Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. 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!

Teaser (from 10% in):
Dalton propels me from the clearing like I'm a five-year-old being marched from the mall after a tantrum. Four months ago, I'd have thrown him off and warmed him against ever laying a hand on me again.
This week I'm reading A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong. I got this ARC from a publicist at St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books. Here is the description from Amazon:
When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers.

Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that...before another victim goes missing.

Casey Duncan returns in another heart-racing thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Monday, January 30, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan. 30, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

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.

Other Than Reading...

This was a crazy week. Monday was a workshop/inservice day to get ready for the second semester. Tuesday I got a chance to meet 7 of my 16 new classes of students. Wednesday was a snow day since I woke up to 10 inches of heavy wet snow. It was like March snow. Once the plow guys finished the sun came out and melted the areas they cleared down to pavement. Overnight, the melt froze and we had a two hour late start on Thursday.

On late start days, I need to be two places at once. Not having a time twister or the ability to be two places at once means that the Elementary Art teacher takes my first grade classes while I finish teaching the sixth grade at the Middle School/High School. I met the other two sixth grade groups on Thursday and I met my other two Kindergarten classes and one more fourth grade class once I got to the Elementary.

I had my annual physical on Friday afternoon. The Elementary Art Teacher subbed for me. I think, by the end of the day on Monday, I will have met 15 of 16 of my new classes. The class of fourth graders I missed won't have media until Friday of this coming week.

Since our teaching contract requires teachers to make up the hours missed on snow days, I went to the MS/HS once my driveway was plowed out and spent a couple hours readjusting plans and developing lessons for the second semester. I also went in at my normal time on Thursday and made up two more of the required hours.

This week I'll be working 7:30 AM until 7:30 PM on Monday as we have some parent-teacher conferences at the MS/HS especially designed for those kids who didn't do well first semester. I don't expect to see anybody since I wasn't at the MS/HS first semester but have to be there anyway. I have pretty much run out of things to plan. I need some time with students so that we can actually do things.

This working full-time is really messing up my schedules. I don't think I visited anyone's blog except for the people who left me a link this past week. I'm not even sure I posted to any of the usual memes. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was play computer games and nap. I need to get my second wind and figure out when I can fit in both reading and blogging.

Read Last Week
Justice Calling by Annie Bellet begins a new urban fantasy series. This was only 120 pages long but was long enough to make me want to read more in this series. Luckily, I have books 2 & 3 of this 7 book series already on my Kindle. My review will be posted on March 4.

Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany was from my review stack. I enjoyed this mystery about a woman who runs a Sherlock Holmes-inspired bookstore on Cape Cod. I really enjoyed the main character in this one. My review will be posted on March 9.

Currently
My next book is also a mystery from my review stack - Purr M for Murder by T. C. LoTempio.

Next Week
Keeping in the mystery/thriller genre, the next two on my review stack are:
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?
A busy week kept me from shopping. I only added Break Me by Tiffany Snow when I saw it on an email from Entangled Publishing. I'll be reading it soon since it will be released on March 14.

To see what Young Adult books I have been reading and plan to read, check out Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

ARC Review: The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer

The Black Wolves of Boston
Author: Wen Spencer
Publication: Baen (February 7, 2017)

Description: REBUILD A LIFE, SAVE A CITY

Silas Decker had his world destroyed when he was attacked by vampires outside of New Amsterdam. He has rebuilt his life a dozen times in the last three hundred years—each time less and less successfully. Now he lives alone, buried under a hoarding habit, struggling to find some reason to wake up with the setting of the sun.

Eloise is a Virtue, pledged to hunting evil.  What she doesn’t know is how to live alone in a city full of strangers who know nothing about monsters.

Seth is the sixteen-year old Prince of Boston, ward of the Wolf King.  Now he is left in a city that desperately needs his protection with enemies gathering all around.

Joshua believes he is a normal, college-bound high school senior.  His life is shattered when he wakes up in a field, covered with blood, and the prom committee scattered in pieces about him like broken dolls.

These four must now come together to unravel a plot by Wickers, witches who gain power from human sacrifices and have the power to turn any human into their puppet. Four people who lost everything struggle to save Boston by saving each other.

My Thoughts: This was a great story about love, friendship and accepting yourself for yourself. Of course, it was also urban fantasy so we had evil Wickers who wanted to take over the werewolf Prince of Boston and make him their puppet.

The story starts with brand new werewolf Joshua being rescued by Decker who is a depressed vampire who is hundreds of years old. Decker has been getting more and more isolated and has been hoarding things to combat his loneliness. He takes Joshua home and they two form a firm friendship.

The story is told from Decker's viewpoint and Joshua's. It is also told from the viewpoint of Seth who is the 16-year-old Prince of Boston who has been in the care of the Wolf King in New York City since his whole family was massacred when a Breach let evil into the world when Seth was thirten. He wants very much to return to Boston along with his older cousin Jack who is one of the Wolf King's Thanes.

Elise is also a viewpoint character. She is a Virtue whose purpose in life is to live among humans and seek out evil and destroy it. Elise has known Decker all of her life but is so focused on being a Virtue that she only uses him as a tool. Elise, too, is alone and lonely.

The four characters come together to find and defeat the Wickers before they can succeed at their evil plan. Along the way there are a lot of funny moments in this story. Joshua has a tendency to turn into a small wolf when he's frightened or when he sneezes. It also has some touching moments as we learn that Seth has been longing for more family and really wants Joshua to be the older brother he thought was lost forever.

This is a wonderful story filled with characters real enough to step off the page. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Favorite Quote:
The first fortune read, "Accept something that you cannato change and you will feel better." He dropped the slip of paper on the table and opened the second cookie. The fortune said, "Depart not from the path which fate has you assigned."

Decker cocked an eyebrow at Joshua's face and picked up the discarded fortunes. "See. No going back."

"I don't take advice from baked goods," Joshua growled. "They're just random nonsense."
I got this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Friday Memes: The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe 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.

Beginning:
Joshua really thought it would be easier to catch a rabbit; he was a werewolf, after all. The stupid things, though, could turn on a dime and kept zigging when his body kept zagging.
Friday 56 (56%):
She lightly touched her dagger points to the marbled floor of the entryway. Leaves from the topiary covered the polished stone. 
This week I'm reading The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer. I received this eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Here is the description from Amazon:
REBUILD A LIFE, SAVE A CITY

Silas Decker had his world destroyed when he was attacked by vampires outside of New Amsterdam. He has rebuilt his life a dozen times in the last three hundred years—each time less and less successfully. Now he lives alone, buried under a hoarding habit, struggling to find some reason to wake up with the setting of the sun.

Eloise is a Virtue, pledged to hunting evil.  What she doesn’t know is how to live alone in a city full of strangers who know nothing about monsters.

Seth is the sixteen-year old Prince of Boston, ward of the Wolf King.  Now he is left in a city that desperately needs his protection with enemies gathering all around.

Joshua believes he is a normal, college-bound high school senior.  His life is shattered when he wakes up in a field, covered with blood, and the prom committee scattered in pieces about him like broken dolls.

These four must now come together to unravel a plot by Wickers, witches who gain power from human sacrifices and have the power to turn any human into their puppet. Four people who lost everything struggle to save Boston by saving each other.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

ARC Review: Killing Jane by Stacy Green

Killing Jane
Author: Stacy Green
Series: An Erin Prince Thriller
Publication: Vesuvian Books (January 31, 2017)

Description: What if everything you've ever heard about Jack the Ripper is wrong ...

A young woman is brutally murdered in Washington D.C., and the killer leaves behind a calling card connected to some of the most infamous murders in history.

Jack the Ripper

Rookie homicide investigator Erin Prince instinctively knows the moment she sees the mutilated body that it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies.

She and her partner, Todd Beckett, are on the trail of a madman, and a third body sends them in the direction they feared most: a serial killer is walking the streets of D.C.

The clock is ticking.

Erin must push past her mounting self-doubt in order to unravel a web of secrets filled with drugs, pornography, and a decades old family skeleton before the next victim is sacrificed.

The only way to stop a killer is to beat them at their own game.

My Thoughts: Erin Prince is new to homicide when she catches a gruesome new case. She also has a new partner who is much more experienced. Erin doesn't have very good self esteem. Her father is a wealthy defense contractor but she chose police work instead of joining her father's business. She and her twin who recently came out as gay are living together along with her 9-year-old daughter. Brad is her best friend, confident, and support.

The first victim is a young woman who has had quite a troubled past. She was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, spent time addicted to drugs, and who has now become clean and gone back to school. She was butchered by someone who left messages harking back to the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.

Erin and her partner Beckett quickly find themselves investigating the young woman's life and acquaintances. The more they investigate, the more they learn about Bonnie's tangled past. They learn that her parents don't know much about her. Her sometimes boyfriend also only sees part of Bonnie's life. Her colleagues at school and work like her but don't really know her.

A lot of their investigations have them looking into her childhood sexual abuse and the efforts that were made to cover it up. They learn that the abuse caused a rift between their families that persists to this day. Bonnie and her cousin Sarah lost track of each other until recently although neither set of parents know they've reconnected.

Then a second victim is found. This one is a psychologist who works at the school where Bonnie is trying to get her GED and is also Sarah's thesis adviser at American University. More clues seem to be pointing to someone who is recreating Jack the Ripper's crimes but the woman's connection to both Bonnie and Sarah proves to be more confusing than enlightening.

Meanwhile, Erin is getting phone calls from a child named Mina who knows about the killer and is terrified of her. Some of the chapters are told from Mina's viewpoint and the viewpoint of Charlie who is determined to protect Mina.

This was an engaging mystery with lots of twists and turns which kept me guessing to the very last line. Fans of psychological thrillers and female detectives will enjoy this one.

Favorite Quote:
Erin rubbed her aching head. "I feel like we've got a bunch of threads and no way to tie them together."

"Things aren't always so neat," Beckett said. "Sometimes you have to keep grabbing at the threads until the right one sticks out."
I got this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

ARC Review: Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder

Dawn Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study Series (Book 6)
Publication: MIRA (January 31, 2017)

Description: Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond—and a family—that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.

Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall—and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.

With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician…and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.

My Thoughts: This new, and final, novel in the study series sees Yelena and Valek having to stop a war, find a way to keep magicians from permanently losing their magic, and keep everyone they love safe.

Yelena is pregnant and still doesn't have any magic. Their thought is that the baby is taking it from her but they don't know what is being done with it. Valek is still coming to terms with his own new magic and trying to learn its limits.

Both Yelena and Valek are dodging assassins sent by the Commander. Fortunately, Valek is able to convince the assassin sent to kill him to switch sides. Onora is his potential replacement as head of security for the Commander but first they have to get rid of the magician who has subverted him and then convince him not to invade Sitia. Onora agrees that the Commander must be rescued and agrees that Yelena and Valek are the best hopes for that happening.

We get to see many of the important characters from the earlier books in the series. Ari and Janco are still bickering and intensely loyal to Valek. Valek's recently met younger siblings play a big role in this one. Leif, his wife Mara, his sister-in-law Opal, and his rather terrifying niece Reema also have substantial roles to play.

This was an excellent story that wraps up a bunch of the plot threads begun in the earlier books. I liked that it looks like Yelena and Valek can finally have a quieter life, having engineered a peace that should let their child grow up in peace and safety.

Favorite Quote:
"That's a good idea."

"Don't sound so surprised, love. I might start to think you're only interested in me for my body."

"Did you say something? I was too busy staring at your muscular chest."

"Nice."
I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: Killing Jane by Stacy Green

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. 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!

Teaser (from the 10% mark of the eARC):
Cold fall wind rushed through the well-lit parking lot as Erin headed into the Criminal Investigations Division offices. The late hour muted the usual sounds of the busy city, aking the wind seem louder and somehow more ominous.
This week I'm reading Killing Jane by Stacy Green. I got this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Here is the description from Amazon:
What if everything you've ever heard about Jack the Ripper is wrong ...

A young woman is brutally murdered in Washington D.C., and the killer leaves behind a calling card connected to some of the most infamous murders in history.

Jack the Ripper

Rookie homicide investigator Erin Prince instinctively knows the moment she sees the mutilated body that it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies.

She and her partner, Todd Beckett, are on the trail of a madman, and a third body sends them in the direction they feared most: a serial killer is walking the streets of D.C.

The clock is ticking.

Erin must push past her mounting self-doubt in order to unravel a web of secrets filled with drugs, pornography, and a decades old family skeleton before the next victim is sacrificed.

The only way to stop a killer is to beat them at their own game.

Monday, January 23, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan. 23, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

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.

Other Than Reading...

This was a messed up week at school. We had an early release on Monday because of impending ice and a day off on Tuesday when the ice arrived. The last week of the semester is not a good time to miss school! We have had ice problems all week. On Friday three of our buses slid off rural roads due to icy conditions. Only one of the buses had students on it. The rescue bus which had gone to get them was the third one to go off the road. The paved roads were in good condition but the gravel roads iced over. We have also had rain, fog and dense fog all week. This is weird weather for Minnesota in January.

On the plus side, the extra time off did allow me to do some planning for the second semester. I also have all my report cards finished and can use our work day on Monday to get ready for semester two. I also have to begin the day at the clinic for blood work before my annual physical and leave early to meet a plumber at my house to fix a slow leak in my heating system. After that, I need to run into town and pick up a prescription that I'm out of but that the insurance company wouldn't let my pharmacy fill until Monday.

I really want some normal days to happen soon. All this extra stuff is stressful.
Read Last Week
Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop is the fifth book in the excellent The Others fantasy series. I really enjoyed this episode. My review will be posted on March 2 for this March 7 release.

Currently
I just started The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco.

Next Week
Next up are two cozies from my review stack.
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

All Kindle books this week.

To see what Young Adult books I have been reading and plan to read, check out Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Book Review: Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Heart
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: A Guild Hunter Novel (Book 9)
Publication: Berkley (November 1, 2016)

Description: One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.

Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…

Nothing will ever be the same again.

My Thoughts: Elena and her archangel lover Raphael are both on tenterhooks during a period of calm since the last cascade fearing that another cascade could happen at any time. they are also keeping a close eye on Lijuan who seems to be losing her mind and isn't going to go mad with causing major damage and destruction. Things are happening in Lijuan's China that leads the archangels to the conclusion that she is either dead or has chosen to sleep. This leaves a power vacuum in the area. Something must be done. The Luminata call a meeting in their stronghold in Morocco to decide what to do about China. Each archangel can bring two seconds to the meeting.

The Luminata are supposed to be a monklike group of angels who are searching for enlightenment. Raphael and Elena know that something is off when they arrive. The atmosphere sets off Elena's senses. She feels that she is being spied upon and she feels that Gian who leads the Luminata is too focused on her. Elena has a secondary reason for going to Morocco. She is trying to track down her mother's family. Her mother was orphaned at age 5 when her mother left her in the care of a kindly nun promising to return but never did. Elena has unique coloring that she feels is inherited. She hopes someone will have known her grandmother.

Her visit with some of the other seconds to a nearby town only ramp up her feeling that something is really wrong. The people there are all very frightened of angels. Also, the only people who live in the town are humans. Usually even the smallest town has some vampires too. Asking about her mother frightens the older people even more.

This was an entertaining episode in the Guild Hunter series. I love seeing Elena and Raphael's love grow stronger as they get to know each other better. I also like seeing more of the other angels who owe fealty to Raphael. This one gave readers a chance to learn more about Aodhan who is recovering from an abuse filled captivity. I also enjoyed seeing more of Raphael's mother who is an awesomely powerful archangel.

Favorite Quote:
Elena nodded. She might only be a "baby" angel, but she'd learned lessons in her mortal life that stood her in good stead in the immortal world. One of those lessons was that, sometimes, the worst dangers wore a pretty or "trustworthy" face. Slater Patalis had been as handsome as sin.
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Friday Memes: Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe 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.

Beginning:
She was tired.

Not old in years. Just tired. While her vocation called to her as powerfully as it had always done, the reality was a relentless workload that offered little time for the life of study and reflection that she craved.
Friday 56:
Elena spoke the words of love in her grandmother's language, felt Raphael's response in the look he gave her. It was blue fire and it was furious tenderness.
This week I'm taking a break in my reviewing schedule to read a recent arrival in one of my favorite series. Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh is the ninth Guild Hunter novel. Here is the description from Amazon:
One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.

Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…

Nothing will ever be the same again.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

ARC Review: Southern Gothic by Dale Wiley

Southern Gothic
Author: Dale Wiley
Publication: Vesuvian Books (January 24, 2017)

Description: Aspiring author Meredith Harper owns the hottest bookstore in Savannah.

Michael Black is her favorite writer—long thought dead—until he mysteriously approaches Meredith with a new manuscript, and a most unusual offer. Meredith can keep the manuscript to herself, or publish it under her own name.

Her decision results in a bestseller, but the novel contains a coded secret; one that will put her on trial for murder and in hiding from “the blood stalker,” proving too late that making a deal with the devil comes at a heavy price.

My Thoughts: This scary story is a novel within a novel. Meredith Harper has always wanted to be a writer like her hero Michael Black. She is divorced and has started a successful book store in Savannah. She has written a manuscript and sent it around to publishers but has had no offers to publish it.

Michael disappeared five years earlier under suspicion that he had killed his much younger girlfriend Quinn. Harassed by Quinn's father, he chooses to disappear. Meredith has started an online bulletin board to defend Michael.

One day she receives and email and some rather frightening phone calls that turn out to be from her home phone number. She brings her shop assistant home with her to check the place out. No one is there but a red ribbon - reminiscent of the book she wrote but could never find a publisher for - is hanging on a knob.

Soon Michael appears with her re-written novel which is told in alternate chapters in the first part of this story. Because he is in hiding, he offers to let her publish the book under her name. She accepts even though she knows it is wrong and begins an intense physical relationship with Michael.

The book becomes an instant best seller and Michael's behavior gets more and more strange. Personally, I think it was strange from the beginning. He stalked her, spied on her, make himself at home in her house when she wasn't there. When Meredith tries to break off with him, he threatens to expose her deception about the book.

Worse yet, the beginning of the newly rewritten book has clues that lead to Quinn's buried body. Meredith is accused of first degree murder but still refuses to tell what she knows about Michael for fear of being outed as a plagiarist and losing her new-found fame.

Things spiral deeper and deeper into the strange before the stunning conclusion. I thought this novel was intensely creepy. I thought Meredith made bad choice after bad choice in the story. Fans of scary stories will enjoy this one.

Favorite Quote:
They say that vertigo is not the fear of falling but the fear of jumping, and there was a minute when I was on that proverbial roof, almost ready to take the ride.
I got this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

For some added fun, take this quiz.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

WoW: Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. She has a linky widget at her site each week for your post and to make it easy to find posts by other people.

The purpose of the meme is to spotlight books that we are eagerly anticipating. It is fun to take a look at what others are waiting for. I have noticed that it has expanded my wishlist though. Be warned!

Elle Katharine White
Jan.17, 2017
A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms.

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.

Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.
Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.

It’s a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she’s never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart.

Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: Southern Gothic by Dale Wiley

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. 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!

Teaser (from the 10% mark of the eARC):
Would I have done something different if I had know it would only last for less than a year? Or that a different location might well provide a different outcome? I can't answer that. Grief is a never-ending series of what-ifs.
This week I am reading Southern Gothic by Dale Wiley. I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Here is the description from Amazon:
Aspiring author Meredith Harper owns the hottest bookstore in Savannah.

Michael Black is her favorite writer—long thought dead—until he mysteriously approaches Meredith with a new manuscript, and a most unusual offer. Meredith can keep the manuscript to herself, or publish it under her own name.

Her decision results in a bestseller, but the novel contains a coded secret; one that will put her on trial for murder and in hiding from “the blood stalker,” proving too late that making a deal with the devil comes at a heavy price.

Monday, January 16, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan. 16, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

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.

Other Than Reading...

I have felt like a prophet of doom all week as I have been constantly reminding my students that the end of the semester is coming and they have missing work. Our semester ends this Friday. Monday is a work day/inservice day and then the second semester begins. I will be seeing a whole new bunch of students. I'm saying goodbye to my fifth, third and second graders and hello to Kindergartners, first graders, fourth graders and sixth graders. I'm also saying goodbye to my half-time schedule and going to full time for the first time since the 2014-2015 school year. This week will be filled with meetings and report cards (upwards of 240 of them).

After a (relatively) warm and sunny weekend, we are supposed to begin the coming week with a "wintry mix." We still haven't lost the ice from the last time. Freezing rain on Monday and Tuesday ought to make the driving miserable. I'm forever grateful that my longest commute is 3/4 of a mile.

I bought myself a present this week - a paper shredder- and have gleefully been going through my file drawers in my quest to be more organized and have less stuff in 2017. I searched online to see how long I should be keeping papers. I was pretty sure I didn't need my first pay stub from 1976 but didn't want to get rid of it prematurely.

Read Last Week
Beauty and the Wiener by Casey Griffin was a cute romantic suspense title with cute dogs. My review will be posted on Feb. 4.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh was a chilling suspense novel, told from multiple viewpoints, that kept me up reading late into the night. My review will be posted on Feb. 16.

Currently
Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop has finally reached to top of my Review stack. I got the eARC on Nov. 9 and had a hard time waiting for it to have its turn.

Next Week
Next are two more from my review stack:
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?
For my review stack:

Just because:
  • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (Kindle)
  • The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman (Print - It's joining the first two books in the series on TBR mountain.)
To see what Young Adult books I have been reading and plan to read, check out Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.