wolves are howling...
“Listen to them: the children of the night. What sweet music they make.”
-Vlad Dracula (Dracula)
REMINDER: My giveaway for a copy of Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur ends tomorrow night at 10 PM CST. Open to Everyone. 
Giveaway Comment/Question: Tell me the title of your favorite vampire book or series.
makeart (Judging a Book by it's Color) Said, “One of my favorites is still Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. More recently though I've become enchanted with the Sookie Stackhouse series. :-)”
Thank you everyone for stopping by and entering the giveaway. I enjoyed reading everyone’s answers, they gave me a good idea of which vampire books/series I need to move up in my TBR pile.
The winner has been notified by email. makeart, please send me an email with your street mailing address if you did not receive my email. My email is located at the top of my blog, click on the Contact Me link.
The Midnight Guardian by Sarah Jane Stratford - Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository US | The Book Depository UK
Chloe Neill has posted the covers for the UK version of Some Girls Bite (03-11-10 UK) and Twice Bitten (Book 3, Chicagoland Vampires). I like the US version of Some Girls Bite more than the UK version and I think Twice Bitten rocks!
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The news just came down via THR that sibling scribes Aaron and Matthew Benay have sold a pitch to DreamWorks based on Wicked. The Benays will build the script from the first two books in the series. DreamWorks co-president of production Mark Sourian preemptively grabbed the adaptation for mid-six figures and optioned the rest of the series. The Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lindsay Williams, and Michael Prevett are producing.”
An immortal warrior hardened by a battle that nearly cost him his life discovers a woman who can heal his heart and wounded soul in Alexis Morgan’s sizzling new Paladin adventure
Hard-eyed and hard-bodied, Hunter Fitzsimon isn’t what Tate Justice expected in a tenant for the apartment above her garage. Terse and intensely private, Hunter’s mission is to protect a narrow stretch of the barrier between Earth and Kalithia against the Paladins’ ruthless enemies —a job much easier done without his sexy landlady nosing around. So when she follows him into the woods late one night, he decides to teach Tate a lesson with a passionate kiss that brings her to her knees . . . and unexpectedly ignites a red-hot desire deep within his soul. But the warrior’s dark and dangerous world is no place for his fiery lover. Does possessing Tate mean turning his back on his brethren . . . or will Hunter forsake the woman of his dreams for the harsh duty that’s all he’s ever known?
Carrie Vaughn has announced that she just signed a contract for three more books, and a short story in her Kitty Norville series.
Smexy Books has a really good post up about ebook sharing. Mandi talks about what she thinks about it and sharing all books in general. Interesting thoughts and ideas there.
Grasping for the Wind has posted about an essay written by Bill Ward called “Writing Book Reviews - How and Why” that I thought had some great tips and ideas. As a reviewer of books, I’m always on the lookout for tips on being a better book reviewer.
Abduzeedo posted some gorgeous Tarantino's movie posters. I like this one in particular. I think it has something to do with the flag, hanging so bright and limp. It just reeks of something sinister. 
Here's a heads up on some super savings on ebooks from Harlequin’s Paranormal Romance Blog: “eHarlequin.com and the eHarlequin eBook Store are getting into the Paranormal Party spirit, too, with a great sale! From now until October 31st, you can save 35% on paranormal romance and fantasy novels in our Moonlight Madness sale. Snap up books by favorite authors like Gena Showalter, Rachel Vincent, Jennifer Armintrout, Heather Graham, P.C. Cast, and more… or you could try something new like a paranormal Blaze or Spice book. And pssst…come back to eHarlequin.com on Halloween for a one day sale!”
I found this on Suvudu’s blog and for some reason every time I look at this picture I bust out laughing. I love it! Gotta love the seriousness of Wesley Snipes as Blade.
Suvudu: The Twilight I Would Watch
Giveaways Around the Virtual World: As always, I hope you find a new a book or an author that you've not heard of before listed here. Good Luck! The ongoing contest list is on my blog's sidebar.
I have two giveaways going right now here on Fantasy Dreamer’s Ramblings:
- One is for my ARC of The Midnight Guardian by Sarah Jane Stratford, which ends tomorrow night at 10PM CST, click here for the details.
- The other is for a copy of Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur and this one ends on Sunday, November 1st at 10PM CST, click here for the details.
Format Change: I’m going to start only posting the new releases on Tuesdays and post the news, contest and other tidbits on Wednesdays. This will help me out time-wise plus I can list all of the cool stuff posted from Tuesday Release Day.
New Releases: If you have a book review for one of new releases listed here, link it in comments and I will be happy to add it to this post. Or if I missed a book please let me know so I can add it.
| October 27, 2009 – Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance & SFF New Book Releases | |
 | Never After - Anthology by Laurell K. Hamilton, Sharon Shinn, Yasmine Galenorn, Marjorie M. Liu The bonds of love...
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 | Child of Darkness by Jennifer Armintrout Public alliances secret lovers. |
 | Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur In the darkness, demons come out to play . . . -Reviewed by |
 | By the Mountain Bound by Elizabeth Bear For five hundred years the immortal Children of the Light, einherjar and valkyrie, have lived together in the North of Valdyrgard. They were born out of the Sea, each with a shining crystal sword in his or her hand; they are Angels of Light created in the formation of a new world. But three have come before them, from the death-throes of the old world, Midgard: the world-girdling Serpent, Bearer of Burdens; the Wolf Fenris, eater of the Sun, who now takes the form of an einherjar; and his demon sister, stealer of souls. |
 | Possess Me at Midnight by Shayla Black As a mysterious dark cloud drains the life of her beloved brother, Doomsday Brethren leader Bram, Sabelle Rion can think of little else. Still, every time she meets Ice Rykard's intense green gaze, her body aches with need for the sexy warrior. Their attraction is explosive, incredible — and forbidden. As dangerous as he is unpredictable, Ice is her brother's sworn enemy. But as Bram weakens, a more sinister force is gaining power. -Reviewed by |
 | Tempted by P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast Zoey needs a break after some serious excitement. Sadly, the House of Night school for vampyres doesn't feature breaks on its curriculum - even for a High Priestess in training and her gang. Plus juggling three guys is no stress reliever, especially when one is a sexy Warrior so into protecting Zoey that he's sensing her emotions. Wider stresses lurk too, and the dark force in Tulsa's tunnels is spreading. Could Stevie Rae be responsible for more than a group of misfit fledglings? And Aphrodite's visions warn Zoey to stay away from the immortal Kalona and his dark allure - but they also show that only Zoey can stop him. She's not exactly keen to meet up, but if Zoey doesn't go to Kalona he'll exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. She just has to find the courage to do what's necessary, or everything that's important to her will be destroyed |
 | Indigo Springs by A.M. Dellamonica Indigo Springs is a sleepy town where things seem pretty normal . . . until Astrid’s father dies and she moves into his house. She discovers that for many years her father had been accessing the magic that flowed, literally, in a blue stream beneath the earth, leaking into his house. When she starts to use the liquid "vitagua" to enchant everyday items, the results seem innocent enough: a “’chanted” watch becomes a charm that means you're always in the right place at the right time; a “’chanted” pendant enables the wearer to convince anyone of anything . . . |
 | Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis SOMETIMES YOU CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES. AND SOMETIMES, THEY CHOOSE YOU... -Reviewed by |
 | Silent Night, Haunted Night by Terri Garey All I haunt for christmas is you . . . -Reviewed by |
 | Candle in the Storm by Morgan Howell The malign shadow of the Devourer has darkened the land, extinguishing life and hope. The followers of the benevolent goddess Karm are hunted mercilessly and cut down by an army of bewitched slayers led by Lord Bahl, the Devourer’s flesh-and-blood incarnation. Only two people stand in the way of an apocalyptic bloodbath that will literally bring hell to earth: a man and a woman linked by a love as strong as it is unlikely–Honus, a grim-faced warrior dedicated to Karm, and Yim, a beautiful former slave with the divine power to stop Lord Bahl. |
 | The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready. -Reviewed By
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 | Tainted by Julie Kenner Lily Carlyle has lied, cheated, and stolen her way through life. -Reviewed by |
 | Blood Kin by Maria Lima
The perils of power... |
 | Soul Magic by Jennifer Lyon KISS OR KILL -Reviewed by |
 | Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human. -Reviewed by |
 | Howling Legion by Marcus Pelegrimas No one said fighting monsters was going to be easy . . . |
 | Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro Caterina Shaw's days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment-a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body-and she's been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run. -Reviewed by |
 | Night of Demons by Tony Richards Centuries ago, the Salem witches founded the village of Raine's Landing, then cloaked it in magic to hide it from sight. Many of their descendants still practice the supernatural arts—and no one who lives here can ever leave. Now evil has breached its boundaries once again . . . A serial killer with a corrupt and twisted soul, Cornelius Hanlon has freely entered Raine's Landing, undeterred by the ancient magical safeguards. And when he chooses the town's oldest adept as his first victim, the maniac inadvertently gains possession of a powerful "gift" more terrible than anything he could have sadistically dreamed. -Reviewed by |
 | Sanctuary's Price by Moira Rogers He’s only been surviving. Her magic can show him how to live. After a decade under a corrupt alpha’s thumb, Dylan Gennaro is still reeling from the changes in his life: a new home, a new alpha, a pack at war. Even normal things like an ending relationship. Still, when he’s asked to work with an outcast witch, he agrees without hesitation. Maybe by protecting her, he’ll rediscover his own inner strength. If, indeed, it exists. -Reviewed by |
 | Dark Stranger by Susan Sizemore A twist of fate made Zoe Pappas heir to the Byzant throne. Bound by duty and devotion to keep the Empire safe, Zoe is captured while on a secret diplomatic mission and sent to an underground prisoner-of-war camp. In this strange, shadowy place, residents are governed by fellow inmate General Matthias "Doc" Raven, whose powerful magnetism rouses an urgent desire in Zoe. But the intensity of her attraction is matched by her surprise at discovering that Doc has a secret of his own: he is a vampire. |
 | Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson The first deadly battles of the new Mage Wars have been fought, and victory has been won at a terrible price. As the toll of an unfulfilled matebond and the torment of war begins tips Rain towards madness, Ellysetta knows if she cannot find a way to defeat the darkness growing inside her and complete the truemate bond, Rain will die and she will become the prophesied monster Vadim Maur uses to destroy the Fey and enslave the World. -Reviewed by |
Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson
Book 4, Tairen Soul series
Genres: Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Year: 2009 (October 27, 2009)
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 08439-6060-4 (Leisure Books)
Reason for Reading: ARC submitted for review
From the back cover:
Only together could their souls be complete.
Only together could they survive.
Only together could they unlock the secrets of the past and unleash their greatest magic.
As war rages all around them, and the evil mages of Eld stand on the brink of triumph, Rain and Ellysetta must learn to trust completely in their love and in themselves, and embrace a forbidden power that will either destroy their world or save it.
My Ramblings:
Queen of Song and Souls is the exciting fourth book in the Tairen Souls series by C.L. Wilson. In my opinion, due to complex world created by C.L. Wilson, this series needs to be read in order starting with Lord of the Fading Lands, thus experiencing this series to it's fullest.
C.L. Wilson elegantly throws us back in the world of Fey in the prologue where the King of Sword and Sky ended. From there we follow Ellysetta and Rain as they travel across the lands trying to create alliances with the Celierians, Elves and Danae, to help fight the war against the evil Mages of Eld. They have come to realize that Vadim Maur and the Mages have been preparing for this war far longer than they suspected. They know the only way they can win this war is to combine the Fey forces with all of the other races against the dark magic of the Eld. But these alliances are tenuous at best, due to the intrigues of politics between the different races. Unfortunately, during this dark time of war, they can’t afford any weaknesses or doubts.
As Ellysetta and Rain travel, self discoveries are made about themselves, questions are answered and new mysteries are revealed. Ellysetta is also plagued by horrible nightmares and the anxiety of baring four mage marks made by evil High Mage Vadim Maur. And Rain tries to hide from Ellysetta that the bonding madness has started and that it is advancing fast because of the fighting on the bloody battlefields. In addition to the tremendous worry of the war, they are both distress from the inability to complete their truemate bond; completing the bond will keep Rain from descending into madness and save Ellysetta and her powers from being controlled by the evil Vadim Maur.
Queen of Song and Souls contains all the elements that makes a perfect and terrific read for me: a complex and creative fantasy world, edged with darkness; a romantically, poignant love story; edge of your seat suspense; and truly evil and vile bad guys. C.L. Wilson combines all of these elements elegantly with her beautiful prose. I honestly don’t have one complaint about this book. Not one. As this series has progressed, each book just keeps getting better than the last.
I experienced such a wide range of emotions reading this book that by the time I was finished with it, I was emotional exhausted, in a good way. While I was reading my emotions ranged from being anxious, angry, happy, a deep sadness, surprised, thoughtful, and worried. In the end, I was left with a strong sense of forbidding. I’m happy to say we get some long awaited answers but new questions take the place of the old ones. All in all, Queen of Song and Souls is going down as my favorite read for this year, hands down.
Queen of Song and Souls is not to be missed, it sets the stage for the next and final book in this series. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the conclusion to Ellysetta and Rain’s story in Tairen Soul this coming year.
My Rating: 
Read an excerpt of Queen of Song and Souls
Where you can find C.L. Wilson: Web Site | Blog | Twitter
The Tairen Soul Series:
Other Reviews:
Tainted by Julie Kenner
Book 1, The Blood Lily Chronicles
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2009 (10/27/2009)
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-441-01784-3 (Ace)
Reason for Reading: ARC submitted for review
From the back cover:
Lily Carlyle has never been a good girl. She's lied, cheated and stolen, but she did it all to protect her younger sister. To keep food on the table after their mother died. She'd made a promise, after all. A promise to take care of her sister. To keep the family together. And that's a promise she's determined to keep.
Even to the death...
When her younger sister is brutally attacked, a vengeful Lily determines to exact her own justice on the monster responsible. She succeeds—at the cost of her own life. As she lies dying, she is given a second chance: Though what she has done is evil, she can earn her way into Paradise by fighting for the forces of good.
Lily agrees...
...and wakes in the body of Alice Purdue—a Boston barmaid who has more than a little familiarity with the battle raging between the light and the darkness. Each side is mustering their forces for all-out war—and Lily is going to become an assassin for the light.
It's a job she believes she can really get into—but she doesn't realize that she may not be able to get out...
My Ramblings:
Do you think the difference between good and evil is as simple as black and white? Well think again. Lily finds out that she can be good by being bad as an assassin for God. After Lily kills her sister’s attacker in cold-blood, she is given a second chance to redeem herself and wakes up in Alice Purdue’s body. Working for the light as a demon assassin, her job is to prevent the ninth gate to Hell from being opened by demons. But Lily’s new life has her wondering if she’s strong enough to the keep the ninth gate from opening? What happened to Alice Purdue, now that Lily is occupying her body? Will her sister be able to cope without her there to help her?
Tainted was an enjoyable read from Lily’s point of view, and it moves at a brisk pace with it’s eclectic cast of characters and their fun and clever dialogue. Lily is sassy, head strong with street smarts and resilient in her role as the God’s assassin. I found myself easily liking Lily and her attitude towards her new life.
Everyone from her new friend Gracie to her supernatural guide Clarence, tell Lily to stay away from Deacon Camphire. Deacon is a dark mystery to Lily and she doesn’t know if she can trust him but she does know she has a strong attraction to him. And he to her. While Tainted is light on the romance, there is plenty of sizzling tension between Lily and Deacon.
“She’s mine.” he said, pushing my partner aside with little more than a glance. His arms slid around me, his hands on my lower back pulling me close as my body tingled from the electric storm surrounding this force of nature.
“I’m not yours,” I protested, but I stayed in his arms nonetheless, tempting fate and testing the limits to my newfound sensual allure, not mention my self-control.
He took his hand from my back long enough to hook a finger under my chin and tilt my head up. A smug grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe not,” he said with a cocky grin. “But you want to be.”
Tainted is the first book in the new dark urban fantasy series, The Blood Lily Chronicles by Julie Kenner. Tainted is well written, full of mystery and action, saturated with sexual tension and has turns in the plot that you won’t see coming. This book is a must for urban fantasy readers who like their reads to be suspenseful, with a dark, fast moving setting and a sassy, street smart heroine.
I’m looking forward to release of Torn next month because the ending of Tainted left me with more questions then answers.
My Rating: 
Read an excerpt of Tainted.
Where you can find Julie Kenner: Web Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
The Blood Lily Chronicles:
Other Reviews:
Giveaway Comment/Question: Tell me about Lenore Comics or tell me what book you think would make a good comic.
Winners and their answers:
Heidi V Said, “I used to use a Lenora avatar in a forum she was just so darn cute! I always wanted to read Death Bed to see what her pets had to say about her always killing her them.”
Janicu (Janicu’s Book Blog) Said, “I think Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere would be a good GN. IS IT in GN form somewhere?” [Answer: Yes. Here’s the Neverwhere graphic novel to Amazon.com.]
Jen D. Said, “I think Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires series would make a really good comic.”
The winners have been notified by email. Winners, please send me an email with your street mailing address if you did not receive my email. My email is located at the top of my blog, click on the Contact Me link.
Lenore : Noogies Color Edition by Roman Dirge - Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository US | The Book Depository UK
I use to read about three to five books a week. Now I’m down to about a book a week and this has been really bothering me. Plus I keep buying books but when I look at my bookshelves, I feel a little depressed because of all the unread books I see there. And I’ve actually started feeling guilty when I buy a new book because of all of the unread books on my shelves. Also, I’ve found myself leaving comments around the blogosphere like, “I’ve bought this one and I hope to read it soon.”, when I use to read books as soon as they were published.
And I also feel like I’m doing more of my living in the online world instead of going out and experience it because of the need to be tied to my laptop. I’ve actually stopped working out and taking my dog for walks to get to the settled down part of the evening quicker. And maybe the house isn’t as clean as it use to be. I want to do these things again and I’m sure a cleaner house would benefit everyone.
Some of you may think I sound whiny or selfish, maybe both. But you know what? I can’t help it, I’m just not happy with the state of things right now. Because, being book readers yourselves, would you be happy? The thoughts of the holidays coming up have actually made me feel a little panicky because I really don’t know how I will be able to keep up with everything. Maybe I’m just putting too much pressure on myself, but I’ve always given most anything I do, my 100%.
All the above has brought me to a blogging dilemma. I’ve been trying to find a comfortable groove in the 
But on the other hand, I don’t want to give up my blog. I have a Catch-22.
What I’m asking here, how do you do keep up with the blogging world and have a life outside of it?
Surely, I’m not the first person to have this dilemma in the blogging world. Right?
This is not a farewell, I just thought I’d post this question out here to see what everyone else thought or if anyone had any suggestions. I have a couple of reviews I still need to post and a few other blog obligations before I make any decisions.
Funny, the song by The Clash comes to mind, Should I Stay or Should I go?
