Giveaway Winner Selected!
Hi everyone! This giveaway has been particularly exciting as we’re giving away THREE books to TWO awesome Your Urban Fantasy followers by the ONE and only Caroline Hanson. But now the time has come to select our winners! As always, I want to thank all of you for participating. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winners are:
Dita Škarste
Aly P
Please check your emails, ladies! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for the continued support and I look forward to the next giveaway, and of course there’s more on the way!
Givaway Winner Selected!
Hi everyone! The time has come and now we have a winner! As always, I want to thank all of you for participating. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winner is:
Cindi
Please check your email, Cindi! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for the continued support and I look forward to the next giveaway which is currently ongoing, and of course there’s more on the way!
Trilogy Giveaway + Author Interview + Review - Caroline Hanson, Valerie Dearborn Series
Love is Mortal Review
Betrayal and redemption are the primary themes in Love is Mortal, book 3 in the Valerie Dearborn series. It also completes the story arc of Valerie and Lucas. Stuck in the land of the Fey, Valerie is desperate to get out of Cerdwellyn’s clutches. Her powers as an empath, while useful, are not enough and she’ll have to work with Lucas if they have any hope of freedom. But can she trust him after his betrayal?
I have enjoyed this series quite a bit so it was sad to see this come to the end, though this book was a fitting way to conclude their story. There’s a lot of character development, particularly on Lucas’s end. After the devastating revelations in Love is Fear, there was a lot of rebuilding to be done when it came to Lucas and Valerie’s relationship and not a lot of time to do it. The work around was effective.
There wasn’t as much action this time around as Val and Lucas spend a great deal of time captive. It’s more of a psychological game. The the start was a little on the slow side for me because of this, but it does hit its stride and doesn’t really stop until it’s over.
Even though this doesn’t leave on a cliffhanger, there are a lot of questions still left when it comes to the land of the Fey and Cerdwellyn’s past and future, as well as Jack and Rachel, so thankfully we’re not completely finished with Valerie Dearborn world. It’s a fabulous series and I still want more.
*ARC provided by the author.
Author Interview
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Caroline Hanson, author of the fantastic Valerie Dearborn novels. With the third and final book (for this arc at least) now released, Ms. Hanson and I thought it’d be a great opportunity to hold a giveaway as well! But before that I had a few questions for our guest of honor.
1. Could you tell us a little about yourself? Where did you grow up and how did you come to love the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal genre?
I grew up in Fresno, California which is not particularly exciting. The most famous person to come out of our school is Kevin Federline- what’s that tell ya? I’m an only child and had strict parents so I spent a lot of time in my room reading. I moved to England at 20 which should also tell you something about me- halfway around the world from Fresno. Lol.
I loved Anne Rice and Depeche Mode as well as The Cure during high school and always liked paranormal books. But it was reading Laurell K Hamilton several years ago that started me on my urban fantasy obsession.
2. Can you share a little bit of your process with creating the Valerie Dearborn novels? Did you have a three initial books in mind, or were you initially planning one book and then your ideas expanded?
Valerie Dearborn actually came to me as a fairly full-fledged idea and was in response to what I had been reading. I did not like how action-based or mythology-based urban fantasy had become. Very external plot driver whereas Hamilton or even Meyer are all internal plot. I love internal conflict and building external problems to reflect the character’s internal bullshit. Joss Whedon is the master of that type of storytelling.
I also really don’t like the way vampires have been glamorized. That they have become all PC and nice. WTF? They’re killers! Very smart, very manipulative and very beautiful killers. That is what I find fascinating about vampires.
As for heroines, with the exception of Bella, they are usually very kick ass. I don’t relate to that. If a vampire was going to attack me I would probably huddle up in a ball and wait for the end. I wanted to read a story about a normal girl who gets dragged into the vampire stuff against her will. I think Valerie is relatable and that’s what has resonated with people. Or Lucas. Either way they like the books.
3. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Ugh. That’s tough and my answer isn’t very nice. I think in order to be successful, you have to be a little insecure with your writing. I’m an attorney (have you noticed how many successful writers are attorneys?) and I was terrible at law school. My law school was proud of the fact that they would tear us down and try to rebuild us. To succeed in writing one must be comfortable with being torn down. You will be told your writing blows. That’s just a fact. But successful writers take that criticism and look for the truth in it, even when what they want to say is ‘Go f*ck yourself!’ If you can’t cut your favorite scene or cut out thousands of words and start over again, you probably won’t be successful. And that sucks.
4. Do you have any favorite authors who have inspired you?
Well, as I said a little bit above it would be Laurell K Hamilton and Anne Rice. But I also love Laura Kinsale and Loretta Chase. I met Loretta Chase this last year and went up to her, wanting to tell her how much I loved her stories but I got all teary-eyed and had to leave because I was gonna cry. It was a little bizarre to have such a fan girl reaction.
5.What can we look for next for your future works and the Valerie Dearborn world and other future works?
You know, I’m not sure what’s next. I’ve written three books, two novellas, two short stories and a couple of other random things in the last two years and I like to think that I am now going to take a break. But writers write and I still have to tell Cerdwellyn’s story. Jack and Rachel’s stories are not complete and I have Molly. In my mind, I think I know what that story is. Or at least part of it, but that may change. I really have to let that percolate, because I know people want Valerie and Lucas in there too and right now I’m not sure they have enough conflict to be very interesting in that book. So the next to Valerie book is going to take a while.
I’m working on a few new things, the first of which is a book called A Lady Out of Time and the heroine is a tough girl. She is a soldier who goes back in time to England and meets a very stuffy duke. I’ve read a lot of historicals and am so sick of the virginal, weak heroine that I really want to write something different.
My other series is called Incendia which means to ‘set alight.’ It’s urban fantasy and different than a lot of the things I have seen. I think this is the series that will make the Lucas fans happy. I think they’ll fall in love with Alexander. It will be very emotionally based, have a love triangle, and both men are pretty flawed. It’s got a Roman feel to it but is modern. Mainly.
Thank you again to Ms. Hanson and we look forward to what you’ve got next!
Giveaway
With Your Urban Fantasy Ms. Hanson is holding a giveaway for TWO winners to receive the complete trilogy of this series. It’s perfect for those of you who are new to the series, or for those who still want a chance to read the final book. It’s a win win!
I am collecting entries through Saturday, December 8th. I will announce the winner the next day.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
Iced (Dani O’Malley #1) by Karen Marie Moning - Review+Giveaway!
Review
This controversial spin-off of the Fever series switches from the point of view of MacKayla Lane’s to her former sidekick, Dani “Mega” O’Malley. After a tragic revelation, Dani goes from friend to foe. On the run from Mac, Dani does what she does best-survive. Of course her super powers make her a target for bigger and badder supernaturals, namely Ryodan, the immortal nightclub owner, and Christian, an Unseelie prince in the making after a shocking turn of events from the original novels. Her abilities are particularly useful after certain parts of the already ravaged city turn up frozen, killing innocent people for no apparent rhyme or reason. To save her city, she begrudgingly joins forces with these guys, though her mere compliance may not be all they have in mind.
To be honest, I wasn’t really sure if I’d like this book. Dani was fine for me as a supporting character, but I wasn’t quite sure if she could be main character material. After actually reading it I’m still not quite sure, but the final product turned out better than I thought. Moning adopts a completely different voice for Dani and she is every bit the obnoxious teen that we’ve come to love or loath. I try to cut her some slack; she facing the most awkward time of her life with little to no support system, and she still wants to do good things and protect people.
Moning can do the love triangle thing pretty well. Normally I don’t like them, but the Barrons/V’Lane thing was an exception. In this instance, it’s got an extra little statutory dimension that’s bound to ruffle a few feathers. The book walks a fine line for me, but I can see how it could cross it for other readers. I just keep in mind that these guys are immortal and they are enamored with the woman Dani will be, not the girl she is now. But again, it’s a fine line. Her human buddy, Dancer, is also another good prospect (and probably the healthiest), but 3 potential love interests obviously makes things a bit crowded. Someone’s gotta go.
The mystery wasn’t that great to me. It was interesting the first couple of times, but it felt a little repetitive after a while as they stumbled upon scene upon scene. However, a new recurring villain is introduced, and boy is she freaky! I loved reading those scenes and I felt genuinely scared!
I wish there was more Mac and Barrons presence, but I wasn’t expecting that so it wasn’t too disappointing. Cruce is also back, tormenting the Sidhe Seers in their dreams. I don’t know about anybody else, but I hope there is a more permanent solution to get rid of him for good. Not a big fan of rapists and I don’t care to read about them on an on-going basis if it doesn’t include their deserved castration…A little much? Sorry…
All in all, there were flashes of brilliance that reminded me why I love the original Fever novels (they’re my #2 or #3 fave), but it wasn’t quite as addictive for me. I read all 5 Fever novels in 6 days. This one took me a few days, but I will definitely continue reading. This world is just too good to resist.
*Review copy provided by the publisher.
Giveaway
I am collecting entries through Saturday, November 24th. I will announce the winner the next day.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
Who is my favorite Author? Kim Harrison, that’s who! Ever After ARC is MINE!!
Though I gave my copy away last year, this one is priceless for this very reason:
But don’t worry! I will be holding a giveaway for the official release!!
Giveaway Winner Selected!
Hi everyone! I hope my fellow east coasters are safe and prepared for Hurricane Sandy. While it looks like I won’t be shipping this book as soon as I would like due to the weather, I still want to thank all of you for participating, and now we have a winner. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winner is:
Clenna Emery
Please check your email, Clenna! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for the continued support and I look forward to the next giveaway which is coming up very soon! There are a lot of awesome books coming out soon, so I guess that means there will be more giveaways!
Giveaway! Signed copy of Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger!
It’s been a little while, but I can’t forget about you guys! Though I haven’t completed reading this series yet (I’ll resume it after catching up with October Daye, Night Huntress, and a few new releases), that doesn’t mean I can’t give it away.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ms.Gail Carriger over the summer at San Diego Comic Con, so rest assured that this is a genuine autographed copy of the book, specifically for one lucky Your Urban Fantasy follower.
I am collecting entries through Saturday, October 27th. I will announce the winner the next day.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
Giveaway Winner Announced!
Hi everyone! As usual, I want to thank all of you for participating, but now we have a winner. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winner is:
Elizabeth Haney
Please check your email, Elizabeth! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for the continued support and I look forward to the next giveaway! There are a lot of awesome books coming out this fall so I guess that means there will be a lot more giveaways!
Giveaway! Spellbound by Kelley Armstrong
I have already reviewed this novel, but I figured I’d spread the wealth. I don’t really recommend this as a first foray into this world, but if you plan to read the series, this is just one book of the baker’s dozen to cross off your list!
I am collecting entries through Monday, August 27th. I will announce the winner the next day.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
San Diego Comic Con 2012 (Sunday) – Report, Pics, Vids, and…Giveaway?
Everything good must come to an end. We didn’t go for costumes on Sunday; it was just too exhausting. We like to use this time to thoroughly explore the exhibit hall, and that we did. Of course it was my priority to get Gail Carriger’s autograph and this time it worked out!
So here I am with an extra signed copy of Soulless and it’s got nowhere to go…or does it? For you guys I think I might just hold a giveaway really soon! Just stay tuned ~_^.
There’s not much to say so I’ll just post a few cool pics.
Someone’s all conned out:
Hello Kitty Chun-Li
It’s morphin’ time!
Speaking of which, the original black ranger should easily be pushing 40, yet he looks practically the same!
And some fun video:
Well Comic Con, it was good to know you! I’ll see you next year!
Waking the Witch - Giveaway Winner Announced!
Hi everyone! As usual, I wanted to thank all of you for participating, but now we have a winner. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winner is:
noraadrienne
Please check your email, Nora! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for participating and I look forward to the next giveaway, which is coming very soon so stay tuned!
Review + Giveaway: Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld #11) - Small town, big problems!
Review
Oh the shock. I must confess that I’d never before read a novel by Kelley Armstrong. Though I’d heard about her often and saw her books on the shelves, I just never got around to her stuff. But now I understand what I was missing.
Waking the Witch is my first foray into the Women of the Otherworld series. The central character is Savannah Levine, an orphaned but proud and skilled dark witch. She must put her abilities to the test as a Private Investigator, looking into a string of peculiar murders in the small town of Columbus, Washington. Only to the supernaturally trained eye can we see that there’s a little more than foul play involved. And it will take a member of the otherworld to catch this serial killer. But Savannah must watch her back as she makes herself a target as well as those whom she holds dear.
One of the qualities I enjoyed about this was how easy to is to become immersed in the book. I thought the balance of mystery and magic was handled well. If you removed the magic elements, it would make for a pretty fascinating mystery and suspense novel. But because I love all things paranormal, the magic makes it even more interesting. Though I hadn’t read a prior novel, it wasn’t necessary to enjoy this particular story; yet I do want to go back and read the prior novels at some point. I get OCD like that sometimes, but I really like Armstrong’s writing.
For a long time Savannah’s been carrying a torch for her friend Adam, but her feelings have gone unreciprocated. I really liked their moments as friends, and found this to be an interesting approach to build a love story. The only potential problem is that really do feel like friends to me aside from her internal monologue desiring more. I think they need a little more romantic chemistry for me to buy them as a couple, but I want to see how this is resolved.
Serving as an introduction to bigger problems, this book isn’t necessarily a cliff hanger, but the story ends making it very obvious that there is more in store for the next one. And I will certainly read it right after this.
*Review copy provided by publisher
Giveaway
I am collecting entries through June 25, 2012. I will announce the winners on Tuesday, June 26, 2012.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
Wicked as They Come - Winners Announcement!
Hi everyone! As usual, I wanted to thank all of you for participating, but now we have our 2 winners. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance to win. I apologize for the late announcement, but my Internet connection has been on the fritz. Without further ado, the winners are:
sharonstogner
littleread1
Please check your emails ladies! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for participating and I look forward to the next giveaway, which will be later this month!
Review + Giveaway: Wicked as They Come (Blud #1) - My FAVORITE book of 2012 thus far!!
Yeah, those of you who follow me closely know I wouldn’t throw that out there lightly, but there it is! I’d heard good things about the series but I wasn’t in the hugest rush to read it. Man am I SO glad I got around to it!
Delilah Dawson introduces us to a new world through the eyes of Letitia Everett (aka Tish), a nurse who spends most of her time tending to patients in reality, including her terminally ill grandmother. That is until she stumbles upon this interesting ruby locket at an estate sale. Unbeknownst to her it happens to be enchanted, and once she falls asleep it thrusts her into an alternate world called Sang where she meets Criminy Stain, a rebellious gypsy Bludman (aka vampire) who has been waiting for her for a long time. After all, he’s the one that had the locket spell cast to deliver the love of his life to him.
He leads a travelling circus mixed with fellow Bludman and Pinkies (aka humans) alike. Tish will fit right in as she realizes her powers as a Glancer, where she can see into someone’s past and future with just one touch. It’s a valuable ability and she learns her own fate when she touches Criminy, seeing her ultimate doom. Anchored between both worlds through wearing the locket, she can decide what she wants, but when the locket is stolen she goes on a journey with Criminy to find it. They face many enemies by land and sea, their ultimate target being the evil and manipulative Magistrate who hates all Bludmen and has a plan to eradicate them all from Sang. If they succeed, she must decide on a normal structured life or an unpredictable destiny with the person she was least expecting to love. Is Tish meant for all of this?
I won’t answer that question here, but I can just say that I loved loved LOVED this book! Dawson has an amazing imagination and has crafted a truly unique world with the Blud series. I wasn’t sure how much I could get into the world-building because Steampunk novels can be too heavy on the details for my liking. But she was able to harness it and describe everything effectively while still keeping my attention. I seriously don’t recall being bored at all and that’s saying a lot.
I liked that the Bludmen are really different for a change. Instead of being at the top of the food chain and rich like vampires in normal series, their race is oppressed and their people are considered second class citizens. Let’s not even get into the topic of a Bludmen becoming involved with a Pinky. It’s super taboo and usually the two races aren’t attracted to one another (well, aside from Bludmen seeing them as food of course). Because of this I enjoyed watching the tensions mount between the two.
Criminy Stain. Just one word to describe him: AMAZING!! I just don’t know if we can get enough of this character. He is so unique in a genre where it’s only getting more difficult to separate the best from the rest. He’s a born leader, honorable and adventurous; he cares about his people and hates that they’re suffering, but even still he doesn’t become emo and self-loathing. He maintains a great sense of humor throughout it all. I probably haven’t read about a more dynamic character since Algaliarept from The Hollows. The only downside is that I’m not sure what the second book will have in store. The book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, but I just can’t tell what’s going to happen next for him since the second book seems to shift focus. To ignore this character is to ignore a goldmine. He’s got potential to be a fan favorite, like a Jericho Barrons, Algaliarept, Jean Claude, Curran, the list goes on.
I think the love story between Criminy and Letitia is very well done and not too heavy on that sap. It’s definitely more of a romantic adventure so a lot of the focus is on the adventure side of things, which is just how I like it. All the while the feelings build allowing things to happen at the right time.
I really wish this series came out bi-annually simply because of him. Maybe we can coax the author into writing up some short stories or vignettes.
This series is one where I would love to see a movie adaptation created for it. It could be a big hit, seeing all of this come to life. I just can’t gush enough and I’ve decided to hold a giveaway right now! I can’t wait much longer for more of you to read it so….
Giveaway
I will select two winners for this and they may choose either the paperback or the ebook. I am collecting entries through May 4th. I will announce the winners on Saturday, May 5, 2012.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook.
Giveaway to celebrate the big 10K: Love is Darkness (Valerie Dearborn #1) by Caroline Hanson
To tie in (in part) with Your Urban Fantasy’s 10,000 views celebration, Caroline Hanson is offering her Valerie Dearborne novel “Love is Darkness” for FREE today and tomorrow through Amazon. If you didn’t get a chance to nab it soon after my review, here’s another chance! I really enjoy this series and I’m definitely looking forward to book 3! Thanks again to all of you guys and thank you, Ms. Hanson, for this offer!
A Perfect Blood Giveaway! Winners have been selected BUT
Hi everyone! Well it looks like we have our two winners! But as I entered the names in my spreadsheet in order, I noticed several users share the same name and one of our winners happens to be one of those people (ie: we have more than one “Tiffany”). So to avoid any confusion I won’t announce them here at this time, but the winners have been contacted and they are free to comment on this post about it. I am floored that over 100 of you entered! I am so happy to have a bunch of Hollows fans around! I started loving this series when there wasn’t a lot of fandom so it’s good to have a sense of community.
Anyway, I want to thank every one of you for following Your Urban Fantasy and I am really excited that the book is going to come out in the few days! You all know that I practically love Hollows everything so there will definitely be future giveaways of this series and more. I’m particularly looking forward to her anthology later this year with Trent/Jenks’s side story from Pale Demon called “Million Dollar Baby”. If you don’t know, it’s about Trent and Jenks’ HUGE secret mission from that book. There’s no way I can resist reading about that bromance.
Also, if you guys would like me to do a giveaway for the paperback of A Perfect Blood I’ll arrange that too. We’ll see what’s going on later in the year.
I’m really pumped that the release is so close and I’d love to hear what you all think when you get your hands on it! I’ll “sticky” my review for a few days starting Tuesday if you have any 2 cents to add ~_^.
Giveaway winner selected and February plans
The Excel gods have spoken! And the Mind Games novel will go to…
Deb Novack!
Congrats, Deb!! Let me know how you like it! Please check your email and twitter so that we can get in touch regarding your contact information.
Again, I want to thank you ALL for your continued support of Your Urban Fantasy! I’m still a bit new at this, so thanks for letting me work out the kinks. I’ll keep my monthly giveaways going and next month is definitely no exception. I think a large number of us know that February is going to be a VERY exciting month! I’ll let you all take one wild guess as to why ~_^. I’ve got a lot in store and will need your help, so stay tuned!
Giveaway + Review: Mind Games - A Solid Start to This Trilogy
Giveaway Details:
It’s that time of the month! As I am gearing up to read the final book of the Disillusionist Trilogy I figured I could do a little house cleaning. Up for grabs is my copy of Mind Games, Book 1 of this great series. The giveaway will last until Thursday, January 26, 2012. The winner will be announced and contacted on Friday the 27th. If you participated in my prior giveaway you might know the drill, but please see below as I have tweaked a couple of things.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): This giveaway is only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Winners are randomly selected through a raffle. I ship to international winners!
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Review:
Mind Games, Book 1 of the Disillusionist Trilogy introduces us to Justine Jones. She’s a bit of a hypochondriac-to put it mildly. She freaks out that she’s going to die any day now and it affects her life and interactions with those around her in so many ways. That is until she stumbles into a bar, meeting this mysterious bar tender named Packard. He seems to have all of the answers to solve Justine’s little problem. Little does she know what she is getting herself into when she takes him up on his offer. It turns out Justine can use her neurosis as a weapon, passing her fear into criminals instead with a process called “zinging”. Better them than her, right? She joins Packard’s vigilante crime fighting team that uses their own powers to re-program these bad guys and make them into more upstanding citizens. But of course nothing is that easy, right? Is the law usually on the side of vigilantes? And exactly how bad ARE these bad guys? (I’ll give you a hint: VERY bad)
There’s a fair amount of originality here. It’s definitely interesting to use people with heightened senses more so than the usual super natural creatures like vampires, werewolves, demons, etc. It’s quite difficult to stand out in the urban fantasy genre with those staple species, though I admit those are usually my preference when well done.
I also want to forewarn you to be prepared for first person present tense. It is an extremely jarring adjustment to make and I found it distracting for most of the book, though I finally adjusted towards the end. Considering that this is a modified review I can say that initially I planned to avoid this style like the plague, but after reading several titles in this tense more recently, it’s no longer an issue.
While there is some gore, overall this book has a lighter urban fantasy feel to it, which is usually more up my alley. It’s plenty descriptive and there is plenty of suspense as Justine isn’t a seasoned crime-fighter and all of these experiences thrust upon her are new, so it’s up to her to use her wits to figure out how she’ll survive. I’m usually pretty sensitive to annoying protagonists, but Justine wasn’t so bad. She’s a little quick to jump in the sack, but I think that she more or less handles the situations as best as she can at the time. She’s definitely no Mary Sue.
Considering that this isn’t your everyday run-of-the-mill urban fantasy tale, I’m not sure if this is what every fan would be looking for, but if you’ve read lots of stories and want to give something different a try, this is worth the time.
Parting is such sweet sorrow! But we have a winner…
Okay, as you can see I had a good little cry and now I’m ready to part with an old friend (at least that’s what any Hollows book feels like to me). But it’s okay! I know it’s going to a great home and it will be loved, cherished, and cared for…and hopefully read super fast so that said new owner can chat with me stat about all of the awesome!!
And the winner is: Diva! Enjoy it! I’ll be sending you an email and tweet shortly.
Thanks guys for joining up on my blog and twitter. I will post a review of the book a few weeks before it comes out, but you can check my Goodreads account if you can’t wait for a few juicy details (aka spoilers) and my general musings. I wish you all could have won it, but when the book is released in February I am going to do another giveaway for a copy of the hardcover. And since everybody was so excited about this, I will totally do this again for EVER AFTER (Book 11′s title), and…*sniff* *sniff* Book 12 when it aaaall ends.
You guys know that you can always reach me here or on Twitter. And if any of you guys are on Goodreads, feel free to friend me or PM me about anything. I always love hearing from my Hollows peeps! You guys are the best!
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