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2013 Reading Challenge
Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) has
read 0 books toward her goal of 75 books.
New-To-Me Authors
2013 reading goal:
15 new-to-me authors.
1) Stacy Gail
2) Heather Massey
3) Sidney Bristol
4) Ann Mayburn
5) Thea Harrison
6) Virna DePaul
7) Mary Quast
8) Molly Harper
9) Eleri Stone
10) PJ Schnyder
11) Kait Ballenger
12) Denise L. Wyant
13) Lucy Monroe
Sunday Snippets
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Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday Snippets #34
From Fearless Desires by Stacey Espino
Delius entered Selina’s bedroom just after one in the morning. She was curled up on her side, deep in sleep. He knelt down on one knee as he had the previous night and rested a hand on her forehead. He couldn’t resist brushing her skin with the backs of his fingers and noticed how satiny soft it felt. Pure female. Before entering her mind, he kept still and found peace just watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, the innocent calm of her face and random twitching of her lips. She was having a good dream, not a nightmare. Satisfaction nearly toppled him over, even though his existence was to steal her sweet dreams away.
With a deep breath and personal encouragement that he was strong enough to resist the pull of this human’s mind, he delved in.
Immediately, erotic clips bombarded him, making him dizzy. What was wrong with this human? She packed a powerful punch of lust, unlike anything he’d experienced before. As if invited, he heard his name called. Not again. He needed to get into that second scar and find out what made this human tick. Javen would not stand waiting any longer without answers.
With as much strength as he could muster, he escaped the dark expanse where incessant random images flashed— images that no doubt held sexual meaning for Selina. He could feel her arousal even through her mind and he wasn’t immune to the effects.
He saw the two past scars. One he had visited, the other stood close enough to have occurred within hours. Having two life-changing traumas occur so close together would have made for one really shitty day. Then worry filled him. Was she capable of harming her adopted parents for being the informants of such painful news? He hadn’t asked her about her adoptive family. He would look into her history as soon as he returned home. What else could be so bad and on the same day?
He reached into the scar. But just as he felt contact, he was ripped from her mind, left feeling dazed.
“Delius!”
Selina’s stared up at him with open eyes as he loomed over her bedside. She was conscious.
He pulled back in utter shock. No human had ever been able to regain consciousness with a Fear Demon working their mind. It was like anesthetic during surgery. Merciful.
Delius didn’t know what to say or how to react. What the hell reason could he have for being in her room in the middle of the night, kneeling by her bed with his hands on her? Not good, definitely not good.
He contemplated dematerializing, hoping she would think she dreamt the whole thing. He certainly couldn’t tell her the truth. Any minute she would no doubt start screaming bloody murder, so he had to think fast.
“Delius.” Her voice rang sweet, sensual, and inviting. Shit. The human was hot and emitting more of that potent sexual energy. Javen was absolutely right. Where the fuck was the fear? She should be terrified with a stranger at her side in the dead of night.
“Selina, are you okay?”
She leaned up onto one elbow, still on her side, and reached out to latch onto the back of his neck. Her touch sent shock waves through his already aroused body. She pulled him closer, her lips parting in anticipation. His logic fizzled away, and his sense of self-preservation was stomped out as she closed the distance between them. One kiss. Her lips were satiny soft like her skin, full and delicious. Her taste was as strong and sweet as her scent within him, and he could not pull away. Delius kissed her back, their lips moving together, savoring the sensations with deep thoroughness. He had to use both arms to brace himself on the mattress on either side of her as she pulled him closer. Her little moans had his muscles tensing. She was a siren, reeling him in and blinding his logic with her heady lust. He wanted nothing more than to take her right there and then, but he had to resist. Somehow she was his undoing and he had to keep control. But every lustful kiss told him to forget everything that ever mattered to him.
READERS: Be sure to come back on Tuesday (November 16, 2010) when I post my review of the second book in the Immortal Love series: Fearless Love.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Review: The Taming of the Wolf
The Taming of the WolfAuthor: Lydia Dare
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Westfield Brothers Series Book #4
ISBN: #978-1402244377
Genre: Regency Paranormal Romance
Format(s): paperback (384 pgs), e-book
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of an honest review.
From GoodReads website:
Lord Dashiel Thorpe has fought his true nature his entire life, but whenever the moonlight proves too powerful, Dashiel is unable to control the werewolf within him. It is on one such moonlit night that Dashiel accidentally bites the beautiful Scottish witch, Caitrin McLeod. Though now bound to him irrevocably, Cait decides that she wants nothing to do with him. When she flees to her native Scotland, Dashiel has no choice but to follow her and convince her that it was nothing short of destiny that has bound them together body and soul..
What I’m talking about:
Dash is a Lycan - a werewolf - but he was raised to believe he was a monster. Not knowing the truth of his nature, he fought long and hard to repress the beast within, which includes sequestering himself at each month during the full moon. On one such night, Caitrin finds herself stumbling into Dash and the two are drawn to one another. They share a kiss and Dash bites (marks) her. After that, Caitrin quickly leaves. It isn’t until later that Dash finds out that he accidentally claimed Caitrin as his Lycan mate.
The two independently set off to Scotland, but Dash chases down Caitrin at every turn. They even share a carriage (and a room *gasp*) for part of the trip. He is aggressive, obstinate and a typical alpha male. But Caitlin fights back - she is no meek lady. She is equally as stubborn, and attempts to fight her attraction at each turn. As a witch, Cait can see the futures of everyone around her, except Dash, which infuriates her even more.
The Taming of the Wolf is a delightful historical, paranormal romance. The book was a quick read - although I sometimes stumbled on the Scottish accents. (After a while, I learned to just “translate” the words in my head rather than try to pronounce the brogue.) The romance between Dash and Cait is sweet and humorous at times. At first I felt that Dash too quickly went from swinging bachelor to wanting to marry Caitrin, but I enjoyed his emotional transformation from “what kind of mess did I get into?” to a sweet and enduring love for Cait. And yes, his alpha male tendencies did annoy me once and a while - treating Cait as a possession and never asking her, but telling her to do something. However, those traits melted away as his obsession turned to love.
One question that nagged me from the start to the end was why wasn’t Dash a wolf in the opening scene? It was a full moon. The Westfield brothers were out enjoying their Lycan nature... It bothered me that Dash was human and other than the bite he gave Cait, seemed in total control.
There are several side stories - a mysterious man at an Inn, Cait’s vision of sister witch Blaire in danger, sweet Alec’s heart-break and future love - which are pleasant additions to the story, but don’t have any real conclusion within this book. I can only imagine that this was set-up material for future books.
I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to future stories from Ms. Dare.
Note: Although this is the fourth book in the series, it is an independent story and can be enjoyed without having read any of the other books.
My Rating:
3.5 stars: Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
Labels:
3.5 stars,
Lydia Dare,
paranormal romance,
Regency,
shifters,
Westfield Brothers
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Reading Book Series
I’m going to put this out there... I LOVE READING SERIES! I always have. Series are comforting for many reasons... They are familiar. Once you have read one book, you know the key players, the rules, and the world, and you get to return time and time again. They tend to have complex and engaging story arcs. Multiple books allow for the development of fabulous story lines. There is plenty of space and time to create something wonderful. You can never have too much of a good thing. Let’s face it - if it works, don’t fix it! I don’t mean that an author should write the same story over and over, but if the formula and the mythology works, I want to read more.
My love for reading series started back in my youth when I was obsessed with series like Trixie Belden and The Three Investigators. I loved to collect books in a series, and I HAD to read the books in order... start with book #1 and then #2, etc. Even with those earlier books, where each book was basically a stand alone read, if the books were numbered, I read them in that order.
This habit has continued now that I’m an avid Paranormal Romance (PNR) and Urban Fantasy (UF) reader. When I first re-started my love for reading in October 2008, my dear friends recommended series like Black Dagger Brotherhood and Dark Hunters. It was nice because there were multiple books in the series available and I could devour them back-to-back. And my order-obsession stayed in tact. I’d buy all of the books in a series at once - including the novellas that were found in anthologies. I created spreadsheets for each series I read so that I would know the reading order, the main characters and plot lines. Yes. I’m a bit OC when it comes to reading series.
But recently that has changed... I have started to receive books directly from various publishers for review purposes. This is a great honor and very exciting. I am being exposed to books that I probably wouldn’t have picked up to read otherwise. However, many of these books are in the middle of established series. I recently read and reviewed 3 different books - all within established series: Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires #9), Magic at the Gate (Allie Beckstrom #5) and The Taming of the Wolf (Westfield Brothers #4 - review to come). Before I picked up the books, I would ask the publisher if I could read as a “stand alone” story, and the response was always “yes.” But of course it has to be - even though an author may write the books in a specific order, I can’t imagine any other or publisher making the books completely unreadable unless you have read the whole series - how would they attract new readers/fans?
So as I received these books, I had mixed reactions to jumping into a series, but for the sake of my blog and exposing myself to more books, I gave it a try. In the case of Ghost Town, I wanted to go back and read the earlier books, but felt I was well prepared in my reading. As for Magic at the Gate, I enjoyed the book, but felt it would have been more meaningful if I had read the earlier stories. The Taming of the Wolf, is pretty much a stand alone book (and I had help from A Buckeye Girl Reads with the backstory!)
So this really got me thinking... Since I don’t have the time to go back and play “catch up” when I receive a book to review (that is in the middle of a series), should I still review it? As I move forward with my blog and writing reviews, I look to you for feedback...From authors... Do you have any concerns or issues with a reviewer that reads and reviews a book from the middle of your series without having read the earlier books?
From other reviewers - do you ever do this? Has it caused problems?
From readers - are my reviews helpful to you if I haven’t read the whole series?
Thanks for your time!! Happy reading!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Review: Immortal Awakenings
Immortal AwakeningsAuthor: KC Randall
Release Date: August 2010
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
ISBN: #978-1936305353
Genre: Paranormal Romance*
Format(s): paperback (260 pgs), e-book
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Gregory has lost interest in being alive. He’s been doing it for far too long. But dying is too much trouble, so he simply continues to exist in all his jaded, apathetic, eternal glory. In a hopeless attempt to find a diversion, he takes a night class at the local community college where he meets Nikki Christian. She seems to be everything he is not—young, open, honest, hopeful, charitable... the nauseating list goes on. However, Nikki is also overtly intuitive. She can see through lies and secrets in ways no human should, and Gregory has lots of secrets. Obviously, he should just eliminate her and be done with it. But there is something beguiling about a woman whose countenance shines like the sun in a world that’s gone dark.
While Gregory struggles to understand this woman’s mind and the disturbing effect she seems to have on him, he realizes that he’s not the only one with an interest in Nikki Christian. There’s a jealous ex-boyfriend, the other suspicious Immortals, and now a mysterious assassin has turned up. Despite Gregory’s best efforts to keep this mortal girl alive, it seems Fate has other ideas. Is it possible for even a devil to find Happily Ever After?
What I’m talking about:
The first thing that popped out at me when reading Immortal Awakenings is that the story is told from the first person POV of the lead MALE character, Greg. This is highly unusual (for the books I read) and a refreshing change. I enjoyed learning of Greg’s serious issues with humanity and his views about the world he lives in. And although he really doesn’t enjoy any sort of life, he still interacts with the world. During times prior to the current one, Gregory became an establish and famous author not once, but two times. So, in order to occupy some of his time, he audits a literature class at the local college - one that is actually comparing the very same two authors that Gregory created.
In comes Nikki. She is one of those girls that is always positive, helps out everywhere and is adored by most everyone. She has a sixth sense and no concept of appropriate personal space. She likes Greg for whatever reason and begins to “annoy” him incessantly. She captures Greg’s interest, which eventually leads to love.
Immortal Awakenings is a light tale and quick read. There are some really lovely parts and the backgrounds of the characters are interesting, and I want to know more. One of the things I enjoyed about the book is that Gregory is a killer. The Immortals (vampires) in this world are not evil, but they view humans as food. They try to exist among them, but generally view them as cattle and dying flesh. I admire Ms. Randall for creating a hero that has a naturally dark side. We are witness to Greg’s eating habits, and it seems so natural. As Greg even said to himself:
I killed so I could live. No mortal could ever change that fact. Nikki would not make me feel guilty for surviving.
But she manages to do just that. After tracking Nikki and pondering time and time again what she means to him, Greg realizes that he loves Nikki. And apparently he is the first Immortal ever to fall in love. After this epiphany, Gregory makes some sudden and drastic changes in his philosophy and life style. I felt that the changes were a bit too radical and quick at first, but over time I grew to accept them.
Even though the book was a good read, there were a few issues I had while reading. First off all, the almost instantaneous and extreme changes in Greg once he realized he was in love. But what really got me is when he rushed to proclaim his love to Nikki. There was absolutely NO passion. I know he was worried about how she felt, but he never once tried to kiss her. It almost felt like he was declaring his fatherly love for her. I questioned what kind of relationship were they getting into.
Then I started noticing several similarities to Twilight. The stories are in no way the same, but you have the age-old vampire falling for the quirky, fresh-faced girl. In addition, the vamps all had special traits/powers. The trio of Greg’s friends: Jenny, Rob and Lance, seemed a bit like Alice, Emmett and Jasper at times. And even though the gang were murders - drinking human blood, they discover the joys of “animal feasting.”
And I really wanted to know how, with 4 Immortals living in close proximity to one another, who usually drink to death a human once every two weeks (each), WHY there was no mention of cops lurking about. I mean - that is 2 dead bodies per week! I just felt that there should have been some sort of repercussions because of their habits.
But over time, Greg’s transformation grew to be more “realistic,” and therefore the book became more entertaining. The story had a satisfactory ending, but it was left open for a subsequent story. In addition, there are several things brought up in this book - Greg’s mysterious dreams and the Prophecy about which the Queen is concerned - that were left unanswered. I truly hope the author is planning a follow up story. Immortal Awakings is an enjoyable read that I recommend.
My Rating:
Liked it, there were a few issues - recommend (B)
* Although this book is labeled Paranormal Romance (PNR) by the publisher, I think it has more of a Urban Fantasy feel to it. There isn’t the traditional Happily Ever After (HEA) that a PNR has and the story was left wide open, more like a UF ending.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday Snippets #33
From Captive Spirit by Liz Fichera
We danced until our chests ached from breathing so hard, until the sky fell completely silent again, freezing us in place. The drummers stopped. The circle of men who danced around our circle stopped, too, so that there was one man standing before each girl. I blinked, staring back at the man before me. Like the others, he wore a red clay mask painted with yellow and green lines and bright white circles around the eyes. His bare chest glistened in the firelight from the sweat of the dance. It was covered with purple bruises and bright red cuts.
Fresh ones.
I bit the inside of my lower lip to stop a smile.
They were the boys from the White Ant Clan. Had to be.
Of course! I thought.
This was a special dance to celebrate their ball court
victory! I scanned their chests, trying to discern the faces behind the masks. Honovi? Sinopa? Who? My eyes danced trying to solve the puzzle but my cheeks stayed frozen. Mostly.
Yuma approached the circle, along with Miakoda. Miakoda stood behind the boy who stood before me. My eyes lowered instinctively when Miakoda rested his eyes on mine. I was only brave enough to look at him directly when he wasn’t looking back at me. I’d rather stare into the eyes of a charging javalina than meet Miakoda’s empty eyes. He grunted and then jabbed his walking stick into the ground, once.
I flinched at the sound.
Then Yuma ordered the boys to remove their masks and my eyes lifted again, hoping for Honovi’s face, or even Sinopa, wanting them to know that I was in on their ruse. They might have fooled some of the girls but they didn’t fool me. No wonder Honovi had been acting strangely across the fire.
Quickly, he removed his mask, lifting it upwards with one hand.
I swallowed back a breath. My eyes widened.
The boy who stood before me was neither Honovi nor any of the boys from the White Ant Clan.
It was Pakuna.
Without a word, he took a deliberate step forward, stomping one foot into the ground like he owned the circle. Then he grabbed my wrist.
My body froze. I was too startled to say anything. Too stunned to move.
That’s because I realized I was no longer a girl. I was a prize.
Oblivious to my confusion, Pakuna turned to Honovi, his face gloating and triumphant. But then, slowly, even reluctantly, he turned his steely gaze on me. The reflection from the fire filled his dark eyes and sent a shudder through my body. They were the same empty eyes of his father.
And that’s when I knew.
This wasn’t a Dance of Womanhood.
This was a wedding ceremony—mine. Chitsa had tried to warn me.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Review: Magic at the Gate
Magic at the GateAuthor: Devon Monk
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Publisher: ROC Fantasy
Allie Beckstrom Series Book #5
ISBN: #978-0451463623
Genre: Urban Fantacy
Format(s): paperback (368 pages), e-book
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Allie Beckstrom's lover, Zayvion Jones, is a Guardian of the Gate, imbued with both light and dark magic and responsible for ensuring that those energies don't mix. But Zayvion lies in a coma, his soul trapped in death's realm.
To rescue him, Allie must follow the specter of her deceitful late sorcerer father, Daniel Beckstrom, who is more than familiar with death's domain. And when Allie discovers that the only way to save Zayvion is to sacrifice her very own magical essence, she makes a decision that may have grave consequences for the entire world.
To rescue him, Allie must follow the specter of her deceitful late sorcerer father, Daniel Beckstrom, who is more than familiar with death's domain. And when Allie discovers that the only way to save Zayvion is to sacrifice her very own magical essence, she makes a decision that may have grave consequences for the entire world.
What I’m talking about:
NOTE: I have not read the first four books in this series.
At the end of the fourth Allie Beckstrom book, Magic on the Storm, the soul of Allie’s true love, Zay, is sent to Death, while is body lies in a coma. At the start of Magic at the Gate, Allie crosses through a gate and into Death to find Zay’s soul and return it to his body. Her dead father (who also possesses her from time to time) acts as her guide and helps her locate Zay. Unfortunately, he also made a deal on behalf of Allie in order to get her and Zay out of Death. This deal involves Allie giving up the small magic with which she was born (she still has a large amount of magic that was placed in her earlier in the series). She is also marked by death when she completes this deal.
After getting back to the land of the living and returning Zay’s soul (he remains in a coma), we find out that there has been a lot going on while she was in Death and the magical users find themselves in a war. There are unusual things going on and the Authority (good guys) are trying to keep up with it all. With Zay out of commission, it’s up to Allie and friends to find out how and why Veiled (think ghosts of former magic users) are becoming “solid and living.”
At first, not having read the first four books didn’t bother me - the action was exciting and plot was pretty interesting. I didn’t feel lost and could infer the meaning of most of the magical terminology. I loved Allie right from page one... she is snarky and sharp. She doesn’t take crap from her dad or anyone else. And although Zay wasn’t awake from most of this book, I got a sense of the love these two Soul Compliments share...
Zay wasn’t in his bed. He was, however, in the bed I’d been in. Looked like he’d gotten there himself, too. The covers on the other bed were hanging down to the floor, and the machine he’d had hooked up to him was turned off, but not pushed against the wall or moved to some other storage place. He didn’t have an IV or oxygen tube. He was on his side, the extra pillow dragged from the other bed and now stuffed under his head. He faced the door and was snoring lightly. He’d taken my shirt I’d left on the bed and held it against his heart.
But as the story reached its climatic scenes, I noticed an emotional void within myself. The battles were intense, but at the pinnacle, when I should have cared more, I just didn’t. I think it’s because I didn’t know many of the characters. I learned to care about a few - Allie and her lover, Zay, friends Mauve, Victor, Shame & Terric. But the dozen or so others were just names to me. In addition, some of the complex politics of the Authority and magic users started to weigh down on me. This is where I think I may have enjoyed the story more if I had read the first four books, and I’d be interested in hearing from those that have read the series.
And a word about Allie’s dad... I’m not sure what to make of him. Is he “good or bad?” I think shades of grey cover his description. As an “outsider” to the series, I felt like he was trying to help Allie - albeit for selfish reasons. However, her constant reluctance to listen to him, her mistrust and sometimes almost hatred towards him, started to frustrate me as the book went on. Then again, I don’t know her history - and apparently Allie doesn’t either, since her dad has “Closed” aka “mind-wiped” her numerous times. So, maybe this wouldn’t annoy a series regular, but it something that bothered me after a while.
Magic at the Gate is typical of the Urban Fantasy genre: an exciting story that is left open for the next book. The Authority found some answers, but there is so much more going on... The “HOW” may have been answered, but the “WHY” and “what does it all mean?” questions remain. Who is good and who is bad? What is good/bad? I enjoyed the book and look forward to Ms. Monk’s next installment of Allie Beckstrom.
My Rating:
Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Review: Ghost Town
Ghost TownAuthor: Rachel Caine
Release Date: October 26, 2010
Publisher: NAL Hardcover
ISBN: #978-0451231611
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Format(s): Hardcover (352 pages), e-book, audio
I received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From Goodreads:
The fragile peace between humans and vampires in Morganville is in trouble, and when Claire takes drastic action, she's put under serious pressure to re-establish the barriers that keep the town residents inside, and wipe the memories of those who leave. But working with her half-crazy vampire boss Myrnin means that things don't always turn out as planned ... and as the people of Morganville begin acting strangely, Claire and her friends must solve the mystery and try to put things right. But one by one, her allies are turning on her ... even the ones she trusts most.
What I’m talking about:
This is my first Morganville Vampire book. Yes, I skipped books 1 through 8 and started here with #9. This goes against all of my rules for reading, but I received the book from the publisher and was told that it would be okay to jump in. And she was right - I was able to read and enjoy the story without knowing the entire history of Morganville. HOWEVER - it was very clear to me that I have missed out on a rich backstory and a lot of character development. I think fans of the series will get much more of an emotional impact from the book than I did. However, the story captured my interest, and I find that now I want to read the first 8 books to fill in those holes.
Here is the brief background I inferred from reading Ghost Town - Morganville is a unique town - one where humans and vampires coexist in a tenuous relationship. Vampires founded the town (here is where one place I wish I knew more), and they make the rules. Apparently residents cannot leave unless permission is granted by the vampires. Our heroine, Claire, is a student at the local university and is a very special and bright girl. She works for/with the town’s “mad scientist” Vampire, Myrnin. Clare lives with boyfriend, Shane, and best friends, Eve and Michael (a vampire). They have some special privileges granted from the “head” vamp, Amelie - clearly something that happened in earlier books.
In Ghost Town, Claire and Myrnin are working to fix a machine that puts up borders around the town and protects the vampires. Claire breaks an important law and is forced to help Myrnin complete the machine without rest or sleep. Shortly after it is up and running, Claire notices strange things happening to the residents within Morganville - they seem to be losing their memories from the past 3 years. The gang jumps into action to fix the problem before they all lose their memories of life and each other.
The beginning of the story felt a bit simplistic for my tastes. I don’t read a lot of YA literature because I have a tough time relating to teenage characters these days. There are certain pet peeves I have from the teen scene - the popular bitch, teenage pettiness, etc, and this book had a few of them. Luckily, those pieces are not a major part of the book, and once the story started moving, I didn’t notice the age of the characters or any of my personal hang-ups.
The action and plot picked up rapidly, and I became completely engrossed, even though I was not familiar with the backstories of the characters and town. Ghost Town is a complex and smart story. Claire is faced with difficult decisions and placed in precarious situations. She didn’t act too young, nor did she seem to have the brain/history of someone much older. The story flowed effortlessly, the book moved quickly, and the plot was filled with crazy twists and turns. The ending of the book is exciting, and I for one will be signing up to read Ms. Caine’s follow-up novel.
My Rating:
Really enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
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