Interview with Paranormal Romance author Angela Addams

Today I'm pleased to welcome Angela Addams to the blog. Although she's a busy lady, with not only a new release, "Ghost Bride", but also a new baby, she took some time to sit down and answer some questions for me.

Angela, if you aren't familiar with her books, writes paranormal romance/erotica. Her other stories, "Assassin" and "The Temptress", are about vampires while her new is a ghostly love story. On her website you can find her blog, her book list and links to her recommended sites; she's also on twitter as @AngelaAddams. She lives in Ontario Canada with her husband and children, has been fascinated with the[paranormal since she was little, and believes that the written word is an amazing tool for crafting the most erotic of scenarios. She is also another wonderful author to come out of the Online Writers Group at the Kelley Armstrong Board.

Bea: First, thanks for taking the time to do this. Not only are you busy writing but you just had a baby about a month ago. Congratulations on your son.                             

Angela: Thanks for hosting me on your blog Bea!

Bea: Can you please tell me a bit about yourself?

Angela: I write under the pen name Angela Addams and currently have three short pieces published at Cobblestone Press and am agented by Sarah Heller of the Helen Heller Agency. I’m the mother of two, a girl and boy, as well as the proud owner of four very naughty cats.  I love chocolate and steak, but not chocolate covered steak and can’t live without my iPhone. I have an unhealthy obsession with paranormal romance and love watching the Dog Whisperer. 

Bea: What’s a typical day of writing for you? Are you a planner or do you wing it?

Angela: A typical day of writing? Well, that’s a tough one to answer these days because the baby takes up a lot of my time and isn’t really on a set schedule. I try to get some writing done in the morning when he’s sleeping but I also manage to steal an hour or two at various points in the day when I can convince my daughter to keep him occupied. I tend to do a little bit of both planning and winging it. I always start with a general outline and fill in the holes, or finer details, as I go along.

Bea: Is “Ghost Bride” part of a series or a stand alone? What is next on your schedule?

Angela: I do have plans to build a series out of Ghost Bride but right now I’m totally fixated on working on rewrites for my agent which I find all consuming at the moment.

Bea: Did you draw on any particular mythology for “Ghost Bride” or is it all original?   

Angela: I actually got the idea for Ghost Bride on my way to work one morning when the radio station personality I was listening to started talking about the mythology behind ghost brides. I found the story intriguing, did a little research and discovered that there was a belief in Chinese culture that centered around being wedded after death in order to avoid generations of bad luck. I took the idea and put my own spin on it, created a ceremony and story, and Ghost Bride was born. 

Bea: What prompted you to start writing? Would you continue to write if you were no longer published?

Angela: I’ve been writing since I was a little kid (I still have my first “novel” that I wrote when I was six called The Fuzzy Wuzzels – it has pictures and everything!) So being published or not would not stop me from writing – it’s been a compulsion from childhood. However, it is nice to be encouraged by both my publisher and my agent – writing is such a solitary pursuit and it’s hard to know if what you’re producing is any good without some kind of external validation.

Bea: What is your favorite part of writing? What is your least favorite part?

Angela: My favorite part is when I first get an idea and start brainstorming plot points – it’s always a rush and so exciting. When I’m in that zone I even get ideas while I’m sleeping and have to jot down notes when I wake up so that I don’t forget them.

My least favorite part is editing – it gets very tedious and I lose patience quickly so sometimes I rush through it when it’s really a stage in writing that needs the most time.

Bea: According to your site, you’ve been fascinated by the paranormal from a young age. What is the attraction for you?

Angela: I just love all things black and orange – you know, Halloween stuff. I get so excited when I see anything to do with paranormal anything – my kitchen is permanently decorated with jack-o-lanterns and I have Wicked Witch of the West collector dolls adorning my china cabinet in my dining room! I just love everything from the blood suckers to the spell casters and all the creatures in between.


Bea: Do you think that the paranormal is waning in publishing, changing, or holding strong?

Angela: I think that the genre is probably glutted right now with so many paranormal writers out there. At the moment, according to my agent, the focus is on cross-genre stories but I don’t think that paranormal will ever be totally out. I’m not the only one out there who loves supernatural creatures – we just need an infusion of different worlds, characters and mythologies to keep it fresh and interesting.

Bea: Currently your stories are paranormal romance, do you see yourself writing straight up paranormal stories? Do you think you might try a different genre sometime? 
 
Angela: The manuscript I’m working on with my agent is actually more straight up paranormal with a very limited romance thread. I like writing about paranormal stuff but I have also written historical fiction.


Bea: Who are some of your influences? Some of your favorite writers?

Angela: Oh gosh, there are many, many writers who inspire me. Some of my favorites are Kelley Armstrong, D.B. Reynolds, Kresley Cole, Veronica Wolff, Rhyannon Byrd and Jennifer Armintrout.

Bea: Was there someone who was, or is, particularly helpful to you? Was there someone who inspired you in your writing? In what way(s)?

Angela: This is going to sound strange I’m sure but one of the most inspirational people in my life was a high school English teacher I had who really believed in my writing ability and encouraged me to pursue my dream of becoming a published author. (Bea here - as the daughter of an English teacher, I think this is AWESOME!) His unwavering cheerleading came at a time when I needed support and an ego boost the most so I count his influence as being particularly important in driving me toward my writing goals.  Another person who I consider a mentor of sorts is Kelley Armstrong. She has given me some great advice and I will forever be grateful for her support.



Bea: What genres do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favorite authors?

Angela: I am addicted to paranormal romance. The authors I listed above are ones that I am devoted to reading. I am also an avid Victorian literature fan – one of my favorite authors in that genre is Wilkie Collins.

Bea: You have an account Twitter and a blog. Do you think that social media is important for an author to be involved in? Do you see yourself getting more involved?

Angela: I enjoy using my blog and Twitter to connect with other writers and readers. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t use it. I think that your heart and interest has to be in it for it to work for you. At the moment I’m using it to get my thoughts out there and to promote my books but it does stretch me to the limit where time is concerned. If I do find myself in the position of leaving my day job and becoming a full time writer I will probably expand my social networking to include other mediums.

Bea: Does your family read your books? What do they think?

Angela: I don’t allow my family (as in my mom and dad) to read my work– it’s too graphic for them but I do have a close cousin and quite a few friends who read my stuff both pre and post published. My parents know about my work of course and are very supportive, I just don’t want them to read the sex scenes – I think it would be very awkward! My husband has read some of my work – he’s not a big reader but is always very encouraging and supports the time I need to get work done.

Bea: Currently, your books are only available as e-books ( or that’s all I could find). Will they be available in print? Do you want a book in print someday or do you prefer digital?

Angela: The three shorts I have published through Cobblestone Press are all e-books only – no plans for print versions. I do aspire to be “in print” someday and am working on that aspect of my writing career with my agent.


Bea: Do you prefer to read paper books or ebooks? Why

Angela: I like both actually.  I have an e-reader and love the convenience and portability of e-books but I also collect leather bound books and hard covers for some of my favorite authors.  


Bea: If you could be a character in a book, which one would it be, and what part would you play? (Romantic lead, sidekick, etc)

Angela: Great question but also a tough one! I think I would be the kick-a## heroine who knows how to get the job done and save the world!



Bea: Anything that you want to add or say to your readers?

Angela: Come and visit me at my website www.angelaaddams.com and comment on my blog or follow me on Twitter @angelaaddams 

Angela, thanks so much for stopping by today. :) 

Review of Ghost Bride by Angela Addams

Publisher: Cobblestone Press

Release date: April 2011

More info: Publisher


Book Blurb:

Not only is she dead, trapped in her house as a bored and useless ghost, but she’s dead and now supposedly married to a mysterious stranger name Cole. Dasha is faced with a dilemma: give into her pulsing desires for her new husband who is hotter than any man she’s ever seen before or play it safe like she always did when she was alive and reject the only passion she has ever felt.

How much faith is she willing to put into a bond that she didn’t ask for, in a marriage that she didn’t even agree too?  


My Thoughts:

Dasha reminded me a bit of myself - bookish, not very adventurous, dislikes being ordered around, a home body. Ironically, now that she's dead and her ghostly self is unable to leave the home she occupied while alive, she wants desperately to leave, to go somewhere, anywhere: "She was dead and damn angry to feel so helpless and trapped, but there was nothing she could do about it." She regrets that she didn't do more living while she was alive. The only thing that she wants more is to see her sister Emma one last time. Unfortunately, Dasha has not seen anyone since her death so she is stunned when a strange man shows up unannounced in her house.

The stranger, named Cole (sorry but that name always makes me think of the demon Cole from the tv show "Charmed") is Dasha's husband, unbeknownst to her. Cole is several hundred years dead and unused to how modern American women behave. He finds himself both annoyed by and attracted to Dasha's behavior. 

Cole is on a deadline to consummate his and Dasha's wedding and he wastes no time in informing Her that they are married. Dasha has no memory of marrying anyone, during her life or agfterlife, and thinks that he's crazy.

Cole is arrogant, old-fashioned, has a sense of humor, and has secrets; he hesitates to trust Dasha, despite their marriage. He has a lot riding on their marriage. Dasha is reluctant to trust Cole while she's also attracted to him, and thinks that maybe here is her chance for a hot torrid romance, if only she coudl trust him. Addams takes the Chinese tradition of ghost brides, updates and tweaks it, and adds some other, more generic mythological elements and mixes them up with some romance and erotica.

I wish that more time has been spent on world building. There's a lot going on and parts were confusing. The afterlife itself and how it works, what it is, could have been further developed, and so could the other mythological elements. In an interview, Addams mentioned that there may possibly be more stories in this world, maybe even a series, though nothing is definite. I hope so as I'd like to see more. The story's length, only 66 pages including the cover, was a factor in the amount of development that could be done.  It's a neat little romance, with some sexy scenes and a nice helping of mythology.

This ebook was received from the author review.

Review of Hush by Cherry Adair

Publisher:  Pocket Star

Release Date:  April 26th, 2011

More Info: Amazon

Series: #1 in the Lodestone Trilogy

Book Blurb:

National bestselling author Cherry Adair introduces an edgy, sexy new suspense series with this exhilarating international tale of hide and seek.
A reckless adventure in a deadly paradise.
 
Thrill seekers Zakary and Gideon Stark travel the globe in search of extreme adventure, but a trip to Venezuela to jump off the world’s highest falls catapults them into a perilous game of life or death—where they don’t know the rules.

A one-night stand that will change his life forever.
 
Kidnapped with a woman Zak knows nothing about, the brothers are held prisoner deep in the jungle. A risky, deathdefying escape separates them and nearly claims Zak’s life . . . until his recovery reveals a baffling new sixth sense.

An unexpected diversion with lethal consequences.
 
Now, to find his missing brother, Zak and the mysterious Acadia Gray will have to out-smart, out-gun, and out-maneuver not just the brutal kidnappers but also a new player who joins the adrenaline game: a ruthless opponent who wants the Stark brothers dead—at any cost.

My Thoughts:

I got this book through Book Blogs, where the publisher puts certain books up for review each month. The blurbs inside the book call it paranormal but it's marketed as a romance. Really, it's a paranormal romance;  first half of the book is more romantic suspense/thriller; the paranormal aspects don't kick in until about halfway through the story. It is the first of a new trilogy, the Lodestone Trilogy.

OK, onto the story. It starts off with Zak and Acadia waking up after their one night stand to armed men in the room, and a gun to Zak's head. At first, Acadia comes off as presumptuous, ditsy and a motor-mouth while Zak comes off as cold, arrogant, and misogynistic. Over the course of the book, we see that while Acadia occasionally thinks that the world revolves around her, she's compassionate, friendly and ultra organized. They are kidnapped by the armed men and dragged into the jungle. Acadia is convinced that the men are after her because of some money she came into while Zak and his brother Gideon, also kidnapped, are wealthy.

Zak and Gideon own a Google-like search engine and are adrenaline junkies. They are addicted to extreme sports and travel the globe, indulging themselves. They are in Venezuela to jump off of the world's tallest waterfalls. Zak is a widow who has developed a death wish, though he can't see it. Gideon is desperate to help his brother, whatever it takes.

Acadia is single, just turned thirty, and not normally adventurous; she works in a sporting goods store (a running gag in the book is a "magic" vest which has seemingly endless pockets, full of camping gadgets). She's about to go to college, after the recent death of her father. She had been his caregiver the past 6-7 years as he suffered from Alzheimer's. Her friends talked her into this strip as a birthday present to herself. She sees it as a chance to let loose before settling down to getting her degree.

 Zak's surly attitude got on my nerves at times and Acadia could be a righteous know-it-all. But, I liked that Acadia did not back down or wimp out. She wasn't going to stand off to the side and let the men make all the decisions. She was determined to be a part of the solution, even when she didn't know what she was doing. At other times, she knew exactly what she was doing, which also surprised Zak. Did I mention he's arrogant? He's sure he has all the answers, at least in extreme situations. Acadia had a knack, however, for surprising the brothers and me with what she did know and was willing to do.

Zak is an adrenaline junkie; he's used to getting himself out of tough situations and thinking on his feet. He feels certain  that he doesn't need Acadia's help, or that she can even be helpful. Acadia surprises him constantly. Her camping vest, as I mentioned earlier, is a bit like Mary Poppins' magic bag; there are 28 pockets and they hold everything except the kitchen sink. :D The items stowed in her pockets save her, Zak, and Gideon on multiple occasions.    

The story has some plot holes, some convenient coincidences and timing,  and some WTF? moments; I realize it's a romance but both Zak and Acadia had weird timing for indulging in their mutual lust. Injured, on the run, and in the middle of a jungle is hardly the time or place but apart from that, Adair makes it seem logical at the time and she can write a sexy scene. It's fun, fast-paced and very enjoyable.

I did figure out who one of the people responsible for the  kidnapping was, but not the other one, nor did I guess their motives. That part of the story was a bit of a muddle, and was almost, but not quite, believable.

This paperback was received from the publisher for review.

Review: Must Love Dragons by Monica Marier

Publisher: Hunt Press

Release date: September, 2010

More Info: Amazon

Book Blurb:

Everyone knows that Heroes slay Dragons. Not everyone knows that Heroes also change diapers.

It's the oldest story in the world; boy meets girl, boy marries girl, they have a family. But what happens when the girl makes more money than the boy, and he stays at home to raise the kids? What happens when pregnancy is rough on her, and he has to go back to work? And what happens when she's a dragon, he's a ranger, and a day at the office involves trolls, elves, magic, and lower back pain?

Linus Weedwhacker (shut it, he's heard 'em all) knows first hand.
 

My Thoughts:
 

This book makes me all kinds of happy. First of all, it's a fantasy adventure, with Elves and Dragons and Inns that serve questionable food. But even better, it's a fantasy adventure chocked full of snark, sarcasm and silliness. Epic win here.

There's a bonus for those of you who, like me, were card carrying members of the Basement Dwelling Gamer Geek Society (and proud of it!) with the little tribute references to some of our dearly beloved games. But not so much that non-gamers should feel like they are missing anything. It's a wonderfully witty book, that pokes fun at growing older, dealing with impudent newbies and wondering just how good were the 'good ol' days.'

Monica is exquisitely talented, not only did she gives us this gem, with a sequel "Runs in Good Condition" coming out soon, but she also contributes to a web comic site Tangent Artists and delights readers regularly with flash fiction at her blog Attack of the Muses.

The reviewer owns this in ebook form

Review of The Ancillary's Mark by Daniel A Cohen

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Release Date:  November 4, 2010

More Info:  Amazon, 

Book Blurb:

The legend of the Ancillary flower has existed for centuries. Foretold to bring out the limitless potential of its bearer, the flower and the legend have been forgotten by many. Recently, strange events in a shrouded Tibetan town have sparked rumors among those who still believe.

Jacob Deer is a quirky young man, bound for college, with an eccentric old librarian for a best friend, an obsession with sitting down in elevators, and a strange birthmark on his hand that's shaped mysteriously like the markings on the Ancillary's petals. When Jacob's mentor Mr. Maddock reveals to him his connection with the legendary Ancillary, it sets in motion a series of events that sends Jacob and friends across the world. Alongside an alluring young woman, a marine-reject, and a Tibetan kid obsessed with comic books, Jacob must face off against a vengeful maniac for the fate of the flower, the legend, and all mankind.


My thoughts:

Jacob is a quirky teenage American boy killing time before he heads off for college in the autumn. A few aspects of his character could have been more developed; for example, his quirks are thrown out there in a deliberate manner rather than 'unveiled', told to us instead of shown. He also need some faults to round him out and make him more believable. One of his "flaws", which is really an outgrowth of his quirkiness, is that he doesn't have many friends. His only real friend is the elderly librarian, Mr. Maddock, at the local library. Jacob, or Cob, as Mr. Maddock calls him, has a feeling, a certain and strong belief, that there is something out there waiting for him, if he can just figure out what it is. In the meantime, he reads voraciously in any genre or subject and enjoys his life.

On one of his daily visits to the library, he meets Maddock's granddaughter, Sophia. Jacob is instantly attracted to her. His lack of social skills leave her less than impressed but he makes up for it by showing her his special spot in the local forest. Soon, their trip there is cut short by a phone call from her grandfather.

The action kicks in when Mr Maddock reads of important discoveries happening in a little town in the middle of nowhere in Tibet. Mr Maddock believes that those events signal the return of the mythical blue flower, the Ancillary. It's reputed to give individuals the ability to tap into and live up to their fullest potential. Here, the story gets mystical, spiritual and philosophical all at once. It's a mishmash of ancient and new age beliefs that the author devised for this book. Maddock believes that Jacob is the one person in the current life cycle of the flower meant to benefit the most from the flower because Jacob bears the mark of the flower -  the odd birthmark on Jacob's hand is actually the symbol of the flower. 

In no time, and with no reasonable explanation provided for Mr Maddock's considerable financial resources, Cob and Sophia head off to Tibet with a bodyguard/survival guide, Diego, that Maddock has hired. Of course, they aren't the only ones in search of the mythical Ancillary flower and its gifts. There are unexpected allies, surprise foes, betrayals, and some minor twists and turns. 

Cohen's storytelling style is simplistic and his characters need more depth but he does quirky very well. Jacob was too perfect, too smart despite Cohen telling us that he's not a genius, but he is likable and delightfully odd, if calculatedly so. My favorite character is actually a secondary one, Clark (not his real name) a young Tibetan native who quickly becomes an ally. Clark loves Superman, hence the nickname, wears a tuxedo to sing to bonsai trees, and, thanks to the Ancillary flower, is a master linguist. He provides a great deal of help to Jacob and Sophia.

The author, Daniel Cohen, is a 22 year old business student who decided that writing was more fun. He doesn't currently have a website but he is at work on the first book of a new YA trilogy. Overall, The Ancillary's Mark is a good debut and a pleasant YA adventure novel.

This PDF was received from the author for review. This review first appeared at Book Lovers Inc. 

April End of Month Giveaway

I decided to continue with the end of month giveaway. This month I have a mix of print books from April and from other months. The books are pictured below. As before, I will choose, with the help of www.random.org, one winner from all review comments during the month of April. You MUST comment on one of this month's reviews before the end of the month to be eligible. You do not need to be a follower, shipping is open internationally. The winner can choose one book from the listed selections.

 
The Survivor by Sean Slater - a mystery

Treachery in Death by JD Robb - a mystery

The Baby Planner by Josie Brown - women's fiction, general fiction

Song of the Silk Road by Mingmei Yip - women's fiction, general fiction

Thieves of Darkness by Richard Doetsch - an action adventure thriller


Etched in Bone by Adrian Phoenix - a paranormal romance

Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams - a UF mystery (this is signed but is made out to me; I won it in a giveaway)

Rogue Oracle by Alayna Williams (bk 2) - A UF mystery

I'll choose the winner at the beginning of May. :)

For those who celebrate, Happy Easter :)

ETA: I added "Hybrid" by Brian O'Grady and "Hush" by Cherry Adair to the prize selection.

Squee! Kindles + Libraries = Awesomesauce

First, I love the expression "awesomesauce". I picked it up from the SmartBitches  and I love being able to use it. :D

Second, SQUEEE!!!!!  Amazon announced today that sometime later this year (which I really really hope doesn't mean end of the year) libraries that lend out ebooks via Overdrive will be able to do so on Kindles here in the US. At this point, it's just US only. I love my Kindle to bits but one of it's disadvantages has been my inability to check out library books on it. I have ADE on my laptop so I can check out library ebooks that way but reading on my Kindle is so much easier and convenient for me. According to the press release, Kindle lending will

be available for all generations of Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps....."We're doing a little something extra here," Marine continued. "Normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're extending our Whispersync technology so that you can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books you check out from your local library. Your notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if you check out the book again, or subsequently buy it, your notes will be there just as you left them, perfectly Whispersynced."

With Kindle Library Lending, customers can take advantage of all of the unique features of Kindle and Kindle books...

I am so excited I can hardly stop squeeing. I love libraries, I love my Kindle, I am a happy happy book addict. :P

I have to say that I am delighted to see Amazon striving to add to the Kindle's benefits and make it ever more user friendly. First, they made some Kindle titles available for lending (even if they were slow to do it) and now library lending. Since the Nook and Kobo already have these features, it only makes sense that Kindle would jump in. Adding these features adds to the Kindle's appeal and usability. Now, they just need to allow buying books from other sites in a Kindle compatible format and the Kindle would be just about perfect.

Now, I'm sure there will be glitches and not every publisher participates in library ebook lending (McMillan, Simon & Schuster) but it's a start. So Kindle users, take advantage of this and ask your librarians if your library will be participating.

For more information, see this article on LibraryJournal.com.

  

Review: Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Release Date: 1St Edition edition (April 1, 2005)

More Info: Amazon

Book Blurb: Once upon a time there was ... a princess who loved all her beautiful ponies, a cool muscle dude who rode an awesome motorcycle. But a giant came and started stealing them! The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. And he took the princess's gold thread for payment The end!

Wait a minute! That's not how it ends!

Oh no?

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will everyone live happily ever after?

My Thoughts: As a parent of both a son and a daughter, this book is a godsend! It's got just enough glitter and pretty ponies to make my little miss happy, and enough action to keep my son entertained. It also just makes me laugh.

O'Malley captures the competitive, bickering nature of two kids perfectly, and the illustrations by Carol Heyer make our dueling storytellers' tales come to life. One of the great things about this book is watching the two kids go from the excitement of competing stories, to the exhilaration of creating one together. It's a very natural progression that wll make anyone who deals with kids smile.

I love books that draw kids in and encourages them to go on and tell their own stories. Any time I read this to the kids, I'm guaranteed to have pages of crazy pictures and scrawled print all over the house the next day. Sometimes they work together, and sometimes on their own. Either way, it's highly entertaining.

The reviewer owns this book.

Review of Song of The Silk Road by Mingmei Yip

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: April 1st, 2011

More Info: Amazon

Book Blurb:

In this richly imaginative novel, Mingmei Yip--author of Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals From the Sky--follows one woman's daunting journey along China's fabled Silk Road.

As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographs of the desert--its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China's desolate Taklamakan Desert--and carry out a series of tasks along the way. 

Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountains of Heaven to gather a rare herb. At Xian, her first stop, Lily meets Alex, a young American with whom she forms a powerful connection. And soon, she faces revelations that will redefine her past, her destiny, and the shocking truth behind her aunt's motivations. . . 

Powerful and eloquent, Song of the Silk Road is a captivating story of self-discovery, resonant with the mysteries of its haunting, exotic landscape.

"Lovely, provocative. . .book clubs will be fascinated." --Bestselling Author M.J. Rose

Contains mild sexual explicitness

My Thoughts:

I have to say based on the description of this novel, I expected a more contemporary prose. Instead, it's a  mix of traditional (or so I assume) Chinese influences, and modern day writing. The result was at times   erratic. I had a hard time connecting with Lily, the main character, and the story as a whole. Lily just wasn't likable enough for me. She seemed to be very self centered and motivated by all the wrong things. She made some poor choices regarding men and laid the blame everywhere but where it belonged.
 
Lily is not only a contemporary American woman but is sexually liberal…her character is very free with sexuality, obscenities and morals. The theme of sexuality is explored at great length and may be a turn off for more conservative readers. I didn't mind it but I did have a problem with Yip's coy use of euphemisms for body parts, sex acts, etc. It wasn't the use of euphemisms that bothered me, that's normal and I'm fine with it; to be honest, I'm not sure if the phrases are how Yip would normally talk or if they are, and this is probable, a reflection of how a woman raised in contemporary Hong Kong would talk. It's a bit jolting hearing them from a woman in the contemporary US, for instance she refers to a penis as a "yang instrument" and "a snake" and her vagina as "a snake hole". Eeeew. For me, it was very jarring; other readers it may not bother.

There is a love story between Lily and the "soul mate" she finds on her journey. At first I had trouble believing in their relationship, given the age difference (and before you squawk, there's 11.5 years between my father and stepmother so I'm used to it), the "love at first sight" trope, and his somewhat stalkerish behavior at first.

The journey consists of both her physical journey through China and the emotional journey that results from what she encounters and learns. Unfortunately, while it did make me curious about China and it's history, I never really cared about Lily and her personal journey.

This paperback was received from the publisher for review.

Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead - A Guest Review

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Publisher: Zebra

Release Date: March 1, 2011

More Info: Amazon

Series: #3 in the Dark Swan series

Book Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead takes readers back to the Otherworld, an embattled realm mystically entwined with our world--and ruled by one woman's dangerous choice. . . 

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear. . . 

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown's ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril. . .

Today, we have another guest reviewer, Hurog_Kate.. She was talking about Iron Crowned after she read it and I asked if she'd mind typing that up for me into a review. :D Hurog_Kate is an aspiring writer who works in education to pay the bills. (Okay, she actually really likes her day job but would quit in a heartbeat if she had an actual paying career as a writer.) She's an incessant fiction reader, primarily in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Mystery genres. She's also stupidly opinionated (her words, not mine, lol) about what she's read... but will likely not argue with you about it if your opinion differs. :)

Contains Spoilers for Books 1 and 2 in the series

My Thoughts:

I’ve never been particularly driven to review books in any sort of professional/public capacity. I’ve got lots of reasons for this. For one, I’m an aspiring writer myself, which means that I fear the “lemme tell y’all how it’s done” syndrome. Plus, well, I’m afraid of ticking off any potential future employers or avenues to publication. (And yes, I know that sounds kind of silly… but there you go.) Secondly, I spent several years in graduate school for writing, which meant I analyzed every word I read or wrote ad nauseum. It started to impinge on my actual enjoyment of reading for pleasure. These days, I’m quite happy with my informal review process: Loved it! Hated it! Didn’t finish. Heroine TSTL (too stupid to live). Meh. It was fine. I got it for free. And so on. 

This long-winded opening is to explain why I quite happily classify this as an UN-professional, highly subjective reaction to reading Iron Crowned, the third book in the Eugenie  Markham Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead. Not a review. 

Additionally, it’s very important to me to point out that I stand in awe of anyone who can finish a coherent novel, let alone the number that Ms. Mead has. 

I loved the first book in the series, Storm Born. It introduced the heroine, Eugenie Markham—aka Dark Swan—a half fey/half human shaman who works to banish spirits and fey who illegally cross over into our world. In fairly classic Fantasy series fashion, a startling prophecy is revealed: in this case, that her firstborn son will conquer the human world for the fey. She spends the rest of this book and the next navigating between the human and fey worlds trying to stop this prophecy from coming true. Of course, there are two gorgeous love interests: the Human kitsune (fox-shifter) Kiyo and the scary/sexy fey King Dorian who seeks to train Eugenie in her fey powers of controlling storms. Of course, Dorian is quite honest about how happy he would be to put a bun in Eug’s oven, but he does help her in his own Machiavellan way throughout the series. 

By the time we get to this third book (SPOILERS for books 1 and 2), Eugenie has been repeatedly attacked, taken over an entire kingdom and remade it in the image of her beloved Arizona desert, discovered an unknown half-sister who also may fulfill the prophecy, discovered that her boyfriend Kiyo knocked up one of the few (apparently) friendly fey monarchs (awkward)… oh, and gotten kidnapped by the lunatic son of a rival monarch and repeatedly raped in his attempt to impregnate her and bring about the prophecy. That ends badly for him when she ends up being rescued by a contingent including Kiyo and Dorian, who ends up running the douchebag kidnapper/rapist through with his sword. Which I was pretty much “right on!” about but Kiyo refused to do because it wasn’t moral or something, and it turns out he might have been kind of right because it puts Eugenie and Dorian at war in the fey world against his mother, whom I will now refer to as “Rape-Mommy” because she encouraged all of these shenanigans. By the end of the second book, she’s broken up with Kiyo and is firmly in a relationship with Dorian. Oh, and her step-father, the shaman who trained her, is not speaking to her because he’s super mad that she has a kingdom in Otherworld.

As I said, I loved the first book. I found the second book a little frustrating with Eug continuing to juggle her commitments in the human world (her shaman/exorcism business) with those in the fey world, with somewhat limited success. But I was still really looking forward to the third book. Let’s start with the positives for the book: as always, Mead’s characters leap off of the page. Her dialogue is fun and the world that she has built (both human and fey) are alive and real within the confines of the book. In terms of world-building, she is almost always consistent (which is harder than you might think). There is one pretty big inconsistency very late in the book, but it honestly could be explained away at some point… which doesn’t mean it didn’t bug me. I’m just not sure it should have. LOL I can honestly say that I would not have had such a negative reaction to the book if it wasn’t written so vividly. 

 I can sum up my annoyance without MASSIVE spoilers by looking at two factors: One, Eugenie generally doesn't take any responsibility for her own actions through pretty much the whole book. These actions include: cheating on Dorian (while convincing herself that she didn't cheat); running back to Kiyo; taking over a whole other kingdom; ignoring the concerns of her stepfather and mom; and then when Kiyo suddenly and almost inexplicably becomes horrible, running back to Dorian. Sigh. It’s like this very adult series suddenly took a left turn from a great blend of high and urban fantasy to Young Adult Soap Opera land. 

The second factor is that I think the only major character who acts consistently with everything we've been told about him for the two previous books is Dorian. But I'm pretty sure we're supposed to think he's a lying, manipulative scumbag and it's okay that Eugenie gets it on with Kiyo before actually breaking up with Dorian. The big reveal that drove Eugenie away from Dorian was not a small thing. It’s definitely a HUGE “we gotta talk” moment among two adults in a relationship. That talk might be nothing more than, “screw you, I’m out.”  But there should be a meeting of the minds. 

In fact, almost everyone careens through this book from action to reaction back to action with no thought and the thinnest of rationalizations. I found myself with that extreme WTF look on my face so often, my husband asked me what the heck I was reading that made me look like that. There's a reason I don't read YA books anymore. I like my characters to act like adults, not whiny teenagers who only think about what the world and other people owe them, rather than how their actions affect the world as a whole.

Now, below is my really unprofessional rant about the plot that I sent to a few friends. It is almost completely unedited so it contains major spoilers and a complete description of why I really was pretty irritated by almost the entire book. Also, there is a lot of raving and many, many sentence fragments. DON'T SCROLL DOWN if you don't want to know almost everything that happens in the book.  

Review of Dead Man's Debt by Grace Elliot

Publisher:Solstice Publishing

Release: October 10, 2010

More info: goodreads


Book Blurb:  A Dead Man's Debt - a story of blackmail, duty and an unexpected love.

After publically humiliating a suitor, Miss Celeste Armitage is sent from the Ton in disgrace and resolves never to marry. But when she finds a sketch book of nude studies and discovers the artist is her hostess's eldest son, Lord Ranulf Charing, she finds herself dangerously attracted to exactly the sort of rogue she is sworn to avoid.
Nothing is as it seems. Lord Ranulf's life is a facade and he is being blackmailed over his late brother's debts. But just as the darkly restless Ranulf unexpectedly learns to love, the vengeful fury of his nemesis unleashed. In order to protect Celeste, Lord Ranulf faces a stark choice between duty and true love...

However Ranulf has underestimated Miss Armitage's stubborn resolve to clear his name, and in so doing places the woman he loves in mortal danger.

My Thoughts: Grace Elliot has a gift for telling a story though she sometimes has trouble with language. Her descriptions and her story progression are not cliched or expected. The love story itself is sweet, and both Ranulf and Celeste are intriguing characters. Celeste sees herself as a fiercely independent woman. She prefers being a governess to being married, and beingcontrolled by a man she doesn’t love. That is until she meets Lord Ranulf Charing, seemingly a rogue, with the worst of reputations. Ranulf is handsome, sexy, a rake, in some ways a cold man. Yet, he believes in familial duty,even though he also believes his mother does not love him, and that his recently deceased older brother was his mother's favorite. He has no interest in marriage either and is content to let the title pass to another relative.


What follows is full of twists and turns as Celeste and Ranulf grow closer while Ranulf deals with being blackmailed over his late brother's debts. Elliot shows us Celeste's and Ranulf's growing feelings for each other and their internal struggles to reconcile that with their respective desires to stay single and their individual dreams. We see Celeste and Ranulf, but especially Ranulf, change and grow. Elliot takes her time, building events carefully.

However,other characters don't stay true to themselves: Ranulf's mother, Lady Cadnum, and a soldier, Captain Harry Engerfield, who's part of the blackmail scheme. They are portrayed as one way, then abruptly change midway through the story. Engerfield's was particularly frustrating as his personality change plays a major role in the latter part of the story, and the ending. After so carefully showing us Ranulf and Celeste's emotional changes, it was so disappointing that she failed to do so with Engerfield and Lady Cadnum.

What really killed the story for me was the actual writing. I seriously questioned, at one point, if English was her native language (according to her website she was born and raised in the UK so presumably it is). I could have forgiven a lot if that were the case. The writing quality veers wildly from descriptive and emotive to WTF? There are numerous wrong word choices, including this one: "With a horrible sinking sensation, she caste around the room." Or "He caste a disapproving glance at dishevelled Ranulf." Yet, there are times when she uses the correct word, cast, appropriately. (and yes, that is the spelling she used for disheveled, not a typo on my part.) That is not the only wrong word choice, there are others. There are also numerous run on sentences and sentence fragments. My favorite sentence fragment would have to be this one: "Indeed, there were sparse bookshelves, furnished mainly with arm chairs, sofas and card tables." Now that's quite an image. Are we talking about dollhouse furniture? Or did she forget (I'm assuming "yes") the correct antecedent and she really meant that the library mentioned in the preceding (correctly formed) sentence was sparsely furnished?

There are too many examples, I could give many more. There were so many in fact, that I found myself proofreading and copy-editing as I read, instead of reading the story. I was tempted to email her and offer my services as copy-editor and proofreader for her next book. I did actually email her and ask if perhaps she had sent me the wrong PDF, a draft instead of the final product. She responded that it was possible but didn't offer to send me the correct PDF. Therefore, based on what I received and read, I give the actual love story 3.5 stars but the writing only 1 star. BTW, I looked on Amazon and goodreads, and none of the reviews I skimmed mentioned the typos, misspellings, etc so perhaps it was the copy that I received.

Overall, the story itself is good but the writing has tremendous room for improvement.

Review of Westward, Yo! by J.A. Campbell

Publisher: Echelon Press

Release Date: March 8, 2011

More Info: Amazon

Series: #1 of Into The West; also part of Echelon's Electric Shorts Series

Book Blurb:

Tina Harker is a typical teenager. She loves hanging with her friends at the malls, shoes, and manicures. More than that, she loves horses. Life is everything she wants it to be, until her father packs their family up and drags them across the world to Arizona. Does he really think she'll be happy living in a ghost town in the middle of the desert? It's a million miles to the nearest shopping center, not even a real mall. Her only hope for survival is finding a new horse.

Trying to make the best of her horrible situation, Tina agrees to go on her first cattle drive. When one of the calves wanders off, Tina, in true cowgirl fashion and looking for excitement, rides off to rescue the poor little thing and gets a lot more adventure than she ever expected. A cowboy she's never met accuses her of stealing cows, bandits kidnap her, and that's not even the exciting part.

My Thoughts:


JA Campbell was a guest here on her release day for this story, talking about the new series. I was intrigued by the concept of the digital short stories to lure in new readers and wanted to give her story a try. And I am a sucker for horses. My sister and I had a horse when we were teens and I grew up reading horse stories. 
 
This was a quick, enjoyable read that kept me engaged. I'm looking forward to the rest of her shorts (#2, Range Feud, is already on my Kindle) that will be released (and she has a novel later this summer).  I was a bit skeptical about the wild-wild-west theme, mainly because it's not what I typically read, but I was happily surprised.I grew up in a smallish town so I could still feel for Tina's predicament as she adjusted.

 It's not a long read, but there's lots going on and it's a nice mix of  the predictable and the unpredictable. Campbell blends teen angst (but not too much!), western life and a hint of the supernatural and successfully pulls the reader into the story and keeps the momentum going. She doesn't forget the characters though and I look forward to seeing more of them.


Will teens and young readers enjoy this story? I think so. Tina and her BFF Jessica feel real, Campbell is respectful and doesn't talk down to her readers and the story is fun and interesting.

Review of The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

Publisher: Gallery

Release Date: April 12, 2011

More Info: Amazon

Book Blurb:

After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning (“do no let her…”) before vanishing like steam from a cooling dish.

A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda”) insists on selling their parents’ house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents’ belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.

My Thoughts:

After her parents' sudden death, Ginny is on her own for the first time in her life. She's always been quirky and different, to the frustration of her quite dominating sister, Amanda. Ginny, though she doesn't know it when the story begins, has Aspergers, a chronic cognitive condition of the autism spectrum. Amanda insists on selling their parents house, where Ginny has always lived, and having Ginny move in with her, even though Ginny prefers staying in the only home that she's ever known. Amanda doesn't believe that Ginny can function on her own and often treats her as lesser and imcompetent. She doesn't ask Ginny when making decisiosn about her life,  nor does she listen when Ginny talks, but just assumes that Ginny will do what she wants. Frustrated with the fact that Amanda won't listen to her, Ginny cooks, almost obsessively. During one cooking binge, she receives a ghostly visitation from her late grandmother, whom she called Nonna. Nonna imparts a vague message and dissappears.

Struggling with her new life and full of questions after Nonna's mysterious visit, Ginny continues cooking, using recipes from her mother and father, which allow her to speak with their ghosts. As she cooks, and summons ghosts, she also begins making changes in her life, making connections as best she's able, and learning more about herself and her family in the process. She and her sister even develop a better understanding of each other and make some progress in healing the hurts they've inflicted on each other.

McHenry did an excellent job of capturing the essence of Asperger's Syndrome, including the reality that it's a spectrum and it manifests differently in peoples in  (that's also one of the challenges in diagnosing it). Ginny knows she's different, and has developed coping mechanisms, some more successful than others. Since the story was told from her point of view, we spend time in her head and get to see how the world looks to someone who's not "normal". It was an eye opener at times. In her eyes, she was normal, her quirks are just part of her personality. She didn't think that she needed fixing and it makes you think about our view of people who are different, in any fashion. What is normal? What is different? Who decides? Does it truly matter? Is it easier to label someone than to put the effort in and help them function to the best of their ability? What do we lose by insisting that people conform to a societal norm? Do we gain anything by doing that? As a preschool teacher who has taught children with autism and with Asperger's, as well as dealing with parents on the autism spectrum, it's something that  I think about often. More and more people have autism and it's a challenge, both cognitively and socially. It can be disabling but doesn't have to be. Ginny had difficulty functioning at times; not all of her coping mechanisms were successful, but she didn't think of herself as "different" or defective, she was simply Ginny.

I have recently read a slew of books about people who are different, including several with autistic characters, and this was by far the best. McHenry writes respectfully of what it's like to be autistic while spinning a tale that captures you and holds you until the end. It's a book that, I believe, you will find something new to ponder everytime you read it. "The Kitchen Daughter" is a fascinating and engaging story and one that I expect will stay with me for a long time.
This hardcover was received from the publisher for review.

Guest Review of Glimpses by Lynn Flewelling

Publisher: CreateSpace and Morrigan Press

Release Date: September 19, 2010

Series: A stand alone anthology within the Nightrunner series.

Today we have a guest review. This has been on my TBR pile for a while so when Line expressed interest in the story, I offered her my review copy in exchange for a review. I've known her for several years, we met at Kelley Armstrong's board and then I lured her to Patricia Briggs's board. :)

Line:


Who am I and how did I come to write this at Bea's Book Nook? To answer the last one first: she asked, and she is good at asking.

Who am I? I am a woman approaching my fourth decade, I live in Norway and I have a passion for reading. I read all kinds of fiction but fantasy and speculative fiction takes up most of my reading time. I work in geriatrics and reading is entertainment and escape and sometimes a tool for dealing with the difficult questions in life.

LineJ


Book Blurb:

Lynn Flewelling's Glimpses explores “lost” moments from her popular Nightrunner Series, events alluded to or passed over – Alec's parents and childhood, Seregil's early liaisons in Skala, Seregil and Alec's first night as lovers, how Seregil and Micum Cavish met. Each story offers a new perspective on events readers have speculated about for years.

For new readers, it offers an introduction to the characters Romantic Times calls "two of the
most memorable heroes in fantasy." Professional and amateur art provided by Flewelling's fans accompany Glimpses' stories, as she honors the dedication and devotion her fans have given her over the years.

My Thoughts: 

This is truly a collection for the fans and lovers of this series. I really liked the idea of illustrating
with works of fan art and I was not disappointed. Some of the artwork was absolutely stunning and
the illustrations really enhanced the reading experience, despite the fact that the first time I read this
I had only a review PDF that Bea was kind enough to let me have (NOTE: After I badgered her she agreed to review it for me) after I whined about not being able to get the book here, and the pictures in that was naturally not full size files.(I have since acquired the book)

Although I liked all the stories and enjoyed myself reading them, I am not so sure this would be the
case for someone not familiar with he characters and the world, there is a lot of presupposed
knowledge needed to follow most of the stories I think. I feel that without having read the
Nightrunner Series I would not really be able to follow all of the stories very well, and some of the
episodes would not make any real sense. By The River for instance, without knowing of the later
relationship between Micum and Seregil this would seem like a very strange somewhat unfinished
kind of story to put into an anthology but having read the novels it was a fun bit of background.

Of the four short stories,the one I liked best was The Wild, this tells a complete story and could
stand alone very well without the background from the previous novels, even if knowing what happens later to Alec gives an extra dimension to it.

Over all I enjoyed this very much but I would not recommend it as a starting point for the series.
This is treats and goodies for the fans and readers. If you haven't read the series before I think the
best starting point is absolutely the first book in the series: "Luck In the Shadows".

This PDF was received from the publisher for review