Review and Giveaway: Embraced by Blood by Laurie London

Details: Embraced by Blood by Laurie London

• Pub. Date: June 2011
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Paperback , 384pp
• Sales Rank: 50,361

Summary

Alfonso Serrano is a hunted man. For months he’s managed to elude the Darkbloods, vengeful foes who won’t rest until he’s dead. But he still craves one dangerous temptation: Lily DeGraff, the sexy Guardian agent he’ll risk anything to protect.

Lily is a wanted woman. Her talent for tracking Sweet—a rare blood type that’s addictive to vampires—makes her a prime target for enemy capture. Her only hope is the stealthy vampire operative who stole into her bed…then left her in despair. Danger aside, Lily won’t let Alfonso near her heart again—until an irresistible hunger threatens to draw them back together… and into an assassin’s snare.

My Thoughts:

I have not read the first book in this series so I was a bit worried that I would not understand what was going on.  Laurie London did a great job of giving enough background  that it was very realistic to pick this book up from this point and understand some of the story line without having read book 1.  That is one things that I really appreciated.  The whole story was not repeated just the pieces that were going to be necessary to move into book two understanding Alfonso’s heart break and distrust as a hunted man and Lily’s concern with her abilities.  

It seems to me that both of them are trying to keep their hearts safe but both know that they need to stop the DarkBloods from rounding up the Sweetbloods.  I found the dynamic between them to be romantic and interesting.  This is another good vampire world that is just a bit different that the rest.

My Rating:

I found this to be a pretty good read worth checking out.

Giveaway Time

1 signed copy of Embraced by Blood and 1 set of Sweetblood Trading Cards to one winner

U.S Shipping ONLY

Please be a follower and leave a comment with a way to contact you if you are the winner.

Extra Entry for Tweeting the contest please leave a separate comment with the direct link 

Contest Ends 7/7/2011

The Author will be sending the prize this blog is not responsible for any lost packages

Good Luck!

*I was provided a copy of this book from NetGalley for review.  This did not impact my views of the book.

Blog Tour: Secrets by S.L. Pierce

Synopsis:

If you like strong women with a slice of attitude and a side order of kick a$$…

Try Secrets…we all have them

A woman with a hidden past…
Two men who should not have been seen together…
A cop who won’t let go…
Industrial espionage….
Deception…
Betrayal…
Secrets is a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing to the very end.

Gwen Michaels moved to California two years ago to start fresh, hoping her past could stay secret forever. But when a hired killer shows up, she assumes her cover is blown. When it turns out the man knows nothing of her past, the search is on for who wants her dead, and why. 

Gwen Michaels moved to California two years ago to start fresh, hoping her past could stay secret forever. But when a hired killer shows up, she assumes her cover is blown. When it turns out the man knows nothing of her past, the search is on for who wants her dead, and why.

My Thoughts:

Secrets starts with a bang.  Gwen finds someone in her home trying to kill her.  Her old instincts kick in and this man ends up duck taped to a chair in her kitchen.  Gwen gets the information she is looking for, at least in part, enough to help her figure out who is trying to kill her, and shoots the intruder between the eyes.  She placed a call – to be sure her identity has not been compromised, she has not, and begins the clean up.  The doorbell ringing interrupts, the police, she quickly puts together a plan and gets rid of the police.  Next, is getting rid of the body and some how getting out of town.  She quickly realizes that she is going to have to tell her husband, Jack, about her dark history and who she really is.  Surprisingly, he stands behind her as they begin to unwind the mystery of who is trying to kill her.  Each clue brings more frustration and Gwen can’t quite pull the pieces together, something always seems to be missing.  Will she be able to figure it out before she gets hurt?

Secrets stated out without any real background, jumped right into an action scene.  I would have liked to gotten some background about Gwen or her normal life at least before diving right into a huge action scene.  From this point, there was a lot going on but it was very difficult to get into the story.  Very short chapters, written from many different points of view made this book difficult for me.  I know a lot of people enjoy this in a book, I am just not one of them  About halfway into the book it really began to pick up and the consistency of who was telling the story began to even out, this is the point that I really began to enjoy this story.  I could not figure out who was out to murder Gwen or how Jack was really going to adjust to this totally different wife but I felt like it was coming together.  I really enjoyed the last 25 pages of this story.  Everything came together it a very climatic manner which I enjoy in a mystery.  S.L. Pierce has a unique writing style and knows her characters well enough to write from many different points of view.  That being said, at points, it almost felt like there were too many points of view.  I think that was the biggest challenge for me in this book.  I liked the outcome and how the end played out.

My Rating:

This was a decent story.  It just not quite written in a format that I enjoy.  Good plot line and well developed ending.

More About the Author:

S.L. Pierce spent ten years earning a PhD in engineering before deciding she would rather be a writer.  She currently lives in Colorado with her husband and four children.  She is always at work on her next novel.

Where you can find and follow S.L. Pierce:

Author Website
Author Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Buy the BOOK at:

Barnes & Noble – NOOKbook
Smashwords
Amazon.com – Kindle
Amazon.co.uk – Kindle

*I was provided an ecopy of the book for review from Nurture Virtual Book Tourz..  There was no compensation and all opinion are my own.

Review: Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Overview – 

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #11)

Product Details

• Pub. Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Format: Hardcover , 336pp
• Sales Rank: 4

• Series: Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series , #11
• ISBN-13: 9780441020317
• ISBN: 0441020313

Synopsis

New in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series-the basis for HBO(r)’s True Blood!

With her knack for being in trouble’s way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his “child” Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows…

My Thoughts

I have been a long time fan of this series long before the HBO series came out a few years ago.  I am probably one of the few people who really enjoys the books more than the TV show.  I just have some major problems with who some of the characters are in the TV show.  But back to the most recent book.  It starts out with a very strong being – really a firebombing at Merlotte’s.  Ms. Harris does a wonderful job at laying out this event.  It is laid out so well that it played like a movie scene for me.  From this point however, it took me a while to really get into the story which is very unlike this series.  I was pleased with the action scenes in this book right from the beginning.

I love Sookie and Eric together but this book was a bit odd with their story line.  There were many times that Eric should have been with Sookie and he just wasn’t.  There was no ideas as to what was more important that her.  It just made for a very frustrating story being left out of what was going on with Eric.  Sookie was also a bit more frustrating in this book.  She was suddenly scared of things that she had come to terms with in previous books.  I don’t know she suddenly seemed a bit weak to me which I have not questioned in a really long time.  I have come to love and expected a very strong woman and I felt a bit let down with this.

As always, there are vampire politics.  I have the hardest time with this aspect of the stories.  I don’t know if it is I can’t kept track of all the rules and such or if I just get irritated with them!  Pam and Eric are at odds in this book and Pam let’s Sookie in on a secret that Eric was not ready to share and it is gong to have a major effect on their future together.  That is all I am going to say.  There is also Eric and Victor’s issues at hand.  Major drama here!

Beyond vampire issues, there is a lot of foreshadowing to Faerie drama as well.  This does not surprise me since they are always up to something but I never see it coming until it is all laid out in my face.

While I did enjoy the book, the more I think about it the more I felt that things were not wrapped up as tightly as in previous books.  It was a good book and I am glad that I read it but I wish that it didn’t feel like such a filler book.  It is very unclear as to where the story is going or if it is going anywhere at all.  

My Rating

3 of 5 stars.

*I purchased this book and all opinions are my own.

>Review: Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

>

Overview – 

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #11)

Product Details

• Pub. Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Format: Hardcover , 336pp
• Sales Rank: 4

• Series: Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series , #11
• ISBN-13: 9780441020317
• ISBN: 0441020313

Synopsis

New in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series-the basis for HBO(r)’s True Blood!

With her knack for being in trouble’s way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his “child” Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows…

My Thoughts

I have been a long time fan of this series long before the HBO series came out a few years ago.  I am probably one of the few people who really enjoys the books more than the TV show.  I just have some major problems with who some of the characters are in the TV show.  But back to the most recent book.  It starts out with a very strong being – really a firebombing at Merlotte’s.  Ms. Harris does a wonderful job at laying out this event.  It is laid out so well that it played like a movie scene for me.  From this point however, it took me a while to really get into the story which is very unlike this series.  I was pleased with the action scenes in this book right from the beginning.

I love Sookie and Eric together but this book was a bit odd with their story line.  There were many times that Eric should have been with Sookie and he just wasn’t.  There was no ideas as to what was more important that her.  It just made for a very frustrating story being left out of what was going on with Eric.  Sookie was also a bit more frustrating in this book.  She was suddenly scared of things that she had come to terms with in previous books.  I don’t know she suddenly seemed a bit weak to me which I have not questioned in a really long time.  I have come to love and expected a very strong woman and I felt a bit let down with this.

As always, there are vampire politics.  I have the hardest time with this aspect of the stories.  I don’t know if it is I can’t kept track of all the rules and such or if I just get irritated with them!  Pam and Eric are at odds in this book and Pam let’s Sookie in on a secret that Eric was not ready to share and it is gong to have a major effect on their future together.  That is all I am going to say.  There is also Eric and Victor’s issues at hand.  Major drama here!

Beyond vampire issues, there is a lot of foreshadowing to Faerie drama as well.  This does not surprise me since they are always up to something but I never see it coming until it is all laid out in my face.

While I did enjoy the book, the more I think about it the more I felt that things were not wrapped up as tightly as in previous books.  It was a good book and I am glad that I read it but I wish that it didn’t feel like such a filler book.  It is very unclear as to where the story is going or if it is going anywhere at all.  

My Rating

3 of 5 stars.

*I purchased this book and all opinions are my own.

Early Review: Creed’s Honor

Product Details

• Pub. Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Format: Mass Market Paperback , 384pp
• Sales Rank: 30,782

• Series: Creed Cowboys Series
• ISBN-13: 9780373775804
• ISBN: 0373775806

Synopsis

Conner Creed knows exactly who he is: a hardworking rancher carrying on his uncle’s legacy in Lonesome Bend, Colorado. Maybe a small-town cowboy’s life isn’t his dream, but he owes the man who took him in as a kid. Until the identical twin brother he’s been estranged from for years reenters his life.

Conner struggles with identity issues as he gets to know his wilder brother. And then he meets Tricia McCall, a beautiful woman who knows a thing or two about living someone else’s dreams. Together, they just might find their own dreams right here in Lonesome Bend….

My Thoughts

When I saw this on Netgalley, I couldn’t wait to see if I would be approved since I enjoyed Creed in Stone Creek so much.  That being said, I was a bit disappointed by this book.  It just moved along very slow and it really seemed as though the story didn’t come together until too late for me.  It was more about Conner’s issues with his twin brother and Tricia’s issues with selling her dad’s land and her great-grandmother moving out and into Denver.  The love story just didn’t seem to be there for me at least and the ending felt very rushed to me.  I just think that the other stories have been better put together.  Don’t get me wrong it was a good read and I am glad that I read it but I think that it could have been much stronger.

My Rating

3 stars – it was a good read but not so good I would read it again

>Early Review: Creed’s Honor

>

Product Details

• Pub. Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Format: Mass Market Paperback , 384pp
• Sales Rank: 30,782

• Series: Creed Cowboys Series
• ISBN-13: 9780373775804
• ISBN: 0373775806

Synopsis

Conner Creed knows exactly who he is: a hardworking rancher carrying on his uncle’s legacy in Lonesome Bend, Colorado. Maybe a small-town cowboy’s life isn’t his dream, but he owes the man who took him in as a kid. Until the identical twin brother he’s been estranged from for years reenters his life.

Conner struggles with identity issues as he gets to know his wilder brother. And then he meets Tricia McCall, a beautiful woman who knows a thing or two about living someone else’s dreams. Together, they just might find their own dreams right here in Lonesome Bend….

My Thoughts

When I saw this on Netgalley, I couldn’t wait to see if I would be approved since I enjoyed Creed in Stone Creek so much.  That being said, I was a bit disappointed by this book.  It just moved along very slow and it really seemed as though the story didn’t come together until too late for me.  It was more about Conner’s issues with his twin brother and Tricia’s issues with selling her dad’s land and her great-grandmother moving out and into Denver.  The love story just didn’t seem to be there for me at least and the ending felt very rushed to me.  I just think that the other stories have been better put together.  Don’t get me wrong it was a good read and I am glad that I read it but I think that it could have been much stronger.

My Rating

3 stars – it was a good read but not so good I would read it again

>Review: Extraordinary

>

Product Details

• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Format: Hardcover , 400pp
• Sales Rank: 12,334
• Age Range: Young Adult

• ISBN-13: 9780803733725
• ISBN: 0803733720

Synopsis

Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory’s magnetic older brother, Ryland, shows up during their junior year. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe—but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself.

Soon she’ll discover the shocking truth about Ryland and Mallory: that these two are visitors from the faerie realm who have come to collect on an age-old debt. Generations ago, the faerie queen promised Pheobe’s ancestor five extraordinary sons in exchange for the sacrifice of one ordinary female heir. But in hundreds of years there hasn’t been a single ordinary girl in the family, and now the faeries are dying. Could Phoebe be the first ordinary one? Could she save the faeries, or is she special enough to save herself?

My Thoughts

I went into this book right after finishing Impossible and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed.  I came to expect great development in both story and characters.  

Format:

I had a really hard time with the flip back and forth between the two different story lines.  It left me confused and honestly a little lost.  For me I think, I would have rathered the story to run as one and all of the surprises at the end.  I felt like I was always missing something.

Characters:

I felt like I never really got to know Mallory, Phoebe and the other.  More like the story moved but I never got a great sense of who they were.  It seemed that it was just surface information until the very end where there was some deep feelings explored.

Overall, it was not a bad book just not my favorite.  I hope to see Werlin return to the style of writing displayed in Impossible.

My Rating:

3/5 Stars

Review: Extraordinary

Product Details

• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Format: Hardcover , 400pp
• Sales Rank: 12,334
• Age Range: Young Adult

• ISBN-13: 9780803733725
• ISBN: 0803733720

Synopsis

Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory’s magnetic older brother, Ryland, shows up during their junior year. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe—but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself.

Soon she’ll discover the shocking truth about Ryland and Mallory: that these two are visitors from the faerie realm who have come to collect on an age-old debt. Generations ago, the faerie queen promised Pheobe’s ancestor five extraordinary sons in exchange for the sacrifice of one ordinary female heir. But in hundreds of years there hasn’t been a single ordinary girl in the family, and now the faeries are dying. Could Phoebe be the first ordinary one? Could she save the faeries, or is she special enough to save herself?

My Thoughts

I went into this book right after finishing Impossible and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed.  I came to expect great development in both story and characters.  

Format:

I had a really hard time with the flip back and forth between the two different story lines.  It left me confused and honestly a little lost.  For me I think, I would have rathered the story to run as one and all of the surprises at the end.  I felt like I was always missing something.

Characters:

I felt like I never really got to know Mallory, Phoebe and the other.  More like the story moved but I never got a great sense of who they were.  It seemed that it was just surface information until the very end where there was some deep feelings explored.

Overall, it was not a bad book just not my favorite.  I hope to see Werlin return to the style of writing displayed in Impossible.

My Rating:

3/5 Stars

>ARC Tour Review: Wonderland

>

Product Details

• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Format: Hardcover , 224pp
• Age Range: Young Adult

• ISBN-13: 9780763648466
• ISBN: 0763648469

Synopsis

She’s back. Jude’s childhood friend — sexy, daring Stella— returns to their stifling hometown, and life will never be the same again.
Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mother’s death. The one bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab, a prestigious program in London. Then Stella, Jude’s childhood best friend, swaggers in after years away. With bold and magnetic Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater. Soon Stella’s wild and dangerous streak begins to cause trouble for Jude — yet Jude can’t bring herself to abandon Stella and the attention she’s always craved. And besides, now that Stella’s back, there’s no stopping her. In Jude’s dark and tangled story, British author Joanna Nadin plumbs the aftermath of loss and the consequences of becoming the person you always wished you were.

My Thoughts

This book had a great opening.  The flash to what is the end of the book draws you in and make you want to know more.  Jude, after the song, is struggling to make it through school, without a mother, and at the butt of the Plastics jokes.  Just when things are looking terrible, Jude’s friend, Stella, reappears seemly out of nowhere.  Jude knows that her father and good friend, Ed, will not approve of Stella returning as she always leads to trouble.  Stella encourages Jude to do things she never would have done, smoke, drink and just get into a lot of trouble.  Jude is torn between Stella and Ed.  Sometime she just needs one of the other and Stella has the tendency to just disappear for days at a time.  Jude applies for The Lab, her dream of drama school, but once she gets there she can’t go on and Stella goes in her place.  Once accepted, she tells Ed and their romance begins to bloom.  Jude realizes that her relationship with Stella must end, but can she make this happen or will Stella suck her back in as always.

I thought that this was an okay book.  The most frustrating part for me was that I knew at least part of the ending about half way through the book.  While there were still a few twists and turns in the story line, I was disappointed that I figured part of it out.  Despite this, I still enjoyed the story and the depth of the characters in the story.  There is a lot of drink drugs and sex in this story.  More than I would have expected from a YA book.  This should be kept in mind when making decision for who should read this book.

My Rating

3 out of 5 stars

*This book was provided to me by I Read Banned Books for my review.  All opinion are my own and I was provided no compensation other than the opportunity to read the book.

ARC Tour Review: Wonderland

Product Details

• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Format: Hardcover , 224pp
• Age Range: Young Adult

• ISBN-13: 9780763648466
• ISBN: 0763648469

Synopsis

She’s back. Jude’s childhood friend — sexy, daring Stella— returns to their stifling hometown, and life will never be the same again.
Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mother’s death. The one bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab, a prestigious program in London. Then Stella, Jude’s childhood best friend, swaggers in after years away. With bold and magnetic Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater. Soon Stella’s wild and dangerous streak begins to cause trouble for Jude — yet Jude can’t bring herself to abandon Stella and the attention she’s always craved. And besides, now that Stella’s back, there’s no stopping her. In Jude’s dark and tangled story, British author Joanna Nadin plumbs the aftermath of loss and the consequences of becoming the person you always wished you were.

My Thoughts

This book had a great opening.  The flash to what is the end of the book draws you in and make you want to know more.  Jude, after the song, is struggling to make it through school, without a mother, and at the butt of the Plastics jokes.  Just when things are looking terrible, Jude’s friend, Stella, reappears seemly out of nowhere.  Jude knows that her father and good friend, Ed, will not approve of Stella returning as she always leads to trouble.  Stella encourages Jude to do things she never would have done, smoke, drink and just get into a lot of trouble.  Jude is torn between Stella and Ed.  Sometime she just needs one of the other and Stella has the tendency to just disappear for days at a time.  Jude applies for The Lab, her dream of drama school, but once she gets there she can’t go on and Stella goes in her place.  Once accepted, she tells Ed and their romance begins to bloom.  Jude realizes that her relationship with Stella must end, but can she make this happen or will Stella suck her back in as always.

I thought that this was an okay book.  The most frustrating part for me was that I knew at least part of the ending about half way through the book.  While there were still a few twists and turns in the story line, I was disappointed that I figured part of it out.  Despite this, I still enjoyed the story and the depth of the characters in the story.  There is a lot of drink drugs and sex in this story.  More than I would have expected from a YA book.  This should be kept in mind when making decision for who should read this book.

My Rating

3 out of 5 stars

*This book was provided to me by I Read Banned Books for my review.  All opinion are my own and I was provided no compensation other than the opportunity to read the book.