Throwback Thursday #47 - Deep Fathom

This is a great feature that Melissa at My World...in words and pictures has been doing for a while and I wanted to jump on board! There are plenty of books out there I desperately want...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on my shelves?

Deep Fathom - James Rollins

Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfaces from an aborted underwater salvage mission to find the Earth burning. Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. Air Force One has vanished from the skies with America's president on board. Now, with the U.S. on the narrow brink of a nuclear apocalypse, Kirkland must pilot his oceangoing exploration ship, "Deep Fathom," on a desperate mission miles below the ocean's surface. There devastating secrets await him--and a power an ancient civilization could not contain has been cast out into modern day. And it will forever alter a world that's already racing toward its own destruction.

 

I love a bit of action adventure - it's one of my favourite type of films and occasionally I like a book that is the action flick equivalent. I bought this book at the airport a long time ago and have not read yet. However, I'm feeling like a change of pace in my current reading habits so hopefully I will pick this up soon!

Does anyone else like to read a movie-style book occasionally? Which book? :)

What Shall I Read This April? RESULTS

So last week I decided to try something new with my Throwback Thursdays and asked you lot  which one of my recent selection I should try to read by the end of the month...

Which book came out out on top? Well ,with a massive 46% of the votes, Blood Rights will be my throw back read this month! (Personally I think the cover persuaded most of you!)

For those who are interested the full results are -

Blood Rights - Kristin Painter:     46%
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Suzanne Clarke:   21%
Hard Bitten - Chloe Neill:            18%
Season of Passage - Christopher Pike:   14%

And who won their choice of book from my TBR pile? The winner is Rie Conley! Congratulations! I have sent an email asking for your book choice.

So look out for a review of Blood Rights in the next month and check back on the first Thursday of May when I will offering another follower a book in exchange for helping me choose a book to read!

Early Review: The Iron Duke

The Iron Duke (The Iron Seas 1)

-          Meljean Brook

Publisher: UK – Berkley (Released in UK on 12th April 2012)

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.
But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

Mina is a police inspector in London nine years after the Horde were beaten – conceived during a frenzy, she has to deal with the prejudice of her Horde heritage every day. However, she doesn’t let this stop her from doing her job and doing it well – even if that means clashing with England’s most famous pirate turned saviour, the Iron Duke himself. Together they find themselves caught up in a deeper conspiracy and mystery than they could have thought possible...

This book is like rocky road ice cream – lots of yummy ingredients that you usually enjoy separately, mixed together to create something entirely different and yet delicious and more-ish. You want an independently strong female lead, you got it. You want a handsome alpha male, you got it. You want an intriguing mystery, you got it. Nano-agents? Check. Adventure? Check. Romance? Check. Zombies? Check. Sea battles? Check. Sea Monsters? Check. And of course no steampunk novel would be complete without an airship or two... Somehow, this book has become so much more than the sum of it parts to create something truly unique.

I will confess I struggled a little at the beginning as the world and history was so different from anything I could recognise – a lot of background is thrown at you in a short space of time – the Horde, the buggers, the blounders, but it is all needed in order to truly understand the detailed and comprehensive world that Meljean Brook has created.  After the first fifty pages or so, you are up to date and then watch out! The pace is frantic, but detailed. The relationships are complex and more than just typical romantic stereotypes. While reading, it feels like you’ve had the emotion and excitement of a full season of your favourite show. My heart was racing so many times during The Iron Duke. Despite the steampunk trappings this could easily belong to any other genre as well – romance (there are some truly smexy scenes here!), horror (the ratcatchers really terrified me!), conspiracy, pirating – I could go on, but instead I will highly, highly recommend this book!

Recommended for fans of Nalini Singh and Nicole Peeler. 9.5 out of 10.     

Book Confessions - Shelf Order

This weekend just gone was a long bank holiday weekend in the UK meaning we had both Friday and Monday off. For some reason, this meant that when I woke up on Saturday I had a desperate urge to re-arrange my book shelves. I thought this would only take a couple of hours, but I had serious underestimated the number of books I own. I had also conveniently forgotten that all my book shelves are double-stacked so there were twice as many as it looked. I started with my TBR pile (which really should be called a mountain now). In the picture below I had un-shelved about half of the TBR books and put them on the bed in order to arrange them into genres. In the background you can just make out the remaining books on the TBR book case...

The TBR Pile midway through the re-arrange (Excuse the mess!)

In any case, it got me thinking about how I arrange my books. I like to keep my authors together and in a rough chronological order, but in a wider sense I like to shelf my genre. So all my Urban Fantasy are together, the YA books are together, Crime etc. I also like books of a similar size/shape together as I think it looks neater. I’m by no means obsessive about this – if a book is out of order, I don’t mind but when I get the urge I’ll re-arrange all the books back into the correct order – like this Saturday!

My questions to you this week – is this strange? Or do you order you books in a logical (to you) method as well? Do you get furious when you notice a book out of place? How are your book shelves organised? Lets compare notes so I can see if there is a way that won’t take me four hours! (By the way the four hours was just for the TBR pile – I decided I didn’t the stamina to tackle the rest of my bookcases!)

Guest Review: Demon Trappers: Forgiven Review

My guest reviewer is back in action this month, so Sarah has the third in the Demon Trapper Series to review...

Forgiven (Demon Trappers 3)
- Jana Oliver

Publisher: Macmillian Children's Books

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect.
Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...

Hello fellow Mel followers, sorry I’ve been absent, but for some reason I kept reading books that Mel had already reviewed for you! They have included some corkers though, especially the Hunger Games trilogy, and I also really enjoyed this latest installment in Jana Oliver’s Demon Trappers series, Forgiven.

This is the third in a series of four books starring Riley, a spunky but damaged 17 year old orphaned demon trapper. Riley lives in a cash-strapped world not too far into our future, where the denizens of hell inhabit our lands, and all walks of magical human exist in plain sight. The demon trappers earn their living, as their name suggests, by capturing demons for disposal by the church.

The previous two Demon Trappers installments have been action-filled novels, allowing us to learn the way of Riley’s world, and fall in love with the people around her, whilst keeping you gripped from page to page by the problems caused by the scourge of the underworld. This book, however, takes a more slow-burning approach, fleshing out the other characters, and the world at large. If you had not read the previous books you would almost be forgiven for finding the first three-quarters of Forgiven to be boring, but for those who have developed a vested interest in the characters it is utterly gripping.

The final quarter of the book, however, allows Jana Oliver’s talents as an action writer to really come to the fore, and when Riley finds herself literally in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell I defy you to be able to put the book down. There is also a very slow-burning romantic streak to this series that manages to reach both a most swoonsome peak, and emotion-filled nadir in the space of perhaps 50 pages.

I cannot wait for the final installment in this series (out August, how will I wait????). One for fans of Lili St Crow and Richelle Mead, 8 out of 10

My Book Haul/In My Mailbox

The Story Siren hosts a weekly meme where bloggers can share what goodies they've purchased/received this week. If you get a chance head over to The Story Siren and check out what everyone is up to! It's Easter so I've had a little bit of a splurge this week on spending...

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse 11) - Charlaine Harris

Publisher: UK - Gollancz

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows.

While the latest Sookie books haven't been as enjoyable as some of the earlier ones, I still want to catch up on what is happening in Bon Temps!

Dragon Bones + Dragon Blood - Patricia Briggs

Publisher: Ace Fantasy

 Riding into a war that's heating up on the border, Ward, the new lord of Herzog, is sure he's on the fast track to glory. But soon his mission takes a deadly turn. For he has seen a pile of magical dragon bones hidden deep beneath Hurog Keep. The bones could prove to be dangerous in the wrong hands, and Ward is certain his enemies will stop at nothing to possess them.

I picked both of these up at London's South Bank Book Market for next to nothing. I love Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series so I finding some of her early fantasy books which have never been (to my knowledge) been published in the UK was a real find!

The Lady of the Rivers (Cousins War 3) - Phillippa Gregory

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

While I was a little disappointed with the last couple of Phillippa Gregory books - but I'm always willing to give the new release another try!

The Whispering Room - Amanda Stevens

Publisher: MIRA

Work is a welcome refuge for New Orleans homicide detective Evangeline Theroux. Feeling suffocated by her new baby, in whose eyes she sees only her dead husband, she throws herself into a high-profile murder case.

Reclusive writer Lena Saunders offers Evangeline a provocative theory about the crime: it is the work of a lunatic vigilante. Lena spins the sordid story of Ruth and Rebecca Lemay, whose mother brutally murdered her male children in an insane effort to root out an "evil" gene. The girls survived and grew to adulthood--but one is carrying on her mother's grisly work. When the case takes a terrifyingly personal turn, Evangeline's whole life will depend on a crucial, impossible choice: the lesser of two evils.

Having read and loved The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens, I was so happy to find another book by her which sounds just as atmospheric as the Amelia Gray books!

What have you picked up this week?

On My Wishlist #81

This is a meme from Cosy Books. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! This week my choices are some of my favourite authors new books...

The Wind Through The Keyhole - Stephen King

Publisher:UK - Hodder & Stoughton (April 2012)

This Russian Doll of a novel, a story within a story, within a story, visits Mid-World's last gunslinger, Roland Deschain, and his ka-tet as a ferocious storm halts their progress along the Path of the Beam. (The novel can be placed between Dark Tower IV and Dark Tower V.) Roland tells a tale from his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt ridden year following his mother's death. Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter, a "skin man," Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter. Roland, himself only a teenager, calms the boy by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime, 'The Wind through the Keyhole'. "A person's never too old for stories," he says to Bill. "Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them." And stories like these, they live for us.

I loved The Dark Tower series by Stephen King which I devoured years ago, so I'm a little nervous about King's return to this epic work. However, there's no way I could miss another visit to mid-world to see how far the world has moved on this time. In fact I might pick up the original books again as I only read them the once...

The Long Earth - Terry Prachett and Stephen King

Publisher: UK - Harper (June 2012)

1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No man's Land gone?
2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson has returned to the burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad, others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way, the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself. Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was one...
...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping, you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's our our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers' an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might not have happened and things may well have turned out rather differently.
But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and now the great migration has begun...

I love Terry Prachett and I cut my sci-fi teeth many years ago on Stephen Baxter books so when I heard they were teaming up I couldn't figure out what they would come up with. However, this sounds like a book version of sliders - but better! Can't wait to read it! :-)

The Song of the Quarkbeast - Jasper Fforde

Publisher: UK - Hodder & Stoughton

As the background Wizidrical Power slowly builds after the Big Magic, King Snodd IV of Hereford realises the man who controls Magic controls almost anything. But one person stands between him and his plans for power and riches: Jennifer Strange, sixteen-year-old acting manager of Kazam.
It may involve a trip on a magic carpet at the speed of sound to the Troll Wall, it may involve a second Quarkbeast sniffing around town. It might also involve the mysterious Transient Moose, and a powerless sorceress named Once Magnificent Boo. But one thing is certain: Jennifer Strange and her faithful assistant Tiger Prawns will not relinquish the noble powers of magic to big business and commerce without a fight.

I love Jasper Fforde's writing - it's such fun and so imaginative and I really want to know what Jennifer is getting up to now!

So that's a few of my favourite authors...are there any books by your favourite writers out soon...?