Category Archives: Reading

Contests, Reading

Contest of BABEL

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First, congratulations to random number 68, Lethea – you won the autographed copy of Anya Bast’s Witch Fire! Thanks to everyone who participated. Sad that you didn’t win this contest? Read on for another chance to win free books…

In an email exchange with dixygirl yesterday, I coined the term BABLE (Book Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy, obviously riffed from SABLE, Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy), then promptly modified it to BABEL (Book Acquisition Beyond Expected Life)… although I quite like BABBLE (Book Acquisition Beyond Believed Life Expectancy), too. What do you think? (Beyond realizing that I’m obviously not knitting very much, eh, Marina?)

Anyway. Getting back on track, that email exchange gave me the idea for a contest. I have this ginormous stack of books that I’ve accumulated through various means: being at the library’s withdrawn store or the thrift store without an inventory of my library, accidentally buying a duplicate, receiving a duplicate, or intentionally buying a duplicate because I liked the book and hoped to pass it on to someone.

Comment on this post before 7 pm CDT, Thursday, June 18, for your chance to win some of the books pictured below. I’ll randomly select at least three winners (maybe more, depending on whim and response). Most of the books are used. Unsurprisingly, should you win, your books will likely include some amount of cat fur. 🙂

“My goodness. This new area rug is sort of lumpy.” -Mayhem

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Categories of books include those by local authors (Strawberry Shortcake Murder, Unplugged), knitting related (A Deadly Yarn, How to Knit a Wild Bikini, At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much), Nathan Kamp cover (Hot Spell), miscellaneous abs (You Don’t Know Jack, Dark Embrace), straight up romance (Summer Pleasures, I’m in No Mood for Love, Just Like Heaven), urban fantasy (Memory and Dream, The Devil You Know), mysteries (One for the Money, Murder by the Glass), darn good paranormal romance from a series but not the first book of said series (One Foot in the Grave, Passion Unleashed, Lover Unbound, Lover Revealed), not so great paranormal romance from a series but you need to read it anyway to continue with the series (Lover Enshrined), ok paranormal romance (Dogs and Goddesses), and paranormal romance I haven’t read yet (Darkling, Moon’s Fury, Immortals: The Darkening).

“Hey, there’s yarn on this book! Will chewing the book cover be like chewing yarn?” -Mayhem

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

“Hmph. Chewing on book cover yarn is very unsatisfying. I shall lie here and sulk.” -Mayhem

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Abs-olutely

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For your chance to win an assortment of 25 books and 25 cds, leave a comment at Largehearted Boy letting him know what cd or book you’d hope to find in the assortment. Contest closes midnight CDT, June 12.

Leave a comment about why booksellers rock and you could win a signed copy of Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge. Contest closes by June 14. (Ok, this is a superhero book, but I don’t consider that paranormal.)

For a chance to win a copy of Annie Solomon’s One Deadly Sin, leave a comment at A Journey of Books about whether you’ve ever thought of or committed an act of revenge. Contest closes midnight EDT, June 26. You will need to check back to see who won!

A Journey of Books is also giving away The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos – leave a comment before midnight EDT, June 30, about something that triggers a strong memory for you. Remember to check back to see who wins!

For a chance to win an audiobook of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Curiosities or 7th Avenue by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, leave a comment on the respective posts at J. Kaye’s before June 27. Remember that winners will not be notified, so make sure to check back to see who won.

Nice look at some of the new ebook devices at The Good, the Bad and the Unread.

Google’s entering the ebook market. I haven’t decided whether this is good or bad.

SciFiGuy has an overview of the May issue of Locus Magazine, which was focused on urban fantasy. (My copy is still sitting on the kitchen table, waiting for me to read it.) But I do know that the top story was the revelation that author Kim Harrison does not exist! This was quite shocking to me, since I had seen her at Uncle Hugo’s and have some books signed by her. 🙂

Hee hee – Smart Bitches have an amusing list of the top medieval history facts that you won’t see in any romances.

Thanks to Mary Lou for this list of amusing things that would sound wrong if you were saying them to a human instead of to a cat. I can think of some that aren’t on the list, such as “Quit eating the toilet paper!” and “Hey! Stop running across the kitchen table!”

Wait, how did they sneak in to my condo to get this picture?! Did you get your seat before they ran out of space?

Apparently I haven’t been reading enough books with scantily clad, abs-baring males on the cover and there’s been some agitating in the comments. This update’s for you, MamaT! 😉

Reading Update
Sentinels: Jaguar Night (Silhouette Nocturne) by Doranna Durgin. This was a surprisingly good low-steam paranormal romance. My biggest complaint is that, although it appears to be the first Sentinels book, it seemed to assume a certain level of familiarity with the Sentinels that I certainly don’t have.
Men at Work by Janelle Denison, Nina Bangs, and MaryJanice Davidson. A light’n’fluffy romance collection about hunky guys wearing toolbelts…
Surf’s Up by Nina Bangs, MaryJanice Davidson, and Janelle Denison. Another light’n’fluffy romance collection from Denison, Bangs, and Davidson. Please note that if you plan to read this and Men at Work, you should read that book first, as the stories by Davidson and Bangs are related to the stories in that collection. Eerie that I picked these books up at the same time, not knowing that or noticing that the same authors were in both. I just went for the covers. 🙂
And Able by Lucy Monroe. Yup, this is the conclusion to the trilogy that began with Ready and Willing.
Deal With This and The Spy Who Wants Me by Lucy Monroe. These tie into her Ready, Willing, and Able series and her secret agents series and her other non-series books. I love that.
The Chosen Sin by Anya Bast. I love this cover, and it isn’t even NK! 😉 This is a well-done futuristic vampire romance, very steamy. Very, very steamy.
Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson. Enjoyable contemporary romance set in Seattle.
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James. This was another near-perfect contemporary romance from Julie James. Highly recommended.
Night’s Kiss by Amanda Ashley. Vampires and good witches and bad warlocks, oh my! An ok start to a series that I’ll probably keep reading.
Between a Rock and a Heart Place by Natalie Stenzel. This is the sequel to The Druid Made Me Do It and is pretty fun (druids and pucas and nature spirits, oh my!), if a bit drawn out at times.
Dark Protector and Dark Defender (Paladins of Darkness, Books 1-2) by Alexis Morgan. They’re warriors who come back from the dead when they’re killed protecting our world from the evil Others. An ok paranormal series that’s completely vampire and werewolf free. And hey, that’s NK in leather pants on the cover of Dark Defender.

Think carefully before switching to Holy Water in the cat’s water bowl…

“That poor kitty! If I chew on these vampire fangs, do I have to worry about you putting Holy Water in my water bowl?” -Chaos

Contests, Reading, Tales of the Neighborhood

Contest: Win a signed copy of Anya Bast’s Witch Fire! [CONTEST CLOSED]

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On Saturday, I went to the Anya Bast and MaryJanice Davidson signing at Uncle Hugo’s. (Um, the guy in the middle belongs to one of them, I’m sure.)

I asked Ms. Bast to sign a copy of Witch Fire, which is the first book in her Elemental Witches series and is set (mostly) in Minneapolis. If you’d like to win this book, click on this link to email me a contest entry. Submit your entries before 7 pm CDT, Thursday, June 11. I’ll announce the winner on Friday, June 12. Good luck! Contest closed!

“But are there any black kitties in this book, Mom? Because if there aren’t, I don’t think anyone will be interested.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which Mayhem attempts to select a book (and the contest thing gets insanely out of hand)

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Paula’s participating in the 2009 North Central Alabama Race for the Cure and is looking for donations. Every $5.00 you donate will get you an entry in a raffle for some sock yarn after she reaches her $250 goal.

Author Barbara Bretton is giving away two skeins of Elann Peruvian Baby Lace Merino in Irish Moss if you send her an email before the the evening of June 3 (aka today, so hurry up).

Author Jeaniene Frost is giving away four copies of the The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance, which is a great collection! Send her an email (info’s in the post) before 11:59 pm EDT, June 4, for your chance to win. (If I didn’t already own this book, I’d be all over this contest myself.)

Jen’s friend is about to go through her fifth birth, but first cesarean – leave some cheering comments for Jen’s friend (and vote in the baby name poll) for your chance to win a gorgeous skein of Yarn Pirate sock yarn.

For your chance to win a copy of the superhero novel Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge (reviewed below), stop by and comment at Deadline Dames.

Leave a comment at Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Giveaways by June 12 for your chance to win one of several short story collections. These aren’t paranormals, for those who worry about such things. 😉

If you’d like to win a copy of the Blood Ties dvds (based on Tanya Huff’s Books of Blood series), you’ll need to do a tiny bit of research and send an email by June 15.

For your chance to win an advance reading copy of the young adult book Ghost Huntress (Book 1: The Awakening), leave a comment at J. Kaye’s Book Blog before June 27. Remember, winners will not be notified – you’ll have to keep an eye on that blog to see if you’ve won. Another contest of interest over at J. Kaye’s includes one for the audio cds of The Bourne Deception. (And thanks to J. Kaye for including me in the new book blog discovery post last week!)

Largehearted Boy’s giving away an eight-volume Buddha graphic novel series – leave a comment before midnight CDT, June 5, for your chance to win.

If you’d like the chance to win a signed copy of the new collection Tails of Love, which is a charity anthology to benefit needy animals and which features stories where animals play a key role in romance, leave a comment at Anna’s Book Blog before June 11.

The Suvudu free reads (all scifi or fantasy) for June have been posted. Smart Bitches have some links to romance ebook deals/promotions.

Head over to SciFiGuy.ca to see what urban fantasy, fantasy, paranormal, and scifi books are coming out the month.

Sydney found a new to me book holder.

Looks like BeBook’s going to have a wireless ebook reader available for sale by the end of this month (for $199).

Apparently Google’s planning to sell ebooks by the end of this year.

Woot! I won a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies over at Historic Fibers for my zombie haiku (#2 in this post). Thanks, Julia!

Reading Update
True Confessions (set in Idaho), See Jane Score (not set in Idaho!), Truly Madly Yours (set in Idaho), Daisy’s Back in Town (not set in Idaho), and It Must Be Love (set in Idaho) by Rachel Gibson. One more to go and I will have read all of Gibson’s books in a shockingly short time. Important Note: If you find yourself in a Rachel Gibson romance, please be aware that condoms always seem to break and prepare yourself accordingly.
Night and Day (Jesse Stone) by Robert B. Parker. Finally! I swear, if a critical bit of series progression hadn’t happened in this one, I wouldn’t ever pick up another book in this series. I barely nerved myself up to read this one.
Traveling Light by Diana Rubino. ebook. This was a time travel romance that takes place briefly in the present, but primarily in fifteenth-century England. Review posted at Fang-tastic Books.
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Lucy Monroe. Scorching hot and very good contemporary romance about people working for a super secret antiterrorism agency. Very scorching. Very hot.
Ready and Willing by Lucy Monroe. More scorchers from Monroe. Can you guess what the name is of the next book in the series? 😉
Come Up and See Me Sometime by Lucy Monroe. This was written a few years earlier than the other books of hers I’ve read. Let’s just say her writing has improved a great deal in the past several years. In fact, I spent so much time rolling my eyes while I read this one, I think I strained something.
Demon Can’t Help It by Kathy Love. Favorite line: “Oddly, I find it reassuring you haven’t put anyone’s soul in a house pet before.” (The guy on the cover of this totally creeps me out for some reason.)
Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang: A Dark Ones Novel by Katie MacAlister. Noticed a doozie of a typo on the “Also By” page – MacAlister’s book Zen and the Art of Vampires got turned into Zen and the Art of Dragons. Whoops. This book continues the story of Pia and Kristoff that began in Zen and the… and ended on a cliffhanger in that book. This book is still a bit all over the place, plus I spent way too much time wanting to slap Pia, Kristoff, and plenty of other characters. However, at least this one didn’t end on a cliffhanger – just with an open question or two. (Oh, and I have no idea what the cover art has to do with the book!)
Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge. Please note that I received this as a review copy/prize, so you’ll get a slightly longer reviewette than usual.

We have lots of metaphors related to white and black, good and evil. The line between good and evil is supposedly black and white. Good guys wear white hats and bad guys wear black hats. Good is light, bad is darkness. Black and White plays with those crisp delineations, showing us that things are never that clear, even when superheroes (or “extrahumans” as they’re called in 2112) are involved.

Black and White is told alternately from the perspective of two extrahumans, Jet and Iridium. The narrative weaves back and forth between the story’s present and five to ten years in the past, when Jet and Iridium were roommates at the Academy. Jet’s a Shadow power, yet completely focused on following the rules and being a model hero. Iridium, a Light power, is much more independent and much less interested in rules. Both had fathers who were considered insane or “rabid”, leading many to expect similar behavior from Jet and Iridium.

What starts out as a seemingly simple comic bookesque tale of good versus evil slowly develops into an involving tale about shades of grey, friendship, and betrayal. (In fact, in some respects, it reminded me of Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.)

Hmm. Mayhem seems to be having trouble selecting a book, as she stands on what are apparently her discards and contemplates The S3x Lives of Cannibals.

“What to read, what to read… Mom, what are cannibals? What is s3x? Are there any black kitties in this book? I’m sure it’s not worth reading if there aren’t black kitties in it.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Reading our lives away

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For your chance to win a set of six classic short story collections from authors such as Willa Cather, Leo Tolstoy, and Herman Melville), leave a comment at Largehearted Boy by midnight CDT, May 29.

If you’d like a chance to win an audiobook copy of James Patterson’s The 8th Confession, leave a comment at J. Kaye’s Book Blog before June 27. Please remember that J. Kaye doesn’t notify winners – you need to keep an eye on the blog to see if you’ve won.

Free download of The Guide to Pirate Parenting!

Smart Bitches had some great links recently, including to free audiobooks.

I definitely don’t write as much as I used to (since I seem to type most things now), but when I do handwrite something, it doesn’t take long for my hand to hurt. Maybe my grip is part of the problem.

Use six books (that you don’t like) to make invisible speakers.

How to make your very own book pillow to help you read in comfort.

Dear Author’s weekly tech roundup has some good stuff this week, including info on colorful new ebook readers and an ebook price comparison website (I’m definitely bookmarking that one!).

I thought these seven organization tips to help you reduce your TBR (to be read) pile were great in theory, but… I know I won’t do any of them. 🙂

If you’re trying to read more, maybe these 16 ideas will help – I know that not watching tv and speed reading probably help me the most. Missing from that list was making sure you always have something to read with you so you can take advantage of unexpected free time (such as when waiting in lines).

A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Kindle 2.0 from an avid user after 100 days of use. Also, Kindle owners can now view their notes and highlights in a web browser and not just on their Kindles.

Reading Update
Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. This was a great contemporary romance about a Chicago lawyer who’s in LA to work on a big case when she gets stuck providing legal insight to a handsome movie star who’s researching his role in a legal thriller.
Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1) by Rachel Caine. This is a spin-off from Caine’s Weather Warden series. It features Cassiel, a fallen Djinn. Lots and lots and lots of open questions at the end of this one. *sigh*
The Immortal Hunter: A Rogue Hunter Novel (Argeneau Vampires) by Lynsay Sands. Ack. More of the lots and lots of open questions thing here. Hmph.
Dead Girls Are Easy, A Match Made in Hell, and You’re the One that I Haunt (Nicki Styx, Books 1-3) by Terri Garey. Nicki was dead for a few minutes in the ER and when she came back, she could see ghosts. Ghosts who want her to do things for them, ranging from the innocuous to the deadly. Overall, I enjoyed these, although there was a story arc that I found annoying and which I really hope was completed in the third book.
Witch Fire (Elemental Witches, Book 1) by Anya Bast. This book starts in Minneapolis! I’m always a sucker for that. I thought this was a good completely vampire and werewolf free read (also very steamy) – the next two books are already on my TBR shelf and I’m planning to pick up the latest book on June 6 at Uncle Hugo’s, when Ms. Bast will be there signing it.

“Wait, why did I think I missed you again? Obviously I forgot about the infernal flashing.” -Mayhem

Reading

Reading and reading and, well, reading

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EeeRotate rotates your Windows laptop screen for easier book reading. Based on the comments, this will be most useful for lightweight netbooks and laptops that don’t run too hot.

Oh, isn’t this a cute little ebook reader?! Not available in the US until next month.

Apparently paranormal romance is so successful that Amazon’s created a niche store for it. I plan to just use said niche store as a resource for reserving library books and shopping at Uncle Hugo’s or other indies. 🙂

Another perspective on how ubiquitous Nathan Kamp is on romance novel covers…

Danger: the AllRomance Ebooks store. Other good ebook stores (not quite as targeted as AllRomance) are Books on Board and Diesel eBooks. Make sure your particular format is available through a particular store for a particular title before you get too far with it!

If you’re ever looking for a teensy bit more detail about what I thought of a book (in the form of the number of stars, one through five, that I rated it), you can always head over to LibraryThing and search my library.

You may or may not see the cover images when you read this post – looks like the image server for IndieBound is a bit cranky today.

Reading Update
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint. I love Charles de Lint’s work. It’s thoughtful and evocative and lyrical and always gets me thinking about the deeper things. Pretty impressive for urban fantasy, hmm? But then, this is urban fantasy of the old school – a fantastical twist to our world, rather than the newer sort of urban fantasy, which seems to primarily be gritty and about a kickass hero or heroine.
The Mystery of Grace is set in the Southwest, rather than in de Lint’s mythical Canadian city of Newford. It’s the story of Grace, a tattooed mechanic to fixes up hotrods and has been at loose ends since her grandfather’s death a few weeks before. One of my favorite quotes from the book was attributed to her grandfather: “‘Tattooes,’ Abuelo once said, ‘are the stories in your heart, written on your skin.'”
If you haven’t read any de Lint, my favorite book is Someplace To Be Flying and you can go read an excerpt if you’d like.
Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7) by J.R. Ward. After the fiasco of Book 6, Lover Enshrined (hint: devoting an entire book to the whiniest, most annoying vampire ever is not a good plan), Ward fortunately revitalizes the series with Lover Avenged. This is Rehvenge’s book and it was, at times, a very hard and intense read. I had to put it down and get some space from it more than once. But, overall, I was satisfied. Ward managed to, hopefully, thin out the number of story arcs she was trying to keep going, as well as spending much less time with the pesky Lessening Society (i.e., the baddies). Bless the library – I’m perfectly willing to buy these as new mass market pbs, but not as hardcovers.
At Grave’s End (Night Huntress, Book 3) by Jeaniene Frost. Now waiting for late July, when the next book comes out. Recommended paranormal romance series.
Blue Diablo (A Corine Solomon Novel) by Ann Aquirre. This urban fantasy/paranormal romance is the first book in a new series about Corine Solomon, who can touch an object and see its history. In this book, her ex, Chance, tracks her down to help him find his missing mother. Chance has fabulously good luck, which unfortunately tends to mean that people around him have very bad luck. (Bullet miraculously misses him? Sucks to be walking next to him…)
Queer Wolf, edited by James EM Rasmussen. ebook. Review is up at Fang-tastic Books.
Wanting Something More (Stepp Sisters, Book 3) by Kathy Love. This is the last book in the very good contemporary romance trilogy about the Stepp Sisters of Milbrook, Maine. I could tell from the earlier books who was going to be Marty’s love interest, but I couldn’t figure out how it was going to happen…
The Trouble with Valentine’s Day, Not Another Bad Date, Lola Carlyle Reveals All, I’m in No Mood for Love, and Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson. Gibson always dishes up a reliable contemporary romance, frequently located in Idaho. I do wish some of her heroines had a titch more spine.
Midnight Sins (Midnight Trilogy, Book 2) by Cynthia Eden. This is the sequel to Eden’s Hotter After Midnight, which was about Atlanta cop and shifter Colin Gyth, who suspects psychologist Dr. Emily Drake of being a murderer. Midnight Sins is about Todd Brooks, Colin’s human partner on the force, who isn’t quite ready to believe that the monsters are real, and the woman he suspects of being a murderer, singer and succubus Cara Maloan. Book has high steam quotient.
Immortal Danger by Cynthia Eden. I’m definitely enjoying Eden’s books! Maya Black used to be a cop, before a vampire attacked her. Now she’s a vampire vigilante, helping the mysterious Adam Brody find the vampires who kidnapped his niece. Very high steam quotient here, too.
She’s No Faerie Princess (The Others, Book 2) by Christine Warren. Yes, yes, I know – I read the rest of this series before reading Book 2. Whoops. This is a fun, not too heavy paranormal series and this particular book features a faerie princess, some werewolves, a werejaguar, a witch, and a few stray demons. Plus, Warren has a way with a turn of phrase that regularly has me laughing out loud (although many of said phrases are definitely R rated.)

“Why won’t you just let me sleep unblinded by that accursed flashing thing? Is that really too much to ask?” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Go forth and write zombie haiku

30 Comments

You may or may not ever have noticed, but I’m not much for the zombie books. However, that didn’t stop me from writing a zombie haiku when Margene pointed me to this contest. Head on over to Historic Fibers if you’d like to win a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or if you simply like a good haiku challenge. Contest closes midnight PDT, May 15.

Speaking of Margene, stop by and welcome her to the world of gluten-free knitters. She has good friends and family like I have good friends and family, so I know she’ll be fine and do well!

Limedragon pointed out that Handknit Heroes is having a mask design contest, which closes July 15. You could win $150 and have your patten published in the Fall 2009 issue of Handknit Heroes.

And speaking of Handknit Heroes and Limedragon, our very own dragon had a pattern published in the latest issue of Handknit Heroes! To celebrate, she’s giving away some copies of the comic to a few lucky commenters who leave comments before midnight CDT, May 14.

For you fans of young adult books, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist is giving away three copies of Tad Williams and Deborah Beale’s The Dragons of Ordinary Farm.

It can be painful, but many of us have had to do it – break up with a formerly beloved series of books. (The bit about why post author Sarah broke up with the Anita Blake series? Too funny – and too true. I also enjoyed reading the comments on this post.)

Have you heard about the controversy surrounding Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s new book, The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide? Do read a bit about the concerns before you buy the book!

I love the idea of invisible floating bookshelves, but I’ll never do it.

Sony might be releasing a larger ebook reader to compete with the Kindle DX by the end of this year.

FiledBy is a new site that allows authors and readers to connect. I haven’t had a chance to look at it, so I can’t say anything else about it!

Reading Update
Burning Alive: The Sentinel Wars by Shannon K. Butcher. This was a strong start to a new paranormal romance series about the Sentinels, who are guarding humans from demons. (If that name “Butcher” seems familiar, it should.)
Forbidden Nights with a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 7) by Kerrelyn Sparks. Yup, I just read book 6 a week or so ago! Again, this continues to be a well done, not too heavy paranormal series.
Over My Dead Body (Broken Heart, Oklahoma) by Michele Bardsley. The latest book in this paranormal series about the unusual residents of Broken Heart, Oklahoma, is a decent read. This is another not too heavy paranormal series.
Edge of Danger (Primal Instinct #2) by Rhyannon Byrd. This was as intense a paranormal as the first book in the series, Edge of Hunger. Although these characters were pretty angsty, too, I didn’t get overwhelmed with annoyance by their intermittent TSTL behavior.
One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost. The second book in the Night Huntress series is as well-written and involving as the first. Crispin (aka “Bones”) may be my new vampire crush.
Smart Mouth by Erin McCarthy. Contemporary romance about an FBI agent and a reporter. Very, very steamy. *fans self*
Crap. No abs. Um… Here’s a link to a book I know nothing about, included simply because it has abs on the cover and I suspect (but can’t verify) that said abs belong to NK.
Getting What You Want and Wanting What You Get (The Stepp Sisters, Books 1-2) by Kathy Love. Extremely involving and well-done contemporary romance about the Stepp sisters of Milbrook, Maine. Um, I may have cried a bit near the end of the second book.
Promises in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Another solid Eve Dallas and Roarke mystery.
Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof (Dixie Hemingway) by Blaize Clement. Hmph. I’m cranky about being left hanging by the ending. You know how that annoys me.

“I will vaporize you if you don’t stop looking at those books and feed me right now.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which I manage to include abs and will hopefully escape with my life

22 Comments

Trek’s having a contest to guess how many quarters are in the tea tin. Contest ends when the tin is full; I think the prize will be cool bag and some other goodies.

Here’s hoping the comments work today. Having the comments shut off randomly seems to be about as predictible as the WYSIWYG editor not working. Thank you, WordPress/Firefox 3.0. Only not so much.

The big ebook news of the week is Amazon’s Kindle DX, which has a larger screen and native pdf support. However, it also has a nearly $500 price tag and looks to be as fragile as the Kindle 2. According to Smart Bitches, it’s already picked up the Twitter tag of #dud. Gizmodo has had some good information on the Kindle DX that’s worth checking out, too. (And did you know that 20% of Kindle owners are over 40?)

BookArmy is another book recommendation/social site. I’m sticking with LibraryThing. 🙂

Did Twilight create the new YA genre of abstinence p0rn?

Thanks to Naomi for this link about art made from old book covers.

SciFiGuy has a list of all the May releases for urban fantasy, paranormal romance, fantasy, and scifi.

Check out the Suvudu free ebooks for May, which include a paranormal title (Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian), scifi (Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham), and fantasy (Elric: Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock).

You can pick up the first book in the Jaz Parker vampire series by Jennifer Rardin (Once Bitten, Twice Shy) as an ebook for $1.00 (or so, depending on the format) this month.

This is so perfectly Chaos!

Crap. No abs in this post, either. I might have a rebellion on my hands. (Don’t believe me?! Go read the comments from my last reading update and get back to me.) *sounds of rummaging through shelves* Whew! NK to the rescue with a book I won recently. (Strangely, I’ve won all four books of this series, although I haven’t read any of them yet.)

Reading Update
Secret Life of a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 6) by Kerrelyn Sparks. This continues to be a nice, not too heavy paranormal series.
Midnight Cravings (Silhouette Bites) by Michele Hauf, Karen Whiddon, Lori Devoti, Anna Leonard, Vivi Anna, and Bonnie Vanak. Six stories about creatures of the night (mostly, but not entirely, werewolves). I enjoyed all the stories, but wasn’t that excited about finishing the one by Vanak.
Tempting Adam (Seattle Steam #2) by Shelli Stevens. ebook. I won this non-paranormal romance in a contest and discovered it was an engaging and, well, steamy read. 😉 I’ll definitely read more by Shelli Stevens.
Arousing Suspicions by Marianne Stillings. A fun contemporary romance about a San Francisco dream interpreter and an SFPD detective. This is the first of Stillings’ Darling Detectives trilogy (next is Satisfaction and then Killer Charms). I read these totally out of order. Whoops.
Animal Instincts by Gena Showalter. Another fun contemporary romance about a woman with a few trust issues who’s been reading a self-help book on freeing her inner tigress. (Nope, it’s not a paranormal, either.)
Seduced by the Night, Tempted in the Night, and Lord of the Night (Night Slayer, Books 2-4) by Robin T. Popp. Waaaaah! I got totally sucked into this series, but I see that the most recent book, Lord of the Night, was published in 2007. It doesn’t look good for more books, does it?
Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101 by Paige Taylor. ebook. Nicely done (and steamy) paranormal romance – you can read a longer review at Fang-tastic Books, where I’ll periodically be reviewing paranormal ebooks.
Seducing the Darkness (Darkness Series, Book 1) by Shiela Stewart. ebook. This should show up on Fang-tastic Books sometime in the near future, too. Another vampirey ebook, this is the first in Stewart’s Darkness series. I hope the choppiness and other editing issues are smoothed out as the series progresses, because I thought the premise was intriguing.
Wishful Thinking: The Swann Sisters Chronicles, Book 1 by Evangeline Anderson. ebook. What a fun book about having a fairy godmother! (Hint: it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.) Recommended. You can read a more lengthy review on LibraryThing.
Men of Alaska: Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler. Very steamy and well-done paranormal about a reporter who travels to Alaska and meets a very special guy…

“What if the hokey pokey really is what it’s all about?” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Keep on bookin’

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How did I not know about the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge?! You can join any time before December 31, 2009. There are three levels: read 12, read 25, or read 50 books from your local library in 2009. Um, looks like I hit the third in March and April alone… *blink blink* I’ve read over 100 library books so far this year.

There’s another Hachette audio book giveaway over at J. Kaye’s Book Blog (and there will be one each day this week *hint hint*) – leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of the nonfiction audio book The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo. Make sure you read the rules, or you could win and not even know about it!

Here’s an updated list of many current book blog contests – and they aren’t just for paranormals. 😉

Are ebooks ruining cultural snobbishness? (Woot if they are!)

Interesting – a machine to print books on demand while you wait in the bookstore.

Brace yourselves – after several weeks of abdomen extraordinaire, there are no abs whatsoever in this week’s reading update! Unless you click on that Lauren Dane Cascadia Wolves link. But you might get more than you bargained for at that point. You have been warned. (I swear, warning y’all is akin to daring you…)

Reading Update
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich. The Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers books are never my favorites in this series, but this one wasn’t too bad – probably because Ranger and Joe played a more active role than they usually do in these.
Tri Mates, Wolf Unbound, Standoff, and Fated (Cascadia Wolves, Books 3-6) by Lauren Dane. ebooks. I’m totally sucked into this series about werewolves in the Pacific NW. S3x and political intrigue – what more could you ask? Hmm – maybe more books, now that I’ve read them all? If I was rating steaminess on a five jalapeno scale, this series would probably merit an off-the-scale habanero meltdown.
Eternal Moon (Moon Series, Book 10) by Rebecca York. This continues to be a well-written werewolf series, but I think the time has come for the Moon Series and I to part ways. I’ve been enjoying the series less and less since the whole parallel universe aspect was introduced – I keep hoping that particular thread will die out, but it seems unlikely to happen.
Out of the Night (Night Slayer, Book 1) by Robin T. Popp. I know, I’m shallow – I picked this up because of the Nathan Kamp cover, but it was a surprisingly good read about chupacabras and vampires.
Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1) by Chloe Neill. This was a really, really good book about a grad student turned into a vampire without her consent. Unlike many paranormals, it’s not filled with graphic s3x or anything, either. Definitely recommended and I am already looking forward to the next book.
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost. Cat Crawfield is half-human, half-vampire and looking to rid the world of vampires when she discovers that things aren’t as black and white as she’d believed.
Edge of Hunger (Primal Instinct, Book 1) by Rhyannon Byrd. Conceptually intriguing and I sort of enjoyed it, but I spent so much time being pissed at the “hero” and thinking he had a whole lot of TSTL (too stupid to live) going on that I really couldn’t get into the book. Apparently there’s a limit to the amount of hero angst I can take. But hey, I did finish the book, which counts for something.
The Monster of Minnesota (News from the Edge, Book 1) by Mark Sumner. I couldn’t resist this title when I saw it in the used section at Uncle Hugo’s over the weekend. Think tabloid journalism and the Loch Ness Monster on a Minnesota lake. Sort of. 🙂
Mouth To Mouth by Erin McCarthy. Another sweet and steamy romance from McCarthy, this time about a Cleveland cop and the woman he meets under unusual circumstances. Somewhat unexpectedly, this book has some nice insights into deaf culture and the challenge of living between two worlds.

“Mmmm… is there anything tastier than furry mouse tails?! I don’t think so!” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading, Reviewettes

Hopefully the technical difficulties are past…

28 Comments

…but I’m not holding my breath. Blue’s not a good look for me. 😉

Want to win a copy of The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance? Leave a comment letting author Meljean Brook know what your favorite short story is.

Leave a comment at Largehearted Boy by midnight CDT, April 24, for your chance to win a copy of the Wilco dvds Ashes of American Flags and I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, plus “an assortment of surprise books and cds.”

Nicole’s giving away books 3-6 of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood to someone who doesn’t mind covering media mail postage. I recommend this series to any vampire romance aficionados.

Leave a comment at Darque Reviews by the morning of April 28 for your chance to win copies of Jocelynn Drake’s books Nightwalker and Dayhunter.

A Braille ebook reader – very cool!

Arrrr – I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for The Guide to Pirate Parenting, right? Especially Deb. Deb lurves pirates. Probably you should all go and leave your very best piratey comments for her right now. I’ll wait. (No need to thank me, Deb. Really.)

The Top 10 Lies of the Romance Novel Hero/Heroine. *snort*

Listen to Alan Rickman reading Sonnet 130.

Listen to Neil Gaiman read his lovely book The Blueberry Girl, which I think is a wonderful book to give to the parents of daughters.

Reading Update
The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, Book 3) by Gena Showalter. And now I wait until the fourth book comes out in a few months… Is it out yet? No? How about now?
Soul Song, The Last Twilight, and The Wild Road (Dirk & Steele, Books 6-8) by Marjorie M. Liu. The Wild Road was a reread and I have to say I got a lot more out of it after reading the preceding books! I’m really enjoying this well-done series about the paranormal detective agency of Dirk & Steele and again, I wait for the next book. *taps foot*
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs. This continues to be an excellent urban fantasy/paranormal romance series about coyote shifter Mercy and the other paranormal denizens of the Tri-Cities area (most of whom seem to have grudges against Mercy).
Everlasting Bad Boys by Shelly Laurentson, Cynthia Eden, and Noelle Mack. I couldn’t get into the dragon story by Shelly Laurentson, so I didn’t read it. The witch’n’demon story by Cynthia Eden was ok. The story by Noelle Mack about a man made of electricity was so punny, it was a bit painful.
You’re So Vein (The Others, Book 7) by Christine Warren. Speaking of punny… fortunately, the punniness here doesn’t extend beyond the title. If you’ve been keeping up with Christine Warren’s Others, this is a solid addition to the series. And you’d be right that this one focuses on vampires. 🙂
Caught (Gemini Men) by Jami Alden. This is the first in what will be three scorching hot romantic suspense novels about the three Taggert brothers who run Gemini, a security and private investigation agency.
Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Book 3) by Richelle Mead. This continues to be a good series about Seattle succubus and bookstore manager, Georgina Kincaid. I got very sniffly at the end.
Don of the Dead (Pepper Martin Mysteries, Book 1) by Casey Daniels. Fashionista Pepper Martin sees dead people. Dead people who can’t rest easily because they have unfinished business they need resolved. A good start to an intriguing series, with the requisite two elusive love interests – one a cop, one not.
You Don’t Know Jack by Erin McCarthy. This is one of McCarthy’s fun contemporary romances, with absolutely no paranormality in sight.
Private Lies by Amy Eastlake. This romantic suspense ebook was a freebie download. Choppy, some plot holes, and definitely could’ve used some editing and formatting… but I did get sucked into the story about a CIA operative, hackers, and terrorists.
Black Cat by Cat Johnson. Freebie download paranormal romance ebook short story that was kinda cute in a steamy sort of way.
Enforcer and Reluctant (Cascadia Wolves, Books 1-2) by Lauren Dane. Very steamy ebook series about a pack of werewolves in Washington State.

*mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse* -Mayhem