Waiting On Wednesday - April 7, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

Hosted by Breaking The Spine

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Other by Karen Kincy
Release Date : July 1, 2010

Description from Goodreads : 

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.  

This one looks fantastic!  I love the cover, it's absolutely gorgeous.  Shifter books attract my attention really easily, because they are one of my favorite supernatural creatures.  

So what are you waiting for?  Feel free to post it in a comment, or simply leave a link to your WOW post! 

Teaser Tuesday - April 6, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays

Hosted by Should Be Reading

Anyone can play along!
Just do the following :

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share 2 teaser sentences from anywhere on that page.
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
5. Share the book title and author so others can wishlist the book.

My Teaser :

Cam gazed into her sister's steely gray eyes.  Crap, how was it fair Anastasia got their father's poker face, and Cam, her mother's "I even lose at Go Fish" eyes?

pg. 320

Flirting With Forever by Gwyn Cready

 Amazon Affiliates :

Clicking on Title Links will redirect you to Amazon.com.  If you choose to purchase anything at Amazon after clicking these links, Falling Off The Shelf will receive a small percentage of sales.

In My Mailbox - April 5, 2010

In My Mailbox was started by Krist @ The Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

A Break With Charity : A Story About the Salem Witch Trials by Ann Rinaldi (MMP)

January 1, 1992 - Received from a friend.

"Mistress Bishop," said Magistrate Corwin, "you are accused of being a witch. How say you to this charge?"

"I do not know what a witch is."

Immediately the girls in the circle, who were sitting up front in the room, went into fits. They threw themselves on the floor and shrieked and wailed.... They twitched their bodies and howled like forest creatures at the time of the full moon. The howling was a terrible thing to hear. It cut through one's bones with its primitive sound.

Keeper by Kathi Appelt (ARC)

May 18, 2010 - Received from Publisher

To ten-year-old Keeper the moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong ... and so much has gone wrong.

But she knows who can make things right again: Maggie Marie, her mermaid mother, who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where Keeper is headed - in a small boat. In the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and seagull named Captain. When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of mexico, panic sets in and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe - Oh, no ... "Maybe" is just to difficult to bear. 

R

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins (Trade)
December 30, 2008 - Received from Bookmooch.com 

Don't call me a demon. I prefer the term Fallen Angel. 

Everybody deserves a vacation, right? Especially if you have a pointless job like tormenting the damned. So who could blame me for blowing off my duties and taking a small, unauthorized break? 

Besides, I've always wanted to see what physical existence is like. That's why I "borrowed" the slightly used body of a slacker teen. Believe me, he wasn't going to be using it anymore anyway. 

I have never understood why humans do the things they do. Like sin—if it's so terrible, why do they keep doing it? 

I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out! 

Shadows in the Darkness by Elaine Cunningham (MMP)

December 27, 2005 - Received from Bookmooch.com

Gwen "GiGi" Gelman, a ten year veteran of the Providence, Rhode Island vice squad, finds herself unemployed after being blamed for a routine bust that turned into a bloodbath. GiGi is used to being on her own, though, and with the help of a DA who owes her, she's scraped together enough capital to start her own PI business, specializing in"family problems"-in particular runaways who have disappeared into Providence's seamy underside.With a few custodian kidnapping cases under her belt, as well as a case against a Catholic school teacher/molester, GiGi is doing well for herself --until she takes on the case of a fourteen year old runaway who may or may not have been kidnapped.As GiGi investigates, she accidentally opens the door to her own mystical past. Now long-hidden family ties threaten her, and the secret of her identity unlocks a conspiracy that reveals the forces of darkness that play in the shadows....Forces that intend to be the masters of all mortal life. 

Now you know what's in mine, what's in yours?

Review : Child of Darkness by Jennifer Armintrout

Title : Child of Darkness
Author : Jennifer Armintrout
Publisher : Mira Books
Genre : Paranormal Romance
ISBN : 978-0778326700
Series : #2 of Lightworld/Darkworld Series
Release Date : October 27, 2009
Rating : 4/5 - Very Good

Description from Amazon :

Public alliances secret lovers.

Once upon a time yet to come, creatures of myth and fairy tale gained entry to the human realm and were expelled with extreme prejudice. Banished Underground, they carved out two kingdoms: the Lightworld of the Fae and their kin, and the Darkworld of demons, werewolves and their ilk. But the boundaries between these Worlds and the Upworld are about to be redrawn...in blood.

At a Lightworld royal gala, Queene Ayla announces the betrothal of her daughter, Cerridwen, to a high-ranking councilor. Though strategically brilliant, the engagement comes as a shock to Cerridwen especially. Infuriated by her mother's high-handedness, ignorant of her own true origins, she flees the court leaving herself vulnerable to those who would see the Lightworld destroyed. Amid burgeoning unrest, desperate desires become divided loyalties and terrifying mercenaries lurk in the shadowy space between rebellion and anarchy.

Review :

Cerridwen has always been treated like a child, rather than the Princess of the Lightworld. Her mother, Queene Ayla forbids contact with those of the Darkworld, but keeps a Darkworlder as her personal Royal Consort. Cerridwen can't understand how her mother could be such a hypocrite, and this is just one reason why she rebels repeatedly.

Queene Ayla refuses to inform her daughter of her true origins, but only for her own safety. When she chooses to betroth her daughter to her highest-ranking counselor, Cerridwen sees this as the last draw. She packs up a few necessities and flees the Lightworld, and runs straight into the arms of the Darkworld, the most dangerous place in all of the Underground.

When first reading this book I couldn't decide whether I truly enjoyed it as much as Queene of Light, the first in the series. The main character, Ayla, was molded to fit her royal status, and lost a lot of the things I liked about her, or so it seemed. Her daughter, Cerridwen, only seemed to be a selfish brat, or in this case, a perfect example of a royal princess. The only character that I seemed to continue to enjoy was the Royal Consort, Malachi.

Instead of throwing this book to the side I pushed on, and was greatly surprised to find out that I just needed to wade through the beginning muck to find the beautiful story at the end. Despite my conflicting emotions toward this book, I found I ended up really enjoying it, especially the way the world is described so vividly. I actually felt like if I turned around I would end up in the beautiful city of the Lightworld, or in some cases, being chased through the tunnels of the Darkworld by a blood thirsty demon.

While others have reviewed this book and said that they clearly don't believe it should be marked as a romance, I beg to differ. There isn't a huge amount of romance involved, but there is an underlying tone of it, and if not for that little bit, this story would be bland and have little meaning. The love between these characters is what pushed them to do the things that they did, if it only caused a war in the process. I'm looking forward to reading the last installment of this trilogy, Veil of Shadows, to see what other kind of adventures these creatures of the Underground have to tell.

If you have yet to read the first installment in this book, Queene of Light, please read my review here.

Where did I get this book? :

I received my copy of Child of Darkness by Jennifer Armintrout from my best friend as a gift.

Amazon Affiliates :

Clicking on the cover and title links of this book will redirect you to Amazon.com. If you choose to purchase Child of Darkness after clicking on these links I will receive a small percentage of the profits.

Happy Bunny Day!

For those of you who celebrate Easter, I hope you have a fantastic bunny day!  All those who don't, you have a great day too (don't worry, I still love you!)

I'm off to eat that wonderful Easter dinner my mother has prepared...and I'm pretty sure there's an egg-hunt in the mix if the dogs haven't already found them! haa!

March 2010 in Review

March was my first month back in reviewing after being gone for far to long.  Did I mention I'm super excited to be back?!  I was missing out on so much fun stuff, albeit the hard work of keeping up a website, reading tons of books, and working a full time job, but that's okay!  It's all worth it :)

Here's my list of books that I reviewed in March, if you haven't already checked out these books...go do it now!

The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner (5/5 Stars)

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (4.5/5 Stars)

The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox (3/5 Stars)

Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis (4/5 Stars)

Feel free to leave a link to your reviews of the books I've review in March and I will link back to you in my reviews!

Review : Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey

Title : Dragon's Keep
Author : Janet Lee Carey
Publisher : Harcourt Books
Genre : Young Adult, Fantasy
ISBN : 978-0152059262
Series : Stand Alone
Release Date : April 1, 2007
Rating : 3/5 Stars -Good

Description from GoodReads :

Far away on Wilde Island, Princess Rosalind is born with a dragon claw where her ring finger should be. To hide the secret, the Queen forces her to wear gloves at all times until a cure can be found, so Rosalind can fulfill the prophecy to restore the family to their rightful throne. But Rosalind’s flaw cannot be separated from her fate. When she is carried off by the dragon, everything she thought she knew falls apart. The dragon sees beauty in her talon where her mother saw only shame, and Rosalind finally understands what her mother has truly denied her. Carey has written a stunning portrayal of the complex relationship between a mother and daughter in a lyrical novel sure to thrill readers who love fantasy—and those who don’t.

Review

Princess Rosalind has lived her life in shame of the dragon claw she was born with. Every day she must don her golden gloves to hide her mark in order to be seen as the rightful heir to the throne of Wilde Island. Her mother, Queen Gweneth, is the only living soul who has seen the claw upon Rosie's finger, and she wishes to keep it that way. She will do anything in her power to keep the throne to Wilde Island safe, as well as the shame of the hideous claw from prying eyes.

Rosalind is captured by a fearsome dragon, and whisked away to Dragon's Keep. There she learns that her hideous claw is beautiful in the eyes of the dragon's, and for the first time in her life feels as though it may not be a curse, but a sign of a new fate. Rosalind barters for the safety of her people, while also building a bridge between her world and theirs. It is all she can think of that will keep both her people, and herself, alive.

The first thing that attracted me to this novel was the cover. I found it both disturbing and beautiful at the same time, which was a wonderful depiction of the feelings portrayed by the characters in this book. I love how the dragon in the background is transfixed by the claw upon the princess's hand. What one sees as something hideous, can obviously be seen as something beautiful in someone else's eyes.

Rosalind's character seemed as though she was genuinely kind-hearted, and would do anything for those around her. While she watched people within her town throw hatred towards the dragons, she found it in her heart to love them, despite her cursed hand. Would her townspeople still love her with the mark of a dragon? Would they accept her for what she was, or burn her at the stake for being disfigured? I personally had to find out, and was thrilled with the outcome of the story.

Another thing I loved about this book, was the language it was written in. There was nothing modern about the writing of this book, and this is what made it even better. The way the words were written only made the story come to life even more. It was a wonderful fairy tale that I would recommend to those who love stories filled with princesses, and dragons.

Where did I get this book? :

I received my copy from a swap on Bookmooch.

Amazon Affiliates :

Clicking on the cover and title links of this book will redirect you to Amazon.com. If you choose to purchase Dragon's Keep after clicking on these links I will receive a small percentage of the profits.