Saturday, April 30, 2011

Moving Day!

Please excuse the mess. I'm in the process of moving my blog from WordPress to Blogger--something I never thought I would say, especially since I left blogger 7 years ago for WordPress. While I'm just redirecting on the technical side because it's easier than changing my whole domain name, I'm still having to move my content, which takes time. I appreciate your patience as I get things moved.

Thanks!!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Review: The Vampire Dimitri

Author: Colleen Gleason {site}
Genre: Supernatural, Dark Fantasy, Historical Romance
Format: Adobe Digital Editions
Published: 26 April 2011
Disclosure: Received for review via NetGalley

Synopsis: {via amazon}

Dimitri, also known as the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed—and bewitched—the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.


Miss Woodmore's family has a rather…complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women's intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except passion.


In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitri come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation and fiercest desire.

Review:

I could literally go on and on, gushing about how much I loved this book. I read The Vampire Voss in February, I even ended up enjoying it (thought I didn’t initially), but The Vampire Dimitri is so much better than it’s predecessor. Dimitri and Maia are much more likable characters than Voss and Angelica — truly it was Dimitri’s character that kept me reading Voss, I’d likely have quit at the start were it not for him. Truly, I have a thing for dark, brooding characters. Quick witted, rakish character’s are okay, but I enjoy the dark ones so much more. Dimitri is just that, he’s dark and self loathing, and one cannot help but love him for it.

I also love Maia, who unlike her sister Angelica, is not a giggling daisy of a girl. Rather, she is strong willed, opinionated, and has strength of conviction. She and Dimitri make a perfect couple. They’re both cerebral and love one another a little bit too much for their own good. I did enjoy the cameo’s by both Voss and Angelica in this novel, however.  I also enjoyed seeing Chas (the Woodmore brother) and Narcise, his vampire lover.  It made a nice set up for the final book in the trilogy, The Vampire Narcise — which I have recently gotten from NetGalley!!

This book was so good, in fact, that I read the entire thing in one night. I rarely do that, I’m entirely too busy to keep glued to a book for more than a few hours at a time, but this book swallowed me up whole and refused to let me go until it was finished, likely a reaction to my anticipation. So, if you love historical fiction, vampire stories, and romance novels, this book is an absolute must! This series is an absolute must. It’s certainly takes a new spin on an old formula.

Available for {paperback | kindle}


Rating:

Friday, April 8, 2011

Review: New World Orders

Author: Edward G. Talbot {site}
Genre: Dystopian, Political Intrigue, Suspense
Format: Kindle (.mobi)
Published: 15 February 2011
Disclosure: Received from the Author (review copy)

Synopsis: {via author's site}

In the nineteen-sixties, a group of wealthy men concludes that it's already too late to stop global warming from destroying the planet. But they have a plan to save themselves.

Twenty years later, Jack Crowley and Jim Patterson stumble onto the conspiracy, and every answer they find is accompanied by more questions - and more deaths.

Jack is a former idealist, turned cynical by his years working as a New York tabloid editor. But his enthusiasm returns as he looks into the work of a NASA scientist who tells Jack about cover-ups at the space agency. Jim is a detective with little patience for conspiracy nuts. But he hates loose ends, and is unable to let go of the inconsistencies in another suspicious NASA death. Soon, his investigation leads him to Jack, and they join forces.

As Jack and Jim dig deeper, they are targeted by the type of killers that don't usually miss. From Washington to Las Vegas to the Middle East, they manage to stay one step ahead of their pursuers in a race to expose the truth, and maybe, just maybe, save the world.

Review:

I won't lie, New World Orders is not my usual reading.  I'm somewhat stuck in the paranormal, paranormal romance, romantic comedy-type reading rut, but when offered the chance to read this book I jumped at the opportunity for three reasons: the synopsis was interesting, the author was very nice, and it had gotten some good reviews by people I respect -- like James Melzer.  There was simply no way I could pass, after all, what was the worst that could happen, I could dislike it? Now that I'm done, I'm terribly glad that I stepped outside of my usual reading milieu; I don't think I could have enjoyed this book more.

It's very much a "what happens when political intrigue (and a "bad guy" that's quite likable, I think) meets ecological crisis."  The plot's premise was interesting and well formulated, with no plot holes or loose ends. The characters are very well fleshed out, and quite unique, and I enjoyed seeing some rather famous personalities along the way (I won't say who, I'd hate to ruin the surprise!). The setting is well developed and quite easy to imagine, and the book's pace is almost break-neck.  It moves quite quickly, but the pace has a way of sucking you in.  It certainly kept me turning the page -- I lost a heck of a lot of sleep on this book!

One of the most impressive things, however, was how theatrical this book was. I could imagine the whole thing, playing out in my mind in perfect detail, like a movie plays out on the screen. It's that visually stimulating. The writing is so crisp and well edited, and the e-book is so well formated, that no distraction from the story occurs along the way. The prose flow naturally, from one point to the next, in a very clear and followable way.

New World Orders is a must read, I highly recommend it to all readers, and at only .99¢ it's an absolute steal!

Rating:




Available for {kindle | nook | smashwords}