Looking Forward to...(128)

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.)

It's been a while since I've done one of these Friday Looking Forward posts.  And I miss doing them.

Next Book Is...

Kindred and Wings

Shifted World #2

By:  Philippa Ballantine

Due Out:  August 6, 2013

This is one amazing fantasy world and story.  Everything you know of fantasy, forget it!  This is like nothing else.  And Yes, the book is already out, but I still have to get it. HAVE TOO!

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the back of the dragon Wahirangi, Finn the Fox flees the world he has known. As he sets out to find the brother he never knew of, he still holds in his heart the memory of the Hunter. He has denied his love for her, but he cannot deny it forever.

In the halls of the Last Believers, Talyn begins to uncover her own mysteries, but her lust for the death of the Caisah is still strong and clouds her vision. She must choose her path, as the Seer of her people or as the assassin of the overlord.

Meanwhile, Byre, Talyn's brother, must venture into the fiery world of the Kindred, to rebuild the pact that his ancestors made. He will risk everything he is as he forms a new pact that will change his people forever.

Dragons and myths will be reborn, as the Hunter and her Fox face each other once more.

Freebies and Deals, on Nook too (64)

As every week, Barnes & Nobles has their Freebie Friday thread up.

Deals:
Don't have any this week.

Freebies:

Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan
Amazon ~ Kindle

Amazon Synopsis:

Special double feature edition! For a limited time, this ebook includes both Fairy Metal Thunder and Fairy Blues (Songs of Magic, Book 1 and 2). Get both for one low price!

Fairy Metal Thunder:

A rock & roll fairy tale.

Jason Becker plays guitar in a small-town garage band called the Assorted Zebras, along with a few other kids from his school.  Unfortunately, they have no fans, no gigs, and they're going nowhere. Then Jason catches a goblin robbing his house, and he chases the little green thief to creepy old Mrs. Dullahan's overgrown back yard, where he discovers that the miniature doors in her trees lead deep into the fairy world.

Jason returns with fairy instruments that transform the band's sound into powerful, enchanting music. Soon, the Zebras are drawing huge crowds, but they discover their new gear is brimming with destructive magic they can't control. 

Their shortcut to success turns Jason and his friends into enemies of the treacherous Queen Mab, who wants to keep the fairy world secret from humans. She sends magical hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie...a small unicorn named Buttercake.

Fairy Blues:

With their enchanted instruments charming the crowds, the Assorted Zebras attract interest from record producers, and soon they're off to cut their first album and music video. Jason and his friends don't know they've just become pawns in a sinister plot by a cabal of evil fairies...

Meanwhile, Aoide and her band pursue a new strategy for regaining their stolen instruments, one that will take them into the most haunted region in Faerie.


Discover the magical world of the Songs of Magic series today!

So, not much here for you.  Have you found anything?

Adding Mystery to the Mix - Guest Post by Kate SeRine & GIVEAWAY!

If you've been around for the last year, you know I'm loving the Transplanted Tales series.  One thing that has caught my attention, the mystery built in with the Paranormal Romance in a great setting.  Yes, mystery.  Actually, murder mysteries with each story that is full of romance.  I absolutely love it!  This is the way I love my romance, with an AMAZING story and setting, and Kate has it all bundled into one amazing package with each story she tells.

Please, share a warm welcome for Kate SeRine.

Adding Mystery to the Mix

When I began writing my Transplanted Tales series, I didn’t intend to write mystery or suspense. In fact, I only knew that I wanted to write a story about these Tales who’d been living secretly among us for a couple hundred years. How that story was going to unfold wasn’t something I sat down and planned out. I just wrote the story that was in my head. But within the first two pages of RED, Tess “Red” Little’s voice took on a noir tone that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I’d written several novels prior to this one and never before had I heard a character’s voice so distinctly. So I went with it.

But it wasn’t just Red who played a part in setting the noir tone for the novel. When I decided to pair Tess up with the grim reaper, Nate Grimm, I got a vision of him as a throwback to the 1930s and 40s movies like the Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. And suddenly the mystery/suspense elements all fell into place. I ended up having a lot of fun weaving a mystery into Tess and Nate’s love story, making sure I was dropping little clues here and there as I went so that the big reveal at the end made sense. It wasn’t always easy—there’s a lot of editing involved in making sure that a mystery is on track.

When my editor and I determined that each book would have a different romantic couple, I spent a lot of time mulling over the best way to handle the transition from Tess’s voice to Lavender Seelie’s. Although the noir tone worked well for Tess and Nate in RED, it wasn’t really going to fit Lavender and Seth in THE BETTER TO SEE YOU. So, instead of trying to force their story to fit into that same voice, I decided to give Lavender her own distinct voice and rely upon mystery and suspense and the series plot arc to provide continuity instead. By the time I began writing ALONG CAME A SPIDER, the mystery/suspense elements for the series were now firmly established.

As to how to weave together romance, mystery, suspense and the paranormal into one story…? I wish I could say that there’s a tried-and-true roadmap for making it work. And maybe someone out there has one. But for me, there are three key components:

Practice – I write, I edit, and I write some more. And then I edit some more. The first draft is just practice.

Study – I study other people whose writing I admire (from the classics to the contemporary). And then I try to learn a thing or two from what they do really well.

Instinct – And, in the end, I go with my gut. I’m not quite sure how to explain that part… I guess I either “feel” the story I’m writing or I don’t. And if I’m not feeling it, I go back to steps one and two until instinct kicks in and takes over. And I’m pretty sure this is when the magic happens. ;)

Blog Tour GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio:
Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) faithfully watched weekend monster movie marathons while growing up, each week hoping that maybe this time the creature du jour would get the girl. But every week she was disappointed. So when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed that her characters would always have a happily ever after. And, thus, her love for paranormal romance was born.

Kate lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new worlds to share and is even now working on her next project.

Find out more about Kate at www.kateserine.com.

You can find Kate on many venues:

Learn more about her and her books.

Site:  http://www.kateserine.com/

Blog:  http://www.kateserine.com/blog/

Twitter:  @KateSeRine

Book Review: Along Came A Spider

Along Came A Spider

By:  Kate SeRine

Publisher:  Kensington Books

Publish Date:  August 1, 2013

Format:  ebook, 265pgs

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Series:  3rd in Transplanted Tales series; 1st Book ~ Red, 2nd Book ~ The Better To See You

Recommendation:  Oh sweet nib-lets, yes. Nicky Blue is back and fighting. Trish is sparking to solve the case, and maybe a glimpse of love she passed up on her first day in Here and Now.

Synopsis:
Along came a spider...

When Trish Muffet is attacked at a grisly crime scene, the last person she expects to come to her rescue is Nicky "Little Boy" Blue.  But since walking away from everything two years before, Nicky's been doling out vigilante justice as "The Spider," taking on the vicious predators of the night in hopes it'll lead him to his ultimate target - Vlad Dracula.  And he needs Trish's help.

Although Nicky's renegade style goes against everything Trish stands for, she'll do what she must to bring Dracula down.  With danger stalking her, Trish Knows the only person she can count on is the one man who has the power to leave her breathless.  There's no way she's letting this spider frighten her away...

First Sentence:
I remember darkness - deep, impenetrable.

Purchase At:
Amazon   /   Barnes & Nobles 

**I read this book for an honest review.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Even the Grim Reaper, Nate, is distressed by what he find with the newly found dead body Trish has come to read.  A man with his throat ripped out, but no blood sprays.  The clues lead to a vampire kill.  The only attacks that ever come to this close to brutal...were Dracula's.  Vlad Dracula went to ground two years ago after involvement in Sebille's Killing spree, where Nate and Tess were involved.  Now, they are afraid he might be back and looking to make Tess his once and for all.  Tess, even in her condition, is ready to go after Dracula and settle her score with him.  Then, there's a "hero" (or vigilante) who's been swooping in and taking care of bad guys, and strange vampires, they are calling The Spider.  The human governed group, The Agency, is involved and keeps appearing everywhere Trish looks for clues to the vampires on a killing spree, creating more complications the Trish could ever imagine.

We meet Trish in the Prelude, her memory of being transplanted from Make Believe to Here and Now.  When she first met the rueful Nicky Blue, and even felt the draw to him then.  Again, Kate uses Preludes with ease.  I love them in this series.  They are a memory of coming to Here and Now, reminding us of where the Tales came from.  You get a great feel of their tale and history.

Saved from an attack and being pushed out of her apartment due to a haunting, Trish finds Nicky who's come asking for help.  No where else to go, Nicky takes her with him to keep safe, at his home. Trish is excited to be with the one she's had a heart for, yet trying to contain herself and not get over hopeful. The history we learn of Trish's and Nicky's. Wow. They are a set. And what Trish saw when she looked into Juliette's dead eyes before Grimm took her soul to rest, yea we learn that. Wow. Honestly, I was wondering how Kate was going to bring our newest couple together, knowing he's still hurting in some ways after his wife's death. And Kate set the foundation right away, and grew that strong brick building to create a lovely home for a new couple.

Aaah, The Agency.  This is a neat little agency.  They are like the Men in Black crossed with CIA.  Top secret, yet they have their noses in too many things Tale.  And even are strong arming Trish's place of business, the FMA - Fairytale Management Authority.  But Trish also has a sorted history with one of the Agents as well.

We see old friends and couples again.  Tess has been trying to pair her friends up, wanting them to be happy like her.  Tess is also having troubles, and they fear it's due to the condition of her mans past.  But this is a small drop in the bucket of troubles Trish is seeing and dealing with.  We see Lavender and Seth as they come to visit everyone, and get to help.  Oh Lavender and her dysfunctional family dinner. LOL! Seth is still hot as ever. And they are happy as ever. Gideon! He is so sweet! I love him with his brief appearances here. Then we have new characters. Rumpelstiltskin, Oh my goodness! LOL! Loved him and Truman. Make me smile.

The mystery murder story takes off and builds, dropping hints with each turn. There is a twist to the story, and I loved the way Kate turned this. I was not expecting the end with this mystery and string of dead bodies. Action packed with Nicky and Trish. Nicky has a gangster feel to his methods and tricks, but he's a strong individual as well. Nicky and his easy ways, finds him flirting with Trish and Trish trying to not fall to hard as he's leaving after he takes care of his target. I could see how over the last few years Tess has worn off on Trish. I didn't know if she'd be as kick butt as Tess, but she sure was, and on the sensitive side more than Tess too. Trish is her own person and growing as a character now that we read from her eyes. There is an independence found in Trish like Tess, a strong-ness to do what she needs to do to solve and stop the murders.

This is an amazing tale of Romance and Mystery. Once again, Kate has blended the two with amazing talent, in a new and rich world full of possibilities.

Throwback Thursday (124)

I found this picture of Trinity College Library, and thought it would work for this meme with a little play with lighting and adding the words.

Let's talk about those books already on the shelves, yours or the stores.

I have a post for books I'm looking forward to coming out;

Looking Forward To...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on the shelves.

Whether it be on your shelf waiting to be read or on the shelves in the stores waiting for you to give it a good home.

So, I thought I would share a book a week that is just waiting for me to travel through it's world.

Now... where do I start? Lets go by Published Date on the books...

This Week:

This is a fantasy read I wanted for so long, and finally was given a copy.  And sadly, it's still sitting on the shelves.  :(  I need to get caught up on my review books so I can enjoy these that I want to read, in the worst way.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The city-state of Saraykeht dominates the Summer Cities. Its wealth is beyond measure; its port is open to all the merchants of the world, and its ruler, the Khai Saraykeht, commands forces to rival the Gods. Commerce and trade fill the streets with a hundred languages, and the coffers of the wealthy with jewels and gold. Any desire, however exotic or base, can be satisfied in its soft quarter. Blissfully ignorant of the forces that fuel their prosperity, the people live and work secure in the knowledge that their city is a bastion of progress in a harsh world. It would be a tragedy if it fell.

Saraykeht is poised on the knife-edge of disaster.

At the heart of the city's influence are the poet-sorcerer Heshai and the captive spirit, Seedless, whom he controls. For all his power, Heshai is weak, haunted by memories of shame and humiliation. A man faced with constant reminders of his responsibilities and his failures, he is the linchpin and the most vulnerable point in Saraykeht's greatness.

Far to the west, the armies of Galt have conquered many lands. To take Saraykeht, they must first destroy the trade upon which its prosperity is based. Marchat Wilsin, head of Galt's trading house in the city, is planning a terrible crime against Heshai and Seedless. If he succeeds, Saraykeht will fall.

Amat, House Wilsin's business manager, is a woman who rose from the slums to wield the power that Marchat Wilsin would use to destroy her city. Through accidents of fate and circumstance Amat, her apprentice Liat, and two young men from the farthest reaches of their society stand alone against the dangers that threaten the city.

I've heard back from a few bloggers that they would like to join in this meme post, so I'm adding a Linky for you to join in.  Grab the picture above, and join in.  All I ask, is if you can acknowledge my blog in the post so others know where to come back to 

Winners of 4th blog celebration Picked!

Thank you EVERYONE!! for joining in the celebrations of 4 years of blogging.  **HUGE HUGS**

I will be leaving the links to the lists and author posts on my left side bar, take the time to check them out.  You'll enjoy it!

The winners have been picked, emails sent.

Urban Fantasy Pick:
   Heather B

Steam/Clockwork & Science Fiction Fantasy:
  Stephanie F

Fantasy Pick:
   Linda A

Paranormal Romance Pick:
   Ashley L. F.

Young Adult Pick:
   Bontezatu P

Novella Pick:
   Barbara Elness

Sealed with a Curse from Cecy Robson:
   Pam Rushen

UF/Paranormal Swag:
   Linda T

Fantasy Swag:
   Mary P.

Young Adult Swag:
   Krutula N.



The winners will have 72 hours from August 14, 2013 to respond before another winner will be chosen.

Cover Reveal ~ Requiem For the Dead

I loved this series and was saddened when the publisher dropped it.  And Kelly had said she would self-publish another book with Evy and she has!  Eeep!

Requiem For the Dead

Dreg City #5

By:  Kelly Meding

Due Out:  September 16, 2013

Description:
She's died twice while protecting her city…and she'd do it again to save the people she loves.

After a deadly, artificial infection forces the vampire Families into a self-imposed isolation, the city's protective Watchtower forces are depleted by one third, leaving humans and shifters to shoulder the burden. Human enforcer Evangeline Stone is determined to find a way to help her vampire allies, but she already has her hands full—investigating an escalating series of goblin attacks, dealing with her half-werewolf lover, locating three missing werewolf teenagers, and learning to trust her non-human coworkers.

When a potential cure for the vampires' infection is given to her by an unlikely source, it's just as quickly stolen—collateral damage in a power play within the were-cat Clan that leaves one human ally dead and another horribly injured. With Wyatt Truman still adjusting to his new life as a half-werewolf, Phineas missing in action, and her shifter allies crippled by internal anarchy, Evy has to rely on her own strength and instincts to steal back the cure, stop a murderer, and to save the Watchtower before it's destroyed from the inside out.

I'm so impressed with this cover!  Robin Ludwig Design Inc. did an AMAZING job of keeping with the theme of the series covers.  And with Evy!  WOW!

Oooo, I sooooo need to get back to this series. :D