April is Net Galley Month!

For those that don't know, NetGalley is a way for publishers to share their digital galleys securely to readers. Bloggers, librarians, booksellers.

Emily at Red House Books has declared April to be Net Galley Month!  I think this is a fantastic idea!  I am a Net Galley member and I too have amassed quite a list of galleys that I have been trying to get read and this challenge is the perfect opportunity to get me going on them!  So.... the idea is to read as many Net Galley books as possible in April 2011!  If you are interested in participating - then go here and sign up to be a part of this!

The books I am hoping to finish are:

Hunting Human by Amanda E. Alvarez - - 4/1/11 - Review
Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler - 4/2/11 - Review
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer by Maureen McGowan - 4/3/11 - Review

The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L. Cole - 4/16/11 - Review
In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane - 4/20/11 - Review
Forever Vampire by Michele Hauf - 4/22/22 - Review
Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins - 4/24/11 - Review

The Vampire Dimitri by Colleen Gleason - 4/25/11 - Review

Steam and Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape

Badlands by Seleste DeLaney

The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton

I will post the reviews and link them here as I finish the books!

Review: Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham
Pub. date: 3/29/2011

Pre-order the Hardcover version for $14.17 at Amazon.com
I got this book as an e-book ARC from Netgalley.com

Amazon Product Description:
A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the otherworldly—each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house—once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives…and their immortal souls.

My thoughts:
This was an edge of the seat thriller, ghost story with a romance on the side!  The characters are wonderful and the setting is fantastic.  I fell in love with the characters in the first few pages and couldn't wait to find out what happened next.  The author takes the reader through the wringer with the emotional rollercoaster that is this story.  This is a story of good vs. evil, life vs. death, real vs. unreal, natural vs. supernatural and the power of goodness and love.  If you enjoy ghost stories, love stories, mysteries, or thrillers - this is a must read!!!


New Orleans is the perfect setting for a ghost story and the author takes full advantage of that fact, using religion, folklore, and legend to add their own edge to her wonderfully written tale.  The descriptions of the city and the people are colorful, imaginative, and complete.  You feel as though you are right there with them as part of the team.  


The plot is thick and twisted - which is what we are all looking for in a great thriller/mystery. The author keeps you guessing and then second-guessing what you think you know and what you think you have figured out for certain.  


The characters are carefully created and realistic.  Each appears to have been developed with the others in mind so that they work together seamlessly.  The storyline is character driven and both the characters and the story have been meticulously maintained throughout the book.  

Happy Publication Date Vampire Voss!

Happy Pub. Date to The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason!

It's a fantastic read - go check it out!!!
You can see my review by clicking here!

I have completed my first 2011 Challenge!

I have just completed my 10 books for this challenge!  

 My goal was the Totally Awesome Level of 6-10 books.  

Here is my list!

1.  Marked (Book1: House of Night) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast - - 1/15/11 - reviewed here

2. Danann Frost Falls From Grace by Joanne Valiukas - 2/7/11

3. Lace and Leather by Leanore Elliott - 2/5/11 - reviewed here

4. Scourge by David H. Burton - 2/5/11 - 

5. Foresight: The Gods of Fate Book 1 by Sherry D. Ficklin - 2/22/11 - reviewed here

6. The Arrival by Nicole MacDonald - 2/25/11 - reviewed here

7. The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris - 3/11/11 - review here

8. The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter - 3/5/11 - reviewed here

9. The Trouble with Spells by Lacey Weatherford - 3/17/11 - reviewed here

10. The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton - 3/27/11 - reviewed here

Review: The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton

Mind Readers by Lori Brighton

Amazon Product Description:
Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers. 

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life. 


My thoughts:
I just finished reading this and wish book 2 was already out! 
The author does a great job of building suspense and leaves you wondering throughout the whole book - Is Aaron really the "good" guy that Lewis believes he is?  I, always the cynic, thought from the start there was something fishy with him - but of course that seed was planted when Lewis and Cameron get to the mansion and there are armed guards at the "gate" to the property - - - that is never a good sign.
I really enjoyed the characters.  The high school friends that Cameron has are well done and totally believable.  The grandmother is great, not super mushy but you get the impression that there is so much more that you don't know yet.  Cameron is a great character - searching for the answers to many of life's questions.
I fell as fast for Lewis as Cameron did - and I am sure I was just as disappointed later in the story.  I wasn't sure what to think of Maddox - still not...
This is a wonderful story about what is right and what is wrong -  - and what a person is willing to do or sacrifice for what they believe.

Review: Wilder's Mate: Bloodhounds #1 by Moira Rogers

Wilder's Mate (Bloodhounds #1) by Moira Rogers

Amazon Product Description:

Think a vampire-hunting bloodhound is dangerous? Try threatening his woman.

Bloodhounds, Book 1

Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.

At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn.

As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save.

Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

My thoughts:
I love Moira Rogers books!  I haven't read everything of hers, but I believe I have everything so I will get to them.  


She creates characters that I just can't help loving.  Her men are always incredible and her women are always smart, headstrong, independent and sexy.  She seems to manage to put just the right spin on each character and then puts the characters together in just the right match to create the best story.  


The story has a bit of everything.  Love, loss, honor, betrayal, friendship, and intrigue.  
This story puts a different spin on the paranormal by adding the bloodhound - as opposed to the traditional werewolf type shifter.  I was thrilled to see so much compassion from Wilder when it came to the ghouls, Archer, Hunter, and Nataniel.  The idea behind the Bloodhounds seems to be that they are somewhat mindless in their hunting of vampires, but he proves this theory wrong both with his behavior and the way he treats people.  I loved the human side of his beast-like persona.
The book has a few main characters, but I also enjoyed the secondary characters very much.  Polly made me laugh out loud when she was setting up Satira's disguise.  


This was a great story, read it through in one sitting - would recommend it to fans of all things paranormal - as long as they don't mind some hot and heavy sections.