giveway - my first
I'm slowly getting rid of some books that I don't need to keep, or didn't finish reading for various reasons. I'll just do a few at a time, Maybe packs of two - to keep it affordable.
To begin with, I have two books, both used (but only by me). Depending on how many people enter (probably not very many) I'll either give both books to one (if there are only a few entries) or one book each to two winners if there a a lot of entries. I doubt there will be very many entries, but you never know
by Shiloh Walker, Through the Veil. From the back cover " He's been waiting.... Found wandering in a field as a child, Lee Ross was given a name by the state and placed in a foster home--without anyone realizing she wasn't entirely human. All her life, she's tried to dismiss the odd dreams that have plagued her, dreams ofr monsters creeping through the night and a man fighting demons by her side. But the bruises she wakes up with are all too real to ignore...
Then the man from her dreams appears -- in the flesh. His name is Kalen, and he insists that her destiny lies in this world, the world of her dreams. To save their people, he must convince Lee to give up everything she knows, follow her heart, and cross over into the Under Realm -- even though once she does, she'll never be able to return...
This is one of those books that I couldn't finish. It just wasn't to my taste. I was looking for an urban fantasy or something more along the lines of a mix of UF and Fantasy. What this reads like is a Romance novel with overtones of fantasy, demons, and special abilities. The dialog is something you would expect from a romance novel, from a romance novel set in mayhaps mideval times. The sudden sexual situations even in the middle of danger just doesn't make sense. I guess they are so drawn to each other that they just couldn't help themselves, but they're supposed to be trying to save their whole "peoples". Like I said, I couldn't finish it, so it's possible that this book became more interesting. The parts that I read were very bleak, seemingly hopeless. To be honest, if I were looking to read angsty characters (The male main character is always brooding - continuously, as far as I read, anyway) in a fantasy, extremely romantic yet dangerous setting, with a confused main female character, speech patterns of a cross between mideval and high fantasy people, and yet with demon-like villains that resemble vikings then this would have been the book for me. But I wasn't. I tried, I read about 100 pages out of 324, but in the end, another book caught my fancy and I never could get back into this one.
This copy is a mass market paperback, the cover a little worn from sitting around - not too bad, it's still in good shape.
By Jennifer Stevenson, The Brass Bed. From the Back of The Book (you like these random Capitalizations, yes? NO!?)
THE CURSE: Satisfy one hundred women or be trapped in a brass bed forever. Lord Randall was a lousy lover in 1811, so his magician-mistress turned him into a sex demon. Lucky for him, his ed fell into Clay's hands.
THE CON: Sex therapy for women on an antique brass "treatment bed" Clay has the perfect scam going, until that pesky, foxy fraud investigator Jewel comes sniffing around. Lucky for him, she has a soft spot for hunky con men.
THE CHOICE: Sex demon or sex fraudster? Jewel is Randy's hundredth woman. Now he says he's her personal sex slave, and her case against the con artist is dissolving in a hail of hormones. Lucky for her, she's a tough cop with a lust libido.
Well, this is certainly not masquerading as anything but a romance novel, though a fairly twisted romance novel. I actually did finish this book, although it' not my usual fare. It was, however between releases (pun! horrible pun!) of books that I was waiting for. This book had some laughs (important), the dialogue resembled chick-lit type of speech, and the women were all pretty strong characters. There's a lot going on in this book. None of the characters are perfect specimens of high moral fiber. In fact the main character has a "thing" for men with kinky sex habits. With that fact established (through conversation) fairly early in the book, I expected to read some pretty wild and kinky sex scenes. There were a few, but not as wild as I expected. There's one almost threeway (the demon is not quite in physical form during it). Jewel also cannot make up her mind who she's most interested in, Clay or Lord Randall. Refreshingly, she doesn't make a real choice either. In fact there is a sequel featuring the three of them, called the Velvet Chair. I have it, but haven't been able to read it yet. Not in the mood. (another horrible pun!) The logic behind the plot was a little vague, but the book was a decent read. In fact it was an entertaining read. There are interesting little subplots going on, the possible dissolution of a marriage (will the couple stay together or split up), the possible beginnings of a relationship- or two. (Will Jewel choose Clay, or Lord Randall or Neither?) While all this is going on, Jewels job is to suppress the knowledge of magic under the guise of fraud investigation. While she's attempting to do her job, all kinds of crazy things are happening, like a thick pink fog that envelopes cars from the streets, pigeons that not only will pick up cigarette butts from the gutters, but smoke them. Lord Randall's 19th century entitled personality is rather funny in the 21st century when he's finally able to manisfest outside of the brass bed. The interaction between Clay and Lord Randall, who are both very interested in Jewel is fun to read. Even though this isn't my normal type of book, I would give this 5 out of 6 stars. I'm not even sure what genre this really is, it's kind of a mix. Not your normal romance, not quite chick-lit, there's definite paranormal activity and a mystery all rolled up into one fairly hilarious read.
This copy of The Brass Bed is used, in good condition.
Well, those are the two giveaway books for this....two weeks. If you're interested, leave a comment. Of course, make sure there is a way for me to contact you. If there is more than one person interested, then I'll have someone pick names randomly. (yeah, sure, random) Really- random. I'll put the names in a basket and have one of the grandchildren pick the names. HaHa, the winner will be up to a two year old, or a 20 month old boy. What ever works! I could let my dog pick, but I don't think that would work out as well. So get the word out, and remember, these books are used.
I do have a few hardbacks I'm getting rid of, and some gently used books. I plan on doing this giveaway thing a few times. The next time I might have people answer a questions (square root of 55 or favorite book, worst book ever, some question anyway.)