Author: Colleen Gleason {site}
Genre: Supernatural, Dark Fantasy, Historical Romance
Format: Adobe Digital Editions
Published: 26 April 2011
Disclosure: Received for review via NetGalley

Synopsis: {via amazon}

Dimitri, also known as the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed—and bewitched—the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.


Miss Woodmore's family has a rather…complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women's intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except passion.


In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitri come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation and fiercest desire.

Review:

I could literally go on and on, gushing about how much I loved this book. I read The Vampire Voss in February, I even ended up enjoying it (thought I didn’t initially), but The Vampire Dimitri is so much better than it’s predecessor. Dimitri and Maia are much more likable characters than Voss and Angelica — truly it was Dimitri’s character that kept me reading Voss, I’d likely have quit at the start were it not for him. Truly, I have a thing for dark, brooding characters. Quick witted, rakish character’s are okay, but I enjoy the dark ones so much more. Dimitri is just that, he’s dark and self loathing, and one cannot help but love him for it.

I also love Maia, who unlike her sister Angelica, is not a giggling daisy of a girl. Rather, she is strong willed, opinionated, and has strength of conviction. She and Dimitri make a perfect couple. They’re both cerebral and love one another a little bit too much for their own good. I did enjoy the cameo’s by both Voss and Angelica in this novel, however.  I also enjoyed seeing Chas (the Woodmore brother) and Narcise, his vampire lover.  It made a nice set up for the final book in the trilogy, The Vampire Narcise — which I have recently gotten from NetGalley!!

This book was so good, in fact, that I read the entire thing in one night. I rarely do that, I’m entirely too busy to keep glued to a book for more than a few hours at a time, but this book swallowed me up whole and refused to let me go until it was finished, likely a reaction to my anticipation. So, if you love historical fiction, vampire stories, and romance novels, this book is an absolute must! This series is an absolute must. It’s certainly takes a new spin on an old formula.

Available for {paperback | kindle}


Rating:

Author: Edward G. Talbot {site}
Genre: Dystopian, Political Intrigue, Suspense
Format: Kindle (.mobi)
Published: 15 February 2011
Disclosure: Received from the Author (review copy)

Synopsis: {via author's site}

In the nineteen-sixties, a group of wealthy men concludes that it's already too late to stop global warming from destroying the planet. But they have a plan to save themselves.

Twenty years later, Jack Crowley and Jim Patterson stumble onto the conspiracy, and every answer they find is accompanied by more questions - and more deaths.

Jack is a former idealist, turned cynical by his years working as a New York tabloid editor. But his enthusiasm returns as he looks into the work of a NASA scientist who tells Jack about cover-ups at the space agency. Jim is a detective with little patience for conspiracy nuts. But he hates loose ends, and is unable to let go of the inconsistencies in another suspicious NASA death. Soon, his investigation leads him to Jack, and they join forces.

As Jack and Jim dig deeper, they are targeted by the type of killers that don't usually miss. From Washington to Las Vegas to the Middle East, they manage to stay one step ahead of their pursuers in a race to expose the truth, and maybe, just maybe, save the world.

Review:

I won't lie, New World Orders is not my usual reading.  I'm somewhat stuck in the paranormal, paranormal romance, romantic comedy-type reading rut, but when offered the chance to read this book I jumped at the opportunity for three reasons: the synopsis was interesting, the author was very nice, and it had gotten some good reviews by people I respect -- like James Melzer.  There was simply no way I could pass, after all, what was the worst that could happen, I could dislike it? Now that I'm done, I'm terribly glad that I stepped outside of my usual reading milieu; I don't think I could have enjoyed this book more.

It's very much a "what happens when political intrigue (and a "bad guy" that's quite likable, I think) meets ecological crisis."  The plot's premise was interesting and well formulated, with no plot holes or loose ends. The characters are very well fleshed out, and quite unique, and I enjoyed seeing some rather famous personalities along the way (I won't say who, I'd hate to ruin the surprise!). The setting is well developed and quite easy to imagine, and the book's pace is almost break-neck.  It moves quite quickly, but the pace has a way of sucking you in.  It certainly kept me turning the page -- I lost a heck of a lot of sleep on this book!

One of the most impressive things, however, was how theatrical this book was. I could imagine the whole thing, playing out in my mind in perfect detail, like a movie plays out on the screen. It's that visually stimulating. The writing is so crisp and well edited, and the e-book is so well formated, that no distraction from the story occurs along the way. The prose flow naturally, from one point to the next, in a very clear and followable way.

New World Orders is a must read, I highly recommend it to all readers, and at only .99¢ it's an absolute steal!

Rating:




Available for {kindle | nook | smashwords}

As a graduate student, working as a graduate assistant, my time for reading has to be carefully managed. Otherwise, I get nothing read, except the books for class.  As an avid reader, that's just acceptable. I have to be able to read for fun, too, else I go a little crazy! This is where my beloved Kindle comes in... I cannot believe there was life before Kindle.  How did I carry all those books around?!

With that in mind, here's what I have lined up for the next feel reads...

Currently Reading

Colleen Gleason's The Vampire Voss is my current read, and I must say, it's taking me a while to warm up to it. It's a vampire story, as the name suggests, and while I normally fall in love with vampire tales, I'm really struggling to connect to this book.  I'm trying, however, to reserve judgment until I've gotten it finished. So far, it makes really great bedtime reading (especially thanks to my Kindle's lighted cover).  It shouldn't be long until I have it finished and reviewed.  The one thing I know, without a doubt, is that I will be picking up the next book in the series The Vampire Dimitri when it comes out.  Voss is okay, but I am absolutely in love with Dimitri!!

The Vampire Voss is set to release March 22, 2011. I'm not certain what formats will be available, but I'll keep you posted.

Disclaimer: This book was made available to me via e-ARC through NetGalley.

Up Next

I've recieved several review requests lately (thank you!) and have queued up those novels for my next reads in the order that I received them. So, those up next include:

- New World Orders by Edward G. Talbot is next in line and I cannot wait to read it!
- My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond
- The Summoner by Layton Green

Graciously, all of these books have been made available to me by the authors, for review, and I'm truly looking forward to reading each one (in the next few weeks, I promise!!).

So what about you?  I'd be interested to hear what others are reading!

I took a short, informal poll on twitter this morning regarding the cost of e-books, and the responses I got were interesting. You see, I was looking to buy a book (666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce) when I realized that the Kindle e-book was a dollar and a half more expensive than the paperback. While part of the reason to have gotten a Kindle was to slow the build-up of books around my already helplessly overcrowded little house, I have a problem paying more for an e-book than for a paperback. There's nothing physical to drive up the cost, so a physical book should always be more expensive, in my opinion, than an e-book which is formated and transmitted electronically. I understand that a great deal of work went into producing the book, and I wouldn't have had a problem if they were the same price, or if the e-book was only slightly cheaper. I just don't want to pay more for pixels than for paperbacks.



So what did my twitter pals say?

Well, the responses were mixed.

While some said they would never pay more for an e-book than for paperbacks, others said they didn't count cost in the benefits/drawbacks of the e-reader. I even got one response that said it's situational and depended upon how much she needed the book. The more urgently she needed the book, the more likely she would be to pay more for an e-book.  One pal, who I've known for quite some time, had no opinion but to agree that the book I was looking at sounded amazing and that he would have to read it!

So what about you? Would you pay more for an e-book than for a paperback? Does cost factor into your decision to buy an e-book? Do you think e-books are the devil's spawn sent as the harbinger of the destruction of all of book-kind? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think, I'm really interested, especially since my little twitter poll yielded such mixed results.

Image via TNW

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been conscious of my impact on the environment -- I even sent McDonald's a letter, when I was 8 years old, asking them to stop using Styrofoam. While I'm not one of those people who believe that humans are the cause of global warming, or that we're destroying the planet, I do believe that we should all make an attempt to keep our planet clean. We live here, we use the earth's resources, and we should try to be as careful with those resources as possible. That's where I come in on the environment, so when I bought my Kindle earlier this month (well, actually it was in mid-January), a consideration for me was certainly the environmental impact of an e-reader over traditional print media.

By way of full disclosure, I should tell you, I love books. This isn't a secret. Anyone who knows me knows that I love everything about books, the scent, the feel; I love books so much that I use to be an avid opponent of e-publishing in all forms. Naïvely, I believed that e-books were destroying the tactile experiences I associated with my beloved books. I've since come to my senses and have very strong opinions about the future of publishing and how e-publishing comes into that future. I have friends who self-publish, or publish with small press, in e-book format for all e-readers, including the Amazon Kindle. All that said, I'm keenly aware that books, that tactile experience I love so much, is made of paper and that paper is trees. Paper means that somewhere, trees were cut down, and there're few things I dislike more than the wanton destruction of nature for my personal enjoyment. Of course, paper's not the only problem, but also the fact that for every book I held in my hand, transportation burned fuel to get it to me. Buying books online, something we're all guilty of, is no better. The mail brings us those books at a price to the environment. So we didn't drive to Barnes & Noble, or Hastings, to get that book, someone had to drive it to us or we wouldn't have it.

When we think, then, about our carbon footprint, we usually take into account the things we do in our direct, everyday lives that consume resources. What we fail to consider, in most cases, are the things others do on our behalf that likewise consumes resources. Books, though we may love them, increase our carbon footprint. Of this, I'm aware. So, when I realized I could buy books with one click, that they would arrive at my Kindle in a matter of seconds, and that I could read them without the expenditure of natural resources, I really liked that idea. Not to mention, I tend toward terrible impatience.  I want books when I buy them, not in two or three days, but now.  I know, patience is a virtue, but one I've never managed to master.

Now before I sound more like a raving tree hugger (not that there's anything wrong with raving tree huggers), I should say that the environment is not the only reason I bought the Kindle.  It is a reason, but not the reason. Still, the environment is a big thing for me and my awareness of it where books are concerned is not to be understated.  I'm also aware that environmental resources are consumed in the creation and distribution of the Kindle and other e-readers, they're not without their own environmental impact, but I would argue that it's much smaller than that of traditional print media.

Interestingly, recent studies show that e-readers might not be more efficient than books, but there's a catch.  According to EcoLibris, the New York Times published a story in December 2009 that suggests that e-readers are only more ecologically friendly if you read more than 40 books per year.  Not everyone reads at a rate that's high enough to make any sort of dent in the environment by reading traditional print media.  To that, I would argue that those books are being published anyway, whether an individual consumer reads 10 books or 100 books per year, they'll sell to someone, so the impact is made.  In other words, the focus should be on the publishing industry, not the individual.  If, however, more people began to read via e-reader, then less books would be published and distributed, decreasing consumption considerably.

Of course, I don't believe books should be put out of print. Far from it, after all, I love books. I just feel like more awareness should be brought not only to the environmental ramifications of traditional print practices, but also to the changes occurring in the publishing industry. Oh, and did I mention that e-books are cheaper than print books?  So much so, in fact, that thousands of classics are completely free. I'm all about saving green while saving green!!

Since getting my Kindle a few weeks ago, I've ordered upwards of a dozen books and downloaded another dozen or so free books. I read well over 40 books a year (when time permits), so it's more then economical for me to have bought it, especially since the Kindle wins the eco-friendly e-book reading race, with Sony close behind, for their immense battery life. I love my Kindle and the fact that it makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing by the environment is an added bonus that helps that 8 year old girl in me, the one who sent a letter to a franchise to protest their packaging, sleep better at night.

EcoLibris: http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp

As an author, I'm always interested in meeting other authors. It's amazing to see the process of others and has been a definite learning experience. It has also been incredibly encouraging, even inspiring, to be surrounded by others who love words as much as I do.  I have friends who write, Phoena for example, who is a writing machine. I'm so incredibly inspired by her eternal optimism about writing!!  Over the last few years, Twitter has also been enormously helpful in connecting with other authors; I've met some of the most amazing people via Twitter!

Two of those amazing people, Michele Bekemeyer and Jennifer Hudock, have just this week published their novels! I'm so thrilled for the both of them and if I said I'm not inspired by their successes, I'd be lying.

Michele Bekemeyer's novel, At Journey's End, is the second novel in her "Scandal's of the Heart" series. Both At Journey's End, and her first novel Trapping a Duchess, are beautifully written regency romance! I've had the opportunity to read both novels, and I cannot wait for the next to be released, I'm dying to know what she has in store!! I highly recommend both novels, which are available in both print and e-book through Republica Press, Michele's website, or from Amazon.com.

At Journey's End synopsis, from Michele's website:

Alexandra Wolter is beautiful, intelligent, wealthy…and ruined. She’s spent the last two years abroad, making peace with her fate while searching for happiness on distant shores. When an unexpected revelation changes her plans for the future, she finds the man who stole her innocence at the helm of her self-discovery. Returning to England may mark the end of her travels, but her journey has only just beginning.

Charles Devon has spent years regretting the way he treated Alexandra. When fate gives him a second chance, he is all too willing to take it. But Alexandra isn’t the timid girl she was before she left. Altering her perceptions is hard enough, but when danger threatens, he is faced with the most difficult task of his life: Saving her.

The first novel in the series, Trapping a Duchess, is also available in print, e-book, and podcast via Podiobooks.

Jennifer Hudock's novel, Goblin Market, is a wonderful dark fantasy inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem by the same name.  In 2009, Jennifer began podcasting Goblin Market, and has this week released her debut novel as an e-book on both Smashwords and Amazon.  I cannot wait to get my paws on it for my Kindle -- I've had the chance to hear it via podcast and I loved it!!  Jennifer has also written and released several short story collections, with another on the way, so check out her Amazon page when you head that way to get Goblin Market, she's truly talented!

Goblin Market synopsis, from Jennifer's website:

Meredith Drexler has been the sole caretaker for her young sister Christina ever since their father went away. Sacrificing her life and her freedom to ensure Christina has a better life, Merry’s only escape from the monotony of every day life is her daydreams. When Christina arrives home late one evening speaking in delirious riddles, Meredith discovers her sister has been poisoned by Goblin fruit obtained in the Goblin Market.

She must travel to the heart of the Goblin Kingdom to retrieve the antidote to save her sister’s life, but at a price no sister should ever have to pay. Along the way, Meredith falls in love with the forest god who names himself her consort, and discovers a strange truth about her past and her identity.

Currently, Jennifer is working on the sequel, Jack in the Green, and like Michele's next book, I simply cannot wait to find out what Jennifer has in store!

So, now that you know, go get them!  They're both talented ladies, with great novels, and you'll enjoy them, I promise!!

I wrote yesterday about my love of books, bookstores, and the tactile experience of reading.  The theme was concern with what electronic media is doing to books and bookstores, but there're two sides to every story.   This isn't a fairytale where electronic publishing is the villain, locking books away in the tower.  This is war, an epic battle traditional print media and new and upcoming authors.  Unfortunately, the battle between authors and publishing big-wigs is laying to waste books, bookstores, and publishing houses at every turn -- HarperStudios, a HarperCollins Imprint, is closing its doors this summer.  The saddest part is, if traditional publishers could just let go their outdated superiority and lend a helping hand to new authors, if they could open themselves up to authorial success, rather than rejecting them out of turn, the casualties could be reduced.

Honestly, I don't object entirely to electronic media.   I only feel a sadness at the perceived loss of something I love, print books.  The fact of the matter is, e-publishing is making it easier for new voices in the industry to bring their work to wider audiences, without running the mind-boggling, hair pulling, gauntlet of disappointment that comes with trying to navigate traditional print publishers who, set in their ways, often reject new voices out of hand.  Does this mean I want to lose books?  Absolutely not, but e-publishing is making short stories and poetry collections more accessible to wider audiences at reasonable prices, something I can absolutely get behind.  It's allowing new authors to take control of their careers, to sell and promote their own work, and to rise (or fall) by their own efforts.  Who wouldn't support that?

My friend, Jennifer Hudock of The Inner Bean, published a great article on traditional print media and e-publishing that you have to read.  As someone who's out there, trying to sell her work (which is excellent by the way), she's found her way to e-publishing for e-readers through both Amazon and Smashwords.  So, hop over take a peek at her perspective and while you're there, check out her work.  And when you're done, see if you don't agree that sometimes we have to put aside our fear of losing something we love, like I'm trying to do with print books, and embrace something new.  Sometimes, e-publishing is, in fact, a good thing!