Goldilox's Greatest Hits: Volume 2

Goldlox's Greatest Hits is our new monthly wrap up feature. We'll recap our most popular posts of the month and show you some you might have missed, as well as what's coming up next on Goldilox and the Three Weres.

Greatest Hits

 Our Most Popular Posts

Coastal Magic Con Wrap Up and Giveaway Check out Goldilox's photos from the Con and enter to win one of three great prize packs. (Giveaway ends Sunday.)

Chloe Neill's Dark Debt Blog Tour and Giveaway. We're celebrating next week's release of the 11th Chicagoland Vampires novel with awesome giveaways including a Cadogan tote and tons of swag.

Alpha and Omega Wednesdays was an unofficial event this month. Check out Rose Red's reviews of Patricia Briggs' Cry Wolf, Hunting Ground and Fair Game. And watch for her review of the latest release, Dead Heat, coming soon.

ICYMI

Our Favorite Posts

Read This F-ing Book Reboot: Jennifer The Book Nympho tells us why she still loves Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.

Read This F-ing Book 32: The Legacy Chronicles by Theresa Meyers. I just discovered this fun Wild West Steampunk trilogy.

Review: The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr. I loved this book! A Steampunk CSI, characters from Victorian literature and a magical Fae underworld.

Here's What Else We've Been Up To

While Goldilox was partying it up at Coastal Magic Con, Rose Red was busy meeting one of her own favorite authors. 

I've been a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson and his books since I first read Elantris about ten years ago. The moment I finished that book, I knew that he was going to be one of my favorite authors. Finishing his next book, The Final Empire, just reaffirmed that even more. I've literally spent the last ten years trying to meet him and missing his signings by a day or two each time I've moved. I can now say that I've finally met him! He is as awesome in person as you would expect from his online persona. He's one of those rare authors who will stay late to a signing and sign every book you bring even if you have twenty. I'm so glad I finally got to meet him! I look forward to reading his books for many years to come. If you haven't read a Sanderson book yet, I'd highly recommend picking his Mistborn trilogy up! They are full of action and have some of the best world building I've ever read in a book. Not to mention, it has the cutest romance.

Coming Soon

A lot of great books are coming out in March, so we've some great reviews coming your way. Next week's line up includes books by Bec McMaster, Anne Bishop, Patricia Briggs and more.

We're celebrating Sierra Dean's new Genie McQueen series with a guest post and giveaway later in March.

Blog Tour: Dark Debt by Chloe Neill and Giveaway

 

We're huge fans of Chicagoland Vampires, so we're really excited to part of the blog tour for Dark Debt. The eleventh installment in the series releases on March 3. Watch for Goldilox's review coming soon.

Summary: A vampire never gets old. But neither do his enemies. When a figure from Ethan's dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her Master don't know whether he's friend or foe. But they'll have to figure out soon, because trouble is brewing in the Windy City.

 

At an exclusive society soiree attended by the upper echelons of the human and supernatural worlds, Merit and Ethan barely stop the assassination of a guest. When the target turns out to be a shady businessman with a criminal edge, Merit suspects a human vendetta. But the assassins have fangs....

 

The connections to Chicago's Houses go deeper than Merit knows, and even one wrong move could be her last....  

Add Dark Debt on Goodreads 

 

Pre-order Dark Debt: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Powells | Books-A-Million | Audible | Kobo | Indiebound

 

We've got a great prize pack to giveaway to celebrate the Dark Debt release. Here's what you can win. (You must be at least 13 years old and have a U.S. mailing address.)

• Cadogan House cotton tote bag
• Cadogan House keychain
• An autographed international copy of Wild Things
• Swag including Chicagoland Vampires bookmarks, pen and Cadogan House lanyard

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

The fun doesn’t stop here. Want more chances to win? You can also enter the Dark Debt Grand Prize Giveaway, which runs February 23 through March 6 on Chloe’s web site.

 

What is the Grand Prize Giveaway prize?

• An engraved Cadogan House medal necklace
• A Kindle Paperwhite
• Cadogan House cotton tote bag
• Cadogan House keychain
• Chicagoland Vampires bookmarks, pens, and lanyard

And check out the giveaways at the rest of the stops on the tour!

Dark Debt Blog Tour Schedule

Week One

Monday, February 23 – Finding Sanity in Our Crazy Life | Lore Lush Books

Tuesday, February 24 – Star Crossed Book Blog | Little Miss Book Addict’s House of Books

Wednesday, February 25 – Once Upon a Twilight | Krista’s Dust Jacket

Thursday, February 26 – Goldilox and the Three Weres | Angel’s Guilty Pleasures

Friday, February 27 – Feeling Fictional | Rabid Reads

Week Two

Monday, March 2 – Booklovers for Life | Bad Bird Reads

Tuesday, March 3 (Release Day) – Saucy Wenches Book Club | Nomi’s Paranormal Palace | Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust | Vampire Book Club

Wednesday, March 4 – Ceres Book World | Book Infatuation Reviews 

Thursday, March 5 – Consummate Reader

Friday, March 6 – Little Read Riding Hood | Three Chicks After Dark

Review: Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Fair Game
(Alpha and Omega #3)
Patricia Briggs
Release:
Goodreads Amazon

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

Review by Rose Red:
This book is such a trip! Patricia Briggs proves once again that she is a master storyteller. The world she creates has me actually believing that there are werewolves, witches, fae, and the like living among us. I can't get enough of this world and how she incorporates magic, mythology, and spirits into her books.

And Anna and Charles, I love you two so much! From the very first Alpha & Omega novella, Patricia Briggs has given us such a complex hero and heroine that I feel like I know them personally. They are flawed, brave, loyal, insecure, and violent. But they always, always love each other and their pack.
 
I was surprised at the onset to see how much time had passed since the events of Hunting Ground. While it's not spelled out precisely, it's been a few years. (Events from River Marked are referenced and we know the first two books take place roughly around the same time as Moon Called.) But what's interesting is that Charles and Anna have changed very little with the passage of time. I would have expected that with a love like theirs, a few years would find these two in the happiest place they've ever been. But things are harder than ever.

Charles has always been his father's hatchet man. But now that the werewolves have come out to the humans, it's vital to keep any extra werewolf violence under wraps and not in the media. So Bran is sending Charles out to kill their misbehaving brethren in record numbers. All that killing is doing a number on Charles. He has cut himself off from Anna because he's literally being haunted by the ghosts of his prey. To give him a reprieve, Bran sends Charles and Anna to Boston to help human investigators solve a serial killer case. (I also love the little peek this book gave inside Bran's head.)

The serial killer they are hunting has been torturing and murdering victims for decades. Recent years have seen the killer move onto Fae and werewolf targets. Details of the killer's depravity were disturbing at times, but it was really a captivating case. The mystery introduces us to new characters, like Leslie, a tough human FBI agent; Isaac, the Alpha of the Boston pack; and Beauclaire, a fascinating Fae whose daughter was among the abducted. I love that Briggs isn’t afraid to create such diverse casts for each of her books. It’s always refreshing when you read books like that. I won't spoil all the amazing twists and turns in this book, but I can say that the case was unpredictable and kept me on the edge of my seat.
 
This is the book where we finally see the damage that being the Marrok's hatchet man has done to Charles. He's worn out with all the killing he's had to do and he's starting to second guess whether he is killing in the name justice as he was before the wolves came out. His worry about the kills being unjust has made it so Charles can't get rid of the ghosts of his victims. And since he can't get rid of them he has been keeping himself away from Anna to protect her. The distance has strained their relationship. Anna wants to help, but Charles won't let her for fear of his ghosts hurting her. For most of this book, Anna and Charles work their way through the ups and downs of this strain and they are still able to work together on the case. Brother Wolf also makes many appearances that eventually help them get back to where they are meant to be relationship wise. The romance isn’t as pronounced in this book, but there are still some really sweet moments between the two of them. 

The thing that I love most about this book though is how confident and in control Anna is. She has really become a strong character who doesn't let her past trauma interfere with her life anymore even though she can never truly forget what happened. I love that she has grown so much in these books!

The world-building is flawless and merges seamlessly with the Mercy Thompson series. I love the effortless way I can sink back into these books. But most of all, I love how deeply Charles and Anna care about each other. It baffles me that either one can still manage to question their worth to the other, when it's so obvious to us the reader just how deep their love runs. But it's refreshing to see them prove that love over and over again.

Fair Game reminded me of all the things I loved about this series: the perfect match between Charles and Anna, some mystery, and enough action to keep me on the edge of my seat. I only wish there were more pages! And that ending! It was spectacular and nothing is going to be the same. I can't wait to see the consequences it has on the future books in this series as well as the Mercy Thompson series.

    

  5 / 5 Stars!

My reviews of other books in this series:
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Release Day Review: One Kiss More by Mandy Baxter

One Kiss More
(U.S. Marshals #2)
Mandy Baxter
Release: Feb. 24, 2015
Goodreads Amazon

Summary: Emma Ruiz knows her father is innocent. But that doesn’t help her convince the law—not even smoking hot U.S. Marshal Landon McCabe. When McCabe bangs on her door demanding information about how her cancer-stricken father escaped from federal prison, she’ll have to distract him somehow—it may as well be with a stolen kiss.

Landon gets why Emma isn’t saying all she knows. What he doesn’t understand is why he’s putting his reputation, his case, and his badge on the line for a gorgeous person of interest. Much as he’d love to, he can’t let Emma play him. The stakes are higher than either of them can guess. The only way to survive is to trust their instincts. But their instincts want more than one kiss…

Review: I don't read a lot of contemp romance, but there are a few series that I make sure to keep up with. Mandy Baxter's U.S. Marshals was recently added to that list. I'm really enjoying this series.

Emma met Marshal Landon McCabe six years ago when he arrested her father. She was eighteen and he was a rookie on his first big case. They were attracted to each other then, even though they were constantly at odds. Time hasn't lessened their chemistry or their capacity to drive each other crazy. This is not exactly an enemies-to-lovers story, but maybe adversaries-to-lovers. Landon expects Emma to be difficult and evasive and she does not disappoint, quickly getting under his skin when he questions her.

I got frustrated right along with Emma when Landon couldn't decide whether or not to pursue his feelings and winds up sending her mixed signals. He's the by-the-book cop who puts his job first, but he also senses that she's in trouble and wants to protect her from both the bad guys and other law enforcement types.

Emma is a now hacker and ran afoul of some Very Bad Men while trying to prove her father's innocence. Now she and her father are both in danger if she doesn't do what they want. She starts out in over her head and just keeps getting in deeper. I really felt the danger that Emma and Landon faced.

I enjoyed the suspense plot in this one. I even think it's a little stronger than the first one in the series. The danger kept mounting and some little twists kept it interesting. But when I think back on it, I don't really understand what the villain's motive was for his endgame.

One Kiss More also introduced Damien who's a hulking, tattoed undercover agent and the star of the next book in the series. I'm really looking forward to his story.



Recommended for fans of: cop stories, a hero and heroine who drive each other crazy

ARC provided by the publisher

    

4  stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
One Night More (U.S. Marshals #1)

Coastal Magic Wrap Up and Giveaways!

Coastal Magic Wrap Up + Giveaways!

On my way! Got my werewolf necklace on and everything!

As you may or may not know, I went to Coastal Magic Book Con in Daytona Beach, FL a couple weeks ago and I think I've just now finally recovered enough to post a wrap up! I've got tons of great pictures to share with you guys. And your reward for looking at my pictures? Three giveaways!!! As a featured blogger for the Con, I was lucky enough to receive extra books and swag to give away on the blog! LUCKY YOU! Below are some of my favorite pictures and at the bottom of the post are the  giveaway! Good luck!


First, the beautiful view from my fabulous hotel room in Daytona

Some of my favorite pictures with some fabulous authors!

Christopher Rice

Elisabeth Naughton and Donna Grant

Kait Ballenger

KD Wood

Larissa Ione

(major fangirl moment here!)

Jan DeLima, Amanda Carlson, Molly Harper

Some shots from some of the panels, including Dirty Pictionary (figging!?), Flash Fiction (always hilarious), and the ALWAYS fabulous Cinema Craptastique!

Some of my best blogger buddies!

Jenese from Readers Confession

Laura from Little Read Riding Hood

Laura and Jenese along with Danielle from Ramblings From This Chick

Me with Laura and Jenese

Laura and author Kait Ballenger

No dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this picture...

Jenese taking out her frustrations

Finally, some mega cool jewelry and artwork I purchased (like all the books I left with weren't enough...)

 

Whew! You made it through my pictures! Hope you join us next year because this book con is super fun! Now...the giveaway!

I have 3 prize packs for 3 lucky readers! 
You must be 13 or older to enter and you must also live in the U.S. since I'll be shipping these myself. 
Good luck and happy reading!

Prize Pack #1:
Contemporary romances by Lexi Blake, Savannah Stuart, Katie Reus, and Kimberly Raye plus 1,001 Dark Nights magnet and swag set AND other swag including bookmark signed by Christopher Rice!

Prize Pack #2:
Hardback copy of RENEGADE by J.A. Souders and a copy of SAVAGE HUNTER signed by Terry Spear plus other swag including a bookmark signed by Christopher Rice!

Prize Pack #3:
Hardback copy of RENEGADE signed by J.A. Souders plus a Coastal Magic tote bag and other swag including a bookmark signed by Christopher Rice!

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