on McPig's Wishlist - Universal Alien

It seems like only yesterday that I picked up the first book of this series, drawn in by the gorgeous cover, only to discover that the story inside was even better.


Universal Alien (Katherine "Kitty" Katt #10)
by Gini Koch

Issues with Australia need to be straightened out, so the White House sends the Vice President and his wife, aka Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini, over to handle the situation. But before Kitty can make things worse, she’s suddenly in another world -- one where she’s been married to Charles Reynolds for years and aliens don’t exist.

Kitty’s not the only one confused, because the Kitty from that world has taken her place in this one. Can they both save their respective days before it’s too late to go home to the universes they belong to, or will one Kitty decide to keep the other’s life… forever?


Expected publication: December 2nd 2014 by DAW

An Interview with Stacy Verdick Case

Today it's the release day of An Intimate Murder by Stacy Verdick Case

To celebrate the release Stacy dropped by for an interview as part of the An Intimate Murder Blog Tour :-D
Keep an eye on her site for other blog tour posts as well.

And if you haven't read it yet, be sure to read my review of An Intimate Murder which I posted earlier today.


Welcome to Pearls Cast Before A McPig, Stacy.
Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?
I live in the State of Minnesota in the USA with my husband and my five-year-old daughter. I've been writing for as long as I can remember.

That's all there really is to know about me aside from my massive addiction to Starbucks Caramel macchiatos.

What can you tell us about your books?
All three book follow the central character of Catherine O'Brien and her partner Louise. They are St. Paul Minnesota homicide detectives with more than a few quirks between the two. The books are fast paced reads with humor and mayhem woven in to each one.

Do you have to do a lot of research for your books?
Yes, I'm one of those people who would spend more time researching than writing so at some point I have to stop myself and just write. I've gone through the citizen's police academy and made some great contacts who help with details.

Have you ever used people you know as characters in your books? Or even
let them be murder victims?
Oh yes! If you spend any time with me you are character fodder. The first book was written to kill of a boss I wasn't too fond of. Writing is cathartic that way.

What's next for Catherine?
I never know until I write it. I never plot things out. I will tell you I'm halfway through book four and Gavin's (Catherine's husband) mother plays a big roll in the next book, so you can imagine it will be heaps of fun.


Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?
Spending time with my daughter. I feel like time is whizzing by so fast and I don't want to miss any part of her growing up. Her and I spend a lot time reading together and going to our local library. She's also a great little cook's helper.

What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?
I celebrate each book the same way. I buy a bottle of champagne and my hubby and I toast the new book. I think people would be surprised that the first time you have a book come out it's almost anti-climactic. Over the years you build up such high expectations of what that day will be like that it could never live up to your dream.

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with
writing to read?
I'm never too busy to read. Whenever I hear writers say they don't have time to read I think that's just wrong. Every writer I've
ever read has influenced me in some way but in particular Harper Lee, Cheryl Ann Porter (for all her wonderful workshops before she passed
away), Stephanie Bond, and Stephen King's earlier work.

As for what I'm reading right now: Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry.

Are there zombies or pigs in any of your books or will there be any in future books?
Oh, I love zombies! Have since I was twelve and my Mom checked out the real to real movie version of Night of Living Dead from
our local library. But I don't think they'll make it into my books unless St. Paul really does get attacked by zombies but then I think I'll be too buys to write. A pig though . . . that could happen. We'll have too see.

Thanks for dropping by!
I'm already looking forward to book four.

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About Stacy Verdick Case

Stacy Verdick Case was born in Willmar, Minnesota. After a brief stint as a military brat, where she lived in Fort Sill Oklahoma and Fort Stacy Verdick CaseCampbell, Kentucky, her family moved back to Minnesota.

Stacy has written stories for as long as she can remember. She wrote her first book in second grade entitle No Snow on Christmas and hasn’t stopped writing since. “Other kids had a security blanket or favorite doll; I carried a red tattered notebook and pen.“

While still in High School Stacy’s writing earned her a McDonald’s High School Writers Award. her first novel A Grand Murder took third place in the Daphne Du Maurier awards for Excellence in Mainstream Mystery and Suspense (unpublished).

Stacy currently lives on five rolling acres of land north of St. Paul with her husband and her daughter. Her Catherine O’Brien mysteries, A Grand Murder and A Luring Murder, are available from Before the Fall Books. The third book An Intimate Murder is coming soon!

Stacy is hard at work on her fourth book in the series.

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Find buy links to An Intimate Murder here

An Intimate Murder - Book Review

An Intimate Murder (Catherine O'Brien Mystery #3)
by Stacy Verdick Case

What is it about:
When Jonathan and Susan Luther are murder in their home, St. Paul homicide detective Catherine O’Brien and her partner Louise discover this isn’t the first time the Luther family has been visited by tragedy. Is it a case of bad family luck or is there something more?

What did I think of it:
First: I received an ARC of this book, which didn't have the final cover art, so I included a small picture of the actual cover in the above picture.

Now that's out of the way, on to my actual review.

I really enjoyed the first two book in this series, so I was very happy to get an ARC of An Intimate Murder.

And this book is another really cool read.

Catherine and Louise have to solve a double murder, and manage a nosy reporter while doing so.

I have told you before I really like Catherine, with her dry humor and a tendency to say what other people only think. In this book that last character trait gets her into trouble with the press, and she and Louise have to handle a reporter who's sticking to them like glue. This leads to some very funny and interesting situations. I really liked how Catherine and Louise worked together and supported each other with their problems.

The murder case is also very intriguing. There are lots of clues, and I had my suspicions, but then something would happen that would shatter my theories. It was a very suspenseful investigation, with lots of stuff happening, drawing me in and only letting me go when I finished the book.

I like how Stacy succeeds in mixing suspense with humor, giving her readers both a mystery to solve, and lots of entertaining situations. It makes this series very rereadable, because even when you know the conclusion to the mystery, there's so much more to the story to enjoy.

All in all I very much enjoyed this book, and you can be sure I will keep an eye out for the next book in this series, because I need to know what Catherine is up to next.

Why should you read it:
It's a suspenseful and fun Murder Mystery


Find buy links here

Teaser Tuesdays - Valiant

So far I'm really enjoying this book.


Val's hands shook. She tried to still them, buy they wouldn't stop trembling, even when she clenched them into fists and dug her fingernails into the heels of her hands.

(page 84, Valiant by Holly Black)




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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!

As Long As You Love Me - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

As Long As You Love Me (2B Trilogy #2)
by Ann Aguirre

What is it about:
Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. There are the justifications she gives to everyone else—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. And then there’s the reason Lauren can’t admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend’s older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He can’t pinpoint exactly what’s missing until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her. But he’s the guy that women love and leave—not the one who makes them think of forever.

Though she’s terrified of opening up, Lauren’s ready to take that chance. Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I loved the first book in this series, so I was very happy when I won this book in a reviewer giveaway held by Ann Aguirre.

And this book is so good!

I'm usually not into Contemporary Romance, but Aguirre's New Adult Romances are super addictive.

I think it's because this book leaves out all the extra drama that is in so many other contemporary romances. No jealousy games, no other love interests muddying the waters, just two people who really want to be together, but have to overcome certain obstacles before they can make it work.

I think I loved this book even more than the first: I totally fell in love with Lauren and Rob as a couple. Their romance is so sweet, and both of them are so vulnerable in their own way. I loved to read how they supported each other, and gave each other strength. I also really liked how Aguirre shows that there are situations in which just loving each other isn't enough, and that other steps are needed to straighten things out, to get a healthy relationship.

Next to this being a really sweet romance, it's also hot and intense. There were some very steamy scenes, and some very emotional ones as well. When I finished this book it left me with warm, fluffy feelings, and the need to get my hands on the next book, because I want more.

Why should you read it:
It's a sweet and delicious New Adult Romance

On McPig's Wishlist - Unspeakable

Unspeakable (Unspeakable #1)
by Michelle K. Pickett

“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.”

On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of.

She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had just…but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choice. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind.

When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide.

Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe?


Expected publication: February 10th 2015 by Clean Teen Publishing

The Bar Code Tattoo - Book Review

The Bar Code Tattoo (Bar Code #1)
by Suzanne Weyn

What is it about:
Individuality vs. Conformity

Identity vs. Access

Freedom vs. Control

The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It will become your identity.

But what if you say no? What if you don't want to become a code? For Kayla, this one choice changes everything. She becomes an outcast in her high school. Dangerous things happen to her family. There's no option but to run...for her life.

What did I think of it:
I picked this up because I loved Weyn's Distant Waves, and was curious about what other books she had written.

This is a really great read.

I was surprised by how current most of this book still was. It's written in 2004, but the issues it addresses are still in play today. Weyn's views of a future where we all have to get a bar code with all our information on it - information which is collected and monitored by an all powerful corporation - felt very close to home. The characters in this book even parroted what I've heard people say about giving up our privacy 'for the greater good'. "Why shouldn't you if you have nothing to hide?"
Yeah...

So I was really invested in Kayla's attempts to fight back, to stay in control of her own life.

There were some minor grumblings.
The author clearly wasn't up to date with the technology of 2004. She lets people use stationary email addresses throughout the book, while hotmail and other services like that had been around for some years by then. This book being a Dystopian set in the future, made it feel dated because of that.

There's a paranormal element in the story I could have done without. It didn't feel realistic compared to the rest of the story in my opinion.

Those two things aside I very much enjoyed this story, and I finished it in almost one sitting. It's suspenseful and thought provoking. Because of the paranormal element I'm not sure if I will read the other books in this series as well (I suspect it will play a bigger role in the next book), but I will most certainly add this book to my keeper shelves.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool and suspenseful Dystopian YA read.