Welcome!

WELCOME to the Small Book Blog! I am a voracious reader. I love losing myself in books and cannot wait to read myself into my next adventure. It is because of this love for books that I created this blog. I want to share my passion of books with you! I hope you enjoy my recommendations and reviews. My goal is that they will lead you to a new book, series or author, that you can fall in love with and recommend to others as well.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

GOT CAGED BLOG SPOTLIGHT!


Got Caged Blog Spotlight:

Welcome to the Got Caged blog tour! Author Amber Lynn Natusch has provided us with a glimpse into her series Caged. Caged is an action packed (sometimes even a blood-bathe), exciting series with a creative twist on werewolves! Below is a guest blog post from the author, a quick sneak-peek of the novel, my interview with the author and my review of the first book in the series aptly titled Caged.

That said let’s give a warm welcome to author of the Caged series, Amber Lynn Natusch:

When I was asked to compose a guest blog post, I had no idea what to write. As an author, it was an especially low moment. Then a great friend suggested that I take an excerpt from the first novel in my series, Caged, and explain what I loved about it. Genius! Times like this illustrate my need for a team of levelheaded people around me―an entourage of rational thinkers.

The unfortunate reality for me was that my favorite scenes from Caged all contain spoilers, but I still managed to find some good ones :)

For this blog, I chose a scene that involves three of my favorite characters: Ruby, Sean, and Ronnie. The combination of them together in one scenario led to some cheeky dialogue and a whole lot of tension. Ronnie's keen observational skills combined with Sean's uncanny ability to disarm Ruby create a recipe for her complete embarrassment. Unfortunately for Ruby, it's not the first time.

Without further ado, I give you Ruby, Sean, and Ronnie, in the infamous “Crash” scene.

To continue with our blog spot, please go to the Author Corner: Got Caged Blog Tour with Amber Lynn Natusch

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Don't Forget....


Next Saturday, September 29th, is our blog stop on the Caged blog tour!
 
Author Amber Lynn Natusch will stop by with a quick hello; share a little insight about herself, give a short interview with The Small Book Blog, and I will share my review of the first book in her Caged series.

Darynda Jone's First Grave on the Right



Darynda Jones introduces us to Charley Davidson. Charley is a cheeky heroine who is a private investigator, has a contract with the police department since she can talk to the departed (comes in handy for her detective uncle and his case closing stats) to help them solve murders and who is also a Grimm reaper (she is actually in our realm and the departed realm allowing her to talk and touch ghosts as well as humans). First Grave on the Right was surprisingly a cute, corny, and quirky story. We also meet endearing characters…well, except for Reyes, he is just a super-hot sexy mystery.

First Grave on the Right is a great story; it keeps building throughout the novel weaving multiple stories to keep the reader engrossed. The novel has a fun ending that has me wanting to read the next book in this series to see what is next for Charlie and Reyes. I was excited about the back story and history of Reyes and Charlie. It was unexpected and very different from what I anticipated. I appreciated, also, that the author gave us insight into Charlie's childhood and what happened to shape her into the person she is today. Her past definitely lends to the explanation of why she hides behind her shield of sarcasm so people won't look too closely at her.

Darynda Jones is an author for anyone who likes paranormal books and especially cheeky heroines and is stumped on what to read next. I can definitely see why Jones won the RITA award for Best First Book with First Grave on the Right. It will have you laughing, frustrated, tensing up and rooting for Charley and all her bad luck, clumsiness and on the spot decision making.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Kelley Armstrong's Thirteen


Kelley Armstrong took on QUITE A CHALLENGE for her vision of this last book in the Women of the Otherworld series. Armstrong had all the key players involved in the plot that we have grown to love and the novel was teeming with action, action, action. However, I almost feel as though Armstrong would rather have given each couple their own novella, rather than one last book. In the end, the overall big battle and farewell to our beloved characters was a fond one. Of course there is also the possibility of more novels in the future but if not, we know everyone lived happily ever after and as we the readers predicted.

I would recommend this to lovers of this series. If you haven’t read the series and met the characters I would definitely not start with this final novel.

David Liss' The Twelfth Enchantment



The Twelfth Enchantment was a treasure to discover in an airport bookstore and read. It is definitely an Austenite novel with a magical twist. David Liss gives us a world that is fascinating yet touches on the depressing and dangerous times of the 19th century. For people who love this time period of literature Liss has written the prose for Regency England but weaved an intriguing adventure riddled with compelling and engaging characters. Liss must have had fun introducing “bad girls” and an enjoyable portrait of Lord Byron. Is he the good guy or the bad guy? Lucy, our heroine, definitely tries to rival Elizabeth Bennet’s place in history. (As a spoiler there are actual Austen characters in this novel!) Plus, you have to love a book that has an attacking tortoise.

The Twelfth Enchantment is definitely a romantic historical with a magical and gothic twist. There was a moment when I was reading the novel and I just started laughing because it was hilarious to think that a novel that was structured and almost an homage to Jane Austen also talked about Lord Byron pissing in the corner of his run down castle and the heroine was trying desperately to not listen to his splashing.

I would recommend this novel to lovers of Jane Austen, Jonathan Strange, Deborah Harkness, and Katherine Howe. They share that wonderful gothic and historical flair and are more beloved with each read. I am excited to see what Liss will write us in the future.