Teaser Tuesdays on a Monday - Stalking the Others

Tomorrow is the official release date of Stalking The Others by Jess Haines. As I will be posting my review of Stalking The Others tomorrow, I thought I'd tease you today with a couple of lines from this awesome book.

"At least tell me why. What you're looking for."
I bit my lower lip, tasting the remnants of him there, a ghost of him left behind on my skin. "Redemption. I won't find it with you."
(page 116, Stalking The Others by Jess Haines
This was taken from the uncorrected proof, so the text may be different from the corrected, finished version of Stalking The Others

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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!

Book Alert: The Night Beat by Gini Koch

I just had to let all of you know that Gini Koch just published the first book in a new series:

The Night Beat (Necropolis Enforcement Files #1)
by Gini Koch

The majority of Prosaic City’s residents don’t know that their town exists on top of another place -- Necropolis, City of the Undead. For the most part, the two planes of existence manage to remain separate. And when they don’t, Necropolis Enforcement has beings in place to ensure the general human population remains blithely clueless.

Victoria Wolfe is more than just a policewoman. She’s an undercover werewolf assigned by Necropolis Enforcement to work Prosaic City Police’s Night Beat. Victoria’s comfortable working the shift where all the weird comes out to play, especially since her partner is also her perfect man. Or would be, if Victoria could ever work up the nerve to tell him she isn’t like other girls.

It’s hard enough being a werewolf in disguise, but when a creature from the Depths of Hell shows up in an alley preferred by junkies, bums, and hookers, it’s going to take more than just Victoria’s special gun and werewolf skills to subdue the ancient Sumerian demon. Especially when the demon is merely the start of what appears to be a major takeover attempt by the Prince of Darkness.

Soon all of Necropolis Enforcement’s Undead Brigade is involved in the fight to stop the Prince’s Major Minions from taking over Prosaic City and the rest of the human plane. But it’s Victoria who has to face the Adversary and figure out what intricate plan Lucifer has up his wings before everyone she cares about is destroyed.

In other words, it’s just another day on the Night Beat.

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I'm reading it at the moment and I can tell you that it's a very cool read.

Buy it in paperback here
Buy the ebook here

A Vampire Surprise

Remember the guestpost by Thomas Winship?

Here's the blurb from one of his books to remind you:


Væmpires: Revolution
It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.

Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution. Væmpires—former vampires who mutated into warm-blooded creatures with an insatiable hunger for cold blood—have launched coordinated attacks across the globe, with three goals: the eradication of humanity, the enslavement of vampires, and the ascension of væmpires as the dominant species on the planet.

The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons: a new breed of væmpire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.

What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?

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Thomas has a great gift for me and all my followers:
Below are Smashwords codes for free copies of both Vaempires books:

Vaempires: Revolution KT25P
Vaempires: White Christmas TE58Z

The codes are valid until July 10 2012.

So go over to Thomas' Smashwords page and get both books right now!


Thank Thomas!!!

When Lightning Strikes - Book Review

When Lightning Strikes (1-800-Where-R-You #1/Missing #1)
by Meg Cabot writing as Jenny Carroll

What is it about:
When lightning strikes there can only be trouble - as Jessica Mastriani finds out when she and best friend Ruth get caught in a thunderstorm. Not that Jess has ever really avoided trouble before. Instead of cheerleading there are fistfights with the football team and month-long stints in detention - not that detention doesn't have its good points - like sitting next to Rob - the cutest senior around! But this is trouble with a capital T - this trouble is serious. Because somehow, on that long walk home in the thunderstorm, Jess acquired a newfound talent. An amazing power that can be used for good...or for evil.

What did I think of it:
This was a fun read.

Jess is a fun and spunky heroine who gets herself in trouble all the time. The writing is as I've come to know in Cabot's Heather Wells series: witty and funny.

The story is full laughs and action and because Jess is such a likeable heroine I was soon caught up in the story and rooting for Jess to get out of the weird situations she manages to get herself into.

This first book sets itself up nicely and although perfectly readable as a standalone it also creates lots of expectations as to what might happen next in a way that made me eager to read more about Jess and her friends.

I will most certainly read other books in this series if I get the chance and I might also try more of Cabot's humoress Young Adult books.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun and funny paranormal YA read


This book seems to be out of print, but you can buy this book and book two in one volume here

The Blacksmith's Lover - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

The Blacksmith's Lover (The Clockpunk Trilogy #2)
by Heather Massey
ebook, novellette

What is it about:
The year is 1840. On the run after being caught in a scandalous incident, scullery maid Sarah Bailey must find refuge before her vengeful former mistress has her killed. When she stumbles upon a blacksmith’s shop in need of an apprentice in West Boylston, Massachusetts, she applies for the position.

Viktor is a brawny, reclusive blacksmith who creates strange clockwork and steam-powered devices. The gruff man makes it clear that Sarah’s plight is no concern of his, but ghosts from his past dictate otherwise. Viktor agrees to protect the spunky maid, but only until her trail of henchmen runs cold.

Sarah quickly discovers that the fire of this blacksmith’s forge runs volcanic hot. Unable to resist one another, she and Viktor begin a lust-filled affair. But how long will their idyllic arrangement last before Sarah’s former mistress destroys it?


What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
This is a wonderfully hot romance.

The slowly building romance between Sarah and Viktor is delightful to read and the tension between them is well written and hot.

Sarah was a complex character and I couldn't really understand her at times, but one thing I could completely understand: her attraction to Viktor. He's a swoonworthy hero: gruff, bearded, smoldering... Do I need to go on?

Next to the romance there was a small action storyline that was very satisfying as well. There were bad guys chasing Sarah, clockwork animals and other cool stuff like that.

I have to confess I had a bit difficulty in believing Sarah's former mistress would go through such extreme length to find and punish Sarah though, but for the sake of the romance and the action I was willing to go with it.

All in all I very much enjoyed this story and I will most certainly read the other stories in this trilogy as well.

Why should you read it:
It has a gruff, bearded hero!


Buy it here

Absolution - Excerpt

Today I have an small excerpt for you from Absolution by Louis Corsair
What is it about:
In 1947, a gangster murders private investigator Raymond Adams. In 2011, he's brought back to life for 24 hours to solve the supernatural murder of a Hollywood Adult film star.

When the son of a Pit Lord is murdered in Hollywood, the celestial beings in charge of the Four Realms ask Raymond Adams to figure who did it and find the victim's missing soul. Without memories of his life, he accepts the case to gain eternal peace. But the job is daunting:

24 hours to nab a killer...
24 hours to find a missing soul...
24 hours to unravel the victim's exotic private life...
24 hours to stop a plot to send the universe into chaos...

With only the help of a possessed cop and a medium, Adams must trek through a Hollywood underground filled with pornography, prostitutes, the homeless, and sadists, along with supernatural monsters. But can he solve the case when his own haunting memories keep surfacing, telling him exactly what kind of man he was in life?

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Excerpt:

A Return

I was in a preparation chamber made completely out of light. I hovered like a cloud watching child-like celestials regenerate and reanimate my corpse. They didn’t bother with new clothes and simply fixed up the suit I had been buried in. When finished, they vacuumed me into my old body, a loving experience I could only compare to dying.
“Cold...” I said and my throat was dry like the Mojave in the middle of summer. They explained my body was mostly dead but this would improve as time passed. To help me with the shivers, the merciful celestials threw in a brown overcoat, shoes, and a fedora.
“Gun,” I said. True I was dead, but the people I was going to deal with were not and I had a feeling they would want to stay that way. Protection was necessary.
They gave me a revolver loaded with ten Thunderbolt bullets. I also got a good watch to keep track of time, an enchanted magnifying glass, and a special rune to communicate with the Committee. The big people wanted regular updates on my progress.
The celestials opened a portal to the Realm of the Living and sent me through it.

Be sure to check out other stops of this tour and to enter the international giveaway here

Buy the ebook here (now only $0.99)
Buy the paperback here

Teaser Tuesdays - Abandon

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!


By the time I finally realized there are no handsome princes - that it was all up to me... that it had always been up to me - it was too late.
(page 116, Abandon by Meg Cabot