61) Grave Visions by Kalayna Price

The Blurb :

If you want to hear voices from the dead in Nekros City, you call Alex Craft. She's a Grave Witch with reasonable rates and extraordinary powers, who specializes in revealing the secrets of the dead. But now she's the one fighting to keep her own secret. She's not human—and her newly discovered heritage is causing havoc for her both in the human realm and in Faerie. But her status as an unaffiliated fae also makes her an ideal candidate to investigate a new street drug that has surfaced in several of the spaces between the human and fae worlds.

This glamour-infused drug causes hallucinations that turn real—at least for a while and often with deadly consequences. Searching for the source of this drug—and its purpose—lands Alex front and center in the conflict brewing in Faerie and she must find answers before she's dragged so deep she loses her freedom.

My Thoughts :

It has been a long wait for the fourth Alex Craft installment.  Actually it has been so long I missed the release.  After all this time I hoped I wouldn't be lost and that I would remember at least something of what had happened in the previous books.  Luckily this series is so unusual and unique that it wasn't difficult to remember all about Alex and her visions and situation.  Anything I may of forgotten and needed to know was quickly brought up in the story.  The author did a great job of getting the story back on track and the reader into the story again.

Was it worth the extra wait?  Yes.  I am not a lover of the fae or any series with fae but this one is good.  Very good.  The whole Grave Witch angle is just too interesting to ignore and the brutal but interesting plots are well written and compelling.  Grave Visions reminded me why I loved this series so much and gave me a Paranormal Urban Fantasy boost that I needed.

If you haven't tried this series yet then I really recommend giving it a try.  Fans of the series who may of, like me, forgot about it during the long absence of anything new, should get a copy of this fourth installment asap and enjoy!  Oh and there is a fifth book coming out next year!  Rejoice!!  Hopefully this series is here to stay and will be more of a regular occurrence.

112) Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

The Blurb :

When the dead need to talk, Alex Craft is always ready to listen…

As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead—an ability that comes at a cost, and after her last few cases, that cost is compounding. But her magic isn’t the only thing causing havoc in her life. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, things have recently become a whole lot more close and personal. Then there’s her sometime partner, agent Falin Andrews, who is under the glamour of the Winter Queen. To top everything off, her best friend has been forever changed by her time spent captive in Faerie.

But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a mysterious suicide occurs in Nekros City and Alex is hired to investigate. The shade she raises has no memory of the days leading up to his brutal ending, so despite the very public apparent suicide, this is murder. But what kind of magic can overcome the human will to survive? And why does the shade lack the memory of his death? Searching for the answer might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…

My Thoughts :

I am a late started to this series but I have caught up very quickly.  I had to!  The first book in the series about Alex Craft really wowed me and the second book was even better.  Now this thrid installment, Grave Memory, has me totally hooked.  I want to hang out with Alex Craft, work with her and be her friend.  Damn the consequences and how dangerous it is to be around her, she rocks and I can't get enough of this original story.

The world is not really unlike ours but there are quite a few supernatural elements that you just can't turn a blind eye to.  Faerie is only the right door away and Alex can talk to the dead.  That is just the start of the amazing setting that this series takes place in.  The author has really done an brilliant job of creating a world that is not only unique but extremely interesting.  I am addicted to the depth of the story and unusual aspects while I enjoy what has become a very thrilling plot.

I don't want to give things away so I won't go into depth about Alex's abilities or what has happened so far.  However I will say that it is a very crazy rollercoaster ride that will keep you screaming for more.  I don't particularly enjoy Faerie based stories but this one is really agreeing with me.  The addition of ghosts and Death is just a bonus when it comes down to it and I can't believe I didn't read this series sooner.

Now I eagerly await book #4.  Which is actually a bit of a mystery.  My local Amazon (de) actually had it listed as releasing this month.  Now it is 'not available'.  Kalayna's website hasn't been updated and now Goodreads lists it as a 2014 release.  Please get this book to me sooner.  I need to find out what happens next after that subtle and calm cliffhanger!

     

    

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Monthly Giveaway Results & Winner Announcement

The Monthly Giveaway is over and I have to apologise for not posting the results sooner!  I didn't forget!  I just didn't have time!  Finally my holidays have started and I hope I will be able to find time to read and relax!  Let's hope I have some time left to blog about it!

Anyway, every month here on Amberkatze's Book Blog there is a Monthly Giveaway and you all have the chance to win 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 from the poll!  Keep reading to find out which book won and who has won a copy!



Pumped for Murder by Elaine Viets came in last with only 5% of the vote!


Usually the e-book comes in last but Bone Shop by T. A. Pratt managed to get 4th place with nearly 12% of the votes.


I was pretty sure that most of you had already read Grave Dance by Kalayna Price but it still got third place with 22% of the votes.


With 24% of the vote, Bled & Breakfast by Michelle Rowen was the runner-up this month!


And the winner this month with nearly 40% of the votes is Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Various!   This is a great anthology and I am really happy that you all wanted to win a copy!  If you check the widget below you can see if you won or not!

Did you win?  The Rafflecopter widget below should be showing the name of the lucky winner!  

Are you the winner?  Contact me to claim your prize.

Didn't win this time?  There is a new Monthly Giveaway every month.  Also check the sidebar for the latest author contests.

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Sign up for the newsletter and never miss a Monthly Giveaway!

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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 ;)

  

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Monthly Giveaway Reminder!

Have you entered the Monthly Giveaway yet?  Make sure you check out the details and then make sure you vote, be sure you have your name entered & hopefully you will win!

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 is a little info about each book on offer this month. Just click on the book title and author to see my review :




Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Various



Bled & Breakfast (Immortality Bites Mystery #2) by Michelle Rowen



Grave Dance (Alex Craft #2) by Kalayna Price


Bone Shop by T. A. Pratt (e-book)


Pumped for Murder (Dead-End Jobs #10) by Elaine Viets 

How does the monthly giveaway work?

Well in the sidebar ---> there is this poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. Then enter the Monthly Giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. When the giveaway is over the winner gets book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Newsletter subscribers! If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!!


The poll will stay open for votes until Monday 21st of July 2013 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced within days of the contest closing.

Enter your email address:   Delivered by FeedBurner

Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! 
 Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)

  

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Monthly Giveaway! Vote & Win!

July is here and I am looking forward to my much earned holiday!  I hope I will get to lie on a beach with some great books because I need to get some more reading done.  I am a little behind with my reading and June wasn't a very good month for me because real work got in the way.

However I hope at least one of the books I have on offer for you all this month is worth your vote.  It wasn't easy to pick five this time around because there wasn't much to offer and quite a few weren't paranormal.  I promise next month there will be a better selection!

So who wants to win a copy of one of my favourite reads in June? Keep reading and find out more!

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

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 is a little info about each book on offer this month. Just click on the book title and author to see my review :




Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Various



Bled & Breakfast (Immortality Bites Mystery #2) by Michelle Rowen



Grave Dance (Alex Craft #2) by Kalayna Price



Bone Shop by T. A. Pratt (e-book)



Pumped for Murder (Dead-End Jobs #10) by Elaine Viets 

How does the monthly giveaway work?

Well in the sidebar ---> there is this poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. Then enter the Monthly Giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. When the giveaway is over the winner gets book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for!



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Newsletter subscribers! If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!!


The poll will stay open for votes until Monday 21st of July 2013 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced within days of the contest closing.

Enter your email address:   Delivered by FeedBurner

Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! 
 Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)

  

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79) Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

The Blurb :

Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft.

After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.

The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

My Thoughts :

Grave Dance is the second book in the Alex Craft series and a set of books I am kicking myself for not reading sooner.  I really enjoyed the first book, Grave Witch, and was really excited about getting around to reading this sequel.  So I couldn't resist this one long when it was given to me as a present.  I had to know what Alex got up to next and how the series would develop.

Things had changed a bit in this book and the author quickly gets the reader up to date with mentioning some of the work Alex has done since the last book.  She is a little more financially secure and her work load is heavier.  However her private life is just as messed up as it was with death hanging around and some other interesting characters paying her visits.

The world that the author has developed for this series is very cool with witches of all kinds as well as fae, ghosts and some other fantastical creatures.  Even though some of the elements are quite complicated I don't really have a problem keeping up with everything.  The author has a way of writing about things in such a way that you feel like you already know how things work.  It comes across as a reminder and as nothing new.

Very good Urban Fantasy and definitely one to try if you haven't already.  I am really looking forward to reading the third book and may even have to treat myself to it.  Although I am a little worried about there being no fourth book announced.  Was this only a trilogy?  I like Alex Craft a lot already and hope that the third book isn't the last.

     

    

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Monthly Giveaway Results & Winner Announcement!

The Monthly Giveaway is now over! The results are here and the winner has been chosen!

Did the book you voted for win? Did you win a copy of the winning book? Keep reading and find out!

Here are the results of the vote :


In last place this month is Dead Suite by Wendy Roberts with only 3.39% of the vote. Sad! I know this book is only available in ebook format so maybe that was the reason for the lack of votes. Great series!


Chance of a Ghost by E.J. Copperman only got 10.17% of the vote and fourth place. This ghostly cozy mystery series is a nice read but I think you guys aren't big cozy lovers ;)


Even though this is an older release, Grave Witch by Kalayna Price, got 23.73% of the votes! Not bad! I guess I am not the only one who is late for this party!


A good amount of the vote and second place goes to Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands. 28.81% just wasn't enough to win but maybe you vampire lovers already have this one?




I didn't really expect anyone else to win! 33.9% was enough to keep Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger at the top! With that cover and that blurb...where else but first place!? Well done to the author!

Contest winner :
The Contest winner should now be showing on the widget below. If you are the winner then make sure to contact me with your choice of book from the two winning books. Also make sure you send me your Kindle email address if you would like a Kindle version of the book! Otherwise an address!



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Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and
Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site.

--------------------------

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 usually 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.

Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site.

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Monthly Giveaway Reminder!

Have you entered yet? Not sure what the Monthly Giveaway is all about? Keep reading and find out!

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 is a little info about each book on offer this month. Just click on the book title and author to see my review :

Chance of a Ghost by E.J. Copperman

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Dead Suite by Wendy Roberts

                                                                    (E-version only!)

Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

How does the monthly giveaway work?

Well in the sidebar ---> there is this poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. Then enter the Monthly Giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. When the giveaway is over the winner gets book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Newsletter subscribers! If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!! The poll will stay open for votes until Friday 22nd of March 2013 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced within days of the contest closing.

Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming!
 Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)

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Monthly Giveaway!

It is March already! The year is already flying by and hopefully Spring will be coming along soon! I do love curling up with a good book when it is all cold and miserable outside but it is also nice to lie in the sun and read!

So who wants to win a copy of one of my favourite reads in February? Keep reading and find out more!

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

I read quite a few books in February so there are a few more than usual to choose from. I was stuck in bed sick for a week and I got some serious reading done. So picking five books for this Monthly Giveaway wasn't really hard. I just wonder if there is anything that will interest you guys?

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 is a little info about each book on offer this month. Just click on the book title and author to see my review :

Chance of a Ghost by E.J. Copperman

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Dead Suite by Wendy Roberts

(E-version only!)

Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

How does the monthly giveaway work?

Well in the sidebar ---> there is this poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. Then enter the Monthly Giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. When the giveaway is over the winner gets book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Newsletter subscribers! If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!! The poll will stay open for votes until Friday 22nd of March 2013 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced within days of the contest closing.

Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)

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27) Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

The Blurb :

Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say.

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around...

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life...and her soul.

My Review :

I may just be the only person who hasn't read this series. It is something that has been on my wishlist for way too long and a book I have nearly bought on many occasions. Finally a copy was on my Kindle and I couldn't wait too long to start it. I was hooked within chapters and I finished the book in record time. This is one of those books I really should have read when it was released. It was a spectacular read!

It wasn't easy to get into at first but the world that the author has created slowly opened up and showed its wide spectrum. There were new and unusual aspects to the 'supernatural' elements that came along in this debut for the series and as with any new setting, character and concept it took some time to figure out who was who and what was what. As the story progressed I got a feel for things but I still had the feeling that I was missing some small details. Maybe they will emerge in the rest of the series.

As a debut in a series this was very good. It felt as special and witchy as Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and as interesting and deep as Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld. There were some really cool aspects to the concept and even though at times the writing felt a little 'thrown together', the plot and content was too good to take notice of the small things that seemed off.

I really enjoyed Grave Witch and wish I hadn't taken so long to get my hands on a copy. I will definitely be reading the sequel sometime soon and can't wait to see what else this series has to offer. The start was already more than I expected so the next one should be even better!