Kiss Me Deadly: Stories of Paranormal Romance Edited by Trisha Telep

NEWS: The wonderful Holly Cupala is hosting a What Bloggers Want two-month event on her blog, and I'm the featured blogger for Friday! So go check out my post and I think if you comment, you get entered into a huge contest, which is always fun. Thanks everyone! :)


Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love Edited by Trisha Telep
"If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances.
Kiss Me Deadly includes the exceptional writings of several authors, including:

• Sarah Rees Brennan (faeries)
• Becca Fitzpatrick (angels)
• Caitlin Kittredge (witches)
• Karen Mahoney (vampires: sequel to story from The Eternal Kiss)
• Daniel Marks (ghost kids)
• Justine Musk (sorcerers)
• Diana Peterfreund (unicorns)
• Michelle Rowen (demons)
• Carrie Ryan (zombies)
• Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)
• Rachel Vincent (banshees)
• Daniel Waters (zombies)
• Michelle Zink (gothic ghosts)"- summary from Amazon

If you're looking for a fun collection to read for Halloween or even to keep the spirit going a few days afterward, this is the collection for you. It wasn't intentionally released for Halloween but I do feel it fits. Some of the stories are pretty creepy and feature some scary scenes.

I'm not going to go through each story (if you do want that, go to Khy's blog where she's doing a wonderful three-parter review of the book.), but I did really enjoy the whole collection. It's a great gathering of fantastic writers.

I really enjoyed Sarah Rees Brennan's story, which took on Peter Pan and was pretty hilarious. There's humor in her Demon books, but in this short story, she really lets loose with some dry humor. Michelle Zink's story was really interesting and I love the Assassin idea with some paranormal aspects to it. I could definitely see this being longer.

Both Diana Peterfreund's and Carrie Ryan's stories take place in their own world from their respective series. But, for some reason, while I enjoyed both, I thought Carrie's was a bit been-there-done-that and I'm itching to see something new from her outside of the zombie world she's created. Yet I didn't feel the same about Diana, even though both stayed within their worlds for this anthology and Zombies vs. Unicorns. I'm not sure why.

Becca Fitzpatrick's short story took place in her Hush Hush world but happened way before the events of those books. It was interesting reading about these characters and the whole story was very dark, mysterious and she set the atmosphere of it really well. Maggie Stiefvater's was really cool and I loved seeing her fairies take the stage again as well as the ties to Celtic lore and music. It was a wonderful story to read.

Overall, a great anthology for an even better price. I don't think you could go wrong with this book. Definitely a keeper.

FTC: Received finished copy from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Fragment Friday- Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Book Signing News: On October 31 in Richmond, VA, Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce are having a Halloween bash, courtesy of Fountain Bookstore! I'm going to be there- anyone else going? Tickets cost $8 (but that can go toward buying a book).

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted here on this blog where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others! It's a fun way to learn about new books or to hear a sample from a book you're dying to read.

Today, I'll be reading from Chapter 6 of Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers. She released the first five chapters on her blog and I thought it'd be nice to give you all just a bit more of the story! You can read the first 5 chapters here. Hope you all enjoy!



Put your link down in the Mr. Linky below!

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
"Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next."- summary from Amazon

EDIT 11/15: After reading about what James Frey is doing with this series and other books coming from his book packaging company, I cannot endorse this book anymore. Please do not support it.

FTC: Received ARC via Dark Faerie Tales ARC tour. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Ask Book Chic (14)

Did you guys miss this in the last two weeks? I sure did. Hope you guys enjoy this latest edition of Ask Book Chic!

Em asks "If you could live in the world of any book, which book would you choose and why?"

Probably a Meg Cabot book, because then I'd probably have a boyfriend by now. Also, everything would be hilarious. And, depending on the book, I could be a princess or someone who saved the president, or have my brain transplanted into that of a supermodel (maybe one on Project Runway?). WOO!


Brent asks "Oh, then a question. Here: Do you review every book you receive?"

I definitely do my best, but blogging for over three years means LOTS of books have been received at a rate that I can't handle being, yknow, human and only a slightly fast reader. So I seriously have several bookcases full of to-be-reviewed books. It may seem like a daunting task, but I know I'll get around to all of them eventually. It'll take a LONG time, but it will happen. I don't have many November titles (5 in total) in my TBR pile right now, so next month will be filled with books released in the past few months as well as some that were released last year. It'll probably be the same with December. That will help with my TBR piles, and will also mean I can donate titles to my library, in the case of finished review copies I've received.


jpetroroy asks "How do you decide which books not to review? Are there ever any times you just don't have anything interesting to say about them?"

There have only been like one or two instances where I haven't reviewed a book in my entire blogging life and they were did-not-finish books, so I didn't get far in before putting it down. Other than that, I review pretty much everything I read, except for like the occasional library book I get.

In regards to saying something interesting about a book, it's never really that I don't have anything interesting to say, but rather I have nothing to elaborate on. When that happens, my reviews just end up being really short. The two books that come to mind for this is The Espressologist by Kristina Springer and You Wish by Mandy Hubbard. It's not like they weren't good books, but rather I just didn't have much to say beyond "This is a cute, fluffy read." Longer reviews mean I connected more to a book and that there's a bit more (or a lot more) substance there.

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
"'Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.'

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?"- summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed this clever intertwining of an issue book with a paranormal aspect to it, especially since it's one that deals with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is hardly ever seen. While we're on that topic too, I really liked Kessler's characterization of Death, and I loved it almost as much as Terry Pratchett's Death in his Discworld series. Hopefully we'll see more of him in the future books.

It hurt to read this book at times because of how Lisa treated herself when it came to her weight and anorexia. Kessler, having been through a similar eating disorder situation growing up, doesn't pull any punches when it comes to this serious issue and it really made the book better.

I was really amazed at Kessler's take on the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and how Lisa chose to use it eventually. It was really interesting and just made the book even more compelling.

Also awesome? The fact that this is a paperback (if this were a hardcover, I'd probably kill someone because it's only 175 pages) and an $8.99 one at that, with some of the proceeds going to National Eating Disorders Association. So go out and grab a copy!

Overall, a wonderful, compelling start to a new series with some intriguing twists and turns. I can't wait for the sequel!

FTC: Received book at BEA. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.