Waiting on Wednesday #135: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
Set in the same world as the New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, an all-new series starring Nell Ingram, who wields powers as old as the earth.

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her.

Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville.

Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out…

The expected publication date is August 2, 2016 from Roc.

Why am I waiting on this book? I've enjoyed the Jane Yellowrock books that I've read, and this is set in the same world. It sounds like it has another strong female protagonist too. It's the first in a new series. And it's urban fantasy. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our ever-growing TBR list.

Teaser Tuesday: Murder at the 42nd Street Library by Con Lehane

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"By the way, the police know about the argument between Max and James Donnelly. I told Benny to tell them."

He  and Harry watched Nelson walk slowly toward the door. "As if there weren't enough tension in the building already, the last thing we need is a feud," Harry said.

~12% through on my Kindle

What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy reading!

Review: Can You Keep a Secret? by R.L.Stine

April 12, 2016
St. Martin's Press

There are a few secrets to be kept in Can You Keep a Secret? by R.L. Stine. Emma and Eddie are fooling around in the woods. Eddie decides to carve their names on a tree. In the process, they find a suitcase full of money hidden in the tree. Their friends catch wind of the discovery and they all decide to hide the suitcase in a grave in a pet cemetery where Eddie works.

Meanwhile, Emma has been having nightmares that she is a big black violent wolf. Her sister Sophie tries to comfort her and says the nightmares must go back to when she was a small child and got bitten by a dog while they were visiting their Aunt Marta outside of Prague.

So, secrets. Is Emma really a wolf? Who stole the money and are they going to come after the kids since Emma and Eddie's names are on the tree?

This book is an R.L. Stine Fear Street novel. It reads like one. He has a pattern where the chapters often end with a cliffhanger or a startling moment of clarity. It makes for suspenseful reading. I find myself wondering which version of the truth is the right one as he puts the characters through the ringer. There are deaths and mysteries to keep it moving right along.

The one thing I wasn't really sure about was the appearance of Aunt Marta at one point in the book. She didn't seem to advance the plot all that much. Her stay was very brief with little description.

Some of the description in the book is kind of gross. I don't want to go into it much because it would make spoilers.

The book is definitely aimed at YA readers. I can see kids graduating from the Goosebumps series to the Fear Street series. I still found myself enjoying it even though I am an adult. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I give this book 3 stars. It has everything you need for a good horror story and mystery. While it is a good book, it is not outstanding. I would still recommend it for YA horror readers with strong stomachs.

Have you read any of the Fear Street books? What has been your experience with them?

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday #134: Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

Synopsis from Amazon:

Before Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales.

Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. These are but a few of the truly brilliant stories in Tales of the Peculiar—the collection of fairy tales known to hide information about the peculiar world, including clues to the locations of time loops—first introduced by Ransom Riggs in his #1 bestselling Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.

Ransom now invites you to share his secrets of peculiar history, with a collection of original stories in this deluxe volume of Tales of the Peculiar. Featuring stunning illustrations from world-renowned artist Andrew Davidson, this compelling, rich, and truly peculiar anthology is the perfect gift for not only fans, but for all lovers of great storytelling.

The book is due out September 3, 2016. You can read a short excerpt from it and an article about it on the USA Today website here. 

Why am I waiting on this book? I've read all 3 of the books in the series and enjoyed them. This book seems complimentary to the series. And I like fairy tales and folklore. I think it will be interesting to see what these tales are like. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share the title or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Cast in Hellfire by SM Reine

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The weaker Marion got, the hungrier Seth felt, and the worse the distraction became. Marion wasn't the only one getting screwed up by too much time in Sheol.

~60% through on my Kindle

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Review: Quick and the Dead by Susan Moody

Alex Quick was once a Detective Inspector. Now after a failed marriage to another policeman and a miscarriage, she has turned her efforts to making art books with her partner Helena Drummond. When Helena fails to show up for an important meeting with a publisher, Alex goes to her house and finds a woman rather viciously murdered in Helena’s bed. Was Helena the killer or possibly the intended victim?

With Helena being a suspect, Alex sets out to prove her innocence, but instead finds that she knows less about her friend than she thought she did. Alex uses her contacts among the police to aid her. She also acquires a bookseller as a sort of sidekick for some of her investigations.

Susan Moody does a good job building suspense as the novel progresses. Still it is occasionally slow in parts. She kept me guessing as to the identity of the killer. Every time I thought I knew who it was, something would happen to disturb that notion. My only complaints with the mystery are that I felt there needed to be a little more foreshadowing concerning the identity of the killer and that the book ended sort of abruptly. As a result, I give this book 3.5 stars instead of 4 stars. It’s a good book, but it needed a little more towards the end. I would still recommend it for anyone who likes British mysteries. Bear in mind the initial crime scene is described rather brutally, but it is not dwelt upon in detail through the rest of the book.

Quick and the Dead is due out May 1, 2016 from Severn House Publishers. This is the first book in a projected series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday #133: In Shining Armor by Elliott James

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
This fairy godmother's got claws. 
When someone kidnaps the last surviving descendant of the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, it's bad news. When the baby is the key to the tenuous alliance between a large werewolf pack and the knights, it's even worse news. They're at each other's throats before they've even begun to look for baby Constance. 

But whoever kidnapped Constance didn't count on one thing: she's also the goddaughter of John Charming. Modern-day descendant of a long line of famous dragon slayers, witch finders, and wrong-righters. John may not have any experience being a parent, but someone is about to find out that he can be one mean mother...

IN SHINING ARMOR is the fourth novel in a series which gives a new twist to the Prince Charming tale. The first three novels are Charming, Daring, & Fearless.

In Shining Armor is due out April 26, 2016 from Orbit.

Why am I waiting on this book? 
Well, I've been eyeing the series. I haven't started reading it yet, but I like the way it sounds. "Someone is about to find out they messed with the wrong supernatural godfather!" (RT Book Reviews) And "If you love wisecracks in the face of ultimate danger, then John Charming is definitely your man!" (RT Book Reviews) The series is supposed to be a different take on Prince Charming and fairy godmothers/godfathers. It looks like a really interesting series to get into. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Demon Child by Kylie Chan

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Tiger!" I shouted at the Dragon's phone on the floor, which still displayed the deserted ends of the causeways on the screen. "How did you destroy the wasp demons?"

"We tried everything and the best thing to hit them with is f***ing tennis racquets," the Tiger growled.

p. 109 in the paperback published March 2015 by Harper Voyager

I am just starting this book and haven't gotten that far yet. But, the teaser seemed somewhat humorous.
What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Thanks for coming by. Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #132: Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Meg Rosoff's charming, hilarious new novel about a young New Yorker’s search for happiness and the two dogs who help him find it—the perfect summer read 
 
Jonathan Trefoil’s boss is unhinged, his relationship baffling, and his apartment just the wrong side of legal. His girlfriend wants to marry someone just like him—only richer and with a different sense of humor. He doesn’t remember life being this confusing, back before everyone expected him to act like a grown-up.
 
When his brother asks him to look after his dogs, Jonathan's world view begins to shift. Could a border collie and a cocker spaniel hold the key to life, the universe, and everything? Their sly maneuvering on daily walks and visits to the alluring vet suggest that human emotional intelligence may not be top dog after all. 
 
A funny, wise romantic comedy set in Manhattan, Jonathan Unleashed is a story of tangled relationships, friendships, and dogs. Rosoff’s novel is for anyone wondering what to be when they grow up, and how on earth to get there.

Why am I waiting on this book? It sounds interesting. I like the idea that it might be the dogs that bring people together. And I like the last line of the synopsis, "Rosoff's novel is for anyone wondering what to be when they grow up, and how on earth to get there." The book is due out July 5, 2016 from Viking.

What's your WoW? Please leave a title or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our ever-growing TBR list.

Quickie Review: Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for the Aspiring Writer

Grit for the Oyster by Suzanne Woods Fisher, Debora M. Coty, Faith Tibbetts McDonald and Joanna Bloss is now available as an ebook.

The book is very structured and is aimed at the Christian writer in general and the Christian writer who is focussed on the Christian market.The book is divided into 4 sections and has multiple entries by each of the authors in each section.

• Section 1 is entitled: Getting Started. Can I? 
• Section 2 is The Joyful Grind. 
• Section 3 is I give up! Too Many Rejections. 
• And section 4 is Getting "It" Right: The Proper Perspective. 

Each section has further structure. It starts with a quotation from scripture. The an anecdote from the author of the entry. Then a prayer and reflection and finally quotations to inspire you. The structure makes it almost ideal for use as a devotional.

Also included are additional sections: On Our Bookshelves- Favorite Must-Haves, a Bible quotations reference, Plan Your Next Escape! What's your reading pleasure? And finally, an index of the other quotations in the book is included.

The book could be a useful tool for someone in the right mind frame. From the synopsis: "More than a how-to, this confidence-building book is designed to draw readers to a closer relationship with God." I believe it can achieve that goal. The entries are mostly interesting. I do think it would work best digested slowly such as a devotional. I can also see it being useful choosing an entry by title for whatever situation arises. I gave this book 3 stars out of 5. Interesting, but definitely for a niche market.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Teaser Tuesday: Quick and the Dead by Susan Moody

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Ending the call, I had to ask myself how I would have reacted if one of my former colleagues had behaved as I had just done, giving false ID. No getting away from it, I would have been livid. But until I found Helena, this was personal.

~ 14% through on my Kindle, Amanda Quick thinking about a phone call she had just made pretending to still be an officer of the law

What's your teaser this week? Please share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out.