Stackin' the Shelves #40 and Weekly Update

Hosted by Tynga'sBook Reviews

Welcome back bambinas!

This is Stackin' the Shelves, the weekly feature where I showcase all the books I have accepted for review, one-clicked, won or borrowed from the library. I am slogging ahead on the reading schedule... still only reading about 3 days ahead right now.  Oh what I would give to get a month ahead! That being said - I am having a really good reading week. A few that were 4.5 stars and up! I hope that lasts for a while. Not much going on personally this week. Prissy a/k/a the Holy Terror and I start obedience classes tomorrow. I am looking forward to it - I hope she picks things up quickly!

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole

Series:	Immortals After Dark #7
Pub. Date:	May 7, 2013
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator:	Robert Petkoff
Length:	12 hrs 10 min

Kiss of a Demon King takes place contemporaneously (in part) with Dark Desires After Dusk (DDAD), which was the story of Cadeon Woede. This story was also narrated by Robert Petkoff who is one of the few male narrators I enjoy. While his female affectation wasn't great in this story, I still enjoyed his performance. Petkoff does great accents, and I love his wide array of male renderings.

ARC Review: Why Do Dukes Fall in Love? by Megan Frampton

Series:	Dukes Behaving Badly #4
Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	400 pages
Source:	Edelweiss

I have had so much fun with the Dukes Behaving Badly series. Each story has been unique with engaging characters and compelling plots. This latest installment is no different, but I think it may feature my favorite hero of the series thus far.

Throwback Thursday: Stormswept by Sabrina Jeffries

Series:	Wales #1
Original Pub. Date:	Sept. 1, 1995
Re-Release Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Pocket Books
Length:	400 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Man, this is a second chance romance in the extreme! I am glad some of these older historical romances are being re-released. Many of the historicals from the 80s and 90s are so much more dramatic from what we are seeing today. Stormswept was no exception.

Excerpt Reveal: Midnight Soul by Kristen Ashley

MIDNIGHT SOUL is coming! 

This amazing fantasy takes place in our world and a parallel universe where fantasies are true…but perhaps not all you would expect. 

MIDNIGHT SOUL is the highly anticipated finale to Kristen Ashley’s bestselling Fantasyland Series. 

As a special treat the first books in the series are on sale for a limited time only, including the first book in the series, WILDEST DREAMS, for just $.99! Pre-order this amazing novel today, and be sure to check out the exclusive excerpt below!

ARC Review: One Less Problem Without You by Beth Harbison

Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Length:	336 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Man, its been SO long since I have read anything by Beth Harbison - I need to catch up on a back log. Seriously, Hope in a Jar and Shoe Addicts Anonymous are beloved favorites of mine. I will always remember that they were the first two books I read after I graduated from law school and actually had time to read for pleasure again. 

ARC Review: Snakes in the Garden by Victoria Roberts and C.A. Roberts

Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	102 pages
Source:	Author

This short novella from Victoria Roberts and her daughter is unique and captivating, and I hope to see more from this duo in the future.

Audiobook Review: That One Moment by Amy Daws

Series:	London Lovers #5
Pub. Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Star Hollows Pub.
Narrators:	Charlotte Cole Will M. Watt
Length:	9 hrs 59 min
Source:	Author / Audible

I met Amy Daws at the RT Convention earlier this year, and she was so sweet and nice, I knew I had to try one of her books soon.  I picked up a signed copy of Not the One - but its so pretty I haven't wanted to crack the spine! So I was stoked when I saw this review opportunity for That One Moment. I have yet to read the earlier books of the London Lovers series, and I know the characters crossover quite a bit.  However, Daws included enough backstory in this one to keep you from feeling lost if you are starting in the middle, like me.

ARC Review: His Scandalous Kiss by Sophie Barnes

Series:	Thorncliff Manor #3
Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	384 pages
Source:	Edelweiss

House parties and matchmaking abound at Thorncliff Manor, where its guests inevitably find themselves embroiled in a search for evidence of a secret societies. This story is follows the same vein, but gives us new and unique characters to refresh a familiar plot line.

Stackin' the Shelves #39 and Weekly Update

Hosted by Tynga'sBook Reviews

Welcome back bambinas!

This is Stackin' the Shelves, the weekly feature where I showcase all the books I have accepted for review, one-clicked, won or borrowed from the library. I am still trying to get ahead on my reading schedule - I'm reading now for 3 days ahead so its slowly but surely working.  I have hit another snag though. I developed a problem with my vision over the past couple weeks. Now, I have always had better than 20/20 vision, so it was really noticeable. This was a boon because I made an appointment with the optometrist fairly quickly. The optometrist referred me to an ophthalmologist, who said I must see a retina specialist/surgeon right away. So within 3 weeks, I had a diagnosis and treatment plan for choroidal neovascularization (CNV). This is a sudden onset of macular degeneration and, left untreated, can result in the loss of vision completely within a couple months. This is a scary diagnosis for a blogger, because the prognosis isn't great. Many people lose their ability to read... I think that is what upset me the most.  But, we have a started a treatment plan - which is like torture. The treatment involves injections into the eyeball every four weeks. They are horrible for a person like me - someone who can't even stand to put drops in their eyes. But, it is what it is. The treatment will hopefully slow the degeneration. There is a very small chance this is something different and less serious - central serrous - so that is what I am praying for.  However, we couldn't take the chance it was the more serious one and not treat it.

Audiobook Review: Dark Magic by Christine Feehan

Series:	Carpathians/Dark #4
Pub. Date:	Dec. 31, 2013
Publisher:	Harper Audio
Narrator:	Sean Crisden
Length:	11 hrs 14 min
Source:	Hoopla

Gregori has intrigued me since the first book of the series, Dark Prince, where he saved the life of our heroine while she was still in her mother's womb. Gregori is known as "The Dark One" among his people - supremely powerful and scary to the point that he has become a bogeyman whispered about to frighten children and vampires alike. He is one of the oldest and most powerful Carpathians and, as a male, that means he is very close to turning vampire without his lifemate. Yet despite this, and despite knowing who and where his lifemate is, he has granted her time to mature and live her life instead of just claiming her at 18 as others may have done. I dug Gregori... but I like the dark broody dangerous types. I felt like he is not appreciated by his people or his lifemate. He makes sacrifices for them all and helps out anytime he is needed, yet all he gets in return is fear and whispering behind his back.

ARC Review: Into Dust by B.J. Daniels

Series:	Montana Hamiltons #5
Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	HQN Books
Length:	368 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Oooh-weee! This book was like an season of Days of Our Lives, or maybe Dallas. There was SO much happening - lots of continuing and interconnected storylines. I felt quite lost at times. So this is not a series that you can try to pick up in the middle like I did.

ARC Review: Dragon in the Blood by Juliette Cross

Series:	Vale of Stars #2
Pub. Date:	July 26, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	246 pages
Source:	Author

It's no secret that my favorite fantastical creature is the dragon... so I can't help but love Juliette Cross and her dragon-human hybrid Morgons. (Plus, Juliette is like a super cool kickass chick, so I read her other non-dragony stuff too.)

Indie Wednesday Spotlight Review: No Greater Hell by Jerrie Alexander

Series:	Lost & Found, Inc #4
Pub. Date:	May 17, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	330 pages
Source:	Author

I sat in on one of Jerrie Alexander's panels last year at an author event, and I thought she was great. So funny. So I have been happy to get a couple of her ARCs since that time. Unfortunately I did myself a disservice with this book. Although I picked up signed copies of the first three books of this series - I haven't actually been able to fit them into my schedule yet. So I tried to come into the series in the middle, starting with this book. Mistake.

ARC Review: Lonen's War by Jeffe Kennedy

Series:	Sorcerous Moons #1
Pub. Date:	July 19, 2016
Publisher:	Brightlynx
Length:	233 pages
Source:	Author

I am stoked for a new fantasy romance series from the ever-creative Jeffe Kennedy! With this first installment of the Sorcerous Moons series, Jeffe has given me another hero with which I can ply my Jason Momoa fantasies. And that is always a good thing. I am finding that I like the fantastical tales that feature at least one barbarian race. This particular barbarian race, the Destrye, is reminiscent of the Korwahk in Kristen Ashley's The Golden Dynasty or the Dothraki in Game of Thrones. 

ARC Review & Giveaway: Unwanted by Jennifer Estep

Series:	Elemental Assassin #14.5
Pub. Date:	July 18, 2016
Publisher:	Pocket Books
Length:	100 pages
Source:	NetGalley

If you are a fan of this series, you can't help but be a fan of Finnegan Lane. His good looks, abundance of charm, and steadfast loyalty to Gin have made him one of my favorite characters of the series. So I was super excited to see a novella from his POV.

Stackin' the Shelves #38 and Weekly Update

Hosted by Tynga'sBook Reviews

Welcome back bambinas!

This is Stackin' the Shelves, the weekly feature where I showcase all the books I have accepted for review, one-clicked, won or borrowed from the library. I am still trying to get ahead on my reading schedule - I don't think it will ever happen.  We did a shopping excursion with Lil' Miss Priss today as a reward for her doing much better this week w/ the separation anxiety and potty training. Here she is modeling her new clothes:

Audiobook Review: The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley

Series:	Fantasyland #2
Pub. Date:	June 21, 2016
Publisher:	Audible Studios
Narrator:	Tillie Hooper
Length:	17 hrs 1 min
Source:	Audible

The Golden Dynasty has been one of my favorite Kristen Ashley books for years now, and I can't even tell you how many times I have read it.  Though this is the first time in audio - and Tillie Hooper (again) did a fabulous job with the narration. She is one of my favorite narrators and always does a great job.

ARC Review: All In by Simona Ahrnstedt

Pub. Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Kensington
Length:	336 pages
Source:	NetGalley

I was quite interested in this book when it was presented to us by Kensington reps at RT16. Simona Ahrnstedt is Sweden's first romance author. Crazy, right?!?! I couldn't believe it when I heard that romance, as a genre, was virtually unheard of in Sweden. I don't know how to feel about that! But kudos to Ahrnstedt for not being afraid to take that first step.

ARC Review: Maclean's Passion by Sharon Cullen

Series:	Highland Pride #2
Pub. Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Loveswept
Length:	295 pages
Source:	NetGalley

This second installment of the Highland Pride series picks up not long after the first, Sutherland's Secret. Our hero sacrificed himself to save Eleanor, Brice Sutherland's bride, and now finds himself as a prisoner of the English. With repeated beatings, lung sickness, and only a mute young boy for company in his cell, Colin's outlook is bleak indeed.