I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Big thanks to all the bloggers who shared their Turkey Tales with us this past week:

• Rebecca from Dirty Sexy Books on Sunday

• Carolyn from Book Chick City on Monday

• Jackie from Literary Escapism on Tuesday

• Angela from Dark Faerie Tales on Wednesday

• Natasha from Wicked Little Pixie on Thursday

And to all of you who commented with your Turkey Reads and Thankful Reads. 

The winners (chosen by Random.org) are…

Kristen (Kristen_babygurl@…)
Heatwave16
Shrea (Book Whispers)
Vickie (VWinship@…)
Robin K

Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon.  Please fill out the form 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:

Happy Thanksgiving!  Everyday this week, some of my favorite bloggers will be sharing some of their worst reads with us in the first Turkey Tales event. 

I did my first ever guest blog for the final blogger in our Turkey Tales event for her annual The Thirteen Wicked Days of Christmas event.  I’m talking about the delightfully dishy Natasha from Wicked Little Pixie.   Although we fall on opposite sides of the Twilight debate (I so did not need to know the extent of Twilight merchandizing that exists), we almost always agree on the books we hate.  Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments for another chance at the giveaway.  See below.  

by Natasha from Wicked Little Pixie

You know how it starts out; the book has so much promise, you’re excited to read it. Then all hell breaks loose & you have no idea what happened. Where did that train derail in my head?!My turkey read was a first in a few ways, one it was the first YA that freaked me out (so not in a good way) and two, the first time I had an author comment on a negative review.

Lets jump right into it shall we? Hope you have your flack jackets on….

Cat the Vamp follows 18 year old Catherine (Cat) Taylor through finding out she is a vampire after her grandmother’s death and moving to a castle to “learn” the ways of a vampire. What I liked about Christina Martine’s take on vampires is that they can go out in the sun and the only difference they have from humans is that they are born with less energy which requires them to drink small amounts of blood. Cat ends up meeting Morgan, who she has been dreaming about and finds out he’s also a vampire.

Okay, so great idea right? Yeah…

I was not happy with this book, for a young adult novel it just didn’t sit well with me. A few times I actually felt disturbed by some of the things that happened and thought to myself, I wouldn’t want my nieces reading this at all. I do believe this book should come with a warning and maybe should be targeted at much older young adults.

And that my friends, is when it all went downhill….

There is a scene where Cat and her boyfriend Morgan, cut their names into each other’s flesh with a razor blade and drink from the wounds, when another character (Amber) finds out, she thinks it’s “cool”. Cutting is a BIG problem with YA’s right now, so I don’t make light of things like that. There are constant mentions to smoking cigarettes and drinking, though these characters are 18 they act like 15 year olds.

There’s a scene where Cat drinks a lot of Morgan’s blood and he faints, both characters again make light of the situation. Cat and Morgan also have unprotected sex, there is little mention other than Cat is happy when she gets her period and isn’t pregnant. There are plenty sex scenes, which again I do not feel is appropriate for a YA novel.

I am so not a prude, honestly! But whoa, this was just a bit too much for me. I still am horrified and I read this in February! *shudders*

At one point, “high” on blood they attack a human blood donor. When their Teacher River finds out, there are little consequences to Cat and Morgan for their actions. Once again, they attack another person and escape for a few days. And again, little consequences for their actions even if they are getting completely out of control. For a “school” that’s supposed to be teaching them, they seem to do more hanging out and partying then anything else.

When Cat is told by her parents she is a vampire, she accepts it right away, no outburst or questions asked. That to me seemed an odd reaction for a teenager to have, especially when they drop her off at this castle and she basically has no other contact with them.

So I gave it 1.5 out of 5 stars. Thinking about it now, I can’t believe I kept reading. Like I said my first low star review AND the first time an author commented on a negative review. I have to tell you my first reaction to the author commenting on my blog was stomach rendering acid reflux tinged with guilt. Why do we always feel so guilty when we write a review that’s not positive?

After reading the authors comment, I was not a happy camper. She came and tried to justify the things I did not like in the book. I’m sorry; I didn’t like your book. It was the first time I took notes whilst reviewing a book, I had three pages!! I can’t love everything, I wish I could.

Since then I have learned a lot about reviewing, we can’t love every book & we shouldn’t feel guilty about it! So what?! We reviewers read A LOT; it’s not feasible that we love every single book that we read. I also know, it’s not wise to debate an author about a book you didn’t enjoy. I just refuse to respond to any author who is angry because I didn’t like their book.

But please don’t tell me your fantasy novel is educating kids. It did educate me; it was a book I wouldn’t want my future children going anywhere near.

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Thanks so much Natasha!  And check back tomorrow for the giveaway winners announcement.

Giveaway

5 winners will get to pick 1 of the books from the list below that I’m truly thankful for this year:

5/5 bat reviews: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews Soulless by Gail Carriger Double Cross by Carolyn Crane The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

You can comment once a day on each Turkey Tales post (any post with the Turkey Tales graphic) for up to six entries.  On Nov 26th, I’ll add up the entries and choose five winners to pick one of the 5 bat! Reviewed titles above to win. 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally (wherever The Book Depository ships)
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Tell Natasha what you think about her Turkey Tale choice
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Winners will be announced on Nov 26th

Welcome to the fourth day of Turkey Tales!  Everyday this week, some of my favorite bloggers will be sharing some of their worst reads with us in the first Turkey Tales event. 

I knew it was coming.  One of my guests was going to pick a Turkey Tale that I really liked.  My friend Angela from Dark Faerie Tales gets that honor.  She is always an insightful reviewer and on the rare occasions we disagree on a book, I can see her points even when they didn’t keep me from enjoying the book (as in the case with her choice).  Leave a comment for another chance at the giveaway. Details below

by Angela from Dark Faerie Tales

When Abigail asked me to participate in her Turkey Tales feature, I didn’t think it would be that hard to narrow down one book that ultimately let me down in every aspect. While I’ve read other books this year that failed to deliver, Personal Demons moved to the front of the line. You can read the finer points of my Personal Demons review here. I’ve selected Personal Demons as my Turkey Tale for the following reasons:

1. Unlikable Heroine: Irredeemable… This one word speaks volumes about Frannie’s character. I was never able to connect with Frannie’s character. Her attributes essentially remained the same throughout the story. Remember what a raving b!t@h Cordelia Chase was? But over the course of Buffy and Angel her character developed? Well the protagonist in Personal Demons has zero character growth. She's the same shallow, uninteresting character at the end of the book.
2. Bad Romance: I’m a free b!t@h… Yes, we know, Frannie. You’re free with your affections. The love interests are tacked on and very formulaic. That would be okay if done well, but in Personal Demons it’s hard to buy the love connection between eons old celestial and infernal beings and a 17 year old. Frankly, this makes the Twilight love story look like Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
3. World-building: I had a hard time believing that such powerful/ancient, damn near cosmic, supernatural humanity hanging in the balance characters are subject to obvious mcguffins such as the 'chosen one' protagonist. That chosen one schtick is played out even when done well as in The Matrix. It's utterly ridiculous that a hapless and boy crazy protagonist is going to play a major role in some cosmic struggle between good and evil, but I’d buy it if it was well done like Harry Potter.

Personal Demons isn’t a story for everyone. If I were a 12 or 13 year old, I might be thoroughly captivated and easily entertained by this story. Unfortunately, older readers aren’t likely to be as forgiving. These are just my thoughts, but you be the judge.

Thanks for having me, Abigail.

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Thanks so much Angela!  And check back tomorrow for the last Turkey Tale from Natasha from Wicked Little Pixie.

Giveaway

5 winners will get to pick 1 of the books from the list below that I’m truly thankful for this year:

5/5 bat reviews: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews Soulless by Gail Carriger Double Cross by Carolyn Crane The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

You can comment once a day on each Turkey Tales post (any post with the Turkey Tales graphic) for up to six entries.  On Nov 26th, I’ll add up the entries and choose five winners to pick one of the 5 bat! Reviewed titles above to win. 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally (wherever The Book Depository ships)
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Tell Angela what you think about her Turkey Tale choice
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Winners will be announced on Nov 26th

Welcome to the third day of Turkey Tales!  Everyday this week, some of my favorite bloggers will be sharing some of their worst reads with us in the first Turkey Tales event. 

Jackie from Literary Escapism is joining us for day three of Turkey Tales.  I had the privilege of guest blogging for Jackie when her baby was born back in August and I’ve been looking for the opportunity to have her here on ATUF ever since.  So today she’s carving into MaryJanice Davidson’s Queen Betsy series.   Make sure to check out the giveaway details below.

 
By Jackie @ Literary Escapism

When Abigail first asked me to write about my worst read ever, I had the hardest time trying to figure out what that was.  I really don't think of any novel as being a "worst" read; I'm firmly on the side of "it doesn't work for me, but it might for someone else", so I've been having to think about this for awhile.  Then Abigail gave me something to think on - it doesn't necessarily have to be about a single novel, it could be an author.

I loved Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson.  The whole premise was new and fresh and Betsy is hilarious.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second novel, Undead and Unemployed.  This continued until I came to Undead and Unworthy and the completely different cover it has.  I understand that marketing thought that too many novels were starting to go with the cartoon look and they didn't want the Betsy novels to get lost, but that was part of their appeal.   They were fun and flirtatious, much like Betsy, and this new one didn't scream Betsy to me.  It was like they were trying to make Betsy someone she hasn't been. Then they came out with the cover for Undead and Unwelcome.  Seriously, what did the art department do?  Get someone's daughter's barbie and posed her?  Not only did the model look fake, but it changed the whole feel of the book.  The tone of the novels didn't fit their covers any more, and honestly, I think it took away from the story.

 

I never really thought of myself as a cover junkie, but with Undead and Unworthy, I totally am.  Amber, from Amberkatze's Book Blog, was one of the first I started following and it was rare for us to disagree on a book.  In fact, one of the reasons I did follow her was because I agreed with her on every book.  If she endorsed it, I knew I would love it.  That all changed with Undead and Unworthy.  She loved it.  I couldn't put it down fast enough.  Since then, I haven't picked up another Davidson novel.  There's been two novels since then - Undead and Unwelcomed and Undead and Unfinished - plus the tenth one (Undead and Undetermined) due out next year and I can't dredge up any excitement.  It's sad really because I do love Sinclair and I'm curious to see where their relationship has gone.  But that would mean picking up not one, but two covers that were bad.  With so many novels coming out in the paranormal genre, Davidson has totally lost me.  I don't feel like I am going to get a great Betsy story when I know that Betsy is more fun than what her covers portray.

So I guess that Undead and Unworthy would have to be my worst read if I had to choose one.  It made me stop reading a series that I was enjoying.  I'm really hoping that the art department finds a new model for Undead and Undetermined.  Now if I could get my hands on the UK versions, maybe I'll start reading them again.

  

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Thanks so much Jackie!  And check back tomorrow for another Turkey Tale from Angela from Dark Faerie Tales

Giveaway

5 winners will get to pick 1 of the books from the list below that I’m truly thankful for this year:

5/5 bat reviews: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews Soulless by Gail Carriger Double Cross by Carolyn Crane The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

You can comment once a day on each Turkey Tales post (any post with the Turkey Tales graphic) for up to six entries.  On Nov 26th, I’ll add up the entries and choose five winners to pick one of the 5 bat! Reviewed titles above to win. 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally (wherever The Book Depository ships)
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Tell Jackie what you think about her Turkey Tale choice
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Winners will be announced on Nov 26th

Welcome to the second day of Turkey Tales!  Everyday this week, some of my favorite bloggers will be sharing some of their worst reads with us in the first Turkey Tales event. 

Another blogger is adding her Turkey Tale to the table. Her choice reminds me all too much of my number one turkey tale and the thought of two books out there as repugnant as the one I read actually makes me nauseous.  What doesn’t make me nauseous (how’s that for a segue?) is my favorite across the pond blogger: Carolyn from Book Chick City.  FYI, that is her real hair color.  Be sure to leave a comment if you want to win the giveaway.  Details below

Carolyn from Book Chick City

When Abigail asked if I would like to be a part of her Turkey Tales, not only was I very happy to accept, but I instantly knew which book I was going to talk about: 'Beware!' by Richard Laymon.

I read ‘Beware!’ for my All Hallows Eve event, which I run each October, and I pretty much hated it. I love a good horror novel, I’m not easily shocked, I’m not grossed out by oodles of blood, I can withstand high amounts of tension and psychological torment – nothing really gets to me, except this book did…a lot.

The story isn’t bad, it’s quite a good idea actually. The writing isn’t great but I’ve read worse. The characters are a bit flat but it was a short novel and I got what I wanted from them, for the most part, to keep the story alive and moving along at a good pace. But there were a couple of aspects to the story that I hated to the point I wanted to throw the book violently across the room, stomp on it, rip it to shreds; I wanted to burn it to. a. crisp!

Of course I didn’t – I’m a reader who doesn’t usually give up on books, it has been known, but even though this book was absolutely disgusting it was somehow compelling me to read it, it was like it had me in a dark magical spell and I just couldn’t put the book down.

‘Beware’ is a brutal psychological horror where a small town shop is thought to be haunted. People are murdered and cut up into pieces, there are detailed orgies, and lots of repetitive rape – and that was only in the first thirty pages!

The female protagonist is Lacey Allen, a reporter who lives in the small-town. She decides to look into the haunting with a few of the other town folk. Unfortunately, it’s not a ghost they encounter but something much worse.

Meet Hoffman. He’s evil. He’s also one of the most repugnant, vile and deeply offensive characters I have ever come across in fiction. I understand that Laymon wrote him this way on purpose – he’s the villain of the story - and normally I would understand that and just deal with it, but this time I couldn’t as all that evil was directed at women.

Hoffman savagely rapes and bludgeons women to death - his actions and language are just so abhorrent that he had my skin crawling and reading some of the scenes in this book actually had me feeling slightly nauseous. He views women as sexual objects and to use at his whim to free his depraved sexual desires, whether the women are alive, or dead. *shudders*

But it wasn’t just Hoffman that had me wanting to throw this book across the room – it was also Lacey. After such agonizing torture and rape, and while in hiding from Hoffman, she meets Scott.

Now I understand that emotions can be heightened in times of stress but for Lacey to be physically attracted to Scott, to get turned on when he touches her and then to have sex with him just a few days after being raped, when her bruises hadn’t even turned yellow yet, was just too much for me to bear. I mean, really??

This book is full of the typical sexist tropes where women are just sexual playthings - that Lacey could jump straight back into bed with someone was utterly ridiculous. This book affected me in a way that doesn’t usually happen – when I read the last page, the spell was broken and I closed the book with utter relief.

‘Beware’ is without doubt my number one ‘Turkey’ read of the year – be thankful you didn’t read it! ;)

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Thanks so much Carolyn!  And check back tomorrow for another Turkey Tale from Jackie from Literary Escapism

Giveaway

5 winners will get to pick 1 of the books from the list below that I’m truly thankful for this year:

5/5 bat reviews: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews Soulless by Gail Carriger Double Cross by Carolyn Crane The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

You can comment once a day on each Turkey Tales post (any post with the Turkey Tales graphic) for up to six entries.  On Nov 26th, I’ll add up the entries and choose five winners to pick one of the 5 bat! Reviewed titles above to win. 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally (wherever The Book Depository ships)
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Tell Carolyn what you think about her Turkey Tale choice
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Winners will be announced on Nov 26th

Welcome to the first day of Turkey Tales!  Everyday this week, some of my favorite bloggers will be sharing some of their worst reads with us in the first Turkey Tales event. 

Kicking things off is the dirtiest, sexiest, bookiest blogger I know, Rebecca from Dirty Sexy Books.  Getting to know Rebecca this past year, we discovered that we’re both diehard Linda Howard fans (Son of The Morning and Heart of Fire are my favorites)…er, well we used to be.  I’ll let Rebecca take it from here.  And make sure to check out the giveaway details below.

By Rebecca @ Dirty Sexy Books

The past couple of years have been damn hard on us Linda Howard fans. 

One of my all-time favorite romance authors has hit a writing slump.  Yep, she’s swinging at air.  Her latest books have been skimpy, preposterous, and the biggest crime of all, they’ve been unromantic! 

This was my conclusion when I realized that I gave three of her most recent efforts two-stars a pop.  Two-stars!  That’s crazy bad when it comes to Ms. Howard’s writing, which transcended the field with novels like Cry No More, Son of Morning, and All the Queen’s Men.  I recommend these books without hesitation, but her latest stuff? 

• Burn - Imagine a romance based on Stockholm syndrome that takes place on The Love Boat. 
• Ice - Too, too short.  If you pre-ordered this wafer-thin hardcover then I pity you.  I really do.
• Blood Born - Info dumps up the wazoo, and a sex scene where the heroine is gritting her teeth because she’s too dry???

These are mistakes that rookie authors often make, but long-time Linda Howard fans have been scratching their heads and wailing, What the hell is going on?

Well, there is an answer, and Ms. Howard shared the news on her Facebook page a few months ago.  It turns out that she’s been suffering from long-term thyroid issues that have directly impacted her ability to write, but she didn’t really know what was going on for the longest time.  She wrote:

“Usually I don't discuss health issues, because it's not only Too Much Information, it's really not anyone else's business. I'm making an exception this time because it relates to writing, and almost caused me to stop.”

Reading that sentence almost caused my heart to stop.  Linda Howard is THE author who made me the romance fan I am today, and I’m certainly rooting for her comeback.  I’m happy to say that in her latest novel, Veil of Night, I saw glimmers of her past genius.  Nothing would thrill me more than seeing her smash one out of the stadium again.

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Thanks so much Rebecca!  And check back tomorrow for another Turkey Tale from Carolyn from Book Chick City

Giveaway

5 winners will get to pick 1 of the books from the list below that I’m truly thankful for this year:

5/5 bat reviews: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews Soulless by Gail Carriger Double Cross by Carolyn Crane The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

You can comment once a day on each Turkey Tales post (any post with the Turkey Tales graphic) for up to six entries.  On Nov 26th, I’ll add up the entries and choose five winners to pick one of the 5 bat! Reviewed titles above to win. 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally (wherever The Book Depository ships)
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Tell Rebecca what you think about her Turkey Tale choice
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Winners will be announced on Nov 26th