March Madness: Paranormal romance books due out March 30! March 27, 2010
Posted by Diana McCabe in Book lists, Releases, Reviews/summaries.Tags: Alexandra Ivy, DD Barant, Patricia Briggs, Rhyannon Byrd, Richelle Mead
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I’m still preoccupied with March Madness hoops, but I did remember that several authors will release some good reads at the end of month. Here are a few I’m hoping to pick up. Did I leave anything out? Let me know. Also, next up this week: A book pick from Dot!
Books coming out March 30!!!!
BEYOND THE DARKNESS (GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY BOOK) BY ALEXANDRA IVY
Book blurb listed on Amazon.com: Salvatore Giuliani is not a happy werewolf. It’s his duty as leader to track down the pureblood females who can keep his people from extinction. But the moment he catches scent of Harley, a pureblood held by a pack of mangy curs, his savage need for her obliterates all other instincts. And the only thing worse than being captured is finding that beautiful, independent Harley defiantly refuses to become his mate. Harley has been taught to distrust all Weres, especially their arrogant king. She won’t be used for breeding or bonded against her will, not even to a man who makes every nerve tingle with awareness. Yet Salvatore is her key to saving the family she never knew she had – if she dares to succumb to his dark, predatory desire, and face a vicious enemy sworn to destroy them both…
Read my interview with Alexandra Ivy HERE!
DEATH BLOWS: THE BLOODHOUND FILES BY DD BARANT
Book blurb listed on Amazon.com: FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America—and her boss is a vampire. At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash—a character who isn’t supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she’s following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics—where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term “super-villain”…
Read our writeup on the first novel in DD Barant’s series — DYING BITES — HERE.
SILVER BORNE (MERCY THOMPSON BOOK 5) BY PATRICIA BRIGGS
Book blurb listed on Amazon.com (Publisher’s Weekly): Coyote-shifting garage mechanic Mercedes Thompson, now mated to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, embarks on her exciting fifth dark fantasy adventure (after 2009′s bestselling Bone Crossed). Three subplots—Mercy’s attempt to return a magical book to a fae friend-of-a-friend, her difficulties integrating into Adam’s pack, and her roommate Samuel’s misery over being a lone Alpha—come together seamlessly, and excitement builds as Mercy and her loved ones go through ever more intense experiences, including a house fire, a suicide attempt, a death sentence, and a reunion between long-ago loves. Briggs creates both well-rounded characters and a complex mythology, resulting in a rich read that’s far more than a series of action adventures strung together. Fans of the series will be thrilled; new readers should start at the beginning or risk drowning in the immersive world-building.
SUCCUBUS SHADOWS (GEORGINA KINCAID BOOK 5) BY RICHELLE MEAD
Book blurb listed on Amazon.com: Georgina Kincaid has formidable powers. Immortality, seduction, shape-shifting into any human form she desires, walking in heels that would cripple mere mortals–all child’s play to a succubus like her. Helping to plan her ex-boyfriend’s wedding is a different story. Georgina isn’t sure which is worse–that Seth is marrying another woman, or that Georgina has to run all over Seattle trying on bridesmaid dresses. Still, there are distractions. Georgina’s roommate, Roman, is cluttering her apartment with sexual tension. Then there’s Simone, the new succubus in town, who’s intent on corrupting Seth. But the real danger lies in the mysterious force that’s visiting her thoughts, trying to draw her into a dark, otherworldly realm. Sooner or later, Georgina knows she’ll be too weak to resist. And when that happens, she’ll discover who she can trust, who she can’t — and that Hell is far from the worst place to spend eternity …
TOUCH OF SEDUCTION BY RHYANNON BYRD
Book blurb listed on Amazon.com: Sold into slavery as a child to a cruel taskmaster, tiger-shifter Aiden Shrader trusts no one. Not even his own kind. Yet as a member of the Watchmen — the organization of shape-shifters who keep watch over the ancient nonhuman race — Aiden is fiercely protective of the helpless. Never more so than when he’s asked to guard a little girl with witches’ blood — and her beautiful human aunt. A woman who arouses all of Aiden’s primal urges … urges he must resist. To small-town schoolteacher Olivia Harcourt, the massive tiger-shifter with the glowing amber eyes is as much a dark mystery as the enemy stalking her. Yet Aiden is her only hope of surviving. Until their intense passion unleashes her own inner tigress with a ferocity that will make the evil Casus rue the day they messed with her family … and will take Aiden by seductive surprise.
Book pick: DD Barant’s ‘Dying Bites’ is thriller literally out of this world! January 13, 2010
Posted by Diana McCabe in Authors, Reviews/summaries.Tags: DD Barant, Dying Bites, golem, Jace, vampire, werewolf
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So my little sis from Philly (San) will send me books to read and blurbs on books she likes. Here’s one we both love. DYING BITES by DD Barant. San says “I love tough chicks. You know the girl, with or without supernatural powers … your choice … who is tough enough to do battle with the bad guys and also smart enough to verbally spar with her nemesis, too.” That’s what the heroine of this book has got. Jace Valchek can physically fight and mentally beat her enemies to a pulp. We both think DYING BITES is the start of a promising new series!
So here’s the premise of the story. Jace Valchek is an FBI profiler who tracks mentally fractured killers. David Cassius, head vampire of the NSA, rips her from her world and hires her to solve a series of bizarre murder of vampires and werewolves. Yup — we’re talking a parallel universe here. A place where only 1 percent of the population is human. Who or what else is there? Lycanthropes (43%), vampires (37%)(, golem (19%). Jace is stranded in a world that doesn’t understand mental illness and has loads of weird paranormal creatures . She can only return to her world when she’s captured or eliminated the serial killer. But there’s a twist. The killer might be human. Oh, did we mention that some of these other paranormal creatures want to wipe out what’s left of the human race? In this book Barant creates an interesting “other” world. This new world and our reality at one time had a shared history. At some time in the past, however, the paranormal creatures broke away from our world. As the differences that define the two worlds are revealed, there are interesting differences and tweaks.
Jace is a tough chick but not annoyingly so. She gets kicked around a bit but keeps on fighting. She’s not a damsel in distress. As a human in a paranormal universe, she is at the bottom of the food chain but she is gutsy and funny. Jace begins to develop friendships with her partner, a golem, a nerdy werewolf and a vampire. She even kind of likes her doc, who looks in on her from time to time to see how she’s adjusting to her new world.
It’s not a surprise, but not all is revealed in this first book. For example, there are serious questions about who Jace can trust in this new universe. There are questions about the shadowy past of the NSA. There is also clearly the beginning of love interests in this book as well but there are several potential problems with these candidates, too.
Barant writes her book in first person. But it’s great. You always know what the other characters are feeling since they all kind of feel a little bit of empathy for her. You won’t find any hot and heavy sex scenes or profanity. But there is a lot of wit, sarcasm and dry humor since Jace finds that our worlds have take some quirky turns in history. And if you like crime stories — this one is an interesting one. It’s kind of gory in parts when a body’s been ripped apart in some obscene way. But there’s nothing offensive or gross. This is a fast-paced fun read that had us laughing in a lot of spots and wondering what would happen next!
And remember, the next book in her series — DEATH BLOWS — comes out in March!
