New additions to my addiction

Here is a list of the books and bookrelated goodies I received in the last few weeks, some have been read and reviewed already:

From Bookdepository:
Christine Feehan – Dark Storm
Jayne Castle – Deception Cove
The Darling Dahlia’s and the Confederate Rose

Secondhand books:
Mark Lawrence – Prince of Thorns

“Newish” books from Boekenfestijn:
S.L. Farrell – Holder of Lightning
Nalini Singh – Desert Warrior
Keri Arthur – Beneath a rising moon
Keri Arthur – Dancing with the devil
Keri Arthur – Circle of Fire
Keri Arthur – Circle of Death
Emma Holly – Devil at midnight
Chris Marie Green – Break of Dawn
Elizabeth Boyle – Love letters from a duke
Claire Delacroix – Rebel
Anne Perry – We shall not sleep
Alyson Noël – Everlasting
Jaye Wells – Silver-tongued devil
Anthology: Home Improvement: undead edition
Sharon Lathan – Loving mr. Darcy (I blame Blodeuedd for buying this one!)
Colleen Gleason – The vampire Narcise
Molly Harper – And one last thing …
Aprillyne Pike – Spells
S.L. Viehl – Bio rescue

Rachel Caine – Chill Factor
Rachel Caine – Firestorm
Rachel Caine – Thin Air
Rachel Caine – Windfall

Nora Roberts – Vision in White
Nora Roberts – Risky Business
Nora Roberts – Black Hills

Susan Wittig Albert – The tale of hill top farm
Gemma Halliday – Killer in high heels
Natalie M. Roberts – Tapped Out
Mary Ellen Hughes – Paper-Thin Alibi
Krista Davis – The Diva takes the cake
Krista Davis – The Diva paints the town
Diane Mott Davison – Chopping spree

Books for review:
Chris Karlsen – Byzantine Gold
Chris Karlsen – Knight Blindness

Swag:
I won some lovely Karen Chance swag on I Smell Sheep blog. I really love her books, so I am happy with the nice bookmarks and other Sheep swag I received.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

And the winner is ….

I am happy to announce the winner of my 50.000 pageviews celebration. I’ve decided to pick two winners though.

My stepdaughter picked the numbers for me, I’ve asked her to pick two numbers between 1 and 7, and she picked 6 and 2, so the winners are:

Maia and Blodeuedd!

Congratulations ladies, please email me your choice of book from Bookdepository.com up till € 10,00.



Thank you all for commenting on my blog, and here is to many more years of blogging fun.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Faith Hunter – Mercy Blade

The third book in the Jane Yellowrock series, published January 4, 2011.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: strong, I like it



Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker – and a vampire killer for hire. But lately she’s found herself taking blood money from the very vampires she used to hunt…

Things are heating up in the Big Easy. Weres have announced their existence to the world, and revived the bitter tensions that run between them and their old enemies: vampires. As a trusted employee of Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, Jane finds herself caught in the cross fire.
When Jane is attacked by a pack of marauding werewolves, she is thankful for the help of a mysterious stranger named Girrard. He explains that he used to be Leo’s Mercy Blade, a sacred position charged with killing vampires who have gone insane. What Jane doesn’t know is why this powerful assassin left New Orleans – or, more troubling, why he’s now returned. It’s definitely not to make Jane’s life easier….


This series is just so good. Each book is original even though you think, o more vampire urban fantasy. It is not ordinary; Faith Hunter has given her own unique spin to the known lore. Yes, the vampires are powerful, drink blood, sleep during the day, but the rest of the world is just awesome. This book kept me glued to the pages until the last one, never dull or boring or repetitive.

The book starts out with Jane and her new boyfriend Rick packing up her old apartment in the Appalachian Mountains. Jane has accepted a long term job offer from the Vampire Council in New Orleans, and she is moving her things up there. That morning though, the t.v. channels are full about the discovery of shapeshifters in the world, big cats from Africa. Jane and Beast are interested, although they are not like them, skinwalkers. How will the world react to this news, when there is still a debate going on in the Senate about giving rights to Vampires? They are now treated as aliens, with ambassador like status.
But there is no rest for them, Jane is needed by Leo to meet with some old enemy and tell him to leave town, while Rick is needed by the PD for a new undercover job. And so they have to hurry back to New Orleans on their bikes.

Meeting a stranger in a biker bar should not be a problem for Jane, she is armed to the teeth and knows how to fight. She has Beast’s strength and reflexes to draw upon, but when faced with a whole werewolf pack, she is severely outnumbered. Lucky for her, help from an unexpected source saves her hide. Her rescuer is Leo’s old enemy, and he wants her to know that Leo needs him in his life and that of his Family. But he doesn’t really tell Jane anything she needs to know; only that he used to be Leo’s Mercy Blade, and that she has kind of taken on the responsibilities of the job now.

The vampires are trying to make a treaty with the big cats, and they both hate and loath the werewolves, but the werewolves are accusing Leo of murder. So, it is all a big political mess, and Jane has to find a way through it all. But when her boyfriend disappears, she does whatever is necessary to get him back alive.


Lots of surprises again in this book. Jane keeps learning more about the origin of vampires, and about her own past. I love her interaction with Beast, and how they work together to find out what they need to know. I really like Faith Hunter’s take on skinwalkers and vampires and weres. It is almost non-stop action, but I have to say, I am suspicious of Molly’s sister, who is staying with Jane. Especially when Bruiser also comes to live with them when Leo kicks him out temporarily.

The only constant so far in these books, is that Jane almost dies a lot. And the ending, o the ending. I want book 4 now!

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Julie Hyzy – Hail to the Chef

The second book in the White House Chef Mystery series, published December 2, 2008.
Genre: cozy mystery
Cover: lovely



White House executive chef Ollie Paras has a lot on her plate, what with holiday meals to map out, the First Lady’s matchmaking plans to deflect, safety classes to take, and terrorists to avoid. Oh, and a senator’s assistant has been begging Ollie to rig the countrywide gingerbread-man-decorating contest in favor of the senator’s kids …
Then, a cautious, kindly electrician is electrocuted, and the First Lady's nephew dies in an apparent suicide when not 24 hours before he was happily cleaning shrimp with Ollie. Ollie suspects there’s something going on that’s fishier than shrimp cocktail. Now, she'll have to watch her back - and find a killer unlikely to be pardoned.


Ollie is the new executive chef in the White House, and she and her team are very busy with the preparations for Christmas and some other important events. But after a bomb scare, they all need to be trained in safety, recognizing bombs and what to do when they find something suspect. They really have no time for this, but Special Agent Gavin is relentless, no excuses, they all have to take the training. And somehow, he does not like Ollie very much and tries to make an example of her in class.
But Ollie is used to being picked on because of her small size, and she gives as good as she gets, earning his grudging respect. But disasters keep happening. The First Lady tries to matchmake between Ollie and her beloved nephew Sean, not knowing that Ollie is already seeing one of the Secret Service Agents protecting her husband. Sean is around a lot lately, the First Ladies’ father has recently died, and she has inherited his shares in an important company from him. Her new partners, and childhood friends, want her to sell. Their four fathers founded the company, which does a lot of good for charity, and they want to sell it fast, or else they will have to wait 10 years before they are allowed to sell it again. Sean is lady Campbell’s financial advisor, and he really does not want her to sell. But her friends are pressuring her. One of them is in financial troubles for alleged criminal activities, the other is a Senator, who is after her husband’s job, and the third has her own reasons for siding with the men.

A very experienced electrician gets electrocuted in the White House, with Ollie finding him. They were friends and she is really bothered by this. He knew the wiring inside out, he would not have made a mistake like that. And so she asks for advice from one of the other tenants in her building, a very experienced and licensed electrician himself, who comes up with a theory of what might have happened. But the other electricians working in the White House are brushing her off, totally not interested in her theory or looking into the matter. The man was careless, end of the discussion.

And then Sean is found dead in his apartment, while the First Lady is waiting for him for an important lunch meeting with her friends. Suicide the police think. But neither Ollie nor the First Lady wants to believe that. Sean was happy, and optimistic about asking Ollie on a date or something, he never would kill himself. And when Ollie finds something Sean left behind on her computer in the kitchen, she is sure of it.
And so she asks Gavin to look into things. Gavin thinks Ollie is some kind of catalyst, things happen around her, and she is observant to see things other people miss. Which is why she is the one to find the bomb in her storage space …

Ollie wants to help the First Lady, and protect her from the undue pressure put upon her by her former friends to sell, she has a lot of meals to prepare, and getting mugged and almost abducted on her way home is something she really has no time for.


I recently read the first book in the White House Chef series, and enjoyed it, but this one is better in my opinion. Of course I already knew some of the main secondary characters, and it is always nice to catch up with them. There is not much, or rather, any, development in Ollie’s private life, so I think you can read these books out of order without feeling lost.

The book is full of action, lots of things happen, and lots of clues are left for the reader to find. I did suspect some of the things beforehand, but I was still amazed at some of the plot. This is a great mystery and I will certainly read the rest of the series soon.

I like how Ollie handles things. Some on her staff are not happy that she is the new executive chef, but she learns how to deal with them, and get them to do what she wants, and how she wants it done. The pastry described sounds absolutely delicious (there are recipes in the back for a full presidential meal!). She also deals well with the safety lessons, and their instructor after some initial strubbling.

I do hope her relationship develops a bit more in the next book though; I want to know a bit more about her background, meet some friends. Of course she does work extremely hard and long days; there is not much time for a private life, but still.

As said before, there is a lot of patriotism in this book, which is to be expected for a story taking place in the White House, but for me as a non-American, it is a bit much.

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Bella Andre – From this moment on

The second book in the Sullivans series, published August 30, 2011, but in paperback June 25, 2013.
Genre: contemporary romance
Cover: meh



Marcus Sullivan has always been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings when their father died. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned turns out to be a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.
Known throughout the world by only one name – Nico – pop songstress Nicola Harding is seen as the ultimate sex kitten. But it’s all a lie. After a terrible betrayal she refuses to let anyone else close enough to find out who she really is … or to hurt her again. Especially the gorgeous stranger at the bar.
One night is all Nicola and Marcus agree to share with each other. But instead, a deeper connection than either of them could have anticipated begins …


Marcus is ready for marriage and a family of his own, but his girlfriend/fiancée of two years apparently is not, when he finds her in bed with another (younger) man. She demands that he puts her on the first place in his heart, instead of his family, something he is not inclined to do. He has been helping his mother taking care of his siblings since he was twelve, and his father died. And even though they are all grown up now, with lives and careers of their own, he will never stop looking out for them, and helping where he is needed.

But it still hurts that Jill thought it necessary to force his hand like this, apparently she is not the woman he wanted her to be. And so, to fight the pain, Marcus decides a hot night with a stranger is in order, something he has never done before, and he visits a popular dance club in town. Marcus is not the only one lonely in San Francisco, and there are plenty of women interested in him, but so far, he is not interested in any of them. Until she walks into the doors…

Nico is a famous popstar, with the reputation of a wild party girl. A totally undeserved reputation though, but as it is good for her image, her recordcompany and manager want to let it stand. Her ex-boyfriend hurt her and exploited her in the tabloids, and now every man she is seen with, is her newest conquest according to the press. So spending a Friday evening alone at the hotelroom in San Francisco might be what she wants at first, but when an unpleasant roomservice waiter wants to spend the night with her, she decides she wants to go out after all and perhaps finally earn her reputation by going for that wild night.

And when Nicola walks into the night club, she only has eyes for that strong man at the bar, Marcus. They lock eyes, and that is it. She walks over to him and they both agree to leave right away. But outside, her fans recognize her, and she really does not want Marcus to appear in the tabloids with her tomorrow. He does not know who she is, and that is very rare as she is really famous. But the moment they are inside the taxi, Nicola gets second doubts. She can’t take him to her hotel, and he wants to take her to the same one. And how does she know he is not a crazy ax murderer? To set her mind at peace, Marcus offers her his phone, and tells her to just call anyone from his contacts and ask for a reference.
This strange offer amazes her, but she goes for it, and calls … his mother.
Marcus has another address to take her to, instead of a hotel, but during the long drive, Nicola falls asleep on him. And so he carries her into his famous brother Smith’s house, which is empty at the moment, and lays her on one of the couches in the livingroom. She never wakes up, so she sure must be exhausted.

Marcus enjoys her trust in him, and doesn’t mind being her pillow. But the next morning is a bit awkward. Nicola hates having to wear the revealing leather dress again, and is happily surprised when Marcus offers her one of his brother’s sweatshirts to keep warm. And he feels his heart move when he spots her, standing there without her shoes or makeup, in that enormous sweater. Still one night was all they wanted, and they don’t exchange full names or phone numbers.

But fait interferes, when Marcus visits his sister Lori who is a choreographer and working with some popstar at the moment. Lori has invited him to come watch the recordings, and have dinner with her afterwards. So when he sees Nico, at first he thinks she is just one of his sisters’ dancers. When Lori is called away during dinner and they are left alone together, they do decide to spend that night together after all. Neither of them has been able to stop thinking about the other and last Friday.

But after that night, they both want more. Still, Marcus doesn’t want to sneak around avoiding the press, and he hates that it is necessary. A relationship between them will never work out though, he loves his vineyard too much, and Nico is travelling the world…


I loved Marcus’ character in the first book in the series, and was looking forward to reading his own book. And I was not disappointed, I loved him. He is honourable, cares for his siblings and his mother, and is really appreciative of Nicola.
Nicola is a sweetheart, she really loves her fans and it shows. She is a great songwriter and singer, but she hates the image the press has given her. When she sees how caring Marcus is, she falls for him hard. But she also knows there can never be more between them than a stolen night here and there when she is in town.

I loved the solution in this book, as I really did not see it happen. Bella Andre writes such real lifelike characters, you have to love them, and the secondary characters as well. I am happy that the third book is on my shelves already, and the fourth is on its way.

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Anne McCaffrey – The Dolphins of Pern

A book in the Renegades of Pern series, published September 6, 1994.
Genre: sci fi / fantasy
Cover: ugly, my own cover is so much more pretty. I have the white backed series by Corgi if you are interested.



When Masterfisher Alemi took young Readis out to catch redfins for the evening feast, neither of them realised it heralded a new chapter in the history of Pern. For when a sudden black squall blew up, their mast splintered and broke and their boat capsized. It was the shipfish who saved them, swooping up from the deep, holding them firm above the water, guiding them back to land, and above all speaking to them.
Alemi, called to the all-encompassing power of AIVAS, learned that the shipfish were dolphins – brought to Pern with the early colonists to help and guide man through the oceans of the new planet. Now all the old Dolphin law had to be rediscovered.
Readis, fascinated by the many gifts of the dolphins – gifts unshared by any other creature on Pern – longed to work with them. Helped by T’Lion, the young dragonrider with his bronze Gadareth (who established his own particular friendship with the dolphins), Readis, fighting against vehement parental opposition, set out to become Pern’s first Dolphineer.


This book takes place years later than the Harper Hall trilogy. AIVAS has been discovered again at Landing, on the Southern continent. It has promised to help to rid the world of Thread forever, and is educating the population to its purposes. It needs to learn the specifics of the Dragons powers, and their bond with their riders, and it needs to bring the planet to a much higher technological level. Of course there are always people who are against improvement and change, and there is violence between both camps.

Still, one of the wonders to discover on Pern, are the shipfish. Of course all the fishers know it is bad luck to trap a shipfish in your nets, and there are many stories of them saving people from drowning. But to think they are intelligent and can talk? It is not until Alemi and young Readis get saved by shipfish, that they hear them talk and believe it. And AIVAS confirms what Alemi reports to him. The shipfish are dolphins, who came to Pern from earth, with the original colonists. To work alongside men in charting the oceans of this wondrous new planet, and tell the fishers where the best fish are swimming. To save people from drowning in storms, but they are also a very valuable tool for the Healer hall. With their sonar they can tell the Healers often what is wrong with a patient. So much knowledge has been lost, but many people refuse surgery, even if it will save their life, or that of their loved ones. Master Oldive has a long way to go to get his Masters and Journeymen to embrace the new knowledge AIVAS provides.

Readis is grateful to the dolphins for saving his life, and he is really interested in those creatures. They are so friendly, and they love the new contact with man. They never forgot their duties, even though men forgot about them. But his mother doesn’t want him to consort with them, she even blames them for the bad thorn he got in his foot, that nearly cost him his leg. And so Alemi builds a relationship with the Paradise River pod on his own, and they really help him with his fishing, telling where the schools are swimming, warning of bad weather, and even warning about invading ships from the North.

Other people are interested in the dolphins as well, like Master Fisher Idarolan himself, and he too has many hidebound masters under him who don’t want to believe that shipfish are intelligent and can talk. Talking is for humans, not for animals. But those that listen to him, and listen to the dolphins, improve their catches.

Bronze rider T’Lion is also very interested in the dolphins since he met them that first time with Alemi in Monaco Bay. Whenever he has some spare time, he spends it on the beach. His bronze dragon Gadareth likes the dolphins as well, they help him scrub his belly in the sea, and he enjoys the games they play.

But still, people don’t think dolphins as important as people, and when there are some badly injured ones after the big storm, it are TLion and Readis who take care of them, when the human healers don’t want to take the time. And they get in trouble for it as well. SO when Readis’ mother orders him to never see the dolphins again, he refuses. He has obeyed her for the last ten years, and has never been alone in the ocean with them. But now she has gone to far, he won’t promise, and that leaves him no other choice but to leave home. A few days further along the coast he finds some caves that are perfect for the first Dolphin Hall of Pern, and he sets out to provide for his own shelter and food, and a life jacket so he can swim with the dolphins.


Another of my favourite books by Anne McCaffrey, with lots of characters from previous books. Like Readis’ parents, and Alemi and Menolly, the Master Harper Robinton and firelizards. Still, the dolphins ad a great new species to the mix, more available to everyone than the firelizards and dragons as they bond to one specific human.
I love Anne McCaffrey’s writing style, she writes such lifelike characters, people you want to make friends with. I care for them, I cry with them and for them, and I am happy for them when they find their own place on Pern.

I think you can read this book as a stand alone, as there is a long prologue with explanations of this world in the front of the book.

10 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

New books to look forward to for September 2013

This is the list of new releases for the month of September 2013 I am looking forward to:

Susan Wittig Albert – The Darling Dahlia’s and the Texas Star – DD 4 HC
Susan Wittig Albert – The Darling Dahlia’s and the Confederate Rose – DD 3 PB
Yasmine Galenorn – Autumn Whispers – Otherworld 14
Christine Feehan – Dark Lycan – Carpathian 24 HC
Sherrilyn Kenyon – Styxx – Dark Hunter 23
Victoria Hamilton – Bran New Death – Merry Muffin Mystery 01
Alexis Morgan – A time for Home – Snowberry Creek 02
Catherine Coulter – The final cut – Brit in the FBI 01 – HC
Christina Skye – Butterfly Cove
J.D. Robb – Thankless in Death – In Death 37 HC
J.D. Robb – Mirror, mirror, anthology with Mary Blayne, Elaine Fox, Kay McCormas and R.C. Ryan
Jennifer Ashley – The untamed MacKenzie
Karen Hawkins – How to Entice an Enchantress – Duchess Diaries 3
Nora Roberts – Whispered promises

I have read a total of 26 books this month, but I have re-read a lot of books, and re-reading is always faster than reading something for the first time.

Did I match my reading solutions for last month? Yes, but barely.

I have read 2 cozy mysteries:
- Virginia Lowell – Cookie Dough or Die
- Julie Hyzy – Hail to the Chef

11 books longer than 1 year on my shelf (9 re-reads):
- Nora Roberts – Dance of Dreams
- Jayne Ann Krentz – All night long
- Anne McCaffrey – Masterharper of Pern
- Anne McCaffrey – Dragonsong
- Anne McCaffrey – Dragonsinger
- Anne McCaffrey – The Dolphins of Pern
- C.L. Wilson – Lord of the Fading Lands
- C.L. Wilson – Lady of Light and Shadows
- C.L. Wilson – King of Sword and Sky
- C.L. Wilson – Queen of Song and Souls
- C.L. Wilson – Crown of Crystal Flame

and 1 book I have won:
- Suzanne Johnson – Elysian Fields

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian