This Week's Reads

A Home in the Green
by Jerry8448 (DeviantArt)

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files #15.1 (Goodreads)
**I am so ready for another full length Dresden novel. Another collection of shorts (some already read in other anthologies) will have to tide me over for now.

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
Charlie Madigan #1 (Goodreads)
**I'm not sure what prompted my request for this book, I think it was a reader also liked suggestion on Goodreads. I like the dark gritty look of the cover and I'm hoping the story/world has the same feel.

New Releases ~ week of 06/04/2018

A Defender's Heart by Tara Taylor Quinn (#15 Where Secrets are Safe)

A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter (#1 Haven Manor)
A Stone's Throw by James W. Ziskin (#6 Ellie Stone Mystery)
Blazing Summer by Denise Grover Swank (#2 Darling Investigations)
Bought the Farm by Peg Cochran (#3 Farmer's Daughter Mystery)
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher (#15.1 The Dresden Files)
City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts (#2 Royal Bastards)
Curse Reversed by Rebecca Royce (#2 Wards and Wands)
Dad in Training by Cynthia Thomason (#2 Cahills of North Carolina)
Dangerous Obsession by Jessica R Patch (#3 Security Specialists)
Dirty Exes by Rachel Van Dyken (#1 Liars, Inc.)
Dragon Undercover by Lia Davis, Kerry Adrienne (#1 Dark Scales Division)
Eden Conquered by Joelle Charbonneau (Dividing Eden #2)
Fear Itself by James Swallow (#3 Star Trek: Discovery)
Grave Missteps by Lily Harper Hart (#13 Maddie Graves Mystery)
How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson (#2 Kate Reddy)
In Bed with the Beast by Tara Sivec (#2 The Naughty Princess Club)
In Darkness Transformed by Alexis Morgan (#20 Paladins of Darkness)

Knocked Up by Stacey Lynn (#2 Crazy Love)
Marked by Benedict Jacka (#9 Alex Verus)
Misadventures with a Rock Star by Helen Hardt (#14 Misadventures)
Natural Dual-Mage by K. F. Breene (#3 Magical Mayhem)
Never Say Pie by Leighann Dobbs (#14 Lexy Baker Bakery Mystery)
Outbreak by Melissa F Olson (#3 Nightshades)
Rapunzel and the Vanishing Village by Leila Howland (#2 Tangled)
Real Kind of Love by Sara Rider (#1 Books & Brews)
Redson by Laurann Dohner (#10 VLG Series)
Rockets' Dead Glare by Lynn Cahoon (#10 A Tourist Trap Mystery)
Seduced by the Badge by Deborah Fletcher Mello (#1 Serve and Seduce)
Stranded with the Rancher by Rebecca Winters (#2 Wind River Cowboys)
Tangled Vows by Yvonne Lindsay (#1 Marriage at First Sight)
The Church by Celia Aaron (#3 The Cloister)
The Fractured by Brett Battles (#12 Jonathan Quinn Thriller)
The Girl and Her Ren by Pepper Winters (#2 The Ribbon Duet)
The Hills Have Spies by Mercedes Lackey (#1 Valdemar: Family Spies)
The Moscow Offensive by Dale Brown (#22 Patrick McLanahan)
The One You Can't Forget by Roni Loren (#1 Ones Who Got Away)
The Start of Something Good by Jennifer Probst (#1 Stay)
Threat of Danger by Dana Marton (#2 Mission Recovery)
Top Secret Target by Dana Mentink (#3 Military K-9 Unit)
Touch of Flame by Jo Goodman (#2 The Cowboys of Colorado)
Turbulence by Stuart Woods (#46 Stone Barrington)
Undone by Elisabeth Naughton (#3 House of Sin)
Unexpected Love Story by Natasha Madison (#2 Love Series)
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (#2 Beartown (Björnstad))
Vanished in the Night by Lynette Eason (#6 Wrangler's Corner)
Welcome Back, My Love by Niobia Bryant (#8 Strong Family)
What Happens in Summer by Caridad Piñeiro (#2 At the Shore)
When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger (#3 Devil Wears Prada)
Witness X by Scott Mariani, Mark Dawson (#2 Group Fifteen Files)

This Week's Reads

Shadowed Souls edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L Hughes
(Goodreads)
**Love anthologies and this one is full of authors I already read.
Cold Case by Jim Butcher
Sleepover by Seanan McGuire
Eye of Newt by Kevin J Anderson
Impossible Monsters by Rob Thurman
If Wishes Were by Tanya Huff
Solus by Anton Strout
Peacock in Hell by Kat Richardson
What Dwells Within by Lucy A Snyder
Hunter, Healer by Jim C Hines
Baggage by Erik Scott de Bie
Sales. Force. by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys
(Goodreads)
**Not sure why I grabbed this one. I like the simple cover and the cover line.

Armchair BEA 2016 ~ Surviving Fictional Worlds

Armchair bea website

Today we'll talk about surviving fictional worlds. We all know that sometimes, the worlds we love in fiction can be dangerous. Which fictional worlds would you want to live in? Which worlds do you never want to dive into? Which worlds are you content to stay behind the glass, so to speak, rather than wishing to dive through the page? And once you get there, what would you do?

**I think I wouldn't mind Kenyon's Dark Hunter world. It's modern day but with the addition of supernatural beings. At the same time not sure I would want to live in NOLA in her world.

They are watching
by Nightscream 452 (DeviantArt)

I wouldn't mind exploring Hogwarts. Maybe not as a student but I'm sure I could find plenty to do and see.

Back at Hogwarts
by Alea Lefevre (deviantArt)

Sticking with the UF/ Fantasy theme. I was reading a Jim Butcher graphic novel from his Dresden Files series and realized I wouldn't want to live in his Chicago. Between the mafia, councils, vampire courts and everything else you can think of there is nowhere you can turn to get away from it all.

The Dresden Files: Your Story
by charro art (DeviantArt)

Have a Happy and Safe Reading Weekend!

Armchair BEA 2016 ~ Beyond the Books & Beyond the Blog

Armchair BEA website 

Here on Day 3, we are moving our focus beyond the traditional format of the media we consume and create!
Beyond the traditional form of the novel, what are your favorite alternative forms (graphic novels, audiobooks, webcomics, etc)? Do you have any favorite works within these alternate forms? How do you think the changing format affects the reading experience?

**I've tried a couple of audiobooks but haven't really been able to focus when they are playing. If I don't have something in my hands I feel like I should be doing something and forget that I'm supposed to be listening. I should probably try one when I'm walking or something.
**Of the things listed the one I read the most are graphic novels. I'm even more picky with these than regular books. If I don't like the graphics it does not matter how good the story is, I cannot get into it. For me it started with some of my favorite UF book series, Jim Butcher's Dresden series (Goodreads) and Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series (Goodreads).

This branched out into other types of graphic novels. The first and still one of my favorites is the  Fables series (Goodreads) by Bill Willingham. The last volume came out in 2015.

Another set I read for the first time this year is the Runaways by Brian K Vaughn (Goodreads). I'll admit to not liking his Saga series as much as everyone else did but I did like Runaways. The graphics and story just worked better for me in this one than in Saga.

This Week's Reads

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Down Town #1
(Goodreads)
**Dresden is one of my favorite main characters and I pick them up whenever I see them.

Gotham Academy, Vol. 2: Calamity by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl
(Goodreads)
**One of the few lately that I enjoyed both the story and the graphics in Vol 1.













Catching up on my NetGalley dashboard:

Hidden Huntress by Danielle L Jensen
The Malediction Trilogy #2 (Goodreads)
**Book 1 was a 5 star read for me. Haven't seen much about book 2, hoping it is as good.

Shaman Rises by C.E. Murphy
The Walker Papers #9 (Goodreads)
**This is the last book in this series and I'm sorry to see it go. Not a lot of books/series out there about Shamanic warrior/healers.

This Week's Reads

War Cry by Jim Butcher, Illustrated by Mark Powers, Carlos Gomez
Dresden Files Graphic Novel #4 (Goodreads)
**This is one of my all time favorite series. Plus I needed a change of pace and hadn't read any graphic novels yet.

The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong
(Goodreads)
**I like mysteries and thrillers but really only picked this up because of the author.

Story Thieves by James Riley
Story Thieves #1 (Goodreads)
**This was another where I was just looking for something different, lighter to read.

This Week's Reads

The Chess Queen Enigma by Colleen Gleason
(Stoker & Holmes #3) Goodreads
**I received this book from Armchair BEA last year. I read the first two books right away but am just now, finally getting around to reading this one.

Swords and Scoundrels by Julia Knight
(The Duelists Trilogy #1) Goodreads
**This was an impulse pick up at the library. The cover got my attention and it just sounded like something I might like. Haven't really looked to see what it's ratings are.

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
(The Cinder Spires #1) Goodreads
**Butcher is one of my favorite author so I've been looking forward to this one. I've seen mixed reviews but hoping I either really enjoy it or it's like the Dresden books where it didn't fully grab me until book 3-4.

New Releases ~ week of 09/28/2015

A Bad Boy for Christmas by Jessica Lemmon (#3 Second Chance)

A Cherry Cola Christmas by Ashton Lee (#4 Cherry Cola Book Club)
A Ghostly Murder by Tonya Kappes (#4 Ghostly Southern Mystery)
A Knights Bridge Christmas by Carla Neggers (#5 Swift River Valley)
A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter (#4 White Rabbit Chronicles)
About a Vampire by Lynsay Sands (#22 Argeneau Vampires)
After You by Jojo Moyes (#2 Me Before You)
All I Want for Christmas is Fudge by Nancy Coco (#4 Candy-Coated Mysteries)
All Wrapped Up by Kimberly Kincaid (#5 Pine Mountain)
Antiques St. Nicked by Barbara Allan (#11 Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery)
Autumn Moon by Jan DeLima (#3 Celtic Wolves)

Awakened In Shadows by Tigris Eden (#4 Shadow Unit)
Blessed are those Who Mourn by Kristi Belcamino (#4 Gabriella Giovanni Mysteries)
Bound by Sin by Jacquelyn Frank (#3 The Immortal Brothers)
Bread of the Dead by Ann Myers (#1 Santa Fe Cafe Mystery series)
Christmas in Mustang Creek by Linda Lael Miller (#4 Brides of Bliss County)
Crossbones by John L Campbell (#4 Omega Days)
Dangerously Dark by Colette London (#2 Chocolate Whisperer Mystery)
Dead with the Wind by Miranda James (#2 Southern Sisters Mystery)
Deceive Me by Stacey Mosteller (#1 Two Sisters)
Down the Rabbit Hole by Various Authors, anthology
Emerald Buddha by Russell Blake (#2 Drake Ramsey)

Evergreen Springs by RaeAnne Thayne (#3 Haven Point)
Facing Fire by HelenKay Dimon (#4 Bad Boys Undercover)
Fated by Sarah Fine (#3 Servants of Fate)
Firestorm by Shannon Mayer (#3 Elemental)
Fortune's Folly by Sara King (#2 Outer Bounds)
Last Hope by Jessica Clare (#5 Hitman)
Madly by Amy Alward (#1 Potion Trilogy)
Marry Me At Christmas by Susan Mallery (#19 Fools Gold)
Menagerie by Rachel Vincent (#1 Menagerie)
Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon (#1 A Webb's Glass Shop Mystery)
Patriot Attack by Robert Ludlum, Kyle Mills (#12 Covert-One)
Playing Dirty by Tiffany A. Snow (#2 Risky Business)
Playing with Fire by Kate Meader (#2 Hot in Chicago)

Reign of Iron by Angus Watson (#3 Iron Age)
Say Yes to the Death by Susan McBride (#6 Debutante Dropout)
Shadow Play by Iris Johansen (#19 Eve Duncan Forensics)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (#1 Six of Crows)
Spiral Of Need by Suzanne Wright (#1 Mercury Pack)
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher (#1 The Cinder Spires)
The Bark Before Christmas by Laurien Berenson (#18 Melanie Travis)
The Hidden by Heather Graham (#17 Krewe of Hunters)
The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long (#11 Pennyroyal Green)
The Stolen MacKenzie Bride by Jennifer Ashley (#8 Highland Pleasures)
The Taming of Malcolm Grant by Paula Quinn (#4 The McGregors: Highland Heirs)
Willow Brook Road by Sherryl Woods (#13 Chesapeake Shores)
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti (#1 Zeroes)

Some Thursday Randomness

Movies
I haven't actually watched this trailer. Still working myself up to read the final book in this trilogy.


Dinosaurs are always a big hit in our house since my son has wanted to be a paleontologist since he was 5. Also, we are big fans of Pixar films. This scores on two fronts with us.


Fan Art
Have been really enjoying Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Forgot how much I loved this series. Decided to search out some fan art and found that I really need to read the comics for this series...

Dresden Files TPB cover
by DrewDown1976 (deviantart)

Molly Carpenter
by  KafiraSky (deviantArt)

Fool Moon I3 cover
by Chase Conley (deviantArt)

Bookish Stuff (really just some cover love)

I like the blues on this and it fits with the rest of the series.

I mostly like this cover. My initial reaction was positive but now I'm not sure. Almost wish there weren't people on it.

So, I love blue which means the background is a yes. Some of the character poses for this series are just weird but I like this one better than the last 2 covers.

Book Review ~ Side Jobs

Side Jobs (Dresden Files #12.5)

by Jim Butcher
Published by Roc
genre: Adult, anthology, supernatural, fantasy

Summary (Goodreads): Here, together for the first time, are the shorter works of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher-a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time. The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious. Also included is a new, never-before-published novella that takes place after the cliff-hanger ending of the new April 2010 hardcover, Changes. This is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan as well as a perfect introduction for readers ready to meet Chicago's only professional wizard.

Contains:
+ "Restoration of Faith"
+ "Vignette"
+ "Something Borrowed" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
+ "It's My Birthday Too" -- from Many Bloody Returns
+ "Heorot" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
+ "Day Off" -- from Blood Lite
+ "Backup" -- novelette from Thomas' point of view, originally published by Subterranean Press
+ "The Warrior" -- novelette from Mean Streets
+ "Last Call" -- from Strange Brew
+ "Love Hurts" -- from Songs of Love and Death
+ Aftermath -- all-new novella from Murphy's point of view, set forty-five minutes after the end of Changes

My Thoughts: I will admit up front that I am an anthology junky. I own all but one of the books listed in the description.That said, just because I own them doesn't mean I've read them yet.
Even the ones I had read previously I enjoyed. I liked looking back at earlier times in the story-line.
Aftermath was my favorite for the reasons listed. It was interesting seeing things from Murphy's POV. Especially after how Changes ended. This story was also heavy with the werewolves working alongside Murphy. It also featured a bad guy/group that I found interesting even in the short amount of time we got with them. They were amphibian with acid spitting growths on walls.
Overall, If you are a fan of this series, you'll enjoy most of these stories. There are some that are better than others. One the author even tells you up front was his first attempt at writing a short story and it shows. I still liked the story (Restoration of Faith) even if the writing wasn't up to par. It was also nice to have the continuation between Changes going into Ghost Story.

Rating: Overall: 4

Mini Reviews ~ Blood Lite

Blood Lite (Blood Lite #1)

edited by Kevin J Anderson
genre: Anthologies, Adult, Fantasy, PNR, UF

Summary (Goodreads): The Horror Writers Association Presents Blood Lite...a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge.

My Thoughts: I only read the stories by the authors on the front of the book. I tried reading some of the others but wasn't in the right mood, will try and go back when I have more reading time.
Jim Butcher (Dresden 10.1): Harry's Day Off: Cute story about Harry trying to keep plans for a day off and everything going wrong. From his assistant blowing up his lab to the local were's getting fleas.
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter 15.5): Where Angels Fear to Tread: This was the one that had me turning the page and going wait I want more.
Kelley Armstrong (Otherworld 8.2): The Ungrateful Dead: This was another I enjoyed even though I'm not this far into the series yet (really need to finish).
Overall, I bought this for these three stories and they were worth the price of the book. Since I own the book, if I'm ever looking for new authors I can check out their works in this book.

Rating: 3.5(on stories read)

(mini) Book Review ~ BackUp

BackUp (The Dresden Files #10.3)

by Jim Butcher
published by Subterranean
genre: Adult. Urban Fantasy, Supernatural

Summary (Goodreads): Let's get something clear right up front. I'm not Harry Dresden. Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences--and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being. I'll be damned if I know how. But then, I'll be damned regardless. My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster. So begins "Backup" a twelve thousand word novelette set in Jim Butcher's ultra-popular Dresden Files series. This time Harry's in trouble he knows nothing about, and it's up to his big brother Thomas to track him down and solve those little life-threatening difficulties without his little brother even noticing.

My Thoughts: This is a short story from the Dresden Files. I really liked that it was told from Thomas' POV. He is one of my favorite vamps in any series and it was nice to get a glimpse of this world from someone else's eyes.
Thomas finds out from his sister from that other family that a group they have been trying to wipe out in the Oblivion war has just hired Harry to help with a fake kidnapping. The real purpose is to get a book into the Harry's hands in order to keep them in existence.
Even without remembering what was going on in the series at this point, it was still a great read that gave a little more insight into one of my favorites.

Rating: 5

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Skin Game

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.


Skin Game (The Dresden Files #15)

by Jim Butcher
published by Roc
expected release date: May 27, 2014
genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural,

Summary (Goodreads): Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day….

Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it’s something awful.

He doesn’t know the half of it….

Mab has just traded Harry’s skills to pay off one of her debts. And now he must help a group of supernatural villains—led by one of Harry’s most dreaded and despised enemies, Nicodemus Archleone—to break into the highest-security vault in town so that they can then access the highest-security vault in the Nevernever.

It’s a smash-and-grab job to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure hoard in the supernatural world—which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld and generally unpleasant character. Worse, Dresden suspects that there is another game afoot that no one is talking about. And he’s dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience. Especially Harry.

Dresden’s always been tricky, but he’s going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess—assuming his own allies don’t end up killing him before his enemies get the chance….

**This is one of my favorite authors and series. Always look forward to new books.

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.

Bought
Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love
Beneath a Blood Red Moon by Heather Graham

Won
from Harper Collins
Otherworld Chronicles by Nils Johnson-Shelton
~The Invisible Tower, The Seven Swords, The Dragon King

Review  (netGalley/ Strange Chemistry)
Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen



Library
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley
The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon and Hoang Nguyen
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Ghoul Goblin: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher