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Nell’s Gossip and Book Hunt March 15, 2020
Welcome to my Sunday book hunt and author gossip. Keep coming back for updates on book releases and news from favorite authors.
Back with new releases again… they keep writin’ them, we keep readin’ them.
Exciting new release coming up! I love anthologies. If you aren’t sure you’d like an author, the anthology is an awesome way to test them out. Besides, that – these authors are awesome!
Title: Fantastic Hope
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey are joined by Kevin J. Anderson, Griffin Barber, Patricia Briggs, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Monalisa Foster, Robert E. Hampson, John G. Hartness, Jonathan Maberry, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Jessica Schlenker, Sharon Shinn, M. C. Sumner, Patrick M. Tracy, and Michael Z. Williamson in this collection.
Release date: April 7, 2020
Description: A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything.
In this anthology, seventeen authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humor, love, sacrifice, dedication, and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last.
Title: VooDoo Shanghai
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: Kincaid Strange #3
Release date: February 18, 2020
Description: The third and final installment in Kristi Charish’s thrilling urban fantasy series finds beloved heroine and voodoo practitioner Kincaid Strange shanghaied away from Seattle and pursuing the ghost of a serial killer in Portland.
Just when Kincaid Strange thinks her life is back on track and she’s finally put her time as a paranormal practitioner with the Seattle PD to rest, her ex (and Seattle cop) Aaron asks her for help with yet another strange and ominous case. Martin Dane, the White Picket Fence Serial Killer who terrorized West Coast families living the suburban American dream, appears to be back at it with a fresh murder in Portland. There’s only one problem: Dane has been dead for three weeks.
Kincaid can’t resist a paranormal mystery. Despite her misgivings, she agrees to examine the Portland crime scene. What she discovers is a place of supernatural power unlike anywhere she’s ever been–and the reason Aaron had been so tight-lipped about the case details. There’s already a voodoo practitioner on the scene: Liam Sinclair, a TV celebrity of questionable talent and dubious intent.
Kincaid wants nothing more than to finish the job and retreat to Seattle, but the deeper she looks, the less the murder adds up. When she uncovers a much more sinister mystery–missing ghosts, scores of them, whom no one is looking for–there’s no turning back.
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Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish
Kincaid Strange is back. She’s made a deal with the devil (or is he?) and her best friend is a zombie. How could things get any “Stranger?”
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Lipstick Voodoo
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: Kincaid Strange #2
Publish Date: January 8, 2019, by Penguin Random House
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Narrator: Susannah Jones
Source: Author provided ARC/audiobook purchased
Publisher’s Description: Kincaid Strange, not your average voodoo practitioner, is back in the freshly imagined and hugely entertaining second installment of Kristi Charish’s urban fantasy series.
Kincaid Strange cannot catch a break. After dealing with a spate of paranormal murders, there’s barely time to recuperate—let alone sleep in—before there’s a new problem in Kincaid’s world of paranormal activity. When her roommate, Nathan Cade—the ghost of a grunge-rocker with a pathological lack of self-control—comes home bound to a dead body, it’s up to Kincaid to figure out how to free him, ideally before her new mentor, Gideon, a powerful sorcerer’s ghost, discovers that Nate is trapped in the body he’d coveted for himself.
When Aaron, a Seattle cop on the afterlife beat—and Kincaid’s ex—calls her in to help out with a cold case, she takes the chance to mend fences with the police department. The problem: they want to interview Nate’s ghost, which she can’t produce. Then people from Nate’s past start showing up dead, and what’s killing them doesn’t seem to be human. And the way it’s killing them is especially brutal.
Nate’s hiding something, but he’s Kincaid’s friend and she wants to help him. But she also wants to stay alive…
Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*
Nervous Nellie says…
The reason I butted heads with most women? There is only so much I’m able to feed into the circle of bullshit. I think it is disruptive, not for Sarah and Lee—I figure they’re more like me in that regard—but for the ones who rely on group validation. Those kinds of friendships require an awful lot of bullshit, and people don’t like other people pointing out their bullshit, especially when that person ends up being me.
This is a book with zombies, ghosts, and a whole lot of Otherside. There is no graphic gore, no sex, and a conclusion to the book that is satisfying. It was a good ending—not “happy,” but a good, satisfying ending.
I love Kristi Charish’s writing. She first caught me with Kincaid Strange and then encouraged me with Adventures of Owl series. Now, I’m back into Kincaid’s world. I am not hard to please as a reader. If I’m entertained and the writing took me on a ride, then I’m happy. I’m over the moon with this book. I forgot how much I missed Kincaid and Nathan.
What a mess they have found themselves. Nathan is bound in a body making him an accidental zombie. The body was supposed to go to a centuries-old sorcerer’s ghost so he could make himself a zombie. Crap. Tick off a sorcerer and Kincaid might as well write off her right to life.
That’s just the beginning. Yes, that’s right. Just the beginning. Kincaid is out of work because of the police captain’s penchant for non-believing. He is making it his personal goal to wreak havoc on Kincaid’s life because he believes she is fake.
So, lets count it off. 1. Kincaid is in debt with a seriously deranged and evil sorcerer’s ghost. 2. Said ghost is gonna want his debt paid whether it be by her life or whatever he deems. 3. She hasn’t told said ghost that her best friend “accidentally” inhabits the body that was supposed to go to said ghost, which may or may not cause him a gigantic psychopathic break which could result in everybody getting dead. 4. Kincaid has to pay the bills, so she takes on a cold case on the possible promise of a job in the future. 5. The cold case is really quite hot. Oh crap. Kincaid has a LOT on her plate.
I loved this book. It kept me in suspense with no guessing how things would turn out. The situation Kincaid was in just kept getting messier and messier until all of a sudden it became clear. Charish’s narration from Kincaid’s point of view was great. I felt like I was sitting right there with Kincaid as she went through the ups and downs. The race was a close one. Too close to call but this book was a blockbuster for sure. 5 stars all day and all night. Good book – you won’t be disappointed.
Oh, and head’s up: Voodoo Shanghai, Kincaid Strange #3, will be out next year, same time, same station. Can’t wait!!
Invested Ivana says…
Lipstick Voodo is as much of an enjoyably wild ride as it’s predecessor! The mystery is so well-crafted in both of the books, and the characters are relatable and likable. The sorcerer’s character defied expectations by being more rational and likable than I expected after the first book–which makes me wonder if he’s putting on an act. I guess we’ll see in future books.
The first scene in the book, which depicts an ordinary job for zombie-whisperer Kincaid Strange, is very well written and touching. It gives the reader a good sense of Kincaid’s relationship with the dead as well as what her typical work is like. This contrasts wildly with the extraordinary experiences that serve as the main plot of the book.
The Kincaid Strange series is an excellent example of urban fantasy at its finest, and I can’t wait to see what further adventures await.
Our reviews in this series…
- Voodoo Killings by Kristi Charish
Other recommendations…
…you might try The Adventures of Owl by Kristi Charish or Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
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Nell’s Gossip and Book Hunt 5/6/2018
Welcome to my Sunday book hunt and author gossip. Keep coming back for updates on book releases and news from favorite authors.
We certainly have some books for you today! Things are exciting around here – not only has spring arrived but there is a super deal out there for a fabulous author, Laura Bickle.
Laura Bickle created one of my favorite characters ever. Sparky, a salamander familiar and elemental, is half the investigation team with Anya Kalinczyk being the other half. If you want a super read, check this out: Anya Kalinczyk series.
In more recent publishing is Laura’s series, Dark Alchemy also known as Wildlands series . The news this week is that this series is on sale as Kindle Monthly Deals for May! Each price pointed at .99, a person can hardly go wrong with that entertainment value!
Title: Dark Alchemy
Author: Laura Bickle
Series: Dark Alchemy #1
Released: March 24, 2015
Publisher’s description: Geologist Petra Dee arrives in Wyoming looking for clues to her father’s disappearance years before. What she finds instead is Temperance, a dying Western town with a gold rush past and a meth-infested present. But under the town’s dust and quiet, an old power is shifting. When bodies start turning up – desiccated and twisted skeletons that Petra can’t scientifically explain – her investigations land her in the middle of a covert war between the town’s most powerful interests. Petra’s father wasn’t the only one searching for the alchemical secrets of Temperance, and those still looking are now ready to kill. Armed with nothing but shaky alliances, a pair of antique guns, and a relic she doesn’t understand, the only thing Petra knows for sure is that she and her coyote sidekick are going to have to move fast, or die next.
Title: Mercury Retrograde 
Author: Laura Bickle
Series: Dark Alchemy #2 (or Wildlands series)
Released: October 27, 2015
Publisher’s description: Something venomous has come to Temperance …
It’s been two months since Petra Dee and her coyote sidekick Sig faced off against Temperance’s resident alchemist, but things are far from quiet. When an Internet video of a massive snake in the backcountry of Yellowstone goes viral, a chase for the mythical basilisk is on. Monster hunters swarm into the area, and never one to pass up the promise of discovery, Petra joins in the search.
Among the newcomers is a snake cult on wheels―the biker gang Sisters of Serpens. Unlike some, the Sisters don’t want to kill the basilisk―they want to worship it. But things get complicated when the basilisk develops a taste for human flesh that rivals the Sisters’ own murderous skills.
Meanwhile, the alchemical tree of life is dying, and the undead Hanged Men of Temperance who depend on it know the basilisk may be their last chance for survival. With time running out for everyone around her, Petra will be forced to decide who survives and who she must leave behind in this action-packed sequel to Dark Alchemy.
LOOK OUT! Owl is on the adventure path again!! Also, Kristi Charish is a B & N spotlight pick! How exciting is that?? What that means is that you can get Owl and the Japanese Circus, Adventures of Owl #1, for $1.99 until Monday, May 7, 2018!! Take this series for a spin –
Title: Owl and the Tiger Thieves
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: Adventures of Owl series #4
To Be Released: May 7, 2018
Publisher’s description: In this fourth Owl novel, Kristi Charish (The Voodoo Killings) melds sparkling fantasy with the grit of urban underbelly—with a detour through the world’s most spectacular cities. This is perfect for fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jennifer Estep, Jenn Bennett, and fantasy lovers everywhere.
Through no fault of her own, Alix has found herself essential to the fate of the world as we know it. She didn’t mean for this to happen—she was quite happy being merely the notorious antiquities thief, and ex-archeologist, known as Owl.
However, years ago, Owl reluctantly entered the secret world of the supernatural. Her goals: complete one job, escape one bounty on her head, continue her thieving in peace.
Fast forward to today. Now, she has become a key player in a brutal paranormal civil war that is rapidly getting out of hand. The leader of one of these factions—a lethal opponent called the Electric Samurai—grows more powerful by the second. To stop him, Owl sets out to find the long-lost, legendary group known as the Tiger Thieves.
But will it be too little too late? One thing Owl misses about “normal” archaeology: there are few emergencies with thousand-year-old relics.
HOLD ON TIGHT!! Here comes Harry Dresden! Whoo! Hooo!
Title: Brief Cases
Author: Jim Butcher
Series: Dresden Files #15.1
TO BE RELEASED: June 5, 2018
Publisher’s description: An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City’s favorite wizard.
The world of Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is rife with intrigue–and creatures of all supernatural stripes. And you’ll make their intimate acquaintance as Harry delves into the dark side of truth, justice, and the American way in this must-have short story collection.
From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published “Zoo Day,” Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.
With twelve stories in all, Brief Cases offers both longtime fans and first-time readers tantalizing glimpses into Harry’s funny, gritty, and unforgettable realm, whetting their appetites for more to come from the wizard with a heart of gold.
The collection includes:
* “Curses”, from THE NAKED CITY, edited by Ellen Datlow
* “AAAA Wizardry”, from the Dresden Files RPG
* “Even Hand”, from DARK AND STORMY KNIGHTS, edited by P. N. Elrod
* “B is for Bigfoot”, from UNDER MY HAT: TALES FROM THE CAULDRON, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT
* “I was a Teenage Bigfoot”, from BLOOD LITE 3: AFTERTASTE, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT.
* “Bigfoot on Campus”, from HEX APPEAL, edited by P. N. Elrod. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT.
* “Bombshells”, from DANGEROUS WOMEN, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
* “Jury Duty”, from UNBOUND, edited by Shawn Speakman
* “Cold Case”, from SHADOWED SOULS, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes
* “Day One”, from UNFETTERED II, edited by Shawn Speakman
* “A Fistful of Warlocks”, from STRAIGHT OUTTA TOMBSTONE, edited by David Boop
* “Zoo Day” – brand-new novella, original to this collection
DO YOU NEED AN ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN FIX? Jennifer Estep will be self-publishing Venom in the Veins, Elemental Assassin #17. Aren’t we all so happy for self publishing! We’d all be stuck holding the bag if the publishers got their way about some series! Anyway, here is what Jennifer has to say about her new book.
Print book: The print book won’t be available to order until release day, June 12. I’ll share those links as soon as they are online. The price will be $14.99.
The print book will NOT be stocked in your local bookstore so you will have to order it online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Also, the print book will be trade paperback size—not the smaller mass market size as the previous books in the series.
Audiobook: There will be an audiobook, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator. I’ll share more info about the audiobook as it becomes available.
Title: Venom in the Veins
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassin #17
To Be Released: June 12, 2018
Publisher’s description: Blood might be thicker than water, but venom is stronger than just about anything …
It was supposed to be a nice, quiet, simple dinner with friends—but nothing is ever nice, quiet, or simple when you’re Gin Blanco, the Spider, notorious assassin and current queen of the Ashland underworld.
This time around, someone seems to be targeting Stuart Mosley, the president of First Trust bank. Lots of people have grudges against Mosley, but the more I investigate, the more Mosley’s problems seem to be connected to some of my own, especially when it comes to the Circle, the evil, shadowy group that is secretly responsible for much of the crime and corruption in Ashland.
But when another blast from my dark and deadly past as the Spider comes to light, I wonder if I’ll be able to survive this dangerous new enemy, who has a burning thirst for revenge that will only be satisfied with one thing: my death.
Read the first chapter: http://www.jenniferestep.com/books/venom-in-the-veins/
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Nell’s Gossip and Book Hunt 4/29/18
Welcome to my Sunday book hunt and author gossip. Keep coming back for updates on book releases and news from favorite authors.
Big news, people!! Here’s an author that One Book Two has supported with reading and reviews of her books. Who is that? Kristi Charish!! We haven’t heard from her in awhile, but that’s because she’s holed up in her writing cave creating new and exciting adventures for us all.
Releasing on May 7, 2018 is the next in Owl’s adventure.
Title: Owl and the Tiger Thieves
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: Adventures of Owl #4
Release: May 7, 2018
Publisher’s Description: In this fourth Owl novel, Kristi Charish (The Voodoo Killings) melds sparkling fantasy with the grit of urban underbelly—with a detour through the world’s most spectacular cities. This is perfect for fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jennifer Estep, Jenn Bennett, and fantasy lovers everywhere.
Through no fault of her own, Alix has found herself essential to the fate of the world as we know it. She didn’t mean for this to happen—she was quite happy being merely the notorious antiquities thief, and ex-archeologist, known as Owl.
However, years ago, Owl reluctantly entered the secret world of the supernatural. Her goals: complete one job, escape one bounty on her head, continue her thieving in peace.
Fast forward to today. Now, she has become a key player in a brutal paranormal civil war that is rapidly getting out of hand. The leader of one of these factions—a lethal opponent called the Electric Samurai—grows more powerful by the second. To stop him, Owl sets out to find the long-lost, legendary group known as the Tiger Thieves.
But will it be too little too late? One thing Owl misses about “normal” archaeology: there are few emergencies with thousand-year-old relics.
This next book may need me to go back and re-read the first in the series to remember where it left off. The VooDoo Killings was released in 2016 here in USA featuring star Kincaid Strange. Kincaid’s next adventure will be released in January of 2019, so I have a bit to prepare. I am definitely looking forward to it!
Title: The Lipstick VooDoo
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: Kincaid Strange #2
Release: January 9, 2019
Publisher’s Description: Kincaid Strange cannot catch a break. After dealing with a spate of paranormal murders, there’s barely time to recuperate–let alone sleep in–before there’s a new problem in Kincaid’s world of paranormal activity. When her roommate, Nathan Cade–the ghost of a grunge-rocker with a pathological lack of self-control–comes home bound to a dead body, it’s up to Kincaid to figure out how to free him. Ideally before her new mentor, Gideon, a powerful sorcerer’s ghost, discovers that Nate is trapped in the body he’d coveted for himself.
I really don’t want to talk about this because I’m sure if I don’t talk about it the end of the series really won’t happen, right? Yeah, you heard me right. It’s the end. I thought that depression was imminent UNTIL I talked with Author Stark. She told me she will be releasing a new series in September-ish 2018 called Wilde Justice.
Here’s what she had to say:
Sara will not be shutting up any time soon–in the fall I’ll be launching a new series with her and most of the gang. It’ll be a tiny bit different in that my goal with the new series is to have them be standalone adventures vs. so deeply tied together that there was no way you could start in the middle of the series, and her focus will be different as a result of what happens in Wilde Fire… but this isn’t so much the end as a new beginning! :D~Jenn Stark
Title: Wilde Fire
Author: Jenn Stark
Series: Immortal Vegas #10
Released: April 18, 2018
Publisher’s Description: It’s the end of the world as we know it…
The war on magic is here, and Mistress of the House of Swords Sara Wilde has done everything she can to prepare. The Arcana Council has recalled its most powerful members to hold the line, and the Houses of Magic are frantically strengthening their defenses. Then the first volley hits: a plague of demons freed to ravage the earth. Scrambling, Sara discovers that the war will be fought not on one front, but three–while new threats emerge at a breakneck pace.
All the magic in the world may not be enough to save it.
From an ancient coven in Chicago to the sunbaked streets of Vegas to the frozen ice fields of Antarctica, Sara rallies her closest friends and fiercest enemies to protect the earth from the gods and monsters raining down from the dark side of the veil. To succeed, Sara must confront the truths she’s been avoiding her whole life, and take on forces that have kept the Connecteds powerless for far too long. But is she willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?
When it comes to Armageddon, where there’s smoke there’s always Wilde Fire.
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Owl and the Electric Samurai by Kristi Charish
Owl is back. Captain was taken, can she get him back? She’s wanted (IAA), she’s working for people she doesn’t want to work (Naga and Dragon) for and she’s being hunted by mercenaries. Another day in the life. Of course it couldn’t be simple – all supernatural factions seem to have a hand in the pie.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Owl and the Electric Samurai
Author: Kristi Charish
Series: The Adventures of Owl #3
Narrator: Christy Romano
Released: May 8, 2017
Description: The third exciting novel starring the unforgettable antiquities thief Owl—a modern-day “Indiana Jane” who reluctantly navigates the hidden supernatural world. From the pen of rising urban fantasy star Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus) and for fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jennifer Estep, Jenn Bennett, and fantasy lovers everywhere.
The International Archaeology Association (IAA) is responsible for keeping all things supernatural under wraps. They’re also responsible for ruining the promising archaeology career of Alix Hiboux, better known as Owl.
Needless to say, Owl’s still a little sore about that.
Just to keep Owl’s life lively, the IAA has opened a bounty on the two designers of World Quest, the online RPG that is much, much more than it seems. Owl needs to locate the notorious gaming duo before the other mercenaries do. But finding the gamers won’t be easy since every clue points to them hiding out in the legendary lost city of Shangri-La. Not to mention that the last time Owl and the game designers spoke, their conversation didn’t exactly end on the best note…
Meanwhile, undercurrents of supernatural politics are running amok in Tokyo, dragging Owl and her friends into a deadly game of wits with an opponent who calls himself the Electric Samurai. The cost of losing? All-out civil war between two powerful supernatural factions
Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words…spoilers. *BEWARE*
Nervous Nellie says…
I listened to this book in audio as well as read print. The narrator for the audio does a fantastic job. She distinguishes voices and the inflection is spot on.
This is an urban fantasy that has plenty of suspense, mystery and adventure. No sex though there is a relationship between Owl and Ryan. No cats were hurt in the reading or writing of this book. There are some parts that are somewhat graphic with dismemberment. There are Elves, Vampires, Zombies, Naga, Dragon and assorted other supernaturals involved.
Things are kind of hairy again with Owl. It seems like she can never relax. She has to find the video game masters because she’s afraid that if IAA get hold of them, they’ll be toast. She has to find the Electric Samurai suit or she is toast. Her elven friend may or may not be trusted. Ryan acts weird – besides being an incubus. Captain was taken, but he’s returned with his tail in a bunch, but otherwise unharmed.
I feel defensive of Owl through the book because it feels like Ryan isn’t always on her side. Granted, she is a thief, but still. Also, granted that Owl is not always the most mature and is heavily motivated by money and treasure. I also feel like she’s often put between a rock and a hard place. Her skills are used and somewhat abused, as is Owl herself. She is one smart cookie and a tough one at that.
I can tell you that I love this series. I usually don’t take to anti-heroes or “black hats” and that is what I’d categorize Owl as. She is a thief and steals artifacts for other beings to use for their benefit, BUT if it is too dangerous, Owl will be sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
The writing is smooth and the action is fast. It’s an easy read – I didn’t have to struggle to figure out motivations or hidden clues. I could relax and take the ride without fear of missing any symbolic references or clues.
One Book Two 