69) Dead Man's Tale by Jocelynn Drake

The Blurb :

In a world where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves, and vampires swim free in a sea of humanity, sometimes you need an edge. Looking for a little love? Need some luck? Desperate for revenge? Gage can give you what you need. The most talented tattoo artist in town, he knows the right symbol and the right mix of ingredients and ink to achieve your heart's desire. One tattoo is all it takes. But remember, everything has its price. . . .

Gage learned that lesson long ago, in ways he'd rather not remember. But the cruel and powerful wizards in the dreaded Ivory Towers he escaped aren't about to let him forget. Though Gage has managed to stay out of sight, he can't outrun the past forever.

The wizards know Gage is using forbidden magic, and they intend to punish him for his transgressions. Too bad if innocent humans and monsters-entire cities-get in the way. They will quell a nascent magical uprising and Gage will be the sacrifice they need. First, though, they have to find him .

My Thoughts :

If you asked me what series has really made me go wow lately then my answer would be the Asylum Tales.  I didn't ever expect to have the same amazed feeling as I did when I discovered the Elemental Assassin Series or the Women of the Otherworld but the Asylum Tales are really making me realise that there are still some great and original ideas still out there because Jocelynn Drake has caught one and I am happily going along for the ride.

There are so many great things about this series so far and Dead Man's Tale is only the second book.  Firstly the characters are just so friendly and somehow familiar.  Like people you have known all your life.  There is no need to get to know them because you instictively know and understand them.  Then there is the location.  A tattoo shop may not be everyones cup of tea but this line of work with all the magic involved may not be original but it makes this series special.  Then we come to the Urban Fantasy angle of things.  The elves, trolls, wizards and everything else so fantastically fantasy are all included in this unusual concept just keep me more than satisfied.

Dead Man's Deal sees the continuation of the story and problems of Gage and his partners.  There are some interesting developments in all areas and it was good to see how Gage deals with all the magical crap that gets thrown at him while the plot unfolds.  There are some nice little twists and turns wrapped inside the plot and they make for spectacular reading.  I enjoyed every minute.

Action packed and not to be missed this is a series that is really taking my breath away.   If you are a fan of Jocelynn's then you have to read this series but if you haven't tried her work before then you will grabbing for everythign she has ever written once you get a taste of this series.  I suggest trying one of the novellas if you want to try before you buy.  I know you won't regret it.

The Asylum Tales are Urban Fantasy at its best.  There are not many other authors or series that really make me want to highly recommend their books but this is one I can't wait to suggest to people.  This is a must read series and I can't wait till the next book comes out to see what happens next.  I will be begging the publishers for an advance copy if I don't find one somewhere from my own sources.  This is a series I am going to be raving about for years to come and it has only just started!

     

    

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Monthly Giveaway Results!

Every month here on Amberkatze's Book Blog there is a Monthly Giveaway!

If you want to win a copy of one of my favourite reads from the previous month then you have to check in and enter!?

The April Monthly Giveaway is now over and closed.  It is time to see which book won the vote and who has won a copy of the winning book!

What is the Monthly Giveaway? 

You have the chance to vote for which book you want to win from my five favourite reads from last month!

I pick five of my favourite reads from the last month (sorry no ARCs are included unless they have already been released!) then you guys go to the poll and vote for the book you want to win or the one you think deserves to win! Remember! You may not actually win the book you voted for.

Here are the results for this months giveaway!


Wuthering Frights by H.P. Mallory came in last with only 8.11% of the vote.   I hope this bad result is due to one of two factors.  1) You have all read this series already or/and 2) The other books on offer were just too good to pass up on.


Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting came in at fourth place.  13.5% of the vote wanted this book to win but the top three books just didn't give this one a chance.


Sharp by Alex Hughes holds the third place with 18.92% of the votes.  I really wanted this one to win but it seems you guys wanted the other books more.  I just hope that you will all go and check out this series anyway.  It rocks!

Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn comes in at second place and I wasn't expecting that.  It seems there are still a lot of Kitty fans out there who don't run out and buy the new releases.  27.03% of the vote shows you guys really wanted Kitty to win!


Death, Doom & Detention by Darynda Jones is the winner this month with 32.34% of the votes.  I can't say I am surprised by this result because Darynda always seems to win my Monthly Giveaway when she is on the poll.

The Results

The widget below should now be showing the name of the Monthly Giveaway winner.  That person will win a copy of the winning book Death, Doom & Detention by Darynda Jones.  Just make sure you contact me with your details to claim your prize!  If you prefer a Kindle copy of the book please include those details when claiming your book.

Didn't win this time?  Keep a look out for the next Monthly Giveaway coming in June.  You will all get to vote from a selection of my reads from May.

Make sure you check out the books from the Monthly Giveaway.  They are always my five favourite reads so they are definitely worth getting a hold of!



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67) The Shambling Guide to New York by Mur Lafferty

The Blurb :

A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city - for the undead!

Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.

Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.


My Thoughts :

Just looking at the cover for this book made me want to read it.  The dragon on top of the Empire State building and that guy with a tail are just some of the little clues to what lies inside the pages of this debut in the Shambling Guides series.  If you read the blurb there is no going back because the promise of a monster world in New York is just too good of a thing to pass up on.

The world the author builds in this book is just amazing and on many occasions I found myself thinking of Shanna Swendson's Enchanted Inc Series which is also set in New York and has some cool fantasy aspects and creatures.  However this book isn't as romantic and doesn't have a chick-lit feel to it.  The Shambling Guide has a sophisticated fantasy feel with a 'it could be me' leading lady being swallowed up by a world she knew nothing about.  Zöe falls into a "rabbit hole" and finds out that vampires, golems, dragons and much much more exsist among normal human beings.  Finding out everything with her is exciting and gripping.  I couldn't put the book down.

I loved so much about this book!  From the interesting characters, strange and wonderful supernaturals and the location, it just had a bit of everything that I like and crave in a book.  The well thought out plot kept me reading and the small snippets from the Shambling guide at the end of each chapter sometimes made me giggle (NYC visitors will get the refrences better than others) and often made me go 'Ahhh' because it just all fit together so nicely with the story.

While the story developed I found myself getting pulled further into the world.  The idea of a monster world hiding among us is plausible and could just be real.  The author did a great job of making it realistic by adding details of the city and paying attention to how everything would fit together.

Now I will patiently wait for the next installment.  The ending promises a next Shambling Guide and I hope there will be one.  The author has created a very special place within New York and it would be great to see what she does with other cities.  It will also be good to see what Zöe gets up to next and how her relationships with both the coterie and her fellow humans develop.

If you haven't been to NYC yet then you certainly will want to pay it a visit after reading the Shambling Guide.  However I don't suggest using this guide when you go there, unless you are in fact coterie.  The Guide releases later this month and is a fantastic read that I can only highly recommend you give a go!

   

               

66) Lunatic Revenge by Sharon Sala

The Blurb :

Do Tara and Flynn stand a ghost of a chance?

The bad guys are after a hidden fortune that belongs to Flynn O’Mara’s dying father—they think Tara can use her psychic powers to find it for them. She’ll need plenty of help from her spirit friends if she and Flynn are going to get out of this trouble alive.


My Thoughts :

I have been following the Lunatic Life Series since the beginning and have really enjoyed following Tara's life.  She has come a long way since the series started it is easy to forget that this is only the third book.  So much is always packed into an installment that sometimes it feels like you are reading three stories at once.  This is also the case in this newest addition.

The first part of the book deals mainly with Flynn and his father and then book moves onto another angle as a tonado hits the town.  By the end of the book the focus changes again and you wonder how anyone in the book can keep track of everything that is going on.  The story isn't complicated and this makes it easier to keep up with the amount of action.  Pieces are put together very quickly and the story moves along nicely without the tedious wait while characters explain themselves or just go to a party and so on.  There is no 'filling in' to make the book longer and it is actually a pleasure to get to business and just keep running.

I like the concept in this series and the ghosts and psychic abilities that come with it.  Tara is a likable character and she is slowly building up a nice support system of friends that now know some of what she is capable of.  How the series will continue is a mystery but I know I want to see things carry on and I will be along for the ride.  Despite being Yound Adult I don't find this to be too teenagy or over the top.  It just has a great story and is fast paced.

If you haven't tried this series yet then I can only highly suggest giving it a go.  If you have a young reader in your life then this may be one you can share.  If you don't, well there are some nice ghosts and psychic moments for you to enjoy even if you feel too old for this read.

 

         

     

               

       

65) Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

The Blurb :

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and someone who sounds like Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual—until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!


My Thoughts :

A long time ago, before I was a reader, I picked up a Janet Evanovich book and was pulled into the amazing fun and wacky world of Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum.  That trip to the local library turned my world around as I became a huge Stephanie Plum fan and started to enjoy reading.  Now I am a little behind on the series and over the years I have moved onto other genres but this is a series I have to read.  It is just too funny to pass up on.

Yes there are already eighteen books in the series and yes Stephanie still hasn't made her mind up but the weird and hilarious episodes of her life make up for the torturous on-going storyline.  The Morelli or Ranger t debate takes a back burner while Stephanie runs around with Lula trying to taser people into court reappearances and managing to eat up a storm at the local fast food joints.  Something usually gets blown up and grandma tries her best to get her gun out in every book.  There are some moments you just know are going come along in every book and you know you are going to laugh out loud as soon as it happens.  It never gets old.

This time around the plot revolves around a picture that Stephanie picked up by accident.  It is a fun story that involves her being followed for the majority of the book and also threatened.  These two things aren't actually unusual for the Bounty Hunter and she seems to take things in her stride these days and manages to make the people involved pay for their idiocy.  All the events that lead to the bad guys being caught are full of laughs and giggles which make this series even better.  I need a nice stupid and fun book now and again and this series really does hit the spot.

Number Nineteen is now on my wishlist and I am pretty sure there are more in this series to come.  Although I want the story of Stephanie Plum to come end at some point but I really don't want to loose this quirky mad-cap series.  However long this one keeps coming, I will keep reading.  I just don't rush out on release day to get a copy any more.  I wait for the moment that I need some Stephanie Plum antics to brighten up my reading day.

  

         

     

               

       

64) Murder is a Piece of Cake by Elaine Viets

The Blurb :

As a bride-to-be, Josie’s latest assignment is absolutely fitting—investigating wedding flowers and wedding cakes. Josie can’t wait to pick out the details to make her own wedding perfect, even as her fiancé Ted’s outrageous mother has plans to turn the celebration into an over-the-top extravaganza. Still, the pistol-packing Lenore does come in handy when she draws her gun on Molly—a homicidal bridezilla who threatens to kill Ted unless he agrees to marry her—and saves the day.

Josie thinks the worst pre-wedding disaster is behind her—until Molly is shot and Lenore becomes the prime suspect. With her mother-in-law behind bars and her wedding on hold, Josie’s about to become fully engaged in finding the bridezilla killer and getting her own wedding back on track


My Thoughts :


Elaine Viets is one of my favourite cozy mystery writers and even though I don't always get her new releases when they come out, I do make sure they go on my wishlist. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while and it was high time I found out what happened next to Josie Marcus. The cover and title as well as how the last book ended was a big giveaway as to the storyline but what kind of mystery would be woven into the wedding was to be seen.

Actually the murder mystery came a little too close to home for Josie this time. Not only is her finacé Ted being stalked but the his mother ends up in prison. Josie, like in the previous books, manages to Get involved in the investigation without the help of the local police. It doesn't take her long to find out that there is more going on that it seems and she has some of her family and friends to help her along the way.

I enjoyed this installment as much as the previous books and hope that this wasn't the last Josie Marcus book. The Mystery Shopping angle is a nice one and I really like all the characters and want to see what happens with them now that Josie has found a guy. Also I throughly enjoy Elaine Viets style. Her books are always good reads and I only wish that she would start a cozy with a paranormal twist.

Like cozies? You really need to try this series and Elaine's Dead-End Job Mysteries. Well thought out and always enterntaining they really are worth giving a chance.

   

               

63) Blood & Magick by James R. Tuck

The Blurb :

Taking out hellish creatures—not a problem. Armed with blessed silver hollow-points and the ability to manipulate magick, he’s ready for anything—except betrayal he never saw coming…

Deacon Chalk knows the biggest danger in fighting monsters is becoming one. Just another day at the office for your friendly neighborhood occult bounty hunter. If keeping three helpless were-dog children safe means battling a malevolent trio of witches by any means necessary, so be it. If that means partnering with a ruthless government agent to stay one step ahead of the allies and friends he must now suspect, he’s not going to cry about it. The only way Deacon can save humans and shape-shifters alike is to embrace a power beyond his imagining, putting his team at stake—and his soul on the line…


My Thoughts :

Before I start my review I have to apologise to the author and publisher of this book.  I got this ARC in the post a long time ago.  I can't even remember when but as a physical book it landed on my bookshelf and it was forgotten about for a very long time.  I can't believe I left this one of my shelf unread for so long but that is what happens when you have a Kindle.  So I am sorry this review is coming way after the book made it into my hands and after the book released.  Note to anyone interested : Send me Kindle books!

I have read the previous Deacon Chalk books and novellas and was interested in seeing how the series would continue to develop.  It didn't take me long to get back into the weird paranormal world the author has dreamt up for this series and within a few chapters I was used to the swearing, blood and general hard-ass angle that shines through in this series.

It sounds very action movie like and it is.   Guns are a common occurence which means fighting also takes up a lot of the pages in this book.  You may think that there couldn't possibily be a story to all this but there actually is and it is a very good one.  Well laid out, the plot, isn't half bad.  In fact if it wasn't for the plot, and the characters involved with it, I most likely wouldn't have ever kept up with this series.  I am actually eager to see what happens to these people and what happens next.  Also the weird and wonderful paranormal world this series offers is just too good to miss.

In regards to this third installment, all I can say is 'WOW'!  There were some things that I didn't see coming and the twists they brought with them surprised me so much that I can't wait for book number four.  I didn't expect so much of the events that took place and that made this book, for me, a very special read.  I get fed up of 'knowing' what is about to happen because things are so predictable but James R. Tuck is keeping me on my toes and I love it!

You may be put off by the whole guns and blood stuff but if you are a true Paranormal Fantasy lover then you will have to give this series a try.  If you have already had the pleasure of meeting Deacon Chalk : Occult  Bounty Hunter, then you will know that he isn't just fighting, he has a heart and he has feelings.  There is a lot more to him than meets the eye and he is the guy you want on your side.