Why Haven't I Read You? (50)

Every Wednesday I’ll choose a book off one of my (many, 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 comment about the books I feature if you have read them!

“We should head to a bar and celebrate.” I wasn’t surprised by my roommate’s emphatic pronouncement. Cary Taylor found excuses to celebrate, no matter how small and inconsequential. I’d always considered it part of his charm. “I’m sure drinking the night before starting a new job is a bad idea.” “Come on, Eva.” Cary sat on our new living room floor amid half a dozen moving boxes and flashed his winning smile. We’d been unpacking for days, yet he still looked amazing. Leanly built, dark-haired, and green-eyed, Cary was a man who rarely looked anything less than absolutely gorgeous on any day of his life. I might have resented that if he hadn’t been the dearest person on earth to me.

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Goodreads

Future Favorites (165)

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!

Raging Star by Moira Young

Release Date: May 13, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton...until she meets him and he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The few who can pay.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia. What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (175)

Books I read week:
Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

The book I’m reading now:
Darker After Midnight:
In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order--a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike--to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.

At the center of the Order's quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase's path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach. But when his eyes meet those of Tavia Fairchild, a beautiful witness who identifies him at the scene of a mission gone terribly wrong, Chase finds himself drawn to the woman--and convinced she is something much more than she seems.

Pulled into a vortex of intrigue and danger she can neither resist nor understand, Tavia is uncertain whom to trust. And while everything sane and logical warns her against getting close to Chase, she cannot deny that the handsome, deeply haunted male stirs something primal and ravenous within her. But even as she surrenders to her cravings, nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth of who--and what--she truly is.

As the Order's enemy mobilizes for the battle of the ages, Dragos and his Minions unleashing a hell on Earth like nothing ever seen before, Chase and Tavia are thrust into the heart of the violence. With time running out and the streets running red with the blood of innocent lives, both Breed and human, together Chase and Tavia must find a way to defeat Dragos once and for all--or die trying.

Books that spark my interest this week:
Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur
Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward {Mini Review}

Lover Unleashed:
Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward was honestly more about Vishous and Jane rather than Manny and Payne. And while there was some steamy scenes between Manny and Payne, there just wasn't the romance I was craving.  On the other hand, it brought a whole lot of closure to Vishous and Jane's relationship than we didn't really get in Lover Unbound—and finally gave us a true emotional response from Vishous as he deals with the past abuse of his father and the abandonment of his mother. For hundreds of years Vishous had no idea that he had a twin sister. Suddenly he is thrown into the role of "big brother" and he quite simply breaks down. It's one more thing that his mother, the Scribe Virgin, has kept from him and it pushes his relationship with Jane to it's very limits. Without Butch and the amazing relationship they have, I honestly don't know how Vishous would have survived the revelation of his sister or his heartbreaking confrontation with Jane.  This book ended with a HEA for both couples and a new twist in the storyline that I'm looking forward to reading more of.  

My Bookish Wants & Gots (85)

My Bookish Wants & Gots is a feature over at The Book Vixen. I list the books I want - which can be old, new, or upcoming releases - and the books I recently got.

The Darkest Craving by Gena Showalter

Goodreads

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter is back with a breathtaking Lords of the Underworld tale about a warrior trapped by darkness and the woman determined to save him

Having endured weeks of torture in the bowels of hell, Kane wants nothing to do with his beautiful rescuer, Josephina Aisling. The half-Fae female threatens to awaken the demon of Disaster inside him—a beast he’s determined to kill, no matter the price.

Josephina is hunted by a brutal enemy—her royal family—and Kane is her only source of protection. He’s also the only male to ever set her aflame, and even he succumbs to the heat. But as they navigate the treacherous world of the Fae, they are forced to make a choice: live apart…or die together.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Goodreads

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

Illusion by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Goodreads
Be careful what you wish for…

You just might get it.

Nick Gautier is tired of his destiny. He doesn’t want to be the son of a demon who’s fated to end the world. Nor does he want to see another demon or other preternatural creature who wants to kill or enslave him. He just wants to be normal and have normal problems like everyone else.

But normality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When he gets sucked into an alternate reality where his mother has married his mentor and his Atlantean god best friend has become a human geek, he begins to understand that no life is free of pain, and that every person has a specific place in the universe… Even the son of a hated demon.

Most of all, he sees that his powers aren’t the curse he thought they were, and that the world needs a champion, especially one its enemies can’t imagine rising up to defend the ones he should destroy.

Old enemies and new friends square off for a major battle that will either restore Nick to his real world, or end him forever.

Edge of Dawn by Lara Adrian
Goodreads
Twenty years after the terror of First Dawn—when mankind learned that vampires lived secretly among them—the threat of violence reigns as the two species struggle to coexist. The only group preserving the fragile harmony is the Order, an elite cadre of Breed warriors dedicated to protecting humans and vampires alike. And in this precarious world of torn loyalties and shattered trust, Mira, a fiery squad captain, finds that every fight bears an intensely personal cost.

Raised among the Order, Mira has always believed in the warrior’s code of swift—and even lethal—justice. But the one thing she desires more than the Order’s hard-won acceptance is Kellan Archer, a sexy but troubled Breed fighter. In love with him since childhood, Mira once broke through his tough exterior during an unexpected night of rapture, but the next day he mysteriously disappeared, never to return.

Kellan didn’t think he would ever see Mira again—or have to confront the truth of why he left. After abandoning the Order years ago, he now leads a band of human rebels intent on carrying out their own vigilante rule of law. Yet a high-profile kidnapping assignment brings him face-to-face with the past he sought to avoid, and the striking woman he has tried desperately to forget. And as tensions mount and the risk of bloodshed grows, Kellan and Mira must take sides—between the competing missions that dominate their lives, and the electrifying passion that claims their hearts.

Forgotten Fridays (89)

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!

Texans at Heart by Diana Palmer
First Published: March 2003
Goodreads 

Three novels proving these men are bold enough to be true Texans! 

Diana Palmer is known for her Long, Tall Texan heroes and the innocent spitfires who are more than a match for them. Here are three stories that show just why she is one of North America's most beloved romance writers . . .

Sutton's Way:
Amanda was in hiding -- and Sutton had secrets of his own. How could they resist one another?

Ethan:
He was too sophisticated, too big, too . . . everything for Arabella. But she wasn't going to let that stop her!

Connal:
He'd loved and lost before, and swore never to risk marriage again. Yet on one impulsive night he became Penelope's husband . . .

Thursday Thirteen (39)

Thursday Thirteen is a weekly meme with a simple theme: each Thursday you blog a list of 13 things. What kind of things? Any kind! Just come up with a list theme and run with it.
*All of my lists are in no particular order.*
 

Opening Lines

1. When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw. – The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

2. I tossed my backpack in a corner of the studio and high-fived Rodney on his way out. – Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

3. The moment the door opened I knew an ass-kicking was inevitable. Stray by Rachel Vincent

4. Honor Donovan took one look and knew the man was trouble. – Amber Beach by Elizabeth Lowell

5. Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he’d have to die again later. – The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

6. My philosophy is pretty simple—any day nobody’s trying to kill me is a good day in my book. – Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

7. Life as I knew it ended at half past eleven on a Tuesday morning. – Nightshade by Michelle Rowen

8. I stiffened at the red and blue lights flashing behind me, because there was no way I could explain what was in the back of my truck. - Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

9. “Myron, are you listening to me?” Carl Herbold glowered at his fellow convict, impatiently shook his head, and muttered, “Stupid, stupid.” – Unspeakable by Sandra Brown

10. Some things I remembered. – Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur

11. How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm. – Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank

12. “Got another letter from that Cyprien guy,” Grace Cho said as she placed the office mail on Dr. Alexandra Keller’s desk. – If Angels Burn by Lynn Viehl

13. No one knew better than Walter Rice that the only safe place was away from other people – Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Why Haven't I Read You? (49)

Every Wednesday I’ll choose a book off one of my (many, 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 comment about the books I feature if you have read them!

He’d heard the sounds iof battle for quite some time. But, as always, he ignored it. The wars of men meant nothing to him. Never had. But those same sounds right outside his den? Well, that did stir him to move.

Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

Goodreads

Future Favorites (164)

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!

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 17, 2014 by Henry Holt and Co.

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (174)

Books I read week:
Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
The Lost (ARC) by Sarah Beth Durst

The book I’m reading now:
Lover Unleashed:
Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.


Books that spark my interest this week:
Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward
A Midsummer Night’s Scream by R.L. Stine

The Lost (ARC) by Sarah Beth Durst

The Lost:
Lost your way?

Your dreams?

Yourself?

Welcome to Lost.

It was supposed to be a small escape. A few hours driving before turning around and heading home. But once you arrive in Lost...well, it's a place you really can't leave. Not until you're Found. Only the Missing Man can send you home. And he took one look at Lauren Chase and disappeared.

So Lauren is now trapped in the town where all lost things go-luggage, keys, dreams, lives-where nothing is permanent, where the locals go feral and where the only people who don't want to kill her are a handsome wild man called the Finder and a knife-wielding six-year-old girl. The only road out of town is engulfed by an impassable dust storm, and escape is impossible....

Until Lauren decides nothing-and no one-is going to keep her here anymore.

Sarah Beth Durst has created another masterpiece with her debut adult publication. Completely unique and utterly unlike anything I have read before, The Lost kept me riveted from beginning to end. With rich descriptions and robust characters,  this book has layer upon layer of intense storytelling that pulls its readers into the pages: from the simplest enlightenment to the most complex of landscapes. I think everyone can relate to this book; everyone at some point in their lives has lost something, and that is exactly what this book is about. It’s about finding what you lost, even if that is a part of yourself. Sarah puts so much emotion into her storytelling, by the end of this book I felt I had been through each ordeal personally. While this was truly Laurens story, each and every character played just as big of a role as she did. Lost is more than just a place where missing things end up, it is a town filled with complicated people and even more obscure rules. The people who end up in Lost have lost or misplaced something in their lives, and they cannot leave until they find it. Surrounding the town of Lost is an indescribable ‘void’ and if you are not found by the Finder, you will fall unto despair and simply cease to exist. The Finder (Peter) brings you to Lost saving you the fate of disappearing, and the Missing Man helps you to find what you’ve lost in order to send you home.

Lauren is slowly losing her mother to a vicious cancer, but that is not what brings her to Lost. While trying to discover exactly where she is, she comes across some very strange people who guide her to the Missing Man. At their introduction the Missing Man appears to be afraid of Lauren and disappears. The townspeople become an angry mob and force Lauren from town, even though Lauren has no idea how to survive in Lost. But thanks to a little girl named Claire she escapes the mob and is introduced to the Finder. Only he cannot help her find what she lost. Scavenging over mountains of waste that cover the outskirts of Lost, Claire, Peter and Lauren make a home for themselves. As time passes, Lauren discovers that she has the ability to enter the void and exit on her own unscathed, and this means that she can help others find what they’ve lost; she might even be able to send herself home. But Peter doesn’t want Lauren to leave, only she must return to her mother before it is too late. …This is where I’m going to stop, because otherwise I’d be giving away too much. I will say this though: The Missing canNOT be released soon enough.

My Bookish Wants & Gots (84)

My Bookish Wants & Gots is a feature over at The Book Vixen. I list the books I want - which can be old, new, or upcoming releases - and the books I recently got.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Goodreads

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Amityville Horrible by Kelley Armstrong

Goodreads

Jaime Vegas—spiritualist, entertainer and, unbeknownst to her audience, real-life necromancer—swore she’d never do another reality ghost show after the last fiasco. But when she’s railroaded into a charity gig, she finds herself back on the set, this time with a cast of photogenic college kids, an up-and¬-coming Russian spiritualist, and a tale of missing girls and murder in New England. It’s cheesy, but that’s show business. With her werewolf Alpha lover, Jeremy Danvers, along to keep her nights interesting, it’s not so bad really. Until the bloody ghosts show up. Jaime has never faced spirits like these, and no matter how hard she tries, they won’t be ignored.

Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan
Goodreads
Tatijana of the Dragonseekers spent centuries encased in ice with her sister, trapped in limbo between life and death, never speaking to a soul other than those who tormented her. Now, she has been freed from her frozen prison by an unknown descendent. Awakened in human form, Tatijana yearns to explore the modern world in which she now lives—a world with more mysteries than she is prepared for.

Fenris Dalka has returned to the Carpathian Mountains after a long absence to be with his brother. He is scarred by centuries of battle, and every hard-won victory. But the real reason for his return home could prove deadly if discovered by the wrong man—or woman. Upon his arrival, he is compelled by a beautiful and enigmatic stranger who carries the scent of fresh earth, of forest, of the night itself.

In time Tatijana and Fenris will discover all that unites them—their secrets and pasts, their predators, and the hot flush of passion that stirs their souls. Yet just as surely, seduced into the silvery darkness of a full-moon night, they’ll also discover everything ancient and evil that exists to destroy them.

Brazen by Kelley Armstrong
Goodreads
Nick Sorrentino knows everyone in the supernatural world considers him the Pack’s playboy, the pretty but not very useful werewolf whose only reputation involves his amorous exploits.

Usually, Nick couldn’t care less what anyone outside the Pack thinks of him. But when it affects his hunt for Malcolm Danvers, a psychotic bogeyman from the Pack’s past, it matters.

Necessity forces Nick to team up with mercenary half-demon Vanessa Callas to run Malcolm to ground in Detroit. Together, they discover Malcolm is more deadly than ever. And he wants to play.

It’s time for Nick to prove he’s not just a lover.

Forgotten Fridays (88)

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!

To the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Lowell
First Published: 1983
Goodreads

Photographer Cat Cochran has been to exotic places most people only dream about—but all she wants to do is settle down and get her life in order. One last assignment and she can put her past behind her—forgetting about her heart's disastrous misadventures as she loses herself in the natural beauty she has so far only glimpsed through a camera's lens. But first she must photograph the mysterious and elusive ship designer T.H. Danvers and his awesome creations.

A man in a million Travis Danvers is dangerous—a millionaire with an athlete's body; an enigmatic charmer capable of breaking down Cat's well-constructed defenses with a buccaneer's arrogance and flourish. She knows she must resist him, for experience has taught her that pain is the eventual price of the pleasure to be found in the arms of such a man. But caught in the waves of a sensual sea, Cat hears sirens whisper seductively, telling her to abandon all caution; to trust and love Travis with all her soul, and to ride with him on the winds of forever.

We Are Silent

Please join me today, April 17th as I take a Vow of Silence for the children who cannot speak for themselves.

Our silence will be their voice.

Around the world, there are those whose voices are not heard. They are the girls who are denied an education because of gender inequality, school fees or the need to stay home and care for younger siblings. They are the child labourers or the children growing up in poverty. They are the students who are bullied at your school.

Every one of them has a voice that needs to be heard. Take a silent stand so they can speak out.