A Book Obsession..

Review: Mortal Ties by Eileen Wilks

, by KT

Mortal Ties by Eileen Wilks

World of the Lupi #9

“Eileen Wilks is a truly gifted writer,” (Romance Junkies) and her Novels of the Lupi have drawn readers into a seductive world of action, suspense, and passion. Now, FBI agent Lily Yu tracks a traitor into the darkest shadows yet…

FBI agent Lily Yu is living at Nokolai Clanhome with her fiancé, lupi Rule Turner, when an intruder penetrates their territory, stealing the prototpye of a magical device the clan hopes will be worth a fortune--if a few bugs can be worked out . . .

But the protoytpe can be dangerously erratic, discharging a bizarre form of mind magic—and it looks like the thief wants it for that very side effect. Worse, whoever stole the device didn’t learn about it by accident. There’s a Nokolai traitor in their midst. Lily and Rule have to find the traitor, the thief, and the prototype. One job proves easy when the thief calls them--and his identity rocks Rule’s world.

As they race to recover their missing property, they find Robert Friar’s sticky footprints all over the place. Robert Friar--killer, madman, and acolyte of the Old One the lupi are at war with--an Old One whose power is almost as vast as her ambition to rock the entire world . . .

Forced to live at Clanhome due to the many threats on their lives, Lily and Rule are trying to make the best of things. But when someone slips into their territory and steals one of Cullen's magical devices, things go a little haywire. Since the device was a secret, Nokolai has a traitor in their midst and Isen goes over the edge in his determination to find the traitor on his land. Meanwhile Robert Friar and the Old One he serves are still causing devastation in their wake, and this time it may just hit a little too close to home.

In my review of the previous installment I had expressed frustration at the lack of emotion between Lily and Rule. I was hoping to see a turn around in that department this time around, but while there was some progress, their relationship is still missing that compelling spark that drew me to them in the first place. In the earlier books, despite Lily fighting against the mate bond, there still was an all consuming feeling about things between them. I realize that relationships are always more intense in the beginning, but they should still retain at least some of that original frenzy to keep things fresh. Sure, the words were there on paper that they love and need one another, that's really all it felt like, words. I just would greatly prefer to be swept up in between them and their emotions.

Another one of my issues with the last book was that the threat was more in the abstract rather than front and center. I'm happy to say that was not a problem at all in Mortal Ties. Sometimes while writing reviews I have a difficult time figuring out exactly what to say as to avoid spoilers, I can't really get into any specifics. That is definitely the case here as there were several new elements added to the story that made a major impact on both the characters and the overall story arc as well. I'd love to go into depth about a lot of that as some things were rather shocking, but I'll just leave it at that so you can enjoy those things for yourselves.

If I had to categorize these books, I would place the first several installments firmly into the paranormal romance category. While there was plenty of plot momentum, both in the books themselves, and the overall series arc as a whole, there still was a great deal of focus on the romance between whatever couple had the limelight at the time. However, with the last few books it seems that these books are moving more and more into the Urban Fantasy genre as the romance has taken a severe back seat at this point. Granted, this is more of a grumbling complaint from me rather than a real flaw with the books as I'm really a hopeless romantic at heart. Once you show me any potential for romance in a book, I want to see it and keep it. So while rating the book, I have to force myself to take a step back and away from my romantic preferences and really look at the enjoyment factor of the book as a whole. And, once I did, I realized that I actually enjoyed this book a great deal. In fact once I picked it up I couldn't seem to put it down despite other obligations weighing on me. If that isn't a sign of a good book, then I don't know what is. So I'm hoping that the next book will go smoother for me now that I've finally accepted the feeling of the slight genre switch. So all together, Mortal Ties will more than please fans of the series as it brings the threat front and center and will leave your heart pounding from the incredibly high stakes.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

Order Links:

Other Reviews:

In My Humble Opinion

Previous Books:

Bargain Books & Kindle Deals (19)

, by KT

I've decided to make my Bargain Book and Kindle Deal finds a weekly feature here at A Book Obsession.. If you guys are anything like me, your book addiction can easily get out of hand, so any sales/deals are a huge help. If you like any of the deals below, I would appreciate if you use the affiliate links below. All earning support the giveaways here on the blog. :)

(Prices accurate as of 10/10)

Bargain New Paperbacks/Hardcovers:

Kindle Deals:

$0.99

$1.99

$2.24-$2.99 $3.99 $4.00-$5.99

Waiting on Wednesday (116)

, by KT

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights an upcoming release we are greatly anticipating.

My pick this week:

Darkness Hunts - Dark Angels #4

by Keri Arthur

Publication Date: November 6th, 2012

Pre-Order:

Risa Jones, half-Aedh/half-werewolf, can enter the realm between life and death. She can speak to the dying and the dead, and she can see the Reapers, collectors of souls. What she can not yet see is the identity of a stranger murdering women and draining their blood. Now Risa must summon her gifts to find him, even if it means putting her own life in danger. But Risa needn’t look far. The killer knows who she is.

He tells her his victims are infected by darkness and he’s fated to destroy them. Fascinated by Risa, he engages her in a sinister game: the chance to save the life of his next victim by deciphering his series of clues. In a race against time, she enlists the help of the Reaper Azriel.

But as an attraction between them grows, so does the fear that the stranger’s motives are only part of a larger, more dangerous scheme—one that has lured Risa and Azriel into the dark.

Review: Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

, by KT

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Fairytale Retellings #3

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul.

Celia and her two sisters all share a special bond. Not only are they triplets, but they can also see the past, present, and future. Celia holds the past, something she has always felt useless. But that changes when she meets Lo, a soulless mermaid who cannot remember her own past. Determined to finally help someone with her gift, Celia tries to help Lo remember. But with that remembrance comes a price, one that just may cost more than they ever realized.

I have to be honest that mermaids/sirens have always creeped me out. I've always had a fear of drowning, so the idea of terrible creatures who lure people to their deaths in the murky depths of the water gives me shudders. Fathomless takes that whole creepy factor to a whole new level when it adds in the mysteriousness of their change and their cold cold hearts. Somehow the fact that the mermaids were once human, but are now stripped down and soulless shells who only hunger for peace made it even worse. Add in the false hope they were given and everything about them made me shudder, even as Lo started to remember some of her past and become more human. To be honest that only made me more terrified of her, as once she got a taste of her old life, I knew she wouldn't let go without a fight, no matter the cost.

I really loved the concept behind Celia and her sister's powers even if I didn't quite understand where it came from. They had such a strong bond as triplets, and yet Celia still was a bit of an outcast when you took a step back. It was almost as if Jane and Anne were twins and Celia just happened to have been born at the same time. Being able to see the past, present, and future between them is such a burden, yet at the start of the story it is only Celia who seems to be having a hard time with it as she doesn't feel the worthiness of her power. If I could only pick one thing about this story that was most enjoyable or had a lasting impression, it would be Celia's transition from being in the shadows of her sisters, and learning to have confidence and believe in herself. Don't get me wrong, there is so much more to this book, but it was Celia's path that really stole my heart.

Fathomless was a rather frustrating read for me as there were several elements that just didn't feel fully developed. This was only made worse by the fact that the concepts themselves were rather intriguing, making me want to know more. Between Celia and her sister's powers and the whole "mermaid" lore itself, I just can't help thinking there was so much left unrealized. Either of the elements could have really been expanded upon, which would have ramped Fathomless from its mediocre rating from me to something fully enjoyable. It just isn't very satisfying to read something that feels lacking in the end, and in all honesty after all of the build up I have an almost sour taste in my mouth due to that frustration. Granted, I have not read the other two books in this series, but considering the fact that each book has it's own fairytale origins and are really only supposed to be companion novels, I can't imagine that would account for that much of the things that I felt were left too far unexplained. I'd go back and read the first two books, but I think that would only frustrate me more since I'm already not that satisfied with Fathomless, and it's supposed to be the series ender. That being said, I can definitely see myself reading a fourth book if one were to be written.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

Order links:

Other Reviews:

Previous Books:

Sisters Red
Sweetly

Book Birthdays: New Titles This Week (5)

, by KT

I keep a google calendar of all the books releasing each week that are on my radar. With all of the many books I am excited about it is so easy to lose track of when things come out. Since I'm already doing this research for myself, I thought you guys might like it if I shared.

Releasing 10/8-10/14

Guardian by Heather Burch
Halflings #2
Vigilance. The mission to safeguard Nikki Youngblood depends on the fragile alliance of two half-angel, half-human guardians, both struggling with intense feelings for the girl who has been assigned to their care. Mace, steadfast and deeply in love, wants to protect Nikki at all costs, while Raven's loyalty to Nikki finds him advocating for her independence and battling his own darker inclinations. At the same time, Nikki finds it harder and harder to choose between the two heavenly beings she may never have. Dangers intensify, and tensions between Mace and Raven flare as the purpose of their mission becomes clear. Can their defenses hold up to master manipulator Damon Vessler and the powerful secret he holds regarding Nikki's heritage? Can anyone protect Nikki from her true purpose and destiny?

Amazon The Book Depository

Into the Woods by Kim Harrison
Tales from the Hollows and Beyond

Fans have fallen for bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan. Through banishment and road trips, deadly supernatural duels and lost loves, they have avidly cheered her on, eagerly awaiting the next installment in her adventures. This collection of short works, published together in once volume for the first time, adds a whole new dimension to the Hollows saga, featuring tales involving Rachel and her coterie of friends and enemies. Untitled contains original works, including:

"Million Dollar Baby"-original novella about what happens when elven tycoon Trent Kalamack and Jenks the pixy team up to rescue Trent's daughter;

"Spider Web" and "Grace's Fall"-original novelettes set in brand-new fantasy worlds;

Here, too, are reprinted short stories, including:

"Undead in The Garden of Good and Evil"-an Ivy novella from Dates from Hell

"Dirty Magic"-a Mia the banshee short story from Hotter Than Hell

"The Bridges of Eden Park"-a Kisten/Rachel short from the mass market edition of For a Few Demons More

"Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel"-a Robbie/Rachel/Pierce novella from Holidays from Hell

"The Bespelled"-a Ceri/Al short story from the mass market edition of The Outlaw Demon Wails

"Ley Line Drifter"-a Bis/Jenks novella from Unbound

Amazon The Book Depository

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence
Mystic City#1

For fans of Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.
Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.

Amazon The Book Depository

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
Juliet Immortal #2
Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

Amazon The Book Depository

Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there.

What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impossible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them.

Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s unexpectedly-epic coming of age.

Amazon The Book Depository

Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Velveteen #1
Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Amazon The Book Depository

It's Monday What Are You Reading (116)

, by KT

It's Monday! What Are You Reading, is hosted by Book Journey, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Reviews for the past week:

Into the Woods by Kim Harrison (Early Review)
Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay (Early Review)
Angel's Ink by Jocelynn Drake (Early Review)

Kirsten's Book of the Week:

Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein (Early Review)

Other Posts:

Book Blogger Confessions asked about Blogger Envy.

Fangs, Fur, & Fey Giveaway Hop: I'm giving away a book up to $10 from the Book Depository

Book Birthdays featured 10 new releases on my radar

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor was featured for Waiting on Wednesday

This week's Bargain Books & Kindle Deals

We need your help with starting our new Let's Talk Feature. (+giveaway)

I received 8 books in the past two weeks. Check out my Stacking the Shelves to see which ones.

Upcoming List:

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
Mortal Ties by Eileen Wilks
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (Early Review)

Kirsten Reviews: Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough

Daughter of the Sword Blog Tour Stop

, by KT

We're happy to be hosting Steve Bein today as part of his blog tour for Daughter of the Sword. After his post there is a giveaway for one copy of Daughter of the Sword and also make sure to check out Kirsten's review.

The Fighter in the Writer, part two

In my previous post on this subject, I talked about how twenty years in the martial arts have shaped me as a writer. Some of the benefits are obvious—whenever I write about fighting, I know whereof I speak—but others are unexpected. The unexpected benefit I want to talk about this time around is that grim little demon in you that won’t let you quit when quitting is the only sensible thing to do.

My first sensei had a plaque hanging on the dojo wall, a gift he’d received. It says that of every ten students to take a martial arts class, only one still comes back after the first month. Of every ten who come back, only one is still around after the first year. Of every ten of those, only one ever earns a black belt, and of every ten black belts only one goes on to teach the art to others. That’s the sensei: one in ten thousand. It’s a cool plaque, and a very cool gift, but as a writer I’m not sure 10,000:1 odds sound all that bad.

A lot more than 10,000 people are going to submit novels this year in hopes of quitting their day jobs and writing full time. Odds are none of them is going to make it. Some will get agents, get published, get multi-book deals, but if putting food on the table every week is one of your goals, then if you’re a rational human being you won’t pick writing as your sole source of income. Writing is, in point of fact, one of those things where they tell you, “Don’t quit your day job.”

Ditto for actors, artists, and musicians. One piece of advice for the newbie might be, “Be realistic.” Take that advice with caution. If you’re realistic, you know this hobby of yours will probably never be more than that: a hobby, never likely to make you a dime, and even if it does bring in a dime or two, they’ll never be enough to quit your day job. That’s the reality. Reality also says a scrawny guy like me—a guy who never showed a moment’s athletic prowess in his life, who didn’t even start his training until adulthood, who wasn’t known for patience or tolerance or endurance, and in fact was known for exactly the opposite—could never earn a black belt.

The only rational reason I had to keep going was that I liked the people I trained with. They were all badder than me. The guy who got me into training is a graduate of the Rocky Balboa School of Pain Tolerance and the point man on a SWAT team. I’m a pencil-neck philosophy professor. And I still get on the mat with that guy. There’s no rational reason for that. In fact, there are hundreds of perfectly rational reasons not to do it.

And so it is with writing. No, scratch that. It’s easy to keep on writing; I do it because I like it. But the motivation to keep submitting stories isn’t rational. What keeps me doing it is that grim little demon I seem to have picked up at some point in my martial arts career, the one that tells me quitting is the only thing that makes sense and that I’m not allowed to quit anyway.

Author Info:

Steve Bein (pronounced "Bine") is an author, philosopher, professor, climber, photographer, translator, and world traveler. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Interzone, Writers of the Future, and in international translation. Daughter of the Sword, his first novel, is already being met with critical acclaim and is due out this October.

Steve was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a near west suburb of Chicago. His first career as a perpetual student took him to universities in Illinois, Germany, Japan, and Hawai‘i. That all culminated in a PhD in philosophy from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Today Steve is a visiting professor of Asian philosophy and Asian history at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he also teaches courses in philosophy and science fiction.

His other academic interests include bioethics, which led him to a short stint as a visiting researcher at the Mayo Medical School, and environmental philosophy, which led him to see polar bears in Canada and penguins and whales in Antarctica. His more recent travels have taken him to historical sites and art museums around the Mediterranean and to wildlife preserves all across southern Africa.

Steve is a rock climber, mountaineer, SCUBA diver, skier, and avid traveler, and he enjoys just about anything he can do outdoors. He has dabbled in a wide range of martial arts (twenty-five at last count) and he holds black belts in two American forms of combative martial arts. These days he has returned to studying Brazilian Jiujitsu.

Today Steve splits his time between Rochester, Minnesota and Rochester, New York. He lives with Michele, his partner of seventeen years, and their Labs, Kane and Buster.

Find Steve online:

Website Blog Facebook

Book Info:

Mariko Oshiro is not your average Tokyo cop. As the only female detective in the city’s most elite police unit, she has to fight for every ounce of respect, especially from her new boss. While she wants to track down a rumored cocaine shipment, he gives her the least promising case possible. But the case—the attempted theft of an old samurai sword—proves more dangerous than anyone on the force could have imagined.

The owner of the sword, Professor Yasuo Yamada, says it was crafted by the legendary Master Inazuma, a sword smith whose blades are rumored to have magical qualities. The man trying to steal it already owns another Inazuma—one whose deadly power eventually comes to control all who wield it. Or so says Yamada, and though he has studied swords and swordsmanship all his life, Mariko isn’t convinced.

But Mariko’s skepticism hardly matters. Her investigation has put her on a collision course with a curse centuries old and as bloodthirsty as ever. She is only the latest in a long line of warriors and soldiers to confront this power, and even the sword she learns to wield could turn against her.