Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book as an e-ARC a few months ago and read it immediately. I cannot wait to buy my paperback version for the cover to put in my library. I began re-reading it this week to refresh my memory of the details since I have read quite a few books since then, but, strangely enough for the first time I have vivid recall of the events and people. I am totally enamored of this series. It is exciting, fun, and well-written.

Of course it is the continuation of Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series in the mountains of North Carolina, just a bit away from where all the action takes place in the Elemental Assassin series. Gwen is still hard at work training and working on some relationship issues and has a good candidate for a possible love interest. There was actually a couple of curve balls thrown in there because the end of Touch of Frost had me thinking of a possible candidate and shockingly I was so very wrong. Another great thing about this series is the unexpected friendship between Gwen and one of the "mean girls", Daphne. I am actually enjoying their verbal sparring and watching Daphne grow as a person. There are more surprises on the mean girls’ front this time around too!

I won't give a synopsis because the book blurb does that well enough. But, I can say that reading these books always leaves me wanting more right away. I am truly excited to see at least 2 more books already in the works. This author is definitely one that I am glad gets to write full-time. I think I need to back track and read the Karma series too. Back to Kiss of Frost, that does not disappoint on the good fight scenes and intrigue either. This installment also has a big mystery in it along with Gwen learning more about her friends, family and the staff at the school and of course Vic the coolest sword ever is my favorite. I'm a huge academy school urban fantasy fan so this setting also adds to one of the reasons I love this book. The majority of the scenes take place in another environment while the students are on a school trip, but the vivid descriptions of the mountain scenery helps paint a great picture in my mind. I am not a fan of sports in the snow because I hate the snow, but, I do enjoy watching those who like to ski and snowboard flying down the hills. I know this is ironic since I live in the Midwest. Snow and watching others ski and snowboard is quite breathtaking.

Now, on to the wait for Dark Frost, though I did donate to breast cancer research by purchasing Entangled which contains Halloween Frost!

Review can also be seen at http:\\ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com

View all my reviews

Support Four Debut Authors

“Between” by Cyndi Tefft

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile, and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries. 

  Link to Between on Amazon  

“Until Dawn: Last Light" by Jennifer Simas

When darkness falls, whose side will you be on?

For the past six years, Zoë has been anything but “normal.” Struggling to accept her immortality and thrown into a war that’s been waging in the shadows for over a thousand years, Zoë must now become who she was meant to be, joining the other Chosen to save what’s left of humanity. When the endless night falls over the Earth, will she be able to save the one man who reminds her of what it is to be human, or will it be too late?

Until Dawn: Last Light is a story of death and despair, love and longing, hope and hopelessness, and the ability to survive and keep going even when it seems impossible – when you want nothing more than to give up.

Link to Until Dawn: Last Light on Amazon  

“The Kayson Cycle” by Jonathan D. Allen

A stranger enters a dying town and makes a desperate plea…
 

The Kayson Cycle introduces the Kayson Brothers, a pair of faith healers who once wowed crowds in a traveling show but went their separate ways after a night in which a healing took a dark turn. Jeffrey Kayson disappeared into the wilderness and William Kayson, wracked by guilt, moved to the failing mining town of Calico Hills to build a nice, quiet life – one that has lasted for over ten years.

His quiet, predictable life crumbles when a mysterious stranger walks into his tavern bearing a proposal to find his long-lost brother and do the one thing that William has sworn to never do again - have his brother heal a woman. William soon learns that he can’t escape his family – or his destiny.

Includes an exclusive sample chapter of The Corridors of the Dead. Please note that this is a Kindle Single, and around 6,000 words in length.  

Link to The Kayson Circle on Amazon

“Sundered” by Shannon Mayer

A miracle drug, Nevermore, spreads like wildfire throughout the world allowing people to eat what they want, and still lose weight. It is everything the human population has ever dreamed of and Mara is no different. Only a simple twist of fate stops her from taking Nevermore.

As the weeks roll by, it becomes apparent that Nevermore is not the miracle it claimed. A true to life nightmare, the drug steals the very essence that makes up humanity and unleashes a new and deadly species on the world that is bent on filling its belly. Locked down within their small farm home, Mara and her husband Sebastian struggle against increasingly bad odds, fighting off marauders and monsters alike.

But Sebastian carries a dark secret, one that more than threatens to tear them apart, it threatens to destroy them both and the love they have for each other.

Now Mara must make the ultimate choice. Will she live for love, or will she live to survive?

Link to Sundered on Amazon    

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hunting Lila rang a bell for me. What I liked is that it reminded me of something but I couldn't put my fingers on it. That is a good thing. I finally figured it out later but, it was not enough to turn me away. The fact that she put her own spin on this and totally made it her own is a credit to her writing skills. Her character development is wonderful.

One of the things that I loved about this story is Sarah Alderson's work with character development. Lila is a typical teenager with a huge crush. She has had some traumatic events in her life all spanning from a major event. But, along the way in this story everything she thought was real gets turned on its head. The fashion in which this is told was extremely climatic and I had the same thoughts as all the others on Goodreads. Where is the next book? I would appreciate very much having it right now. But, I can honestly say that it was not left in a way that made me angry. It was done so well that the reader just wanted to know what happens next.

I did want to address the title of book 2, Losing Lila. That title puts a little bit of fear in you, especially when you read the blurb on Goodreads about what the book is about. I was so anxious I was trying to read it on my small HTC screen because my laptop was not up and running. That blurb along with the ending of Hunting Lila and the title of book 2, Losing Lila is a wonderful setup and a great way to keep us hooked! This was a great, exciting, action filled book. I intentionally did not discuss the "bad guys" because that portion of the book is something each reader should experience for themselves. Suffice it to say, I liked it.

Review can also be seen at http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I always enjoy this series. Yes, it is formulaic, even if the details change. But, I'm not sure how readers would respond if she did change things. There is no need for me to rehash the blurb from the back of the book. But, I have to say that Joyce was quite entertaining in this book. I'm guessing if Stephanie did go up to her parents' house and talk to them either her mom would behave just like her, or she would be a person who is oblivious to most things going on around her.

Honestly, most of the funny parts involved Lula. That woman is hilarious and for someone as tough as she is she can surprise you with how tenderhearted and kind she can be. Sherry Shepard is about the only one in the roles that is the right fit for the movie, in my opinion. None of the others in the roles fit what I envision as I have read this series over the years. I can say that the new character of the book that was quite funny was Buggy the purse snatcher. I'm still an avid fan of these books and will continue to read them until I no longer laugh or enjoy the read.


Review can also be seen at http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...

Kissed by Fire by Shéa MacLeod

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have to admit that I am happy I found this series, especially since I have walked away from two or three that I was following closely. The one thing I like about Kissed by Fire is that the author does not drag a storyline on and on, sort of like how just when you think Jayne has caught Red John on The Mentalist after all these years, bam! He still doesn't have him. I am not a fan of storylines that carry on for multiple books, especially major storylines. I like to see some form of resolution in each book, even in a series. I have to say that Shea MacLeod was consistent with very strong writing, storyline, and characters.

In this installment all three of our major players Morgan, Inigo, and Kabita all have their individual story arcs or issues they are dealing with and there is a nice major story arch with the addition of dragons. I love dragons. Another thing that this author does well is flashbacks as a means of giving historical backdrop to Morgan's history. The reader does not get confused with tense or when something is occurring. A few great twists with Morgan's friendships/relationships and I like the way things turned out. I hope there won't be a lot of back and forth because that is one thing that makes me run screaming from paranormal romance along with love triangles. I'm more on the urban fantasy side of things and Shea MacLeod does a wonderful job writing UF.


I wanted to check on Shea MacLeod's website for the spelling of Morgan's best friend and boss and had a very welcome surprise. Book 3, Kissed by Smoke, is being released next month. Excellent!

Review can also be seen at http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...

Kissed by Darkness by Shéa MacLeod

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have not been really writing full reviews lately. But, this book deserves for me to spend a few minutes giving it a more detailed review than I have been writing lately. I am not positive but I think that Sunwalker Press the author's own organization and she is self-published. I was wondering how this book would turn out. The editing on the self-published books (I think this is self-published) I have read previously are usually not very well done at all. This book had about 1 missing word and the rest of the editing was very well done. In addition, this woman tells a wonderful story.

The heroine, Morgan Bailey, is seriously kick-butt and quite funny. Morgan is best friends with her boss, Kabita, and quite close with Inigo, the other person that works with her hunting vampires. The three of them have developed a family of sorts and they support each other totally even when they disagree with decisions they make. Inigo has his own secrets and hopefully they will come out in a future book. Jack has a long and troubled past and it was very well told.

There was a few nice twists in this book and I won't say anything about them other than part of the topic was new for me so it was great. I know I have seen other books that talk about this aspect of mythology but, I have never thought I would be interested in this aspect of mythology but I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if Shea MacCleod has not pitched to a publishing house or if being independent is what she wants. Either way, I hope the word is out there on her books because I really like them. I plan to find out if she is on Twitter so I can continue to follow her work and I have already bought Kissed By Fire.

Review can also be seen on http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...