Sunday Post #3

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share new about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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Happy St. Patrick's day!!! Did you get your green beer?  I didn't get green beer, but did get to celebrate one of my favorite holidays. :) And Surprise, surprise I'm up early today feeling great. Seriously!

What's Happening in Books:

Current Read:
Time Heals by Dina James (will start tonight)

Current Podcast Book Listen:
The Dreamer's Thread by Starla Huchton

Finished Last Week:
The House of Grey Vol. 3 by Collin Earl
Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson

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Last Week on the Blog:

GIVEAWAY! Dual set of Angelology AND Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni And a mixed drink recipe (giveaway ends 3/25)

Camp NaNoWriMo - April, and I'm joining
Just for Fun...Books and Music

Thoughts On: The Dreamer's Thread by Starla Huchton (first two episodes - first 4 chapters)

Unlikely by Frances Pauli (book review)
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (book review)

Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson (cover reveal)

Weekly Posts:
***NEW*** Mythical Monday
Teaser Tuesday
Who? What? Where? Wend.
Throwback Thursday
Freebies and Deals, on Nook too

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This Week to Come on the Blog:

The Weekly Posts.

There will be TWO cover reveals here this week.  One Wednesday and one Friday!

Thoughts on Next chapters in The Dreamer's Thread by Starla Huchton
Reviews on The Little Clockwork Mermaid by Philippa Ballantine and Uprising by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart.

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Received Last Week:

For Review:

Time Heals by Dina James
Goodreads Synopsis:
Rebecca MacDonnell is strange. More than that, she's a Stranger, a human born with the ability to use her own life's force to heal ethereal beings. Vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, goblins, and other things thought only imaginary all need help sometime, and when they do, they come to her.

Some things, however, are beyond help. Something is stalking all Ethereals, great and small. Beings of every race are fleeing a terror no one will acknowledge, let alone name.

At seventeen, Mistress Healer Rebecca is still learning to manage her power. She must learn to control it before it controls her.

Unless it's already too late.

When her burgeoning ability gets away from her, that which heals turns to harm and drives her loyal man-wolf bodyguard Billy straight into the arms of the unknown horror.

Unlikely new friends are her only hope to finding out what's happened, and she must enter new – and dangerous – territory in order to do it.

Crosslines by Russ Colchamiro
Goodreads Synopsis:
Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises’ Crossline and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize space travel as we know it.

But during his psychedelic jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe, where he finds himself at the center of a civil war he may have been destined for all along!

Teamed up with a gorgeous, trigger-happy redhead, a pot-smoking Shaman, a crafty pie maker, and a weary soldier who hates his guts, Powell must survive a cross-country rescue mission and his own trippy vision quests long enough for his wife and young daughter to outsmart Taurus’ reclusive CEO, whose own secrets may prevent Powell from ever making it back to Earth.

From author Russ Colchamiro, Crossline is a hilarious, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?

Purchased:

What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball
Goodreads Synopsis:
A Fantasy Lover's Food Guide Equal parts writer's guide, comedy, and historical cookbook, fantasy author Krista D. Ball takes readers on a journey into the depths of epic fantasy's obsession with rabbit stew and teaches them how to catch the blasted creatures, how to move armies across enemy territories without anyone starving to death, and what a medieval pantry should look like when your heroine is seducing the hero.

Learn how long to cook a salted cow tongue, how best to serve salt fish, what a "brewis" is (hint: it isn't beer), how an airship captain would make breakfast, how to preserve just about anything, and why those dairy maids all have ample hips. 

What Kings Ate will give writers of historical and fantastical genres the tools to create new conflicts in their stories, as well as add authenticity to their worlds, all the while giving food history lovers a taste of the past with original recipes and historical notes.

The Mythical Creatures Bible by Brenda Rosen
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Mythical Creatures Bible provides a complete guide to mythical beasts and beings from a variety of cultures around the world, including Mesopotamian, ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian and Chinese, Japanese, Nordic, Celtic and Native American. From frightening vampires to the fantastic phoenix, you will be captivated by the history, folklore and myth surrounding over 250 extraordinary creatures. Including dragons, giants, zombies, house spirits, shape-shifters and gods that take on animal forms, this is an indispensable reference that is guaranteed to stir your imagination.

Received in Mail:
I received this one from the publisher, so the only thing I can think is I won it.  Now I need to get the first book.

Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Shattered Pillars is the second book of Bear’s The Eternal Skytrilogy and the sequel to Range of Ghosts. Set in a world drawn from our own great Asian Steppes, this saga of magic, politics and war sets Re-Temur, the exiled heir to the great Khagan and his friend Sarmarkar, a Wizard of Tsarepheth, against dark forces determined to conquer all the great Empires along the Celedon Road.

Elizabeth Bear is an astonishing writer, whose prose draws you into strange and wonderful worlds, and makes you care deeply about the people and the stories she tells. The world of The Eternal Sky is broadly and deeply created—her award-nominated novella, "Bone and Jewel Creatures" is also set there.

Freebies:
(You can find most of the links to get these on Friday's Freebies and Deals post)

The Kaiser Affair by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads SynopsisWhen a master thief escapes from prison, detective Bettina Rothschild must put him back behind bars before the scandalous fiasco destroys the Ministry of Justice. Her investigation leads from decaying cemeteries where ravens conspire to warehouses where wondrous machines are built in secret, and even to the fabled Drifting Isle above the city of Eisenstadt where an ancient tomb hides a deadly secret.

The relentless chase proves taxing for a young woman who relies on her cane and her steamcarriage to get about, but that's where a good husband steps in. While Bettina picks locks and interrogates suspects, her beloved Arjuna defends her from the most brutal and bizarre assassins in Eisenstadt.

But as the clock ticks down, Bettina finds too many questions still remain. How did the thief escape from prison? How can he afford to hire so many killers? And why would he go to the Drifting Isle only to steal a giant beetle?

Daphne and the Silver Ash by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
For fans of The Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, Legend, and other fine stories that begin with "L":

In the weary old city of Trevell, young Daphne happily divides her time between caring for her family and crafting the finest shoes in town. But when she is summoned to sing for a panicking phoenix afraid of its fiery rebirth, Daphne is swept up in a thousand-year-old struggle for survival between immortal spirits. 

Endowed with the phoenix's powers of air and fire, as well as the creature's beautiful golden skin and ruby feathers, Daphne has only a few hours to save a dying tree, restore a crumbling city, and stop an invading army before the phoenix's fire consumes her mortal heart.

Genre: fairy tale | fantasy | adventure | romance | mythology | novella

Length: 108 pages | 27,000 words

Omar the Immortal by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
For fans of the Halcyon Trilogy, a new dark odyssey begins:

In the exotic land of Marrakesh, scholar Omar Bakhoum joins an airship expedition into the freezing north in search of a legendary country called Ysland. There he hopes to learn the secrets of the afterlife from a lost race of sages, but howling ice storms, legions of ghosts, and a deadly samurai stand between Omar and his goal.

His journey has barely begun before the members of the expedition team begin dying of a mysterious condition, one by one. As the last remaining foreigner on board, Omar is accused of the murders and he quickly finds that an airship high above the frozen sea is a dangerous place to fight for his innocence, or his life.

Series: This novella introduces the Europa series of dark fantasy adventures. It takes place in the world of The Other Earth four years before the Halcyon series of swashbuckling steampunk adventures.

Features: Map | The first chapter of Europa #2: FREYA THE HUNTRESS (a novel)

Freya the Huntress by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
For fans of the Halcyon Trilogy, the dark odyssey across Europa continues:

Last night, Freya’s sister was bitten by a horrific beast in the snowy hills of Ysland. Now, Freya has only a few hours to find a cure for this strange plague before her sister becomes a ravening fox demon.

With her husband Erik and the young witch Wren at her side, Freya explores deserted cities full of ghosts and lone survivors on the edge of madness. She finally seeks answers in the ancient city of Rekavik where she must face the deadly witch queen Skadi and the vicious warrior Leif Blackmane.

But the only person who can cure the demon plague is the same person who created it, a stranger from a distant land who carried a sword full of captured souls, a man who was murdered five years ago…

Wren the Fox Witch by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
The dark odyssey across Europa concludes:

Wren has followed the mysterious Omar Bakhoum from her home in Ysland across the frozen wastes of Europa to the warring cities of Constantia and Stamballa, where war is the least of Wren's problems. On steam-driven ironclads she meets more of Omar's immortal brethren who have all but lost their humanity, and in the icy streets she finds a legion of frozen corpses waging a war of their own against the living.

While Omar leads the fight against the undead, Wren sets out alone to pit her wits and skills against the most powerful witch in the world, the immortal Rus crone Baba Yaga, who has gone mad with grief from the loss of her son, Koschei the Deathless. A cruel gauntlet awaits Wren as she confronts the spiteful souls of her dead teachers, her own secret fears made flesh, and the waking nightmares of Yaga herself.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. A handsome young major in the Constantian army has caught Wren's eye, and Omar has taught her a few new tricks, like how to control the aether mists that reveal the souls of the dead. And if she can defeat the other-worldly forces besieging the city, the only thing left in her path will be a vast armada of naval destroyers and deadly airships.

But that's all right. Wren likes a challenge.

The Burning Sky by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
Taziri Ohana is an elite airship pilot, though the long hours away from home have taken a toll on her family and she longs for a simpler life. When the Northern Air Corps is wiped out in a catastrophic fire, only Taziri survives to help the marshals pursue the suspects across the skies of Marrakesh. Their investigation reveals a vast conspiracy of deposed aristocrats, wealthy industrialists, and warmongers plotting against the crown. Taziri discovers that her own inventions have been perverted by the conspirators, the cities plunge into violent riots, and their only hope for salvation may be an exiled princess, her swashbuckling escort, and a crippled airship plummeting out of the burning sky.

A note about the text

This is a work of historical fantasy. Some of this world may be familiar to you.

But in this world, Europe never emerged from the last Ice Age and only the southern areas are habitable. North Africa is cool, wet, and fertile. Ancient nations such as the Persian Empire have persisted, though others, such as the Romans, never rose to power. Some of the countries in this world reflect the cultures and attitudes of the Renaissance while others reflect the Industrial Age. Historical figures appear, though they too may be different from the ones you have known.

Don’t expect this world to conform to the history that you know. The people and places are different. The climate and wildlife are different.

Even death is different here.

The Broken Sword by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
For fans of swashbuckling adventures such as The Princess Bride and The Three Musketeers:

When they tried to conquer the New World, the Espani lost everything: soldiers, ships, wealth, and even their faith. But Don Lorenzo Quesada believes an ancient holy relic will restore his country to prosperity and honor, unless the military finds it first. Accompanied by his best fencing students, his Incan wife, and her sabre-toothed cat, Lorenzo races across his wintry homeland through a gauntlet of blood-thirsty assassins, undead demons, and giant beasts to recover the sacred skyfire stone.

But when the stone is stolen and a massive Espani warship sets sail for Marrakesh, Lorenzo must stop a war that could destroy all the nations of the Middle Sea, even if it costs him both the holy stone and his life.

Readers return to The Other Earth in this stunning vision of an alternate world where fantastical machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts still roam the earth, and the restless dead walk among the living.

Genre: action/adventure | historical fantasy | swashbuckler | steampunk | Morocco | Spain

Length: 364 pages | 91,000 words

A note about the text

This is a work of historical fantasy. Some of this world may be familiar to you.

But in this world, Europe never emerged from the last Ice Age and only the southern areas are habitable. North Africa is cool, wet, and fertile. Ancient nations such as the Persian Empire have persisted, though others, such as the Romans, never rose to power. Some of the countries in this world reflect the cultures and attitudes of the Renaissance while others reflect the Industrial Age. Historical figures appear, though they too may be different from the ones you have known.

Don't expect this world to conform to the history that you know. The people and places are different. The climate and wildlife are different.

Even death is different here.

The Bound Soul by Joseph Robert Lewis
Goodreads Synopsis:
A murder in a hotel lobby. A high-speed chase across the entire length of the continent. And a manhunt through the ancient and deadly streets of Alexandria.

Qhora Yupanqui has always feared being alone, and now she is. Exiled from her Incan homeland, deprived of her dashing husband, and separated from her beloved beasts, she must gather her own allies to find a killer and free the souls of hundreds of murdered men and women.

With the help of Taziri Ohana’s amazing inventions, Mirari Velasquez’s unshakable loyalty, and Salvator Fabris’s deadly blade, Qhora unravels the mystery of the soul-stealing metal aetherium and the ancient cult of priests and assassins who not only want to rule the world, but overthrow Death itself.

Readers return to The Other Earth through this stunning vision of an alternate world where fantastical machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts still roam the earth, and the restless dead walk among the living.

Blood Faerie by India Drummond

Goodreads Synopsis:
Sentenced to death, Eilidh ran—away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.

The Shadow of Black Wings by James Calbraith
Goodreads Synopsis: The divination clock is broken. The Year of the Dragon is coming.

In the midst of 19th century the world trembles before the might of the Dragon Throne’s ironclad navy and the dreaded Dragon Corps. A young dragon raider Bran joins a regiment of the Royal Marines, led by his estranged father, on a journey to the war-torn Orient.
In the lands of Yamato, sealed behind the Divine Winds, conspiracy to overthrow its military dictator grows stronger. A timid shrine apprentice Nagomi is haunted by the visions of dark future. Her only friend Sato, a tomboy samurai, strives for the right to learn and teach the art of western magic.

When Bran survives the sea disaster and gets separated from his bound-to–go- feral dragon, the paths of the East and West will cross in a way noone yet suspects...

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Reviews in the Works:

The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan
The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan

Outpost by Ann Aguirre

Uprising by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart

Mountains Challenge by John Mierau

The Little Clockwork Mermaid by Philippa Ballantine

The Dimensional Shift by Frances Pauli

The House of Grey Vol. 3 by Collin Earl

Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson