Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Sunday Post ~sharing blog news and book haul

The Sunday Post ~ 23nd Edition
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 
September is finally coming to an end, and tomorrow I will find myself one year older, but no worries because it is also the start of an exciting month on the blog. I will be having my first month long themed event called "Things that Go Bump in the Night" with great reviews, guest posts, and tons of awesome giveaways. I am also super excited about hosting my first read-a-thon on October 5th called Fraterfest. I hope you will stop by and join in all the fun. Have an awesome week and grab a pumpkin latte before you go visit all the lovely blogs below.  

Last week on the blog I brought you:

This week on the blog look for:
  • Launch of Things That Go Bump in the Night
  • Ten by Gretchen McNeil (review-giveaway)
  • Darkness Rising by Lis Weihl (review-giveaway)
  • Beyond by Graham McNamee (review giveaway)
  • Fraterfest schedule and link-up for goals
  • Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges (review-giveaway)
  • The Hiding Place by David Bell (review-giveaway)
  • Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater (review-giveaway)
Around the Blogosphere: 

 A special shout-out to the Geeky Bloggers Book Blog for all the Blogger Support posts she has done, I think it is wonderful and encourage you to check out this awesome blogger and her blog. If you stop by tell her Kimba sent ya!


My Book Haul: 
For Review:

The Twelve by Justin Cronin
courtesy of Ballentine/Random House Books


Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
courtesy of Simon & Schuster


I received an ARC of The Bughouse Affair by Marcla Muller
and Bill Pronzini in the mail courtesy of Tor/Forge

Gifted:


All She Never Wanted by Adele Griffin 
Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
Flutter by Gina Linko
all courtesy of Random House Children's


Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges
The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab
thanks to Random House Children's



Velveteen by Daniel Marks
The FitzOsbornes At War by Michelle Cooper
courtesy of Random House Children's

Bought or Download:

                                            

Be sure and stop in starting tomorrow for:



What is new in your world? 



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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Season for Surrender by Theresa Romain


Season for Surrender
by Theresa Romain
Publisher: Kensington
Publication date: October 2, 2012
Genre: Historical Romance
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository


Honor Among Rogues -Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier, has quite a reputation—for daring, wagering, and wickedness in all its delightful forms. But the wager before him is hardly his preferred sport: Xavier must persuade a proper young lady to attend his famously naughty Christmas house party—and stay the full, ruinous two weeks. Worse, the lady is Louisa Oliver, a doe-eyed bookworm Xavier finds quite charming. Yet to refuse the challenge is impossible—he will simply have to appoint himself Miss Oliver’s protector…Mischief Among Misses -Louisa knows her chance for a husband has passed. But she has no desire to retire into spinsterhood without enjoying a few grand adventures first. When Lord Xavier’s invitation arrives, Louisa is more intrigued than insulted. And once inside the rogues’ gallery, she just may have a thing or two to teach her gentlemen friends about daring.
When I saw the gorgeous cover I was immediately drawn to Season for Surrender. While not part of a series, this book tells the tale of Louisa Oliver a character from Romain’s first novel a Season of Temptation.  I found the cast of character’s attending the Christmas House party of Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier to be absolutely delightful. I quickly consumed this and walked away feeling good. 

The ton and the wager books at White’s say Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier is a rogue and rumors of his escapades are the gossip of the ton. Alex does nothing to dissuade the tons opinion and in fact has a whole list of facial expressions he imposes on them. His cousin Lockwood makes a wager for 10 pounds that Alex cannot get a bluestocking to attend his Christmas House party and remain the full two weeks. He even goes so far as to name the woman, Lady Louisa Oliver. While Alex protests a woman’s reputation is worth more than a wager, he cannot help but accept. After all Lord Xavier never loses a bet. The tale that unfolds is filled with humor, sexual tension, a villain and an unexpected romance.

I must say Romain created characters I came to adore. Alex is a complete rogue (well at least that is what the ton has been led to believe). Getting to know the man behind the facial expressions was delightful. I found him to be completely swoon-worthy. Louisa Oliver is smarty, witty, quiet and looking for an adventure. I immediately connected with this little book lover. I loved that a library could make her swoon. She believes her season for a husband has passed but her feisty Aunt Estella has other ideas. I adored this melding, sharp tongue, opinionated woman. Other guests at the party were entertaining. I really liked Jane and hope she will get her own book. The villain was deliciously evil and created tension.

The pacing of the romance was off. It took too long for things to develop and kept this from achieving five cups of coffee. I loved the setting, and the steamy library scenes. The characters were all delightful and kept me reading, as I truly liked them. It was the getting them from point A to point B, and the constant hot and cold between Alex and Louisa that drove me batty. Just when I thought they had had a moment, they would have a setback. Perhaps it was intentional by the author to create tension, however this part of the plot frustrated me. When things finally began to progress..oh-la-la!  I liked Romain’s writing style and her ability to bring her characters to life. I can just picture Alex's array of facial expressions and cannot help but giggle even as I write this. She provided wonderful detail and I developed a beautiful image of the house and its guests. The last quarter of the book was the strongest, and I loved the ending.

Despite issues I really enjoyed Alex and Louisa's story. I recommend Season for Surrender to fans of historical romance, laced with humor and lovable characters.

I want to thank Kensington books for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through buy links result in a small commission which we use to fund our giveaways.

I gave this novel 4 coffee cups out of 5.
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Friday, September 28, 2012

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay ~early review

Romeo Redeemed
by Stacey Jay
Series: Juliet Immortal #2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication date: October 9, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository


Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.
Romeo Redeemed is the follow-up to Juliet Immortal and brings us Romeo’s story. I was captivated by Stacey Jay’s retelling of the Shakespeare tragedy Romeo and Juliet and was pleased to receive an early copy of book two. It is a beautiful love story, a tale of redemption and the power of forgiveness. I quickly became immersed in the tale and walked away feeling all warm and fuzzy. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon read.

The tale picks up after immediately after book one ends. Romeo now cursed is walking around in a rotting corpse and for the first time in almost eight hundred years, he feels. He feels pain, hunger, cold, and loneliness. Despite this, he feels his curse is deserved. He was able to save Juliet and undo his wrong and for this he would do it again.  He is approached by Nurse and offered a chance to join the Ambassadors; a chance to redeem his soul. There is a condition; He must prove himself worthy and will have to complete a mission. If successful he may save the world and join the Ambassadors. He readily agrees to her terms.  He must travel back in time and save Ariel Dragland. To save her he must make her fall in love with him and turn her towards the light.  Unbeknownst to Ariel she is an important key to both the Mercenaries and the Ambassadors. If he fails, he will return to his rotting corpse. When Romeo is transported back he finds himself once again in Dylan’s body. He is in the car with Ariel, seconds before she grabs the wheel.  Now he has to convince her, that he isn’t an arse and make her fall in love. He has three days to win her heart. The tale that unfolds was delicious. It was filled with twists and turns that had my heart racing.

I really like Romeo in all of his flawed, smexy glory. Yep, he was a bad boy, perhaps shallow but we get to see the continuation of the transformation that began in book one and it was lovely. Ariel blossoms in this version and I liked her. She doesn’t accept crap from anyone and begins to stand up for herself. She sees sadness in Romeo and feels he needs her. She suffers from nightmares and voices, and releases them through her art.  Ariel is constantly tested throughout this tale by her friends, enemies and her own doubts. At times she wavered in her beliefs but overall  I was impressed with her character. The romance was sweet, beautiful and believable. I loved the depth and wonder they experienced. Jay made me feel it, I wanted them to conquer all and get their HEA.  Juliet, Rosaline and Ben make appearance, and weave back into the tale. The roles of the Ambassadors and Mercenaries become clearer. I loathed the Friar and the sickly sweet Nurse.  

Filled with messages of forgiveness, redemption and the power of love, Jay does a fantastic job of engaged the reader. I loved the paranormal woo-woo she weaved into this tale and dare I say it, I actually liked Romeo Redeemed better than book one..Eep..It’s true! Maybe because we understood more of the back-story and the characters were more fleshed-out. Whatever the reason, fans of the first will love this one. The tale is told from three POV’s and I felt it added to the suspense and depth of characters. The storyline has a great pace, but at times it felt a wee bit messy. None of it was enough to distract me from the overall tale and at times I blamed my own eagerness. We get an action packed, and suspenseful ending. Jay did a great job of tying up all the plots and I was well satisfied.   

I recommend Romeo Redeemed to fans of Juliet Immortal and retellings. I thought this was a delightful, face-paced, action-packed read with a romance that left me breathless. The paranormal elements weaved into the tale made this unique and the characters made it surreal.  Stacey Jay is an author whose works I would try again.

I want to thank Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through the buy links result in a small commission which we use to fund giveaways.

I gave this 4.5 coffee  cups out of 5. 
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer Kimba The Caffeinated Book Reviewer Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

My review of Juliet Immortal 
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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Felice's Worlds by Henry Massie

Today as part of the Pump Up Your Books Blog Tour I am proud to be sharing a guest post from Henry Massie the author of Felice's Worlds:From the Holocaust to the Halls of Modern Art. He will talk about what inspired him to write Felice's World:



Felice's Worlds
by Henry Massie
Publisher: booksbeNimble
Publication date: February 14, 2012
Genre: Memoir/Historical/Biography
Purchase: Amazon


From the author:

I had listened to my mother’s tales all my life and wanted to share them. She was an escapee from a Polish shtetl wiped out by the Nazis, a high-school political activist in Lithuania, a university student in France who lost her first love tragically, a partisan for Arab-Jewish co-existence in Palestine who was caught in the first intifada in 1936, and a penniless arrival to America in 1937. Yet when she died she had amassed one of the most important collections of Modern Art in the world and was a university lecturer on the subject. In writing about her, I understood for the first time how her experience of losing loved ones to the Nazis had been passed on to her American son. But as a psychiatrist, I was drawn to Felice’s story because it shows so much resilience in the face of terrible emotional trauma. Her life dramatizes how just keeping on through days of having nothing but a belief that "someday I will have something," can be a powerful survival tool. – Henry Massie 
Guest Post:

My mother entertained me with her adventures from the time I was a small child.  She was a great story teller and I had a very dramatic vision of her and her life and times.  As I grew older I wanted to share her stories with others.  Sometimes she would tell an episode around our family dinner table.  Sometimes she would launch into an adventure when we were with guests.  At times she shared them with me alone, especially as she grew older after my father passed away.

There were many different parts and periods to her life, and her stories revealed her as a  bold, colorful, impulsive, brilliant woman who knew how to seize a moment and make it hers.  The experiences she recounted brought to life bygone eras better than any history book, more completely than any movie.

For example, I learned about life in the poor farming village of her girlhood in Poland near the Russian border.  I learned what it was like to be singled out as "the pretty one, sprightly, special little girl whose father, the mayor, sent her away to get an education."   She became the first girl from her village to go to university.  I learned how she came of age in the 1930s and used the ruse of a false marriage to escape from the Nazis and enter Palestine.  There she received the death threats from both Jews and Arabs because she treated everybody equally.  Bitterly disappointment by the violence there, America beckoned her.  I saw her descending the gangplank at Ellis Island in 1937, a young,  penniless  woman with a mission to send back money to rescue her family.  She placed an  ad offering child-care in the New Haven, Connecticut newspaper.  Within days she moved into the home of the President of Yale University to be his daughter's governess and French and Latin tutor.  This was her first work in America; her last work was as a philanthropist.  In between she gathered one of the foremost collections of American Abstract Expressionist Art anywhere.  Toward the end of her life she told me the tragedy of the death of her first love when she was a student in France, which she had kept secret.

I was born in St. Louis, Missouri the day the Nazis marched into her little village and decimated the townspeople.  Thus another reason I wrote FELICE'S WORLDS was to recount how the trauma of the Holocaust imprinted itself on her and how she passed this emotional trauma on to the next generation.  I knew how her losses affected my mother because I heard her nightmares and her pacing at night.

However only as I wrote her memoir, often in her very words, did I understand for the first time how I too had been affected by her experiences.  The writing also became my memoir, and the insights about the psychological trauma of war as well as her resilience seemed important to share with others.~Henry



About the author:

Henry Massie is a psychiatrist, award-winning author, and pioneering researcher in the field of autism. FELICE'S WORLDS--From the Holocaust to the Halls of Modern Art, is the a memoir and biography of his mother, a brilliant and beautiful woman who participated in many of the most critical periods of the 20th Century. If you liked AWAY by Amy Bloom, or LOST IN TRANSLATION by Eva Hoffman, you should really meet Felice.


 Thanks for sharing your mother's story with us.

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday #27

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme
 hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine
where we spotlight books we are eagerly anticipating.

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Publisher: Macmillan
Publication date: February 5, 2013
Genre: YA Dystopian

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.
As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.
I love the world Meyer has created and am anxious to return. 


One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
by Sarah MacLean
Series: Rules of Scoundrels #2
Publisher: HarperCollins/Avon
Publication date: January 29, 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Purchase:Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

The second in the incredible new Rules of Scoundrels series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean. Lady Philippa Marbury is odd. The bespectacled, brilliant fourth daughter of the Marquess of Needham and Dolby cares more for books than balls, flora than fashion and science than the season. Nearly engaged to Lord Castleton, Pippa wants to explore the scandalous parts of London she's never seen before marriage. And she knows just who to ask: the tall, charming, quick-witted bookkeeper of The Fallen Angel, London's most notorious and coveted gaming hell, known only as Cross. 
Like any good scientist, Pippa's done her research and Cross's reputation makes him perfect for her scheme. She wants science without emotion - the experience of ruination without the repercussions of ruination. And who better to provide her with the experience than this legendary man? But when this odd, unexpected female propositions Cross, it's more than tempting . . . and it will take everything he has to resist following his instincts - and giving the lady precisely what she wants.
Right now I am totally in love with this author. I cannot wait to read Pippa and Cross's story..eep! You can see my review of book one; A Rouge By Any Other Name here


I will not be participating in Waiting on Wednesday
during the month of October due to my month long event
but I hope you will stop in. WoW will be back in November. 



What books are you waiting on? 

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Gift of El Tio by Larry Buchanan and Karen Gans

Today I am pleased to be bringing you a guest post from the authors of the memoir The Gift of El Tio as part of Tributes Books Blog Tour. Please join me in welcoming Larry Buchanan and Karen Gans.



As the cold wind whistled past the black mouth of the cave in the cliffs above his village of San Cristobal, cacique Juan de la Cruz wrapped his coat about him and again stared into the flames for a sign, a message from a spirit, a ghost, or in this case, from his god, El Tio.  “Be patient,” he said.  He spit as he spoke again of the prophecy that would soon be fulfilled.  I sat beside him in the shelter of the cave, the cold seeped from the rock walls to freeze my behind as my face burned in front of the fire.  There was no message.  The spirits and ghosts didn’t speak, but Juan already knew that a dozer would soon level his Quechua village, and he knew very well that I was responsible.

While prospecting in southwest Bolivia in 1996, I discovered an enormous deposit of silver beneath his village.  To make a mine, my company had to move the people to a new site.  Karen and I lived among the people for ten years to document the effects of my discovery, all of which are recorded in our recent memoir, The Gift of El Tio.  After a short time of living with the Quechua, we learned my discovery had been specifically foretold for over 400 years, the people knew the silver was there all along.  It turns out I was merely a pawn of their god of the underworld, El Tio, guided to Bolivia to help fulfill a promise he had made.

“El Tio promised us a gift…,” Don Juan said, stuffing more coca leaf into his already bulging mouth, “…to change our lives forever.  We will have so much wealth, so much silver our houses will shine white in the sun, we will not even count our change in the market.”

This prophecy was passed down orally from father to son for at least ten generations; it is known by everyone.  I first heard it from some hitchhikers going to the dry lake near Uyuni to gather salt.  I paid no attention to it.  I am a scientist.  Math and physics leave little room for ancient prophecies; there is no icon on my calculator for computing a prophecy made by a naked, beer-bingeing, cannibalistic god of the underworld.  I found it a curious story, quaint, picturesque even, but it was well beyond my ability to believe in such things.  That is, until I heard the whole story.

The animist culture of the Quechua allows for a pantheon of gods, the Catholic god and the Pachamama foremost among them, but also innumerable lesser gods, spirits, goblins, souls and devils of various sorts.  One, a particularly cruel and peevish god, El Tio, lives his entire life within the black interior of mountains, guarding his precious veins of gold and silver, a god never born but who actually was constructed by the Spanish merely to frighten the local workers.

El Tio suddenly appeared in the mines of the Andes as an adult around the year 1605.  Even in the absolute black of his subterranean home, El Tio’s beard and mustache glow orange or yellow.  His eyes are blue; his face, Caucasian, resembling those of his creators, the Spanish overlords who ruled by the whip in the mines of Bolivia.  The Spanish had molded a clay god after their own diabolic image and enthroned him to rule in this sunless underworld, telling the exhausted workers that this hideous clay figure was El Diablo, their Dios of the mine, their god who guaranteed torture and death for anyone who dreamed he could somehow escape the impossible quota of toil demanded of every indigenous male in the Andes.  The miners certainly came to fear El Tio for they soon learned the hard way that their new god had an insatiable appetite for human flesh.  He was always hungry.

The rumor is that the Quechua could not pronounce the lisp in the Spanish “Dios.”  Over the years it became “Tios,” then “El Tio.”

As told in The Gift of El Tio, the people believe El Tio had hidden a gift for those who continued to believe in him, a gift to be unveiled after 400 years in the year 2000.  I discovered the silver in 1996, close enough for the people to believe my discovery was the fulfillment of El Tio’s promise.  Coincidences such as this do not exist in the world of science; everything must be rational, but truth is I did begin to wonder, to question.  I started attending the numerous Quechua ceremonies in order to document their old ways.  In doing so, I became enthralled by the Quechua culture.

In The Gift of El Tio Karen and I document how the gift was discovered, how it changed the lives of the villagers, how it did, indeed, make them wealthier beyond their dreams, and how their new homes did shine white in the sun.  We also document how, true to the perverse nature of El Tio, in accepting the gift the people also had to accept the strings attached:  the destruction of the village and the loss of their entire way of life.


Thanks for sharing this fascinating post with us.
I am looking forward to reading The Gift of Eli Tio 

Now lets meet the authors and learn more about the memoir.

Karen Gans and  Larry Buchanan

Larry Buchanan earned his PhD in Economic Geology in 1979 and taught university-level geology for several years, but his love of the field led him to gold and silver prospecting in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In 2006, he won the coveted Thayer Lindsley Award for the San Cristobal silver discovery. Dr. Buchanan has published a dozen scientific works and is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and college campuses.
Karen Gans earned her Master s degree in Early Childhood Development and has thirty-five years of experience as an educator, counselor, and consultant. She taught English in the Quechua village while the couple lived in Bolivia. Ms. Gans and her husband have four children and two grandchildren and reside in Ashland, Oregon.

The Gift of El Tio
by Larry Buchanan and Karen Gans
Publisher:
Publication date:
Genre: Memoir/non-fiction
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon



Larry, a world-renowned geologist, discovers an enormous deposit of silver beneath a remote Quechua village in Bolivia and unwittingly fulfills a 400-year-old prophecy that promised a life of wealth for the villagers. Karen, a specialist in child development, is deeply disturbed by the prospect of displacing the people in order to open a mine. She challenges Larry to leave the comforts of home and move to the village in order to bear witness to the massive change his discovery will spark. Thus begins the couple's life-changing, ten-year journey into the Quechua community, their evolution from outsiders to trusted friends. Then part two of the ancient prophecy is disclosed to them, and they are shocked by the truth of its predictions: alienation, despair, even cannibalism.


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Monday, September 24, 2012

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Dearly, Beloved
by Lia Habel
Series: Gone With the Respiration #2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication date: September 25, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal
Purchase*:Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository


Can the living coexist with the living dead?
That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites. Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety. Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target. As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the illness—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.
I loved the world building and secondary characters in Dearly, Departed and despite some issues I was looking forward to book two. I hoped Dearly, Beloved would deliver and instead it left me with mixed feelings. I truly struggled with this book and its six points of view. I read this over the course of three days and often felt disconnected. There were aspects I loved, and others that had me frustrated.

The tale picks up a shortly after Dearly, Departed ends. Bram and Nora are still very much in love and trying to make the best of their limited time together. The young couple, along with some of company Z have taken up residence in the Dearly home. The underground city is practically abandoned, and the artificial sky is dimmed. A new strain of the Lazarus virus has erupted. This has caused tension between humans and zombies. The city is in chaos. A band of masked young people are kidnapping zombies and they are never seen or heard from again.  A group of zombies has banded together outside the city limits and Bram fears they are up to no good. It is dangerous to be a zombie supporter at the moment.  Nora is trying to take care of everyone she loves. She also wants to be useful and refuses to leave the city. The tale has many different storylines, and I found parts of it fascinating.

The tale is told from six points of view. This was an issue I had with Dearly Departed with its five points of view. Once again I felt that too many perspectives clogged the tale. Characters that I adored in book one, fell apart in book two. I loved Pam and thought she was kick-ass and stole the show in Dearly, Departed. In this novel, she is paranoid, dramatic, scared and although she has amazing moments, she lost her mojo.  Coalhouse a member of company Z who was witty and awesome has a meltdown in this novel. Nora is still head strong, fierce and protective of those she cares about. Bram was focused on his company and keeping humans and zombies safe. The romance was sweet and the two enjoyed a few stolen moments. I did like the development in their relationship. Ren, Chas, Tom and others were present. We did learn more about Dr. Chase and Samid’s background. Patient Zero was interesting and I admit to being curious about him and Michael’s father. Michael had his own point of view, and it was perhaps the most interesting. Lauren, a hippie zombie has her own voice making her the new POV.

There is a lot going on in this novel, many different story threads are weaved together. Sadly, the pace of the first three-fourths of this book was horrible. In book one I loved the attention to detail and world-building, this novel lacked those details. Habel’s writing style is lovely and some of the action scenes, and storylines had me completely enthralled. Overall though, the tale didn’t give me the rush I got from book one. I felt like I was at an amusement park, and spent most of my time waiting in line. I will say that when I did get on the ride, it was exhilarating. The ending wrapped up nicely, but there are still many unanswered questions. This novel is going to be hit or miss with fans. Despite, my feelings I would pick up a third book, but the anticipation I felt after book one is gone.

I had a love hate relationship with Dearly, Beloved. I still recommend this to fans of Dearly, Departed. Some of the stories lines were fascinating, and despite issues, I enjoyed aspects of this and adore Nora and Bram.

I want to thank Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through buy links on this site result in a small commission that fund our giveaways.

I gave this novel 2.5 coffee cups out of 5. 
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Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Sunday Post ~sharing blog news and book haul

The Sunday Post ~ 22nd Edition
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 
Fall is finally here. New shows and old shows are back on television. I am kind of geeky and love Dr. Who, Fringe and Bones. I am also excited about Supernatural and Vampire Dairies starting. Damon and Dean *sighs* I watched the new dystopian called Revolution and think it shows potential. I also love this quirky show called Perception, with this college professor who helps the FBI solve cases. I love autumn and some of the trees are starting to turn the candy color red that I love so much. What shows do you like to watch? Did you/will you try any new ones? 


Last week on the blog I brought you: 

This week on the blog look for:
  • Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel (review)
  • The Gift of El Tio by Larry Buchanan and Karen Gans (guest post)
  • Waiting on Wednesday
  • Felice's World by Henry Massie (excerpt)
  • Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay (early review)
  • Season of Surrender by Theresa Romain (review)
Around the Blogosphere:
  • An awesome review of Stormdancer by Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings
  • Check out Blodeuedd @ Books For Life's review of When You Give A Duke A Diamond, her description of the characters made me giggle. 
  • Jen @ Jen Ryland/YA Romantics posted a fantastic review of Butter and Skinny
  • Check out this awesome post about Bullying from Cheles Bella @ A Belle's Tale

My Book Haul:

Books Received for Review:


Undeadly by Michele Vail
courtesy of Harlequin Teen

Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Marina Adair 
courtesy of publisher MontLake Romance

Alice in Zombieland by Gene Showalter
received an ARC in the mail courtesy of Harlequin Teen 

courtesy of Grand Central publishing 


Absolution from author Susannah Sandlin 
send along with a signed bookmark for Redemption, book one *eep*


Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones
courtesy of St. Martin Press

Book I won or was gifted:


A Man of Honor by Loree Lough
won from Colletta @ Colletta's Kitchen Sink. She also sent 
me the cutest handmade corner bookmarks, I love them! 


Year Zero by Rob Reid
I am sorry to say that M. Gilmore sent this too me and
I cannot connect the name to a blog..brain fart?!? 
Just in: Won from Michelle @ In Libris Veritas

Purchased or downloaded for free:

                       

Got Books? New? 






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