Winner: Isle of Night & Vampire's Kiss

The giveaway for Isle of Night and Vampire's Kiss has ended.  I have combined the entries from Michelle's Book Blog and Michelle's Cozy YA Blog.  Using Random dot Org, the winner has been chosen.


#9, Samantha35


Congrats! An email is on the way.


Thank you all for participating in this giveaway.  A huge thank you to Penguin for providing the giveaway copies of Isle of Night and Vampire's Kiss. 

Review & Giveaway: Black Howl by Christina Henry

Black Howl is the third book in the Black Wings series by Christina Henry and an ACE Fantasy.


Book Blurb:


Madeline Black is an Agent of Death, meaning she escorts the souls of people who have died to the afterlife.  But lately, some spirits don’t feel like crossing over...


Something is wrong with the souls of Chicago’s dead. Ghosts are walking the streets, and Maddy’s boss wants her to figure out why.  At the same time the pact that Maddy unwittingly made with the local werewolves comes back to bite her when their alpha is kidnapped.  As Lucifer’s heir, she should be able to discover who - or what - is responsible for both occurrences, but the fallen haven’t been too happy with her since she agreed to harbor Gabriel’s half brother, Samiel.


And while work is bad enough, Maddy has a plethora of personal problems, too.  Now that Gabriel has been assigned as her thrall, their relationship has hit an impasse. At least her sleazy ex-finance, Nathaniel, is out of the picture - or so she thinks...


My thoughts:


As an Agent of Death, Maddy has huge black wings that she can call upon at will to fly her wherever she needs to be to collect the departing soul of the recently dead.  As the daughter of Azazel and a descendant of Lucifer, she has powers of the fallen at her disposal when facing her enemies...and she has acquired several enemies.


Unplanned deaths have taken place in Chicago resulting in a number of ghosts left to wander the city.  The local Alpha and most of the were pups have been kidnapped and Maddy thinks the two are connected in some way.


What she finds is that Lucifer’s kingdom is in a state of unrest and certain people are making moves to oust him - an unbelievably stupid move in Maddy’s opinion.  


But Luci has made himself scarce and left Maddy to sort things out....so death and destruction it is - because Maddy is tired of having her chain yanked.


Black Howl is a great read - fast paced and full of action. Maddy is fearless - but also naive.  She thinks like a human and doesn’t have the guile and cunning as those she has to deal with.  Lucifer moves her around to suit his purpose - no matter the cost to Maddy - and this time, the cost is high...


I give Black Howl 5 out of 5 stars.


Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Ace (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937007332
ISBN-13: 978-1937007331


Thanks to Penguin I have one (1) copy of Black Howl up for grabs.


This giveaway is open to all followers of this blog with a US mailing address.  Just leave a comment with a valid email addy and you are entered.


Using Random dot Org winner will be chosen and announced on 3-5-12.


Good Luck!

February RAK WrapUp

Random Acts of Kindness is brought to us by the ladies of Book Soulmates.  How big is your RAK?   


For the month of February I sent out the following:


To Sullivan McPig: Archangel's Blade - Nalini Singh


To Danielle:  A box of books - though none of them were on her wishlist - she seemed excited to read them.  :)

For the month of February I received:

From Danielle: Everdark - Elle Jasper

I also had a book pre-ordered for me by Sullivan McPig - but it hasn't arrived yet, so I will include it in next months RAK.  :) 

  

February Review Recap

February has come and gone - even giving us an extra day - Happy Leap Year!  I always wondered if one of my children had been born on the 29th - would I have given them the birthday of the 28th or March 1st?


I had a pretty good reading month for February - here's a recap of the reviews I posted:


5 Stars
Pure - Julianna Baggott
Lothaire - Kresley Cole
Courting Darkness - Yasmine Galenorn
Vampire's Kiss - Veronica Wolff **current giveaway** 


4 Stars
Undone Deeds - Mark Del Franco
The Night Is Mine - M L Buchman
Unbroken - Rachel Caine
King of Darkness - Elisabeth Staab
Stud - Cheryl Brooks
A Brush of Darkness - Allison Pang


2 Stars
Deliver Me From Darkness - Tes Hilaire
Germline - T C McCarthy
Darkness Descending - Devynn Quinn


   

WoW: Nightborn by Lynn Viehl

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post started by Breaking the Spine to showcase books we are patiently awaiting.

My WoW for the week:

Book Blurb:

The High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn has sent his most trusted warrior, Korvel, to retrieve a coveted scroll that's rumored to contain maps to Templar treasures and the secrets to eternal life. Uniting with Korvel to recover the dangerous artifact is Simone Derien, the daughter of the scroll's guardian, and a woman with many deadly secrets...

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 18 and up

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Signet Select (March 6, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451413210

ISBN-13: 978-0451413215

Review: Darkness Descending by Devyn Quinn

Darkness Descending is the first book in the Vampire Armageddon series by Devyn Quinn and a Paranormal Romance from Signet Eclipse.


Book Blurb:


The first seal has been broken, signaling the end of days. Fallen angels in the form of vampires are infecting humans one by one, creating an army fit for armageddon. Of the few who survive the infection, one stands alone above all others...


For a year, Jesse Burke has been suppressing the beast within, driven by vengeance to destroy the vampiric fallen angels terrorizing New Orleans.  But a war of biblical proportions is too much for one girl to handle, and she must turn to slayer Maddox deValois for training, though doing do threatens her fiercely guarded independence.


At the same time, the sinister demon Queen Amonate is doing everything in her power to lure Jesse into embracing the darkness within.


Before this war is over, everyone will learn that hee hath no fury like a woman possessed...


My thoughts:


Jesse Burke and her twin sister were out celebrating their birthday when the unthinkable happened.  They were seduced by a pair of vampires, taken and bitten.  Found and transported to the hospital, Amanda soon died of the vampire infection - but Jesse survived.  Not turned - but housing the invading demon.


Now Jesse shares her body with the demon - and fights every day to maintain control over it.


Determined to find and destroy as many vampires as possible, Jesse teams up with Maddox.  He is one of three Palindrome’s fighting the Telave in New Orleans.


Maddox agrees to teach Jesse how to fight, how to kill the Telave.  But Maddox is fighting his own demons - and losing.


Darkness Descending is the first book I have read by Devyn Quinn and it is an okay read.


I never connected with any of the characters and felt like the story was a bit disjointed and then wrapped up the big bad too easily.


I give Darkness Descending 2 out of 5 stars.


Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Signet (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451234332
ISBN-13: 978-0451234339 

YA Giveaway: Isle of Night & Vampire's Kiss by Veronica Wolff

Thanks to Penguin I have the first two books in The Watchers series by Veronica Wolff up for grabs for one lucky winner with a US mailing address.


Book One: Isle of Night

IS LIFE OFFERING FEWER AND FEWER OPTIONS? THEN JOIN THE DEAD.


When Annelise left for college, it meant good riddance to her abusive father and stepmother—until a bureaucratic screw-up left her without a diploma, flat broke, and facing an uncertain future Then she met Ronan—tall, dark, and way too seductive for her own good. He promised Annelise a new life, if she had the courage to chance the unknown. One look at him and she certainly had the desire. Sure enough, accepting rides from strangers does yield surprises.


Whisked away to a mysterious island in the North Sea, Annelise is pitted against other female recruits in tests of skill, smarts, and strength. To win is to become a member of the Watchers, an elite and unique partnership—with vampires—that dispatches its teams on the most dangerous missions imaginable. It’s not exactly what Annelise had in mind for a new beginning but it’s livelier than the alternative. Because on the Isle of Night, to lose the challenge doesn’t just mean dishonor. It means death.


Let the games begin.


My review of Isle of Night

Book Two: Vampire's Kiss

IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE PARTNERED WITH A VAMPIRE, YOU HAVE TO WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT.

By her wits, blood, and sacrifice, so far Drew has survived the intensive training on the Isle of Night. As a second-year Acari, her ultimate goal is to become a Watcher, and now she has a shot at her first mission. Except nothing is as it seems. The vampire Alcántara is as sinister as he is sexy, Ronan is more distant than ever, and it turns out there are other vampires out there. Bad ones.


Ancient, bloodthirsty, and powerful, these undead are really old school. They’ve captured one of the Watcher vamps and are torturing him for information. The only chance to save him is to infiltrate a major summit the baddies are holding on their own island. There will be mortals there, serving as butlers, maids, and various hired help. Drew had better brush up on her skills as a serving girl, because she’s about to go undercover…


But, when their vampire prisoner turns out to be a gorgeous bad boy, Drew’s first mission quickly turns into more than she bargained for…


My review of Vampire's Kiss


This contest is open to all followers of this blog with a US mailing address - just leave a comment and you are entered.


Using Random dot Org, winner will be chosen and announced on 3-2-12.


Good Luck!