Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 24, 2015)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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.

Other Than Reading...

This was my last full week of summer vacation. Next week I'll be packing up and moving back to my school year home. That means a day mostly spent driving back home, unpacking, grocery shopping, cleaning, and a dentist's appointment. I do plan to fit in reading around those other activities.

This week was a cold one here in Duluth. I was almost tempted to turn on the furnace on a couple of our chilly mornings. But it did mean good reading time. My brother and I went out to lunch for the last time this summer. We hit Shorty's in Superior, Wisconsin, because it had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. This one was a complete success. We were both happy with our sandwiches and the french fries were the best I've ever had.

Also to get ready for the busier school year, I spent Saturday setting up blog posts for November and early December. I currently have 63 scheduled posts and have set up the review posts for the next sixteen books on my stack.

Read Last Week

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal is the second book in her Glamourist Histories. This one finds Jane and Vincent in France just as Napoleon has escaped from Elba intent on reclaiming his empire. Vincent is kidnapped by Napoleonic forces that want to use a glamour he has invented leaving a pregnant Jane to try to rescue him though she is unable to use her glamour. My review will be posted on October 10.

Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton is the latest in her Anita Blake series and a typical Hamilton book: lots of talk about sex, huge cast of characters, and zombies. My review will be posted on October 15.

I finished the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series by Jenn Bennett this week.

Binding the Shadows saw Cady and Lon strengthening their relationship while dealing with problems like Lon's ex-wife showing up for Christmas, a new drug in town the supercharges demon Knacks, Cady's exponentially increasing powers, and numerous enemies who want Cady under their control or dead. My review will be posted on October 17.

I immediately started reading Banishing the Dark after finishing Binding the Shadows (Can you say cliffhanger ending?). This was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. Cady and Lon are trying to track down the spell her mother used to create her. They need to reverse it to break Cady's mother's hold on her or Cady will lose her soul and lose all the ones she loves. My review will be posted on October 24.

Nine Lives by Wendy Corsi Staub was a review book I got from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. This was an entertaining cozy mystery that takes place in a town full of psychics and mediums. My review will be posted on October 22.

Currently

I am back to TBR mountain for my current book. Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones is the second in the Charley Davidson urban fantasy series. This one arrived on my Kindle this year when it was an Amazon Daily Deal.

Next Week

I have two review books for this week. Both are from NetGalley.

The Reluctant Duchess by Sharon Cullen is a historical romance that will be released on November 10.

Dark Turns by Cate Holahan is also a November 10 release. This one is another mystery from Crooked Lane Books.

I also hope read a couple from TBR mountain too. Both of these are Kindle books that are second books in series that I purchased this summer because I finally read the first books in those series and really enjoyed them.

When Gods Die by C. S. Harris is the second in the Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery series.

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter is the second book in the Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy series.

Reviews Posted

• Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank
• Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews
• What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

I didn't purchase any new books this week. But don't worry that I will run out of reading material. Currently LibraryThing shows me that I have 1501 unread books (not counting unread YA books).

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

Book Review: What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris

What Angels Fear
Author: C. S. Harris
Series: Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery, Book 1
Publication: NAL (November 1, 2005)

Description: It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man-Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.

My Thoughts: The first Sebastian St. Cyr mystery begins with Sebastian being accused of the brutal murder of actress Rachel York. Sebastian is the only surviving son of the Earl of Hendon and a soldier who recently sold out after working in intelligence. He has been back in London for about ten months being bored and fighting duels. He sees himself as a cynic but we see not-so-deeply buried tendencies to be a hero.

Not having any faith in the authorities to clear his name, he decides to investigate to find out who killed Rachel York and why she was killed. He goes to an old girlfriend - and the woman he still loves - actress and courtesan, Kat Boleyn, to begin his investigation. Kat has secrets of her own but also still loves Sebastian and agrees to help.

Sebastian has no shortage of suspects. Could it be the actor who was Rachel's first patron? Could Rachel have been spying for the French under the control of spymaster Leo Pierrepont? Could it be one of Rachel's well-connected government lovers? Could it be Sebastian's nephew Bayard who seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Rachel?

As Sebastian investigates, with the assistance of street boy Tom, he soon finds that there isn't a simple solution. The more he looks, the more he finds complications involving the politics of the upcoming Regency government.

This was an exciting and twisty tale and an excellent historical mystery.

Favorite Quote:

He couldn't begin to fathom why or how he had come to be named as her murderer. Yet he could place no reliance on the authorities bothering to discover the truth behind what had happened. When a city's detectives were paid a forty-pound reward for each conviction, trye justice was more often than not a victim of avarice.

I bought this one for my Kindle on July 16, 2009. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris

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.

I chose What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris to spotlight this week. I bought this one for my Kindle on July 16, 2009. It is the first in the 10 book Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series. Here is the description from Amazon:

It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man-Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.

Beginning:

She blamed the fog. She wasn't normally this nervous. This afraid.

Friday 56:

But no one would think to set a watch upon the actress who'd been playing Rosalind to Rachel's Celia in the Covent Garden production of As You Like It. the woman who'd broken Sebastian's heart six long years ago...

Book Review: Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews

Magic Shifts
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels (Book 8)
Publication: Ace (August 4, 2015)

Description: In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Kate and Curran know that separating from the Pack completely is a process that will take time.

But when they learn that their friend Eduardo has gone missing, Kate and Curran shift their focus to investigate his disappearance. Eduardo was a fellow member of the Mercenary Guild, so Kate knows the best place to start looking is his most recent jobs. As Kate and Curran dig further into the merc's business, they discover that the Guild has gone to hell and that Eduardo’s assignments are connected in the most sinister way…

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece.

My Thoughts: This most recent Kate Daniels adventure has she and Curran living in the suburbs with Julie and adjusting to not being the Beast Lord and the Consort. When their friend Eduardo disappears, they are determined to find him. There are also issues with ghouls organizing themselves into large groups and a magical jewel granting wishes and turning people into giants.

Kate and Curran also have to get involved in the Mercenary Guild before is manages to destroy itself. Between them, they own 36% of it and, with their current cash flow problems, it would be quite a loss to them. Besides, Curran is a leader and needs a new challenge. Whipping the Guild into shape would be a good thing for him to do.

Along with all that we also have Kate's father building a new tower right outside Atlanta. Kate has some major father issues and I love the interactions between the two of them. This story focuses on the mythology of the Middle East for its magical creatures.

Fans of this excellent urban fantasy series won't want to miss this episode.

Favorite Quote:

"Answer me this, did you hesitate at all or did you see the giant, go 'Whee!' and run toward it?"

"She ran toward it, " Juke quipped.

"He was biting people in half."

"I rest my case," Curran said. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Series: A Rose Gardner Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (August 11, 2015)

Description: For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV is bad even before she has a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, but this one is different. She’s never seen herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered instead of Rose, there’s only one thing that’s certain: Rose is the prime suspect.

With prison looming, Rose realizes she’s wasted her life and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before everything falls apart. From drinking a glass of wine to doing “more” with a man, Rose is well on her way to committing a good number of the seven deadly sins, with the help of her hot and mysterious neighbor Joe. Joe is new to town, and it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty of dangerous secrets of his own.

When her house is broken into and someone else she knows is murdered, Rose realizes that dying in the county jail may not be her biggest worry after all in Denise Grover Swank’s sparkling and romantic mystery series debut, Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes.

My Thoughts: Rose Gardner is not having a very good week. She begins with having a vision while she is at work at the DMV. She sees herself dead! Rose has always had visions but they have never been about her future before and are usually about trivial things. She faints after having the vision and is sent home. She goes to her sister's instead because her mother is a cruel woman who hates her and bullies her.

The next day Rose has a fight with her mother. She has finally reached her breaking point with the bullying. Rose storms out, spends the afternoon at the library, takes herself out to dinner, and winds up in the park where she makes a list of 28 things she wants to do before she dies. When she finally goes home, she finds that the house has been broken into and her mother has been murdered. Since the weapon was the rolling pin that Rose used to make pie dough before she left earlier in the day, Rose becomes a suspect.

Rose is in shock when she finds her mother but the sexy new next door neighbor, Joe, is there to help her out. Joe also helps her by repairing the broken in door and repainting the blood spattered living room. As a matter of fact, Joe is more than willing to help her with the items on her wish list. But Joe is a suspicious character who is keeping secrets.

Rose is busy trying to check things off on her list before the death she saw in her vision happens which leads to her changing her wardrobe, her hairstyle, and her attitude. But someone wants something from her and she may not live to finish all the items on her list.

This was a fun mystery with a wonderful main character. Rose dealt with lots and lots of changes with courage and her sense of humor. I was pleased to learn that this book was first written in 2011 and that the author has published six more books in the series. I hope Crooked Lane will be publishing them too.

Favorite Quote:

"So...can I get you anything?"

His question stumped me. I had no idea if I needed anything. My mind felt detached from my body, like I was watching a movie playing in front of me instead of real life. Maybe I should ask for popcorn. I looked up at him with an expression of bewilderment.

He took pity on me. "I'll get you a glass of water."

I got this book from the publisher for review. You can buy your copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. 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:

I rode through the night-drenched streets of Atlanta on a mammoth donkey. The donkey's name was Cuddles. She was ten feet tall, including the ears, and her black-and-white hide suggested she might have held up a Holstein cow in some dark alley and was now wearing her clothes.

My teaser this week comes from the latest by Ilona Andrews - Magic Shifts. It is the 8th in the Kate Daniels series. Here is the description from Amazon:

In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Kate and Curran know that separating from the Pack completely is a process that will take time.

But when they learn that their friend Eduardo has gone missing, Kate and Curran shift their focus to investigate his disappearance. Eduardo was a fellow member of the Mercenary Guild, so Kate knows the best place to start looking is his most recent jobs. As Kate and Curran dig further into the merc’s business, they discover that the Guild has gone to hell and that Eduardo’s assignments are connected in the most sinister way…

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece.

Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 17, 2015)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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.

Other Than Reading...

This was just another quiet reading week for me. The weather has been unseasonably hot for Duluth with 4 days in a row with temperatures over 90. I am really glad we have central air conditioning and that I don't have to go anywhere.

Read Last Week

I finished reading the Unbound trilogy this week.

Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent had been on the TBR mountain since August 24, 2012. It was quite a dark story because the heroine had suffered so much abuse at the hands of her boss and was in quite a hopeless situation. It had a great romance. My review will be posted on October 3.

After finishing Shadow Bound, I had to read Oath Bound right away to see how everything played out. Oath Bound was a much lighter read primarily because of the relationship between the two main characters. I enjoyed this one too and was pleased with the way the series ended. My review will be posted on November 18 (my first unscheduled Wednesday.)

I finished The Hollows series this week by reading The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison. I enjoyed this story and was satisfied with how the series ended. My review will be posted on October 8.

Currently

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal is the second book in her Glamourist Histories series. I really loved the first and look forward to finding out what happens next.

Next Week

 

Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett is the third book in the Arcadia Bell series. I had the first two on TBR mountain, read them this summer, and enjoyed them. I bought the next two for my Kindle.

Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton is her most recent in the Anita Blake series. I have been putting this one off a bit because the blurb says there are zombies. I hate zombies! But I still want to catch up on Anita's adventures.

Play by Kylie Scott is the second book in her Stage Dive series. I've had it on the TBR mountain for over a year along with books three and four in the series.

Nine Lives by Wendy Corsi is a review book from Crooked Lane Books. I got this one at NetGalley. The book will be released on October 27.

Reviews Posted

• No Virgin Island by C. Michele Dorsey
• Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong
• Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

This week was mainly filled with new mysteries. All are for my Kindle and all were free or cheap.

The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan is the first in a new series. What intrigued me was that the main character has high functioning autism. This was free for my Kindle.

Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell was a Kindle Daily Deal. I couldn't pass up getting the 22nd Kay Scarpetta novel for $1.99 despite the fact that I am behind on reading this series and won't be ready for it for a while.

Mayhem in Christmas River by Meg Muldoon is a cozy mystery that was also free for my Kindle. It is the second book in the series and I haven't read the first.

The Detective's Dilemma by Karen McCullough was a Daphne DuMaurier Award Finalist. It was $.99 for my Kindle.

Just for variety, I added The End of All Things by John Scalzi in hardcover since it was cheaper than the Kindle edition. It is the next book in his Old Man's War series.

Back to Kindle cheap mysteries, I added Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath. This books begins a series.

I did add two books to my review stack.

Haunting Investigation (linked to NetGalley) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro was a Read Now selection at NetGalley. It will be released on Dec. 31. I used to read Yarbro's vampire books but haven't read anything by her for years. This historical mystery sounds good. 

The Reluctant Duchess by Sharon Cullen sounded good when I was browsing NetGalley. This historical romance will be released from Loveswept on November 10.

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