Black Dawn

book 12 in the Morganville Vampires series

by: Rachel Caine

    In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires... their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.

    Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet!

 About the author:

Rachel Caine is a pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

She has also published as:
Roxanne Longstreet
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

    Roxanne Longstreet Conrad is the slightly insane (and very tired) author of a bunch of books, including paranormal fiction, mystery, suspense, science fiction, romance, and young adult novels. Oh, and she also writes short stories. And essays.  

    Bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires series - Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, Carpe Corpus, Fade Out, Kiss of Death, Ghost Town, Bite Club, Last Breath and Black Dawn. There are currently FIFTEEN books planned for the series, which has been released in more than 25 countries around the world, and is available in audiobook, ebook, and compilation editions.

    

Where to find more info:

Author website:  http://www.rachelcaine.com/ 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15292.Rachel_Caine

Facebook fan page:   https://www.facebook.com/rachelcainefanpage

My review:

     I love this series! The Morganville Vampires series is by far one of my favorite YA series. If you have not read this series you are missing out. The Morganville Vampires books has all of the things that make a great YA series. Romance, action, adventure, mean girls, great friends and crazy vampires.
    
     It's a fast paced fun ride. I love each and every character in this book but I have to say my all time favorite is Myrnin. He's a crazy vampire scientist that wears fanged bunny slippers and he is one of my all time favorite vampires.
    
In this book the Glass house romates (Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire) have to save the vampires and Morganville from the Draug ,who are for a lack of a better description, evil water sirens and the one enemy the vampires don't stand a chance against.

    If you haven't already been reading this series you should give the first book (Glass Houses) a read I promise you you'll be hooked, I know I was.
     
   

Pyxis

The Discovery

By K.C. Neal

Corinne lives an average teenage life working at her dad’s cafe, hanging out with her best friend, and trying to forget a falling-out with her almost-boyfriend Mason. Things take a strange turn when she uses her late grandmother’s food dyes for a bake sale, and her customers suddenly find her irresistibly alluring. Then she discovers she and Mason are haunted by the same dreams of a dark force that consumes everything in its path.

Pursued by shadowy figures and a crazy woman with secrets from the past, Corinne must find out who her grandmother really was. In her quest to unravel her family’s history, she learns she is destined to protect this world--and the dark world of her dreams. She races to find the answers she seeks before her nightmares break free.

About the author

Most of K.C. Neal's days are filled with some combination of writing, reading, gardening, working, and watching stuff on Netflix with her husband and their maltipoo, Oscar. She has an irrational fixation with L.A., and during occasional trips there she pretends her life is more glamorous than it really is ("Entourage" is her guilty pleasure). She likes to surf and hang out on sandy beaches, especially where drinks are served adorned with tiny umbrellas.

 Where to find more info

Blog:   http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ 

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/KCNealFanPage

Twitter: @KCnealTweets

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/KCNeal 

My review

This book was a really cute and fun read. I felt it was kind of short but I think that's because I really wanted to see where the story was going to go and just when I was really getting into it "the end".

 Ugg don't you hate it when that happens.

This first book in the Pyxis series sets the stage to what I'm sure will be an amazing set of books. The characters are very stong and the story line is unique to anything I have ever read before.

I can't really say much about the story without spoilers so I'll end my review short and sweet by saying this is a great beginning to what is going to be and amazing story. I recommend this book to anyone thirteen years and up who's looking for a paranormal YA romance unlike any other.

The next book in the series

 Coming July 27, 2012

When Corinne learns who the second Guardian is, she must find a way to make peace with the last person in the world she wants to deal with. As she struggles, her nemesis unleashes an otherworldly evil, and a mysterious illness strikes Corinne’s friends. Faltering under the weight of her destiny, Corinne escapes to the dream world. There, she meets Zane, an Australian guy with a hot accent and a revelation that binds them together and alters the path of Corinne’s life. She throws herself into fighting for everything she loves, but just as she’s certain she will prevail, she’s robbed of what she needs most.

 

Welcome to my stop on The Road To Hell

Madison's Life Lessons

Fate can mark one early for a particular future.
 

    Madison Wescott’s life is Hell on earth. Her father, a Baptist Preacher, convinces her she’s morally corrupt when men notice her blooming beauty. She strives to be unnoticeable, but nothing satisfies her condemning parents.

And sometimes fate has nothing to do with one’s potential.

    Temptation rears its head when Micah Dominus visits her father’s church on Christmas morning, but she is unprepared for her physical reaction to him. Frightened by her own emotions, she is grateful she’ll never see him again. But when he shows up again at a friend’s funeral, and at other times in her life, she’s swayed by his charisma. Micah becomes her white knight through the good and bad, but can they create the perfect life together? Or has she just located the beginning of the Road to Hell?

Supernatural forces more powerful than fate can claim one’s destiny…

Pandora's Box

 Where does the road to Hell begin?

   What happens when your son turns homicidal overnight and your husband disappears on his way to work? Do you cower in fear or fight for your life? Madison Wescott fights against the odds. Distrustful of a God she doesn’t believe in, she finds herself face-to-face with a world she didn’t know existed and discovers her own soul is darkened with demonic connections.

With good intentions? Or by demonic design?

    Phoenix Birmingham bursts into Madison’s life in a whirlwind of sarcasm and sexual appeal. A hero for the masses—and for her jaded heart—but few will ever know the sacrifices he has made or the sacrifices to come. Discovering her entire life has been influenced by multifaceted paranormal beings, Madison is determined to defeat the apocalyptic blueprint fate has decreed, but only one man dares to challenge the supernatural forces manipulating them. Even with Phoenix’s aid, can destiny be denied? Or will demonic design prevail while they pay the crucial price with their souls?

    In a small, sleepy Alabama town the battle for mankind’s liberty has begun...

Hell's Phoenix

     Going to Hell was supposed to save Madison, but knowing she’s dead because of his failure leaves Nix with only one thing to live for. Revenge. With Micah’s help he learns to use his Messianic power. Anything for Mads has become his mantra, even if it means killing innocents to gather the power he needs to succeed. A tsunami he unleashes on a Gulf Coast city is stopped with magical interference, and Nix is more than surprised to feel Madison in the opposing magic. Can he and Micah set a trap to lure her out?

    Pandora’s Box…once you open it, there’s no turning back!

    Madison has done the unthinkable, opened Pandora’s Box to save Nix from Hell. And failed. She’s willing to risk her own life to rescue Nix, but she worries about the welfare of her accomplice in the mission and leaving her son behind. Following up on a lead, she’s ambushed by Nix and Micah. Shocked and hurt to discover Nix has become a willing participant of Hell, she’s more certain than ever she won’t escape the demonic fate her husband outlined for her. While in Hell, she discovers denying the emergence of her succubus is futile, which means getting Nix out of Hell after embracing her inner demon just became a very real dilemma…

About the author

    She's a hopeless daydreamer masquerading as a "normal" person in southern society.  When not writing, She is a full-time karate/football/guitar mom for her two very active sons. She's also a devoted wife to my real-life hero-husband of almost 19 years.  She's addicted to writing, reading paranormal romance novels and watching movies, Alabama football (college football...the SEC rocks!!) and coffee...addictions are not necessarily in order of priority.  She is convinced coffee is nectar from the gods and blending coffee and writing together generates the perfect creative merger.  Many of her creative worlds are spawned from coffee highs. 

    I copied all of that I copied off of her website so I'd also like to add that she is an amazing woman with a great sense of humor and I'm proud to be one of her Hellhounds.

My reviews

Madison's Life Lessons:

     I consider Madison's Life Lesson's a 1.5 book because I  read Pandora's Box before it and I'm glad I did. When I read PB I got to know the characters for who they are but when I read Madison's Life Lessons I understood  why they are who are. This book takes you bake to the beginning and let's you see Madison as a young girl falling in love.  And not to play devil's advocate but it shows a side to Micah that I needed to see to understand and (*winks at Gracen) really know that he really loves Madison in his own way. I enjoyed this book so much because so many times i've read a series and thought to myself "I wish I could go back and see how it got to here" and with the Road to Hell series this book made the characters more real to me and more apart of the passion in me that loves to read. And because of that The Road to Hell series is one of my all time favorites.

Pandora's Box:

  I was so excited when Pandora's box came out I couldn't wait to read it. Gracen Miller is an awesome author and she did not disappoint this book is AMAZING!! It is so refreshing to read an original story line and Gracen has created such wonderful depth to her characters it's impossible not to relate to Madison and just how far a mother will go to protect her child. With a vicious twist on the concept of a love triangle and some amazingly surprising plot twists not to mention the super sexy Nix *wink* I couldn't put this book down. I DVR'd all my shows (including Bones which I never do), my kids had to fend for themselves for dinner and I was up WAY passed my bed time. Pandrora's Box was worth every minute of my time! When i finished the book I went strait to Amazon and bought Madison's life lessons which I also didn't put down until I read the whole book. Needless to say I was anxiously waiting for Hell's Phoenix (which I am sure will be even more amazing than i can imagine)to come out. 

 Hell's Phoenix:

 I was so excited to receive my ARC of Hell's Phoenix and as soon as it was down loaded I started reading.  I didn't put it down until i was done. My eyes were so hung over from reading the book on my computer i had to take a break from reading for a couple of days but it was worth it! This book was so amazing and the characters were so much more in depth and defined than they were in Pandora's Box that I felt I knew them on a deep and personal level. Bravo Gracen, you topped a great book with an even better one and raising my excitement so high for the third book! I'm going to be pulling my hair out to get my hands on it.
   With that said let me tell you how this book made me feel. I've never been turned on by a blood bath before but the one in this book made me need a glass of ice water it was so hot. *winks at Gracen* There is alot of steamy scenes in this book and I know alot of hell hounds out there that are going to be very pleased with Madison's trip to hell. But I'm a Nix girl and just as Gracen warned me I was pissed off at him through at least a third of the book. I don't like it when my "bad boy" with the beautiful soul goes all soulless sociopath, lol, but it was cleverly written so that no matter how bad you think things could get there's always a way back to redemption. In the end I forgive him and love him more then ever.
   I really loved getting to know Zen alot more than I did before. He is one of my favorite characters and the more I know about him the more I love him. I also love his relationship with Mads and especially with Amos.  I think he is what will ultimately keep Amos grounded as he comes fully into his powers (that's just my guess). I was very intrigued by a couple of new characters introduced in this book and can't wait to  see more of them in book number three.
   Just like Pandora's Box, Hell's Phoenix left me hungry for more and chomping at the bit for the next dose of these addicting books. I just can't wait to see where Gracen will be taking us next on our road to hell.

Where to find more info

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/gracen.miller

Road to Hell series FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Road-to-Hell-series/112564408814796?ref=ts

Website: www.gracenmiller.com

Blog: http://madisonroadtohell.blogspot.com/

My Publisher: www.decadentpublishing.com

I really hope you enjoyed my stop along the Road to Hell

Here are the other stops on your Road to Hell:

June 12  Bitten by Love Book Reviews
June 13 Paranormal Reads 
June 14 Secret Sanctuary of Books 
June 15 Forbidden Book Reviews  
June 16 Kristina's Books and More 
June 17 One More Chapter  
June 18 Starry Night Book Reviews  
June 19 Delphina Reads Too Much   
June 20 Terri's Book Addiction 
June 21 Mad Sheep Reading  
June 22 Paranormal Book Club   
June 23 Intoxicated By Books    
June 24 United by Books  
June 25 The Cover by Brittany  
June 26 TSK TSK What to Read 


And.....There's a GIVEAWAY to go along with this tour...

Some great prizes to be won and all you have to do is follow the guidelines in the rafflecopter below and be entered for a chance!

Here is a list of the prizes:

GRAND PRIZE:

autographed copies of Madison's Life Lessons & Pandora's Box

Road to Hell t-shirt

Road to Hell swag

Road to Hell bracelet and bookmark (made by Sezzy Sparkles)

2nd prize:

Road to Hell t-shirt

Road to Hell swag

Road to Hell bracelet and bookmark (made by Sezzy Sparkles)

3rd prize:

Road to Hell swag

Road to Hell bracelet and bookmark (made by Sezzy Sparkles)

Gracen's Prize Pack

Hell's Phoenix T-shirt (L or XL)

Road to Hell series baseball cap

Road to Hell series Window Cling

Gracen Miller's Hellhound pin

Gracen Miller pen

Gracen Miller's Hellhound Rubber Bracelet

Skull Ring (in your size and your choice of colored skull to be arranged 

between you and Gracen)

 I am also giving away (via random.com) a pair of skull and cross-bone stud earrings

 to one lucky commenter.make sure you leave your email address so I  

can notify you if you win. GOOD LUCK! 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

book 12 in the Southern Vampire Chronicles

aka: True Blood

    With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

    Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

About the author:

     Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over twenty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Now she lives in southern Arkansas with her husband, her three children, three dogs, and a duck. The duck stays outside.

    Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry and plays. After holding down some low-level jobs, she had the opportunity to stay home and write, and the resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of writing mystery series, and soon had her own traditional books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, Real Murders, garnered an Agatha nomination.

    Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences.

    When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, Dead Until Dark broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who just enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, has drawn more readers. The Southern Vampire books are published in Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Thailand, Spain, France, and Russia.

Where to find more info:

Author website: http://www.charlaineharris.com/

goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com//show/12381269-deadlocked

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlaineHarris

My review:

    The southern vampires series are some of my favorite books. I impatiently wait for them to come out and I always pre-order them. Charlaine never disappoints me. The book was great! It was what I call an inbetween book. One that gets rid of alot of old storylines and sets up whole lot of new ones. This isn't the first time this series has cleansed itself, and I trust that Charlaine has her reasons and trust her completely to bring anew a wonderfully written world that she has created.

    As always half way though I start thinking "how the hell is she going to bring all of this shit together" and as always by the time you get to the end of the book it gets wrapped up like a neat little bow.

    I'm not going to give any spoilers, but I can say I was very disappointed with some characters and very proud of others. I was kind of sad that there wasn't alot of Eric in this book, but like I said before Charlaine has her reasons for everything and everything has a reason.  All in all I loved the book. As always it's an easy read that is fast paced with something going on, on every page and when it's all said and done you close the book and say "shit now I have to wait for the next book to see where the story goes from here".

    I recommend this book to everyone who loves a good book. The end end of story it's got a little of everything, vampires, shifters, werewolves, faeries, and everything you can think of in-between.

And just in case you didn't know:

    Season five of True Blood (the hit series based on the books) premiered tonight on HBO. Because I love the show so much I thought I'd post a few pics. I hope you all enjoy!