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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Audible Book Review: River Marked, Mercy Thompson Book 6, by Patricia Briggs

This is a full and fast paced story.

River Marked Mercy Thompson Book 6
Available in print and eBook as well as Audio.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0



Blurb from Audible.com: Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River - one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help....



Review: This is Book 6 in this enjoyable series and if you haven’t read them I highly recommend that you do! I have listened to all of them through Audible library and I really like the narration as well as the characters, plot and action.

Mercy Thompson is a  “walker” who shape shifts as a coyote. Her gifts include a resistance to most magic, like mesmerizing Vampires, and seeing ghosts.  Mercy has never met others like herself but she was raised in one of the strongest werewolf packs in North America. In this world, werewolves and some fae have been revealed to the public although Vampires are not yet exposed as “real.” Mercy has made Vampire and Fae friends and enemies. There are many wonderful characters in the series who are less visible in this story which gives time to Mercy and Adam.


Adam is the sexy, Alpha leader of the local werewolf pack and Mercy’s neighbor. Adam is divorced and raising his bright and outgoing teenage daughter, Jesse. Adam has been wooing, and at times he and his pack have been rescuing, Mercy through the stories.

Book 6 starts off with a delightful and beautifully choreographed elopement/wedding for Adam and Mercy. (Their marriage is not a spoiler since it is disclosed in the book blurb.)  Adam and Mercy head off for private honeymoon time.  They set up their borrowed motor coach at a park along the Columbia River.  Unfortunately it soon becomes apparent that Adam and Mercy have been directed to this spot for reasons beyond a simple honeymoon. 

Their romantic time together is interrupted by an injured man and a trail of dead and missing people.  Mercy gets to meet a very nasty  River Demon and some Fae otters up close and more personally than she would like.  The River Demon threatens to continue luring and eating anyone who nears the river unless it can be defeated.  It looks like Mercy, being immune to the magic, may be the only one who has a chance of killing the beast.  She and Adam team up with some other “walkers”, including Old Man Coyote, who knew or may be her father. Even with all of these skilled warriors the battle is far from certain and many expect to die.

Like the other books, this is full of action, magic and warm emotion in the relationships of the characters.  The narrator does a great job with the character voices and emotions. Although I have to say that I tend to get caught up with the story so that I barely notice the narrator...and isn’t that the way a good audio book should be?

The author manages to give enough backstory to fill in the important elements in case a reader has not read/listened to prior books but I recommend enjoying them all in order! I am looking forward to the next installment and only sorry that it isn’t scheduled until 2013.

 I read this from my own TBR Audible Library.
This is set in Washington for my Where are Your Reading challenge. This is a Just For Fun book this month and I will also add it to my TBR and Audio challenges.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Forever Blog Tour Announcement: Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis

Stop by May 24 for my Review and ARC giveaway of Lucky in Love.
And check the Blog Tour list below for fun and lucky reading. :-)


BLOG TOUR URL    POSTING DATE    Tour Participation
http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.ca/    5/20/2012    Review
http://hangingwithbells.blogspot.com/    5/20/2012    Review
http://puretextuality.com    5/20/2012    Interview
http://puretextuality.com    5/20/2012    Giveaway
http://www.gonewiththewords.com/    5/20/2012    Review
http://romancingrakes4theluvofromance.blogspot.com    5/20/2012    Interview
www.lovetoreadforfun.com    5/20/2012    Review
http://maryinhb.blogspot.com    5/20/2012    Giveaway
http://cheekyreads.blogspot.com    5/20/2012    Giveaway
http://theromancereviews.blogspot.com    5/21/2012    Giveaway
http://www.romancing-the-book.com    5/21/2012    Interview
http://keriford.com/blog    5/21/2012    Giveaway
www.sosaloha.blogspot.com    5/21/2012    Giveaway
http://mamakittyreviews.com    5/21/2012    Review
http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com/    5/21/2012    Review
http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/    5/21/2012    Review
www.crazybookslut.blogspot.com    5/21/2012    Review
http://www.thebookgirl.net    5/22/2012    Review
http://asthepagesturn.blogspot.com/    5/22/2012    Review
http://paranormalromanticsuspensereviews.blogspot.com    5/22/2012    Review
www.seductivemusings.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Interview
ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Giveaway
http://readingwithstyle.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Review
http://www.findthetimetoread.net    5/23/2012    Review
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bluegrass-state-of-mind-kathleen-brooks/1104012690    5/23/2012    Review
http://liviaquinn.com    5/23/2012    Interview
marygramlich.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Giveaway
http://brokenteepee.com    5/23/2012    Giveaway
http://krazybooklady.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Review
http://www.csmaxwell.blogspot.com    5/23/2012    Giveaway
http://dreyslibrary.com    5/24/2012    Giveaway
www.mariankrick.blogspot.com    5/24/2012    Review
http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/    5/24/2012    Review
Chicklitthenewblack.blogspot.com    5/25/2012    Review
http://ashleysbookshelf.blogspot.com    5/25/2012    Review
www.happilyeverafter-reads.blogspot.com    5/25/2012    Review
my-book-views.blogspot.com    5/25/2012    Review
thelovestrucknovice.blogspot.com    5/25/2012    Interview
http://teddyrose.blogspot.ca/    5/25/2012    Giveaway
www.boekiesbookreviews.com    5/25/2012    Review
http://www.kittycrochettwo.blogspot.com    5/26/2012    Review
karalovesreading.blogspot.com    5/26/2012    Giveaway
OV_099@yahoo.com    5/26/2012    Review
http://www.froggaritasbookcase.net/    5/27/2012    Review
http://reviewsbymolly.com    5/27/2012    Review
http://www.sarahsblogoffun.com    5/27/2012    Review
http://buriedbybooks.blogspot.com/    5/28/2012    Review
http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com    5/28/2012    Review
Www.thebookgirl.net    5/28/2012    Review
www.fictionenthusiast.com    5/28/2012    Review
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com/    5/28/2012    Giveaway
http://www.justanothernewblog.com    5/28/2012    Giveaway
http://atastyread.blogspot.com    5/28/2012    Giveaway
http://ov099.wordpress.com/    5/28/2012    Review
www.bibliojunkies.blogspot.com    5/28/2012    Interview
http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com    5/28/2012    Giveaway
http://www.urbangirlreader.com    5/28/2012    Review
http://bodicerippernovels.wordpress.com    5/28/2012    Giveaway
www.seductivemusings.blogspot.com    5/29/2012    Interview
http://rrahnovelthoughts.com    5/29/2012    Giveaway
www.noseinabookblog.blogspot.com    5/29/2012    Interview
foreverbklover.blogspot.com    5/29/2012    Review
Www.paperbackdolls.com    5/29/2012    Interview
http://lizasblog-liza.blogspot.com/    5/29/2012    Giveaway
http://makaylasbookreviews.blogspot.com/    5/29/2012    Review
http://www.cafeofdreamsbookreviews.com/    5/30/2012    Review
www.tarmyblospot.blogspot.com    5/30/2012    Review
http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/    5/30/2012    Review
http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/    5/30/2012    Review
http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/    5/30/2012    Giveaway
Lushbookreviewss.blogspot.com    5/30/2012    Giveaway
http://bookslikebreathing.blogspot.com    5/30/2012    Review
http://manicreaders.com/blog/index.php/guest-authors/    5/30/2012    Giveaway
http://www.rexrobotreviews.com    5/30/2012    Giveaway
http://lindasangels.net    5/30/2012    Review
http://lizasblog-liza.blogspot.com/    5/30/2012    Giveaway
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com    5/30/2012    Interview
http://www.book-obsessed.com    5/30/2012    Giveaway
http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com    6/8/2012    Giveaway

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Monday Mailbox May 21, 2012

Welcome to Mailbox Monday which I am hosting for May 2012.
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) but is now hosted at Mailbox Monday and through various blog hosts.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. 


Wow - Unexpectedly my book garden is growing - see below! How is your book garden growing?

I didn't get any NetGalley Books this past week but I did receive two print review books:
This is for Hachette Forever Blog Tour Review and Giveaway May 24, 2012
This is for Pump Up Your Book Blog Tour in early July


Now for the FUN! I had some lovely wins last week.

First I won $15.00 from Wednesday's Book Review Party May 9, 2012 Hosted each Wednesday by author Cym Lowell.
Thank you Cym!

Then I received notice that I won the "Motherload" at The Mother's Day Book Giveaway hosted by Quickie Book Reviews!!

From that win I received these eBooks:


Thank you authors William G. Jones, Larry Enright, Valerie Douglas, Libby Fisher Hellmann, Carolyn Nash, Faith Mortimer

and this print Book:
Thank you author Libby Fischer Hellmann

Since I won such a nice bunch of books I didn't pick up any "envy loot" although I did spend Friday night scarfing up a large group of free Kindle offerings!

So, Please share: what's in Your Mailbox?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? May 21, 2012

This meme starts at Book Journey!

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I finished three books and am well into three more. I posted three book reviews, two interviews with Giveaways and a Kindle Blogger Giveaways.  I also posted the regular Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words. 

I visited a group of blogs last week for What are you reading and Mailbox Monday. As usual once I get past Sunday and Monday I didn't find any more time to visit. Thanks to the nice people who visited me.

These were last week's posts plus Winner post not listed.
  • Book Review: Charlinder's Walk by Alyson Miers; Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic;  my rating 4.25
Finished Reading:
1. Audio
 

by Julia Franklin
A different listen; review is linked above.



2. eBook/Kindle:
 

by Jacquie Rogers
This is fun reading.
Review, Interview and Giveaway are linked above.




3. Audible
 


I enjoyed this and will post a review this week. I read this from my own TBR.
Blurb from Audible.com: Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River - one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help....


Line Edits/Releases: Nothing uploaded this week.


Currently reading:
1. ebook/Kindle
 

by Joyce DiPastena
I started this on my Kindle and it is a wonderful read.
I am at 78% and moving right along.
Book Description
Publication Date: January 17, 2012
Her father has been accused of stealing from the king, an allegation that has reduced her family to poverty. She has one chance to find and marry a man who can help her prove her father's innocence. Lord Therri, heir to a rich barony, has the wealth and connections Mathilde needs to delve into the mysteries of her father's past. Furthermore, Therri embodies all her romantic dreams.

Etienne, the younger son of a disgraced family, has neither wealth nor connections, but is smitten with Mathilde at a glance. She finds the knight intriguing, but believes he is only out to seduce her. While she seeks for a way to win Therri's attention, Etienne tricks her into granting him her favor, an embroidered white ribbon, for a tournament, setting in motion a dangerous chain reaction of events. Can Etienne save Mathilde from a nightmare from her past and prove himself the true hero of her dreams?



2. Print
 

by Jill Shalvis
I pulled this out to start and haven't wanted to put it down so I am over half way done.
The review and Giveaway will post on Thursday, May 24, 2012.
Book Description
Publication Date: May 22, 2012 | Series: A Lucky Harbor Novel (Book 4)
Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she's expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she'd like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he's only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he's gone . . .
For the first time in his life, Ty can't bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn?t?including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all . . . anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.



3. Print



by Rebecca Land Soodak
I am a third into this but set it aside to read Lucky for this week.  Reviewing for Hachette.
Book Description
Publication Date: March 27, 2012
Kara Caine Lawson has worked hard to become the woman she is-wife, mother and successful shop owner. Having survived a turbulent childhood, Kara understands that life could've just as easily gone another way . . . and even if she isn't gliding through the trials of lost library books, entitled customers and routine date nights, at least she's not sipping a Dewar's all day like her mother did.

But then Kara unexpectedly encounters paintings by her now-famous college boyfriend just as she's beginning to suspect that her daughter Henny's difficulties may be the sign of something serious, and all of her past decisions are thrown into dramatic relief.

Kara's narration, at turns heartbreaking and hilarious, captures the imperfect thoughts we have about ourselves and those around us. Rebecca Land Soodak's debut novel asks the difficult questions about the choices we make while revealing the minute details that end up defining our lives.



4.  Audio MP3
 

by Laura Kreitzer
Narrated by Karen Savage
I just started this Audio. Reviewing for Revolution Publishing through AudioJukebox.
Blurb from Audible.com: Sold into slavery to pirates at the young age of four, Summer learns to survive the rough seas of subterfuge and thieves through silence. When the boat she's lived on most of her life is destroyed, Summer finds herself washed up on the shore of a new world, a phantom universe full of the bizarre and extraordinary. She meets Gage, the one boy who understands the girl with no speech. But when their lives are put on the line, will Summer finally call out? Or will all be lost in the fathomless depth of silence?



I am again listening to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. 
[Reading and listening on my new MP3.]
Instead of studying with the Tyndall One Year Bible this year I am studying with Through the Bible in One Year by Alan B. Stringfellow. It is a Study that I used for teaching back in around 1989 so I will enjoy it again. This week's reading is Ezekiel.

Line Edits: Working on finishing two line edits; have several book conversions ready to upload to Kindle/Smashwords.


I brought a couple of April books into May to finish which gave me 11 or so books scheduled to read for review in May. --Eight completed; 3 this week; 3+ remaining.
Don't miss the THREE KINDLE GIVEAWAY EVENTS posted this month and noted in the Tour box on the right sidebar.

May Scheduled Events:
May 24 Forever Romance Blog Tour: Book Review and Giveaway Lucky in Love (A Lucky Harbor Novel by Jill Shalvis

Unscheduled but Planned for April:

Hachette-
Henny on the Couch by Rebecca Land Soodak

Sourcebooks:
Under Fire (Elite Force: That Others May Live) by Catherine Mann

AudioJukebox
Phantom Universe

Author Reviews:
Foolish Games (Book 3 of the Family Heirlooms Series) by Karen Wiesner
Dangerous Favors by Joyce DiPastena.

Reading for Book Club: Calico Canyon - Lassoed In Texas by Mary Connealy

NetGalley
I have several chosen but not sure if they will make May reading.

[To be posted - I am setting these up for interview/feature days.
These were read and ready for reviews for Authors.
Quest for Magic by Jean Hart Stewart - Read; review to be posted with interview.
Seeing for the First Time (What You See is What You Get) and To See (What You See is What You Get) by Nicole Zoltack - Both Read; setting up author interview with reviews.]

Sunday Words of Encouragement May 20, 2012

We shared lunch at Connect groups after church today so this is posting a little later.

I enjoyed our Sunday School lesson from Ezekiel chapters 34 through 36. Ezekiel prophesied regarding the future of Israel; its desolation and restoration.  Mark Twain visited the territory of Israel in 1867 and noted that the land was empty, destitute, and a barren desert. Now Israel is fruitful and supplies produce to surrounding countries.

We have had two serious accidents to people and loved ones in our church. We give thanks that no one has been seriously injured. Our teacher also pointed out that an important thing to realize is that tomorrow is gone and we may not be here for the future. We are responsible to live today as best we can with God's direction. 

This is the song we sang this morning.
A wonderful song with a great message!

Verses for Today:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

I am praying especially this week for an online blogger friend who is suffering and needs healing.

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