Contests and blog hops

Randi Alexander has a wonderfully appropriate title out...Cowboy Jackpot:  St. Patrick's Day.  She has a contest on her blog to celebrate the new release at this link.

The Romance Reviews is still celebrating its 2nd Anniversary party at this link.

Shirley Hailstock has a nice blog tour to promote her book White Diamonds at this  link
I am reluctant to share it because I figure I would have a much better shot at the $20 GC, lol but it looks like she could use some love

Skhye Moncrief has a blog hop at this link.


Secret Cravings has a Just Desserts blog hop at this link.


Don't forget the regular contests at:

Night Owl Romance at this link.

Coffee Time Romance (a very long list, scroll down the page) at this link.

Writerspace contests at this link.

Fresh Fiction contests at this link.

(and don't forget to set your clocks forward if you live in a place that practices Daylight Savings)

Meanwhile, I am working on reviews for:

Julie Miller's fascinating romantic suspense, Always Faithful
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's wonderful science fiction addition to their Liaden Universe, Necessity's Child
Jayne Krentz's  paranormal tale (sorry, no dust bunnies) Dream Eyes
Rob Thurman's urban fantasy Slashback
Sandra Leesmith's women's fiction tale about cycling The Price of Victory
Pamela Clare's American Historical romance Ride the Fire 
(as usual, I am reading them faster than I can write them up...but I 'm working on it!)

               





 

All Seeing Eye

All Seeing Eye 

by Rob Thurman is somewhat of a departure from her other two series but is linked by the presence of more of the deeply passionate characters that this talented author conveys in her enthralling tales.  I have already been a fan of the Leandros brothers (Cal and Niko) and greatly enjoyed the twists and turns in the books featuring the Korsak brothers and this story just adds to my admiration for Ms Thurman.  I don't usually like books that shift back and forth between present and past, particularly when there is such significant violence sprinkled throughout the stories but I find myself making an exception for these because I find the characters so fascinating.  A common theme throughout all this author's books is being forced to make the best of a horrible situation and making a decision that will result in the least amount of damage for the most important survivors.  Several of the characters in this particular novel face these agonizing decisions.

I am fascinated by the idea of psychometry which is the ability to touch an inanimate object and get a read on the persons who have touched it.  This is a talent that the central character possesses and forces him to go to some lengths to avoid making readings inadvertently.  He is a prickly guy who has been through horrific tragedy and has tried to withdraw into himself but somehow has been forced to accept the occasional being who finds a way to breach his self-defensive armor.   Ms Thurman sprinkles clues throughout the story and gradually unfolds more and more details in an entertaining tale that continually ratchets up the suspense. My Amazon review is at this link under ELF2060.  As usual, a 'yes, this was helpful' vote is always appreciated.



The Leandros brothers books:

My Night Owl review for Doubletake is at this link.  Unfortunately, I am not completely current on the series but definitely will catch up one of these days.

                





The Korsak brothers set:
My Goodreads review for Chimera is at this link.
My Night Owl review for Basilisk is at this link.
 



Happy reading!

Doubletake

The latest from Rob Thurman, Doubletake, is another fantastic read.  Cal and Niko are great examples of brotherhood and I always love that Niko doesn't look at his little brother and see a half-human, half-auphe being...he sees the kid brother whom he will defend against the world and die to protect.  Cal struggles with his heritage and the monster that he is capable of becoming but he stretches to be a better person because of his faith in his older brother and the unconditional love that he receives.  Ms Thurman effortlessly captures the roughhousing and vicious repartee between the two that would be almost disturbing to witness as an outsider but which covers the deep emotion that bonds the two who see their share of evil and disturbing creatures yet continue to adhere to their code of conduct.  This book gives a sobering look at the extremes of absentee fatherhood as it depicts an example of the hellish childhood experienced by the young boys even as yet another character displays his frightening version of parenting.  The virtually infallible opponent provides a nice counterpoint to the fighting techniques demonstrated by the brothers as they work their way through their arsenal of defense.  There are many disturbing creatures described and the fight scenes are impressive but this is primarily a tale of the ultimate in dysfunctional families and a wonderful story about the unique brothers named Niko and Cal.  The book is to be released March 6, 2012, well worth the wait.

I received an ARC of this title at no charge for an honest review.