Bea Reviews Blood World by Chris Mooney

Publisher: Berkley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

A drug that makes the blood of carriers a fountain of youth, a psychopath who doesn't care how many bodies he leaves in his wake, and an LAPD detective hopelessly compromised by a dark secret. Together, they're an explosive mix that's going to shatter the city of Los Angeles into a million corpuscles.

The most valuable commodity on earth is the blood of "carriers." These young people hold within them a virtual fountain of youth. Those with the right genes produce blood that, when treated with a new wonder drug, cures disease, increases power, and makes the recipient a virtual superman.

It also makes the carriers targets. Blood farms filled with kidnapped children spring up around the country, and Los Angeles is at the center of this blood-dealing world. The police are overwhelmed.

Ellie Batista became an LAPD officer specifically to fight this evil as a member of the Blood Squad, but she has been consistently denied a transfer to the prestigious unit--until the day she and her partner are ambushed during a routine stop. The resulting events plunge her into an undercover world more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

A madman has found a way to increase the potency of the blood to levels previously unimagined. As he cuts a bloody swath through the already deadly world of blood cartels, Ellie is the only hope to stop him before the body count rises.

Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: No Stone Unturned by Andrea Kane

Series: Forensic Instincts #8
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Bonnie Meadow Publishing LLC
Source: pr firm in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Release Date: March 17th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

WHAT IF YOU FOUND YOUR FRIEND DEAD AND FEARED YOU'D BE NEXT?

Jewelry designer Fiona McKay is working on her latest collection of Celtic-inspired jewelry. She's excited by the possibilities uncovered by Rose Flaherty, the antiquities dealer helping her research the heirloom tapestries inspiring her new collection. So when Rose calls to tell her she has answers, Fiona hurries to meet her. But her artistic world is shattered when she finds the lifeless body of the elderly woman.

Why would anyone kill such a harmless person? And what if Fiona had arrived just a few minutes earlier? Would she have been killed as well? Unnerved, she heads for her brother's Brooklyn apartment seeking advice and comfort.

Ryan McKay, Forensic Instincts' technology wiz is not amused by his little sister interrupting his evening with his girlfriend and co-worker, Claire Hedgleigh. But when Ryan and Claire hear the details of Rose's murder, they fear that Fiona could be next, and quickly assume the role of her protectors. What they're unaware of is how many people are desperately seeking the information now buried along with Rose.

A former IRA sniper. A traitorous killer who worked for the British. Two vicious adversaries taking their epic battle to America. A secret Irish hoard as the grand prize in a winner takes all fight to the death.

As the story woven into the tapestries passed down from McKay mother to daughter unravels, Forensic Instincts realizes that Fiona and her family are in grave danger. Together, the team must stay one step ahead of two rival assassins or risk Fiona's life and the McKay family tree. 

Bea Reviews A Covert Affair and An Uncommon Honeymoon by Susan Mann

Series: Librarian and the Spy Escapade #2
Publisher: Zebra Shout
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 29th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

910.4 TRAVEL, adventurous
306.7 ROMANCE, secret
341.5 HOSTAGES, saving

A CIA librarian and her handsome spy boyfriend find themselves in the middle of an international incident when the Indian ambassador is kidnapped from a Library of Congress event.
Agent-in-training Quinn Ellington and James Bond Anderson travel to India, where the key to saving the ambassador is tangled up with a long-lost sacred library, a desecrated temple, and some very modern machinations. At least their cover as blissful newlyweds isn t too hard to pull off . . .
1. Spies sexy. 2. India intrigue. 3. Terrorism foiling. 4. Best friends weddings of. 5. Series The Librarian and the Spy.
I. Ellington, Quinn."

Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Wolf Hunger by Paige Tyler

Series: SWAT #7
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 5th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |Google | IndieBound
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from the publisher:

She’s all the wolf he’ll ever need

When SWAT Officer Max Lowry meets Lana Mason, he falls fast and hard. He’s positive she’s The One. And Max’s favorite part? Lana’s a wolf shifter too, so they can skip the awkward reveal and head straight to the happily ever after. There’s just one problem: Lana doesn’t know that she’s a werewolf.

To make matters worse, hunters with intent to kill have tracked Lana to Dallas. Max has to figure out how to keep Lana safe, show her who and what she really is—and just how much she means to him.

Bea Reviews Lure of Oblivion by Suzanne Wright

Series: The Mercury Pack #3
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 21st, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Gwen Miller may be a human, but she has no problem taking a stand against her own kind. She’s going to testify against the teenage boy she saw viciously assault a lone shifter female—and no amount of pressure from the boy’s wealthy family will make her back down. But when the harassment turns violent, help comes in the form of a lean, toned wolf with winter-gray eyes.

As a guest at Gwen’s inn, shifter enforcer Zander Devlin can’t help but notice that the fierce and leggy brunette is in serious trouble. Since she’s putting herself at risk for one of his kind, keeping her safe is the least he can do. That’s not the only reason Zander wants her close. He desires her, even as the wolf inside him backs away from her. But his feral instincts are hard to keep down, and as they take shape, they’re harder for Gwen to resist. Then again, embracing them could be the only thing that could save her life.

An Excerpt from Run to Ground by Katie Ruggle, A Free Book & A Giveaway!

Have you missed Katie Ruggle’s Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue crew? It's one of my faves.


Well, you’re in luck because Katie just released a FREE epilogue novella, After the End, that features all of your favorites! You can download it for free at most online retailers.

Dual Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Cold Reign by Faith Hunter

Publisher: Ace
Series: Jane Yellowrock #11
Format Read: Steph - Paperback; Bea - eGalley
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | IndieBound | Kobo | GooglePlay | Audible | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker…and the woman rogue vampires fear most.

Jane walks softly and carries a big stake to keep the peace in New Orleans, all part of her job as official Enforcer to Leo Pellissier, Master of the City. But Leo's reign is being threatened by a visit from a delegation of ancient European vampires seeking to expand their dominions.

And there’s another danger to the city. When she hears reports of revenant vampires, loose in NOLA and out for blood, Jane goes to put them down—and discovers there’s something unusual about these revenants. They never should have risen.

Jane must test her strength against a deadly, unnatural magic beyond human understanding, and a ruthless cadre of near-immortals whose thirst for power knows no bounds…

Bea Reviews Wolf Unleashed by Paige Tyler

Series: SWAT #5
Publisher: Sourcebook Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 6th, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iBooks* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Wolf shifter Alex Trevino has fallen hard for veterinarian Lacey Barton. Getting her to agree to a date is a lot of work—and winning her heart proves even harder.

Lacey can’t deny her crazy attraction to Alex, but she has no intention of letting herself fall for him. In her less than stellar experience, men don’t stick around.

When Lacey’s sister is kidnapped, it’s up to Alex to crack the case—and prove to Lacey that he isn’t going anywhere.

Mini Reviews: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman & From A High Tower by Mercedes Lackey

Series: The Invisible Library #1
Publisher: Roc
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit*  | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author.
 
One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction...

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen.

London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself.

Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself...

FEATURING BONUS MATERIAL: including an interview with the author, a legend from the Library, and more!

Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: To Love A Wolf by Paige Tyler

Werewolves. Romance. Suspense. Military men. Hot, sexy men. Are you ready for the next installment in Paige Tyler'sSWAT series? There's an excerpt and a giveaway so grab a cool drink, get comfy, and enjoy!

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. Paige writes books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines they fall in love with. She lives with her very own military hero (a.k.a. her husband) and their adorable dog on the beautiful Florida coast. Visit http://paigetylertheauthor.com/.

Bea Reviews A Man Worth Fighting For by Sara Daniel

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Series: Wiccan Haus #2
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 14, 2015 
Buying Links: Amazon*  | ARe*  | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

He has nothing left to offer. She's determined to show him how much he's worth.

Shot by a member of his elite military team, Justin Lawson goes into hiding, cutting all ties with his girlfriend to keep her safe from the traitor who’s hunting him down. With his body shattered, he no longer has anything to offer her anyway.

Holly Walters refuses to accept her boyfriend’s out-of-the-blue rejection without an explanation. Intent on seeking closure, she tracks him to the Wiccan Haus. Once there, she is drawn to help him heal his broken body and spirit, even though she knows she has to let him go.

The rogue assassin catches up to them, but this time Holly is in his crosshairs. Before Justin can make her believe he’s a man worth fighting for, they’ll have to fight for both their lives.

Bea Reviews The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Publisher: Gallery Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Challenges: NetGalley and Edelweiss ARCs  | What An Animal
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit*  | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.

They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.

Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.

Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.

The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.

Of course it can’t…

GET READY FOR ACTION ON A GIGANTIC SCALE.

Meet Robin Darrow from M.L. Buchman's "Firehawks" & A Giveaway

Today I have a guest post from author M.L. Buchman as he celebrates his new release, "Hot Point". He introduces us to one of the characters and there's even a giveaway! Make yourselves comfortable, ignore the dust bunnies, shove aside the cats, and enjoy!

M. L. Buchman has over 35 novels and an ever-expanding flock of short stories in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year,” Booklist “Top 10 of the Year,” and RT “Top 10 Romantic Suspense of the Year.” In addition to romantic suspense, he also writes contemporaries, thrillers, and fantasy and science fiction.

Bea Reviews Finding Sheba by H.B. Moore

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Omar Zagouri Thriller #1
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository*  | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

For centuries, historians have speculated that the Queen of Sheba is nothing more than a seductive legend; but when undercover agent Omar Zagouri finds a tomb in a tunnel beneath Jerusalem, he unearths cryptic clues that may lead to the queen’s final resting place.

This discovery, if authentic, could throw into question the governmental claim to the Holy Land—and prove the Bible false. Wealthy collectors, ruthless archaeologists, and officials from Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, and Yemen scramble to find and lay claim to the secret site.

Dr. Richard Lyon of Brown University, the world’s leading expert on the queen, is found murdered in his office, setting off a chain of deadly events. Omar desperately works to piece together the puzzle to locate the queen’s burial ground, fearing another assassination will take place. He teams up with one of Lyon’s protégées as well as with his ex-girlfriend, agent Mia Golding, in order to unravel the truth about the queen, expose a murderer, and reveal a timeless story of love, revenge, and sacrifice.

Steph Reviews Escape Through the Wilderness by Gary Rodriguez

Publisher: Tate Publishing
Format Read: Paperback
Source: the author/pr firm/publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Challenges:
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

What was that?" Savi whispered anxiously. "It couldn't be Vexel, could it?" Again, they heard more rustling in the woods, they knew it was getting closer.

Sixteen-year-old Savannah Evans walks with a slight limp thanks to a gymnastics, accident that dashed her Olympic dreams, but didn't stop her from attending an adventure camp in Idaho. At Camp Arrowhead, she quickly befriends Jade Chang and Rico Cruz, but Conner Swift taunts Savi because of her injury.

When the four are teamed together for an overnight white-water river rafting adventure, Savi refuses to get in the same raft with Conner. Unfortunately, the director will not reassign her.

A fun expedition down the river turns into a nightmare when their raft slams into a huge rock and their adult guide disappears down the river.

Without their guide and desperately trying to steer an out-of-control raft, they pass the "last chance" marker and enter the larger rapids. With Jade pinned between the raft and a rock, and Rico clinging to a lifeline, Savi must cut the raft free.

When the four drag themselves out of the river, they're bruised, beaten, lost, and twenty-five miles from camp. Because of late-night campfire tales of Vexel, a vicious animal that roams the nearby woods, Savi and the others are terrified.

Savi becomes the unlikely leader who tries to guide the group back to Camp Arrowhead. Limited supplies, injuries, and the constant threat of Vexel, who Savi fears is stalking them, complicate the harrowing return trip.

Readers will enjoy dramatic survival scenes and the group working together, solving problems, and learning to overcome adversity.

Bea Reviews Hungry Like the Wolf by Paige Tyler

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Format Read: egalley
Series: SWAT #1
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The Dallas SWAT team is hiding one helluva secret . . . they're a pack of wolf shifters.

The team of elite sharpshooters is ultra-secretive—and also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn't sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They must be hiding something . . . and she's determined to find out what.

Keeping Mac at a distance proves impossible for SWAT team commander Gage Dixon. She's smart, sexy, and makes him feel alive for the first time in years. But she's getting dangerously close to the truth—and perilously close to his heart... 

The Friday 56 #38 The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join in the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm reading an action adventure, "The Hunt for Atlantis", by Andy McDermott. The quote is from page 56 in the large print hardcover.

Living in New York, Nina was no stranger to threatening-looking characters, but there was something about this one that made her nervous. She looked up the street at the approaching traffic, but kept the man in the corner of her vision.

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway of Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble |  iTunes | Kobo
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

The Friday 56 #11 The Last Savanna by Mike Bond

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

I'm reading a new thriller, "The Last Savanna" by Mike Bond for a blog tour review in a few weeks. This quote is from 56% in the eGalley.

"Same rifle, bwana. 7.62mm Czechoslovakian, used by Ethiopian Army." "So where are they now?" "Ethiopia, maybe, on their way across to Somalia."

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Writing a Series vs. a Stand Alone: A Guest Post by Stefan Kanfer & A Giveaway

As a reader you may have a preference for whether you read books that are part of a series or strictly stand-alone or maybe, like myself, you enjoy both. Have you ever wondered about the writer's opinion, why he or she chooses one format over the other. Today action/adventure author Stefan Kanfer is here to talk about his thoughts on the subject and how he decides. 

Stefan Kanfer is the author of fifteen books, including the bestselling biographies of show business icons: GROUCHO; BALL OF FIRE (Lucille Ball); SOMEBODY (Marlon Brando); and TOUGH WITHOUT A GUN (Humphrey Bogart). He has also written many social histories, among them THE LAST EMPIRE, about the De Beers diamond company, and STARDUST LOST, an account of the rise and fall of the Yiddish Theater in New York.

Kanfer also wrote two novels about World War II and served as the only journalist on the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. He was the first by-lined cinema critic for Time magazine, where he worked as writer and editor for more than two decades. He has been given many writing awards and was named a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library. He lives in New York where he serves as a columnist for the City Journal of the Manhattan Institute.

Find Stefan online:
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