Teaser Tuesday

 Mirage by Kristi Cook

From Goodreads:  Seventeen-year-old Violet McKenna is back for her senior year at Winterhaven, and thrilled to be with Aidan after a long summer apart. But when a violent and disturbing vision begins to haunt her, Violet suddenly feels unsure of everything: who to trust, if she is in danger, and—worst of all—whether she and Aidan are really meant to be together.

To be released June 5, 2012

Published by Simon Pulse

384 pages

Teaser:

I must have dropped the barrier around my thoughts then, because I heard the sharp intake of his breath, felt his fingers dig into my hips as he dragged me backward, pinning me against the wall in the blink of an eye. (MIRAGE ARC, page 36)

Sounds great, right?  If you agree and want to pre-order it, you can do that here.

If you haven't yet read Haven, you can get it here.

Review: Paskagankee

 Paskagankee by Allan Leverone
An isolated village, remote and vulnerable.
A series of brutal murders.
And a vengeful spirit born of tragedy, reawakened after a centuries-old massacre.
Three distinctly different people must come together, racing against time and their own personal demons in a desperate attempt to stop an unstoppable killer and save their town.
Welcome to Paskagankee, Maine. You may not survive the visit.

My Review:

This book is set in a small town in northern Maine.  The brand new police chief finds himself in-over-his-head very quickly when a series of attacks rocks the community.  At first, a dog is attacked by what seems like a wild animal, then a man suddenly disappears while shoveling his driveway, leaving behind nothing but large amounts of blood.  It soon becomes clear that the attacks are not from any animal but, rather impossibly, a human.  The new sheriff~along with a young woman on his police force and a ridiculed and discredited professor from a neighboring town~embark on a dangerous and interesting mission to hunt down this "person" and stop him/her before any more murders can take place.

My interest was kept during the entire book.  I was able to predict the "person" that was killing people, but that didn't take away from the story for me.  Honestly, I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't Stephen King.  Maybe it was the Maine setting, but Allan Leverone had a very good writing style that almost bled mystery and danger.  I am sure I will be reading more from him!

I gave this book 4 stars!

To buy this book click here.

Desperately Wanting Wednesday

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee.

Books People Want Me To Want

This week's edition is all about books that other people want me to read.  There's plenty in this category for me!

The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

Sophia's family has skeletons, but they aren't in their graves...

At 22, practicing Wiccan Sophia Parsons is scratching out a living waiting tables in her Rocky Mountain hometown, living under the shadow of her bi-polar mother, religious prejudice, and a cold murder. Sophia can imagine lots of ways her life could be better, but she'd settle for just getting rid of the buzzing noise in her head. The spell she casts goes wrong. The static turns into voices. Her personal demons get company, and the newcomers are dangerous.

One of them is a man named Charles, a centuries-old shape-shifter that Sophia falls for despite her better judgment. He has connections that can help her unveil the mystery surrounding her ancestor's hanging, but she gets more than she bargains for when she finally decides to trust him. Survival in his world, she learns, means not asking questions and staying out of the immortal council's way. It's a line she crossed long ago.

If Sophia wants to survive the council and save the people she loves, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.

The Forever Girl is a full-length Paranormal Fantasy novel that will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, witches, vampires, ghosts, paranormal mystery, and paranormal horror.

I'm honestly not sure if this even counts.  I already own this book and am not unsure about wanting to read it, I just haven 't had the time.  I received it from the author, and it has also been recommended to me on Goodreads.

If you'd like to read it as well, you can get it here.

Waiting On Wednesday

Mirage by Kristi Cook
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442442999
ISBN-13: 978-1442442993

From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Violet McKenna is back for her senior year at Winterhaven, and thrilled to be with Aidan after a long summer apart. But when a violent and disturbing vision begins to haunt her, Violet suddenly feels unsure of everything: who to trust, if she is in danger, and—worst of all—whether she and Aidan are really meant to be together.
Buy this book here.

Teaser Tuesday

 Mirage by Kristi Cook

From Goodreads:  Seventeen-year-old Violet McKenna is back for her senior year at Winterhaven, and thrilled to be with Aidan after a long summer apart. But when a violent and disturbing vision begins to haunt her, Violet suddenly feels unsure of everything: who to trust, if she is in danger, and—worst of all—whether she and Aidan are really meant to be together.

To be released June 5, 2012

Published by Simon Pulse

384 pages

Teaser:

"Thank you," I murmured, breathing in his scent, allowing myself to experience the full brunt of the Aidan effect. "God, you smell so good."
"Better than Dr. Hottie?" Aidan asked huskily, one hand pressed into the small of my back, steadying me.
"Way better," I shot back, before I'd thought better of it. (MIRAGE ARC, page 65)

Sounds great, right?  If you agree and want to pre-order it, you can do that here.

If you haven't yet read Haven, you can get it here.

Desperately Wanting Wednesday

It's that time of week for my favorite meme, hosted by Parajunkee.  This week it's all about Indie publishers!  Those books that are published by a smaller, indie company.. either books we're waiting to come out, or that we just haven't picked up yet..

Here's my choices..

 Blood Hunt (II AM Trilogy #2) by Christopher Buecheler
ebook, 1st Edition, 515 pages
Published August 30th 2011 by Christopher Buecheler

He killed her lover, and for that crime and many others, Two Majors cut off the vampire Abraham's head, reduced his remains to ashes, and scattered them to the winds. Now each night she wanders New York, freed from the chains of heroin addiction but longing still for Theroen's kiss, the taste of blood on his lips, the echo of his thoughts in her ears. There are other vampires out there; she knows it, and so she hunts.
Tori Perrault spent a dozen years living in the woods, stalking her prey in the dark and killing without mercy. Now, she too has returned to humanity, and struggles to come to terms with all that has happened. Her parents' love smothers her and life seems empty. She spends her nights in the bottle, and in the company of strange men. She doesn't know that she is watched, until the fragile life she has rebuilt is torn from her and she is dropped suddenly into a world she never knew existed.
Rhes Thompson and Sarah Taylor have never met a vampire, and never want to. All they want is to help their friend Two, who falls further away from them with each passing day. They have all but given up when they are thrust into a world of madness, death, and vampire politics beyond their understanding. They must abandon their concern for Two, and worry instead about saving their own lives.
Blood Hunt is the ambitious sequel to the popular Urban Fantasy novel The Blood That Bonds. Nearly twice as long as the first novel, Blood Hunt weaves together the stories of Two, Tori, Rhes and Sarah, along with a large cast of characters both old and new, as they attempt to navigate their way through the difficulties they face.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, he's self published, but a very good writer!!  I can't wait to read it, it seems like I've been waiting for forever for this one!!

 Hollowland (The Hollows #1) by Amanda Hocking

Paperback, 312 pages
Published October 6th 2010 by Amanda Hocking (first published October 1st 2010)

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Ok, Zombies aren't usually a first choice for me, I actually haven't read one book about them.  On the screen they give me nightmares for some reason!  :)  But, this sounds awesome, and I have to say, Amanda Hocking is one of my favorites!  I do love her writing and would read anything she puts out!

If you would like to join in on this weekly meme, see here for details!  Happy Reading!

Review: Death By Chocolate

 Death By Chocolate by Julie Anne Lindsey
Ruby Russell has reached her limit. When she discovers her hipster husband has a dirty little secret, she whips him up a Viagra-infused-chocolate mousse punishment, but in the morning, her husband’s a stiff.
Armed with a lifetime of crime show reruns and Arsenic and Old Lace on DVD, Ruby and her best friend Charlotte try to lay low until after Ruby’s son’s wedding, but a nosy therapist, meddling minister and local news reporter are making it very difficult to get away with murder.

My Review:
This was a good book, nothing at all as I expected it to be, since I didn't read the blurb before reading the book.  It was well written and quite the page turner!  
The story follows Ruby, a housewife who went a bit mad and had a small stint in a mental hospital following her son's decision to go across the country to college.  She and best friend Charlotte become partners in crime, so to speak.  At first, the "accident" with Ruby's husband almost made me feel sorry for her, she certainly didn't mean to kill him.  Then the cracks in both of their sanities become more and more apparent when the community is rocked with more mysterious deaths.  Add to Ruby's already unstable mental state the fact that her beloved son announces he's getting married and she's sent over the edge.  "Oh what a tangled web we weave..."  
I have to say, Ruby so reminded me of a viciously more insane version of Jane Fonda in the movie Monster-In-Law.  Although the book itself didn't harbor much humor, the scenes playing in my head and the reminder of the character of that movie, gave it a bit of humor for me.  It's almost scary, though, to think there may be people that unstable and capable running around among our very neighborhoods! 
I give this book 4 stars...