A Challenge to Read More... Monthly Reading Challenge ~ July 2015

Since joining Goodreads.com I have found many “new to me” authors and series. 
I took the site’s general “2014 Reading Challenge” and have signed up again this year. In addition to that I decided to sign up for a few reading challenges that the groups I belong to set. 

“Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy” Group is for the discussion and recommendation of paranormal romances and paranormal erotic romance, along with urban fantasy, science fiction, futuristic, and fantasy romance. If you love vampires, werewolves, and hot faery men, this is the group for you. Join up and discuss your favourite books!

If you have questions or concerns, please contact a mod other than Pamela. She unfortunately doesn't have a lot of goodreads time at the moment, and you'll get a quicker response from another mod. Thanks!

We recommend members be over 18, since we do discuss books with adult content, but this is not strictly enforced. Please be aware that there will be adult discussion in this group!

 
This post is all about the monthly reading challenge that the “Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy” Group have set…

PNR & UF Group – July 2015 Challenge

This is an oldie but a goodie, and is fairly easy to find books to fit. Something that I'm sure we all appreciate as the heat starts to get to us. Plus, if we are on vacation, it makes it easy to pick your books.

July’s Alphabet Challenge Character’s First or Last Name must start with one of the letters given:

AB – Sofie Braun – “Storm Shades (Alpha Love #1) by Olivia Stephens
CD – Jade Crow –  “Justice Calling (The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #1)” by Annie Bellet
EFG – Elizabeth (Liz) Monroe – “Incubus Among Us (Shifter Romance #1)” by Mac Flynn
HIJ – DCI Arianwen Harris - “Vigilante of Shadows (Scarlet Rain Series #1)” by 
Miranda Stork

KLM – Kristina (Kris) Heskin – “Creatus – They Exist (The Creatus Series #0.5)”  by Carmen DeSousa
NOP – Mary O’Reilly – “Loose Ends (A Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery Book 1)” by Terri Reid
QR – Ryder (Gilbert Ryder) Thompson – “Reaper’s Deliverance (The Grim Alliance #1)” by Miranda Stork
STU – Liz Stokes - “Vampire Dead-tective (Dead-tetective #1)” by Mac Flynn
VW -  Jacky Waterman – “A Solstice with Jacky Waterman (The Watermen Series #1) by Carmen DeSousa
XYZ – Yvaine (the Fallen Star) – “Stardust” by Neil Gaiman

My Book Montage!

See *flora*'s favourite books »

I love these reading challenges, as my regular followers will know – just search my site for reading challenges and see how many results you get!! Lol!

Reading challenges are a fun way to “force” us to look further than our noses, to look past those tried and trusted authors and genres that we always read and step into the world of the unknown… we may experience disappointment but we could discover a new “favourite” author and a plethora of new worlds, characters and tales to sink our teeth into! 

Isn’t it worth the risk?

Dark and Damaged - new box set

I've just added this box set to my wish list. It looks really good and I can't believe it's only 99p on Amazon UK!!

Here's the blurb:

Eight all-new, never-before-published hot paranormal romances by eight New York Times best selling authors. Tortured alpha-male bad boys will ignite your darkest, most secret desires in these stories about vampires, shifters, dragons, fallen angels, werewolves, demons, psychic warriors and ghosts.

THIS BOXED SET INCLUDES:
FELICITY HEATON – Her Sinful Angel (Her Angel Series)
JENNIFER ASHLEY – Lion Eyes (Shifters Unbound)
CARIS ROANE – Blood Flame (The Flame Series)
ERIN KELLISON – Tempted by Fire (Dragons of Bloodfire)
ERIN QUINN – The Resurrection of Sam Sloan (A Novella of the Beyond)
LAURIE LONDON – Rebel’s Desire (Iron Portal)
BONNIE VANAK – Redemption (Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini)
COLLEEN GLEASON – Raging Dawn (A Gardella Vampire Hunters Novella)

Flora Reviews..... "The Library: Where Life Checks Out" By Carmen DeSousa

Read from 7th to 8th June, 2015 on my Kindle I really enjoyed this book - what a great story! This is a modern day detective story with a nice splash of romance, mystery and a ghostly twist. I liked the writing style; it was easy to read and the plot (although full of twist & turns) never felt muddled. The storyline & pace had a good balance of tension, humour and facts were revealed to us (the reader) as our main character, Detective Mark Waters, found them out. I was pleased that I couldn't work out "whodunit" as is the case in so many detective novels and enjoyed the unexpected twists! All of the characters in this story were well thought out and written with depth and the complexities of human characteristics, no-one was just there to add to the numbers or be background scenery, they all had their own stories (some of which I'd like to see feature in other stories) which made them all totally believable and added a further depth to the whole book! Back in October 2014 I gave 4 stars to the novella The Depot: When Life and Death Cross Tracks" by Carmen DeSousa which also features at the beginning of this book, the story of which takes place 6 months previously and stars our hero Detective Mark Waters. What a bargain - 2 books for the price of 1!! I will be looking out for more from this author.

Flora Reviews.... Forever Charmed (Halloween LaVeau Series Book 1) by Rose Pressey

Read: 21^st-23^rd November 2014

My Goodreads rating - 2 Stars - It was OK.

So I really liked the premise of this book; our main character is a second-rate witch called Halloween LaVeau (although she prefers Hallie, well wouldn’t you?!), who’s inherited a mansion from her Great Aunt that she’s trying to turn into a Bed & Breakfast. She finds a book hidden in the attic that’s written in some strange language, she reanimates a ghost and there are two amazingly handsome men Nicolas Marcos and Liam Rankin who just happen to turn up wanting to stay! Great, I do enjoy paranormal romance books with a bit of fun and mystery!

I downloaded this because it was cheap and had a good number of 4 or 5 star ratings on Amazon and the Goodreads website. I’ve enjoyed reading the Jolie Wilkins series by H.P. Mallory and “Haunted on Bourbon Street” by Deanna Chase was expecting something similar but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Now you need to know that I’m in my early 40’s and I don't have the patience for YA novels; their characters full of angst, relationship naivety, a MC’s inability to see the bigger picture,  "read between the lines" or know that the world isn’t just black & white,  good or evil but a myriad shades of complex grey.

Hallie was a very frustrating character for me, she felt like a teenager or pre-teen most of the time when in reality she was supposed to be 28 years old. In fact most characters in this story were rather frustrating in one way of another and lacked the depth I was hoping for.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

So, although I realised that this book wasn’t going to live up to all my expectations after the first couple of chapters, I did generally enjoy the story. I tried to let it just wash over me as I was reading and simply enjoy the ride. Sadly, I didn’t engage enough in Hallie, Nicolas or Liam enough to want to read the next book but this one did make me laugh out loud a few times. However, as it has received some 5 star reviews from other Goodreads readers obviously it ticks all the boxes for some people.


Find it on my Goodreads bookshelves: contemporary-paranormal, young-adult-teen

Flora Reviews... "The Stroke of Midnight: A Supernatural New Year's Anthology"

The Stroke of Midnight: A Supernatural New Year’s Anthology

By J.M. Gregoire, Amy Miles, Bella Roccaforte, Beth Dolgner, Brandy Dorsch, Connie Suttle, Danielle Bannister, Lola Rayne, Faith McKay, K.L. Brown, Kyra Dunst, F.F. McCulligan, Susan Illene and Michael Siemsen.

...So what’s this book about?

This book is a collection of fourteen urban fantasy and paranormal short stories/novellas with the common theme of the stories being set around “New Year’s Eve/Day”. I downloaded this Kindle version for free from Amazon UK.

Chapter 1“A stray in the night” by Lola Rayne

I enjoyed this short story. Strong but funny handsome lead character, strong female love interest, fast paced story, bit of mystery, hot lust/romance scenes left me wanting the story to go on...

Chapter 2 "Obsidian Flames" by Amy Miles.

Salem, evil witch, innocent girl sent to the stake - a well written story that had my 21st century values/characteristics forgotten & immersed in Mary Albright's world.

Chapter 3 "Suffering - A Demon Legacy Short Story" by J.M. Gregoire. Cleverly setting up a background story spanning hundreds of years without slowing the pace of this very short story takes a skilled author - I am duly impressed & will hunt out more stories about Vegas & Dez's saga...

Chapter 4 "Eternal Beginnings - A Hunger Mate Novella" by Brandy Dorsch.

I found this a bit of a struggle. The writing style isn't as smooth as the other stories so far (although new authors often have to find their feet as their experience grows) but I felt lost with the story too. I'm assuming that the timeframe of this Novella is well into an established series that has seen major storylines.

Chapter 5 “The Lurkers” by Danielle Bannister

This is a very short ghost story that plunges you right in the middle of the action; a team of U.S. Federal “Retrieval” Agents undercover in a house to remove the rebel ghosts. I found it easy to read and understand the concept behind the plot. Great story with an unexpected twist that left me thinking and coming up with my own “what happened next” scenarios.

Chapter 6 “Ghost of a Girl – A Betty Boo, Ghost Hunter Story by Beth Dolgner

This short ghost story is set at a séance in an old haunted house. The writing style was easy to read and I enjoyed the building tension of waiting for the ghost to appear but I didn't feel engaged with the characters enough to want to find out what happens in their lives next after this story. I am happy & satisfied leaving this as a quick standalone ghost story.

Chapter 7 – “GSW, or How I Met My Mother” by Connie Suttle

Not what I was expecting, in a good way! I completely fell in love with Conner Francis and think Shane Taylor is a great supporting character. I loved the story and would definitely buy a paranormal series if they were the main characters! It made me laugh and I actually shed a tear at the end which I think is impressive for a short story!

Chapter 8 – “More Glitter” by Faith McKay

This is a Teen/YA short story, relationship/life angst is not my choice of reading even in a paranormal setting, however the writing style is good and it was a nice change to read this very short story about magical adolescents

Chapter 9 – “The Smiths” by Michael Siemsen

I really loved this story. The writing style was easy to read and the world building was believable. I felt a connection to the main character, Kyle Smith and enjoyed being plunged feet first into his life. Although this story is in the paranormal genre, the dynamics and complexities of living as part of a huge family are brilliant captured and will resonate with many readers and could have easily taken place in many a family home at Christmas (or Thanksgiving). Lol! I loved the ending, it left me wanting find other stories about Kyle Smith and his usually talented family ;-)

Chapter 10 – “’Til Death Do Us Part” by K.L. Brown

I didn't get involved in this story. It left me feeling "meh". The writing style didn't flow for me, the build-up felt complicated & I couldn't connect to the characters. It’s a shame really because the concept was good. I suppose sometimes as a reader you click with a story and sometimes you don’t.

Chapter 11 – “What Lurks Within” by Bella Roccaforte

Absolutely brilliant!! I loved this story with a passion. Very easy to read writing style, believable characters with depth & great plot twists! The creative world building had me right there in Mortimer & Heidi’s life, they quickly became characters that I cared about. This story made me laugh and cry. Perfect!

Chapter 12 – “Fifteen Minutes until Midnight – An Annwn Unveiled Short Story” by Kyra Dunst

Although, this tale is obviously a short story centred on a supporting character from within a well established series, the character building and “Annwn Unveiled” background story was interweaved beautifully within this story. I found the writing style easy to read and quickly found myself engaging with Teagan’s tale. I loved her rather unique quandary; I haven’t read about a newly turned vampire who was vegan in human life before! What a conundrum!    

Chapter 13 – “Maltese Cross My Heart” by F.F. McCulligan

I feel that this short tale is more sci-fi or urban fantasy than paranormal but I enjoyed reading it. I did find the story a bit confusing at the beginning; who was this main character, what was he - is he a schizophrenic, is the story set in a future time or a different planet? But once I stopped trying to work it out and let it wash over me, I felt captivated by Glen’s journey of self discovery; it became one of those stories that gets you thinking... wow – what if? I love it when I’m still thinking about a short story days after reading it, don’t you?!

Chapter 14 – “Tempting the Moon” by Susan Illene

I loved this short story; the writing style was easy to read, the pace was good, I engaged with the main character, Mel, and I loved the complexities of her relationships with the supporting. I have since found out that this tale is from a series called “The Sensor”, I haven’t read any of the 6 books in the series and can say that you don’t need to to enjoy this story; it works well as a stand-alone story, the character building is great and we’re given all the background story we need to be able to follow what’s happening. I loved this short story so much that I think I’ve found myself a new paranormal series to read!  

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I have enjoyed having this book as an ongoing back-up, to be able to pick up and read when I’ve had a bit of free time. I’ve enjoyed reading 11 out of the 14 tales; I think it’s got a nice collection of different paranormal creatures, settings and sub-genres under the paranormal umbrella to suit most tastes.

~ Happy Reading ~