In My Mailbox #2

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren. It's a way to share and highlight all the books we receive, even if we don't review them. l share books that I buy, that I receive for review, get from the library, borrow from a friend, etc.

Kindle Freebies

                                                                         

NetGalley Titles for Review

 

I gobbled up "Defying Convention" immediately; it got off to a good start but then the story took some weird turns and the author had a tendency to tell, not show."The Eighty Dollar Champion" is about a show horse who was the ultimate, pardon the expression, underdog. I remember that there was a Disney movie about the horse when I was a little girl. I love horses so this was a must read for me. It has photographs so instead of downloading it to my Kindle, I downloaded it to to my laptop; with Adobe Digital Editions, I will be able to better enjoy the pictures.The others looked interesting and reviews will show up sooner or later on the blog.

Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

 

Vampires AND unicorns? How can a girl raised on mythology and an avid UF reader as an adult possibly resist? :P

Received for Review

 

Purchased

 

I don't like the cover for this Tempest book but I LOVE the series, so awesome. One of my hobbies is making my own soaps and bath items; some of the information in "The Natural Beauty & Bath Book" is flat out wrong but some of it is quite useful and the recipes range from easy to complicated. I got a bunch of books that I've never read before from one of my favorite online bookstores, PaperBackSwap: a Nora Roberts, 2 Star Trek books and a cozy mystery.The Nora Roberts book is an omnibus edition of three of her Silhouette stand alones. I'm a Trekkie from way back and I still have many of the books published in the 80's and 90's but these were two I never got.

Library Books

Davidson and Coulter are two reliable mystery authors that I enjoy; I put my name on the wait list at the library as soon as I hear about a new book. I have never read Yasmine Galenorn and this older book of hers blends the paranormal with the cozy mystery format so I thought I'd give it a try. I just recently discovered Hearne and really enjoyed his first book.

Books are my candy, I just can't say "no".  :D

Hurricane Irene and Me

As I type, Hurricane Irene is barreling up the East Coast of the US, moving from the Southern states up through New England, where I live. Right now, I just have rain, and it's not a hard rain. Sometime tonight the wind will pick up; depending on my news source, we could get gusts from 65 MPH up to 100MPH. I may lose internet (my neighbor has been letting me use his wifi connection) and will probably lose power. I have made preparations for my cat and I, and I feel reasonably confident that we will be ok.

However, depending on what happens, my planned reviews and posts for this upcoming week may be delayed. I apologize in advance and will get them up as soon as I reasonably can. It's also possible that the damage will be minor and everything goes up without a hitch. In the meantime, I am keeping both my cell phone, which is a smart phone, and my Kindle, fully charged. If I lose power or have to evacuate, I'll try to keep in touch on twitter and facebook via my cell.

Review of Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter

Publisher: Pocket Star

Release Date: August 23, 2011

Series: #6 in Alien Huntress

More Info:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):


New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter captivates with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, and a powerful AIR agent consumed by his desire for a woman he can never have. . .


With one caress, he can give unforgettable pleasure . . . or unending pain. . . .


Hector Dean is shaved, tattooed, and totally ripped—and he has a deadly secret. He is a walking weapon, capable of killing with a single brush of his fingertips. Little wonder he’s determined to remain on his own. But Noelle Tremain is a temptation like no other. She is beautiful and rich, with a party girl smile that hides a shocking vulnerability, and from the beginning his sizzling attraction to her is undeniable. For the first time, his stone-cold resistance is tested. But to be with her, he risks destroying her.

When a wealthy businessman is murdered in New Chicago’s seediest district, the two are partnered, and there’s no escaping what they both want: each other. Yet neither Hector nor Noelle knows what to fear more—the killer case, or their own lethal desires. . . .

My Thoughts:

This was my first Gena Showalter book. Although it is the sixth in this series, according to goodreads,  or maybe the ninth according to her website, I never felt lost and I had no trouble following the story. While there were many references to previous events and characters, it worked well as a standalone or as an introduction to the series. I am quite intrigued by Dallas, one of the AIR agents and the only friend that Hector has. Dallas's friend Devyn was also interesting. I'd like to read more about both of them. I actually liked them more than I did the book's lead characters, Hector and Noelle. 


Hector is your basic urban fantasy male - muscled, arrogant, a loner, a bad ass, short tempered, has no use for manners and had a horrible childhood. He came from poverty and even now earns a modest salary and lives modestly. He feels unworthy, on several levels, of being with Noelle. He feels like a freak because of his deadly ability and is worried about people finding out. He worries that people will want nothing to do with him and that government will capture him and make him their lab rat. Legitimate concerns, for sure.

Noelle comes from money and is used to having anything she wants, financially speaking. She's the family black sheep - treated like an irresponsible, useless airhead, she takes pride in living up to their expectations. But she's not as dumb or irresponsible (though she's definitely not a model of decorum or responsibility) as she likes to act and gets upset when people don't see through her act. Frankly, that got old in a hurry. I got tired very quickly of reading about how she's so much better than her family thinks she is and why can't they see past her act to the real, lovable Noelle. "Poor poor me, I'm so misunderstood." Uh huh, grow a pair and act like an adult. Then, if they still want nothing to do with you, walk away. But don't act like an airhead and then get all pouty because people treat you like an airhead. 


They circle around each other, flirt, smash teeth (I stopped counting after the 4th time Showalter described their kissing that way. Personally, I don't find smashing teeth while kissing to be sexy or hot.) Hector pushes her away numerous times but Noelle can be stubborn and she keeps coming back for more. When they finally have sex, more than halfway through the book, it is one of the sweetest, tenderest love scenes I've read. Which was a pleasant surprise after the teeth smashing and some WTF? lines. Showalter veers between crazy, stupid or cheesy lines and dialogue and witty, funny, laugh out loud lines.

The story is long, well over 400 pages and could have easily been cut in half. It would have been a much better, more tightly written story if it had been cut. There's too much repetition and long stretches of nothing happening. It's a mix of science fiction, urban fantasy, romance and mystery and it works pretty well. That mix was what caught my attention and why I picked up the book in the first place.

This would be a book to borrow from a friend or get from the library.

I received this paperback from the publisher for review.

I'm Getting Excited About Banned Books Week.

Banned Book Week is a month away and I've been busy planning events for the week long celebration. The 8 day celebration and blog hop are going to be busy days here. I've lined up guest posts by authors and bloggers, there are a couple of reviews of banned or challenged books, and giveaways! The giveaways are a mix of book and gift cards; some are US only and others are international.

I've been pestering asking authors and publicists to participate and have gotten a very good response. Only one author so far has turned me down, I'm waiting to hear back from a few people and the following people have generously agreed to donate their time, banned or challenged books, or gift cards. In no particular order, participants currently confirmed are:

Authors

Kelley Armstrong
Angela Addams
D.B. Reynolds
J.A. Campbell
Morgan Ashbury
Nicole Peeler
Laura Anne Gilman
Kari Lee Townsend
Charlotte Bennardo
Keri Arthur
Mike Mullin
Linda Poitevin
Krista D Ball
Chris Redding

Bloggers

Drosdelnoch from The Falcata Times
Ceilidh from Book Lantern

Don't forget that you can get out and do your part too - attend meetings when a book is challenged at your local school or library, help organize or run a local event in honor of our right to choose our own reading material, donate time or money to organizations that support literacy and reading. Get involved, and don't forget to read!

Guest Review - Krista D Ball reviews Aspect Ratio by Frances Pauli

 Publisher: Mundania Press

Release Date: May 2011

Series: #2 of Shift Happens

More Info: Amazon     Smashwords

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):

Chloe Watson is just starting to get used to her inter-dimensionaly career, her covert relationship with the boss and her life as a cross dimensional traveler. Then a last minute promotion, a galaxy wide tournament and an unexpected stow-away manage to throw a wrench in her status quo. 

Now she's left to sort out a string of parallel abductions, deal with an infestation of Lemurian bedbugs and get her local pet store associate back home before the woman blows the whistle on everything Chloe had going for her. 

 Just for fun, her relationship starts looking more than a little rocky, her job is on the line and her boyfriend/boss is keeping secrets that could cost them both a lot more than just their salaries.

Author Krista D Ball offered a while back to do a guest review. It took some time to coordinate our schedules but here's her post, what I hope will be the first of many. 

A little information about Krista - she was born and raised in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, where she learned how to use a chainsaw, chop wood,and make raspberry jam. After obtaining a B.A. in British History from Mount Allison University, Krista moved to Edmonton, AB where she currently lives. Somehow, she’s picked up an engineer, two kids, seven cats, and a very understanding corgi off eBay. Her credit card has been since taken away. Like any good writer, Krista has had an eclectic array of jobs throughout her  life, including strawberry picker, pub bathroom cleaner, oil spill cleaner upper and soup kitchen coordinator. These days, when Krista isn’t software testing, she writes in her messy office.


Krista's Thoughts:

This is the second book of Pauli's hilarious chick lit- science fiction hybrid series. This book can be read out of order from the first one (The Dimensional Shift), though I do recommend picking up the first one for the background on our heroine, Chloe.

In ASPECT RATIO we find our heroine temporarily promoted to the ranks of security of an inter-dimensional hotel. It's a long ways from cleaning hotel rooms, that's for sure. However, promotion means more responsibility, including bad guys and bed bugs the side of dogs.

I laughed a lot in ASPECT RATIO. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book of the series, only because I felt it was a little rushed. I felt like there wasn't a breather from page one to the end. I was out of breath when I finished it! I also was thrown by having the point-of-view of a new character that didn't exist in the first book added to the mix.

The crazy neighbour and invisible roommate returned, however, and that helped balance any small issues I had with pacing. Overall, this is another highly recommended book on my list.

4/5

Krista owns this ebook.

Giveaway Winners - Are You One?

 

The winner of "The Devil in Disguise" by Stefanie Sloan is Tore! :)

The winner of "Velva Jean Learns To Fly" by Jennifer Niven is  Angel C!  :)

Congratulations ladies. I'll email you your for your addresses so I can get the books in the mail. I hope you enjoy them,