{Review} Demon's Curse by Alexa Egan

ISBN #: 978-1451672909

Page Count: 370

Copyright: December 26, 2012

Publisher: Pocket Books

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

One of the mythical race of shape-shifting Imnada and a member of an elite military unit, Captain Mac Flannery suffers under a ruthless curse. As the result of a savage massacre on the eve of Waterloo, he and the men he served with are forced to live the hours of darkness trapped as their animal aspects. Now one of them has been murdered, and Mac suspects the existence of the Imnada may finally have been discovered. His only link to unearthing the truth - Bianca Parrino, the beautiful actress whom every man desires.

Forging a new life for herself after escaping the clutches of her abusive husband, Bianca is again drawn into violence when a dear friend is brutally murdered and she becomes a suspect. Forced to place her trust and her life in Mac's hands as they flee a determined killer, Bianca cannot deny she is falling for the mysterious soldier. But will his dark secrets tear them asunder? Or will love be the key to breaking even the cruelest of spells?

Mandy's Review:

This is a classical romance in that it has the main basic elements:

• Girl in trouble who is independent and determined to stay that way due to past hurts
• Sexy man alone and determined not to become entangled in love affair due to hidden secret
• A potentially dangerous situation forces the two to come together, work together, and, eventually, fall in love

Now, take those basic elements and throw in shape-shifters, faes, magic, murder, and the anger of a clan and you've got yourself one potent brew of danger, sex appeal, and romance. The sexual magnetism between Mac and Bianca is a little slow-started, but once it gets going you may need to take a cold shower. I know this man is a fictional character, but I'd do so many naughty things to him he wouldn't be able to leave the bedroom for a while.

Bianca tended to get on my nerves just a wee tad. In the beginning she's stoic and tough-as-nails, but throw her in a locked basement room, honey, and she falls to pieces like a magnolia tree shedding its petals. I understand she endured a traumatic situation during her first marriage ... and she's an actress ... but, gracious ... I am glad though that once Mac put some shape-shifting hoo-doo on her behind, she calmed herself down right-quick-and-in-a-hurry. Maybe that's all she needed was some good lovin' to reign her in.

Demon's Curse is book one of three in the Imnada Brotherhood trilogy. Since Mac was part of a specific group of men, I'm suspecting that the other two books will be about de Coursy and Gray. I really enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to seeing how the other two stories will play out. If you like a little paranormal romance to start your day, perhaps you should try Demon's Curse?

*A paperback copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{Meme} It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Well, hello there Literary peeps!

We apologize for being a little absent on this meme. Mandy was focusing on reading and reviewing books for the January 2013 Winter Wonderland Spell Challenge. Unfortunately, she didn't meet her goals of 16 books. If she would've read a little faster a little sooner she probably would've made it. Ah well ... things happen. =)

There are two books that Mandy's going to try and finish up this week: Demon's Curse by Alexa Egan (review should post tomorrow) and Angelina's Bachelor's by Brian O'Reilly (review should post Wednesday). Both were books she was trying to finish last week for the January 2013 Winter Wonderland Spell Challenge. As soon as she finishes those, she'll begin reading Fires of Alexandria by Thomas K. Carpenter.

Kathy is still working her way through A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin and Mindfront by Dave Becker. She has started reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Good Harbor by Anita Diamant.

One of the mythical race of shape-shifting Imnada and a member of an elite military unit, Captain Mac Flannery suffers under a ruthless curse. As the result of a savage massacre on the eve of Waterloo, he and the men he served with are forced to live the hours of darkness trapped as their animal aspects. Now one of them has been murdered, and Mac suspects the existence of the Imnada may finally have been discovered. His only link to unearthing the truth - Bianca Parrino, the beautiful actress whom every man desires.

Forging a new life for herself after escaping the clutches of her abusive husband, Bianca is again drawn into violence when a dear friend is brutally murdered and she becomes a suspect. Forced to place her trust and her life in Mac's hands as they flee a determined killer, Bianca cannot deny she is falling for the mysterious soldier. But will his dark secrets tear them asunder? Or will love be the key to breaking even the cruelest of spells?

Far too young to be a widow, Angelina D'Angelo suddenly finds herself facing a life without her beloved husband, Frank. Late one night shortly after the funeral, she makes her way down to the kitchen and pours all of her grief and anger into the only outlet she has left - her passion for cooking. In a frenzy of concentration and swift precision, she builds layer upon layer of thick, rich lasagna, braids loaves of yeasty bread, roasts plump herb-rubbed chicken; she makes so much food that she winds up delivering the spoils to the neighbors in her tight-knit Italian community in South Philadelphia.

Retiree Basil Cupertino, who has just moved in with his kindly sister across the street, is positively smitten with Angelina's food. In a stroke of good fortune, Basil offers Angelina (not only husbandless but unemployed) a job cooking for him - two meals a day, six days a week, in exchange for a handsome salary. Soon, word of her irresistible culinary prowess spreads and she finds herself cooking for seven bachelors - and in the process discovers the magical power of food to heal, to bring people together ... and maybe even to provide a second chance at love.

The greatest mystery of the ancient world remains the identity of who set fire to the Great Library in Alexandria. One hundred years later, Heron of Alexandria - the city's most renown inventor and creator of Temple miracles - receives coin from a mysterious patron to investigate the crime. Desperate to be free of the debts incurred by her twin brother, she accepts and sets in motion a chain of events that will shake the Roman Empire and change the course of history forever.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons - as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Good Harbor is the long stretch of Cape Ann beach where two women friends walk and talk, sharing their personal histories and learning life's lessons from each other. Kathleen Levine, a longtime resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is maternal and steady, a devoted children's librarian, a convert to Judaism, and mother to two grown sons. When her serene life is thrown into turmoil by a diagnosis of breast cancer at fifty-nine, painful past secrets emerge and she desperately needs a friend. Forty-two-year-old Joyce Tabachnik is a sharp-witted freelance writer who is also at a fragile point in her life. She's come to Gloucester to follow her literary aspirations, but realizes that her husband and young daughter are becoming increasingly distant. Together, Kathleen and Joyce forge a once-in-a-lifetime bond and help each other to confront scars left by old emotional wounds.

{Review} Blast from the Past by Lauren Carr

ISBN #: 978-0985726775

Page Count: 258

Copyright: January 10, 2013

Publisher: Acorn Book Services

Description:

In this fourth mystery on Deep Creek Lake; Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs with mobsters and federal agents. After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars - Archie Monday! Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lakeshore resort town, things may be hotter than even he can handle.

Charlene's Review:

Blast from the Past is the next in a series of Mac Faraday mysteries. Mac, a retired homicide detective, and his new love interest, Archie Monday, along with their crime-busting kleptomaniac canine, Gnarly, are once again in the thick of a crime-spree. When Archie's true identity and her involvement with the witness protection program surfaces, Mac and company are kept busy with hit men, mobsters, and people who aren't who they appear. All the commotion is eerily reminiscent of a Keystone Cops episode, but in true Lauren Carr style, the truth is soon revealed.

With all the clandestine encounters occurring on all sides, there is ample intrigue and although a continuation of Mac Faraday novels, the complexity of the story and the constant building on the characters makes this a separate and original work. The long cast of characters seems a bit off-putting at first glance, but the continuity and graceful transitioning keeps you grounded. Ms. Carr's carefully planned plot leaves much to ponder as the story slowly unravels and all the seemingly disjointed murders start making sense. Blast from the Past is another hit for mystery master, Lauren Carr!


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

{BintoM Giveaway} Winners Announced

As you may know, we finished two BintoM Giveaways last week. One for Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl and one for Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. Below are the winners for each giveaway. Their books have been ordered and are on their way to them.

Our next BintoM Giveaway will be announced on Friday, March 8th. We hope you come back and participate ... Do you know which book will be given away next?

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{Review} Beauty Rising by Mark W. Sasse

ISBN #: 978-1481211284

Page Count: 246

Copyright: January 12, 2013

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Description:

"My heart sank. I dumped my father's ashes in the heart of communist Vietnam - over a thousand miles from the death of his comrades - over a thousand miles from the smile of that girl. How could I have been so stupid?"

Only the bumbling, overweight, thirtyish, stay-at-home Martin Kinney could have mistakenly flubbed his dying father's request with such gusto. This thousand mile mistake awakens the ghosts of long-held family secrets and puts Martin on a fateful course with an unlikely romantic interest - a young, beautiful, yet troubled Vietnamese woman named My Phuong.

Charlene's Review:

Martin Kinney, Jr. is a 30+ year old living in his parents' home, with a job at a local retailer. On his father's deathbed, Martin finally hears the secret that transformed his family into a bitter, angry existence. His father's last wish is for Martin to go to Vietnam and leave his ashes in a field where the memory of a beautiful woman haunted him and he lost his buddies to the war. So begins Martin's journey of redemption from a past he didn't know had dictated his life until this point.

When Martin arrives in Vietnam, he is immediately robbed of his wallet in a busy street. Left stranded with no money, he is befriended by two men, a Vietnamese and an American, who help him finish his duty to his father, and return home. After several years, Martin is surprised to see a beautiful woman at his door, with his long-lost driver's license, and the key to his future.

Let me say, this was a one-night read. The flow of the story and the emotional stakes were so high, I had to finish it in one sitting. Mr. Sasse puts a spotlight on the effects of the Vietnam War on the men who fought, and ultimately, their families. This is a tragic story, and yet it was written so beautifully. The peoples of Vietnam are described richly and with such spirit, I felt as if I was there on the streets among them. The emotional toll the War and its aftermath took on Martin's family is devastating, and while a dark, tragic tale, is a story people need to hear and understand if we can relate at all to the men that returned from that era.

I want to give nothing away to the ending, as it is explosive, but at the same time, tied up as neatly as a life can be. I will say only that I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam Era. The culture and land of Vietnam are given much attention, and the story just resonates with redemptive beauty.

5 out of 5 stars!


*A paperback copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.