International Contest Sunday (22)

- Mystifying Paranormal Reviews is giving away Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan.
Ends when she gets 150 followers.
Enter here.

* Something To Write About is giving away a $25 GC and a $15 GC.
Ends on December 20th.
Enter here.

* That's Swell is giving away four signed copies of Gillian Shield's books.
Ends on December 20th.
Enter here.

- Imagination in Focus is giving away a book the have reviewed on their site plus your choice of book released on 2010.
Ends on December 20th.
Enter here.

* Not Enough Bookshelves is giving away three books from her top ten couples list.
Ends on December 22nd.
Enter here.

* Flippin' Fabulous is having a holiday giveaway. You could win book from book depository.
Ends on December 23rd.
Enter here.

* Kelsey Sutton is giving away a secondhand book from her list.
Ends on December 24th.
Enter here.

- Avery's Books is giving away a$15 Amazon gift card.
Ends on December 24th.
Enter here.

* Hojas en Blanco is giving away 2 prize packs witch 3 ARC's each.
Ends on December 25th.
Enter here.

* My World ... in words and pages is giving away the first two books of the Evie Scelan series by Margaret Ronald.
Ends on December 28th.
Enter here.

- The Bibliophilic Book Blog is giving away 2 books of up to $30 from the Book Depository to 2 winners.
Ends on December 31st.
Enter here.

* Bon Bons and Reveries is giving away any book she has reviewed on her blog.
Ends on January 1st.
Enter here.

* Kimberly Franklin is giving away a copy of Twenty Boy Summer & Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler to a winner.
Ends on January 1st.
Enter here.

- Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm is giving away 3 YA book releases of your choice from 2011.
Ends on January 1st.
Enter here.

- Romance Book Junkies is giving away a mystery prize.
Ends on January 1st.
Enter here.

- My Love Affair With Books is giving away eith a $10 Amazon GC or a pre-order of a book from the list.
Ends on January 1st.
Enter here.

* Miss Page Turner's City of Books is giving away a pre-order from her list.
Ends on January 3rd.
Enter here.

* Midnight Fume is giving away three books from her list.
Ends on January 9th.
Enter here.

* Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books is giving away a book of choice of up to $10 form the Book Depository.
Ends on January 13th.
Enter here.

* Splash Of Our Worlds is giving away a book from her list.
Ends on January 15th.
Enter here.

* Story Wings is celebrating her blogoversary by giving away a book of your choice to multiple winners.
Ends on January 20th.
Enter here.

- Old contest
* New contest

Do you want me to put your international contest on my post? Contact me with the details.

Review: Death's Mistress by Karen Chance

Title: Death's Mistress
Author: Karen Chance
Series: Dorina Basarab #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Publisher: Onyx
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Bought
Blurb:

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half-human, half-vampire. Back home in Brooklyn after the demise of her insane Uncle Dracula, Dory's hoping her life is about to calm down. But soon Dory realizes someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if she can't stop the murderer, her friends may be next...

Midnight's Daughter was one of my favourite books I've read this year, so I was a little nervous about the follow up, but I'm happy to say that it was even better! Dorina is back and trouble keeps finding her, as usual. She's still as strong as usual and follows nobody's rules but her own. She has to deal with the vampires once again and that includes her father, Mircea.

Her relationship with him keeps being difficult and complicated but we also see a new side of Mircea. There are things that Dorina always asumed were the truth, but it turns out that she doesn't really know her father much, although the same could be said about him. I loved seeing their relationship evolve, especially when Mircea started trusting Dory.

The other important vampire in the books is Louise-Cesare, Dory's romantic interest. These two have been dancing around each other for quite a while and now they have to figure out where each other fits in their lives. I loved these two characters, especially when they were together, and even though they have plenty of difficulties, they keep fighting for what they want: each other. Also, we find out some ugly things from Louise-Cesare's past and we finally get a resolution on the Christine front.

Other characters in this book are Radu, Dory's uncle and Ray, a vampire that was at the wrong place at the wrong time (although he has plenty to account for). Both of them provide comic relief when the plot gets too dark. They're definitely on my top list of favourite characters.

With a perfect blend of action, mystery and romance, this was without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year. Too bad we have to wait so long for the next one!

Memorable Lines:

"As you're constantly reminding me, I'm family. Tell me and maybe I can help. Or does the family thing only work when you want something?"
Mircea took a deep breath, which he didn't need, to show me how much of a pain I was being. "It's about his family, Dorina, and is not my story to tell. Now, have you seen him?"
"I haven't heard from him in a month," I said flatly, suddenly tiring of the game. Most vampire clans unlucky enough to end up with a dhampir quickly bury the problem—six feet under. I supposed I should be happy that Mircea had taken a somewhat more enlightened view. But as far as my status as family was concerned, it was and always would be second-class.

Previous Books:
1. Midnight's Daughter - Review

Rating:

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

Title: Shadowspell
Author: Jenna Black
Series: Faeriewalker #2
Genre: YA
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:
On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm. A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?

Review: Day of the Dragon by Rebecca York

Title: Day of the Dragon
Author: Rebecca York
Series: -
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: December 7, 2010
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Publisher
Blurb:

The search for clues to an ancient civilization sends Ramsey to an archaeology conference in Las Vegas where he meets Dr. Madison Dartmoor. Her current dig in Italy has put her in mortal danger, and when Ramsey saves her from thugs bent on stealing a copy of a startling artifact, the two of them team up to unearth the secrets of an ancient civilization. As their relationship heats up, Ramsey guards his own secrets that may tear him and Madison apart or save their lives.

Apparently this book was the first one of a new series by the author, but the truth is that the hero is first seen in the last book of her Moon series, Dragon Moon. You could follow the story pretty well, the only problem was that, while you get some background on the hero, I felt like a lot of his story was missing and that made me not like Ramsey much.

The heroine, Madison, is written as clever and strong, but her actions say otherwise. I think she makes pretty dumb mistakes and she's also very naive. There's a part in the book where she is arguing with the hero and the next thing you know she forgets all about it and goes and hugs him. While I understand that declaring their feelings for each other is big thing, I just couldn't understand why she let the subject drop and then went on as if everything was fine.
The romance between the two of them felt rushed and not at all believable. The truth is that I didn't see the love they had for one another. Their relationship was very cold, in my opinion.

I knew who the bad guy was since the beginning, so there wasn't a lot of mystery in that department. The only thing that was interesting were the parts that dealt with the dragons' history, but at the end there wasn't much information on them.

In short, it took me three times to finish the book and in my opinion it wasn't that good. For me, there were some scenes that were unnecesary and the romance between the main characters felt cold and rushed. Maybe you'll enjoy it more if you've read the author's Moon series.


Next Book:
2. Shattered Destiny

Rating:

Review: Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley

Title: Cross Your Heart
Author: Michele Bardsley
Series: Broken Heart Vampires #7
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Publisher
Blurb:

After the death of
her husband-and her dreams of motherhood-Elizabeth Bretton returned to the
family estate in Broken Heart, Oklahoma. Little did she know she would also give
up her life as the Silverstone heiress.

But escaping the past isn't that easy-especially with a vengeful ghost trying
to kill her, a 150-year-old mystery to solve, and an outrageously hot
were-jaguar named "Tez" trying to get into her boudoir...

I've enjoyed the last six books of the Broken Heart series and Cross Your Heart it's not an exception. The main character, Elizabeth, is a very solitary vampire, but all of it changes when Tez, a really handsome shifter, saves her from an attack from a ghost. From there, things start getting complicated for her, and she has to discover why she is the target.

The thing that I liked from the ghost story line the most is that it resolves a mystery that started in book one, but if this is the first book of the series you read, you'll probably won't find as interesting. There are some surprises in the book, but most of the time I saw them coming.

The relationship between Elizabeth and Tez felt rushed. I would have prefered they developed their relationship more slowly, or that they at least talk more to each other, instead of always being up to something. We don't learn much about Tez, and that's one of the reasons I didn't like the book as much as the others.

We also get some updates on the others citizes of Broken Heart although they don't meddle as much in this novel because the heroine is a bit of a loner.

This was a funny and light read, just as the rest of the books in this series. Personally I didn't find it as good as previous ones, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Memorable Lines:

"I refuse to discuss my lingerie with you. And I do not appreciate your assumption that you're going to see me in my undergarments. Ever." I paused and tried to gather my wits. And tone down my ... well, lust.

He grinned at me, and my stomach took a peculiar dive.

"I love that mouth of yours, princess. Go on," he dared me. "Talk pretty to me."

Previous Books:

1. I'm The Vampire, That's Why
2. Don't Talk Back To Your Vampire
3. Because Your Vampire Said So
4. Wait Until Your Vampire Gets Home
5. Over my Dead Body
6. Come Hell or High Water

Next Book:
8. Must Love Lycans (September 2011)

Rating: