ARC Review: Midnight Crossing by Charlaine Harris

Midnight Crossing
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publication: Ace Hardcover (May 6, 2014)

Description: From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it…

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...

My Thoughts: Charlaine Harris's new mystery introduces a new set of characters and a new setting. Midnight, Texas is a dying town inhabited by a bunch of people who are keeping secrets. Manfred Bernardo moves to town to run his psychic business which is mostly conducted through the internet. His landlord Bobo runs the local pawn shop and has two other tenants in his basement - Lemuel who is a sort of vampire and Olivia who is a dangerous woman of mystery. Living next door is Fiji who is the local witch and who has a massive crush on Bobo.

A couple of months before Manfred arrived, Bobo's girlfriend Aubrey disappeared. While Bobo is mourning, the rest of the residents don't miss her as she wasn't close to anyone and made a habit of hitting on all the men in town when Bobo wasn't watching. One of Bobo's secrets is that he is the grandson of a white supremacist who was stockpiling weapons before dying from a stroke. Rumor has it that Bobo inherited the cache which has grown larger and larger with each retelling. Now the local bunch want the weapons and are willing to do all sorts of damage to get them.

When a town picnic uncovers Aubrey's corpse the situation gets even more dangerous. The townspeople want to find out who killed her in order to clear Bobo's name. After all, the boyfriend is usually the first suspect. And since Aubrey was sent in by the local supremacists, they believe that Bobo is guilty too.

The mystery was entertaining and I did not figure out the villain before the characters did. But the bulk of this story was spent introducing the many residents of Midnight, Texas and hinting at the stories that they have hidden. I can't wait to read more in this world and want to learn all those hidden stories.

Favorite Quote:

They all stood silent. Bobo didn't know what anyone else was thinking, but he was back in that land where unpleasant revelations were the norm. He hadn't lived there in a while, and he hadn't wanted to return, ever.

I got this ARC from Amazon Vine. You can buy your copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

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:

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, this damn spell," she said, as if she were talking about the weather. "My great-aunt left it to me, but her handwriting was atrocious, and I've tried three different ingredients because I can't figure out what she meant."

This week my teaser comes from Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris. I got the first book in a new series from Amazon Vine. Here is the description of this May 6 release:

From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it…

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 5, 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.

I had an amazing reading week. It helped that it either rained or snowed every day until Saturday. Nasty weather equals quality reading time for me.

Next week is quiet until Friday. My friend and I are heading back up to The Red Balloon Friday evening for Rebecca Hahn's debut party. I read A Creature of Moonlight and really enjoyed it. I can't wait to get a chance to meet the author.

Read Last Week

I am making great progress on my review stack. Another week should see the end of the May releases. I had twenty-one books on my stack that were all releasing in May.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart was an interesting story that had an ending I didn't see coming. My review will be posted on May 10.

Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel was also sort of a twisted tale. It is a modern retelling of Peter Pan set in California - complete with surfers. My review will be posted on May 10 for this book too.

The Summer Invitation by Charlotte Silver was the least successful book I read this week. Nothing much happened and I found it sort of boring. My review will be posted on May 15.

Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn was an interesting contemporary about redemption which also had a surprising twist at the end. My review for this one will be posted on May 15 too.

Risky Game by Tracy Solheim was a very satisfying sports romance. I really liked the characters. My review will be posted on May 17.

Mila 2.0: Renegade by Debra Driza was the second book in this science fiction trilogy and ended on a major cliffhanger. It was a pretty exciting story until then. My review will also be posted on May 17 for this book.

The Cursed by Heather Graham was an engaging romantic suspense title complete with ghosts. I didn't know that it was the 12th book in a series but didn't have any trouble catching on to the story. My review will be posted on May 22.

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora was an excellent middle grade story about three teens who have a plan to encourage reading of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I loved the friendships between the kids and I also loved that their parents were involved in their lives. My review for this one will also be posted on May 22. 

Currently

I am reading The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross which concludes the series that began with The Girl in the Steel Corset. This is steampunk.

Next Week

Blur by Steven James will be released on May 27. I got this YA eARC from NetGalley.

The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst also is being released on May 27. I got an eARC from NetGalley and got a print ARC too. 

Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach is from my TBR mountain. I got the first and third book of this series for review but need to read this second book to be caught up before reading the third book.

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu is a YA ARC I got from Macmillan. The author will be part of the Fierce Reads event I'm attending in June. The book will be released on June 3.

Vivian Divine Is Dead by Lauren Sabel is a YA pick that I got at Edelweiss. It will be released on June 3.

Hexed by Michelle Krys was a YA pick at NetGalley. This book will be released on June 10.

Reviews Posted

• A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn
• The Falconer by Elizabeth May
• Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
• Royally Lost by Angie Stanton
• Monument 14: Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne

It will be nice to get back to my regular schedule and alternate between adult books and young adult books. All the young adult books that I had for review in May took over both my blogs for May. I'll be eager to get to some of the books I bought but haven't had time to read.

What was your week like? What's next up on your stack?

Stacking the Shelves (May 4, 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.

Review Books:

My latest Amazon Vine picks arrived this week. I chose Fatal Affair (Feb. 25) by Marie Force and That Night (June 17) by Chevy Stevens. 

TBR Pile:

There were lots of Kindle bargains that I couldn't resist this week.

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl

War Brides by Helen Bryan

Carnal Secrets by Suzanne Wright

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

A Sweet Life Boxed Set (Fourteen Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research) was $2.99.

SEALs Of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style was only $.99 for 10 novels and novellas. 

What did you add to your stack this week?

Book Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

The Falconer
Author: Elizabeth May
Series: The Falconer (Book 1)
Publication: Chronicle Books (May 6, 2014)

Description: Debutante by day. Murderess by night. Edinburgh's only hope.

Edinburgh, 1844. Beautiful Aileana Kameron only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. In fact, she's spent the year since her mother died developing her ability to sense the presence of Sithichean, a faery race bent on slaughtering humans. She has a secret mission: to destroy the faery who murdered her mother. But when she learns she's a Falconer, the last in a line of female warriors and the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity, her quest for revenge gets a whole lot more complicated. The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller blends romance and action with steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

My Thoughts: Lady Aileana Kameron is leading a double life in 1844 Edinburgh. By day she is a sheltered aristocrat who is on the marriage market but whose reputation is tarnished by the possibility that she had something to do with her mother's brutal death. By night, she is fighting and killing the faeries who are stealing energy from humans but whom most humans can not see. She is searching for the faery who killed her mother.

Aileana is being trained by Kiaran MacKay who is one very powerful faery who wasn't imprisoned beneath Edinburgh after an epic battle that occurred 2000 years before. Aileana's relationship with Kiaran is a difficult one as she moves between liking him and trusting him and realizing that he is not at all human and that he is alson one of her enemies.

However, unfortunately for Aileana, the 2000 year old seal is weakening and is scheduled to fail within days if she can't do something to reinforce it. It was made by a number of falconers working together but Aileana is the only remaining falconer and has had just a year of training.

I loved the steampunk aspects of this story as Aileana is an engineer who has made a number of weapons that will let her defeat the faeries. I loved her ornithopter and the locomotive that she made along with her lightning gun and sonic cannon. The bomb that she used on the Red Caps was particularly effective and destructive too.

Aileana was an intriguing character whose life changed immeasurably when her mother was killed. She is haunted by the memory of her mother's death and by her need for vengeance. Kiaran is also an intriguing character who is very mysterious. Aileana's pixie protector Derrick adds some much needed lightness to this very intense story.

I can't wait to see what is going to happen next in this trilogy.

Favorite Quote:

"I was keeping you safe."

"In what way could keeping me in ignorance be construed as protection?" I straighten a piece of wire to add to the fire-starter. "God spare me from such protection, especially when it involves safeguarding my poor feminine sensibilities from life-saving information."

I won this ARC from LibraryThing. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

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 Falconer by Elizabeth May. I won this ARC at LibraryThing. Here is the description of this May 6 release.

Debutante by day. Murderess by night. Edinburgh's only hope.

Edinburgh, 1844. Beautiful Aileana Kameron only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. In fact, she's spent the year since her mother died developing her ability to sense the presence of Sithichean, a faery race bent on slaughtering humans. She has a secret mission: to destroy the faery who murdered her mother. But when she learns she's a Falconer, the last in a line of female warriors and the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity, her quest for revenge gets a whole lot more complicated. The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller blends romance and action with steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

This one hits so many buttons for me - steampunk, romance, thriller!

Beginning:

I've memorized their every accusation: Murderess. She did it. She was crouched over her mother's body, covered in blood. 

Friday 56:

A dozen rapid heartbeats later, a tall figure dashes through the entrance. The faery pauses beneath me, his body still. His breathing is silent; he is not at all winded from our chase. He starts forward, slow, quiet. 

YA Book Review: A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn

A Creature of Moonlight
Author: Rebecca Hahn
Publication: HMH Books for Young Readers (May 6, 2014)

Description: As the only heir to the throne, Marni should have been surrounded by wealth and privilege, not living in exile—but now the time has come when she must choose between claiming her birthright as princess of a realm whose king wants her dead, and life with the father she has never known: a wild dragon who is sending his magical woods to capture her.

Fans of Bitterblue and Seraphina will be captured by a Creature of Moonlight, with its richly layered storytelling and the powerful choices its strong heroine must make.

My Thoughts: A CREATURE OF MOONLIGHT was an exquisite fantasy filled with beautiful language and heart-wrenching choices. It is a story in three parts.

In the first part, Marni lives with her Gramps in an isolated area growing flowers. As the story unfolds we learn that Marni is the niece of the king and that her Gramps gave up his throne to take care of her. Her mother had run into the woods and come back a year later with a baby. Marni is a dragon's child. The dragon is sending his woods to try to bring her back home. The woods near her home is filled with all sorts of magical creatures. Now that Marni is growing older, she is beginning to attract the attention of the peasant boys from the nearby village and the lords from the King's castle too.

In the second part after her Gramps's death, Marni is taken to the castle where she has to deal with an uncle who hates her and courtiers who all want something from her. She has formed an alliance with the Lord of Ontrei who keeps asking her to marry him. This isn't what Marni wants though. She is just trying to find her footing in this strange environment. But when the trees keep moving closer and closer to the castle, her uncle decides that he needs to kill Marni as he killed her mother.

In the third part, Marni escapes into the woods and meets the dragon who is her father. She also finds out what happens to all the young girls who run into the woods and are never seen again. But there is something in Marni that won't let her embrace the fate of those young girls. Her future lies in the world outside the woods.

This story was so lyrically written that I was swept into the story and read it in just one day. There was so much lovely language to savor. I really liked Marni despite her bitterness and her desire for vengeance. I ached for the very hard choices she had to make.

Fans of fantasy won't want to miss this amazing story by a debut author.

Favorite Quote:

The Lord of Ontrei takes a deep breath, and the dread comes back a thousandfold, and I know before he says it, the worst words in the world: "He's dead."

"No." We talked of this only last night, of time running out, of not escaping from forever. Just one night ago. It can't have happened already. The world can't—mustn't work that way. We ought to have today, still, and tomorrow, and the next. Today, tomorrow, and the next day—and then the day after that.

I got this ARC through Amazon Vine. You can buy your copy here.