Teaser Tuesdays (7/30)

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!)
 
"He broke her wide open, until something raw and trembling and utterly new crawled out of her old, outdated skin, and it was more fierce and possessive then she had ever been before."

-- pg 72, The Wicked by Thea Harrison

Indexing by Seanan McGuire (Kindle serial)

“Never underestimate the power of a good story.”

Good advice…especially when a story can kill you.

For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected—perhaps infected is a better word—by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.

That's where the ATI Management Bureau steps in, an organization tasked with protecting the world from fairy tales, even while most of their agents are struggling to keep their own fantastic archetypes from taking over their lives. When you're dealing with storybook narratives in the real world, it doesn't matter if you're Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or the Wicked Queen: no one gets a happily ever after.
~~

**Review based on Parts 1-5 of Indexing**

Awesome? Scary as hell? I'm having a hard time beginning this review (maybe it's because I just finished the five parts last night?) but I don't feel it's a stretch to call Indexing one of my favorite urban fantasies available. Even in five short installments McGuire has created a compelling world where the Disney and Grimm fairytales are remixed into stories with wills of their own, stories that demand completion, no matter who (or what) might get in their way. 

Indexing focuses on a team of four people in ATI - Henry, Sloane, Jeff and Andy - men and women determined to protect the public from fairytales gone awry. All except Andy have been part of their own stories in the past, though only some of those stories have been concluded. For Henry and Sloane, two women still inextricably linked to the storylines they were born into, each time they face an incursion their very existence is at risk. They could accidentally be triggered into finishing a story as the characters laid out by the incursion they're dealing with, or be turned into the people prescribed by the circumstances of their birth.

And best of all it's still available on Amazon for $2.99!

Overall Feeling - A

Series - Serial 

Prince of Secrets by Lucy Monroe

100% Determined

Prince Demyan Zaretsky does whatever it takes to protect his country. So seducing Chanel Tanner will be easy. And marriage? An unfortunate side effect of duty. She unwittingly holds the economic stability of Volyarus in her hands...and he must secure it.

100% Devastating!

With his royal identity and intent disguised, Demyan sets about a ruthless seduction designed to make Chanel lose her mind with ecstasy. But when he discovers she is a virgin, he uncovers something in himself-a conscience. Now his plan takes a shocking turn-one this dark-hearted prince had never anticipated!  
~~

You know, with a title like Prince of Secrets and a summary  that makes Demyan sound like the more typical Harlequin alpha-hole, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. I've read Monroe in the past and One Night Heir was good but wow - this book was really good. Like great, good.

Right from the beginning neither of these people were just stereotypes. Chanel might be named after a designer with her nose stuck to the microscope, but she's observant. She cares about what happens around her and when Demyan flirts with her she isn't overwhelmed by his attention - she's wary. Demyon could have been judgmental or consumed by the threat Chanel posed to Volyarus; instead, when he's bowled over by his own feelings for her, he becomes human for the readers and kind of also for himself. He unexpectedly ends up pushing for marriage to ensure his own happiness.

And this is a fantastic case where the whole is more than the sum of its parts, because Chanel and Demyan lift each other up, whether it's in bed or in front of their (at times) taxing families. Their HEA is believable and rocky enough to make think that since they've had to confront the depths of what they mean to each other here, they won't take it for granted later. Add in a bittersweet but heartwarming epilogue and you've got a winner.

Overall Feeling - A+

Series - 1) One Night Heir 2) Prince of Secrets

*Title requested from NetGalley*

Teaser Tuesdays (7/23)

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!)
 
"Are you flirting with me?" she demanded, her gray eyes widening with shock.

"I might be." Awkward and this woman were on very friendly speaking terms. 

--pg 17, Prince of Secrets by Lucy Monroe

Marked by Elisabeth Naughton

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
~~

I think I might be OD-ing on new paranormal romance series. There wasn't anything particular bad about Marked but I can't say I'm all hyped to continue reading more either.  It's a little formulaic; Theron is the leader of his team Argonats, who fight against the forces of Atalanta (demon bad guys); but stumbles upon Casey in a strip club when he's out searching for his wayward fiance. Sparks ensue, demons attack, and Casey ends up bringing Theron back to her place for some lavender scented healing. 

Honestly it's a mix of Greek mythology reinvented in such a way that I'm reminded both of J.R. Ward's BDB series and Sherrily Kenyon's Dark-Hunter books. If you're in the mood for this kinda stuff I think the relationship between Casey and Theron was written well and very spicy, but Isadora is unfortunately confined to her role as Princess and Queen-to-be and the crap she takes annoys me. From the sounds of it things will get better for her soon but it's going to get worse before that happens and I'm not sure I'm invested enough to keep going.

Overall Feeling - B-

Series - 1) Marked 2) Entwined 3) Tempted 4) Raptured 5) Enslaved 6) Bound

It's a Boy! by Victoria Pade *ARC Review*

In her latest Camdens of Colorado story, USA TODAY bestselling author Victoria Pade introduces readers to a suddenly single father—and the woman who might be his perfect match, if they can get past  their feuding familes!

Lang Camden has the daddy of all dilemmas! He just found out he's a dad…of a rambunctious two-year-old. He's now the sole guardian of said toddler and he's never pulled diaper duty in his life! What's a man to do?

Enter Heddy Lanrahan, the widowed baker who's as luscious as her cheesecakes. Lang's on a mission to help her business, and Heddy willingly lends a helping hand with his child. The chemistry between them is off the charts—but the history between their two families is complicated, and if Heddy lets herself love this man and his little boy, she could lose everything. Is it a risk she's willing to take…for love? 
~~

Titles like It's a Boy! are Harlequin's bread and butter - and for good reason. Both Heddy and Lang are very likeable interesting characters, who are trying to work through a heap ton of emotional baggage and life upheavals. For the most part I enjoyed the whole story, though I do think that there are a few too many romance tropes used at once.

I think if the only back story going in had been the feud between Lang and Heddy's families the romance between the two still could have sustained the book; instead we throw in the surprise baby and recovering widow plot devices and while they didn't really detract from the whole, I wouldn't say they added anything either. Maybe I'm a bit of a traditionalist, but I'm ok when the romance is the focus - the extended family/small town vibe is great, but in a shorter format all the extras became background noise. Pade has crafted strong enough personalities for Heddy and Lang (and Cam to the extent that's plausible, lol) that readers want to know keep reading about their HEA, myself included.

I'd still like to backtrack and get a feel for the rest of the Camdens though, since family series are some of my favorite to read.

Overall Feeling - C+

Series - 1) Corner Office Courtship 2) A Baby in the Bargain 3) It's a Boy!

*Title requested from NetGalley*

Mini Me: Kamikaze by Moira Rogers

Zoe Bennett is an inexperienced werewolf in the grip of her mating cycle. With no pack and no mate, Zoe must brave the supernatural crowds of Last Call, the bar where your drink order tells everyone what you need. Kamikaze: Werewolf in heat, looking for a temporary mate.

The chase is on, and security specialist Connor O'Malley intends to win, if only because the sweet young woman at the bar looks unprepared for what the night might bring, in and out of the bedroom. Little does he know that, when he catches her, he may not be satisfied being just a temporary mate
~~

At 36 pages Kamikaze is more like the first chapter or two of a novel then an actual story in and of itself. As a freebie from Amazon it's not really a big deal, but I don't think I was quite ready for the abrupt ending. The whole thing revolves around Zoe and her need for a partner to give her some 'relief' from her mating cycle. It's pretty typical though I wish there'd been a more suspense or build-up to her choosing Connor. There wasn't any competition even though it's advertised as a 'free for all' and even when they share glances before she picks him, Zoe and Connor don't even seem that aware of each other.

Still it's a spicy short that sets up the Last Call series and from the little hints of larger story I think future books could be pretty good.