Welcome to our blog!
Amy and Jennifer ARE Seduced by Books. We’re both in our 30’s, moms, close friends, work together, and share many of the same interests including our love of reading. Amy grew up in Maryland and has been obsessed with Vampires for as long as she can remember. Jenn grew up in Florida and loves the furry, the fey, and the fangs, in that order. Currently we are both in Orlando, FL. When we can be pulled away from books, Amy loves to bake and Jenn loves to take pictures and scrap.
We decided to create a place where we could direct friends, and acquaintances for, book suggestions/recommendations (Jenn’s been known to talk to strangers on the train while traveling in NYC). Once we started out with a simple page, we evolved from there. Now we are sharing our book reviews, fun comments, recipes, and giveaways. We try to give reviews on new releases, pre-releases, and oldies but goodies that we read, or are reading. We’re going to be adding author interviews for established and up and coming authors soon.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Shadowspell by Jenna Black

Shadowspell (Faeriewalker)On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm. A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind? (courtesy of Amazon)


Book 2 in Jenna Black's Faeriewalker series.  


A well-written young adult is a favorite of mine.  Shadowspell is so much more then well-written.  This is a must read, when you open it, you won't want to put it down, even after you're read the last page.  


Black's set up an intriguing world of Faerie - with the mortal realm and Faerie meeting in Avalon, the one place where all can live.  Dana is a 16 year old that has taken on a lot of responsibility in her early childhood, hence, she's always on point to make an adult decision.  She's not afraid to back down and has no plans to be walked over.  Great qualities for our heroine, however, she could be in a little over her head this time.  We all know how tricky the Fae can be.  Dana is still trying to settle in Avalon, of course, settling is hard when you are on the hit list.  Living underground for a teen, not much fun...plus she can't decide where to go with Ethan...he's tainted her trust already.  


I'm still in awe of how Black conjured this story and played it out so well.  Taking teen trials and turning it up notch after notch.  The Erlking's arrival and his interest in Dana sets up to be for her death...of course that's exactly what he wants you to think.  Thrown off guard, Dana will do anything in her power to save the ones she cares for and the Erlking pledges to keep her from harm.  How can anything go wrong?  Of course, Black tosses in the huge twist.  I was completely caught off guard, while I knew a deal couldn't be that easy, I never expected the flip.  Astonishing!  


Black's writing is intense, spicy, and vivacious.  Thank the publishing gods, Siren Song, book 3, will be out July of this year!


5 slices 










Sunday, January 23, 2011

Blood Challenge by Eileen Wilks

Blood Challenge (Lupi)Ex-cop Lily Yu and werewolf Rule Turner's engagement announcement is stirring up ugly passions in the Humans First camp. There's hate mail, followed by death threats. And when a lupus in Tennessee goes on a killing spree, Lily realizes that it's only the opening skirmish in an all-out war.(courtesy of Amazon)


The above description may be brief and lacking, but this book is anything but.  


Wilks has created such an amazing world of the Lupi.  Book 7 in the series, I still can't get enough of Lily and Rule. They are my 2nd ALL-TIME favorite couple from a book series, and I've read a lot of series.  Wilks has given us two characters and evolved them to be so memorable.  Lily had so many reservations in life when she met Rule in book 1, everything she knew and had resolved to live by has been questioned and turned upside down.  Lily has grown so much from the beginning, and watching her changes have been amazing.  Rule takes live as it is, and handles it.  He's the perfect match for Lily.  You can’t get enough of them.  Throw in the rest of the cast and you have one of my favorite teams. 


The C couple (trying not to spoil) along with Rule's family and pack have complimented the whole story.  These books are not just about the paranormal, while magic and fantasy are a large part of the books, mystery and thrills along with true crime investigation are the drivers that keep this series alive.  Wilks researches to give the books a real feel, meeting with crime scene investigations, trauma nurses, and probably weres themselves (just kidding on that last part).  This book, gives us insight to more of Rule's brother, Benedict.  We also place Lily in the pack and out of the police world for a bit.

Wilks Lupi series is action-packed, charged with mystery and true crime solving.    The base of the Lupi world she has created is imaginative and, yet, believable.  She has a talent matched only by a few.  I am on pins and needles awaiting Death Magic Book 8, due out this year also, Nov 2011.  










Read a better product description at Eileen Wilks site - Blood Challenge

Unraveled by Gena Showalter

Unraveled (Harlequin Teen)Since coming to Crossroads, Oklahoma, former outcast Aden Stone has been living the good life. Never mind that one of his best friends is a werewolf, his girlfriend is a vampire princess who hungers for his blood, and he's supposed to be crowned Vampire King—while still a human! Well, kind of.
With four—oops, three now—human souls living inside his head, Aden has always been "different" himself. These souls can time-travel, raise the dead, possess another's mind and, his least favorite these days, tell the future.
The forecast for Aden? A knife through the heart.
Because a war is brewing between the creatures of the dark, and Aden is somehow at the center of it all. But he isn't about to lie down and accept his destiny without a fight. Not when his new friends have his back, not when Victoria has risked her own future to be with him, and not when he has a reason to live for the first time in his life….(courtesy of Amazon)

Book 2 in the Intertwined series – Showalter is still packing action and twists.  

Picking up right where we left in Book 1 (my favorite way to start a sequel), Aden barely has time to recover from his meeting with the vampires, when the Fae are up for a battle.  Aden and Riley are glad to give them a run for their money.  Of course, there’s more factions where they came from.  Everyone wants a piece of Aden.  Mary Ann learns that she’s not such a good girl after all, she has a unique and deadly ability.  Showalter has done the great task of setting up delightful characters.  She gives us action and intrigue mixed with a little spice.  Some how, Showalter amazingly manages to throw so much our way in the book, yet, when you start to feel like it’s too much, she grabs you back in, makes it work, and plays it out right before your eyes.  I thoroughly ended up enjoying this book, and look forward to seeing where this series goes.  
Bravo!
4 slices


Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined (Harlequin Teen)There's something about the new guy at Crossroads High…
Most sixteen-year-olds have friends.
Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:
One can time travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can possess another human.
One can tell the future.
Everyone thinks he's crazy, which is why he's spent his entire life shuffled between mental institutions and juvie. All of that is about to change, however. For months Aden has been having visions of a beautiful girl—a girl who carries centuries-old secrets. A girl who will either save him or destroy him.
Together they'll enter a dark world of intrigue and danger…but not everyone will come out alive. (courtesy of Amazon)

Holy Wow.  I read the comment on the book from an author “couldn’t put it down” and that was certainly the case.  The book starts out immediately in action and interest.  The characters are very interesting at first.  The lead Aden has 4 souls inside his body, so schizophrenia has nothing on Aden.  When he meets the only one able to turn it all off.  Mary Ann has the pull but like a magnet the closer he gets the more he wants to run away.  The two of them have no idea what it is that it going on.  Showalter doesn’t let the book go stagnant, she immediately tosses in the vamps and the weres, then the demons and the fae…and we can not forget the witches and the goblins.  At first I was a little overwhelmed, tossed into the otherworld so quickly had me confused where the story was going.  Of course, that’s exactly where you are supposed to be.  Love interests, Riley and Victoria give us a little young adult heat to the book.  The plot is overflowing with side stories and unique situations that explain the ties that fall on these 4 characters. 
A surprise twist at the end of the game for the vampire world leaves you hanging for book 2.  I give this 3 slices.



Thursday, January 20, 2011

Awakened by PC & Kristin Cast

Awakened (House of Night)Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey.  Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z.  But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there.  Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it?  Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…
And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim?  The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship?  Does he betray his father or his heart?
In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart? (courtesy of Amazon)

Book 8 in the House of Night Series.  

There's definitely mixed feelings about this installment in the series.  Cast is constantly giving us great 'omg' cliffhangers which have kept me greatly anticipating the next book.  I was on pins and needles waiting for Awakened.  The Wiccan and Native American 'religious' aspect mix added with a pinch of mythology has always been a freshly unique concept for this book, adding in the Vampyre's and it was a no brainer for me.  Sure it's classified as Young Adult, which if it's good, I'm diving into any book, the great thing for this series is that the characters are maturing and therefore the stories are turning on a little heat.  With the young population today, at Book 8, had Cast not, it would have pushed the series 'realness'.  Yet as much as I want to truly feel the book, and I did in many parts, there were a few too many forced references toward other authors and TV shows that just didn't fit.  

Zoey is in over her head and has been, but somehow she keeps it above water and pulls it together.  Who wouldn't want a break from it?  Of course, I wouldn't want a break from Stark.  He's just want she needs.  The story unfolds perfectly as Zoey has to redevelop with Stark, after Burned there's a lot to heal from and overcome.  She's getting a chance to learn from a Queen of the old magic.  It's a direction I could feel the book moving toward.  Of course, it doesn't last, Zoey needs to help her friends back home, sadly predictable.  Stevie Rae and Rephaim, let's just say, just what they needed.  Although, I could have done with out the twist at the end, like they don't have enough to overcome...

Our other cast - well a little overdone, there's just enough interaction, but some of it was a little too emphasized.  I could say that there are parts of everyone that could have been penned a little differently.  However, don't get me wrong, I liked the book.  At this point in the series, you are reading to see where it's going.  At 8 books, a writer has to give you some changes, try on something new and see where they are moving.  Even if they have it planned out, there always that one twist that's added.  I did not like the references and end with a certain 'previous' character coming back into 'Zoey's life'.  

Overall I gave it 3 slices, I liked it, still plan to see where Cast is going with the series and how Zoey and Stark further develop.  It's a 3 because I felt a few things were just too much for the book.  Still I had to finish it, just like always with the HoN series, you want to read it and keep it going until you are done, then you sit in anticipation for the next. 



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Counterfeit MagicThe first rule of a supernatural fight club? Don't kill your opponent.

When the fighters come with lethal spells, werewolf strength and half-demon powers, that can be a lot tougher than it sounds. It's hard to attract talent if they know they might not leave the ring alive. So when fighters at a California club start dying -- it's bad for business.

Witch detectives Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine take the case. Going undercover in the power-heavy arena of the fight club is a welcome change of pace for Paige, relegated to the role of The Wife as her husband struggles to find his place in his family's Cabal--the corporate Mafia of the supernatural world.

As Paige is drawn deeper into new and dangerous corners of her world, she quickly discovers the greatest threat isn't the killer in her sights. It's something much, much closer to home. And this is one fight she can't afford to lose. (summary on the back of the book)


Kelley Armstrong is definitely on my list of favorite authors! If you like paranormal books, her Otherworld series is a must read. Typically each book is told from the point of view of one main character and tells their story, often including characters you’ve met in previous books. Her characters are great and well developed. You definitely get inside their heads and have a good understanding of who they are and where they’re coming from. She also brings many different aspects of the paranormal world into the series. There are vampires, werewolves, witches, necromancers, demons, ghosts, something for everyone!!


Counterfeit Magic is the latest novella in the Otherworld series.


Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine are both witches. They also both work at Cortez-Winterbourne Investigations, a business Paige and her husband Lucas started together. Page and Savannah take a case in which they go undercover in a supernatural fight club to try to figure out why their client’s brother was killed.
Things, of course, aren’t always what they seem and they investigating even more deaths, while Lucas takes the original case.


While on the case, with Lucas away working on his, Paige is also forced to take a closer look at her marriage. She believes that everything is fine, but there could be problems under the surface that she is overlooking, or ignoring.


As usual, Kelley Armstrong has given us another great story. I’m already looking forward to her next book, Spell Bound, which comes out in July and is another book with Savannah Levine as the main character.


5 Slices





Cities of Night by Philip Nutman

Cities of NightTen stories.
Eight cities.
Three continents.
One voice.

From Atlanta to Blackpool, London to New York…from Rome, Italy to Albuquerque, New Mexico via Hollyweird and the city of Lost Angels…are all cities of night.

And the night is forever. Now. (summary on the back of the book)



Cities of Night is a collection of dark, and some rather twisted short stories by Philip Nutman. For the most part the stories were good reads. A couple of them were really slow moving and I couldn’t wait for them to end. Others were really good, some with surprising endings, which I love!

Each tale is very different, too; bored teenagers getting into trouble and a boy that has visions, a writer that stumbles into a weird opportunity, a kidnapped Elvis impersonator, a Hellboy, Van Helsing, yeah – there are all sorts of things. While it’s not your typical paranormal book, there are tidbits of the paranormal in some of them.

My favorite thing about this book is how some of the stories tie into later ones. I liked that I’d be reading and suddenly realize the main character in the current one was in one of the previous ones. I’m a big fan of revisiting some of the same characters later on in their life.

Overall not something I’d typically chose, but still pretty good.


3 Slices