Saturday Pages: Sword & Verse and The Dirt on Ninth Grave!!

Hey there guys!

How's the weekend going so far? Mine is going well, will be re-reading Red Rising and reading Rebel of the Sands today and tomorrow! YAY for reading plans ;)

For this week's Saturday Pages I have another installment of one of my all time fave urban fantasy series that I am NOT losing interest in and my Alyssa Recommends book for February that will also count towards the 2016 Debut Author Challenge!


The Dirt on Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After the massive cliffhanger and wrench that Darynda threw on the previous book and all the info we were given and all the shocks and battles, I wasn't sure how this one was going to work out... aaaand I really should have not doubted Ms Jones because it was perfect!! And if you aren't up to date with the series yet, this is the moment when you stop reading because I'm not sure I'll be able to review this one without spoilers cropping up!!

Janey is trying to figure out who she is after waking up with amnesia in a small village in New York and if amnesia wasn't bad enough, she can see dead people and many other things that would land her in a psych ward if she ever were to tell anyone. It was so endearing to see her figuring out the why's and how's and doing what she's always done without knowing that she is. And she finds herself surrounded by the people that love her and she doesn't even know who they are!

Being in her shoes has to be hard, not knowing who you are or if you have anyone that cares for you and wondering where they are? But I think for the rest of the gang and specially Reyes, it had to be even MORE painful! Given all that, this one was a terribly emotional book, and I'd take a guy like Reyes Alexander Farrow any day of the week, son of Satan or not!

By the end of the book her amnesia is more dangerous than ever and we find ourselves hoping that Janey can put things together before the shit seriously hits the fan, and we get more than a few surprises along the way, with one or two tidbits of information that were as unexpected for her as they were for us!! Now I'm wondering what Darynda Jones will have in store for the next book and I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT!!

Very much deserved 4.5 stars to this one!!

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 Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is one of those times when you have things that you really really loved about a book and then things that really annoyed you so you end up giving it 3 stars because it feels fair, and decide to add a .5 extra because you really liked how everything was wrapped up in the end!

The big positives for this book for me? The gorgeous writing and the stunning world building!! I loved the story of the Gods snippets that we got at the beginning of every chapter, I loved everything that surrounded the writing and the God's language and the one of the Learned Ones and the Arnath and the way the society and everything was described, so visually and not stopping the flow of the book.

The negatives are mostly two: I wasn't sure where the book was going plot wise, was the rebellion attacking? Was there gonna be a coup? Both? Neither? It felt like it took forever to things to come clear. And then I didn't connect with Raisa nor with Mati and I wasn't 100% sold on them or their relationship. I don't know why they kept irking me so often and made me want to shake them so badly sometimes! I'm usually much better at empathising with characters, but Raisa and Mati continued to make unwise choices and then wonder why shit happened... GAH! I feel like I'm somehow being unfair to the characters, but there were so many occasions they irritated me... *sigh*

The climax and the ending was done really well and I loved how Mati and Raisa had stopped making choices that irritated me to no end and of course the unexpected twist was quite something! The ending is open enough but also conclusive enough to work for both a standalone and first in series, and if there is a sequel, I'll be checking it out! After all, Kathy MacMillan's writing is great and so is the world she has created! 3.5 stars for this debut!

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Grim Reaper Week: Favourite Quotes from The Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones!!

Hey there guys!

Let's continue the celebration of Grim Reaper Week and what better way to do so that to give you all a few teasers about the series in the shape of some of my favourite quotes? Emma is gonna be in charge of reviewing books for you guys, so don't forget to go check out her blog HERE and I just want to remind the fans of the series of how outrageously funny Charley is, and how otherwordly sexy Reyes can be! And if you guys haven't checked the series, maybe one of the quotes will make you want to give it a try!

Ready? here we go!

First Grave On The Right

“My fore-parts, as you so ineloquently put it, have names.”

I pointed to my right breast. “This is Danger.” Then my left. “And this is Will Robinson. I would appreciate it if you addressed them accordingly.”

After a long pause in which he took the time to blink several times, he asked, “You named your breasts?”

I turned my back to him with a shrug. “I named my ovaries, too, but they don’t get out as much.”
― Darynda Jones, First Grave on the Right

 

“I pointed in the general vicinity of my left ovary, "This is Beam Me Up." Then to my right. "And this is Scotty." Garret chuckled and buried his face in his hands. He asked.”
― Darynda Jones, First Grave on the Right 


Second Grave On The Left

“Make it quick," I said when I picked up.
"Okay. Two men from the FBI are here." Cookie said. Quickly.
Crap. "Men in black are at the office?"
"Well, yes, but they're actually in more of a navy."
Crapola. I so don't have time for men. In any color. "Okay, two questions. Do they look mad, and are they hot?"
After a long, long, pause, Cookie said, "One, not really. Two, no comment at this time. And three, you're on speakerphone."
After another long, long pause, I said, "Okie dokie then. Be there in a jiff.”
― Darynda Jones, Second Grave on the Left

  “Cookie dropped her purse and tried to catch it midair. In the process, she knocked over a vase. When she lunged for the vase, she slipped on the tile and overturned an entire table. A lovely handblown piece of glass flew in my direction, and all I could think as I caught it was, Really? Again? We were going to have to practice muscle control.”
― Darynda Jones, Second Grave on the Left 


Third Grave Dead Ahead

“Hey, boss. Where are you?” she asked.
“I just picked up something to eat. What about professional belly dancers?”
“Um, I don’t know, maybe with horseradish.”
― Darynda Jones, Third Grave Dead Ahead

  “At first, I could lie about my lack of sleep and she'd fall for it, but she started suspecting insomnia when I began seeing purple elephants in the air vents at the office. I knew I shouldn't have asked her about them. I thought maybe she'd redecorated.”
― Darynda Jones, Third Grave Dead Ahead 


Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

 “I should’ve known the day was going to turn out bad when it started with my father trying to kill me”
― Darynda Jones, Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

  “For one week, all I could think about was drinking margaritas--well, that and running my tongue along Reyes's teeth--but I didn't have salt--or Reyes's teeth. I'd also lacked the energy to leave my apartment to get some--or the desire to stoop low enough to beg Reyes to let me lick his teeth after what he did--so I could only wish for a margarita. And dream of Reyes's teeth.

I'd secretly hoped a margarita would magically appear in my hand, but that would mean I would have to put down the remote, and God knew that was not going to happen.”
― Darynda Jones, Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet 


Fifth Grave Past The Light

 “I started to put my phone back in my bag when Ozzy yelled out, his accent so thick, I was only half certain he said, "Where the foock are ya goin'?"

Uncle Bob jumped. I must've turned on my GPS.

"You have to tahn the foock around. You're in the middle of foockin' nowhere."

"What the hell is that?" Uncle Bob asked, almost swerving off the road.

"Sorry, it's Ozzy." I grabbed my phone and turned down the volume. "He's so demanding." I pushed a few buttons to turn off the app, then put the phone to my ear. "Sweet, buttermilk pancakes, Ozzy, you have to stop calling me. You're a married man!" I pretended to hang up, then rolled my eyes. "Rock stars.”
― Darynda Jones, Fifth Grave Past the Light

  “How would you like your eggs?"

I tried. I really did. But I glanced at his crotch and it came out anyway. "Fertilized?”
― Darynda Jones, Fifth Grave Past the Light 


Sixth Grave On The Edge


“Reyes. Alexander. Farrow," I said.

Seconds after I spoke his name, Reyes walked into his bedroom, and I looked across the open space directly from my room into his.

He waited for me to continue.

"I feel like there's something missing from my bedroom."

A dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth. "You don't say."

"Any idea what that might be?"

He glanced around my room as well, then shrugged. "I can't imagine."

"Oh, wait," I said, stepping from my room into his, "wasn't there something here? Like, I don't know, a wall or something?"

He looked up. "You could be right. I do seem to remember a barrier of some kind here."

"Yep," I said, stepping closer, "I definitely remember a partition separating our apartments." When his only response was a mischievous tilt of his full mouth, I asked, "Where did you put my wall?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against his doorframe. "What makes you think I took it?"

"It was there this morning."

"And that means I took it? Maybe you just misplaced it. Where exactly did you see it last?"

I pressed my lips together. "You tore down my wall."

The smile he wore could've charmed the panties off a nun. Completely unrepentant, he admitted, "I tore down your wall.”
― Darynda Jones, Sixth Grave on the Edge

  “You can't trust anything on the Internet."
"Can, too," I said, completed offended.
"So, if I posted a comment saying I was an Arabian prince from Milwaukee?"
"Yeah, but you're a big fat liar. You don't count. I mean, look at your dad. Pathological liar numeral uno. Lying is in your genes."
He leaned forward. There's only one thing in my jeans right now.”
― Darynda Jones, Sixth Grave on the Edge


And because why not and the excerpt wasn't nearly enough, here go also a pair of quotes from Seventh Grave and No Body!

“I often question my sanity. Occasionally, it replies.”


 “If I’m upset, hold me and tell me how beautiful I am.

If I growl, retreat to a safe distance and throw chocolate.

— BEST. ADVICE. EVER.”

 Well guys, I hope you enjoyed reading those quotes at least half as much as I did picking them!

And don't forget to enter the INTERNATIONAL giveaway we have running till next week!!

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Grim Reaper Week: Seventh Grave And No Body by Darynda Jones - An Excerpt!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

To continue with our celebration of the Charley Davidson series and Grim Reaper Week we're sharing two excerpts today, one right here and one on Emma's blog: Never Judge a Book by the Cover! So be sure to check out both our blogs and do not forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of Seventh Grave And No Body!

"When I stepped past the threshold of our room, our beds still butted up against each other, since he’d taken the wall separating our rooms out a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by the picture that met me. Reyes lay across both beds, propped up on several pillows, shirtless with only his dark lounge pants, his legs stretched out in front of him, his feet bare, a drink in one hand, and a book in the other. It was like one of those “at home” photos with models that looked like movie stars. 

I almost came at the sight. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. And I’d seen a lot of sexy lately. Would I ever get used to just having him? To just being able to look upon him and know he was mine? Know that I didn’t have to share him unless I got really kinky as I got older and decided to get into threesomes. But I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to share the man before me. I got jealous of his talking to a departed woman today. Granted, she was a gorgeous departed woman. 

“Be still my Betty White,” I said softly.
“What?” he asked without looking up, one corner of his mouth lifting playfully. 

I walked forward and stopped at the edge of the bed. “You. Reading. That is probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen a man do.” 

His mouth widened and he finally looked up at me, closing the book in his hand and setting it aside. “Clearly you’ve never seen me pole dance.”

I have to agree with Charley, I'm not sure I can think of a sexiest sight than Reyes Farley, half naked AND reading!! *fans self*

I cannot wait till Emma and I can start our Seventh Grave readalong!

Happy Halloween/Samhain again! 

Let's Celebrate Halloween with Grim Reaper Week AND an INT giveaway!!

Hello guys!!

I'm finally back from vacation and what better way to come back than with a bang and celebrating my favourite holiday: Halloween!!

The lovely Emma of Never Judge a Book by Its Cover decided that we needed to share and celebrate our love of everything Charley Davidson (and let's not forget Reyes Farlow!!) by Darynda Jones and Halloween and decided to do so in the best way possible with Grim Reaper Week!

Emma and myself have a very fun week planned to share our love for the series! We'll share the history of the Grim Reaper, excerpts, fave quotes, some reviews and a very special INTERNATIONAL giveaway for the latest book in the series: Seventh Grave and No Body!

This post should have been up yesterday along with Emma's, but since I was still on vacation and my blogger app in my tablet was acting up... it ended up saved as a draft with wonky bits... But here it is today! The second part of the legend of the Grim Reaper!

The tale begins over at Emma’s blog… here. 

When he stood up, smoky shadows, which spun around in the air like snakes covered his body until they formed a black tattered robe. Then, Life held out his hand and more of these smoky shadows gathered and formed the Death blade, a tall scythe that was black as night, and the blade formed a crescent moon that was half as long as the staff from which it extended. Life gently touched the blade to his hand and then pulled back as a black colored blood dripped down from his hand. He looked to Azrael in his new grim appearance and said in deeply dark but extremely tired voice “Take this scythe and cut down those whose time has run out,” and then he disappeared.

Azrael then began his duty and carried it out extremely well; he became feared and gained a new name as a result, “The Grim Reaper”. As time went on the Reaper grew very tired of following the orders from Life. The Reaper decided he would follow Life through the Omphalos, and take all the power that life controlled for himself. When Life came to Ora to give the Reaper more orders, he was attacked by Azrael. Life became very injured and tried to flee through the Omphalos, but was caught off guard and by surprise on the other side of the Omphalos when the Reaper appeared. The Reaper used his scythe to cut a hole between the universes and bypass the Omphalos, and was able to get to Axiom before Life. He then destroyed Life’s body and absorbed his power.

As the newly born Reaper absorbed this energy and power he laughed out a happy shriek of enjoyment, but then his boney body throbbed, the forces of both Life and Death could not be contained in his weak soul as well as Life’s soul could contain them and his soul shattered into fifty pieces ending him, and giving birth to the Ascendant. The Ascendant was a shade or a ghost who was the remaining power of Life and Death. However the Ascendant could not keep time flowing, he could watch life and deliver it from the creator, but not give death, so he gave one of the fifty shards of the shattered Reaper’s soul to fifty different families, and every Millennia they must fight and collect the shards from one another to become the next reaper.

Darynda was incredibly generous to offer a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body to celebrate Halloween and Grim Reaper Week!

Terms and Conditions. 

It is an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!

It will run for one week and will end midnight on Halloween. 

Once it finishes I will select the winner and email you. Then I will pass your details directly to the publisher so you can receive this prize. 

Good Luck! 

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Waiting On Wednesday #63!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Now, what book am I super excited and is-it-here-yet about this week? Seventh Grave And No Body by Darynda Jones!

Goodreads Summary:

"Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there’s that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she’s ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life. But all of that combined barely scratches the surface of her problems. Recent developments—and a few distressing prophesies—have forced her to become a responsible adult. Exactly the kind of adult she’s never aspired to be. To conquer such a monumental task, she’s decided to start small. Really small. She gets a pet. But how can she save the world against the forces of evil when she can’t even keep a goldfish alive?

A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it.

We’re doomed."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Seventh Grave And No Body? Weeeell, this is one of my favourite urban fantasy series and both Charley and Reyes are fantastic characters, the books are hilarious and after the BIG surprise at the end of the last book, I CANNOT wait to see what happens in this one!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Friday Reads: Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones!!

Hello guys! Happy Friday! Even if I work this weekend and I work morning shift, today is a good day, cause it's my day off! ;)

In this week's Friday Reads I have a book that's part of my 2014 Book Blogger Summer Reading Program challenge list and that's part of one of the very few adult series that I still follow (along with the Fever series and the Chicagoland Vampires).

Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Since I discovered the Charley Davidson series it has become one of my favourite urban fantasy/paranormal series, and one of the very few adult ones that I'm still following, preordering and reading almost religiously.

There is still so much of the world building in this series that is to come, cause we're still left with quite a few questions unanswered, even if we get a few twists and reveals in this book (a pair of them quite on the BIG side) but the biggest strenght of this series are the characters and the humour.

I love Charley and her very peculiar self, she's quite unique and hilarious and even though sometimes I wish she wasn't quite so heads-first into things, cause she's got enough bad run-ins with bad guys to try and get some caution and a bigger sense of self-preservation, but when she is on the path of helping someone, she tends to lose perspective easily. I love her relationship with Cookie and Amber and I love Cookie and Amber themselves! I also adore her relationship with Reyes and how she can be clueless and infuriating and also how she tries to put him in his place on occasion.

Reyes is one of those alpha bad boys that aren't hard to find in paranormal books, but given that he's the son of Satan, some evilness of character seems to be granted. He's changed sides because of Charley and despite his very aggresive tendencies, and how infuriating it can be for him having Charley running head-first into situations, he's always there for her, no matter what.

Their chemistry is totally off the charts, and that's as present as ever in this booka and after having him send Charley a curve ball in the shape of a proposal, here we see them learning to work more as a team and Charley making a choice that might not be the best one for the universe (apparently) but it's the right one for her.

There are a lot of threads and stories going on at the same time now, since this is the sixth book, some are more fate-of-the-world related than others, and some show more connections between them than others, but all seem to get a little of time in this book. We see Charley playing match-maker with Cookie and Robert (Robert who? Uncle Bob!), we get some really strange vibes off Charley's dad and step-mother (there's something else in there that we don't know about) and by the end of the book we get TWO big things happen, one of them quite ENTIRELY unexpected, at least for me!

Now I'm even more excited for book 7 (Seventh Grave and No Body) and I'm wondering if is it the last one, or are we getting an 8th one?? Either way, cannot wair for more Charley and Reyes!! Well deserved 4 stars!



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Waiting On Wednesday #38!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

What book am I totally dying to get my hands on to this week? Sixth Grave From The Edge by Darynda Jones!!

Goodreads Summary:

"Few things in life can come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of Satan is one of them. Now that Reyes Farrow has asked for her hand, Charley Davidson feels it's time to learn more about his past, but Reyes is reluctant to open up. When the official FBI file of his childhood abduction lands in her lap, Charley decides to go behind her mysterious beau’s back and conduct her own investigation. Because what could go wrong?
Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap—one with dangerous implications. Some very insistent men want Charley to hunt down a witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to disappear.

Add to that a desperate man in search of the soul he lost in a card game, a dogged mother determined to find the ghost of her son, and a beautiful, young Deaf boy haunted by his new ability to see the departed as clearly as he sees the living, and Charley has her hands full. The fact that Reyes has caught on to her latest venture only adds fuel to the inferno that he is. Good thing for Charley she's used to multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow."

Why am I eagerly awaiting Sixth Grave On The Edge? Well, these books have the most amazing chemistry between Charley and Reyes (the hot & sexy Son of Satan), make me laugh cause Charley has the most hilarious inner dialogue and with some brilliant secondary characters... I just cannot get enough of this series!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Mark This Book Monday: Fifth Grave Past The Light by Darynda Jones!

For yet another Mark This Book Monday I'm gonna be talking about the latest book in what is one of my fave adult series right now, the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones! And here is book 5!


Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've been in love with this series from book 1, with Charley, with Reyes, with Cookie and with the fantastic humour that Darynda Jones seems to effortlessly imbue in every page!

That said, I think this one has to be my fave yet! I love how the story keeps on progressing and how despite poor Charley always getting such crap thrown at her, she's beginning to be more proactive and a lil less just reactive. She's finally believing that she's a proper kick arse grim reaper and that leads to her starting to use her powers more and finding that she can do more than expected.

About Reyes... what can I say about Reyes? I just love that he's more than just the very hot son of Satan, and that he's getting through a lot of growth himself, and I keep on finding how he and Charley interact more and more funny and adorable! The steamy scenes are well, steamy!

Some of the ongoing plots and questions are getting answers and some closure in this book, but some new are opening and leaving some even bigger questions, but it does have a feel of "starting to wrap up things" if only slightly.

But no matter what about the plot and some issues getting solved and some issues getting even bigger, this book completely hooked me, as all previous books have, with the characters and their interactions. Charley and Cookie are best friends more than just working together, Charley and Reyes are made for each other... There's that humour that gets you through the tough parts and that humour that simply makes you laugh out laud while reading.

I'm not sure if book 6 will be the last one, what I'm hoping is if the series continues, it will manage to keep me hooked this way, and won't end up falling flat like other series that have been stretched past their time. For now, this book didn't disappoint and I'm really looking forward to book 6!



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