New Releases: March 26 – April 1, 2012

Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #10) by J.R. Ward

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment is a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance- and is unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, desolate netherworld—he turns to the angel to save his former mate, only to despair at the path he himself must take to set her free.

As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vies for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past, and a future that he doesn’t know he can live with… but can’t seem to turn away from.

The Alchemist of Souls (Night’s Masque #1) by Anne Lyle (3/27)
The Art of Duke Hunting …

Interview with Mina Khan + Giveaway goodness!

Greetings, fellow book gobblers! It’s my pleasure and honor to welcome back author Mina Khan to BLI today. We get to have a chat about her latest paranormal romance, A Tale of Two Djinns, as well as discuss some of her favorite bookish themes and influences. Mina also talks a bit about the very special connection that her latest book has with UNICEF and its efforts to promote literacy in developing regions. Please give her a warm welcome!

Alisha: Welcome, Mina! So glad to have you back at Book Lovers Inc!

Mina: Thanks so much for inviting me again! I always enjoy visiting with fellow book lovers.

Alisha: Can you describe A Tale of Two Djinns for us–Twitter style (140 characters or less)?

Mina: A Tale of Two Djinns is a sexy paranormal Romeo & Juliet story with genies, feminists, kickass action & adult fun.

Alisha: What is it about the djinn that interests you?

Mina: …

Bookish Rants and Raves: MG & YA Book-to-Film Adaptation

So, a person would have to be living under a rock these days not to have heard about the impending release of the film version of smash hit The Hunger Games. Though the film is not out until March 23 in most markets worldwide, there’s already a slew of raving reviews and talk of the movie being projected to top $140 million in its U.S. opening weekend. Wow.

The Hunger Games films are just the latest in what seems to be a rampant streak of middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) film adaptations. Sure, it’s not a completely new development, but it sure does feel like the percentage of young-adult targeted movies based on blockbuster books is at an all-time high. Framed differently, it also seems like almost every well-loved YA series gets optioned for film adaptation…sometimes immediately following its release. Not all are successful (critically or monetarily), but …

Dual Review: The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst

Format Read: e-book
Length: 216 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: category contemporary romance
Series: Marriage to a Billionare, #1
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Formats Available: e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Entangled Publishing, Author’s Website

Blurb:

A marriage in name only…

To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner, Alexa Maria McKenzie, casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend’s older brother—the powerful man who once shattered her heart.

Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn’t believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father’s corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister’s childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he’s offers Alexa a bold proposition.

A marriage in name only with certain rules: Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn’t be that hard to follow, right?

Except …

New Releases: March 19 – 25, 2012

Born to Darkness (Fighting Destiny, #1) by Suzanne Brockmann

Dishonorably discharged, former Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin is down to his last ten bucks when he finally finds work as a test subject at the Obermeyer Institute, a little-known and believed-to-be-fringe scientific research facility. When he enters the OI compound, he is plunged into a strange world where seemingly mild-mannered scientists—including women half his size—can kick his highly skilled ass.

Shane soon discovers that there are certain individuals who possess the unique ability to access untapped regions of the brain with extraordinary results—including telekinesis, super strength, and reversal of the aging process. Known as “Greater-Thans,” this rare breed is recruited by OI, where they are rigorously trained using ancient techniques to cultivate their powers and wield them responsibly.

But in the depths of America’s second Great Depression, where the divide between the haves and the have-nots has grown even wider, those who …

Review: Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Format Read: Mass Market Paperback
Length: 372 Pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: historical paranormal romance
Series: Darkest London, #1
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, eBook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Book Depository, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books

Book Blurb:

London, 1881
Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family’s fortune decimated and forced her to wed London’s most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .
Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it’s selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can’t help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn’t felt in …

New Releases: March 12 – 18, 2012

Infamous (Chronicles of Nick #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters. Now Nick’s saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume…

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive such a difficulty? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known.

Or he’ll be the …

Review: In the Service of the King by Laura Kaye

Format Read: e-book provided by publisher
Length: 78 Pages
Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
Genre: paranormal romance
Series: Vampire Warrior Kings, #1
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Formats Available: e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Publisher Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Book Blurb:

Kael, Warrior King of the Vampires, loathes the Night of the Proffering. He needs the blood of either his mate or a human virgin to maintain his strength, but hasn’t enjoyed the ritual since he lost his mate centuries ago. Kael doesn’t want a new companion, yet his resolve is tested when he lays eyes on his new offering, Shayla McKinnon. He is drawn to Shayla’s beauty and poise…and the submission she offers. She is eager to give him anything he wishes, including her innocence, to please him. Will Kael give in to their overwhelming desire—even if it means risking Shayla’s life?

My Thoughts:

There’s a question that oft asked about fictional tales. The plot or the characters: what’s more …

Guest Post: The Stealth Knights by Gail Barrett + Giveaway

Gail in the Pyrenees Mountains

Today, we at at BLI are really pleased to welcome author Gail Barrett for a guest post about her latest work. She’s already authored a host of award-winning romances in the romantic suspense subgenre. Please show her a warm welcome as she chats a bit about the worldwide background research and inspirations for her stories and characters.

Thank you so much for inviting me to chat! I’m honored and thrilled to be here. I’m especially excited since so many of you live in Europe, which is the setting for my new miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, The Stealth Knights.

Despite their medieval-sounding name, the Stealth Knights are a very modern — and unconventional — group of heroes. Here’s how they came about. I was hoping to create an open-ended series without a set number of books — something I could add to as inspiration struck. …

New Releases: March 5 – 11, 2012

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night… The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she’d rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance.

Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren’t for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family’s old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, …