Waiting On Wednesday #143: Lady Midnight, by Cassandra Clare

This is a weekly event hosted by

Jill @ Breaking the Spine!!

It showcases future releases which

we book bloggers

are eagerly anticipating!!

Here's my choice for this week!

Lady Midnight

(The Dark Artifices, Book 1)

Cassandra Clare 

Hardcover, 688 pages

Margaret K. McElderry Books

March 8, 2016

Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, 
Young Adult Fiction

Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, this is a riveting story. Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

Why I'm waiting on this one!

Cassandra Clare does it again!!
She brings us more Shadowhunters action
in a new spinoff series!
Now I have to confess that I have yet
to read the original series....
Yes, The Mortal Instruments.....
I sure hope this will motivate me to go
ahead and catch up!!

What do you think of my choice?

Leave your link below, so I can
come check out your pick(s)!

Dragon Song, by Tara West: Release Day Blitz & Giveaway!!

Welcome to the Release Day Blitz 
for Dragon Song,

sponsored by 

Bewitching Book Tours!!

Please join us for the Facebook party!
It's from 12 to 2 PM, today, Oct. 20th!
Just click HERE!!
 

For my stop, I'm featuring a mini-review
and excerpt!

There's also a blitz-wide giveaway!!

Dragon Song

(Dawn of the Dragon Queen, Book 1)
Tara West
Trade Paperback, 216 pages

Kindle Edition, 250 pages

Shifting Sands Publishing

October 20, 2015

Fantasy, Historical Fiction. 
Paranormal Romance

Cover Art & Design 

Renee Barratt at The Cover Counts

Duncan MacQuoid, dragon-slayer, is no more. In his place is a tortured man seeking solace for his sins. One fateful night he finds a woman he believes will be his salvation. Little does he know, his love for her could be his final undoing.

Fiona Firesblood, dragon-shifter and noble queen, will stop at nothing to protect her child, even if it means she must sever the bond with her mate, Duncan MacQuoid, the one man she loves above all others, and the one man whose past could destroy them all.

Safina Firesblood, daughter of a cursed union between dragon and dragon-slayer, has grown into a young woman, a powerful dragon princess in her own right. When she’s given one chance at true love, will she risk the dragon queen’s wrath or resign herself to an eternity of sorrow?

Purchase Links

Paperback Edition

Amazon US/Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Kindle Edition

Amazon US/Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Note 

 This mini-review deals with the excerpt below,

not the entire book.

The scene below is so well-written and riveting! We get to know the main characters right away, and thus, the novel's central conflict is immediately revealed. Fiona and Duncan are as different from each other as two lovers can be, and must deal with that one main difference, which threatens to separate them forever, in spite of the fact that they have a child together.

This scene is very dramatic and poignant; Fiona is mourning the loss of her mother at the hands of the man who has become her mate....and yet, in spite of the strong, negative emotions evoked, there is also a touch of humor, evident in Duncan's initial bewilderment at this fierce woman's reaction toward him, when she learns of his true identity.

In short, I am pre-ordering the Kindle edition right away, and I do hope to win the paperback!! If I don't, I'm buying it, as well!!
(Of course, it also helps that the book has such a
GORGEOUS  cover....)  

“Murderer!” She shoved him back with such force, he toppled from the bed in a tangle of furs. 

“Fiona, ’tis me, Duncan,” he cried as he struggled to stand.

What had come over her? One moment they were caressing beneath the warm furs, and the next she had sprung from his bed, screaming like a banshee.

“I know who you are, MacQuoid. Dragonslayer!” She ended on a shrill sob before covering her face with her hands.

Duncan stood, kicking the furs to the side and reaching for her. “I am a dragonslayer no more, Fiona.”

“Why did you make love to me? You should have killed me like you did the rest of my kind.” She rushed through the flap of his tiny hut into the cool morning air.

Swearing under his breath, Duncan wrapped a fur around his waist and chased after her. 

Surely they had both gone mad.

The morning was exceptionally cold, and Fiona wore not a stitch of clothes. A chill wind from the north whipped the heavy branches overhead into a frenzy. Autumn leaves danced around Fiona’s feet as she wept, kneeling beside a fallen oak. 

The sharp edge of her suffering pierced the cavity of Duncan’s chest. He still did not understand how her emotions had been tethered to his own, but he did feel her pain, so keen he thought his heart would break from it.  

“Fiona, you are mistaken. Come inside where ’tis warm,” he pleaded.

She looked up at him through tear-soaked eyes. “You killed my mother!” Her body shook with violent tremors. “You struck her with a spear, and she had never sought to harm mankind. Never!”

Duncan’s head spun and he felt weightless. Mouth agape, he stared at her, hoping his senses would return. And then the words from the she-dragon reverberated through his skull.

I have never sought to harm mankind. Never!

“’Twas a dragon I speared, not a human.” But even as he said the words, he knew ’twas a lie. That dragon had been no dumb beast. She was something more.

“She was my mother!” Fiona wailed. “She was kind and good and all I had left in the world.”

“Fiona,” Duncan struggled for words, knowing nothing he could say would ever bring back her mother. “Forgive me.” Stepping forward, he reached out, needing to touch her and soothe her pain.

“Do not touch me! Do not ever touch me!”

What happened next Duncan would not have believed had he not seen the she-dragon transform into a beautiful woman each night in his dreams.

But those were dreams, and the dragon hovering above him now was no fantasy, though just a moment before she had been his beautiful lass.

Panting like a wounded animal, she singed his hair with her fiery breath. 

Duncan did not cower. He did not fear. They had shared a connection when he loved her beneath the light of the full moon. She would not harm him now.  

He looked up into her amber eyes, which were the same as last night, only larger, sadder. ’Twas then he knew neither of them would come away from this unscathed. For her heart was shattered, and he did not know how he could live without her forgiveness. 

Tara West writes books about dragons, witches, and handsome heroes while eating chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. She's willing to share her dragons, witches and heroes. Keep your hands off her chocolate.

Tara West's young adult and new adult romances have been Kindle bestsellers. A former high school English teacher, Tara is now a full-time writer and graphic artist. She enjoys spending time with her family, interacting with her fans, and fishing the Texas coast.  Her email address is: tara@tarawest.com

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Stacking The Shelves #45

Welcome to

Stacking The Shelves!!

This is a weekly event hosted by 

Tynga's Reviews!!

As the title implies, this is all about

sharing the books you're adding

to your shelves, be they physical or virtual.

For the complete rules, and to link up,

just click on the link above.

Here's this week's haul!!   

Books Purchased

Artist's Tools Purchased

This week, I was inspired by my

blogger friend, Grace @ Books of Love,

to buy some coloring books and

colored pencils,

right along with books to read!

One day, at Barnes & Noble, I noticed 

that suddenly they had a lot of

coloring books for adults. I had never seen

such a thing before. It turns out that

there's currently an adult coloring book craze 

going on! These books are supposed to

be stress busters, and, of course, also stimulate

one's creativity. I'm joining in with this 

great new creative hobby!

I bought three different brands of

colored pencils, to see which 

would be best. I discovered that two of them

are pretty much the same.... Lol.

The one on the left, above, is Penway Kids,

the one in the middle is Prismacolor,

and the one on the right is Crayola.

These are available in drugstores, as well as

at online stores like eBay and Amazon.

Amazon Printed Book Purchases

This is the Tenth-Anniversary Edition of Twilight,

which includes a new, reimagined version of 

this iconic novel, titled Life and Death.

There's a gender swap involved.  

I've already started reading this new version!

Purchased at a Physical 

Barnes & Noble Bookstore

What do you think of my haul

this week?

Please leave your link in

the comments so I can come over

to your blog and see yours!! 

2015 Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!!

Welcome to this stop in 

the Spooktacular

Halloween Giveaway Hop!!

This awesome blog hop is 

brought to you by

Kathy @ I Am A Reader!!

It's that time of year again, 

when spooks and goblins

walk the night, along with vamps, witches, 

and werewolves.....

But wait!  My kind of Halloween

creatures are more on the order of

those that make you laugh, 

or at least, snicker a little as you turn pages.
They're also romantic ones!

You could win one of these books, and 
then get ready to laugh, and be 

swept away by a romantic

paranormal being!!

These are just suggestions!!
If you would prefer another book,
you can of course choose
whichever one you want,
as long as it's Halloween-themed!

Check to see if TBD

delivers to your country by 

clicking HERE!

 

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GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE,
AND......
HAPPY 
HALLOWEEEEEEENNN!!!!