Showing posts with label Deadlocked. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deadlocked. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

Tuesday Tomorrow

Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 26th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Leaving Everything Most Loved by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs investigates the murder of Indian immigrants in London.

The year is 1933. Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when another Indian woman is murdered just hours before a scheduled interview. Meanwhile, unfinished business from a previous case becomes a distraction, as does a new development in Maisie's personal life.

Bringing a crucial chapter in the life and times of Maisie Dobbs to a close, Leaving Everything Most Loved marks a pivotal moment in this outstanding mystery series."

Ok, so if I didn't already love this Maisie Dobbs series and their luscious covers, the "bringing a crucial chapter...to a close" would have me scrambling to pick up this book anyway!

Death of Yesterday by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: March 26th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a local woman tells Sergeant Hamish Macbeth that she doesn't remember what happened the previous evening, he doesn't begin to worry. She had been out drinking, after all, and he'd prefer not to be bothered with such an arrogant and annoying woman. But when her body is discovered, Hamish is forced to investigate a crime that the only known witness--now dead--had forgotten."

For my mom, the biggest M.C. Beaton, and in particular, Hamish Macbeth fan I know!

The Paris Affair by Teresa Grant
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: March 26th, 2013
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the wake of the Battle of Waterloo, the Bourbon court in Paris and their victorious allies give lavish parties while the Royalists are quick to exact vengeance for everything since the Revolution. Countless Bonapartists are arrested and executed in what comes to be known as the White Terror. In this seething atmosphere British attaché and spy Malcolm Rannoch learns that his murdered half-sister, Princess Tatiana Kirsanova, may have left behind a secret child in Paris; a child who may now be in grave danger.

While friends and former associates are imprisoned and executed around them, Malcolm and his wife Suzanne set out to find the girl. And as kings argue over legitimacy and relations battle over estates, trusting the wrong side can be deadly…"

New Teresa Grant! I think some people who love Regency Romances are in for a treat! Oh, that would be me.

A Touch of Scarlet by Eve Marie Mont
Published by: K-Teen
Publication Date: March 26th, 2013
Format: Paperback, 255 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The compelling heroine of Eve Marie Mont's acclaimed novel A Breath of Eyre returns to find truth and fiction merging through the pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter. . .

Emma Townsend is back at prestigious Lockwood Prep, but her world has altered immeasurably since her tumultuous sophomore year. The best change of all: her boyfriend, Gray. And though Gray is leaving for Coast Guard training, Emma feels newly optimistic, even if the pain of her mother's long-ago death still casts a shadow.

Yet Emma isn't the only one who's changed. Her friend and roommate, Michelle, is strangely remote, and old alliances are shifting in disconcerting ways. Soon Emma's long-distance relationship with Gray is straining under the pressure, and Emma wonders if she's cracking too. How else to explain the vivid dreams of Hester Prynne she's been having since she started reading The Scarlet Letter? Or the way she's found herself waking in the woods? As her life begins to echo events in the novel, Emma will be forced to choose between virtue and love. But can she forge a new future without breaking her heart?"

For all those who loved Mont's twist on Jane Eyre, get ready for a twist of Nathaniel Hawthrone... it could only improve it in my mind!

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 26th, 2013
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Felipe de Castro, the vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down."

For those of you waiting for the final installment... get yourselves ready with Sookie's penultimate adventure...

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Book Review - Charlaine Harris' Deadlocked

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Sookie's life is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. Her job is wonderful, better than ever. Sure Merlotte's is still in a slump, but since she helped Sam with a loan he now views her as a partner. Sookie loves the new responsibilities and the new decisions, like lockers for the staff! Yet then there's Eric. Eric and his fiance... when Sookie is already technically his wife! Why do vampires have to be so complicated? Then to add to the problem, the King comes to visit inquiring after the man they all plotted to murder. Keeping secrets from a powerful vampire is dangerous, but what happens next could cause even more trouble. There's a dead girl in front of Eric's house, one Sookie just happened to catch him snacking on. She knew Eric had to get his sustenance from somewhere, but the way he did it so cruelly and callously in front of Sookie makes all her senses tingle. This wasn't right.

Sookie has got to prove Eric's innocence, even if their relationship doesn't survive this, Eric is not responsible for this death, others yes, just not this one. There is a way out for Sookie, a magical, oh so easy way... the cluviel dor. The fairy magic that Sookie found tucked away in her attic. It has basically made her fairy catnip, yet the one wish it contains could solve all the problems of her and Eric. The thing is, does Eric know she has it and is trying to force her hand? As she tries to solve the murder she realizes that everything that is happening to her, vampire, fairy and werewolf might all tie into the cluviel dor. If you had one wish, what would you use it on?

I know there are many people out there who didn't like this book because not much happened, and you know what, I liked that. Being the penultimate book, this seemed to be Charlaine clearing the decks and getting Sookie back to her human roots. I loved that! Sookie's world has become so convoluted and she's ended up so entwined with all the Sups that it was nice to take a step back, see her as she was before and could be again. Some reviewers have been bandying about the deus ex machina way that Charlaine handy got rid of Jannalynn and established the deeper bond between Sookie and Sam. So what? It's her world and I loved that she just wiped Jannalynn out of existence and just with the flick of the pen got rid of all the fairies. As for those Eric shippers out there... you KNEW that she was never going to end up with Eric. Sookie, in a logical world, in my logical world, gets a life. Not an undead vampire forever life, but sun and daylight and love and children. She gets everything she deserves and a man that loves her unreservedly. All that she could only get from Sam, in my mind, Alcide, with his pack and troubled past could never give this to her. Eric in the end loves power and money more than her could ever love a human.

There where also tons of just little human moments I loved. Sookie waiting for the birth of Tara's twins. Sookie going all Gollum over her cluviel dor. Sookie having a birthday! If she where to be reborn, a birthday would lose it's significance. Just going to the library and picking up a book or swinging by the Dairy Queen to have a blizzard. It's the little mundane things that made this book magical to me. I really can't wait for the final book and hope that all that I wish for Sookie comes true... if the direction that Charlaine took for this book stays true, then I think Sookie is going to get the happily ever after I wish for her. After all these years of reading her exploits, she deserves it... and yes, I know she's fictional, but is she really to you or me?

Monday, April 30, 2012

Tuesday Tomorrow

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.
Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down."

Ah Sookie... a new book about you is always the signal to me that Summer is beginning... now if you just didn't look like your sitting on the toilet and flying through mid-air, I'd be really happy.

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
Published by: HarperPublication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor—and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.

The cook toils over mock turtle soup and a chocolate cake covered with green sugar roses, which the hungry band of visitors is not invited to taste. But nothing, it seems, will go according to plan. As the passengers wearily search for rest, the house undergoes a strange transformation. One of their number (who is most definitely not a gentleman) makes it his business to join the birthday revels.

Evening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens: Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking.

The Uninvited Guests is the bewitching new novel from the critically acclaimed Sadie Jones. The prizewinning author triumphs in this frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises—where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety—and all is alight with Edwardian wit and opulence. "

That discription is screaming "Read ME Miss Eliza!"

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
Published by: Hayperion
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"He's b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sade Kane can't seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes' only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent's own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent's shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld.

Nothing less than the mortal world is at stake when the Kane family fulfills its destiny in this thrilling conclusion to the Kane Chronicles."

I was unimpressed by the first book in this series, but I really need to give it another try with two more now.

Silence by Michelle Sagara
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It began in the graveyard. Ever since her boyfriend Nathan died in a tragic accident Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death…."

Sounds interesing and spooky.

Mud, Sweat, and Tears by Bear Grylls
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Already a #1 London Sunday Times Bestseller, Mud, Sweat, and Tears is the adrenaline-fueled autobiography of the mega-popular star of the hit survival series Man Vs. Wild, adventurer Bear Grylls. A former British Special Forces commando, a man who has always sought the ultimate in dangerous challenges, Bear’s true story reads like an outdoors action and adventure novel. But Bear’s story is true—full of breathtaking escapes and remarkable exploits that would make any Jack London or H. Ryder Haggard hero proud."

Bear fascinates me. I really like his show but I just have this feeling he's a bit of a pompous dick. Like the kind of person who at a dinner party, you're hanging out near the horderves and he's like "You think that's bad, I've eaten a raw snake."

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