Cat Johnson Braves Doll Lil’s Word Association Challenge!

On Monday, Desilula reviewed an ARC of The Demon Trappers Daughter by Jana Oliver, due for release February 1, 2011.

Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…

Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?

Read her review .

Then Day reviewed Awakened by P.C.Cast and Kristin Cast.

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Read her review .

Wednesday, Day reviewed Virtual Evil by Jana Oliver.

Jacynda Lassiter s latest assignment is a double-edged sword: find the greatest of all Time Rovers and send him to 2057 without his consent. If she returns Harter Defoe to the future, she ll be branded a traitor to her kind. If she fails, the punishment is a decade in prison. As Jacynda searches her conscience and the back alleys of Whitechapel, Sgt. Jonathon Keats presses his hunt for an Irish anarchist and the missing explosives. Unable to use his shape-shifting abilities, Keats troubles are just beginning. Unless his good friend Alastair Montrose can uncover who framed him for murder, Keats might be next for the hangman s rope.

Read her review .

Thursday, Mona Leigh reviewed Prey on Patmos by Jeffrey Siger, due for release January 4, 2011.

Saint John wrote the apocalyptic Book of Revelation over 1900 years ago in a cave on Greece’s eastern Aegean island of Patmos. When a revered monk from that holy island’s thousand year-old monastery is murdered in Patmos’ town square during Easter Week, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of Greece’s Twenty-First Century Special Crimes Division is called upon to find the killer before all hell breaks loose…in a manner of speaking.

Andreas’ impolitic search for answers brings him face-to-face with a scandal haunting the world’s oldest surviving monastic community. On the pristine Aegean peninsula of Mount Athos, isolated from the rest of humanity, twenty monasteries sit protecting the secrets of Byzantium amid a way of life virtually unchanged for more than 1500 years. But today this sacred refuge harbors modern international intrigues that threaten to destroy the very heart of the Church…in a matter of days.

Read her review .

Then she reviewed The Frugalista Files by Natalie McNeal.

Natalie McNeal opened her bills in January 2008 to find that she was a staggering five figures—$20,000!—in debt. Young, hip and gainfully (if Dilbert-ly) employed, Natalie loved her lifestyle of regular mani/pedis, daily takeout and nights on the town, but clearly something had to give.

And so The Frugalista Files was born. Through her blog, Natalie confessed her spending habits to the world—and it turns out she wasn’t the only one having trouble balancing the budget! From the drastic “no-buy” month that kicked it all off to the career gamble that threatened to put her deeper in the hole, The Frugalista Files shares Natalie’s personal and professional transformation from cubicle rat to take-charge career girl.

It is possible to get ahead without giving up on the fabulous life. This is personal finance in peep-toe pumps—the empowering true story of one woman’s personal and professional transformation and your ultimate guide to living the Frugalista lifestyle, too.

Read her review .

Friday, Noa reviewed The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear.

In the latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death—an investigation that leads her to a long-hidden affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California’s beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael—the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman—puts duty first and sails for his father’s native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael’s parents, who have recently learned that their son’s remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael’s belongings—a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier’s family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

Following the critically acclaimed bestseller Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death delivers the most gripping and satisfying chapter yet in the life of Maisie Dobbs.

Read her review .

Saturday, Elvie reviewed Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh.

As headmistress of Miss Martin’s School for Girls in Bath, Claudia Martin long ago resigned herself to a life without love. Until Joseph, Marquess of Attingsborough, arrives unannounced and tempts her to toss away a lifetime of propriety for an affair that can only lead to ruin, embarking on a plan of seduction that leaves them both yearning for more. But Claudia knows she has no place in Joseph’s aristocratic world. And now that world is about to be rocked by scandal… An arranged marriage, a secret that will shock the ton, and a man from Claudia’s past conspire to drive the lovers apart. But Joseph is determined to make Claudia his at any cost – even if that means breaking every rule for a love that is everything he has ever wanted…

Read her review .

On Monday, Mona Leigh and I will review Genetic Attraction by Tara Lain.

At a conservative Long Island University, renowned researcher, Dr. Emmaline Silvay, has two great loves – her life-saving work, and her younger research partner, Jake Martin. The romantic love is impossible. She’s his boss and he lives with his girlfriend. The the “girlfriend” is actually a boyfriend, the beautiful and infamous supermodel, Roan Black.

Resigned to a platonic relationship, Em accepts a weekend invitation to their home, but the men have a menage on their minds. She can’t resist, doesn’t even want to. But their intentions go far beyond passion. They want her to “be a part of them”. Their three-way love defies propriety and the standards of the University that funds their work. The supermodel’s fame makes secrecy impossible. Their ménage threatens to crumble all she’s worked for. What will give way to make room for genetic attraction?

Tuesday, Day will review an ARC of Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr, due for release March 1, 2011

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

Wednesday, Mona Leigh will review In Small Measures by Lynne Burke.

One Woman’s Journey to Honor the Love So Many Feared…

Rebellious Kristen Todd Harrison had it all. As the 21-year-old heiress to the largest fortune in Australia, her charmed life appeared to be mapped out: succeed her mother as the leader of the social set and doyen of every charity in town. But a 12-day love affair with an African American marine on leave from Vietnam changed all that. And following his death and the birth of their mixed-race daughter, Kristen encounters a hail of prejudice and rejection-including from her own family.

Now, her refusal to give up her baby and renounce her love leads her on a path of destruction that threatens her very survival. Following a disastrous and abusive marriage, Kristen must reckon with her former husband’s hidden criminal background-and a shadowy world that won’t leave her alone-all while battling extreme racism along the way. Despite a temporary respite in the Queensland outback, the fear of those after her is always there. Then, horror, devastation and guilt force her once again to flee in order to protect her daughter. This time, she might not be so lucky…

A sprawling, intricately drawn novel, In Small Measures mixes romance, mystery, and revealing social history for an unforgettable read. This important novel is about honoring love and fighting for what’s right, even when everyone says you’re wrong.

Thursday, Noa will review My Fair Succubi by Jill Myles.

IT SUCKS TO BE HER.

Living as a succubus has a bit of a learning curve, but with sexy fallen angel Noah to scratch her sensual Itch, Jackie Brighton is finally starting to feel ahead of the game. She almost doesn’t miss her gorgeous vampire master Zane—or his sinful, teasing mouth. She’s trying to convince herself of that, anyway.

But Jackie’s past mistakes catch up with her, spinning her life out of control once more. Just as her friend Remy’s inner demon comes out to play, Noah and Jackie are arrested by the angelic Serim Council. When Jackie seizes the chance to escape, she falls right into Zane’s waiting arms. As she’s pulled into a game of cat and mouse between vampires and angels, she finds she must also choose between the two men in her life. Can she decide between Noah and Zane, or will she lose everything she’s ever wanted? Because there’s more at stake than just her heart. . . .

Friday, Day will review Magel’s Daughter by Nancy Baker.

Everyone in the Olina family, living and dead, knows that Magel keeps human body parts in her freezer. From the beginning of the novel, the provocative nature of the text defies the Minnesota-nice stereotype, which is, at once, refreshing and original. Magel s Daughter highlights the deadly manipulations and subterfuge of matriarchal power within a Norwegian family. It is a dark comedy with a touch of magical realism. On the surface it s a rapidly paced, episodic blitz through the last days of Karin Brix s sanity. She s lost it by the end, and it s all her mother s fault. Magel is a classic femme fatale who grows old and spoils everyone s lives just like her mother and her mother before her. is is all set in Northern Minnesota, a chilly world of hallucination, incest, and severed heads. Magel is the reigning matriarch of the family, and Karin is on her way to becoming just like her, struggling to regain herself as an artist after years of raising her two sons. Karin is assisted in her endeavors by the hallucinations of her grand and great-grandmothers. Karin s father s glass eye weaves through her imagination as the only sound counsel amid the chaos.

Saturday, Desilula will review The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff.

Mackie Doyle is a replacement – a fairy child left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago, to replace the baby when it was stolen away by the fey. So though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie’s real home is the fey world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. Now, because his fey blood gives him fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably back home to the fey underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures, rescue the child, and find his rightful place – in our world, or theirs.

That’s it for us this week! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!