My First Sherrilyn Kenyon Novel

The great Amazon.com recommended Sherrilyn Kenyon to me based on some supernatural books that I have purchased in the past. It recommended her "Dark Hunter" series. I headed down to 'ol Barnes n' Noble to pick up some reading materials and decided to purchase a few of her books.

I picked up the book "Dark Hunter" and went to the list of books. Inside, it not only had the list of books, but the "reading order". I loved that this was written this way because I normally go back and forth between all of the books on the shelf looking at copyright dates. I purchased the first three books on the list.

Now, about a month later, I was in the mood to read one of these books. What I didn't realize at the time because I just don't pay much attention to titles or synopses is that the first book is called "Fantasy Lover." How embarrassing.

Well, Sunday night I read about the first 10 pages of the book and thought "whoo boy" this is going to be a doozy. The first chapter tells a story of a Greek demi-god (Aphrodite's son) who is cursed to basically be trapped in a book and come out as a love-slave for a month to any woman who summons him. Yeah. I thought so too.

Last night, I began to read the story of a woman who didn't mean to summon the man with literally, the face and body of a Greek god. (Or more appropriately, Macedonian god.) The characters had depth and it wasn't all about sex. The characters grew together to overcome their pasts. And hey - any romance book that quotes Plato and makes sense has some redeeming value.

I started to read about 7pm last night. I finished the book at midnight. The book kept me engaged because I wanted to know how the characters were going to react and evolve.

Good read when you're in the mood.

What a Disappointment

I just finished reading High Heels and Holidays and I finished it just because I finish books. The story was convoluted and flat. It may be that it seemed that way to me since I haven't read any of the previous books leading up to this one, but come on! The plot is that an author has had her regency hero come to life and move into the apartment across the hall. Together, they solve crimes in New York. Like I said, convoluted.

The most redeeming feature of this book is that I was so disinterested that I got a lot of cleaning done around the house and am almost done with my Christmas shopping.

What next?

Hmmm. What to read next? It is raining, and so with that came a headache. Therefore, I want something light next. That rules out Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Stuart Woods and James Patterson in my "new book" pile.

That leaves the holiday stories I picked up, Katie MacAllister and Fern Michaels. Katie MacAllister is definitely fun and light, but I don't think I'm up for a historical, so that pretty much limits me to the holiday books.

Narrowed down. I think I'll select High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels. I've never picked up a book by her before, I just liked the title. Hope I enjoy the book just as much.

Blood Brothers

Nora Roberts is such an amazing author. She produces more books than any other author I read. Blood Brothers is the first in the Sign of Seven Trilogy. Of course, Nora Roberts doesn't disappoint. This is the story of three boys who spent their tenth birthday at a sacred stone and inadvertently released an evil that plagues the town for seven days every seven years.

The book takes place in the third "seventh", twenty-one years after releasing the evil entity. Three women are drawn to the town sixth months prior to the men's birthdays (they were born 7/7/77 - how about that for a magic number? My mom was pregnant on this day, but alas, my brother was born 7/18/77).

Roberts does an excellent job of showing the relationship between two of the characters who, of course, fall in love. I'm looking forward to seeing the others pair up as well in the next two installments. As always, her writing is excellent, she shows depth in her characters and the writing extolls the mood of the scene. When there is action, her words are quick, when there is romance, the words are slower.

Great writing. Five of five stars.

Candy Cane Murder

Last night I finished the book Candy Cane Murder. When I purchased it, I was looking for a light book that didn't take much thought. That is what I got.

The first story is by Joanne Fluke and is "Candy Cane Murder". This is an author I will read again. She has a wit about her that was enjoyable and includes recipes at the end of the chapter for any food mentioned in the book.

The second story, "The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine had humor in it reminiscent of Janet Evanavich. Food, food and more food laced with guilt was something I could identify with. The author spoke directly to the audience explaining the character's history for those who had picked up the book for "Hannah's" (from Joanne Fluke's story) recipes.

The last story was definitely the weakest. I really wasn't interested in Leslie Meier's "Candy Canes of Christmas Past" until maybe the last two pages. It seemed more about a mom taking care of her child than a woman uncovering clues to a murder. I wasn't interested in the domestic struggles of a couple in this type of book.

All in all, it was entertaining. Not hardback authors for me, but I'll check out some Joanne Fluke in paperback for sure and if I'm out of my stash of books to read, Laura Levine will be one I will investigate.

What is this thing all about?

I've decided to communicate with the world. Um. OK, what do I have to say? Well, I really don't think my personal life is something I want to post for the world to see, and you really don't care about my cats (although some of the Swiper stories are pretty funny). So - what else do I do besides work, watch TV and laugh at the cats? I read. I read a lot.

So, here it is. I've decided to keep a blog of the books that I am reading and my thoughts regarding them.