Lunar Love Giveaway Hop

This Giveaway hop is hosted by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Bookworm Lisa. Each blog will have a giveaway featuring something to do with paranormal, supernatural, science fiction or space travel element or a book that has something to do with the moon or has a moon on its cover.

You can choose from these books. (I will be ordering them from Amazon)

These are all from my personal wishlist. One (1) winner will get a chance to pick from these four books! I can only afford to send to the US. 

Review: The Darkening Dream

(from amazon)
Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs in Andy Gavin’s chilling debut, The Darkening Dream.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, a Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself.

My Review:
Vampire tales are a dime a dozen these days.  Rarely do they have the bite that gets my attention and my imagination buzzing. The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin is now officially on that list (the good one)! The cast of characters and the history he has created, lend this book a sense of dread laced with humor. No pretty vampires to seduce the heroine. No sympathy for the devil, because the devil will rip your throat out! The vampires in this book maim, kill, and torture their victims and commit acts of pure evil. Nothing fluffy about them at all!  There is a very clear distinction between the good guys and the bad! I find that utterly refreshing.

Now that we have that out of the way let's just say that the writing in awesome. Andy Gavin has a talent for writing a fun scene. The story flows from one well crafted line to the next. His eye for the fine details is very clear. The main characters are solid and interesting. Sarah and Alex are two teenagers that are separated by family traditions and history, but are quite similar in mindset and intelligence. There is of course an attraction, but it does not come across as cheesy at all. It's a sweet attraction that give a little heart to the story. This peppered with a supporting cast of characters that make you want keep reading until the last page is turned, makes this book a must read! It's easily recognizable that Andy Gavin writes  what makes him excited! This book will satisfy any fan of the vampire genre and then some!


Free Chapters: 
The first two chapters of the novel are available online here.

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Mascherato (January 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 978-1937945015

**thank you goes to andy gavin for providing me with a copy for review***

What are you Reading Monday? -9

It's Monday again and that means bloggers all over the interwebs show off what they intend to read this upcoming week. I am no exception, therefore, thusly.

To Read: 

• The Darkening Dream-Andy Gavin
• Bestseller-Timothy B. Sagges
• Spin-Catherine McKenzie

Read-a-Long Reads:

• 11/22/63-Stephen King
• Dune-Frank Herbert
• House of Leaves- Mark Z. Danielewski

So I have a lot cut out for me this week! I feel good about it, though. What are you reading interweblets?

Quick Review: One Foot in the Grave

Blurb:
You can run from the grave, but you can't hide . . .

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She's still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around him awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline kick of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head—wanted: dead or half-alive—means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard she tries to keep things professional between them, she'll find that desire lasts forever . . . and that Bones won't let her get away again.

Book Details: 

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061245097
• ISBN-13: 978-0061245091

My Review:

So many things about this series totally makes me all giddy! First there is Cat. I have said it before and I will say it again, I LURVE heroines that can kick ass and take charge! Cat doesn't think twice about doing what she has to to protect herself and the ones that she loves! She gets the job done and does it well..even better than the strongest man! Girl power! (yeah I hate that phrase too but damn does she do it well!)

Second, Bones. Oh my dear sweet lord is Bones an awesome character! I love his swagger. He has everything that you need to make a great hero. He's strong, loyal, and dead sexy! Seriously, if Cat WASN'T romantically attracted to him, I would have thrown the book across the room! The two of them have wonderful chemistry and they make a powerful couple. I think they qualify as my favorite book couple.


I loved this book! I can't wait til I can read the next one!

Weekend Reading Challenge (personal)

I have instituted my own weekend challenge! I will read and review 1 1/2 books this weekend! I will do it yo!

• finish reading and post review-One Foot In the Grave (168/357)
• Read and schedule review: The Darkening Dream
• Read 5 chapters of Dune

It's gonna be tough but I'm going to do it! Yup yup!

Do you have any challenges going on this weekend! Let me know! 

Blog Tour: Losing Clementine

Blurb:
In thirty days Clementine Pritchard will be finished with her last painting and her life.
World-renowned artist and sharp-tongued wit Clementine Pritchard has decided that she's done. After flushing away a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions, she gives herself thirty days to tie up loose ends—finish one last painting, make nice with her ex-husband, and find a home for her cat. Clementine plans to spend the month she has left in a swirl of art-world parties, manic work sessions, and outrageous acts—but what she doesn't expect is to uncover secrets surrounding the tragedy that befell her mother and sister. In an ending no one sees coming, will we lose Clementine or will we find her?

Book Details: 

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062093630

Ashley Ream:

 Ashley Ream got her first job at a newspaper when she was 16. After working in newsrooms across Missouri, Florida and Texas, she gave up the deadlines to pursue fiction. She lives in Los Angeles where she works at a nonprofit and is finishing her next novel.

 My Review: 
This book is hard to review without a bias. I've known people with deep depression. I've known people that have legit contemplated suicide. Clementine is screwed up. She's complicated and unstable, but she's REAL. Her story is touching and at times laugh out loud funny. I caught myself at one point being near tears and then the next sentence giggling. What is this?! I think it shows that Ashley Ream is on the right path. She's got brilliant storytelling talent and it shows clearly in Losing Clementine.

I am grateful that Clementine's story wasn't neatly wrapped up at the end. I enjoyed how untidy and unpretty her life is. Yes at moments it's ugly and hard to read but that's how life is. This was the most realistic fictional book I've read in a long time! I can't wait to see what other stories Ream has in store for us. If they are anything at all like Losing Clementine then they will be wonderful! If you enjoy stories that are so riveting it feels like  your heart is getting ripped out, crying and laughing at the same time, falling in love with a character completely, and fully investing your emotions into a story..then this is the book for you!

Review: Partials

Blurb:
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.
Book Details:

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Balzer + Bray (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062071041

My Review:  
This book read like a movie. That's usually not a good thing, but this time it worked PERFECTLY! The world that Kira lives in is stark and almost hopeless. Babies are dying almost as soon as they are born. Thus, humans are dying out. People are panicking, riots are erupting, and whatever world is left is starting to crumble. This story and it's very well crafted history was compelling and thought provoking!

I eagerly devoured this book. Kira is a great character and her friends are just as interesting. The dynamics of their group is another plus point to me. The friendships make sense. They grew up together, after something horrible nearly wiped out their species, they stuck together and matured.
Kira, in general, is a very smart person. She's learned how to be resourceful, she's tough, and real. The way she reacts to certain situations is pretty believable.

The story's pace starts out just a little slowly at first, but once  you hit the third or fourth chapter it  picks up quickly. That slow pace at the start was the only real big gripe I had with the book. It's like a slow boil, but once it hits boiling point just watch out and hold on. Seriously, this was how it felt to me. I cannot wait for the next book, I think there will be one as the ending definitely sets up the possibility. I hope that Dan Wells delves into more of the Isolation War and how the Partials actually came to exist.

This is a great book! One of the best I've read in a LONG time.