What I’ve been reading lately

So I got a job at a publishing company which is awesome!  I have still been reading, but I’ve been a little behind on writing reviews, so I’m going to do some mini-reviews in this post.

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

 Ilona Andrews is one of my ‘go to’ authors.  I think I’ve read if not everything, most of what she has out there.  What I like about her writing is that it’s not just about the romance, although there is definitely romance in the story.  In Magic Rises, Curran and Kate take a contract to protect a werewolf who is pregnant with twins by two different men.  They know by going it’s a trap to attack Curran and the pack.  While there, Curran appears to take interest in another shifter, and some weird dragon type beings start attacking and killing people.  And worst of all, someone is there who Kate didn’t want to run into for years to come……

This was an awesome read.

                                                         

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

                                                                 Purchase Magic Rises:  Amazon

                                                                 ***My husband purchased this book for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Next up is another series in which I always buy the next book when it comes out, The King by J.R. Ward.  Beth wants a child, but it is extremely risky for female vampires to be pregnant, give birth, and live to tell about it.  Wrath does not want a child.  He can’t stand the thought of Beth being in so much danger.  Not only that, but Wrath is currently under scrutiny by those he rules over, and they are secretly trying to dethrone him.  Will Beth and Wrath’s relationship survive or will the distance between wanting a child tear them apart?

Like I said, this is one of my go-to series.  I’m honestly not sure if this is the last one in the series or not, but I did find myself wanting the book to be over already.  I still think it was a great read, but I think I’m ready for this series to come to an end.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The King:  Amazon

***My husband purchased this book for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Richelle Mead; I love all of her series so far.  What a great author.  She does not disappoint in the Bloodline series.  This has been on my TBR shelf forever it feels like.  Despite Sydney’s Alchemist upbringing, she is slowly finding herself getting closer and more comfortable with the vampires and dhampirs around her.  One of her teachers is pushing her to use magic, and that still makes her uncomfortable, but her teacher believes she is extremely magically inclined.

Ah, the ending!  I loved it.  I really enjoyed this one so much that I asked my husband to buy me the next in the series a week later.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Golden Lily:  Amazon

***My husband purchased this for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

*Contains Spoilers*

Although Sydney was becoming more comfortable with her vampire friends, the kiss that her and Adrian shared caught her off guard….especially by how much she liked it.  Sydney keeps finding out more things about the Alchemists that she doesn’t agree with.  And she finds a man, Marcus, who used to be an Alchemist and is now not.  He’s on the run and is trying to take the Alchemists down, and he wants Sydney to join him.

Sigh.  Another great novel by Richelle Mead!  Sadly, this one just came out so I have to wait a while until the next one, lol.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Indigo Spell: Amazon

***My husband purchased this for me.***

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These next two are books that I’m a marketing manager for.  I wanted to share them with you guys!

First up, paranormal romance book, The Lycan Hunter!

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Blurb:

When Alexis James arrives at her first assignment in months, she anticipates the danger and violence rife in her calling as a Lycan Hunter. What she doesn’t expect is a handsome, blue-eyed wolf saving her life and kidnapping her. Surrounded by the enemy, Alexis must not only survive her prisoners but the bonds of a different sort that begin to form against her will.

Mikko Kyran was chosen by the gods to lead his pack, and he has made it his mission to end the eight thousand years of war plaguing his people. The Alpha never suspected that the key to the prophecy ending the Forever War would be held by a smart-mouthed, sexy Hunter determined to kill him.

Can two people from different worlds set aside everything they know about one another long enough to survive retribution from the Hunters, the pack, and the gods? Or will their differences start a war that neither can win?

Written with intensity and depth, The Lycan Hunter is the first in a thrilling new series.

Purchase:  Amazon

__________________________

Want to enter to win a free copy?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Lycan Hunter by Kelsey Jordan

The Lycan Hunter

by Kelsey Jordan

Giveaway ends August 01, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

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Next up, young adult book Dangerous Reflections: releasing on June 23rd!

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Blurb:

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

Add to your Goodreads shelf!

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That’s it for me!  Phew, what a long post.  🙂  What have you guys been reading??

~Pam

Ivy Book Spotlight & Giveaway

Ivy

 

Blurb:

Widowed photographer Ivy Langdon avoids people in general after her husband’s death. She ventures out days before Christmas for last minute gifts and stumbles into the middle of a terrorist attack in London.  Will her luck ever change?

Steven Samuels and his partner Gareth Richardson are called in with their company, Blackbird Security Firm, to rescue the hostages.  They never expected to find their perfect mate while saving the world.  The more the two wolves learn about Ivy, the more that they want to make her theirs.

Love is never simple or straight-forward and life is often stranger than fiction.

Ivy finds herself drawn into a strange world of shifters and human traffickers.

Can love’s true bite find her before trouble does?

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Excerpt:

With Christmas right around the corner, Ivy reluctantly ventured out to pick up presents for her family and friends.  She would have preferred to stay in her flat to watch re-runs of the Vicar of Dibley.  She had been half-way through the holiday’s specials.

Squeezing between a group gathered outside Harvey Nichols, Ivy made her way into the store and rode the escalator to the second floor.  She tuned out the couple in front of her who were arguing about what to purchase for their son.  She tried to map out her shopping plans in her mind, hoping to save time and get her away from the happy shoppers as quickly as bloody possible.

As she stepped off the escalator, an explosion on the first floor rocked the entire building to its foundation.  The lights overhead flickered several times as ceiling tiles fell and shattered on the ground in front of her.  Ivy ducked her head quickly to avoid the dust and debris in the air.

Gunfire followed the explosion and sent everyone into a mass of swirling panic.  A passing stranger in the fray knocked Ivy to the floor.  Crawling through the swarming chaos to hide behind a nearby perfume counter, she noticed a cabinet large enough for her to squeeze her petite frame inside. She dove in and slid the door shut.

The shouts and screams seemed to continue forever, though her watch told her it had been ten minutes at most.  Ivy turned her phone on silent and sent a quick text to a friend who had been in Alec’s unit.  She didn’t dare place a call, but someone had to let the authorities know there were survivors in the store.

For now.

After several tense moments of waiting, Ivy pulled her phone back out to frantically check the news.  It was impossible to know how long the cabinet would remain safe though moving didn’t seem like that good of an idea either.  Her friend texted a response to say the police were on their way, and she should do her best to avoid detection.

Avoid detection.

Very bloody helpful.

She already knew that much. Alec had been a military man.  They’d known each other long before University.  He proposed during their second year there. Over four happy years of marriage. He had made sure to teach her the basics of self-defense and security awareness.  Not for the first time in two years, Ivy missed him so much her heart ached.

Ivy sat in the cramped cupboard for close to an hour when she realized that she desperately needed the loo.  Bugger. She couldn’t risk it, could she? The restrooms were directly across from where she was hiding.

Another ten minutes passed.

It was time to try to either run for the loo or piss herself. Deciding she didn’t relish sitting in her own urine (not very pleasant), she cautiously eased the door open and waited for any signs of the armed men.  She didn’t know if the silence was comforting or terrifying.

Keeping low to the ground, Ivy crawled along the floor.  It brought back memories of watching her husband when he had been training young recruits.  She could hear his deep voice in her head describing the best and quietest way to low-crawl.  She made it into the loo without being seen.

She finished her business as her mother liked to call it.  The difficult decision now was whether to stay in the toilets or make her way back to the little cubbyhole.  She glanced around the room with an assessing eye.  If the terrorist bastards decided to come inside, there was nowhere to hide effectively from them.

Back to the cupboard.

Definitely.

Retracing her route across the floor seemed somehow more daunting as Ivy started to make her move.  She was halfway to her cupboard when a strong hand grabbed the back of her coat and lifted her off the ground.  His other hand clamped around her mouth to muffle the scream she’d been about to utter.  He dragged her backwards into what appeared to be a staff locker room.

Bugger.

Oh, bloody hell.

The second he had her backed into the staff room, Ivy went from passive captive to violently struggling to escape.  She had no intention of going without some sort of a fight.  His hands pinned her arms to her side and crushed her back against his body.

She closed her eyes and waited for the knife or gunshot she knew was bound to come;  the irony of dying two days before Christmas was not lost on her.  She tried desperately not to fidget.  She realized after a moment that she hadn’t actually felt a weapon at any point. In fact, the hands holding her while firm were also very gentle.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ivy was surprised at how good the man smelled; he reminded her of dark chocolate and something exotically spicy.  She told her mind and body to behave themselves.   She would not lust over a perfect stranger who was probably about to murder her.

Why the hell hasn’t he done something yet?

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Ivy Teaser

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About the Author:

Dahlia is a bit of a hermit.  She’s happiest with a large mug of coffee or tea (two sugars and drop or two of milk) and a good book.  She lives for comfortable jeans and over-sized sweaters.  Ivy is her first novel and it started life as an attempt to complete National Novel Writing Month.  

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Find Ivy online:

 Smashwords

Nook

Amazon

GoodReads

Find Dahlia online athttp://dahliadonovan.wordpress.com/

Twitter

Facebook

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ivy Blog Tour Button*****Images and wording for this post were provided by the author.*****

Tales of Aradia: The Last Witch Review

 

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Tales of Aradia:  The Last Witch

Author:  L.A. Jones

Published:  2012 by CreateSpace

Genre:  Young Adult, Teen Fantasy, Paranormal

Buy: Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown to the humans who hanged innocent people at the Salem Witch Trials, real witches of the hidden race were slaughtered on the belief that they had betrayed the hiddens to the humans. Not one witch survived the genocide, or so it was believed for more than three hundred years. One day a girl named Aradia moves to Salem, Massachusetts, and all that changes.  

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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Ross and Liza are coming home from a doctor’s appointment in which they just got bad news; the chances of them ever having children are slim to none.  Driving home they almost get in an accident and swerve off the road.  With the car now broken, Ross decides to look for help and hears a baby crying.  Long story short, that baby becomes their daughter, the child that they wanted but couldn’t have, Aradia.

This was a good book.  I liked how Aradia knew she was special, but didn’t know why.  She has no clue that she’s a witch, and it takes them moving to a town of other ‘hidden’ beings to figure out what she is.  The story had a nice flow and kept me interested and wanting to go back for more.

However, Aradia did get on my nerves.  Her sense of humor was pretty dry, and I kind of felt embarrassed for her on occasion when she tried to be funny.  She felt a little immature as well, but it is a young adult book and she is a young adult.  So it was just her personality, and that’s fine, she just got on my nerves a bit.

It wasn’t just Aradia who got under my skin; it was her friend Roy too.  I just wish he had more self-confidence; the lack of it was unappealing.  But again, they are young characters.  I’m hoping that he’ll gain some confidence through the series.

Another little thing that stuck out to me was the mentioning of CVS.  This was when Aradia had just moved to Salem, Massachusetts and she was talking to a student at her school.  She was telling him to pick up some medicine.

“Pick some up on the way home.  It’s easy to find.  They’ll have it at CVS.”

“What’s CVS?”

“Oh, right.  Um, Walgreens?  Any drug store (—)”  (location 31 on Kindle)

Again, this does not affect my rating; I’m just throwing it out there.  I’m from the area, and I promise, we know what CVS is (and Walgreens too).  Lol.

Besides Miss Aradia not being my favorite person, she did grow on me, and I did enjoy the story.  All in all, a good young adult book and I recommend it.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****