Review: Moonglow by Kristen Callahan

Format Read: e-book provided by publisher
Length: 384 pages
Genre: historical paranormal romance
Series: Darkest London, #2
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Forever
Formats Available: mass-market paperback, e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Author’s Website

Book Blurb:

Once the seeds of desire are sown…

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy’s door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors…

Their growing passion knows no bounds…

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the …

New Releases: December 17-23, 2012

A Feast of Souls (Araneae Nation, #2) by Hailey Edwards
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: December 18, 2012 by Samhain Publishing

Description:

The only way to save her is to bind their souls as one.

Born with the ability to communicate with the dead, few things take Mana by surprise. But when a canis lopes into her life, announcing himself as the long-dead father of a childhood friend, she’s shocked. To make matters worse, he has a dire message that she alone can deliver.

Now Mana must face Vaughn, the male who inspired one too many girlish fantasies, and impart the spirit’s message—without acknowledging her source—so the soul can be laid to rest.

With rumors of a burgeoning clan war setting his nerves on edge, the last thing Vaughn needs is for an innocent to get caught in the crosshairs. But the woman he remembers as an awkward girl refuses to leave …

New Releases: December 10-16, 2012

Kiss of the Betrayer (Bringer and the Bane #2) by Boone Brux
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: December 11, 2012 by Entangled Select

Description:

For fifteen years Luc Le Daun has blamed himself for the death of the woman he loved. His secret guilt has led him into a life of danger, risking all and committing to none.

Killing Luc Le Daun has been all Jade Kendell has thought about for years. But when her plan goes awry and she’s brought into the Bringers’ fold, her own dark secret threatens to be revealed. Desire for a better life wars with a promise made long before she understood the ramifications.

In a deadly mission, Jade and Luc embark on a journey into the Shadow World. As they attempt the impossible, ignoring the attraction growing between them becomes harder to deny. The slightest misstep could mean the loss of their souls and give …

Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Format Read: e-book provided by publisher
Length: 390 pages
Genre: fantasy
Series: Healer, #1
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Formats Available: mass-market paperback, e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Author’s Website

Book Blurb:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry …

New Releases: December 3-9, 2012

Alien vs. Alien (Katherine “Kitty” Katt, #6) by Gini Koch
Genre: urban fantasy
Release date: December 4, 2012 by DAW

Description:

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries.

Evil androids running amok, birds of all kinds and from all places creating havoc, a Senator trapped in an ever-tightening web of intrigue, and escalating international tensions all seem tough but manageable. But the disappearance of Jeff Martini and Charles Reynolds during the International One World Festival signals more than the usual nastiness — and it looks like even ACE can’t help them.

Then new trouble arrives in old packages and even with the best hackers in the world, beings from near and far, the full might of Earth’s …

New Releases: Nov. 26 – Dec. 1, 2012

Moonshifted (Edie Spence #2) by Cassie Alexander
Genre: urban fantasy
Release date: November 27, 2012 by St. Martin

Description:

After surviving a brutal vampire attack, Nurse Edie Spence is ready to get back to work—attending to supernatural creatures in need of medical help. But her nursing skills are put to the test when she witnesses a hit-and-run on her lunch break. The injured pedestrian is not only a werewolf, he’s the pack leader. And now Edie’s stuck in the middle of an all-out were-war…

With two rival packs fighting tooth and nail, Edie has no intention of crossing enemy lines. But when she meets her patient’s nephew–a tattooed werewolf named Lucas with a predatory gleam in his eye that’s hard to resist–Edie can’t help but choose sides. The question is: can she trust this dangerous new ally? And can she trust her own instincts when she’s near him? Either …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Turkey Thursdays, Black Fridays

Painting, “First Thanksgiving” by Jean Ferris

Ah, Thanksgiving. The day of turkey, pumpkin pie, parades, football, and James Bond marathons. This particular North American holiday, notably secular amongst several religious observances in the season, is quite fascinating to me. It’s origins are interesing–and though I won’t go into detail here and now, historians might describe its pragmatic establishment from the Protestent Reformation, and school children will speak of Pilgrims and native tribes playing nice with one another and sharing harvests in merriment.

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S. (and the 2nd Monday of October in Canada), Thanksgiving is, of course, about giving thanks. It represents many delightful elements, and some curiously oxymoronic aspects. (More on the latter in a bit.) For those who enjoy food, it’s all about the cornucopia (pun intended) of rich, abundant, delicious dishes. Turkey, cornbread, greenbeans, corn, cranberry sauce (a must!), …

New Releases: November 19-25, 2012

Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance, #4)
by Larissa Ione
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: November 20, 2012 by Grand Central

Description:

The prophecies were there but no one listened. Until now. They are the Lords of Deliverance and they have the power to ward off Doomsday…or let it ride.

Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues–and falls for–a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man that Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he’s also the kind of man that can be very dangerous…

Reseph may not know his background, or why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian’s life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian’s neighbours are killed and demon hunters arrive on …

New Releases: November 12-18, 2012

River Road (Sentinels of New Orleans, #2)
by Suzanne Johnson
Genre: urban fantasy
Release date: November 13, 2012 by Tor Books

Description:

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing …

Review: Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas

Format Read: mass-market paperback, self-purchased
Length: 281 pages
Genre: historical romance
Series: Fitzhugh Trilogy, #1
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Formats Available: mass-market paperback, e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Author’s Website

Book Blurb:

When the Duke of Lexington meets the mysterious Baroness von Seidlitz-Hardenberg on a transatlantic liner, he is fascinated. She’s exactly what he’s been searching for—a beautiful woman who interests and entices him. He falls hard and fast—and soon proposes marriage.

And then she disappears without a trace…

For in reality, the “baroness” is Venetia Easterbrook—a proper young widow who had her own vengeful reasons for instigating an affair with the duke. But the plan has backfired. Venetia has fallen in love with the man she despised—and there’s no telling what might happen when she is finally unmasked…

Read an excerpt from Beguiling the Beauty

My Thoughts:

I’ve gotta say that …