Recommendations

Today I taught the class Communication in the Technology Age and shared this blog with the class. Since I shared it, I received the following book recommendations.

• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer


• 39 Clues by Rick Riordan

Update

Just wanted to post that although I haven't been posting, that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. I'll post all of the books I've read since June within the next week or so.

Last week, I completed Raintree, an anthology by Linda Howard, Beverly Barton and Linda Winstead Jones. I read Foul Play by Janet Evanavich, Dark Summer by Iris Johanson, One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Swallowing Darkness by Laurel K. Hamilton.

Today, I am currently reading Deadly Night by Heather Graham.

On Saturday, I finished Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews and then promptly read Magic Burns on Sunday.

It took about half the book for me to get interested in Magic Bites. The author has created a weird, wacky world which I generally like; however, in this case it took her quite a bit of time to fully explain the world. This is book 1 of the series, but I felt like I was missing a prequel.

She made statements of fact like "the tech fell" and "the magic hit". It took me half of the book to realize that magic grew in strength and then all technology items (light bulbs, cars, etc.) stop functioning. An hour later, in the "time of tech", magic is still present, but it isn't as strong and so the technology rules.

If it had just been this book, I probably wouldn't have picked up another book by Ilona Andrews, but the second book had the same characters, so I had to see what was going to happen to them. I liked the character that is the leader of the shape shifters "Beast Lord", I didn't like the vampires at all.

In this world, vampires are brainless undead and the Master of the Dead "pilots" them. He sits in his secured location and runs the vampires like playstation. I didn't really get how one gets to be the Master of the Dead. I don't know if the master is a vampire or not. There were 200 - 300 year old vampires who didn't think for themselves. It just wasn't clear.

All in all, I'll read another book with the same characters, but I won't recommend them to anyone else.

77

Since I last counted, I have read 21 books. Add that to the 56 I had read previously and I have read 77 books since I began this blog on November 29, 2007.

Bad Blogger, Bad.

Well, I have been very bad about keeping up with my postings. Here is what I have read (I think I got them all) since I posted last:

• From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
• If you Dare by Kresley Cole
• If you Desire by Kresley Cole
• If you Deceive by Kresley Cole
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
• Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell
• Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
• Two more short stories from the "Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" book

Right now, I have started Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. She is a new author for me. I'm not sure what I think just yet, but I have two of her books, so I'll give her a try.

Vampire Alert

This memorial day weekend, I read Dark Desires after Dusk by Kresley Cole (book 5) and One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost.

The Kresley Cole book, as always was a fascinating read. It is very good writing that makes you root for the demon. 

The Jeanine Frost book is only her second book and it is Great! I'm going to take them to Jennifer tonight because I know she'll love them. It has been so long since I read the first one that I didn't know how much I was going to want to read the second, but she didn't let me down. Very good read. 

Spoiler for Book 1: The main character is a half-vampire, half-human enforcer for Homeland Security who eliminates vampires who kill humans. In this vampire world, the human race has no idea that vampires exist and that ghouls are cool. 

Catching Up.. Again

I've not been in the mood to post lately, but here it goes...

The Hollow by Nora Roberts
This is the second book in the Sign of Seven trilogy. It didn't disappoint. There is mystery, magic, and mayhem. Love it.

Quicksand by Iris Johansen
Once again, a serial killer is taunting Eve Duncan by claiming to be the killer of her missing daughter, Bonnie. This was very well done. I liked the recurrence of the "Pandora" from the last book.

Playing with Fire by Katie MacAllister
This is the first of the Silver Dragons series, but we still have contact with Aisling and Drake from the previous dragon books. We get the story of Gabriel which is great and makes you just yearn for the next book.

She throws a lot of obstacles in the way of her characters and I can't wait to see how they get out of them. This book has dragons, witches, guardians, demons, and doppelgangers. Fun. And I must mention my favorite, the demon who chose "the most beautiful form" - a talking dog named Jim.

The Third Circle by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz)
Jayne Ann Krentz writes her historical books under the name Amanda Quick. For this series, the Arcane Society, she is jumping back and forth between the past and the future in different books under different names. I don't care what name she puts on the book, they are all good. It took me a while to remember some of the main characters from the last books, but then I was happy to check up on them.

This book opens with a murder in a prosperous Lord's home and a man and woman with paranormal senses working together to find a murderer and uncover a secret society plot. Very intriguing.

And Amazon Rocks!

My Amazon shipment came in today. It wasn't supposed to arrive until May 12th! (And two books weren't supposed to be released until that date, so cool...

I don't know what I am going to start with next... so much to choose from. This is what I received.

• Many Bloody Returns (an Anthology) edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
• From Dead to Worse (the newest Southern Vampire Series - book 8) by Charlaine Harris
• The Third Circle by Amanda Quick
• Quicksand by Iris Johansen
• One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress - book 2) by Jeanine Frost
• Playing with Fire (Silver Dragons - book 1) by Katie MacAlister
• The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy - book 2) by Nora Roberts

Wow- so many good books. I don't know where to start! Probably The Hollow and then Playing with Fire. Or maybe Quicksand... Oh wow. There will be many late nights in my near future.

Big Fat Book of Supernatural Short Stories

I am reading "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" currently. I bought this book because I saw that both Sherrilyn Kenyon and Charlaine Harris are listed as contributors. There are nine short stories in this anthology and so far I have read the following:

• Spellbound by L.A. Banks
  
• Something Borrowed by Jim Butcher (This is the Dresden Files series.)
  
• Dead Man's Chest by Rachel Caine
  
• All Shook Up by P.N. Elrod

I'll definitely look into more P.N. Elrod. It reminds me of Janet Evanovich. I feel good about my Jim Butcher book that I have in my amazon cart as well.

Night Watch

This Russian bestseller was very interesting. At times I wondered if some elements were lost in translation because I felt that the premise of the world wasn't explained fully.

The book is basically about the dichotomy between good and evil. The Night Watch lives in the night policing the Dark magicians and the Day watch spends the day policing the Light magicians. Darkness and light have created a truce. If there is too much of good or evil, there will be an unbalance in the world. This makes a difficult task for the Night Watch because the Day Watch is devious and will sacrifice the "unimportant" of the dark ones so that they can accuse the Night Watch of eliminating them. The Day Watch do this so they can get their "retaliation" to even out the scales.

Quite complicated, but quite interesting.

Up Next

I just pulled Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyaneko off the shelf (there are currently 21 books there to choose from). This book was a besteller in Russia and was recommended to me by the Barnes  & Noble clerk. 

I really don't know anything about it, but Gina* said it was the best book in the whole sci-fi section. So we'll see if she is right. 

*The name has been changed not to protect her, but because I haven't the foggiest idea what her name really was.

Ewww.....

I read the third book in Charlaine Harris' "Grave" series, An Ice Cold Grave. While the storyline was excellent, I could do without the step-brother on step-sister action. Couldn't she have just introduced them from the beginning as two people who grew up in the same house rather than "my brother this and my brother that"? Gross.... they're talking about marriage. And they wonder how their half-sisters are going to feel about this. Well, duh. They are going to be grossed out! 

Anyway - Harper has been called into a small town to do her "thing" and find the dead bodies of boys who have gone missing. Six in three years to be exact. Harper is able to sense the bodies and finds a few extra to boot. Well, the murderer just isn't too happy with her spoiling his fun and Harper has to figure out not only who is the snake in the garden in this kind town, but who wants her dead.

It has some great unexpected elements, but again, I could do without the step-sibling make-out sessions.

J.R. Ward is Addictive

Luckily, the next J.R. Ward book isn't out for a few months. Otherwise it would be even longer before I got anything done. I spent all day Sunday reading the story of Vishous, Lover Unbound. This story didn't have very much about the mortal enemy of the Vampires, the Lessers. It involved more about the relationships between the characters.

I was glad that John finally went through the "turning." He is a character with much promise and I've enjoyed how his story has progressed throughout the first five books. 

I'll get a break until June 3rd when book 6 is released. (Which should be a doozy. A 200-year old celibate vampire who is married to basically 40 "chosen" women but is in love with his twin's wife.)

In the meantime, perhaps I can get some laundry done?

P.S. Out of 502 pages, she only used the word "boots" once.

UPS Made It

So, as I was leaving yesterday to go meet Claire for a drink, I noticed that sometime between 4:00 (when I checked last) and 4:30, UPS had left my box of books by the front door. Thanks for ringing the doorbell, bud. 

As I came home last night, I had the choice of two books that I am looking forward to reading. I chose the Kresley Cole book, Dark Needs at Night's Edge, because Rachel originally got me hooked on this series and I thought if I got this one read first, then I could pass it on to Rachel and then Jennifer.

Well, I'm ready to pass it on. I started the book when I got home last night and read until about 1:30. I completed the book this morning. It was that good.

This book is just as good as the three books that preceded it. The main character is a "fallen" vampire, Conrad Wroth, who is really a little crazy. He has the memories of all of the people he has taken blood from and so he has a little trouble determining what is real and what is memory. His three brothers capture him in the attempt to bring him back from the brink of crazy. Hey - there's that crazy theme again. 

While he is imprisoned, Conrad sees a ghost. He doesn't realize that she is real, but she craves to be with him because he is the only one who can see her. They build an impossible relationship.

I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite characters, especially Nix. "Nucking Futs Nix" is great. 

Darn UPS!

Today I was home because I worked last Saturday. It is great to be home on a workday without being sick. You can get so much done. Unless you are trapped at your house waiting for UPS! 

I ordered new books from Barnes & Noble and they are scheduled to be delivered today. Now, when I'm at work, all of my packages are delivered by 1:30. But since I am home, it isn't here yet. Grr. When I go out to eat, I like to take a book with me so I don't sit and stare at the wall while waiting for my food. Since I'm excited about the books that I ordered, I don't want to start a new book at lunch when I have new ones coming.

So now I'm hungry and grumpy waiting for the next J.R. Ward and Kresley Cole books.

Back to Murder

This morning I finished Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris. I thought this was a good choice to ease back into murder mystery since it is an Aurora Teagarden book. I love this character. The retired librarian (who is in her early thirties) does her mom a favor by showing a house for an interested buyer. As she showed the three bedroom house, she finds a corpse in one of the bedrooms. Thus, the title.

I can't wait to read the next book. I think that this series was actually published some time ago and I could find the next book from a book dealer, but I am content to wait for the reprint. I have so much to read right now that I'm great.

Time for Romance

OK - apparently I've been reading too much about murder and hackin' someone up with a sword because you're some elite fighting machine that can't go out in the day. The other day I woke myself up trying to yell "HELP". It just came out as a squeak, but just the same, the dream was quite disturbing and evil...

I woke up laying inside a concrete cave not knowing how I had gotten there. As I begin to move to look around, my right shoulder brushes against something. My heartbeat is pounding as I look over to see what is next to me. I am able to get my whits about me when I realize that it is another woman with a slight build and long dark hair. She doesn't know how she has come to be in this place either.

I help her up and we head toward a ramp that leads up to daylight. It has the feel of the ramps that are underneath large stadiums. It isn't, but it feels that way. As we get to the top of the ramp, we find that we are standing in the medium of a large freeway and cars are whipping past us. My companion points to the other side of the road and says that if we go back underground, we can cross under the freeway to the other ramp and then walk to safety. It isn't until later that it occurs to me to wonder what may lurk under the freeway.

As we begin to descend into the concrete cave, a man smiles and says hello as he heads up the ramp. My companion is unconcerned, but being cautious, I turn as he passes so he is not at my back. I turn just in time to see him kick my companion in the small of her back as hard as he can and say "I thought you were supposed to work" as she begins to tumble down the ramp.

As I turn to fight him, (Yes, I was prepared to fight, not run.) I could feel waves of malevolence (evil) pouring off of him. I have my hands up, ready to go for his face so I can get him down and then grab my companion to run to the other ramp. As I'm tensing up for the attack, I try to scream but nothing comes out of my mouth. I try again with more determination and I wake myself up with a weak "help."

Soooo..... I went with the crazy book, and Shadow Music by Julie Garwood. This is set during the reign of King John I and occurs mostly in the highlands of Scotland. It has deceit, murder (I know I was trying to get away from it), and secrets. Fortunately the romance wasn't too over the top. I think there were only two real love scenes. Definitely more plot than sex. It was a good distraction for a weekend.

Crazy Needs Help

Charlotte Hughes co-wrote some really funny books with Janet Evanovich. The "Full Series", Full Scoop, Full Blast, Full Speed, etc. was very good reading and I look forward to the next book in the series. The book "What Looks Like Crazy" is the first book that I have read by Charlotte Hughes that wasn't co-written by Evanovich.

This book just seems to be almost there. Almost enough details, almost funny enough, almost an ending, almost, almost. Unfortunately, I thought this had to be her first book on her own, but when I went online to get the link, I found that she has about 7 or 8 books out before this one. I think with some seasoning, she could be a great writer, but am concerned that she isn't further along with the number of books she has published.

The plotline to this book is that Kate the psychologist is going through a divorce from her drop-dead gorgeous, supportive, compassionate husband Jay whom she still loves. I know, crazy, right? Well, she is divorcing him because he is a fire-fighter and she thinks that his job is too dangerous and he refuses to quit. Um. I believe that she knew he was a firefighter when she married him since she met him at the firehouse.

Anyway, as it turns out, her crazy family and crazy patients are making her life crazy, and as a result, her job as a psychologist just might be more dangerous than Jay's job as a firefighter. Yup, crazy.

I was most disappointed by the sharp end to the book. I don't believe the resolution did the book justice. I know that there is a sequel, but she left it as more of a part 2 than a second story since she never really finished the first book.

My favorite part of this book is the stray dog, Mike, who follows Kate home one day. Mike then proceeds to have puppies. Crazy.

Page 341 of Book 4

Yes, page 351 of book 4 is when J. R. Ward finally called boots boots instead of sh**kickers.

And the number is... 56

I have read 56 books (and 1/2 of an audio book) since I began this blog on November 29, 2007.

Catching Up

It has been a while since I have posted and in the meantime, I have read the following:

• Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris - This was the second in the Aurora Teagarden series. I'm really liking this plucky little librarian. In this novel, Aurora has been named heir to an unexpected fortune. She has inherited her friend Jane's bank accounts and house (and a secret item hidden in the house). Great fun.
• Dark Lover by J.R. Ward - This is the first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and establishes the environment and the rules. We meet the "Blind King" and find out that in this reality, vampires live as humans throughout adolescence and then go through the "turning" when they are about 25 or so. Very interesting take on the Vampire genre. One funny note, almost all of the vampires have emotions for names that you just throw some h's around in and there ya go. There is Rhage, Vishious, Phury, Thorhment, and Zsadist. Ok - I know Zsadist doesn't have an h, but same basic principal. She does the same thing with other common terms (all in the glossary) sheclusion is one example.
• Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris - I didn't realize that this book wasn't about Shakespeare, but as a Charlaine Harris book, I should have guessed. This book is set in Shakespeare, Arkansas and the main character, Lily Bard, selects Shakespeare as the small town to start a new life in after she survives a vicious attack. Lily, the anti-social weightlifter and maid spends the book trying to figure out who has killed the landlord of the "garden" appartments near her home.
• Shakespeare's Companion by Charlaine Harris - in this sequel, Lilly Bard tries to stay out of trouble, but can't stop her deductive skills. (And the fact that people say and do lots of things in front of Lily while she cleans the house gives Lily loads of information to use for clues.)
• Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward - this is Book 2 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. This book concentrates on the Black Dagger Brother, Rhage. He is cursed and tough and easy to love. I love the way J.R. Ward changes perspective so frequently. Sometimes it is "wait - is she alive or dead?" when we've moved on to what another character is feeling and experiencing. I think I enjoy books where we see the perspective of the "bad guy" as well as the protagonist. I like multiple point of views better than just first person narrative.
• Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward - I was surprised that she would pick Zsadist for the next book. He is anti-social and, of course, misunderstood. There are many rumors about how afwul he is and all of the terrible things that he has done, so no one gives him the benefit of the doubt. He reminds me of Zarek from Dance With the Devil. They were both tortured and lived lives as slaves while their brothers were free living as aristocrats.
• Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward - I'm almost done with this book. I should be able to finish it tonight (unless the Astros put on a great show). It focuses on Butch, the human who has befriended the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It really is a great story. A lot of twists and turns make this one of my favorite so far. We're also learning a lot about Vishous who will be the protagonist of the next book. My only complaint about this book is a complaint that I have about the whole series. If I read the word sh**kicker one more time I'm going to scream. It is ok to say boots. Really. I'd be interested to see the number of times she uses this word. It isn't as prevailent in this book because Butch is a clotheshorse and is wearing Gucci most of the time, but come on! She never once uses the word boots when referring to the shoes of most of the brotherhood. Nope, always sh**kicker.

Baseball Junkie

Don't go looking for a new book synopsis for a while. Baseball season has started! Fortunately, the Astros finally scored a run last night (the first of the season!). Unfortunately, we are now 0 - 2. *sigh* nowhere to go but up.

As a result of baseball, I have not read a word of my current book, Bone to Pick in several days.

3 1/2 Gables, 6 Chapters, & 4 1/2 Hours

The House of Seven Gables. Ugh. I went to visit the house in Salem, Massachusetts about five or six years ago and thought that I wanted to read the book.

I started the book about three times and could never get further than 10 pages. So the handy librarians in Spring Branch offered me a playaway. This is a book pre-loaded on an MP3 player.

On the drive back from Uvalde I listened to six chapters of the book. I didn't realize it is 11 hours of book and my drive was only 4 1/2. Nathaniel Hawthorne was so round about I wanted to just scream "get to the point" while I was driving down the road.

I don't think I'm ever going to get to the "great ending."

Gotta Love Sookie

Over the Easter weekend, I've finished these Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.

• Club Dead (book 3)
• Dead to the World (book 4)
• Dead as a Doornail (book 5)
• Definitely Dead (book 6)
• All Together Dead (book 7)

This is a great series. Sookie is quirky and fun and spends time with shapeshifters, weres (according to Harris, there is a difference between those two), vampires, and fairies. There was even a goblin thrown in there. Oh and a demon.

OMGs Behaving Badly!

Aphrodite is a phone sex operator; her son Eros (Cupid) continually asks "what would Jesus do?" how fun is this?

Gods Behaving Badly

I started Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips last night. So far I am entertained. I didn't think that they were going to be this bad, but it is funny.

In the first chapter, Artemis is walking some dogs in the park in London and comes upon a new species of tree. This makes her suspicious, so she begins to talk to the tree and finds that this new eucalyptus used to be a nice Australian mortal. That is until Apollo got a look at her walking down the street. When this handsome stranger said hello and told her that she looks like she would be good at oral sex, the mortal decided it would be a good idea to get away from him.

Apollo in his ire and disappointment, turned her into a tree.

So far, this is right up my alley.

A "Grave" Reflection

I completed Grave Sight last night and the more I reflect on the relationship between Harper and her "brother" Tolliver, the more I am creeped out. OK - they aren't actually brother and sister and there is no "dating" between them, but she is just so dependent upon him that it seems unhealthy. (Yes, I know that they are fictional characters.)

Tolliver is her step brother. They met when they were teenagers and now they travel looking for dead bodies. Harper finds the bodies and Tolliver is her manager who takes the jobs and manages the business end of things.

I'm feeling a little creeped at the conclusion of these two books and it isn't because of the dead bodies. I don't think I'd have as much of a problem with it if she just introduced him as "Tolliver" as opposed to "this is my brother Tolliver" and my brother this, my brother that... "I need my brother!"

Get a backbone woman. You find bodies for a living. Stand on your own two feet!

Another Barnes and Noble Run

This is what I purchased last Saturday (for $128.04). They are now on my "to be read" bookshelf...

• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
  
• My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Charlaine Harris, L.A. Banks, and Jim Butcher
  
• My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon by Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, P.N. Elrod, Caitlin Kittredge, Marjorie M. Liu, Katie MacAlister, Lilith Saintcrow, and Ronda Thompson
  
• Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko
• Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries Book 3) by Charlaine Harris
• Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries Book 4) by Charlaine Harris
• Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries Book 5) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries Book 6) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries Book 1) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Mysteries Book 2) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Shakespeare' Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries Book 1) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard Mysteries Book 2) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Bone to Pick (An Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Book 2) by Charlaine Harris
  
• Dark Lover:  A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood (Book 1) by J.R. Ward
  

A "Grave" Series

I just found Charlaine Harris and I really, really like her. She has several series that have 7 or 8 books, and they are just interesting reads. I've read the "Dead" books, the Southern Vampire Series, the first of her librarian series, Aurora Teagarden, and now one and a half in her "Grave" series. I also purchased books in her Shakespeare series, but I haven't cracked them yet.

Last night I completed Grave Surprise and then found out it was book 2 in the series when I opened up Grave Sight. (I've almost finished this one, just a few chapters to go.) These books are in first person from Harper Connelly's point of view. Harper was hit by lightning when she was a teenager, and now she can sense dead bodies. Even better, she can tell you the cause of death on each dead body she finds.

It is an odd career, but Harper and her step-brother, Tolliver, travel from hotel room to hotel room in town to town finding dead bodies. Mostly for hostile people who really don't believe in her. Even after she finds some "freebies" around town.

Cute series with some mystery thrown in with the fantasy. I found a new author!

Biography of Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel

Patricia was one of the Manson girls. I came upon this by accident online. I realized that it was a 72 page biography after I had spend a good chunk of my day reading it. It has information on each of her psychiatric evaluations and her parole hearings. She should be coming up for parole any day now. She was scheduled for a hearing in January of 2008, but she has a new lawyer who asked for a postponement.

She has been in jail since the year I was born. I've never really known anything about the Manson case except that Manson led young women in a killing spree and that somehow they were associated with one of the Beach Boys. It was interesting reading. You can find it here.

Now I need to go back and re-read the CNN article that made me curious in the first place. This article says that they think they have found more bodies that they believe the Manson family is responsible for murdering.

Naughty Neighbor

I love Janet Evanovich, but Naughty Neighbor wasn't up to her normal standards. I know that this is one of her early romances re-released, but the story kind of meandered about and it seemed that there were a good 20 pages after the book ended that really didn't say anything. I think the "mystery" was explained, but by the time it was, I didn't care.

This is an old re-print that should have stayed out of print.

Dead in Dallas

Living Dead in Dallas was the second book in the Southern Vampire Series. Sookie Stackhouse is back and now "on loan" to the vampires in Dallas. In order to keep her safe from the vampire power structure, her boyfriend, Vampire Bill, gets elected as an investigative officer.

Sookie is loaned out to Dallas to assist the vampires there with finding a missing vampire. Craziness ensues. Cute series. I'm becoming a great fan of Charlaine Harris.

Another Vampire Series

Either there are more vampire series out there, or I'm just now finding them. Today I finished Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark. This is the first in a long series called the "Southern Vampire Series." It has mind-reading, vampires, a shape-shifter, a murderer, and Elvis.

I liked it! I already own the next book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas, and will probably start it soon.

Start of a New Series...

I found Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost to be an excellent read. The main character is a woman who was born half vampire and half human. As such, she has resistance against many of the Vampire's strengths and has her own strengths as well.

I won't give away the end of the book, but circumstances are going to take this woman and make her the leader of a vampire assault group. I can't wait! The next book is One Foot in the Grave and comes out in April.

35

And what is this number? This is the number of books that I have read since I began this blog.

Dallas. Eve Dallas.

Love the J.D. Robb books. J. D. Robb is actually a pseudonym for Nora Roberts who is so prolific she has something for me to read every few months or so. This weekend I read "Strangers in Death". This is the most recent of her Eve Dallas series.

Eve Dallas is the "main bitch-cop" of New York. She is Lt. Dallas and nobody better mess with this homicide cop. The series (this is the 26th! book in the series) is set in the future- about 2060 or so- and has Eve trying to find out who killed a prominent businessman and set up the kill to appear to be an accident.

She is a character with very strong motivations and after all this time is still trying to adjust to the wealth of her husband, Roarke. Roarke owns most of the city and many off-world locations as well. He is basically the richest man in the solar system (literally) and Eve doesn't have lunch money because she's used a good chunk of her cop salary for snitches and won't take money from her husband.

This is a very complex character and even though this is the 26th book, it never gets dull. I love every word, every page. Nora Roberts rocks!

Finally - finished. For now...

I have finally read all of the published books of the Dark-Hunter and Dream-Hunter series. There are still some short stories in anthologies out there that I haven't read, but I don't have the same compulsion to track those down and read those as I had with the novels.

I completed Upon the Midnight Clear and Dream-Chaser. I loved Dream-Chaser. Very good. Now I am just on the Amazon list waiting for the next book, Acheron.

Thank you Sherrilyn Kenyon.

This gives me a break from the supernatural books. I think I'll find some murder as a break.

This is How Much

I have 26 pages left of Devil May Cry and it is driving me crazy. I can hear it calling my name from my bag on the floor, but I can't pull it out until lunch. ARG. This might be my favorite so far.

How Addicted am I?

OK - I had to do it. I just got back from Borders at the Galleria. The Galleria.... I avoid that place and only go as a last resort. Well, if I wanted to start the next dark-hunter book tonight - it had to happen. I got Devil May Cry, the new J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) book Strangers in Death (Woo Hoo!) and Julie Garwood's Shadow Music. 

I've only read Julie Garwood a few times, but this line from the jacket sold me: "With one shot from her bow and arrow, Gabrielle takes a life, saves a life, and begins a war." Yup, I'm in.

Looking for a Dark-Hunter

I am on the hunt for the next Dark-Hunter book. I still don't understand how Devil May Cry doesn't come out in paperback until April 1, but I have the next two Dream-Hunter books on my bookshelf right now. I'm impatient and want to read it tonight, so I'm waiting to see if they have it at the Galleria Borders. Barnes and Noble said that they had it (the hardcover) at the West Oaks store, but I called and they didn't. Let's hope I get the Borders email soon. 

I am so addicted. 

Sizzle and Burn

Sizzle and Burn by Jane Anne Krentz is one of her Arcane Society books. The main characters have psychic powers and can feel emotions left in "psychic residue". 

I really enjoy these books. This book was written so well, I read it in four hours.

Dark-Hunter Update

Since last posting, I have read Unleash the Night, Dark Side of the Moon, Fear the Darkness (a free download) and The Dream-Hunter.

I enjoyed all of the stories and am realizing that I enjoy the were-hunter books the most. It does throw me a bit when I'm reading a book and halfway through it I realize that it takes place chronologically before the first Dark-Hunter book. 

Don't Know Much

I'm trying to break up my Dark-Hunter reading a bit, so I thought I'd alternate chapters of Don't Know Much About Anything by Kenneth C. Davis with my regular Dark-Hunter reading. Last night I read the first chapter, Famous People. It was quite an interesting format. Each person was only two pages. There is a half-page or so about the famous person and then five to seven questions. The back of the page answers the five questions for you about the famous person. For example, one of the questions about Malcom X was this, True or False "He used 'X' as a last name because he was an ex-convict." The answer for you will be in google. For me I found it quite interesting why he actually changed his last name to X. I had thought it was just an initial for his last name. 

The people featured in this book are: Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Houdini, Mother Theresa, Michelangelo, Young George Washington, Dr. Spock, Gandhi, Henry Ford, Ralph Waldo Emerson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sitting Bull, Queen Elizabeth II, Ann Frank, Hellen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Thomas A. Edison and Albert Einstein.

I think what I liked about the list so much was the diversity and the order. The order of people was as I listed it. Made for interesting reading. It also made me want to discover more information about some of the people. The big question will be this, will I remember what I have read in a week?

My next chapter (after a Dark-Hunter book) will be Exceptional Places. I look forward to it, but apparently I need to get my non-fiction in small doses. :-)

Dark-Hunter #7, #8 & #1.5

Seize the Night and Sins of the Night were the next two installments of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series. I'm obviously enjoying them because I went ahead and purchased four more of her novels. I am addicted to this series. It is strange that I will actually be a little relieved when I finish this series so I won't have this compulsion to read the next one and I can vary up my genres a little bit. 

Seize the Night brought us the story of Valerius who in earlier stories was represented as a truly evil character as a human. Of course, in this book we just find out that he is misunderstood. Valerius has had a hard life and the way he copes with other people's sneers and jabs is by pulling a cloak of coldness around himself which makes him appear as an elitist snob. The self-proclaimed vampire hunter, Tabitha - who happens to be an empath - can see through this mask of cold snobbery to see when his outer face and his inner emotions conflict. The big problem for Valerius is that Tabitha's twin sister is married to our hero from book 2, Kyrian who hates Valerius with all of his being. Well, and having been crucified (literally) by Valerious' grandfather, how can you really blame him? 

The lightest part of this story is the mention of Zarek from Dance With the Devil. Zarek is Valerius' brother and was a slave (an whipping boy) in Valerius' household. It wasn't until Valerius saw Zarek as a Dark-Hunter and free of his scars and deformities that Valerius even realized that Zarek was his brother. In this book, Zarek gets revenge on Valerius in very funny ways such as sending a rain cloud to fall just on Valerius (who takes it all in stride). I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Especially because we learned a little more about Acheron. 

Book number 8 is Sins of the Night. In this book, there is a Dark-Hunter uprising. One Dark-Hunter has been listening to tales from a Daimon God who tries to turn them all from Acheron. Acheron doesn't care if the Dark-Hunters like him or not, but when they start to kill humans - then he has a problem with it. Acheron sends in Alexion. Alexion is "other". He was a dark-hunter at one time, was turned into a shade, and now is set in a human form with some of Acheron's powers (who - by the way - is a god!) to judge the Dark-Hunters. He is sent to find out who will stand with Acheron and who will not. Those who decide against Acheron will die.

Alexion goes to fin Danger as his Dark-Hunter guide. Ok - it is kinda corny, but Danger is Dangeroeuse St. Richard is a female Dark-Hunter who died trying to save her family during the French Revolution. She makes Alexion feel like he hasn't in nine thousand years. 

This story teaches us more about Acheron and Simi as well. I loved meeting Simi's sister and look forward to more about her in the future. 

Book 1.5 is Dragonswain. This book was written between one and two and didn't have any of the other characters in it, so it was easy to read in any order. It is about a dragon who finds his mate in modern america. It is a very short book that is sweet. It is so short however, that I wouldn't have realized that Sabastian's father was the one who created all of the weres if it hadn't been for reading Vane's book where it was explained in more detail.

Dark-Hunter #6

Night Play is Sherrilyn Kenyon's sixth installment of the Dark-Hunter series and did not disappoint. I really don't know how these books are getting better and better. We met Vane and Fang in Talon's story. Here, we pick up with the brothers being punished for assisting Talon. Their father has left them to die, but Vane has more strength and power than any of the wolf-pack know and he is able to save himself and his brother and get them to the were-bear bar, Sanctuary for just that, sanctuary.

Vane finds his mate, who is a human, and must protect her from his father, mother, and brothers who are all trying to kill him. We learn how some of the previous characters are doing, we get to read more about my favorite, Acheron, and we find out that Valerious has some kindness in him that is just hidden extremely well.

I look forward to the next book, Seize the Night which I accidentally ordered two copies from Amazon. I wonder how hard returns are to Amazon....

Changeling and Darkling

In the second two books in this series, we learn about Delilah in Changeling and Menolly in Darkling. I really enjoyed the Changeling story because Delilah's powers grow when she is marked by the Autumn Lord. In Darkling, the vampire Menolly has to defeat her sire in order to save earth.

Within all three of these books, the sisters are looking for "spirit seals." They find two, but at the end of the third book we find that there are about nine more seals in the Seattle area. I thought that the series would be encompassed in the trilogy, but apparently she will be writing more books.

I'll have to track down the next book so that I may find out the end of the story.

The 'ling Series - Part 1

Today, after quite a slow start, I completed reading Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn. This is the first of the series and focuses on the oldest sister, Camille. The book started slow and there seemed to be information that I should know and wasn't explained. It took me about four days to get to page 56 when Grandmother Coyote, an earth hag, told Camille in payment for information she could bring the hag the finger of a demon or Camille would forfeit one of her own. That was yesterday. The book was fast-paced from there on.

The sisters are not only battling demons, they are battling to save all of earth, even though they are only half-Sidhe. Their human mother taught them the ways of the earth, but their father in the Otherworld is where they feel home.

I'll start the next book Changeling soon. That book focuses on Delilah - who is a shape-shifter. She shifts into a tabby cat. The last sister, Menolly the vampire, is focused on in the book Darkling. I'll let you know how it goes.

Dark-Hunter x 2

Sometime last week, I finished book 4 and 5 of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series. The book about Zarek, Dance With the Devil, was a very good story. The tale of a former slave who now spends eternity slaying Daimons, or Vampires. Reading about his sad life and then his even sadder immortality of lonesomeness and isolation made me cry. Seriously. I had tears streaming down my face. Kenyon does an excellent job of creating characters that have depth and character.

The fifth book, Kiss of Night, brings us the story of Wulf, a Dark-Hunter who is cursed to be forgotten five minutes after leaving him. This complex character fights with duty and love as he falls in love with a woman who's family are those that he hunts.

All in all, great books. I've ordered books 6, 7, & 8 as well as 1.5 and look forward to reading them. I love that the dark-hunter series goes up to at least 12. Great reading.

Little Lady, Part 2

Last night I finished "Little Lady, Big Apple", the sequel to "The Little Lady Agency." I really didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. There were some nice quotes occasionally, but the more I read, the more I didn't like her character Johathan. I thought he was characterized well in the first book, but in the sequel, he just became a selfish parody of the original character. In this book, for most of the time, he had no depth.

Barnes and Noble Run

I just returned from Barnes and Noble and this is what I purchased for my $96.99. (Thank you Teacher Appreciation Week.)

And a Puzzle to Die On by Parnell Hall
Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson
Don't Know Much About Anything by Kenneth C. Davis
Forest of the Night by James W. Hall
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
Sucker Bet by Erin McCarthy
Halfway to the Grave (A Night Huntress Novel) by Jeaniene Frost
Witchling (A Sisters of the Moon Novel) by Yasmine Galenorn
Changeling (A Sisters of the Moon Novel) by Yasmine Galenorn
Darkling (A Sisters of the Moon Novel) by Yasmine Galenorn
Dance with the Devil (A Dark-Hunter Novel) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Kiss of the Night (A Dark-Hunter Novel) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries) by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries) by Charlaine Harris

Hello Little Lady

I finished "The Little Lady Agency" by Hester Browne on the plane back from Florida and promptly began the second, "Little Lady, Big Apple".

The Little Lady Agency is about a woman with a very selfish family who gets "sacked" (that is fired in American) from her third job in 18 months. She has to find a new job before her overbearing father rubs it in her face again that she can't find a good job. After helping out her flatmate, she ends up starting her own business, The Little Lady Agency, that is basically a nanny service for grown men. She helps them shop for themselves and others and pretends to be a girlfriend for demanding family. And of course, she falls for one of her clients.

The second book has her traveling to New York. I'm about a third of the way through and she has just landed in New York. This quote (Melissa referring to her father) is one of the reason's I like Hester Browne. "Dogs small enough to fit into a handbag, as far as he was concerned, might as well be cats."

You Don't See Historical Paranormal Very Often

Catherine Coulter is an author who I normally read for her FBI series. I love her characters Savich and Sherlock. This book, The Wizard's Daughter, was a little convoluted. It took about half-way through the book before it was really evident as to what was going on. I did enjoy it at the conclusion of the book.

I'm just not a non-fiction girl...

Last night, I began a biography, Alexander the Great. I got about 20 pages into it and then went to bed at 9:30! It must be the author and the way the material is presented, because I did enjoy the non-fiction book The Murder of Tutankhamen by Bob Brier.

Steve Berry recommended a book about Alexander the Great by the author with the last name of Green. I found two different Greens who wrote about Alexander. I'll have to go back to The Venetian Betrayal (a wonderful book, by the way) and see which one he recommends. I hope it is better than what I tried and gave up on last night.

The Wonderful World of Plum

I purchased Janet Evanovich's "between the numbers" novel, Plum Lucky last night. I started it at lunch today and just finished this delightful read. The main character, Stephanie Plum, does the wonderful things that we expect and love - she gets her car blown up, has to drive the Buick, lucks into a fugitive apprehension when she isn't looking for anyone, and chases after a naked man. Just a day in Stephanie Plum's life.

I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe when the "leprachaun" reported on the conversation he had with the doberman in front of the car wash...

I love Plum!

Go Kresley Go!

I'm lovin' Kresley Cole. Last night I finished the third in the immortal series, "Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night". Very hot stuff; paranormal romance. The story picked up actually in the middle of the previous book. We were able to read about other "scenes" that happened when we were busy with other characters. Very original, very nice. The main character was introduced in the first book, expanded on in the second and featured in the third. I can't wait to see who she is going to focus on in the fourth book.

Catching Up

Ok- I've done a terrible job of keeping up with this. These are the books I've read since I posted last. I'll give you more information on each book eventually.

Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Dangers of Mistletoe by Theresa Alan
The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Last Noel by Heather Graham
The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

I am currently reading No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole