Better Part of Darkness Blog Tour

Urban Fantasy meets Sexy in The Better Part of Darkness

Have you ever read a book and just loved a character right from the start? That's how I felt about Charlie Madigan from The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay. Charlie is a divorced mother of one and a cop. She's tough, sexy and yet she has this vulnerability that makes her so "normal". And normal is what makes you just love her. She doesn't really do make-up, her hair is a mess when she wakes up, and she still has a thing for her ex. She has a temper and she gets scared, but all in all she has such an inner strength you know she'll overcome anything she comes against- or die trying. Oh yah, she already did that once and she even overcame that!

About the Book... Atlanta: it's the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil.... Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim -- but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?

The story is fantasy with "off-worlders", that are made up of two races of people who have secretly lived with humans for a very long time. The "Revelation" is when the humans find out that "They" are here, but Kelly Gay let's us know just enough about that piece of history without getting bogged down with it. And we slowly learn about the "off-worlders" themselves as the story goes along, but it all unfolds naturally so the story feels just like a cop procedural with some very interesting characters. The story is absorbing! I could not put it down. The characters are so well written and so is the story. Charlie and her partner Hank make a great pair! You will laugh at some of the predicaments they get themselves into! The relationships Charlie has with her sister Byrn and her daughter are well developed, and you can almost feel the dirt on your clothes as you walk along the streets of the Underground with Charlie. This book grabbed me and wouldn't let me go! I want more of this great heroine! And Kelly Gay was listening because her next book The Darkest Edge of Dawn will be out August 2010! Charlie is back!

From Kelly Gay...

How did you come to write this book? ...Charlie, the main character of the book, came to me several years ago. All I had was a title, a faint notion of a world that had already come to terms with the supernatural, and a strong desire to write about a single mom, a woman with the inner strength to pull herself to her feet and make a stand when everything seems lost. In real life, we are equipped with this amazing ability to continue on despite incredible devastations and obstacles, and that's one of the aspects I wanted to explore. I wanted to give Charlie a serious job to do set within a dangerous and diverse paranormal world, but also give her a sense of realism, a history that gave her an ex-husband and a child. I wasn't sure it would work, but once I got into the story, everything seemed to fall into place. Things got wonderfully complex, intense, and very real.

Kelly Gay is on Tour today promoting her book The Better Part of Darkness! Thank you to Sarah of Pocket Books for sending me the review copy! I loved it! And trust me, if you like strong female heroines, you will enjoy this book too!

Here are some of the other blogs on The Better Part of Darkness Tour...

My Life in Not So Many Words: http://www.ziarias.blogspot.com/

Parajunkee’s View: http://parajunkee.blogspot.com/

Crazy Books & Reviews: http://lindsayphotobook.blogspot.com/

The Book Tree: http://thebooktree.blogspot.com/

Book Junkie: http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/

Jeanne's Ramblings: http://www.jeannesramblings.com

Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/

Poisoned Rationality: http://lastexilewords.blogspot.com

Found Not Lost: http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/

A Book Bloggers Diary: http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/

Booksie’s Blog: http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/

The Life (and Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/

My Adventures in Mommyland: http://musingmainiac.blogspot.com/

I Heart Book Gossip: http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/

All About {n}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/

The Bibliophilic Book Blog: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/

Jen’s Book Talk: http://jensbooktalk.blogspot.com/

Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/

Chick with Books: http://www.chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/ (Hey! That's Me!)

Reading with Tequila: http://readingwithtequila.blogspot.com/

Pick of the Literate: http://bookrevues.blogspot.com/

Books Gardens & Dogs: http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/

Wendy’s Minding Spot: http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/

Revenge of the Booknerds: http://booknerdextraordinaire.blogspot.com/

You Wanna Know What I Think?: http://www.kballard87.blogspot.com/

Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm: http://fayeflamereviews.blogspot.com/

Patricia’s Vampire Notes: http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com/

SciFi Guy: http://www.scifiguy.ca/

The Wayfaring Writer: http://moonsanity.blogspot.com/

Book Soulmates: http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com/

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!

Searching for Pemberley by Mary Lydon Simonsen... A Review

Could Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice have been Inspired by a Real Love Story...

Join Maggie Joyce as she searches for the answers...

Searching for Pemberly by Mary Lydon Simonsen is wonderful historical fiction! Filled with romance, history and the mystery behind the real life characters of Pride & Prejudice. Instead of reinventing Pride & Prejudice into a different story, Mary Lydon Simonsen gives us Maggie Joyce, a girl who loves Jane Austen, who happens to be working in London and has "stumbled upon a rumor that Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was based on the lives of a real couple."

What could be more fun then solving the age old question of who the real Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are?! Just after World War II, a young Maggie Joyce, a Jane Austen fan, has just graduated from business school and leaves her coal town in Pennsylvania for office work in Washington, DC. The time just after the war was a dark and dreary time, similar in some respects to the world that Jane Austen writes about in her novel Pride & Prejudice, and we can see the connection that Maggie Joyce has with Jane's work. When it's time to move on, we see a little spark of adventure in Maggie as she travels to work first in Germany and then finally in London, England, home to her heroine Jane Austen! It's here where the story really begins... With a tour of what is thought to be Pemberly and the rumors of the real life love story that Pride & Prejudice was based on!

Although this is fiction, you just can't stop yourself from wishing that all that Maggie uncovers is the truth behind the actual romance between "Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy". The story is so well thought out that it is quite believable. Through correspondence and long forgotten diaries & letters Maggie finds, we are propelled into the mystery ourselves! The writing is good, the research done to stay true to the times is evident, and of course the characters are likable and believable. A very unique take in what is a large number of Jane Austen inspired books, Searching for Pemberley is a wonderful story. I so enjoyed this book! And if you are a Jane fan, you will enjoy it too! Mary Lydon Simonsen treats us to a leisurely paced story! Like enjoying a steeping cup of tea, you slowly breathe it all in. Maggie doesn't uncover anything earth shattering, but what Mary Lydon Simonsen uncovers is a story that will keep your interest! A wonderful mystery, a nice heap of romance, and this all adds up to a book well worth any Jane Austen fans' time. Thank you to Danielle of Sourcebooks for this wonderful review copy! The story was more than I could have hoped for!

Happy Birthday Jane Austen!

Happy Birthday Jane Austen!

Dec 16, 1775 - July 18, 1817

Thank you Jane for Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensability, and Northanger Abbey! Hope you are enjoying Jane Austen week, with a bit of Jane inspired books. I will link up all the reviews this week here at the end of the week, and in the meantime enjoy more contemporary books inspired by Jane Austen's popularity! And don't be shy, share your favorite Jane Austen book here! Tell me what other Jane inspired book you've read and liked! And of course you can always share your Birthday wishes with Jane!

Happy reading! And Happy Birthday Jane!

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange... A Review

A legendary and immortal love story ...

for a legendary and immortal couple...

a test of love that will take them to hell and back...

Girl loves Boy... Boy loves girl... Boy has BIG secret... and FANGS! I know what your thinking, but I'm talking about... Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange! It is a wonderful gothic adventure! If you love Jane Austen, you will already feel right at home as the story opens on the morning of the wedding of Elizabeth Bennet and the brooding Mr. Darcy. It is to be a joint wedding, the sister she is closest with, Jane, is marrying her Mr. Bingley...

But things seem a bit off after the vows... Elizabeth writes to her sister, "...Tell me, Jane, is marriage what you thought it would be?" Elizabeth is perplexed by her new husbands "quirks"... First he doesn't seem happy, has he regrets so soon? Secondly, he doesn't seem to want to "consummate" the marriage, actually seeming to avoid her! (That certainly doesn't seem too normal!). And finally, there seems to be something on his mind... Something BIG! Hmmm, wonder if it has anything to do with those fangs? Mr. Darcy thus whisks his new wife off to unexpected places, visiting strange relations...

My dearest Jane,

My hand is trembling as I write this letter. My nerves are in tatters and I am so altered that I believe you would not recognise me. The past two months have been a nightmarish whirl of strange and disturbing circumstances, and the future . . .

Jane, I am afraid. If anything happens to me, remember that I love you and that my spirit will always be with you, though we may never see each other again. The world is a cold and frightening place where nothing is as it seems. It was all so different a few short months ago. When I awoke on my wedding morning, I thought myself the happiest woman alive . . .

Unlike a lot of the Jane Austen "Vampire" inspired spin-offs, this book is not just written as a humorous take on Pride & Prejudice, although it was a fun book to read! It is a wonderfully written alternative take on Mr. Darcy and why he is such a dark, handsome, brooding character! Written in a style similar to Jane Austen's writing, it is a well written page turner that you will truly enjoy! The characters come alive and so does the scenery around them! Ms. Austen would definitely have a smile on her face as she read this book! I know I did! If you love Jane Austen and the occasional vampyre, pick up Mr. Darcy, Vampyre! You won't be sorry! Thank you to Danielle of Sourcebooks for sending me this wonderful book to review! Mr. Darcy was never a more interesting character!

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!

Memoir Mondays... We start the Jane Austen Birthday Week with The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James!

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs

were discovered after hundreds of years?

What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair?

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James... From the Publisher, "The premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, gives us untold insights into her mind and heart. Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, and their mother are left homeless and nearly penniless when Jane's father dies. Although Jane's brothers pitch in to offer financial support, Jane still lacks privacy and a settled place in which to live and write. She has long since give up her dream of becoming a published author.

On a fateful trip to Lyme, Jane meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. The two fall deeply in love. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by Mr. Ashford's faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

Written in a compelling and witty style that echoes Austen's own, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen stays faithful to the facts of Jane Austen's life, while revealing the untold story of Jane's impassioned, life-changing love affair. At the same time, the novel showcases Jane's struggle with her own talent—and offers a possible scenario for the inspiration behind some of her most beloved romantic tales."

This book has gotten so much positive buzz! And since it is Memoir Monday, Jane never wrote really wrote her memoirs, and we are celebrating Jane Austen's birthday this week, I thought we could all enjoy this "memoir" that is written so convincingly in Jane's style! Syrie James did extensive research to truly understand all things Austen, and writes,

"I felt a great responsibility to remain true to Jane Austen's known history, and to accurately represent not only her, but her real-life friends and family members. It was a challenge to interweave my love story with the known dates, times, places and facts of Jane Austen's life. When I was finished, I hoped it would be difficult for even the most discerning Jane Austen scholar to determine where fact ended and fiction began."

Read more about her research at her website HERE. There is even a Reader's Guide HERE, for book clubs interested in reading The Memoirs of Jane Austen as a group! Would you like to read an excerpt? Here's a link to CHAPTER ONE. And this book is Kindle Ready too!

Stop by the rest of the week for more books based on the writings of Jane Austen! And Celebrate Jane this week- her birthday is Dec. 16th!

The Sunday Salon... Children's Holiday Books We Can all Love... And an iPhone App just for the Season!

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake...

The snow has finally fallen in Connecticut, which means throwing another log in the woodstove, settling down with

a great book and waiting for the Holidays to come! The celebration of Chanukah, the triumph of light over darkness, started Friday night! Happy Chanukah to everyone who celebrates! And Christmas is right around the corner! I was thinking about some of the great children's books that I enjoy reading this time of year, and some of the new books that look to be a wonderful addition to the season! So this weeks Sunday Salon will be about great Childrens books perfect for reading together this time of year... Plus, for you iPhone users, there are some great Holiday Apps! One of them is a "story Advent calendar" that is so much fun! We'll talk about that afterwards... Now onto the books...

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradion by Carol Aebersold & Chanda Bell... It seems like this book (and elf) has made a big splash this year in all the bookstores, but the book has been around since 2007. The book is charming! And comes packaged with an elf who looks just like the elf from the story! The Elf is Santa's helper and has the responsibility to report to Santa nightly the behavior of the children in the house he arrives at. (Naughty or Nice!) Each morning when the elf returns from the North Pole the job of the children is to find him! He'll be somewhere different each morning! The children aren't allowed to touch him because the magic might go away, and Santa may not hear him any longer, but the children can talk to the elf and tell him all their "secrets & wishes" for Christmas! On Christmas eve the elf's job is done and off he goes to live with Santa again until next year! There is even a special place online to register your elf's name, because everyone needs a proper name! Carol and Chanda are mother & daughter and wrote this charming book from the Christmas tradition they had in their home. The story is written in rhyming verse and the illustrations are beautiful! Carol Aebersold also writes, "Unwittingly, the tradition provided an added benefit: it helped the children to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the "elf is watching"!

The Snowman's Song: A Christmas Story by Marilee Joy Mayfield... "The Snowman's Song is an enchanting tale of longing and fulfillment. A little snowman yearns to sing Christmas carols, but is desolate because he hasn't a voice. From the kindness of others, he dares to believe in the impossible and experiences a Christmas miracle. Beautifully told in melodic verse, this inspirational story shows that impossible dreams do come true and reminds us of the true reason for the season." The illustrations look beautiful and this heartwarming story includes a bonus CD contains a reading of the entire story told in the author s voice.

The Mitten retold and illustrated by Jan Brett... The Mitten is A Ukrainian Folktale retold by Jan Brett with her breathe-taking illustrations! This year is the 2oth anniversary of Jan Brett's retelling of The Mitten! And with good reason- it's a wonderful story! The tale is about a little boy "Nicki drops his white mitten in the snow, he goes on without realizing that it is missing. One by one, woodland animals find the mitten and crawl in; first a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse, and what happens next makes a wonderfully funny climax."

Have you read any of these wonderful books? What other books are your Holiday favorites?! It's nice to relax with one of these children's books... Bringing back the wonder of the season through the beauty of the written word... and now for a 21st century Christmas treat...

A-Story-A-Day Advent Calendar iPhone App... A 21st century advent calendar! What a cute App for the iPhone! This Advent Calendar is not filled with a treat behind each door, but a story! And these are stories by Charles Dickens, O'Henry, Louisa May Alcott- all with a Holiday theme! Each day you press on the door you are opening and a story will appear. You turn the pages with a stroke of your finger. And there's NO Cheating! You can't open a door that is meant for 3 days from now! Here are some of the stories, the rest we'll have to find out together...The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, A Country Christmas by Louisa May Alcott, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by by L. Frank Baum, Christmas in Poganuc by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I'm a little behind in downloading this, but that just means I can read more stories while I catch up! For $1.99 any reader would appreciate it! Plus the iTunes App store has wonderful Christmas stories to download for free on your iPhone!

Have a wonderful Sunday! And a wonderful week! Happy reading... Suzanne

*P.S. Next week is Jane Austen's Birthday! We'll be celebrating with "Jane Austen Week"! Reviews and suggestions on all sorts of Austen inspired books and some great Jane Austen books! So stop by next week to see the great selection!

My Secret Santa Gift Arrived! ...Book Bloggers Holiday Swap

My Secret Santa Gift Arrived!!

There was a special package in my mailbox yesterday! It was from my Secret Santa! The Book Blogger Holiday Swap is an annual Secret Santa gift exchange between book bloggers, now in its third year. In November we submit our names and the wonderful bloggers who organize the swap email your Secret Santa recipient. Then the fun begins! Of course all of us bloggers read a LOT, so choosing a bookish gift may seem daunting, but we secretly search the reading lists and blogs of our recipients and have fun buying for that special person!

MY Secret Santa was Becky from misspriss.org! I LOVED what Becky sent me for my gifts! First she picked out a book, Beg, Borrow, Steal, a writers life by Michael Greenberg! A perfect gift! First our town had read this past Sept. Michael's book Hurry Down Sunshine for our One Book One Community read and I had wanted to read this newest book of his! And secondly I love memoirs and this book is about his life and "the life" of a writer! And Becky also gave me a beautiful journal! The binding makes it look just like a book when it's on a shelf! There's also a nice leather bookmark that is sewn into the binding so I won't lose my place or the bookmark! I look forward to writing all my bookish thoughts in it!

Here's a photo of my gifts...

What's also nice about the Book Bloggers Holiday Swap is meeting new bloggers. I had never 'met' Becky before, but after a nice note enclosed in my special package I was able to find her blog and enjoyed "getting to know her" through her writing (which is great) and her posts! I'll be emailing her now to say a Thank you! and a hello!

Happy Holidays! Suzanne