What To Expect Wednesday - A Preview of Soon To Be Published Books!

Release date 1/31/12 by Random House Publishing.
Publisher's Blurb:

In Nicole Jordan’s dazzling new Regency series, the scandalous Wilde cousins seek true love by imitating history’s legendary lovers . . . beginning with Ashton Wilde, Marquis of Beaufort, who takes on the daunting role of Prince Charming to an unlikely Cinderella.

Thanks to the mischievous meddling of his matchmaking sister, Ashton Wilde meets a damsel in distress during the midnight magic of a lavish ball. But Maura Collyer isn’t looking for a prince—or an intimate pairing with any member of the scandalous noble Wilde family.

Intrigued by Maura’s beauty and daring, Ash is determined to aid in the rescue of her beloved stallion, gambled away by her wicked stepmother to an evil viscount. As their adventure becomes rife with peril and passion, Ash suspects he’s found his heart’s desire.

Even though her dearest friend may be her self-proclaimed fairy godmother, Maura is mortified at being pushed into a romance with a notorious rake such as Ash. Dashing and charming, he comes to Maura’s rescue just in time to help her steal back her precious horse. As they flee across the countryside, she can’t resist his sweet seduction. But is her prince playing a role in a fairy tale to test an improbable theory, or is the love awakening in her heart proof of her own happily ever after?

And............................


Release date is 1/24/12 by Samhain Publishing.
Publisher's Blurb:

Sometimes it takes just one kiss…

Doomsyear, Book 1

Kylie Mitchell lives in a world of monsters. Thanks to a military experiment gone viral, over half the population is gone and most of what remains has mutated into storybook werewolves and vampires. In this new Earth, only the tough survive, and Kylie has more than enough reason to want to be left alone.

When the Council of the Wise decrees that she must mate with a potent vampire and a powerful werewolf, Kylie resents their intrusion into her self-imposed exile. As one of the last humans on Earth, she always assumed she’d be safe from the super-psychics’ machinations, and she’s not ready to trust her heart to anyone.

Michael and Christian share no great love for each other, but they have one thing in common—their long-time desire for Kylie. Determined to ensure she doesn’t spend the rest of her lonely life wallowing in needless guilt, they choose to put aside their differences and work together, never allowing her time to think as they seduce her body and mind, hoping their love will tempt her heart to open to them.

Yet just as she begins to bloom under their fiercely protective attention, a twisted and monstrous figure from the past rises up, threatening to destroy everything…

Warning: Features a sexy werewolf, a motorcycle-riding vamp, and one very lucky woman who is tough enough to take care of herself. Watch out for sizzling hot sex scenes, two alpha males, undeniable love, and a twisted monster that might end it all.

And....................................

Release date is 1/31/12 by HarperCollins Publishing.

I included this because I love the series television Justified on TNT, and it's based on the Elmore Leonard book.



And.................................

Release date is 1/23/12 by Pocket Books.

Publisher's Blurb:

When the youngest Sharpe sister hatches a plan to gain marriage offers, the straight-laced Bow Street Runner Jackson Pinter knows he'll do whatever it takes to ruin her scheme...

Lady Celia Sharpe hopes that if she can garner offers of marriage from several eligible gentlemen and show her grandmother she is capable of gaining a husband, she can convince Gran to rescind the marriage ultimatum for her. And if that plan doesn’t work, at least she’ll have a husband lined up. But Bow Street Runner Jackson Pinter seems determined to ruin her plans by disapproving of every suitor she asks him to investigate. It’s only when she and Jackson work together to solve her parents’ murders, plunging them both into danger, that she realizes why—because the only man he wants her to marry is himself!


And................................



Release date is 1/24/12 by Random House Publishing.

Publisher's Blurb:

The climactic novel in Lara Adrian’s New York Times bestselling Midnight Breed series—and her hardcover debut—Darker After Midnight invites readers to enter a thrillingly sensual world where danger meets desire.

In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order—a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike—to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.

At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach. But when his eyes meet those of Tavia Fairchild, a beautiful witness who identifies him at the scene of a mission gone terribly wrong, Chase finds himself drawn to the woman—and convinced she is something much more than she seems.

Pulled into a vortex of intrigue and danger she can neither resist nor understand, Tavia is uncertain whom to trust. And while everything sane and logical warns her against getting close to Chase, she cannot deny that the handsome, deeply haunted male stirs something primal and ravenous within her. But even as she surrenders to her cravings, nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth of who—and what—she truly is.

As the Order’s enemy mobilizes for the battle of the ages, Dragos and his Minions unleashing a hell on Earth like nothing ever seen before, Chase and Tavia are thrust into the heart of the violence. With time running out and the streets running red with the blood of innocent lives, both Breed and human, together Chase and Tavia must find a way to defeat Dragos once and for all—or die trying.

Whispers in the Dark (KGI Series #4) by Maya Banks

Publisher's Blurb:  Banks’s fourth Kelly Group International (KGI) romantic thriller (after Hidden Away) introduces a speculative element. Nathan Kelly, captured and tortured, finds himself in telepathic contact with a mysterious woman named Shea, who helps him survive and engineers his escape. Once free, Nathan finds himself unable to explain matters to his highly trained family and the top-secret, globe-trotting paramilitary organization they operate. When he takes the family jet and flies off to rescue Shea from the kidnappers chasing her, the Kelly family bond pulls in the rest of the KGI team. Banks enhances Nathan and Shea’s romantic attraction and physical intimacy with the telepathic bond, and as their relationship gets satisfyingly steamy, the action remains tense, perilous, and convincing. The mystery of Shea’s abilities and her equally talented sister, Grace, promises plenty of material for future KGI books.

Review:  I have this bad habit of starting a book series by jumping in (often unintentionally) somewhere in the middle.  And Whispers in the Dark is a great example!  It is the 4th novel in a series featuring the Kelly brothers and their paramilitary organization, and the first book I've ever read by Maya Banks.

The story starts as Nathan is being tortured by his captors. He has been a prisoner for weeks and is close to giving up. But he soon hears the voice of Shea in his head, giving him strength and somehow taking his pain away, giving him the strength he needs to hang on. Shea has somehow randomly psychically connected to Nathan, and does everything she can to save him. But Shea has problems of her own, and is being chased by the mysterious men who murdered her parents and are hunting for Shea and her sister.
The pace is relentless, and the action is nail-biting, heart-thumping and very exciting. The romance between Shea and Nathan was deeply emotional and intimate, as well as sexy as hell. Their psychic link intensifies the emotional bond between them, and their shared experiences of pain and danger heighten this bond.  I loved the fast pace and the focus on the weapons, action and operations of the KGI teams.

Also, this book has the BEST DIALOGUE EVER regarding romance novels.
On page 219, Nathan has just pulled Shea to him and is kissing her in front of everybody, including P.J., a crack sniper and the only female member of KGI, and Cole, another team member.
"This is better than a romance novel," P.J. said with a wistful sigh.
"You read that stuff?"  Cole demanded.
"Why the hell do you ask the question like that?" P.J. said, annoyance evident in her tone and expression.
"You just didn't seem the type,"  Cole muttered.
"I'm tempted to shove one of my romance novels up your ass," P.J. said sharply.  "But I love my books too much to desecrate them like that.  I'll settle for my boot."

Hah!

And now the rest of the story:  this is easily the first romance novel I have ever read that seems to be written for the straight male audience.  A straight male audience that loves military/paramilitary romance novels.  It's got to exist, right?  So why do I think this?  The book is written in third person narrative, and while the reader spends enough time with Shea to get to know and care about her,  the focus is mostly on Nathan, his feelings and his inner dialogue.  By the time Shea and Nathan meet in person, after months of an intense psychic emotional bond, Nathan is overcome with lust/desire/love and their first sexual encounter is realistic - which is to say, rather quick.  The next few times they have sex there's a lot of speed, the actual deed itself, and lots of oral sex performed on Nathan by Shea.  Basically it's a guy's idea of heaven.  Repeatedly.  I kept waiting for Nathan to return the favor but it wasn't happening. 
After Nathan is rescued, and then after he rescues Shea, they return to the Kelly compound where there is nonstop brother/tough guy teasing and dialogue.  It's entertaining, realistic and feels genuine.  I really loved it.
All the Kelly brothers are super tough, hunky, former military special ops, all around good guys.  I liked these guys so much I plan to read the first 3 books in the KGI Series to learn their back stories.
Add to that the fact that Shea (our romance novel heroine) felt like an under-developed character to me.  She has cool psychic powers and is tough and resilient, but mostly she is helpless, vulnerable, so tiny and slender (enough with the stereotypical slender, tiny heroines, people!  How the hell can she be so slender if she is also described as "plump" in all the right places - PUH LEEEZ!)  
So there you have it - a romance novel focused on the hero rather than the heroine, with an exciting plot, adrenaline-laced action and a whole family of sexy military hunks with stories of their own.  I will definitely be checking out the other novels in the series.

For more information visit the author's website at http://www.mayabanks.com/. 

    

Ghouls Night Out: From Weddings from Hell by Terri Garey

 
Publisher's Blurb:  Nicki Styx sees dead people. Worse, she’s a replacement bridesmaid forced to wear a hideously yellow dress that makes her look like a pineapple. If only the chatty ghost of the original bridesmaid would just leave her alone, Nicki may just survive this ceremony yet. From the RITA-winning author of Dead Girls Are Easy, an unforgettable tale of unholy matrimony and the wedding guests in attendance . . . living or otherwise.
Review:   At just about 60 pages, this short story is a wonderful way to spend a little time with Nicki Styx.   Nicki is a backup bridesmaid for her cousin, and while being fitted for a spectacularly hideous bridesmaid dress, the original bridesmaid comes in and has no idea that she's dead.  Nobody else knows either, so Nicki has some multi-tasking to do - survive a family wedding with family from the shallow end of the gene pool and help this poor girl figure out that she's dead and why.  Nicki is the kind of girl who says what she thinks and can come off as prickly, but has a soft heart underneath.  Since coming back from the dead a few months ago she has the ability to see the dead, and also has a new mission in life:  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 
For a short story this packed a nice punch - it had a solid mystery, developed Nicki's background a bit, had laugh out loud moments and a nice, scary climax.  Add in the appearances of hunky boyfriend Joe (we get to see a sexy, dark side of him here) and bestie Evan, some dark and wacky humor, and a zombie reenactment, and I was one happy reader.

I reviewed Dead Girls Are Easy and A Match Made in Hell previously.

For more information visit the author's website at http://www.tgarey.com/.

Flashback Fridays Presents................ Grimms' Children's and Household Tales aka Grimm's Fairy Tales

  Frontispiece of first volume of Grimms' Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812) (Image from Wikipedia)

In the early 1800s, brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began collecting the folktales of Germany.  Through the centuries life has almost always been hard, and often cruel, for humans, and these tales reflect the grim reality of life.
The original tales were full of adventure, magic, and blood.  When I was about 10 years old I received a hardcover copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales, and they were NOT the sanitized, diluted versions so common today.  And they enthralled and enchanted me.  I read the book many times.  Several stories scared me, and I would skip over them, but they were all mysterious and magical.  Because of the gritty base of tough reality, the magical and fanciful elements seemed real as well, enhancing the stories' power over the reader. 



For the complete stories visit the Gutenberg site at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/g.  The Gutenberg site is a wonderful resource.   From the website - "Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.  Project Gutenberg offers over 36,000 free ebooks to download to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable device. Choose between ePub, Kindle, HTML and simple text formats."
                 

A great website reference is http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html.
Also check out http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html to read  "12 unvarnished tales, based on a 1914 translation".



Here is a list of tales:
THE GOLDEN BIRD                                      HANS IN LUCK
JORINDA AND JORINDEL                          THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS    
OLD SULTAN                                               THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN   
BRIAR ROSE                                                 THE DOG AND THE SPARROW    
THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES     THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE    
THE WILLOW-WREN AND THE BEAR      THE FROG-PRINCE    
CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP        THE GOOSE-GIRL
THE ADVENTURES OF CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET
   1. HOW THEY WENT TO THE MOUNTAINS TO EAT NUTS
   2. HOW CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET WENT TO VIST MR KORBES
RAPUNZEL                                                      FUNDEVOGEL
THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR                    HANSEL AND GRETEL
THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE
MOTHER HOLLE                                           LITTLE RED-CAP [LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM                      TOM THUMB
RUMPELSTILTSKIN                                     CLEVER GRETEL
THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON     THE LITTLE PEASANT
FREDERICK AND CATHERINE                  SWEETHEART ROLAND
SNOWDROP                                                  THE PINK
CLEVER ELSIE                                              THE MISER IN THE BUSH
ASHPUTTEL                                                  THE WHITE SNAKE
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS
THE QUEEN BEE                                          THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER
 THE JUNIPER-TREE                                    THE TURNIP
 CLEVER HANS                                             THE THREE LANGUAGES
 THE FOX AND THE CAT                             THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS
 LILY AND THE LION                                   THE FOX AND THE HORSE
 THE BLUE LIGHT                                         THE RAVEN
 THE GOLDEN GOOSE                                 THE WATER OF LIFE
 THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN                        THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN
 DOCTOR KNOWALL                                  THE SEVEN RAVENS
 THE WEDDING OF MRS FOX                    FIRST STORY
 SECOND STORY                                          THE SALAD
THE STORY OF THE YOUTH WHO WENT FORTH TO LEARN WHAT FEAR WAS
KING GRISLY-BEARD                                 IRON HANS
CAT-SKIN                                                     SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED

What To Expect Wednesday

Here's what's new!

Release date is 2.1.2012 by Kensington Publishing.
Publisher's Blurb:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander, a captivating new romance in which a daring young woman must choose between her past and her future. . .

Evelyn Hadley-Attwater has it all—a genteel Victorian life replete with loving husband, ball gowns and elegant parties. No one, including the man she married, suspects that she was once "Eve," a spy for England's most enigmatic intelligence agency. Summoned for one final assignment, the excitement of her former life and memories of her mysterious, flirtatious boss "Sir" prove too tempting. . .

Adrian Hadley-Attwater is a respectable, dignified gentleman. But even the most proper gentlemen have secrets of their own. Secrets from the rest of the world, from their families, from their wives. Secrets that have a price. Now, as a veil of secrecy frays, a tantalizing game of cat and mouse will test the bounds of unfailing love. . .

Munchkin Mondays (or, What My Kids are Reading)

My (almost) 9 year old son has chosen:


Publisher's Blurb:

For the legions of dedicated Ripley’s fans, and anyone else on the planet who loves unbelievable facts and jaw-dropping images, the latest annual in our bestselling series is a feast of delights. Be amazed at a portrait made from 200,000 dead ants, the man who traversed the English Channel by holding onto a bunch of balloons, and the single human hair featuring paintings of all 42 American presidents. A compendium of incredible and bizarre facts, stories, interviews and features, presented in a stunning new design, this book also drives readers to Ripley’s fully interactive website. There are intriguing interviews with some of the astounding individuals who are featured in the book that spotlight their achievements and reveal more about what motivates them.

A dramatic eight-page gatefold sections presents Ripley’s first ever odditorium, which showcased sideshow performers and was built for the World’s Trade Fair in 1933. This features a selection of choice memorabilia including Robert Ripley’s original annotated list of performers. Informative “Ripley’s Research” boxes give the scientific explanation behind some of the most incredible tales in the book, such as how people have turned their fingers into magnets.

A section on the Olympic games, past and present, highlights the wacky as well as the amazing feats that have taken place at the height of sporting achievement.

Additional black and white Ripley archive photographs feature throughout the book, and miscellaneous lists are also scattered throughout. This year specially commissioned photographic features will also appear in the book.

The Interview:

Sean loves reading, especially anything with weird and fascinating subjects.  And by weird and fascinating I really mean gross and icky, preferably body function related.  He has read all of the Captain Underpants books several times, but is also currently on Book 5 of the Harry Potter series, so I consider that a good balance.  But other book reading screeched to a stop when he got this book for Christmas.

Mom:  So why is this book so awesome?
Sean:  Because it show me the most interesting things, and the weirdest. And funniest!
Mom:  Like what?
Sean:  Like an olive python from Africa that tried to pull a wawroo out of a watering hole.
Mom:  What the heck is a wawroo?
Sean:  I'll show you. (He gets the book.) 
(Pause, while I look at an amazing photograph of an olive python pulling a wallaroo up a bank in Australia.  Turns out a wallaroo is a marsupial related to the kangaroo.  I did not know that!)
Mom:  Alright, that photo was amazing and awful.  What else do you like?
Sean:  The grossest thing is the most dangerous sport in the US.  A soccer player in 2004 jumped onto a fence to celebrate a goal, and when he jumped down his wedding ring caught on the fence and tore off half his finger. (The book has a full page photo of soccer player Paulo Diogo holding up his hand with a bloody, half-gone finger yelling.  He was able to resume a successful career).
Mom:  Wow, that is amazing.  Soccer's usually not that dangerous.  That's why you can't wear rings in some jobs.
Sean:  I want to tell you something else!  Kamikaze Carpenter Ants! "A species of ants found in Borneo has a gruesome way to defend its colony.  Designated soldier ants wait until a predator is close by and then sacrifice themselves by exploding glands that run along their bodies.  These glands contain a sticky poisonous glue that ensnares the would-be invader, but also kills the carpenter ant in the process."
Mom:  Who do you think would like this book?
Sean:  I say people who like gore will like this book.  And blood, sweat and tears!


   

Flashback Fridays Presents................ The Grande Dame of Romance - Barbara Cartland!

Per Barnes & Noble:  "Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages.
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery.
She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation.
Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world.
She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven.
Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author.
Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed.
Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life."

And according to Wikipedia,
"Dame (Mary) Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000), was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century. As Barbara Cartland she is known for her numerous romantic novels, but she also wrote under her married name Barbara McCorquodale.
She also became one of London's most prominent society figures and one of Britain's most popular media personalities, appearing often at public events and on television, dressed in her trademark pink and discoursing on love, health, and social and political issues. She is widely regarded as having originated the phrase: "I'm bringing sexy back", as popularised by singer Justin Timberlake. Barbara Cartland is the sixth most translated writer worldwide and the third best selling after William Shakepeare and Agatha Christie."

If you type "Barbara Cartland" in a Barnes & Nobles search, nearly 600 entries pop up!

Growing up I would read anything, to include cereal boxes at breakfast. It didn't take long before I'd exhausted the library shelves of mythologies, fairy tales and the like.  As a teenager I wandered over to the paperback section of our small-town library and discovered shelves and shelves of little paperbacks written by Barbara Cartland.  Although the romance genre was not my favorite, these books were fast, enjoyable, and delightfully predictable.  The heroines were pure, the men noble, and happy endings a guarantee. I must have read several dozen Barbara Cartland novels, devouring them like little treats.

Barbara Cartland's books have been rereleased in pink editions.  I haven't seen so much pink since I painted my daughter's bedroom walls Pepto pink.  I wonder if Dame Barbara and Mary Kay (cosmetics queen) are getting along in the afterlife, or duking it out over the available pink accessories?


For a great website devoted to this prolific and much loved author, go visit http://www.barbaracartland.com/ a site maintained by her son.  You can sign up for a newsletter, and order special editions of Cartland's books.

Nightwalker (Dark Days Series #1) by Jocelynn Drake

Publisher's Blurb: 

For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.

Review:  Nightwalker was originally published in 2008, and I am very happy that there are several more books in the series, because this was a great read.  The heroine/protagonist is Mira, a 600 year old vampire who is unique among humans and vampires because she can start and control fire.  Mira is living in Savannah as Keeper of the City, a position she enjoys for the relative peace after centuries of politics and power struggles among the Ancients in the Old World.  But the vampire hunter Danaus has arrived, and Mira's confrontations with him prove to be enigmatic - he is not all that he appears to be and she spares his life in the hope of learning more about him and the organization he works for.  Soon someone from the most horrific nightmare of Mira's past turns up as well, and her hard won sanity and peaceful life are shattered as she travels to Egypt and London in an attempt to find the Ancients of her race and prevent a bloody battle that will destroy humannity.
Mira was a fantastic character - she is the strong, alpha, dominant one in the story, and is both respected and feared.  Beautiful and honorable, she inspires awe and is a legend among her kind.  Her battle skills are matched by Danaus, who becomes an unlikely ally (and potential romantic interest) as Mira learns her life as a human and vampire may not be what they seem.  Reading a story driven by a strong, sexual, capable female is a nice change of pace, and seems to be more common in the urban fantasy genre. (I'm thinking oif Kelley Armstrong's super Women of the Otherworld series specifically.)
I can't wait to nread the rest of this series!  Nightwalker ended with a heck of a cliffhanger andI am hooked.


For more information visit the author's website at http://www.jocelynndrake.com/.