Teaser Tuesday: Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

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!

Teaser:

"Stay here," Caleb whispered as he crept along the hallway.

That was a good suggestion. Unfortunately, I wasn't taking it.

This week my teaser comes from Grave Dance by Kalayna Price. This book has been sitting on my TBR mountain for a while. I recently bought the audiobook and started listening to it on a long car trip. I listened to the first 30% but then arrived at my destination. Luckily, I have the Kindle book with me and can finish the book that way.

Here is the description:

Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft.

After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.

The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan. 6, 2014)

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.

Winter has arrived with a vengeance this week. Our temperatures have plummeted. Luckily, we haven't gotten any new snow but the strong winds have been pushing the snow we do have around. I am so grateful to live so close to where I work. Commuting would not be fun between the bone-chilling cold, blowing snow and slippery roads. I have been glad to stay in and read. We only had two days of school last week - Thursday and Friday. So I got some extra reading and relaxing done.

We have Monday off this coming week because the Governor closed all Minnesota schools. Monday's forecast is actual temperature between -20 and -30 with windchills pushing -60. I will be very glad to stay in my warm house. I do have to make up the time we are missing but can do 4 hours of it from home. I have to redo my lesson plan calendar to account for one less day this semester. I also have tons of Google Docs to correct which my students have shared with me. Only two weeks left in this semester and then I will be seeing all new classes.

Last Week:

I finished listening to DaVinci's Ghost by Toby Lester. The story of Leonardo's drawing of Vitruvian Man was fascinating but it was also scholarly, rambling and disorganized. My review will be posted on Jan. 8.

The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles was a middle grade science fiction story. It was one long chase scene and I had difficulty connecting with any of the characters. My review will be posted on Jan. 23.

Alienated by Melissa Landers was a YA science fiction romance. I enjoyed the story and will be reviewing it on Jan. 25. It will be released on Feb. 4.

Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee was by first book of 2014. I loved this contemporary fantasy novel largely because of the main character and wonderful world building. My review will be posted on Jan. 30 for this Feb 4 release.

Something Real by Heather Demetrios was an amazing contemporary story. I couldn't put it down. It tells the story of Bonnie™ Baker who grew up on reality TV. Her new real life is threatened when her mother agrees to resume the series. My review of this Feb. 4 release will be posted on Feb. 1.

Cress by Marissa Meyer is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles. This episode focuses on Cress who is a Lunar without mind powers and who has been imprisoned on a satellite orbiting Earth for seven years. Of course, it also furthers the big plot and has substantial parts for Cinder, Thorne, and Emperor Kai. My review of this Feb. 4 release will be posted on Jan. 30.

Currently:

Lacking an adult book to review for a while, I went to my TBR mountain and pulled Hastur Lord: A Novel of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross to read. This one has been sitting on the stack since 2010. It is the 23rd novel in the series. I read most of these in the eighties and nineties and haven't read any since. I am eager to see how this novel holds up.

Next Week:

I have a few slots on my calendar before I am back to reading review books. Here are the books I have chosen from my TBR mountain.

Skating Around the Law by Joelle Charbonneau

United We Spy by Ally Carter

Killing Floor by Lee Child

Reviews Last Week:

• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill
• Alone by Kendra Elliot
• River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

I hope everyone has a great week. Leave me a link to your post. I'd love to see what you read and what you are planning to read.

Stacking the Shelves (Jan. 5, 2014)

Tynga of Team 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.

Here is my haul for the week.

Falling for Frederick by Cheryl Bolen - Kindle; purchased for $.99 with an Amazon Voucher.

Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies by Nancy Neigle - Kindle; purchased for $.99 with an Amazon Voucher.

Law Man by Kristen Ashley - Kindle Daily Deal; Romance

Chilled by Kendra Elliot - Print; I read the ARC for review and needed a finished copy for my Keeper Shelf.

Ever After by Kim Harrison - Print; I read the ARC for review and needed a finished copy for my Keeper Shelf.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - Print from Amazon Marketplace; I'd heard of the book before and was interested. A recommendation from someone I was talking to tipped the balance.

Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee - Kindle; I have this book in print on my Keeper Shelf but wanted a Kindle copy for convenience.

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch - Kindle; Recommended on a blog I was reading this week.

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - Kindle Free; recommended on a blog I was reading this week. 

Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb - Kindle; completes my collection on Kindle of this series. 

What did you add to your stack this week?

ARC Review: Alone by Kendra Elliot

Alone
Author: Kendra Elliot
Series: Bone Secrets
Publication: Montlake Romance (January 7, 2014)

Description: One rainy night in the woods outside of Portland, Dr. Victoria Peres is called to the site of a haunting crime scene. Six beautiful young girls—all in white dresses and arranged in a perfect circle—have been left for dead. Only one girl, fighting for her life at a nearby hospital, has survived the carnage. Things get stranger still when Victoria and the police discover that the disturbing arrangement of the bodies—as meticulous as it is mysterious—is straight from the pages of a decades-old cold case. Victoria is called on to do what she does best, read the bones of the dead for clues…while dealing with the surprise return of her first love, medical examiner Seth Rutledge. Only this time she must figure out how the two cases, fifty years apart, are connected.

In the fourth book in her heart-pounding Bone Secrets series, best-selling author Kendra Elliot sends readers on a dark and thrilling journey as forensic anthropologist Victoria Peres races to solve a horrific new case while confronting the secrets of her past.

My Thoughts: Dr. Victoria Peres is an forensic anthropologist working for the Portland Medical Examiner. She is reserved, serious, and rather intimidating. She prefers to keep people at arm's length. But things change abruptly when Dr. Seth Rutledge applies to be the new medical examiner. Seth and Tori have a history. They fell in love in college but split up when Seth decided that he had to marry the mother of his child despite the fact that she broke up with him and didn't tell him the child was his until her current relationship broke up. They have been apart for eighteen years and have both built lives and careers.

Seth and Tori get involved in a case that mirrors a case from 50 years in the past. Young women with long dark hair are found dead posed in a circle in the forest. In the first case, three of the six young woman had never been identified. Luckily, the bones had been kept and now Tori is trying to identify them. This time one of her young neighbor's friends is one of the victims. And Tori finds strange connections to her life too. She was adopted, raised by loving parents, but has questions about her birth parents. It looks like the first victims had a connection to the same church that was instrumental in her adoption.

The parts of the story told from the viewpoint of the villains were particularly chilling. It took me a while to realize that we were hearing from two different villains. I liked all the connections that were revealed between Tori's young friend and the cult that was responsible for the various murders. 

I liked that very realistic relationship between Tori and Seth. I liked that Tori was hesitant to initiate a new relationship with the man who broke her heart. I also liked Seth's persistence in convincing Tori that this time nothing could come between them. 

The story was thrilling, chilling, and romantic. I recommend it to all fans of romantic suspense.

Favorite Quote:

"You are under my skin, Seth. I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to blindly trust you again and offer my heart up on a platter for you to do with as you please. I've made mistakes. Big ones. One named Seth and one named Rory. Those weren't slap-a-Band-Aid-on-it mistakes. Those were long-years-of-soul-searching mistakes. Do you think I'm going to jump in for round two with you on a whim?"

I was sent this ARC by the author. You can (and should) buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Alone by Kendra Elliot

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 Alone by Kendra Elliot which is the latest in her Bone Secrets novels. I got the ARC from the author. I have read, reviewed and loved the rest of the books in the series. Here is the description of this Jan. 7 release:

One rainy night in the woods outside of Portland, Dr. Victoria Peres is called to the site of a haunting crime scene. Six beautiful young girls—all in white dresses and arranged in a perfect circle—have been left for dead. Only one girl, fighting for her life at a nearby hospital, has survived the carnage. Things get stranger still when Victoria and the police discover that the disturbing arrangement of the bodies—as meticulous as it is mysterious—is straight from the pages of a decades-old cold case. Victoria is called on to do what she does best, read the bones of the dead for clues…while dealing with the surprise return of her first love, medical examiner Seth Rutledge. Only this time she must figure out how the two cases, fifty years apart, are connected.

In the fourth book in her heart-pounding Bone Secrets series, best-selling author Kendra Elliot sends readers on a dark and thrilling journey as forensic anthropologist Victoria Peres races to solve a horrific new case while confronting the secrets of her past.

Beginning:

"I won't miss this part of the job," Victoria heard Dr. James Campbell mutter as he held a blackberry vine out of the way for Lacey and Victoria to pass by.

Friday 56:

In her opinion, the two similar cases had the potential to go viral on the internet. It had the key ingredients—tragic death, young women, and nearly identical occurrences decades apart.

ARC Review: River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

River Road
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Publication: Putnam Adult (January 7, 2014)

Description: From the New York Times–bestselling author of Dream Eyes and Copper Beach, a brand-new quintessential Jayne Ann Krentz romance.

It’s been thirteen years since Lucy Sheridan was in Summer River. The last time she visited her aunt Sara there, as a teenager, she’d been sent home suddenly after being dragged out of a wild party—by the guy she had a crush on, just to make it more embarrassing. Obviously Mason Fletcher—only a few years older but somehow a lot more of a grown-up—was the overprotective type who thought he had to come to her rescue.

Now, returning after her aunt’s fatal car accident, Lucy is learning there was more to the story than she realized at the time. Mason had saved her from a very nasty crime that night—and soon afterward, Tristan, the cold-blooded rich kid who’d targeted her, disappeared mysteriously, his body never found.

A lot has changed in thirteen years. Lucy now works for a private investigation firm as a forensic genealogist, while Mason has quit the police force to run a successful security firm with his brother—though he still knows his way around a wrench when he fills in at his uncle’s local hardware store. Even Summer River has changed, from a sleepy farm town into a trendy upscale spot in California’s wine country. But Mason is still a protector at heart, a serious (and seriously attractive) man. And when he and Lucy make a shocking discovery inside Sara’s house, and some of Tristan’s old friends start acting suspicious, Mason’s quietly fierce instincts kick into gear. He saved Lucy once, and he’ll save her again. But this time, she insists on playing a role in her own rescue . . .

My Thoughts: This story was Jayne Ann Krentz at her romantic suspense best. The characters were amazingly life-like. Well, except for the fact that, if men life Mason Fletcher exist, they are staying well away from me.

The story begins with a prequel. Lucy Sheridan, age 16, is being hauled away from a wild party by her crush, the responsible and mature 19-year-old Mason Fletcher. She leaves town the next day and doesn't return to Summer River for thirteen years. What Lucy doesn't know is that she has been targeted by Tristan Brinker who wants her to star in his latest rape video and Mason saves her from that fate.

Now, Lucy is grown up and working as a forensic genealogist. She works for a private investigation firm and finds lost heirs. She is a successful woman in all areas of her life except her romantic life. She has dumped her fiance after finding him in bed with another woman. Her therapist tells her she has commitment issues. She is currently trying to find Mr. Right by using an online matchmaking service.

She has returned to Summer River to settle her aunt's estate. Her beloved Aunt Sara and her partner Mary Colfax recently died in an automobile accident. Lucy has inherited her aunt's estate and some shares in Colfax Inc. from Mary. She is being urged to sell Sara's house and land to turn it into a vineyard and she is being wooed by various Colfax family members who want those share back, too.

Mason Fletcher has returned to Summer River too. He has established a successful private investigation business specializing in cold crimes with his younger brother Aaron. But when a case goes wrong, he heads for home to rethink his life. He is working in his uncle's hardware store when Lucy comes in for light bulbs. An offer to help her with some home improvements lead to the discovery of Tristan Brinker's body bricked up in her aunt's fireplace which starts a chain of events that combine the past and the present.

I loved that both characters were strong people and that, in the course of their falling in love, they didn't have misunderstandings that hurt each other. I also liked the way Krentz wove events and characters from the past into the mystery. She also managed to surprise me when she revealed the villains of the story. I really enjoyed this story and couldn't put it down. For me, it was a compelling page-turner. 

Favorite Quote:

"I can't imagine the shock of having a body fall out of the fireplace. And your aunt's fireplace, at that. She was a vegan, for heaven's sake."

"She killed him, Mom. She didn't eat him."

I got this ARC from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program. You can buy your copy here.

First Book of the Year 2014

I am participating in the First Book of the Year 2014 meme which is organized and run by Sheila at Book Journey. While I've never given much thought to what my first book of any year is, Sheila plans and anticipates hers.

Since I keep a spreadsheet of the books I read and have since 2010, I can tell you that these were the first books I read:

• 2010 - Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
• 2011 - Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan
• 2012 - Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H. P. Mallory
• 3013 - Divergent by Veronica Roth

For my first book of 2014, I have chosen Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee. This is a book from my review stack that I requested from Edelweiss. 

Description:

The long-awaited sequel to Carousel Tides, enchanting contemporary fantasy by Sharon Lee, award-winning co-creator of the popular Liaden Universe® saga. When magic meets mundane, sparks fly: these are exciting times in Archers Beach, Maine! A unprecedented Early Season has united townies and carnies in an effort to expand into a twelve-month resort, recapturing the town's former glory.

Kate Archer, owner-operator of the vintage wooden carousel, is caught up in the excitement—and is quite possibly the cause of it. Because Kate leads a double life, as carny, and as Guardian of the land. Her recent return to the home she had forsaken has changed the town's luck—for the better—and energized the trenvay—earth and water spirits who are as much citizens of the Beach as their mundane counterparts.

But the town's new energy isn't the only change afoot. Joe Nemeier, the local drug lord, whose previous magical consultant was vanquished by Kate, has acquired a new ally—and this one plays with fire.

This one has many elements I like. Most notable, it is written by an author I enjoy and it is contemporary fantasy which is one of my favorite genres.