A Seal Wolfs Christmas ~ Terry Spear

A SEAL Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publication Date October 2013

Well I'll be honest I've been in a bt of a slump reading lately. I just haven't been able to find something I couldn't put down. That is until I picked up this one. I should have known three pages in I'd want to lock myself in a room and do nothing but read! Terry Spear always delivers a fantastic story with exceptional characters. If you have somehow missed this series and you are a paranormal romance reader then you need to go order them, right now.

Summary:
SEAL Bjornolf Jorgenson and undercover operative Anna Johnson get off to a rocky start when they're tasked to play newlyweds preparing for the holidays while investigating a SEAL's murder at a Christmas tree farm. Anna and Bjornolf are both dreading the season, and are happy to work instead of celebrate. Together they learn that a little Christmas cheer can become so much more when you have someone special under the mistletoe.

My Take:

Another Fantastic novel by Terry Spear. The Oregon wolves are back and as hot as ever. I also have to say I was excited to see that Spear has gone back to referring to her wolves as lupus garous as opposed to just werewolves. I have always enjoyed the way she has set her wolves apart from other shifters.

Anyways back to this specific novel. If you are a fan of the series than you will remember some of the players from previous novels. It was nice to see how Hunter and Tessa are doing as well as Hunters sister Meara.

This time we find ourselves following Bjornolf and Anna as they try and uncover a murder with nothing but the smell to go on. Using their special ops training these two will uncover a very twisted plot and of course a little romance too. Action packed with steamy romance this was an excellent addition to the series! As usual I just can't wait till the next one come out :)

Catching Fire Review

I guess I am like the majority of the book reading world in my love for The Hunger Games series. So of course I made it to opening day of the first movie, and as many of you know it was amazing. This time around I went in hoping for the next installment, Catching Fire, to at least live up to the initial movie, if not to the book itself. 

I have to tell you this one was an amazing movie. The entire first half was even more emotional than the book, if that is even possible. There were of course deviations from the book but that is to be expected and none really bothered me. Ok maybe all the kissing of Gale, but other than that nothing bothered me. 

The costumes and sets were fantastic, since I saw it in IMAX all of the explosions really rocked the theater. I was initially unsure about some of the casting for past Victors but all of the actors did an exceptional job and really owned their characters.

Even if you didn't read the books this was an excellent movie, although the ending may leave you a little surprised. This is one movie that worth the cash to see in the theater !

First Bite ~ Dani Harper

Have you ever had one of those moments where you right the completely wrong number down. Yup I did that. For some reason I wrote the 21st of Nov instead of the 11th for this post ! So here it is, a little late.

Summary:
Geneva “Neva” Ross doesn’t want to die. But now that she’s been turned into a werewolf against her will, she’ll do anything to protect her family and friends…even if that means taking her own life.

After witnessing Neva’s leap from a high ledge, Travis Williamson—a Changeling with a dark past—uses his powers to save her life. He feels a connection to the strong-willed woman whose eyes flash that familiar Changeling green. While Neva is hospitalized, Travis risks everything to kidnap her, knowing the approaching full moon will put everyone in jeopardy.

Bickering constantly to hide their growing attraction, Travis and Neva run from the authorities…and from Neva’s sinister sire, Meredith de la Ronde. Meredith delights in creating new shape-shifters and compelling them to do her dark bidding; now Neva must join Meredith’s murderous wolf pack…or die.

Intensely suspenseful with deliciously sexy twists, this paranormal romance—the first in (the title of series)—intertwines sensual passion with an epic, thrilling battle between good and evil.

My Take: I think this one looks like it will be a good read and I just noticed that it is available to borrow for free for kindle prime members. Make sure you check it out :)

Once Upon a Time ~ Paula Guran

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales by Paula Guran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another great find on Netgalley!

Summary:Eighteen extraordinary authors devise all-new fairy tales: imaginative reinterpretations of the familiar, evocative new myths, speculations beyond the traditional realm of "once upon a time." Often dark, occasionally humorous, always enthralling, these stories find a certain Puss in a near-future New York, an empress bargaining with a dragon, a princess turned into a raven, a king's dancing daughters with powerful secrets, great heroism, terrible villainy, sparks of mischief, and a great deal more. Brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares with meaning for today and tomorrow...

My Take:
Being a huge fan of these "new" fairy tales I loved this book. Anyone who likes to get away from it all and enjoy a little magic now and again will enjoy this series of stories. The world seems to be captivated with breathing new life into tales that for many generations were considered for children only. I especially enjoyed the intro because I felt the editor enjoyed putting the collection together as much as I did reading it. I also like these multi author anthologies. Its a nice way to sample new authors. As with any grouping there were stories I enjoyed a ton and some that were just so, so. Overall there were some well done stories with some great twists as well as a few tales I had never heard of before. Totally worth the look.

Warrior of The Nile ~ Veronica Scott

Warrior of the Nile by Veronica Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As soon as this one popped up on Netgalley I knew I needed to read it. I loved the first one in the series and this one did not disappoint.

Summary:
Lady Tiya is bound to the service of the goddess Nephthys, who plans to sacrifice Tiya’s body to protect Egypt from an ancient terror. She embarks to meet her grim fate alone but for the hardened warrior Khenet, who is fated to die at her side. Tiya’s dreams of love and family now seem impossible, and Khenet, who is the last of his line, knows his culture will die with him. Struggling with the high cost of Nephthys’s demands, both resolve to remain loyal.

My Take: The magic of egypt seems to jump off the page. As does the romance. The reader follows Lady Tiya and Nephthys as they travel down the nile in the search of their shared destiny. One that may seem bleak but full of purpose. Along the way they find love and even more reason to fight.
There is something romantic about old Egypt that flows easily through the story. I enjoyed this one and can't wait for the next installment in the series.

Darkness Rises ~ Dianne Duvall

Darkness Rises by Dianne Duvall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this one up as a netgalley and have just gotten around to reading it.

Summary: Krysta is used to getting the drop on vampires. Her "special abilities" aren't much, but the plan is simple--she plays helpless pretty young thing to lure them in. Then her shoto swords come out and it's bye-bye, bloodsucker. Until one night she finds herself with an unexpected ally. He's a vampire, all right, but different. Mysterious. Handsome. And more interested in saving her skin than draining it.

Etienne has been an Immortal Guardian for two hundred years--long enough to know that Krysta is special. He can't stop thinking about her long legs, even more than her short swords. Then he discovers the vamps she's exterminating have friends in high places, and the Guardians are in danger too. He'll have to accept Krysta's help to save them. The stakes for a mortal are high. But the cost to his heart might be higher. . 
My Take:
 This is the first of the series that I have read but I did not feel like I was being left behind at any point. The premise is an interesting one. The world is over run with Vampires the only problem is the humans don't know it! Lucky for the human race the Immortals are around to help out. This story is one part romance one part urban fantasy as we follow a human vampire hunter, Krysta, on her path to the truth and true love.
This was a nice change of pace from your regular vampire romance novel. The characters were interesting  and plentiful. It is easy to tell there is more to this story and make the reader want more.

Comic Cons and all that fun stuff

So first off to all of my loyal followers I need to apologize. I know I have been horrifically absent the last month or so. Thats not to say I haven't been reading, I just haven't gotten around to posting anything on here worth your viewing. Hopefully November will be a better month for reviews, and I have some spotlights on Indie authors planned as well. I'll post more info as I get it.
Back tot he topic at hand. I have been lucky enough to attend 3 Comic Con's this year. Not Sand Diego sadly but still some good Con's non the less!

For those of you who don't know I am a Huge Doctor Who & Firefly Fan so my family has cosplayed a mix of both. Our most recent convention was this past weekend in Nashville TN. Since we were spending some time visiting my Mom in KY we decided to take he long way home and visit Wizard World Nashville. If you have never been to a Wizard World event I will tell you it was excellent. All of the celebrities were very friendly, the event was well organized and there were a lot of fun events going all each day.

My son and I were even lucky enough to be picked to stand up front during the opening day ribbon cutting ceremony, if I can figure out how to post the video I will. We were able to meet The Fonz Henry Winkler, Jason David Frank, The Hulk, James Marsters, Bruce Campbell and of course the immortal STAN LEE! (Who looks fantastic for 90 by the way)

We also met some fab Cosplayers who seemed to be having just as good a time as we were. Sadly I missed the Bruce Campbell Q&A but I did make it to the Doctor Who panel which was great. Plus it was a great way to check out all of the Who Cosplayers in one room!

With all the great Cosplay I could have taken hundreds of pictures. For your sake I'm just posting my favorite, and of course a few with some of the special guests.


On the way home my son was already asking when the next Comic Con will be....

EXCLUSIVE: Comic Legend Stan Lee Kicks Off Nashville Comic Con - WZTV FOX 17 - Top Stories

EXCLUSIVE: Comic Legend Stan Lee Kicks Off Nashville Comic Con - WZTV FOX 17 - Top Stories

Check us out at Comic Con Nashville, heres a hint we are dressed as The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond

All Together Dead ~ Charlaine Harris

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to say this series has taken my by surprise. I know what your thinking, how is that possible. With so much talk about the series how could you not expect to love it. Well honestly I was unimpressed by the first novel in the series. I felt like Sookies character was very one dimensional in the first novel. So deciding that maybe this was the one time where the show was better I put the rest of the series on the back burner and just forgot about them.
Summary:
Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life—the shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

My Take:
Then last month I was looking for a quick read and picked up book two. Now it seems with each book the series gets better and better. The characters have real emotion with reactions that make sense. As a reader you feel invested in what happens to them and have strong emotions to what goes down.
In this novel we find Sookie back dealing with Vampire business. This time its a huge Vampire meeting that you know isn't going to end well. I think this is an important addition to the series because Sookie is forced to really grow as a person. She is also able to use her abilities to do some good. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to finish the whole series.

View all my reviews

Knight Blindness ~ Chris Karlsen

Wolf Majick Reviews is happy to present our stop in the Knight Blindness tour!

Knight Blindness
by Chris Karlsen

BLURB:

BACK COVER BLURB FOR KNIGHT BLINDNESS

Ready for battle, Medieval English knight, Stephen Palmer, charges into the French enemy’s cavalry line. Heeding a warning given months before, he hesitates as he comes face-to-face with the knight in the warning. Struck down in the year 1356, he finds himself landing in the year 2013. Grievously wounded, he’s taken to a nearby hospital. Confused by the new world surrounding him, he attempts to convince the staff he’s from another time, only to find they think him mad.

Rescued by friends, who, to his surprise, have also come through time, he must find a way to function in this odd modern England. He is quickly enchanted by the kind Esme Crippen, the young woman hired to tutor him. She too is enchanted by him. Tempted to deepen the relationship, she hesitates thinking him adorable, but mad. He must discover the means for getting her to believe the truth, all the while, unknown to him, he didn’t come forward in time alone. The enemy knight has also traveled to 2013.

French noble, Roger Marchand, doesn’t question why the English knight who charged him hesitated. That fraction of a pause gave him the advantage needed and he brought his sword down upon the Englishman’s helmet hard, unhorsing the knight. He moved to finish the Englishman off when the world changed in a rush of sensations as he is ripped through time.

Seeking a reason for the terrible event, he enters a nearby chapel. There, thinking God has chosen him for a quest to turn French defeat that day in 1356 to victory, he sets out to find the English knight. The man he is convinced holds the key to time. If he returns to the day of the battle, he can warn his king of mistakes that snatched victory from them.    

My Take:

This was an interesting historical fiction mixed with time travel. It poses the question about changing the past, which I think any good time travel novel should. There is a little romance along the way which keeps the reader interested in the storyline as a whole. The author also builds the story using the main characters blindness. This character has to show a whole new kind of courage than he did on the battle field in his own century.
Overall this was a well written novel. The characters had depth and the story had good flow with obviously well researched historical facts.

Author BIO:

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse. 

ONLINE LINKS:

Website:    http://www.chriskarlsen.com/

blog:          http://chriskarlsenwriter.blogspot.com/2013/07/come-and-join-me-for-christmas-in.html#comment-form

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/chriskarlsenwriter

Twitter:      @chriskarlsen1

GR:           http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/

Trailer:      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvxVhx404L8

BUY NOW LINK:

·      Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Knight-Blindness-Knights-Time-ebook/dp/B00E2QS488/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1374422719&sr=1-1&keywords=knight+Blindness

·      B & N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knight-blindness-chris-karlsen/1116277738?ean=9781491019122

Giveaway

Heroes Live Forever  (Book 1  Knights in Time Series)

Buy Now Amazon Heroes Live Forever http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Live-Forever-Knights-ebook/dp/B004WPW29G/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378663167&sr=1-3

Journey Into Time (Book 2  Knights in Time Series)

Buy Now Amazon Journey Into Time  http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Time-Knights-ebook/dp/B005KP18XS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1378663167

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And Now for a Cover Reveal ...

Wolf Majick Reviews is

happy to take part

in the cover reveal for..

Roadside Service

by B.L. Wilde

Summary: 

When fate brings you face-to-face with what your heart desires, how can you ignore it?

Violet Weathers, the world’s top supermodel, is in Omaha, Nebraska for two weeks shooting a campaign for a new skincare line that she’s the fresh new face of.

When her car breaks down on the way to the hotel, she is rescued by a hot mechanic who just might make her stay in Omaha more bearable.

~ This sounds like one I may have to pick up :)

About the Author:

B.L. Wilde is a British author obsessed with many things, including heated love stories. Supported fully by her husband, she can often be found at her desk working on her next project.

Her journey into the world of erotica began when she started writing online stories over three years ago, and she hasn't looked back since.