RAK Round-Up, Signing up for Another Month and Teaser Tuesdays

Another RAK month is drawing to a close.

I send out a couple of books and I received a really cool Birthday RAK myself from Aleksandra.

And as I just started reading it I will share a bit with you for Teaser Tuesdays:

Benny's breath caught in his throat as he saw the figure emerge from the doorway in a slow, uncertain gait, his legs moving stiffly, his hands out and reaching for Tom. It was Grandpa Houser.
(page 23, Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry)


I'm still very much enjoying RAK, so I'm signing up for February for sure!

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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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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RAK:

The RAK movement (=Random Acts of Kindness): it is an initiative organized by the Ladies at the Book Soulmates where everyone posts their whislists and then other people realize one (or more) wishes of a person. Meaning that they send some books to the lucky person they picked! Doesn't it sound fabulous?

Rules:

• Sign up each month you'd like to participate in.

• Show off your participation! Grab one of the buttons available :)

• Create a wish list and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
{Post on your blog, Amazon, where ever as long as there's a link to it.}

• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger for their address.

• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K!

• Make a post saying 'Thank You' to whoever granted one of your wishes and share it with us :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE!

Let's keep our International bloggers in mind and in our hearts.

Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

Foreshadow - Book Review

Foreshadow (The Shadow Imperium Trilogy, #1)
by Brea Essex
ebook

What is it about:
Imagine discovering that your boyfriend was out to kill you—and that the annoying boy from school was your guardian angel.

Rae Davenport has already lost her mother. The only thing keeping her sane is her new boyfriend, Andrei—that is, until she finds out that he wants to kill her. Andrei is a devil, and he wants to use Rae as a sacrifice to get back into Heaven. The only one who can save her is Logan, her guardian angel. He’s only annoyed her in the past, but now he will be her savior.

What did I think of it:
This is an entertaining story.

There are a lot of things happening that I found rather unbelievable (yes, even for a paranormal story), but that put aside this is an enjoyable and fast paced read.

There's some cool intrigue, lots of action and a bit of romance. The writing is decent enough and the world building interesting. I think this story would have worked better if it had been longer and certain scenes/events would have been given more room, but that could just be my opinion.

The ending was very abrupt and kind of baffled me. I suppose the ending is to make people more eager to read book 2, but it just left me feeling frustrated.

I'm not sure if I will read the next book in this series. This first book was nice and had promise, so I might pick up the next book to see how this series developes from here.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable Paranormal YA read.


Buy this ebook here

Storm Glass - Book Review

Storm Glass (Glass #1)
by Maria V. Snyder

What is it about:
As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowan understands trial by fire. Now it's time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal's unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn't known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she's ever known.

What did I think of it:
I loved the Study Trilogy by Snyder, so I just had to try this trilogy as well.

I must say this book is enjoyable, but it doesn't reach the same heights as the Study Trilogy.

Opal is a nice character, but she's a bit too self-doubting for me at times. And on top of that there's a love square going on in this book and I'm getting so tired of all the love triangles, squares, decahedrons and what not in (Young Adult) fiction.

I really liked one of the three love interests for Opal (really despised the other two btw), but even though he ends up with Opal by the end of this book there are some hints and tensions that make me think he might not be a keeper, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much.

Aside from the love blah blah the world building is really unique and interesting and the story is decent and enjoyable. The book ends in such a way I'm curious what will happen next, so I will read book two to see where the story will go, while hoping my predictions about the love square will not come true.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable Fantasy adventure.

Deacon's Ark - Book Review

Deacon's Ark (The New West #2)
by A.E. Stanton
ebook

What is it about:
Josie and Deacon have left Horsetown and are back in search of The City. Joined by Josie’s youngest sister, Sadie, they decide to travel on the riverboat The Green Goddess to save travel time.

But a plague from the Northern Wastes has been loosed on the river’s port towns. Instead of a relaxing cruise, Josie and Deacon have to protect all the people and animals on board -- because if they can’t stop the spread of the plague, they’ll be the only normal ones left in the world.

What did I think of it:
I liked this book much better than the first book in this series.

The characters were much better to relate to than before and I finally began to feel a connection to them and care about what happened to them. (There were the ocassional moments I wanted to kick some sense into some of the characters, but that's a good thing in my opinion.)

The story was so my kind of story: there were zombies that had to be fought!

There was lots of cool action and mayhem and the zombies were also my kind of zombies. Next to the zombies there were some other baddies that really added to the story and I hope to see both the zombies and the bad guys again in future books in this series.

All in all Stanton is taking this series in a direction I'd hoped for when she introduced the setting in book one and I'm curious to see where she'll take Josie and Deacon next.

Why should you read it:
It has zombies in a post-apocalyptic Western setting.


Buy this ebook at Musa Publishing

Blue Diablo - Book Review

Blue Diablo (Corine Solomon #1)
by Ann Aguirre

What is it about:
Corine Solomon is a handler. When she touches an object she instantly knows its history and its future. Using her ability, she can find the missing, which is why people never stop trying to find her. Like her ex-boyfriend Chance, who needs Corine's gift to find someone dear to them both. But the search proves dangerous as it leads them into a strange world of demons and sorcerers, ghosts and witchcraft, zombies, and black magic...

What did I think of it:
So far I've loved about almost everything I've read by Aguirre, so I was eager to give this Urban Fantasy series a try.

It's not as intense and awesome as Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series, but this first book in the Corine Solomon series sure is a great read.

Corine is an intriguing heroine and her gift is very original. The other characters are all very well written as well. The story is full of action and intrigue. There are some things that conveniently helped carry the story onwards that I hope will be explained in a future book, but apart from that this is a cool read.

It misses some of the emotion and intensity that I've grown used to in other books by Aguirre, but I must say I liked the lighter mood, because it gave this book its own clear voice.

I will most certainly continue to read this series as I will any other books Aguirre has written.

Why should you read it:
It's original, well written Urban Fantasy.

By the Way, What’s a Selkie? - Guestpost by Krista Holle

Krista Holle is the author of the book The Lure of Shapinsay.

The Lure of Shapinsay is about a woman who falls under the spell of a selkie. As I haven't read many stories about selkies I just had to ask Krista why she chose to write about selkies. Luckily she was kind enough to drop by and answer my question.

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By the Way, What’s a Selkie?

Readers want to know why I wrote a novel about selkies. It’s the same reason people are writing about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and angels right now—paranormal romance is HOT. The practically unheard of subgenre from fifteen years ago is growing faster than ever and the voracious reader can’t get enough. There are a couple of things however, that set the selkies apart from these other mythical creatures—they are way sexier and practically unheard of.

Let me introduce you to selkies, the original shape shifters from the sea. Their legends begin around the tiny Orkney Islands that spangle Scotland’s northern coast. Selkies are seal men and women who live the majority of their life under the sea as seals, but occasionally shed their skins to cause mischief on land. The men and women are renowned for their beauty, with eyes as dark as night and skin as white as cream. But don’t be fooled by these seemingly innocent creatures. For hundreds of years, the men have been creeping out of the cold North Sea to seduce women to their deaths deep beneath the waves.

So real were the selkies of the 1800’s, that nearly every drowning was blamed on the selkies. There are even stories of infants born with webbed hands and feet—definitive proof that a ship builder or fisherman’s daughter was seduced by a rogue selkie. This is the setting I chose when creating The Lure of Shapinsay. I want my readers to feel the same alarm and excitement that the villagers of Shapinsay felt two centuries ago.

In The Lure of Shapinsay, you’ll meet Eamon, a criminally good looking selkie with a penchant for killing sheep. He loathes everything on land, especially humans (land loupers). It’s a pickle for Kait, a feisty blonde, who’s magically lured by the very selkie who wants her dead. She’ll do anything to win her seal man’s heart—even follow him under the sea. The odds of this land/sea relationship working are pretty slim. Even Kait’s brother is bound and determined to keep his sister safe by marrying her off to an aging widower. Why did I want to write a novel about selkies? Sorry, to this land louper, these beautiful feral creatures from the deep were just too darn juicy to pass up.

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Tour Schedule

Make sure to click the above link to also check out other tour stops for more guestposts, interviews, reviews and giveaways.

Teaser Tuesdays - Angels of Darkness

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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

It was a single note, liquid and pure and anguished, like the most gorgeous, the most despairing foghorn lowing off a storm-racked coast. I would have said it was music, except it was weeping; it was a song with a single tone, and it was agony.
(page 223, Nocturne by Sharon Shinn - Angels of Darkness Anthology)