Winner!

The winner for:

is...

Diane E.!

(confirmed)

Congrats!

Deep Down (Wide Open #2) by Deborah Coates

2nd in trilogy
304p.
Publisher: Tor Books
Available now
Source: Provided by Tor for review

Death stalks the haunted, windswept prairie in this chilling sequel to Wide Open

Now that she's solved her sister's murder, Hallie Michaels has left the army and isn't sure what to do next. Her relationship with deputy Boyd Davies is tentative, there's still distance between her and her father, and she needs a job. The good news is, she hasn't seen a ghost in weeks. 

All that changes when she gets a call asking her to help an elderly neighbor who is being stalked by black dogs, creatures from the underworld that are harbingers of death. When a black dog appears, Hallie learns, a reaper is sure to follow. And if the dark visions she's suddenly receiving are any indication, it looks like the reaper is now following her. 

Meanwhile, strange events herald the arrival of ghosts from Boyd's past, ghosts the young deputy isn't ready to face. Refusing Hallie's help, Boyd takes off to deal with the problem on his own, only to find that he's facing something much larger and more frightening than he'd imagined. 

Stalked by a reaper and plagued by dark visions, Hallie finds she must face her fears and travel into Death's own realm to save those she most loves.

My thoughts:
After reading Wide Open I luckily had Deep Down ready and waiting for me to pick it up. While I do think you may be able to read this book without reading the first book, I wouldn't recommend it. You would miss to much character and story wise. Plus, there is only one more book in this trilogy so I would't miss that first book.

While the first book relied a bit more heavily on mystery than the paranormal, this one seemed to be the opposite. There was still plenty of mystery, but the paranormal reigns in this book. Not only there are ghosts, but reapers and harbingers in the form of black dogs. Now while I wouldn't want to specifically meet a harbinger, I did like one of the dogs that befriended Hallie in this book. Him, I would like to meet as long as it wasn't his "job" to meet me. :)

I have to say that I think I enjoyed this book more than the first. Now that the main characters are established the rest of the story just flowed better. I can't wait to see where this series takes us next in the last book. In fact, I have to know. As the main mystery and adventure is fully wrapped up, there is a question that is left floating. I hope that the answers are there as I need to know exactly what her decision was in the end. I suspect it will be the theme of the last book. You are left with that thread wide open (maybe that should have been the title for this book! LOL).

I give this book 4 1/2 stars and I recommend it to those that love a good paranormal adventure! Isn't that last book out yet? Not that I'm impatient or anything... :D

Throwback Thursday: Crimson Moon

Meme hosted by Melissa My World in Words and Pages. It's about books that are already on the shelves and are waiting to be read. Go to her website to join in!

This weeks submission:

Crimson Moon 
Crimson Trilogy #1
by Jamie Saare
available now

Trueblood vampires. Those set apart from commons by right of blood. Graced with extraordinary abilities, they are the most powerful and feared among their kind. The secret lies within, a legacy evolving from the truest form of magic, and their living bloodlines are the key. 

An average morning is what Emma Johnson anticipates when she visits Joe's Cafe for a steaming cup of coffee. Her life is routine, each day as uneventful as the one before, until she’s attacked by a mob of bloodthirsty creatures and is informed she is the daughter of a powerful vampire -- a vampire who wants her delivered safely to his home. 

Her rescuer isn’t what he seems either: a werewolf procured to protect the royal vampiric bloodlines. Despite an unexpected and surreal turn of events, she can’t prevent her fascination with the Caleb, or the way she reacts to his nearness. Drawn to a man who isn’t entirely human, her world is turned upside down. 

When she is forced to choose between the man she knows and the man who’s sent for her, she has to make a life changing decision -- vampire or wolf?

I have been wanting to get into this trilogy for a while now. Going to make time for it soon! :)

I had to make this one a submission this week since it is currently on sale for $.99!!

I also have to tell you why it's on sale...

Jamie is a wonderful supporter of pit bulls. You know that I love the pups as well. She recently adopted a mistreated and sick pittie who unfortunately died shortly after his adoption. His last day was safe and with lots of love. Jamie is left with a few medical bills from the sweet pup and this is how she is raising the money. So not only do you get an awesomesauce book (I enjoy her writing) but you get it at a great price. Plus, now you have another reason to get it... to support a heart as big as hers!
Jaime's website

We tried to save a dog (Perseus) last month. Despite getting him medical attention, he passed way. Hence the CM sale. twitter.com/JASaare/status…
— Jaime(@JASaare) May 21, 2013

Ah... so any books on your tbr that the author's heart made you want to buy it immediately?

Wide Open (Wide Open #1) by Deborah Coates

1st in a trilogy
304 p.
Published: Tor Books
Available now
source: Provided by Tor for review

When Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days' compassionate leave, her sister Dell's ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her. 

The sheriff says that Dell's death was suicide, but Hallie doesn't believe it. Something happened or Dell's ghost wouldn't still be hanging around. Friends and family, mourning Dell's loss, think Hallie's letting her grief interfere with her judgment. 

The one person who seems willing to listen is the deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, who shows up everywhere and helps when he doesn't have to.

As Hallie asks more questions, she attracts new ghosts, women who disappeared without a trace. Soon, someone's trying to beat her up, burn down her father's ranch, and stop her investigation. 

Hallie's going to need Boyd, her friends, and all the ghosts she can find to defeat an enemy who has an unimaginable ancient power at his command. 

My Thoughts:
Hallie is coming home from Afganistan for an unwelcome leave. Her sister died and now she has to deal with all the consequences that come from that. Oh, and not too long ago Hallie, herself, died and now can see ghosts. Knowing that her sister wouldn't commit suicide she starts to find evidence to support that theory and the threats she starts to receive confirms it. Now how does she deal with a family tragedy and find the killer before her leave runs out?

The murder mystery, how it was done was very engaging and kept my interest. In fact, I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted more information, wanted to know what, why and how. You are not left wanting after the end and everything is wrapped up and you are satisfied. It is a good beginning book to this trilogy. Hallie is also a good protagonist and was a sympathetic character despite the fact that she holds everyone at arm's distance. You really rooted for her throughout the story.

My biggest criticism was the way she handled some of the investigation. She would get "clues" and then not follow through with people who possibly had that information. Still, even with this niggle of mine, the way she came to her conclusions did work for me. I also didn't love the way some of the characters interacted with one another. It didn't often feel organic and I also think that led to me not seeing the "bad" guy as not being such a scary person as he was supposed to be. Still, these are really small criticisms and did not interfere with my enjoyment of the mystery.

I give this book 4 stars. It's an interesting murder mystery, paranormal book. I really recommend it to those that love a good mystery. The town is interesting and I look forward to the author fleshing out a few of those characters.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Banned Books

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at 

Rainy Day Ramblings

! Have fun!

This weeks question:

Let's talk banned books. How do you feel about book banning? What are some of the banned books you have read?

My confession... I don't know how many banned books I read. I just read them and don't even always find out if they are banned or not. 

However...
I did purposely read Anne Frank's diary in grade school when I found out it was banned:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. 

In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. 

In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

I also was shocked to discover that Tiger Eyes (my fave Judy Blume book as a kid) was banned:

Tiger Eyes
by Judy Blume

Davey has never felt so alone in her life. Her father is dead—shot in a holdup—and now her mother is moving the family to New Mexico to try to recover. Climbing in Los Alamos Canyons, Davey meets mysterous Wolf, who seems to understand the rage and fear she feels. Slowly, with Wolf’s help, Davey realizes that she must get on with her life. But when will she be ready to leave the past behind? Will she ever stop hurting?

Heh... I wonder what those sensors will think when it comes out in movie form soon? (IMDb link) I suspect that this book will become popular again soon. But then haven't most young girls read Judy Blume? Even now with mom's telling their girls to read her, I suspect she is still popular. Plus, I do think that most of her books are banned. Another good reason to recommend her to everyone. :D

Oh and my parents didn't mind me reading banned books. They encouraged it.

The thing is, is that I know I've read a ton more than this that have been banned. Harry Potter series is banned so a lot of people have at least read one banned book. Even churches (in almost every religion) have read at least one banned book. :D

How about you? Are you more likely to read a book if it is banned?

"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion... In the long run it will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience." ~Henry Steel Commager

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From goodreads:

“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.”

― George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession