Review: MAGIC TO THE BONE

MAGIC TO THE BONE by Devon Monk
Allie Beckstrom Series:
1º. Magic to the Bone
2º. Magic in the Blood
3º. Magic in the Shadows
4º. Magic on the Storm
5º. Magic at the Gate
6º. Magic on the Hunt

Roc Publishing

PLOT

Set in a magical analog of Portland, Ore., Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, able to trace a spell back to its caster. When a young boy is injured by a spell, Allie tracks it back to her estranged father, Daniel, a ruthless businessman who protests his innocence. Then someone magically disguised as Allie kills Daniel. Allie and sexy corporate operative Zayvion race against time to find the answers. Magic is common in this alternate universe, but using it always incurs a physical or mental cost, rendering it a commodity to be bought and sold, used and abused.

Other review(s) of this book: Review by Cherry

REVIEW
To start, the book has an awesome cover and it attracts since the first moment. Besides, the fantastic alternate world created by Devon Monk in Portland and where magic flows is controlled by Beckstrom Enterprises, whose owner is Allie’s father, who Allie doesn’t see seven years ago.

Allie can control the magic, make spells and that makes her a Hound, follow the trace of the bad spell makers. Also she has a little secret: she’s able to save magic inside of her unlike another people who get it around the city or magic storms. Fewer people have tried saving magic in little or huge quantities inside themselves without success, causing be almost dead.

The life of Allie is too much current: she lives in a flat with a stink smell and she hardly achieves pay the rent. All this is because of she doesn’t charge anything for her job to poor people as her and she does receives the physical consequences of her magic acts, unlike the rest of people, who deviate them to innocent people. She suffers horrible headaches and her body is full of bruises and burns.

It’s in her twenty-fifth birthday when a apparently dead young boy and a cat come into her life and it starts a story with a stream of violence, action, attraction, fear and magic. Everything will complicate until the point her life is in danger. She’ll count on help along the path but her bad experiences will make her doubt almost all of them. ¿Will she does the things right trusting in them?

The Plot is good. Good people like her helping to the others with magic and bad people taking advantage of the rest of people. Descriptions of places and how the magic has influenced on them are things that introduce you in the story quickly. A same old friend and an “I-am-different-mood” boy will make the character go on. The friend helps her with transcendental topics about her life and what to do with it, and the boy saves her constantly, something unusual in Allie’s life, and steals her heart. Also there is a young boy able of do incredible things with the magic and makes Allie find out what she didn’t know she will be able of.

The book is full of slow and rapid moments, appropriate and well-distributed to any story, without neither suffers ups and downs nor destroys the narrative thread. Just when we get to the end, we look forward to have near the next book for not losing any detail.

It seems to me a fantastic story. What I find remarkable is the strength that irradiates Allie, even in the worst moments, when she can’t stand or move and whoever will give up, she try to get up and fights.

TV Book Club

I was one of the lucky bloggers who got invited to Channel 4's TV Book Club recording last Tuesday. So I went all the way to London and got to meet other bloggers and see how a TV show is filmed. First off, I would like to thank Richard and Candice of MEC for bringing us to the recording!! They are very organized! Name tags for everyone when we got there, lounge area ready with bottled water, nibbles, goody bags and the perks. I've never been to a show recording before so I was very curious to see what actually happens... well there were tons of cameras, TV screens and technical equipments than people in there, I'm telling you! It's like taking the box out of your telly and seeing all the wires inside. The wires that allows you to watch all the techniclor movies on the screen. Although I didn't understand a smidgen of it, it was very interesting to see. Then we got to meet everybody who worked there, including the presenters, the camera men, the girls who makes the show run smoothly and the Charlottes Angels. Coincidentally, it was also one of the Charlotte's birthday! So we had a sinfully beautiful chocolate cake on top of the usual nibbles. Honestly, Charlotte looked 18, but she assured me that she wasn't!

I also came out of that experience with my belief strongly reinforced that we in the book blogging community are genereally a wonderful lot! I mean, really!! Every single blogger in that event was nice, polite and supportive. Well, I guess there would always be a bad apple in every basket, but as a whole I think we are composed mostly of nice people.

Lunchtime Read :)

Trying to read Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin but I seem to be struggling...

WW28: EMBERS

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Embers by Laura Bickle

Page 28, 1st Sentence:

Sparky yawned, plodded up her arm, and dangled around her neck like a sloth before he shrank and melted into her collar.

Gotta love Sparky!

About Embers:
Anya Kalinczyk book 1

Unemployment, despair, anger--visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit's unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.

Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya--who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern--suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil's Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya--with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team --can stop it.

Anya's accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she's risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she's ever faced.

Source: Info in the About Embers was taken from the author's website at http://www.laurabickle.com/index_files/novels.htm on 10/11/2010.

Available Books For Review

Available Books For Review

For those who are part of the Reviewer Scheme, please check your inbox as I have emailed you the list of books available for review.

For those who are not yet and would like to know more about it, email me at cherrymischif-reviewer [at] yahoo [dot] com.

I SO WANT TO READ THIS: HUNT THE MOON

Hunt The Moon by Karen Chance
Book 5 of the Cassandra Palmer series

About Hunt The Moon

Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you'd think would buy a girl a little time off. But it doesn't work that way when your new job description is Pythia — the world's chief clairvoyant. Cassie is busier than ever, trying to learn about her power, preparing for her upcoming coronation, and figuring out her relationship with the enigmatic sexy master vampire, Mircea.

But someone doesn't want Cassie to become Pythia, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure the coronation ceremony never happens — including attacking her mother before Cassie is even born.

Source: Info in the About Hunt The Moon was taken from the author's website at http://www.karenchance.com/books_htm.html on 14/02/2011.

Guest Review: Dark Lover

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood - Book 1) by J.R. Ward

Publication Date: September 2005
Publisher: Penguin Group
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires
ISBN-13: 9780451216953
ISBN: 0451216954

(Received for a guest review on Cherry Mischievous' Blog) Check it out!

Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Books-A-Million, IndieBound

J.R. Ward on the Web: Website, Facebook, Twitter

Excerpt from Dark Lover
Book Trailer: This is a fan made trailer, which I liked a lot!

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors who are defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the blind leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed - leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate - Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead - a world beyond her wildest dreams...

Thoughts:
Wrath is the blind leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a collection of warriors who are charged with protecting the vampire race against vampire slayers. When Darius one of Wrath's closest friends and warriors is killed, Wrath knows that he is probably the only person who can protect and save Darius's daughter. Beth has no idea she's about to go through a change that could end her life without help from another vampire. Beth is a half-breed, her mother human and her father a vampire. It is uncertain if she will survive without the blood of a purebred vampire. Wrath isn't prepared for the feelings he begins to have for Beth and he will stop at nothing to protect her and make her his queen.

I fell in love with J.R. Ward's writing style from the very first page. Sometimes when I first start reading a book it takes me a little while to warm up to to, and then there are some that just grab my attention and I know they are going to be novels that I won't soon forget, Dark Lover was definitely one of these. It was engrossing and hard to put down. I stayed up long into the night reading it and I can't wait to read Lover Eternal the second book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Ward had a very different idea of vampires than I was used to and I thought it was refreshing and interesting. Most of the books I have read portray vampires feeding only on humans. I found it very intriguing that Ward's vampires fed on the blood of the opposite vampire sex. Male vampires feeding on female vampires, etc. The whole vampire world in this book was engaging and I found myself looking forward to the parts of the novel that told more about their world and how it functioned.

Instead of fighting against humans, the vampires were up against vampire slayers or lessors. The dregs of society who have basically given their souls for the opportunity to kill vampires and wreck havoc on the world. Mr. X is one of the leaders of the lessors, but there is a higher power, so to speak, called the Omega. The vampires have a overall leader as well called the Scribe Virgin. All of this was so new and interesting that I just fell in love with the book and the series.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood itself is made up some really cool characters. Wrath the leader and the King is blind. I thought that was a genius move by Ward. He was a big, strong man, but he had this serious vulnerability that made him seem less daunting. He was strong in spite of his disability. He was the ultimate brooding hero. His relationship with Beth was full of heat. The love scenes were well written and not full of a lot of unnecessary stuff. Beth is definitely are great character as well. She holds her own against a supporting cast of warriors. She is determined and fearless.

The other brothers are introduced in this book as well. Rhage has a beast within him that takes over and basically destroys most anything in his path. I can't wait to learn more about him. Vicious is the computer mastermind, but his touch can kill. Each warrior has his own little problem. Phury and Zadist are twin brothers, Phury has taken a vow of celibacy, hard for a vampire, I'm sure and Zadist is full of anger and a little madness from being a slave, but he has the voice of an angel. My favorite was Torhment. He was more laid back than the other brothers and added a lot of strength to the cast. He seemed the most level headed.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this one. It was a wonderful new look at vampires. I can't wait to read more from J. R. Ward. I loved her style and her world building skills. Her backstories for the characters were well done and did not take away from the Wrath and Beth's story. It just gave the book more depth. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves paranormal romance or vampire stories. It's a different perspective on a very popular myth.Dark Lover is available NOW at your favorite bookseller.
At my blog I would give this 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!


J.R. Ward lives in the South with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. After graduating from law school, she began working in health care in Boston and spent many years as chief of staff for one of the premier academic medical centres in the nation.

WW28: ROADKILL

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Roadkill by Rob Thurman

Page 28, 1st Sentence:

He began speaking as casually as if he were telling a story about a well-known relative. The facts were at his fingertips and he did love to share those facts.

These lines gives us a glimpse into Niko's character...

About Roadkill:

Niko could have died because of her. I don’t forget things like that…not ever. I wanted a little payback for those she’d cheated in the past. For those she’d cheat in the future. For what she’d allowed to happen to my brother.

For good old fashion revenge.

Once, while half-human Cal Leandros and his brother Niko were working on a case, an ancient gypsy queen gave them a good old-fashioned backstabbing. They barely made it out alive. Now, as their P.I. business teeters on insolvency, guess who shows up with a job?

The gypsy crone wants them to find a stolen coffin. Cal would rather help her into one, but this coffin contains an evil known as the Plague of the World–and it makes the Black Death seem like a fond memory.

But the thief has already left town, so the Leandros brothers are going on the road.

And if they’re very, very lucky, there might even be a return trip…

Source: Info in the About Roadkill was taken from the author's website at http://robthurman.net/cal-leandros/roadkill/ on 14/09/2010.

Happy Valentines Day!!

I SO WANT TO READ THIS: DARKNESS DESCENDING

WISHLIST:

Darkness Descending by Devyn Quinn

Publication Date: 2 August 2011

About Darkness Descending

The first seal has been broken, signaling the end of days. Fallen angels in the form of vampires are infecting humans one by one, creating an army fit for Armageddon. Of the few who survive the infection, one stands alone above all others…

For one year, Jesse Burke has been suppressing the beast within, driven by vengeance to destroy the vampiric fallen angels terrorizing New Orleans. But a war of biblical proportions is too much for one girl to handle, and she must turn to slayer Maddox deValois for training, though it threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But the sinister demon Queen Amonate is doing everything in her power to lure Jesse to her side to fulfill her destiny as the mother of the devil’s child.

Before this war is over, everyone will learn that hell hath no fury like a woman possessed…

Source: Info in the About Darkness Descending was taken from the author's website at http://www.devynquinn.com/?page_id=237 on 18/01/2011.

Winner: TEARS ON A TRANQUIL LAKE

The winner of the ebook copy of Tears On A Tranquil Lake with Marsha's guest post is:

justpeachy36!!

Congratulations to our winner!!! Please watch out for Marsha's email in your inbox!

"VOICE" - What Is It?

Voice - Most of us probably know what an "author's voice" is. However, there might just be a few out there who still doesn't know. I can still clearly remember the time when I first encountered the concept... Voice? Are they going to sing?! The utter cluelessness! Anyway, as far as I understand it, a "voice" is that distinct pattern that emerges when one writes. This pattern is particular to a person. It is as distinctive as a person's voice. That distinctness which allows us to identify that person even without seeing him/her, but by merely hearing that person's voice. A sort of similar distinctness emerges when one writes. This distinct writing style or pattern or whatever you want to call it, is what the term "author's voice" refers to. One does not have to write a book to have a "voice". If you've written or typed anything, i.e., blogged, then a distinct pattern or style of how you write things, emerges. I therefore must have a "voice", though I cannot see it. But I bet a lot of you can.

Here is a definition which might help us better understand what a "voice" is:

Writer's voice is an obsolete literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice was generally considered to be a combination of a writer's use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works).

Source: Above definition of "voice" was taken from GetGlue at http://getglue.com/topics/p/writers_voice?=g&source=http%3A%2F%2Fgetglue.com%2Ftopics%2Fp%2Fwriters_voice on 09/02/2011.

So, we now know what "voice" means... So what are the implications of this concept to the publishing industry? Are you a reader? A blogger? I bet you have an opinion... Please do share!

To start off with, I'll tell you mine from a reader's point of view and you can agree or disagree with me. In my years of reading I find that what "makes" or "breaks" a book is the story telling quality. And I believe that the "author's voice" is what comprises the story telling quality, or at least the major chunk of it. Of how well does an author tell the story? Some authors have a way of stringing words together and makes the story come alive. Some not only catch my interest, but draws me in so completely to what they are saying that the real world fades away. The authors I found who does this are Jim Butcher and Ilona Andrews. Some authors are able to paint a very vivid world with their words that it comes to life for me, I could almost taste it!  Anne Bishop is one such author. The genre therefore becomes a secondary choosing criteria. Genre only helps me narrow things down in a vast sea of books because if I don't narrow it down, it'll probably drown me. What I'm really looking for when I read a book therefore is how good the author's voice is. This, I believe takes talent. So I say:

Everybody has a voice, but not everybody can sing. Some people sing better than others, and then there are those who sing with undescribably good talent.

Winner of A BRUSH OF DARKNESS

The winner of the free copy of A Brush Of Darkness with Allison Pang's Guest Post & Giveaway is:

Lillie of Alise On Life

Congratulations to our winner!!! Please reply to our email with your postal address where you want your book sent to.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to FinePrint Literary Management for organizing the blog tour and giveaway!

WW28: SIREN'S CALL

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Siren's Call by Devyn quinn

Page 28, 1st Sentence:

Hell would freeze over first.

...sounds headstrong to me :)

About Siren's Call:
Book 1 of the Dark Tides series

Between desire and love there are some things that can’t stay buried, even in the deep of the ocean.

As a woman with a secret, lighthouse keeper Tessa Lonike savors her solitude on the island of Little Mer, off the coast of Maine. During a violent storm, Tessa spots a man thrashing in the ice cold waters and dives in to save him, using her ability as a mermaid to easily pull him to shore.

When Kenneth Randall awakens on the beach he is alone, left with the haunting memory of his beautiful, flame-haired savior. But a year later, when Kenneth meets her again, he’s determined not to let Tessa slip away. Just as the desire between them begins to burn, Tessa’s archaeologist ex-lover comes back to town with a tantalizing clue to her murky heritage.

The trio travel to the Mediterranean in search of answers, and when Tessa inadvertently opens an underwater portal they find a lost mermaid city. But in the deep, not everything is as it seems, and Tessa must decide if she wants to take her place as the royal heir, or follow the call of her heart…

“Siren’s Call is a thoroughly mesmerizing ride — Quinn throws open the doors to an unbelievable world where nothing is as expected. At once terrifying and fascinating and unbelievably entertaining, this is a book you won’t forget.” -Kate Douglas, bestselling author of Wolf Tales & The DemonSlayers

Source: Info in the About Siren's Call was taken from the author's website at http://www.devynquinn.com/ on 31/05/2010.

Guestpost: Tampa’s Pirate Extravaganza--Gasparilla

Tampa’s Pirate Extravaganza--Gasparilla

From my first visit to the Caribbean, I was hooked. I love the culture, the sway of steel drum bands, the colorful cottages, the turquoise waters, soft sand, sun, delicious seafood, rum beverages, and pirate lore.

Two years ago, when I moved to the Tampa area, I was delighted to feel the vibe of the Caribbean seeping into the local atmosphere, and it inspired me to write.

When I learned about the annual Tampa Gasparilla Festival, I was fascinated by the famed buccaneer legend, as well as the wild, Mardi Gras style celebration. The result—my book, Tears on a Tranquil Lake with a pirate captain, a mermaid, and a merman as characters.

Coincidentally, the Gasparilla festival this year took place last Saturday, so my inspiration has come full circle to presentation of this published book marking the same event.

The festival is based on the legend of swashbuckling buccaneer José Gaspar, known by the nickname Gasparilla. He was a Spanish pirate who terrorized Florida’s west coast during late 18th and early 19th centuries.

As an aristocrat by birth and officer in the Spanish Navy, Gasparilla was well educated, possessed courtly manners, and had all the appearances of a fine gentleman. There are a few versions of his motive for becoming a pirate. One claims he achieved high rank of councilor to King Charles III. Popular in court, he held favor with many ladies. When he spurned one lover for another, the jilted lady took revenge by accusing him falsely of theft of crown jewels. In order to escape arrest, he took leave of Spain in his naval ship, vowing to seek his own revenge through piracy. An aristocrat-turned-pirate began an adventurous life as an outlaw of the sea. A very romantic legend of the man.

During the next thirty-eight years he called himself “Gasparilla” and trolled the Florida coastline, sacking every passing ship for treasure. Entries from his own personal diary boast the capture and burning of thirty-six ships during his first twelve years as a pirate.

In 1821 Spain sold Florida to the United States. At that time Gasparilla decided to retire, but once last take tempted him, despite the unknown practices of the new rule. He ordered his crew to attack and pillage a large British merchant ship. But when they approached, the merchant lowered its Union Jack and raised an American flag. It was in fact the pirate-hunting schooner, the USS Enterprise. Riddled by cannon balls, they left Gasparilla’s flagship burning to ruin. Rather than surrender, Gaspar chained the anchor chain around his waist and neck and leapt from the bow, shouting, "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!" He brandished his sword in a final gesture of defiance.

The tradition of the Tampa Bay Gasparilla festival began in May, 1904. It is still celebrated with a mock invasion, as hundreds of boats of “Gaspar’s crew” sail through Tampa Bay to downtown Tampa and “take over the city.” The mayor then lends the key of the city to the represented pirate captain and a parade ensues down Tampa's major streets. The krewes (crews) in the parade throw beads, coins and other items while shooting blank pistols from floats during the parade. Music and celebration lasts through a long, wild night.

It’s terrific my book, Tears On A Tranquil Lake, releases alongside this fun event which brought it to life in my mind.

Synopsis:

What a surprise for a young woman, to find herself suddenly transformed into a mermaid.

Ciel’s first thought – track down the merman who changed her and make him reverse his magic.

Unable to find him, survival in her new world becomes paramount. She eagerly accepts help from a dashing pirate captain who takes a fancy to her, lavishing her with finery. When her merman does show up, he competes for her affection. One look into his eyes makes her life more complex -- he is her soul mate.

Which man will she choose – pirate captain or merman? Which life – human or mermaid? Caribbean adventures and dangers chase Ciel as she searches for decisions and the key to her happiness.

Warning: This book contains Haitian vodou, sultry wenches, foul-mouthed scalliwag pirates, overindulgence of fine Caribbean rum, and amorous encounters on deserted beaches.

Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/
ISBN: 978-1-926931-29-6

Purchase Link


Giveaway:
One lucky commenter will win a copy of the ebook Tears On A Tranquil Lake courtesy of MuseItUp Publishing.

Extra Entries:
You may gain extra entries by spreading the word about this guest post on Twitter. You can tweet as many times as you like, but that will only count as one entry credit for Twitter. However, many tweets will be greatly appreciated!

Giveaway is international and ends on February 10. Please provide a way to contact you if you win.