Giveaway provided by Flux

One ARC copy of THE WOOD QUEEN by Karen Mahoney

Giveaway provided by Bloomsbury Childrens Books

One ARC copy of AFTER OBSESSION by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel

*This title will be released on May 3, 2011*

Title: Hard Bitten Author: Chloe Neill Series: Chicagoland Vampires #4 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: New American Library; May 3, 2011 ISBN-10: 0451233328 ISBN-13: 978-0451233325 Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Description

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem too ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Review

If TWICE BITTEN was about the flash and bang of giving into attraction for the first time, HARD BITTEN is about the chemistry and conflict of evaluating a long term relationship.  Half way through this book, I was struck by how much I've grown to love series.  Not just for the characters and the action within, but also for the decisions Chloe Neill has made as an author.   Neill takes the long view, just as her immortal heroine Merit is learning to do, and never is that so apparent as in HARD BITTEN.   Neill doesn’t pick the spikes and crashes of sugar-high romance, but rather writes the worries and growth of complex, interesting characters.  

Though I had had a less passionate response to previous Chicagoland Vampire novels, HARD BITTEN clicked with me right from the get go.  Merit and Ethan’s relationship discussions are nuanced and emotionally intelligent, making it both interesting and enjoyable to read their interactions.  As for the action, the Chicago populace is up in arms against vampires, and I loved how something as mundane and recognizable as fear and prejudice (and picket lines) drew all of my favorite supporting characters together against a gathering storm.  Around all of these circumstances was the menace of Celina and the not so benign neglect of the Presidium, but it is definitely the day to day that held my focus.  

My mid-book musings turned out to be truer than I knew.  The ending of HARD BITTEN was a risk I never would have expected to see, one that makes it very difficult to write a review that doesn’t consist of me typing “holy cow” over and over and over (because seriously, Holy Cow).  This book has a dramatic ending in the best of ways, and it is the cruelest of pleasures to wait for DRINK DEEP in November.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
Some Girls Bite Friday Night Bites Twice Bitten	Jenny at Supernatural Snark  Natasha at A Great Book is the Cheapest Vacation  Mariya at Mystifying Paranormal Reviews

The fantastic Jackie from Literary Escapism has created a Goodreads group called ARC Swap. 

Are you a book blogger that has an ARC that you're not sure what to do with it? How about swapping it with another blogger? In order to join the ARC Swap:

• You must be a book blogger with a confirmed site. 

• You must be a member of Goodreads, which is completely free.

• Only print ARCs may be swapped. Digital ARCs cannot be traded.

Then request to join ARC Swap, and once we verify that you have a site, you can start to list the ARCs you want to swap or browse the already listed ARCs and offer to swap.  That’s it. 

Please help spread the world by blogging, tweeting or adding the graphic to your sidebar.  The more bloggers who join, the more ARCs available to swap:

<center><a title=”ARC Swap” href=”http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/46799”><img border="”0?" src="”http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae307/AllthingsUF/46799-1.jpg”"></a></center>

Thank you all for entering this months ARC giveaway.  I’ve got more great ARCs ready for next month, so try again if you didn’t win this time.

The winners are…

The Urban Fantasy pack: Michelle from Michelle's Ramblins

• Under Wraps (Underworld Detection Agency, #1)

• Demon Song (Blood Singer, #3)

• Waking Nightmares (The Shadow Saga, #5)

• Shady Lady (Corine Solomon, #3)

The Paranormal YA pack: Kate from Novel Society

• Teeth: Vampire Tales

• Red Glove (Curse Workers, #2)

• Betrayal(Haunting Emma, #2)

• Falling Under(FallingUnder, #1)

 

Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon.  Please respond with your address within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

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Didn’t win?  Buy your own copies with free shipping from The Book Depository:

It’s time for the March ARC giveaway.  Some of these titles have already been released and some aren’t due out until April.  A few of these are Galleys so they won’t have the cover art shown below. As a reminder, you must have a review blog to enter this giveaway.  I’m switching up the format a little this time.  Instead of mailing out each book individually, I’m grouping them together into two packs.  Two winners will each get 4 books:

 

The Urban Fantasy pack:

• Under Wraps (Underworld Detection Agency, #1)

• Demon Song (Blood Singer, #3)

• Waking Nightmares (The Shadow Saga, #5)

• Shady Lady (Corine Solomon, #3)

The Paranormal YA pack:

• Teeth: Vampire Tales

• Red Glove (Curse Workers, #2)

• Betrayal(Haunting Emma, #2)

• Falling Under(FallingUnder, #1)

 

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Have a blog
2. Been blogging for at least a month
3. Agree to review the ARCs on your blog in a timely manner unless you’ve already reviewed one of the titles in which case I hope you’ll pass it on to another reviewer.
4. Have a US mailing address
5. Agree NOT to sell the ARC, you are free to give it away etc.

That’s it.  Leave your email, blog URL, the pack you most want or you can enter for both, and you can even plug your blog a little if you want.  I’ll pick 2 winners on March 21st. The winners will be chosen based on my assessment of your blog.

Remember back in December when I gushed about a book called AFTERTIME by Sophie Littlefield?  Well it’s finally about to be published.  On February 22nd you can buy the book I called “shocking, and heartbreaking, and so beyond words awesome that my love for zombies has reached an all new high.”

 

Please don’t freak out if you’re not a zombie fan, because you will be after reading AFTERTIME. Trust me. “[It’s] startling and unputdownable from beginning to end...hands down the best zombie book I've read all year. Hide your wife, hide your kids, and hide your husbands ‘cause they eating everybody out here.  Seriously.”

 

I set aside my very cool, very unique looking, very rare ARC of AFTERTIME so I could remind you all about this really beautiful book by giving it away right before the release. 

Giveaway provided by Luna Books

 

One ARC of AFTERTIME by Sophie Littlefield

The world’s gone.
Worse, so is her daughter.

Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many days—or weeks—have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished.

And with her, nearly all of civilization. Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters—people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.

In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get her Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety. For the Beaters are out there. And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world...

 

Click HERE to read an excerpt

 

Giveaway Guidelines

• Open to US only

• Leave a comment that includes your favorite Zombie book, movie, TV, game etc. & a way to contact you if you win

• The winner will be randomly chosen on February 22nd

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Interested in offering a giveaway on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME

As promised, here is the February batch of ARCs that I’m giving away to bloggers (not all of these are February releases).  This time there are Urban Fantasy & Paranormal YA titles.  I remember what it was like to have ARC envy when I first started blogging, so ideally, I’d like to pass these on to new bloggers who wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to review them:

 

 

Darkness Becomes Her (Gods & Monsters, #1) by Keaton, Kelly

Dark Goddess by Chadda, Sarwat

The Iron Witch (The Iron Witch, #1) by Mahoney, Karen

*Forest Moon Rising: A Tess Noncoire Adventure by Frost, P.R.

The Kensei (Lawson the Fixer, #5) by Merz, Jon F.

*Night School by Mancusi, Mari

Wither (Chemical Garden, #1) by DeStefano, Lauren

 

*These two titles would be guest reviewed  here on All Things Urban Fantasy.  The other titles can be reviewed on your blog.

Requirements:

1. Have a blog
2. Been blogging for at least a month
3. Agree to review the ARC on your blog (or on ATUF if indicated above) within a month
4. Have a US mailing address
5. Agree NOT to sell the ARC, you are free to give it away etc.

That’s it.  Leave your email, blog URL, the 3 title you most want, and you can even plug your blog a little if you want.  I’ll pick 8 winners on February 12th. The winners will be chosen based on my assessment of your blog so include a link if you post about this giveaway

 

And there will be an upcoming giveaway for another ARC of WHITHER on the Twitter account too

  
  

• Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1) by C.C. Hunter
• The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trapper #1) by Jana Oliver
• Entice (Need, #3) by Carrie Jones
• Fallen Angel (Fallen Angel, #1) by Heather Terrell
• Out for Blood (The Drake Chronicles, #3) by Alyxandra Harvey
• Shadowspell (Faeriewalker, #2) by Jenna Black [signed]

Here’s the deal.  I’m running out of shelf space so I’m going to start giving away most of the ARCs I receive on a regular basis here and on my Twitter account.  But I want these ARCs to go to reviewers.

I remember what it was like to have ARC envy when I first started blogging, so ideally, I’d like to pass these on to new bloggers who wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to review them.

Requirements:

1. Have a blog
2. Been blogging for at least a month
3. Agree to review the ARC on your blog within a month
4. Have a US mailing address

That’s it.  Leave your email, blog URL, the title you most want, and you can even plug your blog a little if you want.  I’ll pick 6 winners on Jan 16th.

I’ve got extra copies of some new and upcoming releases that I’m giving away.  Since all but one of these are ARCS, I’m asking that whoever wins them post a review online somewhere.  A blog, Goodreads, Amazon, wherever: 

A signed ARC of GHOST TOWN by Rachel Caine (read my Review)

Get ready for "non-stop vampire action" (Darque Reviews) in the latest Morganville Vampire novel from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine.
While developing a new system to maintain Morganville's defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she's able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.
But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville...

Finished copy of BLOOD HEAT by Maria Lima

Texas is heating up. . . .The summer heat wave that’s hit Rio Seco, Texas, has even the vampires complaining, but now that Keira—the Kelly Heir—is home from Vancouver, the weather isn’t the only thing too hot to handle. Keira should be setting up her court and planning the big reception at which she and her consort, vampire ruler Adam Walker, will receive the magical leaders from the local area, but pomp and circumstance just aren’t Keira’s thing, especially not with trouble smoldering in her domain. A werewolf couple has mysteriously gone missing from a local pack, and when Keira is asked by their leader to investigate, she finds that some dissatisfied neighbors may have been taking, well, strong action against the wer community—action that could be repeated and could involve Keira and those she loves. With the reception looming and danger fast blazing out of control, the pressure is on Keira to keep Texas safe for supernaturals. Sometimes, it’s just not that great to be Heir. . . .

An ARC of THE GREYFRIAR by Clay and Susan Griffith (read my Review)

Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender: a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions. A trade paperback original; buyer's choice.

An ARC of BLACK WINGS by Christina Henry

Meet Maddy Black.
She’s an Agent of Death who really needs to get a life.
Escorting souls into the afterlife leaves Maddy little time for socializing—until devilishly handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in her building. But when demons start appearing on Maddy’s front lawn, she realizes there’s more to her new tenant than meets the eye.

An ARC of MY SOUL TO STEAL by Rachel Vincent

YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?
Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.
See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.
And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.
I DON’T THINK SO.

Giveaway

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open to US only
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Which title you most want & where will you post your reviews?
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on Nov 27th.

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Interested in offering a giveaway on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME

How I Blog is a regular feature on All Things Urban Fantasy where I share my tips, tricks, methods, and secrets to book blogging.  You can read all the previous How I Blog posts HERE.

ARC Protocol

This is the third and final post in my How I Blog ARC series.  We’ve talked about General ARC Resources (part 1) and Requesting ARCs (part 2) and now that you are all swimming in ARCs, it’s time to talk about ARC Protocol.

These are the steps I go through when I get an ARC:

1. Happy Dance!  ARCs are always awesome.  I never fail to get excited when one arrives at my house (or in my inbox). 
2. Write it down. I mark it down in 3 different places (Yep, I’m that anal):
   1. Goodreads: I add the book to my Goodreads Bookshelf and tag it ‘For Review’ so it shows up on my Received for Review widget & ‘TBR’ so it shows up on my TBR widget
   2. Google “Review Schedule” Document: ATUF has two reviewers, so every title that Julia or I receive gets marked down on our shared document and assigned a reviewer and review by date (as close to the release date as possible). 
   3. PDA/Phone: I have several different bookcases in my house and they are all categorized by genre, so in order to know what book is where, I keep a mobile list of all my TBR books (and who sent them).  It helps for when I’m in a bookstore so I don’t end up buying duplicates of books I already own. 
3. Stick to the schedule.  If I accept an ARC, I’m promising to review it in a timely manner.  This often means I have to wait to read the books I’ve been dying to read in favor of the ones that are releasing sooner.  I try and be realistic about my schedule so I have time to read both new and older title each month, but I’ve learned the hard way that titles can get piled up before you know it.   Again, make a schedule and keep it. 
4. Post the review on multiple sites.  In my Review Policy I state that every title reviewed on ATUF will be posted on Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Amazon.  You can also link your blog to Twitter and automatically Tweet all your posts.  More exposure for the book and your site.  Everybody wins.
5. Email the sender.  Whether the ARC came from an author or publicist or whoever.  Good or Bad, send them your review link when you post it. 

And that’s it.  Just remember that that little disclaimer usually printed on the cover that says DO NOT SELL or NOT FOR SALE means do not post this book on eBay or anywhere else.  I personally can’t keep all of the ARCs I receive for several reasons:  I don’t have the space, and if I liked the book I try to buy the finished copy so I can support the author.  I end up passing them along to other reviewers or hosting giveaways.  You can also donate them to ARC tours like 1 ARC Tours. 

And in the words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.  I hope these ARC posts have been helpful.  Again my way of doing things doesn’t have to be your way.   Other reviews have different methods that work for them and you probably will too. 

I’ll close with my #1 piece of advice for getting ARCs: If you review them, they will come.  Yep, review books.  Lots of them.  Don’t get bogged down with memes and disposable content.  If you want to receive books for review, show that you actually review books.  Two of my best publisher contacts came about because they emailed me after reading specific reviews (Hey, I saw that you reviewed X, we’d like to send you Y for review if your interested…)