I Am Legend review--#‎Octoberfrights‬ #giveaway #zombieapocalypse

So every time I think of Halloween this subject comes up. What books and movies can I talk about? Well, I realize I haven't done a review in a while. So, I pulled out my favorite of the last few years: I Am Legend. Yeah, yeah. I've heard a lot of people grumble about this movie, but I loved it. So! I thought why not. I'll probably review Vincent Price's 1964 movie version, The Last Man on Earth, later, so stay tuned.
The premise of Will Smith's version of I Am Legend, the movie is  pretty much the same. Sort of.

I Am Legend starts out with a newscaster interviewing a doctor (played by Emma Thompson) announcing the cure for Cancer has been found. YAA!!!

Well, not so fast. Three years later, we're shown a New York City that's completely abandoned and in ruins, overrun by wild animals, flora and fauna. Turns out, that so-called cure launched a virus that wiped out 90% of the world's population. Only 10% survive and, as far as our main character Dr. Neville knows, only one person has survived. Himself. The others have all turned into twisted, animalistic creatures, more zombie than human. Not to give any spoilers away but he works tirelessly to create a cure for this virus and distracts himself as he can, doing everything from working out, to watching every movie the local video stores have to offer (yes, this movie was made in 2007--before the collapse of the video stores!) and listening to cds, and scouting for supplies. On said-missions around NY Neville hopes to find survivors, but all he finds...are the infected. And
animal-er-zombie-like they see him as a possible food source. EEP!

Those scenes, particularly when he must go into a dark building where the zombies (or Darkseekers, as the movie calls them) are quite harrowing. The world itself, or what it has become with only one man left walking around tending to it, actually seems *snark* less far-fetched than most End of the World set pieces. But the story itself is just riveting in my opinion. Fans of Richard Mattheson's novel complained because the movie is different from the book, and those differences are probably why it got so many bad reviews. However,  I think Will Smith and crew did a fine job and despite the differences, I loved it. The message is just great, it's the end of the world as we know it, but we'll survive, we'll fix it, and be just fine.

*And yes, in case you're wondering, both I Am Legend/Last Man on Earth did have an influence on the little zombie story I'm giving away: Bicycle Requiem. Click here to find and fill out the Rafflecopter for said-giveaway.

****

Giveaway is now over.

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Passion for Vengeance by Patty G. Henderson.

Patty G. Henderson’s new Gothic Romance, Passion for Vengeance tells a tale of a family torn apart. Jane Havens,  has watched her father the illustrious Colonel Havens die, and her brother Cole slip into alcoholism, while her youngest brother Henry still needs a firm hand. She’s done all she could with the boy but needs help. When Miss Emma Stiles arrives on her doorstep, she thinks she’s found a savior in a fine dress.

There is an instant—and forbidden—attraction between the two women, but Emma comes with baggage of her own. Not all of it able to contain a wardrobe. She is a woman with a haunted past, and apparently, a grudge. She has a strange proclivity for dancing under the stars, a love for Absinthe, and also has a very odd talent. Known as sin eating she can take a person’s sin on herself, thereby erasing the dead person’s deeds and sending them off to meet their maker with a clean soul.

Because of this she feels she owes a debt to society. But her own soul isn’t completely spotless to begin with. Jane’s old, dear nursemaid thinks she knows why, especially given all the evidence against Miss Stiles. Truly, did any of the strange accidents that begin befalling the Havens family begin until Miss Stiles arrived?

Impossible! How could the woman Jane loves have anything to do with all these things?

How can she? I can’t tell. You’ll have to read Passion For Vengeance yourself. Patty’s latest Gothic is sure to please fans of lesbian romance, as well as the old Gothic Romances of the 60s and 70s. If you’d like to check it out, it’s available at Amazon for Kindle and paperback and in epub from Barnes and Noble.



*~*~*~*
Juli D. Revezzo has written the Victorian romance novel WATCHMAKER'S HEART. Check it out at Amazon.

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Joanne Rock review

OOps. I forgot I had this book, Double Play, up in my TBR slideshow here. Anyway, it's been an extremely bad week. :( But anyway, I've got the review for this one up now, and you can see it here, at my other blog. Enjoy.

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Burning Up and Meljean Brook's new Iron Duke novella

Here There Be Monsters

by Meljean Brook

A novella available in the Burning Up paranormal Romance anthology

published by Berkley Sensation

cover art:Vladmir Wrangel, Kellie L. Folkert, Ferrin (all Shutterstock)

review copy sent to me by Velvet of VVB32Reads and Ms. Brooks.

In "Here There Be Monsters", a novella in the Burning Up paranormal romance anthology, author Meljean Brook has just released a steampunk novella about Ivy, a Blacksmith a young woman living in a slightly skewed version of our world during the Victorian age, a world where the mysterious Horde was just beaten back by “The Iron Duke”, but things aren’t quite normal in Ivy’s world, she is desperate to leave London and so approaches Mad Machen, a pirate captain, who she has little idea has been pining away for her love, all these years. He promises to take her anywhere she wants to go—for a price. Her, in his bed.

Well, Ivy’s not about to agree to that, and she runs.


Two years later, Mad Machen and crew find Ivy in a Norwegian town, tending to the town’s automatons, and he kidnaps forces her to build a steel kracken and to sleep in his bed. She isn’t fond of either prospect. But all she can really refuse is what he’ll do to her in his bed, by bargaining with her last few coins to keep her virginity. But, as they travel back to England, Ivy begins to realize that she’s falling in love with the tough ole pirate (as if the fact that she’s more than once offered to help him with his squeaky old mechanical leg isn’t enough?), just as Machen becomes soft enough to decide to let her go.


Will they come to their senses and admit they’re *ahem* made for each other? You’ll have to read to find out.


This is just a (very hot) taste of the new world Meljean Brook has created for her forthcoming Steampunk Romance series, The Iron Duke, the first novel of which is due out in October, and it is a hot story, and an intriguing world, filled with steam-powered machines, automatons, nanobots, old rickety pirate ships (she even throws in zombies)--heck, what's not to love there?
 My rating? The story was intriguing, and the world, very well drawn, so ....



If you’re interested, "Here There Be Monsters", or any of the other interesting reads in Burning Up the book can be purchased through all the usual venues (Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, borders.com) Do check it out!

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Meg Cabot's Insatiable introduces a quirky vampire love story

Insatiable
by Meg Cabot
Publisher: Harper Collins
cover art: Harper Collins/Ricky Mujica/Mumtaz Mustafa

My review copy was graciously provided by the fine folks at Harper Collins.

Longtime readers know I get all giddy and fangirly about Meg Cabot, so this review should be no surprise. Her latest release, Insatiable, will be a little bit of a surprise to her regular readers. Herein she has decided to take her quirky heroines in an altogether new direction, with the introduction of Ms. Meena Harper, who spends her dreary days as a script writer for a popular soap opera, Insatiable, pining away for the love she writes about, and lusting after a particular red Marc Jacobs tote bag, with a diamond encrusted dragon emblazoned on its surface, and sharing an apartment with her brother, and her steadfast little canine companion, Jack Bauer.

Aside from her own ability to predict the manner of someone’s death, she doesn’t believe in the supernatural, and barely registers the news that girls have been turning up dead in Manhattan parks, with bite marks on their necks, other than to wonder if she predicted any of those deaths—because she can.

Then her bosses at the network decide they want to add something to Insatiable’s story line to spice up the ratings: vampires.

Meena can’t stand the idea.

But all these niggling worries pale when she meets a real live prince, one Lucien Antonescu, who deftly saves from her an attack of (wait for it) bats. Though he would feel better, for her own safety, if Meena remained ignorant of his existence, the two keep getting thrown together, and the inevitable ensues: Meena is soon in love with Lucien and vice versa.

But how will she take it when she learns the truth, that he’s not just a professor of Romanian history, in Manhattan to attend a friend’s lecture? That yes indeed, he is a real live prince, all right. . .

(wait for it)

That he is, in fact, the prince of vampires? In the middle of a vampire war, of which those bats were just one volley?

And how will Lucien keep Meena from ending up the next woman to turn up dead in the park? Killed by his vampire enemies?

And oh, good lord, how will they both, ever keep from (God forbid) *gulp* falling in love?

Well, I'm not telling. ;) You'll have to read it for yourself.

If you have at all been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a big Meg Cabot fan, I always look forward to a new Meg title. While it's different than anything one might expect from Ms. Cabot, while it could seem she’s jumped on the Vampire bandwagon (and I admit, I wondered why she would), it is different than most those popular right now, in that her contribution harkens, if you will, back to the original vampire love story: Dracula. No these bad boys don’t sparkle. Not a bit! But Meg Cabot's prose does, as ever.

Also, Ms. Cabot has added just enough history of Vlad the Impaler, to flesh out her vampire tale, and of course the quintessential Meg Cabot flavor is here. All serve to make this another entertaining read—even her vampire hunters are clever, witty, and, well, damn it, I’ve said it before of her, and I say it again, all her characters have some quality that make them downright endearing. but … I warn you, this is no Twilight. Lucien has a dark side to him, and could give Edward a run for his money, I think--but girls, I dare you not to fall for Lucien. I did, and I hope there will be another volume in this story, but if not. I’m happy all the same with Meg’s latest offering. If you are looking for a different spin on the vampire genre, do give Insatiable a look. :)

My rating for this one? Well, since this one goes on my keeper shelf, without doubt: 

You're not surprised, are you? ;)

If you'd like to, you can find it at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com or borders.com, (or if you like you can get it through my amazon store here) and of course any of your local versions of these stores should have a copy. Enjoy!

(There's another version of this review up at my Examiner pages if you'd be so kind as to give it a hit. :). You can do so here. Thanks!)

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Leigh Duncan debuts with a stormy love story

The Officer's Girl

by Leigh Duncan

Publisher: Harlequin American Romance

cover art copyright: Harlequin Enterprises, LTD

review copy purchased via Turn the Page bookstore (online version)

Debut Harlequin American author Leigh Duncan’s debut novel The Officer’s Girl, sees a Ohio native, Stephanie Bryant moving to Cocoa Beach, Florida to accept a position as Space Tech's head of Human Resources. The only problem? The day she moves in a hurricane heads straight for Cocoa Beach, and the whole town is evacuating. All but Stephanie, who has no idea the storm had any chance of coming ashore.

Enter Cocoa Beach policeman Brett Lincoln who, when he tries to explain this to the feisty brunette, can't get a word in edgewise for the first ten minutes. Rightly flabbergasted by what Brett has to tell her, she high-tails through evacuation traffic to Orlando, meets and rides out the storm with some of Brett's best friends. From there, Brett and Stephanie keep running into each other, and it seems fate is definitely at work as the two quickly move from combatants to friends, into a Relationship with one another. But, can they weather each others' foibles? Or will the end up tangled up in Hurricane Arlene's wreckage? You'll have to read to find out.

I had the privilege of attending Ms. Duncan's workshop when she visited a meeting of the Tampa Area Romance Authors back in October of last year, and so I couldn't pass up the chance to purchase The Officer’s Girl when she participated in a group signing with author Roxanne St. Claire and others at Nora Roberts' Turn the Page bookstore. It was well worth the price, in my opinion, as it is an endearing first effort, the minor characters (particular Tom's twin girls) so adorable.

In fact, my favorite line in the whole book comes from them. P. 203. When the toddler Barbara sees Brett cradling a young boy he'd help around a picnic that day, Ms. Duncan wrote this adorable line: "...Barbara scrambled out of her seat and onto Brett's lap, framing his face with her two little hands. "No Unca Brett, No boys." *giggle* Just so adorable! So my rating for this one:

Since Harlequins don't stay on the shelves long a reader might not be able to purchase this one at any local stores (I could be wrong); but if you'd like to try it out, you can definitely find it at the Harlequin website here, or at Amazon, or Books-a-Million, or Barnes and Noble. If you like sweet romances, you will not be disappointed Leigh Duncan's The Officer’s Girl.

(As usual, a slightly different version of this is up over at my Examiner pages. if you wish to give it a click you may do so here. Thanks! :))

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Paula Quinn introduces some Ravishing Highlanders

Ravished by a Highlander

by Paula Quinn

cover art: Franco Accornero

review copy provided for my review by the fine folks at Grand Central Publishing

In Ravished by a Highlander, the first book in the new Children of the Mist series by Paula Quinn, the author introduces the reader to the MacGregor clan, by way of the dutiful Rob. He and his companions are on the way home from a raid when they run across a set of thugs attacking an abbey. Stopping to assist a severely wounded soldier, he learns these men are truly after only one novice nun: a young woman by the name of Davina Montgomery. Rob saves the helpless young maid, and decides to accompany her to safety.

But the girl only serves to puzzle him. Why would Protestant troops attack an abbey? Why would that dying soldier imply Davina was so incredibly important? Why won’t Davina tell her whole story, explain why she seems to know so much about English politics, and particularly, King James?

Davina’s got big issues, and even bigger secrets. The fact that she’s falling in love with Rob as they traipse across the landscape—erm, travel back to Rob’s mountain home, only serves to complicate matters. I won’t give away her secrets; you’ll have to read the novel to find out what she’s all about.

I have to be honest, you know by now I have issues with “historical” laced novels (sometimes lots of  bite my tongue, yell at the author for their mistakes, issues), and this one was no exception--except that it didn't bother me all that much.Yes, I know you'll be shocked to hear that.  But I really, really enjoyed Paula Quinn’s Ravished by a Highlander very much. The relationship between Davina and Rob, the plethora of loveable secondary characters, and What Might Happen to Davina and Rob, were very compelling. Some bits even made me laugh (when Colin and Finn’s names appeared for the first time, I had to wonder, did Ms. Quinn ever watch the WB/CW TV show Gilmore Girls?).

All in all a fine read, and I look forward very much, to the forthcoming sequel, Seduced by A Highlander, about Rob's brother Tristan. (Although, I really hope Ms. Quinn is considering novels starring Colin and Will!) If you love historical romance, I think you will enjoy Paula Quinn’s Ravished by a Highlander. So my grade for this one? mm....

As always, if you’d like to try this title out, it can be found at any of your nearby bookstores, or online at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, borders.com or booksamillion.com.

Oh, yes, there's another version of this review over at my Examiner pages, if you care to give it a click? Please feel free, and thanks so much! Enjoy the read.

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Steampink week: Soulless review

Soulless
by Gail Carriger
cover art credit: Orbit/Lauren Panepinto/Derek Caballero
review copy provided by Orbit Books

In a nutshell, Soulless, the first novel by author Gail Carriger, is about a young spinster, Alexia Tarabotti who is attacked one night by a vampire, and she, naturally, fights back, killing the monster with her silver tipped parasol. The attack throws the London Vampire community into turmoil, as they, and Lord Maccon, Alpha werewolf and employee of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry, try to pinpoint who the vampire was and why he would commit such a gross breach of etiquette—and more importantly, why he didn’t know Miss Tarabotti is a Soulless preternatural.


What does that mean? Well, she can nullify a supernatural’s powers. And that is exactly why all the werewolves and vampires of London hold her suspect, and why the scientists in town are interested in her; add to that missing vampires, suddenly appearing vampires, a strange “wax faced man” that seems bent on kidnapping her, and a friend who has the shocking bad taste to love ugly hats, and that Alexia can’t keep her hands (or anything else) off Lord Maccon, and there’s a lot of trouble to go around here.

Impressions: This novel is a good example of what I’m starting to call the confusion of the genres. Look: Vampires. Girls in Petticoats? What do you think of when you think of that? If you said Dracula, give yourselves a cookie. ;) Now add a playing or two of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”, add the romantic scenes (lots and lots of them) and some humor (more than I was catching on to, I think—or perhaps the relentless jabs at Alexia’s Italian heritage were supposed to be taken as jokes?), add a pinch of steampunk, and viola! Or that’s what it seemed like. I’m not really sure what to think of this novel; I guess, in the end, it was a good first attempt, and I hope the follow up, (titled Changeless,  now available**) is even better, for this new young author certainly has quite an imagination. Give Gail Carriger's Soulless a try and see what you think.
My rating?



**The third volume, Blameless, will be released in September.

For more on Gail Carriger:
Gail Carriger's homepage
Steampod's interview with Gail Carriger
Gail Carriger's page at Hatchette Books

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Steampink week: review of the steampunk classic, the Difference Engine

The Difference Engine
by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
review copy: purchased at Borders, 2009

Set in a Victorian Steampunkish London that takes a turn away from the Tory history of England we know so well, The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling offers up a mixture of fantasy, scientific conjecture, with a little romance and mystery to boot, that feels quite different than the usual crop of Science Fiction/Fantasy offerings.

Here we find Dr. Edward Mallory, a renowned paleontologist, who, having lost a battle to save a rather famous damsel in distress—one Ada Byron, the Queen of Engines—finds himself caretaker of the young woman’s cache of punch cards, and with them, in more trouble than he could have expected. Charles Babbage’s card-reading Difference Engine* drives everything in this steam-dependant Byron-led society, and it seems everyone wants to get their hands on the cards in Dr. Mallory’s possession. And so he’s dragged into the middle of the mystery concerning Lady Byron; Charles Babbage, Lord Byron (yes, the Lord Byron) and a host of rebellious Socialist radicals intent on bringing down England’s ruling class. There’s also a reporter on his heels, and his enemies at the Royal Society, who want nothing more than to discredit his theories, and destroy his credibility. There’s even a pretty girl or two caught in the middle; not to mention the murderers and thieves on every corner, just waiting get their hands on those cards, even if it means taking Mallory’s life (and anyone’s who happens to be in the way). And they’re all clamoring about in the horrid stench and fog rising from the stagnant Thames, in a summer about to explode in revolution and chaos.

And over it all is this mystery of the cards, and the Difference Engine, but Mallory doesn’t give a hoot what’s on the cryptic cards and would much prefer to be left alone. He’d rather be back in the Wyoming Territory studying his Land Leviathan, or if he has to be stuck in London, he’d at least like to satisfy his lecture schedule, but no. He can’t find a moment’s peace. So what is our overwhelmed Victorian Paleontologist to do? You’ll have to read The Difference Engine, and see

Intricate, yet dense, elegant, yet gritty, The Difference Engine reads like a well-written tale from the Victorian Era—a Gothic novel in the truest sense of the word. The recreation of London was, in my reading experience, dead on (with some very interesting quirks), and I feel it not too far from something Jules Verne or H.G. Wells could have written. To say I really enjoyed this novel would be an understatement. Yes, at times, it did get a little convoluted . . . Well, I won’t spoil it for you, but at any rate, this is the kind of thing I’d like to see coming off the presses more often! I hope you’ll give Sterling and Gibson’s The Difference Engine a try, and that you will find it as enjoyable as I did.

My rating?


If you'd like to read this novel, you can probably still get it at the online versions of Barnes and Noble and Borders, or at Amazon (or get it from my Amazon "I recommend" link over there, *points to sidebar*--please?) If all else fails, you can find it at local used bookstores, no doubt.
--

*A thing that was more or less a room-sized calculator, theorized by Babbage in 1822; what some call the first computer.

***(This review is also housed, and originally published, at my Examiner pages)

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Hide by Lisa Gardner

Hide
by Lisa Gardner
My review copy purchased locally.

In her 2007 novel Hide, Lisa Gardner’s popular detectives D.D. Warren and Bobby Dodge are faced with a stumping, horrid crime when they discover an underground bunker. The contents? The mummified remains of six little girls. One of the remains bears a locket with the name of Annabelle Granger. As they are logging the pieces of the puzzle into their files, the news gets wind of the locket, and suddenly, this young woman appears in D.D.’s office, claiming her name is Annabelle Granger.

The story gets even stranger from there, as Annabelle explains that, around the date that bunker was last frequented, she was eight years old, and living with her family in Tampa, Florida, before moving on, over and over again, to different places. And she’d only returned to Boston, five years ago.

As curious as all this makes the two detectives, it doesn’t answer the question of who committed these poor little girls murders, and why. But Annabelle is more disturbed by the questions that come up regarding the little girl who was killed in her place (no less than a onetime friend of hers), what Annabelle’s own mobile childhood, and her father’s need to make it so, might have to do with the murders.

What’s going on here? Well, you know, dear readers, I can’t say! At any rate, Lisa Gardner’s Hide is a very intricate and thrilling mystery, and one that I think any lover of authors such as Thomas Harris and Karen Rose will enjoy. You can no doubt find Lisa Gardner’s books, Hide included, at the usual Borders, Barnes and Noble, no doubt, and of course, Amazon.

My rating?

I've also posted a variation of this review at the Examiner, here, if you would like to give it a click. :)

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Blah but busy week.

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, folks. I've been extremely busy on something non-reading, and have been having trouble with gmail, that's frustrating me. But I've gotten a little done. I hope to have a review up before the end of tomorrow, at least *knock on wood*.  I did get a chance to get one article up at the examiner, though. It's not much, but if you'd like to take a peek, it's here.

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Melissa Marr's Fragile Eternity

Fragile Eternity
by Melissa Marr
Book Three in the Wicked Lovely Series
(my review copy was borrowed from a friend's personal library)

I finally finished this one, and so thought I'd share my review with you.

Fragile Eternity is the second volume in Melissa Marr’s best selling, very popular Wicked Lovely Young Adult fantasy series. The story concerns Aislinn’s continuing adjustment to being once-mortal, now Faery, and Summer Queen to Keenan, the Summer king. But trouble’s brewing as the Dark Faery Bananach insists on war, between the Summer Courts, the Winter Courts, and the Dark Court of which she is a part. Meanwhile, human Seth is still trying to come to grips with his love for Aislinn, and having to share her with Keenan, who wishes to have more than just a professional relationship with Aislinn, for the good of the faery of the Summer Court.

Despite Aislinn’s best efforts, and despite the warnings of his friend, the Dark King, Niall, Seth and Aislinn can’t seem to get over the fact that all Aislinn’s human friends and family are destined, as mortals, to die. And for Seth, the truth of being a mortal means one more thing: that when he’s gone, Keenan will finally have Aislinn the way he wishes.

Rumor has it, though that there is a way for Seth to bypass all this. And as the Summer and Winter Courts bickering becomes more and more intense, as summer waxes and wanes, being the good, worried sister of the Dark King that she is, Bananach takes her advantage and tells Seth exactly how he can do that. Stupid human that he is, he listens.

Will Seth get what he wants? Will Keenan? Or Bananach and Niall? What will happen as war looms? You’ll have to read to find out.

So, what did I think of it? I loved it. Well, it’s hard to believe Seth and Aislinn are only sixteen, for one (except for in certain instances that fact’s easy to forget); I think the world is entirely unique, the fairies are, as well, and the novel was very well written. I personally liked the Dark Court; Aislinn did have problems with being a fae, and I had to wonder, how could being a faery be bad? Read the book. You’ll see. ;)

However, I’ll warn you, Fragile Eternity seems to continue its plot from where Wicked Lovely left off, and really seems to rely on knowledge of that first book. So it was a little confusing at first. I had to go out and find a copy of Wicked Lovely and read a little of it, to figure out what was going on. If that’s not enough, it was harder to find, new and used, it seems. If you can find a copy, at any Borders or Barnes and Noble, you should be able to get it in their YA section, if they don’t have it, it’s so new, they can probably order it for you with no trouble. But I did have some trouble--heck, I couldn't even get it out of the library. In the end, I had to borrow this one from a good friend in order to read it, (and you know who you are and thanks for the trip to the post office for my little reading obsessions!). Yes, it’s that popular. If all else fails, there’s always Amazon. Wherever you get your copy, if you’re a fan of fantasy, faeries, urban fantasy, strange new worlds do check it out.

my grade for this one?

And I have posted this review here on the Examiner, if you care to give it a hit.

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A review of Patty G. Henderson's Ximora

XIMORA
by Patty G. Henderson
Publisher: Black Car Publishing
cover design: Boulevard Photografica
Review copy provided by Patty G. Henderson.

Patty G. Henderson's latest Brenda Strange mystery novel, Ximora, sees Brenda Strange having barely recovered from the death of her lover Tina two years ago, when Tampa cop Lisa comes requesting her assistance in a murder case. Something seems to be hunting the young men in town, as two bodies have been found butchered, their bodies drained of blood, and with odd words carved into their chests in what looks like Greco-Roman letters. Lisa charges Brenda with the task of finding out what those symbols may mean; when a brief meeting with an acquaintance of Lisa’s, a history professor, gives her nothing but a cold response, it leads her into a new conflict. Add to that the news that Brenda’s grandmother has passed away, leaving her with a startling bequest: box that only she can open and the news that she is a witch, the hope of her family, it’s a little too much to bear. Especially since she only just reemerged from her grief over Tina’s death.

Who is Professor Amanda? What does she want with Lisa, and what connection does she really have to the stunning statue of the Amazon warrior Ximora that she keeps in her office? What exactly is the statue and how might it relate to the murders plaguing Tampa streets? And will Lisa and her family, in deed will Brenda, survive to really sort out what they discover? You’ll have to read to find out.

Patty G. Henderson delivers yet another intense work in her latest novel, Ximora, one that, again, as always, leaves us thrilled, and looking forward to what her creative mind might offer next! :) This one was released through Black Car Publishing, and you can find a copy at Lulu.com , or at Amazon or Barnes and Noble, of if you'd like to get it through my Amazon link over there (points to left column) that be fine too. The book is available in trade paperback and Kindle.


my rating? Five pearls.

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Kitty's House of Horrors Carrie Vaughn Book

Kitty's House of Horrors
by Carrie Vaughn
Published 2010, Grand Central Publishing
review copy provided by Grand Central Publishing

Kitty's House of Horrors sees Kitty talked into participating in a Reality Television show, with various other supernatural folk. She's sharing a cabin in Montana with some vampires, a witch, a magician, two psychics, a were-seal Alaskan legistator, and a (not supernatural at all) Skeptic. Though she hates being dragged into television appearances, Kitty agrees to do this, and leaves civilation, and even takes the helm of some of the crew's scheduled "reality tv related activities" for lack of a better word. Then, the vampire's assistant is killed and Kitty's worry kicks in, only to get worse when she and her new friends find most of the production crew dead. What is going on? Who is out to get them? And will they all make it out alive--or not? You'll have to read this one to find out!

Having only read two others in this series, I can’t say whether or not Kitty's House of Horrors leads off the previous title well. I will warn you there are some surprising spoilers, but nothing that will ruin the book for a new reader. That said, Kitty's House of Horrors is another well done addition to the series—of course. How could it not be? And I’m glad the fine folks at Grand Central sent it my way. I have to be honest though, if there was one thing I didn’t like about the book, it was the Reality TV premise—but Ms. Vaughn pulled it off well, and I enjoyed the story more than I thought I might when I first read the blurb. So, if you’re curious to see what Kitty gets into now, and how this whole thing plays out, the novel came out in January, and it should be available at any bookstore local to you, I don't doubt, or as ever, online at Amazon.

There's a version of this review up at my Examiner pages, if you'd like to give it a hit. Thanks, and I hope you've enjoyed this review.

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Addendum to Erica Ridley review

Oh, if you get a chance, I finally was able to get back into the Ex site, so I have Erica's review up there too. And, of course, it could use some hit love. *sheepish grin* Thanks.


I hate it when their site goes down....

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Too Wicked to Kiss by Erica Ridley

Too Wicked To Kiss
by Erica Ridley
publisher: Kensington
review copy provided by: the author

Tampa author Erica Ridley debuts with a fine little gothic romance novel, Too Wicked To Kiss, in which she introduces us to Evangeline Pemberton, a young woman so desperate to escape the hands of her lecherous father that she’ll do anything. Even if it means being companion to a woman and her mother who aren’t that far above her father, in terms of their morals. Since rumor has it that Gavin Lioncroft is a man with a reputation that makes him the subject of gossip, far and wide. And it doesn’t make him a man with which Evangeline feels comfortable spending any time, let alone passing time at a party. But as the charge of the greedy Stanton’s, she can do nothing but agree to help in their scheme to entrap Gavin into marriage with their daughter Susan.


With them come a host of assorted characters—from Gavin’s sister and nieces, to his loathsome brother-in-law, an elderly man seeking his assistance in a marriage contract, and his sister’s drunkard brother in law—and Gavin is none-too-happy at the intrusion into his home, spending as little time as he can away from him, even resorting to using the mansions secret passageways to escape the ever growing group. But there’s something about Evangeline that intrigues him, something enticing. The attraction is instantly mutual, and several stolen kisses ensue . . . But Evangeline is keeping a secret from him that has nothing to do with why the Stantons are here, but it is something very strange—and fortuitous—as it just might help him escape the noose, when his brother in law Lord Heatherington is found murdered, and thanks to a row between them, suspicion falls upon Gavin.

Unless of course, Evangeline’s lecherous, hateful father arrives before they can unmask the murderer, and declare their growing passion for one another.

So what happens? Well, you know you just have to read this one to find out!

Erica Ridley’s Too Wicked To Kiss is a fine debut Regency romance novel, and has all the right ingredients: a touch of heat and spice, a surly and dark hero, a determined and likeable heroine, but she also made sure it was replete with despicable villains, hidden corridors and strange happenings, reminiscent of the Gothic romances of old, ala the Brontë sisters—which this reader thought quite a nice touch. I think anyone who is a fan of the classic gothic romances will find much to love here. Do check it out; I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

my rating for this one?

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A review of Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Kitty and the Midnight Hour
by Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: Grand Central (who sent me my review copy).

In Carrie Vaughn’s first novel, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, we meet Kitty Norville, a DJ at a Denver, Colorado radio station, who while bored with her usual midnight shift of AOR fueled music, inadvertently launches a talk show—not just any talk show, mind you. No, this one fast becomes a kind of “vent hour” for Denver’s supernatural community—Vampires, witches, and, (like Kitty herself) other werewolves phone in every night to air their grievances and woes. And lo, Kitty’s show turns out to be such a rousing success, she’s given the go-ahead to continue the format—and syndicated nationwide. So night after night, she sits in her booth with her engineer, chatting about all the psychological problems one never thinks of when thinking of adjusting to the life led by the Supernatural set.
But the job and fame don’t come without a price: Kitty’s pack and their pushy leader Carl do not appreciate Kitty’s newfound fame, at all; more immediate than their complaints and taunts, someone wants Kitty off the air, permanently—alive if necessary; dead, preferably. And they are willing to pay a skilled assassin to have her nightly appearances eternally canceled. And if that weren’t enough trouble for our heroine, the police suddenly show up with a problem of their own: there’ve been a rash of animal attacks. But now that Kitty has outted herself, live on national radio, are they looking at her as the possible murderer? With everyone from the local faction of normal folk terrified by the supernatural half of society, and the local vampire godfather, and the tent revivalists who traipse into town, and even those inside Kitty’s pack, upset with her success (and some would argue, loud mouth) is she truly in danger? Or is she just being set up, and by whom? You’ll have to read to find out!

If there is one downside to the novel, I’d have to say, it ended a little differently than I expected, but that’s not a bad thing really. Read it and you’ll see what I mean. In the end, I found this to be very enjoyable. Is it because of the unique setting, and its refreshingly rural landscape? Maybe. Is it poor Kitty’s trials? Maybe. (And no, I won’t spoil it for you by telling you how all this ties up, but I will say, it doesn’t parallel much in today’s market standard kick butt-take names endings) but it . . . well, rocks, in my humble opinion. :)

In the current saturated market of one New York set Urban Fantasy vampire/vampire hunter/werewolf hunter title after another, the tiny little tome that is *Kitty and the Midnight Hour really stands out. If you have not tried it yet, well, I think you are in for a treat.
You can find it at Amazon, or scoot on over to Ms. Vaughn's site for some other independent locations where this book is sold.


Oh, and my grade for this one:

For more on Carrie Vaughn see her home page or her blog (that has some of the best movie reviews I've ever read! :)

(Yes, I originally published this at the Examiner, but the book's one of my favorites, so I had to repost it here for my readers. :))

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Susan McBride's The Cougar Club

And just to continue the theme, my review of The Cougar Club

Susan McBride's latest novel, The Cougar Club, marks her debut in the Women’s Fiction genre. In it, she introduces us to three friends: Kat, Carla and Elise, who are each living their lives as over-forty-somethings to varying degrees of success. But fate has trouble in store for them. Kat, a successful New York advertising exec, finds herself shown the door, but thankful that she has a loving boyfriend to lean on…

Or so she thought, until she arrives home to find him . . . shall we say, with his pants down.
Poor Kat has a conniption and heads home to St. Louis to sort out her life. Maybe it won’t be so bad. There’s the hope that her family has lost their quirky ways, and if not that, at the very least she’ll be able to reconnect with her old best friends, Carla and Elise—hopefully. Carla, St. Louis’ top news anchorwoman, is having her own troubles, working under the thumb of her snippy ex-husband, who, it seems would like to place the pretty, young new intern, Amber Sue, in Carla’s comfy anchor chair. And Carla’s mad as hell about it and not about to take it. The third in the trio is Elise, who, of the three friends, seems to be doing the best, with a successful dermatology practice, a son doing well in college, and the perfect husband in her adoring Michael—or does she?


Collectively they’re beginning to wonder, what the heck are they, at forty and suddenly facing a new threshold, looking into what seems to be a minefield of upheaval, going to do to straighten out their lives? One thing’s for sure, there are plenty of fish in the sea, even if most of them are under forty—or in some cases, decidedly gay. As the three reconnect, some threads of their lives start to pull back together, as others fray a little more. But with the right attitude, and shoulders to lean on, maybe they’ll decide this being forty thing isn’t so bad after all.

When Ms. McBride and Avon Books offered me this one, I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprised by what I found here. Susan McBride’s The Cougar Club is a cute novel that I think I might compare it to, say, Sex and The City, (but . . . without hanging tooth and nail onto the NYC vibe—a plus, in my opinion!), or like, Kathy Carmichael’s Hot Flash. The novel deals with things I think any 40ish woman might relate to; the characters certainly have spunk and are endearing in all their quirks, their story, at turns, snort-milk-out-your-nose funny and touching. Even if you’re not quite to that age yet, I still think you might enjoy The Cougar Club. I can say for sure, I really did! And I look forward to whatever Ms. McBride releases next, whether it be a new Debutante novel or whatever. I’m sure it’ll be fantastic!

Of course I liked this one so much, I have to give it :

And don't forget Susan's guest post from yesterday, and the little giveaway. :) There's still plenty of time to enter.

(And just a little note: a slightly different version of this is up at over on my Examiner page, if you'd like to, please take a look. :) And I've got this fine novel linked up in my Amazon bar, there, if you're interested in getting it. :)

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Steampunk week at Book Smugglers

I apologize for not getting to this sooner--but in my defense, when I went by earlier, there seemed to be some technical difficulties: If you have not seen The Book Smugglers' Steampunk week, and if you like/are curious about the genre, you really should hop on over. There are various explanations of the genre to enlighten you, and some great book and movies reviews. You can find them at http://thebooksmugglers.com/.

Do go check it out. :) I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit!

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Roxanne St. Claire's Hunt Her Down

Hunt Her Down
by Roxanne St. Claire
Pocket Books, 2009
Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Borders

In Florida Romantic suspense author Roxanne St. Claire’s 2009 novel, Hunt Her Down, her PI group, the Bullet Catchers, are out on the trail of some habitual drug smugglers. They’ve dealt with these men before, or at least one of them has: Dan Gallagher has a history with this group of thugs that comes back to haunt him. When one of them is released from prison, he must find Maggie Varcek, the girl with whom he was involved at the time, and make sure she is safe; and he has to do so before the thugs, Alonso Jimenez and his son Ramon, come after her, exacting payment of their own. But the Bullet Catchers are on the case, and maybe between them, they can figure out just what it is that Alonso and Ramon want from her, and keep her from the hands of their slimy drug syndicate in the process….

Roxanne St. Claire presents an exciting, easily readable story in Hunt Her Down, one that doesn’t slow down from the first shots. In fact, it had the excitement and feel, for me—running as it did from Miami to Venezuela—of a script for a well-done episode of, say, Miami Vice. I’m relatively new to this genre so I can’t make direct comparisons; but maybe . . . This is comparable to a . . . Suzanne Brockmann? You can probably, as I did, find this in any local store, and I’m glad I did! I personally look forward to reading more about the Bullet Catchers, and have to say, if you’re looking for a wild ride, something a little exciting, a little spicy, do check out Roxanne St. Claire’s Hunt Her Down. You won’t regret the hunt for this little gem!

and my rating (sorry, I forgot to add this earlier):


There's a longer version of this review at my Examiner page. If you feel up to it, please give it a look?

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