PLEASE NOTE: The contest and comments for this post are now closed. Please join us at the day 19 contest here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=11986
Welcome one and all to day Eighteen of our month long bash of bloody goodness.
Today’s contest is easy and fun. The winner will be announced tomorrow at the next contest. There are FOUR prizes for today! Spread the word!
Six sensual shorts from various subgenres are compiled in the most recent edition of Ellora’s Cavemen and do not disappoint in raising the heat.
Read More »
A big welcome to our readers today! Be sure to read to the end of the interview to find out how to WIN the fabulous prizes being offered up.
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a fixed time event, the post just goes live at 10:30 am CDT. You can stop by any time during the day or evening and leave your questions and chat.
PLEASE KEEP SPOILERS TO A MINIMUM. Not all of the readers today have read Mike’s books.
Read More »
(Some spoilers. Read with caution.)
Three words for the quickie review. “I. Love. It!”
I hate to say it, and all you Anita Blake and Southern Vampire and Carpathian addicts out there — don’t stake me. This (and its sequel) are my favorite paranormal romance books. (Oh, wait, oops, I probably just offended said Anita Blake audience by lumping the books under that heading. Oopsies — but I’ll go into that when I do my Hamilton reviews…)
Why? Because, and I’ll just take Bitten & Smitten
and not sequel Fanged & Fabulous
in this review… it’s *not* a true paranormal romance. It has this little thing called plot. And believability. And it’s a damned good plot. With bite.
I’ll stop punning one of these days.
One thing I won’t ever forget from a writing panel at a sci-fi convention I went to a few years back was a comment an author made about catching a reader right off the bat, and not to take half an hour of reading time to introduce every character before any action strikes.
Damn. Does Ms. Rowen take that advice, or what? I love it!
Sarah Dearly is a secretary. Er, executive assistant. Then she goes on a bad blind date and ends up in a cemetery. Hmm. Then, quickfire, the local hunter crowd wants to stake her and a hunky vampire rescues her.
Ohhh yeah, this book’s gonna be good. And it also should be in Toronto’s travel packet. I want to go see Toronto now. Heh.
Yes, I’m biased. Yes, I love Thierry, Sarah’s vamp “flame”. Yes, I want him… to get with Sarah. Yes, that really was what I originally planned to type. Really it was!
Thierry has all the makings to be a “generic” dark and brooding master-vampire-Angel character. But he’s more… human than that. He’s got dark and brooding and sexy down, but there’s something different. There’s an almost, dare I say it… boyish charm to him? And he’s really a pain in the ass who does his share of stupid, masculine things. But I love him anyway.
The thing that I kept getting through the book is how damned believable it is! No, we’re not dealing with the oh-so-soulless Buffy vampires, or the complex and twisted universes where the world has to be “altered” to let vampires have their play-room. These are real people that are vampires who can sun on a Mexico beach and show up in photographs. All the side characters, all the main characters. Michelle Rowen “gets” it.
Characters that take lots of interesting twists and turns. Though I must wonder — will Sarah go through a few psychological issues where all her friends end up fangy? Clearly it’s not the end of the world, but no more pasta? Ow. That’s gotta bite.
(I promise to stop punning. Soon.)
Also, for the record, I adore Quinn. I am of Sarah’s mold — made for Thierry, but Quinn is… hot in an irresistibly sexy-hunter-gone-sympathetic-character way. I’m just glad drooling is allowed for both, and unlike her, I don’t really have to decide. Thank God.
Oh, yeah, before I forget, I like the “shard” concept. Like, love it. Heh. And yes, for those that must have their were-thing fix — we have a werewolf. We do have a werewolf. absolutely adore that name, too. Barkley. And we get Buffyverse mentions! In a word, w00t!
Okay, I’ll stop, and try not to gush and give away the entire book, but… twists and turns and more twists in an exciting plot that doesn’t devolve at all as the novel goes on. Like the eternally-cliche energizer bunny, it keeps going and going and going… and the only disappointing part when it ends only in that it has ended! (Which is why there’s Fanged & Fabulous. Go buy it so you can jump from one book to the next with no pain.)
The ending, too? Love the ending. And the book hits a good, “you-start-to-panic” climax, too.
In short, I love it! The book rocks. Go buy it. To the author: Fangs for this book!
Book Stats:
To purchase a print copy of Bitten and Smitten click here.
To purchase a Kindle copy of Bitten and Smitten click here
.
Books in the Immortality Bites series in the order they should be read:
Bitten & Smitten
Fanged & Fabulous
Lady & the Vamp
Stakes & Stilettos
Tall, Dark & Fangsome
To visit the author’s website go here.
To visit the author’s blog go here.
Long after civilization fell in the 23rd century, a special breed of mutants were created with a dual purpose. The Imperial were-panthers were to defend His Imperial Highness, the ruler of Earth, and protect humanity. When the Imperial Dynasty fell to corruption, the shifters were torn between their duty to the throne and their responsibility to humanity. When His Imperial Highness refused to heed their pleas, the were-panthers did one last service to humanity before disappearing only to be remembered in legend and myth: they wiped out the Imperial Dynasty.
At least that was what Jexx had always been told. Instead, she has found her very own were-panther who keeps insisting that he is her bond-mate. As much as she can appreciate his skills in certain areas, she is by no means looking for an overly possessive male that would restrict her freedom. Which is why Tome Rimmer has only just caught up with her after she had escaped into the night a week prior. He is not pleased that he had to chase her down, and after dealing with two nuisances, he hauls her back to his ship after having her ship impounded - nice.
The setting of this futuristic sci-fi shapeshifter romance (whew, what a mouthful) is quite original, and I enjoyed the implications of it. Though not all aspects of it are completely portrayed in this novella, what we do see is fantastic, and I hope we get to see more soon. Though there were some intriguing twists with both characters, they came across rather one-dimensional, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth on both parts. I also found some of the reactions to situations a bit off; they lacked common sense and thought which made the story less believable. That being said, this is a fun, quick read, and I can’t wait to see what intergalactic shifter stories Anne Kane has in store for us next.
Book Stats:
To purchase an electronic copy of Mating Ritual click here.
Books in the Shifting Priorities series in the order they should be read:
Mating Ritual
Mating Dance
Mating Call
To visit the author’s website go here.
To visit the author’s blog go here.
A three story anthology, Flurry, Fluffy and Wild is a good entertaining read about characters that are … well, furry, fluffy and/or wild.
The opening story is Were What? by Celia Kyle. Lyla is a werewolf, or as she calls herself, werewusky. (Mother was a husky, father was a wolf) Running from a low ranking fellow pack member because she refuses to mate with him as ordered by their Alpha, she literally runs into a huge block of muscle and sex by the name of Michael. Faced with basically being raped by Carl or going with Michael after he intervenes on her behalf, Lyla chooses to go with Michael. She assumes he is some sort of shifter also and does not realize her mistake until after a rather steamy scene in the story. Their journey together encompasses some pretty hot “getting to know you” scenes as well as a confrontation or two with Lyla’s pack.
In Nina Pierce’s Blue Moon Rising, we are whisked away to wintry Montana for a murder mystery with a bit of heat. Veterinarian Jayda Kynslan has borrowed a friend’s mountain cabin for the week while nursing a broken heart. After discovering that her ex-boyfriend Kurt Hansley was married and had no intentions of leaving his wife, Jayda kicked him to the curb and headed for the hills to lick her wounds. With the intention of tying one on at a local bar and having herself a one night stand, she is delighted to meet Cole Takoda. The local sheriff, Cole is also a shifter and senses something different about Jayda that she seems to be unaware of. After their brief interlude, Jayda thinks that she will not see Cole again. That is, until she discovers a mutilated body near her cabin. The investigation of that and other murders ties Jayda to it all, and Cole, in a way that no one, especially her, expected.
The final story, Beauty is a Beast by Tina Holland, is a futuristic tale of shifters, vampires and ghosts. While hunting zombies, Michael almost literally, stumbles across the unconscious form of Nizhoni. Having developed a fever during her quest for a spirit guide, Nizhoni was unable to protect herself and Michael couldn’t leave her for the zombies to find so he took her back to his temporary camp. Acknowledging an intense connection, Michael and Nizhoni succumb to its pull and, well, do what people do in that kind of a situation. It ends on a violent note though as Nizhoni misunderstands Michael’s intention when he questions her about something he saw within her and she bits him and flees.
Three months later, Michael has undergone a change and is, at least for the moment, living in the camp of Nizhoni’s father, Chief Shulya of the Air Clan. Michael is there for his sister’s wedding as well as to learn how to live with the changes that Nizhoni’s bite caused. Reunited, they are cautious and one of them is keeping, what is thought to be, a big secret. Facing world changing danger, Michael and Nizhoni must team up with others on their side and do what they can to keep the balance of power from shifting.
Flurry, Fluffy and Wild is a short collection of stories with a little bit of everything. Various paranormals, murder, deceit and sci-fi, anyone should find something to like here. When I started writing this review, I thought about rating each story individually and doing an average for the overall book. I decided not to do that though because of my own personal tastes. One of the stories is in a genre that I rarely like and would not have gotten as high a rating as the others and I didn’t want that to affect the total rating. Each of the stories was very well written with well developed characters. I think some things in the plots could have been expounded on a bit more but as a hole, very enjoyable reads.
Book Stats:
To purchase an electronic copy of Furry, Fluffy and Wild click here.
To visit the submitting author’s website go here.
To visit the submitting author’s blog go here.
Imagine going about your business and suddenly waking up in a pitch black room, chained to a wall and about to completely freak out because you are terrified of the dark. This is what twenty-two year old Kira Jordan faces one day with absolutely no memory of how she got there. If that wasn’t enough to shock her senseless, she finds that she’s not alone in the room.
Also chained to a wall across the room is twenty-nine year old Rogan Ellis. The two of them have been chosen to participate in a subscription only, life and death reality show called The Countdown. Rather, Kira was chosen; Rogan was given the option of playing. As a convicted rapist and murderer, Rogan is serving a five hundred year sentence. After already serving four years, he is presented with this opportunity. Play the game, survive all six levels and he will be a free man. If not, he spends the rest of his life in prison.
While no angel herself, Kira is far from the hardened criminal that Rogan seems to be. Her parents and sister were murdered when she was fifteen. She survived only because in a fit of teen-age anger, she locked herself in her room and sulked over a denied privilege. As sounds of the killings reached her, she hid under her bed in the dark. Faced with going into foster care, Kira ran and has survived the past seven years living on the street shop lifting and picking pockets to stay alive. Now though, it seems that the street girl and the convicted murderer must team up to play the sick, twisted game that is The Countdown
.
Kira isn’t exactly thrilled about this as she hates murderers with a passion. There are six levels to complete, each one timed and more difficult than the last. To make things even more interesting, they both have computer chips implanted in their heads. If they go more than ninety feet away from each other or do not complete a level, they are “disqualified”. (Translation: the chips go boom)
As Kira and Rogan fight their way through the levels, some of their secrets are revealed and the more they find out about the game and each other. Even though the rules of the game state that they get their freedom if they complete all six levels, they are both fairly sure that they still will not survive the game. Somehow they need to take control and end the game once and for all.
Countdown was very surprising to me. Mostly Sci-fi, which is not a genre I usually like, it grabbed me from the very first page, knocked me down and sat on me like a playground bully until the last word. I was practically levitating in my chair from the intensity of this plot. Two different directions I know, but energy in this book left me feeling as if I had actually been through a whirlwind of action instead of just reading about it. The characters are literally running for their lives from humans as well as very sophisticated technology. Think love child of The Running Man and The Matrix. There is so much going on but not so much that you are overwhelmed. Every bit of the action is appropriate and realistic to the plot. Ms. Maddox has done a fabulous job of making you feel as if you are one of the characters. Even if Sci-fi is not your general preference, this book is a must read!
Book Stats:
To purchase a print copy of Countdown click here.
To visit the author’s website go here.
Dr. Cort Hirsch, award-winning scientist, has dedicated the last twelve years of his life to robotics culminating in Alpha, a statuesque, red-haired beauty who bears a striking resemblance to Zoe Parker, award-winning actress. When Alpha’s programming goes online it is obvious the robot is fast becoming self-aware. Determined to prove his robot’s intelligence, Cort allows Alpha to “work” as Zoe Parker’s body double for an upcoming movie and some personal appearances the temperamental Ms. Parker doesn’t care to attend. If no one can tell the difference between the two, then it is assured that Alpha can pass the Turing test for robotic intelligence. Once in daily contact with the gorgeous Ms. Parker, Cort finds his attentions divided between protecting his creation from becoming too much like a woman and romancing the enticing actress.
Think Tracy and Hepburn. Think Grant and Rogers. Think Data and Tasha Yar. Then, add sexual tension that ratchets up with each page. Carol North’s Love’s Reflection revisits the romantic comedies of the 30’s and 40’s and does it with panache. With familiar situations enriched with comedic repartee, the plot unfolds as smoothly as a bolt of silk. The secondary cast, namely Robert the balding assistant to Cort, and Frank, the long-suffering agent, are uniformly bland yet serve to accent the development of Alpha’s personality and Cort’s infatuation with Zoe. North includes just enough science to help the reader feel comfortable with the Frankenstein nature of the plot but not so much that one must have a dictionary ready at hand. I found Love’s Reflection a refreshing read, a palate cleansing delight to chase away the ghosts and demons and vamps. When a change of pace is needed, this is the book to pick up.
Book Stats:
Buy a print copy of Love’s Reflection from Amazon by clicking here.
Earth is in turmoil and Lisa worries that as Talkar’s journeys have broken ties with Shayton, Kalib might not have a home on either world. Tony is dying and Lisa is determined to make his last days as perfect as possible with their family as whole as possible. Death is a matter of fact thing for shaytonians, not to say they feel no pain at the passing, just that they are very practical and treasure life and every moment they have and do not waste precious time with mourning. As such Lisa must deal with Tony’s death, her approaching tensyon, finding a partner to fill Tony’s void, and geneticists bent on using her to further their own aims.
Kalib, closer to Tony then his own father, sees the ties to Earth that were already tenuous beginning to fade to nothing and he has a dream. A dream to create of home for all the hybrids of the universe, where they could be free to live as they please in peace. After years of dreaming of his father Talkar’s escapades through time and space, Kalib is eager to follow in his footsteps… in the opposite direction away from Earth and it’s crumbling civilization and towards a new home.
This story is a step above the previous ones in this series, the plot is better written and there is less jumping from one tale to a different person or different time and back again with no indication beyond the readers ability to keep up with an ever changing plot which definitely makes it easier to read. I also liked that this story focused mainly on one person and her timeline, it made it easy to follow and though the jumps in time are still present they are better written with the integration a great deal more seamless then the Ms. Fainges first attempt at similar time jumps. Though this story is better then the first two this is not a series I would recommend reading out of order, however, you could probable read the entire timeline from Karen Fainges’s Shayton fact file www.shayton.net/info.htm and learn enough of the back history to not be completely thrown a curve by this story (not to say it wouldn’t still be unfathomable at some points, but I’m starting to realize that you couldn’t have beings like the Shaytonians without at least a bit of mystery). The ending of this story was a fairly anticlimactic, however, it was interesting.
Book Stats:
Buy a print copy of The Children of Tamal from Amazon by clicking here.
Books in the Shayton Chronicles in the order in which they should be read:
Destiny Sets
Tamal’s Journey
The Children of Tamal
What would you do if you find yourself in a body with it’s memories, but have the sneaking suspicion you are not actually that person? Well in Tamal’s case, definitely go with the flow. He finds himself in a world of princesses, demons, kings and witches and with a son he remembers conceiving, but only in the barest sense of the word.
A quest to find a powerful crystal that controls the powers of nature, fighting a demon impostor, saving the children and witches captured and bred for weapons and sacrifice, and lands where you have slaves/concubines for the days of the week is quite possible the least of Tamal/Talkar’s journey. Add in new details on past events and secrets that make Talkar question the foundation of Shayton itself and you have an interesting story that draws from old characters first encountered in the past book and new ones seen for the first time to create this entwined tale that follows multiple lives and timelines.
The first twenty something pages of this tale really had me thinking this story would have only the barest relation to the first book the series, Destiny Sets, however, I was quite interested in how the author fit old characters into this new story. Karen Fainges did a better job combining cultural and world history with the story than in Destiny Sets which I appreciated though I still found it a bit hard to follow at times. I have to say that though I’m not an avid fan of this series, I have had fun trying to guess where it’s going. The laws of their universe are quite a bit different then ours and it takes turns when you least expect it for the most intriguing reasons.
Book Stats:
Buy a print copy of Tamal’s Journey from Amazon by clicking here.
Books in the Shayton Chronicles in the order in which they should be read:
Destiny Sets
Tamal’s Journey
The Children of Tamal
In a world where survival is all-important, two children will be conceived by an exiled vampire princess and a journalism student from Earth, and then born to two different women. Leila, the godChild, is a genetically modified weapon that will protect Shayton in her time of need. Talkar is the demonChild, who, in his unmodified glory, will bring balance to Leila. Follow the story of Talkar as he is raised amongst a people that set him apart for being an unauthorized birth and a Loner with no apparent sibling.
The world of Shayton is a different one indeed. It is an inter-dimensional world, home to a vampire race that lives off the energy of others. Adrenaline and other emotional highs are preferred, though there are some who are Fear-Eaters and do the forbidden - thrive off the terror of their prey. The males of Shayton have lost a great deal of their power (and in most, the ability to father children) eons ago, and their society is now very female-oriented (read: almost Amazonian). Though they have a great deal of personal freedom and no typical mores when it comes to certain aspects of their lives, they are exceptionally community-oriented with the good of all coming before the good of one.
This book was originally written as a serial, and I wasn’t overly impressed with how it reads as a novel. Though I enjoyed some of the dialog later in the book, I found the first forty or so pages hard to follow, with sporadic intervals of time not clearly marked. There is virtually no written back history of Shayton, and this entire story is written as if everyone already knows everything they need to about this world. Having no prior knowledge of this author and story, I found that highly disconcerting. As I finished this story I found the link to http://shayton.net/info.htm and, lo and behold, discovered the treasure trove of facts that had been left out of the story itself. Due to this, I highly suggest readers of this story read the fact file first. It makes a great deal of the story more interesting and will not give away the plot if you avoid the timeline from 98 BT Leila Born down.
Book Stats:
Buy a print copy of Destiny Sets from Amazon by clicking here.
Books in the Shayton Chronicles in the order in which they should be read:
Destiny Sets
Tamal’s Journey
The Children of Tamal
Bitten by Books