Review: Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…

So I love the Kate Daniels series. Love it. It is as amazing I imagine the Anita Blake series could have been if Anita hadn't gone turbo slut.  (I could get on board with sleeping with vamps, werewolves, etc. but when Anita slept with - I think it was a swan- and there were feathers involved...I was done.)

Anyway, I digress. Kate and Anita remind me of each other they both had screwed up childhood's and are generally kick-ass heroines. The action is pretty much non-stop with the KD series and it makes for such a fun ride.

My only disappointment with this book is that I would like to have seen more character development. I want some major changes to happen, I mean, we have Kate and Curran living together  outside of the Kepp but sometimes the non-stop action puts the character development on the back burner. I don't want to see the character development become stagnant like some series (*cough*Stephanie Plum*cough*).

This book also didn't have enough Derick for me. He's one of my favorite characters and I'd like to see him play a larger role. Hell, I'd like him to get his own book! Otherwise, I thought this was a fabulous addition to a stellar series! How long until the next book.....?!?!

Rating:

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I'd been putting off reading Delirium because I'd seen such polarized reactions to it. Some loved it, some hated it. So I tried to go in with as few expectations as possible. In the end, I'm planted, firmly, in the "loved it" camp.

Lena is counting down the days until her eighteenth birthday when she will receive the procedure that will protect her from, what the government has deemed the most dangerous disease of all, love. Lena's anxious to have the surgery because she's lived in fear that she will turn out like her mother, whose multiple procedures could never quite cure her of the disease and ultimately lead to her mother taking her own life.

Lena's anticipatory countdown warps entirely after meeting Alex. Alex is is an "Invalid", one of the uncured. Lena's relationship with Alex changes her preconceived notions about the "invalids" and slowly realizes that perhaps the "cure" is nothing more than the government's way to control citizens. (D'uh!) Lena's countdown then morphs to a countdown to the now dreaded day.

While Lena's feelings for Alex are strong she is merely dreading the procedure but doesn't intend to do anything rash, like refusing the procedure, until she learns something about her mother. The revelation changes everything she thought she knew about her past and that, in turn, changes everything for her future.

While reading Delirium I realized how much I enjoy a good dystopian novel. I love reading about alternate realities, presented as utopias, and following the character's realizations that the world they live in is anything but a utopia. I really enjoy that growing awareness of all that they're being denied and how the character processes that information.

I loved the relationship between Alex and Lena. I thought it was very well done. There was Lena's initial reaction to finding out Alex is an "invilad" and Alex's patience with Lena's coming to terms that maybe "the cure" is not necessarily the answer. Love Alex!

Delirium is an excellent start to a promising series. I'm so disappointed that, according to Goodreads, I have to wait until 2012 for, Pandemonium, the next installment of Lena's story. *POUTS* I'm so glad I didn't let the negative reviews I've seen of this book sway me from reading it. If you're a fan of the dystopian genre, I'd definitely give it a go. I'm so glad I did!

Rating:

Challenge(s) Fullfilled: E-book Challenge

Disclosure: I received this as a digital ARC through NetGalley. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
 
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
 
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Ari, a seventeen year-old with a unique look: silver hair and teal eyes, has always felt out of place. Abandoned at a young age, Ari was thrust into the foster care system. Now, she's determined to find out what happened to her mother even if it leads her to New 2, the rebuilt city of New Orleans. Having been destroyed by hurricanes, with a government unwilling to rebuild, the most powerful families of New Orleans pool their massive wealth in order to buy what is left of New Orleans. The rebuild and New 2 is the result. A place unlike any other where rumors of supernatural creatures run rampant.

Ari's quest to find out who she is leads her to this unfamiliar territory. However, with her otherworldly looks and her general otherness, Ari finds that she feels at home among the freaks and outcasts of New 2. But the more she learns about herself and her ancestry, Ari finds that perhaps she is a freak among the freaks. Just what sort of monster might she become?

Overall, Darkness Becomes Her was an enjoyable read although much darker and disturbing than most of the other paranormals out there. However, there was at least one aspect of the story that I found lacking.
But let's start with what I liked.

I liked that Ari was such a strong female character considering all that she'd been through. Having been abandoned at a young age Ari ended up in the foster care system and suffered some unspeakable horrors, many of which are merely alluded to in the book, while other atrocities are mentioned outright. I know that some readers have difficulty reading about abuse inflicted on children, so these forays into Ari's past may be a turn-off for some readers. However, Ari tries not to dwell on her past but to focus on the here and now.

I think Ari's difficult past allows her to handle all the weirdness that is thrown at her. She doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on why things are happening, she just accepts things and reacts accordingly. For those that enjoy a fast paced read, Darkness Becomes Her certainly fits the bill. There is nary a lull in the action.

The secondary characters in Darkness Becomes Her added to my enjoyment of the story. They're colorful, intriguing characters. Especially Violet and her albino alligator.

The romance aspect of this book felt rushed. While I think Sebastian will be an excellent, swoon worthy character. I felt the romance between Ari and Sebastian was a bit premature. Because there is so much action in the book I didn't buy into the romance between these two. Had their relationship developed a little more, I'd have been ok with it, but as it stands I thought that aspect of the novel was weak.

Darkness Becomes Her mixes a lot of supernatural beings from voo-doo priestess to vamps to Greek gods and goddesses. Sometimes I have a hard time when an author mixes so many supernatural entities. I feel like the world building can suffer so far that doesn't seem to be the case with Darkness Becomes Her but I am wary of the amount of supernatural aspects. I hope Keaton can keep it all in check!

Darkness Becomes Her mixes traditional supernatural creatures with Greek mythology and the result is the start of a darkly, disturbing, action packed paranormal series.

Rating:

Challenge(s) Fulfilled: Debut Author & E-book

Disclosure: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

About fifteen pages into this book, I already disliked the main character, sixteen year old Tamara. She is  a snotty little bitch and the only reason I continued to read was because Tamara acknowledges this and constantly used the past tense: "I was nasty. I was not a nice person."  This use of the past tense gave me hope that she does indeed change and I was only able to continue with this hope in mind. I'm glad I continued with the story. Although I can't say I ever really warmed to Tamara to the point where I would say I actually liked her. I certainly hated her a lot less.

Tamara has lived a charmed, privileged life. She is someone you could imagine on one of those MTV shows like My Sweet Sixteen. The bratty, get whatever she wants, teenager. But something happens that changes the course of Tamara's life. Her father dies. And while she doesn't immediately change into decent human being, this loss is enough to make her think about more. More than her pathetic, materialistic existence.

After Tamara's father dies, his insurmountable debt leaves Tamara and her mother no other choice but to live with Tamara's Aunt Rosaleen and Uncle Arthur out in the Irish countryside. While some of us might find this idyllic Tamara, a Dubliner, sees it as a kind of death sentence, the death of her social life. Her only peers include the cute guy in charge of the traveling library, Marcus, and Wesley her Uncle Arthur's right hand man.

Tamara picks up a book from the traveling library which turns out to be a journal. Tamara's neighbor, Sister Ignatius, encourages Tamara to write in the journal to work out all her feelings about her father's death. But when she goes to write her first entry she finds an entry in her own handwriting...for the next day. Tamara is scared, angry and confused until the next day when everything in the journal proves to be true. Tamara uses the information in the journal to make changes in her daily decisions, decisions that begin to unravel a mystery about Tamara's past that will forever change her understanding of herself.

Ahern's writing is simply beautiful; there is no doubt about that. The only complaint I have about the actual writing is that the first part of the novel is mostly Tamara telling us readers everything versus showing. I know she's catching us up to speed on what's happened but I don't know how many times we reviews express disappointment in being told something by the characters instead of shown through dialog or actions, which keeps the book interesting. However, like I said, Ahern's writing is truly exceptional.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. My first impression was not good, I was gearing up for a negative review so I was making notes of all the issues I had with Tamara and while I continued to be frustrated with her attitude, I was sucked into the magic, mystery, and intrigue of the story. The Book of Tomorrow is a beautifully written story of family, love, loss, and self discovery.

Rating:

Disclosure: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

Review: Night Betrayed by Joss Ware

The Change that devastated the earth made Theo Waxnicki something more than human-eternally young and beautiful...but not immortal. When he dies on a mission against the Strangers, he is lost to the darkness...until a miraculous healer brings him back.

Born as the world fell to ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing others' pain. Her tender touch awakens new life in Theo-and new desire. But joined together in a world of terrors, the lovers' secret pasts make them vulnerable to danger. And love is the deadliest trap of all.

Night Betrayed, the fourth book in Joss Ware’s post-apocalyptic romance series, is yet another enjoyable installment. This book tells Theo’s story. I enjoyed Theo in most of the other books and was eagerly anticipating his story. However, he was rather irritating in Sage’s book, Embrace the Night Eternal. But he returns to being the Theo readers have come to know and love.

I think Theo is one of my favorite characters because he’s from before The Change and is able to bridge the gap of today’s world that readers are familiar with this “brave new world”. The Change also did something to Theo so that he has hardly aged in the decades following the end of the world. 

So he has the mind and experience of an elderly man in the body of a thirty-something studmuffin in his prime. I was afraid his love interest would be too young and would creep me out. For example, I find some the vampire stories a little creepy especially when a hundred year old vampire is romantically involved with a teenager. There’s just something inherently WRONG with that. Yuck.

Ware has a lot more sense than some authors *cough*StephanieMeyer*cough* in that aspect, Theo’s love interest is a mature woman, while still much younger than Theo it’s a more respectable difference. I found it amusing when Selena kept harping about how much younger Theo was than her and he kept making comments about not being as young as he looked, what a smart ass. I loved the banter between Theo and Selena even when the shit hits the fan and faced with extreme situations and personal loss there's always a bright side and neither were whiny or pessimistic. Theo and Selena had excellent chemistry and I thought this was an excellent installment to the story, if a bit more somber given Selena’s gift of helping those close to death move on earning her the name Death Lady.

Also a bit grim is Remy’s experience. I really hope she gets a bangin’ HEA. Night Betrayed sets us up for what I assume is her story in the next book, however given her experience in Night Betrayed, I wouldn’t be surprised if her book isn’t until further in the series. I’m wondering who her hero is, Wyatt? I don’t think it’s Ian. Thoughts from anyone else reading this series?

Something I’ve noticed about this series is that, for the most, I’ve enjoyed each installment but I haven’t loved any of the h/h combos but I still find that this is one of the series that, overall, I truly enjoy. Ware has built a world filled with danger, adventure, and a slew of unanswered questions that keeps readers coming back for more.

Rating: 

Disclosure: I received this as a digital ARC through NetGalley. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

The series in order:

Review: Libertine's Kiss by Judith James

Broken Wing by Judith James was one of my favorite reads in 2010. When I saw Libertine’s Kiss  on Netgalley I was ecstatic! Broken Wing was an intense, emotional read and I was eager to try something else by Ms. James. While Libertine’s Kiss is not quite up to Broken Wing’s intensity, it still tackles serious subjects and delivers a satisfyingly sensual tale.

William and Elizabeth shared a brief but intense friendship as youngsters before William was shipped off to school, promising to return. Years later, after seemingly breaking that promise, William, now a highway robber, traitor to Cromwell’s England, and right hand man of Charles Stuart the rightful owner of the crown, shows up wounded and in need of assistance on Elizabeth’s doorstep.

Elizabeth, now widowed from an abusive husband, recognizes her childhood friend immediately; welcoming him into her home and attending to his wounds. William, wounded but not so much that he overlooks this Puritan woman’s allure. The two spend a passion filled night together before William moves on. William is unaware that the Puritan woman who offered him her assistance, her home, and her body was his friend from long ago. 

It comes to Cromwell’s men’s attention that Elizabeth has aided William, a traitor to the crown, and she is stripped of her lands. Once Charles Stuart is restored to the crown Elizabeth goes to court in hopes that her goodwill towards William, one of Stuart’s closest confidants, will earn her some of her property back. There William and Elizabeth cross paths and William realized that his one night affair with the Puritan woman was, in fact, Elizabeth. William insists on helping Elizabeth win the favor of Charles Stuart in the hopes of regaining her lands.

Passion ensues but I don’t want to give everything away. What I can say is that I really enjoyed this book. William is such a scoundrel, but you can’t help but love him. He’s nothing but honest with Elizabeth about his libertine ways and that he has no intentions of settling down. Elizabeth, in love with William since childhood, takes him anyway she can get him. Like Gabe in Broken Wing, William is a tortured soul. He is the way he is because of events in his past and Elizabeth is the only person he’s ever truly opened up to. The only person able to help him save himself.

I was also intrigued by the afterward where James explains that she based much of William de Veres on he very real historical figure of John Wilmont, Earl of Rochester. Even incorporating Wilmont’s actual poetry!

Libertine’s Kiss combines two of my favorite elements in a romance: a tortured hero and the friends-to-lovers plot line. Judith James, along with Courtney Milan, write some of my favorite historicals: intense, intelligent, intoxicating, and romantic. Libertine’s Kiss is not to be missed by fans of historical romance!

Rating:

Disclosure: I received this as a digital ARC through NetGalley. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

Review: Mind Game by Carolyn Crane

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.

Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.

I picked this up for my Mom at the Romantic Times Booklover's Convention earlier this year.(I even got it signed by Ms. Crane!) I've been waiting for my Mom to finish it so I could borrow it and I'm so glad I finally got to read it!

I love that Carolyn Crane has created a world with various shades of gray. Her characters' hidden agendas mixed with their special talents make for very unreliable characters. As a reader, I love stories that don't necessarily have clear cut heroes or villains. The world we live in is not black and white and, while I often read to escape the "real world", I love finding authors whose unique, complicated characters challenge me as a reader.

Even Justine questions the morality of the work she does for Packard. Are they providing a service the public by disillusioning criminals or playing god with their special brand of vigilantism? She's torn between believing in Packard and her own instincts about her most recent target Otto Sanchez, Midcity's golden boy Police Chief.

I love this this type of ambiguity and conflict in a storyline. It gives us readers a lot of fodder for coming to our own conclusions. Crane puts her characters in compromising situations, making questionable decisions and, in the end when the mystery is unraveled, we're still left with the sense that there are no easy answers, just shades of gray.

I loved Justine for the same reason I loved Chess in Stacia Kane's Downside series. Even though these characters are deeply flawed, they're unique, engaging, and their otherness challenges me as a reader. It's a talented author that can make a neurotic hypochondriac and a druggie ghost hunter unlikely heroines! Bravo, ladies.

As for Packard,I felt he had a bit of a Barrons-esque quality to him. Is he a good guy? Is he bad? For those of you reading Karen Marie Moning's Fever series,the mystery that is Jericho Barrons remains, however Packard's secrets are revealed only to remind us readers that he is neither a hero nor a villain but falls on the spectrum somewhere in between.

Possible Spoiler alert (highlight to read):

I'm gonna go ahead and officially say I'm team Packard. Even though Otto turns out NOT to be a psychotic killer, I don't care for him as Justine's love interest. In this world of gray, Otto is firm in the belief of right and wrong, black and white. With the kind of work Justine does I don't see this thing working out between them. I'm totally a Packard girl. The end.

I'm anxious to get a hold of Double Cross and read about the (mis)adventures of Justine and her fellow Disillusionists. I'm sure there aren't many of you out there, but if you haven't read Mind Games, what are you waiting for? It totally lives up to the hype!

Rating:

Lightening Reviews

I had some things I wanted to say about the following books but not enough to come up with two whole posts, so I figured they were good candidates for another round of Lightening Reviews!

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

As most of you know I'm "re-reading" the Black Dagger Brotherhood via audio books. I've always enjoyed Rhage in other books he's sexy and a smartass, I love it! But listening to his book I realized how little we saw of his funny personality. Since we get his POV we see that there's more to the brother than just snarky one liners and a never ending supply of movie quotes. But what I didn't like about Lover Eternal was the complete lack of his personality at all. I don't remember noticing that before but he nary made a wisecrack or joke the whole book. I know he didn't have a lot to joke about what with the curse and his ill human mate and all but I'd liked to have seen a bit more of his humor. I also loved how Mary deals with both Rhage and his beast. Taming the thing when no one else dared, even the other brothers. Mary's kind of a bad ass! ;)

As usual, I love Ward's books because of the multiple story lines. We're introduced to John Matthew in Lover Eternal, we also get more of Z and Bella as we're set up for their story in Lover Awakened. While Lover Eternal isn't my favorite BDB book, (that's a tie between Lover Awakened and Lover Mine) I did enjoy it this second time around!

Rating:

Abandon the Night by Joss Ware

This third installment of Ware's post-apocalyptic series is, I'm sad to say, my least favorite so far. Which is a shame because I really loved the interactions between Quent and Zoe in the previous books. Quent's frustration with Zoe's actions mirrored my own. I like that she's such a strong kick ass heroine but her constant abandonment of Quent grated on my nerves.

I felt really bad for Quent in this book. Zoe bolted every chance she could get, even when she was doing what she thought was right, she really showed a lack of trust and faith in Quent and I felt it got pretty old. However, I continue to enjoy the series for Ware's world building. This series reminds me a lot of The Walking Dead, which I'm also loving! All in all a good addition to the series, even if it wasn't my favorite.

Rating:

Audiobites: Dark Lover by J.R.Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

After I finished Lover Mine, I wanted more of the brothers so I picked up The Insider's Guide. That just whet my appetite for even more and made me want to re-read the series. However, I always feel so guilty re-reading books when I have such a monstrous TBR pile. After some discussion on Twitter with @mamakitty729 and @andrea_desherb about the audio versions of the books. I decided to "re-read" the series by listening to the audio books.

I checked Dark Lover out from the library and popped the first disc into my car stereo. After the first two sentences of the narrator, I immediately said, "Nope" and ejected the cd. It was a knee jerk reaction to not liking the narrator's voice. It wasn't what I had in mind for any of the brother's and I wasn't sure I wanted to listen any more.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to the audio books I choose. So I hopped back on Twitter and told @mamakitty729 that I wasn't sure I liked the narrator. Both Mamakitty and Andrea assured me that while he's not the best narrator ever, that I should stick with it and I would likely enjoy it. So, I gave it another go. I listened a little longer and before I knew it, I was so engrossed in Ward's world that I didn't even realize I'd gone through several discs!

It's been years since I first read Dark Lover and I've never re-read any of the books. There was soo much I'd forgotten! In my review of Lover Mine I mentioned how I was so sad that JM's story was over because we'd been waiting for it since we met him in Dark Lover. Well, we didn't actually meet him in Dark Lover, it wasn't until Lover Eternal that we were introduced to JM.

Also, something that bothered me this time around, that I don't recall bothering me during my first reading of Dark Lover, was Beth's willingness to hope into bed with Wrath after having been sexually assaulted the day before. Something about that just grated on me. But it didn't hamper my overall enjoyment of the novel. It was just one of those things that annoyed me and I don't recall having been annoyed by it before.

Since I'd read the series before I actually skipped any of the sections that were from the lesser's points of view. I really didn't care for them the first time around and since I've read it before, I decided to completely skip these sections!

Even though my initial reaction to Jim Frangione's voice was not positive, after I gave him a chance, I really did get sucked into the story and barely even noticed his voice. However, he does a good growly voice that totally fits the Brothers! I wasn't even bothered by hearing the naughty bits read aloud. I've generally steered clear of romance audio books because I always felt a little pervy hearing the naughty bits but, yea, not so much when it comes to the Brothers! Rawr!

I'm already over halfway done with Rhage's book, Lover Eternal. Then I get to start, what is still one of my favorite books in the series, Lover Awakened! I'm finding more and more reasons to drive around, as I'm only listening to the audio books in the car. Lots of little trips I probably don't really need to take... :)

Rating:

Review: Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan

She cannot forget the fire he ignited…

In the three years since her husband left her, Lady Kathleen Carhart has managed to forge a fulfilling life for herself. But when Ned Carhart unexpectedly returns, she finds her tranquility uprooted—and her deepest secrets threatened. Though she has no intention of falling for Ned’s charms, Kate can no longer deny the desire that still burns in her heart.

Or the promise of his love…

Ned is determined to regain his wife’s trust by using unbridled seduction. But just as Kate surrenders to Ned’s passion, her carefully guarded past threatens to destroy her. Now Kate must place her faith in the only man she’s ever loved, and the only one who has ever betrayed her…

I was first turned on (pun intended) to Courtney Milan thanks to Stacey's review of Proof by Seduction. Which I also ended up loving and have been eagerly anticipating this sequel for some time now!
 

I wasn't sure if Trial by Desire could live up to Proof by Seduction. Especially because in Poof by Seduction Ned was kind of a fuck-up. Sure, I liked him and felt sorry for him but I was wondering how Milan was going to turn Ned into hero material. But hero material he turned out to be!

Ned, determined to prove his self worth, has spent the last three years working in China to sort out his cousin's business issues overseas.In the process, he has transformed from the joking, bumbling screw-up to a man this in strict control of all his emotions.

During his absence, his wife Kate has spend her time shopping and gossiping, or so she's lead all of society to believe. When, in fact, she has been fighting off a number of would be 'suitors' vying to win the attentions of the woman abandoned by her husband. In additon, Kate has been taking on monumental tasks like hiding her best friend from her abusive husband, hardly the acts of the oblivious socialite she's accused of being. And, in a time, when women were still considered property, helping her friend could put Kate in a great deal of danger.

When Ned and Kate reunite a battle of wits and seduction ensues. However, Kate is still hurt by Ned's abandonment and Ned is determined not to let his emotional guard down, especially where his wife is concerned. She is the one person who could unravel it all.

I have to say I think the book's description is a bit misleading. It says that "Ned is determined to regain his wife’s trust by using unbridled seduction." However, Kate is the one that is pushing for both physical and emotional intimacy but Ned is afraid of losing his grip on his hard won control.

I love how Milan manages to balance a slew of intense topics: abuse, betrayal, and depression with romance without having it feel like some historical soap opera. Instead she weaves a tale of strength, redemption, forgiveness, and love. Courtney Milan is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.

If you haven't already, I'd highly recommend reading Proof by Seduction before picking up Trial by Desire, but it's not necessary to read them in order. Trial by Desire is out now, what are you waiting for?! Go get it!

Rating:

The series in order:

Disclosure: I received this as a digital ARC through NetGalley. I did not receive any compensation for this review.

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

A Clockwork Angel is the first book in Clare's new Infernal Devices series. Now, it's been awhile since I've read the Mortal Instruments series. So I had a bit of trouble trying to recall all of the background on the Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Because the characters in A Clockwork Angel are the ancestors to Clary, Jace, etc. I kept trying to relate them back to the Mortal Instruments series. However, I have a horrible memory when it comes to recalling books. I read so many and I just don't retain a lot of the details that other readers seem to be able to recall. It's such a pain! I was kind of frustrating myself trying to remember all the stuff from the Mortal Instruments series that it was hampering my enjoyment of the story. So when I decided to just stop trying recollect everything and enjoy this as a stand alone title and not how it related to the Mortal Instruments series, I was able to immerse myself and enjoy the book. And enjoy it I did! I LOVED this book. I think I'm going to end up liking this series more than the Mortal Instruments series. I think the world that Clare has created works so well in the historical context. I think that is part of why I enjoyed this book so much!

The characters Clare has created with Tessa, Will, and Jem are complex. Tessa, clearly holds traditional views of women in her society. I think these views will be tested and eventually altered as the series progresses. In this book we already saw Tessa growing more independent and stronger. Doing things I don't think she ever imagined she could do.

I love Will. He's clearly a tortured hero, which is one of my literary weaknesses. I love his self deprecating, sarcastic sense of humor. I love the banter between Tessa and Will. I cannot wait to discover what his deep dark secret is!

Jem is the antithesis of Will. While I didn't love him as much as Will. I think he's an interesting character especially with his "handicap". I don't see him as a love interest for Tessa; I think it's all about Will for her. But I think Jem is and will become a great friend to Tessa. But I am decidedly Team Will, no doubt!

I loved the idea of the clockwork army, so creepy and the whole book has that Victorian horror novel kind of feel to it. I mentioned before but I really think Clare's world works really well in this historical setting. This was an excellent start to what promises to be another excellent YA fantasy series!
Be sure to check out the website for The Infernal Devices series. There's background information and even character sketches!

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Review: Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

After being dumped by his longtime girlfriend, twenty-eight-year-old Justin Halpern found himself living at home with his seventy-three-year-old dad. Sam Halpern, who is "like Socrates, but angrier, and with worse hair," has never minced words, and when Justin moved back home, he began to record all the ridiculous things his dad said to him.

More than a million people now follow Mr. Halpern's philosophical musings on Twitter, and in this book, his son weaves a brilliantly funny, touching coming-of-age memoir around the best of his quotes. An all-American story that unfolds on the Little League field, in Denny's, during excruciating family road trips, and, most frequently, in the Halperns' kitchen over bowls of Grape-Nuts.

I first heard about Shit My Dad Says via the @shitmydadsays Twitter account. The first time I stumbled upon it I read through every tweet available. Bascially, Justin Halpern, after his girlfriend dumped him and he had no place to live, moved back home with his parents. He began leaving the outrageous one-liners from his 70 year old cantankereous father on his AIM away messages. Someone suggested to him that he create a Twitter account and, a million followers later, he has a book offer and a pending television show based on his father's one liners.

After reading some of the tweets, one might get the sense that Halpern's father is gruff and uncouth, both of which appear to be true but somehow I equeated that with not being a good dad? I don't know why. But after reading Sh*t My Dad Says, it is apparent that Mr. Halpern clearly loves his son. Sprinkled in among the obscenities are stories with real heart and,ultimately, the story is a classic father/son tale. With a lot of swear words thrown in! 

It is a quick read that literally had me laughing out loud. If you're interested in the book but not quite sure, you can check out the twitter page or this article to get a sense of the writing. 

I'll leave you with some of Mr. Halpern's pearls of wisdom:

"Don't ask for my opinion then. I said congrats on the car, just saying nobody's panties are getting wet from a fucking Honda Accord."

"There's a word for people like that...No, I'm saying, there's a word and I don't know what it is. I'm not being fucking poetic."

"You look just like Stephen Hawking...Relax, I meant like a non-paralyzed version of him. Feel better?... Fine. Forget I said it."

"That woman was sexy...Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won't screw you, don't do it for them."

"Sometimes life leaves a hundred dollar bill on your dresser, and you don't realize until later that it's because it fucked you."

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Review & Giveaway: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancee and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What’s worse, Andie’s fiancee thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting.

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-in law, and, of course, her jealous fiancee. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.


If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she’s pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…

Finally, a solo title from Ms. Crusie! I've read some of her co-authored works, the only one I liked was Agnes and the Hitman which was excellent but I was glad to see Crusie doing her own thing again.

Maybe This Time is Crusie's re-telling of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. I don't know this because I've read The Turn of the Screw, or because I was an English major, or a librarian. I know this only because Jenny told me. Well, not me specifically but the group of us that were at her book signing last night. It was pretty cool to hear how James had inspired Crusie but there were things about the story that she could not relate to (twenty year old virgin!) so she decided to write her own version and wha-la! We have Maybe This Time.


Jenny also said that Maybe This Time was a ghost story and not a romance. Wait! Romance folks, don't stop reading! While this is an excellent ghost story, it is also "classic Crusie." Long-time fans, you'll know what that means; newcomers, it means quirky heroines, hilarious hijinx, and a sexy hero. The only thing missing from this Crusie was a furry four legged character. This time around she's replaced (wo)man's best friend with....kids?!


Confession: I'm not a kid person. Sure I like some kids, usually a friend's kid. But I don't really enjoy kids. No offense to my lovely readers with little ones...I love seeing pictures of your cutiepies but am glad I don't have any or have to deal with kids on a regular basis. Wow, guess it's a good thing I didn't become a teacher eh?! So, when I see romance novels with kids in them I usually groan. But this was a Crusie so I didn't even think twice and Crusie, fantabulous writer that she is, totally sold me on the book's two kids, Alice and Carter. Although Carter is quite and withdrawn. I kept expecting to learn more about him. Especially after Andie, our heroine, had a discussion with her ex-mother-in-law about him. But nothing ever came of it. That was one of the only things the irked me about this book. Alice definitely gets the most attention. And, according to Ms. Crusie herself, we're going to get to see Alice star in her own book in the future!

Anyway, as far as the romance goes Andie and North are obviously still not over each other despite the ten years since their divorce. There's not as much interaction between Andie and North as I might have liked. The focus seemed more on Andie's relationship with the kids and trying to deal with those pesky ghosts. However, there's enough romance to keep those of us, who NEED romance, going!

Lastly, I have to say Crusie did a great job of building suspense where the ghosts and supernatural aspects were concerned. As I was reading I was thinking, "Wow, this is actually a little creepy." Which was something I wasn't expecting from a Crusie novel. But it's not nightmare worthy so those of you who don't care for scary stuff, it's not THAT scary!

Overall an excellent addition to my keeper shelf. Crusie, left to her own devices, never fails. If you haven't read any Crusie before, what the heck are you waiting for?!

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Giveaway time, my first! I have one SIGNED copy of Maybe This Time for a lucky reader!

To enter simply fill out the following form. Contest is open to US and Canada residents only. Contest will close on Wednesday, September 22nd!
You can earn two extras entries by 1) Tweeting or 2) Posting on your blog for a total of 3 entries. Please provide a link to your extra entries on the form. You do not have to be a follower to enter.

Review: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face. 

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone

I was interested in The DUFF for two reasons 1) the positive reviews I'd seen so far 2) The DUFF is Keplinger's debut title and thus qualifies for the 2010 Debut Author Challenge. I'm really glad I gave this one a go! The DUFF falls into one of my favorite genres, realistic YA fiction and Keplinger should know a little something about the genre seeing how she still IS a teen!

To understand the book you have to understand the theory behind being the DUFF. The DUFF is that one girl in a group of friends who, in comparison to her friends, is the "ugly" one. As Wesley, The DUFF's unlikely hero, explains that the DUFF isn't necessarily hideous, she just happens to be the least attractive among her friends.

When I first read about the premise I was kind of taken aback. How, I wondered, would the author redeem a man-whoring guy calling girls DUFFs? How would the author manage not to offend all of us DUFFs?! Easy, pretty much everyone thinks they're a DUFF. When Bianca explains the theory behind the DUFF to her gorgeous BFF, Casey, she refutes Bianca's status as the DUFF insisting that she is the DUFF. Citing her height as her major flaw and insisting that guys are not interested in her because of her Amazonian stature.

Keplinger realistically navigates the inner workings of female friendships and insecurities. I think a lot of girls (and women) can relate to Bianca. How many of us belong to a group of friends where we feel like the "ugly" one? Chances are, one or more of your friends are feeling the exact same thing.

Another reason I liked Bianca is because of her snarkyness. If this book were an episode of Sex and the City Bianca would definitely be Miranda. The smart ass, cynic who doesn't take shit from anyone. Perhaps, I enjoyed this book so much because I see a lot of myself reflected in Bianca. Now, if I can just find my own Wesley....

Speaking of the devil, Wesley was a really decent guy. Sure he started off on the wrong foot, calling her a DUFF and all, that certainly was a shitty move. But throughout the novel he proved to be much more than the self absorbed man-whore Bianca had pigeonholed him as. I think he genuinely had no idea that calling Bianca "Duffy" was so hurtful to her. Boys. Sigh. As the reader though we notice, at least I did, Wesley's lack of man-whoring when he's with Bianca. Sure we see him flirting with another girl. But I think Wesley fell for Bianca earlier than she could have imagined. Even from the first kamikaze kiss, he's like... "Wow." I really enjoyed Wesley and Bianca's bantering. It made me laugh and I really enjoyed their interactions.

I didn't always like Bianca. She's going through a tough time,what with her parents divorce and her Dad's falling off the wagon, but there are several instances when she knows she's being a shitty friend. She even says thing a long the lines of "Wow, I'm being a bitch" and "I'm a shitty friend." But she doesn't really even attempt to do anything about it.

So, on one hand I like that she recognizes that she's failing at her friend duties. On the other hand, I was somewhat annoyed that she didn't make more of an effort to be a better friend. But I totally understand where she's coming from. Sometimes you have so much shit going on in your own life that you recognized you're neglecting another aspect of your life but you don't have the time or energy to deal with it.

Lastly, I enjoyed the amount of cussing, snarkyness, and sex in this novel. I hope Keplinger is prepared for her book to be challenged. I can see that in this book's future. None of it bothered me, I found it realistic but not over the top, however I'm sure there are going to be some parents complaining. And for those of you who don't read YA because of the lack of sexy bits, this book might be for you! There's enough sex without crossing the line into too much detail.


Overall, The DUFF was smart, funny, sexy and realistic. I would put Keplinger in the ranks of Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott and I'm looking forward to more books from this author!
 
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Disclosure: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for this review.