Book Lovers Inc.

Review: The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination by John Joseph Adams (ed.)

Draconismoi — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:46 +0000

Format Read: eARC from Netgalley.

Number of Pages: 368.

Release Date: February 19, 2013.

Genre: Science fiction, anthology.

Publisher: Tor.

Formats Available: ebook, paperback.

Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Book Depository, Powells.

Book Blurb:

From Victor Frankenstein to Lex Luthor, from Dr. Moreau to Dr. Doom, readers have long been fascinated by insane plans for world domination and the madmen who devise them. Typically, we see these villains through the eyes of good guys. This anthology, however, explores the world of mad scientists and evil geniuses—from their own wonderfully twisted point of view.

An all-star roster of bestselling authors—including Diana Gabaldon, Daniel Wilson, Austin Grossman, Naomi Novik, and Seanan McGuire…twenty-two great storytellers all told—have produced a fabulous assortment of stories guaranteed to provide readers with hour after hour of high-octane entertainment born of the most megalomaniacal mayhem imaginable.

Everybody loves villains. They’re bad; they always stir the pot; they’re much more fun than the good guys, even if we want to see the good guys win. Their fiendish schemes, maniacal laughter, and limitless ambition are legendary, but what lies behind those crazy eyes and wicked grins? How—and why—do they commit these nefarious deeds? And why are they so set on taking over the world?

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, you’re in luck: It’s finally time for the madmen’s side of the story.

My Thoughts:

This book was released just days after my birthday and an epic win in one of my most brutal cases. Coincidence? I think note. Time to start formalizing my plans to rule the tundra with an iron fist!

****

Professor Incognito Apologizes: An Itemized List by Austin Grossman – Dr. Horrible’s over-long love-sick monologues only worked because it was Neil Patrick Harris singing. (-)

Father of the Groom by Harry Turtledove - Making Bridezilla a literal truth, one future-in-law at a time. (+)

Laughter at the Academy: A Field Study in the Genesis of Schizotypal Creative Genius Personality Disorder (SCGPD) by Seanan McGuire – Everyone who ever lived with a Psych major in college fully understands how the most insane specimens of the human species are drawn to psychology. It follows that the cream of that crop would pursue advanced degrees in the field. Consider the Milgram Experiment. (+)

Letter to the Editor by David D. Levine – Supervillains provide the a necessary defense against superheroes. If it weren’t for the the slow death of investigative journalism we might have discerned the truth decades ago. (+)

Instead of a Loving Heart by Jeremiah Tolbert – Remember dads, your daughters select your nursing home. Mutilating the cute Parisian painter she’s been crushing on buys you a one way ticket to an arctic wasteland. (+)

The Executor by Daniel H. Wilson – You can’t just wrap up an inter-generational episode of Jerry Springer with a sappy ending. (-)

The Angel of Death has a Business Plan by Heather Lindsley – It used to be any enterprising young person could change the world from their mom’s garage, but these days? These days you have to slave away ingratiating yourself in the corporate culture before brutally exploiting the weaknesses of your enemies and allies alike. (+)

Homo Perfectus by David Farland – Yay. New and improved ways to date-rape. Anyone else have an author blacklist? Put this fucking pervert on it. (-) x1000

Note: At this point I stopped reading for several months. Mad scientists and supervillains do not demean themselves by stalking grad students, drugging them, and jerking off over their semi-conscious bodies. Also? Fuck you waiters, cab drivers, and all ancillary nameless persons who didn’t bat an eye at the blatantly roofied women being hauled off by a rich scumbag.

Ancient Equations by L.A. Banks – Mad scientists should be focused on science. Not invocation of Hindi deities to break a dry spell. (-)

Rural Singularity by Alan Dean Foster – Dude, when the doting daddy tells you not to touch his daughter’s toys, you do not touch his daughter’s toys. Even small-town tabloid reporters should be able to follow simple instructions. (+)

Captain Justice Saves the Day by Genevieve Valentine – That’s RIGHT people. Never underestimate the value of a good office assistant. The office functions per their whims, not that of the “boss” who is too wrapped up in projects to keep up with anything. (+)

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss – Typical deadbeat dads, obsessing over their careers, neglecting and/or abusing their children, and leaving them totally fucked up and maladaptive. At least they’ve made a nice little support group. (+)

The Space Between by Diana Gabaldon – I am distracted by the similarity between Melisande and Melisandre. Red hair, religious fervor, voices, poison, magic….. we’re better off watching Game of Thrones. (-)

Harry and Marlow Meet the Founder of the Aetherian Revolution by Carrie Vaughn – I’ve never enjoyed the affectation of “aether” in steampunk. Finally someone had the decency to point out that messing around with that kind of unclassifiable shit is dangerous. (+)

Blood and Stardust by Laird Barron – Typical American. Doesn’t bother moving out of dad’s house until he threatens to cut off the cable and starts demanding that all murders be done the old-fashioned (i.e. hard) way. (+)

A More Perfect Union by L.E. Modesitt Jr. – Is this what will happen when Congress keeps failing to unsink the budget and then bans the Daily Show? Beware the mad political scientist! (+)

Rocks Fall by Naomi Novik – OMFG JUST KISS ALREADY. It would have been so beautiful. (+)

We Interrupt this Broadcast by Mary Robinette Kowal – So this is how the inventors of WMDs cope with the fallout of their creations. (+)

The Last Dignity of Man by Marjorie M. Liu – Parents need to seriously consider the ramifications of the names they select for their children. (+)

The Pittsburg Technology by Jeffrey Ford – The first rule of Fight Club is that you do not turn it into a Ponzi Scheme! Tyler is turning over in his imaginary grave. (-)

Mofongo Knows by Grady Hendrix – Haven’t any of your people seen Planet of the Apes?! Put a leash on your miserable demon spawned offspring and leave the genius gorilla in peace! (+)

The Food Taster’s Boy by Ben Winters – Rich people. They want everything done their way, but never want to work for it. I’ll just sit back here and hope my perfect nemesis into being, and then bitch and moan that it doesn’t turn out exactly as I imagined it in the lifetime during which I accomplished nothing. (-)

****

I generally find it difficult to review anthologies because, by their very nature, there is drastically differences in quality. Hence: the +/- rating system. If nothing else, I can judge percentage. The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination scores 15/22. Quite respectable on it’s own.

However, the Mad Scientist responsible for assembling this guide has taken pains to truly unify all these works into a single, coherant whole. Each story is thusly categorized and indexed for the convenience of the burgeoning mad scientist deriving wisdom from their forbears:

These extra touches raise this collection from a good anthology to a great one, worth enjoying form start to finish. Except for Farland’s entry. Just surgically remove those pages when you get your copy in the mail. I will.

I give The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination 4 stars!

The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination makes the perfect graduation gift for anyone on your list who needs a little extra guidance as they venture out into a cruel world unwilling to sit patiently through an entire monologue.

****FTC Disclainer. Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Hold Me Down Hard by Cathryn Fox

Marlene — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:30 +0000

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 13, 2013
Number of pages: 48 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Publisher’s Website

When Eden Carver, Iowa farm girl turned NY actress, decides to seduce the sexy cop next door, she begins to wonder if she’s bitten off more than she can chew.

The last thing Officer Jay Bennett wants is to cross a line with the sweet and innocent country girl—no matter how much he’d like to help himself to a nibble. Not only are they in the friendship zone, a naïve girl like Eden doesn’t belong in his dangerous world.

But when she asks him to help her rehearse lines, and things go from simmer to boil, he finds himself doing the one thing he swore he’d never do. He knows he needs to walk away from temptation, but when sweet little Eden bites back, it tilts his world on its axis.
Because biting back changes everything.

My Thoughts:

File this one under “extra short and extra steamy”.

At right around 50 pages, this is a short story. Let’s call it a sexy interlude. What makes the story work as erotic romance, instead of just porn-without-plot, is that the Eden and Jay know each other before the first page.

They’re neighbors, and they’re friends. Unfortunately, they are friends without benefits.

Jay is a cop, and he’s decided that sweet and innocent country girl Eden couldn’t possibly want to do the dark and wicked things he knows he’ll do to her if he lets her out of the “friend zone”.

Of course, he’s never asked Eden what she wants! He has no clue that all of Eden’s dates end up running away, because they decide she’s a pervert when she asks to be tied up.

Did I mention she has a uniform fetish?

Are these two made for each other, or are they made for each other?

Verdict: The story is a quick and very enjoyable read. The problem is that it is too short. We don’t learn anything about how they met, or how their friendship developed. It’s clear they’ve been interested in each other from the beginning, so how have they managed to get so easy with each other? And by easy in this case I mean get together for pizza and a movie every weekend easy, not the other kind.

The problem is that they both want the other kind of easy, with each other, and have managed to become close friends without figuring out clue one about each other. I’d love to have seen how that worked out.

And I’d love to know more about how they manage to get past the whole “he decides what’s good for her” thing in a longer story, and therefore longer relationship, but if you’re looking for something very short and hot with a happy-ever-after, this might be just the ticket.

I give Hold Me Down Hard by Cathryn Fox 3 and 1/2 uniform blue stars!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Toxic by Jus Accardo

Amanda — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:35 +0000

Format read: ebook
Release Date: 16 October 2012
Length: 317 pages
Publisher: Entangled
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Blurb:

When a Six saved Kale’s life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she’d lose the one thing she’d give anything to keep… And as if it’s not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez’s problems.

After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice–surrender to Denazen for the cure…or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn’t involve being bagged and tagged–or losing someone she loves–Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there’s a traitor among them. Jade.

Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there’s any hope of proving Jade’s guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead…

My Thoughts:

This series is getting more and more engrossing, but talk about a sudden ending.

Dez’s life isn’t getting any easier. On top of losing her immunity to Kale’s deadly gift, the dreaded Supremacy crazies are imminent, her powers are getting stronger and slightly uncontrollable and now Kale has a hot new teacher who is supposedly here to help him control his gift, but obviously wants a whole lot more than a student/mentor relationship.

Dez once again is amazing. Although I slightly tired of her constant secret keeping. If she had just told someone, so many bad things could have been prevented, but her misplaced heroism and atrocious choices because she, as a seventeen year old, knew better than everyone else and was convinced she could fix it. She has her father breathing down her neck, holding a cure to the poison coursing through her body over her head, and trying to take make her a prisoner of Denazen. She is still one of the strongest and one of my favourite YA urban fantasy heroines because she’s so confident and intelligent. She has her faults but she does mean well, and she refuses to take flak from anyone or put up with people she can’t stand.

Kale is hotness on a stick, but I find myself leaning more towards Alex in Toxic. Kale says he will always be there if Dez needs him, and Kale is a very literal and no-nonsense kind of person, so when Dez continually finds herself in trouble, I wonder when Kale is going to turn up and am a little disappointed in him when he doesn’t. I understand that he needs to get himself under control, but I feel that although he was locked up for so many years, he should be making a little more progress in the social interaction department, knowing when something is appropriate or not rather than have Dez explain all of his faux pas away all the time.

Do I care about the infidelity in this book? No, although I have noticed quite a few people kicking up a stink about it, I felt that the reasons behind it were valid and fair. I am vehemently against cheating, so when I find no issue with it, I feel that it’s probably not really going to impact too much on others.

Accardo’s writing once again was amazing, I found myself laughing out loud and literally in able of tearing myself away from Toxic. Her characters, her world, her storyline is entrancing. The twists, oh the twists, they even had me stopping and going “no way”. With this series, you just never see them coming, but they are so well placed that once it’s out you’re kicking yourself for not realising sooner, just like Dez does. What I love most about this series still, is the sixes. Just the pure genius behind the creation of these people, that science created them rather than them being paranormal is epic. Learning about the various powers some of them have is sometimes even more engrossing than watching Dez kick butt all over town.

The ending was extremely sudden in Toxic, and I had a slight panic attack searching my tablet for the next instalment when Dez was lying in the foetal position completely defeated and Ginger said “the worst is yet to come”. The end. My body literally wrenched and I had to control myself from screaming “that can’t be it” because I was at work.

Although I have my pet peeves with a few of the characters I can’t fault this book because all of the characters hold true to form, they make a few dumb or annoying decisions because that’s who they are, Toxic is amazing, and I can’t wait to dive into Tremble and continue this absolutely fantastic series.

I give Toxic 5 Stars

New Releases: May 20-26, 2013

Alisha — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:34 +0000

Title: The Red Plague Affair
Author: Lilith Saintcrow
Series: Bannon & Clare, #2
Genre: steampunk
Release date: May 21, 2013 by Orbit

Description:

The service of Britannia is not for the faint of heart–or conscience…

Emma Bannon, Sorceress Prime in service to Queen Victrix, has a mission: to find the doctor who has created a powerful new weapon. Her friend, the mentath Archibald Clare, is only too happy to help. It will distract him from pursuing his nemesis, and besides, Clare is not as young as he used to be. A spot of Miss Bannon’s excellent hospitality and her diverting company may be just what he needs.

Unfortunately, their quarry is a fanatic, and his poisonous discovery is just as dangerous to Britannia as to Her enemies. Now a single man has set Londinium ablaze, and Clare finds himself in the middle of distressing excitement, racing against time and theory to find a cure. Miss Bannon, of course, has troubles of her own, for the Queen’s Consort Alberich is ill, and Her Majesty unhappy with Bannon’s loyal service. And there is still no reliable way to find a hansom when one needs it most…

The game is afoot. And the Red Plague rises…

…

All I Need by Susane Colasanti (YA)
Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
Ashes of the Day (Children of the Night, #4) by P.G. Forte

Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers, #3) by Cassi Carver
How to Pursue a Princess (The Duchess Diaries, #2) by Karen Hawkins
One True Love (Cupid, Texas, #0.5) by Lori Wilde

Praefatio (Praefatio, #1) by Georgia McBride (YA)
Rocky Mountain Rebel (Six Pack Ranch, #5) by Vivian Arend
September Girls by Bennett Madison (YA)

Storm Front (Derrick Storm, #1) by Richard Castle
Tarnished by Rhiannon Held
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

The Dark Shore: (The Atlanteans, #2) by Kevin Emerson
The Runaway Queen (The Bane Chronicles, #2) by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson (YA)
Then, Again by Karen Stivali

Theodore Boone: The Activist (Theodore Boone, #4) by John Grisham
Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown (YA)
Transparent by Natalie Whipple (YA)

. . .

A little bit of this, a little bit of that this week. But in total, a little bit…period. This week is lighter on new releases, some of which look pretty enticing. The Runaway Queen is a short novelette of a ten-part YA steampunk tale, and The Red Plague Affair promises a lot of sophisticated steampunkery. Meanwhile, the reviews for September Girls are actually quite fascinating in their general discontent for the book. Almost makes me want to pick the book up and see what the fuss is about. Ah, the joys of reverse psychology!

. . .

Anything new catch your eye this week–for better, or worse? Have you ever read a book *because* it was poorly reviewed?

Review: All the Way by Jennifer Probst

Anna — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:00:16 +0000

Format Read:e-book provided for review from the publisher
Number of Pages:159 pages
Release Date:March 4th 2013
Publisher:Entangled: Indulgence
Formats Available: e-book, Kindle Edition, Audio CD
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo | B&N | Publisher

Book Blurb:

The food critic…

Miranda Storme never expected to see Gavin Luciano again. Three years ago, they had an intense affair—and then he bolted. Now he’s back, and Miranda has the pleasure of a little payback: a scathing review of his restaurant. Revenge is a dish best served the first chance you get…

And the restaurateur…

With three months to make his family’s struggling Italian restaurant successful, a bad review is Gavin’s worst nightmare. But this isn’t just about the meal. He’s finally realized what he left behind and is determined to spend the next eight weeks proving himself to her in the kitchen…and in the bedroom! This is one dish she won’t be able to refuse…

My Thoughts:
After reading two books by Jennifer Probst and immensely enjoying both of them, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise the fact that I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on her newest release with Entangled, All the Way. I was dying to read another sweet and at the same time impossibly sexy romance written in a way only Probst can deliver. Alas, All the Way was nothing like what I expected it to be and compared to the author’s Marriage to a Billionaire series, it’s quite inferior I’m afraid.

Like I said, I picked up All the Way feeling quite certain that I would enjoy it only to be thoroughly disappointed with it really soon. I mean after the first 5 chapters or maybe even sooner, it became quite apparent that this wasn’t the book for me. Maybe the writing style was just as good as in the author’s previous work, I won’t disagree on that. Maybe the sex scenes were delivered in the same sexy and sinful way. I can’t agree more on that either. But when I think of All the Way in its entirety all I can think of to describe it is really cheesy and with little redeeming qualities to balance that cheesiness and make me enjoy the story. Because all the other books I read by the author were again heavy on the cheese part. But still, even so, I really enjoyed them because I could relate with the characters and the romance was delivered in such a way that honestly, I couldn’t care less about anything else. Something that didn’t happen with All the Way I’m afraid.

All the Way explores the second chance lovers trope and even if that isn’t one of my favorite tropes I really enjoy those kind of stories most of the time. I find incredibly interesting exploring all the reasons that drove the couple apart in the past and seeing them get together again. Plus, in that trope the sexual tension is almost always more delicious since you have two people who were once together. At least the way I see it. In this story unfortunately, neither the reasons that drove the couple apart were interesting nor the tension between them was believable. I mean right where the story starts, Miranda and Gavin meet again after three years and a couple of chapters later Gavin is right in Miranda’s house trying to seduce her just because he’s a Dom. And don’t get me started on that Dom part. Throughout the whole story Gavin is referred to as Dom a couple of times, but his relationship with Miranda isn’t anything like the Dom/Sub relationship of a BDSM story one might expect. The Dom references are more to indicate that Gavin wants to control everything while he’s having sex more than anything else. At least that’s how I saw it since the sex scenes in this book didn’t have anything real kinky in them. So here is where I wonder why on earth in a more or less sweet and typical romance the author felt the need to insert BDSM elements, that she wasn’t willing to explore in the least. It was a major turn off for me. There were moments when I felt that I was reading a harlequin romance that wanted to magically transform into 50 Shades…

Apart from those unnecessary BDSM elements, I also had a hard time with the characters in this book. I disliked Gavin and I couldn’t care less about Miranda…

Miranda was an ok character I guess but the way she just caved to Gavin’s requests didn’t exactly make me love her. I didn’t hate her, I just couldn’t care for her. I didn’t feel sorry for the way Gavin treated her, maybe I did a little bit at first, but after witnessing how her womb clenched upon seeing him after so many years and after being treated in such a way, well, whatever pity I felt for her, just vanished.

Now Gavin on the other hand, is one of the most self-centered characters I have ever read. The way he just wanted Miranda to forgive him everything and the way he thought that as soon as he understood his bad ways everyone should bow to his majesty was frustrating to say the least. Add to that the fact that he stalked Miranda and you can understand why I couldn’t possibly like him. I like an undeniably alpha male in my romance but Gavin was way beyond the caveman line.

And now let’s talk about the plot. Nothing new or fresh here I’m afraid. Like I said in the beginning, All the Way is incredibly cheesy and predictable. It follows every known cliché out there, making it really easy to guess where the story is going. So, when one adds a very predictable story to a set of characters I couldn’t really like or care about, you can understand why I couldn’t wait for this story to end.

It really pains me to write a negative review, especially for a book written by an author whose work I really enjoyed previously. But no matter how hard I tried, All the Way failed to impress me in every department. That doesn’t mean though that I don’t anxiously await for the 4th book in the Billionaire series. You can bet on that. It’s just that this book, wasn’t the right one for me.

I give All the Way 1.5 stars

Book Lovers Book Club: June 2013 Selections

Amanda — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:00:21 +0000

Hello again! *waves*

So the big moment is here, the first round of the Book Lovers Book Club choices!!

I have decided to start the book club off with something we’re all familiar with: Urban Fantasy – Vampires

Most of us have at least one of the following books on our shelves, so I figure it will be a good way to start us off.

Night Rising by Chris Marie Green (GoodReads Link)

In this first book of an all-new trilogy, life proves stranger than the movies when a Hollywood underground coven of vampires comes to light-and gets targeted by the tough-as-nails daughter of a sexy screen siren.

Stuntwoman Dawn Madison hasn’t been on the best of terms with her father since her movie star mother died. Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting-caught on film-of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his odd colleagues, she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost (GoodReads Link)

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire…

He’s the Prince of Night…

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (GoodReads Link)

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out…. Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon (GoodReads Link)

Dear Reader,

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn’t. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior’s day.

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander’s sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again.

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace–the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?

Julian of Macedon

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (GoodReads Link)

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother’s bedside. She’s been stricken with something the old-timers call “Milk Sickness.”

“My baby boy…” she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother’s fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, “henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose…” Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

So there it is, the first round of picks for the Book Lovers Book Club You have a week to vote and I will announce the winner in two weeks

Also, what genre would you like to read next?

Contemporary – Dark (really gritty books that leave you thinking and sometimes crying)

Urban Fantasy – Werewolves (We’ve had vampires, got to get the werewolves in there)

Humour – Something to make you laugh, doesn’t matter the sub-genre

Classics – Speaks for themselves

Check back next week for the choices for the series read along.

Happy Reading! (and voting!)

Sunday Cravings

Anna — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:22 +0000

Hello my fellow Book Lovers all around the world! How is this weekend for you? Anything exciting happened to you? The week to come is far from exciting I’m afraid as far as new book releases are concerned. There are only a handful of books scheduled for release but even if we don’t have a really wide selection of books to choose from, still there are a couple of exciting releases among them. So, let’s start

Stella: One True Love by Lori Wilde

In Cupid, Texas, they say everyone has one true love. And if you write a letter to Cupid, you will get an answer in return . . .

Now, from New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde, read how the legend of Cupid began . . . All it took was one great love story!

Too bad for pretty young housemaid Millie Greenwood that her one true love is John Fant, the handsomest, wealthiest man in town. But in 1924, a maid—no matter how lovely—isn’t about to marry into the town’s foremost family, and John is on the verge of becoming betrothed to another. Everything seems hopeless until Millie writes a desperate letter to Cupid, and the most romantic legend of all is born . . .

Ever since I read The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde I became a big fan of hers. Her contemporary romances are so sweet, if you need something to warm your heart she’s the author to turn to

Cass: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

Transparent looks fascinating! I am tired of the old trope that the invisible girl has self-esteem issues. Yawn.
I am, however, very much interested in the idea that the mob has jumped on this unique business opportunity and raised up the invisible girl into a criminal badass who is fully aware of her own worth.

Stella: Storm Front by Richard Castle

There’s a storm front coming!

Four years after he was presumed dead, Derrick Storm–the man who made Richard Castle a perennial bestseller–is back in this rip-roaring, full-length thriller.

From Tokyo, to London, to Johannesburg, high-level bankers are being gruesomely tortured and murdered. The killer, caught in a fleeting glimpse on a surveillance camera, has been described as a psychopath with an eye patch. And that means Gregor Volkov, Derrick Storm’s old nemesis, has returned. Desperate to figure out who Volkov is working for and why, the CIA calls on the one man who can match Volkov’s strength and cunning–Derrick Storm.

With the help of a beautiful and mysterious foreign agent–with whom Storm is becoming romantically and professionally entangled–he discovers that Volkov’s treachery has embroiled a wealthy hedge-fund manager and a U.S. senator. In a heated race against time, Storm chases Volkov’s shadow from Paris, to the lair of a computer genius in Iowa, to the streets of Manhattan, then through a bullet-riddled car chase on the New Jersey Turnpike. In the process, Storm uncovers a plot that could destroy the global economy–unleashing untold chaos–which only he can stop.

I LOVE the series and am really curious to see this novel written by a shadow writer.

What about your Sunday Cravings for this week?

Winners…12 Points! : The Eurovision Edition

Caro The HEA Lover — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:26:33 +0000

Hello everyone! I’m taking over while our Latin Lover is on vacations. Last night was the 2013 edition of the Eurovision song contest. If you’re not from Europe you might not know this super kitsch contest. Each Euro country has 1 contestant and we get to vote for our favorite. It’s mostly fun to make fun of the stupid song.

I think the weirdest contestant yesterday was the guy from Romania. Please look at this awesome performance! lol

Anyway he didn’t win

Now let’s talk about OUR winners!

The winners of a Paperback copy of Bare it All by Lori Foster are…
erinf1
Anita H

The winner of an ebook copy of Fish Out of Water by Ros Baxter is…
Maria S

The winner of an ebook copy of Never Too Late by Amara Royce is…
Arely Z.

Congratulations to all of you! I will be emailing you shortly. You have 72 hours to claim your prize or we will pick a new winner.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

The International Giveaways Café (93)

Jackie — Sat, 18 May 2013 13:03:41 +0000

Welcome back to another wonderful Saturday morning! The list has been shrinking a little of late, but there are always at least a few great giveaways on hand. Now would be a great time to add your’s here, too, to get some great exposure. Hope you all have a great weekend!

And, remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently; the Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Here’s the fine print for entering your link:
Guidelines:
If you have a giveaway you would like to share with our other readers, the rules are simple:
1. The giveaway MUST be available to international addresses (Book Depository does count)
2. Add your link below, in the format shown. (Please use the URL for the contest post, not a general blog URL; you don’t want to make it tricky for others trying to enter)
3. Expired contests will be removed during my weekly cleaning, but remember to come back with any new entries
4. Add our blog button to share the love even more! (Not required but we’d sure appreciate sharing the word even more )

<a href=”http://www.bookloversinc.com/search/label/The%20Int%27l%20Giveaways%20Caf%C3%A9″ target=”_blank”></a>
In the spirit of global participation, we hope you’ll join in and show those limited giveaways that there are definitely benefits to opening up to the whole world!
We will repost the link list each week and keep the giveaways that are still running at that time.

Around The Bookish World: Week-In-Review

Has — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:16 +0000

Welcome to this week’s news post and once again we have another author meltdown but this time over their struggles for their art and selling out, Amazon moving into their own currency and more publishing and book updates.

Amazon is back in the news with their recent announcement that they will be launching a digital currency to purchase apps in the Kindle Fire platform. The more customers purchase and use Amazon Coins for buying apps the more discounts they will get and Amazon is enticing their customers with a free 500 coins offer for all customers in the US which comes up to $5 for those who buy games, movies or apps.

And talking about Amazon, I reported a few months ago that there was problems with their warehouses due to a security firm who were bullying and throwing racist abuse at workers in Germany. Well it looks like there is more strife to come as workers now are calling for a strike and is organised by the union Verdi who is calling for better working conditions and pay.

Author Kendall Grey wrote a post this week proclaiming that she has sold out writing by erotic romance which is more successful than her Urban Fantasy series which slaved for over four years. This caused a real stir on twitter especially since the majority of authors do not sell ten thousand dollar’s worth of sales in under a month and considering she is a self published writer which is a very difficult market to break out – it is not something to be ashamed of. But Grey didn’t see this as a success story and has commented that ‘I know it’s depressing to hear that in order to find success, you may have to compromise your principles. I’ve come to grips with the fact that in the current market, trashy smut sells, and urban fantasy does not. Tough shit for me. If you want to sell books, you have to feed the market what it craves.’ - I don’t think it is that smart to trash your reader who are also your customers and a genre which has sold very well very for decades and was popular way before 50 Shades is something to be ashamed of. Lauren Dane and Jenny Trout both wrote fantastic posts in response to Grey’s comments. But I do find it very sad and disappointing that an author has chosen to lash out and blame a genre that sees it is sub-par because Urban Fantasy doesn’t sell well (which is totally wrong as UF authors Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison etc.. can attest to) – as well assuming that any book she may write will sell well because there are no guarantees it will be successful.

It looks like the Department of Justice is gearing up for a prosecution that Apple is the mastermind behind the alleged collusion for Agency Pricing. Now that Penguin has dropped out of the defence and is settling with the other major publishers, Apple is the lone company who will be facing trial this June. The DOJ also released an interesting graph highlighting the jump in prices in ebook pricing with the introduction of Agency prices – which is a part of their evidence for their prosecution.

News in Brief:

Nalini Singh has posted a signing tour for the US and UK – for details on the dates and times click here!

Ilona and Gordon Andrews have posted the last chapter for their online serial Clean Sweep - There is plans for this to be published very soon and with an epilogue and hopefully there will be more later in the year.

And finally Z For Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brian is being adapted for the big screen, and will star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine and Amanda Seyfried. Filming is scheduled soon and a release planned for next year.

Now for books to watch out for!

Ver0nica Roth’s long awaited conclusion to her Divergent trilogy – Allegiant had its cover unveiled last week.

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and cover for Crown of Midnight the second book in the trilogy by Sarah J. Maas looks even better.

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king’s contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king’s bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she’s given a task that could jeopardize everything she’s come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon — forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

And finally we have the cover of Lauren Dane’s Wild Darkness has me at grrrr hello there Mr gorgeous arm porn.

Lauren Dane’s “fresh, fun, fast-paced”* series comes to a thrilling conclusion as the heat of all out war fans the fires of an otherworldly romance…

The bombing that almost killed Owen witch Molly Ryan has worsened the tensions between the humans and the Others. While the Others desperately campaign to prevent the passage of a law that would strip their people of all rights, the human separatists develop an agenda far worse than anyone imagined. With her position more precarious than ever, security head Helena Jaansen finds herself relying more and more heavily on
her personal guard, Faine Leviathan, and, despite her better instincts, falling more deeply into the intimate connection that they share.

As Helena and Faine’s explosive passion grows, a deadly separatist plot is discovered, one which could bring ultimate destruction for the Others, and war breaks out between the two opposing factions. With the Others forced into hiding, Helena must overcome her fear of repeating past failures to save her people—and her heart—before it’s too late…

So do what do you think of Kendall Grey’s post? Do you think she has a point that writing for a genre she dislikes is selling out? And what about the other news items and books I highlighted this week?