Playing Catch Up! Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch U

p Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*

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Eternal (Tantalize #2) by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: February 10, 2009
Publisher: Candlewick Press

With diabolical wit, the author of TANATALIZE revisits a deliciously dark world where vampires vie with angels — and girls just want to have fangs.

At last, Miranda is the life of the party: all she had to do was die. Elevated and adopted by none other than the reigning King of the Mantle of Dracul, Miranda goes from high-school theater wannabe to glamorous royal fiend overnight. Meanwhile, her reckless and adoring guardian angel, Zachary, demoted to human guise as the princess’s personal assistant, has his work cut out for him trying to save his girl’s soul and plan the Master’s fast-approaching Death Day gala. In alternating points of view, Miranda and Zachary navigate a cut-throat eternal aristocracy as they play out a dangerous and darkly hilarious love story for the ages..

Eternal is the second book in the Tantalize series by Cynthia Leitich Smith. The focus shifts from Quincie to Miranda and Zachary in this book. Zachary is Miranda's guardian angel, and he's in love with her, but she doesn't know he exists. Literally. We get both of their points of view which really helped round out their story. I liked being able to get into both Miranda and Zachary's heads to really know what they were thinking, how they felt, and everything in between. Once Miranda gets turned into a vampire, she seems to completely embrace it even if she's not that sure of herself yet. She doesn't seem to miss her humanity. Zachary is determined to save her, but as the blurb said, he's been demoted. So, that makes things tricky. There was a lot of transitioning of Miranda's character, because when we first meet her, she's human. Then she's turned, and we see a different Miranda, or at least a different side to her, and she keeps on transitioning and/growing as the story progresses. The story was fast paced and engaging. These characters, "The King" included, interested me more than the characters of the first book. I liked their story better than Quincie's so far too. I'm not sure where it's all heading just yet, but it's definitely been entertaining.

I MAY BE HEAVEN-SENT, but I'm not perfect. I watch my girl slip the oversize Dallas Cowboys T-shirt over her pink bikini panties and turn in for the night. That sounds perverted, I know. But I've always watched her dress, undress, shower, and bathe. Then there was that one blessed weekend last August when the air conditioner broke. She spent a full day in bed buck naked, reading Tolkien under the ceiling fan. It's not like I look look. Not usually. What's more, it's my job to keep an eye on her 24/7. I'm Miranda's guardian angel (GA for short). A newbie created after the first atomic blast in 1945. Miranda is my second assignment and my reason for being. Not that she has clue one. She can't even see me. Nobody can unless I choose to show myself. That's a no-no. We GAs have our limits. Sure, we help out when we can, but not in any way that's clearly detectable . . . or at least traceable (I'm known to push the limits now and then). Night after night, I watch her sleep. She's restless. Always restless. I'm forever rearranging the sheets so her legs don't get tangled. Otherwise, she'll wake up. She doesn't get enough rest as it is. She worries about little mistakes. Or what she frets are mistakes. What other people think of her. What will happen next. All humans do. I wish they could glimpse infinity. It would make glitches like a C in algebra or a nitpicking parent or being ignored by The Guy feel a whole lot less fatal. I would love to talk to Miranda. To tell her that. She woke up crying twice last year around the time of her parents' divorce. I don't know what she dreams about. I've heard that older angels can tap into the mind. Sounds tempting, right? But I wouldn't do that. Or at least I can't. I'm already so here. Miranda deserves her own mental space. This is her physical space, though. My fave place on terra firma. Since she's sound asleep, I risk assuming solid form on a denim beanbag chair, taking it in. Four cream-colored walls, two windows, eight-foot ceilings, outdated gold shag. A twin bed, desk set, tall cedar dresser, and hope chest. The blanket her grandma knitted. The stuffed toy penguin from SeaWorld. The poster of the earth that reads: HOME, SWEET HOME. Here, I can see the little girl she was. The woman she's turning into. Miranda began wearing bras like the one hanging off the back of her desk chair in fifth grade. She gave up on the third of her fuzzy pink diaries that same year. One wall is covered by a bookcase. She reads paperbacks mostly. Lots of series titles. One shelf is jammed full of acting and theater books. The library stack on the desk waits to be returned. The college information packet beside it is from the University of North Texas. The cell phone next to her PC hasn't worked since it went through the wash last weekend. Beside it rest copies of A Tale of Two Cities and Romeo and Juliet. Dickens is assigned reading, but Shakespeare is Miranda's ticket to her dream. Today's date is circled in red on the Narnia calendar. Spring-play auditions are this afternoon. My girl is so shy. I'm surprised she signed up. Mr. Nesbit is taking a drink of water from the bottle attached to his cage. He's good company, for a gerbil. I dissolve again so I don't have to wiggle up from the beanbag. It's time to check on Miranda. To breathe in her lemongrass body wash. To study her heart-shaped face. It's something I do almost as often as humans blink. This time is different. Horrific. I recoil, looking for another explanation. But the ladybug nightlight is still on. The nearly full moon hasn't been eclipsed. A smoky gray film swirls around Miranda. It clings to her. It twists into long-fingered hands, caressing her cheeks, pawing at her slim neck and shoulders. It lengthens into a translucent sheet, covering her body, sliding up over her head. It's wrong. It has to be. But I've seen it before. My girl is sleeping in the shadow of Death.

Check out my reviews of other books in this series!

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of the award-winning Feral series and Tantalize series. These adventure-fantasies were published by Candlewick Press in the U.S., Walker Books in the U.K. and Australia/New Zealand, and additional publishers around the globe.

Cynthia also is the author of several award-winning children’s books, including: Jingle Dancer, Rain Is Not My Indian Name; and Indian Shoes, all published by HarperCollins.

She serves on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books.

To learn more about Cynthia Leitich Smith and her books, visit her website & blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

   

  

  

Book Review of Tru Blue by Melissa Foster

Tru Blue by Melissa Foster
Genre: Adult (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: November 9, 2016
Publisher: World Literary Press

He wore the skin of a killer, and bore the heart of a lover...

There's nothing Truman Gritt won't do to protect his family--Including spending years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. When he's finally released, the life he knew is turned upside down by his mother's overdose, and Truman steps in to raise the children she's left behind. Truman's hard, he's secretive, and he's trying to save a brother who's even more broken than he is. He's never needed help in his life, and when beautiful Gemma Wright tries to step in, he's less than accepting. But Gemma has a way of slithering into people's lives and eventually she pierces through his ironclad heart. When Truman's dark past collides with his future, his loyalties will be tested, and he'll be faced with his toughest decision yet.

The hits just kept coming for the poor characters of Tru Blue by Melissa Foster. Truman has had a rough life. He spent a lot of it in jail for a crime he didn't even commit, but for him, family comes first. In walks Gemma, and she's like sunshine to his dark clouds. She makes herself a part of his life, and the lives of his little siblings. They become this cute family of sorts. Seriously, they're adorable. Truman is a man with many layers though, and Gemma doesn't know all about his layers yet. There was so much going on in this story. You never knew when danger or trouble or another secret was going to pop up. It really kept the flow of the book going, and I finished reading it in no time. This is a perfect beach or airplane book, because once I started reading it, I was completely immersed in their world, wondering what was going to happen and how Gemma would handle certain information. The time flew by.

The ARC of Tru Blue by Melissa Foster was kindly provided to me by Tasty Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Chapter One
TRUMAN GRITT LOCKED the door to Whiskey Automotive and stepped into the stormy September night. Sheets of rain blurred his vision, instantly drenching his jeans and T-shirt. A slow smile crept across his face as he tipped his chin up, soaking in the shower of freedom. He made his way around the dark building and climbed the wooden stairs to the deck outside his apartment. He could have used the interior door, but after being behind bars for six long years, Truman took advantage of the small pleasures he’d missed out on, like determining his own schedule, deciding when to eat and drink, and standing in the fucking rain if he wanted to. He leaned on the rough wooden railing, ignoring the splinters of wood piercing his tattooed forearms, squinted against the wetness, and scanned the cars in the junkyard they used for parts—and he used to rid himself of frustrations. He rested his leather boot on the metal box where he kept his painting supplies. Truman didn’t have much—his old extended-cab truck, which his friend Bear Whiskey had held on to for him while he was in prison, this apartment, and a solid job, both of which were compliments of the Whiskey family. The only family he had anymore.
Emotions he didn’t want to deal with burned in his gut, causing his chest to constrict. He turned to go inside, hoping to outrun thoughts of his own fucked-up family, whom he’d tried—and failed—to save. His cell phone rang with his brother’s ringtone, “A Beautiful Lie” by 30 Seconds to Mars.
“Fuck,” he muttered, debating letting the call go to voicemail, but six months of silence from his brother was a long time. Rain pelleted his back as he pressed his palm to the door to steady himself. The ringing stopped, and he blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d trapped inside. The phone rang again, and he froze.
He’d just freed himself from the dredges of hell that he’d been thrown into in an effort to save his brother. He didn’t need to get wrapped up in whatever mess the drug-addicted fool had gotten himself into. The call went to voicemail, and Truman eyed the metal box containing his painting supplies. Breathing like he’d been in a fight, he wished he could paint the frustration out of his head. When the phone rang for the third time in as many minutes, the third time since he was released from prison six months ago, he reluctantly answered.
“Quincy.” He hated the way his brother’s name came out sounding like the enemy. Quincy had been just a kid when Truman went to prison. Heavy breathing filled the airwaves. The hairs on Truman’s forearms and neck stood on end. He knew fear when he heard it. He could practically taste it as he ground his teeth together.
“I need you,” his brother’s tortured voice implored.
Need me? Truman had hunted down his brother after he was released from prison, and when he’d finally found him, Quincy was so high on crack he was nearly incoherent—but it didn’t take much for fuck off to come through loud and clear. What Quincy needed was rehab, but Truman knew from his tone that wasn’t the point of the call.
Before he could respond, his brother croaked out, “It’s Mom. She’s really bad.”
Fuck. He hadn’t had a mother since she turned her back on him more than six years ago, and he wasn’t about to throw away the stability he’d finally found for the woman who’d sent him to prison and never looked back.
He scrubbed a hand down his rain-soaked face. “Take her to the hospital.”
“No cops. No hospitals. Please, man.”
A painful, high-pitched wail sounded through the phone.
“What have you done?” Truman growled, the pit of his stomach plummeting as memories of another dark night years earlier came rushing in. He paced the deck as thunder rumbled overhead like a warning. “Where are you?”
Quincy rattled off the address of a seedy area about thirty minutes outside of Peaceful Harbor, and then the line went dead.
Truman’s thumb hovered over the cell phone screen. Three little numbers—9-1-1— would extricate him from whatever mess Quincy and their mother had gotten into. Images of his mother spewing lies that would send him away and of Quincy, a frightened boy of thirteen, looking devastated and childlike despite his near six-foot stature, assailed him.
Push the buttons.
Push the fucking buttons.
He remembered Quincy’s wide blue eyes screaming silent apologies as Truman’s sentence was revealed. It was those pleading eyes he saw now, fucked up or not, that had him trudging through the rain to his truck and driving over the bridge, leaving Peaceful Harbor and his safe, stable world behind.

Check out my reviews of other books by this author!

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

To learn more about Melissa Foster and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Kindle Scout Voting Blitz! Princess Dracula by John Patrick Kennedy

Princess Dracula (Princess Dracula #1) by John Patrick Kennedy
Genre: Adult (Paranormal/ Urban Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: TBD
Publisher: TBD

Princess Dracula: Old legend, new blood.

What if you had power …and no idea how to use it? Ruxandra was raised in a convent, and taught everything she needed to know to be the perfect nobleman's wife. But when her father, Vlad Dracula, comes for her on her 18th birthday, securing her marriage is not what he has in mind. What happens instead grants her inhuman power at the cost of unbearable loneliness. Now, alone and terrified of what she has become, Ruxandra must learn to control her bloodlust…before she destroys what’s left of her. 

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John Patrick Kennedy has been writing stories ever since he could write. At first, his imagination was his escape from a difficult childhood, where he never seemed to "fit in." Other kids taunted him for being different and John began to create worlds in his stories where he could feel safe and secure; stronger and more confident.

When John grew older, he discovered a taste for wanderlust and adventure. As a young man, he traveled the world with little but what he could carry on his back. He has climbed Denali, hiked the Amazon, and even spent a year in Japan, teaching English and feeding deer in the famous Nara Park. His love of Asian history and philosophy has led him to become a master at Jeet Kune Do and a practicing Taoist.

John now divides his time between two homes, one in New York City, the other in London. He is married with a beautiful little girl who inspires and captivates him. They share their homes with a loyal, loving, German Shepherd. A man of many interests and talents, John has been a world-ranked tennis pro, a ballroom dancer, chef… and of course, he remains, and always will be a writer. All of John's many interests and adventures have inspired his writing. In addition, his imagination is so vivid and dear, it is almost as if he lives part-time within a third home in his mind, an inner world his readers glimpse when they read his novels.

John writes on a Macbook Pro and finds himself hardly able to go a day without creating something, be it an idea in infancy, or one of the many novels he has going at any time. He is prolific and some friends say, even manic in the pursuit and perfection of his craft. He loves to rip wide open his readers' minds, showing them something—a world, a character—they have never read or experienced before.

To learn more about John Patrick Kennedy and his books, visit his website.You can also find him on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Book Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

The Great Hunt (Eurona Duology #1) by Wendy Higgins
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy Romance/Fractured Fairy Tale)
Date Published: March 8, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen

“Aerity…” Her father paused as if the words he was forming pained him. “I must ask you to sacrifice the promise of love for the sake of our kingdom.”

She could only stare back, frozen.

When a strange beast terrorizes the kingdom of Lochlanach, fear stirs revolt. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity knows her duty to the kingdom but cannot bear the idea of marrying a stranger... until a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention. There’s no denying the unspoken lure between them... or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not the marrying type. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast—but the princess continues to surprise him, and the perilous secrets he’s buried begin to surface.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, and a princess willing to risk all to save her kingdom. 

The Great Hunt is the first book in the Eurona Duology by Wendy Higgins. I'm not familiar with The Singing Bone, so I'm not sure how this story compares to that fairy tale. This is one of my favorite authors, and I couldn't wait to finally read her newest book. This was a completely different read than the Sweet series, but I loved it just as much. Princess Aerity was easy to relate to, maybe not the whole princess part, but her personality, her interactions with her family, and her responses to Paxton really make her come alive as a character. Paxton feels a lot, but he doesn't let anyone know it, and he has to keep things hidden to survive. If people find out what he is, they'll judge him out of fear or ignorance or maybe both. I think he feels like he's always the outsider, even within his own family, though they seem to love him a lot. I really felt for his character, and found him to be very intriguing. Around Pax and Aerity, there are other mini stories going on. Aerity's cousin, Wyneth, has recenly lost her love and is struggling with new emotions and the guilt that comes with them. Aerity's sister, Vixie, is coming of age herself and is drawn to Pax's brother as a friend or maybe more? So, there is much going on within this story, and I haven't even mentioned the mysterious beast that's killing people at night. Though this isn't France, the mystery surrounding the beast reminded me a little bit of the Beast of Gévaudan. That just added to the intrigue for me, as the Beast of Gévaudan is something that has always sparked my curiosity.

Needless to say, I'm pretty hooked already. The wait for the next book is going to be agonizing.

Aerity had never felt more nervous in her life as he made his slow approach. She wasn’t accustomed to feeling this way, her body out of sorts, her thoughts scattered. She was glad to have the silks to cling to.

Paxton took his time. Aerity thought she should say something, perhaps a witty quip, but she was afraid she’d sound breathless. She didn’t want him to know how he affected her. He walked a circle around her, moving nearer, his eyes scrutinizing every element in that curious way of his. Aerity kept very still. No lad other than Harrison had dared to get this close. He stopped in front of her and looked skyward. His eyes trailed up the silks to the ceiling and he reached up, his fingers and palm wrapping around the smooth fabric, feeling his way down. When he got to her hand he let go, never touching her.

“I wonder,” he said quietly. His eyes roamed over her hair and face, her robe cinched at the waist. If he thought she looked silly he didn’t show it.

“You wonder what?” She was horrified to hear that she indeed sounded as breathless as she was. Curses.

Paxton’s hand drifted over the hair at her shoulder, his fingers gathering a mass of light red strands and winding them gently about his palm until her long tresses were a loose knot around his strong hand. She could feel the light tug at her scalp as his fist slightly tightened. Her chest fluttered at the sight of his thumb running back and forth over the taut hair there. She suddenly wished she could feel that caress.

Check out my reviews of the Sweet Series by Wendy Higgins! You definitely don't want to miss these books!

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen, the high fantasy duology The Great Hunt, and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue.
Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford University. She is represented by Jill Corcoran of the Jill Corcoran Literary Agency.

To learn more about Wendy Higgins and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter.