Weekly Book Reads (Feb 17)

 Weekly Book Reads

Weekly Book Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books read last week and books you plan on finishing this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Never Let Go - Lee Child
2.  Dark Witch - Nora Roberts
3.  The Seance - Heather Graham
4.  Dark Bites - Sherrilyn Kenyon
5.  X Vol. 6 - Clamp

Weekly Book Reading:

1.  Hostage - Kay Hooper
2.  Sinister - Lisa Jackson
3.  Fatal Strike - Shannon McKenna
4.  Desert Heat - Kat Martin
5.  Embracing Love 2-in-1 Vol. 1 - Youka Nitta

RS Review: The Seance Mass Market Paperback

I've finished "The Seance" by Heather Graham.

A chill falls over Christina Hardy's housewarming party when talk turns to a recent murder that has all the hallmarks of the so-called "Interstate Killer" murders from fifteen years before. To lighten the mood, the guests drag out an old Ouija board for a little spooky fun and that's when things become truly terrifying.

Summoned by the Ouija board, the restless spirit of Beau Kidd, the lead detective — and chief suspect — on the original case, seeks Christina's help: the latest killing isn't a copycat crime, and he wants his name cleared. Back in the real world, cop-turned-writer Jed Braden is skeptical of Christina's ghostly encounters, but his police sources confirm all the intimate details of the case — her otherworldly source is reliable, and the body count is growing.

The spirits are right. The Interstate Killer is still out there, and Christina's life is hanging in the balance between this world and the next.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She's a winner of the RWA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers' Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (March 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 077832916X
ISBN-13: 978-0778329169

My Review:

I really liked the premise of the book (ghost, seance and occult) and the mystery was very interesting but to me the characters weren't very well thought out and I didn't care for them. The hero and heroine knew each other from childhood but all they did was fight or argue every time they were in the same room as adults.

It was great to see Adam Harrison again though!

2/5

Library Haul 2014 (Feb 16 - 22)

Library Haul

Here's the list of books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga I picked up this week at the library:

Hardcover:

1.  Hostage - Kay Hooper

Softcover:

1.  Sinister - Lisa Jackson
2.  Desert Heat - Kat Martin
3.  Fatal Strike - Shannon McKenna

Dark Witch (Deckle Edge) (The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy) Paperback

I've finished "Dark Witch" the 1st book in her Cousins O'Dwyer series by Nora Roberts.

First in the all-new Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a trilogy about the land we’re drawn to, the family we learn to cherish, and the people we long to love.

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations — and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself — and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope — and love — alive.

Don’t miss the next two books in the Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy
Shadow Spell
and
Blood Magick

Product Details
Series: The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy (Book 1)
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 29, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425259854
ISBN-13: 978-0425259856

My Review:

I really enjoyed the back story at the beginning of the book but the arrival to the present day one was a bit of a shock.

The romance between Iona and Boyle and also the other relationships were kind of hasty.

3/5

Bunny Express Saturday 2014 (Feb 15)

Bunny Express Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received this in the mail this week.

For Review:

Retribution Mass Market Paperback

In the pitch-black cargo hole of the Pakistani airline freighter crossing the Atlantic, a wooden crate filled with levers for a weaving machine also had another object buried inside. If it makes it to its delivery point, an American city would become uninhabitable for a century. In this chilling thriller, Retribution is more than the story of a deep-cover mission to stop a terrorist with a core stolen from an Islamabad nuclear weapon. Here, the operative does much more to flush out the target than a hunt and chase. He becomes a carrier of a highly contagious strain of a deadly disease. In this oh so authentic story, author Andy Harp draws upon his experiences as a Marine who has served across the globe to create a uniquely real novel filled with breakneck thrills and plot twists. With action that flies from New York to London, from Peshawar deep into the mountains of the Hindu Kush, and from Islamabad to Chicago, Retribution weaves political conspiracy and a perilous, intelligence operation, hi-tech military technology and deadly current events, all with the crucible of a determined Jason Bourne like character in conflict with just as determined a killer, into a classic “mission” thriller that delivers the kind of nail-biting suspense, realism and a kicker surprise at the end that is in the style of Ludlum, and the best of Thor and Flynn. The story is engrossing, the hero is remarkable, and the personal cost he pays for both his survival and success changes the man.

Thanks Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc.!

MT Review: Storm Front (A Virgil Flowers Novel) Hardcover

I've finished "Storm Front" the book in his Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford.

The thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series.

In Israel, a man clutching a backpack searches desperately for a boat. In Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a message from Lucas Davenport: You’re about to get a visitor. It’s an Israeli cop, and she’s tailing a man who’s smuggled out an extraordinary relic — a copper scroll revealing startling details about the man known as King Solomon.

Wait a minute, laughs Virgil. Is this one of those Da Vinci Code deals? The secret scroll, the blockbuster revelation, the teams of murderous bad guys? Should I be boning up on my Bible verses?

He looks at the cop. She’s not laughing. As it turns out, there are very bad men chasing the relic, and they don’t care who’s in the way or what they have to do to get it. Maybe Virgil should start praying.

About the Author

John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at www.rehov.org. In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.

Product Details
Series: A Virgil Flowers Novel (Book 7)
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 8, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399159304
ISBN-13: 978-0399159305

My Review:

4/5

MT Review: Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel Hardcover

I've finished "Never Go Back" the book in his Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.

Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had.

Reacher is there to meet — in person — the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone.

But it isn’t Turner behind the CO’s desk. And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal to even think about.

When threatened, you can run or fight.

Reacher fights, aiming to find Turner and clear his name, barely a step ahead of the army, and the FBI, and the D.C. Metro police, and four unidentified thugs.

Combining an intricate puzzle of a plot and an exciting chase for truth and justice, Lee Child puts Reacher through his paces — and makes him question who he is, what he’s done, and the very future of his untethered life on the open road.

Product Details
Series: Jack Reacher
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 3, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385344341
ISBN-13: 978-0385344340

My Review:

Jack Reacher decides to go back to his old stomping grounds to meet Major Susan Turner because he is intrigued by her warm voice.  When he arrives he is met by hostility and a man behind the desk who confines him back to the Army.

I did like the storyline but a few times Reacher does make some dumb mistakes even though he is a smart man and near the end the story was starting to bog down.

3/5

Manga and Manhwa 2014 Challenge

This is a challenge to read any Manga or Manhwa series you have in your TBR manga/manhwa pile between Jan 1st through Dec 31st, 2013. Any manga or manhwa read before Jan will not count.

You can pick any *old or new release it doesn't matter. But remember this is only for any Manga or Manhwa series. If you have any questions please email me or leave a comment, thanks.

If you are participating in the Manga and Manhwa Challenge, please leave a comment, thanks!

My Manga List:

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Wednesday Wish List

Please list the books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Concealed in Death Hardcover

The incomparable J. D. Robb presents the latest moving and suspenseful novel in the #1 New York Times – bestselling Eve Dallas series.

In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately —and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary — and the evil concealed in one human heart.






 

Once in a Lifetime (Lucky Harbor) Mass Market Paperback

SOMETIMES WRONG IS OH-SO-RIGHT

After a wrenching loss, Ben McDaniel tried to escape his grief by working in dangerous, war-torn places like Africa and the Middle East. Now he's back in his hometown and face-to-face with Aubrey Wellington, the hot-as-hell woman who is trouble with a capital T. Family and friends insist she's not the one to ease his pain, but Aubrey sparks an intense desire that gives Ben hope for the future.

Determined to right the wrongs of her past, Aubrey is working hard to make amends. But by far, the toughest challenge to her plan is sexy, brooding Ben - even though he has absolutely no idea what she's done.

Can this unlikely couple defy the odds and win over the little town of Lucky Harbor?

Valentine's Day Book Blogging Mini Challenge Day 2

Day 2: The Hottest Scene you have ever read in a book.

1. Chapter 32 from "One Foot in the Grave" by Jeaniene Frost.
2. Any love scenes with Qhuinn and Blay from "Lover at Last" by J.R. Ward.