Tag: paranormal

Heart of Perdition

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

Heart of Perdition by Selah March is a short, chilling gothic story. And I do mean chilling. The ending was very eerie, and I got the shivers. Not from cold, but from the creepy-crawlies. In a good way.

Heart of Perdition takes place in a steampunk-style world, but the story isn’t steampunk, and that doesn’t matter. Steampunk can be a setting, just as an alien planet or near-future apocalypse can be a setting, while the story is another genre entirely. That’s how we sometimes get genre-benders like futuristic romance or historical mysteries.

So the steampunk setting of Perdition allows the use of airships and clockwork servants, but doesn’t drive the story. What drives the story is an ancient evil creature named Xaphan, and a terrible curse embodied by one lonely young woman.

Elspeth Shaw lives alone on the Greek island of St. Kilda. It’s a very bleak island, and it’s better that way. Elspeth suffers from a terrible curse. Every living creature who becomes emotionally attached to her, dies. Every creature, not just humans. Elspeth can’t even have a pet without watching it die horribly of her curse.

Elspeth only allows herself one human servant, a housekeeper whom she pays well and treats just barely tolerably, guaranteeing that the woman never forms any attachment to her. It’s her only way of keeping the woman alive. All of her other servants are automata.

Poor Elspeth’s own feelings don’t enter into the curse, she can love anyone she likes. Or not. What matters what they feel about her.

The curse is the result of an evil bargain her father made the night she was born. Her father tried to cheat death. To do so, he stole a powerful artifact that had been safeguarded by a church. That artifact controlled an evil spirit named Xaphan. The bargain her father made was that the curse would be visited on his first-born child. Elspeth’s father assumed his first-born would be a son. He was an egotistical scientist in the Victorian era, he was like that. Instead, his firstborn was Elspeth.

Her father was not killed by the curse because he never loved her. He lived a normal life-span.

But as he died, an old bitter man, he decided upon one last act of horror. Dr. Shaw died in the house of James Weston, Earl of Falmouth. Weston was a young man dying of congenital heart disease. Contemporary physicians could recognize it, but not cure it.

With his dying breath, Dr. Shaw directed Weston to go to Elspeth, and to release Xaphan. Knowing the evil would grant the dying young man his wish of restored life, at the cost of releasing that terrible evil back into the world.

The inevitable result is tragic and horrible and incredibly chilling.

Escape Rating B+: I recommend Heart of Perdition if you like your romances with a side of eerie. You will gobble this story right up–but don’t gobble this one up alone in the dark with your ereader. The ending haunts.

Wrong Side of Hell

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> book reviews

Wrong Side of Hell by Juliana Stone is a teaser novella for her new League of Guardians series. If you are one of the readers who is duly teased by this link between Stone’s Jaguar Warrior series and this one, don’t worry, you won’t have a long wait. The first League book, Wicked Road to Hell, will be released on April 24.

I was definitely teased. This was a terrific introduction to a new series!

Logan Winters is one of the baddest of all “bad boys”. He’s a hellhound. His job on Earth is to pick up souls marked for damnation, and escort them to their proper place in Hell. If Logan is sent to get you, you’ve earned yourself a spot in District 3. This means you were a very, very wicked person during your life.

Nothing about contract signing or selling yourself to the Devil. That’s not Logan’s end of the business. He handles pickup and delivery. If there is someone handling “sales”, we don’t see that part of the process. And this doesn’t seem like that kind of worldbuilding.

The person we do see is Askelon, except he’d rather be called “Bill”. He cloaks himself in glamour to appear as a short, round middle-aged man, but “Bill” is really one of the most powerful beings in any of the dimensions. And “Bill” bats for the opposite team from Logan’s. I don’t mean sexually, I mean metaphysically.

Logan is a hellhound. Askelon is a being of the heavenly dimension. And one pretty high in the hierarchy at that. Seraphim generally are.

Askelon blackmails Logan into doing him a very, very big favor. Which doesn’t sound all that angelic. He demands that Logan go into purgatory and rescue the soul of a young woman that Logan already returned once from death.

The first time Logan rescued Kira Dove, he spent millenia in The Pit for his crime. (Time passes differently in the infernal dimensions). And he did it because Askelon blackmailed him then, too. Also because the Seraphim convinced him it was the right thing to do.

The same thing is happening again. Neither heaven nor hell should be interfering in one human’s life this much. The Seraphim is convinced that too many fates depend on this one young woman’s survival, and not just human fates either.

Logan tries to convince himself that none of that matters to him. He owes the Seraphim, so he’ll take care of what he has to. But he still remembers that girl, after all those centuries in The Pit.

The difference is, Kira Dove is a woman now. When Logan Winters saved her the first time, she believed in him. She continued to believe in him, and everything she saw when she died that first time and Logan brought her back.

Even though everyone said she was crazy. And committed her for it. Experimented on her. Abused her. She still believed in what she saw, who she saw.

Kira Dove was dead again, but all she knew for certain was that everything she remembered was true. And Logan came to rescue her. Again. But this time, she could fight beside him.

But would he let her?

Escape Rating B+: As an introduction to a new series, this story really whetted my appetite for the first full-length novel. This particular story, although it seems like it resolved to an HEA, also feels like it sets up the series as a whole. I think there are a lot of trials and tribulations ahead for Kira and Logan, even as the focus of the series moves to other members of the League.

Kira reminds me a little of Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, at the beginning when Sarah is in the State Hospital. She has that vibe of “I know I’m not crazy and I have to keep myself strong for the day I’ll need to fight my way out”, but with a hint of vulnerability that Sarah didn’t have or need.

This is intended as a bridge story between Stone’s Jaguar Shifters series and this new series, as Logan appeared as a side-character in the earlier series. But if there are details that I missed, they didn’t hamper my overall enjoyment of the story.

 

What’s on my (mostly virtual) nightstand? 3-4-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Virtual Nightstand

I heard something on NPR today about a computer algorithm that can reasonably identify anonymous authors by their choices of words and phrases. Then I thought about how many times I used the phrase “on the one hand…”

On the one hand, March 7-11 is the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference. I have to wonder how many book bloggers are going to be too wrapped up in the conference to post! I’ve heard it’s absolutely awesome and I’m really looking forward to it.

On the other hand, I signed up for NaBloPoMo again over at BlogHer. So I’ve committed to posting something every day again in March. The prompt this month is “Whether”. For the days of the BBPOC, that would be whether or not I spend my whole day glued to the conference I still have to post something. I’m planning to queue up some reviews.

Speaking of queuing up reviews, I’m going to say this now because I absolutely cannot believe it. I read everything from last week’s Nightstand. Well, not quite everything. I’m in the middle of Nicci French’s Blue Monday right now. But this is the closest I’ve ever come to finishing all the books on the stand, ever.

Of course, that doesn’t account for all the previous nightstands, but we have to take our little victories where we can find them. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Let’s talk about next week’s pristine, new nightstand. So empty, so bright and shiny and waiting to be filled.

There is a treat on it. One of my most fun author discoveries was Cindy Spencer Pape. I absolutely adored both her steampunk series Steam and Sorcery and her urban fantasy Urban Arcana series. I’ve been waiting for the next book in her Urban Arcana series and Motor City Mage is finally here. If it is anything like her previous books, this is going to be a “read in one gulp” book. Yummy.

I picked Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby by the title. I’m a geek girl, and this story of a jewel thief chasing the nerd girl tickled me for it’s concept. The recent trend in romances has been for the nerd to be the guy. But when the description mentioned espionage, I got a whiff of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I loved that show. I’m a sucker for stories that use that trope.

Katee Robert’s science fiction romance Queen of Swords has been perplexing me just a bit. Goodreads lists it as book 2 of her new Sanctify series, with The High Priestess, the prequel novella as book 1. The only problem for this compulsive completist is that The High Priestess doesn’t seem to be available anywhere. ARGH!

As a complete change of pace, I have The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose. It’s subtitled a novel of suspense, but it sounds like a historic thriller to me. Or, at least I hope so. The read-alike listed in Amazon, at least for me, is C.S. Harris’ When Maidens Mourn, due out March 6. I love the C.S. Harris St. Cyr series and have the book pre-ordered. If Lost Fragances is anything like St. Cyr, I’ll be enthralled. The proof will be in the reading.

My last and final book this week is The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe. This is another historical, but this author isn’t new to me. Katherine Howe also wrote The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, a debut novel about the Salem Witches that was absolutely compelling. Her new novel looks equally compelling, but concerns a young woman who loses herself after her closest family dies in the Titanic disaster. I received a print galley for review through Book Browse First Impressions in return for an honest review.

My poor Nightstand is full again. C’est la vie. And there are supposed to be lovely ebook giveaways from the BBPOC, too. So many books, so little time.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Ebook Review Central. It’s time for the four-in-one ERC with Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books and Riptide Publishing. Tune in to see who the featured titles are!

 

What’s on my (mostly virtual) nightstand? 2-26-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Virtual Nightstand

In the cool beans category, I found a neat new organizational tool, Better Google Tasks, from Bit51. I’ve been tracking the books I’m supposed to read, along with all my other stuff, in Google Tasks. Google Tasks works, but feature-rich, it ain’t. Better Google Tasks has one feature I’ve been dying for. It let’s me move stuff down the list (to a later date) without having to open every entry. For when my calendar, ahem, slips.

Moving right along…

Is anyone else having a difficult time grasping the concept that March begins next week. On the one hand, this is a Leap Year, so there are 29 days in February. And on the other hand, another month bites the dust. March 1 is Thursday. Time keeps on slipping into the future.

March 1st brings new books to be reviewed.

The first book is, fittingly enough, the first in a new series by Nicci French. The title is Blue Monday, and this is a murder mystery thriller. I requested it from NetGalley because I wanted to get some more mysteries, and when I didn’t get it, I also requested it from Edelweiss. Of course, I eventually received permission from both places!

There was a title from the Carina Press catalog that grabbed my attention for early next week. I’ve been on a steampunk kick, and Heart of Perdition by Selah March definitely falls into that category. A love story about a cursed woman and a man doomed to die with the end of the century sounds like not only steampunk, but also a “three-hankie special” unless the author pulls a happy ending out of her hat along with her hatpin.

My paranormal tastebuds will be indulged by a foray into Juliana Stone’s new series, The League of Guardians. The teaser novella, Wrong Side of Hell, is on my list for March 5 from NetGalley. And yes, the novel it is a teaser for, Wicked Road to Hell, was also available from NetGalley, and it’s on my list for a little later (if I can resist temptation after I read the prequel).

Last up, my curiosity is being sated. I have a copy of one of Samhain’s new/old Retro Romances to review for Library Journal. Donovan’s Bed by Debra Mullins is part of their Retro Historical line, and I fully admit I’ve been terribly curious to see how these Retro titles hold up. I’ve read a few reviews at Get Yer Bodices Ripped Here, and their reviews are side-splittingly funny. The older the book, the more hilarious the review. I know the intent of the Retro line is to re-publish romances from an era when the sex was toned down a bit. The problem is that attitudes about a lot of other things have changed since then. This is going to be really interesting, but maybe for the book, and maybe not.

Looking back at last week’s list, I didn’t do so bad. Well, for certain select definitions of bad.  50/50. Reviews for Synthetic Dreams and A Rogue by Any Other Name are both queued up and ready to run this week. I’m about 2/3rds of the way through Arctic Dreams, so I’m well past the point of no return. I really need to find out how it’s going to end.

I sent my editor my first review for the print Library Journal. But because of the very long lead time, my review of Dark Magic by James Swain won’t appear here for months. I will say that I really, really liked the book. A lot. As in I finished it all in one sitting. If you like dark fantasy, it’s well worth putting in your TBR list.

I also finished Humanotica: Silver for Book Lovers Inc. I’m struggling with writing it up. I swallowed the book whole, it was a fascinating world. But some things in the characters and the world bothered me, and it’s making the writing difficult. This is a case where the BLI format of “My Thoughts” may work better than the usual review.

And oh yes did I ever read Celebrity in Death. Not quite New York to Dallas, but yes, yes, yes. This may tell you how much I liked Dark Magic. I was in the middle of Dark Magic at midnight when Celebrity in Death came out, and I couldn’t put the book down to get Celebrity in Death. I had to finish Dark Magic first.

I’ve probably teased you enough about a book that won’t be out until May.

Remember, Ebook Review Central tomorrow with Samhain!

 

Merrick’s Destiny

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Merrick’s Destiny (exclusively available at All Romance Ebooks) by Moira Rogers is book 1.5 in her Bloodhounds series. It’s a very short and extremely steamy story that takes place between Wilder’s Mate and Hunter’s Prey. It stands alone well enough to serve as an introduction to this series, but it works even better if you’ve already read Wilder’s Mate!

Merrick Wood returns to consciousness in either the best of all possible worlds, or the worst. There’s a pretty woman straddling him, and he knows she’s his mate. On the other hand, there’s a crashed airship on fire about a hundred yards away.

That blazing inferno will act like a beacon to vampires for miles around. And there are plenty of vamps, since the ship crashed in the middle of the Deadlands. Merrick just has to get himself and his mate to safety before the new moon compulsion drives him out of his mind for three days.

Of course, if the lady is willing, it could be a very enjoyable three days–if the vampires don’t find them first.

Paralee Colton is an airship pilot. She’s always loved her freedom more than anything else in the world. Merrick just might make her rethink a few things if he can convince her that he wants her for herself, and not just a convenient female to spend his moon madness with.

Merrick needs to remember how or when or why she became his mate. Then he needs to convince her that she’s his destiny.

Escape Rating A-: This is a very fun, hot, short read. That being said, for a short story, it really does wrap up all the loose ends. One of the things that usually drives me crazy about short stories is that either the loose ends aren’t all tied up, or that I don’t find out enough backstory to understand how things got the way they are. Rogers ties everything up very well, and because this is book 1.5 in the series, it builds on some material established in Wilder’s Mate.

I picked Merrick’s Destiny initially because the cover absolutely floored me. The model, whoever it is, is dead-ringer for Jonathan Frakes from his days as Commander Riker in Star Trek Next Gen. The picture at the right is from the movie Generations, and the Enterprise-D is about to crash into a planet. But the resemblance to Merrick is startling to say the least.

Wilder’s Mate

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Wilder’s Mate by Moira Rogers turned out to be the perfect story for reading on a chilly winter’s night. Not only is this first entry in Rogers’ Bloodhound series a terrific blend of romance, steampunk, and steamy sex, but the hero is even described as having a higher than normal body temperature!

But the story of Wilder’s Mate starts with the “mate” in question. Her name is Satira, and she’s the apprentice to a Guild inventor named Nathaniel. The only problem is that Nathaniel’s just been kidnapped. Satira wants to assist whichever Bloodhound the Guild sends to recover him. One tiny detail: she’s trapped in the elevator.

Nathaniel’s inventions, including the steam-powered elevator that was currently vexing Satira, were the reason he was kidnapped by the vampires inexorably taking control of the very wild West in this steampunk version of the post-Civil War United States.

The vampires represent the lawless, and the Guild represents the law. In order to combat the powerful vamps the Guild has created a weapon of their own, creatures known as Bloodhounds. The Hounds used to be mere men, but alchemy has transformed them into powerful beings that can hunt and kill vampires with terrible speed, as well as claws and fangs. Bloodhounds are werewolves, the traditional enemy of the vampire.

These Hounds have a weakness. Not the traditional one. They don’t change into wolves at the full moon. They change into wolves at will. But at the new moon, they must have sex. A lot of it. For three days and nights. The Guild pays a network of brothels to be available for the Bloodhounds, and they pay well for the service.

The Bloodhounds also have a secret. Like wolves, they mate for life. If a Hound finds his mate, he has to protect her at all costs. If she dies, he follows within months. The alchemy that created the Hounds was not intended to pull this particular rabbit out of its hat, but there is no denying the fact that it has. The Guild doesn’t want the Hounds to find their mates, but when it happens, there’s nothing they can do.

Satira knows a lot about Hounds. Her mother lived with an old Bloodhound named Levi for about a dozen years. Levi helped to raise Satira, and Levi found her the place with Nathaniel before he died. Satira never knew that her mother was Levi’s mate. Her mother probably didn’t know either. But when her mother died, so did Levi.

Satira also enjoys the heat, the adventure, the roughness of sex with a Hound. She just doesn’t understand why none of the Hounds who have ever shared her bed have never come back. She thinks there’s something wrong with her.

But the Hound who pulls her out of that busted elevator knows exactly why none of those other Hounds have ever stayed, because it’s taking every ounce of restraint he has not to take her the moment he sees her. And Wilder Harding isn’t ready to do that until Satira understands exactly what’s at stake for both of them.

Because Satira is his mate.

Escape Rating A-: Wilder’s Mate is one of those stories where you just buckle up and hang on for the ride. This was an absolute blast from beginning to end. The story is very, very steamy, but there is a story and there is a romance and a happily-ever-after.

The story elements reminded me of several bits I’ve read before, but since those were all things I’ve liked, I didn’t mind. Satira’s situation is similar to Jaines Cord in Shona Husk’s Dark Vow, the woman apprentice to a steampunk-type gunsmith because women aren’t allowed to be master gunsmiths. The Bloodhounds mating-for-life compulsion being an unexpected side-effect of their change has some eerie similarities to the Breeds in Lora Leigh’s series. But it definitely works in both series!

For a short book, Wilder’s Mate wrapped all its loose ends very nicely. Great story and fantastic beginning to a series. I’m definitely looking forward to more!

Ebook Review Central, Carina Press, January 2012

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

It’s a new year at Ebook Review Central. This issue covers the January 2012 titles from Carina Press. And what titles they were!

There’s an old phrase that goes “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Undoubtedly, that’s just as true for women. I see the application of it every week when I run down the reviews for the new titles. The same book (this week it’s Stephanie Julian’s Sex, Lies and Surveillance) can be rated 5 out of 5 by one reviewer, and the ever-frustrating DNF (Did Not Finish) from another.

I do think that the “Wallbanger” review is going to slowly disappear from the reviewing lexicon. No matter how much I detest a book, I can’t afford to throw my iPad against the wall in frustration.

The three featured titles this week are all different. We have one urban fantasy, one science fiction romance, and one contemporary romance. The one thing they do have in common is that all three titles are part of series, so readers either knew what to expect, or are looking for more from these worlds or relationships in the future.

First up, Zoe Archer’s Chain Reaction. Ms. Archer is not only an established author in print, but Chain Reaction is the sequel to Collision Course, published by Carina Press in April 2011. Chain Reaction is science fiction romance, taking place in a space opera universe where a plucky rebel alliance of elite pilots and engineers is fighting against an evil empire. In this entry to the series. the warrior-pilot is the female of the duo and the nerd-engineer is the male, which makes the romance even more interesting. She’s the alpha and he’s the beta in this equation.

The urban fantasy featured entry is Don’t Bite the Messenger by Regan Summers. The messenger of the title refers to Ms. Sydney Kildare, one of the highly-paid and generally short-lived crew of human messengers who try to survive long enough as couriers for the vampires who have taken over Anchorage Alaska. Vampires are an economic boom, but they wreck havoc with electricity, among other things. And they usually try to enslave any humans who get near them. Sydney just so happens to be immune. When Sydney suddenly becomes a target, one man tries to save her. Too bad he’s not what he appears to be. Don’t Bite the Messenger looks like the start of an excellent urban fantasy series. Vampires go to the Southern hemisphere for the summer. More stories waiting.

The final featured story set a new record for the number of reviews for a single title. On January 1, 2012 Carina Press re-issued Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey, in both print and ebook. Exclusively Yours is the first book in Ms. Stacey’s Kowalskis series, and was originally published during Carina Press’ launch in 2010. Between the reviews from the initial publication, and the interest generated by this relaunch, there were 34 reviews for this contemporary romance!

That much talk deserves some attention. But it’s more than that. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive–the equivalent of a B- grade or higher. Generally the reviews a lot higher. People didn’t just read this book, they liked this book. They liked it a lot! If you enjoy contemporary romance, and you haven’t read Shannon Stacey, take a look at some of these reviews, and then find yourself a copy of Exclusively Yours.

Dreamspinner Press is up next week with their January 2012 books. See you then!

 

 

 

Ebook Review Central, Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books, Riptide Publishing, December 2011

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Ebook Review Central> ebooks

This edition of Ebook Review Central is the last time ERC will look back at December 2011. Or look at 2011 at all. But one last time to complete the year. This is the time for ERC to see what Amber Quill, Astraea Press, Liquid Silver Books and Riptide Publishing had to say at the close of 2011.

First, Amber Quill did have output across all three of their publishing lines for the first time in Ebook Review Central’s coverage. Until now, it’s been all Amber Allure, their Gay/Lesbian Romance imprint. This month, Amber Heat, their Het erotica line, published two titles (Truth or Dare and The First Noel) and Amber Quill, their general imprint, published one title (Never Moon a Werewolf).

Second, Astraea Press has hired a reviews coordinator, and it shows. Every one of their December titles has at least one review. And this in a month where a lot of people in general were just plain busy with other things. I also noticed that some of the backlist titles picked up reviews. This is really, really great to see. Keep up the good work!

And now, the part you’ve all been waiting for…this week’s featured titles!

The number one pick was definitely Counterpoint by Rachel Haimowitz, published by Riptide Publishing. Counterpoint is the first book in Ms. Haimowitz’s Song of the Fallen series, and is a dark fantasy that takes place at the twilight of the human race. This male/male romance tackles issues of slavery, politics and interspecies prejudice as well as the age-old questions about which love is the highest and greatest: love of family, love of one’s own people or country, or the love of one’s heart.

Dreamer by Ann Mayburn is the ERC second feature for this week. Liquid Silver Books published this story of good versus evil that takes place in an alternate Washington, D.C. Reviewers say that this romance is filled with fantasy and action, and that the characters, especially the heroine, are incredibly sarcastic and funny. This story doesn’t just have evil stalking the children of Washington, D.C., it has Celtic Gods and Goddesses, Temple Warriors and their chosen mates, and more than a little BDSM. This romance is not for those who like their erotic on the vanilla side.

On the other hand, the third featured book is perfect for those looking for a sweet romance with a Happily Ever After and some romantic suspense. From Now Until Forever by Sherry Gloag is about the prince of a pocket European country and the female security chief his parents have entrusted with his safety. When they fall in love and marry, while still keeping their identities secret from each other, their life is idyllic until the prince becomes the target of an assassination attempt and their secrets come between them. The characters are extremely likeable, and the plot works surprisingly well.

2011 has officially ended at Ebook Review Central. We’ll return next week with the Carina Press titles from January 2012. Happy New Year!

 

Stainless

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | book reviews> C Reviews

Stainless by Todd Grimson has the subtitle “A Modern Romance.” I’m not sure I’d call it a romance. I would definitely call it a tale of obsessions. Both obsessive love and obsessive hate played a role in this story. And compulsion. I certainly felt compelled to finish once I’d started.

Human beings have found a surprising number of addictive substances to cure their addictions. Morphine was once thought to cure alcoholism. It was a case where the cure was just as bad as the original disease, since it replaced one addiction for another.

Stainless opens with Keith, a former junkie, describing how he was cured of his heroin addiction. A vampire bit him. Justine needed a human to take care of her house during the day, to drive her around looking for people to bite at night. In other words, Justine needed a Renfield. She picked Keith because he clearly had nothing to lose. Vampire bites are addictive, but it’s a much more functional addiction than heroin, at least if the vampire chooses it to be. It can also, of course, also be fatal.

Keith used to be lead guitar player for a hot rock bank, SMX. But just because the named sounds like “smacks” doesn’t mean he actually used to do smack. The drugs came later, after his girlfriend killed herself and her other boyfriend decided it was Keith’s fault. So he sent his goons over to break Keith’s hands. Without his music, Keith finally did descend into the drugs that everyone thought he’d been doing all along. And that’s where Justine found him. Doped up, strung out, and on the edge of suicide.

She saved him because she needed a pretty “Renfield” who wouldn’t give any more of a damn about life or death than she did. After 400 years as a vampire, Justine was nearly as strung out as Keith. But her survival instinct was a bit stronger. Being an apex predator will do that. And Justine has managed to forget a whole lot more than she remembers of her 400 years of “living.” It makes things easier.

But because Keith doesn’t care whether he lives or dies, he doesn’t pass judgements on Justine’s behavior. Slowly, these two extremely wounded creatures build a shaky bridge towards each other, based on mutual need. They need each other to have a reason to go on living. People have found love in stranger places.

Love makes everyone vulnerable. Even vampires.

And there’s a new vampire in town. Someone from Justine’s past. Who is so, so very good at exploiting vulnerabilities. Human vulnerabilities and vampire vulnerabilities. And he’s been waiting years to strike back at the vamp who made him. His time has come.

Escape Rating C+: I got sucked into this book. Pun both intended and not. The story started out slow, but once it picked up steam, I couldn’t let it go, or it didn’t let me go. The ending was inevitable, but it was the right, true and correct ending. Some stories are like that, there’s just no other way for them to go.

Stainless had to be set in LA, because the Hollywood movie myths played a part in the story. The evil vamp’s history in the shady background of Hollywood was definitely integral to the plot. But I also kept thinking that the whole “live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse” concept served as a kind of meta-background in my head as I read.

As interesting as all the obsessions were, there were just a few too many points of view. Not just the action, but the actual point of view kept switching from Keith to Justine to David (the bad vampire) to different members of his minions, to the doctor who wants to use Justine’s “blood” as a healing agent, and around and around. It was too easy to get lost among the shifting POVs.

And speaking of David…the bad vamp was not just born during the Hollywood of the 1920s, he was over-the-top melodramatic like a Hollywood set from the 1920s. Or at least he was to my tastes. Yours may vary.

For more of my thoughts on Stainless, head on over to Book Lovers Inc.

 

Wrapping up NetGalley January

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | NetGalley> NetGalley Month

NetGalley January is a wrap. Well, the thing is, January is over, and since the little snowman in the picture says it was NetGalley January, there you are. That’s it for the month.

Those of us signed up for the 2012 NetGalley Reading Challenge are just going to have to soldier on, chortling with glee at all the lovely egalleys NetGalley will be sending us through the rest of the year. Every month can be NetGalley Month.

But back to the wrap. And I must use plastic wrap, since everyone needs to be able to see what I read.

Two books came out of my NetGalley TBR pile from September and October:

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to The Black Stiletto, which was fascinating, I also read the start of a very neat new mystery series, The Dharma Detective. I can’t wait for The Second Rule of Ten.

 

 

I also read a couple of Regency Romances from relatively new authors that were both a little different from the usual. It’s always interesting to see authors take the standard tropes and stretch the boundaries just a little bit. Or in the case of A Lady Awakened a “lotta” bit.

I read one YA/Cyberpunk that received a lot of buzz, and from the other posted wrap-ups, it looks like I’m not the only one who read Cinder. This title was highly anticipated. (I was turned down the first time I requested it, so I replied directly to the publisher outlining my specific review qualifications and was okayed on the second go-around).

Banshee Charmer is the start of a great new urban fantasy/paranormal series from a brand-new author. The author is doing a blog tour and the book is getting a lot of very nice attention.

 

 

I liked the first book in the Dark Dynasties series, Dark Awakening,  quite a bit, so when the second book, Midnight Reckoning listed on NetGalley, I grabbed it. Definitely fun for paranormal romance fans.

 

 

And, as always, I rounded out my reading month with titles from Carina Press. The icing on my reading cake: more urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and my science fiction romance fix for the month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I posted thirteen reviews this month on NetGalley. I did finish a fourteenth book from NetGalley, The Devil of Jedburgh by Claire Robyns. But because I reviewed it for Book Lovers Inc., I can’t post the review on my site until after the review on BLI goes live, and that’s scheduled for February 9. I also finished The Night is Mine by M.L. Buchman sometime the night of January 31, but I can’t swear whether it was before or after midnight. I know that night was his, I just didn’t keep track of how much of it! So there you have it. My tally for this NetGalley Month. It’s all good for the 2012 NetGalley Reading Challenge. And it was all good reading!