What Are You Reading

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

The Sweetness of Forgetting - Kristen Harmel (upcoming blog tour)
The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker

Books I am reading this week:

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

Tin Swift Winner!

And the winner is.....

MBreakfield!! (Already won)


New winner...


Jennzah!

I will send an email your way to get your shipping information.  Thanks to everyone who participated.

What Are You Reading Monday

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Dark Souls - Paula Morris ( Didn't do a review. Was really good however. I think I liked Ruined better but both great books)

Books I am reading this week:

The Sweetness of Forgetting
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

The Sweetness of Forgetting - Kristen Harmel

Ruined - A Review

Ruined - Paula Morris (own)

Overview:

A gripping YA supernatural novel set in New Orleans: TWILIGHT with a ghostly twist.

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.

My Thoughts:

Ruined is a fast paced Gothic ghost story set in New Orleans. All it took was for me to hear Gothic and ghost story put together and I knew I would have to read this. I love those stories and this was a pretty good one. 

The characters where interesting if not an eccentric bunch. I completely loved the plot of the curse and how it tied the families involved together. I think the only character that didn't fit well for me was Rebecca's father. I know he has his part in the story but it seemed almost irrelevant to even have him in the book. 

My absolute favorite aspect was hearing about the city. I loved this! Maybe it's because I will be making a very short trip there in a couple months but I couldn't get enough of the sites discussed.

Bottom line if you loved Gothic and ghost stories I think you will enjoy this. 

Author's Website: Paula Morris

Bone Lake - A Review

Bone Lake - Drusilla Campbell (own)

Synopsis:

Eleven year old Callen Norgaard grew up as a member of the True Word Brethren, a racist cult teaching intolerance and hate - until the night a devastating fire kills her mother and puts her in the custody of the FBI. Ultimately, Callen is threatened by the cult, which fears she will betray them, and she must chose between a new life and loyalty to her old one.


My Thoughts:


Wow! I got this book a couple of years ago after reading a review by an old book blog friend J.Kaye. I can't believe I waited this long to read it. 

Callen is this strong, scared, scarred trouble little girl who grew up in the midst of a cult. When her parents are killed the FBI put her with her Aunt and Uncle in hopes that it will jog her memory of the night. It was interesting to watch Callen's perspectives shift and change through out the book. Such a strong little girl. I was immediately drawn to her character. I felt this protective urge flare up as I read. 

I picked it up and had it done in less than two days. I was sucked in from page one. It's the kind of book that is so fast paced you don't want to put it down.  What kept me really going in this book was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was just one of those reads where you knew it was going to happen, but you just didn't know what or when.  

Author's Website: Drusilla Campbell

What Are You Reading Mondays

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Ruined - Paula Morris

Books I am reading this week:

Dark Souls - Paula Morris
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

Dark Souls - Paula Morris 

The Sweetness of Forgetting - Kristen Harmel

Into The Darkest Corner - TLC Blog Tour

Into The Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes (TLC Blog Tour)

Synopsis:

Catherine Bailey has been enjoying the single life long enough to know a catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic and spontaneous, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell.

But what begins as flattering attentiveness and passionate sex turns into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon learns there is a darker side to Lee. His increasingly erratic, controlling behaviour becomes frightening, but no one believes her when she shares her fears. Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape.

Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine—now Cathy—compulsively checks the locks and doors in her apartment, trusting no one. But when an attractive upstairs neighbour, Stuart, comes into her life, Cathy dares to hope that happiness and love may still be possible . . . until she receives a phone call informing her of Lee’s impending release. Soon after, Cathy thinks she catches a glimpse of the former best friend who testified against her in the trial; she begins to return home to find objects subtly rearranged in her apartment, one of Lee’s old tricks. Convinced she is back in her former lover’s sights, Cathy prepares to wrestle with the demons of her past for the last time.

Utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, Into the Darkest corner is an ingeniously structured and plotted tour de force of suspense that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

My Thoughts:

Every once in a while I read a book that just keeps me glued to the pages. This was one of them. My normal time frame these days to read a book is two or more weeks. This one I fished in three days even staying up past my normal bedtime so I could finish it.

So words to describe the book. Brutal, Riveting, Exhausting. All of those and then some. The book goes back and forth in time. From her past with Lee to her present with her OCD, terrors, and Stuart. It did take a little bit to get used to how it was written, but I found that watching how she came to fall victim to Lee, made it easier to see how her OCD came to be. 

The psychological terror she endured was downright horrible and at times it made it rough to read passages. It made me cry in frustration watching her fall victim to Lee. Especially when at the same time I was watching the result unfold with every turn of the lock, twist of the doorknob, and straightening of the curtains.

This book was everything I thought it would be and then some. I will leave you forewarned however. There is violence, rape and torture. It's not for the weak stomached but it's a dang good read. 

Author's Website:  Elizabeth Haynes

Struck - A Review

Struck - Jennifer Bosworth (publisher)

Synopsis:

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

My thoughts:

They will be short and sweet for this book. 

I liked it. It was entertaining. The characters were eye catching. The story line a bit far fetched and not as believable as I would of like but that happens. It still kept me reading so that's a good thing.

So while It wasn't my favorite read of the year so far, it was enjoyable enough to recommend for a lazy day read.

Author's Website: Jennifer Bosworth

Stop 16 Tin Swift Blog Tour

 Hi all and welcome to stop number 16 on Devon Monk's Tin Swift Blog tour! I am so excited to be participating in this uniquely fun tour!
Summary:

HANG FIRE is a steampunk short story set in late 1800′s America. It takes place between the Age of Steam book #1, DEAD IRON and book #2 TIN SWIFT. The story is broken into 20 “chapters” and posted, one chapter at a time, on 20 awesome blogs. To read the whole story, start at chapter 1 at www.candacesbookblog.com and follow the “read the next chapter” links at the end of the post.

So what do we have in store for you guys. Well we get an awesome giveaway full of sweet goodies and chapter 16 of Devon's Short story.

So lets start with the giveaway goodies:

1. A magnet of the cover of TIN SWIFT

2. A hand-made by Devon (and her dear husband) one-of a kind, signed bookmark.

3. A copy of TIN SWIFT

One winner

Must be over 16

US only

1 entry per person. Contest runs through July 23, 2012. Winner will be notified via email so leave me a way to get in contact with you. 

Okay without further ado, chapter 16:

...read chapter 15:  Larissa'sLife: www.larissaslife.com

HANG FIRE - Chapter 16

             “Get down, Rose!” Cedar said.

            But Rose Small was not listening. She half-knelt, stretching over the top of him. At first he thought she was going to help pull him up over the edge of the pit. Instead, she pulled the rifle on his back free.

            “Rose, no,” he said. But clinging to a rope half out of a pit with someone taking shots at him didn’t exactly put him in the prime position to bargain. Especially not with a strong-willed woman like Rose Small.

            “Hold on there,” she said. “I’ll be right back, Mr. Hunt.” She stood, cocked the rifle, and ran.

            She disappeared behind a tree just as another shot rang out.

            Rose took aim and returned fire.

            Wil, his brother still in wolf-form, was off the other way from where Rose had run. He growled.

            “Mr. Hunt,” Mae Lindson, at the bottom of the pit below him, called out. “Who is shooting at us?”

            “I’ll let you know.” Cedar surged up out of the pit and hugged the ground. A bullet pinged again, singing a struck-metal bell tone as it ricocheted somewhere not all that far from his prone position.

            Rose, still behind the tree, returned fire. Woman was a crack shot. If she caught so much as a glint of movement in the trees, their attacker wouldn’t be standing.

            “You want your gun back, Mr. Hunt?” she asked, keeping the rifle steady as she scanned the trees.

            “Keep him busy.” Cedar tossed his ammunition pouch at her feet, and Rose snatched it up quick.

            “Mae,” he said, “take hold of the rope.”

            His heart pounded hard, the beast inside his bones wanting out, wanting to kill the unseen gunman, wanting to destroy the man who was putting Mae in danger.

            Two more shots cracked out. 

            Rose fired back as Cedar hauled on the rope as fast and hard as he could.

            Wil shifted in the cover of brush, his weight on three feet, bleeding. He growled again, the glowing copper of his eyes carrying a man’s intelligence instead of that of a wolf. He wanted their shooter dead too, but was in no shape to hunt.

            Finally, Mae was at the edge of the pit and pulled herself out and onto her hands and knees.

            Cedar knew they had no advantage over the gunman here. “Rose, give me the rifle.”

            She darted out from behind the tree and tossed him the rifle. She pulled her own pistol from her belt. “We run for it, Mr. Hunt?”

            “Indeed you do, Miss Small. You too, Mrs. Lindson.”

            “Cedar,” Mae began, “please don’t–”

            “I’ll be right behind you,” he lied. “Go!”

...read chapter 17 at: Dark Faerie Tales www.darkfaerietales.com

Thanks to all that stopped by! Enjoy the rest of the tour!

Read the chapters from beginning:

TOUR DATE	BLOG
1.  June 19	CANDACE’S BOOK BLOG  http://www.candacesbookblog.com
2.  June 20	FICTION VIXEN http://www.fictionvixen.com/
3.  June 21	AUTHOR SOUND RELATIONS http://www.authorsoundrelations.blogspot.com
4. June 22	THE QUILLERY The Qwillery
5. June 25	A BOOK OBSESSION http://www.abookobsession.com/
6. June 26	FANTASY LIT http://www.fantasyliterature.com/
7. June 27	I SMELL SHEEP http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/
8. June 28	ALL THINGS URBAN FANTASY All Things Urban Fantasy
9. June 29	RABID READS http://www.rabidreads.com
10. July 2	Rachel Vincent http://rkvincent.wordpress.com/
11. July 3	DEADLINE  DAMES http://www.deadlinedames.com/
12. July 4	MY BOOKISH WAYS http://www.mybookishways.com/
13. July 5	MAGICAL URBAN FANTASY http://www.magicalurbanfantasyreads.com/
14. July 6	LITERAL ADDICITONhttp://www.literaladdiction.com/
15. July 8	LARISSA’S LIFE  http://www.larissaslife.com/
16. July 9	My Life in Not So Many Words http://www.ziarias.blogspot.com/
17. July 10	DARK FAERIE TALES http://www.darkfaerietales.com
18. July 11	THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT http://www.twimom227.com/
19. July 12	July 12 - Bookshelf Bombshells http:www.bookshelfcombshells.com
20. July 13	BIBLIOPHILIC BOOK BLOG http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/

What Are You Reading

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Struck - Jennifer Bosworth

Bone Lake - Drusilla Campbell

Books I am reading this week:

Still deciding what I am in the mood to read
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

Something not sure. Maybe Day By Day will get finished. 

Dead Iron - A Review

Dead Iron - Devon Monk (own)

Overview

Welcome to a new America that is built on blood, sweat, and gears...

In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother's death. Then he's offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.

In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he's going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all...

My thoughts:

What do you get when you put Magic, Wolves, Steampunk and a Western all in one? One heck of a wild ride that's what. Then add some strange to the mix and it's a blast. Literally.

It took a bit to get going into the story. The world is so full of rich characters, creatures, story lines, you have to slow down and digest as you go to get the full picture. But once that pictures forms,  you can't put the book down. 

The characters were fantastic. Cedar. He's so strong, resilient yet very tortured soul. Mae. The female version of Ceder and just a tad more. Rose. She's easily one of my favorites. What a sassy little spitfire. The Madder Brothers. Just like their name says, they are a mad, looney yet brilliant bunch of brothers. I'm undecided yet on these boys intentions. Lets not forget our resident bad guy, Mr. Shunt. What a wiley, devilish thorn in the side. 

By the end of the book , I was hooked and can't wait for Tin Swift.

Author's Website: Devon Monk

I hope everyone has a safe and fabulous day!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted byMizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week:

I don't sleep much.  An hour here. Two hours there. Chronic insomnia, it's one of my more tolerable lightning strike aftereffects.

Stuck - Jennifer Bosworth pg. 1

What Are You Reading

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Dead Iron - Devon Monk

All These Lives - Sarah Wylie

Books I am reading this week:

Struck - Jennifer Bosworth
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

Struck - Jennifer Bosworth