Bea Reviews The Gryphon's Lair by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Royal Guide to Monster Slaying #2
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes, but not recommended
Publisher: Puffin Canada
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 2nd, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The exciting follow-up book in the fantastical duology for ages 10-14 by NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.

Rowan is now the Royal Monster Hunter, and her twin brother, Rhydd, is destined to be king. But her mother's cousin Heward is still determined that his children be the ones to inherit the titles, and will stop at nothing to show that Rowan and Rhydd are too immature to properly lead. After the gryphon that Rowan captured in Book One gives birth but then dies, Rowan is left with a baby gryphon she knows she cannot keep. And it grows faster than anyone can imagine . . .

In order to save face after an accident involving the troublesome gryphon, Rowan, with the help of her friends Dain and Alianor, along with an entourage of monstrous companions, must make a journey to the mountains to release the gryphon back into the wild. What starts off as a simple enough task soon becomes a dangerous quest, as the group encounters numerous rare and deadly monsters along the way, including wyverns and ceffyl-dwrs. Nothing is easy when you're a "monster magnet" like Rowan.

Can she prove herself worthy of the title of Royal Monster Hunter? Find out in this exciting second book in the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying duology!

Bea Reviews Read To Your Toddler Every Day by Lucy Brownridge & Illustrated by Chloe Giordano

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date:
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  | iBooks* |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Science tells us that young children develop best when they are read to. In this follow-up to Read to Your Baby Every Day, soothe your toddler with retellings of traditional folk tales, fairy tales and fables from around the world paired with images of Chloe Giordano’s charming hand-embroidered illustrations on cloth.

Every tale is the perfect length to read aloud to your toddler before bedtime and carries a message of empathy, friendship and care for the world around us. Bond with your toddler and help them grow as you read to them these timeless stories:THE THREE WISHES, Scandinavia

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER, Ancient Rome

BRER RABBIT AND THE WELL, North America

HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL, Iroquois

THE MAGIC PEAR TREE, China

WHY THE BANANAS BELONG TO THE MONKEY, Brazil

THE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE, Syria

THE STONECUTTER, Japan

THE RAINBOW SERPENT, Indigenous Australia

THE CLEVER LITTLE TURTLE, Mexico

THE SCRUFFY DUCKLING, Denmark

THE LION AND THE THORN, Ancient Greece

ANANSI AND THE TURTLE, Caribbean

KING MIDAS, Ancient Greece

A BAG FULL OF STORIES, Cambodia

THE MICE AND THE ELEPHANTS, India

SNOWFLAKE, THE SNOW CHILD, Russia

WHY CATS CHASE MICE, Nigeria

HOW THE WREN BECAME KING OF THE BIRDS, Ireland

THE FEAST, Mali

WIN A Signed Paperback of STORM CROSSED by Dani Harper!

Last month Steph and I reviewed Storm Crossed, the newest novel in Dani Harper's PNR Grim series. We both enjoyed it and you can check out our review here. Today Dani is giving away three signed paperbacks of Storm Crossed and a surprise bookbag to put it in!

Bea Reviews The Myth Manifestation by Lisa Shearin

Series: The SPI Files #5
Publisher: NLA Digital LLC
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 16th, 2018 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  | Google | iBooks* | Kobo
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The agents of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI) protect people from predatory supernaturals. This time, we’re the ones who need protection.  

New York is one of the most popular convention destinations in the world—for humans and supernaturals. Every hundred years, rulers of the world’s supernatural races come together to negotiate and renew a peace treaty. Meeting in the same hotel are the governors of our world’s goblin and elf colonies. SPI is saddled with the security nightmare of keeping the living delegates alive and the undead delegates from becoming permanently deceased. We’ve got our work cut out for us.

I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI. Our security nightmare becomes real when monsters from the delegates’ mythologies begin mysteriously appearing in the flesh to hunt delegates from every side of the debate. And when the hotel gets sucked into another dimension, there’s no escape.

We discover that we’re all pieces in an elaborate and deadly game. A game about to spill out into the real world. Failing to escape is game over and not an option. We have to save the world—but first, we have to save ourselves.

Bea & Steph Review Storm Crossed by Dani Harper

Series: Grim #4
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 9th, 2018 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository* |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The latest stand-alone novel in Dani Harper’s Grim Series will delight old and new fans alike, transporting them to the ancient fae realm beneath the modern human world, where magic rules and menace abounds…

Heir to a noble fae house, Trahern is forced to watch helplessly as his twin brother is cruelly changed into a grim—a death dog—as punishment for falling in love with the wrong person. Trahern doesn’t believe love exists, but he will do anything to keep his brother alive—even join the Wild Hunt and ride the night skies of the human world.

Lissy Santiago-Callahan believes in love but has no time for it. She’s busy juggling her career as an academic and her home life as a single mom to a young son with Asperger’s. Her hectic life in sleepy eastern Washington is made even more chaotic with the sudden arrival of a demanding fae and his unusual “dog.”

Mortal and immortal have nothing in common, and the attraction between Lissy and Trahern surprises them both. But when their desire places Lissy and her child in the path of a deadly faery feud, will the connection last, or will their separate worlds prove too great a divide?

Bea Reviews Hermes: Tales of the Trickster by George O'Connor

Series: Olympians #10
Publisher: First Second
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Volume 10 of O'Connor's Olympians series delves into the myth of Hermes, the trickster god. From his infancy, when he bewitches animals and bends them to his will, to his adolescence and adulthood, Hermes' story is wildly entertaining as he brings a little bit of chaos to everything he touches or creates.

Bea Reviews Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Series: Rolling in the Deep #1
Publisher: Orbit
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 14th, 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:

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

Jax Reviews The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire with a Giveaway

Series: October Daye #11
Publisher: DAW
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 5th, 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:

For once, everything in October “Toby” Daye’s life seems to be going right. There have been no murders or declarations of war for her to deal with, and apart from the looming specter of her Fetch planning her bachelorette party, she’s had no real problems for days. Maybe things are getting better.

Maybe not.

Because suddenly Toby’s mother, Amandine the Liar, appears on her doorstep and demands that Toby find her missing sister, August. But August has been missing for over a hundred years and there are no leads to follow. And Toby really doesn’t owe her mother any favors.

Then Amandine starts taking hostages, and refusal ceases to be an option.

Bea Reviews The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire with an Excerpt

Series: October Daye #11
Publisher: DAW
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 5th, 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:

For once, everything in October “Toby” Daye’s life seems to be going right. There have been no murders or declarations of war for her to deal with, and apart from the looming specter of her Fetch planning her bachelorette party, she’s had no real problems for days. Maybe things are getting better.

Maybe not.

Because suddenly Toby’s mother, Amandine the Liar, appears on her doorstep and demands that Toby find her missing sister, August. But August has been missing for over a hundred years and there are no leads to follow. And Toby really doesn’t owe her mother any favors.

Then Amandine starts taking hostages, and refusal ceases to be an option.

Bea Reviews Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales about Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World, edited by Maria Tatar

Series: Penguin Classics
Publisher: Penguin
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: March 7th, 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:

Perhaps no fairy tale is as widely known as 'Beauty and the Beast' - and perhaps no fairy tale exists in as many variations. Nearly every culture tells the story in one fashion or another - such cultural phenomena as The Fault in Our Stars and Me Before You are recent examples - and it is impossible to find one version that laid the foundation for the rest. From Cupid and Psyche, India's Snake Bride to South Africa's 'Story of Five Heads', the partnering of beast and beauties has beguiled us for thousands of years.

In this fascinating volume preeminent fairy tale scholar Maria Tatar brings together tales from ancient times to the present and from a wide variety of cultures.

Bea and Jax Review Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire

Series: October Daye #10
Publisher: DAW
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 6th, 2016
Challenges: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
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:

Politics have never been October “Toby” Daye’s strong suit. When she traveled to the Kingdom of Silences to prevent them from going to war with her home, the Kingdom of the Mists, she wasn’t expecting to return with a cure for elf-shot and a whole new set of political headaches.

Now the events she unwittingly set in motion could change the balance of modern Faerie forever, and she has been ordered to appear before a historic convocation of monarchs, hosted by Queen Windermere in the Mists and overseen by the High King and Queen themselves.

Naturally, things have barely gotten underway when the first dead body shows up. As the only changeling in attendance, Toby is already the target of suspicion and hostility. Now she needs to find a killer before they can strike again—and with the doors locked to keep the guilty from escaping, no one is safe.

As danger draws ever closer to her allies and the people she loves best, Toby will have to race against time to prevent the total political destabilization of the West Coast and to get the convocation back on track…and if she fails, the cure for elf-shot may be buried forever, along with the victims she was too slow to save.

Because there are worse fates than sleeping for a hundred years.

GIVEAWAY of Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Today is the release for the trade paperback of "Deceptions" by Kelley Armstrong. "Deceptions" is the third book in Armstrong's Cainsville series. Book four, "Betrayals", is out next month and I've pre-ordered it; I can hardly wait! I love this series, it's a wonderful blend of mystery, thriller, romance, and mythology. I reviewed "Deceptions" last year, see it here. Then hop down and enter the giveaway.

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets. 

Bea Reviews Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant

Publisher: Subterranean Press 
Source: the local library
Release Date: April 6, 2015
Challenges:
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Kobo  | iTunes* | Subterranean Press | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.

They didn't expect actual mermaids. They certainly didn't expect those mermaids to have teeth.

This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

Review & Giveaway: Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Dutton
Series: Cainsville #3
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Challenges: Finishing the Series
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:

Olivia Taylor Jones's life has exploded. She's discovered she is not only adopted, but her real parents are convicted serial killers. Fleeing the media frenzy, she took refuge in the oddly secluded town of Cainsville. She has since solved the town's mysteries and finds herself not only the target of its secretive elders but also her stalker ex-fiancé.

Visions continue to haunt her: particularly a little blond girl in a green sundress who insists she has an important message for Olivia, one that may help her balance the light and darkness within herself. Death stalks both Olivia and the two men most important to her, as she desperately searches to understand whether ancient scripts are dictating the triangle that connects them. Will darkness prevail, or does Olivia have the power to prevent a tragic fate?

Bea Reviews Pine and the Winter Sparrow by Alexis York Lumbard, Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal

Publisher: Wisdom Tales 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 1, 2015
Challenges: May 2015 Clean Sweep ARC Challenge | NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge | What An Animal
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Have you ever wondered why pine trees stay green all winter long and don t lose their leaves like other trees? According to an ancient legend attributed to the Cherokee Indians, it was a simple act of kindness towards an injured little bird that earned pine trees this very honor. Retold by award-winning author Alexis York Lumbard, this story invites readers to experience a world where trees and birds speak and interact with each other, and which shows us that no act of kindness and sharing goes unrewarded. Featuring beautiful paintings by multiple award-winning illustrator Beatriz Vidal, you will never look at pine trees in the same way again!" 

Cover for Thor's Serpents by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

WOOT! Quill & Quire, a Canadian site, has revealed the cover for the final book in the Blackwell Pages trilogy. Aimed at tweens, the series takes Norse mythology and brings it to the modern world. A group of young teens tries to prevent the end of the world.

I enjoyed the first two books, and can hardly wait for book three, "Thor's Serpents". It's not out until May of 2015, seven months away. :( But, we can enjoy the cover in the meantime ~

Bea Reviews Captured & Reckoning by S.J. Harper - 2 Books, 1 Review!

I am late posting my review for "Captured" which is a prequel to the first book in this series, "Cursed". When I was looking at the schedule for dates to post my review for it and for book two, "Reckoning", it occurred to me that I could combine them into one post. So I did. :D The first review is for "Captured" then directly beneath it is the review for "Reckoning". Want to check out my review of the first book, "Cursed"? Look here. I also have a Quote-Tastic post for "Reckoning" here.

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Series: Fallen Siren #0.5
Format Read: eGalley
Source: from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 10, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon*  | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Join FBI Agents Emma Monroe and Zack Armstrong.
She’s a Siren. He’s a Werewolf.
Their mission is redemption.

Emma Monroe is a Fallen Siren, cursed by the gods and banished to Earth for her failure to prevent the kidnapping of Persephone. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now she works for the FBI and is on temporary assignment in Charleston. Solving this next missing persons case could be the key to ending her ancient curse—unless the temptation that’s her new partner gets in the way.

Zack Armstrong is a Werewolf. Tall, dark, and dangerous, he currently works for one of the bureau’s elite Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams. In many respects the man is every bit as mysterious as his secret and perilous past. But there are two things he’s certain about, that he’s going to get his man and his woman.

When Zack finds himself suddenly shy a partner and a third child goes missing in Charleston, Emma goes from consultant to CARD team member in the space of a few hours. The abductions of the first two boys ended in murder, an outcome that neither Zack nor Emma can abide. As they race against time to track down the kidnapper and rescue the latest victim, they find themselves fighting something just as treacherous—a growing attraction that can’t be ignored or denied.

Quote-Tastic #55 Reckoning by S.J. Harper

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed you for one reason or another. Everyone's welcome to join in - authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and put up your post :) Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.  Quote-tastic is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.

This is from an urban fantasy mystery, "Reckoning", by S.J. Harper. It's the second book in the series. Emma and Zack are FBI partners and former lovers. In this scene, they're on their way to arm themselves for a rescue.

You can read my review of "Reckoning" here. 

"Betty?"
"Sweetest custom tactical you'll ever see."
"You named your rifle Betty?" I can't help myself, laughter breaks through my shell of anxiety and bubbles out. "Why do men insist on naming things-cars, guns, their junk?"
Zack shakes his head, "Couldn't tell you. Although. I can say that Mr. Peebles objects mightily to the term junk."
"Mr. Peebles?" Now I'm laughing so hard I can hardly breathe and can barely see. "Mr. Peebles?"
"I'm pretty sure laughing at a guy's...junk...constitutes harassment." He's grinning from ear to ear.
I try to catch my breath. As soon as can manage it it I say, "It's just 
I would have thought you'd pick something more, I don't know, manly-like Conan, Thor...Hugh Jackman."
"Wolverine? Seriously?"

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.

Group Review of Visions By Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Dutton
Series: Cainsville #2
Format Read: Hardcover
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

As #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new Cainsville series continues, Olivia’s power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her new hometown.

Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes.

Their success, however, is short-lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel’s past mistakes have come to light, creating a rift between the pair just when she needs his help the most.

Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia’s convinced it’s another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman went missing just days ago—the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has her new home played in this disturbing murder?

Olivia’s effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don’t want revealed.