Publishing Spotlight - Carina Press

Carina Press

Recently I have been looking into reading outside the normal publishers, as well as getting into some Adult fiction. So upon thinking about it I considered what would be the best way to share this experience while offering others who may have not heard either about the publishing company itself or the books that are available.

This month I would like to spotlight Carina Press who have been kind enough to send me the following 2012 releases. I also thought to add a few books which are definitely on my wish list to read and review.

Carina Press is a fantastic company that has a wonderful array of themes and genres to suit every niche; from Sci-Fiction, Action, Cozy Mysteries to Steam-Punk, Dragons, Westerns and Space Opera’s. Not only are there many options to choose from but there prices are fantastic and most range from $3-$7 dollars. [Bargain] I must warn you, there are some seriously exciting titles available and it is a lot of fun shopping.

Carina Press publish Adult content only. No Y.A Literature. So if you are looking to branch beyond Y.A and are a keen Ebook reader than I most definitely recommend checking out their website.

Carina Press

Via Net-Galley I was blessed to receive the following two books for review: [Links are below]

Priestess of the Nile – Veronica Scott

The Best Mistake- Kate Watterson

I will be reading and reviewing both of these books in February so keep a look out for those reviews.

Two books that are high on my wish list to read and review are:

The Stubborn Dead - Natasha Hoar

Debut novelist in 2012 Natasha Hoar with her [January 23rd] release of The Stubborn Dead has me excited with the premise. After reading a number of fantastic reviews and circling it many times in one of my favorite romance magazines I am super keen to read this book.

Don't Bite the Messenger- Regan Summers

Also a Debut author in 2012 Regan Summers release of Don’t bite the messenger [January 16^th] release has me intrigued with her Vampire world and I am excited to get my hands on this one as soon as possible.

So go check out the website and have fun browsing and let me know your experience. I will be sharing mine.

Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin.

Unearthly- Cynthia Hand

· Pages: 435

· Published: May 2nd 2011 by Egmont UK Limited

· Format: Paperback

· Genre: Y.A/ Fiction/Paranormal

· Date Finished: January 31^st 2012

Synopsis:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Review:

Unearthly was one of the novels I initially had no interest in reading. Despite seeing it in my local department store and all over the net, I was not really too keen on another Angel book. However after watching some reviews on Youtube and learning about the new take on Angels I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

The whole new take on Angels was fascinating and I loved it. I could immerse myself in the mythology Cynthia Hand has created and not only was it magical, it was refreshing. From learning to fly to learning about the Angel world inside the present I really enjoyed every minute of it. Also I loved that I didn’t have to read seven books to find out that Clara was an Angel, it gave me time to process it, but then it was head first into her purpose and I liked that about the novel too.

However in saying that there wasn’t all too much that was new for me apart from the Angel mythology and its affect on the characters lives. You still have a love triangle, proms, bitch fights and popular girls, but it was still nice to see that these were a little more fleshed out and not generic. After a while we leave high school behind as summer comes along and I really liked that turn in the book.

My main problem with this novel was Clara’s erratic moods. Sometimes she would be hell bent on her purpose, self sacrificing and compassionate and then in another instance be snarky to the people’s close to her, self- absorbed and confusing. I did like her for the most part, but there were sometimes when I wondered whether I could feel for her. Saying that I understood her personality and the reasons for the way she behaved and I did enjoy reading about her journey.

One of my favorite characters in the book Clara’s mother Maggie, for once it was nice to read a book where the family dynamics aren’t all abusive and hate- filled and where despite challenges and adolescence journey’s theirs is a family that truly loves one another and the relationships were a joy to read. I also loved Tucker – TEAM TUCKER FTW.

With that being said I thoroughly enjoyed Unearthly. It had the right amount of romance, suspense, mythology and humor that while it wasn’t exactly what I felt like it reading. It hit the right cords and I would recommend it.

★★★★

Musing Mondays - January 30th

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz over at Should Be Reading.

Should Be Reading

This week’s musing asks…

How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you’ll read next?

My answer:

I always have a number of books lined up and frankly I am thinking about books all the time regardless of whether I am reading 1 or 6 at the same time. So I am always thinking about what I will start when I finish a particular book and most of the times I don’t wait till I have completely finished it to start another one. I love reading.

Short Story Monday's- A New Weekly Meme

I have seen this kind of meme around a lot lately on the net and the concept of it is something different and refreshing to me. I am not sure of the direct source, but along with the Saturday and Sunday short story reading posts I thought Monday would be a lot better for me.

Ever since starting the reading challenges in 2010, I have this idea built into my head that reading a short story doesn’t count as reading anything at all and is not worth the review, but this my fellow readers is a load of cows patties because some of the funniest, sexiest, conformable and adventurous reads of mine have been short stories and now that is even easier to access these wonderful shorts via the internet, there is an abundance of wonderful literature out there waiting for you all to discover and delve into.

So 2012 is out with the old thinking and in with the new and while unless they specifically state something is a novella, short stories that I will be reading will be anywhere between 20-70 pages. Because for me once it hits the 70’s I do class it as a novella. [Just my way of thinking]

Please join me every Monday in this adventure of reading and feel free to leave a comment recommending any short stories you have read or plan to read and if you like join in with my meme and kick start a journey of your own. I would love to hear more about it.

Blair