Romantic Fantasy Starter Kit - Giveaway!

Would you like to win a Romantic Fantasy Starter Kit from Penguin Random House?

Go here to enter: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/fantasy-romance-starter-kit-giveaway

The winner will win the following six first-in-series books!

20 runners-up will receive an advance reading copy of Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven!

Open to US residents, 18 and older. Hurry and enter! The giveaway ends on September 19, 2018!

PHOENIX UNBOUND by Grace Draven
A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.


Phoenix Unbound
The Fallen Empire 1
Ace, September 25, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.

Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire’s capital-her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village’s tithe has been the same woman. Gilene’s sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.

But this year is different.

Azarion, the Empire’s most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion-and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery. Unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan.

To protect her family and village, she will abandon everything to return to the Empire-and burn once more.


Look for Melanie's review of Phoenix Unbound later this month!

MAGIC BITES by Ilona Andrews
Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring the intriguing fantasy world of mercenary Kate Daniels…


Magic Bites
A Kate Daniels Novel 1
Ace, December 31, 2012
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first novel in the “intriguing world” (Locus) of Kate Daniels with this special edition of Magic Bites…

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t want it any other way…

This special edition includes in-depth information about the world of Kate Daniels, with descriptions of its characters and factions. Explore Kate’s Atlanta like never before with answers to FAQ and a quiz to find your place there. And don’t miss the prequel story “A Questionable Client,” as well as scenes of events in Magic Bites from Curran’s point of view.

WRITTEN IN RED by Anne Bishop
Enter the world of the Others in the first novel in New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s thrilling fantasy series: a place where unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—rule the Earth and prey on the human race.


Written in Red
A Novel of the Others 1
Roc, March 04, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 512 pages

Enter the world of the Others in the first novel in New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s thrilling fantasy series: a place where unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—rule the Earth and prey on the human race.
As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

CRY WOLF by Patricia Briggs
#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs presents the first Alpha and Omega novel—the start of an extraordinary series set in Mercy Thompson’s world, but with rules of its own…


Cry Wolf
Alpha and Omega 1
Ace, July 29, 2008
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs presents the first Alpha and Omega novel—the start of an extraordinary series set in Mercy Thompson’s world, but with rules of its own…

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country is about to recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

WILD HUNGER by Chloe Neill
In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill’s spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.


Wild Hunger
An Heirs of Chicagoland Novel 1
Berkley, August 14, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill’s spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.

As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she’s a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he’s prince of the Pack and its future king.

When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

SLAVE TO SENSATION by Nalini Singh
THE FIRST PSY/CHANGELING NOVEL from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian…

The book that Christine Feehan called “a must-read for all of my fans.”


Slave to Sensation
Psy-Changling 1
Berkley, September 5, 2006
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

THE FIRST PSY/CHANGELING NOVEL from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian…

The book that Christine Feehan called “a must-read for all of my fans.”

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”—the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was…Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

Review: Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Lake Silence
Author:  Ann Bishop
Series:  The World of the Others 1
Publisher:  Ace, March 6, 2018
Format:  Hardcover and eBook
List Price:  US$27.00 (print); US$13.99 (eBook)
ISBN:  9780399587245 (print); 9780399587252 (eBook)

In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her shape-shifting lodger find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others-vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget….

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns such as Vicki’s don’t have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators who rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what is out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe-one of the shape-shifting Others-discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their domain. They have rules that must not be broken-and all the destructive powers of nature at their command.

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Doreen’s Thoughts

While Lake Silence is not part of Bishop’s Others series, it is set in that world and does include some of the Others (shape-shifters, vampires, and other Elemental beings) peripherally. Instead, it focuses on a completely new character, Vicki DeVine, a middle-aged, overweight, prone-to-panic-attacks divorcee who received a rustic resort as part of her divorce decree. Since her divorce, she has lived quietly, remodeling and upgrading the various buildings and facilities on her property and trying to recreate her life with reading. She discovers that her first tenant, Aggie Crow, is a shifter member of the Crowguard just as Aggie discovers a dead body. Unfortunately for Vicki, this is just the first of many bodies as it becomes obvious that her ex-husband is trying to steal back the resort.

Vicki is a charming character - sweet and kind to nearly everyone - with some significant body and confidence issues that can lead to panic attacks. She is joined by several other distinctly drawn characters, including Wayne Grimshaw, the aloof highway patrol officer asked to lead the investigation who somehow becomes Chief of Police without him even realizing it; Julian Farrow, owner of the book store entitled “Lettuce Reed” who is a former police officer himself with PTSD issues; Ineke Xavier, the fierce matron who runs the town boardinghouse and befriends Vicki; and Aggie Crow, the young Crowguard who is Vicki’s first tenant and the one who discovers the first body. Bishop ensured that each of these characters had their own distinct voice, which made the story really come alive.

In Bishop’s world, humans are not the apex predator; instead, the Others - shape-shifters, vampires, and deadlier Elementals such as Winter and Fire - rule the world and allow the humans to exist so long as they follow specific rules. When humans break those rules, then the consequences are severe, with ice storms, tornadoes, sinkholes, and giant unseen killing creatures. Bishop’s other series ended with humans suffering these types of catastrophes, so one would think that Yorick Dane, Vicki’s ex-husband, and his partners would have known better than to risk offending the true rulers of the land. Regardless. reading about their comeuppance was a lot of fun.

Lake Silence overall is a great read, with lots of humor and small moments that touch the heart. There were times when I laughed out loud and times when I teared up. This probably is one of the best books that I have read all year. While it can be read as a standalone, this is a time when I highly recommend reading the entire the prior series, because some of the humor is enhanced by knowing what happened in the Others series.