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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Audible Book Review: Night Broken: Mercy Thompson, Book 8 by Patricia Briggs

This is another hard to put down addition to a wonderful series.
Night Broken: Mercy Thompson, Book 8
Written by: Patricia Briggs
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
Series: Mercy Thompson, Book 8
Format: Unabridged
Release Date:03-11-14
Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0


Publisher's Summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series has been hailed as “one of the best” (Fiction Vixen Book Reviews). Now Mercy must deal with an unwanted guest—one that brings a threat unlike anything she’s ever known.
An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from a stalker. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.
Soon her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s stalker is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.
©2014 Hurog, Inc. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.


Review:
Mercy has begun to settle in with her mate, Adam, who is the head of the Tri-City Ware pack. Although she has been brought into the pack as the alpha’s mate, not all the members totally support her since she is a coyote shifter not a wolf. This problem intensifies when Adam’s ex-wife, and Jessie’s mother, Christy, seeks refuge with Adam as she is running from a stalker. Jessie feels that Christy abandoned her and Adam but several of the female pack members were friends with Christy and they are quickly sucked back into her helpless, self-absorbed, manipulative acts. Mercy has to struggle to choose the higher ground rather than call Christy on her bad behaviors.

The tensions are running high in the household and then the stalker shows up and attacks Mercy. Mercy could hide but she knows that the confrontation will be on the monitors. She decides she has to take a stand and face the guy with his vicious dog. Of course that was before she learned the guy and his faithful companion are far from ordinary. The guy is some type of volcano god who is nearly indestructible. Fortunately Adam arrives just in time to help protect her. Tad, who helps at the garage, uses unrevealed fae magic to temporarily secure the enemy who then escapes through the concrete floor. But the obsessed, evil god-man is mad and convinced that Christy is his long lost mate. He is prepared to take out the pack to get to her.

Adding to her worries, Mercy has been approached by a powerful fae who wants her to return the walking stick that used to follow her around. After the stick turned itself into a deadly weapon Mercy gave it to Coyote. As Mercy searches for Coyote she discovers she has a half brother, Gary Laughingdog, who has visions and reluctantly realizes he is going to have to stick around and help the pack face this evil god-like creature.

I love all of the action and creative danger in this series. I also love the extreme warmth portrayed through the family and pack bonds. Ms. Briggs does both of these elements beautifully keeping the series successfully entertaining and fresh.

Audio Notes: Lorelei King does a great job with this series. She manages to convey the emotions and personalities, particularly of the primary characters. The narration enhances the reading experience for me as it makes it an easy, gripping listen.

I really like this series so I purchased this with a February Audible credit! 

Monday, March 31, 2014

Book Review: Jaspar's War by Cym Lowell

This is a fast paced, entertaining and intriguing thriller.
by Cym Lowell

  • File Size: 1506 KB
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Rosemary Beach Press (March 5, 2014)
  • ASIN: B00ITF9VJ4
Genre: Thriller
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


Book Description
Publication Date: March 5, 2014
Greenwich, Connecticut socialite Jaspar Moran has it all—a magnificent estate, two beautiful children and a loving husband, Trevor, serving as the Secretary of the Treasury. Protected, admired and living in the lap of luxury, Jaspar is reeling from the news that his government jet has crashed just as her children vanish without a trace.
An ominous message warns her to keep silent about her husband’s role in the President’s economic plan. Or else.
Determined to save her children, she’ll go to hell and back, form alliances with assassins, traitors and Mafioso, and commit unspeakable acts—if that’s what it takes. With alarms sounding around the world, hunted from all sides, and unsure of who to trust, she finds herself depending on a mysterious figure without an identity.
Jaspar journeys from the Australian outback to the palazzos of Rome, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, and to the magnificence of the Vatican, in her quest. Can she rescue her children before the plot to crash the global economy is unleashed?


Review:
Jaspar has a wonderful life with her important husband who is the Secretary of the Treasury, and their two children. One moment she is playing an afternoon ball game with the kids and the next the children have disappeared and she learns her husband is presumed dead in a plane crash. The press begins to accuse Trevor of manipulating financial markets for personal gain. She knows Trevor was upset about something before he left but he didn’t get the chance to tell her what it was. No one is taking credit for the kidnapping of the children and the only message she gets is that she must remain silent if she wants them to live.

Jaspar finds a thumb drive with information that she believes shows Trevor was suspecting financial patterns by someone in the government. Jaspar seeks help from her long-time family priest and friend to set up a plan of action and arrange to get the information to a financial wizard whom Jaspar trusts, a reclusive American Indian, Chief Bearstrike.

Jaspar is delivered into the hands of Nulandi, an intelligent, sensitive and confidently trained warrior assassin. He travels with his faithful guard dog, Alice, who is trained for Nul’s missions. Nul explains to Jaspar that she must become a warrior to rescue her children. Just as Jaspar’s father used to make the right lure for different fish, Jaspar will be the bait to lure the kidnappers out so they can follow the trail back to the children.

While Jaspar, Nul and Alice race around Europe reeling in killers, Chief Bearstrike meets with another friend, Jason Brontus, a US Attorney. They unravel the financial patterns that have already reaped ill-gotten profits and are setting up to collapse America’s economy. The trail leads to someone with White House connections so they have to be careful who they take the information to.

The story jumps into action and intrigue and never really slows down. There are wonderful, strong characters and great disguises including nuns in habits, a large, old black woman and young boy, a seductress and a race car driver. There is intrigue in plans, traps and near escapes. There is also some raw sexual exposure and rather brutal killing which are not for squeamish readers.

A strong, loving friendship develops between Jaspar and Nulandi that just borders on moving into a physical relationship. As Nul trains Jaspar to be a warrior, she shares the strength of her faith and trust in God with Nul who needs to find that unconditional love and peace for his life. Yet the story includes an interesting mix of Native American beliefs and a certain primal mysticism as well as the Godly faith.

The writing is direct and fast paced with occasional passages of beautiful description interspersed amid the raw danger and killing. I was impressed with the female protagonist being written by a male author. My only disappointments were that the villain who held the children seemed to get off easy after all of his nefarious dealings and the climactic encounter with the 'mastermind' seemed rushed. Still, I really enjoyed the non-stop action and the strong friendships that helped Jaspar on her mission. I highly recommend this entertaining read to those who like a strong, action-packed thriller.

I was pleased to see this new release by Cym who provided a copy for my honest review.
Working with Soldiers’ Angels through his initiative OPERATION: NEXT CHAPTER, Lowell is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of “Jaspar's War,” to provide voice-controlled laptops to military personnel recovering from amputations, paralysis, eye injuries, burns and brain trauma.
See more information at Cym's blog.
Author links:

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Mailbox Monday March 31, 2014

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
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) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday.
Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.


I selected one ebooks for tour and three from NetGalley. 
(I still have many author requests to consider and reply to.)

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

One Title Selected from author/ publicist offers:

Received from AuthorPal/Penquin Group

The Temptations of Anna Jacobs 
by Robyn DeHart
 

Historical Romance set in Victorian London with Jack the Ripper intrigue.







Received through NetGalley


Fair Play: A Novel
by Deeanne Gist

A historical love story about a lady doctor and a Texas Ranger who meet at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.






Raptor 6 
by Ronie Kendig

Military Romance.







The Escape (Survivor's Club)
by Mary Balogh

In this poignant novel of longing and salvation, a hopeful widow
 and a resilient war hero discover the promise of love’s magic and new beginnings.



Won

None.



Purchased

None

 Free

Plus I downloaded another 60 or so free Kindle titles. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Free Par-tay, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

It's Monday What are You Reading? March 31, 2014

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 had another good week reading again and began to feel better by the end of the week. I only got three reviews posted instead of four but I'm not too far behind. I also posted a Launch Blitz and one Print giveaway and the usual memes. :-)

I did some visiting early in the week again but then didn't get to do more.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:
  • Audio Book Review: A Blind Goddess by James R. Benn; World War II Mystery; my rating 4.25.
  • Book Review: Heart of a Hero by Marie Higgins; Historical Romance, Western, Inspirationa; my rating 4.25.
Finished Reading:
1. eBook/Kindle


Jaspar's War
by Cym Lowell
I liked this alot. I will post a review this week.
Click on book title for full description.






2. Print


Tall, Dark & Fangsome (Immortality Bites)
by Michelle Rowen
The review and giveaway are linked above.
Click on book title for full description.






3. Audible/MP4


Storm Surge: Destroyermen, Book 8
Written by: Taylor Anderson
Narrated by: William Dufris
Another great installment in this series.
Click on book title for full description.



Line Edits/Releases:
Working on several releases.

Enter the bi-monthly drawings at eTreasures Publishing Facebook page.
Current giveaway link:  to be linked.
Check for the new giveaway every two weeks.

Currently reading:
1. Audio/MP4



The Protector
by Marliss Melton

This is starting out as good romantic suspense.
Reviewing through Audiobook Jukebox.
Publisher's Summary
Eryn McClellan teaches ESL in Washington, D.C., until the day she's targeted by terrorists avenging her father's actions in Afghanistan. The FBI has stepped in, but when it looks like they are using her for bait, General McClellan enlists the aid of the only man he knows he can trust: former Navy SEAL Ike Calhoun.
Embracing solitude in his remote cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ike thought he'd left the War on Terror behind. Now he's stuck shielding a blue-eyed beauty from ambitious federal agents and crazed jihadists. More disturbing still, the charming Eryn seems intent on shattering his self-imposed isolation. Ike does his best to resist her welcoming ways, but he can feel his restraint eroding like a mountain in a mudslide.
With the FBI hot on their heels and the terrorists not far behind, Ike willingly wages a one-man war in defense of the woman whose passion and faith have given him the strength to rise above his past.
©2011 Marliss Meltlon Arruda (P)2013 Marliss Melton Arruda



2. eBook/Kindle


Issachar's Heirs
by Brian Chilton
This political thriller is awesome!
Click on book title for full description.






3. Print


Unwilling Warrior, Seasons of Redemption Series #1
by Andrea Boeshaar
This has started quite nicely.
This is our Ladies' Club selection for April 5.
Product Description
The War Between the States has Valerie Fontaine frightened about her future. She never suspects she'll be thrust into the middle of it. Benjamin McCabe's got a noble dream of photographing the Civil War - and he never expected to fall in love with a New Orleans socialite.
When Valerie's father is arrested on charges of treason, Ben secures a way for her to leave the city and travel to his family's home in Jericho Junction, Missouri where she'll be safe.Can Valerie adjust to life on the prairie and remain true to her promise to wait for Ben no matter what the cost?



4. eBook/Kindle


You're Not Safe (Texas Rangers)
by Mary Burton
I am looking forward to this romantic suspense.
I'll be reviewing with giveaway.
Book Description
Publication Date: March 25, 2014
He Will Never Forget
The broken body hanging from a tree in Texas Hill Country. . .the frozen figure huddled in a meat locker. . .only at second glance does the truth become apparent. What seems like suicide is far more sinister, and the terror is only beginning...
Never Forgive
One devastating moment changed Greer Templeton's life and ended two others. Now, with a body found on her property and Texas Ranger Tec Bragg on her doorstep, Greer's nightmare has returned. With each new victim, her link to Tec's case grows, and soon it will be too late to run.
And Never Let Them Live. . .
Greer hoped the past was behind her, but an obsessed killer has never forgotten the bond that unites them. One by one, he will track down his victims, finish what was started--and make Greer's dying wish come true. . .


I am up to date on my daily Bible reading. :-)

Line Edits: We are now finalizing formatting for two ebook re-releases, as well as working on a new children's release.

I am continuing to enjoy reading books from my own TBR. :-) I only completed three reviews this week so I still have 4 to review. That pretty much keeps  me up to date. 

April Scheduled -
April 3 - Review: Issachar's Heirs by Brian Chilton
April 5 - Ladies Book Club Review & Giveaway: Unwilling Warrior by Andrea Boeshaar 
April 10  - Review & Giveaway: You’re Not Safe by Mary Burton through Joan Schulhafer
    Publishing & Media Consulting

April 16 - Review & Giveaway: Hard to Handle (Love in the Balance) by Jessica 
   Lemmon through Hachette
April 17 - 4th Annual Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop
April 22 - Review & Feature - The Temptations of Anna Jacobs by Robyn DeHart
  through AuthorPal/Penquin Group



NetGalley: I did pick up some more titles for April. 
Anointed: The Cantati Chronicles by Maggie Gallagher
Fair Play: A Novel by Deeanne Gist
Raptor 6 by Ronie Kendig
The Escape (Survivor's Club) by Mary Balogh

Authors
 Many requests to field and reply to.

AudioBook Jukebox (have one more to be received and then more to request.)
The Protector by Marliss Melton


From TBR Collection - The Seducer by Madeline Hunter
Won Book - TBD
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords - TBD

Sunday Words of Encouragement March 30, 2014

Our Old Testament daily reading this week (Deuteronomy Chapters 9-15) was reinforced by our Sunday school lesson which was entitled “The Lord is your God”. When God brought the Israelites into the Promised Land it wasn't because they were good or deserved it, it was because He was cleansing the lands from the sin and wickedness of the other nations. God also displayed His power and His faithfulness to keep His promises.

I was mindful of these points as we celebrated communion today. As a child we attended Episcopal church where I learned certain liturgical prayers of confession that included the phrasing “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.” (*See full text of the prayer below.) As I matured and moved to evangelical churches we no longer did liturgical prayers. Yet even these many years later I recall that prayer because it is always true. I try not to commit overt sins but I know I sin by omission regularly. I do not deserve forgiveness since I am weak and disobedient. This is ever more reason for me to be thankful that God is merciful and, through grace (unmerited favor), I have been adopted into God's family by faith in Christ who shed His blood to cover my sin and pay the debt I could never pay.

I found this oldie goldie song that I am sharing today.
He Paid a Debt.
Verses for Today: (I these verses through verse 9.)
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.


I tend to think on this prayer whenever I take communion:
*Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Rite II of the Book of Common Prayer

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