Sunday Post #9

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

The academic year is about to begin and I've been busy working on lesson plans and such, so its been quiet at the Harem.

Nevertheless, I have managed a few posts and reviews...
   

Monday Musings - Censorship at Goodreads
Top Ten Tuesday - back again next week (I hope)
Hunk of the Week
Heart to Heart - Banned Books Week
Covers to Covet

Reviews:

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione
Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine

And these are the books acquired this week:

Omens by Kelley Armstrong (Audible)
Deadly Descent by Kaylea Cross (Kobo)
Sword of Darkness by Kinley MacGregor (Library)
Unchained by J. Lynn (Library) 

So what have you been up to this week?

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Covers to Covet #7: Steampunk Edition

Have you ever chosen a book based solely on its cover?

Sometimes a cover is a complete turn off but other times they make me want to rush right out and buy the book immediately!

Here are some recent additions to my Covers to Covet board on Pinterest

Many of my recent pins seem to focus on a theme: Steampunk. According to the Wikipedia, Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that focuses on steam powered machinery set in an alternative 19th century Victorian world or a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world and includes elements of fantasy and the supernatural.  

Here are some of my favorites:

Love the Victorian feel to the covers for Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series. The backgrounds convey the smoky, foggy atmosphere of 19th century London and the juxtaposition with the models' bare legs adds an air of subtle sexuality.

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster
Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster
My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster

The covers for A. A. Aguirre's  Apparatus Infernum series epitomize the best of the Steampunk genre. The streetlamps in the background and the gears and cogs in the foreground convey the genre so clearly.

Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre
Silver Mirrors by A. A. Aguirre

The models on the covers of Tina Connolly's Ironskin books have a classy, sophisticated yet exotic and dangerous air to them. The light and shading together with the inclusion of masks add another layer of mystery and intrigue.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly
Copperhead by Tina Connolly

*Links to Goodreads

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Feature & Follow #8: My Reading Nook

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop aimed at providing exposure for new bloggers and at expanding blog followers. The hop is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a wonderful opportunity for making new friends and sharing your love for books and reading.
This week's featured blogs are: Musings of a Blogder and Words and Tea Bottles.

Q: Reading Nook Tour: Give us a tour of your favorite reading spots.

Hmm... I used to be able to read anywhere and in any position - lying upside down was a real favorite - all the blood rushes to your head ;0). Things have changed as I've gotten older and now I prefer lying in bed with a cup of hot chocolate and my sweet Jack Russell (Tobie) cuddled up next to me.

Here's my nook:

Where is your favorite reading nook?

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Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine

Title: Heat Stroke
Author: Rachel Caine
Rating: 3 Stars

Review: The world building based on the use of Djinn to control the weather and other natural phenomena is very interesting. However, as in Ill Wind, the passages focusing on these elements are overly descriptive and excessively abstract to the point that they detract from the pacing of the book. 

The plot is barely existent until the halfway mark and even though the notion of Djinn being enslaved is gripping and the villainous characters are suitably creepy, it is difficult to muster any real interest in the outcome until the very end - if only the rest of the book were as good as the last few pages.  

Jo has tremendous potential as a snarky, kick-ass heroine although she hasn't quite gotten there yet. Moreover, as a Djinn, she is compelled to act against her free will, a concept that always makes my skin crawl, and she also has an annoying habit of evaluating every male character with an almost lascivious interest.  

That said, Jo's relationship with David is the highlight of the book. It might be the romantic in me but their chemistry sizzles and their emotional interactions are incredible and almost compensate for the lack of plot and problematic writing. 
Hopefully now that the world building has been established, the next installment will focus more on the story  and character development. 

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Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

Title: Lethal Rider
Author: Larissa Ione
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Review: Best in the series so far as the Demonic Apocalypse plot reaches a climax and the romance finally lives up to its potential.    Fast paced and action packed from the outset, Lethal Rider begins exactly where Immortal Rider left off with Thanatos bent on revenge and Regan guilt ridden but determined to protect herself and her child. Thankfully, their love-hate relationship is relatively angst free as they slowly come to forgive, trust and love one another.    

The politics and machinations of the Underworld and its denizens continue although this installment is not as violent or gruesome as the last, and Ione illustrates once again that morality is never black and white and so-called good people can commit heinous atrocities supposedly in the name of doing what is right.  The only weak point involves the inclusion of the Daywalkers vs. Nightwalkers subplot, which is insufficiently developed and contributes little to the story or Thanatos's characterization.   

Finally, there are interesting developments in the Pestilence/Reseph storyline and some intriguing hints at things to come with Reaver and Harvester. Looking forward to what Ione has up her sleeve for the next installments.

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Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

Title: Dead Beat
Author: Jim Butcher
Rating: 4.5 Stars


Synopsis: In Dead Beat, Harry faces some darker ethical dilemmas as he struggles to prevent a group of Necromancers from attaining godlike powers.

Review: Despite his questionable attitude toward women and his bad habit of getting his ass kicked far too often, Harry has finally wormed his way into my heart and it looks like he'll be staying there for good.

The plot is well paced with some nerve wracking action scenes and gripping developments in Harry's relationships with both friends and foes.

Although Murphy is absent for most of the book, her presence is keenly felt throughout and it seems that for Harry absence might make the heart grow fonder. Harry and Thomas also grow closer and their sibling banter leads to numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Secrets are revealed concerning Bob the Skull's past and Harry's contentious association with the Wardens in general and Morgan in particular comes to a head.  However, the most endearing character is definitely Butters, the timid little coroner with a huge heart who shows that courage can be found in the most unlikely of packages and at the most unlikely of times.

Finally, this review cannot come to an end without mention of Sue, whose contribution to the story cannot be overstated - you just have to read the book to find out why.

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Heart to Heart #2: Banned Book Week

 

Heart to Heart is a new feature here at The Hottie Harem. Inspired by Let's Discuss hosted at Oh Chrys! and The Fiction Conniption, the purpose of these posts is to either share a book or blogging issue, controversy or even a little tidbit discovered somewhere in the blogosphere.

September 22 to 28 is Banned Book Week and there are numerous posts on the Internet focusing on lists of banned books such as the New York Daily News, which focuses on the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2012 or Buzzfeed.com, which talks about the 15 books banned for the most absurd reasons. 

The one question that these lists constantly evoke in me is: Why is it so difficult for certain groups or individuals to allow other people to decide for themselves what they want to read and what they want their children to read?

Freedom is something rare and precious (as anyone who watches the news can attest) so why do we want to limit or restrain those around us? And believe you me, dictating what someone can and cannot read is the epitome of restraining freedom, just take a look at the books burned by the Nazis prior to and during World War II. 

So, in honor of my opposition to banning books. Here are my top five favorite banned books (there are more but I decided to limit myself to 5):

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (banned for its promotion of witchcraft and portrayal of evil)
2. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (banned for having the words "black" and "beauty" in close proximity)
3.  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (banned for sex, violence and profanity - can't actually remember reading any of these in the book though)
4. Animal Farm by George Orwell - banned in the Soviet Union for its anti-communist stance and United Arab Emirates for depicting a talking pig
5. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (banned for being offensive to Christianity)

 

What's your favorite banned book?

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Hunks of the Week: Sept 18-24

The My Book Boyfriend group over at Shelfari has a monthly thread dedicated to the hotties that caught members' eyes over the course of their reading. The thread encompasses all genres from romantic suspense and contemporary romance to urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a few historical heroes thrown in. 

 

The Hunks of the Week:

Nick Robichaud in Out of Control by Stephanie Feagan - "He's Texas southern sexy and pretty mysterious. Sometimes on the arrogant side but he has to be when he's putting out oil rig fires. Double yum".

Marcus Marsden in It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas - "Even better the second time. Deceivingly uptight and unyielding, he's sexy and extremely caring."

Caleb D'Angelo in Storm of Visions by Christina Dodd - "He's an Italian bodyguard. As if that wasn't enough right there... I fell in love with him by the end of the book"

Roarke in Thankless in Death by J. D. Robb -  "Back with Roarke again ... He's still... Roarke:)"

Alec Kincaid in The Bride by Julie Garwood

Sawyer Thompson in Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis - "OMG! I want Sheriff Hottie in human form please! Not too much to ask, is it?"

Simon Hunt in The Kissing Game by Suzanne Brockmann


The Anti Hottie Harem: 
 
Max "Torment" Huntington in Against the Ropes by Sarah Castille - "His domineering ways were so over the top that he went beyond Alpha towards psycho-stalkerish. You can bet your supply of sweet tea that I wouldn't allow a man of mine to growl at a guy who just happened to look at me. Of course the heroine thought all that was just adorable, so whatever!"

Whose your hunk (or anti-hunk) for this week? 

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Musing Mondays #7: Censorship on Goodreads

Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).

• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My musing this week is ... a rant!

For those of you who haven't heard, Goodreads has announced changes in their Terms of Service that include deleting reviews perceived as being an attack on the author and deleting shelves deemed denigrating to authors such as "author-behaving-badly".  Click to see the Official Goodreads Announcement.

Well, this is CENSORSHIP plain and simple!

I am very disappointed in GR! This action demonstrates that the site is moving in a highly problematic direction away from being a site for readers to one that caters to authors. 

While I can understand GR's need to react in the face of some nasty incidents between reviewers and authors, this was NOT the right choice!

It will also probably backfire on GR as well as authors who seek exposure because readers will always find a way to be heard even if it is somewhere else and authors cannot escape it. Moreover, many reviewers may decide that it is not in their best interest to review independent authors for fear of being targeted by rabid fans and/or having their review censored. Authors need to grow a thicker skin, take the criticism and move on. It is never a good idea to lash out at a reader and if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!

I have decided against leaving Goodreads, although many members are deleting their accounts, because GR suits my purposes for cataloging and discussing books and I love my groups and friends. That said, I am backing up on Booklikes just in case my reviews do disappear even though that is unlikely as my reviews aren't that negative and I don't have any anti-author shelves. 

What do you think of Goodreads' decision? 

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The Sunday Post #8

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. The purpose of this meme is to showcase new book acquisitions and interesting posts from the previous week. 

It's been a quiet week at The Harem as I've spent quite a bit of my time playing with Apple's new iOS. There are some great new features and some not so great ones but you have to take the good with the bad :0)

So what's going on at The Hottie Harem:

New Feature - created a new feature called Heart to Heart. Inspired by Let's Discuss hosted at Oh Chrys! and The Fiction Conniption, the purpose of these posts is to either share a book or blogging issue, controversy or even a little tidbit discovered somewhere in the blogosphere.

Design - finally figured out how to add an image to the popular posts section (needed to upload to Photobucket and add image HTML). Also added a Twitter feed although the widget is wonky and doesn't want to load half the time *sigh*.  

Joined Booklikes - Goodreads new TOS have encouraged me to back up my reviews by joining Booklikes. While I don't write reviews that bash authors or have nasty sounding shelves, Ive decided it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Unfortunately, no new reviews posted this week, although I've finally finished listening to Dead Beat by Jim Butcher and the review should be up today.

Now for some other fun stuff...

Monday Musings - None this week :0(
Top Ten Tuesday - Fall's Most Awaited Books
Hunk of the Week
Heart to Heart - The Blogging Bucket List
Covers to Covet


And these are the books acquired this week:

Lost in Shadow by Cynthia Luhrs (Kobo)
Secrets of A Wedding Night by Valerie Bowman (Kobo)
Stolen Chances by Elisabeth Naughton (NetGalley)

So what have you been up to this week?

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Covers to Covet #6

Have you ever chosen a book based solely on its cover?

Sometimes a cover is a complete turn off but other times they make me want to rush right out and buy the book immediately!

Here are some recent additions to my Covers to Covet board on Pinterest

The Dark Magick series by Anya Bast is not new and its been a while since I read it but the covers have always appealed to me. They also reflect the content of the stories so well.


Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast
Cruel Enchantment by Anya Bast
Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast
Midnight Enchantment by Anya Bast

The covers for Kerry Schaefer's Between series are cleverly designed with the inclusion of scales on the heroines shoulders and the incorporation of dragons in the image - noticeable but subtle.

Between by Kerry Schaefer
Wakeworld by Kerry Schaefer

The much awaited cover for Patricia Briggs' latest Mercy Thompson book is also out. The covers in this series are always beautifully designed and this one is no exception. I like the way that they incorporate modern life with the natural world.

The covers pictured are my favorites in the series.

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs


*Links to Goodreads

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Feature & Follow #7: Picture Books

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop aimed at providing exposure for new bloggers and at expanding blog followers. The hop is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and is a wonderful opportunity for making new friends and sharing your love for books and reading.
This week's featured blogs are: SS Book Fanatics and Fantasy is More Fun.

Q: What were some of your favorite picture books as a kid?

My two absolute favorite picture books as a child were Where The Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. My original copies were quickly worn out and my mother had to by me another set.

What are some of your favorites?

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Heart to Heart #1: The Blogging Bucket List

 

Heart to Heart is a new feature here at The Hottie Harem. Inspired by Let's Discuss hosted at Oh Chrys! and The Fiction Conniption, the purpose of these posts is to either share a book or blogging issue, controversy or even a little tidbit discovered somewhere in the blogosphere.

For my first Heart to Heart post, I'd like to share The Blogging Bucket List, a novel idea offered by Kaitlin at Reading is My Treasure, which, as the name suggests, is a list of goals specifically tailored to your blog.

As a HUGE fan of lists of any kind, there was no way I couldn't participate so here are my blog related goals for 2013 and possibly 2014:

Abstract goals: 
* Enjoy blogging and make ensure it doesn't become a chore
* Work on developing interesting content
* Find great books to read and recommend

Numbers to reach by the end of 2013: 
* 100 Bloglovin followers
* 150 Twitter followers
* 600 GFC Followers
 
Book and review related: 
* Receive and review a DRC from Edelweiss
* Review one NetGalley ARC per month

Post/Event related: 
* Complete my Goodreads Challenge and post about it
* Write a street team post  
* Write a Series Wrap up post
* Write a guest post for another blog
* Join a giveaway hop

Design: 
* Create original blog button
* Create original blog signature 

Miscellaneous: 
* Go to a book reading/blogging convention (need to start saving up)  
* Make sure to comment back on blogs that visit
 

Do you have a book blogging bucket list?

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Hunks of the Week: Sept 12-17

The My Book Boyfriend group over at Shelfari has a monthly thread dedicated to the hotties that caught members' eyes over the course of their reading. The thread encompasses all genres from romantic suspense and contemporary romance to urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a few historical heroes thrown in. 

 

The Hunks of the Week:

Gabe Rossiter in Naked Edge by Pamela Clare - "It took me a while to warm up to Gabe but he was so worth the wait!".

Simon Hunt in Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas - "I loved him even more the second time around."

Sebastian St. Vincent in Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas - "The best reformed rake out there! :)"

Roderick Guerrero from Body Heat by Brenda Novak -  "Very sexy Ex-Navy SEAL. This book has some excellent banter between the H/h."

Mencheres in Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost - "What can I say, I went from disliking this guy in previous books to adoring him in this book!" This hunk has reawakened the group debate regarding the appropriate length of a hottie's hair - some members are sharpening their virtual scissors!

Adam Hauptman  in River Marked by Patricia Briggs - "3rd month in a row. I think he's going into the permanent Harem."

The Anti Hottie Harem: 
No new additions this week :0)

Whose your hunk (or anti-hunk) for this week? 

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Top Ten Tuesday #5: Fall's Most Awaited Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish for those of us who love our lists!

This week's list:

Top Ten Most Awaited Books for Fall 2013:

Awaiting Publication:

 

Need to read in September/October:

Long time waiting on the TBR:

What are your most awaited books?

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