HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
WELCOME TO BCC'S GIVEAWAY BONANZA!!!

ALL HALLOW'S EVE INTERNATIONAL BUNDLE
(12 Books!)

Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen
Flip this Zombie by Jesse Petersen
Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen

666 Charing Cross Road by Paul Magrs
Dead Island by Mark Morris
Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux
Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett (ARC)
Crypt: The Gallows Curse by Andrew Hammond (YA-ARC)
Beautiful Dead: Summer by Eden Maguire (YA-ARC)
By Midnight by Mia James (YA)
Darkness Falls by Mia James (YA)
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick (YA)

ALL HALLOW'S EVE UK ONLY BUNDLE
(12 Books!)

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
Last Breath by Rachel Caine (YA)
The Monster's Corner ed. by Christopher Golden
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
99 Coffins by David Wellington
13 Bullets by David Wellinton
Vampire Zero by David Wellington
23 Hours by David Wellington
By Midnight by Mia James (YA)
Darkness Falls by Mia James (YA)
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick (YA)
Blood & Other Cravings ed. by Ellen Datlow

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: David Liss, Jonathan Maberry, Lauren Groff, John Mcllveen, Kevin J. Anderson, Sharyn McCrumb, David Moody, Kelley Armstrong, Nate Kenyon, Dana Stabenow, Chelsea Cain, Tom Piccirilli, Sarah Pinborough, Heather Graham, Jeff Strand, Tananarive Due, Michael Marshall Smith, Gary A. Braunbeck, Simon R. Green. Edited by Christopher Golden.

An all original anthology from some of todays hottest supernatural writers, featuring stories of monster's from the monster's point of view.

In most stories we get the perspective of the hero, the ordinary, the everyman, but we are all the hero of our own tale, and so it must be true for legions of monsters, from Lucifer to Mordred, from child-thieving fairies to Frankenstein's monster and the Wicked Witch of the West. From our point of view, they may very well be horrible, terrifying monstrosities, but of course they won’t see themselves in the same light, and their point of view is what concerns us in these tales. Demons and goblins, dark gods and aliens, creatures of myth and legend, lurkers in darkness and beasts in human clothing… these are the subjects of The Monster’s Corner. 

How interesting does this anthology sound!? I loved the idea of reading from the view point of the monster. I'm also getting more and more into reading short stories. They really are great for when you're short on time, or going through a rough reading slump. And that's exactly what was happening to me when "The Monster's Corner" dropped through my letter box. 

I decided I would read four of the stories in "The Monster's Corner" and write mini reviews of each. I thought this would be enough to give you an idea of the different styles you would find from the many different authors who contributed to this anthology and hope they will give a little taster if you will of what is on offer from this awesome looking book - the cover is fab don't you think? So here are my four choices from this bumper selection of supernatural shorties.

This was a very visual, slightly dark but also tongue-in-cheek story with a huge amount of sexuality. The story is literally about a sexual act that has you guessing who, or what, is the entity doing the act. It's very difficult to explain without giving anything away, but let's just say I changed my mind about three times before the story ended. I liked the authors writing style a lot and even though this was a very short story there was a lot of information about the two characters involved. It had my complete undivided attention while reading.

This is an excellent story. I really enjoyed it and I was disappointed when it ended. It's from the view point of a Rakshasi demon, who are cursed to walk the earth as a monster but are offered a way to repent and redeem their sins by a member of an isha family. If they accept, the member of the isha family becomes their master. When the Rakshasi has repaid their debt they will be set free. However, this hasn't happened for this particular demon who calls herself Amrita. Her 'family' have kept her for two hundred years as her job, with her master's help, is to seek out evil and eliminate it. When this is done the isha family can keep the wealth of their victim and because of this Amrita has become too valuable to set free, and she is not happy about it...

The ending is satisfying, although I must admit I was expecting something a little more dramatic, but over all this story is fab. I think Ms Armstrong should write a full length novel with Amrita as the heroine - I think this would make a very original type of urban fantasy.

Sophie is in her bedroom with the bloody, dead body of, what I assume is her friend, Charlotte, on the floor. The narrator watches as Sophie scoops out an eyeball and offers it to her to eat, which she does and then continues to eat until there is no more trace of Charlotte, except for a blood stain on the carpet. 

I do have my own thoughts as to who or what the narrater is, the clue for me is in the ending when the narrater slips under Sophie's bed, but I won't say any more as I don't want to influence you if you choose to read this anthology. However, it was a little too ambiguous for my taste and felt as though the author was relying on the reader to make their own assumptions as to who the narrater was. I'm not a huge fan of this style, but this story still had me instantly engrossed and is a great piece of descriptive writing.

This was my favourite story out of the four I selected to review. It is just so clever and funny, I loved it. It's exactly as the title suggests. Satan comes up from Hell to talk to Jesus who has been walking through the desert for forty days and forty nights. He's there to tempt Jesus, to test him at the instruction of their Father, God. It's quite poignant in places, and so funny in others. This story definitely makes me want to pick up a novel by this author. 

Last year I read and reviewed a selection of stories from "Zombie: An Anthology of the Undead" (also edited by Christopher Golden), and thought it was excellent. From what I have read so far of "The Monster's Corner," it looks as though this is another fantastic collection of short stories from a great list of authors. I will definitely read more from this anthology, so look out for the review!

Christopher Golden | Goodreads

This giveaway is UK ONLY (publisher's request) and ends 31st Oct 2011

To enter please follow instructions below

GOOD LUCK :D

Book Chick City's annual halloween event, All Hallows Eve, runs for the entire month of October and celebrates all things that go bump in the night - from werewolves to demons, vampires to ghosts, and of course not forgetting zombies!!! ;D There will be lots of reviews, guest authors and yummy giveaways! And, as it's now tradition, BCC's Giveaway Bonanza, will be posted on the 31st... Halloween itself! So join us for a month of fun and fright... but of course, only if you dare... mwahahahaaa ;D

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. Want to know more? Click here.

This sounds great, and I've heard a lot of good things about Heather Graham - has anybody read this one?

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he’s gathered know a little of the otherworldly — each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can’t tell if Adam’s demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he’s well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson’s careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam’s call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house — once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives... and their immortal souls.  (Goodreads)

How much fun does this sound?! Sounds pretty fun to me, and the cover's pretty good too. It's obviously a bit of a ghost week for me ;)

Letting him in could mean losing him forever.

Elizabeth “Biz” Marks has the magic touch when it comes to matters of the heart—except her own. In a slightly tipsy fit of loneliness, she once tried to harness a little love mojo to work in her favor. Instead the spell mutated into a nightmarish curse that kills off her boyfriends on her favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day.

With three permanently ex-boyfriends on her conscience and another hearts-and-flowers holiday approaching, the last thing she needs is a too-gorgeous-to-be-true reporter snooping around.

Biz just has extraordinarily bad luck, or she’s a bona-fide Black Widow who bumps off her boyfriends for a chunk of the inheritance money. Either way, Mark Ellison is sure there’s a story here. Especially when his attempts to charm her send her into a panic.

The harder Biz tries to keep Mark and his beguiling dimples as far away as possible, the harder he digs to get at the truth. Now she’s beginning to wonder if his is the love that will finally break the curse...or if she’ll be burying her heart along with him. (Goodreads)

LAURA'S WISHLIST

Charlie looks like just the sort of urban fantasy heroine I like, this book looks like it's got plenty of grit too.. perfect!

The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan #1)
Kelly Gay (Pocket Books)
Publication Date: November 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Goodreads


Summary:

Atlanta: it's the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil....

Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim — but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined? (Goodreads)
I think this paranormal romance looks like fantastic fun. Who doesn't love a bad boy?!

Devil Without A Cause (The Devil's Bargain #1)
Terri Garey (Avon)
Publication Date: May 2011
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Goodreads


Summary:

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Temptation and seduction are the tricks of the Devil's trade, and when offered the chance to regain his wings by playing guardian angel, he's hell-bent on doing things his way...

Faith McFarland is in need of a miracle. So desperate to save her sick child, she's willing to make a deal with the Devil: steal a ring worn by Finn Payne, the bad-boy rockstar who long ago sold his soul for rock 'n roll. Temptation and seduction become necessary evils, yet Faith's salvation means Finn's damnation... because the ring is all that stands between him and Hell. Falling in love was never part of the bargain, but now that they've tasted heaven in each other's arms, can they convince the Devil to give up his due? (Goodreads)

Book Chick City's annual halloween event, All Hallows Eve, runs for the entire month of October and celebrates all things that go bump in the night - from werewolves to demons, vampires to ghosts, and of course not forgetting zombies!!! ;D There will be lots of reviews, guest authors and yummy giveaways! And, as it's now tradition, BCC's Giveaway Bonanza, which will be posted on the 31st... Halloween itself! So join us for a month of fun and fright... but of course, only if you dare... mwahahahaaa ;D

Today I'm excited to welcome, Juliet Blackwell, to Book Chick City and All Hallow's Eve. I read (and reviewed) the first book in Juliet's Witchcraft Mystery series, 'Secondhand Spirits' and really enjoyed it.

Juliet Blackwell is a nationally bestselling author and writes the Witchcraft Mystery series (Secondhand Spirits, 2009; A Cast-off Coven, 2010; Hexes and Hemlines, June 2011; Obsidian). If Walls Could Talk launched the Haunted Home Renovation series in 2010; Dead Bolt, the second in the series, comes out in December. As one-half of the sister duo dubbed Hailey Lind, Blackwell wrote the Art Lover’s Mystery Series--including Agatha-nominated Feint of Art and the most recent, Arsenic and Old Paint (September; Perseverance Press). A former anthropologist and social worker, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France, and is now a painter in Oakland, California. She served two terms as president of NorCal Sisters in Crime.

Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft Mystery #1): Out now

A Cast-off Coven (Witchcraft Mystery #2): Out now

Hexes and Hemlines (Witchcraft Mystery #3): Out now

You can find more information about Juliet Blackwell here:

Website | Goodreads | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

All Hallows’ Eve, Samhain, Day of the Dead, the Witch’s New Year… this time of year goes by many names. No matter how you slice it, though, it’s an exciting time if you’re a witch (or a connoisseur of candy, or a lover of costumes…)

Not that I am. A witch, I mean (as to being a lover of candy and costumes, most definitely!). I write about witches, though, and the more time I spend with witches and magical folk of all ilks, the more Halloween - and its many incarnations - means to me.

  

Here in my big old haunted house (oh yes, it’s haunted all right, but I’ll save that for another blog post) my friends and I are madly preparing for our annual Halloween costume party. Last year’s theme was Zombie Apocalypse; this year we’re holding a Haunted Carnival, because seriously, what’s more frightening than a scary clown? I began hosting these parties long before I started writing my Witchcraft Mystery series; the parties started because I moved into a rambling old house that just seemed to demand ringing in All Hallow’s Eve with a rowdy group of costume-bedecked revelers. But now that I write about witches and witchcraft and ghosts, I started to wonder… how do self-described witches celebrate Halloween?

  

I sent out a slew of inquiries to the witches I’ve met, interviewed, and observed while researching for my Witchcraft Mystery series.

My friend Bliss, a member of a local Wiccan coven, tells me: “Samhain is a Celtic word that literally means ‘summer’s end’. It has long been seen as a fire ritual, and is often celebrated by gathering around large bonfires. But for my coven, we see Samhain as the time when the veil thins between the worlds of the living and the dead. We gather to remember our ancestors, our beloved dead, and all those who have crossed over. For Witches, this is a sacred season, when we honor our ancestors and our Beloved Dead, and our New Year, affirming the renewal of life.”

What about candy?  I ask.

  

“Sure,” she says with a smile, “but don’t forget to offer some to the dead, first.”

Jonquil, who is a believer in Feri - which is a pagan, nature-loving belief system but is not considered Wiccan - suggests putting together an altar with an apple and a pomegranate, plus pots of soil, and feel free to decorate with autumn leaves, nuts, pumpkins, and the like. This altar is to be used to remember the dead, and to welcome the end of summer and look forward to the resting time of winter, and the renewal that will come with the spring. Jonquil also suggests that people gather and drink and eat a lot, welcoming the harvest time with bounty.

“Costumes?” I ask.

“Hmm,” murmurs Jonquil. “We wear all-black, and some wear robes. But this isn’t the time to pretend you’re a vampire.”

I know two witches-for-hire, both solo practitioners. They each describe this time of year as especially good for divination and knowledge from the beyond - they take the “thinning of the veils” between our worlds quite seriously, and make themselves ready to communicate with those who have passed.

  

This time I don’t bother to ask. I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of costumes and candy at their contemplative divination rituals.

A gypsy witch, or cho’vani,  tells me she and her extended family and special friends get together, dance and play music, and then communicate with their dead at the family altar. And a local group called the Reclaiming community is holding their 32nd annual Spiral Dance in San Francisco, where they set up altars, read off the “names of the Beloved Dead”, and invite the public to “come dance the spiral that renews the world.”

Personally, I grew up celebrating both Halloween - as in Trick or Treat - and Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. One of my favorite aspects of the Latino celebration is that Death is seen as an actual character and, depending on your cultural heritage, fancifully-decorated skeletons are considered to be either Death making fun of the living, or the living distracting Death by offering him much prettier skeletons than we could ever be (so he’ll bypass the living). People bring offerings of food, alcohol, and marigolds to cemeteries, and spruce up the graves to celebrate their dead. In Mexico, this is the time of year countless Monarch butterflies return to the shelter of Mexico’s oyamel fir trees. The Aztecs believed that the butterflies bore the spirits of their dead ancestors. Check out this page for more info.

Oh, and by the way… Day of the Dead is celebrated with lots of costumes, sweet bread, and candy.  The ubiquitous, colorfully decorated sugar skulls are my favorite. (Recipe)

So come All Hallows Eve, I’ll be dancing in costume, eating copious amounts of candy, and enjoying a sort of Day of the Dead/Halloween bash.  And thinking of the dead, of course, as well as the living.  How about you?

Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her "witchiness" in San Francisco. It's there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically.

Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom?

“Secondhand Spirits” is a cosy paranormal mystery. It’s warm, inviting and cute. I had fun reading this book, the first in the ‘Witchcraft Mystery’ series by Juliet Blackwell.

Lily Ivory is a witch who has settled down in San Francisco after moving around for many years. She owns a vintage clothes shop and is enjoying putting down some roots and has even begun to make friends, especially with her two co-workers, Maya and Bronwyn.

One day, while meeting with a client, Frances Potts, who wishes to sell her vintage clothes, a young girl is snatched from outside her home. The rumour is La Llorona has taken her.

Legend has it that La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) abandoned by her husband, took her children down to the river and drowned them one by one, finally joining them in their watery grave. Now she haunts the banks of rivers crying for her lost children and abducts children by taking their souls.

The next day, Lily finds out that her sweet elderly client has been murdered and there seems to be a connection between the two with La Llorona right in the middle.

Lily does a bit of sleuthing on her own, by good old-fashioned foot work as well as casting a few spells and boiling a few brews. All while the local police are keeping tracks on her, suspicious she is involved somehow after they learn she was with Frances Potts the night she was murdered, and subsequently, after only meeting once, the recipient of her entire estate, which of course means the police think she now has a motive.

Along the way, Lily meets handsome Max Carmichael, a cynic who doesn’t believe in anything supernatural, and Aidan Rhodes a powerful male witch, who Lily knows she will have to call on for help of if she is to go up against La Llorona and recover the young girl.

The characterisation is great and I really liked all the characters, especially Oscar, Lily’s familiar. He’s a goblin but most of the time he transforms into a cute pig. I also love the descriptions of San Francisco, I really got a feel for this great city.

“Secondhand Spirits” is lighthearted and entertaining. If you love cosy mysteries and enjoy the paranormal, then this book is for you. Great witchy fun!

You can find more information about Juliet Blackwell here:

Website | Goodreads | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Books in Series Order:

1. Secondhand Spirits

2. A Cast-Off Coven

3. Hexes and Hemlines