Play Dead - Book Review

Play Dead by Ryan Brown

What is it about:
For the first time in Killington High School history, the Jackrabbits football team is one win away from the district championship where it will face its most vicious rival, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. On the way to the game, the Jackrabbits’s bus plunges into a river, killing every player except for bad-boy quarterback Cole Logan who is certain the crash was no accident—given that Cole himself was severely injured in a brutal attack by three ski-masked men earlier that day. Bent on payback, Cole turns to a mysterious fan skilled in black magic to resurrect his teammates. But unless the undead Jackrabbits defeat their murderous rival on the field, the team is destined for hell. In a desperate race against time, with only his coach’s clever daughter, Savannah Hickman, to assist him, Cole must lead his zombie team to victory. . . in a final showdown where the stakes aren’t just life or death—but damnation or salvation.

What did I think of it:
This book might have zombies,but it's more of a horror-thriller than a zombie book.

Not that I hold that against it:
This is a really cool read.

The writing is very good and the way the story builds up in tension is really well done. Even though I knew what would happen, because the blurb gives a lot of the story away, I couldn't put this book down and had to keep reading. Brown does a really good job at luring the reader into the story. And there still are a couple of really cool zombie mayhem scenes to please any zombie fan.

The characters were also very well written and if I had to name one negative thing it's that there were a few minor characters that I wished had played a bigger part in the story.

Otherwise this is a captivating tale and I will keep my eyes out for other books by Brown.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool horror-thriller with zombies.

Heart of Steel - Book Review

Heart of Steel (Iron Seas #2)
by Meljean Brook

What is it about:
Growing up in the dangerous world of the Iron Seas, the mercenary captain of the airship Lady Corsair, Yasmeen, has learned to keep her heart hard as steel. Ruthless and cunning, her only loyalty is to her ship and her crew-until one man comes along and changes everything...Treasurehunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair-just the captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. When it attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco- and straight into enemy hands.

What did I think of it:
I'm in two minds about this book.

The story and setting are really cool. There's zombies, creepy assassins, airships, you name it. I loved reading about the grim world Brook created and I loved the action and adventure.

Yasmeen and Archimedes however....

I don't think they made a believable romantic couple. It might be just me, but I couldn't feel the connection between them. Don't get me wrong: Both characters are very cool and interesting and I really wanted them to succeed and to find happiness, just not with each other.

This mismatched romance kept me from losing myself completely in the story and while I was totally engrossed in the story when reading The Iron Duke and Here There Be Monsters, here I kept feeling a distance.

I will certainly continue reading this series, because The Iron Seas world is the coolest and darkest Steampunk setting I've come across, but Heart of Steel is my least favorite addition to this series so far. (Although the zombies did make up for the botched romance I will say ;-)

Why should you read it:
It's a cool Steampunk adventure.

Rocky Mountain Heat - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Rocky Mountain Heat (Six Pack Ranch #1)
by Vivian Arend
ebook

What is it about:
Blake Coleman is old enough to know that acting on impulse causes nothing but a heap of trouble. But when trouble’s a blonde wearing a cowboy hat and with slim legs that go on forever, what’s a man to do? Wanting the sweet girl next door is just wrong. Hell, he was the one that taught her to ride a horse and now all he can think about is riding her. The responsible thing to do is keep his hands off.

Jaxi has other plans for his hands, and his heart. She may have considered Blake a big brother once but that was a long time ago. She’s all grown up now and ready to convince him that she’s just what he’s been waiting for.

Add the complication of two sexy younger brothers who have suddenly noticed Jaxi and things heat up fast. Blake’s gonna have to decide if a little trouble is worth fighting for.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I'm usually not much for contemporary romance, but because I absolutely adore Arend's paranormal 'Wolfie' books I wanted to give this story a try.

And it's one hot and sexy read!

Arend knows just how to write a contemporary romance that keeps me interested and that's by sticking to the romance and making it hot, steamy and intense.

There were times I was totally frustrated and even times that things seemed to steer into menage territory, but Arend succeeded to keep the romance within the boundaries that I can handle without getting too upset.

All in all this is a wonderful and sexy romance and I'm very tempted to read more books in series even though I got a feeling some of the Coleman brothers might venture a bit too far into menage territory.

Why should you read it:
It's a hot cowboy romance.


Buy it here

RAK wrap up.

December is here, so time to say goodbye to November and say hello to a new RAK month.

In November I send out a couple of books, but didn't receive a RAK myself. I did receive some awesome books I won in giveaways though, so I'm a happy piggy.

I'm still very much enjoying the RAK thing, so I'm joining again for December


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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!

Bestseller For A Day - Soul Search

Soul Search by Amber Scott is Bestseller For A Day!

What is it about:
Three years ago, one horrific night changed his life forever. And now the wolf soul that was invoked to save him is taking over his body, day by day.

Can he master his animal instincts in time to discover who is stealing children's souls before the delicate balance we all depend upon is shattered?

Or will he reject the one woman who can help heal his body and his soul?

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Read Voodoo Bride's review of this suspenseful and romantic story here

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As always Bestseller For A Day means there's great bargains to be had for you as a reader!

Soul Search is available all week for 99 cents.

And to celebrate Soul Search’s big day, these authors are also dropping the price of their amazing titles to just 99¢:










And you could even win a Kindle!!!

So run over to the Bestseller For A Day site and find out how you can get your hands on these great titles and how you can enter for a chance to win a Kindle.

Teaser Tuesdays - The Zombie Survival Guide

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!

The siege has commenced. Zombies swarm around your home, incessantly attacking but unable to enter. At this point, your worries are far from over.
(page 72, The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks)

Trance - Book Review

Trance (MetaWars #1)
by Kelly Meding

What is it about:
Fifteen years ago, Teresa “Trance” West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she’s bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they’re completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they’re threatening to destroy her.

Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons.

What did I think of it:
This is a very cool read.

Trance was only a kid when all Rangers lost their superpowers and the world suddenly was without its super heroes and super villains. Now she's an adult and just as suddenly she has superpowers again.

I love the above set up, it lends itself perfectly for an action packed adventure. The world Meding creates is intriguing and really cool. Meding really thought about how super heroes and villains would influence society and added this into the story in a natural way.

The lead characters are well defined and life-like and I rooted for Trance from the start. The problems she faces feel real and add tension to the story. Some of the other characters feel a bit one dimensional though and either my villain detector was spot on or the villains of this story are a bit too obvious.

Those two things aside I really enjoyed this story. It's well written and very entertaining. I will keep an eye out for the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's got cool action and super heroes.