Moonshifted

Title:  Moonshifted        

Author: Cassie Alexander

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date:  27 November 2012

Pages: 352

ISBN:  9780312553401

Source:  bought

Genre:  werewolves, YA, vampires

Series:  Edie Spence

Other books in series:  Nightshifted,  Shapeshifted (04 June 2013), Deadshifted (tbd)

Rating:  LOVED!!

After surviving a brutal vampire attack, Nurse Edie Spence is ready to get back to work—attending to supernatural creatures in need of medical help. But her nursing skills are put to the test when she witnesses a hit-and-run on her lunch break. The injured pedestrian is not only a werewolf, he’s the pack leader. And now Edie’s stuck in the middle of an all-out were-war…

With two rival packs fighting tooth and nail, Edie has no intention of crossing enemy lines. But when she meets her patient’s nephew—a tattooed werewolf named Lucas with a predatory gleam in his eye that’s hard to resist—Edie can’t help but choose sides. The question is: can she trust this dangerous new ally? And can she trust her own instincts when she’s near him? Either way, Edie can’t seem to pull away—even if getting involved makes her easy prey…

What has Edie Spence gotten herself into now?  After everything that happened in Nightshifted, she has no desire to become that involved in the paranormal again.  Then she and co-worker, Charles, witnesses a hit and run with a werewolf.  They quickly put their medical training to work and the werewolf becomes a patient on Y4.  They soon learn that this werewolf is the alpha of one of the local packs.

What Edie doesn’t realize is that this is the start of a war between rivaling werewolf packs and that the hit and run wasn’t an accident.  Someone is trying to get rid of the alpha.  She has vowed not to get involved.  She has been down that road before and has been burned.   Then Lucas comes into the picture.  He is the nephew of the alpha that was hit.  As much as she tries to stay neutral, it doesn’t happen.  She tries to get assistance from her vampire friend, and when that doesn’t work, Edie needs the help of the pack to remain safe.  Lucas is the one who is assigned to guard her.  What will happen to Edie?  Will she be able to stay uninvolved?  How will this werewolf war be resolved?

 … cell phones made people act stupidly.  It was a scientific fact.

I have said it before that I really like the Edie Spence series.  Being in the medical profession, it is hard to read books (or watch shows) that represent medicine in a serious nature because I get nitpicky about things that they are doing wrong.   That is my job.  When it is present in a comedy, it is easier for me to forget my job and just enjoy what is happening to the characters.  That is exactly what this series does.  I know that this is not reality and I can put my nurse hat away.

That being said, I love paranormal books.  Having both of those two wrapped up together is the perfect package for me.  I really like Edie Spence in the fact that she is a new nurse and is especially new on Y4.  That means that she doesn’t always know what the policies/procedures are.  This is good because the reader doesn’t know them either.  You learn when she is learning.  Alexander’s writing is done in a way that you don’t really have to know anything about medicine to understand the book.  That is not what it is all about.  It doesn’t go into medical jargon that the lay person cannot understand.  It is an easy read and one that I highly recommend to anyone who likes paranormal books. 

I also like the variation in the books.  You never get bored reading them.  Nightshifted was mostly about vampires.  Moonshifted is mostly about werewolves.  Even though those are the main themes, there are other paranormal creatures in the books.  In Nightshifted, there was an incident with a fire-breathing dragon.  Y4, the paranormal unit within the hospital, houses every kind of paranormal being, so there is a vast assortment to write about and still make sense within the story line.  Lastly, I love the quotes.  I had shared some with my review of Nightshifted and I’ll share some here too.  Most of these are funny because they hit home and again, I shared quotes with my co-workers.

We walked in calmly, which got us past the security desk despite the blood.  It was the running that was frowned upon – mere bleeding was fine.

"The sound of retching is like a mating call to a wild nurse."

It was one thing to consider yourself a highly skilled waitress with access to narcotics – it was another for someone else to treat you like it.  Repeatedly.

Hemlock

Title:  Hemlock

Author: Kathleen Peacock

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publish Date:  8 May 2012

Pages: 416

ISBN:  978-0062048653

Source:  Bought

Genre:  YA, romance, werewolves

Series:  Hemlock

Other books in series:  tbd

Rating: Liked

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends.

Since then, Mac's life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac's hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy's killer:

A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome--also known as the werewolf virus--is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy's boy-friend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock's thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spell-binding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

What would you do if your best friend was killed by a werewolf attack?  That is what happened to Mackenzie.  The Lupine Syndrome virus has been on the rise recently.  Mackenzie tries to do things as normal after the death of Amy, but she is haunted by dreams of her.  These make her want to try to solve Amy’s murder.

Amy’s grandfather, Senator John Walsh, however, has other plans.  He invited a group of Trackers into the area to help find the wolf responsible.  Trackers are militant killers whose specialty is werewolves.  Weird things start happening after the Trackers come into town.  Mac’s two best friends, Kyle and Jason, start acting different. 

Regs for Werewolves, RfW, who are werewolf right activists, set up a “peaceful protest” when the Trackers have their recruitment meeting.  That is when Mac discovers that Jason is intending to join the Trackers.  He was Amy’s boyfriend and her murder has spurred him on to hating the werewolves.  Mac wants to help Jason, but that is proving to be more difficult than she had anticipated.  Kyle is suddenly acting different around Mac.  There is also the other girl in school who he seems to scare him at times.  

Then kids are being pulled out of school by the trackers, thinking that they are werewolves.  This can be violent at times.  Is this what Hemlock needs to get over the tragedy of Amy’s death?  Will the Mackenzie finally be able to solve Amy’s murder?  What is going on with Kyle and Jason? 

When I first heard about this book, I don’t know what it was about it, but I wanted to read it.  Maybe it was the cover.  Maybe it was because it has to do with werewolves.  I was hoping that this book would be different than the other werewolf books I’ve read and it was.  I liked the way Peacock wrote the characters in this book.  There are characters you want to like and those that you don’t.  It is just cut and dry.  My opinion about the characters changed while reading this book.   

Even though this book is about a paranormal subject - werewolves, it doesn't seem like that much of a "fairy tale."  I could see why some of the events happened in the book.  It also wouldn't be too far of a stretch for me to imagine something like that happening today.  I cannot wait until June 2013 until the next book in this series comes out.  I will be watching for it.

Awaken Me

Title: Awaken Me

Author: Emily Gossett

Publisher: iUniverse

Publish Date:  Revision – 20 October 2011

Pages: 208

ISBN:  978-1-4620-3826-8

Source:  bought

Genre:  werewolves, vampires, romance

Series:  Connected

Other books in series: Capture Me (Sept 2012)

Rating:  liked

After witnessing the horrific murder that was committed by her fianc just days before their wedding, Aimee immediately flees from the life she knows. Lost in Greece, Aimee is inevitably and uncontrollably thrust into a supernatural world where she is terrified to learn what she really is. Crouching at every corner lies a new confusing memory that torments her from her previous life, while her feelings of love cease to die, but awaken more deeply for the mysteriously handsome stranger, who wants to rescue her. Battling the man, who she mistakenly still loves is a bigger conquest than imagined, but can she free her captured thoughts from the man who owns her? Facing the ultimate decision, to lose all humanity by becoming the weapon the Rogues desire most, or to destroy the creation of love. Can Aimee make the sacrifices needed to overcome deceit, love and her power that is irrepressibly blood thirsty?

What will Aimee do when she realizes that what she has been told is a lie?  Aimee was in an “accident” several years ago.  Since then, she has been with Derek and his family.  They have loved her and treated her as one of them.  Aimee is Derek’s fiancée.  While they are celebrating their upcoming nuptials, Aimee catches Derek killing her best friend.  That is something that she never thought he was capable of. 

She leaves the boat that they were having their party on and flees to Greece to get away from him.  She doesn’t know why, but he is dangerous.  She meets a handsome stranger on the docks while she is fleeing.  He tries to help her, but she doesn’t want help.  She wants to get away from Derek.  She doesn’t have a lot of money on her and realizes that she cannot use any of her credit cards because then he will know where she is. 

She finally goes to a hotel and has someone bring her clothes.  When she realizes that Derek has tracked her to the hotel, she accepts help and ends up in a place she never dreamed of.  There she learns a lot of truths and finally understands why Derek wants her so badly.  Aimee learns so much in such a little time. It is difficult for her.  Then there are the flashbacks.  What will Aimee do with all this knowledge? 

I first started to read this book on a website, I don’t remember which one, and I was hooked on it.  I was waiting for it to come out and somehow forgot.    In the preview, you got to read the first chapter and all I remembered was that I wanted to read the book where someone was killed on the boat and she jumped off of it.  I expected the book to settle down after the first chapter or so, but it never did.  I thought that the book ended in a good spot.  It was so easy to read.  I never felt like it was work to read and the book flew by too quickly.  I want to know what happens next, mind you, but it was a good ending nonetheless. 

This is one of those books that I read where I am not crazy about the cover, but love the book anyway.  If I don’t read an excerpt or synopsis of a book before I see the cover, then the cover has huge input on whether or not I will like it.  I’m glad I read the excerpt before seeing the cover on this book.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Mayfair Moon

Title: The Mayfair Moon              

Author: J. A. Redmerski

Publisher: J.A. Redmerski

Publish Date: 06 February 2012

Pages: 350

ISBN: 978-1-468-18552-2

Source: Paperback from author

Genre: Young Adult, romance, paranormal

Series: Darkwoods Trilogy

Other books in series:  Yet to be announced

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.

Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.

What would happen if you had a life-altering encounter with something that you never believed existed?  That happed with Adria Dawson.  Alex, her sister, and Adria would go to this certain spot when things were getting too bad at home, where her alcoholic step-father would get drunk and occasionally beat their mother.  One night, Alex wanted Adria to come to this party because there was a guy there she wanted to hook up with Adria.  Adria isn’t really into that, so instead, she goes to their spot.  Come to find out, Brent, the guy that Alex wanted Adria to date, had been listening when Alex told someone that she was going there to meet her sister.  He shows up and it makes both Alex and Adria uncomfortable.  They get him to leave, but take an alternate route home to avoid walking in front of his house.

It is when they are walking through the forest path that they encounter something strange.  At first they see a naked man.  Then what looks to be a werewolf.  The man screams at them to run, but Alex and Adria are not sure what they see and are unable to comply.  They are attacked and never hear about the strange incident again.  Adria eventually recovers, but her bigger sister never does.  She retreats inside herself and rarely comes out of her bedroom.  Because of this and an incident which causes suspicion of child abuse in the home, Alex and Adria are sent to live with their uncle Carl and aunt Beverlee in Hallowell, Maine.  Adria makes friends at the school,but Alex is still reserved and doesn’t go out of her room.  It is at school where she first meets the Mayfairs.  There is something strange about them and the way that they seem to follow her around and she keeps running into them.  Then there is William and Ashe.  Adria’s first impression isn’t a good one and it seems like there is bad blood between the two groups.  Does Adria want to get in the middle of that?  What happens when Alex becomes involved in things that she cannot handle?  How much is Adria willing to sacrifice in order to get Alex back?

This was one of those books that I seemed to not be able to put down.  I like books that add a twist to a popular topic and this book did just that.  The Mayfair Moon surprised me.  I had it set in my mind that I wasn’t going to enjoy it and I really did.  I cannot wait for the next installment in the Darkwoods Trilogy

I will admit that I wasn’t impressed with the cover and it is what made me think that I wouldn’t like this book.  I know that the old adage is to not judge a book by its cover, but I do that frequently.  A cover is what grabs your attention in the first place.  The cover for the Mayfair Moon is grayish-black and has a capitol M embossed on it.   I do like font of the words.  

 

•Adria.  She is a strong character.  She has always been there for her older sister, Alex, and vice versa.  At the beginning of the book, Alex even talks about moving in with a boy and having Adria move in with them.  I like the way that she stands up to William and Ashe even before she knows what is going on. 

•Alex – at the beginning of the book.  She takes care of Adria and always thinks of her wellbeing.

•Harry.  He is one of Adria’s friends at school who stays true to her, even after everything that happens. 

•Adria’s other friends: Tori, Sebastian and Julia.  They are fair–weather friends.

•Zia.  She is a good friend to Adria while she is trying to figure everything out.  She is one of the girls staying with the Mayfairs.

•Isaac Mayfair.  Things aren’t always peachy in Adria’s relationship with Isaac.  As a matter of fact, Adria has a hard time figuring out just what that “relationship” is.  Isaac is intent on keeping Adria safe, and for that, he is in the “like” category.

•Alex – later in the book.  It is amazing the complete turnaround that Alex does in this book.  It adds to the conflict that Adria feels and asks her a very hard question: How far will she go to win her sister back?

•William and Ashe.  From the first mention of them in the book, I don’t like them.  They are pushy and mean.

On this blog tour stop, I am giving away an e-book of Mayfair moon to one of the readers of this blog.

Rules

• You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
•  I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
•  I am not responsible for parcels lost or damaged in the postal system.  I will make every attempt to avoid this.
• You must be 13 years or older to participate.
•  Contest is international.
•  Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest.
• Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  Winners will be notified by e-mail.