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Look What I Got In the Mail!! The Fifty Shades Trilogy… and Look What’s Inside… *squee*

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First and foremost: *hugs Tina ferociously and squeeeeeees in her ear!!!* (thank goodness for virtual squee’ing. Less physical damage that way, ’cause if this was in person, Tina’s ears would be ringing for a week!)

OMG TINA!!!! I love it! L-O-V-E —-> LOVE!!!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

As many of you know, E.L. James just finished a tremendously popular book signing tour, and her last stop was in New York. My friend Tina went to the signing and enjoyed a wonderful evening with E.L. James and other author friends, and LOOK what she got for me in the process!!! The entire trilogy in print! I may have went by the way of digital e-books, but I LOVE displaying my absolute favorites in print in my book room.

But Tina managed to get me an extra *squee-worthy* surprise when she had E.L. James sign book #1, to me. I am beside myself right now! And it’s a personal message too!! AND AND!!! I got a Laters baby!!! How am I supposed to go back to work with this excitement overwhelming me? Tina. This is the most awesome gift. I can’t thank you enough. You have rocked my world.

And E.L. James. Thank you for writing this wonderful trilogy. You, too, have rocked my world.

It says: “Maryse Thank you for all your wonderful support, Laters Baby EL James xxx”

 

Another BIG NEWS Book Release Update!! Gabriel’s Rapture by Sylvain Reynard Is Out!

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Gabriel’s Inferno fans!! Looks like book #2 in the series has already been released!! Thank you Gail and Christina for the heads-up! 😉

Gail: Maryse “Gabriel’s Rapture (Gabriel’s Inferno Series)” comes out tomorrow I cannot wait more professor Gabriel YAY!!

Christina: Gail, it’s already out! It says on Kindle it was released May 20th!

Many of our fellow readers loved book #1, including my friend Sherry who just finished it.

“I loved Gabriel and his book….I loved it to the last page…”

I mostly enjoyed it, too, and while #1 (Gabriel’s Inferno) might not have made my “favorites” list, I can attest to the fact that a good portion of the book (approx. first 3/4’s) had me entranced and basking in the alpha-male glory. All that delicious angst was in full-force. Maybe book #2 will make me a full-on Gabriel devotee?

Bargain e-Book Alert!! “Noah” by Elizabeth Reyes!!

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Bargain e-book ALERT!!! Noah (5th Street), and this is only temporary, because book #2 in the series will be released soon (YAY meeeeee!!!)

This is one that I absolutely LOVED. A contemporary romance with a gorgeous up and coming fighter (read: alpha-male) and his somewhat older “trainee”. I loved the slow build-up and the issues they faced. I was so IN… hook line and sinker. A lighter read, but still smokin’ and it’s got all that emotional tug ‘o war that I so thoroughly enjoy.

Check out my review –> Book Review – Noah by Elizabeth Reyes

 

Karina Halle – Experiment in Terror Series Reading Order

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2020 BREAKING NEWS UPDATE!!! This series has had an image upgrade!! All brand new covers and they are perfect!! 😀

Okay here’s the scoop. There are hints along the grapevine that the “hero” in this series has that “Travis-like” feel. I heard that, and said MINE! Bargain priced, too!! I’ll be reading these very soon.

Update: I LOVE THIS SERIES!!! My heart is beating out of my chest as I update this 😉 (I added a full-on discussion about it PLUS all of my reviews for the books in this series, so far, at the end of this page).

What readers are saying:

Michelle: Oh WOW! I loooove these books. I couldn’t put them down, I sacrificed quite a bit of sleep to read them. Karina Halle is a genious! The way she writes just draws you in and makes you really love Perry and Dex. I was on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait for her to write more.

Maggie: Thank you for recommending this series!!! I’ve been devouring books 1-5 over the past few days and am at a loss about what to do with myself now. … I never would have picked these up if it weren’t for your reviews and the series now fits easily among my favorites.

Maryse: Oh Maggie I’m SO thrilled!!! I’ve been getting that reaction a lot, via email and in our spoiler forum, and I know JUST what you guys mean. I too, hesitated thinking it was mostly going to be just “horror/mystery” but the emotional angst ends up being the biggest part of the series. I LOVE THAT!!!!

About the series:

A (very) mature young adult novel that is scary, sexy and relat­able, filled with the super­nat­ural and things that go bump in the night. A para­nor­mal, super­nat­ural jour­ney with two unlikely ghost-hunters who must bat­tle not only spir­its but their attrac­tion to each other. Scooby Doo, this ain’t.

In a large, flaky nut­shell, the Exper­i­ment in Ter­ror Series is an eight-part sci-fi/fantasy/horror series that revolves around a pair of ghost hunters. Well, aspir­ing ghost hunters, any­way. After film­ing a creepy expe­ri­ence in her uncle’s dilap­i­dated light­house, 22-year old Perry Palomino becomes a YouTube and inter­net star overnight. She attracts the atten­tion of Dex Foray, a pro­ducer and cam­era­man for a site that spe­cial­izes in var­i­ous webisodes, who con­vinces her to be a host for a low-budget ghost hunt­ing series.

The only prob­lem is, nei­ther Perry or Dex are entirely “with it” — I mean, they see ghosts, after all. And when the duo isn’t wrestling with their very notion of real­ity, they’re grap­pling with a work­ing rela­tion­ship that’s deep-cut with sex­ual ten­sion. As the series moves on, lead­ing Perry and Dex to new locales and super­nat­ural sit­u­a­tions, their lives become more and more inter­twined, where they dis­cover that ghosts aren’t the only things that can haunt them.

SERIES READING ORDER:

Oh and some SUPER treats!! A few scenes from Dex’s POV including one of my favorite scenes (the bar/dancing scene). A little tidbit. I only read these after finishing book #3 and I actually think this was better for me, as it kept me in the dark about Dex’s thought process for a little longer. Made him extra mysterious which helped 😉 However, SO glad I know what he was thinking… now. hehe.

Maryse & author Karina Halle at Book Bash 2013

And the author answers this frequently asked question:

Is Book #8 the end? Like, really the end?

Yes and no. The end of the Exper­i­ment in Ter­ror Series. Is it the end of Perry & Dex? Prob­a­bly not, though the idea I have in mind for my favorite duo won’t be real­ized for quite a num­ber of years. But it won’t be the last you’ll ever see of them.

Karina mentioned an EIT related trilogy in her recent interview here, and then also told me in regards to Dex:

“He’ll def be the POV when I do the trilogy in a couple of years.”

     

Jackie & Maryse

And a conversation with my friend, Jackie, about the series, just to give you guys an even better idea of it, from my perspective (but if you want to go into the series completely surprised, then don’t read below. There are no real spoilers, but I explain the “feel” of it, and why):

Jackie: so will I like the Experiment in Terror series?

Maryse: YES u will like it. It has the same kind of tension that Barrons and MacKayla (Fever) had. You know… an ongoing series where each book has a “thing” to solve (sort of ) or at least investigate AND THEN there is huge sexual tension/romantic tension between the two main characters. But for a while … it remains tension (but it’s still so good) AND!!! “HE” is something to solve in himself. 5 books in and I’m still not sure what’s his “deal”, ya know? LOVE the series. And it’s in first person perspective – all her analyzing him, hurting, crushing, seeing, being afraid, being mad at him… very good stuff.

Jackie: oooh – sounds good. Is it para?

Maryse: yes, but only because they have a Youtube show where they ghost hunt, since she’s recently discovered she can see ghosts and so they partner up. But even that is exciting. As far as I know… they are both human.

Jackie Liliums Realm: love that …. “as far as i know”

Maryse: oh and i got lost in this one. Its been AGES since i’ve read a series back to back right to the end and there are still more books coming. I’d say its a great what to read after FEVER. Maybe not as “BIG” as Fever, but…. I dunno – it sort of is, at least for me

Jackie: Oh – you are so selling this to me.

Maryse: there are some “holes” every once in awhile, but again, series is not complete yet, so …. it’s not over til it’s over ya know?

Jackie: nothing hits ‘fever’ levels for me but coming close would still be awesome

Maryse: yep exactly and its not a copy or imitation of Fever either… like there are no obvious comparisons other than the “feel” of the series, the “feel” of the romantic tension. Some were worried it wasn’t romance. Its hard to explain to them if they haven’t read Fever that it IS romance, just different. Is there another term for this kind of ongoing romantic/sexual tension in a series, if not “romance”? I know it’s not typical romance but it really IS the biggest part of the series… how she feels for him…

Jackie: but you could say that about Fever. No romance at all in Fever # 1 but you know that it is with all the tension. Just clever writing- not giving you what you want yet

Maryse: EXACTLY!!!! It’s there from the getgo. At first he just gets on her nerves and ticks her off… but sh’es drawn BIG time and it just picks up speed from there.

Jackie: I will buy them now. I need a good series. Love a series I can get lost into when I’m on holiday.

Maryse: this is definitely one to get lost in…

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For more about what I’ve written on the Experiment in Terror series, see below (lots, right? haha. I LOVE this series soooo much. In fact I’ve been in a “Dex-daze” all day today…):

Book Review – Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune

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Bear, Otter, and the Kid
This one came highly and I mean HIGHLY recommended by my friend Jackie, who was insistent that I’d LOVE it and it would absolutely make my favorites list.. I believed her. We have very similar tastes. But you see I’ve been on a bad boy kick. I’ve been looking for more rock stars, more tattooed brooding heroes, and especially a few more “Fifty” like characters.

<——- THIS did not look like a book about bad boys. *shakes head* Nope. It looked cute, warm and fuzzy. And considering that the potential romance is between two male leads, this was not my usual read.

But what I didn’t realize is that this book would provide me with just as much intensity and overall emotional and romantic fulfillment. I did connect! Sure it had it’s warm and fuzzy moments, but it had it’s fair share of angst, depth and heartache too. I didn’t know what I was missing, did I Jackie? It’s been two months now, that you’ve been bringing it up, right?

From back in March:

Jackie: Maryse you MUST read this book

Maryse: TELL ME

Jackie: Bear Otter and the Kid

Maryse:  the one that is m/m that is in your top 10 ever? I was listening to you guys (well reading) your chat yesterday about otters and I wanted to be that excited too.

Jackie: Its not a big drama – I just clicked with it. I hope you will enjoy it. Its cute and funny. I know that I’m in a good book when I come home for lunch and forget to eat. I did that yesterday… the silly comments and the depth of character its like that. Just really likable characters.

Gently insisting, reminding, poking and prodding me to give this one a go.

(April 5th) Jackie: please read BOATK then…

(April 17th) Jackie: BOATK is awesome…

(April 23rd) Jackie: did you start BOATK yet?

(May 8th) Jackie: Ter is koving BOATK – you must read it – I promise you that you’ll love it

(May 9th) Jackie: Ok so you bought BOATK – when are you going to actually read it????

side note from Maryse; (me going on about my hunt for more “Fifty” books…)

Jackie: STOP. read the damn book!

Tee hee!!!! *blush*. Well okay! And so I did.

Remember what I told you guys about my “To Be Read” list and how it keeps shifting, and changing? I bought this one almost immediately, but it kept getting lost in my bad boy quest. But you were right, Jackie. I LOVED it. I bonded with them from the get go. The writing was funny, quirky, and witty, but best of all, it felt like I already knew, and was already best friends with all of the characters. Or that I so wanted to be best friends with them. I wanted to be in their “family”.

And it had a seriously heart wrenching romantic edge. I knew what was coming, considering Bear and Otter are both men, and I wasn’t sure if I personally, would feel romantically connected to the story’s love angle, but let me tell you. I DID! In fact, I was pining for them. BIG time. I was so in book-love with them.

Maryse: Jackie… are you there?

Jackie: I am now

Maryse: Jackie. Can you tell me why I’m in love with a gay guy? Can you!!??? WHY do I see myself as Bear and I love Otter? WHY!?

Jackie: join my club.

But then I thought about it… why wouldn’t I be? I get it. After all, I can totally relate to being attracted to a gorgeous guy. Muscles, soulful eyes, all that *shivers* alpha masculinity. Yeah… I get it. Bear and I have the same tastes. Even though Bear didn’t realize it, himself.

But for a moment there, didn’t I feel like I was worth something? Didn’t the weight of his hand, the words he had spoken, make me feel warm? I felt the heat rise to my face, and I looked down at our hands, and felt another tear slip from my eye. What was going on? I thought frantically.

I was absolutely hooked. Overall it had a similar feel to Slammed (a young man being forced to raise his younger brother, Ty, due to horrible circumstances, and his best friends surrounding him with love and becoming his family), and even a touch reminiscent of Barely Breathing (because the “horrible circumstance” is his wretched selfish mother!! grrrrrrr!).

So that’s how it went. That’s how she left. That’s how I reacted. That’s how we told Ty. That’s how I made the only choice I could make. I turned eighteen and gained a child.

And all the while that he is getting his life together, making sacrifices, with the support of his girlfriend and his best friend, he remains positive and even somewhat happy. Until, that is, “Otter” (his best friend’s older brother) comes back in town, and old, confusing feelings come back to the forefront. He suddenly finds himself yearning to be near him, and yet resisting this intense attraction.

Can you do this? the voice asks. Can you handle all of this?

And you know how I am… all of that anxiety and torment, mixed in with those little stomach butterflies. Simply irresistible to me.

Oh and it does come with a side of “steaminess” (definitely not YA) but the love (in all aspects of the word; friends, family and romantically) is the heart of the story.

TJ Klune, you (and your boys) sure know your way to a girl’s heart. Because they’ve captured mine.

Nicknames aside (I suppose I’m just not a nickname type of girl, but the nickname explanation was cute)… it was almost perfect for me. 4.5 stars!

Off I go to read book #2 in this saga: Who We Are (see what happened there? That’s right. My TBR list just shifted to put this one next).

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