Threshold, from Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin #2)

Hello, good night! Once upon a time, in last April, Jess, from the Mud and Stars, I read Threshold, the second book in the Whyborne & Griffin series, by brilliant Jordan L. Hawk and only now I realized that I never posted my review for it. I’m a lost cause, seriously, haha! Anyway, better late than never, so here we go!

Whyborne has all the reasons to be happy. He’s been living with his lover, Griffin, for a while now in blissful peace. That is, until his fox of a father hires Griffin to investigate strange events on one of his coal mines, located at Threshold Mountain.

As strange happenings have been reported with a high frequency lately, Whyborne decides to accompany Griffin on the investigation and his best friend, Christine, decides to just the same. After a huge finding at Egypt, the archeologist has a great deal of paperwork and any excuse to avoid it sounds great.

As if fatal accidents, disappearances and hushed secrets weren’t enough to creep Whyborne out, he finds out that a former work colleague of Griffin is also working on the city. Elliot wasn’t simply beautiful, good humored and smart: he also had to be Griffin’s ex-lover.

Things are looking great already.

Just remembering that those are my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

As if it was possible to not like anything that Jordan writes, haha! I loved Threshold even more that the first book! It was darker, funnier, sexier and totally swoon worth *–* Whyborne once again made his way into my heart and the mystery always drove me nuts! Seriously, just five stars aren’t enough!

The narrative was once again first person styled, from Whyborne’s point of view. I really love his as a narrator, so I didn’t even bat an eyelash to this aspect, haha! Also, I really think that first person works well in mystery books – assuming that everything will be revealed in the end to the reader, of course!

The plot was complex and had many mysteries to keep the reader guessing. From the moment that Whyborne, Griffin and Christine left Widdershins, the roller coaster had only one way: down. I was surprised to find a way more darker and creepier atmosphere in Threshold than on the previous book. Hawk’s writing also was fantastic and somehow even better ❤ Seriously, this whole book is too good!

The characters were once again so lively and real that I wanted to hug them! Whyborne grew up so much in this book, even more than he did in the last. Griffin also evolved a lot and now I’m more sure that he loves Whyborne just as much as Whyborne loves him. I often felt like it was a one sided relationship, but it was awesome to be wrong, haha!

Also, Christine was seriously badass and made all the males in this book – Whyborne and Griffin included – look like whining slackers, haha! The woman can shoot like a damn soldier =O And was the reason behind many of my our loud laughs while reading Threshold, haha!

Once again, I can’t say a thing about villains and culprits as to not spoiler the book, but know this: YOU WON’T SEE IT COMING AND EVEN AFTER IT DOES COME, YOU WILL KEEP WONDERING HOW IT WAS POSSIBLE!

Now let’s get serious for a moment. I need to highlight the amazing historical research behind this book. Hawk describe the life on the mines in the end of the 19^th century so vividly and accurately that my heart clenched. Being a History nuts, I had already made some previous research on miners lives in that time and it is not pretty. Hawk didn’t glamour up anything in the experience, but also didn’t bet on the melodramatic. Her tone is one of conformity while facing one more awful thing engraved on Human’s History and I thought it very appropriated. We can’t deny it happened, we don’t need to make a scene because it happened. We acknowledge and keep going.

Another highlight were the sex scenes. OMG IT WAS HOT! I loved every second of them and I love how Hawk doesn’t abuse on hot scenes to keep her reader interested 🙂

Oh, and I brought some of the best quotes of the book for you to understand why you NEED this series on your life:

“A great deal of whiskey had been consumed, and I wondered what Father would think if he knew how his money was being spent. Actually, never mind. If he knew I’d spent the night surrounded by female prostitutes, he’d probably consider it a sign of improvement.” – Whyborne

~*~

“If you find you need anyone shot, send word and I’ll come at once.” – Christine

~*~

“Please stop reading the licentious affairs of others and return to the task at hand.” – Griffin

~*~

“I’d managed to disappoint everyone among the living, so I might as well start adding the dead to the list.” – Whyborne

~*~

And this killer dialogue:

Whyborne: “My dearest pudding pie,” I read aloud.

Griffin: Yes, my little turnip?

Whyborne: Hilarious. If you ever call me anything of the sort again, we shall have words.

~*~

I told you that you needed Whyborne & Griffin in your life ❤

Overall, if you like paranormal, mystery, historical and gay romance, stop sitting or standing there reading this review and come join me on the fandom army of Whyborne & Griffin!

Thanks for reading my review and a special thanks to Jess for indulging me on book club and bearing with me on diet-coke-drunk nights and a high amount of fangirling over those boys, haha! Love you, Jess!

NEW BOOKS ALERT: Jordan L. Hawk announces upcoming new book series!

Hi, again! I’m back with serendipitous news ❤ One of my all time favorite authors, sweet Jordan L. Hawk, is working on a brand new book series and I’m here to give you all the juicy details about it ❤

The series is called Hexworld and has already two books planned: The 13^th Hex, a prequel that Jordan wrote for the Charmed & Dangerous anthology, and Hexbreaker, the first never-published book in the series ❤ We already have hot covers, pre-order links and nice blurbs bellow, with the insights of Jordan about each book, so grab the popcorn and come discover the Hexworld with me!

The 13^th Hex

Prequel to the Hexworld series

Romance. Magic.

Murder.

Dominic Kopecky dreamed of becoming a member of New York’s Metropolitan Witch Police—a dream dashed when he failed the test for magical aptitude. Now he spends his days drawing the hexes the MWP relies on for their investigations.

But when a murder by patent hex brings crow familiar Rook to his desk, Dominic can’t resist the chance to experience magic. And as the heat grows between Dominic and Rook, so does the danger. Because the case has been declared closed—and someone is willing to kill to keep it that way.

The 13th Hex is the prequel short story to the all-new Hexworld series. If you like shifters, magic, and romance, you’ll love Jordan L. Hawk’s world of witch policemen and the familiars they bond with.

NOTE: This is a previously published work. The title, author, and/or publisher may have changed.

The 13th Hex was originally published as part of the Charmed & Dangerous anthology. Only minor details have been altered for this reissue.

Release date: April 5^th

Genre: m/m paranormal historical romance

Pre-order available at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | ARe | Smashwords | Kobo | iBooks | Nook

What Jordan has to say about The 13^th Hex:

“When I needed to write a short story for the Charmed & Dangerous anthology, my mind jumped to the 1890s and Roosevelt’s New York City. The result was The 13th Hex, a paranormal historical taking place in a world just an inch from our own, where Roosevelt is police commissioner over both forces: the regular police, and the Metropolitan Witch Police, staffed by witches and their shape-shifting familiars. As in our world, Roosevelt has made plenty of enemies, and it’s up to a hexman and a crow familiar to clear an innocent man and find the real culprits behind the thirteenth hex.”

Hexbreaker

First book in the Hexworld series

Will a dark history doom their future together?

New York copper Tom Halloran is a man with a past. If anyone finds out he once ran with the notorious O’Connell tunnel gang, he’ll spend the rest of his life doing hard time behind bars. But Tom’s secret is threatened when a horrible murder on his beat seems to have been caused by the same ancient magic that killed his gang.

Cat shifter Cicero is determined to investigate the disappearance of one friend and the death of another, even though no one else believes the cases are connected. When the trail of his investigation crosses Tom’s, the very bohemian Cicero instinctively recognizes the uncultured Irish patrolman as his witch. Though they’re completely unsuited to one another, Cicero has no choice but to work alongside Tom…all the while fighting against the passion growing within.

Tom knows that taking Cicero as his familiar would only lead to discovery and disaster. Yet as the heat between them builds, Tom’s need for the other man threatens to overcome every rational argument against becoming involved.

But when their investigation uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all of New York, Tom must make the hardest decision of his life: to live a lie and gain his heart’s desire, or to confess the truth and sacrifice it all.

Release date: May 6^th

Genre: m/m paranormal historical romance

Pre-order available at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | ARe | Smashwords | Kobo | iBooks

What Jordan has to say about Hexbreaker:

“It’s not something I mention often, but I try to challenge myself in some fashion with every book. One of the things I’ve never done before is write a series focusing on different main characters in each book, even though that’s a common practice in romance.

When I wrote The 13th Hex, people loved Dominic and Rook—but they also loved Cicero, Rook’s cat-shifter friend. He shamelessly stole most of the scenes he was in, then immediately began to pester me for his own story. I’m used to being bossed around by cats, so I got to work.

All of which is a round about way of announcing Hexbreaker, the first full-length novel in my new Hexworld series, starring Cicero and his witch. Tom Halloran is an unpolished Irish patrolman with a secret past. When a series of unnatural deaths bring them together, Tom must choose between doing what’s safe…and doing what’s right.

(And don’t worry, Dominic and Rook fans—they make several appearances throughout the book.)”

ISN’T THIS A BLAST?! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED! I haven’t had the change of reading The 13^th Hex on the Charmed & Dangerous anthology, so I’m pinning badly for those releases ❤

Oh, and before I say my goodbyes (you know, for this post), here’s the books I already reviewed from Jordan:

HAWK, Jordan L. – Dangerous Spirits, Spirits #2 (review here!)

HAWK, Jordan L. – Widdershins, Whyborne & Griffin #1 (review here!)

That’s it, thank you for reading! Are you as excited as I am for those new books? *–*

TBR of the Week: Threshold, from Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin #2)

Good morning to you all 😀 Happy Sunday! Today’s TBR of the Week is the second book in a great series: Threshold, from marvelous Jordan L. Hawk! The series? Whyborne & Griffin! You can see my review for the first book here.

The Characters Book Tag!

Hi, there! Good afternoon, hope you’re having a great Saturday 🙂 Saturday is book tag day here on the blog and my adorable friend Kim, from The Spines Breaker, tagged me on The Characters Book Tag! 😀 Thank you, Kim! I love all the tags you do, haha! Don’t forget to check out her blog, is amazing!! ❤

You can check the reviews for most books mentioned on this post by clicking on their respective titles. Except for The Crown, in which the link leads you to a nightmarish book cover.

Who is the best kick-ass character?

All time? DAMON SALVATORE. ALWAYS. FOREVER. In case you live in another dimension and don’t know who I’m talking about, he is from The Vampire Diaries series 🙂

I can’t even with this man.

Which character do you most dislike?

Hmm… That’s a tough one. I think I’ll have to go with Bella Swan, from Twilight. I just hate her so much, haha!

If you could date any fictional character, who would it be and why?

I hate to sound repetitive, but it will always be Damon.

If you could change a character in any way, what would it be?

I would change Clara’s denseness on Shearwater, Part One, from Derek Murphy (a.k.a. D. S. Murphy). Honestly, that girl drove me nuts until she found out she was a freaking mermaid, haha!

What character made all the wrong choices and didn’t add anything to the book?

Eadlyn. I apologize to all the fans of The Heir, but I hated Eadlyn too much, haha!

Besides, the cover for The Crown is giving me nightmares.

Which character was the best villain whom you love to hate?

Ash, from Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness. This guy is trash, but oh-so-beautiful trash… I swear he is Damon’s lost cousin, haha!

Favorite sidekick character with the most heart?

Cash, from Stripped with the Vampire ❤ That guy just ruled sidekicking, haha!

What is your favorite fictional romantic relationship?

I also hate to sound repetitive here, but my favorite couple ever will always be Max and Tristan, from All In With The Duke ❤ Or they shall be until Ava March outdoes herself again, haha!

What character did you think was the strongest?

From my recent reads, I’d say Whyborne, from Widdershins. He faced many fears in the book and resisted many temptations. He is a true hero ❤

Best protagonist?

I didn’t finish the book yet, but I already have a new chosen one: Integrity, from Gifted Thief. HONESTLY, THIS GIRL.

I am in love. Review to come real soon, as I’m almost finished, haha! [UPDATE: review here!]

Who do you tag?

Oh, boy. I’m lazy, haha! But I tag…

Jess, from Mud & Stars

Victoria, from Addlepates and Book Nerds

Mandy, from The Reading Diaries

Abby, from To Infinity and The Bookshop

 

That’s it, thanks for reading! Everyone is free to do or not to do this tag 😀 If you want to do it, feel free to say that I have tagged you ❤

The Book Courtship Tag

Hi, there! It’s Saturday and I couldn’t be happier! Besides eating my uncle’s famous barbecue today, this means that I’m going home tomorrow! Yay ❤

Today’s tag I saw at my friend Kim’s blog, The Spines Breaker. She didn’t tag me, but I liked this tag a lot and decided to do anyway 😀

Phase 1 – Initial Attraction: A book that you bought because of the cover?

The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2), by Kelley Armstrong. The hardcover volume was 7 dollars when I found it and I couldn’t resist, haha! Only later at home, I saw it was the second volume of the series and had to buy the ebook for the first one, haha!

Phase 2 – First Impressions: A book that you got because of the summary?

Angel Time (The Songs of the Seraphim #1), by Anne Rice. I found it highly interesting 😀 Let’s see if it will meet my expectations, as my last book from Anne Rice was a huge fiasco.

Phase 3 – Sweet Talk: A book with great writing?

The Night World series, from L. J. Smith. Seriously, I love this woman’s writing style! You can check my reviews for books one, two and three 😀

Phase 4 – First Date: A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

Cemetery Tours, from Jacqueline E. Smith! It was so good and the end had such a cliffhanger that I almost cried in relief because I already had all three published books with me, haha!

Phase 5 – Late Night Phone Calls: A book that kept you up all night?

My last one was Shearwater, from dear Derek Murphy ❤ Such a wonderful book!

Phase 6 – Always on my mind: A book you could not stop thinking about?

Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell. Even now, it still fills my head, as I’m dying to read Carry On!

Phase 7 – Getting Physical: A book which you love the way it feels?

Widdershins, from Jordan L. Hawk. All the feels, all over the place, haha!

Phase 8 – Meeting the parents: A book which you would recommend to your family and friends?

Pride and Prejudice, from marvelous Jane Austen. So far, I convinced 4 people including my mom to read it, haha!

Phase 9 – Thinking about the future: A book or series you know you will re read many times in the future?

All In With The Duke, from my loved Ava March. I can’t breath without this book in my life, seriously.

 

That’s it! Thanks for reading 😀 If you find this tag as fun as I did, don’t hesitate on doing it! You can say that I tagged you 😉

Widdershins, from Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin #1)

Hello, there! Despite the awful beginning of the day with the news about Alan Rickman’s death (Rest In Peace, dear Alan!), life must continue and I’m happy to say that I took refuge in a wonderful book to sooth my sorrow. My dearest chosen was the first book in the Whyborne & Griffin series from the awesome Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins.

from my Instagram 🙂

The Story

Percival Endicott Whyborne wanted nothing more of life in general. A quiet and awkward academic, his work at the Ladysmith Museum and his studies of several dead languages (13 spoken, but he could read more) were enough to occupy his thoughts and his empty existence.

That is, until nosy and charming detective Griffin Flaherty invaded his life and dragged him into a very obscure and dangerous mystery. Now both men have to work aside each other to prevent humanity of collapsing in the hands of a very old secret society with a very lively founder.

The thing is that both Whyborne and Griffin will have to decide whether their heated relationship have more to meet the eye or will be over as soon as they finish up the case.

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I have already read two books from Jordan, both in the Spirits series: Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits (review here!). So, I was prepared for a wonderful writing style and awesomely built characters.

But nothing prepared me for Whyborne and Griffin.

It all started with the narrative style: first person thought the eyes of Whyborne. If you follow the blog for a while, you know that this is not my preferred narrative style. I often find it to be lacking in the story and limiting. Not the case at all! The fact that we could only live the drama through Whyborne’s eyes made it all more interesting. We second-guessed Griffin’s amour intentions, saw the double face of the truth and watched as Whyborne had to develop to solve the case. But I’ll get there, haha!

The plot was amazing. It was simply brilliant and completely connected. I didn’t find any loose ends on the mystery os even the characters, for that matter. And this is a freaking book series, where any loose ends were forgivable! =O

Seriously, this book!

Ahem.

So, the characters. As I had stated previously on this post, I was sure I would love Whyborne and Griffin simply because I can’t imagine a world where I would not like a character built by Hawk. At first, I thought Whyborne too shy, to neurotic and afraid of breathing; don’t get me wrong, it’s an accurate description. I could never imagine his blossoming through the story, how his love for Griffin made him braver and confident. And the same goes to Griffin: he may have been at ease and chatty, but has his own ghosts, some of them far worse than Whyborne’s. He also faced many fears in behalf of his lover and, on this point, their kind of romance reminded me the ones that my goddess Ava March writes. The couple was lacking something before they found true love and their love makes them better people. Needless to say that, besides adding two more bookish boyfriends to that legendary list of mine, I also gave my heart to this series ❤

I also thought that I would prefer Griffin over Whyborne and I’m astonished that Whyborne managed to steal Griffin’s spotlight with me, haha! Oh, and I also can’t go through this review without mentioning Whyborne’s bff, Christine! She is a blast ❤ I identified with her in so many levels, I wish she’d appeared more… For you guys to get her essence, I’ll leave the explaining task to Ariana Grande:

This is Christine all over, haha!

And there is the ultimate villain. Jeez, I need to catch my breath, haha! How awesome is that his only flaws are being in a need of a fingernail cut and to want world domination? Honestly, I would have loved to see a sex scene between him and Whyborne, omg. Don’t get me wrong, I love Whyborne with Griffin and regret nothing that happened in this book, but a girl can dream, haha! I love sex scenes where desire and hate are mixed into pleasure (not rape, just the sheer need of having the body of a fellow that you could fire in the head to kill). I shan’t reveal the villain’s name for the sake of spoilers, but he is hot.

And, as I already hinted in the last paragraph, let’s now analyze sex scenes! The last books I had been reading lacked those, so I rather missed them, oops! Also, it has been a while since my last gay book, so I was double happy with Hawk’s work 😉 One thing I adored was that Whyborne and Griffin took it slow in bed. Whyborne was a virgin and remained that way even after their first sexual plays. It was lovely ❤ Griffin was the top in this book, but hinted that he’s the type that likes both ends of sex making, haha!

Ahem. I seem to be a little carried away today, I apologize.

Overall, this is a very good mystery book. Yes, there is romance, but it’s not its solemnly focus. I’d say this is a story about friendship in the first place and how relationships change over time. Not just in a romantic way 🙂

Well, that’s it! Thanks for reading ❤ Have you read Jordan L. Hawk’s books?

 

 

PS: Rest in Peace, dear Alan Rickman.

Always.

December Wrap up + Book Haul + January TBR!

Hello, again! I know I am a little late to do this, but better late than never, haha! January is going to be insane for me, as my younger cousin is going to be here until Sunday and next week I may start a course – more info as my life goes, haha!

But I’m blabbering, let’s do this:

December Wrap Up

I’m very proud of my reading month! I’ve read 11 books!! =O I’m still wondering how I did it, so I can repeat the dose this month, haha!

• Shielded Past, from Patti Morelli [review here]

all pictures from my Instagram!

• Stripped with the Vampire, from Jax Garren [review here]

• Convincing the Secretary, from Ava March [review here]

• Cemetery Tours, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• Between Worlds, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• After Death, from Jacqueline E. Smith [review here]

• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, from Anne Rice [review here]

• Braver With You, from A. Hart [review here]

• Roses of the Angel, from Kalee Marshall [review here!]

• Secret Vampire, from L. J. Smith [review here]

• Daughters of Darkness, from L. J. Smith [review here!]

 

December Book Haul

• Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell [review here]

• Peter Pan, Barnes & Noble edition

• A Court of Thorns and Roses, from Sarah J. Maas
• Of Poseidon, from Anna Banks
• Treble Maker (Perfect Harmony, #1), from Annabeth Albert (ebook)

 

Books I have won as gifts

• Leaving Amarillo, from Casey Quinn
• Convincing the Secretary, from Ava March
• The Christmas Pearl, from Dorothea Benton Frank
• After Death, from Jacqueline E. Smith
• 1/2986, from Annelie Wendeberg
• Between Sips, from Andrea Michelle
• Our New Love, from Melissa Foster
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, from Laini Taylor
• The Vanishing Game, from Kate Kae Myers
• Book of Opera, from Arthur Jacobs and Stanley Sadie
• The Other Side of Midnight, from Sidney Sheldon
• The Devil’s Advocate, from Morris West
• Vixen 03, from Clive Cussler
• The Name of the Rose, from Umberto Eco
• Lie Down With Lions, Ken Follett
• An illustrated guide to Dresden
• Amar se Aprende Amando, from Carlos Drummond de Andrade
• Antologia Poética, from Vinicius de Moraes
• Antologia Poética, from Carlos Drummond de Andrade
• Dona Flor e seus Dois Maridos, from Jorge Amado
• Tieta do Agreste, from Jorge Amado
• Tenda dos Milagres, from Jorge Amado
• A Moreninha, from Joaquim Manuel de Macedo

I know, I know. So many books, haha! I can explain 🙂 14 of my won books were at my uncle’s place, waiting for death. Yeah. So I won a cattle with lots of books and selected the ones that seemed promising 🙂 I wish I could have saved all books that were there, but there were some destroyed ones by the time, others that I knew for being a bore and some that weren’t my thing at all… Anyway, at least I could save some of them, haha!

 

Freebies that I got this month

• Anywhere But Here (The Starborn Ascension Book 1), from Jason D. Morrow
• Beyond Secret Worlds: Ten Stories of Paranormal Fantasy and Romance
• The Ducal Gift and The Christmas Carriage, from Grace Burrowes
• Soar (The Empire Chronicles Book 1), from Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Hidden (Dragonlands Book 1), from Megg Jensen
• Aloha Texas (Aloha #1), from Chris Keniston
• Binarius: Episode I (The Binarius Series Book 1), from Kendra McMahan
• Globalização, Mídia e Ética, from Erasmo de Freitas Nuzzi and Clovis de Barros Filho

 

Received books of this month

• Escape to Gettis… and Love, from Gerri Bowen [talked about it here!]
• Home, from Jordan L. Hawk
• Stepping Out of Midnight, from Lee Basilford [talked about it here!]

 

[BONUS: Borrowed books from my younger cousin]

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Cabin fever), from Jeff Kinney
• The Book of Lost Things, from John Connolly
• The Key to Rondo, from Emily Rodda

 

January TBR

I want to play it low as I know my month will be crazy, so I have chosen six books:

• Spellbinder, from L. J. Smith (my current-read)
• Emma, from Jane Austen (NOW I WILL FNISH THIS, I AM SURE OF IT 8D)
• Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, from Rick Riordan (actually a re-read to a goodreads book club)
• Escape to Gettis… And Love, from Gerri Bowen
• Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin, #1), from Jordan L. Hawk
• Fangirl, from Rainbow Rowell (I’m reading this with a book club and we shall finish it next week :D)

 

That’s it! Thanks for reading this giant post, haha! Let’s see if I can make it 😀 have you decided what are going to be your first books of 2016??

Paper dolls and other goodies from Whyborne & Griffinm series! =O

Hi, there! So, there was I in the other day cleaning up my e-mail box (I love subscribing to newsletters and I always forget to delete them after reading, so it is a total mess), when I stumbled on PURE GOLD!

I’m a subscriber of dear author Jordan L. Hawk’s newsletter and as I was cleaning my e-mail box, I found this one e-mail from her unread and got to see it: her main series, Whyborne & Griffinm, now had… PAPER DOLLS.

OMG.

SERIOUSLY, I FREAKED OUT! I love paper dolls and still have a lot of them stuck away in a box, haha! When I learned that Jordan got her book characters PAPER DOLLS, I knew she definitely was that awesome.

I recently got the first book in this series, Widdershins, for free at Amazon and hopefully I’ll get to read it during my two-month vacation, that starts tonight ❤

OMG, by the time this post goes live, I’ll already have presented my dissertation and be graduated! OH. MY. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Ahem.

I already read two books from Jordan, both in the Spirits series: Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits (review here!). It’s only natural for me to love the Whyborne & Griffinm series as well!

from my Instagram 🙂

Oh, and if you want to know more about Jordan, her works and her omg-paper-dolls, you can check it all here, on her website: http://jordanlhawk.com. If you got madly curious and need to see the paper dolls and the other goodies from this series on her website, just click here 😉

That’s all, folks! Thanks for reading and I hope I got you interested in Jordan’s work because she ROCKS!

December’s new books!

Hi, there! Am I the only one that already is head over heels for Christmas?!! ❤ It’s my favorite time of the year, as I got to be with my family (we live very far from each other, unfortunately), the food is awesome, the weather is great (we are in the middle of summer in my country, haha!) and I’m on vacation ❤ Best time ever!

Anyway, the releases for December are truly hot, we readers will have to sell some organs to have them all this month, haha! (just kidding. Or maybe not ;D) I apologize in advance, as there are MANY mass-market historical romances in my list this month, but I regret nothing, haha!

Those are my highlights:

Day 1

The Captain’s Christmas Bride, by Annie Burrows

A fast and funny read Christmas themed. Perfect for the month!

Death’s Leash (Hellhounds #1), by J.D. Stroube

Heavily-photoshoped-cover aside, I found this book very interesting. Since I’ve read Meg Cabot series Abandon (if you haven’t, PLEASE READ, IT IS AWESOME!), I got more interested in this genre that explores Death’s servants and all. The cover could be better, but the book itself promises a lot!

Forgetting August (Lost & Found #1), by J.L. Berg

I usually wouldn’t pick up this kind of contemporary romance, it’s not my favorite genre. But I don’t know, something in this book just calls my name, haha! Have to read it!

The Holiday Courtship (Texas Grooms #7), by Winnie Griggs

Another Christmas themed mass-market romance that got me curious. I mean, the female character won’t accept a marriage proposal even loving the man? I need to find out why!

How to Seduce a Scot (Broadswords and Ballrooms #1), by Christy English

If there is ever a Monthly Hot Releases list in my blog without a mass-market historical romance, call the police because I’m dead and someone replaced me, haha! This one had me with its ever so funny blurb, haha! I already love the idea of Alexander and Catherine together!

In Search of Scandal (London Explorers #1), by Susanne Lord

I got highly interested on the personality of the main female character, Charlotte. It feels like she will run Will over, haha!

A Lady’s Guide to Ruin (Birch Hall Romance #1), by Kathleen Kimmel

This historical romance seems slightly deeper than the others of this category that are present on this list, as the main female character is a runaway from a mental institution. All eyes on this one!

Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois, by Sophie Perinot

Historical romance + Paris + The Médicis + Intrigue and Death = I need to read this!

One Rogue at a Time (Rakes and Rogues #2), by Jade Lee

I liked that both main characters in this romance aren’t from London’s high society. I would love to see what they are going to do to go up on those stairs, haha!

The Painter’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen

I love historical romances and this one, although having a dramatic tone, seems awesome!

The Rosemary Spell, by Virginia Zimmerman

I saw that my dear friend Jacqueline E. Smith wanted to read this novel and I got curious, haha! The synopsis could be better, but left me wondering anyway.

Time of Departure: A Novel, by Douglas Schofield

This sounds like a mystery thriller and I love those! I have to read this genre more in the future ❤

Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, by Dita Von Teese and Rose Apodaca

I LOVE DITA VON TEESE! She’s one of my personal idols and I’m totally partial to her: I think she is beautiful, talented, funny, stylish, an example. I need to read this book!

 

Day 8

Ashley Bell (Ashley Bell #1), by Dean Koontz

I don’t know this writer or this series or anyone that has already heard of this. So, what got my attention? The fact that this cover uses the same picture as one of the Brazilian editions of Twilight, last book of the Mediator series, by Meg Cabot:

I like this picture, so I had to know what this book was about and sounds nice! If you already heard anything of it, please tell me ❤

Inherit the Stars (Inherit the Stars #1), by Tessa Elwood

This is a sci-fi dystopian book that I found on Goodreads and sounds different, haha! I’m not really a dystopian person (please don’t kill me) and I read less sci-fi than I wished, but this book, the first in a series, sounds like a good bet!

Lord Dashwood Missed Out (Spindle Cove #4.5), by Tessa Dare

I’m sure this book will rock! A woman that writes an open letter to all women about the boy next door that has never even looked at her way? AWESOME! I need to read it ❤

Planetary Submissives series, by Amber Kell

This series was previously released in 2012 and it has passed through re-editing, that’s why I added it to my list 🙂 I know Amber Kell from ads on the end of other m/m books that I already read, but never read anything by her. This series got me curious, so here I go! Nothing like a bit of dystopian BDSM to relax a person, haha!

Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise, by Lucinda Hawksley

I love to know more about royal families, I find them highly interesting. I didn’t knew of Princess Louise existence until I find this book and the synopsis had me in a cliff already, haha! It will be awesome to know more about her!

The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America’s Youngest Serial Killer, by Roseanne Montillo

This is a non-fiction book that I stumbled on internet a while ago and knew that would be awesome, haha!

 

Day 11

Maelstrom (Whyborne & Griffin #7), by Jordan L. Hawk

I’ve become a big hardcore fan of Jordan L. Hawk since her Restless series (you can see my review for book number #2 here), and I’m dying to start Whyborne & Griffin, I even bought the first book and it will be on my January TBR, so I’m celebrating ahead that there are seven books in the series, haha! (I don’t think I made much sense here, oops!)

 

Day 15

Changeling (The Faewyld #1), by Leigh Teale

Since I’ve read Shattered Blue, from Lauren Bird Horowitz (review here!), I’ve got totally interested in the Fae’s world. When I found this book, I knew it would be perfect!

A Seditious Affair (Society of Gentlemen #2), by K.J. Charles

I met K. J. Charles through Twitter and I just knew I had to read her work asap! I’m going to buy the first book in this series as a self xmas present and highly recommend this series for anyone that likes gay historical romances, like I do ❤

The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi, by Alyssa Palombo

Hm, I guess it is pretty obvious by now that I really love historical romances, even when they are based on true stories, right? Haha! I love Vivaldi’s music and will love to dive deeper on his world ❤

Untamed (Splintered #3.5), by A.G. Howard

So, I’m dying to start this series too (such beautiful covers!) and I couldn’t leave this book out, right? Haha!

 

Day 18

Scoundrel of Dunborough (The Knights’ Prizes #3), by Margaret Moore

My history with Margaret Moore is old and special, haha! The first mass-market historical romance of my life was written by her (The Welshman’s Bride). Not my best read, but it was the one that made me read one after another and find my favorites (I did a post about that a while ago with my top 5 favorite ones). I don’t know this series that she is currently writing, but the theme is the same of the two books that I read from her and I can tell you this: Margaret is AWESOME at Medieval romances, okay? If that’s your genre, give her a go ❤

 

Day 20

Royal Savage, by Victoria Ashley

At first, I was drawn by this amazing cover, but the synopsis did little to hold my interest. And then, I got curious: how a book with a kind of lame synopsis is rated on 4.94 stars* so far?! I have to see what those people loved about this story! #thespiritofajournalist

 

Day 29

Dukes Prefer Blondes (The Dressmakers #4), by Loretta Chase

Another one of my historical romances set in 19^th century London and I regret nothing! ❤

 

Feeew, that’s it! Thanks for reading! So many books, so little money, haha! Do you already know which books are you buying for Christmas??

 

*data consulted on Nov. 29^th