New Additions To The TBR Pile In February

Both of these books are in the "currently reading" status, so I don't consider them as true new additions to the TBR pile since they aren't sitting there, but new additions to my reading nonetheless... :o)

Title: Scream For Me by Karen Rose

Description: Special Agent Daniel Vartanian has sworn to find the perpetrator of multiple killings that mimic a 13-year-old murder linked to a collection of photographs that belonged to his brother, Simon, the ruthless serial killer who met his demise in DIE FOR ME. Daniel is certain that someone even more depraved than his brother committed these crimes, and he's determined to bring the current murderer to justice and solve the mysterious crime from years ago.

With only a handful of images as a lead, Daniel's search will lead him back through the dark past of his own family, and into the realm of a mind more sinister than he could ever imagine. But his quest will also draw him to Alex Fallon, a beautiful nurse whose troubled past reflects his own. As Daniel becomes attached to Alex, he discovers that she is also the object of the obsessed murderer. Soon, he will not only be racing to discover the identity of this macabre criminal, but also to save the life of the woman he has begun to love.

Title: Awaken The Highland Warrior by Anita Clenney

Description: He's had centuries to dream of her...

Misadventurous historian Bree Kirkland discovers a one hundred fifty year old warrior buried in a crypt behind her house. But Faelan, the warrior, isn't dead. When this chauvinistic Scottish Warrior awakes, he has no choice but accept the help of this modern-day woman who’s rescued him, but she’s more fearsome than the demon trying to kill him. If he’s not careful, she’ll uncover every secret his clan has bled and died to protect.

REVIEW: Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Haunted (Women Of The Otherworld, #5)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: May, 2005
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 9/10

Description: Former supernatural superpower Eve Levine has broken all the rules. But she's never broken a promise—not even during the three year's she's spent in the afterworld. So, when the Fates call in a debt she gave her word she'd pay, she has no choice but to comply.

For centuries one of the ghost world's wickedest creatures has been loosed on humanity, thwarting every attempt to retrieve her. Now it has fall to Eve to capture this demi-demon known as the Nix, who inhabits the bodies of would-be killers, compelling them to complete their deadly acts. It's a mission that becomes all too personal when the Nix targets those Eve loves most — including Savannah, the daughter she left on earth. But can a renegade witch succeed where a host of angels have failed?

My Thoughts: After I first met Eve, I couldn't find any likable or redeeming qualities about this character. I wasn't upset when Eve died either. The biggest thing I loved about Haunted is that there is a lot more to Eve than we had seen before. Eve really surprised me. As a ghost, she demonstrates all of the same annoying characteristics she had when she was alive. Unlike in my last meeting with Eve, this time was vastly different.

It was a little sad to me that it took her dying to bring out her human side. Eve wants to watch over Savannah and is prepared to spend all of eternity doing just that and spending time with Savannah's father, Kristof, when Eve is detoured from her goal by the Fates to track down a demon who uses women to commit murder.

With the assistance of an angel, Trsiel, Eve accepts the mission which takes Eve on a whirlwind journey. Along the way, Eve crosses paths with notorious characters of the past, such as Lizzie Borden. Eve also has to use her wits when she goes into a hell dimension to track down clues.

This story moves at a very fast pace with a lot of intensity. There were so many scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat with the suspense of waiting to see what was coming next. Mixed into this, is the relationship between Eve and Kristof. I found it hopeful that Eve's afterlife wasn't suffering and torment, though I was expecting her to receive some type of punishment for her deeds while alive. The tenacity with which Eve works this assignment gave me hope that even the most darkest of witches has a heart and is worthy of redemption.

REVIEW: Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

Title: Dead Connection (Ellie Hatcher #1)
Author: Alafair Burke
Publisher: Holt, Henry and Company
Publication Date: July, 2007
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Rating: 9/10

Description: In this electrifying thriller, a rookie detective goes undercover on the Internet dating scene to draw out a serial killer targeting single women in Manhattan

When two young women are murdered on the streets of New York, exactly one year apart, Detective Ellie Hatcher is called up for a special assignment on the homicide task force. The killer has left behind a clue connecting the two cases to First Date, a popular online dating service, and Flann McIlroy, an eccentric, publicity-seeking homicide detective, is convinced that only Ellie can help him pursue his terrifying theory: someone is using the lure of the Internet and the promise of love to launch a killing spree against the women of New York City.

To catch the killer, Ellie must enter a high-tech world of stolen identities where no one is who they appear to be. And for her, the investigation quickly becomes personal: she fits the profile of the victims, and she knows firsthand what pursuing a sociopath can do to a cop--back home in Wichita, Kansas, her father lost his life trying to catch a notorious serial murderer.

When the First Date killer begins to mimic the monster who destroyed her father, Ellie knows the game has become personal for him, too. Both hunter and prey, she must find the killer before he claims his next victim--who could very well be her.

Expertly plotted and perfectly paced, Dead Connection advances Alafair Burke to the front ranks of American thriller writers.

My Thoughts: The first book in the Ellie Hatcher series by new to me author, Alafair Burke introduces us to Ellie Hatcher, an NYPD Detective who is transferred to a new unit to help solve the murders of four women, who are all connected by an online dating site.

I absolutely loved Ellie. She's strong but not arrogant or pushy. She has some demons in her past that she is battling surrounding the death of her father, also a cop, when she was a kid. She's tenacious but she is open and flexible to looking at the bigger picture.

This story really packed a punch for me and as each layer was folded back and the reader learns more, the intensity levels increased as it became apparent how complex this story is.

Ellie is also very likable. I enjoyed her sense of humor and her outlook on the world around her. She has a way with people that puts them at ease, from hardened cops who don't know what a sexual harassment policy is in place for all the way to suspects and potential romantic interests. Ellie can handle herself and I liked that she didn't allow the bad and the ugly side of her job drag her down. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad and ugly that came out of left field and hopefully the second book, Angel's Tip, will prove to be just as entertaining.