Teaser Tuesday: SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser comes from SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows. I got this PDF from a publicist at Entangled Publishing. The book will be released on May 28. Here is the description:

It’s a good thing Gabe Bristow lives and breathes the Navy SEAL credo, “the only easy day was yesterday,” because today, his life is unrecognizable. When his prestigious career comes to a crashing halt, he’s left with a bum leg and few prospects for employment that don’t include a desk.

That is, until he’s offered the chance to command a private hostage rescue team and free a wealthy American businessman from Colombian paramilitary rebels. It seems like a good deal—until he meets his new team: a drunk Cajun linguist, a boy-genius CIA threat analyst, an FBI negotiator with mob ties, a cowboy medic, and an EOD expert as volatile as the bombs he defuses. Oh, and who could forget the sexy, frustratingly impulsive Audrey Van Amee? She’s determined to help rescue her brother—or drive Gabe crazy. Whichever comes first.

As the death toll rises, Gabe’s team of delinquents must figure out how to work together long enough to save the day. Or, at least, not get themselves killed. Because Gabe's finally found something worth living for, and God help him if he can’t bring her brother back alive.

Teaser:

"Tranquilo," Jacinto said, his voice warped by the mask but still as friendly as ever. Like he was talking about a futbol game. Or the traffic. Or the weather. "Let it happen, Señor Van Amee. Go to sleep now. I won't hurt you. You're worth too much money."

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 20, 2013)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

My reading week started slowly but I picked up speed at the end and managed to finish five books.

I read Of Triton by Anna Banks which is the sequel to Of Poseidon. It is a mermaid story that is enhanced by a wonderful main character. Emma is smart, articulate, and feisty. She is also half mermaid and torn between her mother who fled the undersea world and her boyfriend who wants to make her part of it. My review will be posted on May 25 for this May 28 release.

SEAL of Honor was a nice romantic suspense title. I liked the main characters very much and thought it was very suspenseful. My review will be posted on May 23 for this May 28 release.

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross is the third book in her YA steampunk series and was an excellent adventure. I loved both the science fiction aspects and the romances in this one. My review is here for this May 28 release.

Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne is the sequel to Monument 14. It continues the story of the group of school children who took refuge in a superstore when massive hailstorms led to the release of chemical weapons that caused devastation. It is told from two points of view and was exciting and gripping. My review will be posted on May 23.

I couldn't put Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel down. I was swept into this story of an ordinary woman who has to deal with extraordinary events. When her husband and daughter disappear during massive floods in the Hill Country of Texas, Abby Bennett has to find the strength and courage to try to find them and find out what happened. This was a heart wrenching exploration of grief. My review will be posted on May 25.

I have just begun an eARC that I have been really wanting to read—Dare You To by Katie McGarry. This is a contemporary romance. I loved Pushing the Limits when I read it and can't wait to dig into this one.

Next Week

I am still trying to catch up on review books.

Both my YAs this week are sequels. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo follows the very successful Shadow and Bone. I got this fantasy which mines Russian mythology from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. It will be released on June 4

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke follows The Assassin's Curse. This eARC from NetGalley is also a fantasy which will be released on June 18.

I am finally going to be able to fit Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris into my reading schedule. I am so eager to read the conclusion to the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I also have The Spanish Revenge by Allan Topol on my review stack to read. This is a thriller that has been sitting on the stack for far too long. It was released on Sept. 1, 2012 but I didn't get it until Jan. 1.

The non-reading highlight of the week was my road trip to The Red Balloon on Wednesday evening when I got a chance to meet Jeri Smith-Ready and to learn more about her books and her social media presence. I had a great time!

What do you have planned for this week?

Stacking the Shelves (May 19, 2013)

Tynga of Tynga's Reviews has a meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Visit her site to check out the linky and see what everyone gets. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow.

This week was a quiet one for adult books. I just got two.

I received a print copy of Bella Andre's From This Moment On for review. I read the ebook in January and really liked it. It will be released in print for the first time on June 25.

I also got The Human Division by John Scalzi which is a new story in his Old Man's War universe. I liked that series and am eager to see what happens next in this science fiction series. 

What did you get this week? 

ARC Review: The Last Girl by Jane Casey

The Last Girl

Author: Jane Casey

Publication: Minotaur Books (May 21, 2013)

Description: Vast wealth offers London defense attorney Philip Kennford a lot of things: a gorgeous house with a pool in the backyard, connections in the top echelons of society, a wardrobe worthy of Milan runways. But his money doesn't provide a happy marriage, or good relationships with his twin daughters…and it does nothing to protect his family when someone brutally murders his wife and daughter in their own home.

When Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan arrives at the scene, the two survivors—Philip and his second favorite daughter, Lydia—both claim to have seen nothing, but it's clear right away that this is an unhappy family accustomed to keeping secrets. Maeve soon finds herself entangled in a case with a thousand leads that all seem to point nowhere, and it doesn’t help that her boss, whom she trusts more than almost anyone, is starting to make decisions that Maeve finds questionable at best.

In The Last Girl, Jane Casey once again demonstrates her ability to write vivid, three-dimensional characters and spin a gripping, unpredictable mystery.

My Thoughts: Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan and her partner Detective Inspector Josh Derwent are called to a double murder and find that the victims are the wife and daughter of defense attorney Philip Kennford. Kennford is well known to both of them and not at all well-liked. He is rather famous for getting his clients off whether or not they are guilty. Philip and Lydia, his other daughter, are both horrible witnesses. Derwent and Maeve are convinced that they are both keeping secrets.

Maeve and Derwent soon find themselves investigating dissatisfied clients with grudges and some of the many women that Kennford has slept with and abandoned. We are looking at an abundance of people who wanted Kennford dead but not necessarily his wife and daughter dead.

Maeve is also dealing with some relationship problems with her boyfriend Rob. Maeve has moved in with him to get away from a stalker but feels that she has jumped too fast into something she can't control. She is constantly second guessing herself. Rob, a former colleague, is now in a different section of the police and is being hit on by his superior. He hasn't shared this information with Maeve because he thought he could handle it. When someone sends suggestive pictures to Maeve, it feeds her suspicions about Rob and convinces her that she should end the relationship.

The characters are all well-drawn and well-rounded people. Derwent is sexist, abrasive, not at all politically correct, and willing to be on Maeve's side when the chips are down. I liked the relationship that they have. Maeve isn't going to let any of his rude comments upset her and she, respectfully, gives as good as she gets. 

Fans of police procedurals will enjoy the twists and turns of this well-written tale.

Favorite Quote:

"Can you remember the last time we tried to have sex in the shower?"

He winced. "Remember it? I'm still seeing a chiropractor."

I got this eARC from Minotaur Books' Early Reviewer program. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Last Girl by Jane Casey

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week I am spotlighting The Last Girl by Jane Casey. I got this mystery through Minotaur Books' Early Reviewer program. It is the third in the Maeve Kerrigan series and will be the first one I have read. Here is the description of this May 21 release:

Vast wealth offers London defense attorney Philip Kennford a lot of things: a gorgeous house with a pool in the backyard, connections in the top echelons of society, a wardrobe worthy of Milan runways. But his money doesn’t provide a happy marriage, or good relationships with his twin daughters…and it does nothing to protect his family when someone brutally murders his wife and daughter in their own home.

When Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan arrives at the scene, the two survivors—Philip and his second favorite daughter, Lydia—both claim to have seen nothing, but it’s clear right away that this is an unhappy family accustomed to keeping secrets. Maeve soon finds herself entangled in a case with a thousand leads that all seem to point nowhere, and it doesn’t help that her boss, whom she trusts more than almost anyone, is starting to make decisions that Maeve finds questionable at best.

In The Last Girl, Jane Casey once again demonstrates her ability to write vivid, three-dimensional characters and spin a gripping, unpredictable mystery.

Beginning:

She'd been swimming for almost an hour. Her legs felt weak, her arms heavy every time she lifted them out of the water into the night air that still shivered with the heat of the day.

Friday 56:

"Laura didn't stand up," I said quietly. "She didn't even know she was in danger. She knew her killer or she wasn't scared."

ARC Review: The Caretaker by A. X. Ahmad

The Caretaker

Author: A. X. Ahmad

Publication: Minotaur Books (May 21, 2013)

Description: Who is the caretaker hiding in the shadows of the Martha’s Vineyard mansions he tends?

Back in India, Ranjit Singh commanded an elite army squad. But that was years ago, before his Army career ended in dishonor, shattering his reputation. Driven from his homeland, he is now a caretaker on the exclusive resort island of Martha’s Vineyard, looking after the vacation homes of the rich and powerful. One harsh winter, faced with no other choice, he secretly moves his family into the house of one of his clients, an African-American Senator. Here, his wife and daughter are happy, and he feels safe for the first time in ages. But Ranjit’s idyll is shattered when mysterious men break into the house. Pursued and hunted, Ranjit is forced to enter the Senator’s shadowy world, and his only ally is Anna, the Senator’s beautiful wife, who has secrets of her own. Together, they uncover a trail of deception that leads from the calm shores of the Vineyard to countries half a world away. And when his investigation stirs up long forgotten events, the caretaker must finally face the one careless decision that ruined his life- and forced him to leave India. 

A gripping tale of hidden histories, political intrigue and dangerous attractions, A. X. Ahmad's The Caretaker introduces a new hero for our times: an immigrant caught between two worlds and a man caught between two loves.

My Thoughts: THE CARETAKER was a wonderful suspense novel that was so well-written that I didn't even notice the prose because I was so involved in the story. Ranjit Singh is a Sikh and a disgraced army officer who has brought his family to the US to make a new life for them. But, after working unhappily in his wife's uncle's store, he has moved his family to Martha's Vineyard and become a landscaper. However, winter is coming, the jobs are ending, the house they are renting is falling apart, and his wife is sinking into depression. 

When the wife of a Senator he worked for during the summer offers him a caretaking job and leads to other jobs, he feels confident that they will survive the winter. But a series of break-ins makes the area dangerous. When the furnace in their rental house dies, he moves his family into the Senator's house. Then armed men break in searching for something and start a string of events that involve international politics and Singh's own past as a soldier in the Indian Army.

The story has a marriage that is breaking, an affair that has no future, clashes with Homeland Security and all sorts of dangers. Through it all Singh holds fast to the plan to save his family and shows both strength and honor. Singh is a well-rounded character. We learn about his past through the dreams and sometimes hallucinations he still has about the events that ended his army career.

Fans of suspense novels with unique main characters will really enjoy THE CARETAKER.

Favorite Quote:

"This place—" James gestures at the corridor. "—this whole place is full of men hiding from something. Druggies here, and plenty of ex-cons. But you, Captain, you're different. You show up with a turban and a beard, then it's gone. Now you have some sort of microfilm. And last night the elevator was working, so I went down. Tow men were in the lobby, asking the night manager questions. They showed him a picture, an old picture, but it was you, wearing an army uniform."

I got this eARC through Minotaur Books' Early Reviewer program. You can buy your copy here. 

Blog Tour Review: Bare It All by Lori Foster

Bare It All
Author: Lori Foster
Publication: Harlequin HQN (April 30, 2013)

Description: A cop's craving to know more about the woman next door could prove fatal in the steamy new novel from New York Times best selling author Lori Foster

As the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her past, which is exactly how she prefers it…until the sexy cop next door comes knocking.

Detective Reese Bareden thinks he knows what makes women tick, but his ever-elusive neighbor keeps him guessing like no other. Is his goal to unmask Alice's secrets? Or protect her from a dangerous new threat? One thing is certain: their chemistry is a time bomb waiting to explode. And with no one to trust but each other, Reese and Alice are soon drawn into a deadly maze of corruption, intrigue and desire—and into the line of fire….

My Thoughts: For heart-pounding suspense and heart-pounding romance, you can't do better than Lori Foster. As this book begins, Detective Reese Bareden wakes up on Alice Appleton's couch after being licked away by his puppy. Since his apartment was the scene of a crime and Alice came to his rescue, she gave him a place to stay. Reese had been fascinated with Alice since she met him but it took a rescued puppy before she would give him a chance. 

Alice has learned to guard herself closely since being rescued by human traffickers. She doesn't have any desire to get close to anyone because she doesn't know who she can trust and because of the guilt she feels about assisting the traffickers until she could escape. Alice is quiet and shy and not convinced that she would be attractive to any man.

Reese is first attracted to her quiet beauty but soon learns to appreciate much more about her including her bravery and the way she cares for his abused puppy. When she impulsively rescues another woman from abuse, she puts herself in the crosshairs of a very bad man. It takes Reese, his partner Logan, Rowdy Yates and the elusive Trace to keep her safe.

I loved watching the relationship between Alice and Reese develop. Their love scenes were hot and filled with emotion. I also liked seeing Logan and Pepper (from Run the Risk) and catching up with their lives. Pepper's brother Rowdy had a substantial role in this story, too, and I enjoyed watching his view of the cops change as he gets to know Reese and Logan. I liked that the group of them forged a strong unit of love and respect. 

Fans of romantic suspense will really enjoy this story.

Favorite Quote:

Fully dressed, Detective Reese Bareden was a heartstopper. Half-naked, he was enough to turn her stupid with lust.

Here is the book trailer:

I got this eARC from NetGalley for the blog tour. You can buy your copy here.