Darksider by Erin Kellison

Series: Reveler #3
124 p.
Publisher: Fire Flower Publishing
Published: 6/9/14
Source: From author for review

She has always been his dream…

Chef Serafina Rochan believes her recurring nightmares of pursuit are a symptom of her anxiety about opening her second restaurant. But when the stalker appears in the waking world, she swallows her pride and calls the one man she trusts to go into her dreams, even if it means risking her heart.

When Marshal Harlen Fawkes receives Sera’s call, nothing else matters. Time has not eroded the power of his feelings for her. After years apart, they go Darkside together and cannot resist the longing and desire their connection evokes. The past and present collide, and Sera abandons all reservations to embrace Harlen again, if even for one night.

In order to protect her, Harlen aligns himself with disavowed friends, and in so doing is drawn deeper into the secrets and perils of the dreamwaters. As the tide of darkness rises, Harlen faces his demons…but not without Sera, who fights just as fiercely for the dream of a life together.

Dream dangerously.

My thoughts:
I really got into the last book and was curious about this one. We meet a new couple, Harlen and Sera. I immediately liked both of them and they are old lovers reconnecting because Sera is being haunted in her dreams. One that has come true and she finds herself being stalked. We get enough background with this couple to connect to them and it helps that they had this past with such a short book. It works. The mystery seems to be growing from the other books and so this is a series that should be read in order. The mystery arc builds from one book to another.

I really was into this book and then *bam* ending. Cliffie! NOOooooOOOO! I hate cliffies especially when I'm enjoying the book. I wish this one was longer but I'm also glad that the next one is out now. I need to read it. I don't think it needed a cliffie to make me want to read the next book but it still worked. :p

I give this book 3 1/2 stars and recommend it to those that love a dark PNR.

Challenges Update!

I almost forgot to post my challenges! It's been 1/2 way through the year (can you believe it?) and here is how I'm doing so far. YaY! Right now I'm meeting my goals.

13/15 audiobooks

I'm surpassing what I thought I would do in this category! I will have no problems completing it. I will then see how many I can get done within the year.

13/24 library books

I actually thought I'd have more books in this category, but I keep getting distracted with all the new shinys. :D However, I seem to be on track here. YaY!

Hm... I was thinking on doing a post on how I listen to audios. What do you think?

How are your challenges going?

On My Wishlist: Riders by Veronica Rossi

This week: 

Horses! Wait a minute... :)

Riders
by Veronica Rossi
384 p.
Published: 2/2/16
Publisher: Tor Teen

For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. 

Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence. 

They fail. 

Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.But will anyone believe him?

Okay so it's no Black Beauty but still looks good. :)

What are  you wishing for this week?

Audiobook Review: Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

Standalone
Narrator: Carla Mercer-Meyer
10 hrs. 3 min.
Unabridged
Published 8/11/14
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Source: Hoopla/Library

Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten. Now she's out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.  

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher set her free.  

Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged."

My thoughts:

Looking for something dark ethereal and odd? This book is for you! I loved the lush gothic worldbuilding as we learned much about this community and Clementine in particular. It is also filled with good characters but since it is all told from a first person POV, we get to know Clementine most of all. 

I have to say I really enjoyed this book on audio. While at times it did seem that Carla, the narrator, needed to lower her voice for Clementine it also lent itself to some immediacy in the telling of the story. It helped to make you think something sinister is around the corner. She also does a great job of voicing the other characters and I didn't mind her male voices at all. She did a great job with everyone.

I give this audio 4 stars. It's dark, cryptic, mysterious and very odd. It is perfect as a standalone and the ending was well done. I recommend it to those that want something different, gothic and meandering but building to a purpose. One that shows how love can conquer hate and how everything has consequences.

Clawed by L. A. Kornetsky

Series: Gin and Tonic Mysteries #4
304 p.
Published: 5/26/15
Publisher: Pocket Books
Source: From publisher for review

In this fourth mystery in the charming and witty Gin & Tonic series, private investigators Ginny and Teddy—with the help of their faithful pets—must unravel their most intriguing case yet… 

Even though she’s unlicensed as an investigator, the infamously nosy Ginny Mallard and her cohort Teddy Tonica have begun to make a name for themselves in solving cases. But Ginny still has her day job as an event planner, and the promise of a lucrative job draws her to Portland, with her shar-pei puppy, Georgie, in tow. Much to her shock and horror, however, she’s been led there under false pretenses—and discovers a body in the parlor of her client's house! 

Though the cops warn her to keep her nose out of it, Ginny just can't resist the itch to solve this case, and soon gets drawn into Portland's seedy underbelly of identity theft, forgery, and of course, murder…with Teddy and his cat Penny's devoted sleuthing helping her at every turn.

My thoughts:
I've only read the book before this one and I think you could pick this one up with no problems as well. You would know there is back story but nothing of such import that you can't follow along. While this one seemed to have less of Georgie and Penny (the dog and cat respectively) but they were still involved enough to lend some humor to the case.

I have to say that this mystery had a lot of twists and turns and I found myself more invested in the people in the story than solving the murder. I was more interested in why Ginny was called down there and then framed for a murder. She was easily cleared but she had to know why she became involved with people she never met. It was an interesting twist in getting Gin and Tonic involved.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars and did enjoy this cozy. I LOVED Penny (the cat) solving the mystery of the stolen tips when none of the humans were any wiser. It really gave the story a push in the humorous direction. I recommend this book to those that enjoy cozy mysteries with a side of dog and cat commentary. :)