and all of the supporting characters (of which there are legion) having their own issues meant that there were many things going on and not a lot of forward momentum in the plot until the very end. Not every story has to be single-minded with the only focus being on getting the main characters over the HEA finish line and I love a complex plot as much as the next person but some of the side stories here probably should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

If I had to pick a word to describe the relationship between Ana and Tanner, it would probably be awkward. Tanner reappears after a fifty year absence, and has loved Ana the whole time, but he has a hard time understanding why Ana is so skittish around him. I feel like heroines get a bad deal in these types of situations because obviously the guy had Reasons for doing what he did and she should just accept them and be happy, but feelings don't work like that! There were a lot of circumstances behind their separation and I thought it was unreasonable for Ana to just blindly accept everything at face value.

I'm not completely letting Ana off the hook, though, because she had no trouble accepting lots of other things at face value when a little bit of critical examination would have saved a lot of heartache. Both her and Tanner are imperfect, which is fine because all people are imperfect, but in life there's no page limit to tell a story, and in a book there is, and the overall forward motion of the story wasn't as consistent as I would have liked.

As a side note, the fact that every single member of Connor's pack is an unmated male looking to settle down was a little Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for me, and not so much in a good way. This is an issue I have with the genre as a whole and not specifically with this book but I wanted to bring it up anyway. Seriously, not one of these guys could have found a mate outside of this group they want to move in with? I know it serves the purpose of setting up future installments in the story but still.

With all of this having been said, I do want to point out that the story still kept me reading start to finish and I was happy for the main characters when they finally reached happiness together. I would definitely be interested in reading another book in this series to see how things progress from here and as a first in a series I do understand that there was a lot that had to be established for the sake of future books. I'd be interested in seeing the series grow from here.

Overall Grade:

News from the field.

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:22:00 +0000

Finding the time to blog has been really challenging lately! As we wind down the school year I have more work projects than I know what to do with, and adding in the fact that I've gone back to school and am trying to do things like cook, clean, and exercise more (I'm training for a 5k- race day is next Sunday) and I've found my reading/blogging/lounging time has been put to use for other things.

This isn't a bad thing, not at all, and kind of goes along with my overall plan for 2012 for the blog, which was to focus on quality and not quantity when it comes to posts and reviews and all that. I've done a pretty good job so far, but in order to keep things up in that arena I've had to make some tough choices, and they are as follows.

As of today, What Book is That? is closed for review submissions. I had to face the music that I have more books to read than I know what to do with and it's not doing anyone any good if I never get the chance to read any of them. Instead, I'll focus on the ones I already have by not accepting any more into the pile. My review policy will be updated accordingly and I will post again if/when submissions reopen.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend Authors After Dark 2012 in New Orleans in August. This was a serious bummer but I took a long hard look at my finances and there isn't any way to make it happen unfortunately. With that said, I'll do my best to fulfill the author feature slots for which I've already received information, but I won't be openly pursuing any more as that wouldn't be fair to other bloggers who are actually attending the con and want the author features completed prior to attending.

In light of all the recent unpleasantness in the blogosphere, and I won't be linking to any of it because that won't be helping the situation, I think it's important for everyone to take a second and check your own priorities and ways of handling things. I've done this myself, and while blogging is and always has been something I do for fun and to connect with other people, and not something that defines me or who I am as a person. Tom Robbins (my favorite writer of all time) in Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (my favorite book of all time) included a character of a talking parrot, and that parrot always said "people of ze wurl, relax!" That's what I say to all of this: People of the world, relax.

Top Ten Tuesday: Tips for New Bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:40:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This week's theme is Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers. This topic seems to come up every so often but my advice remains pretty much the same. I'll be celebrating my third blogging birthday in August and when I look back on what I've learned since I started some themes definitely stand out.

Before we get started, here are some other posts that I've written on the subject (in no particular order:)
Find My Voice? I Didn't Know I'd Lost It!
You Have to Grow Where You're Planted, or, Why You Shouldn't Let People Tell You How to Write
Make it Stop! Make it Stop! (Writing Really Negative Reviews)
Wipe Up the Drool: Writing Extremely Positive Reviews

Hopefully you'll find those trips down memory lane to be...interesting. Anyway, on to the top ten!

Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers
1. There is no right or wrong way to review a book. Format the review any way you want to, include the details that you want to include, and review the book honestly. If you liked it, say why. If you didn't like it, say why.

2. Spellcheck. Even though this isn't anything that's being submitted for a grade or anything like that, it's still for public consumption and you want to put your best foot forward. By that same count, remember that spell check doesn't catch everything and you need to proofread too. Remember- a heroin addict is someone who needs rehab, while a heroine addict is someone who needs a book club. Just saying.

3. The preview feature is your friend. Blogger has this feature, and I'm sure Wordpress has something similar, but preview your blog posts before you post them. You'll catch a lot of weird formatting, awkward phrasing, or junk code that way. I know I do!

4. Don't stress out about getting review books. They will come, if that's something that you're concerned about. If you decide to never accept a review book and only want to review books you get from the library, that's totally fine too! The point of book blogging is to talk about books with other people. The source of the books isn't the deciding factor.

5. Reply to comments. Everyone has phases where they're busier than others, but this is one area that's easy to work on and doesn't really take all that much time. I figure, if someone took the time to comment on something I wrote, I can take the time to acknowledge what they said and keep the conversation going. It's a work in progress but I'm working on it!

6. Turn off Captcha/any other word verification. In three years of blogging I have never had enough spam comments to make an extra step like this worthwhile. It's annoying, it keeps people from commenting, and if someone wants to spam they can do it anyway. Turn. Off. Captcha.

7. If you want to do memes, do memes. If you don't, don't. There are a ton of good ones out there, and this in and of itself is a meme so I do them too! Personally I like a nice balance of meme and content (reviews, interviews, etc.) but it's your blog and you can party rock if you want to.

8. Be nice. I don't mean be fake- I mean follow the rules of common courtesy. If you write a negative review, don't tweet the review link to the author. If someone is rude to you, take the high road and ignore them. Don't spam other people's posts- leave meaningful comments. Basically, if you can't handle the rules of basic social interaction, learn how, and if you can follow those rules in real life, follow them online as well.

9. Write your own stuff. People that plagiarize or copy and paste recklessly and without proper citation will be caught. Besides, when you write your own stuff you have a finished product that you can be proud of!

10. Have fun. For most of us, blogging is a hobby that we turn to after a long day of doing whatever it is we do. It's very easy to take things too seriously and to have the fun be leeched out. Don't let that happen. Read the books you love and then talk about them with other people. Easy as that!

Link to your Top Ten Tuesday post in the comments so I can take a look see!

Adventures in Rereading: Immortals After Dark, part I

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

One of my projects for 2012 is to reread and enjoy again some of my favorite series. One of the things I found I missed the most about my reading was going back and enjoying books that I had already read and/or reviewed so I went ahead and officially gave myself permission to reread a book or series if I felt so inclined.

First up is the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole! I somehow got behind in this series and haven't read Lothaire yet, probably because it came out in hardcover right after Christmas when my book budget was a little on the thin side, but be that as it may, I'm getting back in the swing of things! I've read the first five full length novels so far and am stoked to keep working my way through the rest of the series. As a result, rather than writing individual reviews for each book, especially when I've already reviewed some of the titles and not others, I'll be using these Adventures in Rereading posts to log the books and to give a quick rundown of my thoughts after finishing them for the second (or more) time.

A Hunger Like No Other- Rereading this one was what made me decide to jump in with rereading the entire series. It also motivated me to get both this book and the second one in the series from Audible when they were on sale a few weeks ago. Dreamy!

No Rest for the Wicked- I think this is one of the most often overlooked books in the series, which is a shame because it's fabulous! Sebastien is such a beta hero but he totally falls for Kaderin in such a sweet way that I root for them the whole time. Especially when they get the chance to complete both their families! Sigh. This one is going to be excellent as an audiobook as well- lucky me!

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night- While this one is also excellent, as are all the others, I think Mariketa is one of my favorite heroines in a book, period. I love how she's such a badass but so real at the same time, and her reactions to all of Bowen's actions, good bad or indifferent, feel really real to me. She also helps Bowen get his head out of his ass, and that's a good thing. This audiobook comes out in June, I think, and I'm really looking forward to that too.

Dark Needs at Night's Edge- I take it back, this is probably the most under-appreciated or under-hyped book in the series, which is a shame, because Neomi and Conrad are awesome! Both are so different from other characters out there but both are such a good fit for the other. I forgot how spicy this book was too. Rereading is even more fun when you get to re-discover a fun book you'd kind of forgotten about.

Dark Desires After Dusk- This book is the reigning champion for my favorite book in the series. Cade and Holly are such an odd couple but that's what makes them so endearing. Cade is noble to a fault and Holly is a little bit nutty but totally badass at the same time. The ending of this book is super sweet too. Hopefully future books will feature more of these two.

What book or series of books do you love to reread, or would you reread if you had the time? What keeps you from rereading books?

Review: Prime Obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Title: Prime Obsession
Author: Monette Michaels
Page Count: Super novel (length according to publisher's website,) Kindle format
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Genre: science fiction romance, first in a series
Copy for review was purchased by me
Buy a copy here

Synopsis:
Melina Dmitros is a seasoned battleship captain for the Galactic Alliance. Calls from ships in distress are not all that uncommon in the outermost spirals of the Milky Way. Calls from the warlike Prime were. Now that they were allies, Mel figures she’d better get used to working in conjunction with the chauvinistic race. She never expected to be attracted to one of them.

The Prime, one of the oldest species in the galaxy, were known for going their own way. But with problems on Cejuru Prime and increasing attacks by the Antareans, the Prime joined the Alliance to lend their expertise in battling the warlike reptilian species--and ultimately, to survive as a race.

Captain Wulf Caradoc, the eldest son and heir apparent of the Prime leader, looked forward to the trip to the Alliance ambassadorial planet. His mission is ostensibly to deliver the diplomatic team to the new Prime embassy. His real mission is to meet his fated mate, his gemate, one of the Lost Ones. Wulf hadn’t anticipated the diplomatic mission being attacked by pirates--and he especially hadn’t anticipated his gemate, Melina Dmitros, being the one sent to rescue his ship.

Two strong people pulled together by biology and fate. Their union will be forged in a crucible of survival, treachery and duty.
*****

I am enjoying the heck out of my spring break right now, and among the things on my list to do and enjoy this week is to get caught up (hopefully) on reviews! I was inspired to read Prime Obsession after Sandra Sookoo recommended it in her guest post back in February. Incidentally, make sure to read her book, Ricochet, while you're at it.

Anyway, Prime Obsession is a fun story for a variety of reasons. I love a good space-based science fiction romance, first of all. Load me up with intergalactic alliances and drama and politial intrigue and I am a seriously happy camper. Prime Obsession doesn't break any new ground in this area, but an engaging setting is established with a bigger conflict that will carry on through future installments in the series and still maintain its momentum.

Second, I enjoyed the subtle but still important twist on the fated mate trope that shows up in romance all the time. I don't have an issue with this element at all, far from it in fact, but I think it's a good thing when an author takes something that's tried and true and reworks it into something novel. In this case, the element was the idea of battle mates- sort of like super charged fated mates who also complement each other as fighters. The idea was used well here to kind of propel our hero and heroine into getting to know each other and quit bickering a little sooner, which worked for me in this story.

This isn't a perfect story- there are a lot of cliches in the writing, both from the science fiction angle and from the romance angle (I'm totally okay with a futuristic world having regular hours instead of standard hours, and if I ever own a racehorse I'm going to name it Throbbing Member) but they didn't overly detract from my enjoyment of the story. The language of the story is also something that I tend to notice one time when I read a book and not another- I initially read this book back in February cover to cover and didn't notice the language that time around, but as I flipped back through the book in preparation for writing this review it definitely stood out to me more. Still a fun story though!

According to the author's website, the next book in the series is called Prime Selection and while no release date is provided that I could see, I definitely enjoyed reading this first installment enough to be on board for the second. It's worth noting as well that this book isn't available through Amazon, my vendor of choice, but then again I don't think any Liquid Silver Books titles are available via Amazon. Please correct me if I'm wrong though! As it stands now, this was a fun, spicy space romance with plenty of room for the series to grow from here.

Overall Rating:

Charity Hop Giveaway Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:42:00 +0000

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I'm happy to announce that the winner of my Charity Hop giveaway for the $15 gift certificate to the winner's vendor of choice is...Angela Winesburg! She has been contacted, thanks to everyone who entered and stick around for more great things (promise!) here at What Book is That?!

March in Review: Spring Has Sprung :D

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:25:00 +0000

Spring has indeed sprung, and that means that days at the beach here at my neck of the woods should be here soon! Spring break is next week for me, and I'm looking forward to parking it in my lawn chair and reading some of the books that have been hanging out on my TBR pile as well as getting caught up on other things. I was signed up to be a part of Bloggiesta this past weekend and I'm ashamed to say that I totally borked it- I didn't get anything done! I worked on a lot of other projects I've had half finished so it wasn't like the weekend was wasted, I just didn't really get the urge to do blog related stuff which is a shame. Hopefully the time off that's coming will get me jumpstarted to accomplish some of my blog-related projects. In the meantime, here's how things played out in March:

Books Reviewed in March
Jane's Warlord by Angela Knight
A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang
The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams
Beauty in the Beast by Christine Danse

Books Listened to in March
The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp (LOVED it, as usual- review forthcoming)
still working on The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Reviews to Write, In No Particular Order
Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard
Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus
Prime Obsession by Monette Michaels

I've also reread the first five books in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole and am hoping to finish the rest of the series soon so I can finally read Lothaire- I'm so behind! What are you all up to?

Charity Hopping Around the World GIVEAWAY- OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:01:00 +0000

I'm thrilled to be a part of this hop, whose purpose is to call attention to a variety of worthy causes supported by the blogging community! I had such a hard time deciding what charities to focus on, and ultimately I decided on two organizations that are very dear to my heart- Jumpstart and Reading is Fundamental!

What's so great about Jumpstart and Reading is Fundamental? I'm glad you asked!

From their own website, Jumpstart is:

Working toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed
Every child deserves the chance to succeed, yet studies show that children from low-income neighborhoods are at a greater risk of school failure. Jumpstart is a national early education organization that helps these children develop the language and literacy skills they need to be successful in school, setting them on a path to close the achievement gap before it is too late.

Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained nearly 25,000 college students and community volunteers to deliver its program to more than 100,000 preschool children nationwide.

Speaking from my own experience as a Corps Member and Team Leader while I was in college, Jumpstart is a chance for college students to work one on one with preschool children living in low-income communities to improve literacy, social, and school readiness skills. The college students implementing the program benefit as much from the work as the students do- my path of becoming a teacher for young children was cemented while I was working for Jumpstart.

From their website:

OUR VISION:
Our vision is a literate America in which all children have access to books and discover the joys and value of reading.

OUR MISSION:
To motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF's highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States. We prepare and motivate children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most. We inspire children to be lifelong readers through the power of choice. RIF provides new, free books for children to choose from and make their own. The seeds of inspiration in these books have motivated children to follow their dreams and achieve their potential. Yes, it seems incredible for a book to launch a life, but it happens every day as hungry, inquisitive young minds reach out and grab hold of the new people, places, and ideas that books bring them.

Planting seeds of inspiration in our nation’s most vulnerable children is what RIF and a network of more than 400,000 volunteers do. Whether in schools, homeless shelters, or community centers—wherever you find children—RIF volunteers spend countless hours distributing books, staging reading motivation activities, and promoting the importance of literacy in their communities.

From my experience- my first three years of teaching were in a Head Start program where Reading is Fundamental was a partner. Students in my class were always so excited to pick out their book to keep forever and to write their name inside. For many of my students, the books they received from RIF were the only ones they had in the house or that belonged just to them.

*****
GIVEAWAY TIME! In the spirit of the excitement that comes from selecting books of your very own, this giveaway is for a $15 gift certificate to the book vendor of your choice! To enter, just fill out the Google form below. The winner will be notified when the hop ends. The giveaway ends on April 4th, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the hop!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p> Check out the rest of the participating blogs to find out about more charities and discover more awesome giveaways!

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Fever Edition!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:06:00 +0000

So I've been saying for awhile on Twitter that I'm finally ready to commit to a weekly meme. Yet as is so often the case with committing to anything, it took me awhile to finally decide which one it would be. Here, friends, is the winner: Top Ten Tuesday has come to What Book is That? and hopefully will be my regular Tuesday-type thing! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and the topics are listed through the end of May as of this writing, so climb aboard!

This week's list topic is Spring Fever: Top Ten Books I'd Play Hooky With, and with spring break coming up (eight more days, not like I'm counting or anything) you can bet some of these books will end up in my bag at the beach, if not for spring break, then for summer:

The books on the list that haven't been released yet are on my definitely to buy list and the rest are from series where I MUST get current and reread! Ah, summer, can you please get here sooner?

Review: Beauty in the Beast

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Title: Beauty in the Beast
Author: Christine Danse
Page Count: 328 KB
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: paranormal romance, steampunk-esque
Copy for review obtained via NetGalley in anticipation of an honest review

Synopsis:

Journeying by steam-powered sled to London's Frost Fair to perform, Tara and three friends are trapped in a blizzard in the woods. A gruff, handsome stranger offers them shelter—and wants one thing in return. Stories.

The travellers are glad to oblige. Their host, Rolph, is especially captivated by Tara's story of an orphaned girl raised by the Fae in the world of the spirits. Equally intrigued by Rolph, and aware of an electric pull between them, Tara encourages him to share a story of his own. When Rolph weaves a tale of a man who is doomed by his own folly to turn into a wolf at the full moon, Tara suspects there is more than a grain of truth in his words.

When the veil between the mortal and spiritual worlds is parted, and danger threatens, will Tara make the ultimate sacrifice to save Rolph?
*****

I do love me some Beauty and the Beast retellings, and this was one of the more creative ones I've come across lately. Instead of taking the epic fantasy approach with a cast of thousands, this story takes a fantasy/steampunky background layers in a small cast of characters, all storytellers and performers- except for Rolph, our Beast. The story was short and sweet and engaging, and at the end I found that I wanted to read more.

Tara makes a living telling stories at festivals along with her three friends and fellow performers, and when it looks like they're about to be snowed under in the woods on their way to London, they stop at a house in the woods to seek shelter. Rolph agrees, and wants to be paid in stories, since the friends don't have much else that he'd want. So far, the synopsis has covered all the bases.

What the synopsis doesn't really communicate is the lyrical quality of Tara's stories or the attraction that she feels for Rolph, who is a storyteller in his own right. This is a sweet sort of story, and very PG, but you get the feeling that a lot could develop between these two if the opportunity presented itself.

Tara chooses to tell a story that she's never told anyone, and that reveals many things about her. We as readers don't get to see the significance of all that until the very end of the story, and it definitely ramped up the fairy tale quality of the story.

If I had to voice a complaint about this story, it would be that it's just a tad too short to really do justice to the characters and to give them a chance to develop. I would have enjoyed a longer look at Tara and Rolph and would have enjoyed seeing what else happened between them. As it is, the way the story was ended was good enough for me and makes me want to read more by this author.

Overall Grade:

Review: The Shadow Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Title: The Shadow Reader
Author: Sandy Williams
Page Count: 469 KB (320 pages)
Publisher: Ace
Genre: urban fantasy/romance, first in a series
Copy for review was purchased by me

Synopsis:
A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn't her only secret. She's in love with Kyol, the King's sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.
*****

Stop the presses, people.

You all know about my pretty intense dislike of love triangles/rectangles/shapes of any kind, right? How they'll pretty much kill a story for me the minute that they make their angsty presence known? Well, I can officially say that that unfortunate event did not happen as I read The Shadow Reader. The romantic tangle in this story helped to support an engaging, vivid read that left me eager for the next book at the end and rooting for our heroine from page one.

The backdrop of the story is a bloody, bitter civil war between factions of the Fae and is based on old grievances about trading rights and self determination. Both sides are deeply entrenched and not prepared to stop fighting until the other side has lost; our heroine, McKenzie, is initially on the side of the Fae monarchy due to the fact that she works for the king. After she's kidnapped by the rebels, she finds herself having to answer some difficult questions about her involvement with the war and how little she actually knows about the issues and the fighting.

McKenzie also has two dreamboats about to set sail- one is Kyol, the king's swordmaster, and one is Aren, the leader of the rebels. McKenzie has been carrying a torch for Kyol for an embarrassingly long time and it's pretty clear that he has tingly feelings for her too, but any kind of romantic involvement between humans and fae is expressly forbidden by the king, who happens to not only be Kyol's boss, but his best friend as well. Fae and humans who decide to defy that decree end up among the rebels, and that's where Aren comes in.

Aren is pretty much everything that Kyol isn't- spontaneous where Kyol is methodical, passionate where Kyol seems reserved, and the fact that he's fighting for a diametrically opposite cause pretty much seals the deal. Owing to the fact that he's got no love for the king, McKenzie's humanity isn't an obstacle for him, and neither is the fact that she's in love with someone else. Aren sets out to win McKenzie by showing her that she could have so much more on his side and wouldn't have to be a secret like she would be with Kyol.

It's not much of a spoiler to say that one of these guys is much more emotionally available than the other (can you guess who is who?) and McKenzie is a smart girl and realizes that. The conflict comes from her having to decide how she fits into the civil war and whether her principles can allow her to keep doing what she's doing, and in resolving the tension that erupts after her kidnapping where Kyol finally blinks and realizes that he could lose her permanently and very easily at that.

The descriptions and the tension and the drama in this book are top notch, and while I had a definite preference for who McKenzie would ultimately choose to resolve the love triangle business (hint: Mother always said, emotionally available is best) I could see how things could have gone another way. I am definitely interested to see how things play out in the next book. The second book, The Shattered Dark, is due out October 30th according to Goodreads, so Happy Halloween to me! In the meantime, The Shadow Reader is already on my best of 2012 list, so don't miss it for yourself!

Overall Grade:

The Happiness Blog Tour: Please Welcome Bryan Cohen!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:02:00 +0000

Bryan Cohen here, guest poster and author, promoting my new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness for The Happiness Blog Tour. I'm giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post.

"The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; for happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up."

-Charles Langbridge Morgan

I can look back on it and laugh now, but some of the things I wanted at the age of 18 would not have made me happy in the long run. While I didn't know what I wanted to do in life, I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to be married less than a year or two out of college. I was so full of puppy love back then, I just assumed I would fall for someone in college and want to get married and start a family right away. I wanted to be silly and funny all of the time and to have everybody laugh at me and with me constantly. I also wanted to be famous and to have everything that came with it.

While I have fallen deeply in love, had some comedic times and I'm more popular than I used to be, I wouldn't say that I've achieved any of these things. If I've failed at those desires that 18-year-old me had, why am I not miserable? It's because the things I needed to achieve happiness have changed over time.

That wasn't always the case though. A year or two out of college I still wanted those same things that the younger version of me wanted. I felt like I needed them to be happy and since I hadn't achieved them, I labeled myself a colossal failure. It wasn't until I really thought about what I wanted, until I updated my wish list, that I realized happiness was still possible. I wasn't 18 anymore. Why on Earth was I still trying to fulfill the wishes of someone who hadn't even graduated high school yet?

I set out to create a new set of goals and a new way to be happy. Instead of looking for puppy love, I looked to understand love more effectively so that I could have a good relationship with my partner, not necessarily a fast or fairy tale one. I spent time on looking for my calling in life and found that with enough hard work, I could get both satisfaction and sustenance from my writing. I realized that fame wasn't nearly as important to me as helping people and I started to reach out more to make a difference.

Re-evaluate and adapt your happiness for the person you are today. Don't try to base it on exactly what you wanted five, 10 or more years ago. Like Morgan says, it's time to let your happiness grow up.

--

Bryan Cohen is giving away 61 paperback and audio copies of The Post-College Guide to Happiness and a Kindle Fire between now and May 7th, 2012 on The Happiness Blog Tour. All entrants receive a free digital review copy of The Post-College Guide to Happiness. Bryan hopes to give away at least 1,000 copies during the blog tour. To enter, post a comment with your e-mail address or send an e-mail to postcollegehappiness (at) gmail.com. Bryan will draw the names at the end of the tour. Entries will be counted through Sunday, May 6th.

Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written nine books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade, Writer on the Side: How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job and his new book, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 25,000 visitors a month to push past writer's block and stay motivated.

Feel free to follow along with the tour at The Happiness Blog Tour Hub Page or on the book's Facebook Page.

It's Bloggiesta Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:18:00 +0000

It's that time again! Bloggiesta is happening next weekend, March 30th-April 1st, and I'm super excited to participate again! For those just tuning in, Bloggiesta is a chance to spend some time working on blog related projects and improvements along with other bloggers all over the place! It's a great networking opportunity and a chance to do some fun mini challenges and finally do those blog-related things that just seem to keep falling through the cracks. You can spend as much or as little time as you'd like participating in the festivities (the #bloggiesta hashtag on Twitter is always a good time) but it's a nice way to sort of give yourself permission to work on things that ordinarily get set aside.

The first order of business is to make a to do list for yourself, and mine is certainly a hefty one:

1. Get current on all my reviews and get them scheduled (I think this is always the first thing I put on my list.)
2. Format all of my AAD author features that I currently have and figure out how many are remaining.
3. Email/re-email authors and book my remaining AAD author features.
4. Finish compiling my blog archives and add the link to the new archives to my header.
5. Update/clean up my tags in my sidebar- what a mess!
6. Listen to some excellent audiobooks while I'm working!

Are you participating in Bloggiesta and if so, what are your goals? Leave a link to your to-do list and I'd be happy to cheer you on!

AAD Author Spotlight: Leanne Renee Hieber!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:28:00 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! Today I'm pleased to welcome Leanne Renee Hieber to the blog as an AAD Featured Author! She's here with the Five Question Quiz so let's get down to business!

1. Introduce yourself, Twitter style! Describe yourself or your books in 140 characters or less.

Award winning, bestselling author of Gothic Victorian paranormal fantasy for adults & teens. Occasional actress. Devotee of ghost stories, corsets & Goth clubs.

2. Tell us a little bit about your latest release, or your upcoming projects if you'd prefer.

DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul launches my Magic Most Foul series set in 1880 New York City starring a hot British Lord, a haunted painting, crazy demonic magic, spooky nightmares, titillating romance and a brave young heroine who saves the day. In this world, it's the girl who rescues the guy. And they make a fabulous team. I'm polishing off the sequel, and it's packed full of action, adventure, scary thrills and some hot kisses in carriages and trains. :)

3. What books (your own or others) do you recommend most often?

My latest releases and the latest releases of my author friends! I'm definitely all about DARKER STILL and the Magic Most Foul saga right now, new series always need the most love and attention. And my bestie Alethea Kontis has her debut YA coming out, ENCHANTED, (http://aletheakontis.com ) plus The Apocalypsies debut crew are a group to track!

4. What part of Authors After Dark 2012 are you looking forward to the most?

Being in New Orleans! Plus I can't wait to reconnect with friends, authors and bloggers, and tease the sequel to Darker Still!

5. If you've been to AAD before, do you have any advice for first time attendees?

Don't be afraid to come up and talk to authors, that's what we're here for! As long as you're respectful and respect author's personal boundaries, authors are so excited to talk to their readers!

I tweet at http://twitter.com/leannarenee I'm on FB at http://facebook.com/lrhieber my website is http://leannareneehieber.com and Darker Still can be bought here: http://tinyurl.com/darkerbn and signed copies http://tinyurl.com/darkerpre

Thank you so much!!
*****

Thank you, Leanne! Happy Friday to all, and to all a good night!

AAD Author Spotlight: Sophie Oak!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:11:00 +0000

After a brief hiatus, here's another Author Feature for Authors After Dark! This week's featured author is Sophie Oak, and I think the cover of her book speaks for itself- scandalous, anyone? Sophie's here to tackle the Five Question Quiz, so I'll let her take it away!

1. Introduce yourself, Twitter style! Describe yourself or your books in 140 characters or less.

Smart (I hope), Sassy (always), Sinfully erotic!

2. Tell us a little bit about your latest release, or your upcoming projects if you'd prefer.

My current release is called Pure Bliss. It’s the sixth book in my Nights in Bliss, Colorado series. Bliss is about a small very quirky Colorado town. Odd relationships are the norm there. So are lots of fun things like alien abductions, nudists and the occasional Big Foot sighting. Pure Bliss is about a rancher, his long lost brother and the woman they both fall in love with.

3. What books (your own or others) do you recommend most often?

I write a lot of ménage and BDSM, so I’ll concentrate on what I know! I always recommend Shayla Black, Tymber Dalton and Cherise Sinclair. You can’t go wrong with any of their books. For non-erotics, I love Linda Howard and Jayne Ann Krentz.

4. What part of Authors After Dark 2012 are you looking forward to the most?

Meeting everyone! What an honor to be among such great authors and wonderful readers. I’m really looking forward to the party I’m throwing with Shayla Black. It’s called the Wicked Bliss Chocolate Indulgence Party. Everyone who comes to AAD is invited and we’re going to have a great time.

5. If you've been to AAD before, do you have any advice for first time attendees?

It’s my first time. I can’t wait!

And there you have it! Sophie and I will be newbs together at AAD and I will definitely be reporting back to all of you! Happy Friday everyone!

Check out my March Madness post!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:01:00 +0000

I'm guest posting today over at Elise Rome's blog for March Madness! I'm talking recommendations for excellent books and giving away a $10 gift certificate! There are a ton of giveaways and great posts so head on over and check out the madness!

Review: A Brush of Darkness

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Title: A Brush of Darkness
Author: Allison Pang
Page Count: 368 pages
Publisher: Pocket Star
Genre: urban fantasy romance, first in a series
Copy for review was read as a free read on pocketafterdark.com
*This book counts for the AAD2012 Reading Challenge*

Synopsis:
The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.
*****

First off, for those that aren't on board with Pocket After Dark, you should head over and check it out! They have two different full-length Pocket novels available to read for free online each month as well as excerpts from current releases/soon to be released books, forums, polls, and all that jazz. I don't venture over there as often as I should but in this case I'm glad I did, as I got to read this book for free!

This is book the first in the Abby Sinclair series, and it doesn't waste time getting started. We dive right into the story and the world that the characters have been inhabiting for awhile at this point. Abby is trying to figure out how she fits into the events that are going on around her; keeping a low profile is her best bet but, as is often the case, it doesn't really work. See, her boss is an Important Person among the fae, and sooner or later that Important Person being missing is going to register on someone's radar.

Soon enough, it does- on Brystion's. He's an incubus and the attraction is immediate. Brystion is looking for his sister, who is also missing. Together they try to figure out what the heck is happening to these people and to somehow address the minefield of Issues between them.

This is one of those books that's very visual- you visualize in your head what the setting, characters, and events look like as they happen or are brought up and that's how they look for the rest of the time you spend reading. There are a lot of vivid details in this book and they're used in a way that make imagining the goings-on in the story very real. While I admit there are times that I wasn't quite sure how pieces of the story fit together, per se, my imagination was quick to fill in the blanks.

The ending of the book was a quick denouement, with a twist that was sad and definitely hinted at what's coming in book 2. I thought the play on the title was clever, and that a lot of elements were highlighted that will definitely merit further exploration in future books. This is a good start to an imaginative series.

Overall Grade:

Author Guest Post and GIVEAWAY: Please Welcome Louisa Kelley

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:07:00 +0000

Please join me today in welcoming Louisa Kelley, author of the Daughters of Draca series! She is offering a $25 Amazon gift card to one commenter on her entire tour. To leave a comment on this post, simply click the title of the post, which will take you to the IntenseDebate of it all. The more you comment on the tour, the better your chances of winning! The full tour schedule is posted here.

Let's get down to it- take it away Louisa!

How Louisa Kelley Got Her Writing Muse On:
5 Must-Read Authors for Every Aspiring Fantasy/ Erotic Author and Reader

One of the ways I learned to write erotic fantasy was and is by being a great reader. I read voraciously in the science fiction/fantasy/erotica/paranormal genres. When I decided to try my hand at writing one of these stories myself, I began to read my books a bit differently. I found myself asking: Why am I enjoying this story so much? What is the author doing here that makes this character/action so great? Over time, the answers to these questions taught me a lot about the craft of writing.

Below is my personal list of the authors that inspired, delighted and astounded me with their stories and mastery of craft. Their books live on my keeper shelves.

1.) First up is the incomparable author Emma Holly. She’s one of the very best erotic authors in the marketplace today, IMHO. I first discovered her paranormal series that began with the book “Catching Midnight” and after that initial electrifying read, I went on to devour her backlist and then counted the months until each new release. This woman ‘does’ penises like nobody’s business. How can she know so much about men and their sexual bits? Her sex scenes are full of such hot detail it’s as if she’s lived life as a man. She is absolutely fearless in her erotica. She can write historical (The Fitz Clare Chronicles series- fantastic!), contemporary or urban fantasy. The emotional content of the stories are deep, the romance between the characters vivid and compelling.

In a way, she gave me permission to find my own voice and craft my own unique erotic stories. Thank you Emma Holly!

2.) Second on my list is Susan Squires. Susan did a Regency Vampire series (The Hunger, The Burning, The Companion etc.) that is one of the best vampire series I’ve ever read. The vampire mythology she builds is unique among the genre. Her prose is beautiful, her characters complex and fascinating. She takes her time, using all the senses in her descriptions (the Egyptian desert- swoon!), showcasing a mastery of timing that astonishes me. I felt like an understudy, trying to figure out how she managed such tight pacing while spinning such wonderful stories. I would recommend any book she’s written that was published before 2010.

Thank you Susan Squires for inspiring me to write sensual action scenes that entices the reader to want more!

3.) Third up would be author Kresley Cole, and her book “A Hunger Like No Other” (Book One of her Immortals After Dark series). This book won the Rita Award for best paranormal romance in 2006. I was at the Romance Writers of America convention when she won this award, and was thrilled to see her win. I’ve read the book twice now and as far as I’m concerned, the story is written about as perfectly as a paranormal romance can be written. She’s got everything. Uber hot, fascinating hero with issues, a paranormal world and mythology that’s not only compelling but humorous. Unusual and unique characters, satisfying emotional depth and lots of great action. Oh, and perfect pacing.

It’s enough to make someone envious. How did she do that? This book is my personal standard for excellence in paranormal writing. Thank you Kresley Cole for inspiring me to keep honing my craft!

4.) Next on the list is the science fiction author Catherine Asaro. Her (10) book series called “The Saga of the Skolian Empire” leaves me in utter awe. The author has a doctorate in physics, and imbues her knowledge of science into an incredible space opera/hard science/romance saga. It’s a vast, sprawling epic, with completely unique mythology and characters. At the end of every one of these books, I am left with my head spinning. How did she come up with all those stories and characters and weave them together so perfectly with all that complicated space science? These are absolute must-reads for any fan of science fiction space opera.

Thank you Catherine Asaro for being my eternal standard for brilliant writing. You are a goddess.

5.) And last but not least, there is Susan Krinard. Susan’s werewolf series (‘Luck of the Wolf, Bride of the Wolf” etc) was the first I ever read about shape-shifting wolves, and today it remains my personal favorite of any werewolf series. She captures the essence of wolf society and the inner mind of creatures who are part wolf and part human like no one else. Her other paranormal series, begun with “Lord of Legends” are also excellent reads. I am blown away by her fine sense of tension and conflict. Her stories are literal page-turners. There is very little fluff; it’s all characterization and action. I thought ‘Lord of Legends’ showcased an author at the top of her game. Anything by Susan is highly recommended.

Thank you Susan Krinard for inspiring me to create my own unique paranormal shape-shifter stories.

I hope the readers of this post are now duly inspired to check out these excellent authors, and also to perhaps make their way to my own stories of hot and spicy dragon shape-shifters and the women who love them.

XO
Louisa Kelley
*****
Thanks again to Louisa for stopping by! Remember, every comment on the posts on this tour is a chance to win the $25 Amazon gift certificate!