About Books

  • Checking out the summer TBR pile …

    So it’s June, which means that it’s time to think about summer books and what you want to read on vacation.

    I know I say this every single year, but this is going to be the summer when I put a serious dent in my TBR pile. We’ll see if it actually happens or not. LOL.

    But in the meantime, here are some of the books in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading this summer. Note that the descriptions are from Goodreads.

    Baby, It's YouBaby, It’s You by Jane Graves

    Amazon / iTunes

    With only the wedding dress on her back and her honeymoon luggage in the car, Kari Worthington is running away. Determined to put her controlling father, her rigidly structured life, and the uptight groom she left at the altar in her rearview mirror, she escapes to the Texas Hill country … and lands on a tall, dark, and gorgeous winery owner’s doorstep. All she needs is a job and a place to live until she can get back on her feet. So why is she fantasizing about losing herself in his powerful arms?

    For Marc Cordero, freedom is so close he can taste it. He’s devoted his life to managing the family business and being a single dad. Now with his daughter away at college and his brother taking over the winery, Marc is ready to hop on his Harley for parts unknown-until a runaway bride bursts onto the scene. Free-spirited and tantalizingly sexy, Kari excites him like no other woman has before. But when irresistible passion turns into something more, will Marc give up his future to take a chance on love?

    Rush MeRush Me by Allison Parr

    Amazon / iTunes

    When post-grad Rachael Hamilton accidentally gatecrashes a pro-athlete party, she ends up face-to-face with Ryan Carter, the NFL’s most beloved quarterback.

    While most girls would be thrilled to meet the attractive young millionaire, Rachael would rather spend time with books than at sporting events, and she has more important things to worry about than romance. Like her parents pressuring her to leave her unpaid publishing internship for law school. Or her brother, who’s obliviously dating Rachael’s high school bully. Or that same high school’s upcoming reunion.

    Still, when Ryan’s rookie teammate attaches himself to Rachael, she ends up cohosting Friday night dinners for half a dozen football players.

    Over pancake brunches, charity galas, and Alexander the Great Rachael realizes all the judgments she’d made about Ryan are wrong. But how can a Midwestern Irish-Catholic jock with commitment problems and an artsy, gun-shy Jewish New Englander ever forge a partnership? Rachael must let down her barriers if she wants real love–even if that opens her up to pain that could send her back into her emotional shell forever.

    Hell on WheelsHell on Wheels by Julie Ann Walker

    Amazon / iTunes

    He’s the bad boy she’s always wanted …

    Nate “Ghost” Weller has loved Ali Morgan nearly half his life. But he’s done something so heinous he’s convinced she’ll never forgive him if she discovers the truth, so he keeps his feelings and his secrets to himself. Then she blows into town with a mother lode of bad guys on her tail and Nate can’t deny she’s in serious trouble. Unfortunately, he’s the only one who can help her.

    She’s the good girl he’s kept at arm’s length…

    Ali knows Nate as the most solemn, aloof man on the planet. Sadly, he’s also the sexiest. For years she’s avoided him, unable to stomach his dark scowls and brooding silences … especially when she secretly yearns for his touch. Now she must rely on him to save her from the malevolent shadows ghosting her every move. When the bullets explode, so does their passion. But can love really conquer all? Or are some things just too terrible to forgive?

    What about you guys? What books are you hoping to read this summer?

  • ·

    Graphic novels — to read in print or e-book?

    So a couple of months ago, the e-book for Black Widow: The Name of the Rose by Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuña was on sale. The story sounded interesting, and I always like a bargain, so I downloaded it to read on my tablet.

    Black Widow The Name of the RoseHmm. It was an interesting experience.

    The story was good, and the art was cool. Overall, I enjoyed the graphic novel, and I’d recommend it to Black Widow fans or those who enjoy the Marvel universe and its characters.

    But reading a graphic novel isn’t quite the same as reading a print novel on an e-reader. Which was something that I had never considered before.

    For one thing, there seemed to be a set limit as to how big I could make each page. I was a little disappointed by that, as it made some of the dialogue a bit hard to read. I could tap on each individual panel and make them bigger that way, but with three or four or more panels on a page, that got a little tedious at times. I don’t have an iPad, but I imagine that if I had read the graphic novel on it, I would have had a better experience, as that screen would have been bigger than my tablet one.

    So lesson learned. In the future, I’ll probably stick with print versions of graphic novels, just so I can see everything better.

    What about you guys? Do you read graphic novels and comics on your e-reader or tablet? Why or why not?

  • · ·

    Mythos Academy e-books on sale May 13-27 …

    I wanted to let everyone know that there is an e-book sale coming up for the first five books in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series.

    Book #1From May 13-27, the e-books for Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost, Dark Frost, Crimson Frost, and Midnight Frost will be $2.99 each. The deal is being offered at iTunes and Barnes & Noble, but I imagine that the other e-book retailers will pick it up as well. So if you’ve been wanting to check out the series, now might be a good time.

    Here are some of the sites where you can get the e-books, along with the print and audio versions:

    TOUCH OF FROST — BOOK #1

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Audible / Brilliance Audio

    KISS OF FROST — BOOK #2

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Audible / Brilliance Audio

    DARK FROST — BOOK #3

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Audible / Brilliance Audio

    CRIMSON FROST — BOOK #4

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Audible / Brilliance Audio

    MIDNIGHT FROST — BOOK #5

    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Audible / Brilliance Audio

    Hope that everyone enjoys the e-book sale. Happy downloading!

  • · ·

    Kait Ballenger on paranormal romance …

    Kait BallingerToday, I am pleased to welcome Kait Ballenger to my blog. Kait is the author of Execution Underground paranormal romance series. Take it away, Kait.

    KAIT BALLENGER ON PARANORMAL ROMANCE

    Jennifer: Welcome, Kait! Please tell readers about your newest release, Immortal Hunter.

    Kait: Thanks for having me, Jennifer! Immortal Hunter is book two in my Execution Underground paranormal romance series. The book follows a demon exorcist, David Aronowitz, who has to partner with his ex-fiancé, the half-Fae Allsún O’Hare, to catch a nasty demon murdering in Rochester, N.Y. It’s a reunited love story. David and Allsún are characters who were introduced in book one in the series, Twilight Hunter, and we get to see the story fully unfold here as they attempt to reconcile their past.

    Immortal HunterJennifer: This is the second book in your Execution Underground series. Can you tell us a little about the series?

    Kait: The Execution Underground (for which the series is named) is an international covert organization of elite men, hunters of the supernatural, who fight to protect humanity from the evil creatures lurking among us. The series focuses on the Rochester, N.Y. division of the E.U. and the six hunters that comprise that team. Each hunter is trained for a different specialty, so there is a different paranormal creature being hunted in each book. Demons, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, shapeshifters, witches, you name it, they’ve probably got it covered. 😉 For comparison: it’s JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood meets earlier seasons of the TV show Supernatural.

    Jennifer: What appeals to you about the paranormal romance genre?

    Kait: I love that in paranormal romance I can mix elements of romance, fantasy, and suspense and roll them all into one. I love the sexy alpha heroes and kickass heroines that can be found in paranormal romance. When I open a good paranormal romance novel, I know I’m going to be whisked away into a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat and that’s ultimately what I love about the genre: there is so much great tension! I try to capture those elements in each one of my novels.

    Jennifer: What are some of your favorite paranormal romance books/authors and why?

    After DarkKait: Some of my favorite paranormal romance authors are JR Ward, Gena Showalter (who I was lucky enough to be placed beside in an anthology titled After Dark), and Laurel K Hamilton. I read across multiple genres though, so some other favorite authors are J.K. Rowling, Charlaine Harris, Suzanne Collins, Lisa See, and I recently fell in love with Julie Ann Walker’s Black Knight Inc. series. The thing I love most about all the above authors is the outstanding and unique narrative voices in all their series and the tension. I’m a sucker for really good tension. If a book has me flipping the pages and eagerly reading without wanting to close the book, I know it’s a winner.

    Jennifer: Have you always wanted to be a writer? What got you started on your writing journey?

    Kait: Writing wasn’t always an interest for me, because reading was difficult for me for a long time. I was considered a “non-reader” until the time I was in about fourth grade and picked up the Harry Potter series. That’s ultimately what made me fall in love with reading and I started writing my own stories shortly after that. I remember writing a fifty-page paranormal/fantasy story when I was in fifth grade LOL. It wasn’t until I was in college and had already spent a semester majoring in Spanish, before I realized writing was my true dream. For me, my dream of writing has always been fueled by the fact that I love to read, and when I write a book, my goal is to write a book I would love to read.

    Jennifer: What’s next for you? What are you working on?

    Twlight HunterKait: I’m currently working on Midnight Hunter, the third book in the Execution Underground series. I also have a few things about to go out on submission, which haven’t been picked up for publication yet, so hopefully readers will be seeing those projects soon as well.

    Thanks so much for being here today, Kait!

    ALL ABOUT KAIT

    Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, former professional bellydancer, and soon-to-be-professor. She has a BA in English from Stetson University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. She lives in Central Florida with her screenwriter husband and three sweet furry babies, all three of whom are named after fictional characters. Kait hopes that one day with hard work and dedication, she will be a bestselling author, and then, people will name their pets after her characters, too.

    You can follow Kait on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Google +.

    GIVEAWAY TIME

    Kait has generously offered up some books for giveaway. Three winners get their choice between either a signed paperback of After Dark, a signed paperback of Twilight Hunter, or an e-book of Immortal Hunter

    The giveaway is open to those 18 and older, U.S. only. No purchase necessary, and void where prohibited. To enter, use the form below.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • · ·

    Spider’s Bite e-book on sale for $1.99 through May 2 …

    Book #1Some of you may have seen this on my Facebook and Twitter sites already, but I wanted to let everyone know that the e-book of Spider’s Bite, Elemental Assassin #1, is on sale for $1.99 through Friday, May 2.

    The Spider’s Bite e-book deal was originally at Barnes & Noble, but it looks like most of the other retailers, including Amazon and iTunes, have picked it up as well.

    So I would check with your favorite e-book site and see if they have matched the price.

    Spider’s Bite is available at the following sites: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Here is the book description:

    My name is Gin, and I kill people.

    They call me the Spider. I’m the most feared assassin in the South — when I’m not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don’t use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

    Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I’m out for revenge. And I’ll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I’m still one of the bad guys. Which is why I’m in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I’m battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction . . . especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

    Oh, Gin. Things were so much simpler back then, weren’t they? You’ve made a lot more enemies since that first book. LOL.

    Hope that everyone enjoys the e-book deal. Happy reading!