Review & Giveaway: Simon by V.A. Dold

Title: Simon

Author: V.A. Dold

Series: Le Beau Series #2

Publication: June 30, 2014

Publisher: VA Dold
Source: Author

Genre: Romance

Audience: 18+

Amazon|Goodreads

Synopsis: 
Four years of honorably serving his country has left Simon, Cade’s younger brother, damaged and trapped in wolf form. Little did he know the only person with the ability to heal him completely would be found at home. Literally. Now that he’s found her, he is desperate to claim her.

Rose is a beautiful, voluptuous woman with limited experience with men. Although she's confident, she still has reservations. Never having a family of her own,her fear of abandonment has her fleeing romantic relationships, and doubting herself.
 
Travis is insane. A deadly loose cannon that a secret organization hired to destroy the Le Beau family by denying them their mates. Permanently. Simon’s dream will be lost forever unless he is able to maintain human form.

Rose needs unconditional love and a mate to create the family she’s always wanted.

Travis’s all-consuming drive is to take Rose for himself.

Will Simon ever be whole again,able to claim his mate, giving Rose the love and family she so desperately craves? Or will Travis destroy them both?
*Complete novel. No cliffhanger. Dual POV. Rated 18+ for language and strong sexual content.*

My Thoughts: I was so excited to be given the oopportunityto read this book. After reading the first in the series I am completely in love with the LeBeau series. V.A. Dold did not disappoint with the second installment in the series. 

In the first book, Cade, we get a little taste of Simon's trauma. We all know being a solider in the middle east is difficult and it is even more so for Simon. Getting details about his experiences really makes you connect to his character. The things Simon has been through really allow him to be patient with Rose and to connect and understand her.

I love that Rose has built in support in Anna as she navigates the shifter world. I can't imagine Anna being strong enough to attempt a relationship with Simon with out Anna's influence. Support is the pivotal to both Rose and Simon's growth during this read. 

I can tell that the events and suspense in this book are leading up to something bigger in the coming installments of this series. I know the next book is not about Rose but I want her and Simon to have babies. wink, wink. 

Author Bio:

V.A.Dold is the bestselling author of the Le Beau Brothers series, New Orleans wolf shifter novels. A graduate of Saint Cloud University, she majored in marketing. Prior to becoming a full time writer, she was a publicist to the authors, owning Innovative Online Book Tours and ARC Author & Reader Con's (ARC NOLA) (ARC Phoenix). Still is. The companies mesh so well together, much like PB&J.

Her idea of absolute heaven is a day in the French Quarter filled with nothing but her computer, her coffee mug and the Brothers, of course.

A Minnesota native with her heart lost to Louisiana, she has a penchant for titillating tales featuring sexy men and strong women. When she's not writing, she's probably taking in a movie, reading or traveling.

Her earliest reading memories are from grade school. She had a major fixation with horses, and the Black Stallion was a favorite. Then junior high came along and teenage hormones kicked in. It became all about the Harlequin Romances. She has been hooked on romances ever since.

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Giveaway: Check out the monthly giveaway here.

Book 1

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My Review

Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

Author: Kevin Hearne
Title:  Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles #1)
Publication: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Del Ray
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 320
Audience: 17 and up
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old--when in actuality, he's twenty-one "centuries" old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he's hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power--plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish--to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

My thoughts: 

My husband pestered me until I picked up the first book and read through it. I really could not put this book down or stop laughing at it. The characters are well rounded and develop really well in this first book of the series. The main character Atticus O’Sullivan is the last of his kind. He is a real life druid and is really old…over 2000 years old in fact. He can speak to his dog, the Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, who is hilarious! There is of course Atticus’s neighbors who had a dash of humor. Oh and his lawyers, one is a vampire and the other is a werewolf. They are able to work together because they both hate Thor (I do too. He is such a drunken jerk, we aren’t talking about the Marvel Thor either.). There is plenty of laughter, drama, and mystery. If you are a fan of paranormal, urban fantasies this is a MUST read! I am trying to squeeze in time to read the next novel, Hexed, which I may do after I finish writing this. I also want to add a word about the author, Kevin Hearne. This dude is amazing. My husband reached out to him on Facebook and Kevin Hearne actually wrote him a response and thanked him for being a fan. He is so kind and he gives you information on his website on how to contact him. We have a trip planned in October to see him in Georgia for a day. I cannot wait, but now I have to read all seven of the books before then!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Author: Neil Gaiman
Title:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Publication: June 3, 2014
Publisher: William Murrow
Genre: Adult, Modern Fantasy
Pages: 181
Audience: 17 and up
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

 
My thoughts: I love Neil Gaiman and thought he would be the perfect author to read after a rough patch and dry reading spell in my life. It was kind of hard for me to get into this book. I spent a while trying to get into it wondering if I was going to give up on it. I’m glad I didn’t. This book has stuck with me in ways I could not have imagined. 
There are times I am by myself and think of the evil Ursla Monkton and how she invaded the little narrator. I went to a panel with horror writers at a convention. One of the writers asked the audience “What was horror to us?” Someone said to them horror was when something got in other their skin and stayed with them. I can honestly say there was a horrifying chapter with a worm that has not left me since I read it. 
The narrator, he is never named gets on my nerves at times, but the Hempstock women, especially Lettie redeem him and make the book worth the read. Oh and that little cat at the Hempstock house it so precious!  It is a book about growing up, stories, fear, bravery, grief, and all the things that make us human. It was a fantastic read that will stick with you for a while.

Audio Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage

Series: Finishing School #1

Author: Gail Carriger

Narrator: Moira quirk

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Format: Unabridged Audio

Length: 8 hrs 55 mins

Publication: February 18, 2013

Source: Library

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy, Historical fiction

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

My Thoughts: This is the cutest story ever. Sophronia is a mischievous young girl. Her mother is fed up and decides that she needs a finishing school to turn her into a proper lady. Little does she know that Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is the perfect place for Sophronia and it is more than just any finishing school. I love, love, love this story. Sophronia's curiosity and antics land her in many a situation. Her quick wit, on the other hand, always seems to get her out of said situations. The best part of the story to me is the school's setting. I imagined a stuffy castle as the home of the finishing school. Instead the school is located on a balloon. 

This is a single voiced unabridged audio. This is the first time I have listened to an audio narrated by Moira Quirk. She has done an amazing job bringing the characters to life. Her accents are wonderful and the differentiation between each character is distinct and simple to recognize. This story provides an excellent platform for audio performance. 

The Dresden File Series by Jim Butcher

Author: Jim Butcher
Narrator: James Marsters

Publication: 2000- present

Publisher: Roc

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Purchased/Public Library

Photo credit: Google Images via www.ichimonchi.com

I probably have no right to discuss this series, as it is one that I have been working on for some time. I believe I got all the way to Small Favor before graduate school took over my life. So I get credit for reading over half the series, right? This series was ruined for me by the friend who likes to ruin all book series for me. However, since he told me this ending, more books have come out to add onto the series. Anyway, I am currently re-reading them and prepping for the new book, Skin Games which is due out on May 27, 2014.

When I meet people who love to read, especially love to read urban fantasy, I suggest this book. My friends and patrons who have actually gave this book a chance have ALWAYS come back telling me how great it is OR they ask me the title of the next book.  I strongly suggest listening to the audiobooks. Especially if you are a Buffy fan, that guy that played Spike, yeah, he is the narrator and a darn good one too! If you are not into audiobooks, then go to your nearest library and check it out or buy it on Amazon. Sorry hardback book lovers, but the first three are super rare in hardback and worth lots of money, so it will be paperback. Better yet, just get the audiobook, you won't regret it!

So you are probably wondering what the book is all about. It is essentially a grown up Harry Potter, set in our world, Chicago to be exact, during modern, current time. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a Chicago wizard who is listed in the phone book and sometimes works on police cases for the Special Investigations Department. The book series really develops Harry in a way that he almost feels like a real person you know. He is awkward, but strong. He even battles with himself over the good and the bad he could do. This is something we all battle with at times. He is just a real-life like character and so loveable (to me anyways). You want to help defeat his adversaries, and unfortunately, Mr. Dresden has quite the army against him. However, he does not go into battle alone. He has his own army of friends to support him.
I like most of the characters in the book. A few really creep me out like the skinwalkers and the fallen angels. Of course, any friend of Harry's- I pretty much like. I love Molly, Toot Toot, Mister, and Mouse, and Thomas. I especially love Mab. She works herself into Harry's life...and he can't really wriggle free of her icy grasp.
You get a little bit of everything in this series. From faeries to Santa being of the high faerie court himself to a walking, talking, breathing archive of the world, to the Billy Goats Gruff to dinosaurs. It seriously has some fantasy topic for everyone.
 Sorry if I am being a bit vague, but I don't want to ruin anything for you because seriously you HAVE to go now and get Storm Front ASAP! NOW GO!

On a side note, my husband and I went to a convention in February and got to meet the author of the series, Jim Butcher. He is such a cool guy. I said some really awkward, uncool, fan-girl stuff in front of him, but I managed to keep my cool. Inside though, I was flailing about, crying, and screaming. It was one of the best days of my life. Here is a picture of me, Jim Butcher, and my husband. My husband had made each of us a wizard's staff before meeting Mr. Butcher, and we carried them with us. Have you ever met a favorite author?

Audio Review: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Title: Unbreakable

Author: Kami Garcia

Narrator: Candice Accola

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Format: Unabridged Audio

Length: 6 hrs 46 mins

Publication: October 1, 2013

Source: Library

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads

Synopsis:
I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this read yet by the end I was saying "What?? Really?? You've got to be kidding me!! Kennedy went through all of that and then this?" I found my self yelling at Kennedy throughout the story trying to get her to rethink her actions and do what I wanted her to do. Garcia did a wonderful job developing the characters and the plot. 

It was easy to empathize with Kennedy's situation and understand why she made the decisions she did. I was left with several unanswered questions at the end of the book. I will definitely continue with this series since, I must know what happens next.

This is a single voiced unabridged production. Candice Accola is a wonderful narrator. I did find it difficult to distinguish between Jared and Lukas but they are twins. Consistent pace is maintained throughout the production. The original material lends itself well to audio presentation. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (Audiobook)

Author: Holly Black

Narrator: Christine Lakin
Title:The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Publication: September 10, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Pages: 432
Length: 12 hours 6 minutes

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 3.5 out 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from the cover): Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

My thoughts:
My coworkers kept laughing at me every time I talked about this book. I listened to it and it took most of the first disc for Tana to get out of the blasted house! It was a slow moving book. My husband hated it, we listened to it on our way to our hometown to get married actually and we listened to it on the way back home. Something about it made me keep going even if it was so slow paced. I loved the last 3 disc so about chapter 30- to the end held much more action and felt more YA. I listen and read everything. I listened to the acknowledgements at the end. Holly Black says The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a "love letter to all the vampire novels she has ever read." with that in mind it seems like she tried to pay homage to other writers in the genre and finally found her groove towards the end of the novel. So that little bit of information helped me like the book a little more.
The characters were interesting. Tana is such a head-strong, independent character. She fights for what if right no matter if she dies trying and I loved that about her. I still have questions about the scar on her arm, but not enough for it to keep me awake at night. I thought Aiden was going to be another main character, but I was wrong about that. He is a jerk and it shows. I wanted to kick him in the shins a lot. Gavriel is a character with a rich history and a lengthy story. He is a crazy vampire, but I love the way he speaks and even though he is mad, he is trying to keep some sanity about him. The vampires are typical vampires and they don't sparkle, they burn. The only characters who really got on my nerves was Tana's sister, Pearl and Midnight. I wanted both of them gone, but they help the storyline along...so I understand their purpose to the story. 
I really liked Christine Lakin's ability to change accents and characters so well. One minute she is a vampire with a Russian ancestry, then a back woods county cop, then back to Tana or one of the various characters. It was easy to differentiate as each character had a specific voice that she did not deviate from. The only thing, her voice was so calm and soothing that it made me sleepy at times. 
Overall the book was an okay read.  There were a few parts I had not guessed and was actually shocked. There were a few that I guessed or were just obvious. I would not buy this book , but if you like Holly Black, vampire novels, or need something new to read then I suggest checking this book out.

 

Elysian Fields by Suzanne Johnson

Author: Suzanne Johnson
Title:Elysian Fields Sentinels of New Orleans Book #3

Publication: August 13. 2013

Publisher: Tor Books

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 352

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from the goodreads.com): An undead serial killer comes for DJ in this thrilling third installment of Suzanne Johnson’s Sentinels of New Orleans series.
The mer feud has been settled, but life in South Louisiana still has more twists and turns than the muddy Mississippi. 
New Orleanians are under attack from a copycat killer mimicking the crimes of a 1918 serial murderer known as the Axeman of New Orleans. Thanks to a tip from the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, DJ Jaco knows the attacks aren’t random—an unknown necromancer has resurrected the original Axeman of New Orleans, and his ultimate target is a certain blonde wizard. Namely, DJ.
Combating an undead serial killer as troubles pile up around her isn’t easy. Jake Warin’s loup-garou nature is spiraling downward, enigmatic neighbor Quince Randolph is acting weirder than ever, the Elders are insisting on lessons in elven magic from the world’s most annoying wizard, and former partner Alex Warin just turned up on DJ’s to-do list. Not to mention big maneuvers are afoot in the halls of preternatural power.

My thoughts:
I love this series. I managed to find this at work on the new book shelf. I have fellow co-worker who I introduced the series to, who was not too pleased that I managed to find the book first. After being called a cow (in a joking manner), I managed to finish the book in three days to pass it on to the co-worker. This book series is good enough to have someone call you a cow for getting your hands on it first! 
Okay, y'all this book was unbelievable. I have no nice way to put it, but crap hit the fan in this book. Everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong! So there was plenty of laughter, gasping, and oh no's! It became evident that some annoying characters are there to stay, unfortunately. Some new ones have imbedded themselves in the unfortunate circumstances, others are unsure of how to handle things now, and it is just a very emotional mess. If Miss Drusilla was my friend, I would buy he cartons on Ben and Jerry's every night and pat her on the back while she told me everything. It is just a mess, but this chick is a tough one, so she will fight back and in the right manner (albeit some illegal magic may occur).  If you have no read this series, go to your library and (kindly) demand that they purchase it, go interlibrary loan it, or even buy it through Amazon! It is so worth it!