Cover Reveal - The Daughters of Maine

The Daughters of Maine
Tish Thawer
(Witches of BlackBrook #2)
Publication date: March 7th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

“With vivid scenes and likable characters, Thawer’s series is a definite winner! Come for the adventure – and stay for the awesome witchery.” ~ #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, PC CAST
Through space and time, sisters entwined. Lost then found, souls remain bound.
After being reunited in the present day, three sister witches are forced to separate once more in an effort to save their newly formed coven and themselves.
Foes from their past now threaten their future, and a trip that spans centuries is theironly hope of survival. Chasing their enemy back through time seems like the right choice, but will walking in the footsteps of their previous lives provide the answers they seek?
Only time will tell.
A Witches of BlackBrook novel.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Smashwords

Sequel to:

Author Bio:
Award Winning Author, Tish Thawer, writes paranormal romances for all ages. Fromher first paranormal cartoon, Isis, to the Twilight phenomenon, myth, magic, and superpowers have always held a special place in her heart.
Tish is known for her detailed world-building and magic-laced stories. Her work has been compared to Nora Roberts, Sam Cheever, and Charlaine Harris. She has receiveda RONE Award nomination (Reward of Novel Excellence), as well as nominations for Best Cover, Reader’s Choice, and Author of the Year (Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery).
Tish has worked as a computer consultant, photographer, and graphic designer, and is a columnist for Gliterary Girl media and has bylines in RT Magazine and Literary Lunes Magazine. She resides in Arizona with her husband and three wonderful children and is represented by Gandolfo, Helin, and Fountain Literary Management.
You can find Tish on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTishThawer
A common FAQ: "How do you pronounce her last name?"
Answer: Think "Bower" or "Thow-er". It's Persian!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

TTT - Top 10 Graphic Novels on my TBR

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading. This week I am sharing with you the top 10 graphic novels on my TBR.  I tend to go in waves when reading graphic novels but hopefully I can get on a roll soon and knock some of these out.  I also don't buy many because they are so expensive and let's be real, they don't take that long to read so I get most of them from my library.

Legend Vol. 1 - Defend the Grounds.  

I bought this one in December because DOGS!

Scooby Apocalypse Vol. 1

This releases in February and let's be honest, I'm probably pre-ordering it.

Giant Days Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4
I loved the first one and with Vol 4 coming out later this year, I'm already really behind.

Kennel Block Blues
I recently discovered this one and it immediately went on my wishlist

I Hate Fairyland Vol. 1, Vol.2
I've heard such great things about this series and I actually own the first one.  I really need to start.

Harley Quinn Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5
Harley is probably my favorite villain and as soon as my library gets these (and they are on order), they will be in my hands!

So there you have it.  There's an an extra selection this week.  Can't wait to see everyone's graphic novel lists!

A Perilous Undertaking - Another Fun Adventure!

TITLE: A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedweel #2)
AUTHOR: Deanna Raybourn
PUBLISHER: Berkley Books
PUBLISHING DATE: January 10, 2017

FROM GOODREADS: Veronica Speedwell returns in a brand new adventure from Deanna Raybourn, the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries...

London, 1887 . . Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman's noose in a week s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer.

But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer a ruthless villain who not only took Artemisia s life in cold blood but is happy to see Ramsforth hang for the crime.

From a Bohemian artists colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed....

MY THOUGHTS: 
Having loved the first Veronica Speedwell novel I had high hopes for its sequel and Raybourn did not disappoint. Miles Ramsforth, a high-society art patron, is due to hang for the murder of his mistress, Artemisia, yet many people feel the wrong person had been found guilty. A member of the royal family secretly hires Veronica and her colleague Stoker to find the real murderer and save Miles' life before it is too late.

This mystery in "A Perilous Undertaking" is quite complex and weaves in and out of high society like a kite caught on the wind. Many people had motive to kill Artemisia and just as many people have hidden reasons for sitting back and letting Miles take the fall whether he is guilty or not. I enjoyed meeting some new faces and revisiting some old. Lady Wellingtonia is a great addition to the cast and she contributed several humorous moments. While I suspected several individuals of actually killing Artemisia, the ending was fantastic and even if the reader might catch on to the real culprit, the book provides so much fun getting there that I highly doubt anyone would be bored.

It's really hard to say a lot about this book because much of it ties in so closely with the first installment. However, hands down the best aspect of the novel is the relationship between Veronica and Stoker. Veronica is clearly unlike any woman Stoker has previously encountered and as their friendship and working relationship continue to grow, one can't help but wish for some kind of romance between the two. They clearly grate each others' nerves at times and the banter between the two is often quite comical, even though neither of them find it one bit funny. At one point in the book, Veronica is talking so frankly about sex and orgies and the hidden activities of London's rich and elite and I could honestly visualize the shock on Stoker's face. "A Perilous Undertaking" also provides some back story on Stoker himself which enriches the tale.

If you liked "A Curious Beginning" then I have no doubt you will enjoy this next installment as well. It's a well written and fun addition to Veronica Speedwell's world and my only regret is having to wait for Veronica and Stoker's next adventure. 

I received a free copy of this book from the published and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 5 PAWS

 

Stacking the Shelves (97)

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book (or title) should take you to the Goodreads page. 

This week I was VERY fortunate to receive a couple of ARCs which I have been wanting since I first learned of them.  In fact, I think some of these requests were so long ago I forgot about them (not true, bookworms never forget about coveted books).  At least I only requested one this week.

Most people know how I feel about Lizzie Borden books so I'm thrilled my request for "See What I Have Done" finally came through.  I saw Stephen King raved about "Final Girls" and that's a good enough endorsement for me.  I've also had a request in form "Brimstone" by Cherie Priest (whom I love) for months and just got it yesterday and I don't even know how long ago I wished for "The Dragon's Price."

I read the first book in the Sophie Jaff series in 2015 and had kind of given up on the sequel, "Crown of Stars"until I saw it on Edelweiss earlier this week.  I was approved within an hour of my request which has to be a record for me.  "Sing, Unburied, Sing" is getting lots if hype and it doesn't come out until September (thank heaven) and I've done quite a bit of work with Entangled Teen and am really looking forward to reading "Guardian of Secrets" and "Proof of Lies."

I don't think I actually bought any books this week so that's good.  Although I did place a preorder but I'll save that for a future Can't Wait Wednesday feature - I hardly EVER preorder.  

Hope everyone has a great weekend and what did you add to your stacks this week???

Weekly Reads (01/27/16)

Man, I can't believe it's already the the 27th.  This month sure has flown and I've definitely not done as much reading as I wanted to do (looking at you "Little Heaven"). This week has been and up and down of temperatures and they are calling for snow this weekend but not real accumulation - so far.

We watched a few movies over the past week - some good and some "meh."  First off was "Girl on a Train."  Now I never read the book, although I own it but we were decided to go ahead with it one night and can I just say, I had the ending figured out before we reached the half-way mark.  I know it was supposed to have this mind-altering twist at the end and I pretty much just found the whole thing predictable.  Next we watched "Hush" on Netflix.  I'd heard good things about this and oh my gosh, I loved it.  It was so glad and I'm so glad Mr. Barb and I watched it - he liked it too!  Finally we watched a lesser known new horror release, "The Axe Murders of Villisca."  It wasn't great but surprisingly, it wasn't really horrible either.  At least it was entertaining and sometimes that's all you can ask for.

As I mentioned last week, Mr. Barb and the pups got me a necklace for my birthday.  I picked it out and wanted something that would look cute, especially in the summer with t-shirts and casual wear. It really means a lot as the there are initials on it for the three boxers we've had that have passed away. It's designed to mimic dog tags and I think the artist did a great job.  The actual tag has crystals on it which don't really show up well in the photo. There are also 2 "C"s and 1 "B" for Cicero, Cooper and Barkley.  It's cute and it means the world to me so that's what's important.

Finally, I just finished "A Perilous Undertaking" so I have some new books on the stack to choose from.  Here's what might be up this coming week.

Make sure to stop by tomorrow because I hit the jackpot on some ARCs I desperately wanted approved for.  Until then, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Time Machine Thursday

Welcome to the first Time Machine Thursday!  This is a feature I will be using to showcase either older reviews or else new reviews of books which I've had on my shelves FOREVER (aka - 5 years or longer).  I won't be doing it every Thursday or even guarantee a monthly post but I do hope to do it from time to time.

So an author who I have been communicating with for several weeks about a new review book and a guest interview in February contacted me this week and shared that one of his older titles was be re-released from a new publisher with a new cover and additional short-story (which I haven't gotten to read - looking at you Stuart) and asked if I would help publicize it.  Since I really enjoyed it, I couldn't help but say yes.  

FROM GOODREADS: Laugh till it hurts!

There are few things in life worse than being a bombing comedian in an empty club, unless you pick on the one person in the crowd who happens to be an ancient demon who can make your life a living, ironic hell.

Stand-up comedian Charlie Broadmoor has a hell of a time coming up with new material while terrorized at every waking moment by a poorly-coiffed, thin-skinned eldritch evil whose appreciation of humor is dwarfed by his monumental pettiness. Charlie quickly learns that making light of the supernatural is no joke. It’s Seinfeld meets Milton in this uproarious tale of fear and laughing by Stuart R. West.

This edition also features The Book of Kobal, giving the reader a glimpse into the origins of the short-tempered demon. 

MY THOUGHTS: 
Well, I just finished this book and rather than sit and think about it for a while, I am going to go ahead and do the review. Usually I ponder on them for a day or two, gather my thoughts, and contemplate my rating, so perhaps this will backfire on me. Anyways, here it goes.

"Demon with a Comb-Ove"r tells the tale of Charlie Broadmoor, a mediocre comic trying to make a living and take care of his daughter. One night Charlie ends up insulting Kobal, a demon visiting the comedy club, because of his horrible looking comb-over, who in turn vows to ruin Charlie's life and the lives of all his family and loved one. And let's be brutally honest, for most of the book, Kobal does a pretty good job. Along the way we meet some interesting characters including Charlie's ex-wife, his mother, his love interest, Sylvia and two questionable angels.

If Goodreads would allow it, I would probably give this book a 3.5 rating, but since they don't, I feel I have to notch it up to 4 for several reasons. First of all, this book sucked me right in. I basically read it in two sittings and couldn't wait to get to the end to see how everything played out. Secondly, the premise of this book is unlike any I have read before and West does a good job of combining horror with a little bit of comedy. Had Charlie not been a comedienne, I don't think the humor would have worked or it could have easily crossed into corniness. Lastly, the book contained characters I truly liked and truly hated. I cared about what happened to Charlie and his daughter and even though he was extremely unlikable, I wanted to know what Kobal had up the sleeve of his dapper suit.

I have to add there are a few scenes I was reading where I thought "I wish this was a graphic novel." West's description of Hell itself, and of the hellhounds with human heads which show up toward the end, were spot on with what I associate with old-fashioned horror. If you like scary books, aren't afraid of a little blood and gore, and don't mind some comedic spins thrown in here and there, this book might just be worth your time.

RATING: 4 PAWS

I really like both covers but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the new one.  Plus, Stuart mentioned it was sparkly - you can't go wrong with sparkly.  

If you didn't pick this up last time around, now you have a good excuse to do it now.  

Waiting on Wednesday (92) - The One Where Cassius Demands Equal Time

"Waiting on" Wednesday" is weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming anticipated releases.

So everyone knows my brother, Booker T (look left if you are a first-time visitor), but I decided it was high time I got some credit here at The Farm so I'm taking over today and sharing with you 2 books I can't wait to arrive at our home!

FROM GOODREADS: Birds are usually loved for their beauty and their song. They symbolize freedom, eternal life, the soul.

There’s definitely a dark side to the avian. Birds of prey sometimes kill other birds (the shrike), destroy other birds’ eggs (blue jays), and even have been known to kill small animals (the kea sometimes eats live lambs). And who isn’t disgusted by birds that eat the dead—vultures awaiting their next meal as the life blood flows from the dying. One of our greatest fears is of being eaten by vultures before we’re quite dead.

Is it any wonder that with so many interpretations of the avian, that the contributors herein are eager to be transformed or influenced by them? Included in Black Feathers are those obsessed by birds of one type or another. Do they want to become birds or just take on some of the “power” of birds? The presence or absence of birds portends the future. A grieving widow takes comfort in her majestic winged neighbors, who enable her to cope with a predatory relative. An isolated society of women relies on a bird to tell their fortunes. A silent young girl and her pet bird might be the only hope a detective has of tracking down a serial killer in a tourist town. A chatty parrot makes illegal deals with the dying. A troubled man lives in isolation with only one friend for company—a jackdaw.

In each of these fictions, you will encounter the dark resonance between the human and avian. You see in yourself the savagery of a predator, the shrewd stalking of a hunter, and you are lured by birds that speak human language, that make beautiful music, that cypher numbers, and seem to have a moral center. You wade into this feathered nightmare, and brave the horror of death, trading your safety and sanity for that which we all seek—the promise of flight.

WHY I'M WAITING:  I love birds.  It's no big secret.  I am known as "The Bird Whisperer" on The Farm. I think the book is a perfect mix of birds for me and horror for mom. 

FROM GOODREADS: Only a rag-tag team of gargoyles stands between humanity and extinction.

Hell has released its ravening horde of demons, leaving most of humanity a puke-spewing, head-spinning mess of possession.

Humanity’s last hope? A team of misfit gargoyles—including a cigar chomping, hard-ass grotesque—come alive and ready for battle during the End of Days. They guard the last cathedral-turned-sanctuary atop a bald knoll in the North Carolina mountains.

Gargoyle protection grudgingly extends to any human who can make it inside the Sanctuary, but the power of the stonecutter blood magic, which protects the sanctuary, may not be enough when a rogue grotesque and his badly-wounded ward arrive.

All the hounds of hell are on their heels. The last Sanctuary is about to fall.

WHY I'M WAITING:  I happen to know Mom has a thing for gargoyles (and Booker T thinks he's the only smart one).  So obviously, I get my love of flying this honestly.  I knew this was a book for her and couldn't resist adding it too! 

So what are you waiting for this week???

PS - Mom just learned that someone new is hosting this so it is now called Can't-Wait Wednesday hosted by Wishful Endings.  I'll link up there today and change the title next week.  Thanks for doing this Tressa! 

TTT - Series I Need to Start/Finish

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading. This week is a freebie choice so I am sharing 10 series I need to start/finish.

 The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.  Chuckles has raved about this series and Oberon the dog and she is sure I'll love it as well.  I trust her judgement so I WILL start it in 2017.

A Wishcraft Mystery Series by Heather Blake.  I've read the first 3 books but I'm still 4 behind!

The Splintered Series from A.G. Howard.  I own these three books and have yet to start.  I've seen mixed reviews but I'll give it a go.  This is my favorite cover from the series - book 2.

Chet and Bernie Mysteries from Spencer Quinn.  I've read a short story from this series and am pretty sure I will love this dog and detective duo who communicate with each other.

War With No Name series by Robert Repino.  This is relatively new.  The second book comes out in May with only the first book and a novella out now.  Need to get cracking as I don't know how long it's planned.

Witchlands by Susan Dennard.  I see from Goodreads there are at last 4 books planned and since I own the first two, there's no excuse not to start.

The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White.  The second book comes out in June so I have plenty of time to get the first one finally read.

Ryder Creed series by Alex Kava.  I'm really excited to get this series started, and hopefully caught up on this year.

Wayfarers by Becky Chambers.  I've heard only good things about this series and since I see there is already a third book planned, I better get reading.

A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series by Ellery Adams.  Stormi recommended this to me and I immediately added the first one to my Kindle so I have no excuse not to start.

So, have you read any of these or are any of  these books you need to read as well???

Black Bird of the Gallows Cover Reveal

ENTANGLED TEEN COVER REVEAL

Today I'm excited to bring to you a special cover reveal for a book that has quickly jumped up my on my Most Anticipated Reads of 2017.   I'm loving the looks and sounds of this one!

September 5, 2017

A debut novel about a teenage girl who discovers the new boy next door is a harbinger of death, and who must find a way to survive in a town destined for tragedy.

A simple but forgotten truth: Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full. Harbingers settle in places where tragedy is about to strike, then feed on the energy of the dying. Then, they leave. Off to the next doomed place. No one wants a family of harbingers of death as neighbors, but that’s exactly what seventeen-year-old Angie Dovage gets when Reece Fernandez moves in next door.

Angie knows the mysterious boy is more than he appears, but can’t imagine that his presence heralds a tragedy that will devastate her small community. But her fears run deeper than Reece’s inevitable departure, because where harbingers of death go, grotesque, ruined creatures called Beekeepers follow. And where Beekeepers go, fear and chaos and death follows.

Angie wants to protect everyone she cares about, but stopping the Beekeepers involves a choice that will claim her life or Reece’s soul. She will learn the price of both. 

AMAZON

BN

iBooks

Kobo

You can find out more about Meg Kassell HERE or connect with her on Twitter HERE.

Stacking the Shelves (98) Doesn't Everyone Buy Themselves Birthday Gifts???

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book (or title) should take you to the Goodreads page. 

So first I need to show you the awesome gift I broke down and ordered for myself for my birthday.  Now Mr. Barb and the pups ordered me an awesome Boxer necklace (which hasn't arrived but which I will showcase as soon as it does) but I was looking for an excuse to justify ordering this so I found one (it really isn't that hard to do is it?)  Look at all the awesomeness.  I have never read any of this series so I'm hoping I like it. Then again, it's King so the chances are really good!  And they are trade paperback size to boot!

Next I received a few books for review. "The Witch's House" is a reprint of a book written in 1963 and it sounds pretty interesting.  "Curse of Stars" is for a blog tour and I read the first Henrietta and Inspector Howard novel last year and loved it so I was thrilled to be approved for "A Ring of Truth."

Finally, I was weeding out the Amazon wishlist and grabbed a few for my kindle as I noticed they were either on sale or much lower than originally priced.  Guess that will teach me to do something I think will be helpful in the future. "The Nose Knows" sounds like a cute mystery I've had my eyes on for some time told from a dog's perspective.  I saw "Dollhouse" advertised for $.99 and the same for "Only the Dead Know Burbank."

So what did you add to your shelves this week???  Have you read any of these???