Review: A Scandalous Affair by Karen Erickson

Format Read: E-book, purchased by reviewer.
Length: Novella
Series: The Merry Widows, #3
Genre: Steamy historical romance
Release Date: July 30, 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, Nook
Purchasing Info: Publisher, Authorʼs Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

Book Blurb:

From the moment Daphne, Lady Pomeroy, meets the mysterious Marquess of Hartwell at a masquerade ball, she’s determined to seduce him. The handsome, charming man cannot possibly be the cold, calculating lord who Society calls “Black Hart.” Risking everything, the lonely widow invites the elusive Hartwell to her dinner party…for two.

Hartwell’s arrogant reputation is built on a lie. For he has a shameful secret that keeps him in the shadows: a stutter–his downfall since childhood. He’d rather keep his mouth shut than look the fool. But he’s shocked to discover that in Daphne’s company–and in her bed–his stutter vanishes.

After one wanton evening together, Daphne is hurt when the lord lives up to …

New Releases: August 20-26, 2012

Widow’s Web (Elemental Assassin #7)
by Jennifer Estep
Genre: urban fantasy
Release date: August 21, 2012 by Simon & Schuster

I used to murder people for money, but lately it’s become more of a survival technique. Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town anyway.

Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back, she thinks he’s hers for the taking. Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen.

But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly …

Bookish Rant or Rave: Reading with an E

Commuting on the subway every morning can be quite amusing, if one can take time to notice the little details. I recently had a moment of sudden awareness in which I looked up and down the train platform and noticed that the VAST majority of the countless people waiting for the train were reading from various electronic devices–tablets, phones, e-readers. Of course, there were still many reading the daily (free) newspaper supplement circulated locally, but it was hilarious looking around and seeing how ubiquitous the use of devices was. It really made momma proud.

These days, pointing out that electronic reading (e-reading) is the norm is a boring, unsurprising understatement. However, the fact that it feels like it’s happened in the relative blink of an eye is absolutely fascinating. Not even four years ago (when RIM’s Blackberry was all the rage) was there so much use of portable devices for …

New Releases: August 13-19, 2012

Onyx (Lux, #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: YA

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there’s this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that’s possible. Against all common sense, I’m falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have …

New Releases: August 6-12, 2012

Pricinct 13
by Tate Halloway

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment…

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like …

New Releases: July 30 – August 5, 2012

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5) by Ilona Andrews

Some people have everything figured out — Andrea Nash is not one of those people. After being kicked out of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. All she can do is try to put herself back together, something made easier by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend, Kate Daniels.

When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano — the male alpha of Clan Bouda and Andrea’s former lover — die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate … and must work with Raphael. As her search for the killer leads her into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta, Andrea knows that dealing with her feelings for Raphael might have to take a backseat to saving the world …

Read an excerpt of Gunmetal Magic

New Releases: July 23-28, 2012

Thirteen (Women of the Otherworld, #13) by Kelley Armstrong

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers the novel her fans have been clamoring for: The epic finale of the Otherworld series.

It’s been more than ten years, a dozen installments, and hundreds of thousands of copies since Kelley Armstrong introduced readers to the all-too-real denizens of the Otherworld: witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons, among others. And it’s all been leading to Thirteen, the final installment, the novel that brings all of these stories to a stunning conclusion.

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.

Savannah has called upon her inner energy to …

Dual Review: Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander

Format read: paperback provided by author for review
Release Date: 22 May 2012
Series: Book #1 in the Edie Spence series
Genre: urban fantasy
Number of pages: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Blurb:

From debut author Cassie Alexander comes a spectacular new urban fantasy series where working the nightshift can be a real nightmare.

Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine—from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond…

Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. …

Interview with Cassie Alexander + Giveaway

What’s happenin’, folks? We hope you’re having a fab day so far–and if you aren’t, we’ve got just the thing for that. Urban fantasy author (and registered nurse!) Cassie Alexander has stopped by today for an interview about…well, everything! Four of us teamed up to barrage Ms. Alexander with questions from her books and writing to her life past and present–and she was totally up to the challenge. ^_^ What results is a fascinating, revealing, epic interview. We hope you enjoy it, because she sure did! ^_^

Cassie Alexander’s debut novel, Nightshifted, was released this last May, and its followup, Moonshifted, is slated for release this November. (Don’t forget to check out the end of this post for some Nightshifted giveaway goodness!)

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BLI: Hi Cassie, welcome to Book Lovers Inc! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Cassie: Hi! My name is Cassie, and my hobbies include wearing white cat …

Bookish Rants and Raves: Your Book Lovin’ Beginnings…

You may have heard about the recent passing of author Donald J. Sobol, author of the classic children’s mystery series, Encyclopedia Brown. Though Sobol reached the ripe old age of 87 before he died (of natural causes), his passing brings a wave of wistfulness and sentimentality, particularly when one realizes that there will be no more new work released (his last Encyclopedia Brown book will be released this October by Penguin). It’s the end of an era, for many.

For my part, Encyclopedia Brown books were some of my absolute favorites, providing endless entertainment and numerous challenges. What hooked me (and countless children since the 1960s) was the high level of engagement asked of readers, as well as the relatable childhood interactions depicted in each tale. Also, the mysteries presented in the books were challenging yet not impossible, and they always encouraged readers to employ lateral thinking when problem solving. …