The Mountain’s Shadow by Cecilia Dominic – Cover Reveal

Tags

Cecilia Dominic, Cover Reveal, medical mystery, mystery, paranormal, romance, werewolves

Starting September 1, Cecilia Dominic will be re-releasing her Lycanthropy Files series with some brand new artwork on the covers.  Today, I am very pleased to show you the beautiful new cover for book one: The Mountain’s Shadow.

About The Mountain’s Shadow

One bad choice cost me my job. Another one could take a bite out of my heart.

I was about to solve the puzzle of the latest childhood disorder du jour – Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome – when my lab went up in flames, my job went down the tubes, and my lover went back to his ex.

When I found out my grandfather left me his multi-million-dollar estate in the rugged Ozark Mountains in his will, I thought my luck was turning. But my inheritance came with a few problems that go way beyond layers of dust and creaky floors: kids in the area that go missing during full moons, a mysterious death, and a band of werewolves who consider the property their own private hunting ground.

I’ll have to do more than face my research again to solve the mysteries of Wolfsbane Manor and stop a horrific epidemic. I’ll have to risk love, friendship, and the only true family I have left. And possibly doom myself to the fate that killed my twin brother.

Warning: Contains a sweet romance with just the right touch of naughty, and calorie-free food that’ll feed your heart, not your waistline.

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The Mountain’s Shadow will be released on September 1. The rest of the series follows very quickly with Long Shadows on September 15, Blood’s Shadow on September 29 and A Million Shadows on October 13 (a Friday – perfect for a Halloween story set in Salem).

Ms. Dominic will be back on September 1 for a guest post about her Lycanthropy Files series. It promises to be a fascinating post so please come back on the 1st! I’ll have purchase links available then. In the meantime, you can check out my review of the original release of The Mountain’s Shadow here on WWMB.

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About the Author

Cecilia Dominic became a clinical psychologist because she’s fascinated by people and their stories, but she couldn’t stop making stuff up. By day, she helps people cure their insomnia. By night, she writes fiction that keeps her readers turning pages past bedtime. Yes, she recognizes the conflict of interest between her two careers, but she prefers to be called versatile, not conflicted. This Amazon bestselling author has been published in short and novel-length fiction and currently writes urban fantasy and steampunk. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with one husband and two cats.

You can find her at:
Web page: http://www.ceciliadominic.com/
Wine blog: http://www.randomoenophile.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaDominicAuthor
Twitter: @CeciliaDominic
Newsletter list (sign up for a free short story): http://eepurl.com/bjz2yf

What Are You Reading This Weekend?

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archeologoy, fantasy, Lindsay Buroker, mystery, P.K. Tyler, rodeo, romance, S.M. Blooding, scifi, space opera, Terry Fan

Dino Rodeo by Terry Fan

It’s rodeo week in my town this week.  A cowboy never knows what kind of beast he will draw.

Art available at Society6.

Dominion Rising has been available for pre-order for several months now.  Have you heard of it?  It is a collection of 23 brand new scifi and fantasy novels. There are a lot of great authors, include P.K. Tyler who has teamed up with S.M. Blooding.  I am reading their contribution to the anthology, Mind Raider: The Kalamatra Rebellion Book One.  Dominion Rising releases next Tuesday but you can pre-order now and the price is right.

Forgotten Ages (The Complete Saga) by Lindsay Buroker was on sale last week, so I bought it along with Audible version.  I am really liking this fantasy/archeological mystery/romance.

What are you reading this weekend?

The Dastardly Miss Lizzie (Electric Empire, #3) by Viola Carr – Review

Tags

5 stars, audiobook, Beverly A. Crick, Book Review, historical, mystery, romance, series, Steampunk, Viola Carr

Review by Riley

About The Dastardly Miss Lizzie

Dr. Eliza Jekyll must turn to her dark side, Miss Lizzie Hyde, to stop a madman who’s targeting London’s most important scientists and sorcerers, terrorizing the city with dark magic, in this third Electric Empire novel—a dazzlingly original steampunk fantasy set in the gritty world of alternate Victorian London, with echoes of H. G. Wells’s classic, The Time Machine.

Being two people in one body isn’t easy. Metropolitan Police crime scene physician Eliza Jekyll is trying to maintain a semblance of control, even as her rebellious second self, Lizzie, grows increasingly wild—threatening the respectable Eliza’s reputation and her marriage to Remy Lafayette, the Royal Society investigator and occasional lycanthrope. With England on the brink of war, Remy’s away in sorcery-riddled Paris on a secretive mission that grows ever more sinister. Has he been an enemy agent all along? Or is coping with her secret divided self finally driving Eliza mad?

Eliza needs her mind clear and sharp if she’s to catch an evil genius who is killing eminent scientists. The chase uncovers a murky world of forbidden books, secret laboratories, and a cabal of fanatical inventors whose work could change the world—or destroy it—and who may hold answers to Eliza’s mysterious past.

As sorcery-wielding terrorists attack London, Eliza discovers her own enemies are closing in, driving her to desperate measures—enlisting the aid of the wily, resourceful, mercurial Lizzie—to thwart the killer. But Lizzie’s got her own life now, and true to her nature, will resort to the devious and diabolical to keep it. Even if it means throwing Eliza to the wolves, and letting the world burn…..

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Review of The Dastardly Miss Lizzie

Two people, two personalities, two body shapes. But just one allotted space on earth. That’s the background you need to know. Way more than split personality, these characters, Dr. Eliza Jekyll and Miss Lizzie Hyde, have the misfortune of sharing the exact same space. Share is all they can do. They have an arrangement, albeit an imperfect arrangement.  But imperfect is part of the fun.

The story takes place in London, half on the cheery middle class side of town, but also half on the darker, seedier side of town. The juxtaposition of these settings can be jolting, though I mean that in a positive way. It draws attention to the polar personalities of Eliza and Lizzie.

Lizzie’s favorite neighborhood is dark, gritty and populated with the ultra-poor, rejects, criminals, and not a few oddities that may or may not be human. Both crime and passion are rampant there, so I would expect much of the action to take place there. And it does.

Eliza’s middle class neighborhood is calm. And it is mostly safe. But murder is not class-conscious and Eliza is called to investigate a murder that turns into a grizzly and convoluted case. I mean Grizzly with a capital ‘G’. Ms. Carr’s murderers have quite the imagination! And, as usual, Eliza seems to be working on more than one mystery at a time with her friend and partner, Inspector Harley Griffin. They work the cases, while Eliza’s nemesis Chief Inspector Reeve, continually gets in the way. Reeve is such a great character to boo at!

Like books 1 and 2, The Dastardly Miss Lizzie has rather the intricate plot. Multiple murders, suspects galore and complex characters. Lizzie’s friend Johnny and Eliza’s beau Lafayette are part of the continuing cast of characters and both add to the romance aspect of the story, but also play their own roles in the big climactic finish.

Yes, there is a big finish. This plot far surpasses the solving of a serial murder mystery and becomes extraordinary. We are talking a magnificent, physics-defying, beyond-time, character-defining dénouement. Clues leading up to the finish are found all along the way, though I don’t think I could possibly have guessed who the baddie was and what they would do. Let’s just say it is a satisfying, steampunkish ending to an amazing series.

The relationship between Eliza and Lizzie is, by far, my favorite part of these stories. It adds both suspense and humor. The manifestation of Lizzie when Eliza is in control is a delightful complication to the relationship between these two. Their constant battle to either hate each other or support each other itches to be resolved. The writing, clearly depicting these two personalities is so cool, with the different voices and dialects. By the way, if you happen to enjoy audiobooks, narrator Beverly A. Crick is a genius with these voices and the first time I heard her read a scene where Eliza shifted to Lizzie, I got chills.

I would like to say that The Dastardly Miss Lizzie can be read as a stand alone, but I believe the experience would be immensely enhanced by reading the books in order. Otherwise, you might be likely to quote Eliza’s clockwork assistant Hippocrates: “Does not compute.” You will better understand the relationships and also Eliza’s and Lizzie’s background.

It is impossible for me to review The Dastardly Miss Lizzie without referring to the entire Electric Empire series. I immersed myself in the series this summer, re-reading book one and following it up with book 2 and book 3. This series is dark and light, gritty and fantastic, creepy and funny, disastrous and hopeful. It has romance, mystery and a quite a bit of steampunkiness throughout. I love this series!

Review copy provided by Edelweis.

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Links

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Purchase Electric Empire series books: