Covers, news, wanted books, ...

This week there were a few new covers released:


The new Demonica Book, Sin Undone, will be published on September 2010.

HER TOUCH IS DEADLY

As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she’ll die before she’ll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin’s innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence.

HIS HUNGER CAN’T BE DENIED

Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she’s no stranger: He’s bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld’s most wanted and Con soon learns he’s the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.

Chains of Ice, the new Chosen Ones book, will be released on July 6th.

For one magic summer, Genny Valente escapes to spend time as a wildlife observer in the untamed mountains. Little does she know that a beast more fearsome that any beast lurks in the forest…a man, one of the Chosen Ones, betrayed by his gift and tormented by his memories. John Powell has fled his fate and his duty, yet in Genny he sees his one chance for redemption. He will stalk her, kidnap her, love her as only a savage can. But when a new betrayal threatens, John must call on the powers he swore he’d never use again. Then only Genny’s love can save him…if she dares tame the one man she can’t live without…




Kitty goes to war, book number 8 on the Kitty series, will be released on June 29th.

K itty Norville, werewolf radio call-in show host, gets a call from an old friend at the NIH’s Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology, a friend with a problem, who doesn’t know where else to turn. Three Army soldiers who have recently returned from the war in Afghanistan are in custody at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs. They’re also werewolves suffering from post traumatic stress, unable to control their shape-shifting, unable to interact with people. Kitty agrees to see them, curious and wanting to help. Meanwhile, Kitty gets sued for slander after featuring Speedy Mart—a chain of 24-hour convenience stores with a reputation for attracting the supernatural—on her show, and an old friend-and-adversary has just been released from jail.



The third Sabina Kane book, Green-Eyed Demon, will be released on March 2011.

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. She has to save her sister from her mysterious captors. And in order to do that, she has to broker a deal between the mages and the vampires before all hell breaks loose.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won’t be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her past. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.





Demon from the dark, the latest Inmortal After Dark book, will be released on August 31st.

A dangerous demon she can't resist...

Malkom Slaine: tormented by his sordid past and racked by vampiric hungers, he's pushed to the brink by the green-eyed beauty under his guard.

A maddening witch he aches to claim...

Carrow Graie: hiding her own sorrows, she lives only for the next party or prank. Until she meets a tortured warrior worth saving.

Trapped together in a savage prison...

For them to survive, Malkom must unleash both the demon and vampire inside him. When he becomes the nightmare his own people feared, will he lose the woman he craves body and soul?

Those are the US and UK covers of Waking the Witch, released on August 3rd.

The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at 21 she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town as a favor to one of the agency's associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes.

Soon Savannah is in over her head. She's run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker, and freaked out when the brother of one of the dead women is murdered when he tries to investigate the crime. To complicate things, something weird is happening to her powers. Pitted against shamans, demons, a voodoo-inflected cult and garden-variety goons, Savannah has to fight to ensure her first case isn't her last. And she also has to ask for help, perhaps the hardest lesson she's ever had to learn.







Alpha, Rachel Vincent's last book on her shifter series, will be released on Octomber 2010.

Books I'm looking forward to this week:



This book is being released on March 2nd.

Staying overnight in a luxury hotel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde overhears a high-profile murder involving a U.S. Senator. Special Agent Jack Pallas is assigned to the investigation-the same Jack Pallas who still blames her for nearly ruining his career three years ago. Now the pair will have to put their rocky past behind them, focus on the case at hand-and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension.


Shattered

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Desperate

Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.

Driven to desire…

But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…

EXCERPT

He opened the door—

And stopped dead in his tracks as somebody all but fell into his arms. Somebody…a woman. And not Theresa.

He caught her just above her elbows, automatically steadying her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft and low.

Then she lifted her face and Quinn found himself gazing into the biggest, brownest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Feeling a little dazed, he studied her face while she stammered out another apology.

Quinn barely heard it.

He was too busy staring at her mouth. A very pretty mouth, a cupid’s bow mouth slicked with deep, vibrant red. Under his hands, he could feel silken smooth skin and unable to resist, he stroked a thumb along her inner arm.

Her skin was soft, soft and warm. He was also pretty sure she had the creamiest, most flawless skin imaginable. Her shoulder-length hair was a shade caught between blonde and brown, nondescript, but for some reason, he found himself thinking about tangling his fingers in that hair and holding her head still while he kissed that red-slicked mouth.

Well, hello…

read more…

News:

- Crescendo, the "Hush, Hush" sequel by Becca Fitzpatrick has been given a release date of November 16th. Blurb: Nora should know better than to think her life can return to normal after falling in love with a fallen angel. And Nora's life isn't normal - her dad was murdered, and the facts about his death just don't add up. Now Nora's own life is in imminent danger. Are she and Patch strong enough for the battle ahead?

Review: Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper

Nice Girls Don't Live Forever
Jane Jameson #3

Nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels. Jane Jameson’s sexy sire, Gabriel, has always been unpredictable. But the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow — alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

Now the children’s-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane. Step One: Get her newly-renovated occult bookstore off the ground. Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby . . . or litter. Step Three: Figure out who’s been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel. Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is becoming a matter of life and undeath...

Jane and Gabriel went on a tour of Europe after the events of book 2. Jane starts noticing a weird behaviour on Gabriel's part that only increases with time, so when he receives a note and then makes them change of hotel Jane gets more suspicious. After another note is received, Jane goes to the trash can and retrieves the letter; and after reading it she's convinced that Gabriel is cheating on her. When she confronts him about it, Gabriel gets mad, and in the middle of the discussion Jane gets a phone call. It's Zeb telling her that the bookstore has been broken in, but that everything is ok and she doesn't need to come back, but after everything that's been happening, Jane decides to return home, without a protest from Gabriel.

Zeb is waiting for her in the airport, and he tells her that Jolene is pregnant. He's worried and scared, but Jane, as usual, tells him to suck it up, babies cannot be undone. The day after she goes to see the damage, but as her friends told her, evrything was ok, so she ends up telling Andrea and Dick about her break-up with Gabriel. At first Andrea thinks is just a little fight, but the more Jane tells her about it, the more she believes her, so Andrea and Jolene decide to go to Jane's house to make a break-up party, and in the middle of it Andrea notices that someone is outside her house. Jane goes to see who it is, but after running after the person, she loses him.

One day, she receives a letter in the bookstore that says things abot Gabriel that sound familiar to her, but she decides to ignore it. Jane joins the Chamber of Commerce, where they put her on change of the prizes for the next, and later she finds out that her sister has also joined, and after having a big argument with her, seh threatens to tell the Chamber that she's a vampire. The letters keep coming and everyone stays on alert, until the threats starts escalating and someone tries to kill Jane.

This book was really funny. Jane is a very sarcastic character and a little weird. The relantionships she has with the others characters is a very big point on this book. Dick is like a big kid that treats Jane like a younger sister, Andrea is one of her best friends and is always there for her, Zeb has been Jane's best friend since school and knows her better than anyone else, Jolene tries her best to help Jane and adjust to a non-werewolf lifestyle, her father supports her every chance he gets, her mother starts accepting that she's a vampire and tries to keep the family together, her sister keeps trying to make her life a living hell and it seems like Gabriel is cheating on her and doesn't care for her at all.

I loved the little snippets at the beggining of every chapter of "Love Bites: A Female Vampire's Guide to Less Destructive Relationships". I didn't know who the bad guy was until the end, which was a surprise. This was a really light paranormal romance and I would recommend it to people who are looking for a laugh.

Memorable Quote:

A skinny, pimpled vampire and two of his buddies appeared behind Dick and tapped him on the shoulder. “Dick, I want to talk to you.”
Dick looked thrilled for the interruption. “Todd, thank god. What can I do for you?”
“I want my money back for those Springsteen tickets,” Todd demanded, his Adam’s apple bobbing indignantly.
Using a patient, paternal voice, Dick said, “Now, Todd, I gave you a good deal on those tickets. I didn’t even charge a handling fee. You couldn’t get a price that good from ticketmaster.”
“Those tickets were to a concert two years ago!” Todd shouted, a cue for his companions to put on their mean faces and look intimidating. I rolled my eyes and took a swig of water, which did nothing for my thirst, blood - or liquor - wise.
“They were collector’s items!” Dick shouted back. “It’s not my fault you didn’t look on the tickets to check the date. I never told you they were for a concert this year.”

Rating:

Some International Giveaways

Here are a few international giveaways:




Bookalicio.us is giving away a signed copy of Beautiful Creatures.
You have until the 5th of March.

Enter here.

Twisted Fates' Cafe is having a contest and they are giving away three sets of books:
-Set 1: As You Wish by Jackson Pearce (signed bookplate)
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Paperback)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Set 2: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (signed bookplate)
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
- Set 3: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (Paperback, signed bookplate)
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (Paperback, signed bookplate)
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (signed bookplate)

+ A few more books including Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr and also she will be donating 10 cents per contestant to UNICEF and/or Hope for Haiti.
You have until 28th of February.
Enter here.


Once Upon a Blog is having a contest. You can win the book of your choice under 20$ and that came out in January or February.
Ends on 28th of February.

Enter here.





Handle Like Hendrix is giving away an ARC of Liar.
The end date is March 29th.

Enter here.



Alexandra Bracken is having a really big contest. She has various prizes including a sign copy of her book, a 50$ giftcard to a bookstore of our choice, bookmarks, etc.
This contest ends on March 16th.

Enter here.







Rachel Hawkins is giving away an "Hex Hall" T-shirt, a signed book and a 25$ Barnes and Noble giftcard.
The contest is open until the release day, March 2nd.

Enter here.








Shooting Stars Mag is having a giveaway with a Book Lover's Basket as a prize.
This basket will probably include a book, a giftcard, and ARC, bookmarks and some swag.
This ends on February 28th.

Enter here.


Chica Review is having a blogoversary contest. She's giving away the first three books of the Percy Jackson series. It ends on February 28th.

Enter here.


M R Bunderson is giving away a copy of her book, The Mark. Contest is open until March 1st.

Enter here.

Review: The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

The Better Part of Darkness Charlie Madigan #1


Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim -- but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?

Set in an alternative Atlanta, Charlie is an ITF agent, who after dying from a beating was brought back to life, but not without some changes. When one day she and her partner Hank are called to her daughter's school to investigate a death, they discover that the girl is no dead, but drugged with something called "ash". They don't know much about it, but they do know that it induces the person into some kind of coma, and then, after a few days, the victim dies. The girl ends up being a friend of her daughter, and Charlie promises herself and her daughter Emma that she's going to discover what happened and find out a cure.

Charlie and Hank start investigating, and the first stop they make is to some informants they know. Charlie decides to go on her own, and after threatening the weasel, he told her were she can find out more about "ash", but before they finished speaking, three djinn, who also are some of the dealers of "ash", appear and they all start fighting. At the end, the informant is dead, as well as the djinn, but more important is that Charlie killed them and started healing herself without knowing how.

The djinn seek retribution for the deaths, which can be paid in money or blood, but Charlie can't pay, so they start looking for her, ransacking her house and stalking her loved ones, but she can't stop them, because if she shoes herself they would kill her. After getting her off the investigation, she starts doing it on her own, and after being spotted by a djinn, kidnapping him with the help of Hank and bringing him to the leader of the djinn, there she discovers that they are the dealers of "ash" and that they also have the key ingredient to make it, so she makes a deal with the leader, that they both know she can't pay, to try to buy more time.
After that, the stakes are raised, and the action begins.

One of the better things of this book are the characters. You get into Charlie's story right from the start, and as the story progresses, you get to know more about her. Then there's Hank, her siren partner; he has a special relationship with Charlie, he tries to help her, but most of the time she thinks she can handle all by herself. There were some hints of a possible romance, but after meeting Will, Charlie's ex-husband and Zara, the siren Hank likes, everything gets a little confusing. Will betrayed Charlie in one of the worst ways, and even if they still love each other, she can't forgive him. Then there's Bryn, Charlie's sister and magic user. They could have been closer, but Charlie keeps trying to protect her and herself by not talking to her and that drives a wedge between them. The most important relantionship Charlie has is with her daughter Emma. You can see how close they are just reading the first scene in which Emma appears. For Charlie, Emma is everything, and that is one of the best point of this book. It's something that I've never read before in Urban Fantasy and it works perfectly with the story. At some point, there were too many characters and I just kept wishing they'll disappear. The worldbuilding was great, with the earth as the "promised land" of the beings of the two other planes.

This is a powerful story, with parts that were unique in the genre, like Charlie's strong bond with Emma, but that sometimes went a little overboard. There were too many characters and there were also too many things happening at once and that hurt the book.

Memorable Quote:

"I know you're Mister Invincible and everything but could you try to take things seriously once in a while?" I eyed him with a glare of disbelief. " You're so annoying. Don't even talk to me. You almost hit me with that friggin' vial. You have no idea how lucky you are right now."
Blue eyes glittered back at me. He tried to put on a serious face. What the hell was so damn funny? I turned to study Len, and didn't see anything amusing about his unconscious form. I whirled back to Hank. "What the hell was in that potion?"
"It was an atraction spell. To lure jinn female." He rubbed his chin, studying Len. "Don't think you're supposed to use the entire bottle though."
"Ya think?"


Rating:

Review: Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Mark of the Demon
Kara Gillian #1


Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill.... Why me? Why now? That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning.
Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure.
But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives—and souls—of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago.
Now he’s back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore. Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head...


Kara is a police detective and a demon summoner. A serial killer, named by the press "Symbol Man" has started to kill again after three years; they call him that because he always carves a symbol in some part of the victim's body. The captain of her divison puts Kara in charge of the investigation. She sees that some kind of arcane power has been use on the victim, so she decides to summon a demon to ask questions about it, but something goes wrong, and instead of appearing the low level demon she summoned, appears Rhyzkahl. She doesn't know what kind of demon he is, but she knows that he's powerful, angry and could kill her whenever he wanted; but instead of that, they end up having sex.

The next day another victim is found, and when she goes to the morgue to see what has the medical examiner found, a visitor comes by the room. His name is Agent Ryan Kristoff from the FBI, and he has been assigned to the task force of the "Symbol Man" murders. In that first meet, Kristoff ignores Kara the best he can and later he tries to remove her from being the lead, but he's unsuccesful.

After that, everything seems to go worse. The body count increases, she still can't figure out what went wrong in the summoning, Agent Kristoff starts being suspicious of her and she has started to have very vivid dreams about Rhyzkahl, in which she finds out that he made a connection between them, so she could call him anytime she wanted. But at the end, everything has a price.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked the mystery of the "Symbol Man" and I never guessed who he was until it was revealed at the end. The demon dimension was something that I've never read about and I really enjoyed the very short glimpse we get of it. I also liked how demons weren't nor good nor evil. I hope that in future novels we get to see more of that dimension.

At the beginning of this book Kara wasn't an expert summoner, so she asks for help and advice from her mentor, her aunt Tessa. I liked the relationship between the two of them, but I think Kara should have asked more questions about how she knew about Rhyzkahl or at least Tessa should have voluntered the information. Also, I don't know how in the first meeting between Kara and Rhyzkahl she could have gone from being scared and sure she was dead to feel a very strong desire for him. It looks like there's going to be a love triangle between Kara, Kristoff and Rhyzkahl in the next book, and I want to see how is going to be played out.

This book was a fantastic beginning to a very interesting series and I would recommend it to all Urban Fantasy lovers who don't have anything against demons.

Memorable Quote:

"I am Kara Gillian," I stated clearly as I rewove the potencies, naming myself as part of the binding process. I had no intention of completing terms and releasing the bindings, but the forms still have to be followed. "I had summoned you to serve me - "
The laughter stopped me - a cold sound that cut through my words and sent a chill up my spine.
"Serve you?" The voice flowed from the crouched figure, serene and vicious. "I will rend the flesh from your bones and scatter your blood to the wind."
Oh. Shit.

Rating:

Review: Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast

Wicked Enchantment

Dark Magick #1

When you’re a half incubus, your reputation precedes you…

All eyes are on Gabriel Mac Braire the day he makes his first appearance in the Seelie Court, including those of Aislinn Finvarra. Despite deep bitterness over her last failed relationship, Aislinn cannot help but be curious about the half incubus who is known to possess dark magick, both lethal and sexual in nature. Rumors abound of the women who have become enslaved to his irresistible charms.

So when the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn herself to act as his guide in the court, she is understandably on guard. She’s fallen under the spell of far less persuasive men before. In addition, Gabriel might be more than he seems and his true mission is far from innocent.

This time, Aislinn must protect not only her heart, but her very life...


Aislinn is a fae from the seelie court. When one day Gabriel, from the unseelie court, requests to live in the Rose Tower to the Summer Queen and she decrees that Aislinn must be his guide, she is less than happy with the job. Gabriel is half incubus, and is rumored to be able to enslave his lovers. Aislinn shows Gabriel around while he tries his best to try to seduce her, but it's not an easy task, Aislinn has barely recovered from her last break up and is weary of all men.

She is lonely and feels out of place in the seelie court, something that would be very dangerous to admit, and appart of that she keeps a dark secret. Gabriel has always had a hidden agenda and when he realizes that she's lonely and manages to find out what her secret is, he tries his best to lure her to the unseelie court with promises of freedom and education. When he admits that he was never going to stay in the Rose Tower and then tells it to the Summer Queen, she gets mad and orders his men to kill him but Aislinn intervenes and stops them, but not without repercusions. It's then that she decides to escape to the Black Tower, but things don't go as expected.

At the same time we get glimpses of the Phaendir, the race of druids that managed to contain the fae in one place called Piefferburg. The fae are trapped there and the only way they can break the spell is findind the three pieces of a puzzle box that when united transform into a key that unlocks a part of "The Book of Bindings" where the counter spell is assumed to be located. Needless to say, this is the only thing in which the Summer Queen from the Seelie court and the Shadow King from the Unseelie court help each other.

I had a good time reading this book. I liked how the romance between Gabriel and Aislinn evolved. I had a hard time believing that Aislinn hadn't investigated her gift more or at least tried to do something when she was younger. I loved all the members of the Wild Hunt, they were really interesting and I hope we get to see more of them in the next books. I think the part with the Phaendir at the end was a little too much for the novel, I thought that by then the book was already nicely tied, and that part could have been saved for the next one.

In short, this novel was a great start for the Dark Magick series, it had it all: romance, mystery, action and magic! I can't wait to see if the fae finally get to be free.

Memorable Quote:

She laughed out loud, the prettiest sound he could imagine. "You're a great dancer."
"Thanks". He stared down into her eyes and put everything he was thinking about doing to her into his gaze. "It's the second best thing I can do."
She swallowed hard and looked away. "Yes, I can imagine what the first thing is," she answered in her characteristically dry tone of voice.
"I'd be more than happy to show you."



Rating:

Linger Giveaway

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog

Review: The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
Book #1 Demon Slayer

It's never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet bowl. For Lizzie Brown, that's just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking, and her long-lost biker witch Grandma is hurling Smuckers jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she's seen it all, Lizzie learns she's a demon slayer-and all hell is after her.

Of course, that's not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos, a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you've never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn't work, how dangerous could a little seduction be...?

Lizzie lives a normal life, but when she turns 30 everything starts going to hell. Her grandma appears and tells her that she's a demon slayer, a demon tries to kill her in her bathroom and her dog, Pirate, starts talking. Next thing she knows, she's on the run with her biker grandma, her dog and a Harley. When they find trouble on the road, a griffin rescues her. His name is Dimitri and he's her protector. When all of them arrive at a safe place, the witch coven of her grandma starts doing a ceremony, but Lizzie doesn't complete it and that carries terrible consequences.

This novel is more of a paranormal comedy than romance, although it does have it's share of romance. One of my favourite things about this book were the scenes that Lizzie has with the biker witch coven. It's hilarious seeing all the different personalities in it and how Lizzie deals with them. I also liked how even when Lizzie did have the power to be a demon slayer, she didn't have the training to be one. It's nice seeing a heroine working to kick-ass, instead of being automatically powerful. The dog, Pirate, has his good points and his bad points. In some scenes he was funny and sweet, but in anothers he was too anoying and I just wanted him to shut up.

Lizzie's relantionship with her grandmother was, in my opinion, a little far fetched. Lizzie has just met her, but she seems to trust her implicitly, even when she doesn't answer her questions and doesn't seem to trust her.

Then there's Dimitri. Since the beginning you know he's hiding something, but you don't know quite for sure. There's an instant atraction between Lizzie and him, and it doesn't lessen in the whole book. I really liked him, he was mysterious, powerful and clever. It's a very good match for Lizzie.

There's not a lot of worldbuilding, since the book was told from Lizzie's point of view, and she doesn't know much, but I expect there will be more of it in the next book.

All in all, I really liked this book, it was funny, it had action, romance and biker witches. I can't wait for the next book to arrive to see what happens next with Lizzie and the gang. I would recommend it to someone who wants to read a light paranormal romance.

Memorable Quote:
Pirate popped back up, shaking with doggie indignation. "She's going to tie me up! Look at that thing. It's a doggy straighjacket!"
Grandma loomed over him, fear burning in her eyes. "If we don't get on this bike in two minutes, you'll be wearing your intestines as a necklace."
Pirate released his bladder. I didn't blame him.


Rating:

Covers, News and more ...

This week there were a few covers released:

Kelly Gay showed us her cover for The Darkest Edge of Dawn, the 2nd book on her Charlie Madigan series. The novel will be released on the 31 of August.

Gena Showalter also has the 2 next covers for her Lords of the Underworld series.

The Darkest Passion is Aeron's story and it will be released on June 2010 and The Darkest Lie is Gideon's story with a release date of July 2010.

On other news, Jim Butcher's collection of short stories has a name and a release date: Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files on the 11th of November. Apparently it includes three new short stories, narrated by Thomas, Molly and Murphy (it looks like we're going to know what happened in Hawaii with Kincaid).


Also, the new carpathian novel by Chrstine Feehan, named Dark Peril, with release date August 31, will be the story of Dominic Dragonseeker and Solagne (the jaguar princess, cousin of Juliet, who was the lifemate of Riordan).

Scott Westerfeld's book Uglies has a chance to be made into a movie (I won't say it will be, because you never know with Hollywood, they change their mind a lot).

There probably are more covers and news, I just don't remember them!

Review: To Die For by Linda Howard

To Die For by Linda Howard
Blair Mallory #1

Blair Mallory lives the good life. She’s pretty, confident, and the owner of a thriving up-scale fitness center. But in the shadow of success, a troubled member of the club develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress. Matters take a darker turn when the look-alike is shot dead–and Blair witnesses the horror.


As the media speculates on the tawdry details of the homicide and pushes Blair into the harsh spotlight, she locks horns with police lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth. He wants to lead an investigation without interference, while Blair is determined to probe the dead woman’s life on her own. But when someone begins to menace Blair with mounting threats, Wyatt takes notice: Was this murder indeed a lethal case of mistaken identity–and was Blair the intended victim?


Blair Mallory is the owner of the gym "Great Bods". One night, while she's closing, she hears a shot and witness the murder of a member of the gym. When the police arrive, they question her but decide that she wasn't the killer, but before she can leave Wyatt Bloodsworth appears. He is a police lieutenant and also a former "boyfriend" of Blair's. At this point the book was good, but then it starts going down hill.

They start fighting the first time they see each other and they never stop for the rest of the story. Wyatt doesn't want Blair to leave town, but she does anyway when she realizes that the killer may go after her when she is named a witness of the crime. She goes to the beach and ignores all calls, but the day after she arrives there Wyatt appears telling her that she shouln't have left and the next thing you know, they are having sex. This is very frustrating because Wyatt, after being on 2 dates with Blair 2 years before, decides not to call her back, and then when she witness the murder he discovers that she is the woman of his life. After 2 years without any contact?! Does that mean that if she hand't been in any danger he wouldn't have found out that she was his perfect woman?

Anyway, they come back to their town and someone tries to kill Blair but instead injures her. The ambulance takes her to the hospital and there they treat her, and Wyatt "convinces" Blair to stay with him until the murdered has been catched.

The characters on this book set my nerves on edge. Blair complains about everything, the plants, the car, how is unfair that Wyatt doesn't want to stop to have sex with her, ... Wyatt is selfish and a jerk. When you find out why he left Blair you will want to hit him.

There are good things in this book, like Blair's mother and the scene with the chief of police.
The mystery is a let down. I knew who the killer was since the beginning. If you read this book, don't expect action or suspense. This is a romantic comedy with a touch of mystery.
This book was a little disapointing since I was expecting a romantic thriller.
I would recommend this book to people who want a funny, light and entertaining book.


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Review: Crux by Moira Rogers

Review: Crux by Moira Rogers
Southern Arcana #1

Jackson Holt makes a decent living as a private investigator in New Orleans, home of one of the largest underground supernatural populations in the United States. He and his partners have never met a case they couldn't crack...until a local bar owner asks him to do a little digging on her newest hire.

New Orleans is the fourth destination in as many months for Mackenzie Brooks, a woman on the run from a deranged stalker. After all, any man who shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her destined lover has more than a few screws loose. But crazy doesn't explain why he always finds her no matter how far she runs.

When her well-meaning boss puts a PI on her case, Mackenzie comes face to face with the incredible truth: magic is real, and whatever spell has kept her hidden and separate from the paranormal world is rapidly deteriorating.

With time running out, she has no choice but to trust Jackson as he struggles to uncover the truth of her past-and her destiny.


When I started reading this book I was expecting a lot of romance. It was nice to be wrong, this book had action, mystery and fantasy. Mackenzie is a woman who is running from a man who wants to use her. When she ends up in New Orleans and starts working in a bar, she meets new people and makes friends. The owner of the bar is worried about her, so she asks her PI friend to find out what is wrong. This results in Mackenzie finding out the truth about herself, her family, and also love with the PI, Jackson. This story is the beggining of a series, and in it we are introduced to several characters: the bar owner Nick and her twin sister Michelle, Derek and his cousin Kat, Jackson's partner Alec and Mackenzie's stalker, Marcus.
The worldbuilding was great, I liked how the packs were structured and the positions some members took in the pack, specially Michelle, were fascinating.
The romance between Mackenzie and Jackson didn't felt rushed. They took their time and I think that worked in their favour. One of the things I liked the most was Michelle, I liked how nice and sweet she was and at the same time how almost everyone was scared of her. I'm hoping we get to see more of her on the next book. This story is the beggining of an arc, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next one, specially with Nick and Derek as protagonists.
In short, I found this book entertaining, with a nice balance of mystery, action and romance in it; I would recommend it to paranormal romance fans.


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