There's something fun about the MailBox Mondays that the other themes don't touch. Maybe it's just that it's fun to showcase new books, whether used and ratty or new and shiny? Sharing the enthusiasm of a good hidden find or a exciting pre-order? Either way, I haven't been able to do these much since I haven't been getting weekly books for about two months. Last week was an exciting one as I went to a convention and got some autographed goodies; this week I also ran into some books. Five used at the thrift store, and one new sent to me from author/publisher.
Sent For Review
Drawing Blood looks intriguing. The author contacted me to see if I wanted an review copy after I didn't win a contest dishing out ten of them. Of course I snatched the chance up. It arrived lightning quick, too, about three days after the request (including the weekend.) The back of this one reminds me a bit of movies my fiance Nathan likes watching. Either way it's a different kind of vampire for sure and I've been in a vamp mood lately. Being the first part of a series never hurts either.
With humanity at the edge of self-annihilation…
Vampires, living in the shadows of humans for thousands of years, joins the war to end all wars. Their intervention is motivated by the fear that without their intervention the extermination of their food supply will trigger their extinction as well.
Matt Haynes and Tyra Redmond briefly met in the Green Zone. He was a world weary mercenary. She was working for the State Department trying to rebuild a country.
Years later, when their paths cross again, a war has ravaged the planet and decimated the human population. Both are now prisoners at a “Blood Donation Center,” known as CCC197, where they must endure a daily dehumanizing existence of being kept alive only to serve as a source of blood for their captors.
Matt and Tyra must overcome their clashing personalities if they are to plan and execute an audacious escape to freedom which will include all the inmates of CCC197.
Standing in their way is a security team manned by human traitors working for the Vampires. And of course any attempt to escape from the concentration camp will mean defeating a species that has superior strength, cunning, and intelligence.
And for Matt Haynes, there is an even more compelling complication -- one of the vampire commanders of CCC197 is his brother… or was his brother… before he became a member of the undead.
Going Thrifty
I snatched up the King book right away. I remember owning this one as a teenager and reading the creepy Monkey Paw story. For some reason all these years it has stood out as the short story from King that I remember most. I was delighted to find the Mist and other stories in here when browsing through it after purchase this time. I remember the cover fondly, and am lucky to have found the same this time around.
In this brilliant collection of stories, Stephen King takes readers down paths that only he could imagine...A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction...a trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell...a woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise...an idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil...and a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.
I grabbed Witch Blood because it bugged me. I remember seeing Witch Fire somewhere and thought perhaps it was a book my friend let me borrow. Nope. Came home and found the book she let me borrow was something else. Then went through my bookshelves to see if the first book in this series was waiting to be read. Nope. Finally resorted to searching for Witch Fire on Goodreads - looks like I marked it read and with a poor star rating. Ugh. Oh well, here's hoping I like this second one better:
When Isabelle first encounters Thomas Monahan, she's running on pure rage and sorrow, channeling her pain into power—and trying to freeze the life out of a warlock she holds responsible for her sister's death. Together, she and Thomas form an uneasy alliance to hunt and destroy a demon of tremendous power. As head of the Coven, earth witch Thomas must thwart Isabelle's dark impulses, but his very presence stirs deeper desires she never knew she had.
No Humans Involved is part of Kellie Armstrongs sequels. I don't have all the books but figure eventually I'd want to try them. Looks like this is #7 of the Women of the Underworld series. I have the first one waiting for me on the shelves, so here's hoping it's my thing and I like it as much as many of my reading buddies do.
Jaime, who knows a thing or two about showbiz, is on a television shoot in Los Angeles when weird things start to happen. As a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life – as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye–she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.
She is determined to get to the bottom of these manifestations, but as she sets out to solve the mystery she has no idea how scary her investigation will get, or to what depths ordinary humans will sink in their attempts to gain supernatural powers. As she digs into the dark underside of Los Angeles, she’ll need as much Otherworld help as she can get in order to survive, calling on her personal angel, Eve, and Hope, the well-meaning chaos demon. Jeremy, the alpha werewolf, is also by her side offering protection. And, Jaime hopes, maybe a little more than that.
I HAD to pick up Fudge-a-Mania. I have it as a goal to eventually collect all of these adorable things. The second, Superfudge, really tickled me - review here
Fudge is back—and driving his brother Peter crazy, as usual. This five-year-old human hurricane is more trouble than ever. His latest plan is to marry Peter’s sworn enemy, Sheila Tubman (how disgusting!). But Peter’s problems are about to get worse. His parents have decided to share a summer house with the Tubmans. And Peter will be stuck with Fudge and Sheila the Cootie Queen for three whole weeks!The last one? Not sure what I'll think. It's Paranormal romance which can be a mixed bag with me. Katie MacAlister is a well-known writer, though, and the plot intrigued me so figured I'd give it a shot. I always adore starting new series anyway. Can't really see it from the picture, but the title is "Even Vampires Get the Blues", and it's book four of the Dark Ones Series.
Paen Scott is a Dark One: a vampire without a soul. And his mother is about to lose hers too if Paen can’t repay a debt to a demon by finding a relic known as the Jilin God in five days. Half-elf Samantha Cosse may have gotten kicked out of the Order of Diviners, but she’s still good at finding things, which is why she just opened her own private investigation agency.
Paen is one of Sam’s first clients and the only one to set her elf senses tingling, which makes it pretty much impossible to keep their relationship on a professional level. Sam is convinced that she is Paen’s Beloved—the woman who can give him back his soul...whether he wants it or not.
Until next time --- doubt it will be next week but who knows when books will pop up.
