 | Title: The Real Werewives of Vampire County
Sexual Content: See each story below Rating:
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. |
**Visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Deadly Destination tour of Rachel Caine’s San Diego from Bryn Davis & a chance to win WORKING STIFF**
Happy 4th of July! Spending the holiday with us for Deadly Destinations is Shiarra Waynest and the crazy, sexy, cool cast from Jess Haines H&W Investigations series, my favorite character ensemble in urban fantasy. They are taking us on a tour of New York City where The Others have HUNTED, TAKEN, and DECIEVED me previously (and I keep coming back for more). The latest explosive story is DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS (available on July 5th & you can read my review HERE). Thanks to Jess and Kensington, one of you who comments on this post will win a copy of the book and a book thong! See details below
Shiarra Waynest Talks About New York City
by
Jess Haines
Hello there! Jess Haines here. I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series (HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, TAKEN BY THE OTHERS, and DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS). I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to some of the cast—Shiarra Waynest, the lead character, Arnold, a mage who lends her a hand, and Alec Royce, a vampire Shiarra meets in the course of her adventures.
Shiarra is going to tell you a little bit about the sexy, dark, and deadly underbelly of New York City. Over to you, Shia!
____________________
Shiarra: Uhm. It’s not that sexy.
Royce: I beg to differ.
Chaz: Yes, because undead creatures who suck your blood are, oh, so hot.
Arnold: I feel like the voices of thousands of fangirls suddenly cried out—
Shiarra: Oh, please.
Royce: Since we are talking more about my turf than Ms. Waynest’s, I’d like to take this opportunity to—
Shiarra: No. Just… no. This is not a forum for you to start advertising your businesses. Besides, New York City kinda sucks. It’s overcrowded, way too hot in the summer, way too cold in the winter, and smells funny. The only thing it has going for it are some landmarks, shows, museums, and a few nice restaurants.
Arnold: The coffee can’t be beat, though.
Chaz: The pizza, either.
Royce: Oh, I’m more a fan of the entertainment options, personally.
Shiarra: Yeah, we kind of figured that out, considering you’re the only one here who doesn’t—you know—eat.
Royce: The food isn’t the only thing tasty in this town, Ms. Waynest.
Shiarra: What? …oh. Oh, ew! Sicko!
Chaz: Forget about him. I’ll take you somewhere nice after this. We’ll go out to the pier on Montauk and we can grab a bite to eat after. There’s this great little crab shack—
Royce: Because that’s, oh, so much better than going to Le Petite Boisson, where every French culinary delight imaginable is available to tease and tantalize your taste buds, all while being serenaded by fine music and surrounded by lovers dancing by candlelight.
Shiarra: Yes. It is, oh, so much better. There aren’t things with sharp pointy teeth lusting after my blood hanging out there.
Arnold: Actually, Shia, I’ve been there and I have to say, the food is amazing.
Shiarra: Wait, what? Arnold!
Royce: It’s true. We do have an excellent Zagat rating.
Chaz: Nobody cares.
Royce: Quiet, cur. Perhaps you’d prefer something a little darker. Twisted Temptations might be more to your liking.
Shiarra: …I don’t even want to know what that is.
Arnold: It’s not as bad as he makes it sound. Even with that creepy lispy thing he does with the fangs.
Royce: Excuse me? I don’t lisp.
Chaz: Actually, when your fangs are out, you do a little. Really adds to that “sexy” vampire vibe you’ve got going there. Heh.
Shiarra: Honey? Just so you know, the only thing that kept me from doubting your heterosexuality for a second there were the air quotes.
Royce: Oh, I wasn’t referring to him when I made the offer, Ms. Waynest, I’d be happy to give you a personal tour of the facilities—
Chaz: HEY! Stay the hell away from my girlfriend!
Arnold: You know, the vamps aren’t the only ones who own nightclubs in this town.
Shiarra: I’m not sure if a bunch of mage-run restaurants are any better. What if it’s all Alice In Wonderland-y and I turn into a frog after eating something? I’m not willing to take that chance.
Arnold: Wait, what? You won’t—I don’t even…
Chaz: Does that happen?
Royce: I hate to be the one to point this out, but not only are you mixing your lore, you’ve essentially just broadcast your intolerance to the entire audience.
Shiarra: What? I—wait, what? I—oh. Oh. Oh, Arnold, I mean—I—I didn’t mean—oh, my God, I am so sorry!
Arnold: I… you…
Shiarra: SO sorry!
Chaz: …what? Why are you—
Shiarra: Chaz! Say you’re sorry!
Chaz: I’m… sorry?
Arnold: You know, I think we’re done here.
Shiarra: God, yes.
Chaz: …what?
Royce: So, kids, come on down to Twisted Temp—
Shiarra: STOP. Just… stop. And stop smiling while you say that!
Royce: I always smile like this.
Chaz: We know.
____________________
You can learn more about Shiarra and the rest of her friends in HUNTED BY THE OTHERS. If you'd like a chance to win a copy of DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS and a book thong, leave a comment below telling us what deadly destination you’d want to visit in New York!
Thanks again for having me and the gang over, Abigail!
-----------------------------------
About Jess Haines
|
|
| Want to read more from Jess Haines?
|
Giveaway provided by Kensington & Jess Haines
One copy of DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS by Jess Haines & a book thong
Available on July 5, 2011 from Kensington Books
Description:
They’re here, and they’re real…werewolves, vampires, mages, and other creatures of the night. For New York P.I. Shiarra Waynest, taking care of Others business started out as a way to stay solvent. But now business is getting very, very complicated…
Shiarra’s relationship with sexy werewolf Chaz may be somewhat unconventional. Still, after a few bumps, Shia is finally ready to get serious. That means meeting family–or in this case, bringing Chaz’s entire werewolf pack along for a rollicking full-moon weekend in the Catskills.
Soon after they arrive, threatening notes appear, warning Chaz to go home. Then their cabin is ransacked. Shia starts digging to find out whether it’s the work of upstart teenaged werewolves or something more sinister. Yet as rumors about her vampire connections arouse the pack’s hostility, Shia has to contend with other dangers. Not just from an adversary about to make his fatal intentions known, but from a threat that’s even closer than she knows…
Click HERE to read an excerpt | Click HERE to read my review
Pre-Order from
Giveaway Guidelines
Open to US addresses only
Leave a comment for Jess & a way to contact you unless it’s listed in your profile
See our Giveaway Policy if you have any questions
Interested in guest blogging on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME
| Title: Deceived By The Others
Sexual Content: A scene of semi graphic sensuality. References to sex. Rating:
|
They’re here, and they’re real…werewolves, vampires, mages, and other creatures of the night. For New York P.I. Shiarra Waynest, taking care of Others business started out as a way to stay solvent. But now business is getting very, very complicated…
Shiarra’s relationship with sexy werewolf Chaz may be somewhat unconventional. Still, after a few bumps, Shia is finally ready to get serious. That means meeting family–or in this case, bringing Chaz’s entire werewolf pack along for a rollicking full-moon weekend in the Catskills.
Soon after they arrive, threatening notes appear, warning Chaz to go home. Then their cabin is ransacked. Shia starts digging to find out whether it’s the work of upstart teenaged werewolves or something more sinister. Yet as rumors about her vampire connections arouse the pack’s hostility, Shia has to contend with other dangers. Not just from an adversary about to make his fatal intentions known, but from a threat that’s even closer than she knows…
I talk to my books. More accurately, I talk to the characters in the books I read. I yell at them when they do stupid things and cheer for them when they do awesome things. Well I practically went hoarse reading DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS. This is one fantastically messed up book! And I mean that in the best way possible.
If you haven’t started reading the H&W Investigations series yet, you’re missing out on one of the best and brightest urban fantasy has to offer. You want werewolves? Shia is dating the Alpha of the third largest pack in New York. Prefer vampires? You will love Alec Royce, the most powerful vampire in the city with looks that kill and an agenda that only he knows. Magic more your thing? Wait until you meet The Circle, witches and mages with enchanted objects not to be believed. Navigating this world of Others is Shia, a levelheaded P.I. without a lick of magic but enough guts and street smarts to make up for it. She has ties to every paranormal group in the city—and a few anti-paranormal groups too—whether she wants to or not. Trust me, you’ll never have more fun than with these characters.
The majority of DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS takes place outside of the city on werewolf retreat which unfortunately means that most of the stellar cast from this series is absent for the first couple hundred pages. I completely understand the need for this given some of the HUGE plot developments that take place in this book, but I can’t help but miss some of the interaction between Shia, Sara, Arnold, and most of all Royce. As if anticipating backlash from fans, the last 150 pages reunites everyone and delivers some of the most memorable Shia/Royce scenes ever.
Plenty of urban fantasy authors do dark and disturbing. Jess Haines does urban fantasy that is smart and sexy with characters the span the spectrum from super scary to playfully snarky, and dangerously seductive. And the best thing about the H&W Investigations series is that I’m left with my mouth hanging open in shock by the end of each book, and I may have actually dislocated my jaw at the way DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS ended. Shia is physically and emotionally torn apart in this book. Some characters reveal their true colors in ways that stunned and incensed me while others stepped up in ways I never thought possible. It’s like I’m meeting some of these characters for the first time and I can’t wait to see what they do next in JUSTICE FOR THE OTHERS.
| #1 Hunted By The Others - 5/5 |
Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.
The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.
When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.
They’re here, and they’re real…werewolves, vampires, mages, and other creatures of the night. For New York P.I. Shiarra Waynest, taking care of Others business started out as a way to stay solvent. But now business is getting very, very complicated…
Shiarra’s relationship with sexy werewolf Chaz may be somewhat unconventional. Still, after a few bumps, Shia is finally ready to get serious. That means meeting family–or in this case, bringing Chaz’s entire werewolf pack along for a rollicking full-moon weekend in the Catskills.
Soon after they arrive, threatening notes appear, warning Chaz to go home. Then their cabin is ransacked. Shia starts digging to find out whether it’s the work of upstart teenaged werewolves or something more sinister. Yet as rumors about her vampire connections arouse the pack’s hostility, Shia has to contend with other dangers. Not just from an adversary about to make his fatal intentions known, but from a threat that’s even closer than she knows…
Betrayal, loss, pain, fear. How many trials can love endure and still survive?
Alpha wolf Calla Tor forges an alliance with her masters' enemies and tries to rescue her pack from imprisonment in Vail
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater
In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...
Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.
Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.
So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price . . .
MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.
What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh — a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.
In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?
From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world... or destroy it.
|
 |
Jess Haines is a displaced New Yorker with a penchant for the silly, the obscure, and the fantastical. Los Angeles is home for the time being, since it consistently meets her daily quota of strange. She’s currently working on the H&W Investigations urban fantasy series. Find out more about Shiarra Waynest, drop her a line, or join her mailing list at 
