Beauty in the Beast by Christine Danse

Journeying by steam-powered sled to London's Frost Fair to perform, Tara and three friends are trapped in a blizzard in the woods. A gruff, handsome stranger offers them shelter-and wants one thing in return. Stories.

The travellers are glad to oblige. Their host, Rolph, is especially captivated by Tara's story of an orphaned girl raised by the Fae in the world of the spirits. Equally intrigued by Rolph, and aware of an electric pull between them, Tara encourages him to share a story of his own. When Rolph weaves a tale of a man who is doomed by his own folly to turn into a wolf at the full moon, Tara suspects there is more than a grain of truth in his words.

When the veil between the mortal and spiritual worlds is parted, and danger threatens, will Tara make the ultimate sacrifice to save Rolph?

~~

I'm usually a little leery of fairytale re-tellings but this Steampunk laden tale by Christine Danse is an entertaining one. The story and romance is soft and subtle, with Rolph and Tara both having to overcome personal demons in order to trust their feelings. I liked the fact that it wasn't a jump into bed kind of thing, because while I certainly feel there's a time and place for that (I even like it in other stories), I don't think it would have been as authentic to the characters' personalities. 

I didn't think the stories told by firelight was too cliche, though it was clear from the start who was telling personal tales and who was doing it for the sake of entertainment. It just added another layer to everything else, and the spurt of action at the end with the suggestion of a HEA was nice for someone like me who often reads romances where everything is laid out step-by-step for the reader. 

Overall Feeling - B-

Series - None

**Title requested from NetGalley for review***

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

~~

Finally! I know, I'm sorry this took so long but I had to reread Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground. Under penalty of death I could not have told you want happened in those books and I didn't want to read Fair Game without the right background.

I will be a good little reviewer and not spoil the big surprised at the end and instead talk about the best thing with this series - character development. It's even more clear when you read them back to back how delicately Briggs is handling the development of Anna's character; from victim to independent woman she has grown and changed - and not just in relation to Charles. The mate-bond is a big deal and of course important to their relationship but Charles doesn't want Anna's strength to come solely from him; I guess you could say it's his Native American ancestry, but he wants her to go out and grow for herself, to become someone who knows their own strengths and weaknesses without boundaries. Not trying to sound corny, but it's really very beautiful.

I'll leave you with a little note to those who have already read the book - I'm a little bloodthirsty so I FREAKING LOVED IT and can't wait to see what happens next.

Overall Feeling - A

Series - 1) Cry Wolf 2) Hunting Ground 3) Fair Game

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

***Awkward and Awesome Thursday is hosted by Sydney at The Daybook. It's a style/life blog but I love her personality and think inserting a bit more of my own here is never a bad thing :). I can't promise them every week but I'll do what I can!

Awkward

-85 degree weather in March. I am not prepared for the sudden influx of heat and I miss Spring dammit! Not summer.

-No longer wanted but volunteered for responsibility. I feel as if lately all I've been doing are things that I feel like I 'have' to do which is a crock - I don't have to do anything but continue breathing, get old, and die.

-Trying to clear out my closet - again - and finding that the clothes I have now I mostly like and don't want to get rid of.

-Finding a new face serum that I love and might actually work but then realizing it's kind of hideously expensive.

-Twitter. I'm so bad at it it's laughable. How does one tweet when they're having fun when it seems to require you to stop having fun to do it?

-This pseudo case of carpal that I have going on. My right wrist is not having a good week.

-Other people who have me Google for them. I am not your Google-r ok? I promise, your fingers can work the keyboard just as well as mine can.

Awesome

-New books. These never suck :D

-Sitting on the roof during lunch, enjoying the sun and reading. It might suck to sit staring at the beautiful day outside my window but that time during lunch is pretty amazing.

-Lowlights! Or highlights. Whatever you want to call them, I love the new pieces of color throughout my hair.

-The Cherry Blossoms in DC. They're just starting to open up and I can't wait to see them in full bloom.

-A bit of an oldy, but new bags from HauteLook. I'm trying to incorporate the 'day clutch' into my outfits, but I haven't quite figured out how to function when you've always got one hand busy.

-Good skin days. As an acne sufferer I really appreciate days when I feel like my skin is looking good. Less makeup? Not always a bad thing for me. (I wish they'd last a little longer though)

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance.

Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...

A lifetime of training isn't enough to prepare Verity for what's ahead- especially not for Dominic De Luca, the Covenant's newest operative. When a Price girls meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed.

~~

It's nice to be surprised by a book every once and a while ;). Apparently I let my stalking tendencies take a break because when I went into Barnes and Noble on Tuesday for the latest new releases, guess what *wasn't* on my list? A new Seanan McGuire. 

Discount Armageddon is the start of a new urban fantasy series and I've got say that it's not bad - not bad at all. I had a bit of a slow start, mostly because I don't think I was prepared for the change in tone between this and her Toby Daye books, but Verity really starts to grow on you. She's a smartass who knows what she's talking about and isn't willing to let people rest on ignorance or disavow what's right in front of them. 

The mystery here was top notch as usual - McGuire never seems to let me assume anything and right when I think I know whodunnit I'm confronted with brand new information that changes everything. The monsters, or cryptids, are very unique and well thought out; I never felt like they were an afterthought or something just thrown in. Instead they were characters in and of themselves, with skill sets that could either help or harm Verity.

Combine an intricate plot with great characters and a willingness to kick ass and you've got a good beginning to what I think will be a great series. 

Overall Feeling - B

Series - 1) Discount Armageddon

Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and Petra's husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister's two young children - neither of which she is prepared for.

Yet, she is not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn prince of House Marid - driven by his genuine caring for the children - has decided to make himself a part of the household both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace's impudence toward the Elder Races.

But when an attempt is made on Grace's life, she realizes that Khalil is the only one who can protect her - and offer her more than a mortal man...

~~

Can I just say one word?

LOVE.

I loved this book! It's so freaking good!! Khalil and Grace are just awesome - her spunk and tenacity, his non-overbearing Alpha male instincts and sex appeal - they're perfect together and their journey is so fun to read. This book has great supporting characters, action, a mystery to be solved and powers to be controlled; all the earmarks of a great paranormal and with Khalil and Grace the romance is never left out or forgotten. I cannot recommend this book enough and hope you pick up the rest of the books first as I can't see this series going anywhere but up :D.

Overall Feeling - A+

Series - 1) Dragon Bound 2) Storm's Heart 3) Serpent's Kiss 4) Oracle's Moon 5) Lord's Fall (not yet released)

Teaser Tuesdays (3/6)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"He felt it again, the shift of the world's axis, the conviction that true north had moved and nothing would ever be the same again.

He felt it. He just had no idea what it meant."

--pg 27, True Colors by Thea Harrison

February in Review

Via

Late is better than never right? Well February was a hard month in the whole reading department because it almost felt like my mind was too burnt out to read. I couldn't imagine sitting down and picking up a new book - there just didn't seem like there was room. I was helping out on a project back at my alma mater that required much time, travel, and organization and apparently I can only do so much of all that at the same time without losing my mind.

BUT things are looking up - I'm done with that side project, I've managed to clean my house (though they're some scrubbing still to be done) and I'm slowly working my way up to the Kim Harrison that I was *supposed* to read weeks ago.

Yay for surviving! 

Also, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! I hope everyone got to eat copious amounts of chocolate and spend the day with whoever means the most to you - significant others, family, friends, etc. I quite enjoyed the time on my couch and an early night's sleep.

The Stanislaski Brothers by Nora Roberts (A+)

Montana Sky by Nora Roberts (Mini Me)

Waiting for Nick by Nora Roberts (A+)

Considering Kate by Nora Roberts (A+)

Worth the Risk by Nora Roberts

Buckhorn Brothers - Morgan by Lori Foster (B)

Buckhorn Brothers - Gabe by Lori Foster (B)

Buckhorn Brothers - Jordan by Lori Foster (B)

Shadow Game by Christine Feehan

Mind Game by Christine Feehan

The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning

The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Into the Dreaming by Karen Marie Moning (Mini Me)