Dancing With The Devil by Keri Arthur.

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publishers on agreement that I would give an honest review.

I found this to be a different take on the usual vampire tale, for a start, we have a vampire who doesn't feed off humans and we have a very strong psychic who can't trust people or let anyone close.

When Nikki is employed by Trevgard to find his daughter, little does she realise that she is being led into a trap. Not by Trevgard but by his daughter, Monica. She is being used as bait for a vampire named Jasper who is after Nikki's powers.

Jasper is also being hunted by another vampire named Michael. Michael has been hunting Jasper for over seventy five years, from before he was turned. He was a murderer when he was human and became worse after he was turned.

Between Nikki being stubborn and unwilling to let anyone in and Michael being stubborn and also refusing to let anyone get close, this story doesn't rush to get to the end. Nikki gets taken by Jasper and tormented by him and though she escapes, she still can't let Michael close. When her boss is taken in a bid to lure Nikki back to him, she still struggles with her feelings for Michael and letting him in. Although they work together to get him back she still can't trust him. She's been used by others in her past and lost others too. She doesn't want to feel that vulnerable again or be used again either.

At the end of the book I was left wondering what was going on. I thought I had several pages left but it was all a ruse, there was a sneak peek of the next book. That's not a bad thing though as I shall be now getting the next book as soon as possible.

Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall.

I received a free copy of this e-book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story, I was transported to the early sixties, to a time when segregation and racial hatred was at a high point
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The story of nine year old Starla, who feels so put out by her Mamie that she runs away from home with the intention of going to Nashville to be with her Momma is very touching.  On the way she meets Eula, a coloured woman travelling with a white baby.  When Eula takes her back to her house for the night, well, that's when things take a turn for the worse.

Starla learns the hard way that life isn't as easy for everyone, herself included but she soon learns how hard it is for a coloured person to get about.

The way this book has been written is so touching and handles difficult and delicate subjects with a very caring approach that it had me in tears at times.

I loved the dynamics between Starla and Eula.  How Eula taught her about how people have different gifts and how to find out what her own gifts are.

Mrs Cyrena is a wonderful character, the way she cared for Eula and Starla when no-one else would, how she helped Eula to earn money when she couldn't go out on the streets after her run-in with the Jenkins boys and letting them stay in her house.  When she paid for the tickets and explained to Starla that she and Eula would have to act as though they were strangers on the bus taught Starla that racism works both ways.
Starla learnt that what she had been taught by her Mamie wasn't how the world worked.  Mamie told her that everyone was happy with the segregation but she learned on her journey that that wasn't true.

From the very first page, I had vivid images and voices in my head.  I could picture Starla with her bright red hair and Eula with her grip in hand and baby James strapped to her chest.  I saw her parents and friends, her Mamie telling her off and putting her on restriction for no good reason.  I could even smell the pies that Eula baked.  I could quite easily see this being made into a movie.

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

I recently read Deadly Sting not realising it was one of a series, I enjoyed it so much that it became a goal of mine to read the first set of the series.

I started reading Spider's Bite as soon as I got it and I barely put it down. It's a fantastic introduction to Gin Blanco A.K.A The Spider, waitress by day at the Pork Pit and deadly Assassin at night.

When she is contracted to kill someone and gets double-crossed she would have let it slide, but the person who contracted her killed her handler, the closest thing to a father she has. So with the help of his son and a detective who is also targeted to be killed, she tracks down the elemental who is responsible and exacts her own retribution.

From start to finish this is a gripping tale with non-stop action, elemental magic and dead bodies galore. I can't wait to get Web of Deceit.

Jennifer's characters are well-written, very complex and very likeable. I can highly recommend this book to anyone no matter what their preference. There's plenty of violence, sex and action for everyone to enjoy.

Giveaway is now a no-go.

Unfortunately I will not be running the Mist giveaway. There is a few reasons which I shall not bore you with. I hope that in the future I shall be able to run another giveaway.

Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations

This is a strange little mix of stories but an interesting one. There is a wide variety of genre's covered in this book. The stories aren't all about magic or ghosts.

I did find it a little slow going with some of the tales but others I just flew through, namely Jim Butcher and Charlaine Harris. In fact after reading this book, I now have a list of new authors whose books I need to check out.

If you're looking for something that can be read in short individual sittings then this is definitely one to get. I read one of the stories as I waited for an appointment, I even read another tale as I was travelling on the bus.

I would say don't discard it just because it's a book of short's. It should be thought of as an appetizer to new authors and new tales with a different spin.

I highly recommend it.

Mist giveaway and blog tour.

I'm doing a giveaway, you can find it here http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/107153-mist-giveaway

I'll be doing an interview with Susan Krinard and posting the interview and my review of her book, Mist on the 24th of July.

Winners of the giveaway will be chosen on the 8th of July.

Blackbrooke II: The Guardian.

The Guardian continues the tale of Liberty Connor and the town of Blackbrooke.  We pick up where we left off with Liberty surviving her encounter with the Queens and being taken to the Institute.  Whilst there she is tormented by Mr Jones, constantly being questioned about what went on that night when she handed over Cassius.  Everyone is desperate to know how four of the Queens ended up dead and how she and Cassius survived.
I'm not going to over-do the review, I don't want to give away too much about the story as that is one thing I dislike myself.... Nothing worse than spoilers.
What I will say is Emma needs to be punished for torturing me.  I didn't know if I was coming or going, in fact I felt as though I was in the Institute with Liberty.  I would think I knew what was going to happen next and then the rug was pulled out from under my feet and I would end up on my butt, trying to get my bearings again.
I was in tears, I laughed my head off, I was in shock and I wanted to commit murder all at the same time.  I found this book to be just as much of a roller-coaster as the first book.
I was disgusted by the actions of Mr Jones to his daughter, Gemma.  He's a heartless bastard and deserves everything that he gets coming to him.  I love Liberty's interactions with Denzil, he is such a brilliant character and helps to keep her grounded.  His love for Marie is very touching and the pain that he was obviously in when he thinks he is hallucinating had me in tears.  I do tend to get attached to character's and he is one of my favourites.  Please don't kill him off, Emma.
I found that this book has a lot more drama and horror than the first book but it doesn't detract from the story, if anything it enhances it.  It gives the story just the right amount of creepiness that it needs too.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the twist and turns, including the ones I didn't expect and I cannot wait for the third book to come out.

Blackbrooke Blog Tour

Tomorrow is my day to post my review for Blackbrooke II: The Guardian by Emma Silver.  

So I hope you can take a little time out of your day tomorrow and pop over for a visit, maybe tell your friends too :-)

Undeclared by Jen Frederick

To be perfectly honest with you all, I found this story to be drawn out and long-winded. The idea was good, the characters were ok, although I think if more was explained about what Noah went through before he came back for Grace, it might have made it more interesting. The same could be said for Grace, although there was the occasional mention of how devastated she was to receive the Dear Jane letter, I think more could have been said about what she went through.

I did find the ending more enjoyable but it was more along the lines of "about time". I just thought it took too long for them to get together and then the split was a bit contrived, it was also glossed over with a quick apologetic fix at the end.

Overall, interesting idea but fell short on delivery, I hope the next book is better.

Omens by Kelley Armstrong

This is a book that I won, it is the first time I've won anything so I was over the moon, especially as it is by one of my favourite authors.  I will post a more detailed review nearer to the release date.

Without giving too much away, Kelley has done it again. This book has great characters, a brilliant storyline, it moves along at a good pace (not too fast, not too slow), it doesn't bog you down with over descriptive scenes and it's got easter eggs. I don't mean the chocolate eggs, although that would be cool. I mean secret little words and phrases that you can look up and try to work out what's happening before Olivia does. I was tempted but decided not to, I went along for the ride with Olivia and I'm glad that I did.

Now the downside..... I've got to wait for the next book and I don't know when it will be available. What will I do?

For all the fans of Kelley Armstrong, of New Adult and a twist of paranormal this book is a must, whether you like one or all of the above.