Book:  Lancaster House
Author: Taylor Dean
Publisher: CreateSpace (Indie)
Date Published:  June 7th 2012          
ISBN: 1475068689
Author's Website: http://www.taylordeanbooks.com
***Review Copy Provided by Author***
5 out of 5 Stars
Blurb: Zoe Grayson needs a change. So, she moves to another state, purchases an old, dilapidated 1920s Victorian Mansion, and sets out to restore it to its former glory. As she begins the restoration, she finds herself falling in love with the old house . . . not to mention its illustrious builder, Mr. Lancaster. Zoe becomes obsessed with the house as she discovers its secrets; hidden rooms, secret passageways . . . and a mysterious man who seems to think the house is his. Who is he? More importantly, how does he live in her home unseen and unheard?
The unexpected answers leave her reeling—and questioning everything she’s ever known. To her dismay, Zoe’s actions land her in the local psychiatric hospital, scheming for ways to return to Lancaster House . . . and the love of her life.

      Wow! What an intense and refreshing book! It pulled me in form the very first page! It has everything from suspense to mystery and yes, of course, romance! This book  kept me on edge by keeping me guessing to the very end! Lancaster House is not your same ole paranormal romance that we all have come to know and expect! Oh no! There was no way I could have guessed all the twists and turns that are held in this book! It left me surprised and very satisfied with the the whole story! I guarantee you have never read any other book that is remotely like this one (well at least I sure haven't and I have read a lot of books!)  
       I really didn't know what I expected before I read it but once I started it, I literally could not put it down until I was at the very last page! I would definitely recommend this book as a must read! And I cannot wait until I get to read the second one in the series!
FF 2012 Feature & Follow #104

Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read
If you'd like to participate just hop on over to one of their blogs for the rules :)
Q: Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don’t like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.
I don't change genres very often, so I can't think of any right off. If I think of one I'll update this post :)
Book: Chasing Magic
Author: Stacia Kane
Publisher:  Del Rey
Date Published:  June 26th 2012
Author's Website:
ISBN: 0345527526
5 out of 5 Stars
Blurb: A DEADLY HIGH
Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls—and taking the innocent with them, as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible.

As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. Downside could become a literal ghost town if Chess doesn’t find a way to stop both the war and the dark wave of death-magic, and the only way to do that is to use both her addiction and her power to enter the spell and chase the magic all the way back to its malevolent source. Too bad that doing so will probably kill Chess—if the war doesn’t first destroy the man who’s become her reason for living.
       I can not stress enough how much I love this series!  I'm completely hooked and I just can't seem to get enough! If you have read the other books in this series then you are not going to want to miss this one!
      I'm still waiting for more drama to happen between Lex and Chess! (I did get a juicy scene between Chess and Lex but it has left me wanting more!) I'm hoping sometime in the future Stacia Kane will have them hook back up again! Why you may ask, well lets just say I really hate how Chess has started to walk on egg shells around Terrible and how she's always telling him how sorry she is for messing up. She is just so afraid of him leaving her it drives me crazy! and of course if Chess and Terrible break up and Chess goes back to Lex just imagine the drama! So I say "I can not wait until the next book comes out and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get the drama I've been waiting for!"
   Just wanted to tell everyone to have a safe & happy holiday! I've been busy the last couple days spending time with the family & enjoying a nice break :) Should have some nice reviews in the next couple of days.
   Jess is still without power from the storms last Friday! Hopefully we'll be back to posting lots of reviews like crazy again soon :)
-Chrystina


Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is a weekly event hosted by Talk Supe where you can share the books you have bought, borrowed or bagged (won) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, ongoing events, and any other news you want to share with your followers.


Bought:

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost, Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane & Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Borrowed:


None this week :)

Bagged:

Won From GoodReads First Reads:
Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas & Lady of the Sea by Sharon Leaf

Received from Publishers:
My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) by Luisa Weiss & Night Watch by Linda Fairstein

 
 Received from NetGalley: 
Charming Blue by Kristine Grayson & Soul Weaver by Hailey Edwards

 
Books won in Giveaways 
Maid for Pleasure by Lucy Rodgers won from Darkest Sins, & Big Sky Country by Linda Lael Miller won from BookTrib.


Free on Amazon:
Sword of the Raven by Diana Duncan, UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn, Destiny Awaits (Juniper Grove Chronicles #1) by Jaidis Shaw, The Fate of Destiny by Danielle Bourdon, Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis, The Taste of Magic by Gina Rosavin, & Jenny Pox (Paranormals #1) by J.L. Bryan.



Blog News:

Last Week's Reviews: 

This Weeks Planned Reviews: 

  •  Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost
  •  Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane
  •  Aidan: Loyal Cowboy by Cathy McDavid -Chrystina
  •  House of Night Graphic Novel by P.C. & Kristen Cast etc. -Chrystina
  •  Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols -Chrystina
  •  Maybe More (we'll see).

What's Going On With Us:

 This has been such a crazy weekend. We had widespread power outages here in Ohio Friday evening, and as of this posting Jess is still without electric. Ours was out for just over 24 hours, which was long enough to lose most of the food in the refrigerator and extra freezer and have my kids drive me crazy wanting to use all of their various electronics lol. Not to mention it was during a heat wave ugh. Normally we'd stay with family or at a hotel, but all of our close relatives were without power as well and all of the hotels were booked (even within an hours drive or more).
   We've been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award like 5 times, but with Jess's electric out, we haven't been able to finish answering the questions. Sorry it has taken so long, but we'll get to it as soon as Jess is back :) Thanks so much to all of the wonderful blogs that nominated us, you guys (gals) are great!