DEAD Hunter Review and Giveaway!

So thanks to everyone who's following along with me and this series. Now on to book 3:

Finally a guy who makes her hot and chilly...is he a vampire or has sex messed with her hunter sensors.

ArieAnne Hews is a trained vampire hunter out for the kill. A chance meeting with the hated beings has Arie in turmoil…these seem normal. Then enters handsome Dr. Jonas Nickels and things get really complicated.

Jonas Nickels has no desire to be involved with a mortal, but can't resist the dark-eyed beauty. Even if he is on her hit list!

Family secrets tinged with evil make an impossible path for star-crossed lovers.

MY REVIEW:

Now, I already reviewed the second book in the series here. I would recommend reading it first since I do talk about it here and I’m not going to add what I’ve already written to this review.

I loved this book! So far, most of the focus has been on vampires, but now demons and hunters enter the equation. I liked getting to learn more and meeting some villains that will definitely help this series along.

As for the characters, I liked ArieAnne. She was an okay character for me. I did like getting to see a kickass female hunter, but for some reason, I just didn’t click with her. Same with Jonas. Part of it I think is tied into a complaint I had about the previous book that carried over into this one. I do like seeing previous couples, but at times the story focused more on the secondary characters than the main ones. As I said before, just like a bride being upstaged by a bridesmaid, it's not supposed to happen. I do like that the author included these previous characters; I just think she did it a bit too much. I think if she’d focused more on Arie and Jonas, it would have helped me connect better with the characters.

However, I did like the amount of action this time. Unlike the previous book, it wasn’t all over the place. There are more details and I got the feeling that everything is happening for a reason, even if it’s not yet obvious. I liked the evil preparing to take over the world storyline, which is going to continue on in future books supposedly. I liked how the author established this continuity that will help tie the books together more in the future.

Also, I’ve noticed something that’s been nagging at me since the last book. While there are romances in all the books, the focus doesn’t seem to be on the romance. I would classify these books as thrillers or adventure books over romances. I do like having more than just the romance, but as time goes on, I’m starting to care less about the romantic outcomes and more about the fight for survival against evil.

Anyways, I would definitely recommend reading this series and yes, you do need to read it in order so that it makes sense.

Sounds good? But wait, there's more. Because you can also enter to win a giant swag package!!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


Read the first two and ready for more? Sound like your kind of read? Here's where you can get your very own copy:
  


 

BIO:

Award winning author, Lizzie T. Leaf started life in Kansas, continued her growing in North Carolina, and currently shivers through the winters in Colorado.  She has numerous e-books in varying lengths and her first print book, Struck by Lightning, won dual 2007 Beacon awards, in addition to being a finalist in two other contests.

In addition, Making Christmas, a Christmas Historical novella set during the Civil War won Love Romances Café Best Historical for 2011 and is a finalist in the Aspen Gold for Best Novella.

Beyond Magic, the first book in the Magical Love series won the 2012 Award of Excellence Best Paranormal/Fantasy/Sy-Fi, and is a finalist for Best Paranormal in the Aspen Gold.  Winners are announced in mid to late October.

 Since discovering the fun of writing paranormal, she plays with creating vampires, faeries and other immortals. Her current focus is the DEAD series.  Musa Publishing has re-released the first four novellas in the series and DEAD Hot, a new novella, is scheduled to release in October.  Emerging Magic, the second novel in the Magical Love series will also release in late October or early November with Passion in Print Press.

When not creating mischief for paranormal beings, she can be found exploring the other genres she wants to write.  She also serves as the 2012 President for the Heart of Denver Romance Writers.

Lizzie loves to read, spend time with her family and travel with her best friend husband during her free time, on which most of friends ask…“what free time?”

ONLINE LINKS:

Website  www.lizzietleaf.com

Blog  http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=826769827

Twitter  http://twitter.com/lizzietleaf

To follow along on the rest of the tour: 

10/15  DanaSquare

10/15  Sharing Links and Wisdom
10/16  Free Book Dude
10/16  My Cozie Corner 
10/16  Cabin Goddess
10/16  Once Upon A Book
10/16  The Clumsy Coquette
10/16  Book Purses
10/17  Inside BJ's Head
10/17  Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books
10/17  Harlie's Books
10/17  Krystal's Enchanting Reads

Twilight of the Gods Review

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

3.5 stars

So, I started out thinking this was the second book in the series and about 2 pages in, I went and looked and it turns out I misread and this is actually book 4 of the series. And this is not the sort of series where you can pick up any book and understand what's going on; you definitely need to read all the other books in the series first. Fortunately, I found a friend who had read the series and so she explained parts of it to me, but again, I recommend reading all the other books in the series first or else this book will make very little sense to you.

Sometimes victory requires risking everything -- even those you love.

Time has run out for Jesse, Gabriel and Lazarus. With the rogue archdemon Hiil and his vast army marching for Abaddon from a neighboring world, Gabriel is forced to make a decision that may mean the death of one of his lovers. As an elemental, Lazarus once sought control of Ba'al's lands. Things have changed, but if Ba'al returns, the ice mage's word may not be enough to keep him from the archdemon's wrath.

I was conflicted with this book. There were things that I loved and things that annoyed me a bit. Let's start with the positives:

First, the characters. Demons, mages, vampires, oh my! Throw in a ménage relationship, and things get interesting. I liked how the three lovers interacted with each other, you could just see the love and that they'd been together a while. I must admit, Jesse is my favorite as he's just too cute and funny! And he has the best lines. "Right. Electrocute the behemoth. Got it." Oh Jesse, I love you so. And the names themselves are pretty darn cool. Lazarus, Ba'al, Hiil. Every name fits the character. The demons have demonic names, etc. The slightly confusing part with the character names though is that Gabriel and Bela are the same person. I was greatly confused by that until it was clarified later in the story.

The secondary characters are engaging and meaningful. They're not just superfluous characters thrown in to make the main characters stick out. I would love to read more about several of the secondary characters, especially Ba'al. For an archdemon, he's a pretty swell guy. Friends, foes, allies, every character is thought out, not just a name. You get info on all the characters (some of which is also in earlier books) and their interconnecting relationships. The way all the characters are connected is interesting as well. So many of the characters have backgrounds with each other that are fascinating and it's intriguing how interconnected all the characters truly are.

Another positive aspect is the setting. Now, most of the world building was in earlier books, but the world itself is intriguing. You have Earth (where Jesse came from) and then you have the Demon Realm where this story is set. To me, the Demon Realm is a bit like England or Scotland with all the huge castles all over the countryside, though a lot less green. Most of the main and secondary characters are higher up demons, so they all have their castles and a feudal hierarchy and ruling system. It feels like old history meets fantasy magic, which makes for a very interesting world.

Now for the parts that bugged me. One is the amount of events occurring in so few pages. At just under 40 pages, this is a short story and yet it seemed a lot happened super fast, which made it seem like it wasn't as hard as it was portrayed to be. Bringing someone back to life, a battle, forgiveness, retirement. So much happened that I became confused. There was such a quick transition to the "next big thing" that I didn't really get time to digest what had happened previously, which caused me to disconnect from the story. I felt like I was being given a brief history of what happened instead of being there while it occurred. I felt like I was getting the bare bones of the story. Keep in mind, I didn't read the earlier books in the series, so certain details might have been in earlier books and would therefore make more sense when reading this book.

Second, the whole series had been building up to this big epic showdown that just wasn't that epic. It reminds me of how the Twilight series ended. There was all this build-up with an anticlimactic ending. Now, I liked the ending and it was a happy ending, just a bit disappointing after all the events earlier in the book.

It is an interesting ending and I think I would have enjoyed this series much more if I had started with the first book. This is an interesting book and promises a great series. Just from reading how it ended makes this series sound amazing. I would love to read how it all began.

DEAD Faint Review and Giveaway, plus a Free Book!

Ready for a great new paranormal series? I know I am. That's why I was so glad when I found this new series by Lizzie T. Leaf, the DEAD series. So happy in fact, that all this month I'll be hosting the books on my site and telling you all about this new series. So sit back, relax, and read on for books 1 and 2...

Waking up to discover you're a vampire then fainting at the sight of your number one food source isn't healthy.

Billie Joyce’s dream visit to New York City turned into a nightmare. Now not only is she one of the living dead, but she has to contend with a know-it-all vampire who wants to tell her how to talk. Not gonna happen!

MY REVIEW:

 

Now, at the beginning of DEAD Faint, I was really confused. I felt like I was thrown into this world with little explanation. I mean, all of a sudden I had three vampire characters who were all connected, seemed to know what was going on while I was clueless, etc. I felt like I missed a book or something. Then, when I found out that this is actually book two of the series, it made sense. This isn't the type of series where each book is pretty much standalone with some overlap between books. I would definitely recommend reading DEAD Awake (which is free today on Kindle) before reading DEAD Faint. Once I figured that out and read DEAD Awake, it made a lot more sense.

I absolutely loved the characters. Billie Joyce (or BJ) was one of my favorites. She's a survivor, fierce and feisty when she needs to be and she won't back down without a fight. She's also not your typical heroine. She's an older woman for one (though her age isn't exactly mentioned) and she has a very odd quirk being a vampire who faints at the sight of blood . I loved seeing her grow from a small town country girl to a sophisticated, capable woman. I love her Southern sayings and how she loves to drive Daniel crazy. I can definitely see myself in her, which helped me connect even more with her. As for Daniel, I wasn't a huge fan of him at first, but he definitely grows on you. I'm still debating who's more stubborn, him or BJ. He's an extremely old vampire, raised in a much more different time and place, which leads to part of the problems between him and BJ. There are parts of the book where I just want to smack him, but he grew on me at the end.

Now, my second favorite character was Dovey Lowell, formerly Deb Stein. She and her husband Aaron were featured in the book DEAD Awake, which is the first book in this series. Dovey also reminds me of myself. She's a funny, sarcastic character and what makes her even more interesting is when you add the pregnancy hormones in. Yep, pregnant vampire makes things so much more interesting and funny. This book also featured her point of view several times, so you got to see more of the improved Dovey in this book. Aaron wasn't around as much and didn't get to see his POV, so I didn't really form an opinion about him. I did kind of like that they were more involved than secondary characters usually are, but I would have loved to see more of BJ and Daniel's development as a couple and I think it would have been nicer if the book was longer. Though there is hope that we'll see more of them in future books along with Dovey and Aaron.

I loved the vampires here. While they don't sparkle and they aren't vegetarians, they also aren't cold-blooded murderers. They have problems just like humans do, though theirs are a bit different (anyone else having trouble their reflection?). There were some other interesting elements thrown in, like pregnant vampires and the crowning of a new vampire king, which I would rather have seen than just read about it happening. All in all though, while different vampire aspects are mentioned, the focus isn't so much on the paranormal element than on the romantic element. I liked their BJ and Daniel's courtship, though it didn't go too well at first. I loved when Daniel finally pulled his head out of his ass and decided to stop making me yell at him and started being the character girls would swoon over.

My only real problem with the book was all the action. The blurb frankly sucked at preparing me for what I would read. So much happened that didn't tie in to the relationship or seemed to be thrown in to make it seem like it would be impossible for the two to work things out. But there weren't as many details. I mean, something huge happens to Daniel and then it's barely mentioned at all, except as a possible problem. There's little development or details. I mean, I know the focus is on their relationship, but come on. That's be like telling someone, "oh yeah, (INSERT NAME) just died", and then just walking away. I wanted to hear more about it and see it play a bigger role and it didn't. Also, while I loved seeing more of Dovey and Aaron (I hate reading series and never seeing previous characters), I also think there were times the story focused more on them than the main couple. Heck, there were times were I was more interested in Dovey than everyone else, which upset me. It's like a bride being upstaged by a bridesmaid, it's not supposed to happen.

All in all though, I did greatly enjoy this book. It was cute, funny, absolutely hysterical at times, and a good read. I would definitely recommend this book to others, and I can't wait to read future books in this series. I will be featuring other books in this series this month, so stop by to hear more about this interesting series. I give this book 4 stars out of 5.

 

If you want to read the first book in the series, you can buy it for free on Amazon:

 

 Pretty sweet huh? But wait, it gets better. Because you can also enter to win a giant swag package!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sounds like your cup of tea? Want to read the beginning of the DEAD series? Well, here's where to go:

DEAD Awake                                            DEAD Faint

                                                              

BIO:

Award winning author, Lizzie T. Leaf started life in Kansas, continued her growing in North Carolina, and currently shivers through the winters in Colorado.  She has numerous e-books in varying lengths and her first print book, Struck by Lightning, won dual 2007 Beacon awards, in addition to being a finalist in two other contests.

In addition, Making Christmas, a Christmas Historical novella set during the Civil War won Love Romances Café Best Historical for 2011 and is a finalist in the Aspen Gold for Best Novella.

Beyond Magic, the first book in the Magical Love series won the 2012 Award of Excellence Best Paranormal/Fantasy/Sy-Fi, and is a finalist for Best Paranormal in the Aspen Gold.  Winners are announced in mid to late October.

 Since discovering the fun of writing paranormal, she plays with creating vampires, faeries and other immortals. Her current focus is the DEAD series.  Musa Publishing has re-released the first four novellas in the series and DEAD Hot, a new novella, is scheduled to release in October.  Emerging Magic, the second novel in the Magical Love series will also release in late October or early November with Passion in Print Press.

When not creating mischief for paranormal beings, she can be found exploring the other genres she wants to write.  She also serves as the 2012 President for the Heart of Denver Romance Writers.

Lizzie loves to read, spend time with her family and travel with her best friend husband during her free time, on which most of friends ask…“what free time?”

ONLINE LINKS:

Website  www.lizzietleaf.com

Blog  http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=826769827

Twitter  http://twitter.com/lizzietleaf

To follow along on the rest of the tour: 

10/12  The Book Tart
10/12  Harlie's Books 
10/13  DanaSquare
10/13  Books, Books and More Books
10/13  My Cozie Corner
10/13  SnifferWalk
10/13  Sharing Links and Wisdom
10/13  Red Headed Bookworm
10/13  The Clumsy Coquette
10/14  Once Upon A Book
10/14  Inside BJ's Head
10/14 Book Purses
10/14  Free Book Dude
10/14  Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books
10/14  Paranormal Romantic Suspense
10/14  Krystal's Enchanting Reads

And don't forget to stop by the rest of this month for my tour stops for the other 3 books in the DEAD series, including new release, DEAD Hot.

Hot in Handcuffs Blog Hop

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Reminder...

Just a reminder to everyone, coming up tomorrow is the first day of the Hot in Handcuffs Blog Hop!! I'll be giving away a pair of handcuffs and a Kim Dare ebook, so don't forget to stop by! Also, don't forget to stop by the other participating sites as well! Over 135 blogs are participating, so there are plenty of chances to win!

The Brush Whistler's Song Review

My first review just went live on TRR!! Here it is:


The Brush Whistler's Song by Augusta Li


What would you do if everything you believed was called into question? What if you found out you were wrong?

Young Arjin is caught in the web of an ancient truce. Barely into his adulthood, he is given as tribute to the mysterious Najadira, part of a race of nigh-immortal horned warriors known as the Ansari. But Arjin is no innocent. Since his childhood, he has been trained for this day, groomed by the temple priests for a singular purpose: not to please the Ansari, but to murder him and free his people from the terms of their agreement.

Najadira, though, is old and jaded, and unsurprised by Arjin's true nature. Still, he chooses to keep Arjin near to him, finding that the young man's zeal quickens his old blood like few before him ever did. He allows Arjin access into his world, a world of beauty and wonder that had before now been denied. And as Arjin learns more about Najadira, he begins to question his teachings about the Ansari. Ultimately, he must choose between taking a life in the service of his beliefs or abandoning his duty and thereby condemning his soul to the decadence and sin surrounding him.

This is an interesting story about discovering oneself and getting second chances. The entire story revolves around only Arjin and Najadira, as there are no secondary characters to speak of. This book's plot is very interesting. Usually, in most books, the big problem(s) that the characters have to overcome in order to get their happy ever after are big, external, out of the heroes' control that they must fight against. Well in this book, it's a bit different. Arjin has to overcome the false beliefs instilled in him while Najadira has to overcome his ennui. The characters are their own worst and sole enemies, which is an unusual twist. Most books have a hint of that, but that was all this book was about. Now that may not sound very exciting, but Ms. Li does a wonderful job of portraying their inner struggles, particularly Arjin's. I felt connected to the characters and eagerly reading to try and learn more about both of them.

Arjin first comes off as a righteous warrior, but then he turns into a bit of a brat. A confused, young, tad naïve brat, but still a brat. He was raised with strict morals, yet the very things he was trained to do go against his faith. There were parts of the story where I just wanted to smack some sense in him and tell him to let his stubbornness go. Najadira is a bit of a mystery. He doesn't entirely make sense for most of the book, until you discover all the reasons he let Arjin stay and why he is who he is now. I just wanted to cry for him, cuddle him, and let him know everything would be okay.

The world in this book is very fascinating. There is a clear divide between the humans and the Ansari. The main human religion, the group that trained Arjin, believes that pleasure and anything related to it are immoral, including homosexuality. Meanwhile, the Ansari celebrate all things pleasure related. These differences are very extreme, yet Ms. Li doesn't make them seem too fantastical or unbelievable. In my mind, I saw the human's world as being like the Dark Ages while the Ansari's world was reminiscent of the decadence of the Renaissance at its peak. They are almost exact opposites, which makes the clash of wills and minds between Arjin and Najadira even more interesting.

Now, the only problem I had with this book was also with the plot. It seemed to drag on at times and while I like the idea of the book being solely about the two characters coming to terms with themselves and one another, there were parts of the story I was tempted to skip, that gave me a "been there, done that" feeling. I think if the story had been shorter or had some more external forces in play, it would have been more exciting and wouldn't have dragged along as much.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this book. It was a very unusual read and Ms. Li is a wonderful writer. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to try something new.