Recent Read - And in Other News

Night Betrayed by Joss Ware

Why this one: I am LOVING this series so it’s a no brainer that as soon as a new one comes out, I’m reading it!

Steam Level: Although the setting is stark and cold, the steam level is hot

Blurb: The world they knew is ashes.

The world that remains is in peril.

And five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope.

The Change that devastated the earth did not destroy Theo Waxnicki. It made him something more than human; eternally young, eternally beautiful . . . but not immortal. When he dies on a mission against the Strangers, he is lost to the darkness . . . until a miracle lady brings him back.

Born during the apocalyptic storms and earthquakes that left the world in ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing the pain of others. But Theo is the first in her care to survive. Responding to Selena's tender touch, Theo starts to live again, to feel and desire again. But joined in a world of terrors, the secrets they can never share make them targets. And love could be the ultimate betrayal.

My Thoughts: As mentioned in reviews on the previous books in this series, if someone had told me I would really enjoy an ongoing series where, although labeled romance, that aspect kind of takes a back seat, and the setting in years in the future after an apocalyptic ‘end of the world’ scenario, I would have said ‘right, and pink pigs fly. But I would have been forced to find those flying pink pigs because I do love this series and Night Betrayed is no exception. Though the hero, Theo Waxnicki is in his 80’s, he stopped aging when the catastrophe happened fifty years earlier. I had to smile to myself as I was kind of guilty of age discrimination. Theo has quite the libido cause he still looks young, but he’s in his 80’s and I thought ‘wouldn’t he need Viagara or something?’ I have to say that in the middle of this tense story, I was distracted by something rather silly.

In the previous books, I hadn’t really warmed up to the character of Theo, so when I heard this was ‘his’ story I couldn’t help wishing it might have been someone else’s. But once I started reading this book, that was a non issue. Once more this world that Joss Ware has created is so compelling, so interesting yet so bleak at the same time, and just so damn well written, that I found myself on the edge of my seat as I read along.

In this one, Theo has been brought back to life by the heroine, Selena in a small community far from his home in Envy. Theo is smitten with Selena but just getting over a broken heart when the woman he loved chose another. Selena for her part, is leery of getting involved with Theo as she has many secrets and has been burned in the past because of them.

As with previous books though, the romantic relationship isn’t really in the forefront. Instead it’s the mystery of the events that resulted in the end of the world as it was known and what has been happening since then. And it’s utterly and completely fascinating. It’s edge of your seat exciting. People who you hope make it don’t.. This isn’t a happy and sunshine series, that’s for sure. But it’s such a compelling read that I highly recommend it. I can’t say too much so as not to give too much away – that’s the way it is with this kind of series I think.

Now – should you read the first three books in order to read this book? I’m not sure – probably. But the first ones are so good you will want to anyway. I just checked and the first two books are one for a ‘really can’t be beat’ price on the Kindle:

$1.99 for Beyond the Night

$3.99 for Embrace the Night

I say – get at least these first two and see what you think!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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And in Other News....

It seems as if I'm going to have to return my Velocity Micro Cruz Touchscreen Wifi Tablet. I couldn't figure it out and my Son Who is Getting Married was too busy for a couple of days to come over and look at it. So I took it into work and had someone from the It department look at it. He showed me how to turn it on - it's amazing that a button that looks like the same kind that turns on computers also turns on a table

(oops - gotta wait for a couple of minutes - the song by Nellie is on and I have to wave my arms - be back in a minute)

OK - I'm back

Anyway - wait another sec - gotta turn the radio down now. See - it would be an IPod to turn down but that's a small electronic device that scares me - and with good reason as you shall see!

So the IT guy got it turned on, but it seemed Very Slow and as I was sitting there I was getting more and more frustrated. So I figured I'd better stop playing with it until The Son who is also an Accountant took a look at it. He and my future daughter-in-law came over Saturday and guess what? Now matter what we tried, the damn thing would not turn on. I swear I didn't throw it anywhere. We shall call her Kara said I should check to see what kind of ratings it got. Sure enough, they were bad, real, real bad. And of course The Son who is Getting Married pointed out the foolishness of buying small electronic devices on The Shopping Channel. They both said and I reluctantly agreed with them that I'd be better off returning it and paying more money and getting an IPad. My future daughter-in-law who we are calling Kara offered to come with me. I'm sure while my head was turned, my son Who is Getting Married must have nudged her and whispered "For the sake of the sanity of all of us, do NOT let her buy a small electronic device on her own!

Recent Read

Actually this isn't really a recent read. I read it some time ago now but I enjoyed it so very much that I have to share.

Abandon the Night by Joss Ware

Why this one: I really enjoyed the first two in this series and couldn't wait to read this one.

Steam Level: It was very fine with me

Blurb:

Everything they knew is gone.

From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They are humankind's last hope ... but they cannot survive this dark, ravaged world alone...

Quentin Fielding had everything. Money. Power. Women. But now that civilization is all but annihilated, Quent only wants one thing: revenge. Harnessing a strange new "gift," he embarks on a deadly mission to find the the man responsible for the chaos and destruction, the man he should have killed years ago: his father. Only one thing stands in his way – a mysterious, arrow-wielding beauty...

Zoe Kapoor is on her own quest for vengeance, searching for the monstrous fiends who murdered her family. Soon she and Quent join together, journeying through the ruins of the world they once knew as a desperate desire builds between them. Drawing closer to an enemy they never imagined, Zoe and Quent must abandon all fear, abandon all regret, abandon the night ... if they want to stay alive.

My Thoughts: When this one started there has already been a connection between Quent and Zoe. They shared some steamy moments in the previous books. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I would feel about Quent and his own book. In the earlier ones, he struck me as being rather snotty, British playboy type but from the very beginning prologue we get a glimpse into Quent's life and it was not a happy one, so right away my slightly negative feelings for Quent were dispelled and I was on his side from that point on.

This story picks up from the previous two. Our group is gaining more and more knowledge on what happened and who caused the apocalyptic end of the world and one of the main causes was Quent's father. Quent feels great guilt that he didn't end his father's life long before his father destroyed the world and feels he must make up for that now.

Helping him with this mission is Zoe Kapoor. She is a tough as nails heroine who has her own plans of revenge against the man who was responsible for killing her entire family. She is a loner who doesn't let anyone into her life, with the exception, occasionally of Quent. But Quent isn't happy with just the occasional.


Both these characters are great. They are both loners at heart who are not really complete without the other. I know it's been overused to the point some reader roll their eyes, but Zoe really is a wonderfully kick ass heroine. She's strong and she does what needs to be done in the post-apocalyptic world. And though she doesn't really need or want it, Quent is wonderfully protective of her.

This is another incredible book in this world that has me hooked. I can hardly wait for the next book in this series.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

Recent Read(s)

I'm taking a bit of time out of my marathon Read-a-Thon to play catch up on what I've been reading. These ones are only a couple of what I've read lately. They are book 1 and 2 of a new series - thus bundling them together.



Beyond the Night by Joss Ware

Why this one: Stacy really loves them, I was intrigued and I took a chance.

Steam Level: I wouldn't say hot exactly, but certainly more than lukewarm. It's like something that's been standing long enough to be just right.

Blurb:

A man with no future...
When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott's extraordinary new "gift" – he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.

A woman with a past
Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one... until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?

If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that takes them beyond danger.

My Thoughts: As I said, Stacy's been reading and loving these. What really got my attention was her review of Abandon the Night, but I thought it was about time I started a series at the first book - thus Beyond the Night.

I quite enjoyed this book and thought it was a great start to a very interesting series. Five men stepped out of a cave to discover it's 50 years since they went into the cave and they've been in some kind of suspended animation. The world they reenter is an entirely different one than the one they left!! There has been some kind of event of apocalyptic proportion and everything they knew is gone. They've slowly made their way to the town of Envy, which they discover used to be Las Vegas. Most of the earth's population died and earthquakes and devastating storms changed the entire geography of the world. All the states on the west coast are gone and the Pacific Ocean is at the doorstep of Envy.

As if that weren't bad enough, there are these zombie like, flesh eating creatures called gangas that while slow and stupid, are still very dangerous to the unsuspecting.

This book is centered on Dr. Elliot Drake or Dred as he's called by his friends. He was a doctor in his former life and once he emerged from the caves in Sedona along with his friends, he has an added talent, the ability to take on himself, the injury or disease of those he is trying to help. But it comes at a cost. Either he must then touch someone else and 'pass it on' or whatever it is, becomes magnified in himself.

Elliot is smitten with Jade, a 'runner'. Because communication is broken down although there is a resistance/underground trying to restore it, there is still a need for someone to travel between settlements and Jade is one of those travelers. Jade is reluctant at first to get involved with Elliot as she's overcome a horrible past and doesn't want to be under any man's thumb. But still there is a very strong attraction between the two.

It seems like I've barely scratched the surface of what's going on in this fascinating series. I loved, loved, loved Jade. She is strong and brave and dedicated to establishing connections and fighting against an even bigger threat than the gangas. She everything admirable in a heroine.

Elliot, for me - and I emphasize for me, was more on the bland side. He's the kind who wears a white hat and is more along the beta kind of hero than the alpha. But those readers who enjoy this kind of hero will probably enjoy his character a lot more than I did.

I thought the world building was excellent and the author really managed to make me 'feel' what life is like for those few who survived. While my grade isn't all that high, that's more because of my lack of connection to the hero. But certainly I enjoyed this book enough to keep reading!!

Grade: 3.75 out of 5


Embrace the Night Eternal by Joss Ware

Why this one: same reason as the first

Steam Level: about the same as the first

Blurb: Everything they knew is gone.

From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They must learn how to survive this dark, ravaged world ... but they cannot do it alone.

Simon Japp will never forget his violent past. But when civilization is all but destroyed, he sees his chance for redemption. Blessed with a strange "gift," he's determined to help the resistance against the Strangers, the mysterious force that stalks them at every turn. He can't afford to get distracted, even by the stunning, soft-spoken woman fighting by his side...

Sage Corrigan has learned to be careful where she places her trust. But she sees something good in Simon, even if he can't see it in himself. Posing as lovers to infiltrate a group key to their fight, they find that their staged affection soon develops into a desire that will leave them fighting for their lives in the night eternal...

My Thoughts: Well!! I surely am glad I kept reading this series because this one really hit the spot for me. Simon Japp is the hero of this one and if Elliot wore the white hat in his previous life, Simon wore the black hat. And I do so love black-hatted heroes. Before the world was destroyed, Simon was the bodyguard of a drug lord and had done and seen some nasty stuff. But now he has a chance to live a different life, a life of building instead of a life of destroying. He is horrified at the way he led his life in the past, but was unable to escape it. But now he has an opportunity, along with a strange new talent and he's determined to turn his life around and not be the person he was.

And although Sage Corrigan, the heroine, is quite different than Jade, the heroine of Beyond the Night, I loved her also. She's lived a somewhat sheltered life, as we learn as we read along, she was born and raised in a cult like community and escaped a kind of life she had no desire to live. She is a computer guru who is working hard on the inside to establish a network with other communities. But when it's found that something or someone is going on in Falling Creek, the place she grew up in, she heads there along with Simon to find out what they can.

Sage is an innocent although very attracted to Simon. He is also attracted to her, to her innocence; she's lived the opposite kind of life he's led, but he doesn't think he's good enough for her, if she knew what he used to be, she would turn from him in disgust. On top of that, one of the two leaders of the resistance also has feelings for Sage and Simon doesn't want to come between them, thinking that Theo is the much better man.

Simon is much more my kind of hero; one of those 'tortured' heroes I love so much. And even though the setting is very dark, there are still moments in this one where I chuckled. I am flat out loving this series and I'm so glad I 'sat up and took notice' of Stacy's review. Thanks Stacy!!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

Now I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands though. The third book, Abandon the Night is out now, though not in any book stores close to me. I have to decide whether to order it, drive to the other side of the city to get a copy or have a bit of patience as I see that Joss Ware is one of the authors who will be in Columbus, and get a copy of the third book then. It's not as if I don't have several hundred I could read between now and then *g*.

And - I'll get a chance to ask if she has any more planned in this series.

Ahhhh - I just read Stacy's most recent post and it seems as if she does!! YES!!

*~*~* ETA *~*~*

I checked out the Chapters near me this morning before work and low and behold - they had the next one in!! Of course that meant a stop on the way home. And of course I couldn't just stop at one book.....