ARC Review of "Tricks of the Trade" by Laura Anne Gilman

Publisher: Luna

Release Date: Nov. 29, 2011

 Series: #3 Paranormal Scene Investigations

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads): *Contains spoilers for the previous books*

WHEN MAGIC GOES WRONG, WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL? 

The name’s Torres, Bonnie Torres, and I’m a paranormal scene investigator—rooting out the truth about crimes of magic. It’s dangerous and boring and scary and fascinating. Though not everyone in the Cosa Nostradamus is happy we’re around, which can make things…tricky. 


Working two cases—looking into a murder for the NYPD, and a rich man’s break-in—should be well within our abilities. But when things start getting weird in the Electric Apple, Private Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigations is stretched to the limits, trying to keep one step ahead and out of trouble. Add in rumors of a powerful creature gunning for us and it’s not just our rep on the line this time—if we don’t solve this case, everyone will suffer.

Fortunately, around here, when the going gets weird, the weird hire us.

Teaser:

Don't look, it whispered. Go away.

I so very much dislike being manipulated. It wanted me to stay away? I'd touch it.

And yeah, I knew that was dumb. I wasn't going to mock horror-movie heroines anymore.

My Thoughts: *May contain spoilers for the previous books*

Although this book starts with two mysteries, it doesn't take long for the focus to shift to Bonnie and Venec. They are trying to deal with the Merge, each in their own ways. Bonnie, not surprisingly, favors denial; Venec is trying to control it. The Merge becomes critical to the storyline in this book and there's fallout for both Bonnie and Venec. I enjoyed seeing Bonnie and Venec deal with it and I really enjoyed that we get to spend more time in Venec's head, thus getting to know him better. I had some concerns about the Merge when it was first introduced, it has potential to be a very handy, catch all talent but Gilman isn't going that route. I'm still not convinced of Bonnie and Venec as a couple but I'm slowly warming up to it.

There's also a new pup, Lou. I was uncertain about her at first, she seemed unnecessary but Gilman proved me wrong. I could definitely get to like her. The pups have been a team now for about a year and they have really come together, they work well together professionally and personally:

If I let them, the team would ply me with drinks and do their best to console me on whatever they thought was wrong, distract me with bad jokes or horrible stories, maybe try to fix me up with someone they knew who would be perfect...and normally I'd let them, accepting their own odd ways of showing they cared. But suddenly, my skin was too raw, my nerves too exposed, and I just needed to be by myself.

 
The Roblin, a mischief imp, has come to town in the midst of their caseload. After playing tricks here and there around the city, he discovers the pups and zeroes in on several of them. At first, the pups are inclined to blow off The Roblin; he's annoying but doesn't seem to be a threat and no one is paying them to investigate or stop him. However, when he turns his attention to the pups, he begins to cause problems for them, both personally and professionally. Among other things, he gets Bonnie evicted from her apartment. While that's inconvenient, Bonnie had already discovered an apartment building that she really liked and where Wren Valere (from the Retrievers series,of which this series is a spin off) lives. Not all of The Roblin's mischief is so benign but neither was he quite the force of chaos that he was initially made out to be. To be honest, I thought that his trouble making reputation was overblown, but he does tie in to the overall storyline and helps move things along. I'd been waiting for the time lines between the two series to sync up more closely and I was very happy that we got to see Wren, however briefly. I also imagine that we'll see more of the unrest that occurs in the Retriever series. After all, that's prime breeding ground for the work that the pups do.

The Roblin is not the only new player in town. An Old One is around and involved in one of their cases. I like Gilman's use of fairy tales and fairy tale creatures. While she doesn't use any specific fairy tales in her books, she draws heavily from them for atmosphere, for ideas, and for beings. Her fey, or Fatae as she call them, are very much the fey from the old stories - tricky, sly, yet rule bound, generally not good or bad per se but different from humans in ways that we perceive as good and bad.

Gilman writes a tight story, though I would have liked to see a more definitive conclusion to the case that they are working for the NYPD.The case with the break-in was occasionally confusing as references were made to a woman who died and her son who was missing then suddenly they were both missing, no only one was missing. Gilman wasn't consistent in her descriptions of their statuses. In the end, the pups determined the actual status of both mother and son but in the meantime, there was a lot of confusion on the author's part about who was missing and who was dead. The other thing that bothered me, and it's a small niggle overall but it's one of my pet peeves, were the medical inaccuracies. There's a scene where a character is having what appears to be a seizure and a pup tries to insert their fingers in the patients mouth. Years ago, it was commonly believed that you should insert something in a seizing person's mouth to keep them from swallowing their tongue, but medical science debunked that a while ago and showed that doing so caused more harm than just leaving the mouth alone. Standard medical practice now calls for not doing anything with a seizing person's mouth, but you should turn them on their side, in case of vomiting. Something the pups failed to do. The other medical inaccuracy involved rabies shots. When a character is badly bitten by a dog, the doctors at the hospital immediately administer a rabies shot. Wrong. It's a series of shots and it is NOT routinely administered right away. First, they try to determine if the attacking animal had rabies, or if a domestic animal, has proof of a rabies vaccination. Then, the doctor and patient may start the series of shots for rabies, if there seems to be a need. Still, none of the inaccuracies affect the overall storyline; I just hate seeing inaccurate medical information, whether in a book or on screen.

Overall, it's a well done urban fantasy mystery, with good characterization, good writing, solid world building and fun, likable characters.

I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Review of "Franklin's Halloween" by Paulette Bourgeois, Illustrated by Brenda Clark

Publisher: Kids Can Press, Limited

Release Date: September 27th, 2011 (this is a re-release)

Buying Links: Amazon    Barnes & Noble

Book Blurb (from NetGalley):

Franklin is every young child's friend. Children instantly connect with the little turtle's sense of adventure and enjoy seeing him work through familiar dilemmas-fear of the dark, first-day-of-school jitters-in his own way. Franklin's books have made friends all over the world, selling more than 65 million copies in over 30 languages.

Paulette Bourgeois worked as an occupational therapist and a print and television journalist before she began writing for children. When Franklin in the Dark, was released in 1986, it became a bestseller-and the Franklin phenomenon was born. Paulette has gone on to write over 30 Franklin stories illustrated by Brenda Clark that have been published around the world. Although Paulette is best known for the Franklin books, she has also written other children's titles, including a number of non-fiction books and the award-winning picture book Oma's Quilt. Paulette lives in Toronto, Ontario.

 After graduating from the illustration program at Sheridan College, Brenda Clark worked as a freelance illustrator for children's magazines and books. When she was asked to illustrate Franklin in the Dark, Brenda researched turtles and other animals in order to give Franklin and his friends as many authentic details as possible. In addition to over 30 Franklin collaborations with Paulette Bourgeois, the duo created another picture-book classic, Big Sarah's Little Boots. Brenda Clark is also the illustrator of Sadie and the Snowman and the award-winning Little Fingerling. Brenda lives in Port Hope, Ontario. 

My Thoughts:

"Franklin's Halloween" talks about a Halloween party that Franklin attends with his friends. We see him considering what costume he should wear, he wants to win a prize in the costume contest and he doesn't want to duplicate what his friends are wearing. Once at the party, he tries to guess which of the costumed party-goers are his friends. There's a brief little mystery about Bear and a ghost costume, older children and adults will figure it out quickly.

The story is simple and cute, not very complex, but most young kids will be able to relate to it. The art is clean lined, simple, bright, with just enough detail for younger readers. Older toddlers and preschoolers will likely enjoy this story.

I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Review of "Afterlife" by Claudia Gray

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: March 8, 2011

Series: #4 Evernight

Buying Links:  Amazon      The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads): *Contains spoilers for the previous books*

Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.

Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

Teaser:


They were here because they'd learned to look past their old prejudices and fears and see each other for who they were. Maxie's willingness to engage again with the living world, the vampires' acceptance of wraiths and humans as their equals and allies, Lucas taking what was good from his Black Cross training and leaving behind what was bad, Vic's ability to deal with the supernatural world as easily as the natural one- that was what bonded us now.

My Thoughts: *May contain spoilers for the previous books and this book*

It was a full year and then some between reading the prior book, "Hourglass" and reading this book, so at first when I picked up the book, there were some things that I didn't recall or recalled only vaguely. The book started off sluggishly but before long I was sucked in.

The worst has happened and now both Lucas and Bianca are various degrees of dead. They get no time to deal with their respective deaths as they need to deal with their new states of being, and quickly. Lucas is caught up in blood lust and Bianca and his friends determine that Evernight Academy is the best place for him. Yes, he has to return to the school that he infiltrated for the purpose of killing vampires, and now he is a vampire. But the academy has a policy of sanctuary for any vampire who requests it and the headmistress, Mrs Bethany, welcomes him back. The vampire population is less forgiving and there are several who go out of their way to torment him and to raise his blood lust.

There's a lot of angst in this book, so much so that I came close to throwing the kindle across the room a time or two. Yeah, they're dead and yeah they were betrayed and hard choices had to be made but there's one train of thought by Bianca that turns into an ongoing refrain; Bianca thought it to herself five or six times by the time I was 30% into the book.

Oh, sure, I mused. NOW you're thoughtful. Why weren't you thinking ahead when Lucas needed it the most? Balthazar had brought Lucas into the fight with Charity knowing that Lucas wasn't himself - something I still hadn't gotten past. 

Eventually Bianca and Balthazar work it out but we endure many repetitions of this thought pattern before they do. Other angst includes Lucas' agony at being a vampire, his mothers' rejection, and learning to control the blood hunger; Balthazar's pain at his sister's behavior; Bianca's mourning for her family, who are alive but she believes they will hate her for being a wraith; and so on and so on.  While I did get tired of all the angst, it was organic to the story, it wasn't forced and never felt like it was just a plot device.

What I really liked were the interactions between the characters, the humor, and the world building. It's the fourth and final book of this series but Gray doesn't slack on the details or assume she's told us all we need to know. Bianca, who is basically a teenager, makes the common teen assumption that adults don't know everything and finds to her chagrin that some of her questions could have been answered by the adults in her life, if she had just asked. Bianca and Lucas, but especially Bianca, do a lot of emotional growing in this book. The story wraps up all of the major plotlines but there are a few minor loose ends. There is a spin off series featuring Balthazar, so Gray may pick up those loose threads in the new series.

"Afterlife" is a good ending to the series and despite my occasional frustrations with it, I was hooked right to the very end. There were a few twists and turns, humor, action, romance, character development and engaging characters and even an HEA.

Some favorite quotes:

"They won't see me. I may be dead, but I can still shop." She perked up. "ooooh, we need T-shirts saying that."

 "Welcome to death," Ranulf said cheerily. "It is not so bad once you get what is called the 'hang of it.' " (I like Ranulf. He seems so stuffy and old fashioned but he's got a dry sense of humor and is very loyal, and open minded.)

 Vic gave me an uneven smile. "All my best friends are dead people. Someday I've got to figure out how that happened."

I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Review of "A Vampire for Christmas" by Laurie London, Michele Hauf, Caridad Pineiro & Alexis Morgan

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from NetGalley):

’Tis the season…for these darkly sexy tales. 

All they want for Christmas is you…
It’s the time of year for twinkling lights on trees and kisses under the mistletoe. Yet the passing of another year means nothing to the stunning immortals who lurk in the shadows of the new-fallen snow. 

And they don’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice.
Let four fanged lovers open your eyes to a passion you never dared to imagine. After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays—and these dazzling vampires can’t wait for an invitation.

My Thoughts:
 

It took me a long time to read this anthology, it just didn't hold my interest and I kept putting it down to read other books. I re-scheduled the review about three times. As I was reading it, Edyn from Reader's Edyn, kept cheering me on. So, in addition to my review below, here's a link to her, much more detailed, review on her blog, so you can get a comprehensive overview of the book.

I hadn't read any of these authors before though I do have books by Hauf and London on my Kindle, waiting to be read. After reading the stories, I'm not in any rush to pick up those books and read them. :(

As I've done with other anthologies I've reviewed, I have a short summary review of each one and a quote to whet your appetite or to illustrate a point from my summary.The book has a loose theme of love with a vampire at Christmas and all of the stories deliver that. The overall quality of the writing in the stories was mediocre. The one really good story was the last one, "All I Want for Christmas" by Alexis Morgan. I'll be looking for more by her.

Enchanted by Blood by Laurie London 

This is part of her "Sweetblood" series. I had little trouble reading it despite not having read the other books. The novella was long and not a lot happened. I really, really disliked the whole amnesia plot device. 

Quote:   
"What the hell are you still doing here?" Her jaw dropped as if he had slapped her. "You told me to wait, didn't you?" "And you always do what a stranger tells you?" Things would have been so much easier if she had left. He didn't want to deal with her. He just wanted to forget her. Why did I ask her to wait?

Monsters Don't Do Christmas by Michele Hauf

Book Blurb from author website:  

Sexy singer, Olivia isn't at all frightened by the vampire she finds fending off werewolves outside her door. Why should she be? She's just as much a monster as he is. Daniel Harrison hasn't been vampire long, but the monster he is does not do Christmas. That doesn't keep him from trying to rescue another who could transform before the full moon—but can he do it and win Olivia's heart with but a flash of fang and his desire for her to 'sway with him'?

It started off promisingly, and I liked both Olivia and Daniel, but I never bought into Olivia's monstrousness. I get the premise behind it, it just never rang true for me. I also got tired of the constant angst, the story was too short to support it.

Quote:His hands slid around her back and down to cup her derriere through the body-clinging red silk. The hardness of him crushed against her hip, pleading her surrender, and she tilted her head, allowing him to kiss from her neck down to her breasts.

When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Pineiro

Pineiro takes the Dickens device of Christmas Past, Present and Future and adds vampires and angels into the mix. I liked the premise and the world was intriguing. It feels like part of a series but was easily readable; I looked on her website for series info but couldn't find any. What didn't work for me was the disconnect between what we see (and are told) about Damien and Angelina's love and history at the beginning and what we see and are told later. Damien and Angelina were both pleasant characters and I liked the world building but again, the actual writing was lacking and cliched.I also didn't like the message that it was better to allow yourself to be killed than to defend yourself.

Quote: "Take me," she pleaded, her own body waiting for his full possession. Waiting for the
 bite that would feed his demon body the way their loving was nourishing their souls.


All I Want for Christmas by Alexis Morgan

I liked this one a lot. It wasn't perfect - the ending was rushed, the mystery was light, and Della was a bit too unquestioning of the bond between her and Eagan, but overall, well written. Good writing, likable characters, action, humor and hot sex scenes. More please!

Quote: Okay, she got it. The man didn't want her gratitude or a fuss made over what he'd done. That didn't make him any less of a hero in her eyes. She'd honor his desire for privacy, but maybe he'd at least accept a refill on his coffee instead.



I received this eARC from NetGalley.

Review & Giveaway of "Sins of the Angels" by Linda Poitevin

Publisher: Ace Urban Fantasy

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Series: #1 The Grigori Legacy


Buying Links:  Amazon      The Book Depository


Book Blurb (from goodreads):

A detective with a secret lineage. An undercover Hunter with a bullet-proof soul. And a world made to pay for the sins of an angel…
Homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis answers to no one. Especially not to the new partner assigned to her in the middle of a gruesome serial killer case—a partner who is obstructive, irritatingly magnetic, and arrogant as hell. 

Aramael is a Power--a hunter of the Fallen Angels.  A millennium ago, he sentenced his own brother to eternal exile for crimes against humanity. Now his brother is back and wreaking murderous havoc in the mortal realm. To find him, Aramael must play second to a human police officer who wants nothing to do with him and whose very bloodline threatens both his mission and his soul.

Now, faced with a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse, Alex and Aramael have no choice but to join forces, because only together can they stop the end of days.


Teaser:

Alex was silent for so long he thought she wouldn't answer; swallowed so often he found himself watching the movement of her slender throat in fascination. Then her shoulders lifted in a quick shrug. The shrug of a child trying to pretend that life had no impact on her; of an adult denying the child had ever existed.

Aramael waited. If she chose not to answer, he'd leave it alone, he told himself. He had his hands more than full already. He didn't need to take on the role of psychologist as well, and chances were he'd just foul things up further for her if he tried. His kind weren't well-known for their temperate approach.

My Thoughts:

I liked this book but didn't love it. I enjoy urban fantasy and I enjoy mysteries but this one never quite jelled with me. The female protagonist, Alex, is a  homicide detective with a horrific trauma in her past that naturally ties into the ongoing murder investigation that is the focus of the book. The male protagonist, Aramael, is a Power, an angel who hunts Fallen Ones, fallen angels. The bad guy, Caim, is a fallen angel with a personal connection to Aramael. God is referred to as One by the angels, and oh, she's a woman. That worked for my feminist, slightly pagan, self. Poitevin takes Christian theology and angelic mythology and gives it her own spin. She has information on angels and what changes she made on her site for readers who are interested.

The book is marketed as an urban fantasy but Poitevein refers to it as a paranormal suspense, a phrase I like very much. Let's face it, a lot of urban fantasy books have a mystery or criminal investigation at the heart of their stories. There is also a romantic subplot whose effects reverberate throughout the story and into book two but it's not the main focus. The romance does use one of my least favorite tropes, that of soulmates, but Poitevin tweaks it, allows for free will, and destiny doesn't rule all. Speaking of free will, that's a concept that comes up again and again in the story and Poitevin actually makes Heaven seem, to me, not all that attractive. The angels, and Heaven, are highly bureauacratic, which seems hellish to me. :D

There are are a few cliches: the beautiful female detective whom our hero, well, heroine, dislikes and who makes poor choices and is portrayed as slightly slutty; the gruff boss, who can be a hard-ass but has a soft side; the homicide detective (Alex) who is smart and capable but also emotionally damaged and a loner.

I occasionally got annoyed with the interactions between Alex and Aramael - he's all arrogant and distant, and hates who and what she is; she's all annoyed and uppity, then they touch and there's instant electricity but they both back away, then one of them thaws and tries to be nice, but the other doesn't respond and they start all over again. It got old. But, Aramael is an angel, they don't act or feel the way we do and for most of the book, Alex doesn't know what Aramael is. That sets up some of the conflict.

What I really enjoyed were the glimpses into Heaven - the bureaucracy, the secrets, the plotting and planning, the relationships, etc. The investigation into the serial killings and the hunt for Caim, the Fallen One, was a little slow at times but it was humorous to watch Aramael, in his guise as detective Jacob Trent, try to actually be a detective. A ten year old who watches tv knows more than he does. Overall, it works. It's a decent start to a new series and I will definitely read the next one when it comes out.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and a paperback from the publisher.

Are you intrigued? Want to get your hands on it? Penguin has generously offered two copies to be given away. Read on for the details.

Review of "Ashfall" by Mike Mullin

Publisher: Tanglewood Press

Release Date: October 11, 2011

Series: #1 in Ashfall series

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Teaser: "Yeah...no." My sorrow dissolved in a wave of pure fury. What kind of place was this, where tens of thousands of people were herded together without adequate shelter, without decent latrines? A cattle pen, not fit for humans. And the guards, Captain Jameson, they were people just like me. For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own.


My Thoughts: Mike Mullin, as you can see from the teaser above, pulls no punches. This is a dystopian novel and he really makes you feel it. At the beginning of the book, Alex lives a quiet life - he lives in a house in a small town in Iowa with his parents and sister, he attends public school, and enjoys computer games. The most exciting thing he does is take taekwondo classes. He's taken them for years and enjoys them, and at not quite sixteen he's earned a black belt. Then a volcano in Yellowstone Park blows and everything changes (BTW, the volcano is real, click here for more info). 

When the book starts, Alex is home alone. His parents and sister are away for the weekend, visiting his uncle Paul and his family in Illinois. Alex fought with his mother about going and was successful in his quest to stay home. That decision proves fateful. Alex is in his bedroom when there's an earthquake type rumble and the power goes out. That event is immediately followed by a cracking noise, the house falling, and his bedroom catching on fire. He manages to escape and takes refuge with some neighbors after his house burns down. He stays with them for several days and they learn that the supervolcano at Yellowstone blew and the affects are being felt all the way to the west coast in California and Oregon (click for a US map if you need a refresher or are unfamiliar with US geography).

For several days, the falling ash blocks the sun and the world is in near total darkness. The ash falls continually for about a week then falls more erratically after that. It's a rare day that goes by without ashfall. The fall has dumped from six inches to two feet, depending on location, topography, etc.The result is that crops have been buried, many killed off, the water supply in many areas is contaminated, power is out, phones are out, and there's little to no communication with the outside world. 

After a violent incident at the neighbor's house, Alex decides to find his family. He returns to the remains of his house, scrounges up supplies, and sets off to Illinois to find his family. Thus begins his trek. It's challenging, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The roads are covered, cars are buried in ash, many houses and buildings were destroyed in the eruption and people are terrified. Alex encounters people whose first reaction is to pull a shotgun and people who willingly share their home, water, and food. He also encounters people who, understandably, are inclined not to share but to hoard what they have for themselves. Alex himself discovers how far he is willing to go to save his supplies in an encounter with a little girl at shelter. Later, he redeems himself in a heartwrenching encounter with a mother and her young children. His companion, Darla, is more pragmatic and thinks his compassion will be the death of them. 

I rummaged through our pack. "What are you doing?" Darla whispered. "Making some dinner." "Alex, we should move on. Find another camp for tonight. We've helped them enough." ....."They don't have any food or water bottles. Who knows how long it's been since they've eaten." "And who knows how long 'til we'll eat again if you give away all our food." "I won't give it all away." "Where are we going to get more when we run out?" "I don't know.".....If all we did was what we should to survive, how were we any better than Target? I took out three water bottles and the frying pan....."She's right, you know. You don't owe us anything. You should keep your supplies."....."We might die because of all the stuff my stupid, softhearted boyfriend is leaving you. So don't you die, too.You take this stuff, and you keep yourself and your kids alive. You hear?" "I hear."

 Darla is not without compassion but she's eminently practical and a bit of a Darwinist. Alex is practical, resourceful and compassionate. He's willing to give people a chance but he's also capable and willing to defend both himself and what's his. Those taekwondo lessons he took come in very handy throughout the book.

 I loved this book and I don't love dystopian stories. I do like some forms of sci fi and I think this clearly falls in that category. Mullin did his research and it shows but at no time are we subjected to info dumps or long expository scenes that don't really quite fit into what's going on. He weaves it in so that we learn it as Alex learns it. The story is told in first person narrative and it works very well. We see through Alex's eyes and are in his head as he deals with surviving and finding his family. It happens to us, just as it happens to Alex. You feel like you're there.

Alex and Darla, a girl he meets on his trek who becomes his traveling companion, are very believable, and likable, teenagers. The adults are not all evil or nincompoops or incompetent but complex and detailed. We meet a wide range of characters and get a realistic look at how people react in a catastrophe. Mullin writes plainly and clearly, it's not fancy but it is very, very effective and he has a real knack for imagery. 

I remember a lot of those arguments. That Friday they only fueled my rage. Now they're little jewels of memory I hoard, hard and sharp under my skin. Now I'd sell my right arm to a cannibal to argue with Mom again,

 Long tendrils of flame licked into the attic above my sister's collapsed bedroom, cat tongues washing the rafters and underside of the roof decking with fire.

But unlike thunder, this didn't stop. It went on and on, machine-gun style, as if Zeus had loaded his bolts into an M60 with an inexhaustible ammo crate.

 "Ashfall" is powerful, emotional, thrilling, and it hooks you from the opening line. This book is pretty close to perfect - the pacing, the action, the characterization, the story line, the language, almost everything. The only thing I question is the depiction of the government and the military, it's pretty stereotypical. I'm curious to see what happens in the next book and how events play out about it, not just with the government and the military, but everything. If you like a strong, emotional story that will keep you reading until 3AM (I was so tired the next day but it was so worth it), go buy "Ashfall".

I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Giveaway & Review of "The Kingdom of Childhood" by Rebecca Coleman

Publisher: Mira

Release Date: September 10, 2011

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

The Kingdom of Childhood is the story of a boy and a woman; sixteen-year-old Zach Patterson, uprooted and struggling to reconcile his knowledge of his mother's sextramarital affair, and Judy McFarland, a kindergarten teacher watching her family unravel before her eyes. Thrown together to organize a fundraiser for their failing private school and bonded by loneliness, they begin an affair that at first thrills, then corrupts each of them. Judy sees in Zachthe elements of a young man she loved as a child, but what Zach does not realize is that their relationship is, for Judy, only the latest in a lifetime of disturbing secrets.

Rebecca Coleman's manuscript for The Kingdom of Childhood was a semifinalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. An emotionally tense, increasingly chilling work of fiction set in the controversial Waldorf school community, it is equal parts enchanting and unsettling and is sure to be a much discussed and much-debated novel.

Teaser: Dreams had this effect on me: I knew where they ended  and reality began, but they tended to bring ideas into an area where the circles overlapped, making the absurd seem more feasible.

My Thoughts:




When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued by the Waldorf school setting and appalled at the topic. Appalled because it's not an easy topic to think about or discuss, and because as a teacher, I take it personally when one abuses their power and their children's trust in such a manner, not because I thought it was inappropriate.  An adult female who has sex with a teenage boy is sometimes looked on as something to brag about, as somehow ok, even adult males who have sex with teenage girls is sometimes considered ok. But people overlook the fact that there's an inherent imbalance of power in such a relationship and if the adult is an authority figure, like Judy in the book, then the situation is worse. There are reasons for the legal concept of statuatory rape. I was intrigued by the setting because I teach pre-school. I had heard a little bit about our local Waldorf school but really knew nothing. Reading the book was a good opportunity to learn more. The school I teach at draws from Reggio Emilia, constructivism, emergent curriculum and Piaget for it's educational philosophy and curriculum.

So I approached this book with both curiousity for it's setting and trepidation for it's uncomfortable topic. It's a topic that is potentially explosive, and certainly controversial, and I hoped that Coleman would handle it with care and sensitivity. Happily, she tackles it realistically and in an unflinching manner; there's no sentimentalizing, and the book is a compulsive read. The characters are well-drawn, with both Judy and  Zach coming across as real and authentic. The characters aren't black and white, but realistic shades of gray. Each one is flawed in some way, each one has both dreams and baggage that simultaneously lead them forward and cripples them. Coleman explores complex ethical issues with a clear and unflinching eye. The reader is forced to look beyond their assumptions and biases and examine what is happening and how it happened. It's dark, intense, and makes you think.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints, shifting between Judy and Zach. There are also flashbacks to the year that Judy lived in Germany as a child, a year that had a dramatic and lasting impact on both her and her family. We also get flashbacks into Zach's life in New Hampshire, where they just recently moved from. Coleman takes the past and present and shows us how the events of the past lead to current events in our lives. We are shaped by our past, even when we don't realize it. There are quite a few layers to this story, and Coleman deftly manages them all.

Reading the book was similar to slowing down to watch a car crash - you have some idea of what you'll see, you know it's likely to be horrible or gruesome but you can't turn away, it's a compulsion that you can't resist. With all of the events that happen, especially towards the end of the book, the story could easily have veered into soap opera or talk show territory but Coleman avoids those traps and we get a hard hitting, painful, but exquisite look at the disintegration of a family, of a grown woman, of innocence and trust, and what it means to be a child.
One of Coleman's strengths in this story is her language and her way with words. Alternately dark, lyrical, intense, and stark, she paints vivid pictures in your mind:

Since my husband had exchanged his libido for entrance into his Ph.D. program three years before.....

I needed this weekend with Russ, if only to refocus my mind from the ever-growing list of men my subconscious was plundering.

But he felt compelled to support her anyway, based on a bit of wisdom taught to him by his dad: never side against a strong woman, because it never ends well.

Cats are the servants of the moon goddess. Only evil people can't tolerate them. It's like garlic and vampires. (I have a cat, and I enjoy vampire books, so this one made me smile.)

 Something inside my chest felt pinched, bunched up and tied with a tight string. I think it was the place in my heart where the joy of youth had once been: a phantom pain.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Courtesy of Meryl L Moss Media Relations, I have one print copy to give away to a US resident. The book will be mailed directly from them to the winner.

Review of Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Release Date: August 9, 2011

More Info:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):

Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter's face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation. 

Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he's definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she's attracted to him in a way she can't explain. 

Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister's wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she'll be called to testify. But they've been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence-or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie's shadow until the trial, and it isn't long before sparks fly.
 
My Thoughts:

"Ideal Man" is a pleasant, easy to read romantic suspense. It's heavier on the romance, since we know early on who the villains and we know that they will be trying to kill Ellie; the real questions are when and how they'll attack, and will they be caught first. Still, it's a quick, fun read, perfect for vacation or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

Ellie has had a challenging life, with being a childhood prodigy and the difficulties that that entails, being sent away when she was only twelve to keep her safe (I can't say more without giving too much away) and a broken engagement two years ago that has put a strain on her relationship with her sister Ava, as well as the whole family. Now, she's witnessed a murder and her life is in upheaval again. She copes fairly well, and is determined to keep her family in the dark for their own good. Ellie is compassionate, confident, loyal, smart, and tries to do the right thing. She's been hurt in the past and lets that hurt rule her. By the end though, she's managed to move on emotionally. At times, Ellie is too perfect, but overall she seems like she could easily be the girl next door.

Max is also good at his job, intimidating to look at, also loyal, devoted to his family, and has had his share of troubles (really though, who hasn't?). He has been after the Landrys for years and is determined that nothing will go wrong this time. He doesn't count on being attracted to the witness, Ellie.He's leaving as soon as this job is done so at first, they try to resist the attraction. Also, Max doesn't seem like Ellie's type at first or so she thinks

He was definitely out of her comfort zone. The man had so much testosterone, he made her nervous.

And,

An intimidating man who was built like a monument and could melt iron with his menacing glare - this was what she was attracted to?

 But, as they get to know each other, they build an emotional attraction to go with the physical attraction.

Max and Ellie make a likable pair, the plot holds together well, and it moves at a good pace. There are a few cliches and some unlikely coincidences but overall, a good story.It's worth a read and would also be worth re-reading.

I received an eGalley from NetGalley.

Review of Hunting Kat by PJ Schnyder

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: July 4th, 2011

More Info:  Amazon     All Romance  

Book Blurb:

As a mercenary, Kat Darah doesn't have to pass for a normal human. On the edge of the solar system, she's just another biped. Most of the time.

Nearing the end of his military tour, Lt. Christopher Rygard debates the idea of hanging up his uniform for good. Looking for answers at the bottom of a glass of scotch, he meets Kat. One shared night of mutual desire seems harmless. But when their tryst is interrupted by attackers hunting Rygard, Kat must reveal her other form, the predator beneath the human façade.

Together they embark on a dangerous mission—a race against time to meet the enemy's demands, while trying to deny the passion between them. Rygard is faced with a terrible choice in the face of duty: Report the existence of a human turned shape-shifter. Or forget he ever met her.

25,000 words

My Thoughts: 

As I re-read this story in preparation for the review, I shared passages and my thoughts on them on twitter and facebook (Kindle's share feature is AWESOME). As a result, several people are now intrigued and want to read it. :) Additionally, several of us agreed that Kat, the story's main character, is not alone in needing to improve her social skills. :D

This is one snippet that I shared and the resulting conversation:

• yep, her social skills definitely need work. lol

  
  

  Shared from a Personal Document

  kindle.amazon.com
  

  Lifting his drink, he nodded. “Mind if I buy you another?” Kaitlyn studied the man for a beat before the question popped out. “Why?”

  
  

  via Kindle

• • J  That sounds like an exchange I would have. But I never claimed to be socially savvy.
  • • B This character and I have similar social skills, sadly. However, I lack her kick ass fighting kills and her ability to change into a panther. :(

                         J    ‎*sigh* It's that whole transfiguration thing that stumps me every time.

                         B     Yeah, it's a puzzler alright.

                         L      lol. so whwich book is this Bea. You got me curious now.

                         B      LOL. It's "Hunting Kat" by PJ Schnyder. It's an e-book.

                         L      Thanks!


My point is, despite the fact that Kat is a were-panther and despite the science fiction setting, Kat is relatable and sympathetic. That doesn't always happen in urban fantasy or in sci fi. So, for me, that is a major strength of this story.

Kat underwent s series of harsh events three years ago and though she's physically recovered, her emotional recovery has been more difficult. She has learned, for the most part, to cope with what happened but still suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome. In an effort to help her with this, Dev, the captain of the mercenary ship she lives and works on, who is also her friend, and Skuld, the ship's engineer, arrange for her to be temporarily stranded on a space station. They've seen how far she has come emotionally and socially, and believe that she is ready for the next step - pleasant, normal interactions with males. I'm sure you see where this is going. Skuld hopes that Kat will get laid and fills Kat's duffle bag with one change of clothes and, to Kat's disgust and chagrin, a veritable rainbow of lacy undergarments.

Before Kat gets social, she meets up with Boggle, a information broker, who was acquainted with Kat years ago, though she doesn't recall it. Their initial meeting is bumpy but Boggle has a backbone and holds his own, which earns Kat's respect. He breaks the news to her that her shipmates and friends have left her on the station and the ship has left. Upset, Kat heads for the space station's bar.

There's a brawl in progress when she arrives; Kat plows through it, determined to have her drink. This captures the attention of Lieutenant Christopher Rygard, of the Terran military. He's there drinking and brooding, not really in the mood for company. He recently broke up with his girl friend and he's having second thoughts about re-enlisting in the military as he has moral problems with recent missions. Kat's fighting prowess, and her determination to reach her scotch, catch his eye and he starts chatting her up.

They hook up and Schnyder does a deft job of portraying the attraction between them, Kat's conflict between desire and fear, and Rygard's attempt to balance his desire and his compassion for her fear. They work past her fear and things go well. I'm dubious about how easily Kat orgasms, it's highly unlikely given her circumstances, but it's a minor quibble.

During the afterglow is when all heck breaks loose. Boggle had sent Kat a gift, which arrived while Kat and Rygard were together in her room. It included a communications jammer, to allow them privacy, and a background check on Rygard. Rygard sees the background check and takes it badly. He assumes that Kat requested it (she didn't) and that she's some sort of gold digger. He gets nasty, saying cruel things to her. I felt that this was a weak point in the story. We know that his last relationship didn't end well, that his ex lied to him and used him, but there simply wasn't enough groundwork laid for his behavior towards Kat to be believable. Additionally, we never get to know Rygard as well as we do Kat, he's less developed. He's likable, when he's not being unneccesarily cruel to Kat, but he could have been fleshed out more.

While Kat is reeling from Rygard's accusations, they are attacked by two humanoids and a jaguar. Kat's nose tells her that all of them are shifters. She shifts to her panther form, surprising Rygard, who was clueless about her dual identity. The strangers accuse Rygard of murder and kidnapping. After a brief battle between the jaguar and Kat , Kat finds herself volunteering to help Rygard rescue the kidnapped cubs and in return, the strangers won't kill him.

The rest of the story revolves around Kat and Rygard's rescue mission, with help from Boggle and her shipmates, who have returned to the space station. I won't say how that turns out but Schnyder is creative; she also has a good eye for details.

By the end of the story Kat and Rygard have resolved their disagreement and are friends again. The story doesn't have a typical HEA, more of what another reviewer called a "Happy For Now". If you like or need an HEA, you won't find it here. However, if Schnyder had gone that route, she would not have been true to the characters or the story. This ending is much more believable than an HEA that would have rung falsely and fit poorly.

"Hunting Kat" is an enjoyable blend of romance, urban fantasy and science fiction. Schnyder knows how to grab and hold the reader's attention. The opening line particularly grabs you:

“Give me back my bra, you little tube rat, or I’ll rip out your spine and steal your soul.”

Now, how can you resist? 

I received this eARC from NetGalley.

Review of Grave Sight Book One by Charlaine Harris & William Harms, art by Dennis Medri

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Release Date: June 14, 2011

Series: #1 of Grave Sight Graphic Novel Adaptation

More Info:  Amazon   The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Acclaimed New York Times Bestselling author Charlaine Harris, the writer of the Sookie Stackhouse series, has joined the Dynamite Entertainment family with the first book of her hit Harper Connelly series, Grave Sight. 

For the past five years, readers have been thrilled by the Harper Connelly series which follows a woman who has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living - but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother, Tolliver, as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent - even if the dead can wait forever.

At the age of 15, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning, an event that gave her the ability to find the dead and see how they died. Since then, Harper's scratched out a living selling her services to anyone with a checkbook. It's not the best life, but it beats the alternative - at least until Harper and her brother Tolliver roll into Sarne, Arkansas and find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery!

Paperback, 64 pages

My Thoughts:

I read the novel when it first came out but not since then. Despite that, the story came right back to me as I read the adaptation and so far, Harris and her co-writers have done an excellent job. The pace is good, the story flows and makes sense, and it stays true to the original in tone and substance while managing not to be cluttered up with extraneous details that fill out a text only book but clutter up a visual book. 

The story is not an easy one to adapt to a visual form, being primarily plot and character driven. There's not a lot of action, and much of the book's dialogue was kept. I didn't mind it but if you are used to action oriented graphic novels, you'll need to re-adjust your expectations.

Tolliver and Harper are step-siblings who live and work together, traveling around the country finding dead people for a living. Harper was hit by lightning as a teenager and ever since, she can find bodies and relive their last moments, seeing, feeling and hearing what they did as they died. It doesn’t bring her much comfort but since she’s drawn to dead bodies regardless of what she wants, she might as well put it to use. 

Understandably, people are distrustful or scared of her ability, even the ones who hire her.  We see her under attack, literally, by people who think she is evil or an agent of the devil; we also see her treated with suspicion and distrust by people who are sure she’s a con artist. Through it all, Harris balances showing us Harper’s reactions without manipulating our emotions. 

The story in Book One ends on a cliffhanger (unless you have read the original).I believe that there are two more installments planned.

The art is dark in tone and color but it perfectly suits the story and the lines are clean. I prefer a clean, non-cartoony style and I’m glad that the artists chose to use it. I think anything else would have undermined the story and detracted from it. Medri has a challenging job in showing us how Harper's ability works; it's not flashy or obvious. He opts for dream-style flashbacks; a few times the transition from present to "seeing" was not obvious but I imagine that might be true if such an ability actually existed.

You can easily read this if you have not read the original material and I recommend it. 

NOTE: There are at least two different covers for this edition. 

I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

NetGalley Month at Red House Books

One of the first connections I made when I started blogging and reviewing was NetGalley, an amazing on-line site that connects reviewers (including bloggers), teachers (raises hand again), and librarians with free digital ARC's of upcoming books from a large, and ever expanding, list of publishing houses.

Red House Books blog has declared July to be NetGalley month. The idea is to read as many NetGalley books in July as you can. That works for me as I'm behind on my NetGalley ARC's and had already arranged the blog calendar so that many of the reviews in July, August and September would be from my shamefully large TBR pile. I will read as many titles as I can this month, though the reviews may not appear for a month or two. I'm behind on many reviews, not just my NetGalley ones, and am using the summer to catch up.

NetGalley is working with RHB to set this up; there will be prizes, Tweet chats, etc. For more details, see the post here. on the Red House Books blog.

Review of Spiky, Slimy, Smooth: What Is Texture? by Jane Brocket

Publisher: Millbrook Press

Release date: April 28, 2011

More info: Amazon, The Book Depository

Book Blurb:

Soft, gooey, fluffy, prickly--textures are all around us. What clever words will you use to describe the textures pictured in this book? Jane Brocket's appealing photography and simple, whimsical text give a fresh approach to a topic all young children learn about.

My Thoughts:

This book discusses the rich variety of textures all around us in a fun, colorful, and joyful way. It perfectly combines text and photographs, they balance and complement each other. We are shown the pictures accompanied by simple words describing what that specific texture feels like. Texture is a very tricky subject to talk about sometimes. Words like smooth, hard, and soft are easy to come up with but more descriptive words are not as easily thought of and of course, texture involves touch, not just words.

The book itself has a lack of textures. I wish that some of the pages would have incorporated textures to extend the discussion and allow children to connect the physical texture with the words. I did love the vocabulary that described the textures. There are two or more words for each texture, which is excellent for vocabulary building. Since it is very vocabulary rich and the pictures are so eye-catching, I think the book works for infants up to kindergarten.

The photography is amazing, very crisp and clear, with clear, contrasting colors. The pictures really pop and will capture the attention of the children. As mentioned, after every picture, we're given a description of how the item feels. I really loved that the author did that because not all children are exposed to the things in the book. Some children grow up never knowing what snow feels like, so I appreciated how descriptive the author is. For the most part, it was easy to see the textures. A few of the pictures don't do a very accurate job of showing the texture being described, such as the butterfly page and the watermelon page. However, the book as a whole does a remarkable job and has a good range of textures. The book uses a mix of everyday objects and more unusual objects. I liked that balance and think that most kids could find some object that they were familiar with. They were also close up but you could still identify what it was.

At the end of the book the author challenges the readers to discover the textures of things around them and to creatively come up with words to describe them. This is a great activity to do at home or at school and I think most kids will enjoy the challenge.

This eARC was received from the publisher via NetGalley.

NOTE: This is a revised version of the review that originally appeared.

Review of Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm? by Perry Romanowski

Publisher: Harlequin


Release Date: February 15th, 2011

More info: Amazon

Book Blurb:

Why does my shampoo stop working? 
Are my cosmetics poisoning me?
What does hypoallergenic mean?
Are organic products better?

Every day thousands of people turn to the scientists at the popular blog TheBeautyBrains.com for answers to their most pressing beauty questions. In Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?* you'll learn how cosmetic products work, what advertising claims actually mean, and how to make smarter buying decisions.

You'll discover that:

• Salon products are not necessarily better than products you can buy in the store.
• Some of the most expensive cosmetics are made by the same companies that make the less expensive       brands, and often the same formulas are used in both.
• You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars to look and feel good.

You'll also find:

• 4 ways to tell if your cosmetic has expired
• 5 home beauty gadgets that really work
• 4 easy tips to longer, stronger nails
• and much, much more!

*You can! See chapter 6.

My Thoughts:

Here in the US, we use many, many personal care and body care products on a regular, even daily, basis. They have chemicals, some are practically nothing but chemicals. Companies have marketed all sorts of products: to stop sweat, to lessen wrinkles or dark spots, to clean our teeth, and to improve our appearance, or at least, our perception of our appearance. Most of us have contemplated whether those products will deliver what they promise or imply, and whether the more costly products are worth the extra expense.

"Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?" is an easy to read book that analyses and compares the ingredients in some of the currently popular beauty and hygiene products, comparing high-end products with their lower budget counterparts.You might actually be surprised by the results. The lower priced are often, but not always, as good as or better than the higher end items, and the book explains why, and what to look for in the labels. It also talks a bit about safety, in addition to value.

Some of the information does get a little technical, usually when Romanowski is answering a question (the book is written in a question and answer format, with the questions being taken from her website, "TheBeautyBrains.com") . Most of the book is written in an easy to understand style, but it’s not dumbed down. There’s also some myth-busting, including fragrances in skin products, getting rid of pimples and brushing your hair for 100 strokes.
 
If you’re looking for a book that tells you which brand or product to buy, this not the book for you; this gives you the information that you need so you can make informed decisions, but it also says, repeatedly, that if you like it, and can afford it, buy what you want. Romanowski doesn't tell us what to do, she presumes that we are intelligent enough to make our own decisions.

This book is a trendy, dated book in that it looks at popular products in use at the time it was written. It also addresses labeling laws and other regulatory matters pertaining to beauty and hygiene products here in the US. In a year or so, much of the book will be outdated. The chemistry likely won't change much but the products and ingredients probably will, at least somewhat, and the regulatory aspects probably will also.

I found the book to be an easy, fun to read (there were a few dry spots when it got extra-technical) that was informative and useful. The tone is that of a friend speaking to another friend, it never gets pompous or presumptuous. It was definitely worth reading.

This eARC was received from NetGalley.

Review of The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton

Publisher: Carina Press


Release Date: January 31, 2011

More info:  Amazon

Book Blurb: 


In a time of grand airships and steam-powered cars, the death of a penniless young maid will hardly make the front page. But part-time airship waitress and music hall dancer Julia Bairstow is shattered by her sister's murder. When Lady Law, the most notorious private detective in Britain, offers to investigate the case pro bono, Julia jumps at the chance—even against the a
...moreIn a time of grand airships and steam-powered cars, the death of a penniless young maid will hardly make the front page. But part-time airship waitress and music hall dancer Julia Bairstow is shattered by her sister's murder. When Lady Law, the most notorious private detective in Britain, offers to investigate the case pro bono, Julia jumps at the chance—even against the advice of Constable Al Grant, who takes her protection surprisingly to heart. 

Lady Law puts Scotland Yard to shame. She's apprehended Jack the Ripper and solved countless other cold-case crimes. No one knows how she does it, but it's brought her fortune, renown and even a title. But is she really what she claims to be—a genius at deducting? Or is Al right and she is not be trusted? 

Julia is determined to find out the truth, even if it means turning sleuth herself—and turning the tables on Lady Law...

My Thoughts: 

I have not read much steampunk but this one sounded intriguing, a mix of steampunk, mystery and romance by a new to me author. I like mixed genre stories, when done well. This one comes off okay but I think Appleton may have been overly ambitious. Though, I have to give him credit for trying and for taking chances.

There's action, steam powered weapons, giant artificial planets, steam powered automobiles, and lots of other technical gadgets that I couldn't quite figure out but I have never been a very technological person. The technical gadgets end up being essential to the story, which, since it's a steampunk, they should be. At first, they didn't seem necessary and I wondered why Appleton chose to make it steampunk but in the end it worked. The action scenes, though usually exciting, were hard for me to visualize with all of the technical things thrown in; trying to visualize it all was difficult for me. The story line was intriguing but I would have liked to have seen more character development. This might have worked better as a full length novel.


It's primarily a mystery with a side helping of romance. The romance, between Julia and Al Grant, the constable investigating her sister Georgy's murder, happens slowly. It starts with him providing comforting words and reassurance after Georgy's death and builds up as the investigation progresses. At first, Julia doesn't know whether or not to trust him. Neither she or her sister are of any importance socially  thus fall low in the priority list of the police yet he is dogged in pursuing the case, and she knows that he does not like Lady Law, who has offered her services, gratis. Grant is determined to investigate, but has been unsuccessful and Julia fears that his dislike of Lady Law is impeding his ability to accept help in the case. She is unaware, initially, that Grant and Law have a history. While I appreciated that Appleton didn't have Grant and Julia immediately jump all over each but let their attraction build over the course of the investigation, I do wish that he'd either spent more time on it or skipped it all together. At times, it feels as the romance was added purely to attract more female readers. I don't know that that's what happened but it felt that way to me.


Julia is willing to accept any help she can get, even though she wonders why Law is so willing to help. On the one hand she admires Law's independence and her ability to succeed in a man's world but she is also suspicious of Law's generous offer. She ends up accepting Law's help but has misgivings about the results. With Al's willing help, and that of semi-retired adventurer Sir Horace Holly, who also has an interest in the investigation into Georgy's death, they unearth Lady Law's secrets and find out the truth about Georgy's death.

The story gets a bit convoluted and there are some deus ex machina moments, but it's a fairly quick read and both Grant and Julia are likable, as is Sir Holly.



**This review has been edited and revised from the original version that appeared on this blog**


This eARC was received from.NetGalley.

Review: Winter Wishes by Vivi Andrews, Vivian Arend & Moira Rogers

Book Blurb: A Twist on Tradition

A woman has the Christmas Eve from Hell. Two cat shifters play naughty games. And a witch brings out the beast inside the man. The magic of the season takes on a whole new meaning in these three fantastic—and festive—novellas from some of the best voices in paranormal romance.

Anthology includes:  Tangled Tinsel by Vivian Arend
                                   No Angel by Vivi Andrews
                                   Freeze Line by Moira Rogers

Stories also available for purchase separately.

My Thoughts:  The anthology has a very fluid theme of wishes made at the holidays. The fluidity allows for some flexibility in how the stories are handled. Two of the authors chose Christmas and one chose Solstice. Interestingly, in each story the male needs saving of some kind - emotional, physical, etc. In all of the stories, the characters undergo revelations and grow and change. That's a pretty neat trick for a novella.


Tangled Tinsel

Five miles of leather-clad leg is all it takes to lure Kyle Branegan out from his carefully hidden lifestyle as part of the Cougar Corp, a secret branch of the Shifter Enforcer League. He's hoping for a night of fun and frolic, cat-style, no strings attached. With a sultry swing of her hips, Eloise Scott tangles him up in her ball of tricks, and just when he thinks he's about to get lucky, she cuffs him--naked--to her bed.

An undercover cop in the human police force, El's been given a top-secret mission to keep the big cat under her paw until he's needed to testify in court in the New Year. Her decision to take him home for a quiet Christmas in her sleepy hometown turns out to be far more interesting than she expected. Her parents are suddenly rich, her old boyfriend is sniffing around and all six-feet-plus of sexy cougar male is sleeping in her bed.

And that's before they announce their fake engagement...
 
     This author was new to me. I had never heard of her before. The story felt to me like it was part of a series, set in an established world. I was sometimes lost trying to understand the world. According to her website it's a stand alone, with nothign to indicate that it fits into an existing world. So on the one hand, Arend did a good job of building the world to make it feel so real, but on the other hand, it left me, the reader, confused.

     The story starts very quickly with Kyle following El to a lingerie store after seeing her walk by him. There's a humorous bit involving him imitating a store clerk followed by a steamy make out scene in the store fitting room. They head back to some place a little more private, her place, where Kyle is completely surprised by what happens next.

     At times I found Kyle to be overbearing and condescending, traits that I don't care for in real life or fiction. At other times, he was kind and thoughtful. El is emotionally strong except when it comes to her family. She loves them at teh same time she doesn't understand them and avoids visiting.

     Together, Kyle and El help each other out and discover new things about each other and their families. Despite that, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Add that to my confusion about the world and it was my least favorite of the stories.

      This novella had the most explicit, and frequent, sexual scenes. (Not a bad thing, just FYI)
     
No Angel

When Sasha's boyfriend Jay is sucked through a fiery vortex to Hell, an angel reveals that she's been chosen as the Champion of Virtue in the battle for his immortal soul. As a perennial offender on Santa's naughty list, Sasha can't believe she's anyone's idea of a girl fighting on the side of the angels. But if she doesn't save Jay, he'll be stuck in Hell forever!

Jay aka Jevroth isn't surprised to find himself back in Hell. His visa to visit the mortal plane expired three months ago, but to steal more time with Sasha he's been ignoring his mother's demands to come home to meet his new stepfather: Lucifer.

Sasha has until dawn on the 25th of December to fight the Legions of Hell and rescue Jay, or be trapped there for eternity herself. But now she must decide if the lying, son-of-a-demon is even worth saving...

     I was hesitant about this story; angels and demons aren't my favorite supernatural beings and the premise seemed fake. To my surprise, I liked the story a lot. It has humor, tension, romance, a glimpse into Hollywood, and two very likable leads. The story flowed right along, never moving too fast or too slow and both Jay and Sasha feel like people you might know in your every day life. Now how many demons can you say that about? :D

     I really liked how both Jay and Sasha tried to be their "best" selves with each other, instead of their real selves. As a result, neither knows the other very well and when they go to Hell, the truth comes out. To the surprise of both of them, they like each other's real selves much better than who they pretended to be with each other. Andrews doesn't hit us over the head with the message but works it skillfully into the story.

     A surprise for me was how likable, and pleasant even, Satan was. Yes, he is The Prince of Lies, but he's also a guy dealing with a conniving wife and a reluctant stepson. Even demons have family problems. Andrews was a new-to-me author and after reading this story, I'll be looking for more by her.

     One fairly graphic sex scene towards the end.


Freeze Line

A twenty-first century ice age dulls the magic that emanates from the earth. Shane Sullivan is a lone wolf above the freeze line; He has no desire to join the packs that range closer to the border, where feral instincts can turn a man into a monster. Not until the winter solstice, when he stumbles across a dying witch who needs his help to get back to her people--and her magic--in the south.

Nadia is a powerful woman in her own world, but drained by her escape from captivity in a northern lab. She knows it's foolhardy to trust a werewolf, but he's her only chance to survive the vast white wilderness. The farther south they travel, the harder it is for Shane to keep the beast within under control, and as their mutual attraction intensifies, Nadia's no longer sure she wants him to.

     I had the pleasure, thanks to a friend and Twitter, of discovering the wonderful writing team who make up Moira Rogers just a few months ago. I'm also very fond of werewolves and witches, they are my favorite supernaturals, so I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this story. I did.:)

     Shane is a decent man dealing, the best way he can think of, with the changes in his life since becoming a werewolf. Nadia is a woman, a witch, just trying to survive. Together, they help each out, saving each other's lives and healing their emotional wounds.  I liked how Rogers didn't rush matters between them but let it build. Despite the fact that I am not a werewolf, nor, rumors to the contrary, a witch, I was able to connect with both Shane and Nadia. I cared about them and wanted to see what would happen.

     The world building in this one also felt like a pre-existing  world but not so much so that I was lost. As far as I can tell,  it's the only story in this world but I'd like to see more.

     Contains several sex scenes of varying graphicness. (I have to say, the Rogers team does an awesome job of writing sex scenes; they have become one of my favorites.)


     Overall, this is a solid anthology, with each story worth reading.


Publisher: Carina Press                                                  

Release Date: November 6, 2010

More info: goodreads

This book was received from NetGalley as an  eARC.