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New Releases for October 22, 2013

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Happy New Release Day!! I’m hoping that you woke up to all the books you were waiting for. Here are some of the books, that have caught my eye.
16055479The Temptation of Lila and Ethan (Ella and Micha)
This is the third book in The Secret series. I’ve read the first in this series. The second keeps taunting me. And now that one is out, it’s really gonna get annoying. So I must hurry up. so I can read about Lila.

16070143Teardrop (Teardrop Trilogy)
I am sooooo excited for this one. I loved her Fallen series and I know this is going to be good also. She writes the perfect YA books. I can’t wait to start this one.

17860217Trust in Me: A Novella (Wait for You)
This is a novella, which is basically Cameron’s POV. I’ll admit, the first one didn’t snag my attention, like I hoped. However, I love the male’s POV, so this may redeem it. So it looks like I may be buying this one. 🙂

10616322Allegiant (Divergent Trilogy)
And last but definitely not least, we’ve Allegiant. I know for a fact that no one will be on their computers, unless it’s to update Goodreads, when this downloads to their kindles. Since I’ll be on the road, driving home from a book signing, I’ll be staying off it, until I can sink my teeth into this one. I am so excited for this last book. I think the hype about the Divergent movie will help the sales of this one. Plus being only $6.99 pre-ordered, can’t beat the price.

Now go and enjoy your books.

~Melpomene

Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

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6065182Sarah Waters is known primarily for her erotic Victorian era fiction, however, she takes a detour in her latest (well, latest being 2009) offering. Waters employs the classic first person narrative in the form of Dr Faraday – the ever so sensible and stiff upper lipped family doctor – and this lures the reader into a sense of trust and comfort whilst they get ready to “listen” to the story.

Set in 1947, two years after the war has ended, and a time in which the country was in the midst of economic recovery and social reform, The Little Strangers tells the tale of a grand house that was once the epicenter of social royalty in the early 1900’s.   Throughout the years, the house and indeed the owners, have crumbled into financial despair.  Without giving too much away, let’s just say things aren’t necessarily what they seem at Hundreds Hall.

As mentioned previously, Waters is known and celebrated for her Victorian era erotic fiction.  As shown in this novel, Waters has proved she is not just a one trick pony; the characters are what drive this novel, and Waters is exceptional at bringing them to life.  A great percentage of the novel is devoted to build up, and making the reader care for the characters.  It takes a bit of getting used to as readers are used to instant gratification in most of today’s novels.  Waters has stylized her writing and pace to match those of Henry James, Wilkie Collins and Emily Bronte.  Through this choice in style, it allows the reader to better imagine the world of 1947.  In fact, Waters is so accurate, that I believe this is the first book that I’ve read, since Enid Blyton, that doesn’t have any swearing, violence, or sex.   It is a good old fashioned ghost story, told in a way that will feel authentic, and yet ageless.

At over 500 pages in length, this is not a quick Halloween night read.  This novel is to be savoured and devoured.  The Little Stranger is an intelligent, scary, atmospheric, and slow (in a good way) read.  Well worth the read if you are looking for something different this Halloween!   Just try not to scream too loudly if you hear a floorboard creak!

Buy it here:

The Little Stranger

Welcome 2 New Reviewers!

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books_welWe’ve had a few changes around here lately that we wanted to share with our awesome readers. Our original muse Thalia, who helped with the setup of the blog and helped with us figuring things out along the way chose to leave the blog just a few weeks ago. We, of course, were super sad but wish her well 🙂

Since then we decided to add a new Muse – actually a new Thalia. She chose to keep that name due to the other Muse names being complicated to spell! As of right now she’s contributing a review a week and reads a wide variety of books. Thalia like genres including dystopian, non-fiction, young adult and a variety of others.

Diversity in our reviews is important and we know it. So we added Pegasus to the mix! I did not know this until my google searching but Pegasus was a good friend of the 9 muses. When Athena rescued Pegasus shortly after his birth, she gave him to the Muses to care for him. Urania, in particular, took on the responsibility of caring for Pegasus and prophesied his heroism and his place in the stars both.

It will be nice to have a male perspective and different reviews on here. So welcome to both the new Thalia and to Pegasus! We’re all excited to have them.

Review: Gated by Amy Christine Parker

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I admit it, I am a huge fan of young adult and dystopian novels.  The Hunger Games did it for me.  So, I went into this one expecting another typical dystopian/apocalyptic story based around a teen protagonist where everything works out in the end. Was I ever pleasantly surprised!  The story centers around the Community, a cult-like compound founded after 9/11 under the premise of protecting its members from the evils of the world and the eventual end of mankind as we know it.  The story is told from Lyla’s point of view.  Having been part of the Community since she was a young child, she unquestioningly follows along with the community leaders.  After all, this is the only world she has ever know.  But things are so much more than we are led to believe.  This book combines the best aspects of a young adult/dystopian/psychological thriller into one well-written package.  The characters are nicely developed, believable, and most importantly for me, extremely likeable.  While I had an idea where the story was heading, the author kept me guessing until the end.  It’s also a nice, safe read for young adults without any overtly irresponsible behaviors on the part of the teenagers involved.  This one was a five star read for me!

~Thalia

Buy it now Gated

Review: The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

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imageLady Louisa Scranton’s father, an earl, died in shame. He had swindled investors out of their money. Louisa is looking to marry well to help her overcome the scandal.

The Bishop of Hargate was one of her father’s investors. He tries to blackmail her into marrying by promising that the debt owed against him will be forgiven. Before Louisa can give him an answer, Hargate falls dead at her feet.

Sent to investigate investigate the crime is Detective Inspector Lloyd Fellows. Lloyd is the half-brother of the four infamous MacKenzie men. Louisa’s older sister married Lord Mac MacKenzie. Louisa and Lloyd shared a passionate over Christmas that neither can stop thinking about.

Hargate was poisoned. All evidence suggests that Louisa had the motive and opportunity to murder the bishop. Lloyd knows she is innocent and goes to lengths to protect her. He even re-stages the crime scene so that it appears that the killer might have quickly entered and left. By doing this, it also allows Lloyd time to discover the real killer.

All of the Mackenzies appear in this novella. They are a loving and boisterous group. They either are trying to help Lloyd with the case or trying to play matchmaker to Louisa and Lloyd. Daniel Mackenzie does both. His appearance made me want his book NOW.

The only dis-satisfaction I had was with the mystery. Much of the detecting by Lloyd and others was done off-stage. There were no real clues to track. It was all told at the end how Lloyd discovered who the killer was.

If you have not read the MacKenzie series, I would not recommend starting with this novella. Start with the first book so that you can understand the family dynamics. You can also see where it all started for Lloyd and Louisa.

4/5 stars

~Thalia

Buy It Now The Untamed Mackenzie (Mackenzies Series)

Buy Book 1 The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Mackenzies Series)

Feedback Wanted!!

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936386_10200242490248306_709002509_nWe muses were talking about what we look for in reviews. I read tons of reviews – on Goodreads, and on other review blogs mainly.  Many times if it’s a person/blog I trust I will buy based on those reviews so I really value reviews. Same with the other muses. But we realized that we also read reviews for certain books looking for spoilers. That’s right – big, fat spoilers.

Now traditionally I don’t read spoiler reviews because I like to go into a book pretty blind. But there are books that I’m very iffy about and if I can find a spoiler review I’ll read it to determine if the book is worth my times. Other times there are books that I am dying to read but haven’t been able to for one reason or another – it’s not out yet, haven’t purchased it yet, too many books, etc. Those times I look at spoiler reviews to alleviate my book anxiety and it helps me read the books at a more normal pace when I do get them instead of racing through them to find out what happens.

So all of that to say…we are going to start a new feature called Spoiler Saturday. Starting in October we will be posting a spoiler review every Saturday. It will have clear marks that it is a spoiler so no worries that you could stumble upon it unknowingly!

We’d like to know from our readers what books YOU would like to see spoiler reviews of. Either books that are already out, upcoming releases, pretty much anything. Let us know here, on Facebook or on twitter so we can try to give you those spoiler reviews you want!

~ Clio (and Daisy clearly wanting your opinions!)

Review: Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson

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imageThis is the first in a series of young children’s books. The inspiration for the main character and the series is Henry David Thoreau’s introspective book, Walden. Thoreau wrote in Walden about living in a cabin in Massachusetts for two years.

Henry and his friend decide to visit Fitchburg, which is thirty miles away. Henry chooses to walk. He claims it’s the fastest way to travel. His friend wants to work and save up money to buy a train ticket. Who will get their first?

While Henry’s friend is pulling out weeds in a garden for 25¢, “Henry put ferns and flowers in a book and pressed them.”

While Henry’s friend is moving bookcases in a study, “Henry climbed a tree.”

While Henry’s friend goes to buy a train ticket, “Henry jumped into a pond.”

Yes, Henry’s friend did beat Henry to Fitchburg. Henry didn’t care. He stopped to pick blackberries.

You can decide for yourself which method you would have chosen and why. I won’t judge. 🙂 Just don’t miss out on this book with the gorgeous drawings.

Also, please don’t skip the author’s note which explains his inspiration for the book.

~Thalia

Buy It Now Henry Hikes to Fitchburg

Review: Fire Inside (Chaos #2) by Kristen Ashley

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imageLanie Heron just wants to hook up with Hopper Kincaid for one night. She’s not been with anyone since the death of her fiancé eight years ago. There’s always been an undercurrent of attraction between the two since they first met.
So the one night stand leads to many more nights together with Lanie, the drama queen, being resistant to any type of relationship with Hop.

Fortunately Hop is persistence and patient and handles her well. He helps deal with her troubled parents as well the guilt that she still holds over the death of her fiancé. Also, we get to know what really happened in regard Hop cheating on his ex. Finally, we learn that Hop is a rock star who can melt Lanie’s heart with a Bob Seger.

This book’s timeline runs concurrently with Tab and Shy’s. So don’t expect a resolution to storyline of Benito Valenzuela wanting to take over Chaos territory.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable read. I loved getting to know Hop better and could tolerate the high drama that Lanie can bring. As always, the epilogue worked well to add additional happiness to Hop and Lanie’s HEA.

This is the second book in the series. I highly recommend that you start with the first book, Own the Wind before diving into this one. The motorcycle club is huge and lots of characters are involved. I would hate for you to be confused.

3/5 stars

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

~Thalia

Buy Book 1 Own the Wind: A Chaos Novel

Buy It Now Fire Inside: A Chaos Novel

Review: Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

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imageCongratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

This is a very popular book by Dr. Seuss. It’s about starting a new adventure. It’s about being brave enough to start adventure.

Three people in my life recently chose
to begin new journeys. Davy and Eddie are already far, far away in their new home. My blogging partner, Urania, will begin hers in the next few days.

This is my ode to them. To say that I am proud of them. That I miss them very much.

I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.

Like the verses above states, sometimes you will be lonely. You will be battling with yourself whether or not you made the right decision. While you are fighting those self-doubts and insecurities, take a look back and see how far you traveled. You will find inner strength.

And you will succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

Happy trails, Urania! Davy and Eddie, looking forward to the next daily update of your further adventures in Rio!

~Thalia

Buy It Now Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Pre-Order Kindle Oh, the Places You’ll Go!