Hi Guys! Hope you’re having a great weekend. We didn’t manage to post a Weekly Rounup last weekend due to our migration from Blogger to WordPress, so here is the low down on what happened on BCC over the last two weeks…

GUESTS

UK Publisher Month is now in full swing. Here are our most recent guests:

• Jenny Hutton from Mira UK – A Publicists Life & Upcoming Titles (+ UK Giveaway)
• Lee Harris from Angry Robot – An Editor’s Life & Upcoming Titles (+ International Giveaway)

REVIEWS

• 5 Star Review - Avengers Assemble (Movie Review)
• 4.5 Star & 4 Star Review - Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
• 3.5 Star Review – Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis
• 3.5 Star Review – Autumn by David Moody
• 3.5 Star Review – Sadie Walker is Trapped by Madeleine Roux
• 3.5 Star Review – Soulless by Gail Carriger
• 3 Star Review – Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
• 3 Star Review – The Pack by Jason Starr
• 3 Star Review - The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
• 2 Star Review - Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur

• As you have probably guessed by now, BCC has a new design – hope you love it as much as we do!

CAROLYN’S ROUNDUP

I started the week reading SACRIFICIAL MAGIC by Stacia Kane [UK|US]. It was so great to get back to Downside, Chessiebomb and Terrible – it’s felt like an eternity since the last book! But, I hate to say it as I love this series, I was disappointed with Chess. Her growth as a character seemed to have halted and reverted backwards and I just didn’t like it, she irritated me know end – more about that in my joint review with Laura, which will be coming soon. I’m now reading DEAD AS A DOORNAIL by Charlaine Harris [UK|US] for our Sookie Read-a-Long. I love this series, it’s just so good.

I bought a few books this week with the rest of my birthday voucher money, and as I’m on a total zombie binge at the moment, I bought the following to feed my z-addiction: MY ZOMBIE VALENTINE [UK|US] an anthology of zombie romance by Katie MacAlister, Angie Fox et al, BADASS ZOMBIE ROAD TRIP by Tonia Brown [UK|US] and DAWN OF THE DEAD by George A. Ramero [UK|US], which is a reissue from Sphere.. I also bought a few non-zombie books: NEARLY DEPARTED IN DEADWOOD [UK|US], OPTICAL DELUSIONS IN DEADWOOD [UK|US] and DEAD CASE IN DEADWOOD by Ann Charles [UK|US]. This is described as a mystery series with a slight supernatural twist.

Also received some fab review books in the post too, one of them was just perfect, ZOMBIES: A COMPENDIUM OF THE LIVING DEAD published by Corvus [UK|US]. I can’t wait to get stuck into this one! You should check out the cover, it’s freaky as hell, and those eyes *shudder*

LAURA’S ROUNDUP

I seem to have had quite a slow reading week and it took me a little while to finish SACRIFICIAL MAGIC by Stacia Kane [UK|US] which I started last week and only just finished on Thursday. As Carolyn said above I did feel a little frustrated in the direction Chess’s character has taken, but it was still a good book. I’m now reading FEVER  by Dee Shulman [UK|US], I’ve heard some very good things about it, so despite my reticence to read YA of late I wanted to pick this one up.

This week I had a very big Kindle book spending spree in preparation for my holiday, with a gift voucher I’ve been saving… yipee!! So this is what I bought: The first three books in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series, on Carolyn’s recommendation, SLAVE TO SENSATION [UK|US], VISIONS OF HEAT [UK|US] and CARESSED BY ICE [UK|US]. The new Catherine Anderson novel LUCKY PENNY [UK|US], I’m a big fan of her writing. Two books by Jeaniene Frost ONE GRAVE AT A TIME [UK|US] and I have pre-ordered the new Vlad story ONCE BURNED [UK|US],  can’t wait! It’s been a while since I’ve read any books by Anne Bishop, so I thought it would be nice to immerse myself back in the Black Jewels world and purchased THE SHADOW QUEEN [UK|US]. While I do still have books eight and nine to read, I couldn’t resist A PERFECT BLOOD [UK|US], book number ten in Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series. Then there’s FAIR GAME by Patricia Briggs [UK|US], the third Alpha and Omega novel. I think I may be optimistic thinking I can read all of these on holiday, but there’s no harm in trying!

REBECCA’S ROUNDUP

Still no reading done this week because of my exam revision, but I hope you guys are as excited about our migration to WordPress as we are! I love the new design, and had a walk-through with the lovely Carolyn about how to use the site, so hopefully my new reviews will be easier for me to format!

I finally finished my reading battle with THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED by Anne Rice [UK|US] this week, and the ending was definitely worth it. However, I didn’t feel this book was as strong as The Vampire Lestat, but I did love his character development in this novel. And as always, his interactions with Louis are lovely to read!

Unfortunately I doubt I’ll be starting any new books this week, as I’ll be buried in Shakespeare plays, but the next book on my ‘to-read’ list is either DARK LOVER by JR Ward [UK|US], or BLACK WINGS by Christina Henry [UK|US].

GEMMA’S ROUNDUP

After a pretty shaky start to the month, with regards to pretty disappointing reads, this week I managed to finish two books that really surprised me. First up, was THE DAMNED BUSTERS by Matthew Hughes [UK|US]. I went into this book thinking it would be a bit like the movie Kiss-Ass, but though it had some similarities, it proved to be a thought provoking and entertaining read. Review to come soon. The second book I finished was FIREBRAND by Gillian Philip [UK|US]. I’m not usually a big fan of books tagged as young adult, but this has completely changed my mind. I read this book in two days and am already looking out for the second book Bloodstone. Next book I’m hoping to begin is BORN OF NIGHT by Sherrilyn Kenyon [UK|US]. I liked her Dark Hunter series and hope this will be just as good.

This week I was rather weak and bought HIT LIST by Laurrell K. Hamilton [UK|US], due to Laura’s recommendation that it is a return to form. I also bought BITTERBLUE by Kristen Cashore [UK|US]. Though it’s said to be part of the Graceling Realm series, I think it is only set in the same world as the two other books, Graceling and Fire rather than a direct sequel.

VICKIE’S ROUNDUP

Ahh, I have finally found my flow again and managed to complete a few books over the last two weeks. So, I finished HUNTER’S PREY by Moira Rogers [UK|US]. Totally enjoyed the second book in the Bloodhounds series and am really looking forward to the next one! I then moved on to SHALADOR’S LADY by Anne Bishop [UK|US] and was caught out giggling in public despite only being a few chapters in! Oops! I then whizzed my way through another Black Jewels novel by Anne Bishop,  THE SHADOW QUEEN [UK|US]. I cannot praise Anne Bishop enough. Her books are a joy to read, and although I do have to stop and think a bit about where the characters started/fitted in, in the earlier books, I found myself ignoring children, housework, and everything in between (except for that nasty but necessary thing called work) in order to sit and read at every given opportunity. I finished both of these pretty quickly, and have now moved on to THE CALLING by Kelley Armstrong [UK|US], which I am over half way through, and am finding it very hard to put down. A nice easy read, that I definitely don’t have to concentrate on too much. Yay, especially as I have a stinky cold and a brain like mush!

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Midweek Kindle Deals

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP ~ 20th May 2012

WEEKLY ROUNDUP ~ 29th April 2012