The Demon Mistress (Eva Prim #1) Blog Tour - Review, Eva's Perspective, & Giveaway!!!

What’s a girl to do when she discovers her husband, who happens to be the Master Vampire for the New England Region, has been lying to her for, oh, say a hundred and eighty years? 

Well, it all depends. If she’s accidentally released forty demons from some creepy old book, unintentionally announced the existence of vampires on The Internet, kidnapped a werewolf, enraged a lovesick vampire by stealing his approved mate, and attracted the attention of The High Commander for The Vampire Federation, not to mention gotten stoned and mastered the forbidden art of demon calling, she might be willing to call it even.

Or, she might plead her case at an Inquisition and hope like all hell, she isn’t staked before sunrise. Eh, a slightly busier night than usual, but nothing Eva Prim can’t handle.

About the Author

Jordan loves vampires. But if you know anything about Jordan, you already knew that detail. What you didn’t know was it wasn’t long ago that she began writing about them. 

A few years back Jordan received a copy of Twilight from her husband as part of her anniversary gift. By the end of that week she’d read the entire series and moved onto Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Eight weeks and eighteen vampire books later the idea for her first book, Perpetual Light came to her followed very quickly by Eva Prim. 

In October of 2013 The Demon Mistress, the first Eva Prim Novel is available along with four short stories. For continual updates on Eva please join the Snack Of The Week Club at www.evaprim.com. 

Coming November 2013 Black Magic Rose, Book One of The Alliance Series. Join Jordan’s newsletter for updates.  

Jordan is a member of the national Romance Writers of America organization and several chapters. 

When she’s not writing about one vampire or another Jordan enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken and their lovable Labrador, Dino on the beautiful beaches of New England.  

Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com

Review

     So can I say in all honesty that if the synopsis hadn't convinced me to read this book, the website that accompanied definitely would have.  Eva Prim has her own Snack of the Week Club online, courtesy of Jordan K. Rose!  Anyone who knows me at all realizes how much I love to laugh and how important a good sense of humor is to me in a book.  When I started reading this it was a bit of a slow starter.  I thought Eva was a pushover, with bubbles for brains who was going to wear on my last nerve.  Boy was I WRONG!  Once the book picked up, I couldn't put it down!  Eva is actually an alias for Chrysanthemum "Chrissie" Mildred Papadapoulos, who is the wife of a Master Vampire in the New England region.  And since they got together almost 200 years ago, she's done nothing but cause trouble!  The last time Chrissie tried to 'help' she set 40 demons free from a forbidden book.  Now being shut in the house and lonely, she starts an advice blog for vampires under the alias Eva Prim - and she ends up outing vampires on the Internet, accidentally stealing another vamp's mate, become a demon master, eaten a stoner and managed to get called before the Inquisitor.  Can Chrissie work her way out of this one, or will she really be executed this time?  And just what secrets has her husband Stefan been keeping from her all this time?

     I loved that I was thrown into this book, but that I could actually follow what was happening.  I never got confused as to who was who and how they were all intertwined in the main plot.  The whole mess starts because Chrissie wants some friends and isn't allowed to leave the house.  So of course, when demented vampire Cletus is on the loose causing havoc and one of her blog friends is hiding from his advances, Chrissie just has to rescue her!  All the encounters with the other commenters on the blog were making me laugh so hard!  When they all team up with a couple of the demons from the book, Cynthia and Jackson, to rescue Goldenrae from Cletus things only got even funnier.  Add in a stoner who works at the burger restaurant and goes from quick snack to friend really fast, plus all the complications with Stefan (who was something else before he was a vamp), and the High Commander's bounty on Eva for exposing them and it's almost like reading a supernaturally infused version of Pineapple Express - only it's actually funny!  I'm probably not doing a super great job explaining this book, but I don't want to give too much away.  Let's just say Chrissie/Eva's balance of personal growth and constancy throughout the book were very well written.  I feel like all the characters had well fleshed out personalities and the end of the book left things open for more Eva Prim craziness, of which I hope there is lots.  Thanks to Jordan for requesting a review!  So glad I read this one and I highly recommend it to anyone who'd like to be pleasantly surprised and has a sense of humor.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an E-book Copy from the author.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published October 1st, 2013.*

Favorite Quotes:

 1)    "She's pressing a cold apple cider compress to my head and you're wondering if it's helping?"  I sit up.  Either I just received two of the dumbest demons on the planet or the world's assessement of demons as evil, terrifying monsters is completely wrong.  They're morons.

     "It works on humans," Cynthia says.  "Pressing apple cider to a human's head works for what?"

"It makes them feel better," she answers.  "Apple cider?"  I'm so confused.  I don't know what she's talking about.  

2)  "I don't like the hat," she calls as I run back to the desk to get Goldenrae's address.  "And I don't want to wear a coat," Jack complains.

      "This must be what motherhood is like."  I grab my car keys from the table and slide them into my jacket.

3)  She's right.  Cletus will need an army to defeat Stefan.  A Cletus-Loving-Army-of-Peons.  The CLAP.  Just what I need.

Eva's Perspective (with Intro from Jordan)

It’s so nice to be at Diamonds & Coal book Reviews. Thank you Anna for hosting Eva and me. On this blog tour Eva, who loves to blog has taken over. (It’s been a bumpy ride, but fun just the same!) Today she’ll blog about her perspective on demons. This ought to be good!

Demons

Anna, thanks for having me. As you and your readers may or may not know I accidentally set loose a few demons. It was unintentional, of course. I mean who in her right mind sets loose a bunch of demons? Uh, no one.

Anyway, 40 got out. 28 were recaptured.

2 were given to me as friends. 1 came back when I called him. And 9 are still on the run. So that brings you up to speed on my demon issue. However, what you don’t realize is that demons aren’t what you’d expect.

Um, well, so far they’re not really scary. At least, not to me. And maybe being a vampire makes a difference seeing as I can’t be possessed. I mean they do scare the werewolves. You know the possession thing is freaky. 

But other than that, demons aren’t so scary. They’re…sort of…well…I’m going to first, say I don’t mean to insult any of my demons or any other demons thinking of coming around or any demons who might somehow become insulted and then act out. So lets just hold off on any responses to what I’m about to say. Agreed? I’ll take demon silence as a yes.

So demons are sort of like dumbasses. They take everything literally. They never know when to keep a secret. They just basically can’t be trusted. They’re physically exhausting. Some are very nice or they try to be.

Hey, demons, don’t get agitated. They say knowing is half the battle. If more demons accepted their shortcomings, they’d be better equipped to handle life, er death or whatever it’s called.

You see…I…wait…what was that?

Ah, well, great. Just great. My demons have left the building. Big babies.

Have you ever noticed how some people just can’t handle the truth?

Today’s US prize on the blog hop is a little something to relax everyone. A teacup, some tea and some Vampire’s Kiss Truffles from the www.cocoashak.com. Sometimes you just need a little alone time to sip tea and eat a truffle. For international  winners the prize will be a $10 Amazon gift certificate. Get some tea, maybe some biscuits, something to relax those jumpy nerves. Leave a comment. Maybe win a prize. 

For updates on my books, me, my short stories and loads of other valuable items join my Snack of the Week Club at http://evaprim.com/snackofWeek.html. I’d love to have you! (in the club, not just as a snack.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Demon Mistress (An Eva Prim Novel) by Jordan K. Rose - COVER REVEAL!!!

     So, I am doing my first cover reveal today you guys! *SQUEALS*  Jordan contacted me awhile ago and asked if I would be interested in participating.  I said sure, cause the book sounded really funny, even if not quite my usual fare.  I will also be posting a review in October, once the book has been published!  I highly encourage you to check out the website her main character, Miss Eva Prim, runs as well.  It is absolutely hilarious!  Without further adieu, I give you our gorgeous cover:



 

Synopsis

 

What’s a girl to do when she discovers her husband, who happens to be the Master Vampire for the New England Region, has been lying to her for, oh, say a hundred and eighty years?

Well, it all depends. If she’s accidentally released forty demons from some creepy old book, unintentionally announced the existence of vampires on The Internet, kidnapped a werewolf, enraged a lovesick vampire by stealing his approved mate, and attracted the attention of The High Commander for The Vampire Federation, not to mention gotten stoned and mastered the forbidden art of demon calling, she might be willing to call it even.

Or, she might plead her case at an Inquisition and hope like all hell, she isn’t staked before sunrise. Eh, a slightly busier night than usual, but nothing Eva Prim can’t handle.

 



 

About The Author

 

Jordan loves vampires. But if you know anything about Jordan, you already knew that detail. What you didn’t know was it wasn’t long ago that she began writing about them.

A few years back Jordan received a copy of Twilight from her husband as part of her anniversary gift. By the end of that week she’d read the entire series and moved onto Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Eight weeks and eighteen vampire books later the idea for her first book, Perpetual Light came to her followed very quickly by Eva Prim.

In October of 2013 The Demon Mistress, the first Eva Prim Novel is available along with four short stories. For continual updates on Eva please join the Snack Of The Week Club at www.evaprim.com.

Coming November 2013 Black Magic Rose, Book One of The Alliance Series. Join Jordan’s newsletter for updates. 

Jordan is a member of the national Romance Writers of America organization and several chapters.

When she’s not writing about one vampire or another Jordan enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken and their lovable Labrador, Dino on the beautiful beaches of New England. 

 

Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com.

 



More Conspiracies, Draped In Petticoats

Expected Publication:  November 5th, 2013

Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)

By: Gail Carriger

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9780316190114

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

Review

     When we last saw her Sophronia had just managed solve a mystery about a stolen device and a traitor within her school for girls training to be assassins/spies (and debutantes).  With a penchant for curiosity Sophronia is in trouble again, this time because she has become entangles in another mystery surrounding a valve that has malfunctioned in the school's testing machine - and why they are going to London.  The harmless class trip to see an event with a dirigible may not be everything it seems, especially when Sophronia uncovers some shocking things while sneaking through the teacher's quarters, eavesdropping and using situations to her advantage.  With the help of her friends Soap, Vieve, Dimity, Sidheag, and Agatha can she figure out what's going on before it's too late.  Also, when will Lord Felix Mercer learn to take a hint, that she is just not interested?  And what is Monique planning now, that could direly affect everyone aboard the ship?

     Don't mistake me: I enjoyed this book, just as I did the first one in the trilogy.  But I feel that it's written more for established fans of Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series than newcomers.  The feel of it is very established, in that I went in feeling like an outsider looking in through my little bookish lens.  Those kinds of books don't necessarily make a new reader feel like they are very easily approached.  That said, Sophronia is an amusing, precociously nosy young girl who has found her niche in training to be a spy, even if the horrendous debutante training is necessary right alongside it! :)  I found her to be very loyal, genuine.  I love her curiosity; there is nothing worse to me than lack of curiosity on the part of a heroine in a weird/off-kilter situation.  Don't you want to know what's going on?  Sophronia always wants to know, and it gets her into trouble sometimes.  When the teachers announce the progress report results of each girl out loud, Sophronia was ostracized which made for an interesting plot twist.  A decent portion of the novel is spent with Sophronia trying to solve the latest mystery all on her own mostly (with only help from boiler room friend Soap and inventive, little scamp Vieve).  It definitely helped the reader, as well as Sophronia, to realize that she is at her strongest when she has the help of her friends.

     Carriger also introduces the possibility of a love triangle between Sophronia, Soap, and semi-racist, classist (but entirely charming) rich Lord Felix Mercer.  It's an interesting dynamic to say the least.  Sophronia is only just starting to realize her own identity as person old enough to feel romantic interest in another.  Soap is from the opposite end of the class spectrum, works for her school and is of a different race as well.  Yet Soap challenges her and keeps Sophronia grounded in reality.  He's a true friend and she values him for it - precisely the reason she's trying to avoid anything beyond harmless flirtation.  She knows it would most likely lead to heartache.  Felix Mercer is intelligent in entirely different ways, has loads of social connections and is within reach societally.  But his family is also prejudiced against supernaturals and has opinions opposite of her on their civil rights.  It's the beginning of  a fascinating inner-struggle on the part of Sophronia to stay true to herself.

      The main storyline about the mysterious valve, the habits and politics of vampires, the attempted kidnappings of Sophronia's friends Dimity and Pillover, and the further exploration of everyone's true loyalties was really well carried out.  I did find myself losing interest a few times when it started moving fairly slowly, but it picked up again so I kept going.  I was not disappointed and liked the way the book resolved, even if there were a couple of lingering questions still to be answered (I assume in the final installment of the trilogy).  Overall, I had fun and got to stop thinking for a couple hours - and Carriger managed to keep me by staying light on the steampunk, of which I am NOT a fan.  I would recommend it to fans of supernatural adventures and spy stories (more middle grade than YA in my opinion), but I still feel fans of the adult series this is an off-shoot of would be better suited to truly fall into effusive declarations of love with it.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is November 5th, 2013.*

When Daylight Comes We'll Have To Go...

Published:  May 7th, 2013

Fall of Night (Morganville Vampires # 14)

By: Rachel Caine

New American Library

ISBN-13:  9780451414250

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble...

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane. 

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires. 

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make...

Review

     I love Morganville as much as the next girl.  I feel like the premise is still eons away from Twilight in fresh ideas and the way it treats the tired vamp subject matter is very welcomed by me.  But at the opening pages of book #14 (yeah, you read that correctly), I feel like the series has gotten quite a bit stale.  I was pleased that Caine took things out of Morganville finally and gave Claire a chance to test out the life she'd been dreaming of at M.I.T. since the first book when her parents made her go to Texas Prairie U instead due to her young age.  I liked that she does get to explore that possibility, so that when she ends up with Shane (which is a given at this point) it will be with no regrets on that score.  She won't have wasted dreams due to a guy.  Yet, at this point in the series it also took the reader out of Morganville, in a not so good way.  With how movie-of-the-week the plots have gotten the only thing really even saving this series for me anymore is the characters.  As in, the characters we know and love from multiple books in the series' past such as Michael, Eve, Myrnin, Oliver, Hannah, Amelie and even bitchy Monica Morrell.  For the first half of this book we are stuck in an unfamiliar setting with only alternating points of view between Shane and Claire as our window into a new world.  Oh yeah, Shane too because he follows her so he can watch over Claire without her knowledge.  Sweet, but still kind of creeptastic even when they are on the verge of being engaged.  

     This book also suffers from nowhere near enough Michael and/or Eve.  With the lack in this book of either one, I'm not picky - I just want half of my favorite power couple.  Please Ms. Caine?  Pretty please with sugar on top of it? :(  Claire is working with a Professor Irene Anderson who used to work for Myrnin.  She still works for the vamps, in an out of town capacity with who I believe to be the ill-fated, nine day Queen Jane Grey as her vampire bodyguard.  There is a secret government organization, The Daylight Foundation, looking to control vampires that is sniffing around the lab at the worst possible time.  Because Claire brought the ray gun with her that she made to control vampires' urges and emotions.  Of course she gives it to Anderson to study.  What could possibly go wrong?  *insert sarcasm here*  Another new (yet mentioned in book #1 by Claire's Mom) character was her ex-BFF, Elizabeth.  She is perky, neurotic and has her very own stalker ex-boyfriend Derek, who is a psychotic creep.  However, Shane's behavior is pretty close to Derek's, which after 13 books worth of relationship between him and Claire was disappointing.  It was very teen-angst, bordering on the beginnings of abusive relationship behavioral-patterns.  I have loved Shane for most of this series, but I feel like lately his character has advanced backward instead of forward.   And considering where he was in the first book, that is somewhat horrifying.  It's a pretty rapid descent too, which is all the more wrong to me.

     The Daylight Foundation and the other villain in this book felt like placeholders and were so cliche I can hardly stomach thinking about it.  I missed the humor and unique perspectives of the first half of this series.  This book was entirely too serious for me to really like it as much as the others.  Yeah, we get it.  Claire and Shane are in major trouble and so is everyone else.  But there always used to be some jokes to break the tension or a funny moment where you knew it would work out somehow, without it bashing you over the head in its obviousness.  Now this book sports a grim, Joker-like slash of a grin.  Unnerving to say the least as a major fan of this series.  Overall, I'm just failing to see the point of this book.  All the side plots with Liz, Derek and Professor Anderson (except for the DF connection) were verging on pointlessness.  After all, Shane and Claire are just going to end up back in Morganville and none of these other people will.  So why, in book #14 should I give a shit about them?  I don't and I didn't.  Overall, I would recommend reading it if you're a hardcore Morganville fan and can get past the cringeworthy content issues and the mediocre attempt at our favorites being 'serious' and 'growing up.'  Gag me.  Worth it to get to book 15, for which I hold the hopes of Star Wars fan to Disney's treatment of Episode VII - meager and full of denial.  Good luck to you all. 

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars  

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

The Borderlands of Death and Life

Published:  October 9th, 2012
The Unfailing Light (Katerina # 2)
By: Robin Bridges
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13:  9780385908306

Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.

Review

 

     Katerina, Duchess of Oldenburg has used her necromancy to save all of Russia and the Tsar in particular.  But now she just wants to put it aside and go to medical school like she's always dreamed of, becoming a Doctor like her Father.  Katiya is forced to put her plans on hold when she finds out that Lich Tsar, Konstantin, is still alive and after the Tsar.  She is forced to return to the Smolny School and the Empress casts a spell to protect the school and keep all the girls from being able to leave without her say so.  The spell awakens something that has been dormant in the school for the better part of a century.  Now Katiya not only has to deal with the court intrigues and threat of Konstantin, but also the machinations of a violent spirit, who will stop at nothing to get what they want.  Even if that means murder is carried out.  Can Katiya find a way to save all the girls in the school, uncover the secret of the mysterious Germanic Princess Alix and protect the Tsar?  And what secrets are those closest to her keeping that have the power to destroy them all?

     I had absolutely loved the original premise of the first book in this series.  It was doing something that nothing else I've read recently in YA has gone in the direction of.  It combined Russian history with paranormal elements, but went further back past the Romanov dynasty.  The happenings of the this story are set about 20 years before the downfall of Imperial Russia and the line of Tsars.  But mostly its about a teenage girl, trying to find her place in a world of political intrigues, while struggling to come to terms with the dark powers within herself.  This sequel expands upon the first book, with a leisurely plot that stops just short of being meandering.  Katiya is vacationing in Greece with her Mother, Cousin and Aunt before going off to medical school in Zurich.  But a disturbing encounter with the Lich Tsar in the caves leads to her plans being put aside and being forced to return to her finishing school. 

      After the events of the previous book, we are told by Katiya that George (the son of the Tsar) has proposed to her a couple of times but she has refused him because of their opposite positions on the Light and Dark Courts.  I feel like the reasons for this and the differences between the types of vampires, fae and the existences of werewolves/shapeshifters were far more expanded and clarified in this book than the first one.  There was some play on the love triangle between Vampire Prince Danilo, George and Katiya but the majority of this book was centered around the struggles of the side characters like Princess Alix, Katiya's Brother Piotr and George himself with his descent into a secret order that might actually be treasonous and evil.  The storyline with the ghost in Smolny was a slow burn and for me it was pretty obvious as to her identity, but I did enjoy the exposition as to her motives/fate at the end of the book.  Also, the aspect of Katiya being able to pass into the land between life and death was really well drawn and interesting to me as a reader.  The revelation about her Mother was definitely NOT what I expected and I'm curious to see what Bridges does with it.  I do feel like there wasn't enough action to really know the direction book three will take, but I liked the easy pace of this one (I'm not in the majority here though I would assume).  Not a perfect sequel, but it keeps up the momentum of the series, if slightly directionless.  And I'll be reading the third one to see how it all ends!  Recommended for those looking for something completely different from the average YA paranormal read, historical or otherwise.

 

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

 

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

We Meet Only In the Shadows

Expected Publication:  August 6th, 2013
Dark Shadows / Vampirella Vol. 1
Written by: Marc Andreyko, Illustrations:  Patrick Berkenkotter & Jose Malaga
Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN-13:  9781606903957

Two legendary vampires meet for the first time in this epic crossover!  Investigating a series of disappearances and murders puts Barnabas Collins and Vampirella on a collision course with each other! Can these two very different vampire heroes set aside their mutual distrust and team up to bring down the notorious and brutal "Big Apple Butcher," or will their bloodthirsty natures destroy them before they can solve the crimes? And who - or what - is pulling the strings of the "Butcher"? The answer is an evil older than Barnabas and Vampi combined! All this, plus appearances by Quentin Collins and Pantha! Critically acclaimed writer Marc Andreyko (along with artists Patrick Berkenkotter and Jose Malaga) brings them all together in an adventure that can only be described as a bloody, and we mean very bloody, good time!

Review

 

     This was a crossover between the 'Dark Shadows' (1970s) T.V. soap opera fandom and that of famous comic hero Vampirella.  In this story, the heroes combine forces to investigate a rash of murders and disappearances that have a distinctly supernatural touch to them.  Barnabas Collins gets involved because a woman who is descended from one of his victims is killed.  He has sworn to atone by protecting his victim's families, so he must solve her murder.  Vampirella is involved because it's on her home turf.  They fight for dominance and her fun nature clashes with his serious, old-fashioned one.  They also have help from his cousin Quentin Collins and her fellow supernatural friend, Pantha.  The murderers are both historical figures, which was a nice touch in a comic series arc about vampires playing detective.  But the best thing about this series was it's sense of humor.  It was consistently amusing, fast paced and kept me interested from beginning to end with no boredom at all.  It was splashy, gory and colorful in the best way.  The artwork was right alongside the written story, every step of the way. It never detracted from it or felt wrong/misplaced in any way.  The perfect amount of camp was involved, especially when you consider that the main characters are a highly sexualized (practically nude) female vampire, and another vampire from a really cheesy, old soap opera.  Yes, it was fairly predictable and left the door open for further crossovers.  But in this instance, that was perfectly alright with me.  I highly enjoyed it and it's definitely a clever read for comic lovers who want a bit of wit in their speech bubbles! :)  But I will caution that there is copious amounts of blood, violence, nudity, and other adult content.  So be forewarned if you're thinking of reading this one and that bother you.  Overall, recommended to fans of good comics, whether they're familiar with the original fandoms that are rebooted, or not.

 

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

 

**I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Netgalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is August 6th, 2013.**

Working Like a Dog

Published:  December 21st, 2012
Hard Day's Knight (The Black Knight Chronicles # 1)
By: John G. Hartness
Bell Bridge Books
ISBN-13:  9781611941678

Lots of Vampires. No Sparkles. Serious Snark.
Children are missing.
The police are stumped.
Halloween is coming, and an ancient evil is on the horizon.
The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to save a client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil. Soon, they've enlisted the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and a strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.

Review

 

     Jimmy Black doesn't know how he let himself get caught by some scrawny, geek teenager.  But he knows one thing - he sure as Hell isn't changing him into a vampire!  When the kid tells him about a witch cursing his entire family, Jimmy can't help but be curious enough to get involved, and drag his partner Greg into it right beside him.  Pretty soon the guys are using all their combined vampire detective skills and snark to help solve the case of a bunch of missing kids.  But things might even be too complicated and dangerous for a couple creatures of the night with a demon bent on starting the apocalypse as the Big Bad.  Maybe with the help of a confused and bitchy police detective, a fallen angel, a priest and a witch they can solve the case and stop the world from ending.  Who knows, maybe they'll get a little lovin' in the bargain too!

     I wasn't sure what to expect from two vampire private detectives, but I got more than I even subconsciously thought I would!  Jimmy and Greg are two snarky, nerdy vampires who still look exactly the same as they did before they were changed - in other words they're not sex gods like vamps are supposed to be.  Jimmy likes watching Buffy and Dexter and is the brawns of the operation.  Greg is the computer hacker/genius and is eternally unlucky in love.  I hadn't read the synopsis too closely and was surprised at the major role demons and fallen angels played in the story.  Reading this book was like watching an episode of Supernatural.  The priest (whom they call Dad) was a childhood friend and still thinks the boys are worth saving, still good guys (also Father Mike is a total bad-ass, which is awesome).  My favorite thing in this novel was the obvious strength of the relationships between Jimmy, Greg and Father Mike.  The dialogue is a bonus and kept me on my toes.  Jimmy was my favorite character, but I'm guessing that was mostly due to him being the primary narrator of the novel.  The surprise redemption of a not-so-good, but not-so-evil after all character at the end of the novel was a beautifully written scene that had me smiling.  The mystery of the missing children and the demon possessions was well executed, but the ending with Jimmy and the lady police detective felt more than a little clichéd and sort of forced to me as a reader.  All in all it was an interesting book and I will probably be reading the sequel.  I'd recommend it to fans of the T.V. shows Supernatural and Angel, along with a good shot of (and someone out there is gonna kill me for this comparison!) your favorite cozy mystery series.  It just has that slightly formulaic feel to it, but not in a bad way! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published December 21st, 2012.*

Fan Girl With Fangs

Published:  September 11th, 2012

Fang Girl

By: Helen Keeble

HarperTeen

ISBN-13:  9780062082251

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Review

     Fifteen year old Xanthe Jane Greene may have been obsessed with all things vampire - that didn't mean she wanted to be one!  So imagine her surprise when she wakes up inside her coffin, with her very own set of fangs.  Of course it's nothing like the movies or books she's read.  Now Jane is dealing with her kind of creepy sire, Lily, some vampire hunters that are on her trail, and the fact that she's stronger than the average vampire.  Oh yeah, her parents and her steampunk obsessed little brother Zack are also begging her to change them over to be with her!   Unsure who to trust, Jane is only sure of one thing - being a fifteen year old vampire SUCKS.  Jane is just an average girl, and I liked that about her.  I was glad that she was intelligent and realized very quickly that the cons of being a vampire outweighed whatever pros there were.  Her parents and little brother Zack were absolutely hilarious!  I liked the confusion over who was the true villain, her sire Lily or super-ancient, child vampire Haakon and his minion, Ebon.  The twist on the vampire mythology we know and love was also humorous.  Vampires that are basically obsessive compulsive and can't leave things out of order?  Hilarious!  I especially loved when Jane goes after the hunters and they drop paperclips behind them so she'll have to stop and pick them up!  Other favorites was the vampire goldfish named Brains and the whole situation with Sarah, the transplant patient who had Jane's heart.  Overall, a fun book to read even for those completely sick of anything to do with vampires.  It was such a well-thought out parody that I couldn't help but like it, even with my propensity to avoid books with main characters from the U.K.  I usually can't handle Britishisms, which read like another language, but here the novel surpassed that personal quirk! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Josie Griffin Is More Kickass Than A Vampire...But Not By Much

Published:  September 13th, 2012
Josie Griffin Is Not A Vampire
By: Heather Swain
Speak
ISBN-13:  9780142421000

A hilarious take on the paranormal trend--Twilight meets The Breakfast Club!

When former good girl turned rebel Josie Griffin gets busted for what was in her mind perfectly acceptable revenge on her cheating dog of a boyfriend, she lands herself in anger management therapy. It could be worse: it could be juvvie, or she could be a zombie cheerleader like the rest of her former friends. But there's something strange about therapy--these are not normal kids. There's the wannabe ladies man with a weird accent, Johann; the blindingly gorgeous Helios; Avis with his wild dreads; and Tarren, the sprite of a girl with a wicked temper. And all of them keep talking about "powers." Josie knows that has to be impossible, but strange things start happening, and nothing weird ever happens in Indiana. After all, there're no such things as vampires, werewolves, Greek gods, or fairies . . . right?

Review

 

     Josie Griffin had the perfect boyfriend, great best friends and was living the teenage dream as a popular high school cheerleader.  Than she found her boyfriend kissing one of her BFFs - and found out the other supposed best friend knew and didn't say anything.  So you can't really blame a girl for busting out his windshield...right?  Except now she's court ordered to attend anger management therapy and do community service.  Not so bad, except when she lands in a group where everyone believes they're a mythological creature.  There's a vampire, a shapeshifter, a fairy, and what might be a Greek God.  Then girls from the shelter that Josie is working off her community service at begin to disappear.  It's up to Josie and her new friends to figure out what's going on, before it's too late for the girls that are still left.  But can Josie fit in with these kids, even though she's just a human?  This book started off very promising and I was laughing during the first few chapters, at Josie's fun personality and cheering for her continued strength.  It didn't last.  Josie stays consistently okay as a lead character, but is very shallow for the entirety of the book.  She never undergoes any real character development and neither do any of the others, especially her love interest Helios.  I felt like the more interesting characters in this were Tarren (the fairy) and Kayla (one of the girls from the shelter).  It was very predictable, in a Saturday night B-movie kind of way.  I smiled a few times, but overall I really did not connect with this one at all.  The resolution to the mystery was very obvious throughout the whole book and it made me groan at the cliche of it all.  A cute read, but nothing deeper below the surface. 

 

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  It became available for purchase or at your local library on September 13th, 2012.*



Not So Crazy For You

Expected Publication: November 27th, 2012
Wild About You (Love At Stake # 13)
By: Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon Books
ISBN-13: 9780062107718

The thirteenth book in the Love at Stake series features Howard Barr, the were-bear!
Handsome Howard…Hunky Howard… Hot Howard…

It’s not every day that Elsa Bjornberg feels fragile, not when she hosts a home renovation show where she can effortlessly demolish a kitchen. But from the moment she meets Howard Barr, this bear of a man makes her feel like a woman. And the way he looks at her, as if she was a pot of honey he’d like to lick…

Howard is not like most men. For one thing, he’s a shapeshifter. And he always thought his celebrity crush would never amount to anything more than drooling at Elsa on the TV. When his meddling vampire employer gets involved, the star is suddenly within his grasp—and within a hair of her life. For an ancient curse forbids their newfound love, and Howard is suddenly torn between his desire for her and his desire to keep her alive.

Review

 

   Howard Barr is leading a fairly solitary life, but even he gets lonely watching all his friends marry off and have kids.  Right now he's focused on revenge for Rhett Bleddyn for killing his first love and getting him banished from his home for two decades.  He won't stop until Rhett's career, place as werewolf packmaster and underhanded embezzlement are stopped once and for all.  Meanwhile, Elsa Bjornberg has come to the Dragon Nest Academy where he is a security guard to do renovations on the building next door.  Sparks fly from the very first touch and their family histories may just be inextricably linked.  But can they manage to fight an ancient curse that threatens to keep them apart?  This book was one that I was really excited to read.  I loved Howard in the other books and the series has managed to keep momentum pretty well up until now.  I was majorly disappointed.  I like fluff as much as the next person, but this book felt like it had no plot and zero real romance.  Howard and Elsa are both focused on each other's looks above all else and she is absolutely unable to see past the fact that he's a were-bear, which is not synonymous with MONSTER.  I felt really frustrated at how weak-minded Elsa was and how easily she let others talk her into questioning the fact that Howard was harmless and a good guy.  The epiphany she has to that effect felt seriously fake and forced.  Also, Howard's desperation to be with Elsa and then pushing her away for her protection (at the very end of the book almost), as a basic afterthought was dumb.  I liked the parts with Tino and Shanna was amusing, if annoying.  Her Aunts were insufferable and the way they change their minds at the end with no convincing was very weak.  But Howard and Elsa's "romance" did absolutely nothing for me.  So utterly contrived and without any appeal for me.  I hope the next one is better. 

 

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is November 27th, 2012.*



I'm A Fighter, Even Without You

Expected Publication: September 25th, 2012

Covet (The Clann # 2)

By: Melissa Darnell

Harlequin Teen

ISBN-13: 9780373210565

Dangerous to be together. Painful to be apart.

Savannah Colbert knows she broke up with Tristan Coleman for the right reasons. Most of all, to keep from killing him with her new vampire abilities. But try telling her heart. Now, lost in a sea of hostile Clann faces, Sav tries to come to terms with what she's becoming and what that means for her future. And that someone is doing their best to bully her into making a terrible mistake.

Tristan can't believe Sav won't even talk to him. If being apart is her decision, fine. Just don't expect him to honor it. But even as he prepares to fight for the girl he loves, forces beyond their control take them both in directions neither could have foreseen or prepared for.

A reckoning is coming… and not everyone will survive.

Review

   Savannah thought that once they got Tristan back from the Council everything would go back to normal.  But then she was forced to promise that she would stop seeing him and she found out that the Clann had kidnapped her Grandma because of Tristan's disappearance.  But by the time she, her Dad and Tristan make it home it's too late for Sav's Grandma - she's died.  Now the bloodlust-dampening spell that she used to cast on Savannah has also died with her, which means that she has to live with her Dad now and her Mom is going on the road in an RV purchased from selling their house.  To add to Savannah's misery and guilt, it turns out that the spell her Grandma was casting for her bloodlust requires a sacrifice and damaged her heart severly - it's possibly what killed her.  Now to prevent a war between vampires and the Clann, Savannah must keep away from Tristan and not let anyone know that she's secretly teaching herself magic (which is against the rules).  But will it be enough when murders of Clann members seemingly caused by vampires come to light?  And what does Anne's ex-boyfriend Ron have to do with the Clann?  This began right where the first book left off and for that I was grateful.  It helped me remember what had been going on when it ended.  I loved that Savannah was strong enough to keep her promise and truly understood the danger of her and Tristan being together.  It gave me a lot of respect for her as a character that she understood the consequences of her actions and took responsibility for them.  Tristan on the other hand, acted like a spoiled brat for half of the book.  While Savannah was trying to deal with her growing bloodlust, friendship problems with balancing both Anne and Ron's time, dealing with her Grandma's death and losing her Mom to the road, she also has to deal with Tristan making things even harder for her.  He is constantly shoving thoughts into her head once he realizes she can read his mind (memories of them, mental images of him with other girls, etc.) constantly begging her and trying to tempt her into getting back together with him.  Plus he's stringing along another girl through almost the entire book and supposedly doesn't realize he's doing it...YEAH RIGHT.  What a douche!  He can't take no for an answer and even asks Sav's Dad to make him into a vamp, knowing it might cause a war.  I loved the development of Savannah's kick-ass BFF Anne and her unfairly dumped boyfriend Ron, who has a supernatural secret of his own (with all the hints that are dropped, it wasn't a shock AT ALL).  They really became characters in their own right in this book more so than the first one, especially once Savannah tells Anne her secret.  The ending of this book was kind of obvious to who the murderer was, plus the whole subplot with Tristan's sister was unnecessary and I couldn't believe how dense her family was to the reality of the situation.  I enjoyed seeing Mr. Colbert's interactions with his maker and Sav dealing with her vampire development.  But the way the book ended, and what happened to Tristan really made me mad.  It's the reason I deducted an extra half star from my rating.  I now quite hate him and wish he meets a horrible end.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is September 25th, 2012.*

I Was Under Your Spell...

Published: March 13th, 2012
Spell Bound (Hex Hall # 3)
By: Rachel Hawkins
Hyperion Book CH
ISBN-13: 9781423121329

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Review

   Sophie Mercer didn't want to be part-demon at first, but she was finally getting used to that part of herself.  Then the Council took away her powers against her will.  Sophie manages to find her way to her Mother, having lost her Dad, Jenna, Archer and Cal.  It's there that she finds out her Mother is one of the infamous Brannicks, one of the feared warrior women that hunt down the sipernatural.  At least that's what Sophie was told, but it's not quite the truth.  Sophie might be the key to stopping a war of epic proportions but will she be able to do it without her magic?  And will she choose Archer or Cal to be with romantically in the end?  I really enjoyed most of the first book in this series, but the ending left me pretty pissed off.  I decided to give the second book a chance and really thought it struck just the right balance of action, romance and drama.  I had high hopes for this book, the last in the trilogy - especially after the second book's cliffhanger.  But I ended up feeling pretty lukewarm about this one.  I was intrigued by the Brannick storyline, but I never felt like things were explained to my satisfaction.  The love triangle between Cal, Sophie and Archer reached ridiculously melodramatic heights in this novel, which made it seem like a joke.  Seriously, I felt like Sophie turned into Bella from Twilight, stringing both guys along because she 'loves' them both sooooo much.  C'mon, give me a break!  There wasn't enough of Jenna for my satisfaction in this particular story.  Also, the ending made me Hulk angry.  Why the HELL did Hawkins think that was a necessary conclusion to a pointless love triangle???  Overall I was really disappointed in the writing, plot development and resolution of this book.  The characters fell quite flat for me as well.  A dissatisfactory ending to a mostly enjoyable series.

VERDICT:  2.25/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

Gather Round the Poison Tree

Expected Publication: July 10th, 2012
Poison Tree
By: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Random House Children's Books
ISBN-13: 9780385737548

The rich stew of the author's creations—SingleEarth, vampires, shapeshifters, Tristes, the Bruja Guilds—are at full boil here in the story of two 20-ish young women trying to out run their very different pasts, and figure out where they fit in and who they might become. Each has landed in a more "normal" place, and each wonders if, like a tattoo that can't be covered up, they can ever really fit into "normal."

Review

   The book starts off with a prologue that introduces our main characters all at once - then they are separated for half the book until reuniting and not always recognizing one another.  Sarik is a shapeshifting Tiger, who escaped her brutal clan after the murder of her human sister by their Father.  Christian and Alysia are a part of a Bruja Guild - assassins with a strange, complex code of honor.  Jason is a vampire once ensalved to his maker.  Just a few years later Sarik and Jason are part of SingleEarth, a humanitarian organization for supernatural creatures, Alysia is a mediator for SingleEarth on the run from a bounty by Bruja and all of them collide.  Then someone attempst to harm Alysia and she is forced back into the harsh world of the Bruja.  In trying to save two children of her kind, Sarik may have to face the one person she would do anything to forget - her Father.  And what will Christian do know that he is a Triste witch in training, after Alysia reveals her true reasons for leaving Bruja?  Can all of them survive the political and personal intrigues long enough to make it out alive?  I have read EVERY SINGLE BOOK that Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has ever written.  ALL OF THEM.  I loved each of them equally madly, up until the publication of All Just Glass, a sequel to Shattered Mirror written almost a decade after the first book.  It was truly subpar, not at ALL in keeping with the feel of the original book.  Then come an ARC for this book, which I decided to try because it's in her universe that I already know.  This book is NOT teen oriented like the summary would have you believe, despite being published by Random House's Children's Division.  It was all about adults and their complicated, messy, political intrigues.  Half the time I had no clue what the heck was even going on because of how convoluted the plot became.  In trying to tell overly complicated stories for four separate characters, Atwater-Rhodes succeeded in making them all two-dimensional and superficial.  I felt like I never truly got to know any of them, not even Sarik or Alysia who have most of the novel focus.  I felt like SingleEarth was debased by being used as a plot device instead of a living, breathing setting with it's own stories.  It just served to move the story elsewhere with it's presence.  I am truly disappointed by the fact that the author seems to have decided to "spice up" her writing when it was perfect the way it used to be.  In my honest opinion it's not an improvement.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 10, 2012.*

Storm Clouds Above Us

Published: January 10th, 2012

The Gathering Storm (The Katerina Trilogy #1)

By: Robin Bridges

Delacorte Books For Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780385740227

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Review

   Katerina is a Duchess, related to the Tsar through blood and living in a glittering world of balls and aristocrats.  But in 1888, Russia is a dangerous place to have the ability that Katerina was born with - she is a necromancer, able to raise the dead and use them.  The court of the Tsar is split into light and dark, those who want to protect the current order and those who wish to overthrow it.  All Katerina wants is to be a doctor like her Father.  Coming home from finishing school, she hopes to persuade her parents to her way of thinking.  But she is drawn into the Palace intrigues against her will, when she is forced to use her power to save the Tsar's heir.  As vampires, werewolves, witches and fae all try to use Katerina for their own ends, she must find a way to do what is right in the face of serious danger to herself and her loved ones.  Will she allow herself to be used by Prince Danilo of Montenegro for a dark ritual or follow her heart as it leads her to George (the Tsar’s middle son)?  Most importantly, can she save the royal family before it’s too late?  I thought the subject matter of this book was truly interesting.  Not very often do you find a book set in Russia in the 1880s, with supernatural elements, that is in the YA genre!  I liked the inclusion of necromancy, when it is usually the illegitimate brother of the other supernatural persuasions.  Most of the side characters were sufficiently fleshed out, but I didn't find myself connecting to anyone other than Katerina and George which disappointed me.   I like political intrigue as much as the next history fan, but it felt like it dragged through this book rather than lifted it up.  There was a lot of action, but I felt like the boring parts were also too plentiful and really caused me to slog through an otherwise awesome book.  Overall, really liked the concept but the execution could have used some more work.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*