Stacking the Shelves #17

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Welcome back to Stacking the Shelves, a regular meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the latest books you have added to your shelves, physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course e-books!

I got a bit carried away on Netgalley this week, and have requested far too many books! So far two of them have been approved, but there are still several pending – I just hope I can find time to read them all! The first was The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong, which looks soooooo good!

The second was The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone, which was a featured book as part of Netgalley’s 2015 challenge. This one took my fancy because of its blurb and the quirky cover.

Finally, I bought Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole from Audible this week. I needed a book with the word “shadow” in the title to complete a reading challenge, and haven’t read this IAD series offshoot yet.

So that’s it for this week. Keep an eye out for my reviews of these in coming weeks. So what new books did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments.

Stacking the Shelves #5

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Welcome back to Stacking the Shelves, a regular meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the latest books you have added to your shelves, physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course e-books! Here is my haul from this week.

Purchased from Audible

Audible had a half-price sale on my entire wishlist, so of course I couldn’t let that pass. I purchased Endless Knight by Kresley Cole, Off the Grid by Faith Hunter, and pre-ordered One Night With You by Marie Force.

Approved from Netgalley

Netgalley approved my request for The One In My Heart, a new contemporary romance by Sherry Thomas.

Purchased from iBooks

While waiting to see if I’d won a competition for Catherine Robertson‘s new book, The Hiding Places – I think I was unsuccessful – I downloaded her free novella, May Day, from New Zealand iBooks. I also received my pre-order of Story of Son, by J.R. Ward.

Purchased from Amazon

My only other purchase this week was from Amazon, and was The Shadows by J.R. Ward.  I waited a couple of weeks for the price to come down before I bought this, purely because I’m not sure I’m going to like it once I start reading, based on all my friends’ reviews, and it would annoy me more if I had paid top dollar for it! The price had dropped by a third since its release day, so I think it was worth waiting.

Keep an eye out for my reviews of these in coming weeks. So what new books did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments.

Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night, by Kresley Cole

Format: Paperback, 359 pages

Published: First published October 30, 2007

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Back cover blurb: Her breathless kiss haunts him… Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed — until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive.

His slow, hot touch is irresistible…

Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go.

No deed is too wicked for her seduction…

If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul — or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?

My review: Oh, Bowen! What a scrumptious beast you are! You may be my new favourite IAD man… it’s a tough choice between you and Bastian. This story had me frustrated and then hot, and frustrated some more, and then surprised – the whole gamut of emotions, which is great in a book. I couldn’t put it down, and that ending was quite a finale. Mariketa was another kickass heroine I loved, and I also enjoyed the introduction of the new demon characters who I see will get their own stories later in the series.

I’ve said before I love the new covers, but here is my only gripe: the dude on this one doesn’t look anything like a Lykae. In fact, the guy on the previous book did, so maybe they got them mixed up and this is meant to be Bastian? He looks more vamp than were to me. Not a big problem, though. This is still a winner.

My rating: 5/5

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow #16: Review-Go-Round

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that runs over the weekend, hosted by Crystal from one of my favourite blog sites, Reading Between the Wines.

Question of the Week:  Please share three books that are in your review pile (and unread) right now.

I apologise for not having participated in this meme for a while, but here I am back again, admitting my TBR pile is HUGE! I have a huge list of unread books on my Kindle, and a pile of a dozen or more books gathering dust beside my bed.

Top of the gathering-dust pile at the moment is No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole, which I’ve had since last year sometime.  I plan to read it this month for a Good Reads challenge – but I’ve said that before, lol!

I also plan to read Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost this month for the same challenge, and I’ve had that for about as long as the Kresley Cole. I bought it last year on sale and just can’t seem to get up enough enthusiasm to read Mencheres’ story

Finally, and probably the most embarrassing of all, I have been daunted by the size of A Breath of Snow and Ashesby Diana Gabaldon, which has been in that pile since the book came out in 2006! It’s just too big! I’ve had the next book in the series on my Kindle for a year or more, too, so I really must get onto it. Bad me.

Don’t even get me started on the other books in that pile – mostly presents which hold little appeal. But I will get to them one day!

What about you? What’s been on your bedside table for a while? Leave a comment below or link up HERE to follow the meme.

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow #1

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that runs over the weekend, hosted by Crystal from one of my favourite blog sites, Reading Between the Wines. I’m very late to the partay with this one, but it’s still the weekend in America so here I go joining in the fun!

Question of the week: If you could have a girls’ night out (or guys’ night out) with three of your favorite authors who would they be and why?

1. E.L. James – I’m part of her editing team but I’ve never met her in person. I think she would be great company for a night out on the town, especially if it was in her hometown of London 😉
2. J.R. Ward – I could pick her crazy brain, give her a few suggestions, and maybe find out what she looks like without those sunglasses!
3. Kresley Cole – She sounds like a really fun chick – and she might bring Paul Marron with her!

If I could invite a man along (other than Paul, of course!) I might include Sylvain Reynard, because he would be a great conversationalist and he gets on well with Ms. James. Seeing them together would be a blast!

So what about you? Who would you take on a night on the town? Leave a comment below or link up HERE to follow the meme.

The Warlord Wants Forever, by Kresley Cole

Format: Free PDF ebook, 113 pages

Published: 2006

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Back cover blurb:

Nikolai Wroth, once a ruthless human warlord in the 1700s and now a general in the rebel vampire army, needs to find his Bride, the one woman who can render him truly alive. As a turned human, he doesn’t enjoy a heartbeat or breaths and is consequently weaker than fully blooded vampires. He wants his Bride for the power she will bring him and can hardly believe it when his heart beats for Myst the Coveted, a mad, fey, mythological creature.

Myst is known throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, part chillingly fierce warrior, part beguiling seductress who can “make you want her even as she’s killing you.” She has devoted her life to protecting an ancient, powerful jewel and to fighting the vampires, and she now sees a way to torment one—for with Wroth’s heartbeat comes consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her.

She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen the jewel which commands her, giving him absolute power over her. While he possesses it, he can make her do anything, and he plans to in order for her to experience first hand the agonizing, unending lust she’d purposely subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Wroth realizes he wants more from her and frees her, will she come back to him?

The first in Cole’s Immortals After Dark series was originally published as one of three novellas in “Playing Easy to Get”. It was also available on its own as a special promotional ebook from Simon & Schuster.

My review:

This little novella was incredibly hot! My Kindle keeps recommending Kresley Cole to me, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read about Valkyries – I had a picture in my head of husky girls with horned helmets, lol! – but it turns out they are hot, kick-ass modern women who have just been around a very long time and know a few tricks 😉

The cover made me think this story was set much further back in time, to the era when vampire Nikolai was first a warrior, so I kept being surprised every time something modern, like the Pussycat Dolls or Agent Provocateur lingerie, was mentioned. Of course, Nikolai still had some of those old-fashioned attitudes, but that just added to the sexual tension. Rawr.

The next (full-sized) book in the series apparently introduces werewolves, which aren’t usually my cup of tea, but having been introduced to this world I am now quite interested in how the sisters will all pair up. I’m particularly intrigued about who Nikolai’s brother Murdoch might have blooded, but I think that story is well down in the series.

The free pdf, which also includes excerpts from her other novels in the series, is available HERE. I really recommend it. Did I mention it was hot??

My rating: 4/5