Blog Tour: Silk by Chris Karlsen

Welcome to my tour stop for the historical suspense novel Silk by Chris Karlsen. This is an adult book and is rated NC17. This is a review tour runs March 16-27th. Check out the tour page for more information and the tour schedule.

Buy the book at Amazon

Book summary: 

Silk on the skin—luxurious, luscious..lethal.
London-Fall, 1888
The city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women strangled as they stroll through.
Their investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial evidence points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better be right and have proof.
As the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more, inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.
 What would you do to stay young: Lie, Manipulate..kill?

Excerpt

Events of the day and the potential satisfaction of giving Napier a bloody nose dwindled. Questions about the murder crept back into Ruddy's thoughts. Morris joined him at his table in the rear of the pub with a Guinness, the popular beer of choice in hand. “You’ve got the look of a man whose thoughts are a long distance from London.”
“No, sadly my thoughts are fixed here in the city. I’m trying to figure out a clue. Ellis’s roommate said she’d sometimes meet with a well-dressed man, a man of means the victim indicated. They’d meet up at the fountain by the British Museum.”
“Don’t know the spot but then the museum isn’t my cup of tea.”
“Not the point. I’m saying it’s odd. What member of the upper class chooses to stroll through a public garden other than Hyde or Regents, where they can see and be seen by one of their own?”
“I agree the wealthy prefer the parks filled with others of their kind but it doesn’t mean a man can’t enjoy someplace different.”
“We interviewed the guard again. The one that discovered the body walks that half of the building. He told us the majority of their male patrons are natty dressers, but he never saw a man like that loitering by the fountain.”
“My guess is: the man is married and can’t afford to run the risk of being seen by a friend of his wife’s. Or, he might live or work in the area and the spot is convenient.”
“Or, he’s a murderer who’s noticed the victim walking through the park on a regular basis, saw it as an opportunity and cozied up to her.”
Ruddy took another swallow of his ale, mentally debating the merit of each theory. “I don’t think he lives in the area. If so, he’d have cut through the park more and been seen by the guards. Not sure about the married man having a tryst idea."
To Ruddy's way of thinking, if the man was married and looking for a tumble, he’d have met her someplace other than the gardens and at a better hour.
Instinct drew him back to his original sense of the culprit and crime. “I feel like this was a crime of opportunity. I’ve thought it all along and can’t shake the sense.”
“If he was just seeking a victim, then why haven’t you had more murders like this?” Morris asked.
Ruddy downed the rest of his beer and put his tankard on the edge of the table where June would refill it. “Everyone has to start somewhere. She might be number one.”

 Book trailer

About the Author:

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.

Author's 

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Giveaway

Each tour stop is giving away one kindle copy of SILK, just comment to enter!

In addition, fill out the rafflecopter to enter to win:

Kindle copy of SILK, swag bag & a $10 Amazon gift card (INT)

Ends April 1, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Until the next time, 

Waiting on Wednesday (#138)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

We cannot wait to read...

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　

Expected publication: April 14th, 2015

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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Book summary:

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can't bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back...
The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king - for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her?

        You know those series that get better with each book you read and after each one you feel like there is no way to top it. Well Throne of Glass is that too me. After reading the first book I knew that it'd be on my fave shelf, but I had no idea that my feelings for it will grow and grow after each book. After reading Heir of Fire, they've reached that point where I cannot find any proper words for it.

        I shall try though. Firstly I truly hope you've meet Celaena, either through the previous three books, or short stories which accompany this series. If you haven't, well you are at such disadvantage. She is someone you'd love to be, or at least to have by your side. She is fierce, strong and witty, but also very loyal and self-doubting which makes her real. Beside her, this series offers you a great spectra of characters which you'll love reading about and somehow connect with each of them. I won't even start about romance, which even though not being focus in this book still feels so strong. For me the relationships here weren't in just that friendship/romance boat, but they are so strong and everlasting.

       Besides characters and emotions, there is world-building which in this book divided into three settings, still offers a picture and connections in this world. With addition of Manon who gives a new dimension into all this and by that spreading this story even further. For me by adding Manon and Rowan into this mix it didn't just help us to see this world better, but it actually helped for character development. But still not letting them to take over the story as Dorian and Chaol who are still base of this story. Honestly, it's all I could ever ask for.

       Another thing which improved here was the writing, which seems better and somehow sharper. Now, we can just wait for the Queen of Shadows which will rock even more if you ask me.

Rating: 5 stars. 

Until the next time,

Bookish Problems #21 - Memes

Hiya again. Tanja here. I know we've been struggling to keep up lately, but currently both of us have a lot to do to. But last night I was writing some posts and I got an idea for Bookish problems! YAY. So let's talk about memes.

You have certainly done and if not then seen memes that a lot of us do. So I just wondered what's your opinion about them. I know there is plenty and even some of my friends here (maybe even you) have created one, and technically speaking bookish problems could be a meme if both Glass and I had time for organizing stuff.

But here is my story. When I joined Glass here at Ja čitam, a ti? I started doing different memes to the point where I didn't have space to post reviews because of them. I knew then that it was time to cut out some and I did that. So today we actually do only two. First one which we've been doing for a really long time is Waiting on Wednesday.

That one is also my favorite as I love seeing these posts and adding new books to my TBR list. It's always interesting to see some books you might have missed and this is a really cool way to catch up with new releases. Making them is quite fun too. Glass and I are always checking each other picks and commenting on them. Making plans for buddy reads and so on.

The second meme we do here is The Sunday Post. This one is something we started doing later on but it helped us a lot. Now it's easier for us to organize everything and by the Saturday night we have posts ready and scheduled for the whole next week. It saves you the trouble and you can freely enjoy and read all week long. It helped me organize my reads too as I usually read arcs and review copies in advance.

So that would be our memes! Tell us about yours! Which ones are your favorite and why??

Until the next time,

The Sunday Post (#46)

Hello all. Well, as some of you know Sundays are always reserved for Sunday Post which is a meme created by lovely Kim @Caffeinated Book Reviews!

Hello. It's another Sunday so it's time for a little update. Nothing noticeable happened last week for either of us, except that time really passes fast. Every day is filled with either job or classes and somehow we are too tired afterwards. Sadly still no time to be around much, but hopefully soon. We'll give our best. But thanks for being patient.

• Marked by Sarah Fine 
• The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
• Waiting on Wednesday (#137)
• Veil of Corrupter by J. L. Tomlison
• #CoverLust: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• Bookish Problems #21 - Memes
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas 
• Waiting on Wednesday (#138)
• Blog Tour: Silk by Chris Karlsen 
• The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Glass' haul 

Thank you: Entangled

Tanja's haul

Thank you: Angry Robots 

Till the next time,  

#CoverLust: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Welcome to #CoverLust - where we talk about all those books we picked up because of the beautiful covers. 

This is just another brilliant idea my love Glass had and I had to join all the fun. And I shall start with my biggest cover crush I ever had. 

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the prettiest cover I have ever seen and I hardly doubt anything will top it ever. Luckily for me this book also ended on my favorite list years ago. Maybe I would feel different now, but still it'll always mean a lot for me as it gave me my husband Aiden! 

That guy is just *dies* 

Love, 

Veil of the Corrupter (Ardentia #2) by J.L. Tomlinson

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Book summary:

King Myole is dead. His Light now awaits the heir who will make Ardentia whole once more. The Pinnacle approaches.
The Narcean half-breed Jahna Mornglow must farewell the west and the life she has known to reveal the secrets of The Empyrean Key. Having to supervise unruly Lilac and prudent Silko was enough of an added chore, but now the companions are joined by Arn, the Maddroff thief whose charm and guile both frustrate and entice her.
In Castle Dubraycon, sinister shadows shift with dark purpose as Selizardra grooms the reluctant Princess Mydra for the coveted throne. The Vessels, led by the elementalist Menon, sense the malice seeping through Kalavar and stand ready to be unleashed upon Ardentia's foes; while the Seer Friziel can only observe as the threads of his deceptions begin to unravel.
Ardentia is vulnerable, with hidden enemies just as dangerous as the Rew'tuur horde that test the defences of the barricade. But soon the veil will be lifted.
Old gods will awaken; dark powers will rise; and the arrival of a mysterious warrior will tip the scales, but in whose favour? 

         When I got a chance to read The Empyrean Key few months ago I had no idea that I would be so curious about it and honestly I couldn't wait for the sequel to come out. Now I guess I'm again in the same position as I need to know what happens next.

         Best thing is that Veil of the Corrupter continues where The Empyrean Key ended, we're back in Ardentia and we continue to follow Jahna and her friends. While they are on their quest some things change in this book. Beside Silko and Liliac who I though were great side characters here we get to meet a couple more. Therefore I believe that Sky was a great addition to the story and I enjoyed having new dimension added to it. Other thing that made me happy is that we still continued to follow both plotlines, Jahna's quest and happenings in the court, which gave a full perspective to the story. Not to mention that I still ship Jahna and Arn a lot and I love how innocent and slow-building their romance is. Hopefully I'll get to see more of it soon.

          But sadly I cannot say that this story is flawless, some of them I knew would occur, like predictability which is something I encounter in almost every MG book (even though I'm not sure we can classify this one as solely MG book). The other problem for me was that some of parts of this sequel were rather slow and somehow they killed the mood a bit. Their adventure is what captivated me from the start and it continued to do so, but it had its ups and downs in this book.

         What I said for the first book in this series can be said for this one too, I'm sure that younger readers will enjoy this one much more as it's all young mind could ask for. But we can say that my young mind enjoyed this too and that I cannot wait to see how this series continue to develop.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#137)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

We can't wait to read...

 Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Expected publication date: May 26th 2015

Happy reading,

 

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

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Author's 

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Rating: 4 stars.

Book summary:

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart. 

Tanja: At last! You've all heard and probably read this book by now but as you can see it took us some time to finally follow your steps. But here we are now. You know how they say, better late than never. Glass, would you like to start our discussion?
Glass: I have to admit that I got scared after reading few negative reviews last year, but also because of all hype that followed The Winner's Curse, so I decided to leave it on my TBR pile for a little bit longer. I am so happy that I did exactly that - that ending is the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers and I'm not sure that I'd be able to wait patiently whole year to find out what happens next.
Tanja: True that. But I think that I made a big mistake because I have read this one right after finishing Heir of Fire. I had troubles because I compared the two all the time. It's not that they are similar in the plot, but rather structure. Anyhow, I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this one after a bit rocky start. I though that predictability concerning romance would kill it for me, but it actually developed nicely.
Glass: I agree about that - some things were easy to predict, but still, you can pretty much do that with every book. I didn't have issues with romance because it wasn't pushed too hard - focus of the story is somewhere else and it wasn't rushed. I wouldn't buy it if author offered us insta-love instead of slow build up. One thing that I really liked is fictional world - I thought that The Winner's Curse is fantasy, but it is not. It could be described as alternative history maybe, what do you think?
Tanja: Yes, that's what I loved the most about this book. The reality of it. Somehow I expected it to be much heavier on fantasy elements that I was actually really surprised. I could imagine something like this happening centuries ago, with kings and intrigues. Another thing I loved is the symbolic of the title. I knew about the idea of the winner's curse, but I didn't know its proper title. It was really nicely incorporated in the story.
Glass: That is so true - even when you win, you lose something, and our characters have a lot to lose. Kestrel is such a strong character, she is smart and brave, not afraid to fight for what she wants. The way she changed from the beginning to the end was so believable, everything happens slowly and that is why her whole transformation was believable.
Tanja: True that and I loved how slowly we get to meet Arin. I was really taken aback with his story and everything he went through. Somehow I could understand every move he made, just because I would probably do the same. It's hard to leave past behind even though there is better future for him somewhere. But this is what I look forward seeing in the sequel. I wonder will both of them learn from their mistakes.
Glass: I actually started reading it already, I just couldn't wait after the way everything ended. Happy ending is something that seems unlikely, at least based on everything so far. They got them selves in such a mess and I don't see an easy way out. What do you think?
Tanja: Honestly, I hope that we won't get HEA here. I know am I masochist, but I would love this to turn into more real ending. I mean it took us so long to abolish slavery so hopefully it won't be that easy in the book. It's not easy. But let's wait and see. I need to catch up with you.

We had a great pleasure to read this book together with out friend Emma @Never Judge a Book by its Cover. You'll find her review for this book on her blog. 

Until the next time,

Marked by Sarah Fine

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Author's 

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Book summary:

In a broken landscape carved by environmental collapse, Boston paramedic Cacia Ferry risks life and limb on the front lines of a fragile and dangerous city. What most don’t know—including her sexy new partner, Eli Margolis—is that while Cacy works to save lives, she has another job ferrying the dead to the Afterlife. Once humans are “Marked” by Fate, the powerful Ferrys are called to escort the vulnerable souls to either eternal bliss or unending fire and pain.Unaware of Cacy’s other life, Eli finds himself as mesmerized by his fierce and beautiful partner as he is mistrustful of the influential Ferry clan led by the Charon—who happens to be Cacy’s father. Cacy, in turn, can no longer deny her intense attraction to the mysterious ex-Ranger with a haunted past. But just as their relationship heats up, an apparent hit takes the Charon before his time. Shaken to the core, Cacy pursues the rogue element who has seized the reins of Fate, only to discover that Eli has a devastating secret of his own. Not knowing whom to trust, what will Cacy have to sacrifice to protect Eli—and to make sure humanity’s future is secure?

Tanja: I strongly believe that you've heard of Sarah Fine and her Sanctum book, which was highly praised when it came out. I wanted to read it ever since, but somehow something else was always a priority. So when my girl Glass told me that Marked is on NG I had to have it. Now I am happy that Claimed was available too.
Glass: Oh, me too. Especially because story picked up the pace in last 30%. I know that a lot of our friends from blogosphere love Sarah Fine and her young adult series, Guards of the Shadowlands, but I am happy that I started with this, more adult series. It combines two things - mythology and post-apocalyptic society. Sound weird, I know! Still, it works great - at moments I had a feeling like I was reading Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead combined with TV show Dead Like Me. But that beginning was so slow...
Tanja: Exactly, that is why I even planed to DNF it, but then you and Purple told me to go on and that it gets better later on. I'm glad I finished it now as I expect Claimed to be much better. This one really offered a great base for the story. But my biggest issue here was actually main character, Cacy. One thing I adore in UF stories is kick-ass main character. Cacy was that later on, but her behavior at the start almost made me pull out my hair. You're so kickass just because you walk shirtless around guys. GAH! It annoys me more than it should.
Glass: Ugh, I know! I'm not her biggest fan as well. She did get better later, but Cacy is nowhere near awesomeness of Merit or Mac. On the other hand, I really liked Eli - he is the most intriguing character. It is obvious that there is some big secret about his past (or at least I got that feeling) and I cannot wait to see what will happen next. There is one thing that bothered me - instant love and I-love-you after how many days. It would be so much better if author left that part for later.
Tanja: Girl you're reading my mind. I want to read Claimed mostly to see what's his past. There is something mystical there. Somehow I think he knows much more than we think. But that about insta love bothered me too. I loved the sparks between them and all, but it was rushed. But still I hope that we won't get this into any sort of love triangle or something. Just slowing it down would be great. I haven't read the blurb for the sequel so I hope that I'm not good at fortunetelling.
Glass: Next book is focused on his sister, Galena, and Declan Ferry, so probably, we will find out what are siblings hiding.  I just hope that won't end up disappointed.

Ratings: Tanja - 3 start and Glass 4 stars.

Until the next time,