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.

Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)
by Ally Carter
published by Hyperion Books
expected release date: February 5, 2013
genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery

Summary (Goodreads): Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of lovable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting-or stealing-whatever they want.

No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir-this time, Hale might be the mark.

Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.

**This is one of the few contemporary YA series that I will take the time to read. I've enjoyed the first two and cannot wait to read this one.

New Releases ~ week of 11/26/2012

The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi (#2 in Quantum Thief)

Lust for Life by Jeri Smith-Ready (#4 in WVMP Radio)
Shadow's Claim by Kresley Cole (#13 in The Immortals After Dark , #1 in The Dacians, )
Wild About You by Kerrelyn Sparks (#14 in Love at Stake)
Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews (#4 in The Edge)
Cold Days by Jim Butcher (#14 in The Dresden Files Series)
A Private Duel with Agent Gunn by Jillian Stone (#3 in Gentlemen of Scotland Yard)
Bard's Oath by Joanne Bertin (#3 in Dragonlords)
My Lord Eternity by Alexandra Ivy (#2 in Immortal Rogues)
Trapped by Kevin Hearne (#5 in Iron Druid Chronicles)
The Sum of Her Parts by Alan Dean Foster (#3 in Tipping Point Trilogy)
Midnight's Warrior by Donna Grant (#4 in Dark Warriors)
Kept by Shawntelle Madison (#2 in Coveted)
Experiment in Murder by Donald Bain, Margaret Truman (#26 in Capital Crimes)

When the Duke Found Love by Isabella Bradford (#3 in Wylder Sisters)
Secret Sins by Lora Leigh (#3 in Sins)
Drive Me Wild by Christine Warren (#15 in Novels of the Others)
Lullaby by Amanda Hocking (#2 in Watersong)
King of the Damned by Juliana Stone (#2 in League of Guardians)
Not Dead Yet by Peter James (#8 in Detective Superintendent Roy Grace)
Running Wild by Linda Howard, Linda Jones (#1 in Men from Battle Ridge)
Touched by Corrine Jackson (#1 in Torched)
Undead to the World by D D Barant (#6 in Bloodhound Files)
Slow Heat by Lorie O'Clare (#5 in Bounty Hunter)
Moonshifted by Cassie Alexander (#2 in Edie Spence)
Target Lancer by Max Allan Collins (#18 in Nathan Heller)
To Tempt the Devil by C. J. Archer (#3 in Lord Hawkesbury's Players)
Elixir by Jennifer L Armentrout (#3.5 in Covenant)
Savage Betrayal by Shelli Stevens (#2 in Savage )
King of the Dead by Joseph Nassise (#2 in Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles)
Mandarin Gate by Eliot Pattison (#7 in Inspector Shan)
The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman (#2 in Half-Made World)
Sword of Caledor by William King (#2 in Tyrion & Teclis)
The Lucky Ones by Anna Godbersen (#3 in Bright Young Things)

Happy Thanksgiving

Just popping in to wish everyone celebrating a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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.

Moonset (Legacy of Moonset #1)
by Scott Tracey
published by Flux
expected release date: April 8, 2013

Summary (Goodreads): Justin Daggett, his trouble-making sister, and their three orphan-witch friends have gotten themselves kicked out of high school. Again. Now they’ve ended up in Carrow Mills, New York, the town where their parents—members of the terrorist witch organization known as Moonset—began their evil experiments with the dark arts one generation ago.

When the siblings are accused of unleashing black magic on the town, Justin fights to prove their innocence. But tracking down the true culprit leads him to a terrifying discovery about Moonset’s past . . . and its deadly future.

** It's about witches and seems kind of dark at the same time.

New Releases ~ week of 11/19/2012

Undeadly by Michele Vail (#1 in The Reaper Diaries)
Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky (#2 in Awaken)
Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione (#4 in Lords of Deliverance)
Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron (#5 in Legend of Eli Monpress)
Gravity by Melissa West (#1 in The Taking)
The Prince by Tiffany Reisz (#3 in The Original Sinners)
The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron (#18 in Judge Deborah Knott)
Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 2 by Gail Carriger (#2 in The Parasol Protectorate (Manga) )
Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich (#19 in The Stephanie Plum Series)
Where Angels Rest by Kate Brady (#1 in Mann family)

The Forgotten by David Baldacci (#2 in John Puller )
Two Sinful Secrets by Laurel McKee (#2 in Scandalous St. Claires)
What an Earl Wants by Kasey Michaels (#1 in The Redgraves )
Too Dangerous to Desire by Cara Elliott (#3 in Lords of Midnight)
Blood Bond by Sophie Littlefield (#1 in Joe Bashir )
Timeless by Michelle Madow (#3 in Transcend Time Saga )
Heaven by Robert Boyczuk (#1 in Book of Thomas)
Indignation of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa (#8 in Haruhi Suzumiya)
Death's Storm by Lia Davis (#2 in The Divinities )
Guardian by Loribelle Hunt (#2 in The Elect )
Werewolves of the Heartland by Bill Willingham (# in Fables)

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.

Library
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost

Review (netGalley)
How Beauty met the Beast by Jax Garren
Moonset (Legacy of Moonset #1) by Scott Tracey
The Archived (Sneak Peek) by Victoria Schwab

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee 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. Books are turned into movies all the time! Turn it around. What movie would make a great book?

A. Most movies I like are already books. I'm going animated ( it's all we've seen in theaters since my son was born). This may already be a book but I love the look/premise of Rise of the Guardians. Putting all the childhood favorites in one place.

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.

Cold Days (The Dresden Files #14)
by Jim Butcher
published by Penguin Group
expected release date: November 27, 2012

Summary (Goodreads): HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…

His soul.

**Another series I'm a couple of book behind but still always look forward to new ones coming out.

Book Review ~ Dark Currents

Dark Currents (Agent of Hel #1)
by Jacqueline Carey
published by Roc
genre: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Summary (Goodreads): The Midwestern resort town of Pemkowet boasts a diverse population: eccentric locals, wealthy summer people, and tourists by the busload; not to mention fairies, sprites, vampires, naiads, ogres and a whole host of eldritch folk, presided over by Hel, a reclusive Norse goddess.

To Daisy Johanssen, fathered by an incubus and raised by a single mother, it’s home. And as Hel’s enforcer and the designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, it’s up to her to ensure relations between the mundane and eldritch communities run smoothly.

But when a young man from a nearby college drowns—and signs point to eldritch involvement—the town’s booming paranormal tourism trade is at stake. Teamed up with her childhood crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, a sexy werewolf on the down-low, Daisy must solve the crime—and keep a tight rein on the darker side of her nature. For if she’s ever tempted to invoke her demonic birthright, it could accidentally unleash nothing less than Armageddon.

My Thoughts: This was a great start to a new series (author's site states at least 2 more to follow). I loved the setting, small tourist town in MI, and the integration of the underworld with the town. I wouldn't call this UF, it definitely has that small town feel to it where everyone knows everyone else.
While there are werewolves and vampires this book has so much more than that. From the biker gang ghouls to B movie start Lurine, to too many more creatures to name in this post, there is something for everyone's taste.
I liked Daisy as the main character. Reading about her struggles to control any emotions associated with the seven deadlies was an interesting side effect of her being a halfling. Her role as liaison for Hel added another dimension to this character.
Story wise, I always love a good murder mystery book and this delivered on that front as well. Trying to figure out which of the "bad guys" was the actual murderer and all the events that lead up to that discovery was entertaining. If this is how the series is going to go moving forward I will definitely be reading more.

Rating: 4

Book Review ~ Carnival of Souls

Carnival of Souls 
by Melissa Marr
published by HarperCollins
genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

Summary (Goodreads): In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

My Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books read in 2012. I was drawn into it right from the beginning and was not ready for it to end when I finished.
I found two new characters that I loved. Both Kaleb and Zevi had something about them that just grabbed on and didn't let go. I loved their relationship and how their loyalty to each other/their pack came first. I also liked when Zevi stood up for himself . Aya was another great character that I can see flipping in the future or becoming stronger with the allies she made in this story. Mallory didn't bother me but she seemed to be a rather secondary character even though she was the main focus of this book. She may become stronger now that she has a purpose and knows what she is and what has been happening since she was born.
The only reason this wasn't a 5 star for me was it felt incomplete. It was a great build up of characters and world but there wasn't a resolution to anything. We know where the characters are going and have a feeling for who's the good guys vs bad guys, which was enough to make this enjoyable.

Rating: 4

New Releases ~ week of 11/05/2012

The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts (#3 in Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy)
Tart by Lauren Dane (#2 in Delicious)

Deity by Jennifer L Armentrout (#3 in Covenant)
Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison (#5 in Elder Races)
Double Time by Olivia Cunning (#3 in Sinners on Tour)
Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan (#3 in Immortal Beloved)
Polterheist: An Esther Diamond Novel by Laura Resnick (#5 in Esther Diamond)
Still Life with Shapeshifter by Sharon Shinn (#2 in Shifting Circle)
Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle (#12 in Coffeehouse Mysteries)
Dire Wants by Stephanie Tyler (#2 in Eternal Wolf Clan)
Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur (#4 in Dark Angels)
Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier (#6 in Sevenwaters)
A Gentleman Never Tells by Juliana Gray (#2 in Affairs by Moonlight )

Magic for a Price by Devon Monk (#9 in Allie Beckstrom)
Divide and Conquer by Carrie Ryan (#2 in Infinity Ring )
Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler (#22 in Dirk Pitt)
Spellfire by Jessica Andersen (#9 in Nightkeepers)
Days of Blood and Starlight- by Laini Taylor (#2 in Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy )
Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine (#13 in Morganville Vampires)
Leave Me Breathless by Cherrie Lynn (#3 in Ross Siblings )
El Dorado Blues by Shaun Morey (#2 in Atticus Fish)
The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle (#2 in Sam Levitt )
For Desire Alone by Jess Michaels (#2 in Mistress Matchmaker)

Aradia Awakens by Tish Thawer (#1 in Ovialell)
The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber (#1 in Lady Darby )
A Novel Way to Die by Ali Brandon (#3 in Black Cat Bookshop Mystery)
Nauti Temptress by Lora Leigh (#1 in Nauti Girls)
The Labyrinth of Osiris by Paul Sussman (#3 in Yusuf Khalifa)
Looking for Yesterday by Marcia Muller (#31 in Sharon McCone)
To Tempt an Irish Rogue by Kaitlin O'Riley (#4 in Hamilton Sisters)
No Regrets, No Remorse by R F Sharp (#1 in Sydney Simone Mystery)
Skies of Steel by Zoe Archer (#2 in The Ether Chronicles )
A Season of Angels by Thomas Kinkade, Katherine Spencer (#13 in Cape Light)
Smells Like Pirates by Suzanne Selfors (#3 in Smells Like Treasure)
Revenant Eve by Sherwood Smith (#3 in Dobrenica)

Book Birthday ... a little late :)

Release Date: October 30, 2012 (didn't have power for most of Tuesday which is way this is late)
Author: Yasmine Galenorn; website, twitter, facebook
Genre: Adult, Paranormal, UF

Summary (author website): We're the D'Artigo sisters: sexy, savvy ex-operatives from the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Being half human, half-Fae means our powers go haywire at all the wrong times. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch, with three gorgeous husbands. My sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. And me? I'm Menolly, a jian-tu turned vampire, and I'm dating a sexy werepuma and the godfather of vampires. Unfortunately, life is about to get very, very nasty...

Nerissa and I can't decide on what we want to do for our promise ceremony and we're bickering like an old married couple. My sisters and I head to Otherworld for a meeting with Queen Asteria, where we discover that Shadow Wing has dispatched Telazhar to reignite the Scorching Wars. And as soon as we return back home, we find Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts, waging a battle to control the magical beings over Earthside.  Caught between two terrible enemies in a battle spanning two worlds, we can only hope we're in time to stop all-out annihilation.

Book Review ~ Courting Darkness

Courting Darkness (Otherworld #10)
by Yasmine Galenorn
published by Jove
genre: Adult, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Summary (Goodreads): It's Winter Solstice, and Aeval welcomes me into her Court of Darkness. With Morio still dangerously weak from his injuries and Vanzir alive only thanks to my silence, the thought of training under Morgaine doesn't seem as daunting as it did. But then, Hyto returns to shatter my life. Captured and swept off to the Dragon Reaches, can I manage to stay alive long enough to escape, even as Smoky's father intends to break my spirit, then my body?

My Thoughts: Where to start. This is a very dark book. This series tends to lean towards the darker side of  UF/Fairytale but with the forced sex elements this one was darker still.
I appreciated that even while the rape from Camille's father in law was taking place, you never got the impression that it was OK. The struggles that Camille went through after her and Hannah were able to escape were what you would expect from someone who had gone through that torture.
Camille's husbands are some of my favorite males in UF. Especially Smoky and Trillian. There is something about having more than one Alpha males around without it becoming a constant pissing contest.
Overall, this was good book and moved several of the characters forward. We got to see more of the dragon court and their ways. The issue with Vanzir was put to rest and we got a glimpse of Iris and powers. I'm behind by a couple of books but hoping that we get back to the overall story of the spirit seals.

Rating: 4