Tag Archives: reviewettes

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Halloween Linkity Horror Show! Eeeeeek!!

October 28, 2009 Chris 25 Comments

Vampire Wire’s giving away a copy of Bound to Shadows, the ninth Riley Jenson paranormal by Keri Arthur – that contest closes the evening of October 29. Anna also has a copy to give away – her winner will be announced October 31. Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away a copy, too – that contest closes 10 pm CST, November 1.

Largehearted Boy’s giving away a copy of Kids Go!, which is a book and DVD put out by They Might Be Giants. Winner will be announced midnight CDT, October 30.

Cecile’s curious whether you prefer bad boys or knights in shining armor. Let her know by October 30 for your chance to win a DVD of Supernatural.

Author Julie James is giving away a copy of Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changelings, Book 1) and Colleen Gleason’s The Rest Falls Away to someone who comments before 10 pm CST, October 30.

For an assortment of fun prizes from Linda Wisdom related to her Hex series, stop by Night Owl Romance before October 30.

Book Junkie’s giving away a copy of the cookbook Chocolate, a Love Story. Contest closes 11:30 pm EST, October 30.

Sara at Urban Fantasy Reader is giving away a copy of Ann Aguirre’s great urban fantasy, Blue Diablo. Contest closes midnight EST, November 2.

*blink blink* Ok, there’s an entire book of kitty wigs, called Glamourpuss. Moderncat’s giving away a copy on November 3 – stop and leave a comment before then if you’re interested. Or you can just go look at the kitty sweater costumes…

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is splitting her weekly news into new releases on Tuesday and contests/interviews/etc on Wednesday. SciFiGuy.ca posted another great news/interview/contest roundup over the weekend.

This is a dangerous week for kitties, especially for black kitties. Moderncat has some Halloween kitty safety tips.

Zombie kitteh!

Basement Cat knows what scares you…

Aren’t these kitty jack-o-lanterns cool?

Dear Author thinks this is a good time to buy an ereader; TeleRead disagrees. (Don’t forget that there are other readers besides the Sony, the Kindle, and the Nook out there!)

Dear Author brings up an important point that has been very neglected in the world of ebooks: readers have rights under copyright law, too.

An interesting post on book piracy from the MLR Press authors’ blog. Remember that not all pirated books are pirated from authorized ebook editions – in France, 95% of pirated ebooks were not from authorized editions (so were from scans, etc).

Completely drool worthy cover here…

Amy of A Closer Look at Flyover Land visited Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s last week and took some great pictures of the interior.

Jackie at Literary Escapism desperately needs submissions for the Urban Fantasy stop of the Bookworms Carnival before October 29.

Reading Update
Knit the Season (Friday Night Knitting Club, Book 3) by Kate Jacobs. Review copy from publisher. So, um, I didn’t actually read more than 1.5 chapters before I realized that I had pretty much mentally finished with these characters after the second book. It happens. But! If you didn’t feel that way, Knit the Season will be out November 3. Oh yeah, among the recipes at the back, there’s one for gluten-free pumpkin muffins. 🙂
Becoming Us by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox. ebook. Wow. This m/m romance really took me by surprise. Very steamy, yet sweet, too, it’s the story of two guys in college – one out, one whose family with disown him if they found out he has a boyfriend. The only thing I didn’t like is that it felt like the book was building toward a big emotional crisis that never materialized. Weirdly, that was disappointing.
The Happy Onion by Ally Blue. ebook. I must confess that I avoided this good m/m romance for quite a while because I hated the name. The Happy Onion is a bar and vegan restaurant owned by one of the main characters.
Love, Like Ghosts (Bay City Paranormal Investigations) by Ally Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romance that takes place ten years after the events inÂ An Inner Darkness. Bo and Sam’s son Adrian is at college, but remains distanced from those around him as he works to control his telekinesis.
Life or Something Scary Like That by T.C. Blue. ebook. Good m/m romance that totally sucked me in – enough so that I left a comment for the author asking whether there was going to be another book featuring one of the characters. (Hopefully, but not yet.)
The One That Was Lost by T.C. Blue. ebook. Decent m/m romance that takes place during and after The One That Got Away.
Mexican Heat (Crimes & Cocktails, Book 1) by Laura Baumbach and Josh Lanyon. ebook. Intense m/m romantic supsense – I thought I had it figured out, and I did, but only to a point. Recommended. Looking forward to a sequel!
Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Historical mystery and m/m romance. This very well done mystery was set in Los Angeles during World War II, when being outed could lead to being imprisoned or being committed. As CJ and I have both wondered, why the heck isn’t Josh Lanyon more widely known and available in my public library system?
VGL Male Seeks Same and NEG UB2 by Rick R. Reed. ebooks. Good m/m romances about a lonely guy in his forties who, in the first book, tries online dating, and in the second book, begins to blog. These definitely had a bit more substance than many m/m romances that I’ve read.
Cheating Chance and Inland Empire (Taking the Odds, Books 1-2) by James Buchanan. ebooks. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a closeted cop and a not closeted agent of the Nevada Gaming Commission who meet at a goth convention and then become entangled on a case. Highly recommended – I’m definitely looking forward to the third book, which isn’t out yet.

“Basement Cat has his eye on you and he knows if you’ve been nice or naughty…” -Chaos, acting as Basement Cat’s agent…

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes, Tunes

Super Fantastic Mega Bookity Linkity!

October 20, 2009 Chris 15 Comments

For your chance to win in the Completely Out-of-Control, Over-the-Top Book Giveaway, comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, October 26. I will randomly pick at least three winners, each of whom will be able to select up to five books.

Congrats to Donna S, CC, Cherie J, Chey, and Jeannette Juan, who each won a copy of Shannon K. Butcher’s Love You To Death!

Anna’s giving away a big box of books, too. Enter before October 31 for your chance to win.

Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ Giveaways is giving away a copy of the short story collection Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies. Enter by October 30 for your chance to win.

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away three copies of the graphic novel Lenore: Noogies. Contest closes at midnight CDT, October 24.

Cecile is giving away a copy of Winter’s Desire, a collection of steamy stories related to the Solstice. Contest closes October 23.

SciFiGuy.ca is giving away an ebook copy of Roxanne Rhoads’ latest er0tic paranormal novella,Â Eternal Desire, along with some Fang-tastic Books goodies. Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST, October 26. He’s also giving away a copy of R.A. Salvatore’sÂ The Ghost King; that contest closes at 11:59 pm EST, October 25.

For a chance to win a copy of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, stop by Fang-tastic Books and leave a comment. Not sure when this one closes.

Abigail at All Things Urban Fantasy is giving away a copy of one of Marta Acosta’s Casa Dracula books. Leave a comment by midnight MST, October 27, for your chance to win.

Lots of blogs are participating in the Hatchette Book Group’s Spine-Chilling Book Giveaway, in which three winners (at each participating blog) will win copies of The Historian, BoneMan’s Daughters, When Ghosts Speak,Â Sins of the Flesh, andÂ The Heretic’s Daughter. Stop by Fang-tastic Books (winners selected October 30), Patricia’s Vampire Notes (closes November 8, 11:59 pm Hawaiian), Vampire Wire (closes November 4), and SciFiGuy.ca (closes November 1, 11:59 pm EST) to enter.

Knittymama wishes there were more knitting book and magazine reviews out there in knitting blogland. To encourage people to write some, she’s having a contest. Check out the details – if you participate before November 1, you could win a custom project bag or needle roll in your choice of fabric, plus other goodies.

Largehearted Boy is giving away five copies of Josh Bazell’s thriller, Beat the Reaper, along with a t-shirt that corresponds to the first line of the novel, plus assorted books and cds. Enter before the evening of October 23 for your chance to win.

Fantasy Book Critic is giving away three sets of Vampires by Joules Taylor and Werewolves by Jon Izzard. Contest closes at 12:01 pm, October 27.

Samhain Publishing’s giving away free ebook short stories every day from October 15 through the end of the month. Books are announced on the Samhellion blog each day. You send an email to the address in the blog post and get a download link back.

Gizmo’s Freeware has a list of nearly 200 places to find free and legal ebook downloads.

SciFiGuy.ca posted an exhaustive list of new releases, author interviews, and contests. Literary Escapism also has a good list. And today’s the day that Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) puts out her weekly newsletter post, which is always chock full of good stuff.

I’m amazed at how many vampire books are coming out in October.

Did you know it’s Teen Read Week?

Check out the directory of used bookstores featuring romances over at Book Binge. Smart Bitches has something similar, only as a map.

Interested in making your own color (LCD) ebook reader from a tablet PC for about $200?

I’m always intrigued by bookholders – Paperback Writer reviews one that’s new to me.

Follow Amy’s adventures over at A Closer Look at Flyover Land as she participates in the Twin Cities Literary Scavenger Hunt.

Looking for some Halloween music to listen to? Salad Days Music has quite the playlist posted, along with a really amusing carved pumpkin scene.

If you like indie/alternative music, check out the Daytrotter Sessions – free and legal mp3s of some of your favorite songs. I highly recommend Blitzen Trapper’s session from last fall, which includes a great version of “Furr” (“…a fantastic tale of lycanthropic yearning”).

Lots has been written about the new FTC disclosure rules for blogs, which go into effect December 1. Additional info suggests that small book bloggers probably won’t be affected. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I always mention when a book I’m reviewing was received from the publisher as a review copy, and I will continue to do so. And publishers? Sending me a review copy does not mean that I will give the book a favorable review. 🙂 My main sources for books are the library and my own purchases. I do belong to the IndieBound Affiliate Program, but as far as I know, I haven’t actually earned anything. I’m in it for the nifty book cover thumbnails and links, actually, and not to make any money.

Related to all of that, Racy Romance Reviews has an interesting post about book blogging and book promotion.

Reading Update
Must Love Hellhounds by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook. I only read the stories by Nalini Singh (good, set before Angel’s Blood) and Meljean Brook (good Guardians story). Since I haven’t read any of the Kate Daniels books by Ilona Andrews yet, I decided to save that story for after I had. And I don’t really care for the Britlingen stories by Charlaine Harris, so I didn’t bother with that one.
Dreaming of You by Ethan Day. ebook. Another good m/m romance from Ethan Day. This one’s about a guy who’s been in love the perfect man for years and years, but that man doesn’t exist outside of his dreams… or does he? Hope Ethan Day is busily writing more, because he’s on my must-buy list now.
Tall, Mean and Darkly by A.J. Llewellyn & Stephani Hecht. ebook. So you’re a guy whose beloved wife gets hit by a bus and as she dies in your arms, she promises to come back to you, somehow. And she does… as a guy.
Handyman by Claire Thompson. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a day trader who moves to a small town to get away from the stress of Wall Street.
Adder by Ally Blue. ebook. This m/m romance had Ally Blue’s usual excellent writing, but the two main characters (Adder and Kalil) and their completely messed up dynamic never really engaged me.
Making It Up by T.C. Blue. ebook. I have really mixed feelings about this m/m romance. Although the basic story and writing were fine, I was frustrated about two major points. The first was the shifting point of view – the story shifted around and was told from various people’s perspectives, often differing from paragraph to paragraph and with little or no warning. I found this more confusing than helpful. The second? I wanted to slap the three main male characters throughout much of the book, which isn’t conducive to a good reading experience.
Just for You by Jet Mykles. ebook. Really good m/m romance about a guy who pretends to be gay in order to get around his controlling female supervisor by talking to his company’s owners at an exclusive gay club. Too bad his feelings for his alleged boyfriend get so complicated…
The Heaven Sent series (Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, Faith, andÂ Genesis) by Jet Mykles. ebooks. Very good m/m romance series about the band Heaven Sent. Each book follows one of the band members as he stumbles toward love.
Nick of Time by T.C. Blue. ebook. Next book in the m/m paranormal romance series that started withÂ Allergies. I’m still sort of meh about this series. It’s ok, but it isn’t exactly drawing me in.Â Allergies was about werewolves; this one continues with the werewolves, but adds vampires and some other preternaturals to the mix. (I have to admit that I really like the cover at least!)

“What, Mom? No, of course I didn’t suggest knocking books off the bookshelves. Would I do that?” -Chaos

“You are so lying, big kitty. And so busted. I’m outta here!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which you can discover sordid details about my past if you follow the (in)correct link

October 14, 2009 Chris 17 Comments

Congrats to MrsPao and Cecile, who were winners in my Rain Mix contest! Donâ€™t forget to leave a comment on the other contest post before 7 pm CDT, Friday, October 16, for your chance to win a copy of Shannon K. Butcher’s new romantic suspense novel, Love You To Death!

Remember I mentioned that I hung out with CJ at Uncle Hugo’s on Saturday? Well, CJ blogged about it, too, complete with photographic evidence:

Not only does she have mad Photoshop skillz, her post is funnier than mine. Curses.

And then I discovered that what happens at Estes does not stay at Estes…

Dang, Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) has an absolutely amazing list of bookish contests posted. Wow. (Plus links to interviews, new release news, and more!)

As always, Dear Author has great links to all sorts of ebook news, including to an article about upcoming ebook readers.

Eeeeek!!

Doesn’t the kitty in this moderncat contest (for an eco-friendly scratcher/lounger) look like Chaos?! (Although, according to CarrieK, this would be more his style.)

Reading Update
The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy. A sweet romance about a woman, pregnant and on her own, and her boss, who has a lot of emotional baggage.
Storm Watch (Harlequin Blaze) by Jill Shalvis. I had a lot of trouble with suspension of disbelief on this one. The hero (National Guard guy) and heroine (ER nurse) spent way too much stopping to make out and have heart-to-heart talks while struggling through flood waters to rescue a woman who was nine months pregnant. Focus, people, focus! Stay alive and rescue people now, nookie later.
Damned By Blood (Faustin Brothers, Book 3) by Evie Byrne. ebook. Alas, poor Mikhail is not a happy vampire prince when his mother prophesizes that his mate is none other than the first girl he loved, who now, 30 years later, is his sworn enemy. If you like well-written, enjoyable, and hot vampire romances, I highly recommend this trilogy.
As You Are by Ethan Day. ebook. Very good m/m romance. This one totally sucked me in. I was sniffly. Definitely recommended! (No, I’m not going to tell you anything more about it, because if you know what happens, it won’t have as much impact. Really, there is a method to my madness.)
Self-Preservation by Ethan Day. ebook. Good m/m romance, but dammit, I cried. I can see that Ethan Day’s going on my “must-buy” list.
Alternative Treatment by Claire Thompson. ebook. Another good m/m romance, about a doctor and a guy doing community service because of a DUI.
Gobsmacked, Happy Ending, and Cover Me (Men of Smithfield, Books 1-3) by L. B. Gregg. More good m/m romance. If you’re brave and not at work, I highly recommend Miss Doreen and CJ’s take on the opening scene in Cover Me. (That’s a totally NSFW link, people.)
Pas de Deux by Jamie Craig. ebook. Dang, I was totally on a roll this week! Intense m/m romantic suspense about a cop and a lawyer seemingly on opposing sides of a high-profile case. Highly recommended. (Trivially, “Jamie Craig” is actually Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza.)
Wranglers: Discovery andÂ Wranglers: Voir Dire by Vivien Dean. ebooks. These are the first two parts of the three-part Wranglers story, which is an m/m romance about two adversarial lawyers. The third part will be out later this year.
What We May Be by Vivien Dean. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a former model turned fashion designer who gets involved with a guy who’d rather wear t-shirts and jeans than high fashion.
My Only Home by Pepper Espinoza. ebook. This m/m romance had enough impact on me to have me crying… So, have you figured out yet that I’m a big mushpot and that it takes very little emotional trauma in a book to set me off?! Just get me engaged with the characters enough to care…
Most Likely To Succeed and At Long Last by Shawn Lane. Hmm. This was apparently m/m lawyer romance week! Yup, two more (unrelated) lawyers in love stories.
White Flag by Thom Lane. ebook. Sweet and powerful m/m romance about a travel writer and a French vintner.
Unlikely Hero by Sean Michael. Another sweet m/m romance – this one’s about a teacher whose daughter is abducted, and the only person he can think to turn to for help is his ex.
Unholy Matrimony by Audra Beagle & Chloe West. ebook. Decent m/m romance… sometimes what happens in Vegas follows you home. Whoops.
Dreaming in Color by Cameron Dane. ebook. Very good m/m romance. For the past two years, Colin’s been having very hot and vivid dreams of a faceless man and a house with a red door. Will fate help bring them together outside of his dreams?
The One That Got Away by T. C. Blue. ebook. Lots of assumptions and miscommunication made things rocky for two roommates in this ok m/m romance. (Really, so many problems in fiction could be solved by a short conversation. Hmm. Probably in real life, too, huh?)

“ROWR!!!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Books! And… books! And, um, book links and contests!

October 5, 2009 Chris 27 Comments

Donâ€™t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, October 6, for your chance to win a copy of Marliss Meltonâ€™s new romantic suspense novel, Show No Fear!

Tracey’s friend Dave is going to run a marathon to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you make a donation to his team before midnight EDT, October 6, and let Tracey know, you’ll be entered in a drawing for a $20 Loopy Ewe gift certificate.

Mel’s holding a Raffle for Marriage Equality to help raise money for the No on 1 campaign in Maine. If you donate by November 3 and let Mel know, you’ll be entered for a chance to have him knit you a pair of socks.

If you could splurge on anything, what would it be? Leave a comment by midnight CST, October 23, to let RC at Rambling Along know, and you could win a $50 gift card to AJWright.

Romance Reviews Today is giving away a copy of Marjorie M. Liu’s latest Dirk & Steele novel,Â The Fire King. Contest closes October 6.

Cecile continues to celebrate her birthday month by giving away a copy of Vicki Pettersson’s City of Souls (The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac). Contest ends October 8.

Largehearted Boy is giving away a copy of Nick Hornby’s new novel, Juliet, Naked (plus assorted books and cds). Contest closes midnight, October 9.

To celebrate the upcoming movie release, Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away five copies of Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones. Contest closes 8 pm CST, October 11.

If you’re a fan of the tv series Blood Ties and would like to win the second season dvds, head over to Suburban Vampire before noon PDT, October 18, or to Vampire Wire before the evening of October 18.

Anna’s giving away five signed copies of Sue-Ellen Welfonder’s A Highlander’s Temptation and one signed copy of the Tails of Love anthology. Leave a comment by October 9 for your chance to win.

The Eclectic Reader is celebrating her blogiversary with a contest – you need to follow her blog in order to be eligible to win one of the pictured books. Contest closes October 31.

Check out all of the October giveaways that J. Kaye has going!

Both Jackie at Literary Escapism and SciFiGuy have great information on contests, interviews, and new releases. Book Reviews by Jess also has a long list of current book contests.

I think this one should be on the FAIL Blog – what do you think?

Just because I read a lot of m/m fiction doesn’t mean I plan to redo my condo with any of this furniture…

The kid who lost his class notes when Amazon deleted 1984 from all those Kindles just won $150,000 from Amazon. This has led Amazon to clarify when it will remove books from Kindles.

TeleRead has a good article questioning why ebooks are so expensive, when the costs of production and distribution are so much less than for print books, and another good article about ebook piracy.

Aw – how cute is that minion hat?!

Reading Update
Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changelings, Book 7) by Nalini Singh. I had the great good fortune to win an ARC of this book (scheduled to release on November 3, 2009) over at Dear Author a few weeks ago. Blaze of Memory focuses on the Forgotten, those Psy whose ancestors chose not to follow the Silence protocol. It focuses more specifically on the enigmatic Devraj Santos, director of the Shine Foundation, which attempts to find Forgotten children before the Psy Council does. Dev’s had to do hard things in order to protect the Forgotten – things which have been eroding his own ability to feel. Will a mysterious Psy woman whose memory has been destroyed turn out to be Dev’s salvation? Or his destruction? If you enjoy masterfully written paranormal romance (with nary a vampire in sight), I highly recommend Blaze of Memory and the Psy-Changeling series.
Tall, Dark and Fangsome (Immortality Bites, Book 5) by Michelle Rowen. I read the first two books last year, but I have to admit I’m not sure why I didn’t read the third and fourth books in this paranormal series about Sarah Dearly (who was turned into a vampire on a particularly bad blind date). Fortunately, Rowen skillfully wove backstory details into Tall, Dark and Fangsome, so I never felt as if I was lost during this enjoyable final installment of the series. In fact, I think I’ll be reading the previous books in the not-too-distant future! As an aside, I definitely got more out of this book after my recent visit to Toronto, where the series is set. (Beware, Lorraine, sounds like there’s a demon-possessed wizard living out your way!)
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen (Stephanie Plum, Book 15) by Janet Evanovich. Evanovich must be writing these on autopilot now. Predictable. Boring. Past time to end the series.
Instant Gratification (Wilder Adventures, Book 2) by Jill Shalvis. Doctor Emma’s staying in Wishful just long enough to take care of her father’s patients while he’s recuperating from a heart attack, then she’s going to return to her life in New York City. Good thing Stone Wilder isn’t looking for a serious relationship with her… 😉
Bottled Up by Andrew Grey. ebook. This was a sweet and involving m/m romance with a some editorial problems. Several of these problems were relatively minor, such as occasionally referring to the main character as “Shawn” instead of “Sean” and talking about something that happened yesterday as if it had happened today. More significant were the ongoing unclear pronoun references (particularly problematic in an m/m romance!) and the paragraph formatting that made it hard to determine who was speaking. Perhaps these are only issues in the ebook edition?
By Degrees by J. B. MacDonald. ebook. Very well done and involving m/m romance about a doctor who’s been keeping his emotions so tightly under wraps since his parents died when he was eleven that he has trouble feeling anything.
A Matter of Necessity by T. D. McKinney. ebook. Decent m/m romance about two FBI agents who begin a relationship as part of a deep cover operation.
Putting Out Fires by Sienna Black. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a fire djinn and a firefighter.
An Imitation of Life by Karma Eastwick. ebook. I won this at Jessewave’s last week. Good m/m romance about two actors in NYC who are hoping for their big breaks. My main complaint about this ebook is that it needed a bit more editorial polish.
Because of the Brave by Laura Baumbach, Z.A. Maxfield, and Josh Lanyon. ebook. This three-story collection about being military and gay was very, very well-written. Sadly, the editing was a bit sloppy on the first two stories. Even with those editorial issues, I’d recommend it.
Arresting Developments by James Buchanan, Josh Lanyon, and L. Picaro. ebook. Collection of m/m romances about cops and the power of the past. While the stories were good, most had editing issues – I’m beginning to see that as a pattern in ebooks from Aspen Mountain Press…
Deadly Nightshade, Deadly Wrong, Deadly Dreams, and Deadly Slumber (Deadly Series, Books 1-4) by Victor J. Banis. Excellent m/m mysteries set in San Francisco. Gay police rookie Stanley must be the perfect guy to work on solving murders committed by a transvestite, right? While the SFPD thinks so, straight cop Tom, who gets stuck with Stanley as a partner, is not at all convinced. Highly recommended, especially if you enjoyed Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series.

“What do you mean, get off my furry butt and do something cute for the blog because my vacation is over?!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Go get a cup of coffee before you start this linkfest, eh?

September 30, 2009 Chris 22 Comments

So… it’s been sort of a while since I did a books and reading post. Brace yourselves. 😉

Donâ€™t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, October 6, for your chance to win a copy of Marliss Meltonâ€™s new romantic suspense novel, Show No Fear!

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) has an amazing list of new releases and contests. So does Jackie at Literary Escapism.

Lea’s celebrating her first blogiversary with a week filled with contests. She’s giving away an Amazon gift certificate and books and who knows what else! Stop by each day to enter the latest contest.

Book Junkie’s having several contests. The first is her follower appreciation contest, which runs until October 2. She’s also giving away a copy of Kimberly Killon’sÂ Highland Dragon. The second contest runs until midnight, October 5.

Jackie at Literary Escapism is having a contest for two Chloe Neill books and assorted other goodies. I really, really enjoyed Chloe Neill’s excellent vampire romance, Some Girls Bite, and am looking forward to reading the sequel, Friday Night Bites. Contest closes midnight, October 6.

Suburban Vampire’s giving away three signed copies of the graphic novel Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. Contest closes 8 am PDT, October 13.

It’s Banned Books Week, and numerous bloggers have some great posts about it, including Neil Gaiman, The Book Smugglers, Wendy the Super Librarian, Lauren Dane, Love Romance Passion, Romance Book Wyrm, TeleRead, Dottie (My Blog 2.0), and many more.

Make sure you check out the interactive map of censorship attempts in the US from 2007-2009, too.

Kresley Cole is giving away a pdf copy of her short story “Warlord Wants Forever,” which is the first story in her excellent Immortals After Dark series. You can download the story here (link is directly to the pdf).

Harlequin Mills & Boon has ten ebooks available for free download, plus you can enter to win a Sony Reader.

How cool is it that CJ, who lives mere blocks away from me, has a shiny new urban fantasy coming out next year?!

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) wonders whether it’s possible to tame that TBR (to be read) pile. I have my doubts! One of the unadvertised features of an ebook reader is that it makes your TBR pile far less visually overwhelming.

Dear Author debunks eight myths about ebooks.

TeleRead links to a nice roundup of available ebook readers and a comparison of the various Sony Reader options, then points out that Amazon is not dominating the ebook market.

Um……. a fake blood energy drink? Ewww!

Reading Update
Breaking Point and Into the Storm (Troubleshooters, Books 9-10). Suzanne Brockmann. audiobooks. These romantic suspenses made my drive to and from Toronto fly by! (AlthoughÂ Into the Storm was a serial killer book and I generally avoid serial killer books…)
The Stone Prince by Gena Showalter. ebook. Sweet paranormal romance about a woman whose kiss awakens one of the statues in her er0tic statue garden.
Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4) by Jeaniene Frost. Paranormal romance. Although I adore Bones and Cat, I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep reading this series because of the relationship angst…
Stolen Fury by Elizabeth Naughton. Very good romantic suspense about an archeologist and an antiquities thief and ancient statues of the Furies. (Thanks, Lea – you were right!)
Soul Bonds, Rush in the Dark, and Edward, Unconditionally (Common Powers, Books 1-3) by Lynn Lorenz. ebooks. The first book in this paranormal m/m romance series never really engaged me, but the next two were better.
I Heart That City: Naked Richmond by Ally Blue. I Heart That City is a bar and Naked Richmond is but one of the stories (each by a different author) centered around the bar. This one’s an m/m romance about a bike messenger who crashes into a guy he has a crush on.
Passion and Satisfaction by M.L. Rhodes. ebooks. Related m/m romances about a high-powered businessman and a bartender.
Falling by M.L. Rhodes. ebook. This paranormal m/m romance had a vaguely Harry Potterish storyline… (Sorry to those of you who are now quietly whimpering.)
Like Coffee and Doughnuts by Elle Parker. ebook. Sufficiently good m/m romance about a PI and a mechanic that I’ll be looking for more from Parker.
The Name of the Game and It’s How You Play the Game by Willa Okati. ebooks. Decent related m/m romances. I liked the first better than the second, which seemed rather choppy.

The Tiger Within by Viki Lynn. ebook. Meh paranormal historical m/m romance set just after WWII.
Notturno by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook. Intense and engaging paranormal m/m romance about a professor who tracks down ancient er0tic texts and the vampire who wrote one of those texts.
The Elegant Corpse by A.M. Riley. ebook. This was another of A.M. Riley’s intense but not comfortable m/m romances. It’s very good, but very graphic.
Chasing Victory by Tory Temple. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a stock car driver who discovers that there’s a lot more to life than racing.
Bound by Love by T.A. Chase. ebook. Ok m/m romance about lusty cowboys.
Out of Bounds and High Line (Love of Sports, Books 1-2) by T.A. Chase. ebooks. Good m/m sports-related romances about a pair of twins and the guys they fall for.
Tabloid Star by T.A. Chase. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a bartender and an up and coming Hollywood actor. Has a bit of a connection with the Love of Sports books.
Allergies by T.A. Chase. ebook. So-so paranormal m/m romance – who knew the IT guy was a werewolf, anyway?! Looks like this is going to be a series… that I probably won’t follow.
Love and Loyalty by Tere Michaels. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a cop who won’t let himself care for anyone so he can’t get hurt. I highly recommend both this and the previous book,Â Faith and Fidelity.
The Vampire and the Man-Eater by G.A. Hauser. ebook. Somewhat painfully written paranormal m/m romance. Let’s just say I won’t be reading anything else from this author, hmm?
Body and Soul, Secrets, and Camp Hell (Psy-Cop, Books 3-5) and Striking Sparks (novella related to Psy-Cop) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebooks. This is a great paranormal m/m series. Price is one of those authors on my must-read list.

“I’ll humor you for now, Mom, even though this is absolutely not an authentic SRM. Die, fake SRM, die!” -Chaos

What? Where’s Mayhem? She’s here. But hey, let’s not begrudge Chaos spotlight time during his birthday week, mmm?

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Absalanche!*

September 9, 2009 Chris 31 Comments

Don’t worry – even though today is supposed to be a day without cats on the internetz, you’ll still get your daily dose of Chaos and/or Mayhem here. Because, really? I’d be a-feared for my life otherwise. (Others are stepping up their cat blogging in reaction, too.)

Congrats to the contest winners, who will receive a copy of Michelle Rowen’sÂ Tall, Dark and Fangsome from Hatchette Books: Â Cyn, Donna S, Books on the Knob, Â Chelsea B, and Mishia! Stay tuned for another contest or two when I get back from vacation later this month. 🙂

Zonda and her team the Skeleton Crew (they work in x-ray!) are going to be in the Relay for Life in October if you’d like to donate to support the cause.

Lots of book news and many contests! Donna (Fantasy Dreamer), SciFiGuy, Literary Escapism, and Book Reviews by Jess have great summary posts.

Make your own ebook reader case and stand.

Wow, look at the improvement in the eink display between the older Sony PRS-500 and the new PRS-300!

Squee! If I had an iPhone, this case would definitely tempt me.

Just say no. Please.

Huh. Loud music might be bad for your ears, but good for your brain.

I had no idea there was a drink called a black cat.

Ain’t this the truth?!

Probably Mayhem couldn’t play poker, either.

If you have a cat and you’ve ever wondered why you can’t find yarn you know you had…

Sad that you missed out on the food oddities of the Minnesota State Fair? Live vicariously through Amy at A Closer Look at Flyover Land. (Yes, there are butter sculpture pictures.)

Before y’all freak out over the number of books in this reading update, remember that I didn’t post a reading update last week! Plus, these are the abs that have to sustain you during my vacation. 😉

Reading Update
Demon Inside by Stacia Kane. The second in this decent paranormal romance series about psychologist Megan Chase, who’s trying to adjust to leading her little group of demons while dating another demon.
The Darkest Whisper (Lords of the Underworld, Book 4) by Gena Showalter. This was Sabin’s (Lord of Doubt) story. It was a solid addition to the series… but when will Paris’s torment end?! When is his book???
Heiress for Hire by Erin McCarthy. Contemporary romance sequel to McCarthy’s A Date with the Other Side about a disinherited heiress stranded in a farming town.
The Bachelor (The Chandler Brothers, Book 1) by Carly Phillips. So-so contemporary romance about a world-traveling reporter who returns to his small town home and runs into the only woman who ever broke his heart. Probably the most telling thing about this? I don’t care if I read the next two books or not.
Fated (Doomsday Brethren 1.5) by Shayla Black. Free ebook novella. Ho hum. I liked the first Doomsday Brethren book (hunky wizards!), but this story didn’t pull me in. Possibly reading Amor en Retrogrado immediately prior negatively affected my perception…
Amor en Retrogrado by A.M. Riley. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about an author who loses much of his memory in an attack. This was a powerful read – I even cried a few times. Highly recommended.
What Matters Most by Lisa Marie Davis. ebook. So-so, somewhat sappy slightly paranormal m/m romance – the writing never really engaged me.
Lovers, Dreamers, and Me by Willa Okati. ebook. Meh m/m romance about an oblivious bookstore owner and a psychic. I wanted to slap characters around by halfway through, which I find is never a good sign.
The Best Vacation That Never Was by Lynn Lorenz. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a firefighter and the guy he rescues and takes home with him…
Holed Up by Hank Edwards. ebook. Well done m/m romantic suspense about an FBI agent protecting a man who overheard information about a terrorist attack.
Crossing Borders by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about a cop and a skateboarder/college student, although waiting to find out what the big dramatic tension was going to be about killed me. (“Now? Is it now? Not yet? Sigh.”) However, this book did get bonus points for the Rurouni Kenshin references.
Drawn Together by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook. I think it’s safe to say that Z.A. Maxfield is a manga/anime fan, since this m/m romantic suspense was about a guy who travels across the country to a con to meet the manga artist he idolizes and believes is female. I really enjoyed this one and I even got sniffly a few times.
The Last Bite by Evangeline Anderson. ebook. Paranormal m/m romance about a demon hunting werewolf and his protege, who is bitten by a demon and lies dying.
Immortality is the Suck and What to Buy for the Vampire Who Has Everything by A.M. Riley. ebooks. Paranormal m/m sort of romance. The protagonist, former crooked cop and now vampire Adam, is such an antihero that I was surprised at how involved I got in the story. Recommended, although be warned that these are not light’n’fluffy easy reads.
High Country by Michael Barnett. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m paranormal romance about a scifi writer who rents a cabin on a Colorado high country ranch for a month so he can work on his latest book.
Claimed by Darkness by Mia Watts. ebook. There just wasn’t quite enough story mixed in with all the steam to support this paranormal m/m romance. And maybe it was my imagination, but the prose seemed to deteriorate as the story went on.
Altered Heart by Kate Steele. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance about a werewolf enforcer who kills a psychotic alpha werewolf and rescues the young man/werewolf being kept as a pet by said psychotic alpha werewolf.
To the Highest Bidder by Kate Steele. Sweet m/m romance about a bookstore owner whose friend buys him a lunch date with a Hollywood actor in a charity auction.
Faith and Fidelity by Tere Michaels. ebook. Powerful m/m romance about a widowed cop, his kids, and how things can get very complicated when you fall in love with your best friend. Recommended.

“A day without cats on the internetz? As if! CatsÂ are the internetz.” -Chaos

*Thanks to Van for suggesting this title lo! those many moons ago.

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Reading, contesting, and linking, oh my!

August 26, 2009 Chris 24 Comments

Congrats to the commenters who won copies of Dark Hunger: Tink, Anne, Morning Glow, CC, and Dottie! Thanks to everyone who participated – stop back tomorrow for a new book giveaway.

All About Books has a copy of Karen Marie Moning’sÂ Dreamfever up for grabs – comment by 11:59 pm, EDT, August 27, for your chance to win.

You have several chances to win a copy of Devyn Quinn’s latest release, Possession: at Love Romance Passion (comment before August 29) and at Anna’s Book Blog (comment before August 30).

SciFiGuy is giving away two signed copies of Annette McLeave’s new release, Drawn into Darkness. Leave a comment by midnight, August 31, for your chance to win.

For your chance to win a copy of Jory Strong’s Ghostland or Spider-Touched, leave a comment at Literary Escapism by midnight, September 1.

A Journey of Books is giving away copies of Highland Rebel – you have until midnight EDT, September 15, to participate.

Fantasy Dreamer has a great list of book news and contests. So does Cecile!

Sony announced a wireless ebook reader yesterday. Gizmodo compares the major wireless ebook readers and has some info about the virtual library ebook checkout that Sony mentioned.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any crazier than Mr. Darcy, Vampyre… here comes Jane Bites Back.

LOL – if you’re brave and need some laughs, head on over to The Thrillionth Page to read about Miss Doreen’s sordid reading discovery…

How about a random but adorable link to a little black kitty boy?

Reading Update
Blue Fire, ePistols at Dawn, and The Long Way Home by Z.A. Maxfield. ebooks. M/m romance. Blue Fire and ePistols at Dawn were ok. Sadly, The Long Way Home would definitely have benefited from more editorial attention – the basic story was good, but it rambled, wandered, and fell down more than once due to structural issues.
St. Nacho’s and Physical Therapy by Z.A. Maxfield. ebooks. Related m/m romances about the somewhat mystical and strangely healing California town of Santo Ignacio, known as St. Nacho’s. (And hey, there’s a detour to River Falls, Wisconsin!)
Fire on the Mountain by P. D. Singer. ebook. Smokin’ hot m/m about two guys fighting forest fires in the Rockies.
Black Hills by Nora Roberts. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned how much I love the Black Hills, so I was particularly interested in the latest from Nora Roberts. Alas, it’s set in the Deadwood area, which isn’t the area of the Black Hills with which I’m familiar. As usual with the Nora, it was well-written and suspenseful until almost the very last page.
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris. Oh, my, just when you think that Sookie’s life can’t get any more complicated and crazy… another book comes out.
Somebody Killed His Editor (Holmes & Moriarity, Book 1) by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Mystery writer Christopher Holmes is trying to revitalize his career at a writing retreat and things don’t go quite as planned… This was really well-done and poked fun at publishing and crazyily targeted mystery niches. Speaking of Josh Lanyon, Love Romances & More is deep in their m/m focus series and had a great interview with him yesterday.

May appears to have forgiven the toy basket… mostly.

“I’m keeping an eye on this toy basket, and keeping one foot on the floor. Just in case.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

We’ve been squirrelized!

August 21, 2009 Chris 42 Comments

Donâ€™t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, August 24, for your chance to win a copy of Rita Herronâ€™s paranormal romance, Dark Hunger! (And hey, you can download the ebook of Herron’s paranormal romance Insatiable Desire for $1.99 this month.)

Crap. Apparently this is post #1000. Um… rah?! 😉 I know I should throw a party, but I think that’s going to have to wait until after the work craziness winds down. Anyway, many thanks to all of you for making the past nearly four years so enjoyable and interesting. The small, near-daily acts of creativity that blogging requires (taking photos, editing photos, captioning photos, writing posts) have been good for me. And getting to know all of you – through my blog, through your blogs, through email exchanges, through face-to-face meetings – that has been the very best thing of all. So, again – thank you.

Ok, enough mushy stuff. Onward! 🙂

Anna’s giving away a lovely hanging bookcase – leave a comment by August 26 for your chance to win.

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away two books from Jeanne Stein’s Anna Srong Vampire Chronicles. Leave a comment by August 25 for your chance to win.

Author Kelly Moran’s giving away five copies of Karen Rose’s new romantic suspense, I Can See You. Leave a comment for your chance to win.

Lea explains what exactly The Great Western Drive is and includes a link to a related contest. Hmm. The closest I’ve gotten to reading any Western romances is the sort of cowboyesque Love at First Bite vampire series by Kimberly Raye. Not sure that really counts! 😉

Book Junkie has links to more, more, more book contests!

Hee hee – several people have pointed out that this seems perfectly Chaos. It does indeed!

Awww, look at the cute little black kitty…

Hmm. An artist who works with the fur of her black kitties. Creative use of cat hair, I must say!

Marketing for pre-owned cats…

Looking for a good, inexpensive book light? J. Kaye has a review of one she liked.

Kindle humor over at xkcd.

Minnesota publishers talk about ebooks.

Reading Update
I Spy Something Bloody, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, The Adrien English Mysteries, Books 1-2 (Fatal Shadows & A Dangerous Thing), The Hell You Say, and Death ofÂ a Pirate King (Adrien English Mysteries, Books 3-4) by Josh Lanyon. ebooks. More excellent mystery and romantic suspense from m/m author Josh Lanyon. I really can’t say enough good about the Adrien English series. I devoured the books, and yet had to put them aside periodically because of how emotionally invested and worried I got about Adrien English. It’s been a while since I spent so much time (outside of reading the book) thinking about a character and caring so much about what happened. Highly recommended. (And check out Elisa Rolle’s feature on Josh Lanyon!)
Partners in Crime 4: The Art of Dying by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price. This ebook contains suspenseful, non-series m/m stories from the always excellent Lanyon and Price.
Bring the Heat andÂ Out of My Mind by M.L. Rhodes. ebooks. Well-done and steamy m/m romance, with excellent covers. 😉
Double Play by Jill Shalvis. Contemporary romance about a major league baseball pitcher and a reporter who’s supposed to find out dark secrets about the team. Shalvis definitely knows how to write a solid and enjoyable story and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.
How To Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist. Kudos to Diana Holquist for her absolutely delightful contemporary and Regency romance mash-up! Highly recommended.
Skin Deep (Laura Blackstone, Book 1) by Mark Del Franco. Very well-done urban fantasy set in the same world as Del Franco’s Connor Grey series – I’ll definitely continue to read this series. (But I still prefer the Connor Grey series!)

Many thanks to Jeanne for “squirrelizing” this picture for me:

“Dang, he looks tasty, but he’s as big as I am!” -Chaos

“Who are all you people?” -Squirrel

*dreaming of birds* -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Books and links and books and links and books and…

August 12, 2009 Chris 26 Comments

Thanks for the fun captions you’ve been leaving on that picture of Chaos from yesterday! I definitely needed the giggles. 🙂 Mayhem did her part by sending one of her toy mice along with me in the bag of library books to be returned. Chaos… um… well, he didn’t succeed in tripping and killing me while I fed him. 😉

I know that there’s a heckuva lot of book linkity going on in this post – fear not, as it’s meant to tide you over until my next post on Monday, August 17. I’m leaving for da cabin up nord bright and early Thursday morning.

Donâ€™t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, August 17, for your chance to win a copy of Sandra Hillâ€™s So Into You!

For your chance to win a copy of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre (yes, you read that right!), leave a comment over at Yankee Romance Reviews.

If you’d like a chance to win a copy of Robyn DeHart’s romance Seduce Me, leave a comment at Park Avenue Princess by midnight EST, August 30.

Need a new bookcase? Temple Library Reviews is giving one away – comment before September 6 for your chance at it.

J. Kaye’s usually has over a dozen various book/audiobook giveaways going at any given time, covering a breadth of genres. You should subscribe to J. Kaye’s blog. 🙂 (Speaking of good stuff from J. Kaye, is your library part of Library Elf?)

Fantasy Dreamer Donna has links to many, many more book-related contests!

An interesting post about the benefits of print and ebooks at Embrace the Shadows.

Looking for free ebooks to fill your reader? The Finding Free Ebooks blog might be just the thing for you.

Author Monica Ferris is giving away a free short mystery about a female police investigator and the Minnesota State Fair. (It isn’t a Betty Devonshire mystery, for those who follow that series.)

Some tips for how to read faster. I hadn’t thought of it before, but I guess when I’m reading books, I don’t subvocalize. I do for other sorts of reading, such as blogs, emails, etc. Teaching yourself to knit while you read (or is it read while you knit?) might have a similar effect to the technique in the linked post.

Which of the top ten hero types is your favorite? My answer won’t surprise any of you…

Need a giggle? Carolyn shows how adding vampires would spice up an otherwise ho hum spam email.

And while you’re giggling, you simply must check out this hysterical historical romance-themed cover from Minnesota Monthly magazine.

It ain’t your mama’s romance – and that’s not a bad thing.

Notice anything similiar about the cover of Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn novella, Master of Shadows, and the cover of Lynda Hilburn’s book, The Vampire Shrink??

Dear Author always has informative and thoughful posts. Some that caught my eye recently were on buying ebook readers and a wonderfully snarky book news roundup.

Did you hear that Sony’s coming out with some new, less expensive ereaders? They’re pretty cute. Astak’s also coming out with some comparable looking ebook readers in the same price range.

Hmm. Could Kindles go the way of Betamax? (Really too early to assess things like that, but it’s always fun to speculate.)

Reading Update
Spin a Wicked Web: A Home Crafting Mystery by Cricket McRae. I couldn’t resist the cover when I saw this book at the library, and I’m glad I didn’t! Spin a Wicked Web was a well-written and enjoyable read; it managed to avoid the cloying sweetness to which many craft-related novels succumb. I plan to read the other books in this series – and I wish I’d read the others first, as this turns out to be the third book.
Personal Demons by Stacia Kane. Enjoyable paranormal romance about a psychologist who starts a radio show promising to banish people’s personal demons and gets more than she bargained for.
Watch Over Me by Lucy Monroe. Latest contemporary romance in her Goddard Project series. I read half the book, realized I didn’t care about any of the characters and that I’d napped through a s3x scene, and put it in the pile going back to the library. Also, while using the word “adamantine” (and helpfully clarifying it as “diamond-like” within a few sentences) to refer to someone’s abs does showcase your vocabulary, it’s not a common word and using it twice (complete with “diamond-like” reference) in the first half of the book? Sticks out.
Boys of Summer by Cooper Davis. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about how scary falling in love and coming out can be.
Don’t Look Back, Dangerous Ground, The Dark Horse, and The White Knight by Josh Lanyon. ebooks. Suspense and m/m romance by one of the masters of the genre. Well-written, vividly characterized, deeply involving, and definitely steamy hot – what’s not to like?
Among the Living and Criss Cross (PsyCop, Books 1-2) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebooks. More excellent romantic suspense and m/m romance, but with a titch of paranormal!
Protect and Defend by Francesca Hawley. ebook. A steamy paranormal romance about a cop who’s a shapeshifter and a writer who turns out to be his mate. Unfortunately, there were far too many pages used for the amount of story available, and the draggy bits were too sappy for me. (But hey, it has a great cover and it wasn’t even m/m!)