Blog Tour & Contest: The Eerie Firefly Rain

Firefly Rain
Author: Richard Dansky
Publisher: Gallery
Paperback: 352 pages

Summary: After a failed business venture in Boston, Jacob Logan comes back to the small Southern town of his childhood and takes up residence in the isolated house he grew up in. Here, the air is still. The nights are black. And his parents are buried close by. It should feel like home—but something is terribly wrong.

Firefly Rain creeped me out. It gave me shivers as I read it before sleeping, with my small tiny book light. I really wanted to reach over and switch on the bright overhead light. My husband didn't really need sleep, did he? The author kept me guessing right up until that last chapter when he laid it all out for the reader. Horror can be gruesome, shocking and in your face. It can also sneak up on you. It can give you that feeling that makes you keep looking over your shoulder. You know, the one that causes you to say "Hey, now wait a minute...". To me, that takes special talent and Richard Dansky proves he can creep out his readers with the best of them.

Firefly Rain, has an eerie, subtle weirdness. The characters are interesting and odd enough that the reader suspects everyone, including the main character, of wrong doing. Mr. Dansky gives us mystery, suspense, thrills and in some ways a bit of a love story.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of using issues many of us have experienced and giving them an eerie twist. How many of you couldn't wait to leave a small town to live a bigger and better life? Maybe you didn't come home as often as you promised, or you waited too long to tell a family member you loved them. These are things that all of us have struggled with in varying degrees. I think this made the book more poignant, giving it a little extra depth beyond the mystery and horror.

If you enjoy Stephen King or Dean Koontz you should give Firefly Rain a read. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

THE GIVE AWAY!
The publisher has kindly allowed me to give away one copy of Firefly Rain to spread the scariness. As usual, I will ask you a question. Simply answer it in the comments to enter the contest:

What is the scariest movie or book you've ever read or watched? Why?

For me it was The Exorcist. YIKES! I never did make it through the entire movie, though I did read the book when I was a teenager. I guess the green vomit frightened me more than the story itself:)

Leave your email in the comment if it's not linked to your profile. The contest will end May 2, 2010 and I'll post the winner on May 3rd.

~Brenda

Review: The Brotherhood of the Blood

Be Mine Tonight
Book #1 in The Brotherhood of the Blood
Author: Kathryn Smith
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Release Date: JULY 2006
Publisher: Avon Books
Visit the Author's Website
Available at Indie Bound, Powell's Books, Barnes & Noble

and Amazon

Summary: In the 1300s, six soldiers went into a Templar building searching for treasure. What they found changed them forever, making them vampires – and unlike any other of their kind. The suicide of one of their own and events that followed drove them apart, but six centuries later, an ancient evil conspires to reunite them once more.

I picked up Be Mine Tonight on Amazon a few months ago where it resided on my To Be Read Shelf until I read it this weekend. The first of The Brotherhood of the Blood series, this book features Pru and Chapel, who is one of the brotherhood. It serves as an introduction to the series and the brotherhood. Chapel was the first soldier in the group to become a vampire, and it's been about 600 years since his change when he meets Prudence Ryland in 1899. I loved the character of Pru right from the start. She's witty and rather forward for a young woman of her time, mostly because she's dying and doesn't have time to play games or be overly gracious. It took me a little longer to warm up to Chapel. He's a tortured, brooding man who has lost his sense of humor along the way. Pru tells him:

"What have you done with your time? Spent it mooning over a woman who didn't want you and hiding behind a church that despises you?"

Be Mine Tonight is what I would call a historical paranormal romance. It takes place in the 1800's, so the writing isn't gritty or snarky, but instead the humor is subtle, and the romance anguished. There is a bit of intrigue and adventure as Pru, Chapel and their colleagues search for the Holy Grail or it's antithesis, the Blood Grail.

I read on the author's website that she consulted with her niece, who works in oncology, for the scenes involving Pru's cancer. I can tell that she took special care in writing about her symptoms and her emotional distress in regards to the cancer. It's heartbreaking, yet Pru's strength is amazing as she refuses to give up until the last possible moment, and then she faces her death with grace. If I hadn't already grown to like Chapel, I would have been won over by his care and nurturing of Pru during her sickness.

Be Mine Tonight is foremost a romance with the paranormal elements as an aspect of the story, along with the adventure and suspense. Pru and Chapel's love story is one of hope, and forgiveness above all else. There are sexual elements to the book, though I wouldn't consider it an erotic story. They come with the natural progression of Pru and Chapel's relationship. I don't think the story would have been as intense or heartbreaking without the sex scenes.

I think fans of both historical and paranormal romance will enjoy Be Mine Tonight. It's the first in a series:

Brotherhood of Blood
1. Be Mine Tonight (2006)
2. Night of the Huntress (2007)
3. Taken By the Night (2007)
4. Let the Night Begin (2008)
5. Night After Night (2009)

~Moonsanity

Paranormal Inspiration Via Cello

The first time I saw a video of Apocalyptica I was stunned. Creepy, but very hot, Finnish guys playing cello that rocked. Something about them screams paranormal. Enjoy:)



~Moonsanity

Welcome to the Night Shift...

Night Shift
Jill Kismet Novels
Author: Lilith Saintcrow
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Available at Indie Bound, Powell's Books, Barnes & Noble

& Amazon

Summary: Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night. Not everyone tries. But Jill Kismet is not just anyone. She’s a Hunter, trained by the best–and in over her head. Welcome to the night shift…

I picked up Night Shift because I'd been following Lilith Saintcrow on Twitter and reading her posts on Deadline Dames. I love her sense of humor and knew I would love her writing too. Boy, was I right on target. I loved Night Shift. It's a gritty, dark urban fantasy with demons, weres, and things that go crash in the night. The humor in the book alternates between black humor and dry wit, at least that is how I read it. It reminds me of the humor nurses and doctors that work in an emergency room develop. They do it because if they don't, the things they see overwhelm them, and they burn out. My husband has this sense of humor, so I know it well. The dry wit comes mostly from Saul, the were that sort of "attaches" himself to Jill Kismet, the main character. He seems like a polar opposite of her. She's this vessel of supernatural energy, pain and anger. He's calm, soothing, nurturing, strong and most of the time his anger is a silent simmer. Wow, the scenes between the two of them are my favorite. There are, if I remember correctly, 3 kisses between them in the entire book, but I found myself practically holding my breath during every one of them. Seriously, the emotion Ms. Saintcrow put into those scenes just floored me.

The characters in Night Shift are very in depth, but not necessarily with wordy descriptions. The author has this way of nailing the characters motives and their personality in one scene, no matter how small it is. I know many reader's will find Jill to be bitchy and stubborn. In some ways, this is true, but in her world it's the only way to survive. If the reader pays attention, and looks at her as a whole, after learning her background and what she does for a living, it makes sense. I cannot imagine her personality being any different than the author has made it. This is one of my favorite lines when Jill answers Saul after he questions her use of a very large sword:

"That's the advantage of having a hellbreed scar on my wrist, furboy. I get to play with all sorts of toys that are too big for me."

Night Shift is a fast paced, action filled read, but it also tackles many issues that are thought provoking and faced by many of us. Is the world black and white? Is there only good and evil, with nothing in between? Are we damned by our actions, or is there forgiveness? Another issue, at least that I saw in the book, is the one of putting someone on a pedestal. Do we hold a teacher, a parent, a lover, in such high esteem that they can do no wrong? Do we base our worth or self esteem on what they think of us? Then lastly, is the struggle to trust again, to realize we need another person, no matter how strong we think we are alone. Granted, other readers may see different issues in Night Shift, but these are the ones I came away with.

If you enjoy Lori Handeland, Vicki Petterssen and Marjorie M. Liu you will love Night Shift. It's part of a series:

Jill Kismet
1. Night Shift (2008)
2. Hunter's Prayer (2008)
3. Redemption Alley (2009)
4. Flesh Circus (2009)

You can learn more about the author at the links below:
Deadline Dames

Lilith's Blog

Lilith on Twitter

Lilith on Facebook

~Moonsanity

Contest & Review: Jane Slayre

Jane Slayre
Authors:

Sherri Browning Erwin
Charlotte Bronte
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Gallery

First, let's start off with a confession. I do not generally like literature from the 1800's. I know this will shock many of you, but I wanted you to know before I review Jane Slayre. Many of the reviews out there will be from fans of the original book that may have read it over many times. They love the characters and go into it with an eye towards what was changed. Not me. I opened the cover and thought "This should be interesting." It's my first literary mash-up as books such as Jane Slayre are being called. I had no idea what to expect.

Things started out a little slow, but I think it was just me adjusting to the style of the writing. I was surprised that it was written in a first person POV. I've heard so many negative things about books written in the first person, but I thought it worked well and made the story more personable. I was stunned to find that Jane was only 9 years old at the start of the book, living in a house of vampires, except for the servants. All I could think of was "Run, Jane, Run!".

The story moved from that house of horrors to a new one where Jane discovers a group of Zombie children, but also makes a friend and ally in one of the teachers. I rarely have nightmares, but I'll admit this part was creepy enough that I had one the night I read it. I thought Ms. Erwin did a wonderful job of working the paranormal and horror aspects into the story. The style of writing flowed smoothly, and I never had a feeling of something new being mixed with the old. It was rather obvious to me that she loved the original book, and was very careful in merging her ideas with Charlotte Bronte's.

Jane Slayre has a very clear cut sense of what is wrong and what is right. Vampyres are evil. Though they may come to regret their choices, they will never be redeemed except by death. The descriptions of the monsters and their mischief were eerie and horrible, as they were meant to be. There was no softening of the details.

I also learned to appreciate the humor of Charlotte Bronte and Ms. Erwin. It's not a snarky, in your face wit, but is instead subtle. It made me smile more than once throughout the book, as I'm sure it was meant to. I loved this statement from Jane:

"It happens when one stakes them too. Poof! They turn to dust. It's fascinating, really. Even a little pretty in the moonlight."

This happens later in the book, as Jane slays a vampire lurking behind her and Mr. Rochester:

"Fortunately I had sharpened that stake just this morning and my aim was true as my love for Mr. Rochester, for I would not have had a second chance."

Jane does not brag of her slayer accomplishments nor does she whine about having to resort to violence. She goes about sharpening stakes and hiding daggers as if it's as normal as needlepoint.

I really like Jane Slayre and hope many of you will give it a chance, whether you are a fan of Charlotte Bronte, literary mash-ups or not. The book was obviously written with care and much thought on the part of both authors. Then there is the ending. The. Best. Ever.

Learn more about Sherri Browning Erwin:
Visit the author's website
Follow Sherri on Twitter
Visit Jane's Publisher Page which includes a reading!

THE CONTEST

The publisher has graciously allowed us to give away one copy of Jane Slayre! As usual, I ask a question, and you leave me some wit or wisdom in the comments.

Have you read any literary mash-ups yet? Is there a classic book you think would make a cool paranormal mash-up like Jane Slayre?

Leave a comment as an entry to the contest, which will end on April 30th, 2010 and I'll use the random number generator to pick a winner and post the results on May 1st. If your email is not associated with your profile then please leave it with your comment, so I can reach you.

~Moonsanity

Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever
The Fever Series
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Kindle Edition
Print Length: 382 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Summary: As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands. . . .

I have been getting recommendations from friends and fellow book bloggers to read Darkfever for almost a year, and I finally decided to pick it up on my Kindle. I started reading it one night on a whim, and I could not put it down. I kid you not. I was surprised at how laid back, and personable the author comes across writing in the first person POV. I loved the main character, MacKayla, because she was so normal. She travels to Ireland to find out more about her sister's death. She's stressed and frightened, yet determined. She doesn't gain martial arts skills overnight. She is bright, and perky and she lives in Denial Land, a place I am well acquainted with. It's a place normal people go to when they can't believe things have become so chaotic and out of control.

Darkfever was a surprise for me in many ways. Though there are scenes of sexual "magic", there isn't actual sex. The cover gave me the impression of an erotic romance. I'm not complaining because Jericho, the other main character, is dark, brooding and challenging to Mac at every turn. Attraction is there, but trust isn't. It makes for a fun read as they bantered. The build up can be just as good as the couple finally giving in to each other.

The fae Mac runs into at every turn are deadly, mysterious and can't be trusted. Some are gruesome, some are beautiful, but all are dangerous. It will be fascinating to discover more of their factions in the next book.

Darkfever takes place in modern day Ireland, which is fascinating to me. I love all things Celtic, and have always dreamed of visiting Ireland. Though Mac is visiting under stressful circumstances she also appreciates the beauty of Ireland that her sister must have seen before she died.

I thought Ms. Moning's writing was similar to Kim Harrison's where she uses humor and snark, even in dark situations. There are four books in the series, and a fifth coming out in December of 2010.

The Fever Series
1. Darkfever (2006)
2. Bloodfever (2007)
3. Faefever (2008)
4. Dreamfever (2009)
5. Shadowfever (2010)

~Moonsanity

Smashing Pumpkins Do Steampunk

My son, Pseudo Emo Teen, insisted I share this Smashing Pumpkins video because of it's steampunk elements. So, in honor of The Book Smugglers' Steampunk Week I give you Tonight, Tonight:




Visit Book Smugglers this week here. Steampunk goodness for all:)

~Moonsanity