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Nell’s Gossip and Book Hunt 11/10/19
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.
I am so glad there are authors because I just LOVE books. Ebooks, audiobooks, paperbacks – love ‘em. Last week I told you about the Other Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. It’s on her website and it’s free. It’s the first 4 chapters (so far) of the first book she wrote, Halfway to the Grave except it’s from Bones’ point of view. It’s incredibly fun to read what the stoic, no nonsense, centuries old master vampire Bones thinks as he falls in love. Hee hee. Bones with hearts circling his head. *snicker* How hard they fall. HA!
Full disclosure here. I gotta tell you one drawback. You and I know about our stash of books on our TBR pile. You know that pile – the pile we sometimes hide from loved ones in case they think we need an intervention. Yeah, that pile. I’m not reducing it when I come across these kinds of tempting novellas You ask why on earth would that be a problem? Well, from reading these three chapters, I couldn’t help myself and went back to my old books from the series and started re-reading them. I’m now halfway through the second book in the series. I forgot how good that series really is. With that being said, any newbies that are looking for a good romance and action packed series, the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost would be a excellent recommendation.
From the escapades of Bones and Cat, we meet a LOT of vampires. We meet Ian, Mencheres (who are Bones’ sire and grand sire respectively) and Spade to start. The Night Huntress series spawns The Night Huntress World where Mencheres and Spade find their special someones. The Night Rebel series focuses on Ian. The first book in the Night Rebel series is called Shades of Wicked. It was released October 30, 2018. Now, book #2 will be released early next year and that book will be called…
Title: Wicked Bite
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Rebel #2
Release date: January 28, 2020
Description: Some promises are meant to be broken…
Veritas spent most of her life as a vampire Law Guardian. Now, she’s about to break every rule by secretly hunting down the dark souls that were freed in order to save Ian. But the risks are high. For if she gets caught, she could lose her job. And catching the sinister creatures might cost Veritas her own life.
Some vows are forever…
Ian’s memories might be fragmented, but this master vampire isn’t about to be left behind by the woman who entranced him, bound herself to him, and then disappeared. So what if demons, other Law Guardians, and dangerous, otherworldly forces stand against them? Come hell or high water, Ian intends to remind Veritas of the burning passion between them, because she is the only person seared on his mind–and his soul…
While surfing around, I found another similar kind of read. It’s from 2012, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Check it out.
Title: Wicked as They Come
Author: Delilah S. Dawson
Series: Blud #1
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Description: When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) If only Criminy wasn’t so deliciously rakish….
Half the inhabitants of Sang are Pinkies—human—and the other half are Bludmen, who in Tish’s world would be called vampires. But they don’t mess with any of the bat/coffin/no sunlight nonsense. They’re rather like you and me, just more fabulous, long living, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.) But when the evil Mayor of Manchester (formerly Bludchester) redoubles his efforts to rid Sang of the Bludmen once and for all, stealing Tish’s locket in hopes of traveling back to her world himself for reinforcements, Criminy and Tish must battle ghosts, sea monsters, wayward submarines, a secret cabal, and thundering Bludmares to get the locket back and allow Tish to return home…but has she found love with Criminy? Could she stay in Sang forever?
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The Alchemist’s Son by Athena Daniels
The Beyond the Grave series by Athena Daniels returns with Book 2, The Alchemist’s Son.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Alchemist’s Son
Author: Athena Daniels
Series: Beyond the Grave 02
Publish Date: August 16, Sunset Coast Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Provided by publisher
Publisher’s Description: A town with a dark secret.
A detective digging for the truth.
A discovery that leads to an unthinkable sacrifice…
For one hundred years, a demon has been watching, waiting, plotting…
White witch Sage Matthews has inherited a gift that makes her both integral to an ancient prophecy and a target for a demon-possessed serial killer. Assigned to catch the killer, Detective Sergeant Ethan Blade falls wildly, and inconveniently, in love with the one woman he doesn’t know how to protect.
Together Sage and Ethan delve into the prophecy, and the more they learn, the more deadly their situation becomes. At midnight on the night of the blood moon, an ancient doorway will open, and a master demon and his horde will pour through and unleash hell on earth. Only Sage can stop their onslaught—but not if the demon kills her first.
With the blood moon looming, Sage discovers she can join forces with “the alchemist’s son” to destroy the demon. But who is the alchemist’s son? And will he be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice required to end this struggle between light and dark forever?
The Alchemist’s Son is the much-anticipated conclusion to Sage and Ethan’s journey of supernatural suspense and romance, which began in The Seer’s Daughter.
Luna Lovebooks says…
I must admit I was a little disappointed in this one. The title promises more of Ethan’s background but we get more of Sage trying to figure out what to do. Readers don’t learn more about Ethan until the story is almost over. Most of this installment is Sage still running around trying to figure out how to defeat the demon.
The setting is even darker in this book as the demon is closer to walking on this plane of existence. but readers get comedic breaks between the doom and gloom when they are introduced to the new characters of Ethan’s team. Ethan and Sage have their romance beautifully wrapped up.
I did enjoy this novel but I think it could have taken a different direction that would have made me love it.
Our reviews in this series…
Other recommendations…
Check out these other Romance reads!
His Darkest Craving by Tiffany Roberts, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, Real by Katie Evans
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Asp (Guardian Security Shadow World #2) by Kris Michaels
Guardian Security’s Shadow World reveals Asp. The Shadow World operatives have nothing. No real relationships, no ties. All they have is their job, and their closest friends are other assassins. How does one drop their guard long enough to let someone else in?
Title: Asp
Author: Kris Michaels
Series: Guardian Security Shadow World #2
Publish Date: July 31, 2018
Genre: Military Romance
Source: reviewers purchase
Publisher’s Description: As a Shadow, Asp planned his assassinations with meticulous care. His work required one thing, that the Council direct his kills. The coded target became a “sanctioned hit” and that distinction was vital.
His most recent assignment took him to a remote area of the Andes Mountains in Colombia. He completed his assassination according to plan – more or less – but no amount of careful planning could have prepared him for the dire circumstances he found himself in. As he faded in and out of consciousness due to a life-threatening bullet wound, he knew he might not get home. He’d resigned himself to dying alone, just not this soon.
Lyric Gadson was an unwilling expatriate. She’d trade her grandfather’s farm in the foothills of the Andes for her old life in Jacksonville, Florida in a heartbeat. But, the cost of a return ticket was out of reach, and Lyric found herself maturing from carefree teen to responsible woman on a remote Colombia banana farm. When her beloved grandfather failed to return from his yearly pilgrimage to his wife’s shrine, Lyric thought nothing of packing her kit and hiking into the Andes mountains to find him. She found her grandfather—and an unconscious man near death. Her decision to stay and care for the dying man would usher in the greatest love of her life, but it could also threaten everyone else she held dear.
Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words… SPOILERS. *BEWARE*
Nervous Nellie says…
This is a new series, a spin-off of The Kings of Guardian series. These men (so far) are assassins who take care of the sanctioned kills of super bad people. This story does have some swearing, some sex but no cliffhanger. There are also guns, scary situations and an impossible kind of love that becomes possible.
Kris Michaels’s writing ranks right up there with a lot of great writers–Susan Stoker, Teresa Gabelman, and Tina Folsom are just a few. This story is well thought out and is written so well that it’s very hard to put down. As a matter of fact, the pages practically turn themselves.
Since I’ve never been an assassin or in a situation where I had to hole up in a cave and heal after a gunshot wound, I can’t say if this story is believable or would actually happen like it does in the book. With that said, I believe it. I can’t imagine the hours of research that this author has put into her books, but like I said, they are so well written and action-packed that I felt like I was a mouse hidden in the backpack coming along for the ride.
There is no doubt that this is a 5 star. Every time I finish one of Michaels’s books, I think it can’t get any better, but by the time the next book rolls around and I read it, it gets better. Cheers to an amazing author.
Our reviews in this series…
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Rescuing Casey by Susan Stoker
Kidnapped in a jungle. Held captive for who knows what reason. Left in a hole to die. Casey Shea is in a heck of a spot, and she can only use her brain to save herself and hope her brother comes and gets her.
Title: Rescuing Casey
Author: Susan Stoker
Series: Delta Force Heroes
Publish Date: January 2, 2018
Genre: Military Suspense Romance
Narrator: Stella Bloom
Source: Audible
Publisher’s Description: One minute Casey Shea was minding her own business, doing her job, teaching entomology to college students, and the next she was in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle fighting for her life.
Troy “Beatle” Lennon had watched his friends fall head over heels in love, but never thought it would happen to him. Until he sees a picture of one of his teammates’ sisters. That was it. The absolute joy in her eyes calls to him in a way he can’t understand.
But that joy is currently being threatened by an unknown person who’d had Casey kidnapped and hidden deep in the jungle. It’s up to Beatle to find her and keep her safe until the threat against her can be neutralized. Surviving the dangers of the jungle turns out to be the easy part…staying ahead of the killer is much more complicated…and deadly.
Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words… spoilers. *BEWARE*
Nervous Nellie says…
No cliffhanger, standalone military romance. No graphic sex but there is violence.
Casey and her students are captured and held hostage for unknown reasons. Luckily, there is a high profile person in her group that is missed right away. Help descends but no one knows what happened to Casey. She’s stuck in a hole in the middle of the jungle and left to die.
Troy and the rest of his team, including Casey’s brother are bound and determined to find Casey. It’s impossible, but with luck and intuition, they find her. This story starts out harsh, but when the romance starts then it lightens up some. It feels weird to have a romance bud in the middle of a high tension situation, but it happens. And then they go home.
I guess the romance that happens back in the states is a little too cut and dried, but the ending is fantastic. The suspense part comes to the reader in a flash of “Oh, no! She didn’t!!” It was great.
Our reviews in this series…
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Garden of Her Heart by Shanna Hatfield
I am normally not a romance reader. The synopsis for this novel sounded so sweet that I had to give it a try. I am so very glad I did.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Garden of Her Heart
Author: Shanna Hatfield
Series: Hearts of the War Book 01
Publish Date: December 7th, 2016
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Provided by the publisher
Publisher’s Description: Can forbidden love blossom amid the constraints of war? The moment the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, life shifted for Miko Nishimura. Desperate to reach the Portland Assembly Center for Japanese Americans, she’s kicked off the bus miles from town. Every tick of the clock pushes her closer to becoming a fugitive in the land of her birth. Exhausted, she stumbles to her grandparents’ abandoned farm only to find a dying soldier sprawled across the step. Unable to leave him, she forsakes all else to keep him alive. After crashing his plane in the Battle of the Atlantic, the doctors condemn Captain Rock Laroux to die. Determined to meet his maker beneath a blue sky at his family home, he sneaks out of the hospital. Weary and half out of his mind, he makes it as far as a produce stand he remembers from his youth. Rather than surrender to death, Rock fights a battle of the heart as he falls in love with the beautiful Japanese woman who saves his life. A poignant, sweet romance, Garden of Her Heart proves love can bloom in unlikely places even under the most challenging circumstances.
Luna Lovebooks says…
This a touching read full of strength and courage, fear and hate of one race, love and dreams. This is a beautiful clean read that mixes the injustices done to Japanese-American’s during World War II with the hope that love can be found.
Ms. Hatfield does an incredible job of describing what life was like for many Japanese-American’s during this time. She doesn’t sugar coat it. The research that was done on the era and the confinement of a race of people is evident. You get drawn into Miko’s plight from the very first chapter. The eloquent descriptions of people, places, and situations in the book will take you back in time and make you feel like you are in the time period.
The characters are lifelike and make you feel for them. I loved Miko an American woman who knows where she came from and likes to keep her connections to her heritage – even if it must be hidden. Rock is aptly named as he is Miko’s pillar even as she tries to fight her growing feeling for him. Petey is an adorable neighbor boy who really makes you feel like you are part of the post-Pearl Harbor bombing with his slang and all around good ol’ American boy persona. And the villain is the most despicable character 
I have read thus far.
This truly is a beautiful story filled with hope even in the midst of so much sadness. Ms. Hatfield shows that she has done her research by creating a lifelike setting and creating characters that fit so well. I have to give this novel 4 stars because it was so good. If you love period pieces or romance you should pick this up.
Other recommendations…
Try out these other historical romance reads: A Loyal Heart by Jodi Hedlund, Ashes on the Moore by Sarah Eden, A Chance at Forever by Melissa Jagears
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
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