33 New Book Releases in Speculative Fiction for January 27

Got some great ones out this week! Time to one-click the stress away!

WTF-ery of the week: Thank you Chuck Tingle! You always make me smile :)

Click on the covers to be taken to the amazon page. I Smell Sheep is an affiliate of amazon and we will get a tiny percentage of each sale for advertising.

Book Review: Black Moon Draw By Lizzy Ford

Black Moon Draw
By Lizzy Ford
Paperback, 320 pages
Published November 9th 2014

A reader gets sucked into the book she’s reading and is trapped, unless she convinces the hero of the story to send her home. Just her luck - the book is unfinished, and its sexy hero is far more alpha male than she’s prepared to handle.

What Naia doesn’t know: the story – and its hero – have been expecting her for quite some time, even though she has no idea what she’s doing there.

Naia must learn quickly how to navigate the dangerous, magical world of Black Moon Draw and find a way to woo the unlikely, uncooperative hero of the story, who holds the key to returning her home.

Twenty-three-year-old Naia is nursing a broken heart with fiction. Unlucky in love, and life in general, this disenchanted librarian is looking for something more. When the novel opens, that ‘something more’ is the next great work of fiction. While scouring the blogiverse, Naia stumbles upon a fantasy saga written by elusive author “LF.” The piece, centered in the fictitious lands of Black Moon Draw, features the fearsome Shadow Knight a “most violent, mysterious, and relentless badass.” Naia is magnetically attracted to the tale and is beyond frustrated when the author delays her real-time plot posts.

After a marathon night of wine-fuelled 80s fantasy film binge watching, Naia is magically transported to the world of Black Moon Draw and its sexy ruler the Shadow Knight. Once there, Naia must reach deep to find the inner strength and be the fierce “battle witch” the characters around her believe her to be.

Black Moon Draw is a story within a story. Its reflexive nature allows the author to explore, exploit, and criticize the regular conventions of the paranormal romance genre; you expect the, well, expected. Naia lacks confidence, the Shadow Knight lacks finesse, but neither lacks a nearly-combustible attraction for the other. The characters are likeable and the story line compelling. The Shadow Knight isn’t the hardest hearted alpha I’ve come across, and Naia isn’t the most self-loathing female lead I’ve encountered. Ford’s careful description of this fantasy realm is lovely and creative. I was invested in the plot line and genuinely entertained.

At times the fact that this story is aware that it’s a story sours the reading experience. The constant reminders of plot conventions and allusion to other works felt forced and awkward. There were no fewer than five open references to Fifty Shades of Grey. While I appreciated Fifty at the time I read it, I’m very much over it. I felt Black Moon Draw was well-written, expertly edited, and, quite frankly, better crafted than a text it kept deferring to.

Finally, I have only one major complaint about this text. I must first preface my complaint by admitting that I enjoy sexy literature. I like my fictitious sex fairly descriptive. I don’t think I need to join a support group or anything, but I like what I like. Sexual tension is a highly effective technique to hook and string your readership. Ford does this well. The tension builds steadily and there are real, reasonable reasons the characters don’t give into their primal urges. Naia’s unabashed inner dialogue about Shadow’s physical attributes are so very sensual. However, without giving too much away, I felt unsatisfied. I expected more from a man who wears both leather and a kilt. Just sayin’.

Rating: Three Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

Lizzy Ford
website-FB-twitter
Lizzy Ford is the author of over seventeen novels written for young adult and adult paranormal romance readers, to include the internationally bestselling Rhyn Trilogy, Witchling Trilogy and the War of Gods series. Considered a freak of nature by her peers for the ability to write and release a commercial quality novel in under a month, Lizzy has focused on keeping her readers happy by producing brilliant, gritty romances that remind people why true love is a trial worth enduring.

Lizzy’s books can be found on every major ereader library, to include: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and Smashwords. She lives in southern Arizona with her husband, three dogs and a cat.

Book Review: Bound by Flames: A Night Prince Novel book 3 byJeaniene Frost

Bound by Flames: A Night Prince Novel book 3
by Jeaniene Frost

January 27th 2015 by Avon

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Plot:
Play with fire, pay the price
Leila's years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn't learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin . . .

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn't like Vlad to feel fear, but he does . . . for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad's greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad's love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both . . .

Vlad is back! I love this man so much. Not only is he the vampire legend come to life, he's ruthless and brutal to protect the ones he loves in his vampire family line. Just make sure to stay on his good side!

Lelia's adjusting to her recent vampire change and trying to acclimate to being the wife to such an alpha male. He's a hand full, but it's worth the torture to get some burning hunk-o-love that only this male can deliver.

This latest edition to the saga takes a darker turn, there is torture and sexual abuse toward both men and women. So keep that in mind. It gets a bit...gruesome to put it mildly. But that's the darker side of this paranormal world Mrs. Frost has etched out of the most delicious blood on the market.

Lots of twists and turns, will have your interest hooked until the very end. Some of our favorite characters come back to make an appearance and help team up with Vlad to take on his greatest enemy to date. Magic abounds and I'm loving this ongoing story with each page.

If you love some dark world building, steamy romance, snarky characters and tons of action, then get out and grab this one! But don't start here, you need to read the Night Prince saga from book one!

Book Review: Once Burned

Book Review: Twice Tempted

Getting 4 Sheep

KD

Sunday Swag: C.J. Ellisson

Sunday Swag Team!
Riverina Romantics 
 I Smell Sheep 

Featured Author: C.J. Ellisson

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter

C.J. Ellisson, USA Today & New York Times Bestselling author, lives in northern Virginia with her husband, two children, three dogs, and a fluffy black cat who makes her sneeze. Unlike most full-time authors, she's also battling severe chronic illness. C.J. works daily to put her Lupus into remission and continues to fight numerous bacterial infections while her immune system slowly attacks her body. She turned to writing when she could no longer work outside the home and claims the escape of penning contemporary fantasy, erotica, and erotic romance has helped save her sanity.

swag pack put together by CJ!

Head over to Riverina Romantics and win more Swag!

Movie Review: THE IMITATION GAME

THE IMITATION GAME
Directed By: Morten Tyldum
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr. 54 min.
During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of 'gross indecency', an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality - little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany's World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.
This may come as a shock to most of you that know me, but computer genius I am not. I know, I know you're thinking "what?!". But alas, it's true. I can surf the web with the best of them, type like the wind, start and restart my computer but that's about it.

That said, the story of Alan Turing was both fascinating and amazing. I sure didn't know he was the first person to create a computer. Had no clue. But what a story this was! In a time when not his country, but the world needed a hero. He became that hero.

As eccentric and brilliant as he was, Alan Turing forges the way into an unknown field that ends up becoming something incredible. Amongst his colleagues Alan is the constant outcast, never fitting in and learning early on to keep people at a distance. The man was hurt on a fundamental level and living in a time when his sexuality was a crime, he could never be his true self.

Overall this movie was well thought out, written and directed in a vibrant color of times. Awesome musical score and acting from every single performance you see. Loved the whole thing and wanted to know more!

Getting 4 and 1/2 Sheep 

KD