Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Bookanistas: Desires of the Dead + Giveaway

So there's a huge disclaimer that should be in bold at the very top of this review. We have a MEGA girl crush on Kimberly Derting. In fact, we might even idolize her. Just a little. We love her books, we love her blog and most of all we love her. She's one of those super amazing successful writers who's generous with her time AND fun. 

That said, as those of you who have read THE BODY FINDER (you can read our review here) know, the woman can write.

Today we're talking about book #2 in The Body Finder series, DESIRES OF THE DEAD.

Here's what the back cover has to say:
The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

LiLa's Take:
Three questions for you:

Do you like twisty mysteries?
Do you like hot boys?
Do you like bad ass girls with compulsive psychic abilities?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions you need to read this book. I won't give away any spoilers here (even though I really, really want to), but fans of the first book will LOVE hanging out with Violet for round 2. There's romance, there's a killer mystery and of course, there's dead bodies. Lots of 'em. I simply love the direction Kimberly is taking the series, so much so that I'm considering starting a write-in campaign to Harper Collins to ensure we get The Body Finder #3 ASAP.

We loved DESIRES OF THE DEAD so much that we want to send one lucky blog reader a copy. Just leave a comment telling us what psychic ability you covet and why? Um, just for the record we are way too wussy to choose something like locating dead bodies. Nah, we'd probably go for something more like the ability to foresee publishing trends. Yup, we're pretty much the biggest dorks EVER.

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:





  • Christine Fonseca freaks for THE FAMILIARS


  • Elana Johnson loves THE LOST SAINT


  • Jen Hayley  and  Scott Tracey swoon over ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS


  • Shannon Messenger gushes some cover love for HOURGLASS


  • Shelli Johannes-Wells is over the moon for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE


  • Carolina Valdez Miller loves THE LIAR SOCIETY, complete with a signed ARC giveaway!


  • Shana Silver has fallen for FALL FOR ANYTHING


  • Kirsten Hubbard is blown away by BLOOD MAGIC


  • Myra McEntire reveals her amazing cover for HOURGLASS


  • Carrie Harris celebrates XVI


  • Jessi Kirby is mesmerized by A BLUE SO DARK


  • Rosemary Clement-Moore marvels over MATCHED
  • 52 comments:

    Matthew MacNish said...

    I LOVE hot boys. Er - I mean love BEING a hot boy, no ... wait. That's not it either ...

    I'll have to find time to read the first one, well, first, but you guys certainly make it sound enticing.

    Unknown said...

    I loved your three little questions!! They'll have me giggling all the way to the bookstore! No need to tell me about this bad boy, I'm all over Desires of the Dead!

    Reading Mind / The Loyal Book said...

    My secret psychic power is that I seem to know who's going to call me/send me message/knock on my door. For example, just right now Neil Caffrey from White collar is stepping in...er...well,,,maybe this time my power failed me. But just this time, I swear!

    aliasgirl at libero dot it

    Jonathon Arntson said...

    So...I am ashamed to say that I have the first book, but have yet to read it, but if it makes you feel any better, I have had Linger since the day it came out and I have yet to read that. I am a full-time student, with a full-time job! I know - excuses, excuses...

    I would love the psychic ability of knowing the weather. I live in Michigan, and it changes every ten minutes. I'd like to not have to plan three outfits for one day.

    Vanessa said...

    The answer to all three questions is yes! Especially yes to the hot boys.

    I think I would like the psychic ability to make people fall asleep instantly. If you have to wonder why, you aren't a parent =o)

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    Kerri Cuev said...

    Super cool psychic abilities!!! It has to be knowing the lottery numbers!

    Thanks for the super cool giveaway!

    Katie Ashley said...

    The secret super power that I would covet and/or want would be a Bullshit Meter. Say you have someone who is totally full of crap or is giving you a line that's totally untrue, then your trusty BS meter could just start glowing or humming and let you know the truth!

    It would save a lot of time and energy when dating....

    Marquita Hockaday said...

    I would love to have the power to read everyone's inner most thoughts. But then again, I might not like what they have to say...so maybe I would covet the power to force every mean person/bully to be kind. Is that lame?? Oh well, I'm a teacher--I hate bullies!

    Riv Re said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Riv Re said...

    RivRe's answers:
    Sometimes
    Lurve hot boys *fans face*
    psychic girls are awesome!

    I'm going to go Harry Potter-style and say I want built-in Dark Detectors. It would be nice to know where my enemies are, who's lying to me, etc.

    Thanks for the giveaway! I'm going to tell you a secret: I haven't read Body Finder yet. *hides* I really want to read it though and I have it in my pile!
    rivkarno1(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Sarah Ahiers said...

    well... being a pyrokinetic would be pretty sweet, as long as people don't throw pig's blood on you. BUT i'm going to have to go with Telekinesis - because then i can make myself fly, fo' sho'.

    Regina said...

    Wow, my ability would have to be persuasion --mind control. I would love to be able to help controls those who cannot control their own impulses and give motivation/courage to those who don't have it.

    Having people do what you want when you want is like saying jump and watching it happen. :)

    Anonymous said...

    I love the Body Finder! I'm really excited about Desires of the dead. :)

    If I could have a psychic ability, I would want the power to move objects around with my mind. (I could creep out a lot of people hehehe)

    yilingni@yahoo.com

    JEM said...

    I just want to say "what up!" to the Neil Caffrey love in the comments above. I would trap him in a man cage and keep him forever. Oh, and if he actually happens to get trapped in a man cage I'm not liable for having just claimed to have trapped him in said man cage.

    Psychic abilities...hmmm. I think I would want mind control. Like my mind tells your mind: "Hey. Pssst. Go make JEM a turkey sandwich." And poof! Turkey sandwich. Except I'd use it for good. Like getting me a turkey sandwich.

    Melody said...

    So I've been watching NO ORDINARY FAMILY on Hulu recently...and I want so so so much to read minds! That's like, ultra-cool. And if I can read minds at a distance then, say, I could write exactly what an agent was looking for. :) Or know what they thought of my query.

    Or, you know, just whether or not "he" likes me. ;)

    Michelle Santiago said...

    i'd like the ability to time travel. it'd be so cool to visit the medieval times or the renaissance.

    Nicole Zoltack said...

    I want super speed. That way I could finish typing a story and editing it really fast. Can you imagine how prolific I would be? Awesome!

    Jennie Englund said...

    So, I actually have this crazy way of seeing things happen...to/for other people.

    But I can't do it about myself, and definitely not about my writing. *sighs*

    Ellz said...

    I want want to control elemental things with my mind. OR control others, or read thoughts (no scratch that one, that would be TMI)

    Tracey Neithercott said...

    I want to say mind reading but I'm of the mindset that you have to go big or go home. So I'm going with Sylar from the TV show Heroes' ability to read minds, see the future, and take other people's abilities.

    Lisa Potts said...

    Well, I definitely wouldn't want the ability to see the future. I remember Kyle Chandler's "Early Edition" and it just seems like too much work saving all those people and animals from natural disasters, unless you're a heartless b#$@*, which I'm not (most of the time) and could live with yourself after you let everyone perish.

    I guess I'd say the ability to control people's thoughts. That would have to be fun, right? The possibilities are endless.

    Katie said...

    I'm really looking forward to this new release!!! I think I'd have to choose reading people's minds as my ability, but only if I could turn it off - not like Edward Cullen. That would suck, it just sorta taking over your head. But if I could flip it on and off? Totally! :) Thanks for the giveaway!

    onepagereviews@gmail.com

    I ♥ Book Gossip said...

    I would love to see into the future. I cannot wait to read this book. Please count me in.

    cindyc725 at gmail dot com

    Kirsten Hubbard said...

    AAHH!! I still need to read The Body Finder. I've only heard good things about it.

    Marsha Sigman said...

    I love the questions, love these books, and really love Kimberly Derting.

    I say hells yes to all of these questions.

    And my ability would be to control other people. Like in 'Push', make them see and do what I want them to.

    Why? Because I am a control freak.

    Carrie Harris said...

    I don't want psychic abilities. But I'd be totally down with sparkles.

    Krispy said...

    Feels like so long since I read the Body Finder!

    I'd totally want the power to move things with my mind. Why? Because I'm lazy and I hate settling into bed or on a couch to read or watch TV or whatever and then realizing I forgot to close the door waaaaaaay over there or turn off the light on the other side of the room.

    Sara said...

    Loved the first one. Can't wait for this one.

    Marie Carlson said...

    I'd love the ability to control seemingly random occurances to make events happen. Drop a pen, change who lives in dies. (As a dramatic example; I don't actually want to use it to kill people. Promise.)

    This series sounds amazing.

    Lauren said...

    I would love the psychic ability to freeze time around me so that way I could sleep as long as I wanted and still wake up at 6:00am and would never be late for anything.

    Valia Lind said...

    I think it would be awesome to have an ability to locate dead if I got a boy like Jay hanging out with me all the time! :-)

    valialind(at)yahoo.com

    Michelle McLean said...

    It'd be fun to sense people's emotions....then you wouldn't really be getting the full "mind reading" thing, but you'd still be ahead of the game in any conversation - know if you're being lied to, if the person's emotions are matching their words...could be handy :D

    Sounds like an awesome book!

    Larissa said...

    Ooh! I wants it! :) I think I would want to be able to read minds, but only if I had fantastic mental shields to go with it (so I could block it out and use it selectively).

    That's not asking too much, is it? :D

    Anonymous said...

    Mind-reading is awfully tempting, but for me the potential downsides are too overwhelming. So in honor of my puppy's first birthday, I'm going to tweak that ability and go with ANIMAL mind-reading. Because I would really like to know what's in that fluffy head of his -- namely, why he is so dang obsessed with going up and down stairs?

    Pokadots1121 said...

    If I had a physic ability I would want to see what future YA books will be faboulous.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Pokadots1121@yahoo.com

    Jessica said...

    I would love to have an osmosis type power...ie. I would touch a book and have read it! Think how much reading I could get done...AWESOME! me = dork. :)
    Anyway, great giveaway. Loved the first book and can't wait to read the second.
    ireadtorelax@yahoo.com

    Christa said...

    Does the ability to stop time count? Because I need way more time in my day!
    Thanks for the giveaway.
    ambience.of.rain (at) gmail (dot) com

    donnas said...

    I would want to teleport. So much time saved by no traffic

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    Shelli (srjohannes) said...

    yes yes....i have a feeling we will get 3 and 4 (fingers crossed)

    Kulsuma said...

    Count me in if this is international please.
    I would love to control people's minds.
    k_anon[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk

    mariska said...

    i want to be able to cure people with my mind only..so if i say 'cure' to one sick people, they won't notice whose heals them :)

    uniquas at ymail dot com

    Linda Henderson said...

    I'd like to have the psychic ability to know what's wrong with people so they could get help. Knowing the lottery numbers wouldn't hurt either.

    seriousreader at live dot com

    Llehn said...

    The psychic ability I would want is to make people do my bidding. Mwahahahahha!

    lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

    Yes, yes, yes! I love all these things! Just started reading this one, and zooming through it!

    Sharli said...

    I love the Body Finder! Can't wait to get my hands on Desires of the Dead :)
    The psychic ability I'd love to have is reading people's minds. But not like listening to everyones thoughts all the time but be able to tune in if and when I want :P

    Count me in for the giveaway only if it's international, please! :)

    entrelibros_blog at hotmail.com

    Vivien said...

    I would have compulsion.

    Vivien
    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

    Elana Johnson said...

    I want to read this book so bad! I have a pretty big fangirl crush on Kim as well. Sad, but true.

    And dude, I'd totally read minds. Totally.

    Anonymous said...

    See people's auras! And then read their minds--yep yep. Thanks for the chance to win the next book!

    Deb

    Elise said...

    I would like to read peoples minds.
    caliblue7 at gmail dot com

    Brodie said...

    Very jealous of the fact you girls have read Desires of the Dead! I loved The Body Finder! Can't wait for DOTD release :D

    Hmm. I'll have to go with Telekinesis. I'd never have to move while reading then. Food, come! *zooms into mouth*. Eyelids, stay open! Sleep is not an option *stops blinking*. Oh crap, toilet break... do I bring the toilet to me or my pee to the toilet? Okay, so you probably don't want to know all that.

    I wonder if the 'moving objects' thing extends to moving a fictional hottie from the pages of the book to my embracing arms? Oh a girl can dream. Sigh.

    Thanks so much for the awesome giveaway!

    Onge said...

    Yes, Yes, and Yes! I would like to be able to read minds. People don't say what they mean I would like to see what people are really thinking. I don't know how long I would like it though. Seems like it may get hard to take after a while. Thanks for the awesome contest!
    chickenherder@hotmail.com

    MannaB said...

    I so want telepathy! That would be so awesome!

    crazypplrok@gmail.com

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