5 Loveys ARC Review: Another Kind of Dead {Dreg City #3} by Kelly Meding

 

 

 

 

 

 

Been there. Done that. Evy Stone is a former Dreg Bounty Hunter who died and came back to life with some extraordinary powers. Now all but five people in the world think she is dead again, this time for good—immolated in a factory fire set specifically for her. Evy and Wyatt, her partner/lover/friend, can no longer trust their former allies, or even the highest echelons of the Triads—the army of fighters holding back from an unsuspecting public a tide of quarreling, otherworldly creatures—they can trust only each other. Because when the Triads raided a macabre, monster-filled lab of science experiments and hauled away the remnants, they failed to capture their creator: a brilliant, vampire-obsessed scientist with a wealth of powerful, anti-Dreg weaponry to trade for what he desires most of all—Evy Stone: alive and well, and the key to his ultimate experiment in mad science.

From Goodreads.

• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group 
• Release Date: August 2nd, 2011   
• My Copy: eCopy received from the Author.
• Pages: 355 
• Series: Dreg City Series 
• Genre: Urban Fantasy 
• Author's Website
• Buy the Book:

Another Kind of Dead

*NO Spoilers

Kelly has done it again and delivered an awesome Urban Fantasy novel in this installment of her Dreg City series. I love how she has built up her world and characters and I find it that is impossible to get emotionally involved with Evy’s plea.

I mean, three books into this series and Evy does. not. get. a. freaking. break.! Don’t get me wrong, it all makes for a heart stopping story after another, but man she goes through hell after heel in these books and from the way things keep going I don’t really see a break in sight.

In Another Kind of Dead, Evy once again is in the spotlight and NOT in a good way. People are still trying or to kill her or use her, however she has built quite a little group of friends and people she can trust, something that she didn’t really have before.

There is a lot of Wyatt goodness in this novel and I for one love it! I think Evy and Wyatt are a great couple, not an easy HEA for sure, but definitely something to hope for. Phin is also back in this novel along with a series of secondary characters that make this series that much richer.

We also get a couple flashbacks and with them we get a chance to learn more about Evy’s and Evy and Wyatt’s past. I LOVED that!

All in all Kelly Meding does a brilliant job with Another Kind of Dead. Some series might start to fizzle and lose ground by book 3, but this definitely not the case and I have the suspicion that she is just getting started and I can’t wait to go along for the ride!

 

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Author Guest Blog by Kelly Meding: "Throwing Grandma Down the Stairs"

Admit it: the title of this post makes you just a little scared to the read the rest, doesn't it?

Don't be nervous. Throwing grandma down the stairs is a metaphor. I would never advocate the use of the elderly as weapons or tripping objects. But it does refer to a bit of a film sequence that I'm to use as the kick-off of this post.

Who's seen SCARY MOVIE? Yes, the spoof of horror films starring the Wayans brothers and

that chick from "American Pie" that no one remembers anymore. In particular, I want to address this little scene from the film:

Once you get over the ridiculousness of the scene itself (and manage to pretend that Ghostface is the protagonist here), there's an important writing lesson to be found in it: writing a book is like throwing grandma down the stairs.

No, really. Think about the vase, the bicycle, grandma, and the piano as different aspects of a book's plot. Plot twists, if you will, or stumbling blocks. We're told to put our main character into a tree and start throwing rocks at them. Or in this illustration, toss things at them to slow them down so they don't achieve their goals too quickly. Because really, if the protagonist achieved what they wanted right away, the book would be about ten pages long.

We put things in the way of our characters getting what they want. In the case of Evy in THREE DAYS TO DEAD, some of her stumbling blocks on the stairs are her limited time to solve the mystery, being in a new and untrained body, having memory loss, and not knowing who to trust. She has to overcome all of these things as she fights her way toward the end of the book and the inevitable confrontation with the antagonist. In AS LIE THE DEAD, her biggest stumbling block is her own prejudice against nonhumans.

And the antagonist doesn't always have to be a physical being—even though it often is, especially in urban fantasy. The antagonist can also be mental, such as self-doubt, personal issues and instability. It can be a mystery to solve or a wrong to set right. But no matter what the antagonist the main character must face, it's how the author "throws grandma down the stairs" that helps keep me riveted and turning page after page.

by Kelly Meding

Thanks so much Kelly for stopping by!

ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD (Dreg City #3), August 2nd, 2011

WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City #4), 2012

Check out my reviews of: 

Three Days to Dead (Dreg City #1)

As Lie The Dead (Dreg City #2)

Find Kelly Online:

Website | Twitter

Buy The Books:

Three Days to Dead (Dreg City, Book1)

As Lie the Dead (Dreg City, Book 2)

Another Kind of Dead (Dreg City, Book3)

Wrong Side of Dead (Dreg City, Book 4) 

Trance 

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Author Interview & Signed Book Giveaway w/ Kelly Meding! {Happy Release Day!}

 

This Giveaway is OVER!!

Thanks for participating! 

 

Hey Everyone! Welcome to another Tuesday here on My Bookish Life and I am so excited to have here today the author of one of my favorite new Urban Series, Kelly Meding!

The second Book in her Dreg City series is coming out TODAY and you’ll have chance to win a signed copy at the end of the post =)

Check out my reviews of Three Days to Dead (Dreg City #1) and As Lie The Dead (Dreg City #2).

Now let’s get to the interview… Enjoy!

 

Larissa {L}: When did you first start writing?

Kelly Meding {KM}: This question has several different answers. If I want to go all the way back to the very first story I penned, it was in a fourth grade academic class. We were supposed to write and illustrate our own story books, which we would learn how to bind and cover. It was a ridiculously sappy rip-off of "The Land Before Time," but I still have it tucked away on my bookshelf. The first time I tried to write a long story, I was twelve. It was also a very bad, derivative story that was an odd mix of "Sweet Valley High" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" (the original). I don't have that anymore. The first time I sat down to write a project with the intention of selling it (yes, I was optimistic in my youth) was my first novel. I was seventeen when I started fiddling with it, and it was written slowly over the next couple of years. I definitely fell into the category of "first novels are often autobiographical" because that one was very much inspired by places I've been and people I've known.

{L}: Have you always enjoyed Fantasy?

{KM}: Definitely. From the time I was a small child, I loved everything about fantasy and science fiction (and even horror). The more fantastical, the more I loved it. But really, so much of children's lit is fantasy. Every single book with talking animals is fantasy (Charlotte's Web) and I just loved Roald Dahl (hello, fantasy!).

{L}: Why writing Urban Fantasy?

{KM}: Because it encompasses everything I like most about Speculative Fiction – unique worlds, magic, fantastic creatures, adventure, mystery, and hot men (what?). I admit to being an unrepentant "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" fan, and this was my first real experience with what's thought of as modern urban fantasy. There is so much you can do with fantasy in the real world, from the more traditional vampires and werewolves, to angels and demons, to wizards and witches and djinn and tricksters and harpies…it goes on. The sand box is wide open.

{L}: Were there any Books, Movies or Writers that have inspired
you?

{KM}: Oh boy, yes. Joss Whedon is my patron saint. His dialogue is brilliant, and no one else excels at making you laugh and cry in the exact same moment. Two books that changed my life are "Watership Down" by Richard Adams, and "The Girl With the Silver Eyes" by Willo Davis Roberts. WD was the first long book I read in middle school, and it really opened my eyes to adult fantasy. I fell in love with this book—everything about it from the characters (rabbits, a sea gull, even the farm cat), the setting, their language, and the entire mythology Adams created about rabbits (their own folk tales!). The details were amazing, and I really believed these rabbits lived in the downs of the English countryside. It was magic, and I've read it at least a dozen times since.

"Silver Eyes" was the first book I read that dealt with telekinesis. I hadn't seen the film or read the book "Carrie" by Stephen King yet, so this was it. And I was
fascinated by the idea of moving things with your mind. The second novel I wrote dealt with varieties of telekinetic and telepathic abilities, and it was very
much inspired by my memories of this book. I found a copy in a thrift store a few years ago, and it's one of my most treasured books.

{L}: What is your favorite subject in the Urban Fantasy Realm?

{KM}: Probably shapeshifters. I love writing about people/things who can shift into other things/objects/animals. There's just something very liberating about the
idea—reinventing yourself, in a way.

Favorites:

{L}: Favorite Paranormal themed Movie?

{KM}: Stephen King's The Stand (the miniseries)

{L}: Favorite Paranormal themed TV Show?

{KM}: I have to pick one? Ack! Currently, True Blood.

{L}: Favorite Paranormal themed Book?

{KM}: Now I know you're torturing me. Um, of the books I read last year, Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro.

{L}: Favorite Author?

{KM}: Stephen King

{L}: Favorite Paranormal Romance Author?

{KM}: Gena Showalter

{L}: Favorite one of your Books?

{KM}: So far, only two are available for purchase. But of the two, I really think AS LIE THE DEAD is my favorite. I got to take Evy to different places, and she interacts with some very…unique characters.

{L}: Who is your favorite of your own characters?

{KM}: At the moment, a were-osprey named Phineas, who you meet very early in AS LIE THE DEAD. Smedge the bridge troll seems to be a big fan favorite in THREE DAYS TO DEAD, but I really hope fans embrace Phin. He is direct, smart, manipulative when it suits him, and extremely loyal to people he cares about, and even as I wrote the book I was never quite sure who's side he was on. And he's a great foil for Evy.

{L}: Which was the hardest to write? Why?

{KM}: In some ways, Wyatt is the hardest character to write. He plays things pretty close to the chest, and even while writing him I'm sure what he'd do/say in some situations. It's also tricky to write a character who's being seen through two different sets of eyes: pre-death Evy in the flashbacks and post-resurrection Evy.

{L}: What would you be if not a writer?

{KM}: I have no idea. Maybe own an antique shop. Maybe I'd have become more serious about jewelry making (which is just an occasional hobby now). At this point, I can't imagine being anything else.

Quickies:

{L}: Coffee or Tea?

{KM}: Coffee.

{L}: Virtual or Real?

{KM}: Real.

{L}: Angels or Demons?

{KM}: Demons

{L}: Humans or Dregs?

{KM}: Dregs (did I just say that out loud?)

{L}: Friends or Seinfeld?

{KM}: Friends

{L}: Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

{KM}: Rolling Stones

{L}: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

{KM}: When an idea is brand new, just a kernel of inspiration, with so many possibilities open for exploration.

{L}: What is your least favorite part?

{KM}: Copyedits. By the time I get to this part, I've already edited it multiple times and finished all of the fun stuff. Copyedits are all about tightening and making sure things make sense and say what they're supposed to say. It's one of the few parts of the process that really feels like work. But it's worth it, to get things right.

{L}: The Dreg City Series in your own words?

{KM}: "In this city, half the population comes out after dark—and so do the Hunters who keep them in line."

{L}: Any plans for more Books in the series?

{KM}: Yep! Dell just picked up two more books, ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD and WRONG SIDE OF DEAD. Both books continue Evy's story as she makes new alliances, breaks old ties, and learns things she never imagined were true.

{L}: What is coming up next for you?

{KM}: Along with the two Evy books, I have a modern superhero series coming from Pocket Books next year. I have a few other irons in the fire, but nothing to report on those fronts yet.

{L}: What are you working on right now?

{KM}: Dreg City #4 is my current WIP. The structure is a little different from the other books, so it's been a lot of fun to figure out. So many things happen in this book and I can't talk about any of them!

{L}: Do you have any advice or tip to those like me that want to
become a published Author someday?

{KM}: Write, write, write. No one is going to write the book for you, and if it's a priority to write, then you can find the time to do so. Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard. And don't give up. Rejection happens. Not all authors sell their first book (it took me seven).

{L}: Anything you would like to say to your fans out there?

{KM}: Besides a big, hearty thank you? Knowing folks are out there, reading and enjoying my books, makes all of the time and effort worthwhile, so THANK YOU. Thank you for giving a new author a chance, and thank you for sticking around for Book Two!

{L}: Thank you so much for being here!

{KM}: Absolutely! Thank you for having me!

Thanks so much Kelly for taking the time to answer my questions and for the great giveaway!

 

 

You can win a SIGNED copy of “As Lie The Dead”!

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Release Day Celebration ARC Review: As Lie The Dead [Dreg City, #2] by Kelly Meding

 

Re-posted to Celebrate the release of “As Lie The Dead”

Out TOMORROW, July 27th! 

 

 

 

“Evangeline Stone, a rogue bounty hunter, never asked for a world divided between darkness and light…
…or the power to die and live again in someone else's borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help—even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.
Amid weres, Halfies, gremlins, vamps—and increasingly outgunned humans—a war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it—unless, of course, her own side gets her first.”

From Goodreads.

• Publisher: Dell

• Release Date: July 27th, 2010

• My Copy: ARC given to me by the author.

• Pages: 416

• Genre: Urban Fantasy

• Author's Website

• Buy This Book:

As Lie the Dead (Dreg City, Book 2)

*Contain Spoilers if you haven’t read “Three Days to dead” – Click HERE to read my review of the previous book!

I really enjoyed Kelly’s previous novel, “Three Days to Dead” and have been been looking forward to the sequel ever since I finished it. I’m so happy I got the chance to read the ARC. I had high hopes for this book and was not disappointed.

“As Lie The Dead” starts right after the end of the previous book and if you thought that being tortured. dying. being resurrected in a body that’s not yours, having 3 days to save the world before you die again and being hunted by those you believed where your friends is bad enough for our heroine Evangeline Stone, you have got another thing coming.

Evy is not dead and the immediate threat to her world has been neutralized for now, but things are far from over. The triads don’t take quitting easily and are still considering her to be a rogue that needs to be dealt with. The Owlkin, which she believed had been decimated, have a few survivors left and are depending on her to keep them safe.

Along with that, Evy is still dealing with having 2 consciousness in one body and the after math of the deaths from Three Days to dead. Let’s not forget her new and tumultuous relationship with her former handler, Wyatt, who seems to be keeping many more secrets than she thought possible.

Our beloved heroine is back in style and more damaged than ever. I love Evy and all her flaws. She is loyal, brave, damaged, stubborn and not afraid to kick-ass when necessary. Her relationship with Wyatt evolves a lot in this novel and even though it is clear that it won’t be easy for them to work out, it is definitely worth it and great to follow.

I also really enjoyed the addition of new secondary characters like Phinn, and a closer look into the were population, structures and politics. As Lie The Dead is such an awesome book. I went through it in one sitting and I could not put it down for a second. You get non-stop action, a troubled kick-ass heroine and a great romance all in one neat package of Urban Fantasy awesomeness.

If you haven't checked out Kelly Meding’s Dreg City series yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. There are so many Urban Fantasy novels and series out there, it’s great to read something that at the same time is faithful to the classics and brings something fresh to the table. I recommend it to all Urban Fantasy lovers out there!

 

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Lala's Book Corner: Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

"When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was.



Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . "



From Goodreads.





I had heard so much about this book that I just had to get it. I actually finished it at the end of  December, but it has taken me a while to sit down and actually write down a review. I kept asking myself why, since I actually really enjoyed this book, and the only answer I came up with is that I don't think I have much to say about it.





"Three days of dead" is a great addition to the Urban Fantasy genre. It's smart, fun, full of action and quite touching at times. It doesn't reinvent the genre, but it does put a new spin on an old tale.





Evangeline is an awesome heroine and plenty lovable. Her plea definitely strummed my heart strings . She finds herself in an awful situation and it just gets worse. How would you deal in knowing that the people you thought you could trust have betrayed you and not only that, that the ones who haven't betrayed you, believe you are the back stabber?





There is no easy way to deal and Evy doesn't have much time to get things right. She dies, was brought back and has no idea why. Wyatt, her ex-boss, is the only person she can trust and there is something about him that she is quite sure she should remember.





I loved Evy and Wyatt together. Wyatt is a great character, strong and loyal. Their relationship is something I loved to see the development. It was not easy, but in my opinion they work so well together that I just couldn't wait to see if something would actually happen between them.





All in all, Three Days to Dead is a great book and I thoroughly recommend it to any UF fan out there. I have already pre-ordered my copy of book two and I just can't wait for it =)

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