Kim Harrison - Facebook Chat Takeaways (Major Ever After Spoilers Ahead)
So if you didn’t have a lot of time to read through the Facebook chat Kim held at Harper Voyager’s page on Friday, you’re in luck. Here are the top 5 important things you need to know (in no particular order):
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
- Jenks and Belle will not become a couple. Though they are getting closer, it will be more of a comrade in arms type of relationship.
- Ceri and Pierce’s deaths will impact the series, but it will not be on Kisten’s level.
- When the last books hit re-write mode, there’s a chance we’ll learn more about Al’s wife (no guarantee though). But in other news, he apparently also knew Trent’s mom and her death is why there are no pixies in Trent’s garden.
- Gonna direct quote this one. Take it for what you will:
Renee Martin: Okay my question is, are you ever going to let Rachel and Trent do it already? It’s driving me around the bend
Kim Harrison: Hi Renee. OMGosh, you’re going to like book 12.
- The last scene of the final Hollows book was originally going to end on a beach. But it’s recently been changed to Trent’s stables.
Caressed by a Crimson Moon (Rulers of Darkness #3) by Amanda Greene - If you want hott, it’s got hott.
The third Rulers of Darkness tale presents us with a new hero and heroine. For centuries Hadrian Lucretius, Vampire King of the Validus Clan, has been cursed with dark and violent memories of his past. He’s practically earned the reputation of the seven deadly sins all wrapped into one. Eva Maldonado, daughter of the Silveria Shifter Pack’s alpha, has been offered to him as a gift in hopes of maintaining peace between vampires and their kind. Whisked away to the secluded fortress high in the Carpathian Mountains, Eva senses more beyond his frightening veneer. And he senses more beyond her broken spirit. Drawn to one another like moths to a flame, will they be each other’s saviors or ultimate undoing?
You definitely get what you expect based on the synopsis and the cover. I felt like this one teetered on the erotica line a little more than its predecessors which felt more like your usual paranormal romance. The chemistry between Eva and Hadrian is very strong and the love scenes are well done, if gratuitous after a while. There’s a lot of unresolved sexual tension that may become frustrating for the reader, but that’s become the norm in this genre. I liked the appearances of characters from the prior novels. Though a paranormal romance, it allows everything to tie in to the current story a bit better.
When it comes to this series, I the first one remains my personal favorite. I enjoyed the regency feel and I felt like the focus leaned more towards the story and plot progression. I’d likely rank this one second though. Their secluded setting provided a similar feel.
This is quality paranormal romance. The writing, atmosphere, the angst, and the dynamic between the hero and heroine are all quite good. It’s just a matter of your tastes and your mood. I’m urban fantasy fan first so other details tend to catch my attention and I find myself wanting those fleshed out and explored more. Greene presents a supernatural world that can be pretty complicated between the various species all vying for control.
The books are standalones, but you definitely see glimpses of potential lead characters for the subsequent novels. I look forward to the sequels.
*ARC provided by the author.
Hollows Digest - Kim Harrison Q&A This Friday! She’s been all over the place!
Hi everyone! Just giving you a heads up that Kim Harrison is doing a Q&A at Harper Voyager’s Facebook page this Friday from 2-3pm EST. She’s currently polling at her page as to whether spoilers will be allowed:
https://www.facebook.com/questions/10151462492864940/
I vote “yes” to spoilers of course. If I can attend I’ll be there! And besides, the book has been out a few weeks already! Most people willing to carve out an hour in their afternoon on a Friday have probably read it. Friday you can check in here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarperVoyagerBooksUS?ref=ts&fref=ts
She’s also done a ton of interviews. I can hardly keep up!
http://www.wyso.org/post/book-nook-ever-after-kim-harrison
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/harper-voyager
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/video_chat/59
That’s just to name a few! Thankfully she’s listed a bunch herself at her website:
http://www.kimharrison.net/
I watched the ustream and goodreads interviews and I plan to listen to the radio interview. Has anyone checked out the others? Please feel free to share any juicy tidbits!
Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian #1) - I still don’t know what to make of this one
Keri Arthur’s debut series, Full Moon Rising, takes us down under to Australia where Riley and Rhoan Jenson, twin vampire/werewolf siblings, take on the not so easy task of protecting the human race from their supernatural counterparts. However, the biggest question remains; who will protect them? Riley is left to ponder this after her brother goes missing on one of his missions. It doesn’t help matters that the full moon is approaching, making Riley susceptible to moon heat, putting her need to mate above all else. But her will is strong and it will be tested as the prospects, werewolf and vampire alike, are tempting.
Her search for her brother uncovers an unholy harvest, where someone powerful is pulling to strings to create clones with the potential to become ultimate warriors. Possessing the best of both worlds like Riley and Rhoan makes them a huge target. Can Riley get to her brother in time before it’s too late? Can she save herself from a similar fate?
Regretfully, I’m not on a good roll with my choice of books lately. I read this book a few weeks ago, so it’s interesting to mull it over and think about what I can actually remember. To be honest, it’s not much! It was shockingly dull at times. More story and less sex would have benefited it. It walks the line of UF and PNR, but not in a good way. I could have done without rapey werewolves taking up so much page time, though I honestly can’t even remember the sex scenes. The characters lacked a lot of dimension and originality. Riley certainly takes a page from Anita Blake’s world with her need of a “harem” to satisfy her insatiable needs. And the more prevalent that became there, the less I cared about the series so ultimately I dropped it.
I gave this series a chance because I began to take a liking to the spin-off series, Dark Angels, with Risa Jones. That didn’t have the best start either, but the second book was a lot better. I am hoping Keri Arthur’s writing can at least stay the same in that respect. What the Riley world has going for it is that I kind of know how things work out since she and her HEA are present in the Dark Angels series as side characters. I understand that as prequel there’s a chance her writing simply improved later on and the second book may not be much better, but I’m hoping for something to pull me in and make me like the leading lady, the supporting cast, and the world as a whole. 1 down, 8 to go…hopefully.
Vicky Pettersson series sale for Kindle and Nook users! 6 books for 99 cents each!
Hi Guys! Not to spam you all with deals, but Harper Collins currently has a pretty awesome sale for Kindle and Nook owners. Vicky Pettersson’s Signs of the Zodiac series is on sale for 99 cents a piece. That’s 6 books for $5.94! I’m not sure how long it will last, but I’m definitely jumping on it.
POLL: Which book should I read next? You decide!
I haven’t had one of these in a little while, but I noticed I was feeling pretty indecisive about some upcoming books on my TBR list. I’m currently reading two books (one is a trilogy which I’ll likely complete), but after that, I will read whichever book wins this poll! A little help here people!
Loading ...Sealed with a Curse (Weird Girls #1) by Cecy Robson - Not what I was hoping for
It should come as no surprise that the Wird sisters, affectionately called “Weird” sisters, don’t always have it easy. Products of a curse gone awry, they possess unique powers that sometimes do more harm than good. And right now, the former is in effect when it turns out that one of the sisters killed a vampire. That’s a big no-no punishable by death unless self-defense can be proven. But the community might have bigger fish to fry as their vampires are becoming rabid, which is definitely not good for PR. So Celia, the eldest of the Wird clan, has to take the lead as they work with them to keep everyone safe.
I started out liking the story. There are a number of funny elements and punchlines, there’s lots of action and eye-candy for those of us with the imagination for it. It’s definitely on the lighter side of urban fantasy which I typically prefer, but overall it didn’t feel very cohesive. It had all of the parts, but the more I read the more it began to fall flat for me and that should be the other way around.
The love-triangle/love-interest set up from Celia to all of her sisters has a very contrived and amateur quality in its execution, and it didn’t really match the level that I think this series could be capable of. I didn’t find myself invested in it at all, and it may have to do with the characters themselves lacking a sense of depth and I’m referring to the cast as a whole. It’s hard to pin down their personalities. Darker urban fantasy series tend to be a little better about that because there’s more emotion involved, but it isn’t an impossible task in the lighter ones. For instance, The Hollows does it very well and I don’t really consider that one dark.
So far I’m on the fence as to if I want to continue this one, but I’m leaning towards no at this time. If the second book is supposedly better I might give it a try, but I’m definitely in no rush.
Amazon Daily Deals - Beautiful Creatures for $2.99
With the newly released film, this is a perfect time to promote the books. $2.99 is a pretty great deal. Even better it looks like you can get all four of the series for $2.99 a piece.
Click here for the deal!
Milo 2.0 by Debra Driza - A tentative start but it gets better
First off, I want to thank you all for being patient while I try to work out a couple of snags with my site’s transition. Things aren’t perfect quite yet, but I do have a new review ready to go…finally
If you’re a fan of films like Robocop, Artificial Intelligence and Bourne Identity then Milo 2.0 might be right up your alley, only with a young adult flavor thrown in. This new series centers on Mila, a seemingly normal teenage girl whose world is turned upside down after a freak accident reveals that she’s not quite human. In fact, she’s a cyborg military experiment, removed from their clutches to prevent those with ill intentions from doing more harm than good. With her identity revealed, she must go on the run with her “mom,” one of the engineers who fled with Mila, making tough decisions that cause her question whether she’s truly more man or machine.
I think I read this book at the right time. I was looking for something a little different from the usual urban fantasy or contemporary series. I am a fan of sci-fi stories and this is very well done for young adult genre. I think Debra Driza is positioning herself well, carving out her own little niche in the YA realm.
The book starts off with the typical day in the life of a teenager, so it was a little slow for me. I don’t read YA very much anymore because I no longer find the high school thing very interesting, and those I do read have little to none of that element. However, it has its place here in the story because the reader is allowed believe in Mila as a normal teenage girl. She’s very emotional and when she learns her true identity and purpose it’s very easy to sympathize. This technique (though in reverse) reminded me of Artificial Intelligence and how Haley Joel Osment’s character was handled. I may have cried during that movie and I go on record to say that I am NOT a crier!
I did think it was a little ridiculous that the military would design a teenage cyborg for the purposes of infiltrating groups and gathering intel as opposed to an adult, but I let it go. If you start reading the book and are a little disenchanted with it keep reading because the action really does pick up. I was on the edge of my seat with next to no idea of what would happen next. I found Mila to be easily likeable and though she may not be a human girl, she’s still a “real” girl to me. While a next book is definitely obvious, I’ve read worse cliffhangers so don’t let that dissuade you. I’m not sure if this is an ongoing series or a trilogy in the works, but I’d like to know what happens next and that’s always a good feeling to have at the end of a book. I recommend it.
*ARC provided by publisher.
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Ever After Tour Signing - Diva and Kim in Austin!
Since Kim Harrison is not stopping close enough to me this year, and won’t be attending San Diego Comic Con, I have decided to live vicariously through some of my lucky followers and friends. Our very own Diva was able to meet Kim during her stop yesterday in Austin, Texas. Diva was so kind as to provide a write-up that I’ll post below. There’s definitely some food for thought in there!
Last night I had the pleasure of meeting Kim Harrison for the first time as her book tour brought her to Austin, Tx. A friend and I, said friend also being a devoted Hollows fan, made the hour long drive to see her and the trip was completely worth it. The signing was held at Book People, which is a very cool independent bookstore and if anyone is ever in the Austin are I highly recommend checking it out. We arrived a little over an hour early and that was plenty of time to secure second row seats right in front of the speaker’s podium.
Kim appeared right on time and even though she has often said that speaking in front of people is slightly outside of her comfort zone, she appeared fresh and relaxed. She began with the usual reading of a book excerpt. This time around it was another Trent/Rachel scene which marks at least the second year in a row that she has selected a scene with the two of them. Good omens, perhaps, for fans of the duo. Once the reading was done Kim began the Q&A portion of the evening. She fielded the usual questions that seem to pop up at every event, i.e. the correct pronunciation of Al’s name, what authors inspire her, why the play on Clint Eastwood titles, why did she kill Kisten. Apparently there is a significant segment of the population that never goes online for this information, lol.
There were a few nuggets of interesting information however. Kim revealed that the pilot/tv adaptation
that the CW network had been working on had cut out Jenks. Blasphemy, I say. The chrysalis that
Rachel snatched from Al and that has long sat on her windowsill will, in fact, come back into play and
we will find out its significance. By the sounds of it this may happen in the final book but whenever
it happens it will shed some light into why Al has been so “bitter” and “vindictive” (Kim’s chosen
adjectives), and why he sees himself in Rachel. So some good stuff in store for Al fans everywhere.There were, surprisingly, no real character based questions so I ponied up the one and only Trent
related question. Looking back through the series, I’ve always been curious about the two times that
Kim was seemingly prepared to pair Trent off with someone. The first time of course being his marriage
to Ellasbeth and the second time being when Ceri was introduced. If you recall, Ceri thought that Trent
was handsome and she seemed like a perfect fit for Trent, on paper. Kim acknowledged that it had
been her intention to pair Trent off both times, that she has tried to toss these women at Trent but it
never stuck. Maybe like none of Rachel’s men have ever stuck? Hmm? Anyway, Kim said that Ceri is
much happier with Quen. Ellasbeth, however, is another story and hang onto your hats people because
Kim confirms that Ellasbeth will be around for the rest. Of. The. Series. Is that a collective groan I hear?
Thought so. According to Kim, Ellasbeth is too strong and determined, has too much money and too
large of an ego to just go quietly into that good night. She also reminded the audience that Trent is
“very duty oriented” sooooo…make of that what you will. Personally, I still refuse to believe that she
would sentence Trent to a marriage with that harpy, shrew of a woman. That’s my story and I’m sticking
to it.Once the Q&A was over Kim took a brief moment to take a group picture with everyone who was
wearing a tour t-shirt. I had mine on! Then signing began and my friend and I were lucky enough to be
in the first batch of people. Kim’s husband was there and he was just as gracious and personable as Kim.
He entertained us all while we waited our turns in line, answering more personal questions about Kim
and their home life – all with Kim’s blessing, of course. While I was in earshot I learned that Kim’s eldestson is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and that he is due to get out of the military
the same date that their youngest son will be graduating from high school. He joked that he’s not sure if
they’ll be empty nesters that day or have a full house again.Since she seemed so open and friendly, I wasn’t nervous at all about getting some one-on-one face time
with Kim when it came my turn to get my book (and Nook!) signed. She recognized my name as being
one of the occasional posters on her Drama Box and she gave me a big hug, which just totally made my
night. I didn’t ask her any additional questions, just told her that I was going to trust her on the whole
Ellasbeth thing. She laughed but hey, at least it wasn’t the evil, maniacal type of laugh.So there you have it. The Ever After book tour is officially in the history books for me and Kim did not
disappoint. Here’s to looking forward to 2014 and book 12. And to all the Ever After re-reads until then.
Thank you, Diva, for sharing the experience!
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