Gail was here talking about Steampunk, her new release and was giving away a copy of the first book in the Parasol Protectorate Series, Soulless. I hoped everyone enjoyed the interview and entered the contest! I love this series and wish my local Amazon had Heartless in stock already...or that Amazon.com had it on Kindle. Looks like I will be waiting a while to find out what happens to the wonderful Alexia Tarabotti!
Anyway, it is time to announce the winner of the giveaway! I have to say I loved reading your entries and being reminded of some cool things I used to watch back in the good old days. Thanks the for the trip down memory lane ;)
And congrats to :
Linaramz!!!
You won! Keep reading to find out how to claim your prize!
Didn't win this time? You can still enter the Cynthia Eden Contest! You have till Sunday to get your name added to the hat!
Also the Monthly Giveaway will be coming soon. Hopefully over the weekend! So keep checking in!
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How to claim your prize!
Please contact me via email - Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot eu within the next 7 days to claim your prize. Your claim will go quicker if you send me your address. If you won a contest where you can choose your prize, then please make sure you state in your email which book you would like. This will help things go alot quicker! If you won an e-book please make sure you send me the email address you would like the book sent to!
If you email me and don't get a reply within 48 hours please post on the blog letting me know. Some email gets eaten by my spam filter. However please don't send me more than one email unless you really don't get an answer within 3 days. I am not online 24/7 ;) Sometimes it takes a little longer to reply.
If a prize isn't claimed after 7 days I will, if the author agrees, pick another winner.
Please also note that I can not be held responsible for prizes that come direct from authors. I will check with them for you if you haven't received your prize but I can not hunt down your mail! Any prizes that come from myself could come from a 3rd party eg. Amazon or Bookdepository. If I am sending a prize myself please be aware that it could take a few weeks to reach you as it is coming from Europe.
Maybe Abby Knight shouldn't have chosen a home and garden show sponsored by Uniworld Food as the venue for her protest against the corporation's harmful farming practices. But being bodily removed from the event won't stop her campaign. Nor will a burning brick thrown through her flower shop's window.
After she narrowly escapes being kidnapped three times, Abby calls in the big guns-her ex-Ranger boyfriend Marco and her friends and family. And then the stakes are raised by murder...
My Thoughts :
As any regular reader of Amberkatze's Book Blog knows, I like a good cozy mystery now and again. So this 9th Flower Shop Mystery has been on my shelf for a long time. Actually I haven't visited this series for a while now and when I was looking for a book to carry around this week I decided to go see what Abby Knight was getting up to.
It was great to visit this series again. I had no problems getting back into it and I enjoyed it a lot. The plot, as always, was well written and I got caught up in things pretty quickly and found myself sneaking in a few pages whenever I could. It was really fun to read about Abby's relationship changes with Marco and the ending make me smile.
Now I hope it won't take me as long to get to the next book in the series. It is sitting on my shelf as well and I will make sure it doesn't gather much more dust. A good cozy is always a nice read inbetween the vamps and weres. This is one series I seriously like and book ten is going to be added to my bag soon!
Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.
My Thoughts :
I am a huge fan of Jeri Smith-Ready and I really wanted to pre-order Shift or at least buy it when it came out. However I had to cut back a bit and seeing as I had so many Young Adult books on my to be read pile, well Shift got shifted to just wishlist. Then I gave in. I couldn't wait any more and I am surprised I was able to wait this long. I loved the first in this trilogy, Shade, and I needed to know what happened next.
Shift while more emotional than Shade has some seriously good developments. I never could have guessed where the author was going with this story and that is one of the things I love about her books. The twists in Shift really shocked, amazed and interested me. I can't believe how special and unique this story is becoming. Shade stood out but Shift is making waves.
Somehow haunting, and not because of the ghosts, this trilogy is turning out to be one of my favourite YA series. I can see how things could come to an end in book three but it is a shame that things will finish. I wonder if the author has any plans to revisit this world from a different angle because I certainly would love to delve more into it. I like reading things from Aura's perspective but it would be nice to hear things from the other characters.
Lots of depth in this one and I wish in a way that I could have waited till the third part came out so I could read them both in one go. I can't believe the last part doesn't release till next Summer. How mean is that? On a side note I really appreciate this author for getting the British/Scottish bits right. Some try and fail. Kudos ;)
Even if you don't do YA novels you have to try this. The feelings and energy inside this story is spectacular and I highly recommend giving it a try.
Have you entered the Gail Carriger contest yet? Her Parasol Protectorate series is one of my favourite reads from last year and Gail is giving away a copy of the first in the series.
Also check out the interview and find out more about Gail's books and the Steampunk genre! I wasn't sure about it at first but I have to say it mixes with the Paranormal really well!
You have till Thursday to enter! So make sure you stop by and enter!
See the updates to the blog as soon as they go live and don't miss any contests!
Post about this giveaway somewhere on the internet eg. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter etc. Make sure you post the link here so I can confirm your extra entry.
Email your friends about this giveaway. Make sure you add my email address so I also get a copy and can confirm your entry. Amberkatzes_Book_Blog@gmx.eu
Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)
Where there's smoke there's fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. The bail bonds office has burned to the ground, and bodies are turning up in the empty construction lot. To make matters worse, Stephanie is working out of a motor home she shares with a dancing bear, and Joe Morelli's old world grandmother has declared a vendetta against her. And just when Stephanie decides it might be time to choose between the two men in her life, Morelli and Ranger, a third man from Stephanie's past moves back to Trenton...
My Thoughts :
Seventeen books into the series and I am still happy to read about Stephanie & Co and laugh all the way through each new installment. There is no doubt that the author can really write some amazing madcap comedy into a cozy like mystery. Great characters and always a good plot awaits the reader in every book. I mean it must be good if the series has lasted this long!
This series has always made me laugh and I am sure it always will. I love how Stephanie manages to get into all these crazy situations. How all the cars she has seem to explode for some reason or another. I especially enjoy the other characters like Lula and Grandma Mazur. It is like going to an amazingly hilarious family reunion every time a new book comes out. Do you hear it though? The But? Yeah...
But despite how cool and fun this series is and how sorry I would be to see it end...well I think it is time to clear things up and finish it. Why? Well the Morelli and Ranger thing has been going on way too long and I would like to have some conclusion to it all. I can't put up with the cliffhangers each book that imply Stephanie has made a decision or will do next time around.
Also I believe it is just time to let go. While the author is an extremely good writer I knew who the bad guy was as soon as it made his appearance. It was so obvious and it bugged me that Stephanie took so long to figure it out. Also this is a quick read. Actually as much as a new copy costs it is way too quick to read. I am not saying it is over-priced but as a long time fan I feel like I am being punished for wanting to read the series. Great for the author but what about the readers?
It is time Stephanie settled down or moved on. I don't mind if it takes another book or two to work out but I want to see her finally living a better life and it doesn't matter who with. I will keep reading the series but it is a hoot. I couldn't live without finding out what happens next but I need this to come to an end soon.
It is well worth reading this series if you want to have a laugh. Stephanie Plum is like a good comedy sitcom and once you start following it you can't stop.
My author guest this week really doesn't need any introduction because she has been a guest here on more than three occasions...maybe more! Cynthia Eden is a brilliant writer and I love diving into her paranormal books and like the steamy scenes as much as the action ones.
So I hope you all enjoy the interview about her upcoming release 'Never Cry Wolf' and also enjoy finding out what new series Cynthia is working on! I am excited about that one!
Oh and make sure you enter the contest. Cynthia is giving away two copies of 'Never Cry Wolf' to two lucky entrants! Make sure you answer the question so your entry counts!
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Amber - Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest again! Could you start things off by telling us a little about your new release Never Cry Wolf?
Cynthia – Hi, Amber! Thanks so much for having me back at your blog! And thanks for asking about Never Cry Wolf. I’m really excited about this story. Lucas Simone, the hero of this book, is the alpha of the LA wolf pack. He’s a shifter used to being in total control, but when he meets Sarah King, his precious control begins to unravel.
Lucas first appeared as a secondary character in my book, Immortal Danger. I received a lot of email about Lucas, so I decided this wolf shifter (with a pretty dark side) should get his own book.
Amber - Most of your paranormal books take place in the same world. Does Never Cry Wolf fit into this world? Do we get to see some of the characters we already met in previous books?
Cynthia – Yes, Never Cry Wolf does take place in the same world (though the book can totally be read as a standalone). None of the characters from the Midnight books appear, but some of the characters who appeared in Immortal Danger (a certain dragon shifter and a vampire) do appear in Never Cry Wolf.
Amber - With so many books written and published, is there any you would like to go back to? Re-write them? Write a sequel? Any characters you really want to write about again or kill off?
Cynthia – Those are awesome questions. Yes! I’d love to follow-up with some of my characters and see what happens to them. Hmmm…let me try to narrow it down. The one that I would probably want to write about the most is my copy, Antonio (Tony) from the Night Watch books. He was human when we left him last, and I just keep wondering…will he stay that way?
Amber - What are you working on at the moment? What new releases can we expect in the next year?
Cynthia – Fallen Angels! I am in a world populated by Fallen Angels of Death. I’ve got a four book Fallen Angel of Death series scheduled to launch with Kensington Brava. The first book, ANGEL OF DARKNESS, will be out in December of this year. My angels are very dark, very dangerous, and they can kill with a touch. I’ve already written 3 of the books, and I am about to begin the last book very soon.
I recently received the blurb for Angel of Darkness:
As an angel of death, Keenan’s job is to collect the souls on his list. He’s carried out his duty for two thousand years and never faltered once. Until he meets Nicole St. James. When the moment of death comes, Keenan hesitates, and instead of taking Nicole, Keenan touches the vampire who’s attacking her.
Cast out of heaven for disobedience, Keenan plummets to earth. Six months later, he finally manages to track Nicole to a bar in Mexico. He’s stunned to discover that the woman he remembers has undergone a dramatic change—she’s become a vampire. And when he realizes that she’s the target of all manner of enemies—other vampires, demons, even shifters—he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if all hell breaks loose…
Amber - Is there a paranormal creature you just don't like, and would never use in your books?
Cynthia – I think there are certain paranormal creatures that aren’t as appealing as others. I don’t want to say I’d *never* use one particular creature because hey, who knows what could happen? But I do think it might be pretty hard to make say, a lizard shifter super sexy.
Amber - What paranormal creatures are you dying to fit into a story but you haven't managed to fit in yet?
Cynthia – Genies! I would love to write a story about a very wicked male genie who makes wishes into nightmares. Don’t know if that will ever happen, but I do enjoy a bad magical guy.
Amber - A lot of authors are writing now in both adult and YA genres. Have you considered writing a YA book?
Cynthia – I have! I wrote a YA werewolf story that is with my agent right now. Will it be right for the market? I don’t know, but I really wanted to give the story a try and see what would happen. I have read so many wonderful YA stories—those tales are addictive!
Amber - What made you want to be a writer? Were there any books or authors that had an influence on you?
Cynthia – I’ve got an extremely active imagination. Growing up, I was always spinning stories and inventing tales, so becoming a writer just seemed natural for me. Christopher Pike was one of my early influences. I loved his YA tales—horror, but with an edge of romance. A great blend for me.
Amber - Is there any genre you have not tried to write that you would like to?
Cynthia – One day, I would like to try my hand at straight horror. I’m a horror movie addict (on Saturday nights, you can find me watching the scary movie marathon on the SyFy channel), and I’ve always wanted to try to pen a super scary tale.
Amber - Would you ever be able to write a book together with another author? If yes, which author would you like to work with and why?
Cynthia – I think it would be fun to collaborate with another author. Perhaps I could write the hero’s POV and she could write the heroine’s? Some of my friends and I have actually talked about this before (those friends are Manda Collins and Katie Reus—Manda has a sexy historical set to debut with St. Martin’s next year, and Katie will be writing hot paranormals with NAL). When we get together for dinner and drinks, we toss out story ideas. Who knows? Maybe I will write with one of them one day!
Amber - What have you been reading and watching lately?
Cynthia – Sadly, I am very behind on my reading. My Kindle is full of books, just waiting for me. I plan to dive into those books ASAP! As for watching, I have just recently started viewing Smallville. I’ve got the DVDs, and I’m working my way through the shows. I’ve always loved Superman, even a younger Superman! :)
Amber - What's your favorite paranormal movie of all time?
Cynthia - Oh, this is hard! I think I’d have to go with…Hellboy.
Amber - And to finish, If you could be any famous person, alive or dead, who would you be? and why?
Cynthia – I would want to be Elvis Presley. For one night—just one—I’d want to sing on stage and live the life of a King.
Amber - Thanks for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog again!
Cynthia - Thank you, Amber! I appreciate you taking the time to interview me!
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Contest Time
Cynthia is giving away 2 copies of NEVER CRY WOLF to two lucky winners!
Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.
Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!
You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.
Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.
Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site!
The contest will stay open until Sunday 3rd of July 2011 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.
Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she's powerless to help herself. At the heartbreaking conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would prevent further pain for a young orphan. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.
And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent, the thing she counts on most.
My Review :
Women of the Otherworld #12 isn't just another book in an amazing series, it is also proof that Kelley Armstrong is a brilliant writer and hasn't lost her touch. This series keeps getting better and even more interesting. While the story is starting to get a little bit more complex than usual I am there all the way and I am not lost or confused. I know exactly what is happening and I have no complaints. I was gripped from beginning to end.
Spell Bound continues from where things ended in Waking the Witch and it is great to have Savannah narrating again. She may have lost her magic but she is still a fighter and keeps going despite her 'disability'. Of course Adam is along for the ride again and he is really growing on me. Actually I think all of the characters from the whole series are either involved in this book or are at least mentioned. Things are heating up and I wonder if the next book will be the climax and the end?
Lots of talk, lots of doing and lots of going places but nothing really comes to a head in Spell Bound. This may be a story full of surprises, action and twists but at the end of it all the reader is as much in the dark about the whole 'war' as the characters are. The plot is thickening and things are definitely not over yet. If you are looking for answers you won't find them here. Spell Bound leaves quite a few questions still open and like everyone else I want to know, Is there really going to be a war? Will Savannah & Adam get together? and what will happen with everyone else?
Book #13 is hopefully coming sooner rather than later because Spell Bound has only left me wanting and needing more. I can't wait to find out what happens next. There is no huge cliffhanger at the end of this one but enough bits and pieces to guarantee you will be back for more. I loved Spell Bound as much as all the other books in this series and all fans will love it too. The Women of the Otherworld rock and Kelley Armstrong is one of the best writers in the genre.
Spell Bound is due for release on July 26th. Pre-order it!
I didn't know what Steampunk was until I was offered the chance to read the first two books in the Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger. Since then the writer of this amazing series has been on my must read list and I have been checking out more Steampunk because of it.
With the fourth book due out next week I couldn't resist asking Gail to stop by and tell us a little more about Heartless. I hope you all enjoy the interview and will enter the contest. Also make sure you check out the series if you haven't already. I absolutely love it!
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Amber - Thank you for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog again! Maybe you can start things off by telling us a little about your The Parasol Protectorate Series?
Gail - Imagine Jane Austen dabbling in science and steam technology. Then imagine P.G. Wodehouse suddenly dropped vampires into the Drones Club. The Parasol Protectorate books are the resulting progeny. They feature Alexia Tarabotti, soulless Victorian harridan, and her increasingly eccentric group of friends. Alexia is prone to charging about London, then across England, and eventually through Europe on her quest to foil various evil plots. She is assisted, and sometimes hindered, in her endeavors by a band of scruffy werewolf soldiers, a cadre of gay vampires, a cross–dressing female inventor, and a very silly best friend with a predilection for atrocious hats.
Amber - Book four in the Parasol Protectorate series is due out! What can we expect from Heartless?
Gail - Heartless is my ode to the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre, if Holmes were a very grumpy autocratic female in an increasingly clumsy and indelicate condition tracking down plots to kill the queen with massive steampunk mechanicals.
Amber - Alexia has seen a lot of action so far. How do you decide what to throw at her in each book?
Gail - Sometimes it's matter a plot, sometimes necessity, and sometimes whim. I operate on the principle that when in doubt, make something explode.
Amber - Why do you think there has been such an increase of books in the Steampunk genre?
Gail - I have many theories on this. I believe it has immense escapist appeal. Steampunk is a unique movement in that it isn’t entirely literary – it has ties to the green movement, the maker community, historical reenactment societies, and the fashion world. With our economy in chaos, steampunk offers up an alternative lifestyle of sedate civilized behavior. Part of the appeal, I think, has to do with our own sense of chaos and impending doom. This often causes people to look back and seek out time that was more ridged and controlled, full of polite manners and forms of address.
Amber - Will there be more books in the series? How long would you like to see things continue for Alexia ? Do you see an end in sight?
Gail - There will be five books total, which means one more after Heartless. It is called Timeless and will be out in March of 2012. I am not one of those authors with a "beat that dead horse" tendency (I don't have children to put through college). I want to give my readers the satisfaction of an ending.
Amber - If The Parasol Protectorate was going to be made into a TV Series or Film who would you like to see playing the main characters?
Amber - Are you working on anything else? Maybe another series? Something in another genre?
Gail - The universe I've created with the Parasol Protectorate will live on. I've begun the first of four young adult books set 25 years before Alexia, called the Finishing School series. Fans can expect a few of their favorite characters to show up in these as well as other future works.
Amber - How long on average does it take you to write a full book? Do you have a process you follow? or do you just start at page one and see what happens?
Gail - Six months usually. Three to write and three to edit and correct. I also spend a good deal of my writing time researching. I am definitely a process writer, not a discovery writer. I have an outline, a daily routine, and lots of ritual surrounding both. I also like to write with other people, I'm a kind of a social writer.
Amber - What are you listening and watching lately? Is there any music or other media that influences your writing?
Gail - I watch a lot of BBC costume dramas. I just finished Downton Abby and am now on the new Upstairs Downstairs series. They certainly influence what I write. I also like old 1950's comedies, I went on a Marilyn Munroe binge last month. Because I am writing an all girl's finishing school in my new YA series, I've been doing a lot of researching and watching of teenage girl socialization. That's included everything from Mean Girls to the original St. Trinian's series, to actual real life news stories on female bullying.
Amber - In the ultimate battle, who gets your vote: vampires or werewolves?
Gail - Humans, we'll out bread them all in the end. It's what we do best. With the possible exception of zombies.
Amber - Thank you for visiting the blog again! I hope you will pop by again soon!
Gail - Thank you for having me.
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Contest Time
Gail is very kindly giving away a signed copy of Soulless. The first book in the Parasol Protectorate Series and your chance to see how it all started! Sorry US Only!
How To Enter
I used to watch St Trinian's and Upstairs Downstairs when I was younger. What did you enjoy watching way back when?
No answer = No Entry
Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.
Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!
You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.
Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.
Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site!
The contest will stay open until Thursday 30th of June 2011 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.
If you don't win, make sure you check out Hexes & Hemlines and the rest of the series because Juliet's books are really amazing!
The contest is now closed and it is time to announce the winner! So who won? Congrats to :
Jessica@a GREAT read!!!!
Well done! Keep reading to find out how to claim your prize!
Didn't win? More contests are coming so keep trying! The Monthly Giveaway is also approaching! Check in or subscribe to the newsletter so you don't miss out!
If Walls Could Talk Haunted Home Renovation series debut.
Dead Bolt, the second in the series, comes out in December.
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How to claim your prize!
Please contact me via email - Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot eu within the next 7 days to claim your prize. Your claim will go quicker if you send me your address. If you won a contest where you can choose your prize, then please make sure you state in your email which book you would like. This will help things go alot quicker! If you won an e-book please make sure you send me the email address you would like the book sent to!
If you email me and don't get a reply within 48 hours please post on the blog letting me know. Some email gets eaten by my spam filter. However please don't send me more than one email unless you really don't get an answer within 3 days. I am not online 24/7 ;) Sometimes it takes a little longer to reply.
If a prize isn't claimed after 7 days I will, if the author agrees, pick another winner.
Please also note that I can not be held responsible for prizes that come direct from authors. I will check with them for you if you haven't received your prize but I can not hunt down your mail! Any prizes that come from myself could come from a 3rd party eg. Amazon or Bookdepository. If I am sending a prize myself please be aware that it could take a few weeks to reach you as it is coming from Europe.
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Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)
In the secret lockup of the Authority, the council that decides what can and can't be done with magic, an undead magic user has possessed one of the prisoners. He wants his freedom-and then some. Now Allie Beckstrom and her lover, Zayvion, are the first line of defense against the chaos he's about to unleash on the city of Portland...
My Thoughts :
Devon Monk, like many, is a favourite author of mine and is on my must buy/read list. However for many reasons I didn't get around to buying this book when it was released. I only recently got hold of a copy and this week I managed to find time to read it. Better now than never but to be honest this sixth book in the series wasn't the best and I fear that the series ready to come to an end.
This may have been a thrilling magical rollercoaster ride but sometimes I felt like I could barely hold on to what was happening in the story. So many characters are now involved in the great scheme of things and I didn't even have a chance to settle into the world and say hello before someone was attacking Allie. I needed someone to slow things down and let me take a breather. Actually I think Allie would of liked that too.
I do love this series for its originality and superb plots but things are getting too complicated and I wish the people who should be dead, really do die sometime. Maybe reading the first book in Devon's new debut series, Dead Iron, has given me something new and different to attach myself too instead of Allie but I have to admit Magic on the Hunt was a bit of a disappointment somehow.
Despite my feelings about this new installment I would and still will recommend this series. It is an amazing unique Urban Fantasy series and the author is an extremely talented writer. The next Allie Beckstrom book will go onto my list to buy because I want to see where things go from here and be with this kickbutt leading lady till the very end. Whatever that end brings.
Post about this giveaway somewhere on the internet eg. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter etc. Make sure you post the link here so I can confirm your extra entry.
Email your friends about this giveaway. Make sure you add my email address so I also get a copy and can confirm your entry. Amberkatzes_Book_Blog@gmx.eu
Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)
Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
Like the rest of America, Scranton's got an uneasy 'live and let unlive' relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that's when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.
My Review :
I have obviously been a good girl because the book gods have made my Summer into a Gustaini delight! Not only is book #3 in his Quincy Morris series due out in July but the first in a new series, Hard Spell, is also due out. There are so many books on my 'To Be Read' pile but when a book from Justin Gustainis comes into my possession, well I have to read it.
So when Hard Spell arrived on my Kindle there was no stopping me. The Blurb for the debut in the Supernatural Crimes series was just too good to resist. And I have to start things off by saying that the blurb does not do this book justice. Hard Spell is actually too good for words but I am going to try my best without giving too much away. In a nutshell, I really loved this book.
Think of all the good cop shows you have watched and then the amazing Paranormal Urban Fantasy books you have read. Mix them up and you have Hard Spell. Actually add a great writer and a distinct new fresh look on things and you have Hard Spell. This one really packs a bite and that isn't just from the demons, vamps and weres. The author has a great style and it grabs me each time. Anyone who hasn't tried this author yet really needs too and Hard Spell is a good place to start.
This one made me laugh out loud, made my heart skip a beat and sometimes I even felt like crying. I sped through this one and didn't want to take a break. I loved the concept, sucked up the details and felt like one of the team of the Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. The twists and turns were sometimes scary but always super and I never knew what was going to happen next.
Justin Gustainis really makes up for the lack of male writers in the genre and it is refreshing to read a book that isn't drenched in romance or has the typical female lead. I am all for girl power but I loved Stan and his partner and the huge helping of testosterone didn't put me off one bit. It made things interesting. That is not to say there is no female characters, there are a few. However they are not girly or trying to chat up the guys but they do play their parts in the plot very well.
Even better than I imagined this has to be one of the must read new releases this Summer. I can't wait for more from the series and look forward to reading the next case when it comes out. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
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Lily gets called away from her vintage clothing store to give police a witch's take on how the leader of a rationalist society could be murdered, surrounded by superstitions he discredited.
Evidence points to dark witchcraft. Lily's determined to use magic of her own to find the murderer, before everyone's luck runs out.
My Review :
Hexes and Hemlines is Witchcraft Mystery #3 and I am seriously in love with this series. The plot this time around was really interesting and spooky. Everyone seems to believe in some kind of superstitions and I learnt about a few new ones while reading this cozy mystery.
I have been reading this series since it started but Hexes and Hemlines is my favourite in the series so far. This newest edition was stronger than the previous two books and also went into more depth magic wise. The author goes into great detail when it comes to the witchy parts of the story and makes everything sound so real. Her explanations are not boring but obviously carefully researched. If only I could get hold of some of the ingredients!
Lots of little elements, such as Lily's familiar, adds a certain humour to this series and makes reading the books just that little bit more fun. Lily is a superb leading lady and someone I would love to be friends with. She has quite an exciting life and has somehow managed to get involved with quite a few guys. While nothing romantic seems to evolving from any of them it is quite amusing to see how she deals with them all.
Shirley Damsgaard fans will adore this series and definitely need to give it a try. This is one worth reading if you love the paranormal and/or cozy mysteries. Although if you aren't a witch fan then stay away. This is spell filled goodness and magic all the way through!
Well I have a mid-week treat for you all this week! Another author guest and another contest!!!
Hexes and Hemlines the 3rd in the Witchcraft Mystery Series came out last week and I am reading it right now and loving it! Juliet Blackwell is one of my favourite cozy writers because her books always have a paranormal element to them.
Enjoy her guest blog about Cozy mysteries and make sure you check out her books! Also enter the contest! Juliet is giving away a signed copy of Hexes and Hemlines!!!
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Can Murder, and Magic, Ever Really Be “Cozy”?
The first time I pitched my book, long before I was published, the agent I was speaking to interrupted my halting spiel to ask:
Is it a cozy?”
“A what?” says I.
“A cozy. No gory scenes, no explicit sex, no one’s getting it on with a zombie dildo…” (actually, I added that last part. Artistic license and all that.) “In other words: would you be embarrassed if your mother read it?”
“Um…not really.”
“Then it’s a cozy.”
That was my introduction to the sometimes questionable term of “cozy mystery”. A lot of folks in the field object to the moniker, implying as it does that we’re not dealing with heavy stuff (some prefer “traditional” mystery, some “amateur detective” mystery…as is usually the case with labels, it’s hard to find one that everyone agrees upon). But ultimately, since all of us mystery authors are penning stories about murder and mayhem, it’s hard to think of some of us writing cozily.
Whether a victim is dismembered and lying in a pool of his own blood or prettily poisoned over a cup of tea in the library, the poor fellow’s dead. It’s the taking of a human life.
In a way, I think the lightness with which murder is treated by some of the “cozier” books out there is more disturbing than the dark and gritty noir thrillers. After all, homicide should be an inherently heavy subject.
That doesn’t mean there can’t be a lot of humor injected into the story. Hang around emergency personnel --be they cops, first-responders, emergency room medical workers—and you’ll hear a whole lot of morbid jokes. Black humor is a valuable psychological mechanism that allows humans to deal with sometimes inhuman cruelty.
So my books are considered “cozies” – sort of – because I don’t dwell on the gruesome aspects of carving up bodies, and I don’t have a lot of on-page sex. But I don’t think they’re necessary to my story: sometimes the implication is far more disturbing, and/or titillating, than explicit scenes. Remember the old saw about finally showing the shark in the movie Jaws? The creature was far more frightening when left to our imaginations. I mean come on, let’s face it, our minds are seriously twisted. That’s the beauty of reading: our imaginations come up with sights, smells, and sounds peculiar to us and our own fears and desires, images that no Hollywood producer would be able to create on screen.
Plus, since my Witchcraft Mystery novels feature a powerful natural witch, Lily Ivory, I’m even less cozy. When I set out to write about witchcraft, the last thing I wanted to invoke was the frivolous spirit of the old Bewitched television show. I’m not about cute witches that turn pesky neighbors into frogs.
(Okay, I’ll admit it, it was my *favorite* show when I was little, and I SO wanted to be Tabitha, or Samantha if she’d just dump that idiot husband of hers.)
But witchcraft is serious. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly women, have been killed after being accused of dabbling in the “dark arts” – not only in Europe and Salem, but still today in many parts of the world. Throughout history powerful women healers have been associated with magical belief systems that are sometimes respected, and sometimes reviled. I draw on that very real and difficult history for my novels, and while I try to inject a lot of humor in my books (especially with Lily’s odd pseudo-familiar, a shape-shifting goblin/potbellied pig) I don’t pretend that Lily Ivory – or any natural witch—would have an easy time of it, even as the owner of a vintage clothing shop in San Francisco’s quirky Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
Because after all, what’s so cozy about potbellied pigs, vintage clothing, murder, and magic?
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In Hexes and Hemlines, powerful witch Lily Ivory steps into a murder investigation that has the police stumped: the leader of a local rationalist society is murdered amidst symbols of bad luck: a black cat, a broken mirror, on the thirteenth floor. As someone with special paranormal talents, Lily is in a unique position to help figure out whether the man’s death had anything to do with tempting the fates. And when the main suspect turns out to be someone Lily knows, and a friend is threatened by an evil practitioner, and an aging Satan worshipper enters the mix…a witch might be compelled to use magic to find the murderer before everyone’s luck runs out.
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Nationally bestselling author Juliet Blackwell writes the Witchcraft Mystery series
Secondhand Spirits, 2009; A Cast-off Coven, 2010;
Hexes and Hemlines, June 2011; If Walls Could Talk launched the Haunted Home Renovation series in 2010;
Dead Bolt, the second in the series, comes out in December.
As one-half of the sister duo dubbed Hailey Lind, Blackwell wrote the Art Lover’s Mystery Series--including Agatha-nominated Feint of Art and the most recent, Arsenic and Old Paint (September; Perseverance Press). A former anthropologist and social worker, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France, and is now a painter in Oakland, California. She served two terms as president of NorCal Sisters in Crime.
Juliet is giving away a signed copy of her latest release, Hexes & Hemlines!
How To Enter
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The contest will stay open until Wednesday 22nd of June 2011 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.
