Targets of Revenge Giveaway!

Mother's day is over... Memorial day is just past... so what about Father's day?

Oh how about a thriller???

Simon and Schuster is allowing me to give away the latest book from Jeffery S. Steven's series: Jordon Sandor. I've read them all so far and have really enjoyed them (my review of this book). You can read this book as a standalone so no worries for those that haven't read the others. It's a good thriller for anyone who loves to read those kind of books!

Targets of Revenge
by Jeffrey S. Stephens

COUNTRY FIRST. All the bureaucratic scolding in Washington cannot stop resourceful CIA Agent Jordan Sandor when he’s hungry for revenge. This time he’s on the hunt for the cold-blooded sociopath known as Adina, whose indiscriminate slaughter of innocent people, including Sandor’s close friend, represents man at his worst.

Mobilizing a team of skilled and dedicated agents to carry out his secret operation, Sandor flies in the face of his superiors’ stern warnings—ultimately crash-landing in the heart of the Venezuelan jungle. Armed with little more than a combat knife and a deadly automatic weapon, he infiltrates Adina’s camp and discovers that the ruthless terrorist is smuggling not only cocaine into the United States, but also a deadly substance that could cost tens of thousands of lives.

Sandor develops intel that leads him to Egypt and then Moscow as he fights to prevent this disaster, but after he lands on Interpol’s list of international fugitives, the truth becomes clear: Adina’s evil web extends to the far corners of the globe. Meanwhile, someone Sandor trusts could very well be feeding the agent dangerous lies as he struggles to stay on Adina’s trail.

More focused than ever, Sandor refuses to end his perilous mission, even after he has been taken captive. In the end, when he uncovers the realities of Adina’s deranged plan for a catastrophic assault on New York City, Sandor has no choice but to risk his life to protect his country’s safety and freedom.

How to enter?

Just fill out the rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is US only.

Throwback Thursday: Halfway Hexed

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!

My submission:

Halfway Hexed
(Southern Witch #3)
by Kimberly Frost

First, there are the local residents who form a scripture-spouting posse and kidnap Tammy to "defend" Duvall, Texas, against witchcraft. Next, someone saddles her with a secret package chock full of dangerous visions, just as the president of WAM-the World Association of Magic- arrives with his entourage to investigate her. And who worse to examine Tammy's entanglement with off-limits and drop-dead gorgeous wizard Bryn Lyons than his ex-girlfriend? Not to mention that the clash between the locals and the magical visitors leads to a series of unnatural disasters that may doom them all. 

While the fate of the town hangs in the balance, one thing's certain: this would-be witch is ready to rumble, Texas style.

I won this book and have been told that I can read it as a standalone. However, after meeting the author, I do think that I will want the whole series. So, I'm waiting to get the first two (even by the library) and I do think I'll read them in order. Don't faint! :D

So any witchy tales on your tbr? 

The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones

Standalone
384 p. HC
Touchtone Publishing
Available today
Source: Goodreads First Reads and Publisher for review

Thirteen-year-old Emily Houchens doesn’t have many friends. She finds more comfort playing make-believe in the woods near her house in Roma, Kentucky, than with her classmates, who find her strange and awkward. When she happens upon a dead body hidden in the woods one day, she decides not to tell anyone about her discovery—a choice that begins to haunt her. 

Susanna Mitchell has always been a good girl, the dutiful daughter and wife. While her older sister Ronnie trolled bars for men and often drove home at sunrise, Susanna kept a neat house, a respectable job, a young daughter. But when Ronnie goes missing, and Susanna realizes that she’s the only person in Roma who truly cares about her sister’s fate, she starts to question her quiet life and its value. 

The Next Time You See Me is the story of how one woman’s disappearance exposes the ambitions, prejudices, and anxieties of a small southern town and its residents, who are all connected, sometimes in unexpected ways. Emily; Susannah; Tony, a failed baseball star-turned-detective, aspiring to be the county’s first black sheriff; and Wyatt, a fifty-five-year-old factory worker tormented by a past he can’t change and by a love he doesn’t think he deserves. Their stories converge in a violent climax that reveals not just the mystery of what happened to Ronnie but all of their secret selves.

My thoughts:
 I really expected this to be more of a YA murder mystery or even an adult mystery. I wasn't completely wrong, but I wasn't completely correct either. It really is more of a soap opera of characters within a small town where the mystery of a murdered woman has happened. You follow several characters, but how the chapters are laid out you aren't lost nor mistake one character for another.

Within these character studies you would expect a variety of characters, hopefully colorful. Unfortunately, to me, they seemed as if they were all the same character with only the background or the circumstances altered a bit. They all seemed to be petty and selfish and looking to blame someone else for their current life circumstances. Even the children seemed to be on that same page. Perhaps this was deliberate and it actually felt that way. Because of that, it didn't bother me, and it felt as though it was exploring a humanistic theme from different angles.

I think where the book really shines is in the exploration of the murder mystery. It is the catalyst for the characters as well as the plot that draws them to the reader. It has no real twists but ironically that becomes a twist in itself. We often look for those twists that when we aren't presented with one, it becomes new.

I give this book 3 stars. While I do like the murder mystery, I just couldn't bring myself to really get involved with the group of characters. You can feel sympathy for them, but they felt too shallow, too selfish and they needed to have a bit more depth to their unexamined life for me to really connect to them. Still, it was an interesting whodunit and I recommend it for that.

The Girl with the Iron Touch (Steampunk Chronicles #3) by Kady Cross

3rd in a series
384 p.
Available today
Source: eARC from NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for review

In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin.

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has....

My thoughts:
 I have to admit I was very excited for this book. Emily is one of my favorite secondary characters and so I was happy that she got her own book. That may have ended up coloring my enjoyment of the book. Expectations were just too high. Sometimes you just have to temper that so you can sit back and just enjoy the book.

While I did enjoy the book, I felt a bit let down and felt like Emily was the not the star of the book. While we got quite a bit of her character and her spunkyness, it just felt like something was missing. It felt like the other characters were just competing too much for the spotlight. While I enjoy Finley and Griffin's romance, it actually felt like it got in the way of the action. We had to continually stop and deal with their feelings for each other rather than dealing with Emily's story. I would have just enjoyed it in a book that featured them much better.

I was very happy to have my fave anti-hero back. Jack Dandy was back in his full cocky attitude. Now if a book features him I'll have to really reign myself in in terms of expectations because I enjoy his character so much and really want to know more about this mysterious character. He complimented things well in this story.

Even though I had a few problems with this story I still did enjoy it. I enjoyed seeing Emily come into her own and getting a little more of a glimpse into her character. I give this book 3 stars and am curious where the series will take me next. Hopefully it will have more Jack Dandy and Wildcat. :)

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Second in a series
462 p.
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
TBP: 5/28/13
Source: eARC from NetGalley and publisher for review

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does.... 

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him. 

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

My thoughts:

 As many of you know I don't read contemporary YA. I read the first book, Pushing the Limits and just loved that book. The world read very real to me and I was surprised that many people criticized it for not feeling real. As someone who has had friends in the system as well as working with kids in the system for a short time, I can tell you it did feel real to me. Still, as much as I loved that book, I admit I worried that I would not love this one as much. Thought maybe it would suffer from second book syndrome.

Oh but I did love this book! I even loved the fact that it took me a little more than half the book to even like Ryan and Scott. I felt that they had potential, but didn't like the way they treated Beth. Ryan had to prove himself to me and Beth which he does with flying colors. Scott had to stop paving that road to hell and really listen and express himself to Beth. Both had to stop forcing Beth into a mold she either didn't fit into or wasn't ready to try out. Both finally won me over. However, I don't want to say to much more or I'll end up spoiling so much of the book. I figure letting you in on the HEA wasn't a problem since I knew there would be one before I even picked up this book.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars. Ms. McGarry has found a fan in me and is one author I wouldn't hesitate to read any of her contemporary YA books. I can't wait for Isaiah's story which is next.