Sunday, November 22, 2009

Vote for Book 1 for December!

It's that time again! Here are the choices for book one for December. Please vote in the polls on the sidebar- just like last time we'll be voting for one adult book and one young adult book. All book descriptions are from Goodreads.com.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs- Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.


Shadowfae by Erica Haines- Imagine a secret world veiled in fairy glamour and brimming with unearthly delights. A city swarming with half-mad fairies, where thieving spriggans rob you blind, beautiful banshees mesmerize you with their song, and big green trolls bust heads at nightclubs. And once you’re in, there’s no escape…

Enslaved by a demon lord, Jade is forced to spend her nights seducing vampire gangsters and shapeshifting thugs. After two hundred years as a succubus, she burns for freedom and longs to escape her brutal life as a trophy girl for hell’s minions. Then she meets Rajah, an incubus who touches her heart and intoxicates her senses. Rajah shares the same bleak fate as she, and yearns just as desperately for freedom. But the only way for Jade to break her bonds is to betray Rajah—and doom the only man she’s ever loved to a lifetime in hell.

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neil- Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay- Divorced mother of one, Charlie Madigan, lives in a world where the beings of heaven and hell exist among us, and they aren't the things of Sunday school lessons and Hallmark figurines. In the years since the Revelation, they've become our co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens.

Charlie works for ITF (Integration Task Force). It's her job to see that the continued integration of our new "friends" goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right.

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman- There's no place like home, they say.
"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."
For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur Contest!


Contest is now closed. 


Thanks to Tricia at Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. Blog with Bite will be featuring Bound to Shadows (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 8) by Keri Arthur this week.  Stay tuned for author features, HBIC reviews and of course this giveaway!

Synopsis from KeriArthur.com

In the darkness, demons come out to play . . .
and someone must bring their sins to light.


Part vampire, part werewolf, Riley Jenson knows what can happen when vamps don’t play well with others. But she’s never seen anything like this: a series of brutal murders surrounding the latest hot spot for vampire-human hookups—and the victims aren’t just killed, they’re beheaded. Now Riley is launching into action, toying with a seductive—and highly suspicious—club owner, and finding herself in the middle of another mystery: women being killed one by one, without a trace of violence.

For Riley, solving multiple cases—in a world going mad with human and vampire passions—would have been tough enough. Instead she has two jealous lovers on her hands: Kye Murphy, the amber-eyed werewolf who makes Riley’s wolf blood howl—and Quinn, the cool, elegant vamp who has over a thousand years’ experience at fulfilling women’s desires. While she’s busy juggling these two sexy beasts, Riley’s detective work takes a stunningly violent turn. Finding a murderer is now a matter of life and death. Especially since the killer has long since found her . . .

to read the excerpt, click here

Rules & Regulations:

  • Must be 18 or older
  • Must be US or Canadian resident (Mailing address)
  • Please no PO Boxes
  • You must be a follower of Blog with Bite
  • Contest Ends November 29th 
Extra Entries:
+1 Tweet this - Max one a day (leave link)
+1 You participated in the Queene of Light review (leave link)
+1 You are signed up for the Ballad review
+1 Question: Have you read any Riley Jenson books before???? If so, who's your fav hottie you would like to see her with???

Thursday, November 19, 2009

HBIC Review of Queene of Light: Emily @ What Book is That?






Title: Queene of Light
Author: Jennifer Armintrout
Page Count: 375 pages
Publisher: Mira
Genre: paranormal romance
Copy for review was purchased by this writer

50 words or less: Ayla is half human, half faery, all assassin. Malachi is a death angel and proud of it. When Ayla accidentally mates a douchebag, steals Malachi's immortality, is falsely accused of murder, and becomes Queene, she has to somehow stay alive, rule her people, and fall in love. Easy, right?

I should have learned by now that whenever I start a new series, I have to have at least the first two books on hand, because the first book in the series suffers from having to birth the entire world and cast of characters and the second book is where I decide if I like the series or not. This in a nutshell is pretty much what happened to me while reading Queene of Light.

Queene of Light has all the right ingredients to be a really fun book. The setting is fantastic- just enough detail is provided of the various environments to make them vivid and easily imagined without bogging down the story or being too much of a distraction. There are characters who are extremely well-drawn- Keller and Cedric come to mind immediately. The history behind the current situation the characters find themselves in is interesting, although it doesn't get fully explored or explained- I found myself asking "okay, who cares" several times during first third or so of the book.

I guess the issue for me is that at the end of the book, I just didn't care or buy into Ayla and Malachi as individuals or as a couple. True, Ayla is a halfling in a world where that's heavily frowned upon and Malachi gets his immortality grappled out of him so they both find themselves in undesirable situations pretty quickly, but their relationship just didn't...flow...for me. I felt like the book was gearing up to be about something else and their relationship was thrown in as an afterthought.

I really think, though, that this is because this is the first book in a series. There was a ton of information to digest here. The cover blurb says "But even magic folk cannot dwell in harmony, and soon two Worlds emerge: the Lightworld, home to faeries, dragons and dwarves; and the Darkworld, where vampires, werewolves, angels and demons lurk," and all those groups definitely get mentioned throughout the course of the book with every indication present that they continue to play roles in the next two books. That's a lot of intrigue to explain in a relatively short amount of time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Did this book knock my socks off? No. Is it possible that the next books in the series will accomplish that? Yes. The potential is definitely there. That it wasn't actualized in my opinion plays a role in my review of this book, but it won't necessarily keep me from reading the other books in the series. I will, however, probably get those books from the library.

Overall Grade: C
Blog With Bite rating: 2


For my discussion questions, click here. Because who doesn't want to visit with the O rly owl?

HBIC Review - Queen of Light by Froggy



 The book started off a bit slow for my taste but that is expected in a first book of a series. Ayla is suppose to be an assassin for the queen but I really just didn't buy it. She seemed to be more a fluffy character than a hard strong woman that you would expect to be as an assassin. Her mentor really just pushes her to do what he wants and then asks her to be his mate. She actually agrees even though she has no feelings for him and goes through with the ceremony!! Then she doesn't even stand up for herself when he beats her!! Seriously? An assassin just lets a man beat her? She should of kicked his bum or at least protected herself! What kind of message does that send to woman? I didn't like that part of the story at all.
The writing was good but I just couldn't get into the story/world that was created. Usually I fall into books and lose track of time lost in what was written but I really had to make myself keep picking the book up to read it.

I give this book a 2/4                 

oops forgot my Discussion questions!!
#1 Did you have an understanding of the world created by this novel, or did you find the complexity too much?

I did understand it but wasn't drawn in to it.


#2 In a book that it appears many have trouble liking, what is one thing that you like about this book?

It wasn't long...LOL! Nothing really comes to mind.

#3 Did you agree with the author’s decision to make Ayla a fierce assassin in battle and a weakling in her emotions? For example her obvious contempt for Garret but yet her willingness to be his mate and subject herself to his demeaning manor?

No, I hated it! see my review above. LOL

#4 What do you think the significance of the the baby Ayla carries is/will be?

I really can't even guess....but you can bet someone will want to kill the baby or kidnap it.

#5 What do you think of Ayla's ascension to the throne? Do you believe she accepted her own destiny too easily?
 
yes, she didn't really even question it. Didn't even debate what this would mean for her or her future.

HBIC Review - Parajunkee Queene of Light


H B I C R E V I E W  - by Parajunkee


Regarding the book Queene of Light, I’m not going to bore you with intricate details on this book. Too many times I find myself rambling with long explanations – that boils down to one thing. Yeah I liked the book. Well, for Queene of Light, yes I did like it. But, I also had some major problems with it. First off, let me tell you why I liked it. For one, the concept was interesting and original. Secondly, it was well written and the plotlines were tight. Thirdly, the tone of the book was consistent.

Now, for the reason my stomach was a bit queasy while reading this book. The author employed a very over-used romantic ploy that I am going to call the Edward Cullen Technique in honor of the New Moon release. The I Love You So Much I Need to Break Your Heart Send You Away And Pretend I Don’t Like You Technique. In this book the author turns it around – the chick does this to the male, instead of vice versa, but it’s the same as a lot of other books out there.

Why would this technique be employed over and over in romantic settings? I understand it builds dramatic tones, and the hopes that the couple will be reunited. Yet, in Queene of Light it was used to basically eradicate the male supporting character. With one fell swoop he is gone and the story progresses without even a backwards thought of him. In New Moon I think this technique really worked, in fact it held together the entire book. But, the filler of the “push away” was loaded with another romance blooming between Bella and Jacob. Within the pages of Queene of Light there is no secondary romantic filler – there is only the original conflict that was established before the “push away” occurred. So, for this book I don’t think the technique worked, which was why it didn’t sit well with me.

Besides that, I enjoyed reading about this interesting world. I recommend it to fantasy fans that like a little modern grit in their genre. Yet, because of the “push away” problem, I really don’t want to give it a high rating. Queene of light gets a 2/4 BWB rating.

Get Your Reviews in Today


Hey everyone.  If you've read Queene of Light - get your reviews in today.  Just go to Submit Review (Above Link) and enter the form.  Thanks for participating and we look forward to reviewing your review :)

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HBIC Seeker Review on Queene of Light


HBIC Review on Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout posted by Tina at Tinasbookreviews

The Down- low: Ayla is a half human half faerie assassin. She deals death to the Darklings aka werewolves, vampires, trolls, goblins and so on. Now don’t go getting your hopes up at the mention of Wolf-boys and Vamps because they play no role in this book except for a few bad lines and a stinky death. Ayla shows no mercy and has sworn her allegiance to the Guild. The Guild being a group of deadly assasins dedicated to doing the Queen’s will. Ayla is out one night hunting one of the nasty beasties when she realizes she is being stalked by a death angel. Their encounter will change them both forever.


Lightworld where Ayla resides is home to the Fae. Also living there is Garret the big horses butt of our story who is brother to the Queen of Lightworld. Garret aka horse butt has his eye on Ayla for his eternal mate. The scam: he knows once they mate and he does away with his sister Ayla will become queen. Through her he will rule Lightworld and no one will be able to stop him. He sounds like a real catch!

Warning Spoilers ahead:....(skip down to next paragraph if you need to)

Although Ayla has mixed feelings for Garret she completely folds to him and winds up consummating the relationship. Although this was a really weird consummation the two become mates and Garret announces it to the court. Unfortunately Garret didn’t take Malachi into consideration, he never knew the night Ayla went into the tunnels and sewers to deal death to a darkly she would herself crash with Malachi, sucking out his immortality thus sealing an irreversible bond between the two. Drawn to one another, needing the other in ways they can’t understand. Although there was really no relationship between these two it was just a very intense physical attraction. So later that night after the big consummation Malachi finds Ayla, no words are spoken for they have this communication thing going on within the depths of their eyes…(barf) wouldn’t you know it just when we get to the good part Garret walks in and catches them making out, Malachi takes off and Garret beats Ayla to nice bloody pulp. Wow…way to go assassin Ayla, let the horses butt beat you up, don’t even protect yourself or give him the elbow….come on at least a kick in the you know what’s!! I think guys who hit women are weak, mindless fools!!

Needless to say I find myself a bit torn on this one, I thought the writing was good, but feel I need to invest in a Jennifer Armintrout dictionary to understand all the stuff going on in her world. I liked the fantasy world she created, yet didn’t like that I was unable to connect with any of the characters. Ayla seemed like two people to me, one side of her was this brave, bold killer assassin, the other was this weak undecided goes with everything girl. Malachi is raging death one minute and consumed with passion the next. The only character who seemed solid was Keller and he was the human caught between the worlds under the sewers. I’m wondering if the next books will be good, seeing how this book had major plot and character set up, so we will see..........................BWB Score: 2.5


BWB Discussion Questions
#1 Did you have an understanding of the world created by this novel, or did you find the complexity too much? I liked the fantasy world but at times yes it was confusing, it seemed to jump, skip info leave you wondering.

#2 In a book that it appears many have trouble liking, what is one thing that you like about this book? I liked the fact that out of all the crap Ayla went through, she wound up being the Queen and that the prophecy was about her or her baby all along.

#3 Did you agree with the author’s decision to make Ayla a fierce assassin in battle and a weakling in her emotions? For example her obvious contempt for Garret but yet her willingness to be his mate and subject herself to his demeaning manor? NO- it didn’t make sense to me. She at least should have had more reasoning skills; she just seemed to be so flaky and had no backbone, no guts to speak for herself. The part when Garret beats her up, she just lays there and takes it- If I was a kick a** assassin I would of beat the crap out of him!! If Ayla had only been wishy-washy on her feelings for Malachi I could have bought this side of her, but when anything important came up Ayla just wimped out!

#4 What do you think the significance of the baby Ayla carries is/will be? Hmmm…well she did bag the both of them (Garret & Malachi) so who knows, I know the book stated that the Faeries only mated for children when need be but maybe I missed the part where it was a solid for sure….I’m hoping its Malachi’s baby and it will usher in a new race, new King to rule all the beasties………

#5 What do you think of Ayla's ascension to the throne? Do you believe she accepted her own destiny too easily? Yes- one minute she’s running from Lightworld then she’s going back, then she’s a prisoner then she prego and a queen…….like I said before no reasoning skills with this one.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Queen of Light Discussion Questions

#1 Did you have an understanding of the world created by this novel, or did you find the complexity too much?

#2 In a book that it appears many have trouble liking, what is one thing that you like about this book?

#3 Did you agree with the author’s decision to make Ayla a fierce assassin in battle and a weakling in her emotions? For example her obvious contempt for Garret but yet her willingness to be his mate and subject herself to his demeaning manor?

#4 What do you think the significance of the the baby Ayla carries is/will be?

#5 What do you think of Ayla's ascension to the throne? Do you believe she accepted her own destiny too easily?

Contest Winner Update

Hi everyone, because of a lack of response from one of our contest winners. We now have a new winner for Cheating, Death:

Wanda!

I'm emailing you now.  Please get back to me quickly so I can send over your info to the author. 

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Blog with Bite on Ning


Blog with Bite now has a Ning social network site. If anyone is interested:

http://blogwithbite.ning.com/