*This title will be released on March 27, 2012*

Title: Slide Author:  Jill Hathaway Series: Slide #1 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: No Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Reading level: Ages 14 and up Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Balzer + Bray (March 27, 2012) ISBN-10: 0062077902 ISBN-13: 978-0062077905   Sexual Content: Kissing, References to teen pregnancy Rating: Okay – A few good points, but with significant flaws. Library/swap/borrow if you want.

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Title: Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls Author: Victoria Laurie Series: Ghost Hunter Mystery #5 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal Mystery Excerpt: No Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Signet; December 28, 2010 ISBN-10: 045123197X ISBN-13: 978-0451231970 Sexual Content: Flirtation, references to sex. My Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Description

M.J. Holliday has the unusual ability to talk to the dead. Problem is, some ghosts just won't listen...

GHOST HUNTERS TURNED TREASURE HUNTERS

When M.J. Holliday and the crew of her cable TV show, Ghoul Getters, venture to the haunted ruins of Dunlow Castle in Ireland, they hope that the road will rise up to meet them, that the wind will always be at their backs, that the sun will shine warm upon their faces...and that the resident phantom won't push them off a cliff.

That is what has befallen others drawn to the castle by the legend of hidden treasure. Dunlow Castle has more spooks than turrets--including the long-dead lord in all his ghostly greediness--but ghost busters treasure their lives, they need to get the drop on the menacing phantom--before they plunge headfirst into one cliffhanger of an ending....

Review

A grown-up mix of Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew, GHOULS, GHOULS, GHOULS was a light, quick read that blends a realistic present day with a dash of the spirit world.  An entertaining ghost story to fill a few hours, the characters of GHOULS, GHOULS, GHOULS didn’t leave enough of an impression for me to hurry out and pick up the rest of the series.

The ghostly aspects of the story were my favorite parts of the book, dusting a classic mystery procedural with ectoplasm.  Victoria Laurie definitely wrote this installment in the Ghost Hunter Mysteries to work as a stand alone, providing a good amount of back story and world building from the outset.  Unfortunately, as I felt that the world and the plot received a lot more attention than the characters.  M. J. and her ghost-hunting cronies never deepened beyond bickering and flirting (not enough of the flirtation for my taste), and these shallow interactions weren’t enough to interest me in their well being. 

For any reader who isn’t as character obsessed as I am, GHOULS, GHOULS, GHOULS is worth a look (especially mystery buffs who read a little fantasy on the side).  For those who crave more drama, depth, and development, this series is probably worth a pass.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
What’s a Ghoul to Do? Demons are a Ghoul’s Best Friend Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun Ghouls Gone Wild	Vickie at Vixen’s Daily Reads Jessica at a GREAT read

I received a surprise package in the mail on Monday.  There was no name on the return address and I had no clue who it was from or even what is was.  It was sort of rectangular in shape, so I figured it had to be a book.   

After opening the outer packaging, and tearing through a padded inner wrapping, I pulled out a very old, battered leather book.  The leather was cracked and curling at the edges, and the sender had used a rubber band to keep the cover from falling off.  In faded gold letters, the spine identified it as Shakespear’s Comedies.

Um…What?

Then I looked back in the package and found a folded note:

Hi Abigail,

Thank you for helping me with this, I think if we all post pics on Facebook of the clues we find, then together we can solve this mystery.

Shay
Facebook.com/ShadowShay

My brain finally started working again and I remembered the super cool publicity campaign that Campfire was doing for the even cooler book NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer.  They said they were sending something else, I guess I shouldn’t have expected more flowers and flash drives :) Back to the book.  Inside the front cover was the following message handwritten in flourishing script:

He who I refuse
to name makes a mockery of our invitation
His chosen answer is to cast
us as unnamed extras in one
of his libelous texts. He serves as a
warning to any of us that would
reach a hand out for those
lesser than our own.  Make no
peace with these lesser men.
Offer not a hand or choice
word. He is the mark of our failure.

 

Two places were marked in the book with torn page bookmarks.  On each of the pages, a swirling, tribal like pattern encircled specific words and letters:

The first bookmark was on page 293 Act 4, Scene 3 of The Comedy of Errors:

R
must
thee
promis
a drop of blood
covetous
the chain
witch
N
E
of
H
T
E

My best guess:  Covetous thee must promis a drop of blood the chain of witch (Raehten?)

The second one was on page 582 Act 1, Scene 2 of As You Like It

  

to
Ne ther
The
the
keep er
bond
of
desire
bounden

My best guess: The keeper bounden to nether the bond of desire.

On Shay’s Facebook page other people are posting their book pictures and clues, you should definitely go check it out.  You can also watch all of Shay’s Shadow Days episodes (like the one below) which explain where these books came from and offer more clues as to their meaning.  I’m not sure I’ve got these right.  What do you guys think?

NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer will be published on October 19th

Description:

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

*This title will be released on September 14, 2010 *

Book Description

Seven Stones of Power.  No one knows when they were created or by whom, each said to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature.  The list is long -- Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few.  Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues' gallery of power seekers.  He's an uncommonly dangerous man, with a hunger for the forbidden, and a set of abilities that are way beyond ordinary.  Abilities that he feels entitle him to possess anything he might desire.

That would include Elizabeth Tucker, the woman he needs to find the Stones.  She's freshly transplanted from New York City to Boston's North Shore.  With a new job as pastry chef at Dazzle's bakery and an old house inherited from her Aunt Ophelia, her life is pretty much on track …until it's suddenly derailed by a guy named Diesel, a rude monkey, and a ninja cat.

Lizzy can handle the monkey and the cat.  She's not sure about Diesel.  He's offering up his own set of unusual talents, promising to protect her from Grimoire.  The kind of protection that Lizzy suspects might involve guarding her body day and night.

The Seven Deadly Sins are pride, greed, lust, envy wrath, sloth and gluttony.  That pretty much covers everything that is wicked.  Diesel thinks it also pretty much covers everything that's fun.  And Lizzy thinks Diesel and the Seven Deadly Sins cover everything her mother warned her about.

 Review

Book 1 in The Unmentionable Series

It’s impossible to read a Janet Evanovich book without smiling.  The woman knows how to write funny, engaging characters, throw them into outlandish situations that always leave me wanting more.   I’m a huge fan of her Stephanie Plum series (including the supernaturally spiced Between-the-Numbers novellas that this new series is based on) and have wondered for years what a full length paranormal novel from Evanovich would be like.  The answer?  Familiar in a good way, flirty in a great way, and more fun than urban fantasy ever gets to have!

Everything I love about the Stephanie Plum is in the new WICKED APPETITE book: quick fun dialogue, simple yet sharp characterizations, dangerously sexy guys, zany sidekicks, and a main character who is like the best girlfriend you ever had.  Plus this time Evanovich has tied them all together in a perfect paranormal package in modern day Salem.  The wickedly sexy Diesel (along with Carl the monkey) and the just plain wicked Wulf have permanently migrated over from Stephanie Plum’s New Jersey and I wouldn’t be surprised if other familiar faces don’t pop up in the future.  Dare I hope for a Plum/Tucker crossover…?

If you already like Janet Evanovich (and who doesn’t?), you will love her new spin off series.  It’s basically exactly like her Stephanie Plum series with a magical twist and a new batch of crazy characters to love.  And even if you’re an Evanovich newbie, WICKED APPETITE is guaranteed to satisfy. I’m just psyched that I now have two Evanovich releases to look forward to each year instead of just one. 

Sexual Content: References to sex.  References to rape. Kissing

My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from WICKED APPETITE

Previous books in the series:

1. N/A

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312652917
• ISBN-13: 978-0312652913
• Cover Art: N/A 

*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press

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Genre Swap Saturday is a regular post (not necessarily every week) hosted by All Things Urban Fantasy, that will highlight books outside of our focused genre that I think will appeal to you.  Feel free to use this on your site, just link me please.

Every Genre Swap Saturday book suggestion will include:

• Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might like this book:
• Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might not like this book: 

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The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

Book Description: Watch out, world. Here comes Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six. Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. Her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case. Out of work and out of money, with her Miata repossessed and her refrigerator empty, Stephanie blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, fearless bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli is also the irresistible macho pig who took Stephanie's virginity at age sixteen and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. There's still powerful chemistry between these two, so the chase should be interesting. It could also be extremely dangerous, especially when Stephanie encounters a heavyweight title contender who likes to play rough. Benito Ramirez is known for his brutality to women. At the very least, his obsession with Stephanie complicates her manhunt and brings terror and uncertainty into her life. At the worst, it could lead to murder. Witty, fresh, and full of surprises, One for the Money was among the most eagerly awaited crime novels of the season.

My Take:
Often imitated but never duplicated, the Stephanie Plum series are light, funny, mysteries.  They are the quintessential popcorn books.  If you haven’t tried a cozy mystery series, these are arguably the best.

Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might like this series:

1. The Between-the-Numbers books (Plum Spooky etc.) could be considered urban fantasy-lite. They have supernatural characters called Unmentionables.
2. The two men in Stephanie’s life are very Alpha.  Ranger especially is one step away from a werewolf.
3. Stephanie's 1st POV will remind you of a more carefree Kate Daniels or Mercy Thompson

Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might not like this series:

1. Lots of quirky characters
2. Lots of dialogue, not so much description
3. Very little story advancement from book to book.  Kind of like a reset button gets pushed before each new book.

Stephanie Plum Novels
1. One for the Money (1994)
2. Two for the Dough (1995)
3. Three to Get Deadly (1997)
4. Four to Score (1998)
5. High Five (1999)
6. Hot Six (2000)
7. Seven Up (2001)
8. Hard Eight (2002)
9. To the Nines (2003)
10. Ten Big Ones (2004)
11. Eleven on Top (2005)
12. Twelve Sharp (2006)
13. Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
14. Fearless Fourteen (2008)
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (2009)

 

Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novels
1. Visions of Sugar Plums (2002)
2. Plum Lovin' (2007)
3. Plum Lucky (2008)
4. Plum Spooky (2009)

Series by cover