Mk - PopcornReads.com's Blog – October 2011 Archive (18)

Although The Devil’s Ribbon is Book #2 in the Hatton & Roumande series, I haven’t read the first book and still found that Book #2 works just fine as a stand-alone novel.

It’s 1858 and London is experiencing a nasty cholera outbreak among its poorest residents, the Irish. No one knows what causes cholera, although there are a lot of theories floating around so no one knows how to stop it until it’s run its course. The Irish had come to…

Once I saw the book cover for Vacation by Matthew Costello and read the publisher’s blurb, I knew I had to request an advance reader’s copy (ARC). Luckily I scored a hard copy for one lucky reader to win in a giveaway – thank you St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books! They even included a brochure for the Paterville Family Camp. I cracked up when I saw the brochure. Their marketing team obviously has a great sense of humor. Although this book definitely qualifies as…

John Everson won the HWA Bram Stoker award for his first novel, Covenant. The Pumpkin Man is his fifth novel. I originally snapped up an advance reader’s copy of The Pumpkin Man because it looked so appropriate for Halloween. I’m not a huge horror fan so I was kind of dreading reading it. This is definitely an over 18 book, because of the nature of some of the rituals involved. That said, I really liked the main…

Darkness Falling is Book #1 in the Forever Twilight series by Peter Crowther, and it’s our Giveaway for the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop. This hop features about 400 book review blogs and web sites, all of which are hosting giveaways for books, gift cards and/or other book-related prizes. WooHoo! First the review, then our giveaway, and then the linky list so you can check out the other giveaways!

The Review:…

I don’t recall how I learned about Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine, only that something about the synopsis for this story caught my eye and touched my heart. I do know that I contacted the publisher and asked to review it, and (with fingers crossed) asked if they would sponsor a book giveaway. Not only has the publisher provided a novel but it’s an autographed copy, which is so cool!

You know I don’t traditionally review romance novels, unless there’s…

What do you get when you mix zombies, steampunk and a dystopian Victorian future? You get Lia Habel’s new novel Dearly, Departed of course! Other book reviewers and I were chatting last month about a new trend we’re seeing in zombie novels. At the same time, I kept seeing comments about Dearly, Departed that looked very interesting, so I was delighted when I snagged an advance reader’s copy from the publisher. I had no idea our…

I can’t recall how J.R. Lindermuth came to my attention on GoodReads but when I read about his novel, Being Someone Else, it sounded like something I would like to read and tell you all about. Being Someone Else is part of a series but he assured me it could stand alone. Thankfully he was right. And even better, he’s sponsoring a giveaway so we can give an autographed copy to a lucky reader! To read the rest of my review and enter the…

When I was looking for books to review during October, a.k.a. Halloween month, I knew I had a winner when I saw the publisher’s brief synopsis for Practical Jean by Trevor Cole. It cracked me up and made me go “Eeew” all that the same time. I approached the publisher about sponsoring a book giveaway and they said yes! So on top of learning about this twisty tale, one lucky reader will also win a copy of Practical Jean! WooHoo!

A Little Background: Trevor Cole is a Canadian author and…

I’m always looking for ways to learn more about other cultures so when I saw the publisher’s synopsis for The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad, it looked like a great opportunity to learn more about the tribal groups in an area about which Jamil Ahmad is an expert – the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Not only did I learn more about those groups, their culture and the hostile environment in which they live, but I began to…

, I’m fascinated by the steampunk sub-genre, so you know I couldn’t resist when I got the opportunity to read an advance reader’s copy of Steampunk: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. Although Steampunk is classified as young adult fiction, it’s definitely going to appeal to adults too. There’s really something for everyone in this anthology! Read the rest of my review at…

Although I’ve never been the kind of Jane Austen fan who re-reads her novels over and over, I have read all of her novels and enjoyed them all thoroughly. I have been intrigued by the proliferation of Jane Austen inspired novels released in the last few years. I’m embarrassed that I learned about this genre very late. I only became aware of it when I saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on the bestseller list and at my local bookstore in 2009. That concept definitely…

I’m delighted to offer a book giveaway and review for Jeremy Greenberg’s Sorry I Pooped In Your Shoe: and Other Heartwarming Letters from Doggie. When I saw the advance reader’s copy for this wonderful book, I immediately fell in love with it! I contacted the publisher, who agreed to offer a copy in a giveaway - a huge thank you goes out to Andrews McMeel Publishers! If you’re a dog lover, or have one on your holiday gift list, you’re going to love this little book.…

I was delighted when I won a copy of The Fox Inheritance, Book #2 in bestselling author Mary E. Pearson’s futuristic YA series The Jenna Fox Chronicles. I had read excellent things about this series and wanted to check it out. I was a bit apprehensive since I hadn’t read Book #1 but The Fox Inheritance works well as a stand-alone novel. This is an excellent YA novel! Adults will like this as much as teens do. I’m looking…

Given how stressful this city can be for its inhabitants, I was intrigued when I saw the title for bestselling author Neil McMahon’s newest psychological thriller, L.A. Mental. There are lots of things that could cause Angelenos to go mental, not least of which is their commute every day. Neil McMahon has taken a lot of the elements intrinsic to LA and woven them together into an exciting, smart new take on the psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge…

When the publisher made available an advanced readers copy of Black Diamond by John F. Dobbyn, I jumped on it. I used to be a fan of horse-racing mysteries but I hadn’t read anything like that in a long time so it seemed like it was meant to be. After reading Black Diamond, I learned it’s Book #3 in this mystery series; however, it makes a great stand-alone novel. If you like a good mystery like I do, you’ll be pleased with this…

From the book cover art for Deviant by Adrian McKinty, I thought this was a young adult fantasy or science fiction novel. Instead it’s a YA mystery/thriller. After reading the novel, the cover made much more sense to me. Deviant is a story that I think younger teen boys can relate to in many ways; however, they may not enjoy reading about animal sacrifice any more than I did. Read the rest of my review at…