In My Mailbox ~ Werewolves, Vampires and Succubus…Oh My!

In my mailbox is hosted by the lovely Story Siren. In my mailbox is our chance to show off the books that we’ve purchased, downloaded, received for review, got from the library, swapped or however else you obtain your books.
The upside to this meme is there are always a TON of great books out there to be oggled through our computer screens. The downside of this meme is that your wishlist will grow 10 fold.

Don’t forget to leave me a link to your IMM so I can drop by and check out your goodies!

NOTE:  If you are a Nook owner and would like to be Nook Friends you can send me a request at jamiehanna84@gmail.com.

*Bought*

Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, #2)

Anna Latham didn’t know how complicated life could be until she became a werewolf. And until she was mated to Charles Cornick, the son — and enforcer — of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, she didn’t know how dangerous it could be either…
Anna and Charles have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Bran’s controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan — and it seems like someone else might be too. When Anna is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Charles and Anna must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all — or risk losing everything…

Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3)

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can’t afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father’s dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights…

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)
Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
 
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

 
 
 
He never saw her coming…

A Perfect Storm (Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor, #4)Spencer Lark already knows too many secrets about Arizona Storm, including the nightmare she survived and her resulting trust issues. But in order to expose a smuggling ring—and continue avenging his own tragic past—the bounty hunter reluctantly agrees to make Arizona a decoy.  Yet nothing has equipped him for her hypnotic blend of fragility and bravery, or for the protective instincts she stirs in him.  But as their plan–and their chemistry–shifts into high gear, Arizona may discover there’s an even greater risk in surrendering her heart to a hero…  

 

No Mercy (A Mercy Gunderson Mystery #1) On medical leave from the Army, Mercy heads home to her family ranch after the recent death of her father, having been away for 20 years. It’s her responsibility to decide whether to sell the ranch or not, and she gets little help from her sister and nephew. After a dead body is discovered on her land, Mercy butts heads with the sheriff, Mason Dawson.

When another body is discovered, Mercy starts her own investigation into the deaths. As she unearths buried secrets, her life–and the lives of family members–are put in jeopardy.

The Lost Saint (The Dark Divine, #2) 

A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace’s relationship with Daniel is put in danger – in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her – not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Bree Despain delivers sizzling romance and thrilling action in the heart-pounding sequel to the The Dark Divine.

Flash and Bones (Temperance Brennan, #14)A body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to Lowes Motor Speedway near Charlotte just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for race week. The next day, a NASCAR crew member shares with Tempe a devastating story. Twelve years earlier his sister, Cyndi Gamble, then a high school senior who wanted to be a professional racecar driver, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Is the body Cyndi’s? Or Cale’s?
 At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, but the search was quickly terminated. As Tempe is considering multiple theories, including an FBI cover-up, a surprising, secret substance is found with the body, leaving Tempe to wonder what exactly the government was up to. . . .
*EPUB’s*
(from Nook Lending group on Goodreads)

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson)
Afterlight
The Maze Runner
Die For Me
Trial by Fire
Working Stiff
The Faerie Ring
A Beautiful Dark
Eve
Ripple
Everneath
The Chicagoland Vampire series
The Parasol Protectorate series books 2, 3, 4
Wildefire
Guilty Pleasure (Anita Blake)
Kindling the Moon
The Dark Swan series
Kate Daniels series
Georgina Kincaid series
Alpha Instinct
Angelfall
The Night Circus
Ditched A Love Story
A Need So Beautiful
Aftertime
Rebirth
Unleashed
Beauty Queens
The Savage Grace
Halflings
By jrafterdark Posted in IMM

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson, #1)Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they’ll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I’m not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.
Mercy Thompson’s sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.

She’s tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.

But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself … and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Book Stats:

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Fantasy/PNR/Paranormal
Format Reviewed: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: January 31, 2006

Series: Mercy Thompson #1

Source: paperbackswap.com

Why I read this book?: I’ve had this book sitting on my bookcase waiting to be read FOREVER!  I finally got around to it and I completely DEVOURED it.

What I liked?: Mercy herself is now an addition to my “favorite heroine” list.   She’s a walker, who shifts into a coyote.  She was raised for the most part by a werewolf pack from Montana which explains why she knows so much about werewolves.  I also LOVED Adam, he’s the Alpha who has a “thing” for Mercy and routinely threatens to eat her cat.  Then craziness runs rampant and bad things happen to good people/werewolves.  I also loved the host of secondary characters that made this book chock full of AWESOME!  My personal favorite was Warren, you’ll have to check out this book to learn more about Warren.  Even with all the high pressure situations that all the characters kept finding themselves in there was plenty of humor.  I was very pleasantly surprised at how fast paced this book was.  I really didn’t want to put it down at all.  It sucks when real life gets in the way of my reading!

What I disliked?: I got nothing!

Overall Impression: I am kicking myself that I have waited as long as I have to read this series!  It is full of AWESOME!

Favorite Quotes:

“A werewolf tossed me against a giant packing crate while I was trying to rescue a frightened young girl who’d been kidnapped by an evil witch and a drug lord.”

“MS. THOMPSON, it said in heavy block letters, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FELINE OFF MY PROPERTY. IF I SEE IT AGAIN, I WILL EAT IT.”

“I don’t like it when I outweigh my men.”

Rating: Hand Over The Paycheck!

WOW ~ The Series Edition

 “Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selections are:

Dragon Bound (Elder Races, #1)

                                Title:  Dragon Bound
                                  Author: Thea Harrison
Series:  The Elder Races #1
Genre: Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/PNR

Half-human and half-Wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the Wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder Races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave—although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul.

Laid Bare (Brown Siblings, #1)Title: Laid Bare
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings #1
Genre: Romance/Contemporary/Erotica

Unexpected Desire…

It’s been ten years since clean-cut, sexy-as-hell police officer Todd Keenan had a white-hot fling with Erin Brown, the provocative, wild rocker chick next door. Their power exchange in the bedroom got under his skin. But love wasn’t in the cards just yet…

Now, life has thrown the pair back together. But picking up where they left off is tough, in light of a painful event from Erin’s past. As Todd struggles to earn her trust, their relationship takes an unexpected and exciting turn when Todd’s best friend, Ben, ends up in their bed–and all three are quite satisfied in this relationship without a name. As the passion they share transforms Erin, will it be enough to help her face the evil she thought she had left behind?

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #1
Genre: YA/PNR/Dystopia/Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Leave me a link to your WOW and I’ll be sure to drop by and say Hi!

By jrafterdark Posted in WOW

Top Ten Tuesday ~ 10 Books I’d LOVE to play hooky with!

Top Ten Books (On My Shelf) That I’d Play Hooky With…
1.  The Mercy Thompson series…I’m reading the first book right now and I’m hopelessly hooked on this series.  I can hardly wait to see what happens as the series progresses!
2. The Hero’s of Olympus series…I’ve got the first 2 books in this series sitting on my bookcase waiting for me to read them.  I’ve heard a lot of really great things about this author and I can hardly wait to start reading.
3. Lover Awakened… This is my absolute favorite book so far in the BDB series.  I LOVE Z and Bella’s story!  I could keep reading it over and over and over again.
4. The Lightning Thief… I saw the movie when it first came out and really liked it a lot.  I hadn’t read the books and recently I downloaded the first book onto my Nook Tablet.  I can hardly wait to play hooky with it!
5. The Hunger Games trilogy… My friend and I went and saw the movie yesterday.  LOVED it!  Now I want to re-read all the books.
6. The Night Huntress series… Cat and Bones!  I’ve got the whole series I just need to sit down and read them all!
7. The Fever series…. Again, another series that after reading a TON of really good reviews for that I picked up on a whim.
8. Divergent …. I really want to re-read this book before Insurgent comes out in a few weeks!
I’m gong to stop there since I have WAY more than 10 books included in this list.  Leave me a link to your Top 10 list and I’ll be sure to drop by and say Hi!

Teaser Tuesday March 27, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

“I nodded. ‘I brought the Columbia Basin Alpha here.  He’s been badly wounded.  I also brought the body of another wolf, hoping someone here could tell me how he died and who killed him.'” pg. 82

                                 Goodreads

Déjà Dead (Temperance Brennan, #1)

“Denis placed two cardboard boxes on the end of the table, one large and one small, each sealed and carefully labeled.  I eased the lid from the larger box, selected portions of Isabelle Gagnon’s skeleton, and laid them out on the right half of the table.” pg. 129 

Leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday and I’ll be sure to drop by and say Hi!

Against the Wind (Raines of Wind Canyon #1) by Kat Martin

Against the Wind (The Raines of Wind Canyon, #1)

Against the Wind by Kat Martin

Book Stats:

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format Reviewed:  Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: December 28, 2010

Series: Raines of Wind Canyon #1

Source: Swap

They were known as the “no-account Raines boys” but they’ve grown into successful, honorable men and everything they have, they’ve fought for tooth and nail. Now each of the three brothers has one last obstacle to overcome to claim what’s eluding them: love.
 
Secrets don’t stay buried long in cattle country. Sarah Allen, the beautiful girl who humiliated Jackson Raines in high school, is back in town. Not so long ago, she couldn’t wait to leave Wind Canyon, Wyoming, in her dust. But, recently widowed, she has nowhere else to go and finds herself on Jackson’s ranch. And despite everything, Jackson’s finding himself reluctant to get rid of her.

Why I read this book?: I got this book in a swap on the former bookswap on Goodreads.  I wanted to read this series when it first came out and was able to get a copy of the first 3 books in the series.

What I liked?: I really liked all the suspense that was in this book.  It starts right away, basically on the first page and continues on full speed ahead through the course of the book. I really liked Sarah and Jackson as a couple.  They have history and it was nice to see them grow past their troubling pasts.  I also really enjoyed Jackson’s little brothers, while they don’t play a huge part in the first book the little bit that they were in the book they made things interesting. Sarah’s little girl Holly was so cute too. What I really liked about this book was that the REAL bad guy wasn’t obvious.  You think you know but then something happends that makes your assumption completely wrong.  LOVED that part.

What I disliked?: At times I felt that some of the things that Jackson and Sarah took part in were borderline vigliante.  I also disliked Detectiver Mercer AND Sarah’s deceased husband Andrew.

Overall Impression: I think that this book was really good beginning to this series. I wish Jackson’s brothers were in it a little more but they get their own stories, which I can hardly wait to read.

 

Rating: Break the Bank!

Recommendation:  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romantic suspense novel or anyone who enjoys a good Western romance.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Epic Fail
Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Book Stats:

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Format Reviewed: Paperback
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 2, 2011

Series: N/A

Source: Personal purchase


Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Why I read this book?: I saw the cover for this book while cruising Goodreads and thought that the idea for the book was very interesting.  I was out last week at our local re-sale bookstore and found a copy that I purchased.

What I liked?: I really liked Elise and her sister Juliana.  They have a really close relationship and not even boys can come between them.  I also really liked that Elise had a pretty great sense of humor. I’ve been reading a lot of YA books lately that seem to have a considerable amount of Insta-Love in them…That was not the case in this book between Elise and Derek.  Elise actually thought that Derek was a jerk for awhile even. Juliana and Chase started out as friends and their relationship grew from there but I wouldn’t call that Insta-Love either.  I think the best part of this book was that we all have “crazy” family members, you’ll have to read the book to find out what I mean.

What I disliked?: Webster Grant!  What a prick!  I also thought that there was a fair amount of superficialness and stereotyping in the book as well.

Overall Impression: This was a quick fun read that I enjoyed a lot.

 

Rating: Wait for Payday!

Friday Follow The Tome Edition

The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan, #1)Q: What is the longest book you’ve read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?

Currently, the longest book I’ve read since I’ve started book blogging is The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay, it’s a total of 394 pages and it was possibly the best book I’ve read this year.  I haven’t read a lot of 600+ page books that fit on this blog but one that comes close in page count is Beautiful Creatures.  I really liked this book a lot.  All Southern Gothic and a touch of “creep” factor.

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1)Leave me a link to your post and I’ll be sure to drop by and say HI!

Kick Butt Characters Blog Hop

Oh yeah!  You know you want a shiney new The Hunger Games boxed set.  I’m giving away 1 boxed set to 1 one lucky winner.  This giveaway is open to the US only though.
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset
Rules:
1. Leave a comment with your email address in it.
2. Open to US.
3. Following is NOT required.

URBAN FANTASY GIVEAWAY!

I recently read and reviewed The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay and LOVED it so much that I gave it the first ever Hand Over The Paycheck! (5) rating here on the blog.  I loved this book so much that I have decided that I am going to do a giveaway….1 lucky winner will have the opportunity to win a book from the Charlie Madigan series.

The “Booty:”
The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan, #1)
The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan, #2)
The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, #3)
Shadows Before the Sun (Charlie Madigan #4)
The Details:
1. Open Internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.
2. Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
3.  The giveaway ends on March 31 at 11:59 pm.
4. Be sure to leave me your email address if you are entering.
5. I hope you’ll check out my review, it’s not required though.

/*{literal}{/literal}*/a Rafflecopter giveaway