Why Haven't I Read You? (15)

Every Wednesday I’ll choose a book off one of my (many) shelves that I haven’t read for some reason or another, and include the first few lines from the first page.

Feel free to join in, and leave your comments about the books I feature if you have read them!

Only two-thirty in the morning, and I already had blood on my hands. The most messed up part of that? It was the hour that bothered me.

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

goodreads 

Blood Trail by Tanya Huff

Blood Trail:
For centuries, the werewolves of Toronto have managed to live in peace and tranquility, hidden quietly away on their London, Ontario farm. But now, someone has learned their secret—and is systematically massacring this ancient race.

The only one they can turn to is Henry Fitzroy, Toronto-based vampire and writer of bodice rippers. Forced to hide from the light of day, Henry can’t hunt the killer alone, so he turns to Vicki Nelson for help. As they race against time to stop the murderer, they begin to fear that their combined talents may not be enough to prevent him from completing his deadly plan.

Admittedly it was the T.V. show that first sparked my interest in these books, and unfortunately the series was cancelled after it's second season. I really wanted to continue Vicki Nelson's stories  by Tanya Huff, and I read the first one a while ago, I really have no idea why I waited so long to continue with the series. It's just one of those things I guess. I really love Vicki's character, she's a strong independent woman who knows how to get what she wants. And what she wants is justice; a degenerative eye disease ended her career as a policewoman, but she didn't let that stop her, she became a private investigator so she would still have the opportunity to help people. Only now, most of her clients seem to be of preternatural origins.

In Blood Trail, Vicki is approached by Henry to help out a family of werewolves who are being slaughtered, and they cannot go to the police because humans do not know of their existence. Vicki and Henry work closely to find the murderer, and their relationship dynamic changes once they become lovers. Vicki's old partner and lover, Mike, has misgivings about Henry and so he races after Vicki only to find himself thrown into a world he never believed in. Jealousy and tension run rampant among the trio as they put their differences aside in order to save the innocent lives of the werewolves. And the villain in this case is someone who slipped right beneath Vicki's radar, until the very last moment when another life depends on how quickly she discovers the truth.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (142)

Books I read last week:
The Unseen Volume 1 by Richie Tankersley Cusick


The book I’m reading now:

Blood Trail:
For centuries, the werewolves of Toronto have managed to live in peace and tranquility, hidden quietly away on their London, Ontario farm. But now, someone has learned their secret—and is systematically massacring this ancient race.

The only one they can turn to is Henry Fitzroy, Toronto-based vampire and writer of bodice rippers. Forced to hide from the light of day, Henry can’t hunt the killer alone, so he turns to Vicki Nelson for help. As they race against time to stop the murderer, they begin to fear that their combined talents may not be enough to prevent him from completing his deadly plan.


Books that spark my interest this week:
Blow Me Down by Katie MacAlister
Blood Lines by Tanya Huff

The Unseen: Volume 1 by Richie Tankersley Cusick

The Unseen (Volume 1):
Out walking alone one rainy night, Lucy becomes convinced that someone - or something - is following her. Spooked, she ducks into a cemetery to try and lose her stalker. Panicking in the darkness, she slips and stumbles into an open grave - only to discover she is not alone in there. She manages to escape, but soon begins having terrifying visions and dreams - and she still can't shake the feeling of an unseen presence, always watching, waiting... Who was the girl in the grave? And what did she do to Lucy?

While I typically love the mystery Richie Tankersley Cusick includes in her storytelling, The Unseen Volume 1 (It Begins and Rest in Peace) got a little on my nerves because we don't really know exactly what type of paranormal being we are dealing with. This book jumps right into the action on the very first page and it continues throughout the entire two stories. Tension and danger filled this book and I really enjoyed Lucy's character; she had a whole bunch of bad things come into her life, but she's still fighting to stay alive, even if most people don't believe there is someone or something out to get her.

Lucy's world is turned upside down when she moves in with her aunt and cousin, but more than that is the event in the cemetary that changes her forever. Lucy begins having strange visions and the only one who can help her is a fellow classmate named Byron. While unsure if she can truly trust him, fate throws them together when she finds out just how she got these new powers. A young priest seems to have Lucy's best intentions at heart, but he is shrouded in mystery and seems to show up at the strangest of times. As Lucy begins to deal again with the loss of someone close to her, a stranger comes into her life bringing even more questions...I wish that I already had Volume 2 handy, but I have ordered it an am dying to find out what's coming next for Lucy.

Happy Mother's Day

To all my fellow mothers out there, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Photo taken by Amy Stewart

Forgotten Fridays (55)

I invite and welcome anyone interested to post their own Forgotten Friday and join in the fun! I feature a book that I have read and have forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Some books might recent reads and some might be older reads, but I hope this helps these (sometimes forgotten) books earn a spot on your own TBR pile!

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
First Published: September 2011
Series: Birthright
goodreads 
My Review

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.

Why Haven't I Read You? (14)

Every Wednesday I’ll choose a book off one of my (many) shelves that I haven’t read for some reason or another, and include the first few lines from the first page.

Feel free to join in, and leave your comments about the books I feature if you have read them!

The three-quarter moon, hanging low in the night sky, turned even tamed and placid farmland into a mysterious landscape of silver and shadows. Each blade of grass, toasted golden brown by two months of summer heat, had a thin black replica stretching out behind it.[...]

Blood Trail by Tanya Huff

goodreads

Future Favorites (123)

Future Favorites is an awesome blog feature created by Alex over at Electrifying Reviews. I post about a book that is yet-to-be-released that I can't wait to read!

Of Triton by Anna Banks

Release Date: May 28, 2013 by Feiwel & Friends

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (141)

Books I read last week:
And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Dead To You by Lisa McMann
Edge of Oblivion by J.T. Gessinger

The book I’m reading now:
The Unseen:
Out walking alone one rainy night, Lucy becomes convinced that someone - or something - is following her. Spooked, she ducks into a cemetery to try and lose her stalker. Panicking in the darkness, she slips and stumbles into an open grave - only to discover she is not alone in there. She manages to escape, but soon begins having terrifying visions and dreams - and she still can't shake the feeling of an unseen presence, always watching, waiting... Who was the girl in the grave? And what did she do to Lucy?


Books that spark my interest this week:
Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
Moon Awakening by Lucy Monroe

And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry

And Then I Found You:
Kate Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.

She’s made them before. Now it’s time to do it again.

Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. But she wants more than the perfect on paper relationship; she wants a real and imperfect love. That's why, when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan's drawer, she panics.

It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?

When the mistakes have been made and the running is over, it’s time to face the truth. Kate knows this. She understands that a woman can never undo what can never be undone. Yet, for the first time in her life she also knows that she won’t fully love until she confronts those from her past. It’s time to act.

Can she do it? Can she travel to the place where it all began, to the one who shares her secret? Can the lost ever become found?

Patti Callahan Henry has a gift for telling heart-wrenching, yet utterly romantic stories. Loosely based on her own family's experiences, And Then I Found You is the perfect example of the romance genre. Boy notices girl, boy and girl fall in love...and then life happens. The decision Kate made when she was a young woman truly drove this story, filling it with tension and plenty of tear-jerking moments. While completely different, but reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, this was one of those books that will stay with me long after I had turned the final page. The characters were down-to-Earth and easy to relate to, and once I started this book I could not put it down. Without giving too much away, all I can really say is that I loved And Then I Found You, I was completely blown away by the story and the beautiful and vivid writing style.

Kate and Jack fell in love when they were thirteen years old, throughout high school and college their love remained strong. Until Kate took a job out of state to work with troubled girls, and something changed her there. The thought of leaving those girls ate at her heart so she put off returning to Jack. And when she discovers that their lives will be forever changed, it's too late. Jack didn't wait for her. Thirteen years later, Kate is with a wonderful man who wants to marry her, only the past and a decision she made is eating away at Kate's heart and she cannot commit to Rowan until she closes the door to her past. Only when she confronts Jack, old emotions and feelings come to the surface, and this time she's determined to find the solution to mend her broken heart.