Title: Devil’s Kiss Author:  Carolyn Crane Series: The Disillusionists #3.5 Cover Art: Anne Cain Genre: Paranormal Romance Excerpt: No Source: Author Reviewed by: Abigail Format: ebook File Size: 230 KB ASIN: B007EAZRKC   Sexual Content: Scene of sensuality. One brief, non graphic sex scene Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a big Cover Art Post, and all of this bounty is overwhelmingly weighted towards the good.  This is one of the few weeks when I had no “worst”, so as you can imagine, I also had a very hard time deciding on which cover would be the best.  In the end, mood and special effects won out for me, which cover will be your favorite?

 

*This title will be released on December 6, 2011*

Title: Head Rush Author: Carolyn Crane Series: The Disillusionists Trilogy #3 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Author Reviewed by: Abigail Type: eBook Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd. Publication Date: 12-06-2011 Length: Novel ISBN: 978-1-60928-625-5   Sexual Content: One non graphic sex scene, one moderately graphic sex scene. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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This week we have another foray into animated eBook covers, UK readers will enjoy a glimpse of the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS.  For the good old fashioned covers, there are series starters, stand alones, and newest editions.  DARKEST KNIGHT has a completely different color palette than the first book of the series, but reminded me instantly of KNIGHT’S CURSE.  I like a little bit of an Easter egg hunt to tie covers together, how much in common do you like your series covers to have?

By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise 

(Click to enlarge) Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.

Description: N/A “Cover art for the first book in the Burke’s Marauders series I’m doing with Harper Voyager , BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, came in today and I think it captures the look and feel of the series quite nicely.  We pitched the series as an alternate history zombie steampunk mash-up, a Dirty Dozen meets Dawn of the Dead, and I think the artwork makes it pretty damn clear what you’re getting.” – Joseph Nassise

Series: The Great Undead War #1 Artist: N/A Goodreads: Link	Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Release Date: May 1, 2012 Source: Author’s Blog
Julia’s Thoughts	Abigail’s Thoughts
I’m a fan of the “big head” cover when it involves dog fights and zombies.  The color palette seems very old school to me, I think it works well.	I love how clearly this cover expresses exactly what kind of book this is…very cool

Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

**Visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Deadly Destination from Caitliln Kittredge & a chance to win THE WILD SIDE anthology**

I feel like I’ve waited a long time to return to today’s Deadly Destionation, but only because I had such an amazing time during my first visit, and a near perfect time during my second visit.  So where are we going? To Midcity led by Carolyn Crane's Carter from her Disillusionists Trilogy about a group of superhero types who’ve learned to weaponize their crippling psychological disorders.  Carolyn has teamed up with two of my favorite paranormal authors, Meljean Brook and Jill Myles for a new ebook anthology called WILD AND STEAMY available on August 3rd.  Carolyn has graciously offered a copy to one of you who comments on this post!  See details below

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Carter’s guide to Midcity!
by
Carolyn Crane

Carter is a disillusionist who lives in Midcity, and his specialty is rage! You can read about Midcity and the disillusionists in Mind Games, Double Cross, and the novella in Wild & Steamy.

Midcity: An exciting place to visit! By Carter the disillusionist

Getting around MIDCITY:

I would recommend walking or driving on the normal streets, but by all means, avoid driving on the Tangle! The Tangle is a multi-clover turnpike that is the most insane, twisted-up, dangerous, maddening thing ever constructed! But it is also the fastest way to get around the city. I drive on it every day and get really upset. Apparently some secrets of the Tangle are revealed in the anthology, WILD & STEAMY but hell if I’m going to read that thing!

Eating out IN MIDCITY:

Mongolian Delites $$

You can find kebabs of many kinds at the Mongolian Delites. This restaurant has full bar, which is handy if the traffic on the Tangle has DRIVEN YOU CRAZY!  Also, there is a mirror behind the bar and it’s satisfying to throw things at it and break it. If you’re like me, you could also try going into the kitchen and breaking plates, a relaxing activity when Midcity gets on your NERVES!  Depending on when you go, you may or may not find a certain tortured mastermind trapped there who happens to be a very very good friend of mine.

Ciappos $$$$$

A fancy underground restaurant where the elite go to eat, and some of them are jerks. Overpriced. I should go trash that place.

SHOPPING IN MIDCITY:

Downtown

The downtown shopping scene is pretty sad. Even a guy who rarely shops can see that. Let me paint you the scene as you walk down the sidewalk: 1970’s mannequins wearing faded and dusty outfits that involve shoulder pads and giant buttons. Ripped pantyhose. Sometimes the mannequins don’t even have their wigs on straight.

North Midcity Bazaar

Slightly better than downtown, the bazaar is in an old warehouse that’s so big, it’s like an open bazaar feeling, with lots of stands, and mostly imported stuff, since they don’t make anything in Midcity anymore worth buying.

Le Toile Dress Shop

My friend and fellow disillusionist Justine used to work there. It’s in South Midcity, and is very fancy. Who can afford that stuff?

SAFETY:

Midcity is a safe place to vacation if you take precautions!

Before you go: Invest in a nice helmet and a pair of shoes you feel comfortable wearing while breaking into a sprint You’ll want to wear that helmet at all times in case you fall under telekinetic attack. Depending on the season, you might not want to go outside at night, due to the sleepwalking cannibals under Stuart the Dream Invader’s control.

Hint: Wearing a suit of armor will help foil most cannibalistic sleepwalkers - when they try to bite into your stomach and encounter metal, they will move on to easier prey. You might also try walking in a group of ten or more, armed with large caliber weapons.

Another hint: No matter what the cabbies tell you, don’t venture into the area underneath the Tangle interchange. This is a two-square-mile expanse of wasteland that makes the Mad Max wasteland look like Disneyworld.

One last hint: To guard against telekinetic pickpockets, pin all loose cash inside your pockets, or chain your wallet to your belt.

Wait, another hint: When you walk outside, get an annoying song running incessantly in your head. That will foil most telepaths trying to profit off secret information, like bank passwords.

Another hint: If you come in contact with the Midcity River water, wash the affected area immediately with a mixture of bleach and hydrochloric acid. And please do not throw lit matches into the river.

EXCITING MIDCITY!

Midcity is a great place to vacation if you know where to go and come prepared. There is always something happening in exciting Midcity!

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About Carolyn Crane

Carolyn Crane lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daring cats. She spent years as a waitress and shop clerk before moving to ad agencies and the freelance writing life. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, and when she’s not writing novels or working her straight job, she can be found reading in bed, running, helping animals, or eating Mexican food. Visit Carolyn Crane online: Website|Blog |Twitter |Facebook

Want to read more from Carolyn Crane?

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Giveaway provided by Carolyn Crane

One ebook copy of WILD AND STEAMY by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles, and Carolyn Crane

Description:

The Blushing Bounder by Meljean Brook - An Iron Seas novella of 15,000 words: The search for a killer puts Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth's life in danger and her assistant, Constable Newberry, in the line of fire. But Newberry faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?

Vixen by Jill Myles - A shifter novella of 15,000 words: Miko's denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn't want to choose between both men...it wants them both.

Kitten-tiger & the Monk by Carolyn Crane - A Disillusionists novella of 20,000 words: Sophia Sidway, Midcity's most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption...but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all.

Read an excerpt | Read our review

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open internationally

2. Leave a comment for Carolyn & a way to contact you unless it’s listed in your profile

3. All Deadly Destinations winners will be announced on August 7th

4. See our Giveaway Policy if you have any questions

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Don’t miss any of the tours & giveaways from Deadly Destinations.  Check out all the previous posts from this event!

**Visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Spooky Legends Guest blog with Sarah Beth Durst and a chance to win ENCHANTED IVY**

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We get not one but three characters today as we continue the Spooky Legends event with one of my new favorite authors Carolyn Crane.  Justine, Shelby and Simon are members of the Disillusionists, an elite psychological hit squad of super-messed up vigilantes whose greatest strengths are their weaknesses. JUSTINE, the group’s hypochondriac, infuses people with fear.  SHELBY’s specialty is grimness, and SIMON is a reckless gambler. Carolyn is here to tell us all about The Disillusionists take on the “The Body in the Bed” urban legend and giveaway a copy of MIND GAMES or DOUBLE CROSS. See details below.

Carolyn Crane has long been fascinated by hidden worlds--the wiry insides of old gadgets, the strange workings of secret societies, the mysteries of people's minds and hearts.Today she lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daring cats. She spent years as a waitress and shop clerk before graduating to ad agencies and the freelance writing life. When she's not writing novels or working her day job, she can be found reading in bed, running, helping animals, or eating Mexican food.

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The Disillusionists on “The Body in the Bed”
A public service announcement from Justine, Shelby and Simon

by
Carolyn Crane

Justine: Okay, listen to this: a man and woman go to Las Vegas for their honeymoon, but when they get to their hotel room, they notice a horrible odor. The man calls down to the desk to complain. Shelby and Simon, do you see a problem? This man has already made a huge mistake that the READERS at All Things Urban Fantasy and Dark Faerie Tales MUST guard against.

Simon: Do I see a mistake? Yeah, this man and woman are in Vegas and they’re in a hotel room. They should’ve hit the tables instead.

Justine: Even on their honeymoon?

Simon: Their honeymoon? Excuse me. In that case, they should’ve had rough dirty sex in an underground parking ramp, and then hit the tables, and then they lose all their money and get thrown out onto the street, and then they fuck in an alley, standing up. That’s how my honeymoon would go. You don’t need a hotel room for a Vegas honeymoon.

Shelby: Mistake was going on honeymoon. Honeymoon creates false illusion of happiness. Is not real life.

Justine: Focus, you guys. The man called down to the front desk without wiping down the keyboard pad or the mouthpiece of the hotel phone with heavy duty antibacterial soap. Do you have any idea how much bacteria is on the phones and remote controls of hotel rooms? Do you think maids wipe those things down? If maids routinely washed the phones and remote controls, it would mess up the electronics. I’m not going to outline to  you what people touch between touching the phone and remote. I think you should use your imagination.

Simon: Live a little, Justine!

Shelby: Story has promising beginning, I think. Please, my friend, what happens next?

Justine: Thank you. Okay, the man tells the front desk he wants a different suite, but there is a convention in town and all the rooms are taken. The manager sends them somewhere for a free lunch, and promises to clean the room.

Shelby: Snort. Free lunch will not make them happy. There is no such thing as happiness.

Justine: Actually, you have a point, Shelby. Or, if the lunch does make them happy, one of them probably will get a horrible disease. One of them probably already has one, but doesn’t know it.  One moment you’re enjoying lobster bisque, and the next moment you’re on the operating table.

Simon: So why not  live it up by having raunchy sex in dismal places and throwing your money away in the most thrilling way possible?

Justine: Real helpful, Simon. Okay, to continue the story, the suite still smells when they get back from lunch! The manager calls around to find a different room anywhere on the strip, but everything is booked. The couple wants to see the sights, so they say, okay, we’ll give you two hours.

Shelby: Your story gives me a good idea, Justine. Instead of all these beautiful casino hotels,  Rome or Bellagio, I think I would enjoy casino based on garbage dump. I would call it, REALITY CASINO HOTEL. All rooms would smell of death and decay, and view out window would be rotting garbage. And, is hard to win at tables, but if you do, thugs come to beat you.

Simon: Actually, in my experience, that happens at that casinos anyway. Thugs chase you and beat you.

Shelby: Because you give them reason.

Simon: There is that.

Justine: Pay attention! Don’t you want to know if the smell came out? Don’t answer that. I’ll tell you—the smell didn’t come out, even though the hotel staff used the strongest cleaning products known to mankind. What’s disturbing to me about this part of the story is that, I suspect that really gross smells can be dangerous to your health. Think about it—the smell molecules must contain putrefied stuff, and you’re breathing all that in!!

Shelby: The strongest cleaning products known to mankind cannot get out stench that is reality.

Simon: Can you remind me why I hang around with you two?

Justine: We’re getting to the end. So the couple has nowhere to go. The man’s totally pissed off. He pulls off the mattress and there’s a dead body of a woman underneath!! OMG! Can you imagine the amount of bacteria in that bed? And guess what? They do an autopsy, and they find out what killed the woman—the horribly virulent bacteria on the remote control! And she felt so delirious from the horrible bacteria that she tried to burrow in between the box spring and the mattress.

Simon: Did you make that last part up? About the bacteria?

Moral of the story

Justine: We need to provide a lesson, a moral of the story, a “take away.” What can the readers of Dark Faerie Tales and All Things Urban Fantasy learn from this horrible and totally true story?

Simon: The moral of the story is, there are only two reasons not to be at the gaming tables in Vegas. If you’re the guy tearing up a hotel room, or if you’re the dead body in the mattress.

Shelby: The moral is, life is like dead body in mattress. You can never escape this truth of this, even on Honeymoon. So do not try. Ever!

Justine: The moral of the story is, if you are going to stay at a hotel room, you should bring plastic bags to put over your hands for whenever you operate the phone or the remote control. Better yet, wear latex gloves the whole time you are in the room.
Readers, hopefully this helps you! Thanks so much to Abigail and Angela for having us to this event!

xxoo
Justine
Simon
Shelby

Thanks Carolyn!  You guys are welcome back anytime.

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Visit Carolyn Online:
Website|Blog |Twitter |Facebook

Want to read more from Carolyn Crane?

The Disillusionists Trilogy
1. Mind Games (Read Review)
2. Double Cross (Read Review)

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of Carolyn Crane
One signed copy of MIND GAMES or DOUBLE CROSS

 

MIND GAMES:

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.
Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.
Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.

DOUBLE CROSS:

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL...

Justine Jones has lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she's lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard. He gifts her with extraordinary mental powers-dooming her to fight Midcity's shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now, serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard - and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity's new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men . . . one on a journey of redemption, and the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internally (Only US winners will received signed books)
2. Fill out the form
3. Enter by November 6th. All Spooky Legend winners will be announced on November 7th

I would greatly appreciate if you shared this giveaway on your blog or favorite social networks.  And please tell Carolyn what you think about “The Body in the Bed” in the comments. Thanks!

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Interested in guest blogging on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME

Title: Double Cross
Author: Carolyn Crane
Series: The Disillusionists Trilogy #2
Cover Art: Gene Mollica

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Spectra 9/28/2010
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553592629
• ISBN-13: 978-0553592627

Review Copy Source: Carolyn Crane
Reviewed by: Abigail

 

 

Book Description

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL...

Justine Jones has lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she's lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard. He gifts her with extraordinary mental powers-dooming her to fight Midcity's shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now, serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard - and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity's new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men . . . one on a journey of redemption, and the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

 Review

Urban fantasy is a genre largely dominated by vampires and werewolves.  Occasionally we get a witch or a demon, or rarer still a creature mined from a more obscure mythology.  Apparently Carolyn Crane didn’t get the memo because you won’t find a single fang or furry fellow in her Disillusionists Trilogy.  Like Mind Games before it, DOUBLE CROSS is an urban fantasy with a retro comic book twist featuring a ragtag band of crime fighters suffering from crippling paranoia.  Different? Absolutely.  But in the hands of Carolyn Crane, never has being crazy been so much fun. 

Tricked into lifelong minionhood by the (villainous?) mastermind Packard in Mind Games, DOUBLE CROSS picks up with the same motley crew of hypochondriacs, gamblers, and fatalists turned unwilling super heroes as they begin working for Midcity’s new Mayor by ‘zinging’ their particular psychosis into Hicap (X-men types) criminals and disillusioning (essentially resetting them back to neutral) them.  If you’ve already read Mind Games, you’ll slip right back into this world and these characters like a spandex jumpsuit.  If you haven’t, Crane does a decent job of bringing newbies up to speed, but you’ll have missed out on a lot of crucial back story and character development if you jump right into DOUBLE CROSS. 

Whether you’re new to this series or not, I’m sure you’ll once again be shocked at how fun it is to be a voyeur amongst these characters in the throes of their deepest fears and neurosis.  Throughout DOUBLE CROSS, Crane dropped little paranoid thoughts for her characters into random scenes to remind the reader how close they always are to falling back under that fear.  It’s fascinating and perversely funny.

And let’s not forget the love triangle between Justine, Packard and Otto.  Initially, Justine was powerfully drawn to Packard, but his betrayal drove her into the arms of the man she had idolized for years.  Otto shares Justine’s Vein Star paranoia (you can’t imagine the conversational foreplay these two have about brain aneurisms), and she lives for his adoration.  Packard, not one to back down, constantly challenges her to examine her feelings for Otto and compare them to the intensity she felt with him.   Meanwhile, the animosity between Packard and Otto comes to a head as their disturbing history is finally revealed. 

To sum up, DOUBLE CROSS has accomplished what few books ever do: it blows its excellent predecessor out of the water.  Crazy characters, maniacal villains, twisted romance, and an ending that is scream out loud good.  I was thinking about it for days afterwards and I still can’t believe the devious double cross (yeah, the title works on many levels).  Part of me seriously hates Carolyn Crane for leaving me like this to wait in agony for the conclusion to The Disillusionists Trilogy when it comes out sometime next year.  I just hope my Glory Hour lasts till then. 

Sexual Content: A graphic sex scene.  A semi graphic sex scene.

My Rating:

5/5
Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from DOUBLE CROSS

Previous books in the series:

1. Mind Games

Also reviewed by:

• Smexy Books
• BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!
• The Book Smugglers