Follow My Blog Friday #59

If you are new to the FF fun, Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, myself of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Now to make this FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger. If you are interested in becoming a Feature click on the drop down link above FEATURES > Features and Follow Friday and get on the waiting list!  It is also required, that if you participate you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee and Alison Can Read) and the two Feature blogs.

This Meme is hosted by Rachel from Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read on Fridays.

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host {Parajunkee.com} {Alisoncanread.com}and any one else you want to follow on the list.

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - Hands and Home and Me, My Shelf and I.

3. Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing.

4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments

5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers

7. If your new to the Follow Friday Hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

The Friday Follow Feature is ... 

Bonnie @ Hands and Home



Above all I am a proud wife and mother who has the privilege of spending my days with my 2 beautiful daughters. Hands and Home combines my 3 passions, my family (including natural family living), creating, and of course my first ever passion, reading.

Reading is such an important part of my day and my favourite place to go with my girls is the library. I read just about anything, I enjoy reading Paranormal/Fantasy, Christian or Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Women’s Fiction (some chic lit), Cultural Fiction, Fantasy... Basically if it is well written with strong characters I will most likely love it!


Amber @ Me My Shelf and I

I am Amber of Me, My Shelf and I. Self Proclaimed cover snob, lover of all things pink and/or glittery. I will NOT share my coffee with you, but will share my wine ;0)

I started book blogging as a way to keep track of the 104 book challenge I joining at the beginning of 2011. When i realized people actually liked what I was writing I gave the blog a little face lift and a new name, hired a pal to help me and here I am today!

Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?).

"Sweet Savage Love" by Rosemary Rogers was the book that influenced me to read more bodice ripper books because I realized I really liked them.

ARC Review: Now You See Her [Hardcover]

I've finished "Now You See Her" by James Patterson.

Product Description

The perfect life

A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York -- including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.

The perfect lie

Nina's secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.

The perfect way to die

Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense, James Patterson gives us his most head-spinning, action-filled story yet -- a Hitchcock-like blend of unquenchable drama and pleasure.

Product Details
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (June 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316036218
ISBN-13: 978-0316036214

My Review:

Storyline:  When the book opens Nina is getting ready for her daughter Emma's 16th birthday party.  Emma has been wanting to know who her father is so Nina gives her a video recording from her dad but is it actually her dad or not?

Nina Bloom is a very successful lawyer who has worked her way up and hiding a past which would put her in jail.  Nineteen years ago Nina going by her real name Jeanine AKA Mermaid slams into a man while driving her ex-boyfriends car after witnessing her boyfriend and best friend in the bathroom.  She believed she killed the victim and guardian angel happen to save her so she married her guardian angel policeman Peter Fournier.  She discovers he's not who she thought he was and runs away to New York with her unborn child where she assumes a new identity.  She pretends to be the latest victim of the Jump Killer the serial killer stalking women of South Florida.

When she returns back to Key West she is partnered up with Charlie Bayer in the defense of a death-row inmate Justice Harris who is wrongfully convicted of being the Jump Killer.  She knows he's innocent and but she has to prove it.


Peter is the dedicated cop on the fast track to an impressive future in his career. There is a dark side to Peter, something he's hiding.

Romance: The romance between Nina and Charlie is very slow moving and very sweet.  I really enjoyed it because Nina needed someone who was a really nice guy and honest and hardworking with no secrets.  And certainly not a killer.

Killer:  You find out that Peter and the Jump Killer know each other and both of them are very sadistic and have no regrets killing their victims.  They have no emotions and are both willing to do whatever it takes to save their skin.

4/5

Thanks Melanie from Hachette Book Group Canada for sending me this ARC to review, greatly appreciated!

Seduce Me in Dreams: A Three Worlds Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Seduce Me in Dreams" the 1st book in her Three Worlds series by Jacquelyn Frank.

Product Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nightwalkers and Shadowdwellers series, Seduce Me in Dreams begins a sexy new futuristic series featuring an elite group of military heroes.

Dark. Mysterious. Sensual. When Bronse Chapel, the commander of a specialized unit of the Interplanetary Militia, begins to dream about a beautiful and exotic brunette, he wants to dismiss it as being induced by lack of sleep . . . or perhaps lack of sex. But his instincts tell him it’s something different, something far more dangerous.

Ravenna is the leader of the Chosen Ones, a small group of people from her village born with extraordinary powers. She doesn’t know that draws her to Bronse’s dreams night after night, but she senses that he and his team are in jeopardy. Ravenna can help him, but first Bronse must save the Chosen Ones from those who plan to use their powers for evil. Together, Bronse and Ravenna will be unstoppable. But Ravenna is hiding something that could endanger them all.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345517679
ISBN-13: 978-0345517678

My Review:

Commander Bronse Chapel is the head of a unit that's the best of the best of the Interplanetary Militia's first response teams who get sent into situations where no one else gets results. He's been having fleeting dreams warning him that he's in danger and dreams that seem to have proven correct since he's carting his new communications officer who's been critically injured, across miles of black sand to their waiting ship, from a mission the two were on that went completely, inexplicably wrong. When they rejoin his team, his odd behavior draws their attention and he confesses to his second-in-command, Lasher that he has a gut feeling that he's going to die on a mission and asks him to warn the team to be on alert. Later on he has his first real dream where he sees the beautiful woman who's been warning him.

Ravenna is the leader of the Chosen Ones a group of young people with special gifts who live in a temple and are protected and working for the people of their village as healers, telepaths, etc. Ravenna and her brother Kith were sold by the villagers to a vicious warlord as an offering to their god because Ravenna is a precognitive among other things and she's foreseen danger to Bronse as well as his role in her rescue. She's been trying to warn him, but didn't know she'd be able to appear to him and was as shocked as he was to find herself standing in front of him in his dream.

Not long afterwards Bronse and his crew find out that they've been betrayed from within the IM and Ravenna's warnings becomes clearer that Bronse must not be separated from his team. She's also desperate for him to fulfill the second part of her vision and rescue her because she's being tortured for her captor's amusement.

Ravenna's precog abilities aren't in doubt. Bronse rescues her and there's a situation where her warning serves him well. His attraction to her from his dreams and her fascination with him explode when they finally meet in the flesh.

Bronse was also a great leader because he always thinks of his team but he loses his cool when it came to Ravenna.

Ravenna is great leader, level-headed and strong woman who was forced to be the leader of the Chosen Ones and to do what's best for them. Even when she was working out a way to be with Bronse she was thinking of them too.

Kith was a smart-alec kid who seems to hate Bronse.  He's also a great fighter and he's a telepath.

I really liked all the characters because they all had personalities and weren't maidens in distress who needed the big strong man to save them all the time.

3.5/5

Jennifer Haymore Confessions of an Improper Bride Blog Tour with Giveaway

Confessions of an Improper Bride By Jennifer Haymore 
ISBN: 9780446573146
Published by: GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING
Genre: FICTION , ROMANCE
Published on: 8/01/2011
Format: MASS MARKET
Edition: FOREVER SPECIAL RELEASE

TWICE TEMPTED

Serena Donovan left London six years ago, her heart broken and her reputation ruined by devilishly handsome Jonathan Dane. Now, with her family's future in peril, she reluctantly agrees to return to England and assume her late twin's identity. The price? Marry a man she doesn't love and spend the rest of her days living a lie.

Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, has become an incorrigible rake, drinking, gambling-and trying to forget Serena Donovan. Yet the moment he's introduced to the prim and proper "Meg", he recognizes the sensual young woman who captured his heart. Haunted by his past mistakes, he refuses to lose Serena again. But convincing her to trust him is no easy task. Claiming his lost love means exposing the truth and destroying the life Serena has sacrificed everything to rebuild. With the future of all the Donovans at stake, and their undying passion capable of triggering yet another scandal, how much will Jonathan and Serena risk for a chance at true love?

Giveaway Rules

Thanks to the great people at Forever Romance I am thrilled to be able to offer 3 copies of Confessions of an Improper Bride by Jennifer Haymore.

This giveaway is open to the US and Canada only and No P.O. BOXES please!

If you’d like to enter this giveaway please fill out this form thanks
http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=483516

Also please leave a meaningful comment on my review here, thanks:   http://paranormalromanticsuspensereviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/hr-review-confessions-of-improper-bride.html

Please be a follower, thanks!

The contest runs till Aug 17th and closes at 11:59 PM PST!

** I want all my blog followers to know that I'm receiving your entry forms! 

** Please don't pay attention when the forms says "ERROR MESSAGE", thanks!

Jennifer Haymore Confessions of an Improper Bride Blog Tour with Review

I've finished "Confessions of an Improper Bride" the 1st book in her new Donovan series by Jennifer Haymore.

Product Description

TWICE TEMPTED

Serena Donovan left London six years ago, her heart broken and her reputation ruined by devilishly handsome Jonathan Dane. Now, with her family's future in peril, she reluctantly agrees to return to England and assume her late twin's identity. The price? Marry a man she doesn't love and spend the rest of her days living a lie.

Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, has become an incorrigible rake, drinking, gambling-and trying to forget Serena Donovan. Yet the moment he's introduced to the prim and proper "Meg", he recognizes the sensual young woman who captured his heart. Haunted by his past mistakes, he refuses to lose Serena again. But convincing her to trust him is no easy task. Claiming his lost love means exposing the truth and destroying the life Serena has sacrificed everything to rebuild. With the future of all the Donovans at stake, and their undying passion capable of triggering yet another scandal, how much will Jonathan and Serena risk for a chance at true love?

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Forever; Original edition (August 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446573140
ISBN-13: 978-0446573146

My Review:

Serena Donovan fell in love with Jonathan Dane at 18 during her first season in London.  He was above her status and when they were caught during a tryst she was ruined and Jonathan abandoned her.  She is forced to go back home to Anguila with her twin sister Meg.  Meg was thrown overboard and her body never found during a storm.

Six years later Serena discovers her mother told everyone it was she who died during the storm and not Meg.  She also finds out her mother has been corresponding with Will Meg's love.  Will has always believed he has been corresponding with Meg and has asked her to come to London and get married.  Serena's mother forces Serena to pretend to be Meg and marry Will so she can restore her reputation and secure a future for her younger sisters.

When Serena finally arrives in London she comes face to face with Jonathan.  He recognizes her right away but he tries to convince himself that he's just imagining she is her twin sister Serena at first but finally attempts to prove she is Serena.  Serena is determined to avoid the man she had loved and who broke her heart years ago.

You can feel the anguish Serena feels losing her twin sister Meg and the lies and deception she suffers to make sure her younger sisters have a future and for her family.  You can also feel how much Jonathan's rejection has affected her and how much she is determined to stay away from Jonathan even though he knows who she is.

Jonathan has also suffered from his rejection of Serena the only woman he has loved.  He broke down when he thought she was the one who died on the ship but believes he has a second chance to win her back.  At every opportunity he makes she he near her and kisses her to remind her how good they were together.

4/5

Thanks Brianne from Hachette Book Group for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Split Second (An FBI Thriller) [Hardover]

I've finished "Split Second" the15th book in her FBI series by Catherine Coulter.

Product Description

The number-one New York Times-bestselling author returns with another pulse-pounding thriller.

A serial killer is on the loose, and it's up to FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock to bring him down. They soon discover that the killer has blood ties to the infamous and now long-dead monster Ted Bundy. Savich and Sherlock are joined by agents Lucy Carlyle and Cooper McKnight, and the chase is on.

At the same time, Agent Carlyle learns from her dying father that her grandfather didn't simply walk away from his family twenty-two years ago: he was, in fact, murdered by his wife, Lucy's grandmother. Determined to find the truth, Lucy moves into her grandmother's Chevy Chase mansion. What she finds, however, is a nightmare. Not only does she discover the truth of what happened all those years ago, but she faces a new mystery as well, a strange ring that holds powers beyond her ken.

As the hunt for the serial killer escalates, Savich realizes he's become the killer's focus, and perhaps the next victim. It's up to Lucy to stop this madness before it's too late.

About the Author 

Catherine Coulter is the author of the New York Times- bestselling FBI thrillers The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh Hour, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take, TailSpin, KnockOut, and Whiplash. She lives in Northern California.

Product Details
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (July 19, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157433
ISBN-13: 978-0399157431

My Review:

Storyline:  The book opens up with FBI agent Savich on his way home and stops to buy a few things at the Shop N Go market in his neighborhood. But he stumbles on a 'robbery' that is going horribly wrong and Savich steps in and in a Split Second people's lives are changed. Some are wounded, some are killed and some are emotionally traumatized. The tragedy reaches out to others beyond those first involved.  Then the same victim is shoot and Savich is sure it's not a random target.  He believes something deeper is going on.

Lucy hears from her father that her grandfather didn't walk away from his family twenty-two years ago.  She is determined to find out what happened and moves into her grandparents house.  What she discovers horrifies her and she inherits a ring from her grandfather which has magical powers.  Now she has another mystery to solve.

Characters:  Savich and Sherlock are married and have a son named Sean and a dog named .  Savich is the team leader and has a specialized laptop which helps solve their cases.

Sherlock has red hair that everyone seems to love and she is quite capable of taking care of herself.  She can be quite stubborn at times too and doesn't let Savich push her around.

Lucy is very dependent and strong character and she doesn't like Coop at first because she thinks he is a womanizer and the rumors she has heard about him.  As they get to know each other better she realizes she is wrong about him.

Coop has a reputation of being a womanizer but really he isn't!  I love his car and he's a really great guy.

Romance:  I really enjoyed the romance between Lucy and Coop because Lucy dislikes him on sight because of his reputation but as she gets to know him she realizes he's a great guy and the one for her.

Killer:  The serial killer named "Todd" has a connection to the "Ted Bundy", yes that "Ted Bundy".  They believe they should continue the rampage and they idolize Bundy. 

4/5

Thanks Laura from Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

New Releases 2011 (Aug 2)

Retribution (Dark-Hunter Novels) [Hardcover]

Product Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon comes the next thrilling installment in her blockbuster Dark-Hunter series

Harm no human … 

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief — Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster … 

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.

Product Details
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312546599
ISBN-13: 978-0312546595

Blood Hunt: The Sentinel Wars [Paperback]

Product Description

Hope appeared out of nowhere, naked and alone, a woman without a past. The only thing she knows is that she is imbued with a strange power. It's in her blood. And two men want to posses it. One is Logan, a Sanguiner demon-fighter who needs Hope's essence to survive. The other is Krag, a Synestryn lord whose desire is to enslave Hope, and drain her of the lifeforce. When Hope and Logan both fall prey to Krag, a powerful desire grows between them. But is it enough to thwart their captor's diabolical plan and his demon warriors, and survive a vampire's destiny written in blood? 

Product Details
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Signet; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451234294
ISBN-13: 978-0451234292

Deadly Sins (Berkley Sensation) [Paperback]

Product Description

An unknown assassin has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, brutally taking out high-level human targets citywide. It's just the kind of case that will test the resolve of a tough FBI agent like Jaid Marlowe. Especially when her new partner is Adam Raiker, Jaid's former colleague - and ex-lover.

Product Details
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425242706
ISBN-13: 978-0425242704

Secrets of Bella Terra: A Scarlet Deception Novel [Paperback]

Product Description

Brooding and sexy Rafe Di Luca has returned to his family's luxurious vineyard resort for one reason: to find out who attacked his beloved grandmother. His homecoming stirs up a decades - old feud, forcing him to work with Brooke Petersson, the woman he once seduced and betrayed ... but never forgot.

Product Details
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Signet Select; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451413091
ISBN-13: 978-0451413093

Heart Search (Celta) [Paperback]

Product Description

Laev T'Hawthorn -- one of the highest nobles in the land -- must rebuild his life after a devastating mistake.  He married a woman he believed was his HeartMate, only to learn she was a greedy social climber.  She callously used him, stealing his family heirlooms.  He is determined to reclaim all that he has lost -- beginning with his self-respect.

Abandoned at fifteen, Camellia Darjeeling values her independence above all.  She's fought to establish her own businesses -- elegant tearooms -- only to have her father and uncle re-enter her life.  They emotionally scourge her and extort money.  Trusting men, even her HeartMate, is too risky.

When Laev and Camellia meet, they refuse to acknowledge that they are true HeartMates.  After her shady relatives are implicated in the theft of Laev's property, Camellia and Laev's lives become ever more entangled bringing each to the brink of despair and passion...and a destiny they can no longer avoid.

Product Details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425241386
ISBN-13: 978-0425241387

Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six [Paperback]

Product Description

For a vampire, losing weight can be hellish-from the national bestselling author of Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs.

After Glory St. Clair kicked out the demon that had set up shop in her body, she had a serious fallout with longtime lover Jeremy Blade. But before Glory can win him back, she has some issues of the hellish variety to deal with.

When Lucifer himself offers Glory the ultimate temptation - work for the devil and he'll make her a size six - the curvy vampire's not sure if she can resist. But what Glory does know is that somehow, she's going to get back the man she loves and show everyone that real vampires always have more to love.

Product Details
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425241351
ISBN-13: 978-0425241356


Manga:

Otomen, Vol. 11 [Paperback]

Product Description

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences T 

Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things -- sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to Ryo Miyakozuka, the girl that he's falling for?

Asuka engages in a battle with Suzaki Oji to see who will get the most Valentine's Day chocolates! As Oji seduces girls left and right into giving him chocolates, Asuka wonders one thing -- who will Ryo give her chocolates to?

Product Details
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421539780
ISBN-13: 978-1421539782

AI Ore! Love Me!, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Product Description

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences T+ 

Mizuki is the female "prince" of her all-girls school and the lead guitarist in an all-girl rock band. Akira is the male "princess" of his all-boys school and wants to join her band. Love may be on his mind, but romance is difficult when everyone keeps mistaking Mizuki for a boy and Akira for a girl!

Mizuki’s neighbor Shinnosuke returns from college for a visit, but the championship boxer is surprised to find the girl he likes involved with someone else. Will Akira be able to compete for Mizuki’s affections against such a manly rival?

Product Details
Paperback: 306 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421538393
ISBN-13: 978-1421538396

Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura, Vol. 3 [Paperback]

Product Description

Reads R to L (Japanese Style). 

Sakura is the granddaughter of a mysterious moon princess who slew demons with her Blood Cherry Blossom sword. All her life Sakura has been forbidden to look at the full moon without knowing why. Then one night, unhappy over her impending marriage, Sakura gazes up at the moon, only to see a demon attacking her ...

Sakura, still grieving Oumi’s death, must fight the powerful youko of Uji. But she finds herself no match for the demon’s poisonous vapor. It’s time for Kohaku and Hayate — with a little help from the full moon — to step in.

Product Details
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1421538849
ISBN-13: 978-1421538846

Caridad Pineiro The Lost Blog Tour with Guest Post

I am so excited to have Caridad Pineiro here to talk about her Hunters in a guest post here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.
Caridad is currrently touring to promote her new book The Lost which features shapeshifters.

Thanks so much Pump Up Your Book Promotions for connecting us on this blog tour!

Please take it away Caridad!

Mix Two Parts Paranormal and One Part Romantic Suspense

By Caridad Pineiro

I’m often asked what is my favorite genre and I have no doubt that my favorite is actually a mix of paranormal romance and romantic suspense, or what I like to call paranormal suspense.

What I like about paranormal suspense is that I get to mix parts of both genres in order to create a story, like I did for THE LOST, the first book in my new Sin Hunters series.

The first thing I had to do was to create a mythology that would appeal to readers. Although I’ve written about vampires (and will have two new THE CALLING books out in early 2012), I wanted this story to have very different paranormal elements.

After a lot of brainstorming, I came up with the idea of building my mythology about a race of people who possessed the ability to gather energy from the things around them, like the forces of nature, animal and human life forces, and for conflict, the energies of other Hunters. When you think about it, all kinds of cultures believe in things like chi and being able to tap your own inner energies, so why not a race like the Hunters who could do that and then some.

What’s the “then some?” Well, how about being able to shapeshift into the animal or human they’ve touched? Shooting orbs of energy? Breaking down into their most elemental forms to speed across the cosmos? Killing or healing with a touch? Best of all, using that energy during intimate moments to bring complete release?

The Hunters are capable of all the above and maybe more since as the stories are developing, the ability to gather energy from all kinds of things is really creating a wealth of possibilities for the paranormal elements in the novels. I really love that about this Hunter mythology – it lends itself to lots of growth and lots of different powers.

You may recall that I mentioned conflict before and that’s actually where the romantic suspense elements blend in with the paranormal. The Hunters have been with us for millennia, but much like the Americas were changed by the arrival of the Conquistadors and the illnesses they brought to the indigenous people, the Hunters were changed also.

Because of a smallpox contagion amongst the Hunters, their world was irrevocably changed. The ability of some Hunters to gather energy was either diminished or lost except for their most powerful leaders. Other Hunters were forever blighted by the disease which would ravage their bodies unless they constantly fed with energy.

These two factions became known as the Light and Shadow Hunters and for centuries, the Shadow Hunters have been hunting down the most powerful Light Hunters to keep free of disease.

That civil war is the conflict and in THE LOST, it is what drives the suspense elements as the Light and Shadow Hunters both search for a missing heir to their race – Adam Bruno.

Adam is the hero in THE LOST and when the story begins, he is aware of his powers, but not why he has them or how to control them. Adam will be drawn into this war between the two factions of his people while at the same time learning to deal with the growth of his powers and the arrival of a very special and unique woman in his life.

Bobbie Carrera is the heroine in THE LOST. Bobbie is a Marine who has come back from combat both emotionally and physically wounded. The last thing she wants is to engage in another war, but that’s just what she may face if she stays with Adam.

As the love between Bobbie and Adam grows, so does the reality that both possess powers of which they were unaware. Those powers will help them in fighting off the Hunters who would do them harm.

I loved blending the paranormal and suspense elements to create THE LOST. There was just something that came together about the mythology and also, with Bobbie and Adam. I so loved exploring them and finding a way to give them a realistic resolution. I also loved creating the villains in this novel who you will see in later books in the Sin Hunter series.

I hope you’ll take the time to explore the world of the Sin Hunters and THE LOST.

Caridad Pineiro is the NY Times bestselling author of over twenty-six paranormal romance and romantic suspense novels and novellas. Look for THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense from Carina Press in July 2011 and THE LOST, the first book in the new SIN HUNTERS paranormal romance series in August 2011. Caridad has also done the foreword for OBSESSED: EROTIC ROMANCE FOR WOMEN edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel which will be available in August 2011. Her popular THE CALLING vampire series returns in 2012, but vampire lovers will enjoy A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS (October 2011) which includes Caridad’s novella, WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING.

For more information on Caridad, please visit www.caridad.com.

Visit Caridad on Twitter at www.twitter.com/caridadpineiro or Facebook at
w.facebook.com/caridad.author.

The Lost (Sin Hunters) [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Description

Adam Bruno is no ordinary millionaire. The heir to an ancient race possessing a dark, powerful magic, he can shapeshift and create energy. His gifts make him a living weapon and have forced him to live in seclusion. But now an inhuman force hunts down Adam-just when he finds someone who makes him feel more human than he ever imagined possible . . .

Home from combat in Iraq, Bobbie Carerra wants only peace, yet soon joins Adam in a terrifying battle against paranormal enemies who hide in plain sight. She's drawn to his strength of mind and body; he's attracted to her courage and intoxicating energy. Their scorching passion can either transport them to the heights of ecstasy or-if Adam's powers rage out of control-destroy them. But when an invisible brotherhood tightens its nets and someone Adam trusts betrays him, only a heartrending decision can save them.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Forever; Original edition (August 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446584614
ISBN-13: 978-0446584616

August Releases

2nd
Retribution - Sherrilyn Kenyon
Blood Hunt - Shannon K. Butcher
Deadly Sins - Kylie Brant
Secrets of Bella Terra: A Scarlet Deception Novel - Christina Dodd
Home Improvement: Undead Edition - Anthology
Heart Search - Robin D. Owens
Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six - Gerry Barlett
Otomen Vol. 11 - Aya Kanno

13th
Legends Lake - Joann Ross

23rd
Dark Taste of Rapture - Gena Showalter
Lord of the Vampires - Gena Showalter
Saint's Gate - Carla Neggers
The King's Courtesan - Judith James
Deep Disclosure - Dee Davis
Shadow of the Wolf - Bonnie Vanak
Bloody Monday - Ryou Ryumon
Under the Full Moon - Sanami Matoh

29th
Kill Me If You Can - James Patterson

30th
One Grave at a Time - Jeaniene Frost
In Seconds - Brenda Novak
Supernatural - Larissa Ione
Snapped - Laura Griffin
Twisted - Gena Showalter
Riptide - Cherry Adair
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion - Charlaine Harris


31st
ShadowFever (pp) - Karen M. Moning

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Aug 1)

What Are You Reading is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com

Post the books you read last week, book currently being read and books you plan on finishing this week.

Last week I read:

1. The Vampire Next Door - Ashlyn Chase
2. Now You See Her - James Patterson
3. Time of Death - J.D. Robb
4. Confessions of an Improper Bride - Jennifer Haymore
5. The Story of Saiunkoku Vol. 1 - Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura

I’m currently reading:

1. Seduce Me in Dreams - Jacquelyn Frank

Books I’m planning on reading this week:

1. Eve - Iris Johansen
2. Shameless - Anne Stuart
3. With No Remorse - Cindy Gerard
4. Retribution - Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Otomen Vol. 11 - Aya Kanno

Here's the link:

http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-98