No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop: May 21st – 27th

Welcome to the No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop sponsored by I Am A Reader Not A Writer.  You are at stop #24   For the full list of participating blogs go here.

As the title of the hop says, this is an easy giveaway to enter. Just leave a valid e-mail address in the form below.  That's it!

We have 3 separate prize packs to give away today.  3 lucky winners will be chosen using Random.org.   Good luck!

Prize Pack #1: ARC The Dark Heroine by Abigail Gibbs & ARC Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Prize Pack #2:  PB The Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney & HC The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Prize Pack #3: PB Forbidden Sister by VC Andrews & Vigilante Nights by Erin Richards

Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin

by:  Justin Cronin
published by:  Dial Press
publish date:  January 2002

Mary and O’Neil frequently marveled at how, of all the lives they might have led, they had somehow found this one together. When they met at the Philadelphia high school where they’d come to teach, each had suffered a profound loss that had not healed. How likely was it that they could learn to trust, much less love, again?

In light of Justin Cronin's success with The Passage trilogy, his first books were re-released.  I was really interested in the audiobook for this one to see how it compared to The Passage despite completely different subject matter.

One of the things that I found intriguing was that even though it's a different book and a different audiobook narrator, it still sounded like Scott Brick reading The Passage at some points.  It was bizarre.  It made the point that Justin Cronin has a distinct voice.

This book was ok.  I didn't find that it was necessarily about Mary and O'Neil, but O'Neil and his sister Kay.  It seemed to be more about O'Neil and his healing process after losing his parents.  His sister Kay helped him through much of the time.

While I found the writing itself intriguing because I could compare it to The Passage, the story didn't necessarily wow me.  It was just so-so for me.  However, others might find it more enjoyable than I, so give it a try and let me know what you thought.

A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee

by:  Jonathan Dee
published by:  Random House
publish date:  March 12, 2013

Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at home—a change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their preteen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Ben’s recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.

There seems to be a rash of books about seemingly normal middle class families doing something crazy.  My favorite was Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman.  This book is another in that category.

 

Ben has a sexual encounter with an intern and loses his job and his wife.  Helen, in order to raise her daughter, gets a job in the city and moves them there, while Ben is serving time in a minimum security prison.  Sara doesn't adjust well to life in the city and gets a boyfriend that isn't the best for her.  While Helen is flourishing in her new career, Sara and Ben are faltering and just want their old lives back.

 

This book was ok.  Not fantastic.  I'm not a big fan of these type books, because they're kind of depressing.  I guess they're popular because middle age people like to read about other middle age people dealing with the same kinds of problems they are: divorce, single parenthood, finding a job in a tough economy, etc.  I can't say it was badly written or anything like that, from that standpoint it was fine.  The subject matter wasn't really my cup of tea.

 

Skull Session by Daniel Hecht

by:  Daniel Hecht
published by:  Bloomsbury USA
publish date:  July 11, 2005

Despite his brilliance, Paul Skoglund hasn’t held a steady job for years, partly because of his Tourette’s syndrome. When his eccentric, wealthy aunt asks him to take on the repairs of her magnificent hunting lodge, he is in no position to refuse. But then he finds that the rambling old house has been savagely vandalized: he discovers a scene of almost superhuman destruction, a violence mirrored by a series of disappearances and grisly deaths haunting the region. Paul delves into the wreckage, wondering what dark passion—and what strength—could cause such chaos. As state police investigator Mo Ford pursues the mystery through official channels, escalating events force Paul deeper into his family’s past and into the darker aspects of his own nature.

Awhile back I talked about Daniel Hecht's book Puppets.  Puppets is the companion book to Skull Session, but Puppets should definitely be read first.

Skull Session is a crazy book.  I was in the middle of my psychology class when I was listening to the audiobook so that made it a little more interesting.  Like Puppets, Skull Session also had a lot of emphasis on psychology and what in the brain makes one violent. 

The ending of this book caught me really off guard.  Of course there was going to be a killer and it was going to be revealed, but I was shocked at who it was.  It made sense and everything, but I really didn't see it coming.  So awesome job for surprising this reader!

Besides Puppets and Skull Session, Daniel Hecht has another series out.  I've been debating getting the audiobooks.  They look pretty interesting, but like I said his books have a heavy emphasis on psychology and medicine so they're not really light reading.  Maybe during a school break I'll get them.

The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma

by:  Kristopher Jansma
published by:  Viking Adult
publish date:  March 21, 2013

From the jazz clubs of Manhattan to the villages of Sri Lanka, Kristopher Jansma’s irresistible narrator will be inspired and haunted by the success of his greatest friend and rival in writing, the eccentric and brilliantly talented Julian McGann, and endlessly enamored with Julian’s enchanting friend, Evelyn, the green-eyed girl who got away. After the trio has a disastrous falling out, desperate to tell the truth in his writing and to figure out who he really is, Jansma’s narrator finds himself caught in a never-ending web of lies.

Know how there are books that you're kinda iffy about but you feel like you have to read them?  This was one of those books for me.  I wasn't super keen on reading it, but I felt like I had to because of all the buzz about it.  

It's a cleverly written book.  The narrator is telling the story of writing the book basically.  He's also telling the story of his friendship and bitter rivalry with another writer, Julian aka Jeffery.  The relationship that they had and they way they both acted made me really happy I wasn't a writer.  The narrator is crazy jealous over the life his friend has and Julien is just crazy period and his fame makes is worse.  I don't know if they became writers because of that, or being writers drew it out of them.

In the end, it was an interesting book.  I listened to the audiobook and it was very well done.  It's short, only 250 pages, but it packs a big story in there.  It's definitely for the contemporary literature lovers out there.  Very intriguing debut novel.

Throwback Thursday: Hide and Seek by Jack Ketchum

 

Author: Jack Ketchum
First published in 1984 by Ballantine Books

Hide and Seek is a book about games. Reckless, dangerous games. Games you might even want to play yourself if you're with the right people. But shouldn't. Not ever. In a small Maine town, a group of thrill seeking college kids finds a game of hide and seek in an abandoned house turning into a reality of stark terror.

Hide and Seek is another random audio pick that became available on my library's Overdrive site.  From the synopsis, I was expecting a really creepy haunted house story.  What I got was something very different. 

I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed by the book.  The kids don't even enter the house until the last third of the book.  I'm not even sure what the point of the first two-thirds of that book were.  The narrator, Dan, talks about how he met the kids he goes into the house with and his weird, rocky relationship with  Casey.  Casey has some very large issues.  I thought that her creepy back story was leading somewhere to affect the happenings in the house, but really, it was just boring background.  The action takes pace over the last chapter and was kind of a let down.

I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone expecting a haunted house story.  You won't get it here.  Keeping that in mind, you may like it.  Give it a shot and see for yourself.  It just wasn't for me.

Blog Tour: Review - Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney

Author: Deborah Raney
Publisher: Howard Books
Date of publication: May 2013

When Mitchell Brannon’s beloved wife of twenty years kisses him goodbye one morning, he has little idea that his life is about to change forever. Mitch returns from work early that evening, surprised Jill’s car isn’t in the garage. But her voice on the answering machine makes him smile. “Hey, babe, I’m just now checking out of the hotel, but I’ll stop and pick up something for dinner. Love you.” Hours later, Jill still hasn’t returned, and Mitch’s irritation turns to dread.

When the police come up empty, Mitch enlists the help of their next-door neighbor, Jill’s best friend, Shelley, to help search. As days turn into weeks and weeks into months, Mitch and Shelley’s friendship grows ever closer––and decidedly more complicated. Every lead seems to be a dead end, and Mitch wonders how he can honor the vows he made to a woman who has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth.

Face of the Earth is a beautifully written and heart-wrenching story that deals with a very scary subject.  Isn't every person's nightmare one where a loved one never comes home?    When Michell's wife fails to return home from a teacher conference, he does everything in his power to find her. I really felt for Mitchell.  I can only imagine the panic and frantic feeling of not knowing what happened. Along the way, he finds out some secrets about Jill that make him start to question his relationship with her.  His heartache and guilt over imagining the worst about her came across so well.  Through his faith and prayer, he is able to find some consolation. The story takes place over a year. While they are waiting for Jill to come home, the routine of life still goes on.  Holidays come and go.  Work and school are still there.

The book also deals with the question of how far do you take your vows that you make to your spouse?  How long are you supposed to wait before you move on? One year? Ten? Can your faith be enough to sustain you until you get the answers that you need so desperately?  Both Mitchell and Shelley struggle with this as they grow closer through their grief over the loss of Jill. I thought the situation was handled very well and realistically. I commended both Mitchel and Shelley for recognizing their weakness toward each other and doing things to make sure they remained just friends. 

After reading the book, I'm not sure that I am any closer to an answer .  I honestly don't know what I would do in this situation. I think it is only something that each person can answer for themselves.  It is definitely a book that makes you do some deep soul searching.   Do they ever find Jill?  I don't want to give that away. I'll just say that I loved the ending.  I felt like I got closure and was happy with the conclusion of my journey with Mitchell and his family. 

About the author:


DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Her books have since won the RITA Award, ACFW Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers' Choice Award, Silver Angel, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. Forever After, second in her new Hanover Falls Novels series just released from Howard/Simon & Schuster. Deb and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy small-town life in Kansas. They are new empty nesters with four children and a growing quiver of grandchildren, all of whom live much too far away.

Website: http://www.deborahraney.com 
Twitter: authordebraney

 

Review: Scowler by Daniel Kraus

Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Delacourte Books for Young Readers (Random House)
Date of publication: March 2013

Imagine your father is a monster. Would that mean there are monsters inside you, too?

Nineteen-year-old Ry Burke, his mother, and little sister scrape by for a living on their dying family farm. Ry wishes for anything to distract him from the grim memories of his father's physical and emotional abuse. Then a meteorite falls from the sky, bringing with it not only a fragment from another world but also the arrival of a ruthless man intent on destroying the entire family. Soon Ry is forced to defend himself by resurrecting a trio of imaginary childhood protectors: kindly Mr. Furrington, wise Jesus, and the bloodthirsty Scowler.

I was looking forward to reading Scowler, but I thought I was going to read something completely different than what I ended up with.   I'm not even sure that I liked this book. Along with being overly written and descriptive, it was extremely disturbing and honestly just plain gross. I'm not really squeamish and horror doesn't normally bother me.  This book did.  

Ry Burke is just plain crazy.  He is definitely a result of his childhood and the events he witnessed.  After reading about what happened to his mother, I almost turned the book off. Talk about gross!  In the end, I wasn't really convinced that, without extensive therapy, Ry would be able to lead a normal life.  

  I really have to question the labeling of this book as appropriate for 14 and up.  There is extreme graphic violence as well as what I would consider adult content. Personally, I would never give this book to a 14 YO.  16 might be pushing the lower limit.  Instead, I think it should have been given the "New Adult" label.   I'm not sure I would really recommend this book.  I remember making a comment to Autumn about needing therapy after finishing the book.  While I was joking, I did need to read something very sweet and normal after to take away the icky feeling I had at the end of the book.

Giveaway, Review, Guest Post: Predatory (anthology) by Duvall, Ivy, Bangs, & Jayne

Today, we welcome author Dianne Duvall. She is promoting her latest novella, "In Still Darkness".  It is included in the anthology, Predatory.  Enjoy her thoughts on Immortal Dating after my thoughts on the book.

Giveaway Details: One winner will receive a signed copy of her choice of one of the first three Immortal Guardians books —DARKNESS DAWNS, NIGHT REIGNS, or PHANTOM SHADOWS — plus Immortal Guardians swag. Just leave a comment with a valid e-mail to enter.  This will close May 19. Good luck!

Authors: Alexandra Ivy, Nina Bangs, Dianne Duvall, Hannah Jayne
Publisher: Kensington
Date of Publication: May 2013

Four of today's most exciting paranormal authors take readers into the thrilling realm of vampires, immortals, and other supernatural beings with a thirst for illicit desire...

Out Of Control by Alexandra Ivy

Ph.D student Angela Locke has a crush on her sexy professor, Dr. Nikolo Bartrev. When she learns he's actually a Sentinel with extraordinary powers, she joins forces with him to catch a psychopath. But soon, their hottest pursuit is of each other...

Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs

Cassie Tyler agrees to sub for her friend at the funeral home where she works. But she gets more than she bargained for when a group of men attack her and a vampire comes to her rescue. . .

In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall

Immortal Richart d'Alençon can't forget the woman who rewarded him with a sensuous kiss after he saved her from a trio of vampires. While Richart knows that loving a human can only bring trouble, the taste of forbidden lust is too great to resist. . .

High Stakes by Hannah Jayne

When vampire fashionista Nina LaShay's design contest rival is found dead, she's the prime suspect. Sexy photographer Pike is number two. He's the kind of man who makes Nina salivate. But will she have to reveal herself to have him--and to save them both? Or does Pike have a secret of his own?

My thoughts:

The anthology overall wasn't too bad.  I loved one, liked one and was "meh" on the other two.  I will admit that I read it mainly for Dianne Duvall's "In Still Darkness"  In fact, it was the first one I read out of the four stories.  I am a HUGE Immortal Guardians fan, so I couldn't resist skipping ahead.  Loved the story!  It is Richart's story and takes place during the last two books.  We finally get to see who he was texting and talking to on the cell phone during those events.  I think the story was very sweet.  I loved Richart and Jenna together.  The way he courts her just made me melt.  My favorite line in the story is when he says, “I am so smitten with you.” (In fact, you can read that scene below) That is so sigh worthy!  I can't wait for the next full Immortal Guardians novel to come out.  So, this was a nice way to tide me over.

I am not familiar with the rest of the authors.  I did enjoy "Out of Control", by Alexandra Ivy.  It is the prequel to a new series that she is coming out with soon.  The world she set up looks to be very interesting.  I know I'll be looking for the first book when it comes out.

As for the other two stories, they were just so-so.  "Ties That Bind" started out so creepy, but then it fizzled out.  It just happened too fast and I didn't really get the whole "other vampire" thing.   I didn't even finish "High Stakes".  I didn't like the dialogue and lost interest very quickly.  

Immortal Dating

Thanks so much for joining me today!  And thank you, Kari and Autumn, for letting me visit From the TBR Pile!  I’m so happy to be here, celebrating the release of PREDATORY, an anthology that contains my Immortal Guardians novella “In Still Darkness,” along with stories by fabulous authors Alexandra Ivy, Nina Bangs, and Hannah Jayne.  If you’re new to my Immortal Guardians series, you’ll get a little taste of it in Richart’s story.

Two-hundred-and-thirty years old, Richart d’Alençon was born with the ability to teleport.  He and his immortal brethren, all of whom boast special gifts, spend their nights hunting and destroying psychotic vampires to prevent them from preying upon humans.  Immortal Guardians are —without exception — bold, brazen, deadly predators who are fiercely loyal to each other and to the network of humans that aids them.  But none, thus far, have been brave enough to attempt what Richart does in “In Still Darkness,” not for hundreds of years anyway.  Richart . . . tries to date a mortal woman.  That’s right.  He actually attempts to carry on a normal courtship, or at least what he hopes is a normal courtship.  The last time he courted a woman he cared about he was mortal.  Things have changed just a bit since then.  :-)

Now most of my friends, if asked, would say that dating isn’t easy.  Richart soon discovers that this is even more true if one is immortal.  He has to avoid mentioning his age.  He has to skirt the truth about his occupation.  After all, what woman would NOT think him mentally off if he mentioned being born in the eighteenth century or hunting and killing vampires for a living?  And then there’s the fact that his eyes glow every time he experiences strong emotion.  It’s a little hard to hide that when romance is brewing and Jenna’s every touch enflames him.  :-) 

Since first dates are particularly hard, I thought I would give you a glimpse of Richart and Jenna’s:

“In Still Darkness”

Excerpt

She laughed.  “Thank you for being such a good sport about it.”

“Thank you for letting me cook you dinner.”  He set his bags down on the counter and started removing the ingredients he’d purchased on the way there.  “I should probably warn you that I haven’t been on a date in quite a while, so I’m a little rusty.”

Her eyebrows flew up as she transferred the cold foods to her refrigerator.  “How long has it been?”

“Longer than I care to admit.  My job and odd hours tend to make dating difficult.”

She nodded.  “Being a single mom and working the night shift does, too.  I haven’t dated in a while either.”

“Excellent.  Then, if neither of us remembers the rules, we don’t have to follow them.”

“Sounds good to me.”  She closed the refrigerator door and leaned her hip against it, crossing her arms just beneath her breasts.  “Listen, I’m sort of a get-the-truth-out-there-so-when-it-comes-up-later-it-won’t-be-an-issue kind of gal, so there’s something I wanted to mention.”

This couldn’t be good.

She hesitated.  “You know I’m older than you, right?”

Richart stared down at her and forced himself not to laugh at the irony.  He may be over two hundred years old, but he looked as if he were in his late twenties, thirty at the most.  And Jenna was worried that her being thirty-seven would be a problem?

“Honestly, I could not care less how old you are, Jenna,” he assured her, all the while calling himself a bastard for not taking the opening she had provided and broaching the topic of who and what he was.  She valued truth.  If he continued to keep it from her . . .

A hint of insecurity entered her features.  “I don’t mean to press this, but . . . I dated a guy once — very briefly — who said the same thing until his friends found out and started to razz him about it.  I’m thirty-seven.  Are you sure that isn’t a problem?”

“I don’t know why his friends would tease him about dating you unless they were envious.  You look like you’re in your twenties, Jenna.  Not much older than your son, in fact.  And, if you looked like you were in your forties, guess what.  I would be just as interested.”

She smiled and closed the distance between them.  “And if I looked like I were in my fifties?”

“Still interested.”

“Sixties?”

“I happen to think laugh lines are hot.”

She laughed.  “Good, because I have a feeling you’re going to give me a few.”

“I should hope so,” he said, telling himself not to think about the fact that he would still look and feel as he did now when she was in her sixties, seventies, and eighties and all of the problems that would generate.

You’re getting ahead of yourself, old man.  This is your first damned date.  Not your engagement party.

“You don’t mind that I’m older than you.  You don’t mind that I’m a single mom, putting a son through college.”  She shook her head and smiled up at him, expression soft.  “You’re a rare breed, Richart d’Alençon.”

She didn’t know the half of it.

Unable to resist, he dipped his head and touched his lips to hers in a gentle caress. 

Her breath caught. 

Lightning struck. 

Both their hearts began to beat faster.

Resting a hand on her waist, Richart tilted his head and explored those smooth pink lips that had drawn his gaze so often, then drew back before his emotions could take over and make his eyes begin to glow.

“Wow,” Jenna breathed, staring up at him.

“I am so smitten with you,” he admitted softly.

About the author:

Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series. Her debut novel DARKNESS DAWNS was nominated for the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews, for Best Paranormal Romance - Vampire by The Romance Reviews, and for Best Book of 2011 by Long and Short Reviews. NIGHT REIGNS, the second book in her Immortal Guardians series, was declared an "utterly addictive" Top Pick by RT Book Reviews. PHANTOM SHADOWS, the third book in the series, was deemed a Top Pick by both The Romance Reviews and by Night Owl Reviews.  DARKNESS RISES, Immortal Guardians Book 4, will be released on October 1, 2013. 

When she isn't writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and once even appeared onscreen as a machete-wielding maniac not unlike the vampires she so loves to create in her novels.

Find Dianne on the Internet

Website:  http://www.dianneduvall.com

Blog:  http://dianneduvall.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianneDuvallAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DianneDuvall

Youtube:  http://www.youtube

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/dianneduvall

Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Author: Jennifer Rush
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Date of publication: January 2013

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. 

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Altered was a random audio pick from my library.  I hadn't heard of the series but it sounded interesting.  I actually was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.  While there is a bit of teen infatuation, it isn't an insta-love situation and there is no love triangle. Yippee!  The characters were well written and just mysterious enough that I wanted to know more about them.  There were a couple of surprises in the book that made it that much better.

Anna has become friends with four boys who live in an underground lab on her father's farm.  She has fallen for Sam, the leader, pretty hard.  When they plan an escape, her father pushes her to go with the boys.  She has no understanding of why, only that she senses she would be in danger if she didn't.  She embarks on a journey to help the boys find out who they are.  It seems that Sam left himself clues should he ever want to find out about his past.  I liked this aspect of the book.  The clues were cleverly hidden and I had fun following them along with the characters. While the ending didn't really end on a cliffhanger, it did leave a lot of questions unanswered.  I'm hoping they are addressed in the next book, Erased, which comes out sometime next year. 

My only complaint about the book was the narrator of the audiobook.  I didn't think she did a great job of narrating.  She paused after every sentence and some of the character voices blended together so that conversations were hard to follow at times.  If the next book is narrated by the same reader, I will probably read the print book as opposed to listening to the audio.

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