Review & Author Giveaway!! Chosen by Blood by Virna DePaul

Chosen by Blood by Virna DePaul
Pub. Date:  May 3, 2011
Published by: Berkley
Format: E-book, 310 pages
Synopsis from Virna DePaul’s Website


Synopsis

United by fate. Bound by desire.

Five years after the Second Civil War ends, humans and otherborn – humanlike creatures with superhuman DNA – still struggle for peace. To ensure the continued rights of both, the FBI forms a Para-Ops team with a unique set of skills.

CHOSEN BY BLOOD

Leader of an Otherborn clan, half-breed vampire Knox Devereaux would do anything to find a cure for the anti-vamp vaccine slowly starving his people into extinction. When the FBI contacts him about leading a team of hand-selected Others on a mission to reclaim the stolen antidote, Knox accepts. His new assignment places him in direct contact with Special Agent Felicia Locke, the beautiful human he’s craved since their very first meeting.

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Review

"Every human and Otherborn for himself."

Chosen by Blood, the first book in the Para-Ops series, opened quite shockingly. After reading the prologue, I could tell that the romance in this book was not going to be ‘generic’. Knox Devereaux and Felicia Locke open this world with such intensity, that it’s hard not to overlook the circumstances surrounding them. When these two first met, they literally knew they were soul mates. But, between them stood Felicia’s best friend -  and Knox’s wife - Noella. Forbidden love? Yes. Typical? No.

A few years later, Knox steps right back into Felicia’s life as the half-born leader of an Otherborn vampire clan. After the humans created a vaccine that keeps their blood from nourishing the vampires, Knox’s mother, Bianca, had to step down from her role as the Vampire Queen due to the weakness her body has suffered. As a dharmire, Knox’s human blood kept his body strong, unlike the full-blooded vampires in his clan.

Given the opportunity by the FBI to save his clan by securing an antidote to the vaccine, Knox agrees to lead the Para-Ops team, but under a few conditions. One in particular in regards to Special Agent Felicia Locke - the woman of his heart that has been avoiding him like the plague even though her best friend no longer truly stands between them, and her feelings ran just as deep for him.

Against Knox’s wishes, Felicia joins the team. As a human, she stands along-side an absolutely wonderful cast of characters, known as the FBI’s Para-Ops Team: Dex Hunt, a bad-ass werebeast, Wraith, a ghost, Lucy, a powerful mage, and Caleb O’Flare, a fearless mountain-climbing, human-psychic medic.

Immediately after being introduced to these individuals, I could tell this diverse group was going to be fun to watch. Most of them are not too happy with working for the FBI, which is why they were baited with something that they each desperately wanted or needed. But eventually, they begin to grow on one another – even Felicia begins to let down her wall that has kept her feelings for Knox at bay all these years.

As the discovery and location of the antidote, and a hidden agenda is uncovered, the individual relationships between the Para-Ops team members grows by leaps and bounds – none more so  than that of Felicia and Knox (though Caleb O’Flare and Wraith begin to have you wondering).

I started reading Chosen by Blood knowing that it most definitely was a romance, but I soon discovered that this particular romance was only the beginning in a strong series set in a world that was built beautifully by Ms. DePaul. Every character has been fleshed out among the pages exceedingly well, and every detail made this book extremely interesting and the wonderful flow kept me enthralled so I couldn’t miss a single one of those details.

While Ms. DePaul closed Chosen by Blood in a manner where it ‘could’ be a stand-alone novel, she did leave a few loose ends open for future books. Those loose ends are exactly what has me counting the days until the next book, Chosen by Fate, is released on October 4th. And, to hold me over until then, a prequel novella, Wraith’s Awakening, is available for download from Virna DePaul’s website.

As you may know by now, any author who pulls me into their extraordinary world and keeps me immobile for hours with a need-to-know hunger for what happens next, has officially earned themselves a loyal reader. Well, I can not only say that about Ms. DePaul, but I can also say that I am now a true fan of her writing since I felt it push me further with my own.

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Author Giveaway!

Ms. DePaul has graciously offered to giveaway a $10 Amazon gift card to one commenter!

How to Enter: Enter your comments on the book review below (and remember to keep them clean and respectful). Please include your email address in your comment.

Deadline: All comments made/entered by 8pm on Wednesday (6/22) will be entered to win.

The winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Thursday morning’s blog post.

Good Luck & Happy Reading Everyone!

Review: Graveminder by Melissa Marr

 

Graveminder by Melissa Marr          Pub. Date: May 17, 2011          Published by: William Morrow     Format: Hardcover, 324 pages    Synopsis from Melissa Marr’s Website

 

Synopsis

Three sips to mind the dead . . .

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker—in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past—can set things right once the dead begin to walk.

Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility—to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong.

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Review

What happens in Claysville, stays in Claysville….

Graveminder is the first book I’ve read by Melissa Marr…and it will not be my last. Her Wicked Lovely series – set it in the YA world – is going to be added to my ‘to read’ list.

The world of Graveminder is like no other I’ve visited before: a small town where anyone who’s born there, never leaves – and if by chance they ever do, they always return. Claysville’s citizens never question the strange/scary events that happen, and a council strives to maintain order by working with the two individuals whose shoulders bear the weight of the town’s safety. Hidden underneath the town lies the land of the dead – an intricate world run by the mysterious ‘Mr. D’ (aka Charles). Because of the deal the town’s founders made with Charles, the Graveminder (Rebekkah) and the Undertaker (Byron) must ensure that the dead stay in their grave. If a grave is not minded, the dead rise and begin to feed on humans. The more they kill, the stronger they become and the harder it will be for the Graveminder and the Undertaker to lead them to the land of the dead.

Rebekkah is a strong main character, yet beautifully flawed like the rest of us. When we first meet her, you can feel that she’s been in search of her place in the world. By the time the story ends, you leave Graveminder with a smile on your face, knowing she has not only found it, but she’s happy with where fate has taken her.

The concept of Graveminder took me a bit by surprise, but delivered every hope I had of an exceptional read. It’s a fresh, fascinating, mind-boggling, insanely-genius and beautifully written page-turner. Ms. Marr has built a truly extraordinary world. Any author who can pull me in and keep me sitting there for hours, immobilized by the need to know what’s going to happen next, has earned themselves a loyal reader.

This is a must for your summer reading list!

Favorite Line/Quote:

“Part of being strong is knowing when to hide your weaknesses, and when to admit them. When it’s just us, you can cry. In front of the world, you keep that chin up.”

Favorite Character: Byron Montgomery

Byron surprised me throughout Graveminder. He’s handsome, quiet, strong-willed, patient, caring, smart, and a bit of a romantic. He loves Rebekkah profoundly, but has never been able to hold onto her throughout his adult life. Part of his journey with her reminded me of the old saying: “If you love something, let it go. If it’s yours, it’ll return to you.” He’s known what he’s wanted for most of his life, and with patience, he’s waited until she’s ready to accept the love and support he has to offer. Only time, and hopefully another book in this series, will tell whether or not his love for Rebekkah will be fully reciprocated.