Books I Want: December 2012

The Cat’s Meow by Stacey Kennedy (TBA December)

In Charleston, Libby is an Enchantress—a witch gifted by the Goddess to conjure spells. When a magical presence is detected around a recent string of feline slayings, Libby must take the case to discover the reasons behind the odd deaths. Much to her displeasure, the coven has also sent the sexy warlock, Kale, to assist her.

While having the muscle around proves to be useful, fighting the
attraction between them is worse than a hex, especially considering Kale is keeping secrets. Libby has good reason to believe that Kale is there to evaluate her performance as a witch, and fears her job is on the line. But soon, Libby has bigger problems than the elusive warlock and career stability. Her spells are turning up clues that point to something far more sinister than slaughtered cats, leading her to a threat that could shake the very foundation of her world.

Now Libby lands herself in the midst of an uprising. She trusts no one and isn’t safe. Not from the warlocks stirring up trouble. Not from the worrisome rebellion she can’t escape. And certainly not from Kale who is weaving a very dangerous spell over her.

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Review: Dragon Justice by Laura Anne Gilman

Dragon Justice by Laura Anne Gilman
Harlequin (July 24, 2012)
Trade: $14.95; ebook: $10.99
ISBN: 9780373803484

Favorite Lines: “Someone who came down looking for a romantic wooing–or at least some hot and heavy sexing–might have felt cheated at being cooped up in a dank subbasement listening to two guys bicker as they worked. I was, god help me, enchanted.” (p. 130, e-galley)

In my time with PUPI, formally known as Private, Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigations, I’ve seen a lot. Learned a lot. And not all of it’s been good. But what we do-make people accountable for crimes committed with magic-is important work.

Still. Even I need to take a break every now and again. Or so I’ve just been told (ordered).

So hey, vacation. Maybe I’ll finally figure out what’s going on with the “special bond” between me and the bossman, Benjamin Venec. Venec seems to like that idea-he’s invited me down to join him on a jaunt to Philly. But no sooner do I arrive in the City of Brotherly Love than we’re called in to look at a dead body.

And that’s when life gets really complicated….

Warning: This book is part of Laura Anne Gilman’s Paranormal Scene Investigations’ series. Do not try to read it as a stand alone. Another thing: I don’t keep up with Gilman’s Retriever series, but its heroine popped up quite a bit in Dragon Justice. As did mentions of some major uprising that the Retriever prevented.

Each book in Gilman’s PSI series has built upon the previous book. From a company being built and friendships made to murders being solved, the series has increasingly gotten better. I wasn’t impressed with the first book. It was so-so, but not a must have book for me. By the time I turned the final page of Dragon Justice I actually liked one of the narrators.

Bonita Torres has grown in the two years she has worked for PUPI. She no longer jumps in bed with any man or woman who catches her fancy, but she’s not willing to open herself completely to the merge which connects her to one of her bosses, a man named Benjamin Venec. Their relationship is on the cusp of changing, but is waiting for them to both accept and allow the change.

Out of the four books in the series, Dragon Justice is the least focused on paranormal forensic techniques. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but the emphasis is placed on characters and their interactions. It’s plot driven which is why I enjoyed it.

I’ve got to tell you Dragon Justice doesn’t feel like the final book in the series. It has a conclusion, but there are many places Gilman can still take the characters. Major things happen in the book (some of which I’m not convinced is permanent). However, there’s a sentence which summarizes my feelings of the book as a whole.

“Fire in the sky, the deep, burning chasm of emotion, the hunger and anger…and the sense of something still waiting.”–p. 322

Hard to decipher? That’s on purpose. I won’t give the plot away! I simply felt like I was waiting for something major to happen the entire length of the book. That slight feeling of “bad to come” never paid off and I’m going to feel cheated if another book isn’t published to address that notion. Although according to Gilman’s website which was updated May 2012, I might just be left unsatisfied. She has only been contracted to publish four books in the PSI series.

Stacia & Stacey Giveaway Hop

The winner is…laura588!

When Cat at Addicted 2 Heroines asked me if I wanted to participate in the Stacia & Stacey Giveaway Hop I had to say yes. Not just because my name is Stacy, but because both of the women are authors I read and enjoy. You may be wondering what the two series have in common other than releasing at the same time. I can clear that up for you. While Stacia Kane‘s series is set in a world where ghosts are a menace and Stacey Jay‘s series is set in a world with violent faeries, both feature a heroine who has a problem with addiction.

The heroines, Chess and Annabelle, both manage to pull it together long enough to save humans (and themselves) from death, but they haven’t kicked their chemical addictions. One is dependent on alcohol, the other on pills. It’s more than a habit or stress reliever. It’s a necessary tool needed for each woman to function. Above the women hang the lingering question: is either character capable of living a sober life?

I’m not sure I’d recognize either woman without their addiction. The traumatized heroines are far from perfect and that’s part of what makes them such great characters. I’m able to feel morally superior while rooting for them both to love themselves and take better care of themselves throughout the series. Kane and Jay’s characters are more realistic and avoid easily being placed in a generic “cookie cutter” type mold.

Stacia and Stacey are both releasing new books on March 27. Stacia is releasing book four in her Downside series and Stacey is releasing book two in her Annabelle Lee series. To celebrate I’ve put together a Vice Gift Package to giveaway. In it the winner will find a bottle of Jim Beam wing sauce, a metal pill box and some mints. To enter simply leave a comment and tell me if you read either series. If so–what you think about the series’ heroine. The giveaway begins now and will run until 11:59 pm March 27 and is open to those with mailing addresses in the US or Canada. 

Stacia/Stacey Giveaway Hop:

1. Addicted2Heroines
2. Goldilox and the Three Weres
3. Miss Vain’s Paranormal Fantasy
4. Underworld Love Addiction
5. Vanesmate the Bookaholic
6. Gizmo’s Reviews
7. Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks
8. Pages of Forbidden Love
9. Claire’s Book Corner
10. The Book Nympho
11. RhiReading
12. Booking It With Hayley G
13. The Bookaholic Cat
14. Nocturne Romance Reads

Review: Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay
Pocket Books (May 2011)
Mass Market: $7.99
ISBN: 978-1-4391-8986-3

Favorite Lines: “If it was ever real, it should still be real. Love doesn’t stop just because you start hating someone.” (p. 80)

Review: Tempest’s Legacy by Nicole Peeler

Tempest’s Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Mass market: $7.99
Hachette Books (January 2011)
ISBN: 9780316056601

Favorite Lines: “I wanted to pull out his toenails and poke them into his eyeballs.” (p. 51)

Review: Arcane Circle by Linda Robertson

Arcane Circle by Linda Robertson
Mass market: $7.99
Pocket Books/Juno (January 2011)
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9025-8

Favorite Lines: “The throne seemed to be made from cylinders of wood, tall ones forming the two rear posts, shorter ones supporting the arms of the seat. The dark wood was decorated with skulls, horns, and tusks. It was like four phallic symbols with hunting trophies nailed together to create a manly man chair. If it had a voice, it would have bellowed, “Behold! Virility incarnate!” (p. 189)

Review: Enchanted No More by Robin D. Owens

Enchanted No More by Robin D. Owens
Trade: $14.95
Harlequin-Luna (January 2011)
ISBN: 9780373803231

Favorite Line: “My family needed you and you failed them.” (p. 23)

Jenni Weaver left the magic community after it failed her in her time of need. She lives on the Mystic Circle cul-de-sac in the human world and has tried to bury her past where she was known as Jindesfarne Mistweaver. She wants to forget the day her family was butchered as they balanced energy to help the royal fae travel to another dimension, and the salt and silver her only surviving relative threw at her as he disowned her. But when her former lover, Aric Paramon re-enters her life with urgent news about her brother, Jenni can no longer distance herself from the magical machinations which destroyed her family.

I am thrilled with the introductory book in Robin D. Owens’ newest series: Mystic Circle. It begins in the human world 15-years after the heroine’s family was massacred as an urban fantasy. But then it moves to the fae world and becomes an epic fantasy novel. The book follows Jenni on her path to accepting who she is, making peace with the past and finding love. It is a romance. With all of those factors in place, you know you’re in for a wild, yet satisfying ride.

Enchanted No More shows a world where half-bloods (half-fae/half-human) are sneered at and treated as second class citizens. It is blatantly prejudiced and everyone accepts it as the norm. There is no bucking the system until Jenni arrives. Jenni is a half-blood who knows from experience the lowly status given to halflings.  She wants no part of that world. She actively works to change the system by encouraging half-bloods to strike out on their own away from the feudal system the fae employ. It is aggravating and at times infuriating.

The over arching story line, which connects all of the story lines is about a darkness trying to consume the light. That story allows Jenni to be put into different, enlightening situations with her former lover, Aric.

Aric has no idea why Jenni is so angry with him and herself. He is loyal to the fae court, but he also has watched the Eight (ruling lightborn fae) ignore the lesser fae and fail to assist Aric’s family. He wants change, but I don’t think he would ever reach or actively fight for change without Jenni.

Enchanted No More will take you on a journey of redemption. It will make you burn with anger, smile with triumph and nod your head with approval as Jenni learns from and about the past and chooses to make a future.

I read an electronic copy courtesy of Netgalley, but this is definitely a book that I will buy and shelf with my other keepers.

Review: Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson

Favorite lines: “”He embodies things you fear, things you envy, and things you cannot comprehend, but he is not a liar.” Before Johnny could protest, she raised her hand and added, “Oh, you can argue he twists facts to suit himself, but what he truly does is so much more than that. He can instantly take all the information he’s acquired and accurately discern which words–and in what order–will produce the best advantage for his purposes.”” (p. 28)

Persephone Alcmedi is a witch and the Lustrata. The prophesies say she will be the one to bring together the vampires and the werewolves, but she will settle with being able to survive. The fairies are demanding the vampire Menessos, to whom she is bonded, be turned over so he can be killed after he saved Persephone’s life. If Seph’s bond becomes known, the witches could strip her ability to use magic.

Seph will need to play a deadly game to keep Menessos alive. Only with the help of reluctant waerewolves will there be a chance of surviving the threat posed by the fairies. Because the fairies won’t stop with just his death.

Fatal Circle is book three in Linda Robertson’s Circle series. It is not a stand alone, so read Vicious Circle and Hallowed Circle before you attempt this one.

There are several story lines going on in Fatal Circle, but honestly, the one I care about is the one between Menessos and Seph. They were bonded in book one, but it isn’t until Fatal Circle that their relationship is poked with a stick explored.

If you’ve been reading the series you know there is, for lack of better words, a love triangle going on between a witch, vampire and waerewolf. The history of the vampire and waerewolf is all brought to light in Fatal Circle. In a way, it’s a stepping stone book. You can’t move forward in the series without the information Robertson gives in this book. It is more than just background information on the male characters; it’s possibly fatal information about the Lustrata.

The Lustrata’s ability to make changes resides in her ability to perform magic. But because some witches don’t believe in or want the Lustrata to succeed, there’s a chance they could strip Seph of her magic. Thankfully, she has the blessing of her mentor.

In Fatal Circle, Seph will be forced to make several  major changes in her life. Changes which will affect both her home life and the way the world perceives her.

Robertson will have you crying and your blood racing as you ride the roller coaster with Persephone. Her urban fantasy novel is filled with vampires, waerewolves, fairies, and witches and the possibility of an epic battle which will either protect Earth or be the end of the world as they know it.

Coming Soon: Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead

“Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear…

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation–one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril…”–Richelle Mead’s website

“Iron Crowned” will be released in March 2011.