On My Wishlist #1

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that anyone can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.


Here are a couple of books that I've wanted to read for ages but still have not bought!  They are at the top of my to read list and I want to get them really soon :)


Magic Bites by Iiona Andrews
Kate Daniels #1
Ace, 27th March 2007


Why it's on my wishlist: 
I've heard so many good things about this series so I'm looking forward to reading it a lot!


Goodreads Summary:
When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake. 

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles. 

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…

Changeless by Gail Carriger
The Parasol Protectorate #2
Orbit, 30th March 2010


Why it's on my wishlist: 
I loved Soulless so I have to read this!  In fact I'm not sure really why I haven't bought it yet!


Goodreads Summary:
Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Maccon, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears -- leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria. 

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her into thebackwaters of ugly waistcoats, Scotland, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only a soulless can. 

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

Follow Friday #5 and Book Blogger Hop #4

Hi everyone! It's Friday again so I'm taking part in Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop!!

Follow on Friday is hosted my Rachel at Parajunkee.com

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

• Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
• Follow our Featured Bloggers - Reading Angel
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
• If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
• If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog.

I am taking part in in the Book Blogger Hop again this week hosted by Crazy-for-books to explore all the great book blogs out there!

This week's question comes from http://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/

Post a link to a favorite post or book review that you have written in the past three months.

Great question this week! I find I have favourite posts from other people's blogs but had to think about mine. I think my favourite post since I started blogging (which is only a few weeks!!) is my review of Soulless particularly as this was one of my first reviews and I'm still happy with it! Loved the book too :)

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

ISBN 10: 0545123267

ISBN13: 9780545123266

About the book (from Goodreads)

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1

Published: 1st August 2009

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Website: Maggie Stiefvater

Excert: Excert

My Review

Shiver is gripping story which pulls you into the lives and relationship of Grace and Sam, a powerfully and poetically written tale of soul mates, love and werewolves.

Grace and Sam are soul mates, despite the fact that she is human and he is a wolf. The connection has been there for years, since Sam saved Grace when she was attacked by wolves as a child. For years Grace spent her winters watching the wolves from her yard, which backed onto the forest, always looking out for her wolf. The first time she meets properly him as a human he is naked on her back porch having been shot. Once she sees he has the same yellow her wolf has she simply accepts werewolves straight off, like she had always know really. From that moment on they do not want to be separated.

Grace is an easy character to like, she seems so genuine and honest. Having been near obsessed with her wolf for years she feels she has come home when she finally meets Sam. I found Sam is a harder character to like but his love for Grace is nothing but genuine.

The wolves in Shiver are different to wolves I read in other series. They are human in the summer and wolf in winter, the cold makes them change, forget the moon and silver etc usually associated with werewolf stories. In Shiver, once they are wolves very little, if anything, is remembered of their human lives, much more a true wolf than in many other stories. Sam, however, longs to just be “Sam” and not loose himself as a wolf, dreading that this seems to be his last year before he become as wolf for the rest of this life.

The story is told partly from Grace’s point of view and partly Sam’s. I found the changes in POV easy to follow and added depth to the story, helping us to see that the deep true love was there on both sides. I found Shiver to be well paced especially the second half.

I really enjoyed Shiver. If you like werewolves and tales of true love then Shiver is for you. It may be YA but is very readable by even adults who usually do not read YA at all. I found this a difficult review to write without giving away too many spoilers!

"Waiting on" Wednesday #4

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases!

It's Wednesday again!  The book I'm looking forward to this week is one I found while looking around for releases for the rest of 2010 on Goodreads.  Don't you just love the cover!  The links all take you to the Goodreads pages!

Title: Afterlife

Author: Merrie Destefano

Series: Resurrection Chronicles #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Eos

Release date: 28 September 2010

Welcome to your next chance.

Chaz Dominguez is a professional Babysitter in New Orleans, helping to integrate the recently deceased into their new and improved lives. Though Fresh Start has always been the only game in town, resurrection isn't all it's cracked up to be. Nine lives are all a person can get—and a powerful group of desperate, high-level Nine-Timers will stop at nothing to possess the keys to true immortality.

Now the only hope for Chaz and his family—and the human race—lies in the secrets locked away in the mind of Angelique, the beautiful, mysterious Newbie he must protect . . .

Teaser Tuesday #4

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, p69

"I only waited a second for him to finish.  When he didn't I jumped up and grabbed the keys from the counter.  I still couldn't quite believe that he wasn't my own invention - years of wishing made real.  But whatever he was, he was here now, and I wasn't about to loose him."

In My Mailbox #3

In My Mailbox is a bookish meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren and inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie.

I've had an excellent week for books. I have been on a shopping trip, received some for review and I won some!!  Yeah, sounds like it might be a long post so I'll summarise first!  All of my book descriptions are from Goodreads.

I received for review:
Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory ~ from the author
To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory ~ from the author
Amethyst Bound by L. Shannon ~ from Carnia Press via Netgalley

I won from Danielle @ Romance Book Junkies and Eve Langlais:
Alien Mate by Eve Langlais
Alien Mate 2 by Eve Langlais

I bought on my shopping trip:
Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge
Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

For Review

Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

(Jolie Wilkins, #1)

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

 

To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

(Dulcie O'Neil, #1)

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.

Amethyst Bound by L. Shannon

Toni Giovanni is a thief although she prefers to call it the high-risk recovery business. Her current job feels suspiciously easy until a mysterious artifact draws her into an ancient prophecy and binds her soul to a spirited dragon named Amethyst.

But Toni isn’t quite ready to be taken over by a dragon, even if Amethyst’s appetite for sexy archaeologist Dr. Ben Davis mirrors Toni’s own. And she’s got a big problem on her hands: turns out the prophecy predicts that dragons will end the world and there are many more dragons out there.

Toni’s going to need all the help she can get.

I won!!

Alien Mate by Eve Langlais

What would you do if an alien materialized in your living room and told you he was your leader?

 

Plump Diana is ironing her underwear when the hottest blue babe in all of the galaxy appears in her living room. Did she forget to mention he was naked? Abducted, decontaminated, and dressed like a harem girl, she’s been chosen to become his mate.

Kor asked his ancestors to find him a biddable, docile mate. Instead they found him Diana--a curvy, argumentative earthling who sets his pulse pounding and his loins on fire. He might be an alien who doesn't understand the meaning of love, but he sure knows what he feels is more than lust.

 

Alien Mate 2 by Eve Langlais

 

Lex's ancestors have chosen a mate for him, there's only one problem. She's not the earthling he wants.

 

Maya’s been raised to believe in aliens, and when she saves one from drowning, she can’t resist taking him home—and into her bed.

Lex’s mission to collect his mate has been fraught with difficulties, and to add even more trouble to the mix, he finds himself attracted to the wrong earthling—a curvy human who makes him question tradition.

Things get complicated in New Mexico because the military’s on the hunt for an ET, Maya’s determined to do what’s right, and Lex finds himself in the biggest battle of all—the one between his heart and his honor.

I bought on my shopping trip

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

(Sabina Kane #1)

In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her---until now.

This time, it's personal.

 

Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge

(Nocturne City #1)

The first book in a thrilling, addictive new series by a talented new voice in dark fantasy. Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night…

Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she’s just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders—a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend…until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can’t resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dimitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But Luna and Dimiri will need to rely on each other as they’re plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity…

 

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

(Downside Ghosts #1)

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

Review: Amethyst Bound by L. Shannon

Title: Amethyst Bound

Author: L. Shannon

About the book (from Goodreads)

Toni Giovanni is a thief although she prefers to call it the high-risk recovery business. Her current job feels suspiciously easy until a mysterious artifact draws her into an ancient prophecy and binds her soul to a spirited dragon named Amethyst.

But Toni isn’t quite ready to be taken over by a dragon, even if Amethyst’s appetite for sexy archaeologist Dr. Ben Davis mirrors Toni’s own. And she’s got a big problem on her hands: turns out the prophecy predicts that dragons will end the world and there are many more dragons out there.
Toni’s going to need all the help she can get.


Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Amethyst Series #1 (trilogy)
Published: 7 June 2010

Publisher: Carina Press

L. Shannon's website: L. Shannon
Excert: Excert

*Received for review form Netgalley*

My review

Toni Giovanni is an international thief with a hard exterior who has had a hard life when we meet her about to steel an ancient artefact from an archaeological expedition. Turns out it’s not just a another assignment when she tries on one of the pendants from the ancient box and can not remove it again. Toni’s connection with Amethyst is born.

Amethyst is an ancient purple dragon who has been trapped in the pendant, once bound with Toni she is very happy to be free and surprisingly straightforward, friendly and helpful. Luckily she shares Toni’s attraction to Davis. Amethyst is actually a really likeable character in her own right and seems to form a trio with Toni and Ben despite being inside Toni.

Archaeologist Dr. Ben Davis has been obsessed by dragon myth and legends from various cultures for years. He manages to translate fro the box the prophecy that nine dragons will bring about Armageddon. Ben is a wonderful celebration of the geek, he’s also adventurous and good looking.

Toni greats her new destiny with confusion and reluctance causing us to empathize with her and understand how she thinks and feels. The relationship she has with Amethyst is amusing and feels very real.

L. Shannon has created a world full of magic and myth that is easily woven into the story and never feels over done. Mix this with bad and dangerous enemies and a love blossoming, you find a potent and powerful story.

I enjoyed Amethyst Bound, an interesting, passionate, action filled and well paced novella. The outcome of the dangers the trio find themselves in is far from clear and keeps you reading. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

One final thing, just take a look at the cover - it’s great and it’s really purple!!