Monday's Beginnings (80)

How are you faring at the beginning of this week?  Are you starting a new book or finishing one up?

So it's Monday...again.  I spent my day in bed.  Yep, I got that icky head cold my son had last week.  I do plan on going back to work tomorrow, but today was spent in bed.  I rested this morning, but I did get some reading done this afternoon.  I started Chasing the Bard by Philippa Ballantine.  I'm really enjoying this Shakespearean Fey read.  I did finish two books:  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and The Unfinished Song: Initiate by Tara Maya.  The review for City of Bones will be up tomorrow and the review for The Unfinished Song: Initiate will be up on Saturday.  I'm also working on The Darkest Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay for our reading chats on Thursday.  The second chat will be this week.  Hope you all join in.

I did get a review up last week:
   Triune by Willow Polson

I did get to go yesterday to Steel City Con. :) I was very glad I went.  This was for toys and comics.  But if you would like to read more on that venture, CLICK HERE.  You can see what author I met and what I purchased.

On to my WANT list... I've added 13 books. Oo, my lucky number. :) Well, you all are doing an amazing job of adding books to this list. ;) Thank you!

Books Received Last Week:

For Review:
I was so ecstatic when this author contacted me to review her books.  I've been seeing reviews everywhere between all four of these books and thought I would LOVE them.  So, when she offered I couldn't pass it down.  These are going to be my summer reads. :)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Truth burns.Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya—who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern—suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya—with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team—can stop it.Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.

Goodreads Synopsis:
WITHOUT A TRACE


Anya Kalinczyk is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern, who holds down a day job as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department—while working 24/7 to exterminate malicious spirits haunting a city plagued by unemployment and despair. Along with her inseparable salamander familiar, Sparky, Anya has seen, and even survived, all manner of fiery hell—but her newest case sparks suspicions of a bizarre phenomenon that no one but her eccentric team of ghost hunters might believe: spontaneous human combustion.


After fire consumes the home of elderly Jasper Bernard, Anya is stunned to discover his remains—or, more precisely, a lack of them; even the fiercest fires leave some trace of their victims—and she is sure this was no naturally occurring blaze. Soon she’s unearthed a connection to a celebrity psychic who preys on Detroit’s poor, promising miracles for money. But Hope Solomon wants more—she’s collecting spirits, and in a frantic race against time, Anya will face down an evil adversary who threatens her fragile relationship with her lover, her beloved Sparky’s freshly hatched newts, and the wandering souls of the entire city.

Goodreads Synopsis:
TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER.


As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi’s Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.


Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man’s life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself—from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .

Goodreads Synopsis:
THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE, THE MORE THERE MAY BE TO FEAR.


Tara Sheridan is the best criminal profiler around—and the most unconventional. Trained as a forensic psychologist, Tara also specializes in Tarot card reading. But she doesn’t need her divination skills to realize that the new assignment from her friend and sometime lover, Agent Harry Li, is a dangerous proposition in every way.


Former Cold War operatives, all linked to a top-secret operation tracking the disposal of nuclear weapons in Russia, are disappearing. There are no bodies, and no clues to their whereabouts. Harry suspects a conspiracy to sell arms to the highest bidder. The cards—and Tara’s increasingly ominous dreams—suggest something darker. Even as Tara sorts through her feelings for Harry and her fractured relationship with the mysterious order known as Delphi’s Daughters, a killer is growing more ruthless by the day. And a nightmare that began decades ago in Chernobyl will reach a terrifying endgame that not even Tara could have foreseen. . . .

I receive this new amazing sounding book from the publisher for review.  I'm really looking forward to getting into this one as it sounds to have some great fantasy and fairy sounds to it:

Goodreads Synopsis:
The boundaries between the worlds have fallen. Forced to integrate the creatures of fantasy into real life, humanity struggles against its disillusionment, prejudice and an inevitable feeling of inadequacy.
Once an agent for the embassy that mediates between the worlds, Elizabeth Larson has abandoned her past and slipped into a world of nostalgic addiction to fairy revels, dancing, and the dark lure of her own memories. But when Lockland Sheen, her former partner and lover, goes missing, she is pulled reluctantly back into service. She must venture once more across the borders, into the land that haunts her, facing a string of gruesome murders, the imposing Sidhe rulers and her own addiction in the process.


While the Embassy’s agents attempt to soothe tensions between the races, Liz and her new partner search the fairy realm for Lockland. Fighting the constant temptation of the revels, they piece together the trail of an unknown enemy. But the longer they follow it, the more it appears that the man they came to rescue is more villain than victim. And the more they rely on Elizabeth’s ties to the fairies, the closer she inches toward the madness that lurks behind her fantasies.
 
This one the author contracted me and it sounded like an interesting read with gods and such.  I thought it would be something interesting for me.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Even for a techno-shaman, a kachina in the bedroom isn’t exactly part of the drill. When Olivia Lawson wakes to find one towering over her, she panics. A Hopi god visiting the real world isn't just wrong–it's impossible. Or is it? Soon Olivia learns that the kachina is the least of her worries. As she struggles to save her clients, clashes with other shamans, and fends off the attacks of real-world vigilantes, Olivia finds herself in the destructive path of a malevolent ancient force intent on leaving the spiritual realm to conquer this one. Left with few options, Olivia is forced to defy centuries of shaman prohibitions. As she and her allies risk everything in their bid for survival, Olivia ultimately learns that the rules are there for a reason and that breaking them has a terrible cost.

Winnings:
I won this book from Kristi at The Book Faery.  And I'm really looking forward to reading this series.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.


That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.


Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.


But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?
 
I won this little treasure at WonderBunny's Blog ~ Cookies, Books, and Bikes.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Fin Barrett is a survivor who believes her life is in order once and for all. Unfortunately, she is wrong. As Fin attempts to make a fresh start with her new puppy Zipper, she has no idea that Creeps from another world are stalking her. But then, late one night in a nearby sculpture garden, Fin suddenly finds herself sprinting after Zipper through a mosaic arch. In mere seconds, she is transported to a strange place called the land of Blunder.


In Blunder, sparkly goo makes solid objects penetrable, an old woman's Mercedes travels at unimaginable speeds, and people read handcrafted objects rather than printed words. To top it off, a few of Blunder's citizens seem to know Fin-and not all of them are happy with her. After Fin dredges up terrifying memories of her first visit to Blunder, she remembers it is up to her to stop the Creeps who receive thrills from randomly attacking innocent people.


With the help of an irritating shaman, the ridiculous Sullivan brothers, and a host of other oddball characters, Fin is unwittingly propelled into the role of savior as she and Zipper traverse through an outlandish world where nothing will ever be normal.

Purchased:
Yes, with all these lovely diamonds showing up in the mail I still bought books too!

Well, I'm not sure when I'm going to get to this book now.  But, since I had the first and loved it I had to get the second one.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Day Two: The Wise Man's Fear.

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."


An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road.


All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.


In The Wise Man's Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
 
And I just finished City of Bones and found that I desperately needed the second book, so I found it on the shelf all alone and figured I would give it a good home...

Goodreads Synopsis:
A murderer is loose in New York City ...

... and the victims are Downworlder children. Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary's father, may be behind the killings. But if he is the murderer, then what's his true motive? To make matters worse, the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen, and the mysterious Inquisitor has arrived to investigate, with his eyes vigilantly targeted on Clary's brother, Jace.


Clary will need to face some terrifying demons and even more terrifying family decisions. No one said that the life of a Shadowhunter would be easy.

I have realized this week that my poor shelves are full.  I really don't want to put any  of my amazing books in totes.  So, I'm going to have to figure something out here.  I just keep adding to them.  The are going to explode one of these days. ;)

I'm hoping to make some blog visits tonight and get more reading done before my eyes close for the night. 

How are you faring this week?  Does it look like a good reading week for you?

I'm hoping it turns out to be a wonderful week for all of us.

Here's to wishing you all the best in words and pages.