Friday, August 31, 2012

Review: Haunted by Jeanne C. Stein

Haunted
Author: Jeanne C. Stein
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: ACE
Anna Strong Chronicles Book #8
ISBN:  1937007766
ISBN13: 9781937007768
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Anna Strong—kick-ass bounty hunter and vampire—has made some enemies in her time. But it’s not just her old foes she should be worried about…

Anna’s shape-shifting friend Culebra finally opens up to her about his life before he owned Beso de la Muerte, a bar catering to supernatural clientele. As if summoned by the conversation, Culebra’s past stumbles into his bar in the form of an old buddy cashing in a favor.

Soon Anna, Culebra and her ex, DEA agent Max, find themselves deep in Mexico, dealing with drug cartel infighting, old vendettas and missing girls. Mexico just may prove to be Anna’s best match yet…

Culebra was a big part of HAUNTED. We get to dig into his past and help him out with the problems that his past is now causing. 

Anna is one of my favorite heroines. I always enjoy seeing others underestimate Anna and her coming in to kick their asses. I do miss seeing Anna doing her bounty hunting. She is hunting someone in HAUNTED but I miss her working with her partner and I hope he is back to being by her side at some point in the next book. Anna's love life is kinda wonky in HAUNTED. She starts off happy in a relationship only to have that end. Then at the end of the book she makes a decision that will hopefully make her happy again with someone I really want her to be with. I'm excited about that decision and what it might bring in book 9. The action as always is non stop with non stop heart racing situations. We get visits from Anna's parents and niece, Frey and his son as well as an ex boyfriend who ends up being a big help in taking down Culebra's enemies alongside Anna. The ending was sad but It felt right.

I have enjoyed following Anna's journey from the time she was attacked and turned until now. Book 9 will be the final book in the Anna Strong series and I'm excited and sad to see what will become of Anna and the rest of my favorite characters from the series.


I gave it 4/5 stars


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Review: Fair Game by Taylor Keating

Fair Game
Author: Taylor Keating
Release Date: Aug 28, 2012
Publisher: Tor
Guardian Book #3
ISBN:   0765365499
ISBN13: 9780765365491
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Video-game designer River Weston has seen her world torn apart. The streets of Earth have filled with looting, sickness, and fighting, but River knows that she is in a unique position to help. Drawing on her Fae magic, she creates a computer-generated program called Hollow Man, designed to protect humans during battle.

Worlds away, Guardian Chase Hawkins has finally returned to his own body after years of astral projection. His mission now that he’s back: retrieve River, who is walking a dark path without even knowing it, and strip her world of the technology that has brought it to ruin.

Hawk and his team arrive on Earth only to discover that River’s new computer program endangers the world all on its own. An old human virus has resurrected and mutated with a computer virus inside of Hollow Man, and it’s spreading uncontrollably. Hawk is convinced it’s too late to save Earth…but River isn’t ready to give up hope yet.

River and Hawk find themselves on opposing sides, yet drawn together stronger than ever before. But a future with both of them in it could mean walking paths darker than either of them could ever have imagined.

FAIR GAME is book 3 in the Guardian series. We left off book 2 with Hawk being sent back to his own body and River being left in her world. FAIR GAMES starts up right after that then jumps about 4 months later in a short amount of time. 
  
In FAIR GAME the characters are easy to like, the bad guys are easy to hate. The situations are crazy, intense and full of suspenseful action. The world that Taylor Keating writes about is full of interesting scenarios and dangerous beings, I would never have guessed the Guardian books are written by a team of 2, it flows well.  Its crazy how the technology River has created works and how it benefits the "demons". The romance between Hawk and River continues to be intense and full of passion. There were a few things in book 3 I would have liked to have known more about (River's Fae Grandfather, The death of her half family members) But I still enjoyed it with the information that was given.

A lot of things get settled in FAIR GAME, I'm not sure if there are any more books planned in the series but I would be happy with FAIR GAME being the last book if that were the case. 

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Winner:Surprisingly Supernatural by S.J. Drum

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: Paperback copy of Surprisingly Supernatural
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Guest Post & Giveaway: Fair Game by Taylor Keating

UFI welcomes Taylor Keating Author of The Guardian Series. Thanks for Joining us!!


Addicted to Fact Finding
Less Addicted to Truth
By Taylor Keating

I was raised by a teacher librarian. On the surface, I’m sure that doesn’t seem like an earth-shattering revelation, but there’s more to the story.

My mother was also an amazingly patient single mom to four children, and broke up enough fights to qualify her as a referee for Olympic wrestling. She never beat us (although I’m sure she was tempted). Instead, she invested in a set of encyclopedias. Mealtimes became her opportunity to teach three argumentative teenagers and one small Afterthought how smart people fight. The first person who couldn’t back up an opinion with cold hard fact was sent to the bookshelf, including wee Afterthought. Our family arguments could have earned high ratings on reality television. We were before our time.

We thought this was something everyone did until our friends disabused us. Afterthought claims that having to explain this pastime to wide-eyed little playmates both embarrassed and permanently scarred her.  That may be true, but the tradeoff is that she’s really smart. Don’t mess with her when she’s playing trivia games.

All of us turned out to be good at research, although some of us used this talent for evil. I once convinced a jaded young cousin that Santa Claus does, indeed, exist, because Encyclopedia Britannica had an entry for him. Fortunately, (depending on your perspective), she wasn’t an enthusiastic reader and didn’t check past the heading.

These days, we’ve switched up Encyclopedia Britannica for the Internet and tossed our respective children into the fray.

But I’ve never learned to settle for fact. I see too many possibilities. In my world, facts are springboards for the imagination and I have a “friends with benefits” type of relationship with Wikipedia. I know how to verify my sources if I have to.

You want truth? You can’t handle the truth.

Well—maybe you can, but the truth is often boring and life is short. That’s why I like to embellish.  My mom says I’m creative. My writing partner calls me a big fat liar. (My cousin, btw, concurs.)

So I write paranormal.

When my writing partner and I decided to use a video game for our first book, Game Over, I was determined to make the “facts” work for the reader. I spent a lot of time running into a friend’s office to ask her IT questions such as, “Can we run a game using radio signals received from the brain?”

“As long as you add magic,” was her response to pretty much everything. And, “Have you tried looking it up online? Maybe the Japanese have cracked that nut.”

Let me tell you, magic is a storyteller’s best friend. Right after a thesaurus. And Google. Possibly the Japanese, too.  But when straight facts aren’t enough, summon the Wizard. (That’s a reference to the first book, in case you’re interested.)
My point is, you can’t make stuff up and put it in a story, even a paranormal one, without doing some background work. I do an unbelievable amount of factual reading, mostly from books with “for Dummies” in the titles. And Wikipedia.

Our second book, Mind Games, relied heavily on somewhat sketchy research involving the brain. Reading for our newest release, Fair Game, expanded to studies on how viruses mutate.

Mutating viruses, believe it or not, is something I understand all on my own, although I’m sure the professor who taught the course would be appalled to discover how I’ve twisted the facts in order to cross a computer virus with a live one. If only I could have gotten through university relying on my imagination this way. Those lab reports would have been a lot more interesting.

So, for anyone reading the Guardian series, you can rest assured that a plausible level of research went into these books. Then, we summoned the Wizard.

How much research do you like to see in something you’re reading? Does it depend on the writer, or the genre?
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Taylor Keating is the pseudonym of writing team Catherine Verge and Paula Altenburg.

Catherine Verge
A multi published author in the romance genre under another pen name, Catherine is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. Catherine can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love.
A maritime native and former financial officer, Catherine has lived all over Canada but has finally settled down in her childhood hometown with her family. Catherine also writes spicy romance under Cathryn Fox and Young Adult novels under Cat Kalen.

Paula Altenburg
The other half of Taylor Keating, Paula grew up in rural Nova Scotia knowing that at some point in her life she was going to be a fiction writer. Swapping Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey books with her father guaranteed she wasn’t going to be the next Jane Austen, much to the dismay of her English teacher mother. A degree in Social Anthropology from the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, again meant writing was the logical (meaning only) career path for her, although it did confirm her belief that learning is a life-long experience.
She now works in the Aerospace industry, which surprises everyone who knows her. Happily married, with two terrific sons, she continues to live in rural Nova Scotia but makes a point of traveling as much as she can. New York and Brussels are tied for her favorite cities of all time.
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Find Taylor and her books
__________________________________
Fair Game
Guardian #3
 Video-game designer River Weston has seen her world torn apart. The streets of Earth have filled with looting, sickness, and fighting, but River knows that she is in a unique position to help. Drawing on her Fae magic, she creates a computer-generated program called Hollow Man, designed to protect humans during battle.

Worlds away, Guardian Chase Hawkins has finally returned to his own body after years of astral projection. His mission now that he’s back: retrieve River, who is walking a dark path without even knowing it, and strip her world of the technology that has brought it to ruin.

Hawk and his team arrive on Earth only to discover that River’s new computer program endangers the world all on its own. An old human virus has resurrected and mutated with a computer virus inside of Hollow Man, and it’s spreading uncontrollably. Hawk is convinced it’s too late to save Earth…but River isn’t ready to give up hope yet.

River and Hawk find themselves on opposing sides, yet drawn together stronger than ever before. But a future with both of them in it could mean walking paths darker than either of them could ever have imagined.
Indie Bound / Amazon / B&N / BooksAMillion / Overstock / Powells



__________________________________
 Us and Canadian Addresses
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Review: Tab Bennett and the Inbetween by Jes Young

Tab Bennett and the Inbetween
Author: Jes Young
Release Date: April 30, 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Tab Bennett Book #1
ASIN:   B007Z8X7Y6
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

Yesterday Tab Bennett was a bank teller. Today she’s at the center of a centuries old war between Light and Dark. Tomorrow...well let’s just say she’ll be lucky if she lives to see it.

Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, employed at the local bank, and finally living on her own for the first time at twenty-four years-old, Tab Bennett has no interest in a fairy tale life. She’s perfectly happy with the normal one she already has. But when her sister is murdered on a moon-dark night, revealing a world of power and magic she never dreamed existed, a fairy tale is exactly what her life becomes. Figures it would have to be the Grimm kind.

Just like that, the life she had planned is over. Instead of cashing checks and handing out lollipops, Tab is unraveling clandestine assassination plots and learning to wield the magic that is her birthright. And as if fulfilling her destiny isn’t hard enough, she’ll also have to choose between Robbin, a man who’s turned out to be a lot more complicated than the proverbial boy next door, and Alexander, the handsome prince whose smile leaves her weak-kneed and weak-willed.

Now, while Tab struggles to hold on to the human world she’s always known and understand her place in the magical one she’s just discovered, dangerous forces are gathering close to home. If she wants to live to see happily ever after, she’ll have to figure out who she can trust, who wants her dead, and why. The answers will change everything she believes about herself, the people she loves, and the place she calls home.

I really enjoyed getting to know Tab and her friends. Its going to be kinda hard to write this review without giving away spoilers but bear with me.

Tab starts out as a normal everyday girl and then finds out that she is anything but and that her family really isn't family but her protectors. The characters are all great. Most of the people we meet are "family" members but they all are very well developed and we get to see different sides of each of them. The different characters that were introduced throughout the book fit in the book perfectly. Tab goes from being engaged to Robbin to finding out that she was meant to live her life with someone else. The love triangle was kind of crazy but I understood it and it played out well. I really liked both Robbin and Alexander so I was not rooting for one or the other but I do feel like Tab was meant to be with Alexander and that she wouldn't be her if she hadn't loved Robbin. The sexual tension between Tab and the two men is absolutely high. There were many times where I just wanted her to do one of them already and get it over with lol. There wasn't a ton of action but the action scenes that were there were fun to witness. I didn't have any issues with the flow of the book and felt everything happened at an easy pace.

Can''t wait to see what happens next and I really cant wait to finally visit the place where she was born and see how Jes Young does with the world building while there. The reviews for TAB BENNETT AND THE INBETWEEN seem to be all over the place but I enjoyed it and will read more books in the series.

I gave it 4/5 stars  


New Releases: 8/26-9/1





Tues Aug 28

Chosen (Dark Breed, #3) by Sable Grace
The Dark Light by Sara Walsh
Devil Said Bang (Sandman Slim, #4) by Richard Kadrey
Erasing Time by C.J. Hill
Every Day by David Levithan
Fair Game (Guardian, #3) by Taylor Keating
Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity, #9) by Alexadria Ivy
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophesy and Prediction by Richelle Mead
Haunted (Anna Stong, #8) by Jeanne C. Stein
How to Lose a Demon in 10 days (10 Days, #1) by Saranna DeWylde
Immortally Yours (Monster M*A*S*H, #1) by Angie Fox
Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara A. Fuller
Taken (Alex Verus, #3) by Benedict Jacka
Soul Trade (Black London, #5) by Caitlin Kittredge
Vanquished (Crusade, #3) by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie
Wrayth (Book of the Order, #3) by Philippa Ballantine

Happy Reading!!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Interview & Giveaway: The Darkest Day by Britt Bury

UFI welcomes Britt Bury Author of The Darkest Day. Thanks for Joining us!!

This or That

Pizza or Pasta Pasta! Love my carbs! :)

Werewolves or Vampires Hmmm...I'd have to say Vampires. Fewer hairballs :)

Coke or Pepsi I honestly can't tell the difference. Put something "Diet" in front of me, and I'll drink it.

Angels or Demons Demons! Is it weird I'm drawn to the more "evil" types?

Up or Down Up

Book Signing or Panel Speaking Both!

Facebook or Twitter Facebook. Although, I don't understand how to use it...

Coffee or Tea Both. Coffee in the morning. Tea at bedtime.

YA or Adult Adult.

Reading or Writing Ah! No way I could ever choose :)

Left or Right Right
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Britt Bury writes paranormal romance where the immortals are fierce, the stakes are high, and desire can be deadly.

Britt was raised in Corvallis, Oregon and attended Oregon State University majoring in Liberal Studies. When her dream of being a professional karaoke star and Elvis impersonator didn’t pan out, she turned to writing. She currently lives in the Silicon Valley with her brilliant husband, two sons and an obscene amount of fish.

Britt's first paranormal romance releases July 3, 2012 with Grand Central's imprint: Forever Yours. Britt is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
__________________________________
Find Britt and her books
__________________________________
The Darkest Day
Immortal Heat #1
ALL-CONSUMING DESIRE . . .

Izel Campbell was raised to believe she is an immortal Fionn with the magical skills of persuasion. But when she travels to Scotland to visit her ancestral home, Izel discovers that she is actually the world's last living human. Forced to run for her life, Izel crosses paths with Kelvin Kerr, the Campbells' greatest foe-and the most magnificent warrior she has ever seen.

BURNS BRIGHTEST . . .

A thousand-year-old battle chief of the Kerr clan, Kelvin lives only to avenge his father, who died at the hands of the bloody Campbells. Honor demands he kill the Campbell heir, but when he learns that the lovely Izel is both Campbell and human, Kelvin is torn between duty and desire . . .

ON THE DARKEST DAY
 
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 US ONLY
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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Week in Review: 8/19-8/25


Books Ive Bought/received

*The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski-eARC-Netgalley

Books I Read

Phantom Shadows by Dianne Duvall
Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Surprisingly Supernatural by S.J. Drum
Foretold by Jana Oliver

Reviews Posted

Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep
Integration by Imogen Rose

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Jennifer Malone Wright was here on Monday with a guest post and giveaway for her Vampire Hunter's Daughter series tour.

* Tuesday S.J. Drum stopped in with a Guest Post and giveaway for her book Surprisingly Supernatural

*If you have a moment I would love your help with my Amazon reviewer rating.

* Friday Jes Young stopped in with a Guest post and giveaway on her Tab Bennett and the Inbetween Tour.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 
*If you see something on my books Ive read list that you are dying to know about let me know I'm back logged on reviews and can move it up on the list if I know people are wanting one.

 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Winner: A Wolf at the Door by K.A. Stewart

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: Finished copy of A Wolf at the Door
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Tab Bennett and the Inbetween by Jes Young

UFI welcomes Jes Young Author of Tab Bennett and the Inbetween. Thanks for Joining us!!

Last night when I was clicking through the quotes on GoodReads.com (my favorite time wasting strategy) I came across this one from Politically Correct Bedtime Stories a Collection of Modern Tales for Our Life and Times by James Finn Garner:

“The wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone."

Red Riding Hood said, "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop your own, entirely valid, worldview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way.”

This got me thinking about how a princess might handle that encounter – by screaming and / or fainting – and about the way an urban fantasy heroine would reply with a sharp word and an even sharper knife. It got me thinking about fairy tales and how I felt about them as a kid, as a teen, and now.

When I was a little girl, I wanted a fairy tale life – a handsome prince, an enchanted castle, gourds that would turn into inexpensive and convenient modes of transportation. I watched the Disney versions of the classic fairy tales without knowing that the Little Mermaid traded her tongue to get on land and then ended up dying alone because the prince didn’t love her or that Rapunzel’s real parents traded her to the witch in exchange for a head of lettuce. Blissfully unaware, I danced around the backyard singing “Someday my prince will come.” I waited for the shiny apple that would bring true love’s kiss running to revive me as I lay – surrounded by extremely short men and deeply asleep – in my very own glass coffin.

When I was a teenager, I was surly and angry and much too smart to believe in happy endings. Fairy tales were stupid – especially the Disney versions. Cinderella and Rapunzel were chumps for cheerfully putting up with everyone’s crap. The Little Mermaid was a fool for giving up her life for a man. Snow “I take candy from strangers” White was too dumb to live. I didn’t want to be like any of those stupid, useless princesses. I wasn’t going to waste my time trying to catch the eye of some guy who wore more lip gloss than I did just because his father owned a castle.

Now I am a grown up and although I am no longer quite so keen on eating poisoned apples, neither am I in such a hurry to discount the appeal of an eager to please handsome prince. I find I want fairy tales again – stories about magic, about destiny, about the power of true love and the triumph of good over evil. That’s what draws me to urban fantasy; the genre takes the best elements of the fairy tales I grew up on, shakes them, and makes them into something better. Maybe the princess has a knife collection and a snarky attitude but she is loyal and brave. And maybe the prince has traded in his too-red lips for a facial scar and a past he’s not proud of, but he’s loyal and brave too. Together they’ll win and lose and bleed. They’ll find danger, fight the bad guy, and ultimately save the world. And when they get to their happily ever after, they’ll have earned it.

My book, Tab Bennett and the Inbetween, isn’t based on any particular fairy tale but it does contain the phrase “once upon a time.” There’s a handsome prince and a princess who starts out useless and later learns to kick butt. And, because I am now too smart not to believe in them, when we get there, theirs will definitely be a happy ending.

Where do you stand on the issue of fairy tales? Are they little girl soul crushers or imagination builders? Do you favor the sweetened versions or do you prefer your stories bitter and dark? If anybody has any comments or questions, I’d love to hear them! I’ll check in to reply throughout the day.
 
Thanks for having me over, Stacy. I really appreciate the chance to talk with you and your readers.
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Jes Young was a copywriter at Random House for eight years before leaving the job she loved to be a full time mom to two babies she loved even more. She holds a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Like so many first novels, Tab Bennett and the Inbetween was written between the hours of 11PM and 2AM.

Find Jes and her books
__________________________________

Tab Bennett and the Inbetween
Tab Bennett #1
Yesterday Tab Bennett was a bank teller. Today she’s at the center of a centuries old war between Light and Dark. Tomorrow...well let’s just say she’ll be lucky if she lives to see it.

Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, employed at the local bank, and finally living on her own for the first time at twenty-four years-old, Tab Bennett has no interest in a fairy tale life. She’s perfectly happy with the normal one she already has. But when her sister is murdered on a moon-dark night, revealing a world of power and magic she never dreamed existed, a fairy tale is exactly what her life becomes. Figures it would have to be the Grimm kind.

Just like that, the life she had planned is over. Instead of cashing checks and handing out lollipops, Tab is unraveling clandestine assassination plots and learning to wield the magic that is her birthright. And as if fulfilling her destiny isn’t hard enough, she’ll also have to choose between Robbin, a man who’s turned out to be a lot more complicated than the proverbial boy next door, and Alexander, the handsome prince whose smile leaves her weak-kneed and weak-willed.

Now, while Tab struggles to hold on to the human world she’s always known and understand her place in the magical one she’s just discovered, dangerous forces are gathering close to home. If she wants to live to see happily ever after, she’ll have to figure out who she can trust, who wants her dead, and why. The answers will change everything she believes about herself, the people she loves, and the place she calls home.
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Open Internationally  
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Thursday, August 23, 2012

My Amazon Reviewer Ranking

If you have a moment I would love your help with improving my Amazon Reviewer Rank. 

If you read a review I wrote that you enjoy and find helpful, please visit my Amazon profile HERE find that book in the review list and where it says Was this review helpful to you? please click yes. 

My current rankings are Top Reviewer Ranking: 6,003  Helpful Votes: 343.  
Thank you for any help you provide and I will update this if/as my reviewer rank changes=)

Update 8/24/2012
Top Reviewer Ranking: 5,961 (?)
Helpful votes received on reviews: 71% (373 of 528)

Review: Integration by Imogen Rose

Integration
Author: Imogen Rose
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Bonfire Academy Book #2
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Author



Second haiku warning:

A boyfriend missing
A lover must pay in blood
A princess must die

Welcome back to Bonfire Academy.

Cordelia is back at Bonfire Academy but she is now part of the staff. She jumps right into her apprenticeship and once again she has to figure out who is targeting bonfire academies students. 

I really enjoy Cordelia's character and am glad she is the main focus of the Bonfire Academy series. I'm sure I will read The Bonfire Chronicles but not until we get through Cordelia's story. There is a great amount of mystery in this series and the action is right on par. The twists and turns always seem to be in the best spots to throw you through a loop. I enjoy getting to know the existing characters as well as the new characters that are introduced. On the relationship front, Cordelia does a lot of heart searching while trying to figure out who she wants to be with and she does not take it lightly. The love triangle is put to rest when Cordelia finally tells Quinn about her synching with Jagger. I really like Jagger and Cordelia together so it was nice to see that whole thing finally put to rest.

I'm dying after reading the ending. What a doozy, talk about shocking and all around cliffhanger. Are you sure that person is a shifter wearing the person's skin? WHY? We have to wait how long to see what happens?? What a cruel, cruel author you are. 

I gave it 4/5 stars 


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Review: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Widow's Web
Author: Jennifer Estep
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Elemental Assassin Book #7
ISBN:  1451651775
ISBN13: 9781451651775
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Author

The seventh book in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Estep—Gin Blanco is back and ready for action.

My name is Gin, and I kill people. It’s something I've been doing for years as the assassin called Spider, but now, it’s turned into a necessity on my part just to survive all the lowlifes in Ashland who are gunning for me. The underworld is still in turmoil, and I seem to be on everyone’s hit list these days.    

To add to Gin’s problems, her lover Owen’s ex is in town. Salina is back in Ashland to reclaim an old family legacy—and she thinks that Owen is hers for the taking. Also in the mix is Phillip Kincaid, a casino owner and all-around shady character who has a mysterious connection to both Owen and Salina.    

Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. Her water elemental magic makes her a dangerous enemy—and someone who can go toe-to-toe with Gin’s Ice and Stone power. But Gin is determined to get to the bottom of Salina’s deadly scheme, even though it just might cost her everything…including Owen.

The great story lines and characters of the Elemental Assassin series keeps me entertained and on the edge of my seat for more. I practically stalk Jennifer's websites checking in on her progress of not only the Elemental Assassin series but also her YA series Mythos Academy. Im hoping they both go on for a long time to come.

Even though Gin has retired from the assassin business her and her friends enemies still keep her busy, Just when she gets rid of one another jumps up in their place. WIDOW'S WEB revolves heavily on Owen's past. There have been many hints about his past on how he became the rich man he is now but Owen's past involves a lot more then I would have ever expected and it definitely comes back to bite him in the rear. Gin's relationship with her sister is doing great and gets better with each situation that comes up. Gin is slowly letting others help her in dangerous situations but she still needs to work on that as she unfortunately learns by the end of book 7. Kincaid is a big part of Owen's past and I really enjoyed getting to know him. I have a feeling we will see a lot of him in the future. 

** SPOILER ALERT**Read at your own risk or after you have finished reading the book*
Some heavy emotions happen between Gin and Owen in WIDOW'S WEB. I feel that the situation plays out in a way that makes complete sense so even though my heart hurts I have no doubt it wont last long. I am kinda shocked that Gin isn't more upset with Owen though, the way he acted really ticked me off and I wanted to smack him upside the head a few times. She was very understanding of his feelings and I hope he gets his head out of his butt quickly. **SPOILER OVER**

Jennifer has a fantastic way of bringing each and every emotion to the front of your mind and you cant help but fall into them right along with the characters. Jennifer does not hold back in WIDOW'S WEB and you will be emotionally drained by the end.  Bring on DEADLY STING I'm dying for more.

I gave it 5/5 stars