Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q. Best Cover? What is the best cover of a book that you’ve read and didn’t like (Alison has loved for both book/cover)?

A.  I had trouble finding books that I loved the cover and disliked the book. I love the covers for Rachel Caine's Weather Warden's series but the series itself was all over the place for me. I enjoyed it and recommend it but had some ups and downs (as most series do).

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Last Kiss Goodnight (Otherworld Assassin #1)
by Gena Showalter
published by Pocket Books
expected release date: December 26, 2012

Summary (Goodreads): The breathtaking first novel in New York Times best selling author Gena Showalter’s new paranormal romance series, Otherworld Assassins, featuring a black ops agent who is captured and enslaved…and the beautiful deaf girl who holds the key to his salvation…

THE SWEETEST TEMPTATION…

Black ops agent Solomon Judah awakens caged and bound in a twisted zoo where otherworlders are the main attraction. Vika Lukas, the owner’s daughter, is tasked with Solo’s care and feeding. The monster inside him yearns to kill her on sight, even though she holds the key to his escape. But the human side of him realizes the beautiful deaf girl is more than she seems—she’s his.

THE ULTIMATE PRICE…

Vika endures the captives’ taunts and loathing, hoping to keep them alive even if she can’t free them. Only, Solo is different—he protects her. But as hostility turns to forbidden romance, his feelings for her will be used against him…and he’ll be put to a killer test.

**I've been looking for new series (a lot have ended the past year) and it's nice to have one from an author that I already know and like.

Book Review ~ The Book of Wonders

The Book of Wonders
by Jasmine Richards
published by HarperCollins
genre: MG, Fantasy, Debut

Summary (full @Goodreads): Magic, Djinn, Ogres, and Sorcerers. Thirteen-year-old Zardi loves to hear stories about fantastical beings, long banned from the kingdom of Arribitha. But anyone caught whispering of their powers will feel the rage of the sultan—a terrifying usurper who, even with his eyes closed, can see all...

My Thoughts: I've found when I'm having trouble finishing books, if I pick up an MG book it helps get me out of my slump. This book was no exception. I enjoyed both the world and the characters that the author brought us. Some may seem familiar, there is a correlation to Aladdin and Arabian Nights. We even have the characters searching for Aladdin to take over ruling Arribitha from the evil Sultan.
  There were times throughout that I wished the story had only focused on one character, either Sardi or Ridhan's. I found myself liking Rdhan better and was more interested in his story since it had to do with magic and sorcerers. Also, while the Sultan and what he did to Sardi's family (as well as the whole country) was terrible, Ridhan's dad came off as much more vile and those are the type of villain's I like reading about.
Overall, this was a fun enjoyable read with a great set up for a next book (nothing showing at this time).  From Sardi and Ridhan to the pirates and djinni there is something for everyone. The twists in the story made sure it did not become boring and keeps you reading to the end.

Rating: 4 (wavered between this and 3.5)

New Releases ~ Week of 8/27/2012

End of the month = Long List of new releases this week. Enjoy! All links go to Goodreads.

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh (#2 in Nevermore)
The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton (#2 in Blood Journals )
Blades of Winter by G T Almasi (#1 in Shadowstorm )
Endgame by Ann Aguirre (#6 in Sirantha Jax)
Fair Game by Taylor Keating (#3 in Guardian)
A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare (#3 in Spindle Cove Series )
Sanctuary by Rowena Cory Daniells (#3 in Outcast Chronicles)
Stranger in the Moonlight by Jude Deveraux (#7 in Edilean)
Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs (#15 in Temperance Brennan)
Inbetween by Tara Fuller (#1 in Kissed by Death)
Spark by Brigid Kemmerer (#2 in Elemental)
Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine (#11 in Jaine Austen)
Starling by Lesley Livingston (#1 in Starling)

Fear the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy (#9 in The Guardians of Eternity)
Night’s Awakening by Donna Grant (#2 in Dark Kings)
A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner (#1 in Infinity Ring )
When Lightning Strikes by Brenda Novak (#1 in Whiskey Creek)
Courting Carolina by Janet Chapman (#3 in Spellbound Falls)
Wrayth by Philippa Ballantine (#3 in Book of the Order)
The Uninvited by Heather Graham (#8 in Krewe of Hunters)
The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James (#4 in Eloisa's Fairy Tales)
Defiance by C J Redwine (#1 in Courier's Daughter Trilogy)
Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen (#10 in Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles)
Haunted by Jeanne C. Stein (#9 in Anna Strong Chronicles)
A Whale of a Tale by Debbie Dadey (#3 in Mermaid Tales)
B is for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher (#15 in The Dresden Files: The Short Stories )

Return to Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs (#9 in Lakeshore Chronicles)
Ghost of a Dream by Simon R Green (#3 in Ghostfinders)
Nightingale Way by Emily March (#5 in Eternity Springs)
Howl For It by Shelly Laurenston (#0.5 in Pride)
Isolation by Dan Wells (#1.5 in Partials )
Chosen by Sable Grace (#3 in Dark Breed)
The Dragons of Winter by James A Owen (#6 in Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)
Embers & Echoes by Karsten Knight (#2 in Wildefire)

NBU's Art, Eats, & What Other

Art

NICE TO MEET YOU-For children

by *CEACHESE

Eats

Cookiiiiiies
by *ZestyDoesThings

















What Other
This isn't in English but ... It's a Steampunk Martial Arts movie. It just looks cool

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q: Worst cover? What is the worst cover of a book that you’ve read and loved?

A. I went through my read books and had trouble finding one. I went with this one because so much doesn't work for me. The layered textured edges don't go together and then with the face it just looks odd to me.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating

Shadow's Claim (The Dacians #1)
by Kresley Cole 
published by Pocket Books
expected release date: November 27, 2012

Summary (Goodreads): #1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole introduces The Dacians: Realm of Blood and Mist, a new paranormal series following the royal bloodline of Dacia, a vampire kingdom hidden within the Lore of the Immortals After Dark. Shadow’s Claim features Prince Trehan, a ruthless master assassin who will do anything to possess Bettina, his beautiful sorceress mate, even compete for her hand in a blood-sport tournament— to the death.

HE WON’T BE DENIED

Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.

SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER

Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.

A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL

Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. .

**I'm actually still way behind on the Immortals After Dark series but still love the look of this one.

Book Review ~ The Guardian

The Guardian (Dream Hunter #5, Hell Chaser #4, Were Hunter #9)
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
published by St. Martin's
genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, PNR

Summary (full @Goodreads): Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian…

My Thoughts: I'll start with Lydia. I didn't hate her but I felt nothing towards her. Through the whole book I never felt any connection to her character. I realized how bad it was when I set up this review. It took me hours to figure out why this was a Were Hunter book. If you've read the book, you know this is bad since Lydia is a Jackal Shifter.
I wanted to know more about her and her background. We got the basics about her parents, her father's a Dream Hunter and mother was a Shifter. I wish we had gotten to know more about her mother's death, her dreams/premonitions, and other abilities.
On to Seth. Seth moved up on my list of favorites from this series. He had such a heartbreaking back story that you wanted him to win. You wanted him to come out on top of this relationship he has with Noir. You wanted to give him a hug and make it all better (this may have just been me). Even though he's not a Dark Hunter he still fit into that role of tortured hero well.
After Nick, my favorite characters from this series are Jaden and Savitar. While there was no Sav, we did get some more of Jaden. None of his back story was really told but I still felt like I came away with a little more of him. I wanted more.
When I was finished with this book, I felt like I missed some things. I still don't understand what Seth did to save Lydia. I get that it had something to do with his Swallow but I never really understood. It also seemed like the fact that someone betrayed Solin and Co.,  to the Greeks, was swept under the rug. It was mentioned when they were trapped but that was it.
Overall, I was happy with Seth and Lydia (even though I don't really know her). It left me wanting to know more about other characters, which is always good in a series. I've already read Retribution now on to Time Untime.

Rating: 4

New Releases ~Week of 8/20/2012

Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep (#7 in Elemental Assassin)
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel (#2 in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein )
The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore (#3 in Lorian Legacies)
Ghost Key by Trish J MacGregor (#2 in Cedar Key)
Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto (#3 in Halo Trilogy)
The Resistance by Peter Steiner (#4 in Louis Morgon Mysteries)
Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale (#2 in Princess Academy)
Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks (#1 in Dark Legacy of Shannara)
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin

NBUs Art, Eats, & What Other

This is a new feature I started where I can talk about just about anything, including books. I will be sharing art/artists that I enjoy as well as some of my favorite recipes. The what other is just that, what ever other thing I can think of to talk about.

Art

Mirabella
by Rachel Anderson

Eats
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
I got this recipe from my Aunt (I don't know where she got it).

1 box of yellow cake mix, (replace water with juice from pineapples) prepare using directions on the box.
Mix 1/3 cup of brown sugar with 2 tbsp of melted butter. Place small amount in each cupcake wrapper.
Place pineapple in wrapper then scoop batter on top. Place cherry on top of cupcake mixture.
Bake per directions on cake box.



What Other

Book Trailer for Melissa Marr's Carnival of Souls

Book Review ~ Heartless

Heartless (Parasol Protectorate #4)
by Gail Carriger
published by Orbit
genre: Adult, Fantasy. Steampunk

Summary (full @Goodreads): Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past....Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

My Thoughts: This book is my favorite of this series so far. It had plenty of action (and then some) along with a waddling, pregnant Alexia. Couldn't ask for more.
I said in my review of Blameless that I was curious how the end of it was going to affect Biffy. We find out in this book and it's not the best. By the end it sounds like things may be looking up for him which makes me happy since he's one of my favorites.
Alexia's investigation into who may be trying to kill the queen brought out some things about Professor Lyall that made me look at him in a different light (and it wasn't his past love). It also finally brought us the actual Parasol Protectorate. Okay, this was more for Ivy than an actual thing but I loved their code names and pledge.
Overall, I was kept guessing right up until Alexia figured out what was going on. I loved the action with the weres, vampires, and mechanical octomatons. I'm not sure how I felt about what Lord Akeldama did at the end but was glad Alexia was able to twist it somewhat so he was not the only one winning.
The birth of the baby and it's characteristics make me want a whole series just about the baby. I cannot wait to see how it plays out and what impact it has on the rest of the supernaturals.

Rating: 5

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Scent of Magic (Healer #2)
by Maria V. Snyder
published by Harlequin MIRA
expected release date: December 27, 2012

Summary (Goodreads): Hunted, Killed - Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avery of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avery is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avery will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead - human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avery is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

**This is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to her books

New Releases ~ week of 8/13/2012

The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (#3 in The Traitor Spy)
The Ghost Roads by Eoin McNamee (#3 in Ring of Five trilogy)
Valley of Ashes by Cornelia Read (#4 in Madeline Dare)
Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout (#2 in Lux )
The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan (#2.5 in Heroes of Olympus)
The Kill Order (Maze Runner Prequel) by James Dashner (#4 in Maze Runner)
The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory (#5 in The Cousins' War)
Mischief Night by Phoebe Rivers (#3 in Saranormal)
Blood Crave by Jennifer Knight (#2 in Blood On the Moon)
The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber (#1 in Rose Harbor Inn)
Forsaken by Thomas E Sniegoski (#6 in Fallen)
Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm by Megan McDonald (#12 in Judy Moody)

False Memory by Dan Krokos (False Memory #1)
The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent
The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long



Touched by Cyn Balog

Book Review ~ Blameless

Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3)
by Gail Carriger 
published by Orbit
genre: Adult, Steampunk, Fantasy

Summary (full @Goodreads): Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead...

My Thoughts: This book picks up almost right where book two ended. Alexia has left the Woolsey pack and is staying with her family. Once the story of why she has left her husband's house comes out they make her leave and the real adventure begins.
All my favorites are in this book. I already wanted to know more about Floote and this just increased that want. He was pulling tricks out his hat left and right as they were travelling to Italy.
Plus we meet some of Ms Lefoux's colleagues during this trip. One good, one not so good (downright evil). I liked the addition of these two as well as the Templar.
While they were off on their little adventure, the werewolves and vampires were getting into trouble back in London. We find out how to get a were drunk (a little gross) and why Lord Akeldama disappeared right when he was needed most by Alexia.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. I can see many complications coming from what happened to one of my favorites (Biffy) and am looking forward to finding out how it plays out.
Overall this was another great installment in this series and really moved the story forward. Just starting book four and really looking forward to it.

Rating: 4

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

 Q: What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

A. I'm not sure. I'm still fairly new. I never intended to be a big blogger, I just wanted someplace to share my thoughts on the books I read. I guess maybe the design. I'm starting to add new features but slowly.

Have a Great Weekend and Happy Reading!

NBUs Arts, Eats, & What Other

This is a new feature I started where I can talk about just about anything, including books. I will be sharing art/artists that I enjoy as well as some of my favorite recipes. The what other is just that, what ever other thing I can think of to talk about.

It's time for a little GRIMM

Art

The six swans
by ~VKart

What Other

New season of Grimm starts this Monday (8/13/12). Really enjoyed this show. Here's a nice recap of the 1st season.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1)

by Gail Carriger
published by Little Brown and Co
expected release: February 2013

Summary (Goodreads): It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

First in a four book YA series set 25 years before the Parasol Protectorate but in the same universe.

**I love the Parasol Protectorate series/world and I'm looking forward to learning even more.

New Releases ~week of 08/06/2012

These are a few of the books I'm looking forward to that are coming out this week. It's a long list this week.

Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon (#23 in Dark Hunters)
Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas (#3 in Friday Harbor)
Stygian's Honor by Lora Leigh (#26 in Breeds)

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake (#2 in Anna Dressed in Blood )
Libriomancer by Jim C Hines (#1 in Magic ex Libris)
Immortal Defender by Lisa Hendrix (#4 in Immortal Brotherhood)
Two Weeks Notice by Rachel Caine (#2 in Revivalists)
Biting Cold by Chloe Neill (#6 in Chicagoland Vampires)
The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow (#1 in Bannon and Clare )
Seawitch by Kat Richardson (#7 in Greywalker)
Wake by Amanda Hocking (#1 in Watersong)
Charon's Claw by R. A. Salvatore (#3 in Neverwinter Saga)
Wilder by Christina Dodd (#5 in The Chosen Ones)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (#1 in Throne of Glass)

Hell On Wheels by Julie Ann Walker (#1 in Black Knights Inc.)
Dying Echo by Judy Clemens (#4 in Grim Reaper Mystery)
Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (#1 in Glitch)
Rift by Andrea Cremer (#1 in Nightshade Prequel )
Rivals and Retribution by Shannon Delany (#5 in 13 to Life)
A Lady Can never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine (#1 in Steam Guardians)
Nevermore by James Patterson (#8 in Maximum Ride)

Book Review ~ Changeless

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)
by Gail Carriger
published by Orbit
genre: Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk

Summary (Full @Goodreads): Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria...

My Thoughts: I'll start by saying, I Love this series! I've become completely engrossed in the world Ms Carriger has created.
While Alexia is my favorite, this is a series that has many of those quirky side characters that I love. From Ivy and her hats to Lord Akelmeda and all his dandy's. With new characters, Madame Lefoux and a whole regiment of soldiers.
We find out a lot more about these characters in this book. More about Alexia's preternatural state. More about Lord Maccon and why he left Scotland for London. I also liked meeting the Scottish pack. I didn't like many of them personally but as a whole I found them interesting. The new characters added even more to a series that already had a lot.
I became engrossed in the overall story of everyone in a certain area losing their supernatural state and what was causing it. I'll be interested in seeing how/what problems this causes in the long run.
Usually this is where I say how much I'm looking forward to the next book. I was so looking forward to it, that I started reading it as soon as I finished this one.

Rating: 4

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews to share your weekly book haul. It can be what you bought, received, borrowed, or were gifted. For more info you can go here.
**All links go to Goodreads.

Won

Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger #1) by E.J. Stevens
**both physical and e-book, plus assorted swag (pen, magnet etc)

Library
Heartless and Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #4 &5) by Gail Carriger
**I'm totally engrossed in this series
Partials (Partials #1) by Dan Wells

On the Blog   (Past Week)
NBUs Arts, Eats, & What Other (kinda Wizard of Oz theme)
Book Review ~ 13 Curses
assorted memes

Have a Great Week and Happy Reading!

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q. Do your reading habits change based on your mood? Do you read a certain genre if you are feeling depressed or happy?

A. I don't know that they change with my mood. I guess maybe. I will sometimes get burnt out and need a change. Sometimes I just need to read an Adult book, when I've read a lot of Ya/MG in a row.

Happy Reading and Hopping!

NBUs Arts, Eats, & What Other

This is a new feature I started where I can talk about just about anything, including books. I will be sharing art/artists that I enjoy as well as some of my favorite recipes. The what other is just that, what ever other thing I can think of to talk about.

It's a Wizard of Oz type day.

Art

Elphaba the Wicked
by YoukaiYume

Eats

I don't have a recipe but thought this cookbook fits :)                                                Cooking in Oz 

by Elaine Willingham, Stephen Cox

What Other



Carrie Underwood ~ Blown Away

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Time Untime (Dark Hunter # 17)
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
published by St Martin's Press
expected release date: August 7, 2012

Summary: Setting: Las Vegas, NV

The Mayans aren’t the only ones with a 2012 prophecy…

Long before recorded history, there was a warrior so feared that everyone trembled before his wrath. Only a brutal betrayal by the one closest to him could defeat him. But not even death was the end of a man so strong.

The Time Untime approaches…

Kateri Avani has been plagued her entire life with dreams she doesn’t understand. Images of places she’s never been and of a man she’s never seen. Her quest for answers has driven her to Las Vegas where she hopes to finally silence the demons in her mind.

What she never anticipates is coming face to face with the warrior who has haunted her her entire life.

Ren Waya came back from the dead to...

**Can only say I love this series and author. Some are better than others but I always look forward to them.