Stacking the Shelves (73)

Posted on January 11, 2014January 11, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

This is shaping up to be the perfect weekend to stay in and read, although it almost wasn’t. Everything started beeping in the middle of the night; we had a power failure and all the Uninterruptible Power Supplies started fweeping that their power had been interrupted!

It’s a wet, chilly gloomy January day in Seattle. Since we have light after all, it looks like a great day for curling up with a good book.

third rule of ten by gay hendricks and tinker lindsay

For Review:
Dark Spirit (Spirit Wolf #2) by Kate Douglas
Deceiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #2) by Molly McAdams
Forward to Camelot: 50th Anniversary Edition by Susan Sloate with Kevin Finn
Haunt Me by Heather Long
Jewel of the East (Devil DeVere #5) by Victoria Vane
King of Thieves (Demons of Elysium #2) by Jane Kindred
Love At Stake by Victoria Davies
The Place I Belong (Country Roads #2) by Inez Kelley
Tempered (St. Croix Chronicles #4) by Karina Cooper
The Third Rule of Ten (Tenzing Norbu #3) by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay
The Traitor’s Wife by Alison Pataki

Purchased:
Covet Sampler 2013 by Entangled Covet Authors (free at etailers everywhere)

Borrowed from the Library:
Dirty Laundry (Cole McGinnis #3) by Rhys Ford
Dirty Secret (Cole McGinnis #2) by Rhys Ford
The Grendel Affair (SPI Files #1) by Lisa Shearin

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-5-14

Posted on January 5, 2014January 5, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | best book lists> Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

It’s the first Sunday Post of 2014. It took me a couple of tries to get the title set up. That “14” looked really strange in the header on first (and second) glance.

How often have you caught yourself writing the wrong year so far?

This was the week of the “list” posts. It was fun to look both back and ahead, to do the best of the year post and the most anticipated post in the same week. Although it was funny (funny weird not funny ha-ha) to see that there were books on the 2013 most anticipated list that hadn’t been published, and books that had been published that I hadn’t managed to get to.

Frank Zappa was right, “So many books, so little time.” And OMG it was Frank Zappa?

Here’s to another year of fabulous books!

Current Giveaways:

Paperback copy of Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller (US only)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Gift Card from the Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop is Brooke A.
The winner of the Cathy Woodman giveaway is Holly L. and she’s decided on a copy of The Sweetest Thing as her prize.

Blog Recap:

A Baker’s Dozen of the Best Books of 2013
Heating Up the Holidays: Play with Me by Lisa Renee Jones, D+; Snowfall by Mary Ann Rivers, A+; After Midnight by Serena Bell, B+
Happy New Year 2014
A Look Forward: My Most Anticipated Reads for 2014
B Review: Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller
Q&A with Linda Lael Miller + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (72)

Coming Next Week:

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson (blog tour review)
Beg Me to Slay by Lisa Kessler (blog tour review + giveaway)
Rex Regis by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (review)
River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz (review)
Sharp by Alex Hughes (review)

Stacking the Shelves (72)

Posted on January 4, 2014January 3, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

A slow week. I’m trying to find things more “resistible”, but it may also be that there wasn’t much new listed at NetGalley and Edelweiss.

We all have our temptations. It could be booze, it could be drugs. For me, it’s books. These were all ebooks. I want to read them all, not necessarily own them all.

For Review:
Breakaway Hearts (Kelly Brothers #2) by Crista McHugh
Four Friends by Robyn Carr
Heart of Stone (Gargoyles #1) by Christine Warren
Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr
Steal Me, Cowboy (Copper Mountain Rodeo) by Kim Boykin

Borrowed from the Library:
Dark Matter: Reading the Bones edited by Sheree R. Thomas
Futureland by Walter Mosley
If Kennedy Lived by Jeff Greenfield

Q&A with Linda Lael Miller + Giveaway

Posted on January 3, 2014January 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Author Q&A> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

My very first guest of 2014 is Linda Lael Miller, and she’s here with her final book in her lovely Parable Montana series, a series that made me fall in love with western romances! If you want to meet the people in this marvelous town, start with Big Sky Country and finish with today’s book, Big Sky Secrets, reviewed here. Linda is also giving away a print copy of Big Sky Secrets (U.S. only); to enter, please use the Rafflecopter at the end of the post.

Q: Do you write every day? Do you have a writing routine?

A: Yes, mostly. I write five days a week, from about 9 am., stopping at 1 or 2 pm because by then my brain starts turning to jelly. I am definitely a morning person. Sometimes, when a deadline is pressing hard, I’ll put in longer hours and work weekends, but mostly I avoid that. I need time to refill the well by reading, doing art, puttering in the yard and playing with the pets.

Q: If you could go back 15 or 20 years ago and give yourself one piece of writerly advice, what would it be?

A: I LOVE this question—I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this one before. I’d tell myself to chill out, relax, and not take myself so seriously, to go with the flow and to avoid comparing myself to other writers at all costs.

Q: Big Sky Secrets has a fair share of family drama and a lot of family secrets and family history comes to light throughout the course of the book. Did you set out to write a book like this or did Ria and Landry’s stories just kind of come together?

A: I always start with a few characters and a situation. I have a general idea how the story will play out as I begin, but my stories tend to evolve, often surprising me with the direction they take. As I’d become acquainted with both Landry and Ria in “Big Sky Wedding”, I had a pretty good idea what they’d do in any given circumstance.

Q: Big Sky Secrets is the last of the Big Sky novels. Why did you save Ria and Landry for last?

A: It just turned out that way. Each of the Big Sky books grew from the one preceeding it–in essence, what we have here is one long story. I love to create a community, people it with interesting characters, and just let things unfold as I write along.

Q: There are some great teenage characters in Big Sky Secrets. How did you get into the teen mindset to write Quinn and Nash?

A: It’s been a long time since I was a teenager myself, and since I raised one, but I guess I still have an affinity for them. They’re not children and not adults, either, and that presents them with specific challenges to meet and overcome. Good stories are all about overcoming challenges, methinks.

Q: Quinn’s stray dog Bones is as loveable as any fictional dog ever. You are known for your love of animals and working them into your books. Was there a particular dog that inspired Bones?

A: I love ALL dogs (plus cats, horses and every other kind of creature), especially those in need of a loving home. When I write about animals, I’m hoping, deep down, that folks will be reminded to be kind to them–not that the vast majority of my readers need a reminder, because they love God’s creatures as much as I do. Still, it’s a good thing to keep in mind–there’s no such thing as too much compassion.

Q: Readers and reviewers have loved the Big Sky books and we know a lot of them will be sad to see the series come to an end. What’s next that we can be looking forward to?

A: I’ve already started a whole new “Marriage” series, set in a fictional Wyoming town called Mustang Creek in the present day–a town that happens to resemble Jackson Hole. I recently traveled there to get my bearings, so to speak, and see what my characters will see. The first book is called “The Marriage Pact”, and includes a sexy cowboy hero, Tripp Galloway, a smart, feisty heroine, Hadleigh Stevens, and at least two adopted dogs–Ridley and Muggles. There’s no telling, though, what other four-leggers might turn up as the story goes on–like human characters, they tend to show up out of nowhere and demand to be part of it all.

About Linda Lael MillerThe daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda hit a career high in 2011 when all three of her Creed Cowboys books—A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor and The Creed Legacy—debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.Linda has come a long way since leaving Washington to experience the world. “But growing up in that time and place has served me well,” she allows. “And I’m happy to be back home.” Dedicated to helping others, Linda personally finances her “Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women,” which she awards to those seeking to improve their lot in life through education.More information about Linda and her novels is available at her website. She also loves to hear from readers by mail at P.O. Box 19461, Spokane, WA 99219.

GIVEAWAY

Linda is giving away one copy of Big Sky Secrets to a lucky winner! (U.S. only). To enter, please use the Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller

Posted on January 3, 2014January 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Genre: contemporary romance, western romance
Series: Parable, Montana #6
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Date Released: December 31, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Self-made tycoon Landry Sutton heads to Hangman Bend’s Ranch to sell his land to his brother Zane. Though he’s got cowboy in his blood, Landry plans to return to city life before the dust even settles on his boots. Of course, he didn’t count on falling for Big Sky Country…or Ria Manning.

Ria’s starting to settle into country life herself…until she has a close encounter of the terrifying kind with a buffalo. Turns out the peeping monster belongs to the cowboy next door—and he has her running even more scared than his bison. She wants a home where the buffalo don’t roam, and the men don’t either. Could Landry’s homecoming be her heart’s undoing?

My Review:

Big Sky Secrets is the last book in Miller’s Parable Montana series. I’m both sorry to see it end and looking forward to her next series, The Brides of Bliss County, starting in May 2014.

Of course, I’m also looking forward to May, but that’s an entirely different thing.

I’m going to miss catching up with the citizens of Parable. Not just because I’ve enjoyed the vicarious thrill of reading about every single one of their romances, but also because it seems like a really nice place and they seem like terrific people. It’s been great to find out how everyone is doing in each new book. It’s sad to let them go.

But the last two books, Big Sky Wedding and Big Sky Secrets, haven’t felt quite as, well, big as the first four books, so maybe it’s time for me to meet a new set of friends.

Not that these last two stories haven’t still been worth reading. They most certainly have. Check out my review of Big Sky Wedding if you don’t believe me.

Big Sky Secrets picks up where Big Sky Wedding left off, only it’s Landry Sutton this time instead of Zane Sutton. Still, the Suttons are relative newcomers to the Parable/Three Trees community, even though Zane has married Brylee Parrish, one of the main characters from the beginning of the series.

Landry originally came to Parable to convince his brother that the whole idea of settling down in the middle of nowhere Montana was a crazy idea, and ended up staying himself. It turned out that the “big sky country” was where they both belonged, after lives that had been rootless.

It was also the place that Ria Manning had come to call home, after her fireman husband died in the line of duty.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for both Landry and Ria, his ranch and her flower farm were on neighboring acreage. If fences make good neighbors, their relationship needed a bit of work. His buffalo herd, all two of them, loved Ria’s flowers–to eat.

After a year of repeated invasions, Ria had not lost her dislike of Landry. But Landry finally decided that it was time to force the issue, because he figured out what Ria’s issues with him were really all about (besides the obvious ones about the buffalo eating her crops!)

She was just as interested in him as he was in her, but she didn’t want to admit it. Or maybe she just wasn’t ready to admit that she’d moved on after her husband’s death. But Landry was determined to find out.

Whether Ria was ready to be found out or not.

Escape Rating B: Like many of the stories in the Parable Montana series, Big Sky Secrets swirls around the sweet and slow building romance between Ria Manning and Landry Sutton. Although the tension between them is palpable from their very first buffalo-facilitated encounter (in fact, it started in Big Sky Wedding) their romance generally simmers through most of the story.

While the reader waits for that pot to come to the boil, one is very happily entertained by a story about the bonds of family; how they sometimes tie, and sometimes strangle.

Ria’s tense relationship with her half-sister Meredith gets further stressed when her 17-year-old niece Quinn hitchhikes her way to Parable in a show of much-needed defiance against Meredith’s attempt to pack her out of the way while a federal investigation descends upon her formerly pristine life.

Quinn belongs in Parable, but the teenage invasion makes Ria realize how empty her solitary life has been.

Landry’s life is invaded by his drifter father, with his hand out for another “loan” that will never be repaid. But Jess Sutton delivers some home truths that make Landry rethink his strained relationship with his brother Zane.

Both Ria and Landry need to resolve the way they feel about their families, before they can be ready for each other. And once they’re ready, wow!

***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.

A Baker’s Dozen of the Best Books of 2013

Posted on December 30, 2013December 31, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> best book lists> Draconismoi

As 2013 draws to a close, it’s time to take a look back and attempt to decide which books were the best of the year.

OK, so this list is the best of my year. Why not? Everyone else is doing it!

But seriously, it’s both a surprise and a delight to look back and see which books got one of the rare A+ ratings. Or even just an A. (Along with the discovery that I need to do a better job of tagging to make them easier to find.)

There aren’t a lot of romances on this list. Not because I didn’t read some good ones this year, but because, well “reasons” as Cass says. Mostly because I do a separate list of the Best Ebook Romances for Library Journal every year, and also recap that list here at Reading Reality. So romance gets pretty much covered.

And speaking of Cass, she contributed her trademark snark to this list. Along with a dose of draconic awesomesauce.

These are the books that stuck with me this year. Sometimes to the point where I was still telling people about them months later, or where I am haunting NetGalley, Edelweiss or the author’s website looking for news of the next book in the series or their next book, period.

Cass’s thoughts on her faves are very definitely hers. And her picks probably won’t surprise anyone who has seen her dragon shoes. (Note from Cass: Do you want to see my dragon shoes?! They are amazing!)

Whatever your choices were for this or any other year, I hope you enjoyed every single page of them!

Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman (A+ Review). This is a case where life parallels art in a manner that is fitting and poignant. In the story, Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernie Manuelito picks up the case after retired “Legendary Lieutenant” Joe Leaphorn is gunned down in front of her outside a local diner. In real life, Anne Hillerman picks up the case of continuing her father Tony Hillerman’s mystery series by changing protagonists, using a female officer sandwiched between conflicting roles to solve the mystery of who shot the man she loves as an honorary father.

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (A+ Review) This was simply stunning, and there’s no other word to describe it. The light gets in through our broken places, and that’s what this 9th book in Penny’s Inspector Gamache series explores, the broken places in every single character involved. These are mysteries, but Gamache is not a detective who solves crimes by examing forensics; he solves crimes by studying people.

Imager’s Battalion (A Review) and Antiagon Fire (A Review) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. One of the things that I have loved about Modesitt’s Imager Portfolio has been his main characters. Both in the original trilogy (Imager, Imager’s Challenge and Imager’s Intrigue) and in this second series, we have a fantasy hero who is a grown up but still has to face the coming-into-his-power scenario. The women in the series are strong and resourceful in their own right, and the political challenges and machinations are never-ending but still make sense. I just plain like these people and can never wait to read more of their adventures. His protagonists make things happen without needing to be king or princeling. Fantastic.

Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre (A Review) I just swallowed this one whole and came out the other side begging for more (which is coming, see tomorrow’s post). Bronze Gods is a masterful blend of steampunk, urban fantasy, mystery and police procedural, tied together with some truly awesome worldbuilding and the fantastic partnership of two characters who need each other to remain whole. This one blew me away.

Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest (A Review) If Bronze Gods is steampunk as urban fantasy, then Fiddlehead is steampunk as epic. Fiddlehead is the culmination of Priest’s long-running Clockwork Century alternate history steampunk epic, and it’s a doozy. She started with poisonous gas knocking Seattle back to the stone age in Boneshaker, and rippling that event into an endless U.S. Civil War. With a reason for zombies to be part of the mix. Fiddlehead brings it all to roaring conclusion, and almost aligns history back to the world as we know it. Epic alternate history.

The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes (A Review) This one blew me away. Library Journal sends me books to review, and it’s hit or miss. This was one that absolutely surprised and delighted me. It is epic fantasy, and the world is not just complex, but the reader starts in the middle. There’s no gentle introduction. You feel that this place is ancient and has eons of history, as do all of the characters. It’s immersive and amazing. If you like your fantasy on the complicated side, with lots of betrayals, The Garden of Stones is a treat.

Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen (A Review) These are not the kind of monsters I usually read about, and this was not the kind of review I usually write. But the 1985 Bears were my team, and I’ve never been able to explain why that year was so damn much fun to anyone else. This book does it. And at the same time, I can’t watch a game now without thinking about this book, and what it has to say about CTE and the high cost of playing the game we all loved to watch.

The Story Guy by Mary Ann Rivers (A Review) This is the one carryover from the Best Ebook Romances list, because it was so good that I couldn’t leave it out. The Story Guy was Mary Ann Rivers debut story, and it was an absolute winner. What makes it so good is that the issues that have to be overcome in this story are real; there are no billionaires or fantastically gorgeous Hollywood types in this tale, just an accountant and a librarian (go us!) who have real-world roadblocks to get past to reach a happy ending, if they can.

The Grove by Jean Johnson (A Review) This one is in Jean’s fantasy romance series, the Guardians of Destiny. And that series is a loose followup to her Sons of Destiny series. I’ve read both, and they are just tremendously fun. The fantasy worldbuilding is terrific, the romance is hot, and her heroines and heroes are always equal. No alpha-holes and no doormats need apply. (Her military science fiction series, Theirs Not to Reason Why, is also marvelous!)

The Human Division by John Scalzi (A- Review) Last but absolutely not least, John Scalzi’s return to his Old Man’s War series. Old Man’s War is one of my favorite books ever, and I pretty much shove it at anyone who even hints that they like SF and haven’t read it. So anything new in the OMW universe is automatically worth a read for me. The Human Division took the story in the new directions that followed from the end of The Last Colony, but left LOTS of unanswered questions. There was quite a bit of Scalzi’s trademark humor, but this is not intended as a funny book like Redshirts. I think this story is going to go to some dark places before it ends. But it’s awesome.

Honorable Mention: Clean by Alex Hughes (A+ Review) I adored this urban fantasy set in a post-tech wars dystopian future. Her flawed hero reminded me so much of the version of Sherlock Holmes in Elementary, but her messed-up Atlanta looked like a bad version of a place we could all too easily get to from here. The ONLY reason it didn’t make the “Best of 2013” list is that I’m late to the party. Clean was published in 2012.

Contributions from Cass:

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (5 Star Review) because it was THE LITERARY EMBODIMENT OF DRACONIC PERFECTION. There is no more amazing depiction of dragons out there. It easily soared above my previous Dragon Favorites, and utterly crushed the Dragon Posers people are always trying to torment me with.

UPDATE FROM CASS: I invented a new rating scale for this one. I did not give it a mere 5/5 stars – but rather 15 stars. Nothing Marlene read this year hit that level of awesome. Come back sometime in February (March?) and see my feelings on the sequel.

The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination edited by John Joseph Adams (4 Star Review). Though I was a wee bit nervous when, at the WorldCon Mad Science Panel, certain contributors had some suspiciously specific ideas about how to rain mayhem and destruction down onto the audience. (Someone give Seanan a Hugo just to distract her from setting off an international incident. Please?)

Parasite by Mira Grant (4.5 Star Review) Parasites freak me right the fuck out. There is nothing more horrifying to me than a society where MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS tell everyone to ingest a goddamn tapeworm as a cure-all. Could I see the sheep doing it? Yes. Which only amps the terror up.

So that’s our list for 2013. What’s on your list?

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-29-13

Posted on December 29, 2013December 28, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | best book lists> Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

Last weekend was a little too wild. When the movers left Saturday night, we were in the middle of an absolute sea of boxes. I think I was completely shell-shocked last Sunday. I’m so thankful that Cass stepped in and took over the beginning of the week.

Cass also contributed to Monday’s upcoming Best of 2013 and Tuesday’s Most Anticipated of 2014 lists. She gave just the reason I was begging for to have 13 books in the 2013 list and 14 books in the 2014 list. Now that’s what friends are for–an excuse to overindulge when you really, really need one.

I also posted my Best Ebook Romances of 2013 list on Friday to recap the annual article from Library Journal.

Recapping the year is always fun. It’s great to take a look back at the books that were so awesome. But then, there are always the ones that got away. And there are so many bright shiny new ones coming soon!