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Saturday 23 February 2013

THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?
 
 
OMG. This book was amazing!

Mara once again wakes up in hospital. But this time she's in a psychiatric unit after telling the police her ex-boyfriend is still alive, and then blacking out. Jude can't be alive because the building collapsed on him.

Then what was he doing at the police station?

After she's eventually released and enrolled in an outpatient program, she tries hard to pretend she's okay. If she can convince her family and doctors that she's got a bad case of PTSD, everything will be okay. After all, her boyfriend Noah believes her.

But nothing is okay. Mara keeps losing time, sleepwalking, and is still convinced Jude is stalking the shadows waiting to get revenge...

Wow! What an amazing, haunting, creepy, and disturbing story this is turning out to be. It's written so well that while I believed Mara at the beginning, I soon started doubting her. There were so many times when it was virtually impossible to figure out if she was delusional or not. Yikes!

I also liked Noah a lot better in this book. The love he feels for Mara is so obvious it's almost painful.

Loved it. Can't wait to read the final installment.
 
 

HELLBOY: Wake The Devil

A murder in a New York wax museum and a missing corpse lead Hellboy into ancient Romanian castles on the trail of a sleeping legend: the original nobleman vampire. Nazi scientists prepare for the return of their occult master and the end of the world, and Hellboy confronts his purpose on earth.
 
 
Ah, Hellboy, you rock!

Really enjoyed this comic book. Love the legends, myths, and history included in all Hellboy stories. Very cool.

Friday 22 February 2013

CIRCUS OF BLOOD by James R. Tuck

Anticipating the worst keeps Deacon Chalk a step ahead. But he never expected that a badly-beaten were-bat female victim would suddenly mutate and almost take him out. Or that the freak undead that infected her can’t wait to turn all lycanthropes into uncontrollable killing machines…once he’s gone. And that day is getting awfully close. Deacon may be outnumbered, out-gunned, and cut off from help, but what the enemy doesn’t know is that’s exactly when the world’s best bounty hunter lives up to his billing…
 
 
I love this kick-ass series! And this novella fit nicely. It's got vampires. Horrible, freaky, deformed vampires. And one of them is a freaking clown. *shiver*

I love Deacon. He's not afraid to get caught up in any sort of mess if it means punishing the asshole bad guy. Also, Father Mulcahy is awesome. He's just how I like my priests--rough around the edges, gun-toting, ready to kick ass, and strong as hell.

Another great addition!


Monday 18 February 2013

BOYFRIEND FROM HELL by Jamie Quaid

They say justice is blind. But Justine isn’t.
 
Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it. That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.

Much to her surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?
 
 
I loved this book. The setting, the worldbuilding, the story, the characters, the ending... Everything!

It sucked me right in.

And the best thing was Tina. She's such an awesome, honest character. Her transition was natural and amazing. Her coping skills were realistic, and it was so awesome how regardless of everything that was going on she kept up with her studies. So cool.

Actually, I enjoyed her story so much that I pre-ordered the second book in the series as soon as I finished this one.

Thursday 14 February 2013

Busy Reading My Own Book

That's right! A few days after my Ch-ch-changes post last week, I received the FLEs for ON PINS AND NEEDLES. Looks like my subconscious suspected this would happen, lol.
 
So I spent the backend of last week working on them and then received the ARC on Monday morning. So guess what I've been doing this week? That's right! And I finished up yesterday afternoon.
 
Phew. It's d-o-n-e! Yay. So excited.
 
It was hard work, reading my own story once again with a critical eye, but well worth it. Not to mention that I fell in love with the book and its characters all over again. Gotta love it when that happens.
 
And the cover, wow! I had to post it with this entry. Looking forward to getting the final copies. Which reminds me, I'm going to have to start scheduling a few guest blog posts/interviews for the release week. In June! LOL. It's still a while away, but I better get booking soon. :)
 
Well, asides from losing myself in Sierra's world, I've been spending time with my lovely family, catching up on some TV, and trying to sneak in some reading, too. Did I mention that we introduced my daughter to SUPERNATURAL? Yeah, we're throwing her in the middle of things--the beginning of Season 7--but gave her plenty of background information. Y'know, important things like how adorable the Winchester Boys are, and how I still miss John Winchester... hold up. What? No, I didn't talk about that. ;)
 
She seems to be a Dean fan already. Who can blame her? We're really behind, so I'm looking forward to catching up.
 
Well. That's about it for now. Just thought I'd post another update, since I haven't had a chance to post steady daily updates lately.

Happy Valentine's Day!

ENVY by Elizabeth Miles

Spring is here, and the ice is slowly melting in Ascension…revealing the secrets buried beneath.

The Furies are back, and Emily Winters is about to discover that their roots in Ascension are deeper than she ever imagined. With the help of her new friend Drea, she vows to take them down. But it's hard to focus when she's desperate to make up with JD, and to figure out why Crow, a mysterious Ascension High dropout, seems to be shadowing her.

Meanwhile, new girl Skylar McVoy is determined to leave her own dark past behind. So she's thrilled when not only does popular Gabby takes her under her wing, but the stunning and sophisticated Meg offers to give her a major makeover. But everyone knows what happens to the vainest girl of all…

It's tempting to be naughty. But beware: the Furies are always watching, and their power grows stronger by the day.


I borrowed this book from the library and as soon as I started reading, I was hooked. I got sucked into this one as quickly as I did with the first one.

Em's still being haunted by the three beautiful but super freaky girls she now knows are the Furies. Her neighbour--who also happens to be the guy she's in love with--isn't talking to her. She's becoming distant from her friends and can't concentrate on schoolwork. All she wants to do is spend time trying to figure out a way to stop the Furies from driving her insane. And she's changing.

Skylar is new in town and has a pretty big secret of her own, but she's determined to put it all behind her and become the most popular girl in school. But the way she sets about doing it really took me by surprise. Talk about a mean girl hiding behind an innocent and tortured face. Yikes! Poor Gabby becomes the target for her wrath and as Skylar starts spinning out of control, the Furies seem to gain momentum.

I also liked the addition of the mysterious Crow. Can't wait to see how things turn out there.

Wow. This was another excellent installment! Looking forward to reading the conclusion.

Saturday 9 February 2013

DEATH PERCEPTION by Victoria Laurie

Abby Cooper's betting the house on her inner eye...
It took a while for Abby Cooper's FBI agent boyfriend, Dutch Rivers, to accept her psychic gifts as the real deal. But these days he knows better than to question Abby's visions. So when his favorite cousin Chase is kidnapped in Vegas, they both catch the next flight to Sin City. Abby's inner eye insists that Chase is still alive, but nothing else about the case adds up, especially Dutch's reluctance to involve his own Bureau.

On top of everything, Dutch is battling a mysterious illness, and Abby keeps having disturbing dreams that predict his death. Dutch wants Abby to promise that if the investigation goes south, she'll head home to safety. But when the chips are down, Abby won't fold without a fight...


OMG. What an awesome book! I had a blast reading the 6th book in Abby's series.

What starts out as the kidnapping of Dutch's cousin and his boss, turns into a huge, twisted mess. A mess that takes Abby and Dutch to Las Vegas.

I loved the tension, twists, turns, and how cool it was to see the girls--Abby, Candice, Cat & Nora--trying to unravel the mystery while running from a crooked Fed in Vegas.

Another amazing installment! Absolutely loved it.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Ch-ch-changes



Yep. This year is already full of them. We sold our car, my daughter started high school, hubby's super busy at work, I'm planning my 2013 projects... Like I said, changes. 
 
The one that's affecting me right now is the different schedules. This month, the time we get up and when my daughter starts school is completely different to what it was last year. This means that I need to tweak my schedule as well because I do most of my writing when they're at work and school. It's nothing huge, but my brain is refusing to make the shift smoothly.

O_o

That's right. On Sunday afternoon I decided to dedicate this week to working on the second draft of Sierra Fox #4. I was looking forward to it, excited about making all of the changes I've written down. But when Monday rocked around, all I managed was a few of the additions. Sure, it was quite a bit but it just didn't feel...substantial.
 
This morning was the same, but I decided to tackle things a little differently.
 
While on my walk, I started thinking about why it was so important that I get stuck into this today. What's with the pressure? I asked myself. Turns out, there's no real pressure. Just me being hard on myself and feeling like I have to cramp every minute I'm alone with (writing) work. Luckily, my brain doesn't agree. There's no need to push, because I'm actually looking forward to working on this revision. It's just that--for whatever reason--this week is all wrong. And there's nothing wrong with that because next week sounds like a better idea.
 
Sure, in the meantime I might get editing, but so what? If it comes, it shoots to the top of the to-do list. No biggie. Revision is important because I've set myself a deadline, but it's not something for me to get so pushy about. Gee. Can't believe it took me days to come to this very simple and obvious conclusion.  
 
The best thing about this bizarre situation is that as soon as I gave into the idea of putting the revision aside this week, a barrage of ideas, dialogue and additions flooded my mind. It felt like my subconscious had been holding everything hostage until I agreed to stop being pushy. LMAO.
 
It honestly felt like that, because my walk turned into one awesome brainstorming session! I even came up with a better title for the fifth/last book in the series. The one I had just wasn't cutting it. ;)
 
*sigh*
 
Now I can take my time making all of the changes/additions this week so that when I get stuck into the second draft, they're already there. Plus I'll get a chance to catch up on some other stuff. Cool.
 
BTW, I just thought I'd mention that ON PINS AND NEEDLES is now @Goodreads. :)
 
Other than this writer craziness, everything's good. Well, except for the weather. I'm SO SICK AND TIRED OF RAIN! Seriously, now that it's February it feels like summer has ended. And it hasn't. We've still got a whole month of it. Ahhhhh.
 
Well. That's it for today.
 
Have a great week!
 
(I know I will...)

Saturday 2 February 2013

STALKING THE OTHERS by Jess Haines

Vampires, werewolves, mages–the Others are very real, and wreaking havoc in Shiarra Waynest’s life. But now, she’s returning the favor…

Once, she was one of the good guys–or as close as a New York P.I. can get. Then Shiarra Waynest was drawn into the world of the Others. Every faction has its own loyalties and agenda. And Shia’s recent betrayal by her ex-boyfriend means that she may be on the verge of becoming a rogue werewolf at the next full moon.

Of course, with all the threats against her, Shia’s not sure she’ll live long enough to find out. The enigmatic vampire Royce wants her back in his clutches, as do two powerful werewolf packs, along with the police. Instead of going into hiding, Shia is enlisting the aid of her enchanted hunter’s belt and every dirty P.I. trick she knows. If she’s going down, she’ll take out as many of her enemies as she can–and hope that in the process, she keeps whatever humanity she has left…
 
 
This is the fourth book in the H&W Investigations urban fantasy series. And I have to say that I really like the new cover art. Shia looks kick-ass!

Shiarra's world used to be a lot easier before the Others became a fixture in her life. Now, the NY PI is on the prowl. She's stalking the Sunstrikers wolf pack, desperately trying to get her hands on her cheating ex, Chaz. Which will also lead her to the asshole who scratched her and might now cause her to turn furry during the next full moon.

Alone, without any money, and in need of leads she makes her way towards the White Hats. She hopes these hunters will help in her quest, and by doing this Shia pretty much gets herself deeply involved in every facet of the supernatural world she wishes she'd never become a part of. As her search for Chaz intensifies and she tries not to concentrate on what she might turn into, Shia finds herself wearing the freaky, enchanted hunter’s belt more often because of the power it gives her. And before she knows it, her reality and feelings become warped by it.

I loved how the change was so gradual, how I honestly believed Isaac had her best interests in mind but is slowly manipulating her to do as he pleases. It was so unexpected, when the belt actually reveals its power to control her, I was thrown. But everything started making so much more sense!

This is another awesome, but brutal installment in this excellent urban fantasy series. I really enjoyed it, and was satisfied with the, uh, climax. ;) It's amazing how hard Shia tries to convince herself she doesn't want anything to do with Royce, when it's obvious to everyone else how much she really wants him. LOL.

Can't wait to see what happens next...


PS. This is the first book I read on my Kindle Paperwhite. Love it!
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