Sunday Book Soundtrack #3 - Blade Song by J.C. Daniels

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

This week's book soundtrack is Blade Song by J. C. Daniels (read my review here)

1. Godsmack - Voodoo - This song seems perfect for Kit for some reason. Not just Kit, but her sword also. Plus, I love the drums in this song :D Intoxicating (in a very good way)
2. Davit Guetta - Titanium - I know, it has nothing to do with the previous song. But I love Titanium. And it reminds me of Kit in a way.  
3. The Kills - Sour Cherry 
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising - I really don't need a reason to put this song on this particular playlist. I love their music and Bad Moon Rising is like...let's just say everytime I read about a shifter or were-creature I hear this song :D
5. Skid Row - Monkey Business - Spoilers, so I won't say why :P 
6. Nickelback - Side of the Bullet - Fighting scene. And I love the guitar :D

Promo Post - Touching Evil by Amber Garr

With one touch, Leila can see it all.

Leila Marx is trying to put her life back together after her fiancé is murdered. When Detective Garrick Pearson enlists her help with a difficult case, she is thankful for the distraction and the opportunity to use her talents as a touch clairvoyant. Leila and Garrick quickly delve into the mystery behind a series of missing teenage girls and mummified corpses while discovering their own growing attraction to each other. 

Conner Hoffman is an intriguing lawyer and striking half-demon who enters Leila’s life unexpectedly.  Although her visions are terrifying, she is fascinated by his charm and his legacy. When it becomes evident that the murders are linked to a paranormal event, Conner introduces Leila to a world unbeknownst to ordinary society. She suddenly finds herself immersed in supernatural politics, sorcery, and danger as she becomes the killer’s next target. 

Staying alive will mean relying on friends, accepting the unbelievable, and trusting in her heart again.

Buy at Amazon or Smashwords.

Visit Amber's website to read an excerpt, watch the trailer, and meet the characters.

In celebration of the release, Amber's holding a giveaway!

Open to everyone. Yeah!

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Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. Amber is a Royal Palm Literary Award winner, author of The Syrenka Series and The Leila Marx Novels. When not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.

 Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Review: Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #8
Publisher: Spectra
Release Date: March 25th 2008
My Rating: 4 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Tabloid reporter Hope Adams appears to live the life of an ordinary working girl. But in addition to possessing the beauty of a Bolly-wood princess, Hope has other unique traits. For she is a half demon- a human fathered by a demon. And she's inherited not only a gift for seeing the past but a hunter for chaos- along with a talent for finding it wherever she can. Naturally, when she's chosen by a very dangerous group for a very dangerous mission, she jumps at the chance...
The head of the powerful Cortez Cabal- a family that makes the mob look like amateurs- has a little problem in Miami: a gang of wealthy, bored offspring of supernaturals is getting out of hand, and Hope is needed to infiltrated. As spells, astral projections, and pheromones soar across South Beach, Hope weaves her way through its elite hot spots, posing as upscale eye candy and reading the auras of the clientele- and potential marks.

I finished reading this book a few weeks ago, but my head is still spinning. I think this book is different than the previous ones. While the other books had this kind of slow world building vibe and felt more focused on character development, Personal Demon makes a big change for the world of this series. There are some surprising things that happen in this book, things I didn't anticipate. But I'll get to that later. Let's talk characters first.

The first thing that jumped at me and surprised me is that we get two POVs in Personal Demon: Hope's POV and that of Lucas. It was very nice having a male's perspective of the world. And it gave me the chance to really see Lucas and get a feel of him, not just from what Paige is thinking about him, but to experience it for myself. He's a really cool guy. I like that he's level-headed and that he doesn't judge other people. And he's really helpful and kind with other people, even with his idiot brothers.

Hope is... different. Not because of her powers, not because of her father or anything like that. She just is different. I liked her, yes. But I didn't love her as I wanted to. There were moments when her choices and actions were a little difficult for me to understand. Maybe it's because I liked Karl so much, but I really felt like at times she wasn't fair with him at all. I also wanted to see her using her powers more and to learn about her powers because they are really unique. And, yes, I admit it, a small part of me wanted to see Hope at her worst. We've had glimpses of how the other characters can do bad things, I was waiting for Hope to have that moment. For some reason I see her like dynamite, just seconds away from explosion. I don't want her to turn bad, but I want to experience the difficult part of her power from her POV, not some other character's.

I loved Karl. I feel like he could be an alpha. Not as good as Jeremy though, but Karl would make a great leader. We get a different side of him in this book. While I can't say I liked him at first, I can see now why Hope fell for the guy. I'm just hoping that the other werewolves get to see the nice side of him. He can be annoying when he wants to, so it would be a difficult journey to get to know him. But, like I said, I loved him.

I won't give away anything about the changes in the world, because those are spoilers. But it kind of goes back to book 2, Stolen. It's kind of cool to see all the connections between books that are not consecutive in a series.

The only thing that I wanted that didn't come true is another Jaime/Jeremy book. I got used to twos: two books for Elena, two for Paige. Yes, Eve had only one, but I was hoping the pattern would continue with Jaime/Jeremy. And yes, I wanted more naked-Jeremy scenes. Nothing wrong with that *blush*

Anyway, I can't wait to see what happens next in the series, even if it means I'm getting closer and closer to the ending *sob*

 

Book Review: Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Author: Tina Connolly

Series: Ironskin #1
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 2nd 2012
My Rating:  3 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. 

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. 

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help. 

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. 

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far  she will go to become whole again.

As you all probably know, I'm a girl that's easily impressed by a pretty cover. Don't know why, I just love a cover that catches my eye and makes me want to read the book without even checking the blurb. So it shouldn't surprise you that the moment I saw the cover for Ironskin I wanted to read that book right away.  There was someone that pointed out the fact that the cover model looks like Natalie Portman. I can see the resemblance, can you?

Anyway, back to the book. The first thing I noticed was that in Ironskin fey are bad, evil creatures. I liked that. It is certainly fresh and untouched territory. Or at least it is for me. Of course, I read fey and my mind processes fairies. Bad fairies sound interesting. Bad fey attracted to anything beautiful are even more interesting. I enjoyed reading about that, but I wanted to know more. Where do the fey come from? Why are they evil and how did they get in touch with humans? I wanted to know their history and their reasons for being bad. Yes, we get some details in the end, but I felt like it wasn't enough.

The pacing was a little bit too slow for my taste. Now, I know a lot of people said that Ironskin is sort of a retelling of Jane Eyre. I might have told you that I hate classic literature, so I didn't read Jane Eyre. Sorry to disappoint. I'm used to fast pacing books. Yes, I might enjoy some slow motion from time to time, but I kind of felt that the supernatural theme of Ironskin, the fey, needed a more faster pacing.

The characters were interesting. I can see why Jane would be attracted to Mr. Rochart, what with her being an outcast because of her curse and all that. There were moments where both pissed me off a little bit, but I can't mention them or else I'd be giving away spoilers. And I hate spoilers.

I wanted to like this book more, I really did. It wasn't that bad, you know, the kind of bad that makes you want to put this book in the DNF pile. But I can't say that I fell off my chair I liked it so much. It was a good read, but I felt it could've been better.

 

I'm alive

Hey guys! So sorry I've been missing the last 2 weeks. I've had the worst flu in my entire life. No fever, thank God, but I had it bad. Still do, actually. It doesn't help that my mom also has the flu, so we're sort of exchanging viruses *pout*. Also, the weather is wacky around here and it helps maintaining the flu and it makes beating it a lot harder. I've also started studying because I've decided to change my degree (I still have time to do that) and apparently I have to study a bunch of stuff I knew back in high school. With any luck, this time next year I'll be a freshman in medical school *fingers crossed* Anyway, I promise I'll post normally starting tomorrow.

And if you sent me any email during these past two weeks, I promise I'll get back to you. Like I said, baaad, bad flu and headaches and sore throat and coughing like hell made it impossible for me to feel sane enough to do anything but do a Supernatural marathon :P

Hope you all are feeling better. Until tomorrow, happy reading!

Cover Love (27)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My pick this week:

You know, I could just stare at this cover for hours and hours and not get bored. There's just something...calming and comforting about it. Maybe the open jar, maybe the blurry women or maybe it's the fireflies. I don't know. I just love it.





Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah








What's your pick this week?