Month: July 2017

An awesome giveaway… Dont miss out 

Check out this contest @penguinrandom https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/i-love-october-daye

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

Looking on the Bright Side

Today my husband would have been 39.  I miss him every day.  And despite what people say time doesn’t heal all wounds.  There is no set way to grieve,  no timetable that everyone can consult. 

I am lucky–all I have to do is look at my daughters and I Can see him.  It’s in an expression and their enormous generosity of spirit… And in the way they care for all those around them. 

I am a lucky woman.  I had a relationship with him that made me better than I was.  And together we were more than the sum of our parts… But the problem with that is that now that I am alone I am less than  I was before we started… But for a time I touched happiness and if I hold on just a little bit longer perhaps my story will change… 

You never know what waits just around the corner 

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Congratulations are in order for…Seanan Mcguire! Even more than my usual praise and undying affection and fangirling squees …

She made it to the final ballot for the World Fantasy Awards! WOO HOO!!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!

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Something to make you think, just a little

“People aren’t so good at being good to one another. We try hard enough, but something essential was left out in the making of us, some hard little patch of stone in the fertile soil that’s supposed to be our hearts. We get hung up on the bad, and we focus on it until it grows, and the whole crop is lost.”   Seanan Mcguire Dusk or Dawn or Dawn or Day

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Death quote

The wind howls, the rain comes down in sheets, and Patty is still dead. The earth settles, the grave grows green with the first shoots of hungry scrub grass and dandelion root, and Patty is still dead. The funeral bells are silent, the last of the we’re-so-sorry cakes have been reduced to stale crumbs that attract marching regiments of ants, and Patty is still dead. Patty is going to be dead forever, because that’s what dead means : dead is the change you can’t take back, dead is the mistake that can’t be unmade. The rain batters the tin slope of the roof until the sound of it drowns out everything else in the world—everything except for the simple, inalienable fact that Patty is dead , Patty is gone , Patty is never coming home . Seanan Mcguire Dusk or Dawn or Dawn or Day

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Chloe Neill’s Blade Bound

I have to be completely honest here.  I just couldn’t see it.  I mean we all knew going into Blade Bound that it was going to be the last Chicagoland Vampires book.  And yet, how could we possibly say goodbye to Ethan and Merit, Jonah and the Red Guard, Mallory and Catcher or Gabriel and the North American pack?  And, as with so many of the books in this series, the villain seemed unbeatable and the craziness just plain off the charts.  We got to see a vampire wedding, a warning from Gabriel that the vampire child may not be coming and we all knew that we had not seen the end of Sorcha.

About halfway through the book, I started to get really scared though.  Ethan had already returned from death, much to all our surprise.  But I started to wonder if maybe the way this book ended the series was with everyone’s death or confinement.  And so it took me a while to wrap my head around finishing this book, come what may.  I had carefully avoided all reviews and spoilers while I wrapped my head around the fact that this ending was here.  But about halfway through, I had to have a little faith–in Chloe Neill and in myself.  I could take whatever came in the series.

I won’t spoil the ending.  But I will say that my faith paid off in ways unimaginable.  And that is the key to this whole series.  Despite being a jaded paranormal romance reader who thought she had seen everything, this series constantly came out of left field.  Consistently, we found ourselves wondering how all our heroes could possibly pull this one off.  And they always, somehow did.   It’s sad to be saying goodbye to our intrepid heroes but the series ended on a high note rather than disappointment.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I highly recommend this book, and the series itself.  It’s lighthearted and campy and unbelievable at times, but these characters will soon hold a piece of your heart, as they did mine!

 

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

Blade Bound Book Cover Blade Bound
Chloe Neill
Fiction
Penguin
2017
384

"Continuation of New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series"--

The thrilling final installment of Chloe Neill’s New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series sees sinister sorcery advancing across Chicago, and it might usher in the fall of Cadogan House....
 

Since the night of her brutal attack and unwilling transformation into a vampire, Merit has stood as Sentinel and protector of Chicago’s Cadogan House. She’s saved the Windy City from the forces of darkness time and again with her liege and lover, Ethan Sullivan, by her side.

When the House is infiltrated and Merit is attacked by a vampire who seems to be under the sway of dark magic, Merit and Ethan realize the danger is closer than they could have imagined. As malign sorcery spreads throughout the city, Merit must go to war against supernatural powers beyond her comprehension. It is her last chance to save everything—and everyone—she loves.

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Dark Rites (Krewe of Hunters) by Heather Graham

It always amazes me when an author can create a large body of work.  Heather Graham has managed to create a compelling series of books in the Krewe of Hunters.  One of the ways that she has managed to keep the series interesting and relevant is by constantly mixing up the main characters as new agents join the unit.  All the other main characters and their romantic partners are still a part of the story.  And there are times when the original krewe gets involved as well as the newer group of agents.

This story follows up on the heels of the last book.  Vicki Preston and Griffin Pryce are preparing for the move to Virginia when Alex Maple, who has become a friend after helping them with the undertaker murders is brutally attacked.  As they investigate the crime, it becomes more and more bizarre, involving both history and satanism.  2 more krewe members, Devin and Rocky have come to help as they were traveling to Salem anyway.  The case becomes quite involved and Alex is kidnapped.

This was a fun read and a great addition to the Krewe of Hunters series!

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

Dark Rites Book Cover Dark Rites
Krewe of Hunters
Heather Graham
Fiction
MIRA
August 1, 2017
400

The witches, they are real… A series of bizarre assaults is mystifying Boston police: an unknown attacker is viciously beating random strangers and leaving a note quoting an old warning about witchcraft. History professor Alex Maple was one of the victims, and now he's gone missing. Vickie Preston is certain that someone has taken her friend for malicious purposes. She's having blood-drenched visions that seem to be staining her waking life, and the escalating attacks suggest that a dangerous cult is at work behind the scenes—a cult so powerful that its members would rather die than be apprehended. Vickie is grateful to have Special Agent Griffin Pryce and the FBI's elite Krewe of Hunters on her side. She and Griffin are finding their way in an increasingly passionate relationship, and Griffin is desperately trying to keep her safe and the two of them sane amid the disturbing investigation. The search for Alex will take them deep into the wilderness of Massachusetts on the trail of a serial killer, and it will take everything they have to survive the ancient evil that awakens and threatens not just the man they're striving to save but their very souls.

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Christine Feehan’s Shadow Reaper

In this second book in Christine Feehan’s newest series, we get to really learn about the shadows and the world in which they live.  We get to see more of the family dynamics and get to see the family in action and learn about the families and the command structure in the Shadow world.

We get to see the relationship between Francesca and Stefano deepen almost exponentially.  And we get introduced to the damaged Rico and see his past return.  And we get to see that Rico’s silence tests the ties that bind the Ferraro family together.  Those bonds are far stronger than any of the family knew and we get to see a truly fascinating family dynamic–where each member is stronger than the parts individually.

This is a brilliant new series and I enjoyed every moment of it.  I truly cannot recommend this series more highly!

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

Shadow Reaper Book Cover Shadow Reaper
Christine Feehan
Fiction
Penguin
May 30, 2017
400

#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan returns to her scorching-hot series starring a Chicago crime family that has built its empire in the shadows... Billionaire playboy Ricco Ferraro knows no other life. Being a shadow rider is in his blood--but so is a haunting desperation stemming from the secrets of his dark past. His recklessness puts not only his life at risk, but also the future of his entire family. To save them all, he must find a woman who can meet his every desire with a heat all her own... Just when Ricco has given up hope, he meets her--a mysterious woman whose shadow connects with his. She's someone looking for a safe haven from the danger that has stalked her over the last several months. In Ricco's embrace, she finds one. But the darkness in which they so often find sanctuary can also consume them...

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Shannon Mayer’s Destroyer A Review

I have to be honest, I got tricked into liking Shannon Mayer’s works.  I decided to give her elemental series since it seemed to be up my alley and my enjoyment of it back doored me into the Rylee series.  And the overlaps were confusing to say the least since the Rylee books continued with books after the series had officially ended.  And with the ever changing loyalties, powers and interests—it did end up being up my Alley.

Destroyer was a huge surprise though as it ended the series with the subtlety of a wile e Coyote anvil dropping on it.  It seemed, going in that we were going to see Larkspur become trained (finally with an official teacher!) and perhaps a reunion with Ash as she prepped for the battle with the false goddess.  Instead, as so often happens with Larkspur, she got hit upside the head with disaster after disaster and we find out that some of Lark’s allies are created by the false goddess and some of her enemies have been playing an incredibly long game and are actually friends.  We even get a shock on the level of Darth Vader revealing himself as Luke’s father…

And Lark lives up to her moniker of the Destroyer.

Overall, it was a strong and compelling story that truly ends the Rylee and Lark series’ for good.

Can’t wait to read the new series Mayer is starting!

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

Destroyer (The Elemental Series) (Volume 7) Book Cover Destroyer (The Elemental Series) (Volume 7)
The Elemental Series
Shannon Mayer
Paranormal
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 30, 2017)
330 pages

“What a fantastic start to a new fantasy series! I love a strong female lead and we were delivered that in spades with Larkspur . . . This story is fast paced and exciting right from the start. I can't wait to see what comes next!”
-Boundless Book Reviews

From HiJinks Ink Publishing and Shannon Mayer comes The USA Today Bestselling ELEMENTAL SERIES beginning with RECURVE (Book 1). With over 1.4 million books sold, Shannon Mayer proves, once again, she can dominate her genre right out of the gate.

“My name is Larkspur, and I am an Elemental.”

My people use the power of the earth to sustain life and defy our enemies. I should be at my father's side as a royal princess. But as a half-breed, bastard child, that isn't going to happen.

Taken away by the last Spirit Walker, I am mean to train with him so that I can finally stop the false mother goddess and her plans to rule both humans and elementals. I am meant to train so that I can meet her on even ground, but training takes time.

Time is not something we have. The world is coming apart at the seams as the humans rain down destruction upon their own kind and the supernatural world. The false mother goddess is hunting down the most powerful elementals to take the last of their power, and through it all, the secrets of who I truly am begin to spill upward.

I must find the strength to stop the mother goddess, and to save our world, but which aspect of my heart will hold me up and what will it cost me in the end?

Blood of the earth. . . .
Child of Spirit. . . .
Bastard Princess . . .
Ender . . .
Protector . . .

Destroyer.

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Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake

This book is a departure for Rachel Caine, but it was still a great read.  It starts with a “typical” housewife who is happy in her life until, in a Blackbeard’s wife situation, it is discovered that her husband has been kidnapping, torturing and killing women in the families garage.  After being tried as an accomplice, she takes her kids and runs, buying fake identities and running anytime it appears that she may be found out.

She’s found a place that she likes, though, and decides to fight to keep her life there despite the fact that murders similar to the ones her husband committed start occurring.  And in the process she finds an ally whom she ends up falling in love with.  And it may be just in time, too, as her husband escapes just at the books end.  Can’t wait to read book two!

I look forward to discussing all of this with fellow fans at my site bestbooklover.net and at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BestBooklovernet-336745780072074/

If you want to help support this website, donations are accepted at paypal.me/Bestbooklover/

 

Stillhouse Lake Book Cover Stillhouse Lake
Rachel Caine
Fiction
Thomas & Mercer
2017-07
300

An Amazon Charts most-read book. Gina Royal is the definition of average--a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband's secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor--the ultimate warrior mom. With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband's crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace. But just when she's starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake--and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed--or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she's learned how to fight evil. And she'll never stop.

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