Book Review: Any Given Doomsday

Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles)
by Lori Handeland

Having read Lori Handeland's Crescent Moon (book 4 in the Nightcreature series), I was looking forward to reading the Advance Reader copy of Any Given Doomsday. The start of a new series , this one gets off to a slow start. The first half of the book is bogged down in background and setup and at times leaves the reader as confused about what is going on as the lead character, Liz Phoenix, a psychic ex-cop who has quit the force rather than try to explain where her knowledge of crimes comes from.

Her foster mother is brutally murdered and first she, then a former boyfriend, Jimmy, are suspected. The boyfriend tells her she is in danger, then locks her in an abandoned house, where she is attacked by a supernatural body-snatching creature. Once he has been dealt with (due to a lucky choice of jewelry and bad footing), she and the boyfriend plant evidence to make it appear the unlucky snatchee killed her foster mother, then the take off cross country to visit her psychic teacher from her teen years (who she has a crush on and is equally afraid of). More supernatural events occur on the trip (including period visits with the dead foster mother thru dreams).

Halfway through the book, she (and we) find she gains powers by sleeping with others (who have powers due to partial demonic genetics, but who fight on the side of good, killing off demons who are on the other side). First sleeping with the former teacher, she gains the ability to shapeshift, but only when touching his magical tattoos. This apparently also unlocks her ability to gain powers through sex, as she later has an encounter with Jimmy and gains his powers as well (despite having slept with him long before, she received no powers previously).

As the first in a series, the book seemed to have just taken off in plot and character development, when it suddenly ended. And, of course, many threads were left unexplored (often in a rather obvious manner), setting up the stage for further episodes: where did Jimmy go, will Sawyer find (and kill) his mother, will Liz decide sleeping with women is worth the increase in power ("magic make-me dust" might not be enough temptation to sleep with her ex's next lover, but who knows what the next temptation will be?).

The second half of the book was definitely a more engaging read and the book as a whole is not for those who don't tolerate explicit sexual content. This book joins the current torrent in the dark fantasy/erotic genre popularized by Laurell K. Hamilton. Hopefully now that all that pesky background and development work has been taken care of, the following books in the series will maintain the pace set near the end.

It's a Trifecta! Books On Board joins the eBook Bailout weekend!

From the Books on Board home page:

Save up to 61%! Now Thru Sunday Only

• 51% Rewards Dollars - Spend $100 Get $51 Credited to your account towards future purchases
• Rewards Dollars SPEND EXACTLY LIKE CASH ON AUDIO BOOKS AND eBOOKS WITH NO RESTRICTIONS
• Rewards Dollars can be used in addition to other savings on any purchase - no weird rules or constraints
• Rewards Dollars do not expire once you claim them
• BooksOnBoard was the first eBook Shop to offer "Rewards Dollars," dollars you can use for eBooks and audio books without restrictions and complicated rules - Just Earn 'em and Spend 'em!

Build a book "nest egg" at BooksOnBoard

...Rewards Dollars work exactly like cash in our bookshop

Note that last bit -- at Books on Board, unlike Fictionwise and eReader, reward dollars act just like cash. This means you can use them to purchase books that offer 100% rewards without spending any more money (just use your current rewards balance) and you get the entire amount credited back to your account. This lets you buy hundreds of dollars in books with the same $20 to $50 in rewards (it's easier with a larger rewards balance, as you can buy more than one book at a time). New rewards books go up on the site every Monday evening (same as at Fictionwise - but there you must pay by credit card or paypal for 100% rewards books). Like Fictionwise, Books on Board supports several e-reading formats, including mobi formats that work on the Kindle. Often books are priced similarly on the two sites, but available in different formats, so be sure to check both sites on this sale weekend.

eBook Bailout expands!

The eBook Bailout has expanded to eReader.com, where all books are now yielding 50% Rewards (which go into a store credit account). No word on their site as to how long this will last, but suspect it is the same Nov. 12 deadline that is over at Fictionwise.

This site is now owned by Fictionwise, but offers books in only the eReader format, which can be read on your computer, iphone and several other mobile devices, but not on the Amazon Kindle (at least, not without some manipulation of the format and removal of the copy protection on the file). They also have a store credit program, although it is both separate from your Fictionwise MicroPay account and works in a different manner (their rebates are only on the portion of a book not paid by store credit, for example, but can be used on any book, not just those with lower rebate percentages).

If you've been wanting some books to read, but holding off due to the cost or have a lot less to spend due to the stock market slump, both of these sites will let you get more reading time for your dollar.

eBook Bailout at Fictionwise

Wondering whether you'll be able to keep supporting your reading habit, now that your retirement plan has tanked and you've been saddled with several thousand in debt due to the financial bailout (your share of the bailout, to be paid via taxes)? Over at Fictionwise, they feel your pain and want to help. For a limited time, they have effectively slashed the price of all their books in half, provided you pay via credit card or paypal. You get a rebate of 50 cents for every dollar spent, credited to a store credit account, called Micropay. The money in your Micropay account may then be used later to purchase other books (which can also have rebates, up to 30%) or be refunded if you decide you no longer wish to shop at fictionwise (see their micropay FAQ for details).

Just be sure to act fast - this offer is only valid for the first $700 billion in sales (or until this Sunday, which ever comes first)!

eRook Bailout Plan: 50% Rebates on Every Title! (Limit: $700 Billion) The Feds bailed out Wall Street last week to the tune of $700 Billion, and here at Fictionwise we say: why let the fat cat CEO's have all the fun? So starting now, every single title in our store sports a massive 50% Micropay Rebate when paying by credit or PayPal! But hurry: we will run this insane eBook Bailout Package either through Sunday October 12, or until we give away $700 Billion worth of Rebates, whichever comes first!

Free eBooks on Garden Design, by English Author

Two eBooks by Tom Turner are available for free digital download in October, 2008 - to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Gardenvisit.com website, in return for your email address. The first is in pdf format (presumably the second will be as well). There are other online ebooks on their website, which may be read for free, but only a page at a time while online, not as a download. The pricing below is taken from the site's info - neither title is available at Amazon.com at the current time.

The free eBooks are:

The Principles of Garden Design by Tom Turner

(ISBN 978-0-9542306-2-3, 45 pages, 130 illustrations, 2008, normal price $15.00)

The eBook explains the 3 classic design principles: gardens should be useful, gardens should be well-made and gardens should be beautiful. The principles come from Vitruvius. They have influenced the design of gardens since ancient times and are as important today as they have always been.

24 Historic Styles of Garden Design by Tom Turner

(ISBN 978-0-9542306-3-0, 84 pages, 230 illustrations, 2008, normal price $19.00)

Giving simple and clear explanations of the use and form of the 24 best-known historic styles of garden design in the west. The period covered extends from the temples and courtyards of Ancient Egypt to the Modern and Postmodern styles of the 21st century, including recent gardens from the Chelsea Flower Show.