Urban Fantasy Summer Reading Celebration Wrap-Up

Wow! What a lot of fun the past two weeks have been... And there are still a few GIVEAWAYS open. For more information and links to posts, click HERE. (Note... all contest winners will be announced next Saturday.)

original images by marin & papaija2008 at FreeDigitalPhotos.com banner designed by Jennifer from Books Make Me Happy

The focus of the celebration was to spotlight great UF authors and series that my fellow readers and I love. Of course, there are so many more great UF series out there that I couldn't cover them all during this celebration - I'll just have to do it again next year! And there are some series that were highlighted that I haven't tried yet - guess I've got more to add to my TBR list! I thought I'd close out the celebration by sharing with you my favorite UF series...

My TOP TEN favorite UF series are:
 1) Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
 2) Colbana Files series by JC Daniels
 3) Deadtown series by Nancy Holzner
 4) Black Wings series by Christina Henry
 5) Disillusionists series by Carolyn Crane
 6) Stormwalker series by Alyson James
 7) Elemental Assassins series by Jennifer Estep
 8) Sentinels of New Orleans by Suzanne Johnson
 9) Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones
10) Jessica McClain series by Amanda Carlson

I know I've missed one or two of my favorites - but I can't include them all!

So tell me - what are YOUR favorite Urban Fantasy series? Did you enjoy the celebration?

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

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Scheduling my TBR list...

Earlier this week, I started shifting through review requests for July and August. Yes - that's how far out I have to plan my schedule! When I go through review requests I do a few things. First, if it's not in an established series any of the reviewers or I read, I try to determine who may enjoy the book most. Each reviewer has their own personal preferences. If it is in a series someone already reads, well they automatically get the new release to review.  Next I look at the release date and my master schedule to find the best placement for the book review. I also consider any new releases during a month that may NOT be review books, but someone may still want to read (for example, Lover At Last by JR Ward). Easy - right?

It all works pretty well until/unless there are more books released in a month than any one person can handle. I am not a very fast reader, so I schedule myself one to two books a week, unless there is a novella tossed in the mix. I put both official review books and books I want to read (for which I will still review) on my schedule. I keep a master spreadsheet of upcoming books that I want to read. As I started scheduling reviews for this summer I noticed that there are A LOT of books coming out in July, August and September that I want to read. Here is what I mean:

Anthology		“Enthralled” (Anthology)	Jul 2, 2013
Stephanie	Tyler	Dire Desires	Jul 2, 2013
Samantha	Kane	Tempting A Devil	Jul 8, 2013
Darynda	Jones	Fifth Grave Past the Light	Jul 9, 2013
Ann	Mayburn	My Wicked Captive	summer
Leigh	Evans	The Thing About Weres	Jul 30, 2013
Gena	Showalter	The Darkest Craving	Jul 30, 2013
Ilona	Andrews	Magic Rises	Jul 30, 2013
Nancy	Holzner	Hellhound	Jul 30, 2013
Philippa	Ballantine	Harbinger	Jul 30, 2013
Carolyn	Crane	book #2	summer
Zoe	Archer	Skies of Gold	August
Meljean	Brook	Guardian Demon	Aug 6, 2013
Philippa	Ballantine	Kindred and Wings	Aug 6, 2013
Suzanne	Johnson	Elysian Fields	Aug 13, 2013
Sherrilyn	Kenyon	Styxx	Aug 27, 2013
Jennifer	Estep	Heart of Venom	Aug 27, 2013
Kait	Ballenger	Twilight Hunter	Aug 27, 2013
Meljean	Brook	Into the Light	Aug 30, 2013
Shiloh	Walker	The Protected	Sep 3, 2013
Stephanie	Julian	No Reservations	Sep 3, 2013

I had a mini-panic attack trying to schedule all of these books. I've had to prioritize some and remove others. I was talking to THE BOOK VIXEN and THE BOOK NYMPHO about this on twitter - and honestly, I don't think I'm going to be able to take on new-to-me books for review during this summer. I guess it's a good problem to have... right?

So... what about you... What books are you looking forward to reading this summer? What do you do when there are more books than time to read them? Do you purchase and hope "someday?"

Thanks for stopping to chat!

Waiting on a book...

Yes... that was me this week (and the past year!)... Waiting for the release of the eleventh Black Dagger Brotherhood book... Lover At Last by JR Ward. I was so excited for this book that I actually paid the ridiculous price for the Kindle version - just so I could have it download on to my Paperwhite at midnight. I've been excited about books before, but never so much as Lover At Last. It's not my favorite series, it's not the best story out there, but something about JR Ward keeps me coming back for more.

Also, a driving factor for getting to the book immediately and through it so quickly were concerns over finding out spoilers and/or reading comments and reviews. I didn't want to know anything about the book, so that drove me to finish it as quickly as possible.

I was so excited to read the book that I did a few things I've never done before for a book...

First, I put down the book I was in the middle of reading so I could start Lover At Last. I HATE mixing up books and I've never not finished a book from beginning to end before starting the next one. Yet, for Qhuay, I was more than willing!

Second, I set my alarm for 4:00AM to get up early to start reading it. (I was told it would download on my Kindle after 3:00AM EDT). But I was SO excited that I actually woke on my own at 3:02AM and started reading!

Third, I took the day off from work so I could read it right away.

Finally, I bribed my kids to leave me alone so I could finish this book (okay, I've done that one before!)

I finished the entire 600ish page book just after midnight that day. I did take time to feed my kids and take them to their karate classes. I did do some laundry. But I read off and on for 21 hours.

I don't know if I could do that again. It would have to be a special book. It would also need to be one that is an easy, light read.

So... what about you... What lengths have you gone to in order to read/finish a book? What was the book - or if you haven't before... is there a book/series you would go to the extreme to read?

Thanks for stopping to chat!

Reading ebooks...

Earlier this week I received the following press release:




New York, NY—February 21, 2013
Grand Central Publishing (GCP) announced today a major initiative to expand its romance publishing program over the next two years.   Celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, GCP’s romance imprint Forever and its year-old e-book only imprint Forever Yours will expand from a 2012 list of 64 titles to approximately 120 titles in 2013 and over 190 titles in 2014.  As part of this growth initiative, Forever will be adding to its editorial and marketing staff.  

Forever is the home of bestselling writers Elizabeth Hoyt, Jill Shalvis, and Larissa Ione and in recent months has acquired rising stars Jessica Sorensen, Kelli Maine, and J.A. Redmerski.  It publishes its titles in a mix of trade paperback, mass market, e-book and audio formats.

Beth de Guzman, founding editor of Forever and VP, Digital and Paperback Publisher, GCP, said of the expansion, “From the beginning, Forever has always been dedicated to publishing the highest quality romance books.   With the romance audience more robust and diverse than at any other time, we are thrilled to expand our program to match the insatiable demand in the marketplace for romance books in every format available.”

Amy Pierpont, Executive Editor, GCP, and Editorial Director, Forever and Forever Yours, said, “Romance readers are talking, and Forever is listening! Fans want more books from their favorite authors, they want them published more frequently, and they’re eager to discover new favorite authors and series. Forever’s expansion allows us to bring readers exactly what they’re asking for—and more.”

Jamie Raab, President and Publisher of GCP, said "We’ve always held a deep belief in the importance of the romance genre to our publishing program and Hachette Book Group is giving its full support to the expansion of Forever and Forever Yours.  What we’ve accomplished in the last 10 years is remarkable and I’m sure will be even more impressive moving forward.”


First, congratulations to Grand Central Press! I am excited that the world of romance genre publishing is growing, because that means more choices for fans from which to select. But it got me wondering about the explosion of "ebook only" imprints. I pretty much only read ebooks - but most are electronic versions of published paperback or hard cover titles. Over the past year plus, I've been adding in ebook-only selections as well, but again, most of these are novellas from established series and/or authors that I currently read. With more and more "ebook only" books being published, I wondered how many folks are out there buying them.

What about you... Do you purchase "ebook only" titles? Do you generally buy them from a large site (Amazon, B&N) or from smaller sites and/or direct from publishers? Do you try new authors with ebooks? Do you purchase novellas or full-length books?

Thanks for stopping to chat!

When a book goes bad...

It came to our attention that there are some issues that can make or break a book.  One such issue for us, Gikany and Una, is rape – especially the rape of the main character.

Rarely have we read a book that handles the issue of rape "well." When thinking of this issue, an appropriate example for us is the Mercy Thompson series. This is the first series that Una has read where the main character is raped, and the description and handling of the action and fallout was appropriately done.  It did enhance the book.  It provided challenges later on – the rape for Mercy is not something she “gets over” in a few pages because her “prince charming” or HEA comes and wipes the slate clean.  It is something she works through.  It reappears throughout subsequent novels that take place over long time spans.  Although we have thankfully never experienced this violent act, we cannot fathom the healing – spiritual and emotional, especially – being resolved quickly.  To us it is something that takes time – possibly a lifetime to learn to live with and through.

This being said – we recently started a book that we DNF’d because we felt that the rape of the main character was not handled well. We describe why we feel the author used this issue poorly in our review HERE.

What about you... Are there certain topics or issues that  an author(s) has used as an element in a novel that when used well – it enhances the book while handing it poorly can wreck it horribly?


Thanks for stopping to chat!

Holiday Themed Books

Wow! I cannot believe that it is almost the end of 2012! Since you are reading this post, we all know that the world did not end on Friday *phew*! So I guess I'd better finish my Christmas shopping now that I know there will be a Christmas this year!

With the holidays upon us, I've noticed a large selection of holiday-themed books in both print and electronic copy. I've read a few over the years, both multi-author anthologies and single-author books, but all of them novella-length stories. I don't read a lot of them, but I have enjoyed a handful. My two favorites are The Christmas Fantasy by KT Grant and An Enchanted Season Anthology by Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, Maggie Shayne and Jean Johnson. Each of these stories are wonderful, feel-good romances!

Holiday-themed romances, specifically Christmas ones, tend to be sweet and happy, which are welcomed, especially during what can be a very stressful time of year. But I have to admit, I really don't care to read a holiday-themed story when it's not near the actual holiday. Is that common? Or am I weird? (Wait, don't answer that!) It's okay if a holiday is celebrated within a story - especially if it's a full-length novel that spans a bit of the year, but if the book is specific to the holiday, I just don't seem to want to read it during other times of the year.

What about you? Do you enjoy holiday-themed books? Have you read ones that center around a holiday other than Christmas? What are some of your favorite holiday-themed stories?

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it!
Happy New Year to all!

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers (and joyous Thursday to those outside the United States!) As traditional, I am going to take a few moments to give thanks.

I am thankful for my family, especially my babies (who have gotten so big!). They fill my life with joy and frustration, but I love them more than life. And thank you to my husband who works tirelessly to keep us all comfy and safe.

I am thankful to have a home, food on the table, safe place to live, a great job, my health (and health insurance).

I am thankful to my friends, both online and in life.

I am thankful for being able to write this blog. I am thankful to my review partners, the authors and publishers, the books, Twitter, and mostly the readers who come by and read That's What I'm Talking About.

I am thankful for a hot cup of tea and a morning off so I can just relax.

There are so many more things I could and should list, and I keep them in my heart. Everyday I give thanks, but most especially today, when I can share my thanks with those around me. 

I wish for you a safe holiday, and for those shopping tomorrow - may you find great sales. If you'd like to take a moment to share what you are thankful for, please leave me a comment. I'm always thankful for comments!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can read 100 books...

My son and his school (3rd - 5th grades) are involved in a great program to encourage reading called "I Can Read 100 Books." The idea is to get the students to read one hundred books throughout the school year. And it's very flexible. You can read picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, magazines, etc. To put everyone on even par, the rules are:

One Book is:
* a picture book,
* 25 pages of a chapter book,
* 30 minutes reading "other."

To encourage kids even further, they've asked the parents to join in. Of course, I gladly accepted the challenge. The rules for parents are a little different:

One Book is:
* 100 Pages,
* 60 minutes.

I was going along great, using pages if it was a book and minutes for ebooks. That is until I decided to time myself for fun. That's when I found out that I read a 375 page book in 6 hours!! Wow! I'm a slow reader if 100 pages and 1 hour are "one book" (and I'm getting screwed if I use page count instead of minutes!)

I read about a page per minute. That got me wondering - what is the "average" time for an adult to read a "for pleasure" book? Am I a slow reader? Am I average? I know for me it depends on the amount of time I have to read in a single sitting. For example, if I can spend 1 to 2 hours reading a book, I get through faster than 1 page per minute. But if I only get 20 minutes here and there, the speed goes down. Complexity is also a factor: if I have to spend time re-reading or looking up information, the speed diminishes. Finally, if I am reviewing and I need to take a lot of notes, the speed decreases.

So I'm asking you: do you know how fast you read? What are factors that impact your reading speed? Do you think you are slow, fast, average?  Let's chat!

• Will there be authors attending that I enjoy reading? 
• What is the overall size of the conference? 
• What is the author-to-reader ratio?
• Are there forums/workshops that appeal to me as a blogger or reader?
• What is the cost? Are meals included? What is hotel like?
• Where is the local - have I been there before?
• Are any of my fellow bloggers and/or tweeps attending?