Sunday Post #197

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week.

It has been some week. We've got a boatload of snow this last week and we've been without power since Monday and no Internet since Wednesday. We had a text from PG&E saying they hope to have the power back on Wednesday.  No date from our Internet service. We've been okay since we have a generator and plenty of firewood, but we haven't been able to drive out from our street since Tuesday. Finally, today the snow melted enough that we were able to leave before a new batch of storms were set to hit. I guess this isn't the norm. Our neighbor said that this is the second worst storm he's seen in the forty years he's lived out here.  

We're now staying with my sister as she lives about a twenty miles south of us and isn't quite at the level where she gets as much snow so she has power and Internet. Yay!

So, as I was about to write this post up I received three emails from Blogger on three different posts, two from 2015 and one from 2014. They put one post behind a sensitive content warning. You can see it HERE. I guess the covers are a bit racy, so I wouldn't contest that warning. The next post was deleted for "violating our illegal activities policy". It was a book review for Untouchable by Ava Marsh. You can read my review on Goodreads HERE. Not sure how my review is supposedly promoting illegal activity...  and this book was published by Berkley! The third post was unpublished by them for "violating their Malware and Viruses policy". I have no idea what triggered that one.  In each of these emails they gave a link if I wanted to dispute their decision and they'd review it. I'm just wondering is it better to just ignore and leave it or should I have them review? These posts are several years old, so I don't care if they're not up anymore. Does anyone know if there's any negative impact by just moving on?

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

I ended up reading/listening to a lot of books with being snowed in. Two were novellas, though.

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

 

Instagram:

A winter wonderland.  It would be more wonderful if the power and Internet stayed on, lol. It was sunny for two days but the clouds came back today. I guess we're in for another big storm, a lot more snow so I'm happy we're at my sister's house now. 

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Audiobook Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

 

Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

Publication Date: April 19th 2011 by Brilliance Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 6min

Narrators: Luke Daniels

Source: Purchased

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

I re-read Hounded for Anne @Books of My Heart’s read-along (you can sign up HERE) and it was just as good as the first time! Listened straight through in one day. My original review was posted on The Readers Den, the blog I used to post on back in 2014.

Thoughts: It's funny how your reading tastes change over the years. I'm no longer a pure romance junkie, but tend to gravitate to mystery/thrillers with a bit of romance and Urban Fantasy. Since writing the review below I've read a lot of UF since first reading, and The Iron Druid Chronicles continues to be one of my favorites nine years later.

Original review posted January 14, 2014:

I’m first and foremost a romance junkie any genre I read usually must contain some amount.  So it was shocking to me that I enjoyed this so much when there isn’t any! I credit that to the highly entertaining and quick-witted Atticus O’Sullivan!

Atticus O’Sullivan may look like he’s twenty-one but in reality his age is over two thousand. He’s last of the Druids, trying to live a peaceful life running a New Age book and tea shop. Unfortunately, he’s had an age long feud with the Celtic god, Aenghus Og over a magical sword and this god is ready to take what he thinks is his.

 

Hounded was entertaining and fun.  A definite must for any Urban Fantasy fan or just anyone who loves a great story!  Witches, werewolves, vampires and Celtic mythology factor in heavily, and you’d think this would be overwhelming, but the story is fast paced with just enough information to keep you clued in without slowing the story down.

Atticus is a clever and thoughtful hero, who always seemed to be several steps ahead of any opponent like a strategic game of chess.  Loved his encounters with Emily the witch!

There’s lot of witty humor and laughs, and it was a treat being in Atticus’ head. Oberon, his loyal best friend and dog was also quite funny with his obsessive love of sausages and French poodles. 

There is no romance *sniff* BUT there is a hope and a hint (maybe?) of something to come.

I listed to the audio version of Hounded, which I highly recommend! Luke Daniels was an excellent narrator! 

 4 Stars

Book Description:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Review & Excerpt: Cold Blooded Liar by Karen Rose

 

Cold Blooded Liar (San Diego Case Files #1) by Karen Rose

Publication Date: February 28th 2023 by Berkley & Penguin Audio

Pages: 464

Source: Publisher & Purchased Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads | Audible

My Thoughts:

Detective Kit McKittrick was motivated to join the police force after a personal tragedy.  She’s dedicated her life to bringing killers to justice, so when a tip comes in that leads them to the body of a teenage girl she’s determined to find the person who called in the tip. Either he knows more about the killer or is the killer himself.

When Sam Reeves patient’s claims hint at him being a killer he doesn’t know how to tell the police without jeopardizing his career with patient confidentiality laws in place. However, Sam can’t live with himself if there’s someone in danger and he doesn’t do something about it. Little does he know that his tip with lead to him being a suspect.

In her heart Kit doesn’t think Sam is a murderer, but she doesn’t want to let her personal feelings dictate her investigation. While the police are somewhat mollified when he tells his side of the story he’s still under suspicion, and he doesn’t quite trust the cops, so Sam decides to do some of his own investigating. He’s actually good at it and ends up helping the police. I liked that Sam was smart about his situation and made sure to have backup and someone with him to corroborate his activities while still being under scrutiny from the police.

There’s a definite connection/attraction between Kit and Sam, but the investigation is the primary focus. I really liked both Kit and Sam! With the way things are left I’m hoping for more in the coming books.

Cold Blooded Liar was a captivating mystery! Karen Rose balances the personal aspects of her characters with a tight, page-turning plot! There were plenty of suspicious characters. It kept me on my toes trying to figure out the killer was!  

I alternately read and listened to an audio version of Cold Blooded Liar narrated by one of my favs, Hillary Huber. I love her smooth, rich voice and her performances of both female and male characters! I listened at my usual 1.5-1.75x normal speed.

4 Stars

Excerpt:

Longview Park, San Diego, California

Monday, April 4, 5:30 p.m.

Kit pulled the handkerchief across her nose and mouth as she watched the two CSU techs meticulously uncovering what was, indeed, a grave. Based on the odor, the body had been there awhile.

They'd arrived at the mystery caller's coordinates to find that the ground had settled somewhat, creating a slight depression that measured five and a half by two and a half feet.

Ground-penetrating radar had shown a body.

The victim had been small.

Kit slipped her hand into her pocket, finding the little cat-bird figurine. Stroking it with her thumb. Please don't be a child.

"I hope it's not a kid," Baz murmured, echoing her thoughts.

All homicides were difficult. Even drug dealers murdered on the street had been loved by someone. Were missed by someone.

But the child homicides were a completely different level of hell.

She looked away from the grave to where Sergeant Ryland, the CSU leader, was making a plaster cast of the only footprint they'd found in the area. It was a man's shoe, size eleven.

"You got anything for us, Ryland?" she called.

"I just might."

She and Baz walked from the grave site to where someone had stepped off the asphalt path, leaving the single footprint in the strip of ground between the path and the field of grass.

Ryland finished pouring the plaster over the footprint, smoothed it out, then set the timer on his phone. "Thirty minutes for the plaster to set. Come see the photos I took of the print while I wait." He retrieved his camera and beckoned them closer. "There was lettering on the sole of the shoe-likely a brand name. I can't quite make it out in the photo, but I'm hoping to get detail from the plaster cast."

"So it'll be seventy-two hours or so," Baz said and Ryland nodded.

Kit leaned closer to the screen. "Can you zoom in on it?"

Ryland did, handing the camera to Kit. "I can make out what looks like a Y at the end of the brand name, but-"

"Sperry," Kit said. "Sorry to interrupt, Sergeant. I recognize the logo. They're Sperry Top-Siders." She gave him back his camera. "My sister runs a charter fishing business and sometimes I first mate for her on my days off. A lot of her customers wear them."

Ryland studied the photo. "You could be right."

She was, Kit was certain. "Trouble is, that's a popular shoe. I've even got a pair."

"So do I," Baz said. "Tracking those will be nearly impossible."

Kit shrugged. "But when we find the guy who owns these shoes, we can put him at the scene. Any way to get a weight estimate on the wearer?"

Ryland shook his head. "Ground's too hard. Barely enough sinkage to get the plaster cast. I'll let you know when I have something definite."

"Detectives?" one of the techs at the grave called, his tone urgent. "Something over here you need to see."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Kit said, then approached the grave alongside Baz, schooling her expression. If it was a child's grave, she would maintain her professionalism. She'd let herself react later, when she was alone.

"Victim's a postpubescent female," the tech said when they were graveside. "The ME will be able to give you a better age than I can, but I'm guessing somewhere between fourteen and eighteen."

Feeling Baz's eyes on her, Kit reassured him with a quick glance. She was fine.

He always worried about her reaction when the victim was the same age that Wren had been when she'd been murdered, but after four years as a homicide detective, Kit had seen far too many victims who'd been Wren's age. It never got easier.

She hoped that it never would.

Excerpted from Cold-Blooded Liar by Karen Rose Copyright © 2023 by Karen Rose. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. 

Book Description:

Brace yourself for a scorching new series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose, where San Diego means sun, surf, sand...and serial killers.

Sam Reeves is a kindhearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients. After one of his patients—a pathological liar—starts revealing plausible new details from a long-unsolved serial murder case, he’s compelled to report anonymously to the SDPD tip line, though his attempts to respect patient confidentiality land him facedown and cuffed by the aggressive (and cute) Detective McKittrick.

San Diego homicide detective Kit McKittrick loves the water. She lives on a boat, and when she’s not solving crimes with the SDPD, she’s assisting her foster sister with her charter fishing business or playing with her poodle. But there’s nothing that intrigues Kit more than a cold case, so when an anonymous caller leads her on the path of a wanted killer, she’s determined to end the decade-long manhunt.

 

Sam is soon released but goes home with both a newfound distaste for the SDPD and a resolve—not unlike Kit’s—to uncover the truth. Kit and Sam repeatedly butt heads in their separate investigations but are forced to work together to find one of the deadliest serial killers the city has faced in years.

About the Author

Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the bestselling Baltimore and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages, and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany’s der Spiegel bestseller lists.

 

 

Review & Excerpt: Barbarian's Prize by Ruby Dixon

Barbarian's Prize (Ice Planet Barbarians #5) by Ruby Dixon

Publication Date: February 28th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Tiffany is one of the last human women on available “Not-Hoth” with the others having resonated and mated. So she’s inundated with male attention, something she doesn’t feel comfortable with at all.  Tiffany isn’t interested in any male after her time in the “bad” alien’s spaceship.  The abuse and assaults she suffered, which she has yet to share with anyone else, has made any male attention repugnant.  That is except for Salukh. He doesn’t pressure her like the other males and it’s easy to talk to him about her time and life on Earth and soon she finds herself confiding bits of her horrific time on the spaceship.

Salukh is sure Tiffany is his mate, but can’t understand why they haven’t resonated yet. He’s patient though, even more so when he finds out what she’s been through and sets about to win her friendship first and then her heart. I loved Salukh.

My heart went out to Tiffany in this installment. The sa-khui men didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable and it’s not their fault since Tiffany hasn’t told anyone the reasons why the attentions are so difficult for her. I felt bad for the guys that participated in the contests for Tiffany that Josie set up. Salukh suffered too because Tiffany wouldn’t speak up, but at the same time I know she went through hell so I couldn’t fault her too much. With Tiffany’s past experience you might think we’d skip the major sexy times present in the previous books, but that’s not the case. It is a more of a slow burn to start but grows into a sexy inferno! This series is hot stuff!

Barbarian’s Prize dealt with the aftermath of serious trauma, but was balanced with snarky, fun humor so it wasn’t predominately dark. I laughed at the bits with Chompy and smiled when Tiffany spent time with the new babies. Ice Planet Honeymoon is included in this Berkley special edition, which was a complete delight! Loved getting more of Chompy (too cute and funny!) and seeing Tiffany and Salukh get their HEA!

4 Stars

Excerpt:

Book Description:

Tiffany doesn’t care about all the attention she’s getting from the alien men, but there is one particular hunter she can see herself with—if only she can find a way to move forward from the past. . . .

It’s hard being the most popular girl on the ice planet. The alien men are falling all over themselves to impress me in the hopes that I’ll take them to my furs. But they don’t know my secrets. And they don’t realize that behind my smile, I just wish they’d take their courting presents and their competitions for my affection and go away. I want to be left alone. But on a planet where women are a scarcity, that won’t be happening.

If I had to choose a mate . . . it’d be someone with a gorgeous blue body, big horns, and the most intense gaze ever. Someone who knows the truth of what happened to me and why I don’t like attention. Patient, handsome Salukh knows my secrets. He knows why I have nightmares and why I don’t trust anyone. He’s willing to let me “experiment” with him. I can use him. Take what I need from him to work through my trauma. He’s been a good friend and the best shoulder to cry on.

There’s one small problem.

When it comes to us, he doesn’t just want to be my friend. He wants to be my forever. And day by day, he’s getting harder to resist. . . .

About the author:

Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius and a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of geriatric cats, and can’t think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring.

Sunday Post #196

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week.

I didn't post the previous Sunday because we were out of town with the kids and grandkids for the long weekend. It was fun but not much time to do anything else but entertain a seven and four year-old, cook, and clean. We went to a pizza place with old-fashioned Atari arcade games and the kids had fun playing them with some help. 

This week we had nice weather through Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday we had a lot of snow! I couldn't get out of my driveway to get to work on Friday, which was okay with me since I tweaked my back at work on Tuesday and didn't feel 100% anyhow. Did a puzzle while listening to audiobooks and thoroughly enjoyed my snow day. Pretty much the same today. I'll be venturing out to work tomorrow. My husband shoveled the driveaway and a nice neighbor plowed our street. 

Made sure to fill the birdfeeder out the front and sprinkle birdseed out so my bored kitty had some entertainment while being stuck inside. I was surprised he did go out for a short time to do his business! He is getting more used to the cold out here.

Bored kitty watching the birds outside

Read:

Click on cover for Goodreads link

Had some good ones here and a couple of books I had mixed feelings on. My favorite of the bunch was Murder at Haven's Rock. 

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

I scooped up Identity when Netgalley sent an email that it was "read it" for the first 1000 readers. Dead Letter Days is a novella that takes place before Murder at Haven's Rock and it's in Eric's POV! I've just started it. I'm also reading Ruby Spencer and enjoying it. Listening to Lovelight Farms and loving the narrator/story. It's a friends-to-lovers romance that Berkley acquired. I downloaded the ARC but noticed the audio was available at my library. LOVE that cover! 

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Book Challenges 2023

 I know this is a little late but I don't usually participate in very many book challenges other than Goodreads and Kimberly's Audiobook Challenge. Why? Because I usually don't invest the time to keep up and complete them.  However, I've seen these two and I like them. More importantly, I think I can meet them. I'm going conservative with both:

Library Love Challenge is hosted by Anne @Books of My Heart and Angel's Guilty Pleasures. You can sign up HERE.  

I'm shooting for:

Overdrive Junkie: 36 Books

I've already read 5 in this category so I think I'll make this level easily.

Bookish Books Reading Challenge is hosted by Susan @Blogginboutbooks. You can learn more and sign up HERE.

I'm aiming for:

Picking and Perusing: 10-20 Books

I just went through my books and was surprised I've already read 3, so yay!

What challenges have you signed up for?

5 Romance Book Giveaway!

 Hello readers! I'm listing another giveaway because my bookshelves only have so much room!

Kiss Me Now, Cowboy by Dylann Crush-Paperback

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes-Paperback ARC

Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese-Paperback

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges-Paperback

Do I Know You by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka-Paperback

The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

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