Thursday, December 27, 2012

13 Most Anticipated Releases of 2013

2013 is going to be an epic year of reading excellent new releases for both existing series and new ones AND watching some of our favorite books make it to the big screen. Below you will find a list of what I am most excited to read or watch this year.

Books
Adult

1.

Title: Written In Red: A Novel of the Others
Author: Anne Bishop
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: New American Library
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $18.81 CDN

Written in Red

Synopsis:

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut-a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard-a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Note: Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy are among the best books I have ever read. The author creates new worlds with just vivid description that when I am reading them I desperatly want to be a part of that world.

2.

Title: Ever After
Author: Kim Harrison
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover
Cost: January 22, 2013

Ever After

Synopsis:

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It''s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there''s also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after-the soul-eater Ku''Sox Sha-Ku''ru-has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn''t give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack-a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul-to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.

3.

Title: Dead Ever After
Author: Charlaine Harris
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $19.47 CDN

Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel

Synopsis:

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie-and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte's. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she'll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…
 
Note: WHAT!!!!! This is the last Sookie Book? Not possible I didn't see this coming :( Now I am both excited and aprehensive.
 
Books
Young Adult
 
4.
 
Title: Divergent # 3
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: Unknown (Good Reads suggested September 26, 2013)
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover (I am assuming)
Cost: Unknown
 
Synopsis: None
 
5.
 
Title: Shades of Earth (Across The Universe # 3)
Author: Beth Revis
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: HArdcover
Cost: $15.20 CDN
 
Shades Of Earth: An Across The Universe Novel
 
Synopsis:
 
Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They''re ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn''t the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed''s former passengers aren''t alone on this planet. And if they''re going to stay, they''ll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.
6.
 
Title: Spellcaster
Author: Claudia Gray
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.19 CDN
 
Spellcaster
 
"Descended from witches, high school senior Nadia can tell as soon as her family moves to Captive's Sound that the town is under a dark and powerful spell. Then she meets Mateo, the teenage local whose cursed dreams predict the future, and they must work together to prevent an impending disaster that threatens the entire town"
 
7.
 
Title: The Rising
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.19 CDN
 
The Rising
 
Synopsis:
 
Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by two powerful Cabals, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, they can''t simply go to the authorities for help. All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable to the Cabals, and why their supernatural powers are getting more out of control. Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her, but she'll have to face them if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because she can't keep running forever.
 
With all the twists, thrills, and romance that have made Kelley Armstrong an international bestseller--plus the surprising return of some favourite characters--The Rising will keep you under its spell long after the last page is turned.
 
8.
 
Title: Gameboard of the Gods
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Adult (So maybe not a YA novel?)
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $17.96 CDN
 
 
Synopsis:
 
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.
 
9.
 
Title: The Gates of Paradise: A Bluebloods Novel
Author: Melissa De La Cruiz
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $13.76 CDN
 
The Gates of Paradise (A Blue Bloods Novel)
 
Synopsis:
 
Schuyler Van Alen is running out of time. The Dark Prince of Hell is storming the Gates of Paradise, intent on winning the heavenly throne for good. This time he has his greatest angels by his side, Abbadon and Azrael--Jack and Mimi Force, as they are known in the Coven.
 Or so he thinks. Even as Lucifer assigns Jack and Mimi the tasks of killing their true loves, the Force twins secretly vow to defeat the Dark Prince once and for all. But how far will Mimi and Jack go to conceal their real loyalties?

Meanwhile, former vampire Bliss Llewellyn has joined forces with Lawson, the greatest wolf of the underworld, to free his people from their imprisonment in Hell. As they struggle against impossible odds, an ancient message, woven into the very fabric of time, reveals just how much depends on the success of their mission.

Lucifer seeks the key to the Gate of Promise, and when Schuyler is taken captive and delivered straight to Hell, she must make an unthinkable choice--the same one the archangel Michael was forced to make during the Crisis in Rome. Will Schuyler find the strength to do what he could not?
 
The epic, heartbreaking Blue Bloods series comes to a close with this final novel about staggering courage, unbearable sacrifice, and the immortality of true love.
 
Note: Another series ending!
 
10.
 
Title: The Indigo Spell: A Bloodlines Novel
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.20
 
The Indigo Spell: A Bloodlines Novel
 
Synopsis:
 
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives. In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.
 
Movies
 
11.
 
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Release Date: February 13, 2013
 


12.

Title: Mortal Instruments
Release Date: August 23, 2013



13.

Title: Game of Thrones Season 3
Release Date: March 31, 2013


Friday, December 21, 2012

YA New Releases Jan 1 - 8 2013



 
by: AG Howard
Release Date: Jan 1, 2013
 
 
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
by: Kimberly Derting
Release Date: Jan 1, 2013
 
 
 
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness. Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two. As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

by: Suzanne Weyn
Release Date: Jan 1, 2013
 
 
A new generation is creating a monster....
 
Doctor Victor Frankenstein's previously unacknowledged beautiful, intelligent twin daughters (from an early marriage when he was a student) have come to Frankenstein's Castle to claim it as their inheritance. Shortly thereafter they learn that a serial killer is on the loose. They try to ignore this — Gretchen takes up her father's work, while Ingrid throws lavish parties. Gretchen and Ingrid form a love triangle with a young naval officer with a debilitating disease. Though he loves Ingrid, he agrees to work with Gretchen on a series of body transplants that improve his condition. Before long he is even walking without his cane. He does not know that the science that is helping him is the science of death itself . . . A twisted, macabre journey of romance and horror.
 
by: Lisa McMann
Release Date: Jan 8, 2013
 
 
If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.
Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow. The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember. In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

by: Gayle Forman
Release Date: Jan 8, 2012
 



A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.
Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!
 
by: Alyxandra Harvey
Release Date: Jan 8, 2013
 
 
Solange Drake has been officially crowned Queen of the Vampires, fulfilling the centuries old prophecy that foretold the rise to power of a daughter born to an ancient vampire line. Except Solange's thoughts and actions are no longer her own-she's been slowly being possessed by the spirit of Viola, the first daughter born into the Drake line, since her bloodchange. And instead of uniting the vampire tribes under the rule of an ancient daughter as the prophecy predicted, Viola would rather destroy them all and enslave humans in a personal vendetta for the devastation both wrought to her life centuries ago. Can Solange break her hold in time to save everyone she loves from a vampire civil war, hunter attack, and each other?
 
Not everyone will survive the prophecy . . . perhaps not even her.

 
 

My Christmas 2012 YA Reading List

 
The Book Guru's Christmas Holiday Reading List
 
 I plan to spend my busy holidays doing as much reading as possible. I plan to travel across the galaxy learning the truth about life of Godspeed with Amy and Elder, trying to survive the Vancouver wilderness with Maya and her friends, watching Daimons fight to the death at The Carnival of Souls and joining Wendy as she discovers that she is a changeling who was switched at birth.
 
 
Will you be travelling to any epic journey's this holiday?
 
 
 
by: Beth Revis 
 
 
GODSPEED WAS FUELED BY LIES. NOW IT IS RULED BY CHAOS.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed.

But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision--no more Phydus, no more lies.

When Elder learns shocking news about the ship, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a mystery that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Their success--or failure--will determine the fate of the 2,298 passengers who remain aboard Godspeed. But with each step, the journey becomes more perilous, the ship more chaotic, and love between them more impossible to fight.

Beth Revis catapulted readers into the far reaches of space with her New York Times bestselling debut, Across the Universe. In A Million Suns, Beth deepens the mystery with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: THEY HAVE TO GET OFF THIS SHIP.
 

On the heels of the wildly popular The Gathering comes the second in the "Darkness Rising" YA trilogy from NYT bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is--a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.
 
 
 
In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.
All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

 

 
Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world, and Switched is the book that started the phenomenon. Prepare to be enchanted…
When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.
Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.
Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…





Monday, December 10, 2012

Top 10 Favorite Adult Urban Fantasy Series

Below you will find my top 10 list of favorite Adult Urban Fantasy series! These are the series that when a new book comes out I do a little happy dance before rushing home to read well into (and usually beyond) the witching hour. Do you have a top 10 list to share? If you do comment with a link or feel free to list them all in the comments section! I am always looking for suggestions for new books/series to read.
 
Happy reading!
 
 
1: The Hallows Series by Kim Harrison
 
book cover of 

Dead Witch Walking 

 (Rachel Morgan, book 1)

by

Kim Harrison

Synopsis of book 1 (Dead Witch Walking):

Rachel Morgan is a runner with the Inderland Runner Services, apprehending law-breakers throughout Cincinnati. She's also a witch, one of the many Inderlanders who revealed themselves after a genetically engineered virus wiped out 50 percent of humanity. Witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves-the creatures of dreams and nightmares have lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But now they've stopped hiding, and nothing will be the same.On the run with a contract on her head, Rachel reluctantly teams up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner…and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crimelord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death…not to mention her own roommate!Fun, sassy, filled with action, humor, and romance, Dead Witch Walking is the perfect summer listen for anyone who likes vampires, paranormal fantasy, romance, or just a great beach book.

2. The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
 
 
book cover of 

Darkfever 

 (MacKayla Lane, book 1)

by

Karen Marie Moning
 
Book 1 synopsis (Darkfever):
 
MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

3. All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness
 
book cover of 

A Discovery of Witches 

 (All Souls Trilogy, book 1)

by

Deborah Harkness
 
Book 1 synopsis (A Discovery of Witches):
 
In a sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches became the "it" book of early 2011, bringing Deborah Harkness into the spotlight and galvanizing fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting story of magic and suspense. And the story continues in Book Two, Shadow of Night.

4: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K Hamilton
 
 


Book 1 synopsis (Guilty Pleasures):
 
Introducing Anita Blake, vampire hunter extraordinaire. Most people don't even bat an eye at vampires since they've been given equal rights by the Supreme Court. But Anita knows better--she's seen their victims. . . . A serial killer is murdering vampires, however, and now the most powerful vampire in town wants Anita to find the killer.
 
Click here for a series synopsis from the authors web page.
 
5: Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong
 
 
 
Book 1 synopsis (Bitten): 
 
An erotically charged, addictive thriller from the future queen of suspense.

Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one.

An erotically charged thriller, Bitten will awaken the voracious appetite of every reader, as the age-old battle between man and beast, between human and inhuman forces, comes to a head in one small town and within one woman's body.
 
6. Meredith Gentry Series by Laurell K Hamilton
 
book cover of 

A Kiss of Shadows 

 (Meredith Gentry, book 1)

by

Laurell K Hamilton
Book 1 synopsis (A Kiss of Shadows):
 
“My name is Meredith Gentry, but of course it’s not my real name. I dare not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of the Air and Darkness. She wants me dead. I don’t even know why.”Meredith Gentry, Princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, living as a P.I. specializing in supernatural crime. But now the Queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her back–whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Meredith finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt’s plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The reward: the crown–and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death.
 
7. Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
 
book cover of 

Dead Until Dark 

 (Sookie Stackhouse, book 1)

by

Charlaine Harris
 
Book 1 synopsis (Dead Until Dark):
 
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....
Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

8. Werecats Series by Rachel Vincent
 
book cover of 

Stray 

 (Werecats, book 1)

by

Rachel Vincent
 
Book 1 synopsis (Stray):
 
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.  I'd been warned about Strays—werecats without a Pride—constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.  This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back…for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever—and whoever—I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays—'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them….

9. Riley Jenson Guardian Series by Keri Arthur
 

book cover of 

Full Moon Rising 

 (Riley Jenson Guardian, book 1)

by

Keri Arthur
 
Book 1 synopsis (Full Moon Rising):
 
In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.
 
10. Vampire Huntress Legend by L.A. Banks
 
book cover of 

Minion 

 (Vampire Huntress Legend, book 1)

by

L A Banks



Book 1 synopsis (Minion):
 
All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons-predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires has been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music.

When strange attacks erupt within the club drug-trafficking network and draw the attention of the police, Damali realizes these killings are a bit out of the ordinary, even for vampires. Instead of neat puncture marks in the neck showing where the blood has been drained from the body, these corpses are mutilated beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that surpasses any Damali has encountered before. Soon she discovers that behind these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire Damali has ever met-a seductive beast who is coming for her next...




Saturday, December 1, 2012

Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness


Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: A Souls Trilogy
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: December 27, 2011
Format: Hardcover $21.00 CDN or $12.27 Paperback
Age Group: Adult
My Copy: Library
Extras: Movie Adaptation!!


Synopsis:

It all begins with a lost manuscript, a reluctant witch, and 1,500-year-old vampire. Dr. Diana Bishop has a really good reason for refusing to do magic: she is a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch Trials, and her parents cautioned her be discreet about her talents before they were murdered, presumably for having "too much power." So it is purely by accident that Diana unlocks an enchanted long-lost manuscript (a book that all manner of supernatural creatures believe to hold the story of all origins and the secret of immortality) at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war.

A sparkling debut written by a historian and self-proclaimed oenophile, A Discovery of Witches is heady mix of history and magic, mythology and love (cue the aforementioned vampire!), making for a luxurious, intoxicating, one-sitting read.


My Review:

A Discovery of Witches is Diana Gabaldons Outlander series but with Vampires, Witches and Demons! (Side note: I just read the Amazon synopsis where this novel is compared to the writings of Diana Gabaldon....apparently there are no original thoughts anymore!) This is the by far in my top five favorite books of 2012.

Described as the "it"book for good reason, A Discovery of Witchess engages the reader in a complex mystery with a scientific bent all while telling the passionate and forbidden love story between a witch and a vampire. For readers who like their heroines to be smart, savvy and passionate and their knights to be bold, protective and sensual you are sure to fall in love with Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont.

What I loved most about this novel was that Deborah Harkness never revealed to much to soon, she revealed what was necessary to keep you engaged and turning the pages well into the witching hour.

I hesitate to recommend this book to everyone. I think it is best suited for adult fantasy addicts who are looking for their next epic read. This novel is the first in the All Souls Trilogy and I am about to dive into book 2, Shadow of Night!

Without hesitation and with great enthusiasm I give this book my highest rating.


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