My Picks of the Week! (18th March 2014)

Hello, Muses!

I won't be posting a review this week since I will participating in three different blog tours in the near future. I need to take a little time to catch up on some reading so that I can actually review the books!

Also, I want to remind everyone that I have two giveaways currently going on. The first is an awesome swag package for The Devil's Flower by Lisa Collicutt (swag includes paperback copy, bookmark, mug, pen, etc.) open to US & Canadian residents. An e-book copy of The Devil's Flower is also being given away to anyone outside the US. Giveaway ends 3/22. To enter, go HERE.

The second giveaway is for 1 paperback copy of Last Hit by writing duo Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick for US residents. Also being given away is an e-book copy of Last Hit for anyone that lives outside the US. Giveaway ends 3/23. To enter, go HERE.

Here are the releases in books, movies & TV shows coming out this week.

Enjoy & Good luck!

BOOKS (18th March 2014)

ADULT BOOKS

Bittersweet (Ebony Nights, #4)
by: Elisabeth Roseland

Carla Dabrowski thought a kinky affair with her boss would provide the thrill she s been missing. What a mistake. Not only is her desperately needed factory job at his mercy, she s still got a lonely hole in the middle of her life.

That s when a friend pushes a black business card into her hand, and Carla finds herself opening the door to a whole new world of possibilities courtesy of two hunky, handsome escorts.

It was just another job for Derrick and Andre. But the moment they enter the darkened home that once belonged to Carla s parents, they feel a powerful emotional pull. Unfortunately, the guys know the cardinal rule of escorts. Keep it strictly business or risk losing the job that pays the bills, but lately has left them questioning their lives and futures.

As the three of them dance around the edge of commitment, only one thing holds them back. Fear. Until one brutal encounter with the past threatens to destroy all hope of a happily ever after times three.

Release Date: 18th March 2014

Website | E-book

Dancing With Dragons (DRACIM, #2)

by: Lorenda Christensen

If Carol Jenski knows anything, it's fashion—and it's not in fashion to consort with dragons, even though they've coexisted with humans since World War III. Still, she would never have agreed to take part in a plot against them. Now a dragon lord has called for her head, her boyfriend is MIA and she's been abandoned in a foreign country.

Only reporter Daniel Wallent is on Carol's side...sort of. He offers his assistance if she helps him investigate his latest story. He'll need Carol's language skills to infiltrate in the organization run by one of the most dangerous and secretive dragons in the world.

Escaping one sociopathic dragon's claws only to walk into another's is an insane risk—and so is falling for Daniel. Posing as his blushing—and very affectionate—new bride as cover soon leads to an all-too-real attraction. But fighting off dragons and her desire for Daniel may be more of a challenge than Carol can handle...

Release Date: 17th March 2014

Website | E-book

Dark Deeds (The Mindhunters, #4)
by: Anne Marie Becker

Walking away from sexy Detective Diego Sandoval was one of the toughest things security specialist Becca Haney ever had to do. But her past is a direct threat to his future, to the career he’s working so hard to rebuild. Now, with a witness from a horrific case implicating Diego, Becca must decide whether to listen to her head or her heart.

Diego is a big-city lawman used to cracking the hardest cases, but he’ll never understand why Becca ended their passionate affair. When he’s assigned to help keep her safe from a human trafficking ring, he’s determined to stay by her side and learn about the woman behind the passion—scars and all.

But Becca has another admirer. Known only as “the Fan,” he believes he’s the perfect partner for her—and he’ll kill to prove it. Soon the stakes are raised in his deadly game, and Becca will need to trust Diego in order to save lives—including her own.

Release Date: 17th March 2014

Website | E-book

Everlasting Sin

by: J.S. Cooper

Hudson Blake
Tattooed. Hot. My best friend's brother. Off-limits, except for that one night.

That One Night
Cannot be spoken of. Cannot be thought of. Cannot allow myself to daydream.

Daydream
That I’m going to become someone. That he can see me as someone.

Someone
To love. To forget. To believe. To taste.

To make me forget my everlasting sin once and for all.

Release Date: 18th March 2014

Website | E-book

Book Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Title: Lies Beneath

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

ISBN: 0385742010

Reading Level: Young Adult

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance

Theme(s): Mermaids/Merman, revenge

Binding: Hardcover

Length: 320 pgs

Published: 12 June 2012; Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Buy: Amazon.com

Synopsis: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

My Rating:

My Review: First, let it be known how much I love mermaid mythology. Yes, I started out like most young girls, fascinated with Disney's The Little Mermaid and falling in love with Splash starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. As an English major in college, I had the opportunity to take a Legends, Fairytales, & Folklore course and was exposed to all kinds of mer tales from around the world. Some tales were sweet while others showed a very dark side to these sea creatures. It is no secret that mermaids have recently become popular in Young Adult literature and it has been exciting to read different authors' perspectives. But just like the overabundance of vampire and werewolf novels out there, it's getting harder to find a mer story that stands out from the rest. Maybe that is why I was so psyched when I came across Lies Beneath. It's just a shame that the book didn't live up to my expectations.

Here's what I liked. If you've read any of my reviews before, then you already know how much I enjoy reading books from the male perspective and how hard they are to find. I give Anne Greenwood Brown kudos for writing Lies Beneath entirely in Calder's point-of-view. Not only that, she nailed it.

I also liked the author's writing style. The chapters were not overly long and I enjoyed the poetry that was weaved throughout. It was also nice to see each chapter labeled with a title. I find it kind of fun when authors do that because I like to see how a title connects within that chapter.

One of the biggest things that drew me to this book was knowing that the author was taking what we think we know about mermaids/mermen and giving us a completely different mythology. Mermaids that survive by absorbing human emotions and energy? Cool! Cold blooded killers? Intriguing! I really liked what the author brought to the table, such as Calder not being born a merman, but being turned into one. The silver ring that appears around their necks when they are in their mer form. The depths that they will go to exact revenge and the consequences of not keeping your word if you should break a mer promise. So much potential that somehow just gets...lost.

Here is where I had issues with Lies Beneath. The story absolutely starts off strong. Calder tells us from the very first couple of pages that he is a killer, that's how he survives, but he hasn't made a kill in several months (9 months I think, right?). His three sisters, Maris, Tallulah, and Pavati, lure him to Michigan to exact revenge on Jason Hancock, the man responsible for the death of their mother. I say lure because while Calder feels bonded to his sisters, he desperately wants to be free from them. Maris, the ring leader, reluctantly agrees to cut the ties that binds him to them if he helps finish what they have set out to do. So far so good, right?

But once Calder gets to Michigan, that is sort of where the story falls flat. They decide the best way to get Jason Handcock is through his daughters. They at first think it's best to go for the youngest girl but Calder becomes fascinated with Lily, the eldest daughter of Hancock...and the story becomes boring. Seriously! The majority of the book is Calder watching, following, and...stalking Lily Hancock. He sleeps in the hammock outside her house at night. He gets a job at the same place she does. I've seen the "stalker" technique used before (for lack of a better term or phrase) and while in some books it works (Twilight, for example), it fails epically in Lies Beneath. Why you ask? I wish I could give you a good reason why. I tried going back to find some examples as to what bothers me about Calder, why I didn't feel myself swooning for him like I have for many other male lead characters. Maybe it's because he just doesn't seem fully developed, which is odd considering the book is in his point-of-view.

This also leads me to my dislike for his love interest, Lily Hancock. It's really rare for me to dislike BOTH the male and female main lead characters of a story. Actually, this may be a first. I thought Lily was going to be this rebellious, no nonsense kind of girl by the way she was first described. She annoyed me with all of the mermaid poetry and the blatant disregard for the "killing" parts. I guess I have to give it to Calder since even he was a bit annoyed that she had this romantic image in her head and no matter how he tried to redirect her back to the truth, she refused to see it. I'm not stupid, I get that in order for us to have a happily ever after, she has to forgive and come to terms with the things he has done. But to completely IGNORE it? Yeah, I have major issues with that.

Here is also a major mistake I found that became distracting. It's revealed early that Calder was born human and was made into a merman. When he was a small child, he was on a boat with his parents. A mermaid, later to become his "adopted" mother, capsized the boat and killed his parents. She showed mercy by turning him. But later in the story Calder thinks to himself, "They were out there somewhere. They might have even loved me. Did they search for me still, all these years later?" (page 241). HUH? Didn't she kill his biological parents??? If anyone has read this book and is reading this review, please feel free to let me know if I am wrong. Maybe I didn't read it correctly, but I could have sworn Calder said early in the story that they were killed.

Another thing that bothered me is how Calder and his sisters' mermaid mother died. I know she was caught in a fisherman's net. And I am assuming the fishermen never saw her? Or did they? If they did, then mermaids would be out of the closet, right? This isn't exactly a mistake but this is the kind of thing that happened a lot throughout the story. The author throws out some great ideas but doesn't fully explore them or give us enough details.

While I absolutely loved the structure of the novel such as the male point-of-view, the edgy, dark mythology, and writing style, there really wasn't a whole lot of substance to hold it together. The story focused too much on Calder spying on Lily. The characters weren't fleshed out enough. I get there is going to be a sequel but there could have been way more character development without giving away too much story. In any case, I am thankful to NetGalley and Delacorte Books for Young Readers for giving me this opportunity to read and review Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown.

Book Review: Tempest Rising

Title: Tempest Rising
Author: Tracy Deebs
ISBN: 978-0802722317
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Theme: Mermaids/Selkies
Binding: Paperback (ARC)
Length: 288 pgs (advanced reader copy)
Published: 10 May 2011
Buy: amazon.com, bn.com, borders.com
My Rating:


Synopsis: Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her-and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

**The following review may contain SPOILERS**


My Review: Tempest Rising was on my highly anticipated list and I was lucky enough to get a hold of an ARC (advance reader copy) before the release date. One of the reasons why I was excited about reading this book is because of its subject manner. Mermaids! Stories about mermaids are still fresh and new whereas, books on vampires, werewolves, and even angels are starting to get old and redundant. It’s getting increasingly harder to find that diamond in the rough.

An interesting thing I found out AFTER I had read Tempest Rising is that this author goes by 2 other pseudonym names—Tracy Wolff and Tessa Adams. Here is the connection—I have read the first book in Tessa Adam’s adult “Dragon Heat” series--Dark Embers-- and my rating/review of the book is nn one of my earlier posts. I remember giving Dark Embers a 5 star rating for its unique dragon mythology, sexy alpha hero, and sizzling romance.

That being said, while Tempest Rising had all the pieces to make a great first young adult book for Tracy Deebs about a teenage girl who on her 17th birthday would have to make a crucial decision whether to stay on land or follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a mermaid, somehow it falls a little short. While this book is supposed to be a little more serious in tone, I actually enjoyed Tera Lynn Child’s Forgive My Fins way better, which sort of has the same premise but more comical.

So starting with what I enjoyed…I liked how the book was split into 5 parts and how the chapters were short. Not that I have anything against long chapters; I just think that shorter chapters tend to make you want to read more. It is definitely a nice tool to keep readers interested.

At first I really liked Tempest. She was sort of like a tomboy—enjoyed surfing, hung around a bunch of guys, had a great boyfriend that any girl would be lucky to have. The whole on again, off again relationship with Mark was believable since the story is centered around teenagers and we all know that their emotions can run hot and cold. I also enjoyed Kai's character--at first he is very mysterious and sounds exotic with his darker skin, long hair, and sexy name. I can see why Tempest would have a sudden attraction to him.

However, it doesn't take long for Tempest to get on my nerves. She treats her boyfriend Mark like crap. At one point I was hoping that the author was going to reveal some major flaw of Mark's; like maybe he hits her, or cheats on her, or finds out that she is part mermaid and sees her as a freak, something to justify her mean behavior towards him. Unfortunately none of those things happen. He truly does care for her, puts up with her mood swings, and buys her a beautiful birthday gift. Despite her coldness towards him, I do commend Tempest for finally acting like an adult towards the end (won't spoil it for you).

I also got tired of Tempest always wanting to "run away". Almost every chapter she is either trying to get away from her boyfriend to avoid having a serious conversation with him or she is running away from her father who wants her to confide in him or she is running away from Kai, etc.

It felt like the author was just skimming over everything. She never really gives us background details other than how Tempest feels betrayed by her mother. Why did the tattoos/symbols form on her skin? What are their significance? How did her parents meet? Why does Tempest have so much more power than even her mother when she is only half mermaid? What’s the relationship between selkies and mermaids? Why does Tempest feel such a strong connection to Kai? Why didn’t the Queen of the mer people offer to help train Tempest so she can better understand her powers? Why didn’t her mother keep her promise and return to her to help her daughter through this crucial transition? And if she couldn’t, why didn’t she at least send someone to inform her husband? It’s not like her husband (Tempest’s human father) is in the dark. He knows his wife is a mermaid. I know Tempest’s mother sends Kai to keep an eye on her, but I guess I don’t buy all this secrecy and wondering why her mother has been absent so long. Yes I know that her mother was busy trying to keep her people safe from the sea witch. But if she could send someone to keep an eye on her daughter then why she couldn’t even send a letter to her devoted husband through Kai is beyond me. It seems pretty darn heartless.

The only reason I could think of for the author to only write on the surface is because she has plans to turn this book into a series. I could see that happening since there are things left unresolved as you can tell by my long list of questions. If this is her goal, then she definitely needs to work on her mythology and focus on story development. Hopefully Tempest will be less annoying in the future. While I am in love with the adult romance series that she has written under her pseudonym name Tessa Adams, Tracy Deeps has some work to do in the Young Adult universe.

~Mia~