For reaching one of my goals, I’m rewarded myself by reading a book. I need to re-charge my batteries and gain perspective with all the editing I’ve been doing.  And what sounds better than a good Urban Fantasy?

Here are the blurbs:

Full Blooded (Jessica McClain)~

After a few days of some nice weather (and rain), the last of the snowpiles in the yard are officially gone. Yay!

I went shopping the other day and look at what I found in the store:

Aren’t they adorable?! I would have brought one home if I didn’t think my husband would kill me and the dogs/cats would kill the bird.

Writing update: Deep into edits of Electric Moon. Must get back to work…

 I’ve joined a number of other authors to promote a large sale with over 150 books for just $0.99 each.

To see the list of books, click on the banner above or go here:

Book Lover’s Buffet

I’m offering two of my books, both BloodSworn and Electric Storm.

If you haven’t purchased your copies yet, click on the below links:

 BloodSworn at Amazon

Electric Storm at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or ARe.

*You’ll be happy to note book two, Electric Moon, will be available soon!

BloodSworn Blurb:

Ten years after they bound her powers and banished her, Trina Weyebridge had successfully carved out a new existence in the human world. She put her life as a witch behind her. But, her magic would not be denied, the bindings holding them in check are weakening. Vampires who crave a taste of the powers stored in her blood are hunting her with deadly force and have kidnapped her sister to lure her out. In a desperate bid to free her sister and gain her own freedom, Trina bargains with the all-too-tempting lion shifter who calls out the long forgotten wild side in her…she would be his concubine in return for pack protection. She’d be safe…until they found out the truth.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE. FORBIDDEN LOVE. INESCAPABLE DESTINY.

When Merrick spots a female intruder living on his property, he’s intrigued by her daring. Curious to find out more, he follows her and comes to her aid when she falls prey to an attack. After weeks of unnatural silence, his beast awakens at her touch, and he suspects that she might be the only one able to save his race from a disease killing his kind. Not willing to take the chance of losing her, he binds her to him the only way he knows how…by claiming her as his own. All he has to do to save her is uncover the secrets of her past, stop a pack revolt, convince her that she’s desperately in love with him in return, and prevent a war.

Electric Storm Blurb:

Everything changed when Raven, a natural born conduit, accidentally walks in on a slave auction. She only wants a night out with her friends before her next case as a paranormal liaison with the police. Instead, she ends up in possession of a shifter and his guardian. When your touch can kill, living with two touchy-feely shifters is a disaster waiting to happen.

To make matters worse, a vicious killer is on the loose. As mutilated bodies turn up, she can’t help fear that her new acquisitions are keeping secrets from her. The strain of keeping everyone alive, not to mention catching the killer, pushes her tenuous control of her gift and her emotions to their limits. If they hope to survive, they must work together as a pack or risk becoming hunted themselves.

I’ve been stuck in my writer’s cave for the last few weeks. Thankfully, I’m coming to the end of the book. Then, all I have left are the edits. The last chance to improve my work before I send Electric Moon off to my beta readers and editor.

As noted in the picture, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been treading water for a while, so I’m excited to find out how the book will end and begin fixing things in the story.

After months of waiting, spring is finally here. We reached 70 degrees! We still have a few snow piles melting yet, but the snowy season is done.

Time to get back to the story. I left Raven and a few others facing off with the killer. But not everyone is friendly. One of her men has been taken hostage. She must risk him being infected and possibly killed…unless she can find a way to eliminate the threat before it’s too late.

I fell in love with this series when I ran across the first book, Bitter Night, and devoured it in one sitting. I’ve even pre-ordered this book. I’ve only done that for one other author. When I learned that Blood Winter was the last book in the series, I mourned. Then I delayed reading it because I didn’t want it to ever end. This was my choice for last week’s face-off. Be warned, this is a very dark urban fantasy. Delicious!

Title: Blood Winter (Horngate Witches)

Author: Diana Pharaoh Francis

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Pocket Books

Release date: December 2012

Pages: 400

ISBN-10: 1451613865

ISBN-13: 978-1451613865

Rating:  

DESCRIPTION:
NEW GAME. SAME RULES. SHE FIGHTS. THEY DIE.

Max always does her job, no matter how brutal and bloody. That’s how it’s been ever since she was enslaved by a witch, turned into a supernatural warrior, and assigned to protect the coven of Horngate. But her job just got harder. . . .

Waves of wild magic have returned much of the world to a time when fairy tales were real and danger now lurks behind every tree and bush. As winter descends and food, heat, and water are harder to come by, many have turned to Benjamin Sterling for protection. Leader of the Earth’s Last Stand cult, Sterling claims to be the Hand of God, but his power and charisma secretly come from a dark and terrible source. With devout followers eager to do his sadistic bidding, he has his eyes on Horngate and its magical inhabitants. To save those she loves, Max will knowingly walk into a trap. But when the cult strips Max’s soul bare for all to see, will even Alexander—her lover and her strength—remain? And if she were to lose him, what does it matter if she gains the whole world…

REVIEW:

There is something about the Horngate Witches series that captured me from the first book. The covers were great, but it’s what’s between the pages that kept me coming back. The author sets us up with unique characters and unforgettable world building. Each book built upon the last, and I loved revisiting the characters.

Max is an alpha female at her best, determined to do whatever it takes to keep her people safe. Her counterpart, Alex, is the perfect hero…tough, compassionate and just as deadly. I loved them as a couple, though I wish I could’ve seen them together more. Then you have the angels – they are two bad-ass macho men who can kick some serious ass! And the rest of her coven is just as memorable. I loved how magic was portrayed in the story…so very different from everything else I’ve read that I eagerly turned the pages. I enjoyed how the tension grew into a big crescendo then watched as the character had to dig their way out of the shit-storm.

This book wasn’t perfect, though, not that I was expecting it, but there were spots that disappointed me a little. Max seemed consumed with her feelings for Alex, almost to the detriment of the story. I also thought the story went too quickly, the action scenes cut a little too short. There were threads in the overlying arch of the series that were left dangling. Despite all that, if the author ever came out with another Horngate Witches book, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat! 

Previous books in the series:

I love reading series. I’m in the middle of at least a dozen, maybe more. This week I chose two series out of some of my favorites.

Here are the blurbs:

Blood Winter (Horngate Witches)~

I’m not sure I’ll have a lot of time to read this week, I’m suppose to be writing, but I did pick out two of my favorite authors. Comfort reading. Anyone have one of those days that seems to stretch into weeks?

Here are the blurbs:

The Last Kiss Goodnight~

I accidentally purchased book 5 in the Mercy Thompson Series. Accidentally meaning that it drives me nuts not to be able to read books in order. So when I found books 1-4 really cheap, I jumped on them.

Title: 

Moon Called (Book 1)

Blood Bound (Book 2)

Iron Kissed (Book 3)

Bone Crossed (Book 4)

DESCRIPTION:

Book 1~

Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they’ll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population but I’m not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.

Mercy Thompson’s sexy next—door neighbor is a werewolf.

Book 2~

Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizens has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen…

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.

Book 3~

I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator…

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape – but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it’s up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy’s loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can’t decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice fir her…

Book 4~

As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, ace car mechanic Mercy has had to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human within the Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington on more than one occasion. But this time she may be in over her head.

Marsilia, the local vampire queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan. Now, she’s out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack-and her relationship with its sexy Alpha-it’s not Mercy’s blood Marsilia is after…

It’s her friends’.

Review:

I’m a huge fan of urban fantasy books, so when I heard about Patricia Briggs, I decided to give her a try. I picked up an anthology and ready a short story from her. I liked the story, but wasn’t blown away. A year later, I stumbled across the Mercy Thompson Series and decided to give her another try (despite being written in first person). I’m so glad I did! I was hook by the first chapter and couldn’t put the books down.

As soon as I finished one book, I immediately had to start the next. I read four books in four days and loved each one. The writing was engaging, the world-building consuming, not to mention the wonderful characters…vampires, werewolves, fey and so much more. I loved the diversity. I laughed (ignoring the funny looks my husband cast my way) and one book was so emotionally heart-wrenching that I even cried. My husband is a mechanic and confirmed the car facts I quized him on.

I have one book left to read in the series…the next one doesn’t come out until March and only in hard cover. I want to save the last book, wait to read it until it’s closer to the next release, but I’m not sure I will be able to hold back.  Yes, they’re that good. If you like action, adventure, a couple of hot love interests, unforgettable characters and engulfing stories, I would highly recommend giving this series a try. Very much worth it!

Each books had such strong openings, I wanted to read them both. I just wish I had more time. My husband selected the winner this week.

The one without the dudes. lol

Title: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter: A Demon Trappers Novel

Author: Jana Oliver

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Young Adult

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release date: February 2011

Pages: 355

ISBN-10: 0312614780

ISBN-13: 978-0312614782

Rating:  

DESCRIPTION:

Have you ever fallen into a reading funk? When nothing seems interesting? I got struck hard. I read a book or two in the last few weeks, but nothing satisfied me. I turned on my kindle yesterday and brought it to work, thinking I had to find something on the darn thing.

Only to find that the battery I checked before I left wasn’t fully charged. Nadda. So, I’m going back to basics with two of my favorite writers today.

Here are the blurbs:

Once Burned~