Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway February 4, 2022

Happy Friday!
TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK.
Suddenly I looked up and January was gone! Now we are quickly moving into February. Time is moving so fast.

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.

INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the January 28, 2022 Pick. There was no automatic win last week. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. There were no titles blocked last week.

CONGRATULATIONS to:
Random.org picked Winners from January 28, 2022 Pick:
LIFE'S SIMPLE PLEASURE gets a GC
AND
LINDA gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

  The red pillow fits as we start February.
Image found at Arlington Magazine.

New Book Box #95 November 7, 2021

I'll add the titles through the week (16 including 2 doubles, 1 pair).
(on top) (Two) Rancher's Wild Secret and Hold Me Cowboy by Maisey Yates
(on top) Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl
(Two) The Taming & The Conquest by Jude Deveraux
(Pair) Dreaming of You and Promises of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas
My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth
Love's Surprise by Karen Ball
Manhunt by Wayne Barton and Stan Williams - Audio CDs
What We Find by Robyn Carr
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
The Hollows by Ben Larken
Robbie Taggart: Highland Sailor by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella
Storm Sisters: Friends Through All Seasons by Afton Rovrik (Hardback)
After the Light by Kimberly Clark Sharp (Hardback)


New Book Box #94 May 28, 2021 (10 books)

Three Audio CD Books:
Web of Evil by J.A. Jance
One Good Deed by David Baldacci
Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts
SINGLE TITLES
Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale
The Hidden Heart by Laura Kinsale
A Summer of Firsts by Susan Wiggs and Sarah Morgan
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
Christmas on 4th Street: An Anthology by Susan Mallery
The Stranger by Harlan Coben
Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson

New Book Groups #92 and #93 November 13, 2020.
#92 (15 books):

A Most Unsuitable Man by Jo Beverley
The Tender Stranger by Carolyn Davidson
Her Wedding Wish by Jillian Hart
Heart's Desire by Ruth Ryan Hagan
The Deputy's Duty by Terri Reed
Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs

Box #93 (14 books)

Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready
There's Only Been You by Donna Marie Rogers (personally signed)
For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper
The Irish Bride by Alexa Harrington
When We Met by Susan Mallery
Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery
All of Me by Lori Wilde

New Book Group #91 October 2, 2020 - Suspense themed

SINGLES: Ten books in this box:
Fight or Flight by Natalie J. Damschroder
The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman Audiobook

PICK TWO  your choice (listed below the picture) Nora Roberts:

Born in Fire Audiobook Cassettes
Montana Sky
Valley of Silence
Inner Harbor and
Chesapeake Blue


New Book Group #90 June 19, 2020
Quite a few mysteries in this box.

SINGLES:
Alias by Smy J. Fetzer
Hot Sex by Janet Evanovich (Audio cassettes)

New Book Group #89 March 6, 2020

Singles:
My Surrender by Connie Brockway
How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holoquist
Phoenix by A.J. Scudiere

New Book Group #88 November 8, 2019

Singles:
A Lady Never Tells by Candace Camp
Dawn of Redemption by Starla Childs

New Book Group #87 August 23, 2019

SINGLES:
Captain's Paradise by Kay Hooper
Open Season by Linda Howard AUDIO CASSETTES

New Book Group #86 June 7, 2019
Another group of variety from my shelves.

SINGLES:
Show No Fear by Marliss Melton
A Question of God's Balance (Vol 1) by Joseph Thek
King by Right of Blood and Might by Anna L. Walls

New Book Group #85 March 22, 2019
A variety from my shelves.

SINGLES:
Summer Skies by Judith Christenberry
Windfall (two stories) by JoAnn Ross
Daddy's Little Cowgirl (two stories) by Judith Bowen and Kimberly Raye
The Forever Year, Cold Pursuit, Lover's Lane and Temporary Sanity (Reader's Condensed)
ToxiCity by Libby Fischer Hillmann

New Book Group #84 December 15, 2018
Here are some Christmas titles to pick from.

SINGLES:
A Family for Thanksgiving
On this Holy Night
Christmas Haven
King Harold's Snow Job

New Book Group #83 November 30, 2018

(Starting bottom left and continuing up then down)
SINGLE
Seductive Secrets by Lynne Connolly
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich - Audio Cassettes
A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein Audio Cassettes
Three Reader's Digest Condensed Books - each hardback:

Cold Harbour and The Courtship of Peggy McCoy
The Things We Do for Love, Three Weeks With My Brother, The Murder Artist and Night Train to Lisbon
Follow the Stars Home, Hunting Badger, The Quiet Game and Second Wind

New Book Group #82 November 9, 2018

SINGLES:
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Killing Time by Linda Howard
The Wedding Night by Barbara Dawson Smith

New Book Group #81 August 17, 2018

SINGLES
Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan
Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon
Cooking Most Deadly by Joanne Pence

New Book Group #80 August 17, 2018

Note: The Final Judgment and
The Book of Fate are Audio Cassettes
SINGLES:
Summer’s Moon by Lacey Baker
The Final Judgment by Richard North PattersonAudio Cassettes
Firebird by Janice Graham
No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen
The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer Audio Cassettes

New Book Group #79 July 13, 2018
I found this box of books buried under some other boxes.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lenox by Maggie O’Farrell
P.S. by Helen Schulman
Her Sexiest Surprise by Dawn Atkins (personally autographed)
Dakota Child by Linda Ford
Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman
Promises, Promises by Amber Miller
This Time for Keeps by Jenna Mills
A Daughter’s Legacy by Virginia Smith
Another Man’s Baby by Kay Stockham

New Book Group #78 April 27, 2018

SINGLES
Blackberry Bush
Breaking Point
A Tangled Affair
Too Wicked to Love
Roses are Red Audio Cassettes

New Book Group #77 February 16, 2018-
All gone

New Book Group #76 November 3, 2017
13 books remain of the original 37:

I finally Have them Listed!
Boots & Booties by Kristine Rolofson
Saucer the Conquest by Stephen Coonts
The Scorpion Seducer by Bonnie Vanak
Hell On Earth by David L. Porter
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
Crisscross by Harmon Henkin
Maelstrom by Anne McCaffrey
Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker
101 Commonsense Rules for the Office by John R. Brinkerhoff

This shelf of 35 books are what is left from Groups #1 (11/27/09) through Group #75 September 29, 2017

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top.)
Rehabilitation
Secret Blessing
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 21 titles.)
Plan of Attack by Dan Brown
(*Three One more very old books from my Gothics box.)
*The Man in the Garden by Paule Mason (1969 - yellowed)
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
*Four One books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I found.
*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost TWELVE years I have posted 91 groups of mostly 16 books plus an additional 21 totaling approximately 1,535 books available to find new homes! (As of November 26, 2021).

I am happy to say that so far at least 1,390 books have found new homes through this feature! YAY. [A year or so ago I posted I had reached 2000 books given away. As I calculated the numbers 11/2/17 I realized that had to be an error. I realized I went from 1098 to 2001 instead of 1101. Guess I was tired; sorry for the error.] I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, TWRP, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors, your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to faraway places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

#NetGalley Audiobook Review: Fall of the Core by Ryk Brown

This is an interesting story with intrigue until the end.

Fall of the Core
by Ryk Brown
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 15 hours and 21 minutes
Release Date: January 25, 2022
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Adventure, Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, Space
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

A freelance reporter struggling to get into the "big time"....
A rookie officer starting her career in public safety....
A cargo ship captain trying to outlive a terminal illness that has no cure....
A bounty hunter returning a long-hunted fugitive to Earth....
A terrible plague that threatens to destroy the human race....
The 25th century is not starting off very well.

Review:
The four main characters are facing a bio and digital virus that has them on different paths to the same destiny. The reporter wants to question the connection between the viruses over the objections of her production manager. Because she is willing to push a little, a mysterious entity contacts her and pushes her further through intimidation that includes putting an interview guest to death in her presence.

The rookie officer is lucky to get a smart, experienced, and mentoring partner. He helps her manage the day-to-day issues as matters intensify during the early days of fear and social chaos. After being suspended due to possible exposure to the virus, she is shocked to have her great (great?) grandfather show up at her door to give her an alternate future.

The space cargo ship captain has been extending his life by living in space while hoping that a cure for his terminal illness will be discovered. When faced with the potential death of most humans on Earth, and who knows where else, the captain determines to meet his (great?) grandson and offer him the chance to live off-world. He is surprised to meet his great (great?) granddaughter instead but still wants her to join him.

A very tough, bounty hunter has a prisoner on the cargo ship. She plans to deliver him to authorities on Earth and receive her bounty. Unfortunately, by the time the ship is approaching Earth, the bio and digital virus is close to eliminating the authority chain and penal facilities.

These four come together late in the story, joining resources with a gang boss to make a last-ditch effort to save the human race. Ironically, they may have to rely on the character who started the virus.

This is my first book by this author, so I had no conflicting series or expectations to overcome as some reviews seem to mention. There is some environmental ‘preaching’ and debate regarding the possible dangers of AI sentience. I didn’t let any of that bother my enjoying the story. The story is set in the 25th century where all things are (mostly) peaceful on Earth and there are many inhabited planets and space colonies.

I found it interesting following the different threads until they met. I appreciated that the intrigue continued until the end which had a bit of a last-chapter twist. I would be interested to know what happens to the survivors and how the other planets fared. I recommend this to fans of AI issues and space sci fi.

Audio Notes: I have enjoyed the narration of Jeffrey Kafer on other books, and he delivered well on this story too. He provides distinct voices and energy so that there was no confusion in the characters. I actually selected the audiobook because of Kafer and I am glad that I had the opportunity to listen to this.

Source: 2022 NetGalley. This qualifies for 2022NetGalley, 2022Audiobook, and 2022Alphabet goals.

Sunday Post January 30, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 31, 2022

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

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 have been working on club reports that are due 2/1 so that has taken time.
Work last week continued a bit off kilter as I tried to care for my hubby in the mornings.

We realized at the doctor's visit on Wednesday that hubby wasn't drinking enough water. We have home health nurse coming in to check on him. Hopefully she will help him begin to get around the house more.

We've been having some simple meals and tonight hubby made 'left-over' soup. He used left over ziti, left over pulled pork, left over cabbage and meat, with added celery and carrots. And a small roll. Lovely dinner - yumm - on a cold night!

We had a few more cold nights this week. Today was strange as it started at 27 degrees and rose to 63. It should be warmer this week -- I hope.

My listening was good this week, if slow, as I finished one audiobook (15+ hours) and made progress on the ebook. I posted two reviews with my usual memes.

I visited 19 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to LOLA'S REVIEWS. Lola says "When I am not blogging or working you can find me cooking or baking yummy dishes in my kitchen or curled up with a good book on the couch."

Audible offerings for free children's titles ended June 30.
Audiobooks.com is still sharing some free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post January 23, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 24, 2022.

• ATBR: Audio Book Review: Bunker (Book 2) Dogs of War by Jay J. Falconer; Genre: Action, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Thriller; My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 4.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway January 28, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 2/3/2022.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: The Black Wolves of Boston, Book 1, by Wen Spencer Genre: Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, Werewolves; My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 5.0; Narration 5.0.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement January 30, 2022.

Finished Reading:

1. Audio/NetGalley App Smartphone (A2022)

Fall of the Core
by Ryk Brown
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 15 hours and 21 minutes
This is interesting with intrigue until the end.
Source: 2022 NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

Currently Reading:
1. ebook/Kindle App on phone (ebTBR)

Bad Wolf (Bad Wolf Chronicles Book 1)
by Tim McGregor
I was able to open the app fine for several days but now it is freezing again. So frustrating when it takes 5 minutes to access the book.
I am still enjoying the story - at 55%. I will try to finish this week
Source: Kindle Free May 12, 2012.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audio/NetGalley App Smartphone (A2022)

Up to No Gouda
by Linda Reilly
Narrated by Mia Gaskin
Length: 8 hours and 29 minutes
I have just started this but
I like the characters and tone so far.
Source: 2022 NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

Not sure what I will start next.

January 30, 2022 - These videos are really good! Bible Reading Plan: BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus. I know it won't match my Hubby's reading but I wanted some different insights/devotions and I am enjoying the devotion video project. I am emjoying keeping up with my reading each day.

I expect to start a study soon.

I completed only one books for review this week.
My NetGalley shelf has one new audiobook which I am listening to now.
There are still three old ebook titles. I will probably end up letting A Place Called Armageddon go as DNF.
I still have two author titles remaining in queue. They will (obviously) be read in 2022.
(Plus a few that I received from facebook links and newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

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: Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, me and new to the team, Velvet at vvb32reads. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

No new review books this week.
I broke the no purchase ban by buying four audiobooks at Audible $5.00 sale.
I selected the January free VIP title from Audiobooks.com. I am still considering two for one deals that I would need to select by Monday.

I got no free Kindle book.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

1/26/2022 Audible $5.00 Sale - I allowed myself $20.00 for four books.

The Lawman Returns
Wrangler’s Corner Series, Book 1
By: Lynette Eason
Narrated by: Charlotte North
Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
I like this author.

Hidden
Deep Ops, Book 1
By: Rebecca Zanetti
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
I've wanted to try this author.

Trilobyte
By: J.L. Bourne
Narrated by: Eunice Wong, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Jay Snyder, Bahni Turpin
Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
This looks like a post-apocalyptic I will like.

Wizard's Alley
By: James Haddock
Narrated by: Daniel Wisniewski
Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
And an Adventure I hope to enjoy.

Free

One free VIP audiobook at Audiobooks.com.

A Castaway in Cornwall
Author Julie Klassen
Narrator: Elizabeth Jasicki
Duration: 13 h 8 min



No free kindle titles.
Other Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement January 30, 2022

We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday School lesson – still in Revelation chapter 6. Service worship was led by vising missionaries. It was moving and full of the presence of God which hubby noted he even felt at home while he watched online!

The missionaries had been teaching youth to plan and purpose. Then they were called to “Go where there are none”. They have been called to plant churches in a place where only one of five people know Christ – the Dutch Caribbean. These islands are beautiful to visit but are spiritual wastelands even though (or maybe because) they are considered one of the top sex vacation spots.

The message that was shared was about people who kept the faith based on the story of Ruth and Naomi. The pastor encouraged us to be determined like Ruth. We need to be devoted and available especially after a season of loss and change like recovery from the 2018 hurricane to slide into the disconnectedness of Covid-19.

Naomi and her husband were in a time and place of famine, so they left home and moved to Moab survive. After her husband died, her two sons married Moabite women but hey died ten years later. Naomi told her daughters-in law to go back to their homes and families. Naomi insisted she had nothing to offer the girls. Ruth put aside her traditions and history and determined not to leave Naomi although neither had anything. Ruth 1:16-18, Ruth 2:11-12. Ruth was led to surrender to a new God, a God who calls each of us to a life of devotion.

The church needs to be prepared to serve people who have nothing to offer us back. God gave His only son to us; Jesus gave his life for us. That is how much He is devoted to us.

Devotion leads to Devine appointments. By surrendering to Naomi’s God, and devoting herself to caring for Naomi, Ruth met Boaz, her kinsmen redeemer. Ruth 3:7-13. Ruth became a mother in the line of David. Ruth 4:17-19.

We all go through Seasons of life where God prepares us. We need to listen to be spirit filled. We need to keep busy where we are until God directs us to the next phase. As the old saying goes, “it is easier to steer a moving car than a parked one.” God uses people because they are available, surrendered. We can accomplish much through Christ that we could not achieve on our own!

The missionaries were helping their youth group by selling pumpkins to raise money. A photographer saw the parents and children and took their picture for the local paper. Another couple they had not seen for ten years had been delayed in a nearby county. That couple were praying for more servants to help them. When they saw the picture, they called and got together. Now they are part of the same missionary team. By being available, our missionaries met a divine appointment with other missionaries. The photo was no accident, but rather a step to a divine appointment. (As I like to say, “It was not a coincidence, but a God incidence.”)

The husband was reluctant, not understanding why they were being directed to the islands instead of serving the church he was pastoring. Then he heard God say to him, “The people in the Caribbean are worth it.” Sometimes God calls us to sacrifice our own comfort to help others. To move his family there may mean a time of separation from their own parents, but they realize that they will be with their family for all of eternity.

God wants to pick us up and redeem us. Ruth made herself available. She laid at her redeemer's feet and Boaz gave her (and Naomi) a place at the table.
Have you made yourself available?

The young pastor also gave a word that he felt our church was soon to enter a time of restoration. The whole message fit perfectly with the tone of our Interim Pastor as he has been preparing the church as we seek a new pastor.

~~~~~~~~~

I always enjoy when God sends me on a search for the right song and I find many to add to my large list! Sometimes I come back to the beginning, but I get to enjoy an hour or more of worship while getting there.

I have chosen this song as I was drawn to the phrase “Your presence is an open door”…
Won’t Stop Now.

(If you want a video with just the lyrics, try this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GZBITSyAsY)

Verses for Today:

Ruth 3:11-12
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”


Lord, I thank you for your redeeming grace and your divine appointments. I do feel You are beginning to restore after time of disconnectedness.

Audible Book Review: The Black Wolves of Boston, Book 1, by Wen Spencer

I totally loved the friendships developed in this story.
The Black Wolves of Boston
By: Wen Spencer
Narrated by: Ian Alan Carlsen, Corey Gagne, J. Paul Guimont, Jennywren Walker

Series: The Black Wolves of Boston, Book 1
Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
Release date: 02-21-17
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, Werewolves
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 5.0; Narration 5.0.

Publisher's Summary
From the Romantic Times Sapphire award-winning author of the internationally best-selling Elfhome series.
Rebuild a life, save a city
Silas Decker had his world destroyed when he was attacked by vampires outside of New Amsterdam. He has rebuilt his life a dozen times in the last 300 years - each time less and less successfully. Now he lives alone, buried under a hoarding habit, struggling to find some reason to wake up with the setting of the sun.
Eloise is a Virtue, pledged to hunting evil. What she doesn't know is how to live alone in a city full of strangers who know nothing about monsters.
Seth is the 16-year old Prince of Boston, ward of the Wolf King. Now he is left in a city that desperately needs his protection with enemies gathering all around.
Joshua believes he is a normal, college-bound high school senior. His life is shattered when he wakes up in a field, covered with blood, and the prom committee scattered in pieces about him like broken dolls.
These four must now come together to unravel a plot by Wickers, witches who gain power from human sacrifices and have the power to turn any human into their puppet. Four people who lost everything struggle to save Boston by saving each other.
©2017 Wen Spencer (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Joshua senses his dreams of college are disappearing as he ran away from home after being bitten by a werewolf. He knows that his new strength is posing a danger to his family and neighbors, so he has followed whispered advice to ‘go to Boston’s Prince’. He finds himself alone, homeless, and hungry running into trees as he chases rabbits in the woods of Boston at night. He soon realizes he isn’t alone when a young man challenges his bizarre behavior. Joshua doesn’t recognize his new friend, Silas Decker, as a vampire until Joshua joins him to help Elise, a Grigori Virtue (a magical religious guardian/assassin) fight off a huntsman and hounds. This all takes place in the first chapter and the book takes off from there.

Decker and Elise decide they need to protect this new wolf who has no idea what is going on. Decker’s home is a tightly held secret, so Joshua goes home with him where he discovers his new friend is a serious hoarder who has given up interest in life. As Joshua plans to clear out the trash and newspapers, Decker finds that he is thrilled with the adorable new werewolf pup.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Boston, 16-year-old Seth, has just arrived in New York looking for the rest of the wolf clan. The wolves have not been in Boston for years due to dangers of magical breaches allowing other monsters into the area. Seth has a sad childhood full of loss and responsibility. He is torn in his duties to protect his clan and to take care of a newly formed wolf.

This story does have a somewhat convoluted history of the wolves and the Grigor joining as allies against enemy witches or Wickers who created stick and vine constructs using human hearts and parts. The history of the conflict unfolds between the action-packed scenes where the protagonists are fighting for their lives. The story is told from the different viewpoints of Joshua, Decker, Elise, and Seth. The author uses this style to keep interest and move the story along at a good pace. There is humor and warmth as the friendships among the characters develop. All four of the protagonists have a reason to be seeking the comfort of family, even if it is one made of friends.

I stumbled on this book in an Audible sale, and I am so glad I chose it. It fulfilled my expectation as a good fantasy with a vampire, wolves, and magical hunter working together. My only disappointment is that there aren’t more books in the series. I will be hunting for other works by Ms. Spencer. I highly recommend this story to fans of urban fantasy with characters you care for.

Audio Notes: The work is performed by multiple talented narrators: Ian Alan Carlsen, Corey Gagne, J. Paul Guimont, Jennywren Walker. They shared the characters with empathy and humor. I totally enjoyed the audio and will look for other works performed by these narrators.

Source: July 2021 Audible Sale for $6.00. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Audiobook, and 2022Alphabet goals.