New Releases ~ week of 06/12/2017

A Just Clause by Lorna Barrett (#11 Booktown Mystery)

All the Secrets We Keep by Megan Hart (#2 Quarry Road)
Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance (#1 Agnes & Effie Mystery)
Beyond the Sea by David L Golemon (#12 Event Group Adventure)
Black Forever by Victoria Quinn (#4 Obsidian)
Butterfly Kisses by Leigh Duncan (#1 Orange Blossom)
Deep Burn by Kimberly Kincaid (#2 Station Seventeen)
Devil's Due by Taylor Anderson (#12 Destroyermen)
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #2)
Endgame by Bill Pronzini (#45 Nameless Detective)
Fierce Obsession by Suzanne Wright (#6 The Phoenix Pack)

Hell Bound by Felicia Beasley (#2 Trenton Investigations)
I Knew You Were Trouble by Lauren Layne (#4 Oxford)
Issued to the Bride One Sniper by Cora Seton (#3 Brides of Chance Creek)
Julia Defiant by Catherine Egan (#2 Julia Vanishes)
Knife Creek by Paul Doiron (#8 Mike Bowditch Mystery)
More Than Need You by Shayla Black (#2 More Than Words)
One Week to the Wedding by Olivia Miles (#1 Misty Point)
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab (#2 Monsters of Verity)
Point of Contact by Tom Clancy, Mike Maden (#10 Jack Ryan, Jr.)
Roar by Cora Carmack (#1 Stormheart)
Scent of Brimstone by Felicia Beasley (#1 Trenton Investigations)

Setting Off Sparks by Jennifer Bernard (#5 Jupiter Point)
Silver Silence by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #1)
The Bad Luck Bride by Jane Goodger (#1 Brides of St. Ives)
The Black Elfstone by Terry Brooks (#1 The Fall of Shannara)
The Bourne Initiative by Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader (#14 Jason Bourne)
The Darkest Promise by Gena Showalter (#13 Lords of the Underworld Series)
The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May (#3 The Falconer)
The Hollow Crown by Jeff Wheeler (#4 The Kingfountain Series)
The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker (#10 Bruno, Chief of Police)
The Unexpected Husband by Miranda P. Charles (#8 Captured by Love)

Thief's Cunning by Sarah Ahiers (#2 Assassin's Heart)
Too Close to Call by Tessa Bailey (#4 Romancing the Clarksons)
Wages of Sin by Mark Wheaton (#3 Luis Chavez)

This Week's Reads

by Thomas Wightman (blog)

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May
The Falconer #2 (Goodreads)
**I think I love the covers of these books better than the actual books. Already finished this one and I love the side characters so much more than I like Aileana and Kiaran.
It is a very readable series and I feel bad that I don't love these two characters as much as everyone else seems to. That said I will probably still read the third book just to find out what happens in the end.

Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
The Checquy Files #2 (Goodreads)
**I really loved book 1 (The Rook) and am hoping that this book is just as good.

Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
Ivory and Bone #1 (Goodreads)
**I'm intrigued by the premise of this one. It's not just a historical fantasy, it's a prehistoric fantasy. I'm interested to see if the characters feel prehistoric not modern placed in prehistoric time.

Book Review ~ The Falconer

The Falconer (The Falconer #1)

by Elizabeth May
published by Chronicle Books
genre: YA, Historical Fantasy, Steampunk

Summary (Goodreads): Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

My Thoughts: I so wanted to like this book. I loved the cover, the summary sounded like it had a lot of promise, and everyone was raving about it. The last one should have tipped me off. For some reason whenever there is a lot of hype about a book I don't fall in line with the rest.
The world building was well done, incorporating small steampunk details without hitting you over the head with them. For me I didn't feel like I was reading a book set in Scotland, it felt more British, until the author reminded you they were in Scotland. This did not take away from the story at all just something I noticed.
The characters. This is where I had the most problems with the book. Aileana starts off as a broken young girl who has recently lost her mother and just wants revenge against the Fae that killed her. Not only does she want to kill the specific one but she is out to get everyone she can find. If the author had stuck with this and kept her as a strong female character, even making the hard choices, I would not have disliked this book as much as I did. Enter Kiaran, the cliche YA boy (I can't even call him the bad boy, he didn't have enough personality for that). Everything you just learned about Aileana and liked about her goes out the window. Instead of being the strong female she is reduced to the simpering schoolgirl who can focus on nothing but his lips and how he makes her feel. This would have almost been fine if he wasn't the very thing that we are told she hates with all her being.
Needless to say the story went downhill from there. We also have a Gavin, who is just trying to do the right thing, saves Aileana's life and ruins his own in the process. I've mentioned before how much I dislike love triangles and this is no exception.
The ending. I'm not sure how I felt about the cliffhanger (ish) ending. I will say it showed that the author could write great characters in a short time. Sorcha and her brother were two of the most interesting in the book. Their personalities were solid (even if they were evil) and more there than Kiaran's who we had been reading about since the beginning of the book. The seal, Kiaran's sister, the reason that Sorcha can't be killed, these may be reasons to read the next book but I'm just not sure. I'll have to wait and read some reviews from bloggers I trust before I decide.

Rating: 3.5

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 

Thankless in Death by J D Robb (Goodreads) (I've almost got this whole series now)
Afterlight by Elle Jasper (Goodreads)

Won
I won a few books during Armchair BEA. The last 2 are for my son.
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (Goodreads) from Broadway Books and Meaghan @ A Cinaste's Collection
Guys Read: True Stories edited by Jon Scieszka (Goodreads) from Walden Pond Press
Double Reverse by Fred Bowen (Goodreads) from Peachtree Publishers

Library
The Falconer by Elizabeth May (Goodreads)
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler (Goodreads)
The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes &Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads)
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Goodreads)
The Very Best of Tad Williams (Goodreads)

New Releases ~ week of 5/5/2014

A Baby for the Doctor by Jacqueline Diamond (#13 Safe Harbor Medical)

A Dollhouse To Die For by Cate Price (#2 Deadly Notions Mystery)
A Merger by Marriage by Cat Schield (#2 Las Vegas Nights)
A Tiger's Tale by Laura Morrigan (#2 Call of the Wilde Mystery)
After the End by Amy Plum (#1 After The End)
Alien Collective by Gini Koch (#9 Katherine "Kitty" Katt)
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (#2 Southern Reach Trilogy)
Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti (#3 Sins Brothers)
Bodyguard Reunion by Margaret Daley (#6 Guardians, Inc.)
Boiled Over by Barbara Ross (#2 Maine Clambake Mysteries)
Breakable by Tammara Webber (#2 Easy)
Catnapped! by Elaine Viets (#13 Dead-End Job)

Chantress Alchemy by Amy Butler Greenfield (#2 Chantress)
Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins (#44 Spenser)
Dante's Poison by Lynne Raimondo (#2 Mark Angelotti)
Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson (#9 Destroyermen)
Death at the Door by Carolyn Hart (#24 Death On Demand)
Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay (#2 A Hat Shop Mystery)
Drake Makes a Splash! by Ray O'Ryan (#8 Galaxy Zack)
Empower by Jessica Shirvington (#5 Violet Eden Chapters)
Enlightened by Joanna Chambers (#3 Enlightenment)
Every Hidden Fear by Linda Rodriguez (#3 Skeet Bannion)
Falling for the Rancher Father by Linda Ford (#6 Cowboys of Eden Valley)
Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Secret of the Silver Key by Jane O'Connor (#4 Nancy Clancy)
Fatal Exchange by Lisa Harris (#2 Southern Crimes)

Field of Prey by John Sandford (#24 Lucas Davenport)
Fire Kin by M J Scott (#4 Half-Light City)
From Single Mom to Secret Heiress by Kristi Gold (#3 Dynasties the Lassiters)
Giving In by Maya Banks (#2 Surrender Trilogy)
Grendel's Curse by Alex Archer (#48 Rogue Angel)
Hell for Leather by Julie Ann Walker (#6 Black Knights Inc.)
How to Rope a Real Man by Melissa Cutler (#3 Catcher Creek)
It Happened One Wedding by Julie James (#5 FBI / US Attorney)
King of Ashes by Raymond E Feist (#1 War Of Five Crowns)
King of the Weeds by Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane (#19 Mike Hammer)
Last Licks by Claire Donally (#3 Sunny & Shadow)

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade (#2 Porter Family)
Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris (#1 Midnight, Texas)
Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain (#5 Green Rider)
Murder Gone A-Rye by Nancy J Parra (#2 Baker's Treat Mystery)
Murder in Murray Hillby Victoria Thompson (#16 Gaslight Mysteries)
Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle by Bob Pflugfelder (#3 Nick and Tesla)
Otomen, Vol. 18 by Aya Kanno (#18 Otomen)
Pure Heat by M. L. Buchman (#1 Firehawks)
Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines (#1.1 in Too Far #1.1 in Rosemary Beach)
Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne (#3 Monument 14)

Silenced by Dani Pettrey (#4 Alaskan Courage)
Since I Saw You by Beth Kery (#4 Because You Are Mine)
Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched by Kim Barnouin (#2 Skinny Bitch)
Slightly Spellbound by Kimberly Frost (#4 Southern Witch)
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire (#1 Ghost Stories)
Steadfast by Jack Campbell (#4 The Lost Fleet : Beyond the Frontier)
Sworn in Steel by Douglas Hulick (#2 Tales of the Kin)
The Battle for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi (#3 WondLa)
The Bottom Line by Sandy James (#1 The Ladies Who Lunch)
The Bull Rider's Family by Leigh Duncan (#1 Glades County Cowboys)
The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle (#1 Annum Guard)

The Falconer by Elizabeth May (#1 The Falconer)
The Goodbye Witch by Heather Blake (#4 Wishcraft Mystery)
The Keeper by John Lescroart (#16 Dismas Hardy)
The Last Cowboy Standing by Barbara Dunlop (#6 Colorado Cattle Barons)
The One by Kiera Cass (#3 The Selection)
The Pickled Piper by Mary Ellen Hughes (#1 Pickled and Preserved Mystery)
The Sarantos Baby Bargain by Olivia Gates (#40 Billionaires and Babies)
The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake (#10 RCN-Danial Leary)
The Singer by Elizabeth Hunter (#2 Irin Chronicles)
The Three Emperors by William Dietrich (#7 Ethan Gage)
The Unforgiven by Alyssa Day (#2 League of the Black Swan)
The Warrior by Victoria Scott (#3 Dante Walker)

The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke (#1 The Hannah Duology)
Vampire Knight, Vol. 18 by Matsuri Hino (#18 Vampire Knight)
Vampire's Thirst by Cynthia Garner (#2 Awakening)
Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans (#5 Walk)
When a Laird Takes a Lady by Rowan Keats (#2 Claimed by the Highlander)
Wolverine Bros. Freight and Storage by Steve Ulfelder (#4 Conway Sax)
Your Ranch...Or Mine? by Kathie DeNosky (#3 The Good, The Bad, and The Texan)