BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Showing posts with label Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge. Show all posts

Friday, January 3, 2014

Review of Lust for Life by Jeri Smith-Ready

Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: WVMP Radio #4
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble

Blurb from goodreads:

Former con artist Ciara Griffin hopes to settle into a normal un-life as a fledgling vampire, with the help of her fiance, grunge DJ/guitarist Shane McAllister. But when the WVMP station crew reports that hippie vampire DJ Jim has murdered a pair of humans - humans who happen to share Ciara's last name - that's when trouble rolls out the red carpet. To redeem her past and pay back her most wounded victim, Ciara plans one final triple-crossing con game - with her own "miracle blood" as the bait. And as Ciara clings to what's left of her humanity, she'll need her new vampire strength - and old con artist cunning - now more than ever.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 and December Challenge Wrap Up

Can you believe 2013 is over? Yikes. I succeeded in all of my challenges though a few I just squeaked by.  How did you do? I signed up for even more challenges for next year, eep. "Challenge" is definitely the word for 2014. :D

 Book Chick City's 100 Books in 2013

For this challenge, I didn't count any children's books, unless it was YA or MG, nor did I count books that I edited. I also did goodreads' reading challenge and I counted everything for that one, but didn't track here on the blog. :D (I made it but just barely.)

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Review of Blood Trade by Faith Hunter

Publisher: Roc Fantasy
Series: Jane Yellowrock #6
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line... 

The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.

But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.

Review of Death's Rival by Faith Hunter

Publisher: Roc Fantasy
Series: Jane Yellowrock #5
Format Read: Paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…

For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey.

Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Review of Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter

Publisher: ROC Fantasy
Series: Jane Yellowrock #4
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Review of Bring On the Night by Jeri Smith-Ready

Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: WVMP Radio #3
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: July 27, 2010
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

WHAT'S BLOOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock & Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor's degree!

But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps? Ciara's suspicions are confirmed when she's assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control's oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed skeptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious fatal virus spreads through Sherwood;and corpses begin to rise from their graves;Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Review of Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson

Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #6
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

After her werewolf boyfriend, Johnny, tried to kill her, Persephone Alcmedi finds herself in the comforting arms of powerful vampire Menessos. She’s trying to sort out her feelings for the two men, but not even Seph is above the confusion of tangled emotions. All Johnny wants to do is mend their relationship and reveal the life-altering news he’s recently received, but his new responsibilities as the werewolf king take up most of his time.

Does this mean Menessos can finally make his move?

Meanwhile, unknown to Seph, her beloved foster daughter, Beverley, has been playing with a magical artifact and making dubious friends on the other side. When Beverley disappears, Seph must seek help from a supernatural being so potent that even Menessos fears him...and such aid always comes with a very steep price.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Review of Wicked Circle by Linda Robertson

Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #5
Format Read: paperback
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 27, 2011
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The fifth in the exciting urban fantasy series featuring Persephone Alcmedi, a modern-day witch with a sexy werewolf boyfriend.  

Persephone Alcmedi has helped her waerewolf lover Johnny unlock his powers. Now she must come to the aid of Menessos, the vampire overlord she has secretly marked. Beset by a trio of truth-seeking vampire sisters so dangerous their own kind keep them confined in stone, he now needs her more than ever...and she realizes her need for him. Seph has magical promises to fulfill for the waeres, multiple mundane family challenges to meet, vampire politics to confront, both the supernatural males in her life to balance, a dragon to deal with...and then a government investigator shows up to complicate matters. 


Sunday, December 1, 2013

November Challenges Wrap Up Post

I'll put up a wrap up post every month or early the next month for all of my 2013 reading challenges. Some books, I posted reviews on the blog, some are on goodreads, there may be one or two without reviews, especially books I edit or that are put out by my publisher.

This month I have 2 additional challenges to include, Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge and Clean Out Your E-Reader Challenge. Better Late Than Never runs October through December and Clean Out Your E-Reader was for November only.

Book Chick City's 100 Books in 2013

For this challenge, I am not counting any children's books, unless it's YA or MG, nor am I counting books that I edit. I am also doing goodreads' reading challenge and I'm counting everything for that one, but not tracking here on the blog. :D

1) Thrown by Collette Auclair
2) Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle
3) Happily Ever Afterlife by J.A. Campbell, et al
4) Thursday Morning Breakast (and Murder) Club by Liz Stauffer
5) Roman Holiday 1: Chained by Ruthie Knox
6) Echo Prophecy by Lindsay Fairleigh
7) Worth Waiting For by Ann Corbett
8) A Steamy Holiday Romance by M.L. Young
9) Kissing Under the Mistletoe: A Sullivan Christmas by Bella Andre
10) The Final Cut by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison
11) Alien Days by Abby McGovern
12) Taken by the Minotaur by Abby McGovern
13) All I Want for Christmas Is A Duke by Maire Claremont and Delilah Marvelle
14) A Cajun Werewolf Christmas by Selena Blake
15) The Lola Cruz Christmas Story by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
16) One Foot in the Grave - A Holiday Short Short Story by J. Steven York
17) Maddie's Choice by Joyce Zeller


Total to date: 137!   

Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge 2013 - Goal 13 or more

1) Thursday Morning Breakast (and Murder) Club by Liz Stauffer
 
Total to date: 15 


2013 Ebook Challenge - Original Goal 25 - New Goal 75, Next Goal - 100

1) Infamous Reign by Steve McHugh (I did the copy edits on this)
2) Thrown by Collette Auclair
3) Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle
4) Happily Ever Afterlife by J.A. Campbell, et al
5) Thursday Morning Breakast (and Murder) Club by Liz Stauffer
6) Roman Holiday 1: Chained by Ruthie Knox
7) Echo Prophecy by Lindsay Fairleigh
8) Worth Waiting For by Ann Corbett
9) A Steamy Holiday Romance by M.L. Young
10) Kissing Under the Mistletoe: A Sullivan Christmas by Bella Andre
11) Alien Days by Abby McGovern
12) Taken by the Minotaur by Abby McGovern 
13) All I Want for Christmas Is A Duke by Maire Claremont and Delilah Marvelle
14) A Cajun Werewolf Christmas by Selena Blake
15) The Lola Cruz Christmas Story by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
16) One Foot in the Grave - A Holiday Short Short Story by J. Steven York
17) Maddie's Choice by Joyce Zeller
 
Total to date: 94 I'm almost at 100. I can do this!

Just For Fun Reading Challenge 2013 - Goal 1 A Month   

1) The Final Cut by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison

Total to date: 11 (I have more for the year but for the challenge we can only count one per month.)


Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon - My original goal was 5 then I changed it to 7

1) Worth Waiting For by Ann Corbett
2) A Steamy Holiday Romance by M.L. Young
3) Kissing Under the Mistletoe: A Sullivan Christmas by Bella Andre
4) All I Want for Christmas Is A Duke by Maire Claremont and Delilah Marvelle
5) A Cajun Werewolf Christmas by Selena Blake
6) The Lola Cruz Christmas Story by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
7) One Foot in the Grave - A Holiday Short Short Story by J. Steven York

Goal: 7 :)

Better Late Than Never ARC Challenge - Goal as many as I can :D 

1) Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle

 Total to date: 2 So far I suck but at least it's 2 more off my pile. :)

Clean Out Your E-Reader Challenge - My goal was 10

1) Worth Waiting For by Ann Corbett
2) A Steamy Holiday Romance by M.L. Young
3) Kissing Under the Mistletoe: A Sullivan Christmas by Bella Andre
4) All I Want for Christmas Is A Duke by Maire Claremont and Delilah Marvelle
5) A Cajun Werewolf Christmas by Selena Blake
6) The Lola Cruz Christmas Story by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
7) One Foot in the Grave - A Holiday Short Short Story by J. Steven York
8) Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle
9) Maddie's Choice by Joyce Zeller
10) Happily Ever Afterlife by J.A. Campbell, et al
11) Thursday Morning Breakast (and Murder) Club by Liz Stauffer
12) Echo Prophecy by Lindsay Fairleigh
 
Total: 12! Success :)
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Saturday, November 30, 2013

Review of Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Format Read: eGalley
Source: from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: July 23, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Lucretia’s best friend and upstairs neighbor Sunny—a sweet pitbull of a kid, even as she struggles with a mysterious illness—has gone missing. The only way to get her back is for Lucretia to climb the rickety fire escape of their Queens tenement and crawl through the window of apartment 6D, portal to a vast shadowland of missing kids ruled by a nightmarish family of mutants whose designs on the children are unknown. Her search for Sunny takes Lucretia through a dark fantasyland where she finds lush forests growing from concrete, pigeon-winged rodents, and haunted playgrounds. Her quest ultimately forces her to confront the most frightening specter of all: losing, forever, the thing you love the most.

Lucretia and the Kroons is a dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and a moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss. This all-new novella serves as the perfect companion piece to The Devil in Silver, a thrillingly suspenseful work of literary horror that continues the story of Lucretia.

Bea's Thoughts:

The story starts off slowly, laying the foundation. We meet Lucretia, Loochie, her family, and her ailing friend Sunny. Loochie is twelve and anxious to be older; she worries that she's not developing as quickly as other girls in her class and she's worried about Sunny's health while at the same time in denial about it. I was expecting a dark fantasy/horror story but what I got was a contemporary dark fantasy with hints of "Alice in Wonderland" set in an inner-city. It's both gritty and horrific. The Kroons sound like an urban myth but they are all too real.

"Lucretia and the Kroons" is a horror story, a love story, a story of friendship, loyalty, hope, and death. A mix of the expected and the unexpected, it's a dark story; some children might find the material difficult to deal with but many young teens and tweens will be able to relate to Loochie and her life. A plus for me was that both Loochie and Sunny are people of color, not white, and yet that wasn't the point of the story, it was just part of who they were. I appreciate stories where there's diversity but it's just part of the story and isn't the point.

Trigger warnings- children dying and cancer.


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Audio Book Review of The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Series: Clifton Chronicles #2
Format Read: Kindle Audio Book
Narrators:  Alex Jennings, Emilia Fox
Source: from Audible in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Buying Links: Audible | Barnes & Noble |

Blurb from Audible:

On the heels of the international best seller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles…. 

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German Uboat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity. 

But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.

©2012 Jeffrey Archer (P)2012 Macmillan Audio