Kathy's Book Pile

Friday, December 6, 2013

Review: Cursed by Destiny & a GIVEAWAY

The Wird sisters are back in the third Weird Girls book, CURSED BY DESTINY by Cecy Robson.

The Blurbage: "Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird…

Celia’s a girl in trouble. Her heart is bound to Aric, but he is a pureblood were who must deny her or risk condemning his species to extinction. And that’s just her love life. She’s also been called to take down a group of demon terrorists looking to overthrow the paranormal world. (No pressure.)

In order to bring them down, Celia must ally herself to Misha, the master vampire who has made no secret of his desire for her.

And if that weren’t enough misfortune for one girl, a clairvoyant’s prediction could destroy Celia and Aric’s love for good. The only way to protect the world from unbridled supernatural terrorism is for Celia to bind herself to her destined mate. And that doesn’t appear to be Aric…"

CURSED BY DESTINY is out January 7, 2014 Amazon | B&N

Signed copies of SEALED WITH A CURSE and A CURSED EMBRACE from University Bookstore: http://www.cecyrobson.com/Autographed_Book.php

My take: I am trying to be as spoiler free as possible, but damn, Celia's life is in the crapper. I really, really hate the whole werewolf pack and the Elders. I'm thinking Bren had the right idea of going lone. Yada, yada, save the earth, blah, blah, they still overall are such sanctimonious jerks.

OK, now that I've gotten that off my chest, we can go back to the rest of the review. The action was awesome, as always. That has been a hallmark of this series from the prequel novella and I was not disappointed. Nasty adversaries and there are prices to be paid. You can't fight a war without casualties. I'm still reeling from everything that happened.

I love Celia and her sisters - that has consistently been my other favorite part about this series. Their relationship has changed a bit, but is still strong as ever. Now that we've gotten a Bren novella, I'm hoping we'll get a story or two featuring one of the other sisters.

Misha is much the same, but would you want him any other way? I liked how Celia had to train. Her powers are growing but she has to work for it.

Now, the other "destined" mate? Not on my happy list, but that's OK. I like how things were handled with him.

I'm really, REALLY wondering where this is going to go next. It's not necessarily a total cliffhanger, but there is a solid punch of a reveal at the end. Some of it I expected, true, but to end on it, just WHEW!

I will most definitely be reading book 4.

[received a review copy]

Now to the GIVEAWAY! Cecy is giving away a signed copy of CURSED BY DESTINY, a magnet, lip balm, and bookmark. US only for US bloggers (sorry, but postage is through the roof!). What animal would you want to shift into? Just leave a comment to enter. If you follow Cecy on Twitter or like her facebook you get another entry. If you tweet about the giveaway, you get another entry too (just be sure you @kindleaholic). If you win on another blog, another winner will be chosen (it's just fair, ya know). Winner will be announced December 14.

Cecy Robson:
Website: www.cecyrobson.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cecyrobson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Cecy.Robson.Author
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomCecyRobsonAuthor

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

A "Weird" Novella - A CURSED MOON

Cecy Robson's Wird sisters are back in a new novella out today, A CURSED MOON, but this time lone wolf Bren is in the cockpit.

The blurbage: "Meet the furry big brother that the Wird sisters never had…

Bren is a cocky, brash hound of a werewolf who loathes the idea of belonging to Aric’s pack—much less finding a mate. But Bren’s hotheaded behavior lands him in the doghouse when he defies Aric’s authority in front of his pack, bringing up a sore subject that’s bound to make the Alpha wolf’s blood boil…

Luckily for him, no one can stay mad at Bren and his wild charm for long. And when some frightening ghosts launch a hostile paranormal takeover, Bren will team up with Celia Wird to take down the evil ghouls before they hurt someone they both love…

Includes a preview of the upcoming Weird Girls novel Cursed by Destiny!"

My take: I had fun reading this one. When there is a 1st-person series, I do enjoy the occasional dip into a side-character's head, especially when said character is as brash as Bren. His mouth gets him into trouble more often than not, but he is loyal, and funny, and I liked seeing his different take on pack dynamics. We also learn more about turning someone and mates, which I enjoyed. Very fast-paced and good action too. I was surprised by the end, and I like the new doors that are opening up in this world. If you haven't read the first two books in the series, you will be spoiled and perhaps a bit confused.

[received a review copy]

A CURSED MOON (Weird Girls 2.5): B&N | Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:

Cecy (pronounced Sessy) Robson is a full-time writer, registered nurse, wife, and mother living in the Great Northwest. A member of Romance Writers of America, she attributes her passion for storytelling to the rough New Jersey neighborhood she was raised in. As a child, she was rarely allowed to leave the safety of her house and passed her time fantasizing about flying, fairies, and things that go bump in the night. Gifted and cursed with an overactive imagination, she began writing in May 2009. Her Weird Girls Urban Fantasy Romance series is published with Penguin Random House’s Signet Eclipse and released to stellar praise from multiple reviewers including: Publisher’s Weekly, USA Today, and Romantic Times. THE WEIRD GIRLS: A Novella, SEALED WITH A CURSE, and A CURSED EMBRACE are now available. A CURSED MOON: A Novella, releases December 3, 2013, followed by CURSED BY DESTINY, January 7, 2014.

Website: www.cecyrobson.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cecyrobson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Cecy.Robson.Author
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomCecyRobsonAuthor

Thursday, October 31, 2013

More Transplanted Tales & a Giveaway

Kate SeRine has unveiled the newest cover in her Transplanted Tales series, and she has a giveaway too!

This time we have a novella, GRIMM CONSEQUENCES, a companion/sequel to the very awesome RED.

Here is the cover:

The blurbage:

"You reap what you sow…

Saying Nate Grimm has a dark past is an understatement. Fortunately, no one’s bothered to look too closely at the Fairytale Management Authority’s lead detective and part-time Reaper. And that’s the way Nate wants to keep it. For after centuries of torment and loneliness, he’s finally found happiness with the hot and hard-charging love of his life, Tess “Red” Little.

Of course, his love for Tess is the reason there’s a posse of Reaper judges after him, led by a sadistic bastard acquainted with Nate from once upon a time. Now, Tess will pay the price for Nate’s transgressions unless Nate severs his ties to the transplanted Tales—and Tess—forever. His enemy has the advantage in speed, malice and brutality. But the Reapers have underestimated the depth of Nate’s love and devotion. And the fury of his wrath…"

I adore this series and am very much looking forward to seeing what happened to Tess and Nate after RED. We have to wait until April to read it, but the cover gives us a little taste of what's to come. I am so looking forward to finding out more about the Reapers (you know I have a thing for Death characters) and seeing two of my favorites in the spotlight again.

Now to the international GIVEAWAY from Kate SeRine. Just enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pre-order GRIMM CONSEQUENCES: Amazon

Kate SeRine links

website: http://www.kateserine.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateSeRine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kateserine

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Bloodlines Review: Demons of Oblivion Tour

Today the Book Pile is a stop on Skyla Dawn Cameron's Demons of Oblivion tour.

I should have listened to Melissa (from My World...in words & pages) and gotten into this series earlier. She said I would like it and she was right. Snarky, kickass heroine, loads of action, some romance, and a very interesting world, I got sucked in and enjoyed the whole ride.

The blurb for the series:

"A diverse cast of characters come together in classic urban fantasy about monsters, the people who hunt them, and the occasional apocalypse. Snarky humor, magic with bite, nonstop action, a
dose of romance, and at its core: broken people finding family in one another.

Also, there’s a saber-tooth cat named Sir Rodney Ballsgalore. Because reasons."

Yes, Cameron is very good at the snarky asides. Here is the blurbage for book 1, BLOODLINES:

"If you're in her way, it sucks to be you.

After three hundred years of unlife, narcissistic vampire Zara Lain has seemingly done it all, and she's now making a living as a successful thief-turned-assassin. Her newest assignment seems simple enough: kill the aging leader of the O'Connor coven and his only heir, and she'll have another ten million in the bank.

But in the dangerous world of the supernatural, few things are ever “simple.”

When a massive assault decimates the continent's population of powerful witches and warlocks, and its orchestrator has vampires being hunted down and captured, Zara realizes the tables have turned and now she'll be playing the hero. Forced to join with a smart-mouthed fellow vampire, a demonologist who's also a fan of hers, a recently widowed—and frequently brooding—warlock, and her best friend's mom, Zara's grudgingly willing to do what she can to save the day.

If only people would stop ruining all her outfits..."

First off, the action junkie is appeased. Loads of action, explosions, fights, quick pace. Oh yeah.

I liked the world building. It is a huge world and there is lots that can be done with it. There is a huge shakeup that happens very close to the start. This will have lots of consequences down the line. I also liked the mythology.

Zara's vampire is a hunter and is fairly pragmatic about what that entails. I felt Cameron balanced Zara's snark and selfishness with the realities of an immortal "un"life as well as the events from her past to make her a well-rounded character you can sympathize with (but never pity) and root for til the end. I liked the other characters as well, but this is Zara's show all the way.

Lots of betrayals, Zara learns more about her world, and there is some steam too, but it fit with the character and the story. This tale is definitely not done and I want to know what happens next. It is a UF series with different protags (although Zara gets her turn in the spotlight again), so that is a little different. I'm looking forward to the next one.