This Week's New Releases

End of June and the summer is already flying by. This week there are a some familiar authors as well as a couple of new-to-me authors.

If you have any you'd like to add to the list, please leave the info in the comments. :)

Two girls, one who is blind, on a road trip. I'm liking the premise a lot! There will most likely be a boy or two somewhere in the mix. I'm kind of hoping not. I'd like to see the focus on the girls and their bond of best friends.

Run
Kody Keplinger
Young Adult/Contemporary

Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and a mama who's not exactly sober most of the time. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Agnes Atwood has never gone on a date, never even stayed out past ten, and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally blind daughter -- protect her from what, Agnes isn't quite sure.

Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs truer and deeper than anything else.

So when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, with police sirens wailing in the distance, desperate to get out of town, Agnes doesn't hesitate to take off with her. But running away and not getting caught will require stealing a car, tracking down Bo's dad, staying ahead of the authorities, and -- worst of all -- confronting some ugly secrets.

A new series from Jill Shalvis! She's been a favorite author of mine for years so it's a happy day whenever she has a book coming out. And this new series has a heroine who is a boat captain and hero who is a hottie. Can't ask for more!



Sweet Little Lies
Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance
Heartbreaker Bay/Book 1

Choose the one guy you can’t have...

As captain of a San Francisco Bay tour boat, Pru can handle rough seas—the hard part is life on dry land. Pru loves her new apartment and her neighbors; problem is, she’s in danger of stumbling into love with Mr. Right for Anybody But Her.

Fall For Him - Hard...

Pub owner Finn O’Riley is six-foot-plus of hard-working hottie who always makes time for his friends. When Pru becomes one of them, she discovers how amazing it feels to be on the receiving end of that deep green gaze. But when a freak accident involving darts (don’t ask) leads to shirtless first aid, things rush way past the friend zone. Fast. 

And then tell him the truth. 

Pru only wants Finn to be happy; it’s what she wishes for at the historic fountain that’s supposed to grant her heart’s desire. But wanting him for herself is a different story—because Pru’s been keeping a secret that could change everything...

It's been a while since I read anything from Christine Feehan. I've read many of her Dark series novels and Ghost Walker series. I enjoyed both series but haven't kept up. This is a new series with elements of magic.

Shadow Rider
Christine Feehan
Paranormal Romance
Shadow/Book 1

Whether it’s fast cars or fast women, Stefano Ferraro gets what he wants. When he’s not fodder for the paparazzi, he commands Ferraro family businesses—both legitimate and illegitimate.

While their criminal activity is simply a rumor yet to be proven, no one knows the real truth. The Ferraros are a family of shadow riders capable of manipulating light and dark, an ability Stefano thought ran in his family alone—until now…

With little left to her name, Francesca Cappello has come to Chicago in hopes of a new life. She wasn’t expecting to attract the attention of a man with primal hunger in his eyes, driven to claim her as his to protect and to please. And if he discovers her secret, it could ruin her...

I like the not-so-sweet princess. I wonder how brutal she will be? And who she will be more loyal to - her brother or her love interest? The author has said the trilogy is loosely based on the story of Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula. The big difference is that Vlad is a girl in this story.

And I Darken
Kiersten White
Young Adult/Paranormal/Historical
The Conquerors Saga/Book 1

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. 

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.  It's easy to join, just post your loot and link up with Mr. Linky at either Claire or Marg's blog.  It's that simple!

This week I only picked up a few books since I haven't started on last week's picks.  I need more time!  Good thing I have the option of renewing. 
 

First is Dark Storm, the 23rd book in Christine Feehan's Carpathian vampire series.  This is a hardcover request I made some weeks (months) ago.  I'm undecided if I will read it.  At one point I consumed this series but the heroes, and to a lesser extent the heroines, are all starting to blend together.

This was another request.  I think I first heard about Precinct 13 on Goodreads.  Not sure, but I do like the blurb.  Tate Hallaway (aka Lyda Morehouse) is a new-to-me author and this sounds like the perfect book to try.

Sandy Blair's The King's Mistress was an impulse check-out.  It caught my eye as I was looking over the new release shelves.  The cover is very pretty and the blurb drew me in with talk of Scotland, twin's mistaken identity and a hero who is not a nobleman but a soldier.  I've never read Ms. Blair either so that's two new-to-me authors. 

Did you stop by your library this week and pick up something interesting?  Let us know in the comments!

Review: Dark Peril

Dark Peril
Christine Feehan
Paranormal Romance
Carpathians/Book 21
Berkley/September 2010

*Possible Spoilers for previous books*

From the inside cover ~

Dominic, of the Dragonseeker lineage—one of the most powerful of the Carpathian lines—is desperate to go to the very heart of the enemy camp and learn their plans. There’s only one way to do so: ingest the parasitic blood of a vampire. He knows that it is a mission from which there is no return. With little time before the blood takes effect, he’ll get the information he needs, relay it to the leader of the Carpathians, and go out fighting. There is no more honorable way to end his life.

Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people, a royal pureblood, a dying species that cannot recover from bad decisions made over hundreds of years. She has long been alone, fighting to save the remaining shapeshifters from the hands of Brodrick the Terrible: her own father, who slaughtered her family and everyone she loved. Wounded and weary, she plans one last battle, hoping to stop the man who has made an alliance with the vampires, accepting that she will not come out alive.

They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, at the end of their time, they find each other—an obstacle neither can hope to ignore.

Another entry into the Carpanthian saga. This time the pairing of Dominic and Solange may have come as a surprise to some since there had been speculation that Solange would be paired with Zacarias De La Cruz. It did make sense since they are both in South America and Solange has ties to the De La Cruz family through her cousins. But, Dominic is on a mission that brings him to Zacarias' territory and to Solange.

Solange Sagria has been a warrior for most of her life. She's a shapeshifter who is of the royal jaguar line, the last of the line. Her father is a crazy bastard who has joined with the humans and the vampires in attempts to keep the female jaguars from leave and mating with human men. They leave because they are horribly mistreated and viewed as nothing more than objects to reproduce the race. Solange fights to free the women who have been imprisoned by her father and his men. She is fearless, brave and smart. I liked her a lot, until she meets Dominic face-to-face, then she becomes this insecure, timid creature that I didn't recognize.

Dominic Dragonseeker is a very ancient Carpathian. He has given up finding his life mate and instead has undertaken a mission that he is certain will end in his death. And he's okay with that until he literally meets the woman of his dreams. He has been dreaming about Solange for some time now. When he finds out she's real he is in shock. She is his life mate but his life is about to be over. He's screwed. Dominic tries to make the best of a very bad situation and tells Solange about his mission and that it wouldn't be right to bond with her. Plus, no sex since he can't chance passing the parasites on to her. Damn - he really screwed up!

Solange and Dominic together are not my favorite couple of the series. They did way too much thinking of how wonderful, beautiful, honorable etc the other is. Lots of narration in this one. Maybe the series has always been like that and I've just forgotten. I was seriously getting tired of all the descriptions of the landscape, the animals, the people, the colors. . . it seems to go on forever. The chemistry between Solange and Dominic didn't do much for me either. Dominic is a typical Feehan hero with his attitude of "I know what's best for you". Then he would tell her how she was smart, brave etc and could make her own decisions, as long as they agree that he knows what's best for her. HA! And Solange with her warrior woman/mousy girl twist drove me nuts! I get that she's seriously uncomfortable around men because of her past but she knew Dominic wouldn't hurt her, she's familiar with Carpathian men because she's been around the De La Cruz brothers. Her change in attitude was hard to buy into. Thinking back to the heroines that I've liked in this series - they're the ones that stood up to their life mates. I can handle the extreme alphas as long as the female isn't a pushover.

The plot and overall story arc did move along at a decent pace when the h/h weren't thinking about how wonderful their life mate was. *rolls eyes* I did like the finding out more about the jaguar culture, the vampires that are working together to defeat the Carpathians and the fight scenes. There is an interesting twist at the end that I didn't see coming. That could make future stories very interesting, depending on the direction Feehan takes it. And Zacarias does get some page time - he's my favorite and the one I'm holding out for. The next book is called Dark Predator, set for release sometime next year. I hope it's Zacarias' book. If it is then I might be finished with this series after his book, maybe.

So the verdict - Dark Peril, not a favorite, could have been shorter with less narration and a heroine who stays true to her character.

Rating: C+

Cover Love ~ Dark Peril

Yes, I'm still reading Christine Feehan's Dark series. I know, I know... but what can I say? There are still a few characters that I want to read their stories. The books have become library reads since they are hardcovers. Her next release is Dark Peril - Dominic's story. What may be surprising to many readers is his heroine. Read the blurb below if you want to find out who his heroine is. If not, then you probably shouldn't look at the cover either. :)






Dominic of the Dragonseeker lineage, one of the most powerful lines the Carpathian people has, ingests vampire blood laces with parasites in order to be able to go the very heart of the enemy camp and learn their plans. It is a one way mission. He knows he has little time once the parasites and the blood go to work. He plans to get in fast, relay the information to the leader of the Carpathians living in the area and go out fighting—an honorable way to end his life.

Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people, a royal pureblood. Her people, once many are now nearly extinct, a dying species that cannot recover from the choices they made over hundreds of years. She has long been alone, fighting to save the remaining women who are able to shift, from the hands of Brodrick the Terrible, her own father who slaughtered her family and everyone she loved. Wounded, weary, she plans one last battle, hoping to stop the man who has made an alliance with the vampires, accepting she will not come out alive.

They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, at the end of their time, they find each other, a complication, neither saw coming.

Release date ~ August 31.

Review: Dark Slayer

Title: Dark Slayer
Author: Christine Feehan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Dark series/Book 20
Published: September 2009

From the author's website ~

A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer—a woman—who travels with a wolf pack and who destroys any vampire who crosses her path. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of the undead.

She is Ivory Malinov. Her only brethren, the wolves. Long ago betrayed by her people, abandoned by her family, and cast out by everyone she held dear, Ivory has lived a century without companionship or love. She has sustained her sanity by the habit of the hunt and the custom of the feeding. Until the night she picks up the scent of a man, her unexpected salvation. Her lifemate. The curse of all Carpathian women.

He is Razvan. Branded a criminal, detested and feared, he is a dragonseeker borne of one of the greatest Carpathian lineages, only to be raised as its most despised—and captive—enemy. Fleeing from his lifetime of imprisonment, Razvan now seeks the dawn to end his terrible existence. Instead he has found his deliverance in the Dark Slayer.

In spirit, in flesh and blood, in love, and in war, Ivory and Razvan are made for each other. For as long as they dare to live.

Wow - book 20 and I'm still reading this series. It's hardcover so it has become a library read. Which is good since the anticipation has been waning. I'm planning to continue with the series because there are a few characters that I do look forward to reading their stories but I'm okay with waiting to get it from the library. I haven't liked all the books, some favorites and some I could have done without. Feehan's world does have the sometimes dreaded "destined mates" cliché but if the h/h get to know each other and the author makes me believe they belong together then it works for me. This time around, not so much.

Ivory Malinov has suffered horrendously. She was thought dead and has kept to herself, away from other Carpathians for all these centuries. She has only her wolf pack as her family and seeks only to kill the vampires. She's not what I would consider a typical Feehan heroine. She doesn't need a male to save her from the vampires, she's someone the vampires fear. She is extremely self-reliant and wants no contact with anyone. That all changes when she finds her lifemate and he's near death. The last thing she wants is a lifemate but she feels she has no choice and takes care of him until he is healthy.

Razvan is not a warrior like the other Carpathian males. He has been used by the dark mage Xavier for centuries, ever since he was a child. Used for acts of such deprivation and horror that now that Razvan has escaped he only wants to be left to die. When he realizes that his lifemate has saved him he feels such despair that she will see what a despicable creature he has become. Razvan, for me, just didn't work. I get why he was so depressed and had no hope left. This guy was forced to commit such heinousness acts against innocent people, even his own daughter, that it's surprising he hasn't gone insane. But at some point it gets to be overkill when a character continues to languish over his past. I just plain got tired of hearing about it. Maybe I'm becoming use to the tortured character and their even more tortured past that it's become blasé. Been there, done that, now get over yourself. Whatever the reason I didn't feel much for Razvan.

The pairing of Ivory and Razvan on the surface made sense. She is a warrior and he is a strategist. They share the same burning desire to destroy Xavier and do join forces to finally defeat him. But I never felt that click that you get when you begin to think of the h/h as a couple rather than separate. For me they were together because they were lifemates. Period. I had such high hopes for Ivory since she is more like the male Carpathian heroes than the female heroines of past books. And while I liked her I couldn't see her with Razvan. I think my main problem was with him. If she had been paired with someone else it might have worked for me. *shrugs*

Something I feel needs a mention is the Carpathian language. It's intricate and detailed and at times very boring. It tends to pull me out of the moment. I have to stop, read it, then read the translation. Which is annoying because it takes about five Carpathian words for one English word. Then I have to get back into the story. Ugh! I do think the chants and songs are pretty but should be used sparingly. The book contains two appendices, over 30 pages, with various chants and information about the language. It's obvious much thought, research and time has gone into the language and while I find it interesting it tends to pull me out of of the story. I do however love the lineage charts at the beginning of the book that gives all the family and lifemate connections. It's very helpful when there are so many characters in the series.

One odd thing about Dark Slayer was a secondary character that I really enjoyed in this book. What makes it odd is that I didn't like him in his own book. Gregori Daratrazanoff is the primary healer of the Carpathian people and is also responsible for the safety of Prince Mikhail. A responsibility he takes very seriously. He's arrogant, bossy and overbearing. A man who thinks he knows it all. He got on my nerves in his own book Dark Magic and I didn't like him with his heroine, didn't feel like they belonged together. But in Dark Slayer he actually seemed human and approachable. He really showed his feelings in this one and I found myself looking forward to when he was on the page. It was very odd. LOL

In the end the pairing of Ivory and Razvan just didn't work for me. I was bored by them and their story seem to drag when it was just the two of them. I much preferred when they were interacting with the other Carpathians. By the end of their story I was ready to move on to the next book. The plot did resolve some of the continuing issues that have been plaguing the Carpathian women. A number of previous characters turn up and I did enjoy seeing them again. We did get to see more of Skyler and a glimpse of her and Dimitri, many fans are impatiently waiting for their book but my guess is that it will be a few years.

The next book in the series is titled Dark Peril. No synopsis or excerpt yet. Christine Feehan's extensive back list and information on all her series can be found on her website.

Rating: C+

Christine Feehan Releases...

I'm still a reader of Christine Feehan's Dark series. The über alphas and their determination to claim their lifemates at all cost can get on my nerves. But Feehan has been giving readers a variety of heroines so it kind of offsets some of the sameness of the males. I do love her intricate world building ~ the language, the rituals and the setting of the Carpathian Mountains. Since the series has gone to hardcover I get them from the library. I just don't want them bad enough to pay hardcover prices - so I wait.

I did try her Drake Sisters series but couldn't get into it. I'm not a big fan when magic is the main paranormal aspect. The Nightwalker series I've read but I'm behind a few books. The last one I remember reading was Jack and Briony's story. It was good but didn't leave me eagerly awaiting the next one. I have the two Leopard series books in my TBR pile, who knows when I'll get to those.

I know some readers have fallen off the crazy, Carpathian I-can-see-rainbows-you-are-my-lifemate-let's-sleep-in-the-dirt train but I'm still hanging in there. There are a few characters' stories I'd like to read. Dominic Dragonseeker ~ I want to know more about him. What we've seen so far is a typical Carpathian male but I'm wondering what he's like after recovering from his injuries he suffered in Dark Demon. Dimitri and Skyler ~ the few times they've been together have merely wetted my appetite for their story. I think it has the potential to be heartbreakingly wonderful. And of course Zacarias ~ he'll need a strong women to put up with him and not break under his will. My guess is Zac's mate will be Solange but nothing has been confirmed. Just some major foreshadowing in previous books.

The next book in the series, Dark Slayer, is set for release on 1 September. I've got it requested from the library so it will probably be a few weeks after release day before I get it. I'll try to stay away from spoilers but the reality is that I never do. :)

There is also the paperback release of Dark Curse coming September 29th, which was released last year in hardcover (blue). What's interesting is that the cover has been changed. I'm really not sure which one I like better. Neither really. LOL I do however love the cover for Dark Slayer and hope the book lives up to it's potential. The last time Feehan had a kickass heroine was Natalya from Dark Demon, which I enjoyed despite the book's purported easier to hold format. No more tall paperbacks please!

Dark Slayer...

Christine Feehan has posted on her site the synopsis for the next release in her Carpathian series Dark Slayer.

Dark Slayer is due for release in hardcover on September 1, 2009. Here's the synopsis from Feehan's website:

A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer—a woman—who travels with a wolf pack and any among the vampires who meets her is slain. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of the vampires.

Ivory Malinov is that woman, betrayed by her own people, by her family, by everyone she held dear and she hunts during the night with only her pack to sustain her sanity. She has not spoken to or been with any other person for a hundred years other than to feed from or slay. She stumbles across a body on her way back to her lair and discovers—her lifemate.

He is Razvan, branded a hated criminal, detested, feared and loathed by all Carpathians—he is also a dragonseeker of one of the greatest lineages of all Carpathians. Held captive nearly his entire life by his grandfather, the Carpathians bitterest enemy, he is seeking the dawn to end his terrible existence.

This is a story of two people, horribly betrayed, wounded in spirit, fighters to the death, who must struggle to unite against a common enemy.

Many speculated, myself included, that this would be about either Zacarias or possibly Dominic. But this sounds really good, something different, with a kick-ass heroine. I'm definitely planning on reading it. And I absolutely LOVE the cover.