New Releases ~ week of 07/27/2015

A Wedding on Primrose Street by Sheila Roberts (#7 Life in Icicle Falls)

All the Ways to Ruin A Rogue by Sophie Jordan (#2 Debutante Files)
Attack Of The Living Shadows! by Jake Bible (#4 ScareScapes)
Bad News Cowboy by Maisey Yates (#3 Copper Ridge)
Beware of Me by Cynthia Eden (#4 Last Option Search Team)
Breaking by Barbara Elsborg (#2 Fall or Break)
Broken by Natasha Thomas (#5 Devil's Spawn MC)
Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay (#1 Promise Falls)
Brush Back by Sara Paretsky (#17 V.I. Warshawski)
Confessions of a Queen B* by Crista McHugh (#1 Queen B*)
Coyote’s Kiss by Crissy Smith (#4 Shifter Chronicles)
Dragon Fall by Katie MacAlister (#1 Dragon Fall)
Dragons Live Forever by D'Elen McClain (#4 Fire Chronicles)

Drape Expectations by Karen Rose Smith (#4 Caprice De Luca Mystery)
Every Last Breath by Jennifer L Armentrout (#3 Dark Elements)
Extinction by D. J. Molles (#6 The Remaining)
Fall of Blaze by H. O. Charles (#6 The Fireblade Array)
Fatal Pursuit by Elisabeth Naughton (#3 Aegis Security)
Frisk Me by Lauren Layne (#1 New York's Finest)
Half a War by Joe Abercrombie (#3 Shattered Sea)
If He's Noble by Hannah Howell (#7 Wherlocke)
In the Drink by Allyson K. Abbott (#3 Mack's Bar Mysteries)
Inferno by Angela Graham (#5 Harmony)
Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney (#1 Dewberry Farm Mystery)
Killing Pretty by Richard Kadrey (#7 Sandman Slim)

Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran (#3 Rules for the Reckless)
Lone Rider by B J Daniels (#2 Montana Hamiltons)
Never Die Alone by Lisa Jackson (#8 New Orleans)
Queen of Pentacles by Katee Robert (#4 Sanctify)
Redzone by William C Dietz (#2 Mutant Files)
Servicing the Target by Cherise Sinclair (#9 Masters of the Shadowlands)
Silent Creed by Alex Kava (#2 Ryder Creed)
Siren's Call by Jayne Castle (#12 Harmony World #4 Rainshadow)
Spider's Trap by Jennifer Estep (#13 Elemental Assassin)
The Blind by Shelley Coriell (#3 Apostles)
The Bourbon Kings by J. R. Ward (#1 The Bourbon Kings)
The Conquering Dark by Clay Griffith (#3 Crown & Key)

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan (#1 The Dinosaur Lords)
The Forbidden Billionaire by J. S. Scott (#3 Sinclairs)
The Forgotten by Heather Graham (#16 Krewe of Hunters)
The Highlander Takes A Bride by Lynsay Sands (#3 English Bride in Scotland)
The Hotter You Burn by Gena Showalter (#2 Original Heartbreakers)
The Legacy of Copper Creek by R C Ryan (#3 Copper Creek Cowboys)
The Orchard at the Edge of Town by Shirlee McCoy (#3 Apple Valley)
The Promise of Love by Billi Jean (#6 Love's Command)
The Secret Sister by Brenda Novak (#1 Fairham Island)
The Silence of the Chihuahuas by Waverly Curtis (#5 Barking Detective

Mysteries)
The Terrans by Jean Johnson (#1 First Salik War)
Thrill Me by Susan Mallery (#18 Fools Gold)
White Death by Ted Bell (#9.5 Alexander Hawke)
Wired  by Julie Garwood (#13 Buchanan)

Book Review ~ Half a King

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1)

by Joe Abercrombie
published by Del Ray
genre: YA, Fantasy,

Summary (Goodreads): “I swore an oath to be avenged on the killers of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath”
Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.
The deceived will become the deceiver
Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.
The betrayed will become the betrayer
Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.
Will the usurped become the usurper?
But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy...

My Thoughts: This is the first time I've read anything by this author and will be looking into his other series. I could not put this book down and read it in a day (this is great for me lately).
I really enjoyed everything about this book, from the world created to the characters that lived in it. There is a character for everyone.
Yarvi was born with a crippled hand, which made him less in the eyes of his father, the king, as well as everyone else in the castle. Since he wasn't good at any of the things princes usually do (and being second born) he decided to go into ministry. The training for this gets Yarvi and his friends out of many a tight spot later on. I liked seeing Yarvi grow into himself and figure out that while he might not be a strong physically as others he could use his brains to sometimes get the same results.
From this point on the action does not stop. From betrayals, to slavery, to escaping with the most unlikely group of individuals the story just flowed across the pages. I was surprised how much the group of slaves that ended up helping Yarvi avenge his families deaths grew on me. Each one was unique and added something to the group.
Overall, while I enjoyed this book from beginning to end there was just something that made this not be a five star for me. I can't quite put my finger on it. Whether it was the reveal of Nothing (person) towards the end or how Yarvi's life (as well as everyone else left) just seemed to fall into place, something felt off. This did not take away from my need to get my hands on the second book of this series that just came out recently.

Rating: 4.5

New Releases ~ week of 02/16/2015

A Restored Man by Jaime Reese (#3 The Men of Halfway House)

Basic Incubus by Nicole Peeler (#3 Trueniverse)
Bear Attraction by Jennifer Ashley (#6.5 Shifters Unbound)
Bitten by a Hellcat by Felicity Heaton (#6 Eternal Mates)
Black Wolf's Revenge by Tera Shanley (#2 Silver Wolf Clan)
Cinderella and the Ghost by Marina Myles (#4 The Cursed Princes)
Craving Talon by Zoey Derrick (#2 69 Bottles)
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King (#13 Mary Russell Mysteries)
Gabe by Minx Malone (#3 Blue Collar Billionaires)
Garrett by Sawyer Bennett (#2 Cold Fury Hockey)
Grizzly Love by Eve Langlais (#5 Kodiak Point)
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie (#2 Shattered Sea)
K-9 by Rohan Gavin (#2 Knightley and Son)

Last Days of the Condor by James Grady (#3 Condor)
Lucky Break by Chloe Neill (#10.5 Chicagoland Vampires)
Make Me Yours by Rhyannon Byrd (#3 Dangerous Tides)
Rise of the Fallen by Chuck Black (#2 Wars of the Realm)
Ristèard's Unwilling Empress by S E Smith (#4 Lords of Kassis)
Rocky Retreat by Vivian Arend (#7.5 Six Pack Ranch)
Rogue Cowboy by Kasey Millstead (#5 Down Under Cowboy Series)
Secrets by Cynthia Eden (#2 Battling McGuire Boys)
Stupid Boy by Cindy Miles (#2 Stupid in Love)
Tattered Loyalties by Carrie Ann Ryan (#1 Talon Pack)
Tears of Crimson by Michelle Hughes (#1 the New Orleans Vampire Bar)
The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica Clare (#1 Billionaires and Bridesmaids)
Lies That Bind by Maggie Barbieri (#2 Maeve Conlon)
The Master by Kresley Cole (#2 The Game Maker)
The Only Game by Mike Lupica (#1 Home Team)
The Return by Jennifer L Armentrout (#1 Titan (Covenant Spin-off))
The Taming of Xander Sterne by Carole Mortimer (#2 Twin Tycoons)
The Trouble with Patience by Maggie Brendan (#1 The Virtues & Vices of the Old West)
The Wide World's End by James Enge (#3 Tournament of Shadows)
Unexpected Fate by Harper Sloan (#1 Hope Town Series)
Unseen by Amber Lynn Natusch (#2 Unborn)
Vostok by Steve Alten (#2 Loch)
Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy by Sarah Rees Brennan (#1 Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy)
Where Rivers Part by Kellie Coates Gilbert (#2 Texas Gold)
You Only Live Twice by Lexi Blake (#8 Masters and Mercenaries)