New Releases ~ week of 08/06/2018

A Dark and Twisting Path by Julia Buckley (#3 A Writer's Apprentice Mystery)

A Darkness of the Heart by Gail Bowen (#18 Joanne Kilbourn)
As Dust Dances by Samantha Young (#2 Play On)
Beyond the Grave by Judy Clemens (#5 Grim Reaper Mystery)
Catwoman by Sarah J Maas (#4 DC Icons)
Cold Case Cover-Up by Virginia Vaughan (#1 Covert Operatives)
Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson (Dance of Thieves #1)
Days of the Dead by Kersten Hamilton
Death on the Menu by Lucy Burdette (#8 Key West Food Critic Mystery)
Defending Allye by Susan Stoker (#1 Mountain Mercenaries)
Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules by Tony Cliff (#3 Delilah Dirk)
Down With Love by Kate Meader (#1 Laws of Attraction)
Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen (#12 Royal Spyness)

Garrison Girl by Rachel Aaron (#1 Attack on Titan)
Highland Betrayal by Alyson McLayne (#3 The Sons of Gregor MacLeod)
In a Time of Treason by David Keck (#2 Tales of Durand)
Kill With Kindness by Ed James (#5 DI Fenchurch)
King of Assassins by R.J. Barker (#3 The Wounded Kingdom)
Make Them Sorry by Sam Hawken (#3 Camaro Espinoza)
More or Less a Countess by Anna Bradley (#2 The Somerset Sisters)
Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch by Serena Valentino (#5 The Villain Series)
Neverwake by Amy Plum (#2 Dreamfall)
One on One by Michael Brandman (#2 Buddy Steel Mystery)
Primrose and the Dreadful Duke by Emily Larkin (#1 Garland Cousins)
Privateer by Margaret Weis, Robert Krammes (#2 Dragon Corsairs)

Racked and Stacked by Lorelei James (#9 Blacktop Cowboys)
Rescue Operation by Lenora Worth (#5 Military K-9 Unit)
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (#3 The Murderbot Diaries)
Royal Crown by Meg Cabot (#5 From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess)
Rush by Samantha Towle (#2 Gods)
Saved by the Cowboy by A J Pine (#3 Crossroads Ranch)
Searching Love by Maryann Jordan (#12 Saints Protection & Investigations)
Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton (#26 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)
Sleepless in Scotland by May McGoldrick (#3 The Pennington Family)
Something Wicked by K T Davies (#03 The Chronicles of Breed)
Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi (The Star-Touched Queen #2.5)
Subway Series Surprise by David A Kelly (#3 Ballpark Mysteries Super Special)

Tailspin by Sandra Brown
The Butterfly Conspiracy by Vivian Conroy (#1 Merula and Raven Mystery)
The Cowboy's Deadly Mission by Addison Fox (#1 Midnight Pass, Texas)
The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell (Mechanica 0.5)
The Money Shot by Stuart Woods, Parnell Hall (#2 Teddy Fay)
The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal (#8 Maggie Hope)
The Revolution by Leopoldo Gout (#3 Genius)
The Vixen by Christi Caldwell (#2 Wicked Wallflowers)
The Wolf's Secret Vegas Bride by Eve Langlais (#36 Howls Romance)
These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch (Stream Raiders #1)
To Catch a Witch by Heather Blake (#8 Wishcraft Mystery)
Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews (#23 Meg Langslow)

New Releases ~ week of 09/19/2016

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess (#1 Kingdom on Fire)

All About You by Natalie Ann (#6 All Series)
Anywhere You Are by Elisabeth Barrett (#3 Return to Briarwood)
Ashton: Lord of Truth by Grace Burrowes (#13 Lonely Lords)
Billionaire on the Loose by Jessica Clare (#5 Billionaires and Bridesmaids)
Death's End by Cixin Liu (#3 Three-Body Trilogy)
Drawn Deeper by Brenda Rothert (#3 Lockhart Brothers)
Eight Second Ride by Elana Johnson, Liz Isaacson (#7 Three Rivers Ranch)
Fashionably Dead and Wed by Robyn Peterman (#7 Hot Damned)

Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch (#3 Snow Like Ashes)
Gears of Revolution by J Scott Savage (#2 Mysteries of Cove)
Her Renegade Rancher by Jennifer Ryan (#6 Montana Men)
Home by Harlan Coben (#11 Myron Bolitar)
Immortal Nights by Lynsay Sands (#24 Argeneau Vampires)
Infamy by Robert K. Tanenbaum (#28 Butch Karp & Marlene Ciampi)
Jared by Nicole Edwards (#2 Coyote Ridge)
Lone Star Dad by Linda Goodnight (#3 Buchanons)
Loves Christmas by Bruce Hale (#7 Clark the Shark)
Loving Isaac by Rebecca Kertz (#5 Lancaster County Weddings)
Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews (#9 Kate Daniels)
Markus by Dale Mayer (#7 Seals of Honor)
Masterful Lord of Thessaly by Rachael Slate (#5 Halcyon Romance Series)

Mattie's Pledge by Jan Drexler (#2 Journey to Pleasant Prairie)
Movie Night Murder by Leslie Langtry (#4 Merry Wrath Mystery)
Not Quite Perfect by Catherine Bybee (#5 Not Quite)
Nothing More by Anna Todd (#6 After)
Outrage by T. R. Ragan (#2 Faith McMann)
Overexposed by Megan Erickson (#4 In Focus)
Pushing Up Daisies by M. C. Beaton (#27 Agatha Raisin)
Seas by Colleen Oakes (Wendy Darling #2)
Seducing Stag by Laurann Dohner (#10 Cyborg Seduction)
Skin Deep by Kimberly Kincaid (#1 Station Seventeen)

Surrendering To The Italian's Command by Kim Lawrence (#1 Monteverro Marriages)
The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter (#8 Will Trent)
The Pill Bugs of Time by Angel Martinez (#2 Offbeat Crimes)
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (#1 The Queens of Renthia)
The Spaniard's Pregnant Bride by Maisey Yates (#1 Heirs Before Vows)
The Swan Riders by Erin Bow (#2 Prisoners of Peace)
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (#1 Three Dark Crowns)
Twilight at Blueberry Barrens by Colleen Coble (#3 Sunset Cove)
Witch's Pyre by Josephine Angelini (#3 The Worldwalker Trilogy)
Wyvern’s Prince by Deborah Cooke (#2 The Dragons of Incendium)

This Week's Reads

I'm still trying to finish Sorcerer to the Crown from last week but moved on since it wasn't fully keeping my attention.

The Drafter by Kim Harrison (Goodreads)

I'm only about a 1/4 of the way through this but I'm enjoying it so far. I am finding I'm more interested in the story than the characters. I haven't decided if I like Peri or not. One moment I would say yes and the next I just want to move on to something else.

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (Goodreads)

I'm hoping to get to this one as well this week. I ended up liking the first one more than I thought I would while reading it.

End of Year Week ~ Favorites Books 2014

I'm not sure if it is because I am getting pickier in what I read but the majority of my read books for 2014 are marked as 4 stars on Goodreads. Since they do not have half stars some of these fall into the 3 1/2 category. These are some of my favorites that I read, whether they were released this year or in a previous year.

Snow Like Ashes (Goodreads / review)
by Sara Raasch
released: October 14, 2014
rating: 4.5

Fortune's Pawn (Goodreads)
by Rachel Bach
released: November 5, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Stolen Songbird (Goodreads / review)
by Danielle L Jensen
released: April 1, 2014
rating: 5

Written in Red and Murder of Crows (Goodreads)
by Anne Bishop
released: March 5 2013
rating: 5 and 4

Chicagoland Vampires, read books 1-8 (Goodreads / review)
by Chloe Neill
rating: all 4 or better

Warrior (Goodreads / review)
by Marie Brennan
released: August 1, 2008
rating: 4

Book Review ~ Snow Like Ashes

Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1)

by Sara Raasch
published by Balzer + Bray
genre: YA, Fantasy, Debut Book

Summary (Goodreads): A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

My Thoughts: I was glad that this mostly lived up to the Hype. I'm always concerned when everyone loves a book, for some reason I tend to not like those books.
My favorite thing had to be the world the author created. I loved the idea of having four different lands based on the seasons and with the characteristics of the seasons. The other side of that was the Rhythms. These I didn't understand as well but understand where the author was going. Ms Raasch brought balance throughout. Whether through the four seasons/ four rhythms or the four female conduits/ four male conduits. Balance was important.
Meira was another thing that I liked. She was young and eager but at the same time full of doubts concerning her place in their world. All she wants to do is prove herself to those she looks up to and feel a part of Winter, a world she hasn't set foot in since she was an infant. From being on the run, learning to be a queen, and dealing with Spring each scenario made Meira a stronger and more likable character.
The only thing that stopped this from being a straight five star read was the foreshadowing to the big reveal. It might be because I read so many fantasy books but the flashbacks, while subtle and easy to miss, told me what was going to happen. I did enjoy how and when it happened. There is some romance in this book. I never bought into Meira and Mather only because they knew no one else so who else would they be interested in. I thought her relationship with Theron felt more genuine.
Overall, this is one of my favorite reads of 2014 and I look forward to reading more about this world that Ms Raasch has created.

Rating: 4.5 

New Releases ~ week of 10/13/2014

*Links go to Goodreads

A Moment of Passion by Jess Michaels (#2 Ladies Book of Pleasures)

Alex by Sawyer Bennett (#1 Cold Fury Hockey)
Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin (#3 Alpha Girl)
Armageddon by Christina Bauer (#3 Angelbound)
Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen by Garth Nix (#4 Old Kingdom)
Dark Craving by Cheryl McIntyre (#2 Dark Calling)
Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt (#7 Maiden Lane)
Demon's Fury by Jocelynn Drake (#3.1 The Asylum Tales)
Depths of Lake by Keary Taylor (#3 McCain Saga)
Hero Complex by Margaux Froley (#2 Keaton School)
Jacob's Ladder by Bianca D'Arc (#3 String of Fate)
Olympus by Bryan Q. Miller (#5 Smallville: Season 11)
One In A Million by Jill Shalvis (#12 Lucky Harbor)

PathFinder by Angie Sage (#1 Todhunter Moon)
Primal by Sasha White (#1 Overwatch)
Prophecies, Libels & Dreams: Stories by Ysabeau S Wilce (#3.5 Flora Trilogy)
Redeemed by Kristin Cast, P C Cast (#12 House of Night)
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch (#1 Snow Like Ashes)
Tempted by Midnight by Lara Adrian (#12.5 Midnight Breed #10 1001 Dark Nights)
The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander (#9 Emily Ashton)
The Golden Throne by Katia Fox (#3 Copper Sign)
The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich (#2 Éireann)
Undivided by Neal Shusterman (#4 Unwind)
Wolf Slayer by Angela Addams (#2 Order of the Wolf)