Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop

Posted on December 21, 2013December 18, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Holidays> Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the 2013 Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Bookhounds.

Today is the shortest day of the year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. All that chilly darkness makes this a perfect night to snuggle up and read. That the winter solstice falls on a weekend is even more perfect–it’s not a “school night” this year.

And from now on the days will start getting longer again–just a little bit at a time. Something to look forward to.

Meanwhile, one lucky winner can look forward to a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter below. And for more marvelous midwinter celebrations, check out the other blogs participating in this Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop.

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Review: The Blushing Bounder by MelJean Brooks

Posted on December 20, 2013December 19, 2013 by Cass | Author : Cass | 3 Stars> B Reviews> book reviews> Draconismoi> ebooks

Format Read: ebook.
Formats available: ebook, paperback (in Novellas & Stories).
Genre: Steampunk Romance.
Series: The Iron Seas #0.4.
Length: 50 pages.
Date Released: November 26, 2013.
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon Barnes & Noble.

In The Iron Duke, Constable Newberry helped save all of England. But before the events of that novel, Constable Newberry’s faced a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?

My Thoughts:

I began reading MelJean Brooks’ Iron Seas series because of the steampunk cyborgs, nanoagent zombies, and all manner of other awesome creations. I firmly classified the series as Steampunk, and just, well, overlooked the romance. Because I Do Not Read Romance. Or at least I do not enjoy reading romances. (I may have deleted the clearly romancey covers from Ilona Andrews’ The Edge series in order to perpetuate said delusions.)

The worldbuilding in The Iron Seas is top-notch and keeps me coming back for every installment. Which gets me to poor Constable Newberry, who, despite his status as a Blushing Red Giant, always manages to fade into the background. Unless he is being mocked by another character.

They made good time to his small, cozy flat on the second level of a converted mews, where Newberry’s sensible—and very pregnant—wife asked him to cut and wrap hunks of cheese, bread, and salted boiled eggs while she chatted with Mina. Newberry blushed for a record length of time after Temperance checked on his progress and complimented his skillful use of a knife, then again when she laid a farewell kiss on his cheek.
So sweet. It still surprised Mina that the prudish bounder had ever taken off his clothes long enough to make a baby, and she’d have wagered that he’d been fiery red the entire time.*

See? Even when he’s scoring free food, he’s still the butt of every joke. Newberry has more than earned his chance to shine – and so we travel back in time to the events that initially brought him to London. As usual, the world building was spectacular. This outing provided some much needed insight into the Mind of the Average Bounder, but……

It’s only 50 pages. There is no Kraken to battle, Slavers to defeat, or Zombies to slaughter. It really is just the story of how Newberry got his groove back. Which means that I was forced to admit I was reading – and enjoying – a romance. GODDAMNIT.

I’m not saying the story is flawless. It’s really not. As with many a romance, it generates conflict by the characters failing to discuss a Super Important Issue that really could have been resolved with one or two sentences. As it ultimately was.

Despite this, I found myself entirely engaged in Newberry’s relationship with his wife (thank god they didn’t name her Prudence), and invested in the outcome of the story. Especially since Mina was there to mock the Bounders.

“You think she’ll become a zombie, constable?”
“Yes,” Temperance answered for him. “Won’t she? This is what we’ve been told. What we’ve always been told.”
“And I’ve been told that bounders believed this, but didn’t think they were that stupid. But they are?”
“Apparently, sir.”

Poor Newberry, nobody wants to be branded a epic moron on their first day. Though this does explain why he elects to remain silent through much of the series.

Escape Rating: B- for forcing me to reconsider my ban on all things romance. Any fan of The Iron Seas will enjoy this prequel story, though I would not recommend it as a first outing into the series. In such a constrained space there is not a lot of room to explain the complex world we’re playing in.

*Quote from Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City. A short story that takes place shortly after The Iron Duke, and is, once again, unapologetically romantic in nature. Though it will be a worthwhile read for anyone who thought Mina’s story ended just a tad abruptly, it was tragically short on zombies.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter + Giveaway

Posted on December 19, 2013December 16, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> ebook giveaway> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by the publisher
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Holiday Romance; Western Romance
Series: Copper Mountain Christmas
Length: 119 pages
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Date Released: November 29, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon

Since the loss of her family in a plane crash, Harley Diekerhoff has led a quiet life and keeps to herself. Taking the temporary job at the Copper Mountain Ranch as widower Brock Sheenan’s housekeeper seems perfect for her. But her calm cocoon is invaded with the arrival of Brock’s pre-teen twins, Mack and Molly who’ve never experienced a proper Christmas and before she knows it, Harley’s determined to make their holiday perfect.

Annoyed at first by Harley’s interference, Brock is secretly pleased she’s changed Mack and Molly’s world. It doesn’t hurt that he finds Harley incredibly attractive, fierce, smart and passionate. It’s also an added bonus that she’s not afraid to challenge him and get his blood heated! But when sparks fly and the attractions sizzles between them, Harley’s not so sure she can handle something permanent with this dark, taciturn cowboy who doesn’t know how to let her in. But Brock is determined to hold on to her and praying for a Christmas miracle…

My Review:

Christmas at Copper Mountain would make the perfect Hallmark Holiday Special. It has just that perfect blend of heartwarming family togetherness and holiday miracle sparkle, with a sweet love story as the star on top of the tree.

There’s even a “Grinch” in this holiday tale. Certainly Brock Shennan has lost track of the meaning of Christmas in the decade since his young wife died and left him with 6 month old twins to raise alone. Now Mack and Molly are 11 and while he loves them unconditionally and puts them first in his life, it’s become a hard, cold life without a lot of fun, spontaneity or open affection.

The children see a lot more chores from their dad than they do hugs.

As far as holiday decorations go, well, Brock says they aren’t worth the bother or the expense. (If you are hearing the echo of “Bah, humbug”, it’s intended.) Brock isn’t quite that bad, but the kids are 11. They need a little joy in their lives.

Brock is not a bad father. He’s strict but generally fair. The problem is that he’s walled off all of his emotions, and left the kids on the other side of that wall. They don’t remember their mother, she died when they were infants. Their father treats them like little adults, but they are still kids.

Mack and Molly are looking for someone to let them be kids. They’re looking for someone to love them. They need someone to lighten their father’s heart. And they need someone to care about what they think about how they feel enough to ask them instead of thinking for them. Yes, they are still kids, but at 11, they are definitely starting to have hopes and dreams and feelings that should at least get a listen.

Into all of this walks Harley Deikerhoff. The job of temporary cook and housekeeper at the Copper Mountain Ranch is supposed to be very temporary. Harley was only supposed to be in Marietta, Montana for six weeks, just long enough for the regular cook/housekeeper to get some time off, and for Harley to get away from her well-meaning but smothering family.

The job was supposed to be housekeeping for the owner of the ranch and cooking for the men in the bunkhouse. Nothing was said about children. If she’d been informed about the children, she wouldn’t have taken the job.

The children arrived in the middle of the night two weeks into the job, after they ran away from boarding school in New York and brought themselves home. It was a crazy thing to do. Crazy for them, crazy for Harley, and crazy for Brock.

Because the kids upset all the boundaries. Mack and Molly’s presence forced Harley to deal with why she didn’t want to be around kids at the holidays; something she had been avoiding for three long and painful years.

Watching Brock deal (and sometimes not deal) with his children made Harley step over the line between employee and employer and start telling Brock what she thought his children needed from him, whether he wanted to hear it or not.

And the more they argued about Mack and Molly, the more that Brock and Harley came to see that what they were really talking around was how they might feel about each other; if they gave it a chance.

Escape Rating B: This story contains lots of relationships that get their happy ever after for this Christmas; Mack and Molly and Brock, Mack and Molly and Harley, Brock and Harley, and possibly even Brock and Harley and the universe.

This one ties every possible broken heart back together with a big Christmas bow and sprinkles tinsel on it. Possibly with heavenly intervention (your mileage may vary on that last bit).

Still, this story has a sleigh full of holiday spirit. The best part of the story for me was the development of the relationship between Harley and Mack and Molly. She really does fall in love with the kids first, and the blossoming of that relationship is the one that opens her heart to the possibility that she might be ready to love again.

I wish she hadn’t lectured Brock on being a “friend” to his kids. He can be their parent and still have fun with them, and does he ever need to figure that one out! They can have a trusting and loving relationship while he is their parent. (I’m saying this because I just finished a book where part of the problem was a dad who wanted to be his daughters’ friend and completely forgot about being their parent). I may have a book hangover about this one.

The romantic angle of this story got a bit shorted in the overall holiday tale. It was mostly sweet with a bit of heat, but the majority of the story felt like it was about Harley waking up from her stupor and putting more life into the Copper Mountain Ranch as well as falling for the family.

Falling for Brock (and him finally admitting that he had fallen for her) felt like the icing on the cake!

GIVEAWAY

Jane is giving away an ebook copy of Christmas at Copper Mountain to one lucky commenter. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

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***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Guest Post by Author Rebekah Turner on Creating the Applecross + Giveaway

Posted on December 18, 2013December 15, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | blog tours> Giveaways> Guest Posts

My guest today at Reading Reality is Rebekah Turner, the author of the marvelously inventive Chronicles of the Applecross series, Chaos Born and this morning’s featured review, Chaos Bound. The world she has created is a fantastic borderland mixture of fantasy, myth and legend where her kick-ass heroine, Lora Blackgoat, both casts spells and occasionally crosses into our “Outlands” to buy boots and coffee.

Before you visit the Applecross, and if you love urban fantasy you really, really should, let’s hear from Rebekah on how she created this universe where angels and demons may both be the best kind of bad boys.

Creating the World and Characters of Chaos Bound
by Rebekah Turner

The initial idea that grew into my first published novel, Chaos Born and now the second, Chaos Bound, originated with the main protagonist, Lora Blackgoat. She limped into my imagination one day; the cranky heroine of a few short stories I hammered out in between looking after my first baby.

While I enjoyed writing the short stories, Lora was a difficult character to get a handle on at first, as she steadfast refused to reveal her inner thoughts. But she stuck in my imagination and soon I was writing a longer story, with her as the star. After the book was finished, I realised Lora’s motivations seemed ambiguous and that I still didn’t have a hold on who she was. The answer came when I wrote the story again, but this time completely through Lora’s point of view. Within a few chapters, she bloomed for me and it was like I’d known her all my life.

My male characters; Seth, Captain of the City Watch and Lora’s ex-lover, and Roman, a half-angel warrior and her new love interest, were much easier to write and I had a complete ball writing the Roman scenes. Of course, I enjoyed Seth’s company just as much, though I sensed he had a rich and dangerous history I’d only just started tapping into.

When expanding further on the world Lora inhabited, I wanted the city to be dark, moody and with elements of the fantastic, but with a realistic baseline. It was to be influenced by our modern world, but with factions in power still clinging to the old ways, almost forbidding access to ours.

I’ve always written Lora’s stories with a mystery at their core, along with a dollop of romance and a sprinkling of horror, fused together by her wry view point. Lora is the anti-heroine with a bleak sense of humour that slices through her best and worst times equally and while this doesn’t always garner her new friends, she’s loyal to the ones she has and that’s a quality I love to write and explore, for as far as Lora will take me.

About Rebekah:

Rebekah lives in sunny Queensland and has worked in the past as a graphic designer. She now does freelance work when her kids are looking the other way. An avid writer since she could scrawl in her dad’s expensive encyclopedias, she has progressed from horsey stories to tales of dark fantasy with lashings of romance and a sprinkling of horror.

Her vices include eating overpriced ice cream, over analyzing 80s action and horror movies and buying stationery she just doesn’t need.

www.rebekahturner.net
@RbkahTurner
www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580834.Rebekah_Turner
https://www.facebook.com/rebekahturnerauthor

GIVEAWAY

Rebekah is giving away an ebook copy of Chaos Bound to one lucky winner. This giveaway is open to ALL! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

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Review: Chaos Bound by Rebekah Turner

Posted on December 18, 2013December 16, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: urban fantasy
Series: Chronicles from the Applecross #2
Length: 177 pages
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Date Released: December 1, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, All Romance

Lora Blackgoat — mercenary and smuggler — has only just recovered from the last threat on her life and hasn’t even begun to sort out the mess of having both a nephilim warrior and a reborn hellspawn as potential lovers. Work should be a refuge, but a job finding missing persons puts her in the crosshairs of a violent gang and a merchant with a taste for blood sport.

Reluctantly, Lora turns to the two men in her life for help. Roman — the nephilim — professes to be her soul mate and turns to her when he feels the darkness of nephilim madness descending. But though Lora is drawn to Roman, it is Seth, ex-lover and reborn hellspawn, who Lora must ultimately ask to protect those she loves. Can she trust Seth to save Roman and her adoptive family, or will this be a fatal mistake?

My Review:

The Chronicles from the Applecross is a series where it really helps to get in at the very beginning. Fortunately, the beginning is not far away, and is also excellent. If you enjoy multi-faceted urban fantasy starring complicated kick-ass female protagonists, get a copy of Chaos Born right now. Lora Blackgoat is a whole world of fascinating.

Chaos Bound picks up right where Chaos Born left off. Lora Blackgoat is a mercenary and an all-purpose “fixer” for the Blackgoat Guild in the magical borderland called the “Weald”. From there, it is possible to cross into our own non-magical world, the “Outlands” and bring back luxury goods. Lora is particularly fond of sports bras and expensive boots.

She also has the unique ability to make mechanical items function in the Weald, and make magic spells work in the Outlands. Lora doesn’t know why, but then, Lora doesn’t know her own heritage, either. She was a foundling, adopted and raised by the satyr Gideon Blackgoat and the otherkin Orella Warbreeder, but she’s never known what she herself is. She looks human, but knows she probably isn’t.

She also looks like a Witch Hunter, but doesn’t have the talents that go with that appearance. Lora also detests the practices of the Witch Hunter Guild. They have a tendency to massacre suspected dark path practitioners first, and ask questions later, if it all.

In Chaos Bound, Lora finds herself trapped between multiple sets of opposing forces. A competing mercenary company tries to muscle Gideon out of business. This sounds like simple business competition, but it sparks a blood-soaked chain reaction that nearly leads to a purge of all magic practitioners.

Lora is contracted to bodyguard a young actress, and the consequences of her assignment start a blood feud between the shapechanging griorwolves and a drugrunning gang of cuthroats and slavers.

In the middle of all of this, Lora discovers that the reason she has such unusual magical abilities is that she is something that has not been seen in millenia, if ever; she is a female nephilim. And that too many people (using loose definitions for the word “people”) want to control her power for their own ends. Not that she is remotely willing to let them.

Unfortunately, one of those people is her ex-lover. Who neglected to mention his own past as ex-hellspawn. Or that he is in the center of several of the recent power plays, trying to decide which one will benefit him the most.

The Applecross is a very complicated, and deadly place. It is awesome to read about, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Escape Rating B+: Chaos Bound (and also Chaos Born) are totally Lora’s show. Both books are told from Lora’s first-person perspective, and it’s her voice all the way. In other books this device falls flat, because the head you’re stuck in has to be an interesting head, and the perspective has to be informed enough that it doesn’t feel naive or stupid.

Lora is completely awesomesauce. Even when she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she’s still kicking ass and taking names.

Yes, she has low moments, and sad moments, and times when she gets overwhelmed, but she picks herself back up. She doesn’t wait to be rescued. She also goes off in the complete wrong direction a few times, but she keeps moving forward. Or occasionally ass-backward. But moving.

This is urban fantasy rather than paranormal romance. However, there is what feels like an obligatory romantic triangle in here, and I kind of wish it had been played down even more than it was. It feels like there’s going to be a showdown at some point, but I wish that the romance wasn’t tied into it. Or that the triangular aspects of the romance weren’t tied into it. Not every urban fantasy needs a romantic triangle. There is more than enough tension building in Lora’s life without one.

But, about the two “gentlemen” and their history, outside the nascent romance? Seth Hallow is ex-hellspawn, and he seems to have been in the Applecross and the Outlands since he got his ejection notice, a looooong time ago. Lora (and this reader) would love to know how many fingers he’s had in how many pies since the dawn of time. He’s been a busy boy.

Her other suitor is the nephilim, Roman. He’s probably been around a few decades, or maybe centuries, too. There’s serious history waiting to be explored.

But the story is all about Lora. Where did she come from? It’s more than obvious that Gideon and Orella are keeping secrets about her origins. (So is Seth) Every time Lora finds out more, it’s because one of those secrets has just bitten her in the ass.

I would love to know why the cover picture is the guy in torment? The Chronicles of the Applecross are absolutely Lora’s story from beginning to end. And it’s one hell of an absorbing story! I hope we get some more soon, because while this installment came to a definite conclusion, Lora’s journey is far from over.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Sail Away With Me by Kate Devaux + Giveaway

Posted on December 17, 2013December 15, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Contemporary romance
Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Red Sage
Date Released: November 30, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Jody Carter, recently divorced single mom lives in the quaint seaside town with her twelve year old son, and her recently widowed father. After Jody’s divorce from her college sweetheart, Ryan, she and her three best girl friends decide she needs to lighten up. Along with her friends, Lauren, the glamorous ex model divorcee, Cricket the worry wart, and Doreen, who is more comfortable in gumboots than high heels, Jody books a girl’s holiday aboard the Pearl of the Sea for a week of fun in the sun on a Caribbean cruise.

But before the four friends ever set foot aboard the cruise ship, Jody’s shoe gets stuck in the ship’s gangway and a hunky celebrity saves it from falling to the depths of the sea. Jody can feel the sparks between them but she has sworn off men after her divorce from Ryan.

The hunky man and shoe rescuer is Taggart Keith, a celebrity and best selling author of self help books. He falls for Jody the moment he meets her. He’s a man used to getting what he wants and pursues Jody. Despite her undeniable attraction to Taggart, the last thing Jody needs is to complicate her life in just seven short days, but that’s exactly what happens when she falls for the dashing Taggart Keith. She worries that his jet set lifestyle won’t mix with her small town single mom life once the cruise is over and the fact she has no room in her life for a man and especially a man who dreams big like Taggart. She’s had enough of dreamers with her ex husband Ryan.

The cruise becomes more than they both bargained for when their attraction sizzles. Is it full steam ahead for Taggart and Jody?

My Review:

When rich, successful and sinfully handsome author Taggart Keith rescues Jody Carter from an epic shoe disaster in the opening scene of Sail Away With Me, it sets both the reader and Jody, up for a delicious (not to mention absolutely blistering hot) shipboard romance with Taggart cast as the Prince Charming and Jody playing Cinderella.

Except that soccer-mom Jody isn’t just a soccer-mom, and Taggart is both more and less than a Prince, no matter how charming he might be.

Jody may have only managed to afford the Caribbean cruise because one of her friends won the trip-for-four as a prize package, but she’s not poor, and she’s certainly not downtrodden. Also she’s not waiting for a man to rescue her. Jody is divorced and the mother of a pre-teen son. She is also a well-known artist in her native northern California. While she’s not wealthy in material goods, she has great friends and the love of her family. Her life is good.

Her ex-husband wasn’t a bad guy. He just wasn’t the right guy. He’s a dreamer who kept over-investing in terrible business ideas, and bailing him out repeatedly caused Jody to put off her dreams of being an artist too many times. Financial incompatibility eventually crushed their marriage. There’s no villain here, just two people who didn’t work out.

But Jody has responsibilities at home. Her son. Her artistic career. Her widowed father who lives in the cottage on her property. She has a real life, and one that doesn’t include a lot of free time, a lot of luxuries, or a lot of time to indulge herself.

It doesn’t help that the sexual side of her marriage ended way before the marriage did. So when Taggart Keith pours on the charm, Jody wakes up to being a desirable woman again for the first time in a long time.

But Taggart is attracted to more than just Jody’s looks. Because the self-help guru, and that’s what Taggart is, finds Jody to be someone genuine and honest in a life that has felt increasing fake. He may have started by chasing another pretty face and body, but he sticks around because of the things that make Jody tick. Her strengths combined with her vulnerability.

They both start out believing that what they have is a shipboard romance, but by the end of the cruise, realize that they have laid their hearts on the line. That’s where the fairytale ends and the truth begins.

Because of course this isn’t a Cinderella tale after all. Not because the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella has to go back home, but because it turns out that Taggart is not Prince Charming.

It’s a good thing that Jody doesn’t need rescuing, because Taggart Keith isn’t capable of rescuing anyone. He can’t even figure out how to rescue himself.

Escape Rating B: It almost feels like there are two separate stories packed into this one romance, even though they are both about the same couple. One story is the sparkling and witty erotic shipboard romance between charming Taggart and temporarily footloose Jody. This is a temporary fling between two people who are mostly living a fantasy away from their everyday lives for the length of the cruise.

We think that Jody is the only one who is getting the chance to spend a few days away from her regular life and routine, but we find out after the ship returns to dock that Taggart had as many, possibly more reasons than Jody to want a few days respite from the real world.

Jody has a life worth returning to. She may not be wealthy like Taggart, but her world is filled with family and friends who love and respect her. She is living her dream of painting, and her work is selling. Even though there are a few bumps in her road, she likes her life.

Taggart’s real life is the one with the problems. Money definitely does not buy happiness. So even though Jody misses him every bit as much as he misses her, part of what he misses about her is her genuineness. Too many of the people in his world are fakes. Including himself.

Unlike many romances, the misunderstanding that brings the crises in this relationship is definitely not fake or exaggerated for effect. It is major and extremely important. Readers will wonder if they would have forgiven someone they loved for an omission of this magnitude.

Instead of a Cinderella story, with Jody in the title role, the fairy tale this romance most closely resembles is a reverse Sleeping Beauty, with Taggart as the sleeper. Jody forces him to finally wake up to what’s really important, and just to what’s real.

But it all starts with a shoe.

GIVEAWAY

Kate is giving away an ebook copy of Sail Away With Me! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Christmas in Dogtown by Suzanne Johnson

Posted on December 16, 2013December 15, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Paranormal romance; Holiday romance
Length: 35 pages
Publisher: The Story Vault
Date Released: October 15, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

A woman who spent years escaping her rural past learns that Dogtown, Louisiana, hides more family secrets than just the recipe for boudin blanc.

Resa Madere’s on the verge of losing it all. The boyfriend’s gone. The job’s history. Her beloved house is on the brink of foreclosure. She’ll do anything to save it–even spend a long Christmas holiday working in St. James Parish, Louisiana, helping her uncle run the family meat business. But the community of Dogtown, which has been home for seven generations of the Madere and Caillou families, has deep roots and deeper secrets. For Resa, going home is one thing. Getting out might not be so easy.

My Review:

Christmas in Dogtown is a short and spicy (in the Cajun sense, not the sexy sense) holiday story that argues that, contrary to the title of Thomas Wolfe’s famous novel, you really CAN go home again. But only if you want to.

And maybe only if you get there in time.

Resa Madere comes from the long line of Maderes that founded the small bayou community of Dogtown in St. James Parish, Louisiana, right beside the Caillou family. There are entire pirogues full of traditions and expectations in Dogtown that revolve around all the things that the Madere and Caillou families have done together over the generations.

One of those many expectations was that Resa Madere would marry Chandler Caillou. Everyone in both families and all over town shoved that expectation down her throat for as long as she could remember. Along with the expectation that she would take over her grandfather’s meat business, and stay in Dogtown for her entire life. Resa had other plans, plans that involved the big city, the Big Easy called New Orleans.

But Katrina and the Great Recession meant that her dreams were running into some financial difficulties. So she was back in Dogtown for three weeks at Christmas to work in the family meat business, earn enough money to make a couple of mortgage payments, and then escape as fast as she could.

She knew that if she stayed in Dogtown too long, that she wouldn’t be able to escape at all.

What she didn’t know was why. This Christmas Chandler Caillou was back in Dogtown. And her grandfather decided that it was time that Resa knew the truth.

The truth could set her free. Or it could make her part of Dogtown forever. But it was time for Resa to choose.

Escape Rating A-: Christmas in Dogtown is a marvelous little Christmas story that packs quite the paranormal punch at the end.

The reader thinks that the story is about “roots and wings”. A story about Resa deciding what her dreams really are, whether she belongs in her hometown, or whether she really wants to be back in New Orleans.

She loves her homeplace and her people, it’s obvious. As she spends time at home, she starts to question where she belongs, so does the reader. She starts wondering whether she coming back really means giving up, or finding her right place.

And then she gets hit with the whammy. And so do we.

I just wish this story were longer. Because that whammy is one heck of a big reveal. I would love to know a whole lot more about what’s behind the myths and legends of Dogtown. There seem to be a lot of stories hidden in those bayous. I, for one, would love to read them.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-15-13

Posted on December 15, 2013December 15, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Blog Hops> Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

The blog is my island of organization in a sea of moving chaos. This is all relative, you understand. The blog is controlled chaos, the impeding move is currently more like uncontrolled chaos.

The movers are coming to pack us on Friday. WE ARE NOT READY! <panic>

Meanwhile, this is what’s happening on the blog:

Current Giveaways:

$25 Amazon Gift Card from Nina Croft and Operation Saving Daniel
Paperback copy of Clean by Alex Hughes (US/Can only)
Paperback copy of The Seduction of Miriam Cross by W.A. Tyson (US/Can only)
Paperback copy of The Spirit Keeper by K.B. Laugheed (US/Can only)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of one title (winner’s choice from Jeanette Grey’s backlist (Take What You Want, Unacceptable Risk, A Gift Of Trust, or Letting Go) is Jo J.
The winner of The Blooding of Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys is Susan.

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Operation Saving Daniel by Nina Croft
Guest Post by Author Nina Croft on the Lure of the Werewolf + Giveaway
B+ Review: Lace & Lead by M.A. Grant
A+ Review: Clean by Alex Hughes
Guest Post by Author Alex Hughes: A Discussion of the Tech Wars + Giveaway
B Review: The Seduction of Miriam Cross by W.A. Tyson + Giveaway
A- Review: The Spirit Keeper by K.B. Laugheed + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (70)

Coming Next Week:

Christmas in Dogtown by Suzanne Johnson (blog tour review)
Sail Away with Me by Kate Devaux (blog tour review + giveaway)
Chaos Bound by Rebekah Turner (blog tour review + guest post + giveaway)
Christmas at Copper Mountain (blog tour review + giveaway)
Cass promised a review of “something” by Meljean Brook
Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop

Stacking the Shelves (70)

Posted on December 14, 2013December 14, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

This is a very quick (and relatively short) shelf-stack this week. We’re in the middle of that whole packing and moving thing. It’s definitely a goodness that nearly all of these are ebooks!

For Review:
Ashes & Alchemy (Gaslight Chronicles #6) by Cindy Spencer Pape
Back to You (Coming Home #3) by Jessica Scott
Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War #1) by Jaye Wells
Fighting Kat (Triton Experiment #2) by PJ Schnyder
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Happy Medium (Ramos Family #3) by Meg Benjamin

Borrowed from the Library:
After Dead (Sookie Stackhouse #13.5) by Charlaine Harris
The Naughty Corner by Jasmine Haynes

Review: The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed + Giveaway

Posted on December 13, 2013December 15, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Genre: Historical fiction
Length: 353 pages
Publisher: Plume
Date Released: September 24, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

This is the account of Katie O’Toole, late of Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, removed from her family by savages on March the 2nd in the year of our Lord 1747

The thirteenth child conceived of miserable Irish exiles, Katie O’Toole dreams of a different life. Little does she know that someone far away is dreaming of her.

In 1747, savages raid her family home, and seventeen-year-old Katie is taken captive. Syawa and Hector have been searching for her, guided by Syawa’s dreams. A young Holyman, Syawa believes Katie is the subject of his Vision: the Creature of Fire and Ice, destined to bring a great gift to his people. Despite her flaming hair and ice-blue eyes, Katie is certain he is mistaken, but faced with returning to her family, she agrees to join them. She soon discovers that in order to fulfill Syawa’s Vision, she must first become his Spirit Keeper, embarking on an epic journey that will change her life—and heart—forever.

My Review:

“Enjoy the ride” sounds like pretty good philosophy no matter which direction life’s currents sweep you. It is also the instruction that young Irish colonist Katie O’Toole receives from the Native American prophet Syawa as he lays dying in the middle of a journey to either kidnap or rescue Katie from the only home she ever knew and take her through the unspoiled American wilderness of the mid-1700’s to fulfill a vision Syawa always knew he wouldn’t live to see.

Syawa doesn’t leave Katie alone. Because the whole point of his vision, at least from his perspective, seems to have been to find Katie and give her into the care of his best friend and bodyguard, a warrior she refers to as Hector because she can’t manage to pronounce his name.

Syawa also leaves his “Spirit” in Katie’s keeping. Hector believes this literally. Katie is sure that this is a lie. But then, the Native beliefs are not hers.

This story is one of discovery. Katie’s discovery of the vastness and beauty of the American continent, and her discovery of the depths of her own heart. Quite possibly it will also be her discovery of the truth of Syawa’s vision and his spirit quest.

What we have in this story is Katie’s long journey from downtrodden colonial daughter of alcoholic and abusive parents who is presented with a life-altering choice in the midst of an attack on her colony by Natives. Syawa and Hector protect her and only her from the marauders. She can choose to go with them, or not. Communication is awkward, mostly by sign and gesture.

It is the first time anyone has ever valued her for herself. And this value seems to have nothing to do with sexual favors. Whatever they want, it is not lascivious. But in the face of her mother’s continuing abuse, she chooses the path that seems to allow her some little dignity, and changes her life.

In spite of the hardships that accompany her choice, it is difficult to fault her for it. But as she struggles to learn a new language and a new way of viewing the world, we see the continent before we spoiled it and a way of life that is long gone.

Even as Katie begins to adapt to the immensity of the journey, she still thinks herself superior to the beliefs of the Natives that she travels with, and those whose villages she travels through, even as she falls in love with one.

She’s certain that the vision quest and spirit keeper thing is a hoax, one that she goes along with because her new life is the best one she’s ever had, in spite of its hardships. But what if it’s all true?

Escape Rating A-: Katie falls in love with a man, but the reader falls in love with her journey. It’s almost impossible not to be captivated by her descriptions of the beautiful wilderness that she is traveling through, even though it is often by one aching footstep at a time.

Her adjustment is slow and sometimes painful. It’s not that she lived a life of ease before, but initially she struggles to communicate with her companions; they do not share a language, and is sometimes trapped in her own misery.

Katie’s story is a conversion, not religious per se, but a conversion from her early perspective of seeing the colonial way as superior to seeing the Native methods as being, if not superior, at least equally valid for their own time and place.

Also Katie is aware that the world she traverses is going to be irrevocably changed by the invasion of the whites, whatever happens, hers is like a record of Eden before the snake. Or before the demon rum.

Because the narrative is in the form of Katie’s journal, some readers may find the attempt to reproduce Katie’s mid-18th century spelling less than congenial. I’ll only say that after the first few pages, I was so lost in her story that I stopped noticing. She told much too compelling a yarn for me to care about her idiosyncrasies.

My only caveat is that the story ends at the close of the first winter of their long journey. That journey is not over, and I am left longing to see what comes next.

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

GIVEAWAY

K.B. is giving away a copy of The Spirit Keeper (US/Canada)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

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Winner Announcements:

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