Waiting on Wednesday (32)

Title: Shadowfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever #5
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover
Blurb:

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals that have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief, while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh--a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King that contains the power to create and destroy worlds.

Interview + Giveaway: Faith Hunter

Mercy Blade, the 3rd Jane Yellowrock book by Faith Hunter, is being released today. Faith is here with us answering some questions about the series and her latest book.

Things are heating up in the Big Easy. Weres have announced their existence tot he world, and revived the bitter tensions that run between them and their old enemies: vampires. As a trusted employee of Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, Jane finds herself caught in the cross fire.

When Jane is attacked by a pack of marauding were-wolves, she is thankful for the help of a mysterious stranger named Girrard. He explains that he used to be Leo’s “Mercy Blade,” a sacred position charged with killing vampires who have gone insane. What Jane doesn’t know is why this powerful assassin left New Orleans − or, more troubling, why he’s now returned. It’s definitely not to make Jane’s life easier...

Which of all your books did you have more fun writing?
Hmmm. That’s like asking a mother which baby was easiest to birth. Hard to answer, because it’s all hard work! But, I suppose, Skinwalker was the most pure fun. There is something exhilarating about creating a world, where it’s all new and fresh and full of discovery. Learning the way that Jane and Beast live was like journey into the darks of their minds.

What are you working on right now?
Raven Cursed, book four of the Jane Yellowrock series.
Rogue Mage, the role playing game / world book for the Rogue Mage series. Five short stories, 2 set in Jane’s world, 2 in Thorn St. Croix’s world, and one just for fun! Whew! I’m busy!

What can you tell us about Mercy Blade?
Kirsten Nolan a reviewer for bookseriesreviews.blogspot.com came up with a great blurb for it. Hope you don’t mind me posting it here… It’s way better than any I came up with!

Jane Yellowrock, Rogue Vampire Hunter, is working for the vampires. That means delivering unwelcome messages to snarly supernaturals, and overseeing security for parties and balls, amongst other things. And it means she's got to work closely with Bruiser, which makes Jane uncomfortable and Beast very happy. When the werewolves and werecats come out of the closet on international television Jane begins to learn that there is still a lot of Vampire and Supernatural history she hasn't learned. Unfortunately, not knowing what happened 100 years ago can mean the difference in understanding current events and being totally out of the loop. Jane doesn't deal well with being out of the loop, but between an absent boyfriend and pieces of history she doesn't understand -- she has to survive as best she can.

How much control and/or influence does Beast have over Jane?
A lot more than Jane thinks she does. And Beast is amused that Jane thinks she is alpha and Beast is beta. Not always so. They have a love-hate relationship, made very difficult because their two souls share the same body. And … they keep secrets from one another. Sometimes big secrets!

At this point, how many people know Jane is a skinwalker and how many suspect?
Hmmm. (thinking) Knows: By the end of Mercy Blade, Molly, Big Evan, and Angie Baby. The vamp priestess, Sabina. The Mercy Blade. Those who suspect: Leo. All the vamps have always known she isn’t human, because she smells so different. Bruiser suspects something, but isn’t sure what. The weres suspect. Bethany suspects. Derek Lee and his soldiers. Evangelina knows something, but not what.

One of the things I've been wondering about is: what happened with the sliver of the cross?
The item from vamp history that was featured in BloodCross comes back into play for a brief moment in Mercy Blade. And also maybe in book five (as yet untitled). However, just for you I’ll say, Sabina gets it back.

It seems like right now Leo is in grieving mode. How has he been doing? Is that going to change anytime soon? Does he still blame Jane?
One major plot line in Mercy Blade is all about Leo, and why he is so out of control, and how he might be better. By the end of Mercy Blade, Leo is well on the road to working through his grief. I’m not finished with Raven Cursed yet, but it feels as if he will be over his grief by the book’s end and ready to move forward. In lots of ways! Leo is a survivor. He sees the long-view, meaning that he isn’t bothered by the short term setbacks of life. If he doesn’t get what he wants today, he’ll simply play a waiting game and get it tomorrow. Jane hasn’t figured that out yet!

Can you tell us a bit more about how the witches work? Also, are we ever going to see where Jane lives?
Second question first. Mercy Blade opens in Jane’s apartment in the Appalachian Mountains. Raven Cursed takes place in the Appalachian Mountains. But Jane is growing and changing, and is a woman without a true home, for now. When she finds her home, her true home, then I can share with everyone. Right now, I’m in the dark too!
Witches are going to explained a lot better in Raven Cursed, and we get to see the working of a full coven, which is always at least five witches. There can be fewer witches in a working group, as long the non-witches have some gift, or awareness of power. Such people can be used as power sinks or to funnel power through to but for a big working, you always need five. And for the biggest workings and the best strongest covens, one needs one witch of each major power: water, air, stone (mineral), earth, moon are the most common, but there are also a few fire witches, and a very few rare others.

Bruiser and Rick are both love interests for Jane. Is the choice she made at the end of Blood Cross final? Is there still hope for the other guy?
As Beast says, “Big cats do not mate for life.”
Jane is never going to be an easy woman to love or to live with. I think she will always have rocky relationships. Hope for another guy? Heck yes! And her Beast reeeeeally likes Bruiser and Leo.

Is there yet a release date for the 4th book, Raven Cursed?
Nothing is written in stone yet. I hope for an early release. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks so much for being here today, Faith.
It was and is my pleasure!

You can learn more about Faith on her site.

Giveaway
I have one copy of Mercy Blade to giveaway.
US only / Ends January 11th.
All you have to do is fill out the form.

Review: Arcane Circle by Linda Robertson

Title: Arcane Circle
Author: Linda Robertson
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #4
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Publisher: Pocket
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: eArc from author
Blurb:

After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alcmedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan.

And that’s not all. . . . Seph’s boyfriend Johnny has revealed himself as the wærewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the wære world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed . . . and at what cost?

I've enjoyed the previous three books of this series and that doesn't change with Arcane Circle. Seph has to deal with the aftermath of the battle fought in the previous book, like did Menessos survive? What about the Elementals that were freed? And what happens now that people know Johnny is the Domn Loup? All of this is solved, plus we finally get to meet Seph's mother and find out what she has been up to.

My favourite parts of the book were the ones where we meet the other powerful weres, they were very scary, and when we finally meet Seph's mother, she has been a huge mystery for three books and it was nice getting to meet another important and until now silent player.

While a lot of questions are answered and plot points are closed, I wish the relationships between the main characters could have been more developed, especially the one between Seph and Johnny. I love the direction Johnny's character is taking, little by little he's becoming more confident and sure of himself and I really can't wait to see the other weres acknowledge him as Domn Loup. As for Seph, she's still discovering how complicated is being the Lustrata, but she's adjusting the best she can to her situation, and that's what makes her such a good heroine.

To me, this felt like a transition book. A lot of loose ends were tied but there were almost no new plot points. I hope the next book deals more with Seph and her role as Lustrata. All in all, this was a great addition to this incredible series. I can't wait to get my hands into the next book!

Memorable Lines:

Dr. Lincoln turned to Kirk. "Would you fetch some towels from the bathroom? Wait, I-I didn't say fetch because you're a … I mean, I would've said it that way to anyone."
The handsome Asian wære smiled and replied, "That political correctness shit is for pansies who can't stomach the truth."

Previous Books:
1. Vicious Circle
2. Hallowed Circle
3. Fatal Circle - Review

Rating:

Interview + Giveaway: Linda Robertson

Arcane Circle, the 4th Persephone Alcmedi books will be released on the 28th of this months. Today we have the author is here answering some questions.

After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alcmedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan.

And that’s not all. . . . Seph’s boyfriend Johnny has revealed himself as the wærewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the wære world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed . . . and at what cost?

How many hours a day do you dedicate to writing? Do you write in a specific place?
It depends on the day. If its a snow day and the boys are home from school (we just had 2 in a row...sigh) I got zero hours of writing in. When they get to ride the big yellow bus, however, I write at least 3 hours a day but usually more like 6 hours, and then I pick up an hour or two in the evening once dinner and the homework checking is complete.

Do you have any new projects in the works?
I am working on book five of the Persephone Alcmedi series. I reworked an old manuscript in between books four and five, but I'm still not sure its ready for others to see it. :-)

If you could hang out with one of your characters, which one would you pick?

Johnny. Wait, maybe Menessos. I could say Nana, but she's so much like my mom and my aunts that I feel like I hang out with her anyway.

What can you tell us about Arcane Circle?

Sometimes, searching for the past leaves a head-slap on the present.

We know that Persephone is the Lustrata. What exactly does that mean? How long has it been since there was one?

Well, everyone thinks they know. The witches have their idea. The waeres have theirs. Even the vampires have a take on that legend. Persephone's going to find out first hand and, if you keep reading, you will too. In the mythos, the last Lustrata lived a about two thousand and thirty-some years ago.

It seems like little by little Persephone has to deal with more and more problems. Is this going to escalate as more people find out she's the Lustrata? How many people know?
Oh yes. (Mwahahahahaha!) The big-wigs of the witches, waeres and vamps all know, but aren't sure what to do, if anything should be done, etc. That starts unfolding more in book five.

After the events of Fatal Circle, do the witches hold a grudge? Is persephone going to have any allies there?
Some do and some don't. To say more would point to spoilers I have planned for future books.

In Arcane Circle we finally get to meet some powerful werewolves. How do they feel about Johnny being the Domn Lup?
Alpha's don't like to share power. Some out of nowhere wannabe-rockstar suddenly appearing and claiming to be the Domn Lup and take a big piece of their pie? Yeah, they are NOT happy.

After everything we've learn about Menessos, he still feels like a big mystery. Are there going to be any surprises in that front? Can you tell us anything new about him?
Behind the vampires is a mystery that Persephone will have to unravel slowly. As for Menessos...well, he might be dead. Hee hee.

One on the things I liked the most about Fatal Circle was the introduction of the elementals. What is going to happen to them? Can you give us any kind of information about them?

They play a big role in the theme of Arcane Circle. There's a lot of construction, a lot of change going on at the farmhouse in order for Seph to keep them safely. They'll be around a while; they have much to do as her destiny unfolds.

Thanks so much for being here today, Linda.

Aww, my pleasure! Thank you for having me!

You can learn more about the author on her site.

Linda is also giving away a signed copy of Arcane Circle.
International
Ends on December 31st.
All you have to do is fill out the form.

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Review: Indulgence in Death by JD Robb

Title: Indulgence in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #31
Genre: Futuristic Romance/Suspense
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Blurb:

First it was a limo driver shot through the neck with a crossbow. Then it was a high-priced escort stabbed through the heart with a bayonet.

Random hits, thrill kills, murderers with a taste for the finer things in life – and death – are making NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas angry. And an angry Eve can be just as an efficient and dangerous predator as the killer.

As time runs out on another innocent victim’s life, Eve’s investigation will take her into the rarified circle that her husband, Roarke, travels in – and into the perverted heart of madness…

I love the In Death series, I've read every single book and I never get tired of Roarke and Eve. That said, this probably was the worst book of the series. What makes me enjoy the book so much is Eve and Roarke's relationship, but there was almost no interaction between the two of them in this novel. The beginning of the book shows us part of their honeymoon, and in my opinion it was the best part of the book. After that, things go downhill.

We almost get no interaction with the other characters of the series, except a little Peabody and Morris, and while the mystery is interesting, I found myself skipping pages just to see if there was more character development. There wasn't. At points I was bored and couldn't stop checking how many pages were left.

Another thing, I know that Dallas is the main character in the series, but I wished we could be shown Roarke's world. Somehow, even though we are told time and time again that Roarke is a very busy man, now he always does consultant jobs for Dallas. I don't understand that. Also, why doesn't Eve ever help Roarke in his job?

On the positive side, Eve's character does evolve in this book, although it would have been better if the author could have shown us the final result of it (can't say more, it would be to spoilerific).

I would skip this one, you won't miss anything important. I do hope that Treachery in Death gets the series back on track.

Next Book:
32. Treachery in Death (February 22, 2011)

Rating: