Mini Monday, the Carina Press Edition

After buying/borrowing quite a few books this month, I decided to spend the last weekend of February trying to make a dent in my TBR stockpile.  Thanks to my friends at Kobo and their generous use of coupons, I have a slightly frightening backlog of Carina Press titles, so I dove into those.  Here's what I read this weekend.

The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro- This was pretty much a straight up Gothic romance.  (Not that I'm an expert on the Gothics, but Jenny Crusie describes them as "girl gets a house" and that's what this was.)  Rosalind goes off into the wilds to marry the amnesiac, and possibly insane, son of an Earl.  It's her last chance at having a home and family of her own, because she's got The Sight, and everyone at home knows it.

I got annoyed by the number of attacks and accidents she had to go through before Lucien acknowledged something was really going on.  And then his attempt to protect her was half-assed at best.  But mostly this was an enjoyable read.

Blinded By Our Eyes by Clare London- Gay gallery owner Charles comes home early from a trip to discover his prize sculptor dead and his ex-lover covered in blood and hysterical.

This was a dark read, with a fog of anger and violence throughout.  There was a happy ending of sorts, but the solution to the mystery was pretty disturbing.  And the relationship between the sculptor and the ex-lover was unnecessarily mysterious in the first few chapters, which was just annoying.

Not a bad read, but not to my taste.

Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey- This is the follow up to Ms Stacey's very popular Exclusively Yours.  Kevin Kowalski is the only one of his siblings still single, now that his brother Joe has tied the knot, and he's not thrilled about it.  He's sick of bar bunnies and ready to settle down.  Beth Hansen is a rolling stone, who's allergic to ties of any kind.  Too bad their one night stand leads to a baby.

This was a fun read.  The Kowalskis are a fun family, and it was great to revisit them. And Kevin is a great hero.  I was less enamored of Beth, though.  Her reason for not wanting to settle down was understandable, but it got old after a while.  By the end of the story it was long past time for her to get a grip and grow up.  But the ending was sweet, and I bought that they'd be happy together.

Fair Game by Josh Lanyon- Elliot Mills is a former FBI agent who had to leave field work behind when he was badly injured in the line of duty.  A year and a half later he's started a new life for himself as a history professor when he's asked to look into the disappearance of student.  The investigation brings him back into contact with the FBI and his ex-lover, Special Agent Tucker Lance.

The mystery was good and the romance between Elliot and Tucker is emotional and believable.  My only problem with the book wasn't with this story itself so much as the story within the context of the author's other work.  Everything else that I've read by Lanyon has been in 1st person.  This story was in third, although limited to Elliot's point of view.  I kept getting bounced out of the story when I was expecting 1st person and got 3rd person instead.  Not really a critique so much as an observation.

So that's what I read this weekend.  How about you?

Review: Mr. Maybe by Jane Green

Review by DivaBetty

I noticed in Barnes and Noble that Green's 90's chick lit books have new classy covers. I prefer the old one for Mr. Maybe...shredded male torso, clothesline of jokey boxers...because it is what it is.  A relic of the glory days of early chick lit, when Bridget Jones chronicled her calories and Good In Bed was shocking. This is one of the classics...juicy, frivolous, and rather well written to boot.
 
Libby is a twentysomething Londoner who loves her job in PR, burdens her charge card with funky designer finds, and feels like she's ready for a fling. Her bff, Jules (she of the Perfect Marriage to convenient accessory Jamie) insists that Libby can't handle a fling...she'll end up heartbroken. But Libby meets Nick, fun, hot, and unapologetically on the dole, he's an immature dreamboat built for delicious sex with no strings attached. 

The bathtub sex scene is STILL one of the best I've ever read. In case you're interested in that sort of thing. ;)
 
They have a terrific time together in and out of the bedroom but Libby can't handle his slovenly and unambitious lifestyle and horrid friends. They break up. She's crushed. A rich guy, Ed, comes into the picture and is everything she says she wants. 

Ed makes me gag.
 
There's a very realistic take on "storybook" romance here and the likelihood that you should be careful what you wish for. 
 
By the time Nick shows up again, I was singing Hallelujah to the heavens because at no point does it seem like Ed is anything but Mr. Hell No. Libby has some growing up to do, though, and it's rendered well. She learns to be true to herself and it feels authentic, not like a sitcom Learning a Lesson moment. 
 
I wish all chicklit was this good, this hilarious, this tasty.

Free Today Only- The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt

It's the last Wednesday in February, and that means we've come to the last of the Carina Press freebies.  This week it's The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt.  To get your copy, go here, and don't forget to use the code SEVENFOLDFREE at checkout.

Here's the blurb:


Have you ever wondered what happens to the other people in the fairy tale?


Things look grim for Talia and her mother. By royal proclamation, the constables and those annoying "good" fairies have taken away their livelihood by confiscating their spinning wheel. Something to do with a curse on the princess, they said.


Not every young lady has a fairy godmother rushing to her rescue.


Without the promise of an income from spinning, Talia's prospects for marriage disappear, and she and her mother face destitution. Past caring about breaking an arbitrary and cruel law, rebellious Talia determines to build a new spinning wheel, the only one in the nation—which plays right into the evil fairy's diabolical plan. Talia discovers that finding a happy ending requires sacrifice. But is it a sacrifice she's willing to make?


This novella generated quite a bit of buzz last fall when it was released, and deservedly so.  It's an unusual take on the Sleeping Beauty tale.  For one thing, Talia isn't the princess.  And she doesn't wait around for someone else to give her what she wants, she goes out and gets it herself.  She also takes a very un-fairytale like attitude toward sex.  There is a romantic interest for Talia, but it's really not about the guy.  This is her story all the way.


Also, did you see that gorgeous cover?


This one is definitely worth a read, and bonus!  It's free!  Happy Wednesday, everyBetty.

Review: Lessons in Love: A Cambridge Fellows Mystery by Charlie Cochrane

 Review by Chronic Betty

St. Bride’s College, Cambridge, England, 1905.

Jonty Stewart is handsome and outgoing, with blood as blue as his eyes. When he takes up a teaching post at the college where he studied, his dynamic style acts as an agent for change within the archaic institution. He also has a catalytic effect on Orlando Coppersmith.

Orlando is a brilliant, introverted mathematician with very little experience of life outside the university walls. He strikes up an alliance with Jonty and soon finds himself heart-deep in feelings he’s never experienced. Before long their friendship blossoms into more than either man had hoped.

Then a student is murdered within St. Bride’s. Then another…and another. All the victims have one thing in common: a penchant for men. Asked by the police to serve as their eyes and ears within the college, Jonty and Orlando risk exposing a love affair that could make them the killer’s next target.

This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.

---

Product Warnings

Contains sensual m/m lovemaking and men in punts.

I love Samhain's product warnings, don't you?  I think I've read more of their books based on the warning than the blurb.

Jonty Stewart and Orlando Coppersmith meet when Jonty sits in Orlando's chair.  They soon become inseparable, first as friends, and then slowly as something more.  During this time a murderer starts targeting homosexual students at St. Bride's.  Suddenly their relationship is dangerous on three fronts:  Jonty knows he's homosexual, but Orlando has been basically asexual until this point in his life.  Is this what he wants?  People are dying on campus for being homosexual, do they want to risk catching the murderer's attention?  And, homosexual acts were illegal in England in 1905.  Do they want to risk hard labor if they're caught?

I'd heard good things about this book, and I was eager to give it a try.  But I had a very hard time connecting, mostly because of the POV.  It was written in 3rd person omniscient, which I generally don't like.  And in a book where a large part of the focus is the romance, that distance doesn't serve the story well.

I did get more involved as the mystery plot drove to its conclusion.  But I also think that the last third or so of the book was more interesting because we were spending more time with Orlando's thoughts than Jonty's.  This was really Orlando's book.  He grows the most, changing from a complete loner to a man with a dear friend and lover.  He also has to shift his thinking away from his very prudish upbringing to accept any sexual feelings at all, let alone feelings for another man.  And yet it seems like we spend a lot more time in the early part of the book in Jonty's head, as he dances around trying to slowly seduce Orlando, while at the same time trying to preserve his "precious innocence."  (Jonty's interest in Orlando's complete innocence and unworldliness was a bit squicky to me.)


In the end we finally get to see Orlando understand what he really wants and be the hero by rescuing Jonty.  And I think that's as much of the reason why I liked the end of the book as all the action in catching the killer. We're finally getting to experience the important stuff through the right pair of eyes.


I struggled with this one, but don't take my opinion for gospel.  There are eight books in this series now, so apparently many others liked it.  I caught a spoiler by accident for book 8, and now I'm trying to decide if I want to push through all the books in between, hoping they get better, or if I should break a cherished reading law and just jump to the good bit.  That spoiler sounded wowza.


I give it a C-.  Not horrible, but not quite in the middle of the pack, either.  I was able to borrow this one, now that lending is available for the Kindle.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a m/m romance available for download through the library.

Free Today Only- The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro

Another Wednesday, another free ebook from Carina Press!  This time it's The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro.  To get your free copy, go here, and don't forget to use the code SPURNEDFREE at checkout.

I can't tell you much about this one.  It's in my TBR file, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.  If anyone has read it and would like to give us the scoop, please do!  In the meantime, here's the blurb:


Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind's only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn't expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.


Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry—not when he's plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.


Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close—and tempted into passionate kisses—Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife...


Sounds pretty good.  Maybe I need to bump this one up the queue!

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Review by Diva

I have to do a dual Diva review on this one. It is impossible to compute otherwise.
 
The STORY(Diva, 32)
 
Lonely teen Grace has no interests except her obsession with the wolves living in nearby Boundary Wood. They mauled her when she was eleven (and playing on a tire swing? at eleven? how bout piercing stuff and reading seventeen magazine? realism alert!) and she was rescued by "her" wolf, a yellow eyed beast who seemed to understand her very soul. The wolf watches her. She watches it. There's a connection.

Some jerk from her high school gets killed by the wolves and comes back as a shapeshifting werewolf.  Ecstatic, Grace tells her photog buddy Olivia "hey, i saw this wolf who looks like Jack I bet he's a werewolf now!" and Olivia is all "you are just stoked to jump yellow eyed dog and hope he's a dude." (Okay they don't talk like that at all. It only SEEMS like they do).

Sam is "her" wolf, he shows up in naked 18yo guy form bleeding on her back deck and she tends to him, hides him in her room for weeks, unbeknownst to the Stupidest Parents in the Entire Canon of Literature as We Know It. But, hell, they remained in their woodsy house AFTER she got mauled by wolves as a kid and assured her "wolves are peaceful creatures" then locked her in the damn hot car that summer for hours and she had to be rescued and revived cuz they FORGOT her. (PS an eleven yo couldn't get out of the damn car???)

Grace and Sam fall in love. They have to keep him warm so he doesn't morph back into wolf form. He didn't change in warm weather this year so it's his Last Year As a Real Live Boy. So he wants to see the people and the landscapes and ball the girl because he will never have another chance evah.

But there is the problem of his pack (as well as the fact that every time he gets cold in friggin Minnesota he changes back to a wolf so he has to sit in the warm car a lot). Raised by Beck, a sometime lawyer sometime wolf/highly fallible father figure, Sam has to deal with Shelby, a jealous, murderous she wolf. She tries to kill Grace. Sam finds out Beck has intentionally had kids bitten to perpetuate the pack with new members. He is sad and angry. He takes Grace on a date to SMELL CANDY. Because that is romantic. Then they shag. This does not satisfy my curiosity about whether or not sex will make him transform into a wolf (sex kept vampire Ian Thornheart from craving blood on Port Charles years ago. he was hawt.)

Then Isabel, rich bitch sis of newbie werewolf Jack, tells Grace she knows everything and demands help. Together they figure out that Grace's Dumbass Parents saved her from werewolfism by locking her in the hot car so the temp burned the werewolf out of her or some shit like that. They steal meningitis infected blood to infect and "save" Jack, Sam, and Olivia (who got bitten by pissed off Jack).  Spoilers:  Jack dies. Olivia opts out and frolics wolfily into the woods. Sam's form is unstable and he can't stay a human long enough to get injected fully. He disappears.

At the end (SPOILER) he shows up out of nowhere and they hug. We do not know if he has been human for like weeks since he was injected or how he survived the meningitis that killed Jack or if this is permanent or anything. The End.

PS. This girl has the self-esteem of Bella Swan (read: I must have my para hottie or I AM NOTHING) but Sam is a very cool character. His narration made it possible to finish the book. I fell asleep twice. Old Diva
 
THE STORY (Inner 15 yo Diva)
Grace feels a deep connection to the wolf who saved her life. Little does she know that he is secretly an attractive teen during the summer months. Despite the obstacles in their path, they come together one winter and hope the warmth of their love can protect Sam from leaving her forever to lead life as a wolf permanently.
 
Because she is part wolf herself, the result of the attack from which Sam saved her, Grace can understand him better than anyone. She is drawn to him and all the meaningless responsibilities with which she has filled her lonely life fall away until all that is left is Sam, fragile loving and hopeful. His wounded heart (his parents cut his wrists to kill him when he changed into a wolf as a kid) trusts her alone and they lead a full but narrow life together shutting out the cold and reality. 

A car accident sends a rush of cold air through the broken windshield and steals the last of his humanity, leaving Grace to go on alone. Fortunately her newfound friend Isabel, whose brother has been bitten, helps her discover the key to Grace's own resistance to becoming a wolf. They need to cause a high fever in the victims to save them from becoming wolves forever. Together, they execute a desperate plan that claims one life but saves another.
 
Sweepingly romantic, descriptive and atmospheric, dreamy. XOXO Teen DIVA

Mini Monday, Featuring Lunar Betty!

Hooray for Julie, Lunar Betty, who has graciously agreed to let me post a couple of her mini-reviews.  She asked that I remind everyone that these are just her emotional reactions and not "real" reviews.  We all know what that means, right?  Say it with me!  "Julie, YOU ARE A GREAT REVIEWER!!!1111!!!!111!!"


And now, on to the reviews!  

I finished a book yesterday that I did not love.  (This won’t be a review, I already told you that I can’t do those, I’m too emotional, can’t analyze with enough distance.  I am only capable of saying “yes I liked it, or “no I hated it.”  Not much gray area for me.)  I can tell when I am not adoring a story by the number of times I set it down.  If I carry the book around with me constantly, and finish it in a day or less, then I adore it.  If it takes me more than three days to get through, it is not a winner.  The latest from Laura Lippman was totally not a gem, to me.  I’d Know You Anywhere did not grab me, on any level.  The people in the book were flawed, that’s never the problem for me, I am flawed, we are all flawed.  These characters simply irritated me.  They had no spines, and the ones that almost did, were shallow, they were self-serving.  And not in an amusing way.  I simply did not give a rat’s ass about any of them.

And....

The Wilde Women by Paula Wall

           I liked this book very much, it had a very special "feel" that I really enjoyed. If this book was a photograph it would be one of those sepia-toned hand tinted antiques in a massively heavy frame.  It has the warmest brown hue to it.  I really enjoyed reading all of the separate-but-linked stories, the attitudes, and the emotions of each character.  They felt like real people you'd run across if you were transported back in time to this heavily burdened, but hard loving, fictional community.

          You can hear Wall's distinctive voice on every page, you could practically taste the dust of The Great Depression with every uniquely descriptive line.  Wall is a grand story teller and a true wordsmith. 

          The only thing that would have added more, I felt, would have been if she'd included family trees or some type of graphic to chart all the characters and their lineage.  Every once in a while I'd lose track of who was related to who(m?).  Overall I so loved reading how they interacted and crossed paths, in the current setting and in the past. 

          One or two folks were left a bit shallow in their backstory/history, and weren't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked.  But, I do understand the need for "minor" characters in every tale, and not every reader wants a tome that weighs more than a pudgy toddler  (could just be me this case).

          The twists and "just desserts" that rounded out the ending were very well done, tying up loose ends and giving the closing chapters a satisfying HEA (or just EA, but well deserved).

          There was, not exactly similarities, but a similar emotional sense, in this book as compared to her first one, The Rock Garden.  I think most readers would be happy with it if they enjoyed the other one.  For the familiarity of Wall's "voice" more than anything else.

So, those are our Monday mini-reviews!  Thanks, Julie!

Also, congratulations, merrymac12, you are the winner of the Adrien English Mysteries 1&2!  Shoot me an email at booksandbacon at yahoo dot com, and I'll get going on that.

Have a Happy Monday, and a Happy Valentine's Day everyBetty!

Just a little thing

So.  I'm reading a book, and the author just name checked one of their characters from an unrelated series.  I'm going to make up an example so that I don't have to call out the author, because who did it isn't really the point.

For example, if you were reading one of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' football books, and the hero makes a point of saying that he's watching one of the golf heroes on TV.  It doesn't add anything to the story.  Straight up name check.  Does that bother you, or is it a funny little inside joke for the fans?

My first reaction was to laugh.  But after that it was a little bit icky.  Not so icky/funny as the author who did a cover blurb for one of her own pen names a few years ago, but still just the tiniest bit icky.  I think I had the reaction because this author references real people sometimes, and I've been known to google looking for more information about them.  If other people do this (I can't be the only weirdo out there who does this kind of thing), then they're definitely going to come across other books by this author.  It kind of feels like marketing.  Can't they just trust that readers will enjoy the book and check out the list of other titles in the front and/or back of the book or on the author's website?

What do you think?  Am I being silly?  Do these little references amuse or annoy you?  Do you even notice?  Please, discuss amongst yourselves.

Review: Salaam, Paris by Kavita Daswani

Review by London Mabel


I picked up Salaam, Paris by Kavita Daswani as a sale book, so I didn't have big expectations. It's about Tanaya, a young Muslim Indian woman who's always dreamed of living in Paris. When her family wants her to marry a Muslim man living in Paris she agrees to go meet him, but instead turns her back on the arrangement and lives an independent life, eventually becoming a fashion model. The usual conflicts arise--feeling torn between her traditional upbringing and her bikini-clad magazine spreads, as well as re-meeting the man she was supposed to marry and finding herself falling in love with him.

This book was so good, and so bad. I didn't mind the fantasy setting, Tanaya's quick rise to fame etc., because other elements were realistic, such as the shocked reaction of her family, and her own torn feelings. I liked that she maintained her moral standards throughout, and the book avoided a lot of "overnight success story" clichés. I also liked that Tanaya missed her family, that she missed India, and she wasn't wholly enamored of this new lifestyle--she didn't turn overnight from a shy, obedient granddaughter to a Paris Hilton, or a western-style feminist.

BUT. I still kept waiting for her to change. The movie that makes Tanaya want to go to Paris is Sabrina, but surprisingly the author doesn't give her the same sort of transformation as Sabrina went through.  While I didn't expect Paris to fulfill Tanaya's fantasies, I thought it, or her new life, would fulfill her in some other, unexpected way. How can someone go from living the life of a child, on an allowance, with a very narrow future ahead of her--and she was never particularly rebellious--to being extremely wealthy, with enough money to do whatever she'd like with her life, and not experience Something? Surely she would have changed in terms of confidence? Feeling something new flower in her? Wouldn't she find out something important about herself? Instead, she felt like the exact same person throughout. She didn't like other people telling her what to do, but never rebelled against them (with one lame exception at the very end); and it never really felt like she was enjoying herself. Daswani never described Tanaya's experiences in Paris in a way that made me want to go to Paris. And in fact, half the book takes place in New York, which was disappointing and seemed unnecessary to the plot.

So while I loved the book for the first three quarters, my opinion crashed in the last quarter, when I realized there weren't going to be any interesting epiphanies. This is also when the almost-a-fiancé re-enters the picture. She falls instantly for him, though it's hard to understand why; and he suddenly becomes the center of her universe. She realizes she should have just married him in the first place, which is frankly the same thing I'd wondered at the beginning of the book--why wouldn't a conservative girl, who wants to live in Paris, not agree to an arranged marriage to a man who lives in Paris? (In other words, the author didn't convince me that this person, this character, had reason enough to rebel against this marriage.)

The last quarter of the book is a flat out mess--rushed, disingenuous, and finally clichéd. A book that could have been light yet subtly moving, instead turned out to be a 1980s Harlequin. Color me: Le Disappointed.

Free Today Only- Silver Bound by Ella Drake

It's Wednesday, and it's February.  That means Carina Press is giving away another ebook!  And this time it's one I don't already have.  Oh, happy day!  Go here, and don't forget to use the code SILVERFREE at checkout.


As I said, I haven't read this one yet, so I can't give you the scoop.  But here's the blurb:



Sheriff Guy Trident doesn't have much to do with off-worlders; he has his hands full keeping his own planet safe. But he'll do anything, go anywhere to save Jewel Quinn. She broke his heart years ago when she left to marry a Terraloft aristocrat. Now she's run away from her husband, only to fall into the clutches of slavers.


Posing as a wealthy playboy, Guy arrives at Zuthuru Station to learn he's too late: Jewel's memories have been erased. She's been tipped in silver, a process that leaves nothing behind except her body, sexually bound to pleasuring her master. Unwilling to give up hope, Guy buys her.


Jewel fights to reclaim herself, recalling a different connection to the handsome sheriff, remembering the frightened eyes of a young boy and the events that made her run. Together she and Guy search for her cure, plan her son's rescue from her ruthless ex, and test if they have any kind of future...before the past catches up to them.


So, Happy Wednesday, everyBetty!  Enjoy the free book!  And if anyone's read this one, let us know what you thought.

Review: The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon

Review by Chronic Betty

Relationships can be murder. Bookseller and mystery author Adrien English is looking for love in all the wrong places -- and, according to hot and handsome LAPD detective Jake Riordan, it's liable to get him killed.

Fatal Shadows
A serial killer is stalking gay men, and a tawny-eyed LAPD detective wants bookseller Adrien English in handcuffs -- for all the wrong reasons!

A Dangerous Thing
When his romance goes south, Adrien heads north to the California Motherlode country. Can murder -- and Adrien's favorite LAPD detective -- be far behind?


I love mystery series with a romance that evolves over multiple books, particularly if the romance is complicated.  Think Julia Spender-Fleming and Deanna Raybourn.  Well, this weekend I found a new author to add to that list- Josh Lanyon.


Adrien English is a gay bookstore owner with a bum ticker and a serious problem.  His best friend has been murdered, and he's Suspect #1.  Jake Riordan is the hostile, deeply closeted detective who's been assigned to the case.  As the bodies start piling up, all Adrien wants is to figure out who the real killer is and clear his name.  What Jake wants... is a greater mystery.

These books were phenomenal.  I read all five books in the series over the course of three days, and the whole thing has been rolling around in a big ball of goodness in my head ever since.  After being that immersed in the series, it's hard to know what to say without spoiling something.

What I can tell you is that the mysteries were exciting and well plotted.  The relationship between Adrien and Jake was intense, and it drags you right along with them.  Books three and four smashed my heart into a million pieces.  Book five slowly put it back together again.  The sex is explicit, and hot, but never over done. These are mysteries with strong romantic elements, not erotica.  And you may pick up the next book in the series because you're dying to see what's going to happen between Adrien and Jake, but that's never the main focus of the story.

I give the whole series an A.  Excellent, excellent work.  And in case you were all wondering if I've flipped my wig after this mess of a review (wig flipping always being a possibility with me), I've found a few people who agree with me.  The fifth book in the series, The Dark Tide, made the American Library Association's 2010 Over the Rainbow List.  The third book, The Hell You Say, was the winner of the 2006 USA Book News award for best GLBT fiction.  And that's just for this series.  There are plenty of other awards for his other work, too.

I borrowed The Adrien English Mysteries 1&2 through the Kindle lending program.  Once I finished devouring those, I popped over to Fictionwise and bought the rest of the series.  In three days my borrowing period will be up, and I'll have to hop online and buy myself a copy of those first two books, because there's no way I can go without them.  One of you will not have that problem, however.

I loved these books so much that I'm going to do something I've never done before.  I'm going to put my money where my keyboard is.  I'm having a contest!  To enter, just comment on this post.  Have you read any of Lanyon's stuff?  Do you want to?  Do you have questions about the series?  Any old comment will do. On Friday night I'll close the comments and randomly draw a winner.  That winner will get an ebook copy of The Adrien English Mysteries 1&2.  That's the first two books in the series.  It's available from several different vendors, so I can be flexible to meet your device's needs.  There don't appear to be any geographic restrictions for this title on Fictionwise, so it's open to everyone.  If you absolutely can't do an ebook, well, the two book collection isn't available in paper.  But I'll do my best to get the first book, Fatal Shadows, into your hands.

So go forth and comment!  And if you're impatient (like me) and can't wait for the drawing, Fictionwise has a 40% off coupon running now through the 14th.  (vday2011)  Great books and a great deal!

And I suppose I ought to say, just in case the FCC is one of the handful of people reading this, that no one paid me in anyway to do this.  The prize is coming out of my own pocket.  I loved this series that much, and I wanted to share it.

Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Review by Chronic Betty


Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. 


I loved this book, y'all.  And if you've read many of my reviews, you know that's not something I just come out and say very often.  But Deborah Harkness, with her debut novel A Discovery of Witches, has knocked my socks off.


Dr. Diana Bishop is doing nothing more than some research, and stressing out about a paper for an upcoming conference, when she stumbles across Ashmole 782.  She's unknowingly called up a magical manuscript that's been missing for 150 years.  Knowing only that it's magical, and that she has renounced all magic, she returns the book to the library.


Suddenly the library is filled with the three creatures of the magical world, other witches, vampires, and daemons, all waiting for her to do it again.  And there's one vampire in particular who won't leave her alone.


Matthew Clairmont is a scientist and a vampire.  He wants the information contained in Ashmole 782.  But maybe he wants Diana more.


It's hard to know what to say about this book, beyond "I loved it!"  It clocks in at a hefty 579 pages, and a lot of stuff happens on those pages.  But the story unfolds in an almost leisurely way at times.  There is a scene early on when Matthew takes Diana to a yoga class.  It was so beautifully described that it felt like I was there as I was reading it.  And yet, the scene also gives the reader vital information about the world the author has created and relations between the three species of creatures, as well as information about Diana and Matthew.  


There were multiple scenes like that, where one character or another displayed a deep knowledge of not so every day topics, like alchemy, history, genetics, rowing, horseback riding, billiards, wine appreciation, and probably others that I'm forgetting.  The only scene that wasn't illuminating for me in some way was the billiards scene, although someone familiar with the terminology might have gotten more out of it.


Although it's not a perfect comparison, in some ways the book reminded me of Sarah Addison Allen.  It's darker, more intense in spots, and not as charming as a Sarah Addison Allen (that's not a negative so much as a point of reference, since I find SAA exceptionally charming).  But the gentle way the story flows at times definitely reminded me of her work.  Also, Matthew sometimes reminded me a bit of Barrons from the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, although Matthew was more willing to explain things when necessary and didn't make me want to kick him in the taint so often.


Lest I leave you with the impression that this is the wimpiest paranormal ever written, there are many things more evil than Matthew that want to get their hands on Diana and Ashmole 782.  Diana and Matthew go through two significant attacks, their families are both in danger, and an organized group of very bad dudes are willing to go to great lengths to get what they want.  I can't really say more than that without getting into spoiler territory.  But let me reassure you, it's not all wine tastings and yoga classes.  Big stuff happens here.


As for Diana and Matthew, there's some serious character growth from both of them.  Diana goes from wanting to ignore and deny her power to desperately trying to learn to harness it.  That's a big shift in terms of accepting who she really is vs who she was trying to be.  Matthew's changes weren't as obvious, partially because the story is told mostly in 1st person by Diana.  But the way he treats her, his willingness to share with her and to let go some of the events from his past show how far he's come.


A word about POV.  As I said above, most of the story is told in 1st person from Diana's point of view.  But occasionally it shifts to 3rd person for a chapter, to show things that Diana could not possibly know.  The first time it happened was (the very short) chapter three, and I found it extremely jarring.  I read the next few chapters just waiting for it to happen again.  But after that, either because I knew to expect it or because I was so involved with the story, the transition was perfectly comfortable and not jarring at all.  I know not everyone is a fan of the shifting POV, so I thought I should mention it.  If you can get past the first one, it gets much better.

A little bit of good news: even though the book weighs in at nearly 600 pages, you're going to want more.  Word is that this is just the first book in the All Souls trilogy, so there is much more goodness to come.  I haven't heard anything about when the next book is due, however.

Brace yourselves.  I give this one an A.  It's a fascinating, well written story with engaging characters.  And even more than that, it's got that It factor that will keep you reading way past bedtime and have you thinking about it for days.

I was lucky enough to win an advance copy through GoodReads First Read program.  A Discovery of Witches goes on sale next Tuesday, February 8th, just in time for Valentine's Day!

Free Today Only- Coin Operated by Ginny Glass

Carina Press is offering a free ebook every Wednesday in February.  Today's offering is Coin Operated by Ginny Glass.  Go here, and be sure to use the coupon code COINFREE at checkout.  


I read this one the other day, so no freebie for me this time.  :(  At 68 pages, Coin Operated  may not be long, but it's definitely hot.  Here's the blurb:



Elijah Elliot and Beatrix London's fledgling ad agency is under siege. Not from outside competition but by Eli and Bea's unspoken lust for each other. As their unsatisfied cravings to dominate and submit bloom into vivid daydreams, the office becomes a minefield of frustrated needs and dangerous desires. Now something's gotta give or their partnership is going to self-destruct.


When Bea unveils a racy new light bondage ad campaign for their key client, she pushes Eli to cross the line he's drawn between them—the one that keeps him from doing all the hot, sinful things she imagines he's capable of...


As it says, BDSM is a theme in this one, so if that's really not your bag you may want to skip it.  But I thought the story was pretty good, and the price is certainly right.  So go check it out!