As always, a big thank you to The Story Siren for hosting In My Mailbox every week =)
Once again my In My Mailbox contribution is really an accumulation of books that I've acquired since my last post. I'd vowed to learn how to vlog before my next one but it hasn't happened yet, thanks to a pesky little thing called my dissertation. Unfortunately, I'm still low-tech so here's my February haul. (Some of them are e-books so they're not in the picture.)
Bought:
Hidden by Kelley Armstrong (it finally came!)
Dark Time by Dakota Banks
Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast
Witch Fire by Anya Bast
Empire State by Adam Christopher
Undone Deeds by Mark Del Franco
Cold Fire by Kate Elliott
Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Kim Harrison
Black Wings by Christina Henry
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
Rebirth by Sophie Littlefield
Horizon by Sophie Littlefield
Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
As Lie the Dead by Kelly Meding
Dead Man Walking by Stefan Petrucha
Grave Dance by Kalayna Price
Sins of the Demon by Diana Rowland
My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
For review:
Deliverance by Dakota Banks
Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett
Darkness Dawns by Dianne Duvall
Night Reigns by Dianne Duvall
Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep
Black Howl by Christina Henry
Fated by Benedict Jacka
Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo
A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang
Shades of Gray by L.M. Pruitt
Shades of Desire by L.M. Pruitt
But don't go away yet because Christine also has some books to share:
In Christine's mailbox
For review:
Darkest Knight by Karen Duvall
The Hunt by Andrew Fukada
Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane
Raven Calls by C.E. Murphy
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.
We are now one month away from our newest event, Paranormal April Fools! We've been hard at work getting things together and now it's finally time for the big reveal. Tynga gave you a sneak peek when she mentioned the event in her most recent In My Mailbox post so some of you may already be intrigued but I wanted to give you some more information to really get you excited.
Starting March 23, some amazing authors will be answering questions about their latest/upcoming releases or sharing wonderful stories with us, revolving around pranks. You'll learn about authors' memories of great pranks, read stories where characters get pranked, and more!
If that's not enough, we'll also have giveaways and reviews of many of the featured titles.
Curious about who's participating? Here's who confirmed their participation so far:
Aimee Agresti
Dakota Banks
Lyn Benedict
Jenn Bennett
Cassi Carver
J. N. Duncan
Bethany Griffin
Kim Harrington
Rachel Hawkins
Kevin Hearne
Christina Henry
C. C. Hunter
Benedict Jacka
Stacia Kane
Jackie Morse Kessler
Gini Koch
Theresa Meyers
And here are the titles we’ll be featuring and/or giving away:
Paranormal April Fools' will end on April 8th and the giveaways will close on April 15th, with the winners announced on April 17. Make sure you visit Tynga’s Reviews every day of the event to find out more about these great titles and authors, and to enter all the giveaways. Feel start to start following us (if you aren’t already) to make sure you don’t miss a thing!
It is going to be a fun-filled event and we hope you'll enjoy it!
Feel free to spread the news by adding our event button to your sidebar!
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.
Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealousdjamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.
Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?
DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK. BUT SHE SHOULD BE.
Dru has been through a lot since her father’s death and the experience she gained from the crazy chain of challenges she overcame will be necessary to face what’s to come. After saving Graves and Ash (more-or-less) she now finds herself on the run, trying to keep the three of them alive against swarms of Vampires, the Order (whom she’s not sure she can trust) and a whole new enemy. But what will she do when treason comes from a source she never foresaw? Will her blooming, or even the voices in her head, be enough to save their hides?
True to the previous books in the series, Lilith Saintcrow offered an action-packed installment. Things started a bit slow with the three teenagers hitting the road in a stolen car but it doesn’t take that long before the sh*t hit the metaphorical fan. Numerous fights take place in Reckoning and our heroine will have to face them among friends, alone or worst, side-by-side with a traitor, promising a string of surprising events. I stayed on my toes the whole time and I enjoyed it!
One of the things I love most about this series is the way Dru always bounces back from whatever puts her down and I wasn’t disappointed. Dru might be young, but she’s got some real world experience under her belt and she is very determined and resourceful. Two qualities hitting high on the kick-ass heroine scale. The secondary characters also delivered a good show! Graves’ mood swing annoyed the hell out of me, Christophe’s honesty surprised me and what to say about Ash? He might only have the vocabulary of a two years old, but I love him to pieces.
A lot of issues will be solved in this novel and even though I liked the end of book, a je ne sais quoi was missing to make it a satisfying end to the series. I guess I would’ve liked Dru to head on a path to assume her leader’s responsibilities and *slight spoilers alert* for her to choose which boy she wants to be with, instead of leaving both relationships opened *end of spoilers* but overall it wasn’t bad.
The Strange Angels series has a strong Supernatural (the TV show) vibe, with a YA twist that really got me hooked from the beginning. Now that the series is over, it’s a great opportunity for you to read it all without suffering the torture of awaiting the next installment. Lilith Saintcrow delivers an action-packed series with strong characters that will definitely appeal to YA lovers. All fun and spunk without a sorry-for-herself weepy heroine, much better than so many YA series out there!
Which element are you looking for in a series conclusion? I guess closure is the most important for me, and it seems so hard to get!
Tynga is a 26 years old French Canadian from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and blogging about them. You might also catch her watching an hockey game. Make sure to say hi on twitter!
For my pick this week, I’m going with a book from 2010 -- a little bit newer than some of the other books I’ve offered up but still old enough to qualify. =) I recently re-read Grave Witch in preparation for starting its sequel, Grave Dance, and I decided to use it today because I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the story.
Grave Witch is set in an alternate timeline, one in which the Fae came out of the proverbial closet about 70 years ago in the Magical Awakening. This led to humans exploring their magical abilities and now fae, witches, and norms mix and mingle with varying degrees of happiness. Grave Witch is set in Nekros City, a fictional city in the American South, and revolves around Alex Craft, a private investigator and police consultant gifted in grave magic. There are many types of magic in the world but grave magic is rare, giving its user the ability to communicate with ghosts, see souls, and, importantly for Alex’s job, raise shades, which are essentially imprints that get left behind when people die.
Alex is a great main character. She’s got daddy issues, money problems, great friends, and really cool magic. And she’s got a special relationship with a very good-looking Death. Unfortunately for her, things start going wrong when she starts a new case and is attacked by the shade she’s raising. This is the start of a wonderful story that is accentuated by lovely world building, steamy scenes, elegantly explained magic, and strong characters.
If that’s not enough to sell you, here are a few more points:
* Alex has a great business name: Tongues of the Dead.
* Death is a sexy dude that only Alex can see.
* Alex shares her living space with Fred the gargoyle and PC, the world's most ridiculous (and adorable) dog.
* The cover quote from Chloe Neill: “Fascinating magic, a delicious heartthrob, and a fresh, inventive world.”
Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say . . .
As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around . . .
To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life . . . and her soul.
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.
As usual, I stacked up a nice group of shiny new covers to share with you ^^ Beware, your wish list might get longer by the minute!
Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione (UK) Lord of Deliverance #4 Release Date: December 6th 2012
Hidden by Sophie Jordan Firelight #3 Release date: September 11th, 2012
Black-hearted Betrayal by Kasey Mackenzie Shades of Fury #3 Release date: June 26th, 2012
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier Edelstein #2 Release date: October 30th, 2012
Grave Memory by Kalayna Price Alex Craft #3 Release date: July 3rd, 2012
Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaungh Kitty Norville #10 Release date: August 1st, 2012
Moonglow by Kristen Callihan Darkest London #2 Release date: August 1st, 2012
Blood and Silver by James R Tuck
Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty #2 Release date: August 1st, 2012.
I can't quite make up my mind on which one is my favorite, I really like how Hidden's look is more similar to Firelight than Vanish was but I also like the new look for Kerstin's series and Moonglow’s cover is just so pretty!
Tynga is a 26 years old French Canadian from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and blogging about them. You might also catch her watching an hockey game. Make sure to say hi on twitter!
As you know, I’ve been looking for a new reviewer to join the family and after a slow start and changing some criteria I found not one, but two amazing girls to join the team!
Before I introduce them, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to contact me, I really appreciate your interest in my blog ^^
Also, just like Jenn right now, each of them will have their own signature and “About the Blogger” widget will appear at the end of their post, so you always know who wrote them =)
Books have always been part of my life and you can always find me with a book. Either in my handbag or in my hands. Truthfully, my love of books comes before my love of handbags, because, when buying a handbag, I have to make sure it fits at least a few book. I read many different genres but I find myself obsessed more and more with paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
Born in a quiet and remote little village in Bavaria, I moved to Munich (the largest city in the state) about a year ago to study psychology.
I have three very stubborn cats who can´t get enough attention, a dog I´m constantly trying to teach tricks and two lazy little rabbits.
When I´m not reading, I enjoy going to concerts and festivals. I also like swimming and travelling. During each summer vacation, I spend two weeks on horseback in Andalusia, riding on the beaches with my sister.
My favorites genres are urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but I also enjoy a dystopian young adult book from time to time. Some of my favorites authors are Ilona Andrews, Devon Monk, Sandy Williams, Stacia Kane, Rachel Vincent, Carolyn Crane, Jocelynn Drake and Rachel Caine.
Tynga is a 26 years old French Canadian from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and blogging about them. You might also catch her watching an hockey game. Make sure to say hi on twitter!
Today's guest post is by B. Jane Lawson, author of a new e-series about a Morganna Cork, a young woman who moves from L.A. to a small coastal town, where she works at her estranged cousin's inn and gets caught up in a Magickal war. The first book, To the Cliffside is available now.
Keep reading to find out what B. Jane does when she's not hard at work on the next Morganna Cork novel and to enter in a giveaway to win your very own copy of To the Cliffside.
What I’m doing when I’m not writing is wholly dependent upon the hour and day of the week.
8:00am Saturday mornings, you can catch me with my laptop, a Starbucks iced soy chai latter and chocolate croissant, easing into my day.
9:30am Monday morning I’m at my peak busiest at work – staving off a mountain of request and needs from colleagues and clients.
8:00pm Thursdays you can catch me sprawled on my couch, as the voice over the speaker shares, “Previously, on the Vampire Diaries…”
12:00pm on a Sunday I can be found on my bicycle (mine is the blue one on the right, I was just testing the red one!) riding west on Broadway or Arizona in Santa Monica, heading towards shopping, the beach or a restaurant/bar for a bite and a beer.
7:00pm Tuesdays I’m curled up into a ball reading one of the hundreds of books I read in a given year. My bookcase is crazy and my better half has mandated that new books in mean books being donated out. I’ve thwarted that mandate with Kindle! And, yes, that is an autographed copy of Darkfever.
8:00pm Monday, once per month, I’m at my book club meeting at the library.
10:00pm Friday I’m at happy hour eating $1 oysters and drinking $4 glasses of wine.
11:59pm Saturday I’m out dancing or listening to a live music show.
7:30pm Wednesday I’m out jogging, training for the biathlon I’ve convinced myself I can win.
10:00am Sunday I’m having hours of conversations with one or more of my many sisters who I live many thousands of miles from.
9:00am Tuesday you might find me waiting for a sample sale on Gilt home or jetsetter to start.
12:00pm Thursday I’m on my lunch break building copious playlists on Spotify, something that I approach with scientific and artistic pleasure.
10:00am Saturday I might be at beach Yoga with Brad, a wonderful free class at the beach.
These are some snippets of the things I do in a given week, and in putting this together I realize that I can be quite formulaic in my pursuit of leisure. In addition, I love to travel and my next big trip is to Dublin where I plan to take in the sights and do research for the Morganna Cork Series.
I must admit, though, that when I’m not writing, I’m doing an awful lot of thinking about writing.
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Thanks for sharing with us, B. Jane! Sounds like you're keeping busy. =)
For more information about B. Jane, visit her website or find her on Facebook or Twitter.
And here’s the scoop on To the Cliffside:
Morganna Cork has lived twenty-four uneventful years in Los Angeles under the thumb of her overbearing mother. The only thing barring her from a totally average existence is that she’s got a secret, magical ability to heal herself and others.
An encounter with her mother results in exile to the small coastal town of Puesta del Sol. There, she will be a guest and employee at the Cliffside Inn, owned by her estranged cousin Maeve. Morganna resigns herself to a winter of work and boredom in this one-horse town.
Everything changes when she accidentally pulls into the driveway of the devastatingly sexy Callupo Stone. Instantly she is attracted to the infuriating man who makes no bones about his lack of interest, even if he seems to be right behind her at every turn. The sparks fly as she does her best to thwart his every attempt to corral her.
She soon discovers that she’s not the only one with gifts. There is an entire community of people known as Magicks, each unique and powerful in their own right.
As Morganna undertakes a journey of self-discovery and determination, she befriends Anya, the spunky, sassy, sometimes employee of the Cliffside and bearer of town gossip. Together, they begin to unearth the mysteries surrounding the strange reappearance of a vindictive villain, on a quest for power, in which Morganna finds herself directly in the middle. Simultaneously, they witness the succession struggles of a secret society, in which Callupo and many of their close friends are members, whose existence and purpose eludes them.
Morganna undergoes a radical transformation of self as she becomes an unsuspecting participant in a Magickal war that has been thirty years in the making.
Do you guys have suggestions for who you’d like to see featured on the blog? If so, you can make your suggestions on this page. No guarantees that your favorite authors will be able to participate but we’ll try!
Authors, would you like to visit and share with us? Please email me at jennblogs (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll set it up!
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal. 
Reckoning by Lili St-Crow
