Book Review: Never Tempt Danger

Never Tempt Danger

By:  Denise Robbins

Publisher:  L&L Dream-Spell

Publish Date:  October 2010

Format:  Paperback, 252 pgs, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Genre:  Suspense Romance

Series:  Stand-Alone

Recommendation:  Yes.  A brief Science Fiction read full of suspense and romance.

Book Synopsis:
Maureen thought her special gift was a curse.  Maybe she's right...

As the one man who accepted her "gift" slid the diamond ring onto her shaky finger, Maureen saw his death flash in her mind an instant before the bullet struck.  With blood on her hands and a government research project in the balance, Maureen - Gilly - Gillman does the only smart thing she can.  She disappears.  If there was one thing Maureen had learned, it was Never Tempt Danger.

Special agent Lucas Danger knows Maureen Gillman better than any other man.  Assigned to find Gilly and her military robot prototype, Lucas discovers that his past has caught up with him.  When the woman he loves collides with his secretive past, Lucas has to open his mind as well as his heart to save Maureen.

Who will get to her first?

First Sentence:
Her pulse had not stopped racing since he put the box down.

My Review and Summary:
Maureen, Gilly as her close friends call her, loves working with electronics, technological and cars alike.  She's working on a robot to win a contract with the government, which could save lives.  She is excited about her creation.  Then she saw the images in her mind just before they happened - her co-worker and current boyfriend is shot, while holding her hand proposing to her.  What else is there for Gilly to do?  She runs, disappears to hide and work.  Lucas, an agent who works for the same company as Gilly, knows her very well from their long history is sent to find her and keep her safe.  But, it seems Lucas isn't the only one wanting Gilly...

This book was just what I needed at this time.  I dove in and didn't want to stop reading.  We jumped right in from page one.  Jimmy and Maureen are at dinner when the unthinkable happens and Maureen leaves to get her job done, in hiding.  The author has done a great job at keeping me wondering and wanting to read on for more, whether it be the suspense and action or the romance and love I want to see happen.  I kept wondering on Gilly, the project, Lucas, and who is after her.

Gilly is a very special character in this book.  She is a strong female character that is willing to take on the world to protect those she loves.  She also has a love for classic cars and electronics.  But the biggest speciality she has is her gift.  Gilly is psychic.  She can read minds and she gets premonitions of people she is close to.  It seems Gilly's Irish family all share these unique gifts.  Part of what made me like Gilly so is she is head strong.  She will do as she wants or thinks is right.  But when proven something else is right, she reluctantly admits to it.

Along with the suspense of being chased Gilly creates her robot which gives the book a science fiction feel as well.  But we have our romance in this book as two people reunite and fall in love all over again.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick read for me as I didn't want to put it down.  I enjoyed spending time with these comfortable characters.


I received this book as part of the book tour with the author.

Looking Forward To... (34)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down. Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

Next Book Is...

The Heroes

By:  Joe Abercrombie

Due Out:  February 7, 2011

I have to throw in some Fantasy books here and there as I'm a Fantasy fan.  Joe is one of the amazing authors I've read.  He can draw a picture of a world in words which makes it so easy to see in your mind.  And the battles...  He has a great dark world created in which he sets his stand-alone books as well, The First Law Series started this world and it works great.

This picture might be hard to see, but there are faces in the splatters.  This is an amazing looking cover!  It mesmerizes me.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

War: where the blood and dirt of the battlefield hide the dark deeds committed in the name of glory. THE HEROES is about violence and ambition, gruesome deaths and betrayals; and the brutal truth that no plan survives contact with the enemy. The characters are the stars, as ever, and the message is dark: when it comes to war, there are no heroes...

Meet THE HEROES. 

Curnden Craw: a ruthless fighter who wants nothing more than to see his crew survive. 

Prince Calder: a liar and a coward, he will regain his crown by any means necessary.

Bremer dan Gorst: a master swordsman, a failed bodyguard, his honor will be restored - in the blood of his enemies.

Over three days, their fates will be sealed.

Winner!

We have a winner for the Audiobook of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler!

I want to thank you all for stopping by to enjoy the interviews with Anyan and Ryu and commenting showing how much you all would like to have this audio book. :)

I do hope those of you who have not had the opportunity to read (or listen to) Nicole's books, that you do. :)

There was a total of 63 entries.

Now the winner... Drum roll please...

The winning number was 29, who was...

Mel from Mel's Random Reviews!

Congrats Mel!

I will be emailing you in a few minutes.

You will have 48 hours from 9:01 pm EST to return the email, or another winner will be picked.

Book Chat (7)...Happy Hour of the Damned

So, we have come to our first stop at Happy Hour... of the Damned. :)  Do we need a few drinks to get this chat started?  Let me call the bartender over to help us out and we will get going.

In the mean time if you would like to refresh yourself with our chat breaks, you can check out the schedule HERE.

Robyn, from The Bookoholic Zone, and I have pulled together some questions to start the discussions.  And we have checked in with the author Mark Henry for any chat discussion thoughts on the sections.  He has graciously sent us a few questions as well.

So, now that we have our Happy Hour drinks, are you ready to get chatting?  I'm feeling chatty.  How about you?

Mark's Questions:
1. Is this novel a satire of the urban fantasy genre?
2. What is the author's intent with the footnotes? Are they successful?
3. Amanda is an antiheroine in the strictest sense of the word. Is the reader supposed to like her?
4. What is the point where you realized that this book was NOT like other urban fantasies?
 
Robyn's Questions:
1. Martin seems to be safe right not but for how much longer?
2. If you turned zombie, would you break in and steal make-up? Or would you go all natural?
3. How long do you think she'll stay at her job before people start to wonder?
 
Melissa's Questions:
1.  What do you think happened to Liesl?  And what was in that box?
2.  What do you think of Amanda meeting and making new friends?
3.  Amanda seemed kind of shocked she could do the breathe thing.  What do you think of that?  Will she make another zombie?

Book Review: Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers

By:  Russ Colchamiro

Publisher:  3 Fingers Prints

Publish Date:  October 2010

Format:  Paperback 298pgs

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  Stand-alone, yet 1st in 3-part series.

Recommendation:  If you like some fun fantasy that has an enjoyable folly of men journeying through Europe and a farce on beings who create.

Book Synopsis:
On a backpacking trip through Europe, Jason Medley and Theo Barnes stumble through hash bars and hangovers; religious zealots and stalkers; food poisoning and thunderstorms; cute girls; overnight trains; fever-pitch hallucinations - and the spectre of adult responsibility!

But when a jar containing the Universe's DNA falls from Eternity, these new friends find their loyalties put to the test... unaware that a motley crew from another realm is chasing them across the globe, with the fate of the Milky Way hanging in the balance.

Traversing Europe, New Zealand and the backbone of Eternity, Finders Keepers is a buddy story that not only tackles friendship, sex, commitment and desire, but also God, reincarnation - and what really happened to the dinosaurs!

First Sentence:
The last thing Donald and Danielle ever wanted was to wreck their marriage, lose their jobs, get banished from Eternity and jeopardize the Milky Way galaxy.

My Review and Summary:
Newlyweds, Donald and Danielle, make an unexpected stop in the Milky Way Galaxy on Earth - out and away from Eternity, their home.  Not knowing this fun stop could be disastrous for them and the whole Milky Way Galaxy.  They accidentally knocked their assigned jar of CBM (the Universes DNA) off a ledge into a cooling frozen humongous glacier during their hanky panky moment.  Lost.  Now the warehouses the jars are stored in the off hours are being inventoried and their lost jar will be caught missing, leaving them in serious trouble with consequences.

Jason, an English teacher looking for work in New York, agreed to drop everything and go on a backpacking adventure in Europe.  Something completely out of his character.  Not knowing what he was going to do or where to visit Jason finds himself in Europe.  What could go wrong?  The one question you shouldn't ask yourself...  Jason finds another gentleman, Theo, who is on a mission to find a person he was sent to find that can tell him about the strange jar he found.  These two pair up for their adventures.

This book can't be anything but fun.  Look at that cover.  If you could see the back of the cover too you would see that.  This story reminded me of a farce on a fantasy of gods and creators and a folly of men out for fun and adventure.  I loved it.

I enjoyed the way the characters all ended up intermingled with each other.  Even when one sent another to meet someone and they all linked through a line of connections.  Great work here with the character relations.  As I enjoyed the follies of the boys day out, I also enjoyed the Eternitarians.  They were the brief fun release for me with the "punishments" that where given to them for their wrong doings.  Great lessons to be learned here.

In the end the book had touched on many subjects; friendships between different people male and female, love, sex, and touring the country side in Europe.

The journey these men take struck me as a great mans day out... without woman.  The characters learn much about themselves and relationships with others, new and old, in this journey.


I received this book for review from the author.

This book qualifies for my Speculative Fiction Challenge of 2011, Hosted by Floor to Ceiling Books.

Teaser Tuesday (56)

Teaser Tuesday

is a weekly event

Sponsored by MizB of Should be Reading

Here's how it works:

Grab the book you are currently reading (anything at all)

Open the book to any random page.

Share 2 teaser sentences from anywhere on the page

Please Make Sure They Are Not Spoilers!

(Don't Give Too Much Away)

Just enough to pique our interests

This Week:

The funeral home heist was considerably more complicated; first off, how would I get in?  The exterior windows were either too high to reach of firmly imprisoned by iron bars.  Through the wired glass in the locked rear door, I looked in on a dark hallway.

Happy Hour of the Damned

By Mark Henry

pg 70

Monday's Beginnings (71)

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

I have to start off with... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  I do hope all of you had a wonderful time helping the new year come to life, with all your friends and family.  I did enjoy myself and meet some new people, I would like to think could be great friends in the future.

But... on the book stuff.  These holidays have really cramped my style lately.  I have loads in store to come, read, do... And not sure where to start.

I HAVE to get my review for Finders Keepers by Russ Colchamiro up this week.  I was planning for last week, but... well... shiot happens at home.  I'm currently working on The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman, and Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry (for the UF Blog Book Chat - come join us!).  I'm going to be starting Never Tempt Danger by Denise Robbins, for her Book Tour - which she will be by on the 10th!  You might want to stop by - hint, hint... ;)

Loads still going on:
1.)  The Urban Fantasy Blog Book Chat will be starting on Thursday the 6th.  We will be chatting Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry.  CLICK HERE for the schedule.

2.)  The Audiobook Giveaway of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler is still going. It will be ending January 4, 2011 at 11: 59pm.  CLICK HERE to go enter!

My WANT list... well, I've only added 3 books.  But there has been a load of stuff going on these last few weeks.  I'm hoping to be back on track here very, very soon. :)

Received Last Week:
Purchased:

I've seen the next book in this series being released recently and it has raised my curiosity.  So with the 50% discount at Borders and my gift card I went to get it.

Goodreads synopsis:
Symir -- the Drowning City. home to exiles and expatriates, pirates and smugglers. And violent revolutionaries who will stop at nothing to overthrow the corrupt Imperial government.

For Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and spy, the brewing revolution is a chance to prove herself to her crown. All she has to do is find and finance the revolutionaries, and help topple the palaces of Symir. But she is torn between her new friends and her duties, and the longer she stays in this monsoon-drenched city, the more intrigue she uncovers -- even the dead are plotting. 

As the waters rise and the dams crack, Isyllt must choose between her mission and the city she came to save.

I've read the first two books in this series and have heard great things of this third book too.  So, even if it might be a little while before I get to the book, it's on the shelf to grab when I'm ready. (thank you borders for that 50% and the girls at work for the gift card I'm now depleted completely.)

Goodreads synopsis:

When you’re staring evil in the eye, don’t forget to watch your back . . .

For the first time in forever, Jayné Heller’s life is making sense. Even if she routinely risks her life to destroy demonic parasites that prey on mortals, she now has friends, colleagues, a trusted lover, and newfound confidence in the mission she inherited from her wealthy, mysterious uncle. Her next job might just rob her of all of them. At Grace Memorial Hospital in Chicago, something is stirring. Patients are going AWOL and research subjects share the same sinister dreams. Half a century ago, something was buried under Grace in a terrible ritual, and it’s straining to be free. Jayné is primed to take on whatever’s about to be let loose. Yet the greatest danger now may not be the huge, unseen force lurking below, but the evil that has been hiding in plain sight all along—taking her ever closer to losing her body, her mind, and her soul. . . .

So, how are you faring this week?  Does it look like a good reading week for you?

Here's to wishing you a great week in words and pages.

And you are always welcome to link up your Monday's Beginnings too!