*Stacking the Shelves* Welcome to March!

Stacking The Shelves is a fun way to show off the books we received over the past week in the hopes that you will find something that you will be interested in reading. As always, it is in no way, shape, or form to be considered bragging or sticking out our tongues at other bloggers. 

I personally enjoy  reading comments from those that stop by and support Gizmo's Reviews and I make every effort to comment and visit back your blog in return. 

Package received via Harper Voyager as part of their Super Reader Program!

 

       

 

       

Received via author J.C Daniels aka Shiloh Walker

Received via Edelweiss/Harper

Received via Netgalley/Penguin Group

Received via Netgalley/All Night Reads

Received via Netgalley/Random House/Delacorte Press

Received via NetGalley/Gallery, Pocket Books

Borrowed via Library

 

      

Amazon.com Freebies, or Cheapies

 

       

*Review* Night Owls (Night Owls #1) by Lauren M. Roy

*Synopsis*

Night Owls book store is the one spot on campus open late enough to help out even the most practiced slacker. The employees’ penchant for fighting the evil creatures of the night is just a perk…

Valerie McTeague’s business model is simple: provide the students of Edgewood College with a late-night study haven and stay as far away from the underworld conflicts of her vampire brethren as possible. She’s lived that life, and the price she paid was far too high to ever want to return.

Elly Garrett hasn’t known any life except that of fighting the supernatural werewolf-like beings known as Creeps or Jackals. But she always had her mentor and foster father by her side—until he gave his life protecting a book that the Creeps desperately want to get their hands on.

When the book gets stashed at Night Owls for safe keeping, those Val holds nearest and dearest are put in mortal peril. Now Val and Elly will have to team up, along with a mismatched crew of humans, vampires, and lesbian succubi, to stop the Jackals from getting their claws on the book and unleashing unnamed horrors….


*My Thoughts* 

I am a reader who is always on the lookout for fresh and interesting new authors and stories in genre's I like to read that fall within the Urban Fantasy, Dystopian, Steampunk, and Science Fiction genre's. People have been saying that the UF genre has gotten a bit stale recently and needs some much needed new blood. Well, perhaps you should try reading Night Owls by Lauren Roy then. Night Owls really is the kind of story that I love to read. It has action, suspense, little or no romance, and plenty of fighting sequences and yes, violence around every corner and interesting, not boring characters.

Night Owls really isn't the story about one, or two main characters. It's a cast of characters that works together in order to stop the villains in their track. Night owls is told in the third person POV with various characters taking center stage.

While vampire Valerie McTeague (owner of Night Owls bookstore) is definitely an interesting character, and her past is fraught with a very painful experience, she does not hog the spotlight, nor does she want to get away from her comfortable life she's chosen. Her background, and reason for being a bookstore owner, and not a hunter of creeps takes sometime to dig into, but I think it is all worth it when the Roy unveils the reason. Plus, Val is a super awesome kickass character that is pretty near unbeatable and I just don't think she will be able to stay on the sidelines much longer.

Elly Garrett has been fighting creatures known as Creeps for as long as she can remember. Under the tutelage Father Value, she was taught to follow four main rules: 1. Never get cornered by a Creep. 2. Always carry something silver and pointy. 3. Virgins make excellent fodder for creeps. 4. If you have something they want, sometimes it is best to hand it over. Creeps in this world are actually Jackal like characters who are smelly, nasty, and determined to get what they want. Elly really is a fantastic character who has killed so main creeps over the years, it is the only thing she is really good at now. Elly made a highly unusual choice in this book, and I will be interested in seeing how this progresses in the next installment.

Let's not forget about Charles aka Chaz who is Val's Renfield and is still worked up about his own experiences at the hands of vampires and doesn't like being left behind for any reason. Justin Kennedy becomes much more that a secondary character who stands around with his thumb up his butt waiting for someone to come along and kill him off. Cavale (Warlock) is Elly's brother of sorts who was raised with her, and also taught by Father Value before he left the Brotherhood behind. Succubi lovers Sunny and Lia are the last worth mentioning characters who kick ass and take names and are loads of fun as well.

I think Night Owls is a very balanced story that does well with intermingling the characters, and eventually bringing them all together in an effort to fight the Jackals and keep them away from a sacred book which comes into Elly's possession. There are secondary characters who I won't mention now that really do make the story even more appealing and definitely makes it worthwhile to put the sequel on your TBR list. Night Owls is also a very quick read, without a whole lot of massive world building that sometimes is more trouble than its worth. I really hope the sequel lives up to Night Owl.

**I received this book free from Netgalley/Penguin/Ace in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Author - Lauren M. Roy
Title - Night Owls
Published by Penguin Group.ACE
Released - February 25, 2014
Genre - Urban Fantasy
EBook - 304 Pages

*Gizmos Reviews Presents* The Cover Reveal for Red Blooded by Amanda Carlson!

RED BLOODED  RELEASE DATE Sept. 2nd! Pre-order your copy: Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes BLURB: (Minor spoilers ahoy!)   Jessica is on her way to Hell. After settling a fragile truce between the vampires, werewolves and witches, the last thing Jessica wants to do is face the demons head on. But when the Prince of Hell kidnapped her brother, he set into motion a chain of events that even Jessica doesn't have the power to stop.   Now, Jessica must go into battle again. But Hell is a whole new beast -- new rules, more dangerous demons, and an entirely foreign realm. And when Jessica is dropped into the Underworld too soon, without protection or the help of her friends, she must figure out just how powerful she can be...or she will never make it out alive. The Jessica McClain series:  All books available NOW! (Click anywhere below to head to my website for more details)                Facebook Twitter Website

*Waiting on Wednesday* Featuring Bad Blood (Aurora Sky # 3) by Nikki Jefford

"Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at “Breaking the Spine”, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating....

This weeks choice is Bad Blood (Aurora Sky # 3) by Nikki Jefford

The main reason I am waiting for this book, is I want to see what happens next for Aurora and her vampire hunters and her love life. I want to see if Nikki reveals the truth behind what really happened to Aurora and how she responds. If you haven't read this series, please consider doing so. There are two novellas that also go nicely along with this series as well and I'm sure you can find them via Amazon.com for cheap!

 

Aurora returns from boot camp to a new assignment, an unwelcome roommate, and the increasingly amorous attentions of a certain vampire hunter.
College is starting, and so is Aurora’s undercover work at a network of swanky parties known as “Tastings” for high rolling vampires who like their blood laced with fine wine. But Aurora’s not the only one on the prowl. An underground investigation is under way to find out who killed one of Anchorage’s most prominent vampires… and Aurora is a prime suspect.

Expected publication: May 2014 by Acorn Valley Press

*Top Ten Tuesday Presents* Rewind! Top 10 Female Characters, all Genres!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic and we all share our thoughts on that topic! I decided it was finally time to jump on board with this wicked fun meme!

For this week on Top Ten Tuesday, the topic is:

Top Ten Female Characters ALL Genre's!

1. Gin Blanco the Elemental Assassins by Jennifer Estep

2. Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs

3. Rachel Morgan by Kim Harrison

4. Sirantha Jax by Ann Aguirre

5. Katherine "Kitty" Katt by Gini Koch

6. Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy Books) by Richelle Mead

7. Jessica McClain by Amanda Carlson

8. Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones

9. Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews

10. Darian (Shade Assassin) by Amanda Bonilla

Dear readers, this is just a sample of the awesome female lead
characters that I enjoy! I hope to add more soon!