Book Review: Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

I really enjoyed this fast paced steampunk version of a not quite Vampire tale.

Kiss of Steel
by Bec McMaster

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (September 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402270275
• ISBN-13: 978-1402270277

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Steampunk
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Release Date: September 1, 2012
"Action, adventure, steampunk, and blazing hot seduction...Bec McMaster offers it all."—Eve Silver, author of Sins of the Flesh
A brilliantly creative debut where vampires, werewolves, and clockwork creatures roam the mist–shrouded streets of London...
When Nowhere is Safe
Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it's the last safe haven. But at what price?
Blade is known as the master of the rookeries—no one dares cross him. It's been said he faced down the Echelon's army single–handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood–craving he's been quicker, stronger, and almost immortal.
When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She's so...innocent. He doesn't see her backbone of steel—or that she could be the very salvation he's been seeking.

Review:
This 'vampire' story has a different bite. It is set in a wonderfully steampunk Victorian England with strong characters and a good action plot.

In Honoria's world the upperclass are the infected Blue Bloods, the ruling houses of the Echelon who are allied with the Queen. They have their armies of metaljackets and the specially trained Nighthawk warriors. Honoria was once a 'lady' with expectations of becoming a respected "thrall" to one of the Blue Blood families. Her father was a brilliant scientist who was experimenting to develop a cure or at least a vaccine against the blood craving virus that will first give a man strength and heightened abilities but eventually degenerates into the bestial vampires that are executed at first signs of deterioration. Honoria was her father's research assistant and kept a diary almost as good as his.

When her father is murdered by his cruel and vicious patron, Lord Vickers, Honoria flees with the diaries and her younger sister and brother. They are in hiding in Whitechapel which is full of dangers and under the control of the infamous Blade. Honor has caught the eye of Blade and although she resists his interest she is soon desperate with nowhere else and no one else to turn to for help.

Blade is the most famous infected being who escaped the clutches and experiments of the Echelon. He now rules in Whitechapel with the aid of a mixed group of henchmen including a 'verwulfen' and some mechanically strengthened humans.  In addition to her beauty, Blade is interested in Honoria because he knows that Vickers has a price on her head. Blade has a personal score to repay for his own tragic loss brought about by Vickers.

Blade bargains with Honoria and her reluctance falls under his odd form of courtship. She discovers she can trust his gentleness as she has a way of bringing out his more honorable traits and even calming the beast within.

Blade has to cooperate with one of the Blue Blood lords, Barrons, who has some connection to Honoria. He doesn't want to be jealous but he doesn't like the secrets that keep Honor at arms length. As Blade and Barrons battle a rogue vampire a trap is set to capture Honor. Will Blade be able to save Honor from Vickers before he does harm? Will Honor be able to find a cure before Blade's disease progresses out of control?

I really loved Honor and Blade and their cautious courtship that finally blossoms with their passion. Their romance is sensual and steamy without ever seeming vulgar. Ms. McMasters does a grand job with world building a setting that is different and fascinating, especially since I enjoy steampunk features. The plot is believable and provided fast paced action and suspense. The secondary characters are drawn with appropriate depth to make them likeable or horribly villainous. I recommend this to readers who enjoy strong, romantic characters who face dangerous odds. Even if you aren't a big fan of vampire stories you might enjoy this steampunk version with its twisted bite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blade's sad thoughts:

A blue blood had no personal scent. No warmth. Sometimes he felt as tough he were slowly turning to marble, devoid of any of the touches of humanity that surrounded him. Until nothing but the hunger remained. Page 51.

What Honoria wants:

Someone to love her. Someone to hold her in his arms, to tell her that she was the center of his world. That he would look after her. Someone to trust. Someone to love back. Page 223

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Ms. McMaster for providing the book to review, sharing in Interview and providing Giveaway copy! See the Giveaway and Interview post next.

I will add this title to my New Author and ARC Challenges as well as Steampunk list.

Book Review with Giveaway Link: Dangerous Shift by Jill James

This is a good suspense with a twist on shapeshifting.
Dangerous Shift
By Jill James

• File Size: 294 KB
• Print Length: 254 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008RDPN72

Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
HE IS MR. BY-THE-BOOK, WITH A SECRET...
Shapeshifters live among us but remain unknown to most people except for the highest echelons of law enforcement, the military, science, and medical fields--until now.

SHE IS A LOOSE CANNON WITH AN ATTITUDE...
When a fatal virus strikes Shapeshifters all over the West coast, including members of the Shapeshifter Task Force in San Laura, California, reinforcements are called in from around the United States.

TOGETHER, THEY JUST MIGHT CATCH A KILLER.
Lt. Nikki Hill of Missouri comes to San Laura and is partnered up with Lt. Sean Evans. They quickly butt heads on everything from proper police procedures to the moral ethics of euthanasia. They can't seem to get a lead on the serial killer even as members of their own families are stricken with the virus. In their grief they turn to each other and hope they have time to discover if their relationship stands a chance or if they might just be the next victims of the species extinction disease.

Review:
There is a race of shapeshifters in the world that is little known to ‘normal’ humans. These shifters generally have male and female shifter personalities, with one being their dominant shape.  They have the ability to shift features, hair color, size and even to imitate other humans. Although there are latent animal traits they do not consciously shift to animal forms.

Lt. Sean Evans is a strong male cop; organized and by the book. He only uses his female side occasionally if needed for undercover work. His unit is suffering losses.  A vicious virus has killed his partner’s mate and his partner, Rodriguez is missing and it is feared he has been kidnapped by the serial killer. The virus speeds up the metabolism of the shifters causing continual shifting that wastes the body in painful contortions. Clearly shifters are the targets and so far the scientists have not been able to locate a cure.

Lt. Nikki Hill is brought in from the midwest to help the investigation team that is trying to find and stop the virus and whoever is using it.  Nikki is quick on her feet with an attitude that has allowed her to be strong and successful in her career.

Sean and Nikki have a bit of an antagonistic meeting but soon things heat up between them personally.  Surprisingly, they work well as a team, with their strengths of organization and deductive thinking balancing well together. But they are soon at odds again when Nikki learns details about Sean’s family that he didn’t warn her about. They also have differing opinions on euthanasia being used to stop the suffering of the infected shifters. Nikki is appalled by the idea until she is faced with the issue in a personal situation.

The villain is wonderfully psychotic and twisted. It is sad that the villain has forced and wrapped others into the scheme to eliminate the shifter race. The virus strikes close to home and Sean and Nikki find themselves in a race to trace the few clues to the killer before they become the next victims.

There are plenty of plot twists and action that kept this a good suspenseful read. There were a few scenes I questioned in my mind but they weren't enough to detract from the enjoyment. There are also several pretty spicy romance scenes. The characters are well developed with distinct personalities that lead to conflict and passion. I enjoyed the arguments Ms. James presents on the society biases and prejudices as well as discussion of the mercy killing for the virus ravaged shifters. The writing flows well with good pacing that makes the book move fairly quickly.

If you enjoy romantic suspense and paranormal you should try this book. Even if you don’t normally read paranormal, if you are a strong romantic suspense reader I still recommend you try this as it has a lot to offer in suspense, conflict, romance and societal issues.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sean responds to Nikki’s attitude about ‘normal’ humans.

“If we call them norms, what does that make us? Abnormal? Most of the trouble in the world is from placing labels on each other.”  Location 256.

Nikki realizing that perhaps she could love Sean.

Love and happiness didn’t happen every day. Sometimes you missed what was right in front of you because you grew too busy rushing around trying to find it, and all the time it was there.  Location 3176.

Thank you to the author for providing the eBook to review through Bewitching Book Tours.  Giveaway of Two Print copies and $25.00 Gift Card at this link.

This book will be added to my ARC and New Author Challenge lists.

ISBN: 9781476499673

ASIN: B008RDPN72

Number of pages: 222

Word Count: 76,000

Cover Artist: Elaina Lee, For The Muse Designs

Amazon   Barnes & Noble    Smashwords   All Romance eBooks

Author Bio:

Jill James didn’t start out wanting to be an author. Along the way she wanted to be an astronaut, President of the United States, a lawyer, and a doctor. Once married with children she realized she could be all those things in the pages of the stories she wrote.

She lives in Northern California with her husband, who is the inspiration for all her romance novel heroes.

http://www.jilljameswrites.com

http://www.twitter.com/jill_james

http://www.facebook.com/Jill.James.author

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4654661.Jill_James

EXCERPT:

Prologue

Fort San Laura Army Base

San Laura, California

May 2017

Sean Evans turned away as tears rolled down his ex-partner Colin Rodriguez’s face. The man sat by his fiancée’s bedside, her hand clasped in his, waiting for her to die. The sound of boot heels echoed up and down the hospital corridor. All marched past the closed door, none brave enough to stop at this room.

Sean stared at the dying woman. Paulette’s red hair was the only color in the monochrome-toned hospital room. Colin’s hand shook as he brushed the hair back from Paulette’s sweaty face. The virus wreaked havoc on the young woman.

Sean swallowed bile rising in his throat as the young Shapeshifter in the bed screamed. Her flesh boiled, roiling beneath the surface, and she screamed again. Her back arched off the bed. For months now, the Shapeshifter Task Force had been working to track down the cause of the virus and it struck close to home, killing two of their own. First, his own partner, Barry, and now, Paulette.

Her fingers turned into talons that dug into Colin’s hand. Blood dripped from the cuts onto the crisp, white sheet. Colin held her hand; the only sign of his pain was the grimace on his tanned face.

Sean rubbed his burning eyes, surprised to find tears on his own cheeks. He scrubbed the wetness away and raked his fingers through his hair. His tears wouldn’t help Paulette or Colin. Nothing could help them now. His hands clenched into fists at his side. He ached to punch a wall, anything to kill the tension in the room.

A scream built in his throat. Just last week he had sat here, forced to watch the young man, new to the task force, breathe his last. He stared into the ceiling lights, his eyes watered with the brightness. He repeated his personal mantra of calm and cool until his emotions mellowed, until they no longer threatened to overwhelm him.

He turned his head back as Paulette’s screams died down to whimpers. She had lost all control of her shifting. She grew fur and it disappeared. Her head changed shape as she shifted into a canine form, then a feline form, then back to her own. Her limbs flopped against the mattress as she convulsed. The shifting now happened every few seconds.

Colin threw himself across her body as if he could stop the tragedy from its conclusion.

“Noooo.” His voice ricocheted across the room and down the hall.

Sean rushed to his best friend’s side and ripped him up off of the dying Shifter. No one had discovered yet how the virus was transmitted. They didn’t need masks and gloves anymore, not in the last several months at least, but no one wanted to find out what full-body contact might do.

Colin struggled against Sean’s hold. Tears blurred Sean’s vision as Paulette struggled to breathe, and Colin’s cries became anguished sobs. His shoulders shook under Sean’s hands.

The monitor blared as Sean searched Paulette for any life signs and found none. Her chest didn’t move. She was gone. Just like Barry. Just like all the other Shifters in the past few months.

Sean turned away as Paulette’s flesh jellified and sank into the mattress, only a slight bump under the covers to show a living being had been there.

Colin’s anguish pierced his soul, and when Colin threw himself across the bed again.  Sean didn’t bother to stop him.  What did it matter when his friend had just lost his partner and the love of his life?

The sounds of harsh breaths and sobs still echoed in Sean’s ears when the door opened and the Captain of the Task Force rushed in. Sean turned to the man and shook his head.

Captain Connors motioned for Sean to talk to him outside. Sean shot a quick look to Colin and followed the captain outside to the hallway.

“Lieutenant Evans, with Robertson’s death today, added to the others, the task force is low on numbers. We will need to send word to the other task forces and ask for reinforcements.”

Sean’s hands formed into fists at his side. The human captain made no bones about his dislike of Shapeshifters, but Paulette’s body wasn’t even cold yet and he drudged up business decisions.

He took deep breaths and relaxed his hands. As the Lead Lieutenant in the task force, business took priority. Even over death.

“Will you send a request to the Southwest office in Las Vegas?” Their own task force office covered the Northwest—Northern California, part of Nevada, and all of Oregon, Washington state, and Idaho.

The captain shook his head. “A few cases have been reported in Los Angeles. We can’t risk it. I’ll request someone from the Midwest. No cases have been reported yet out there. There is a small task force in Columbia, Missouri, an hour outside St. Louis.”

Book Review: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

I enjoy this author's strong plots, unique paranormal elements and warm romance.

Moonglow (Darkest London)

by Kristen Callihan

• File Size: 600 KB
• Print Length: 417 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1455508586
• Publisher: Forever (July 31, 2012)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006FLRDPS

Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2012 | Series: Darkest London (Book 2)

Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion knows no bounds . . .

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

Review:

Daisy seems a bit skitter-brained but she is really a delightful and frank character.  She is a widow emerging from the ‘proper’ mourning period into freedom from a man who abused her verbally and mentally as well as physically.   She is exited to be free of repression and in a position to enjoy her exuberance and passion for life. Unfortunately her first attempt to step on the wild side results in her turning away from the man pressing kisses on her and seeing her good friend staring glassy eyed from a pool of blood with some creature sniffing about her face!

Lord Ian Ranulf, Marquis of Northrup, is the rightful Apha leader of the Ranulf pack. But he exiled himself from the pack decades before when he refused to challenge his younger brother who killed their father for the royal position of power.  Ian agonized through the lose of those he loved and decided he would shut himself off so he couldn’t be devastated by such lose again. Yet Ian has a great capacity for caring and he quickly comes to the rescue of a panicked Daisy when a sick werewolf turns to attack her.

It appears that the crazed werewolf is attacking women with a sent that matches Daisy’s rather unique fragrance, one she blends herself.  Daisy insists on being part of the investigation and Ian determines the best way to protect her is to keep her by his side. As Daisy faces danger she discovers a few secrets of her own background.

Ian's brother should control the problem of a sick werewolf in the territory, but he is failing to do so. Does the threat go deeper than Ian suspects?  Can he maintain his exile and still save the woman he is falling in love with?

This story includes strong action and a plot full of misunderstandings, intrigue, secrets, manipulation and deliberate deceit.  Ms. Callihan does an exceptional job of twining details of cultural and political circumstances into the paranormal world she has created in this series. 

Daisy and Ian are strong, passionate characters and I enjoyed the fun bantering between them. Although the intimate relationship turns pretty steamy, the emotional aspects of the romance are warm and tender.  Ms. Callihan’s portrayal of the love that blooms in Ian is enough to have any romance fan sighing in pleasure. The warm romance combined with a solid suspenseful plot made this a winner for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daisy hears Lord Ian’s voice:

His voice was at once lilting and light, yet rough. Silk over gravel. Location 287.

Daisy’s mouth runs on in a humorous fashion:

“Pay no mind to me, sir. There are times my mouth and brain forget to hold a conversation.”  Location 300.

A great description during the police investigation:

Step, turn, guide, release, one danced through an interrogation. Location 946.

Ian’s reaction to his growing feelings for Daisy:

Ah, but she killed him. She had cut out his heart and taken it for her own.  Location 3359.

I received this book from Hachette through NetGalley.

Audible Book Review: Timeless: The Parasol Protectorate, The Fifth

This has been a great listening series. If you like humor, Victorian settings and paranormal characters, I  highly recommend you try this fun series!
 

Timeless: The Parasol Protectorate, the Fifth

• UNABRIDGED
• by Gail Carriger
• Narrated by Emily Gray

Series: Parasol Protectorate, Book 5

Genre: Steampunk, Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

    
Publisher's Summary

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

Review:
Alexia, the strong minded protagonist, is coping with her ‘interesting’ life. She lives with her werewolf husband, Conall Maccon, the Alpha of the Woolsey pack.  The pair actually reside secretly next door to the pack home.  They live with a flamboyant vampire, Lord Akeldama, who is the adoptive father of Alexia and Conall’s child, Prudence.  This was a compromise to prevent the local (or previously local) vampire Hive from killing the child whom they perceive as a soul sucker.

Prudence does have unusual capabilities that only Alexia can help to control.  When Alexia, a preternatural, touches an immortal supernatural being, such as a werewolf or a vampire, they become only human.  When Prudence, a metanatural, touches them she exchanges form with them usually creating a bit of trouble, if not chaos.

Alexia receives a summons first to visit Countess Nadasdy, the leader of the former London Hive, now living in the country. The Countess delivers an even more important invitation that requests that Alexia and Prudence visit the Queen of the Alexandria Hive, the oldest Vampire. The request cannot be ignored even though it causes trepidation for everyone as they must travel to Egypt which is the known source of the God-Breaker Plague, a plague that steals the supernatural powers of the immortal beings. Soon the family is off on another harrowing, and humorous adventure.

I love the wonderfully distinct characters in this series. There is strength and humor in each. Alexia tries to be prim and proper which is hard for one so adventurous and forthright. Conall is droll and serious as his Scottish background and Alpha duties require of him. Akeldama, a gay Vampire, is completely flamboyant yet everything proper in London society. I love how Akeldama has pet names for Alexia and Prudence... like Buttercup or Daffodil.  Then there is Alexia’s faithful, lifelong servant, Floote.  He was with Alexia’s father when they were in Eqypt and has been Alexia’s protector since she was a child.  He is the quintessentially efficient butler or manservant, yet he has secrets from the times in Egypt that he will not reveal.

There are others too: Madame LeFoux, a member of the secretive Order of Brass Octopus, who (unlike Alexia) is always dressed impeccably--- or would be if she were a man. Biffy, a former Akeldama drone who is struggling to acclimate himself as a fairly new member of the Werewolf pack. Not to mention Ivy Tunstell, Alexia’s actress friend. All of these characters have been developed through the series and add wonderful color to each tale in varying degrees.

Although this book started a bit slowly for me, once it settled into the new adventure I didn’t want to put it down. This is Book 5 and it rounds out the the Parasol Protectorate series, wrapping together some loose ends and mysteries. However, looking at the author’s website reassures me that there will be future books involving Prudence, Alexia’s unusual progeny!

I have listened to all five books in this series and enjoyed them very much. The narrator does a wonderful job conveying the accents and personalities for each character. This allows the nuances of distaste, humor, fear and other emotions to flow through the reading.

This series is a mixture of Victorian, steampunk, adventure, romance and humor. It is just plain fun listening!

This book is from my own Audible Library.

If I were including countries on My Where Are You Reading Challenge this would fit in England and Egypt. I will include this with my Audio Challenge list.
{Watch for a Giveaway from this series soon to be posted in my July-August Blogoversary!}

Q&A With Caridad Pineiro, Author of The Claimed

Please help me welcome Caridad Piñeiro

author of

The Claimed (Sin Hunters)

Questions for Caridad:
Q1  What is a “Typical” day like for you?

CP:  I am an early riser and during the week I head to work on the train.  I usually write on the train during the commute and that gives me some solid time to write.  When I head home, I try to get in some exercise and lots of time with my family.  I don’t normally write at night because I’m too tired, but if a deadline calls, I will do so.  On the weekends, I sleep in a little later (until 6) and then get up and put in a few hours of writing.  Then it’s off to do household chores or maybe a nice long stroll along the boardwalk.

Q2  Claimed is part of the Sin Hunter Series. I am always curious about series books: did you have each book plotted out before you started the first one or did the subsequent books flow from the first book?

CP:  I had a very strong idea about the plots for the first two books.  I knew I was going to introduce the world and the Hunters in the first book and then really build on their powers and the mythology in the second.  Of course, I also knew what the romances would be like in both because for me it’s important to have a strong emotional arc for the characters.  As I was finishing up the second book, I knew which two characters would headline in the third and based on what had happened in the battles, created the storyline for books 3 and 4 – THE SHATTERED and THE HUNTED.

Q3  How do find your characters and personalities?  Is there any special inspiration?

CP:  They say writers are the only people where it’s okay to have someone talking to them in their heads!  My characters come to me very powerfully and scream for me to write their stories.  It’s also usually the female characters and because I want them to really have to work to have the happily-ever-after, I generally try to set up the worst possible guy and/or climax for them.  In THE CLAIMED, it can’t get any worse for Victoria than to fall in love with her mortal enemy and I knew it would be hard work for them to get together.

Q4  Which word would you use to describe yourself and your personality?

CP:  I am a Type AA.  I am very driven and determined, but also kind and friendly.  Basically shy which shocks a lot of people.  I’ve only learned to be more extroverted because of my day job and also because of the writing.  I’ve been lucky to meet so many fabulous people with the writing and I would have missed them if I hadn’t gotten over my shyness.

Q5  How do you handle it when some element of what you're writing decides that it just doesn't want to work the way you want it to?

CP:  It’s very frustrating to want something to work when it isn’t going the way you want.  But as Einstein said, lunacy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  So I guess what I’m saying is that if it’s not working, you need to step back and figure out a different way of approaching it, otherwise you will continue to be frustrated.  When that happens to me, I’ll take a long walk or a shower.  Both help me clear my brain and think about what I might be doing wrong in a scene and how to get it to work better.

Questions for Victoria:

Q6  Which word would you use to describe yourself and your personality? 

Victoria: I’m determined to help my people do better, but I’m also lonely because of the weight of leadership.  I’d love to find a partner that could help me carry that burden.

Q7  What is something you would never be caught dead doing/saying?

Victoria:  “I can’t….”  There is nothing that I can’t do because I will work hard at accomplishing what I want for myself and my people.

Q8  Do you have any pet peeves? 

Victoria:  People who pollute the environment or litter.  We all share the world and leave it for our children, so we should respect it and care for it.

Q9  What do you do for fun when you aren’t helping your family, friends or managing your business? 

Victoria:  I love to do all kinds of water sports like kayaking, surfing and swimming.  My natural affinity is for the water, so I love to spend as much time as I can in it.

Q10  What is the one thing your reader’s would be surprised to know about you?

Victoria:  That I wish I was more human.  Having the powers that I have brings great responsibility and that can be tiring if you don’t have someone by your side.

Final Question:

Q11  If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

 If I could shapeshift, I’d love to become a ……

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for a copy of The Claimed:
1. Answer the author's Question in red at Q11.  This is required for entry.

2. For another entry:  Make a meaningful comment on the interview or review (previous post).

3.  For two extra entries: Visit the author's website and tell me something of interest you find there.

4.  For one more extra entry, become a follower on any media (GFC, Twitter @MSEREADS, Facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/ReviewsByMarthasBookshelf , Goodreads or Linky - links on right sidebar) or tell me if you are already a follower.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Five total entries possible.)

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on June 22, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
The WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on June 23. 
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.