Aug 31, 2011

Review--Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dreams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.

But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a sixyear- old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .

Stacey Jay's Dead on the Delta was an okay read. I had won this book in a contest and thought it sounded pretty interesting and I'll admit to loving the cover. Although I am pretty sure Annabelle did not have the tattoo, but whatever.

Here we have our basic fairies are evil book. Of course the fairies are a little different, most seem to be pixie like and if you get bit by one, chances are pretty likely you'll die. Very few of the population are immune to fairy bites and Annabelle is one of them--so there are others, just not a lot.

Annabelle works with the police on cases where she's needed to examine bodies or crime scenes in fairy related cases. She also works to collect samples of fairies'...leftovers. When she's called in to look over the body of a little girl, things start to get very serious for her. The FBI comes in to handle the case, and also because Annabelle makes a very big mistake while collecting samples afterward which brings the FBI in.

Naturally one of the FBI is Annabelle's old lover. We learn about their past, very slowly not a rush of info. Just that they had a past, then several pages later we learn what caused their breakup. Annabelle's current beau is a police officer named Cane. And while he's in love with her, Annabelle isn't sure she feels quite the same.

Annabelle was a hard heroine to like. She has her flaws--like all heroines do--yet she was a pretty heavy drinker. She didn't seem to have any sense of morale. I can understand her not knowing what she wants, yet I felt like she didn't have any self-love for herself or something. Of course that sounds weird as I type, I just couldn't make a connection with Annabelle. She annoyed me quite a bit throughout the book. I just never got to liking her. She has spunk and wit, yet sometimes a bad attitude--which she does admit to.

The book has a nice murder mystery going, I only solved it a page or 2 before Annabelle. And it was a doozie! There were details that I would have never guessed in a million years. It really takes you by surprise. 

Also a few other matters in Annabelle's love life were shocking. There's not much of a love triangle going on with her, Cane, and Hitch. Hitch has definitely moved on, yet there are still sparks between him and Annabelle, which kind of makes me think little of him since he was in another relationship. But I can definitely see more things happening between him and Annabelle in future books, especially with the way things ended.

By the end, I just felt "meh". Didn't love the book, didn't hate it. Just didn't really feel anything. So I'm not sure if this is going to be a series I stick with. But it was still a decent sort of read, I never once felt like calling it quits. So take it as you will.

Overall rating 2.5/5

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

OMG! I soooo want to read this book sooooo badly! Anyone who's read Hard Bitten already, knows why! Ugh, why can't it be November already!
TITLE: Drink Deep
AUTHOR: Chloe Neill
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE:
November 1, 2011

Aug 30, 2011

Review--Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

By blood, by word, by magic…

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special— a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner…every touch…every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over…

Reviews are already in, but gonna throw mine out there as well! Rachel Vincent's Blood Bound kicks off a totally new series and to describe it simply: it was awesome! I totally loved it!

True, there wasn't a whole lot of paranormal going on--no shifting werecats or other supernaturals--but it was still an incredible read. In this world blood is key, blood does more than sustain you, it can also be used against you. And names have power over their owner as well--in a way it's taking some fae like elements and other paranormal relatedness in regards to blood.

What so far is a problem for some people is that this novel is told in first person p.o.v. from Liz and Cam. And you really never know who's narrating until you read it--meaning the chapters are not marked "Liz" or "Cam". And truthfully, I didn't have too much of a problem with it. There are subtle shifts that let you know you're in Liz's mind or Cam's. The narrator will look at the other or think of the other and you'll know pretty much within the first sentence or two. The only ONE time I was thrown off was when reading a chapter--don't recall which--the narrator did change with an indentation or space between paragraphs.

But this was quite the story too! There's a lot of mystery to what happened between Cam and Liz. We don't know the details and yet they get brought up occasionally when they come across one another. The whole "event" from six years ago. And gradually it's revealed throughout the book, and we get both sides to the story so it was kind of nice. There isn't that whole drama and anxiety that we had with Faythe and Marc--although I still love them! This is a more sedate and emotional drama if anything, for we do learn just about everything that happened between them that caused their breakup.

Of course when Liz is forced to work with Cam on this case that she literally has no choice in working, she isn't happy. There's still sparks between them and she can even admit that to herself, she just can't let anything progress, it'd be too dangerous.

It's hard to get into everything, and there's a lot of details to even just give you the short version. Basically Liz an Cam are working this case together that is helping one of their old friends, and yet they still have their own personal (work) related problems to deal with and naturally things start to connect to one another in more ways than you can imagine, all leading up to a very surprising ending.

Of course I was expecting something like this to happen while reading. Not in all its details, but you know, just the feeling that there won't be a HEA ending. Which of course there can't be since this is just book 1! Bring on Shadow Bound Rachel! I am SO ready!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

ARC Review--Shadowman by Erin Kellison

Ghosts
They haunt the halls of the Segue Institute, terrifying the living, refusing to cross over. But one soul is driven by a very different force.

It survives even death. And Kathleen O’Brien swore she would return to those she was forced to leave too soon.

Shadowman

He broke every rule to have her in life; now he will defy the angels to find her in death.

The Gate

Forging it is his single hope of being reunited with his beloved, but through it an abomination enters the world. Leaving a trail of blood and violence, the devil hunts her too. Pursued through realms of bright fantasy and dark reality, Kathleen is about to be taken.

I received this ARC from the publisher for review

Erin Kellison just writes one of the most fascinating series I've ever read! I love urban fantasy and I love fairy tales and basically this series takes both of those and mashes them together and the result is just incredible!

Kellison's books have the modern day faerie tale element to them. It's not necessarily faery tales retold, they just have the elements! In Shadowman, we get to know Shadowman himself a lot more and his lost love Kathleen. And he is determined to find his beloved to be with her once again. He even forged a gate to open a portal to Hell to perhaps draw Kathleen out.

Needless to say things don't go as planned. For it seems Kathleen is already in the real world and Shadowman will do anything to find and protect her from even more sinister creatures than the wraiths. 

I don't want to get too much into the plot details for there were quite a few surprises along the way. Really astounding ones. Shadowman takes you away once again into its seemingly dark worlds of fae and other terrifying creatures. It's almost impossible to describe the beauty of the language. It really is like reading a modern day faery tale.

The pacing was incredible, the characters, both new and old, were well loved and hated. They were deep and complex. There is still so much to learn about these people despite having known some of them from the previous books.

This dark fantasy world is beyond beautiful and is one I highly recommend if you're looking for a different kind of read. There's still action, fights with creatures from the dark side--monsters. Angels who may or may not be totally angelic. Romance kindling between more than one set of characters. Everything about this series is tremendous and I look forward to reading more and more from Kellison! She's on my list for life!

Overall rating 5/5 stars!

Shadowman releases September 6, 2011

ARC Review--Vanish by Sophie Jordan

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

I received this e-ARC for review courtesy of NetGalley

Sophie Jordan's Vanish was a great followup to Firelight! It had a pretty good storyline, albeit a little slow at times. It has a weird sort of curve for me, starting high, dropping down and staying steady with a few raises and dips here and there, towards the end, like the last 1/4 of the book was all high curves! If that makes any sense!

Like I said, Vanish starts off with a bang! We pick up immediately where we left off with Jacinda, Tamra, and their mother racing off with Cassian at the wheel of the getaway car. Only to have the hunters catch up with them for another showdown and that's when something big and epic happens! Won't say what, but yeah, chapter 1 was filled with a lot of action and surprises!

Things mellow down a little once the gang gets back to the pride. As imagined things aren't going to be easy returning. The others look on at Jacinda and her family with some disdain. They've been gone for months and suddenly return. There's not a lot of love there. Jacinda's life has changed dramatically once again. No longer does she live the happy life of a draki or the happy life of a draki/human girl with Will, now she's back to being more draki than girl and the rest of her pride treats her with hostility almost for what she caused them.

There's still the feeling for awhile that Jacinda is still the same selfish girl she was in the beginning and most of the middle of Firelight. She still kind of thinks of herself too much. I know we all have self-pity, no one's completely flawless. But at times Jacinda really feels to self-absorbed. But as I said, that's just for a little while. Soon her actions don't feel as self-serving. True, she still does what she wants for herself, but it doesn't have the "me-me-me" feel to it. We're just following the actions of the protagonist.

That being said the pacing as I also mentioned was decent. It starts off wonderfully than sedates itself. There is a bit of peak in the middle-ish before taking off again. Won't go too into details for obvious reasons. There's still quite a bit of inner-pride drama going on with Jacinda's pride. And there's still plenty of danger, just because she's home doesn't mean Jacinda leads the simple life. If anything, things are a lot more hectic this time around as well.

The ending is a doozie as well! Quite the cliffhanger. I'm assuming we're looking at another trilogy here as that tends to be the theme in YA. No biggie. The third one should be even better! This was quite the fascinating read despite the lapse in action every now and then.

Overall rating 3.5/5

Vanish releases September 6, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Here are the rules:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.
 
"'I'll implode, like the fuckin' Death Star.'

'Um, point of fact, I believe the Death Star exploded,' Cam said...'Twice.'

'Congratulations. Your official super-nerd badge is in the mail,'" p 289-290










TITLE: Blood Bound
AUTHOR: Rachel Vincent
GENRE:
Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE:
August 23, 2011 (September 1, 2011)

Aug 29, 2011

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

 The Pledge by Kimberly Derting (ARC) Review to be posted at a later date
Blood Secrets by Jeannie Holmes
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Bloodlands by Christine Cody
Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost
Violet Tendencies by Jaye Wells
Haunting the Night by Mara Purnhagen
Blood Work by Kim Harrison

Review that was Posted:

Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

Currently Reading:

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

What I Plan to Read this Week:

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay
Nocturne by Syrie James
Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Other Posts of Interest:

Aug 28, 2011

NEW LOOK!

Hey all! I decided to give my blog a new look!

As much as I liked the forest one, I really liked this one since it was even titled "My Journal"! Thought it fit with my theme better since I tend to gab a lot! And what's a journal but written jabber? 

So hopefully it all shows up nicely on other computers and whatnot--wherever you check your internet. A few of the blog designs I looked at didn't show up properly on my own screen so I had to pass those up!

Have a GREAT night everyone!

Review--Blood Work by Kim Harrison

When Ivy met Rachel, the result wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Sparks flew as the living vampire and the stubborn witch learned what it meant to be partners. Now Kim Harrison, the acclaimed author of Pale Demon and Black Magic Sanction, turns back the clock to tell the tale—in an original full-color graphic novel.

Hot-as-hell, tough-as-nails detective Ivy Tamwood has been demoted from homicide down to lowly street-crime detail. As if rousting trolls and policing pixies instead of catching killers wasn’t bad enough, she’s also been saddled with a newbie partner who’s an earth witch. It’s enough to make any living vampire bare her fangs. But when a coven of murderous witches begins preying on werewolves, Rachel Morgan quickly proves she’s a good witch who knows how to be a badass.

Together, Ivy and Rachel hit the mean streets to deal swift justice to the evil element among Cincinnati’s supernatural set. But there’s more to their partnership than they realize—and more blood and black magic in their future than they bargained for.

It's so hard to review a graphic novel, yet it will give me practice for when I read and review the VA one! Anyways Blood Work, is Kim Harrison's first ever graphic novel and my first one to read as well! Pedro Maia and Gemma Magno were the illustrators and they did a fabulous job! Of course, being new to graphic novels I didn't know what to expect!
This is a prequel story to the Hollows and how Ivy and Rachel first met and what their first case was like. And they didn't get along right away--which we kind of knew from reading the books. But still the duo must put aside their differences and work together to get the case solved. Which is a nightmare, weres are being murdered for some reason and it's up to Ivy and Rachel to put an end to it.

Again, this was my first time reading a graphic novel and it was pretty enjoyable. Sure I read comics when I was a kid; comic strips and the Scooby Doo comic series (yup, I'm a Scooby girl, born and bred and working on getting my niece hooked!). So one thing I did struggle with was how the frames were arranged. At times I wasn't sure which way I was supposed to go, but backtracking wasn't a horrendous affair! And really I only got misdirected once or twice out of the whole book.

Since this is just Ivy and Rachel, Jenks wasn't there. Hopefully he'll popup in the next one! I really want him there to add some laughs to the duo. Ivy, as we know is all about the rules and doing things by the book, while Rachel is a little more spontaneous! So the two working together resulted in some funny moments.

Kisten was there too! YAY KISTEN! He LIVES!! It was sooo good to see him again! And REALLY see him this time too, not just my image of him! He makes a pretty good animated dude if I do say so myself!

Surprisingly there was a bit of an open-ended ending. From hearing Kim talk on her blog, there is going to be another one in the works. It just takes time to do put it all together! The ending even brings in another character that we're familiar with...or maybe not! Yeah, I'm speculating on who the mysterious character is, but I have a very good guess!!

At the end of the book there's also some extras, like seeing the earlier sketches of the characters, the making of a graphic novel in a simple step-by-step guide and a short conversation with Kim about the graphic novel! It was a really awesome read and one I recommend to Hollows fans! I sooo can't wait to read the next one or even The Hollows Insider which comes out in October! This is definitely a year of Kim with 4 books! 1 adult, 1 YA, 1 graphic novel, and 1 super cool book with details of the Hollows world!

Overall rating 4.5/5 stars

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

I had a GREAT book week this week!

Kept hitting Borders--despite being saddened by its closing--for the first part of the week I got 40% off books, plus an extra 15% since I was a Plus member and then I hit the stores when it was just plain old 50% off. So great deals all around! And many, many tears! :(

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
Blood Work by Kim Harrison, Illst. by Pedro Maia & Gemma Magno
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain
Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
Black Night by Christina Henry (won in a contest--also a double so might use it in a giveaway)

For my own personal use in my writing I bought "research" books that were on the bargain table so I got an even better bargain!

Werewolves by Jon Izzard--$2!
The Book of Babies' Names: Best Loved Names and Their Meanings from Parragon Books*--$.99!!

*To be used for my character names! I'm not expecting!

I also downloaded for FREE:

Haunting the Night by Mara Purnhagen (Review)

And that was my week! Like I said, not bad at all!! My TBR pile is tilting!! So what did you get this week?

Aug 27, 2011

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Here's a little info about the meme taken from Larissa's blog:

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)

This week's topic is: MOST AWAITED BOOKS 2ND HALF OF 2011!

*in no particular order

Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur (Sept. 27)
Risa Jones is as extraordinary as her heritage. Born from a lab-enhanced clone mother and an Aedh father, she can not only talk to the souls of the dying and the dead, but she can see the reapers and walk the gray fields that divide this world from the next.

They are skill she rarely uses, however, preferring to concentrate on the business she shares with her two best friends. But when her mother asks her to help the parents of a little girl locked in a coma, she reluctantly agrees. What she discovers scares the hell out of her. Because the little girl’s soul no longer resides in her body, and it wasn’t death and the reapers that took her.

Someone had ripped her soul from her flesh.

As it turns out, a creature consuming the souls of the innocent–and not so innocent–is the least of her problems.

Because someone wants to rip open the gates that divided hell from earth, and Risa is a key component in their plans.

And the only person standing between her and disaster is a reaper who isn’t exactly on her side.

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (Oct. 18)
Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, steampunk meets romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

The Hallows Insider by Kim Harrison (Oct. 25)
Welcome to the Hollows—Kim Harrison’s remarkable shadow world of vampires, pixies, demons…and one unstoppable bounty hunter witch named Rachel Morgan. The Hollows Insider is your guide through the dark mysteries of this grimly twisted Cincinnati—featuring maps and illustrations, spells and character profiles, and much more, including an all-new Rachel Morgan short story. Fans of New York Times bestseller Harrison will not want to miss The Hollows Insider, a visitor’s handbook to this creepy capital of the urban fantasy universe—on the same alternate globe, perhaps, as Charlaine Harris’s vampire-ridden Louisiana, Jim Butcher’s sinister Chicago, and Patricia Brigg’s shape-shifting Pacific Northwest.


Magic on the Line by Devon Monk (Nov. 1)
Allison Beckstrom has willingly paid the price of pain to use magic, and has obeyed the rules of the Authority, the clandestine organization that makes-and enforces-all magic policy. But when the Authority's new boss, Bartholomew Wray, refuses to believe that the sudden rash of deaths in Portland might be caused by magic, Allie must choose to follow the Authority's rules, or turn against the very people for whom she's risked her life.

To stop the plague of dark magic spreading through the city, all that she values will be on the line: her magic, her memories, her life. Now, as dead magic users rise to feed upon the innocent and the people closest to her begin to fall, Allie is about to run out of options.


Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen w/Richelle Mead 
(Nov. 15)
The official guide to the #1 international bestselling Vampire Academy series

Sink your teeth into the perfect holiday gift and must-have collector's item for every fan of Richelle Mead's totally addicting Vampire Academy series.

Discover the history of St. Vladimir's Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa's spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!

Aug 26, 2011

Quick Review--Haunting the Night by Mara Purnhagen

Charlotte Silver has been through hell.

Her mom’ s in a coma. She may have caused the death of a young man. And now her friend Avery wants her to tackle going to Prom? Not going to happen, even if she is dying to spend some alone time with her boyfriend, Noah. Instead, Charlotte needs to find some answers to a few nagging questions—why was her family attacked? Will her mother survive? And is there a creature from the Other Side coming for her? Soon enough, Charlotte's search for the truth becomes a race against time. But she may just find the sign she's been looking for all along....

Today was a day for quick reads! I also just finished Mara Purnhagen's Haunting the Night! This was book 2.5 as well that takes place before the events of Beyond the Grave which is out now. Having already read that, I still decided to read this since it was a free read! Yup, right now at Amazon you can get it for the amazing price of $0!

This time around Charlotte is dealing with extreme guilt over what happened to Marcus, the poor young man who was possessed by the demon and was killed. Charlotte begins to see a looming shadow that tends to stand outside her window every night, giving her nightmares and worrying her sick. 

Her mother's still in the hospital and her condition is steady, never worsening, never bettering which makes it all the harder on her family and herself. Her friends are excited about prom but Charlotte has decided not to go and instead spend time with her sister.

Again, since this is a novella it's hard to review entirely, but it was an interesting read. The shadowy figure was pretty creepy and we never really knew what it was--until the end of course! We also get to learn a little more about Mills, Charlotte's sister's boyfriend. To be honest in the beginning of the series I thought he might be some sort of bad guy since he suddenly popped up, but obviously he isn't. He helps Charlotte get through her pain and troubles in amazing ways, and sheds some light on his own secret pain.

Another fabulous novella!! That's 3 in one day for me! For the first book about monsters I had been reading off and on really when I needed a break from my current book since it was a fun nonsense read. This was a fun read, and yet not one that necessarily needs to be read in order to understand Beyond the Grave, but since it's free and not that long of a read, why not five it ago. Did I mention that it was FREE? ;)

Overall rating 4/5 stars

Quick Review--Violet Tendencies by Jaye Wells

Former assassin Sabina Kane heads to Los Angeles to find her kidnapped sister. Helping her on the mission are her hot mage partner, her Mischief demon minion, and a Vanity demon named Valva. The problem? She's got to figure out how to find her sister without letting her enemies know she's back in town. But when Sabina seeks out an old ally -- a vampire strip club owner named Fang -- for help, Sabina learns the hard way that Vanity demons don't know the meaning of the phrase "low profile."

Jaye Wells's Violet Tendencies was another quick read that I got done today! It was pretty awesome too. Although according to Goodreads, it says it's book 3.5, but if I remember what happened in book 3 correctly, this novella would've taken place prior to it.

Granted it's been months since I read Green-Eyed Demon, but even glancing at its cover back has me thinking that this should've been book 2.5 since some of the events that happened in Green-Eyed Demon aren't mentioned here. So I want to say this should be book 2.5.

Regardless it was a fun little read! Sabina, Adam, Gighul, and Valva are still on the run trying to stay out of the Dominae's radar, and they take shelter at a strip club. Sabina's friends with the owner and was hoping for a safe place to hold up for a few days, but chaos quickly ensures.

Again, this is a short read so can't say much without telling the whole story, but it was pretty interesting. And it does answer a question that GED brought up so it's worth a read if you have the time and were curious about this particular something--which don't want to say for spoiler purposes. (also as I write this I have a headache forming and can't think straight to remember all of GED)

So if you're in between reads this is definitely a fun one! There was quite the craziness going on!

Overall rating 3.5/5 stars

Quick Review--Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost

Isabella Spaga is about to reluctantly walk down the aisle with Mr. Dangerously Wrong…but not if dashing vampire Chance has anything to say about it. As a favor to Bones, Chance has come to derail this wedding of beauty to the beast. Now if only he can keep his hands off the bride. From New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress world, it’s the wedding of the season…that everyone wants to miss.

Jeaniene Frost's Happily Never After is a fun quick read! I didn't read it when it was originally in Weddings From Hell, so I was super happy that it was available as a Kindle book for a low cost of $2!

I love Jeaniene's Night Huntress world and reading a novella set in it, even with different characters, is still amazing!

Isabella is one tough chick! She's in a helluva situation where she literally has to marry this prick of a dude! Robert is a mobster and like any jerky guy he wants what he can't have and since Isa has turned him down for a date more than once, he has now proposed to marry her by handing her the ring and saying if you don't I'll kill your brother. And since Isa hasn't heard from her brother in quite some time she has no choice but to believe him.

But her grandmother has connections that she doesn't know about, plus a mysterious past to boot. When Greta talks to Bones, he gets his friend Chance to repay a favor while he continues to look for a certain guy (hint-hint: Halfway to the Grave). Chance finds Isa pretty quickly and watches over her while trying to find her brother.

It was a pretty good story, took me longer to read it since I ran some errands today, but it was awesome--even with Bones appearing only twice. I enjoyed getting to know Chance and Isa was a great heroine. She's strong in her own way with doing what has to be done to save her brother. There's some funny moments too in her ways of keeping Robert at bay. She's such a great liar too!

Since it's a novella, it's hard to review without giving too much away, but it was a quick read and a fun one too! I recommend it to all fans of the Night Huntress series. Getting to know other characters was great! Although I can't recall if Chance and Isa popped up in one of the books or not. Oh well!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

Quick Review--Vampires Werewolves Zombies...

The situation is grave. Vampires are vamping. Werewolves are shape shifting. And zombies are lurching into the garden. Is this modern-day ferment of paranormal activity, ah, normal? Learn all about it in this nifty new pocket guide to man's best fiends: VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, ZOMBIES: Compendium Monstrum. Collected from the papers of 19th-century monstrologists Herr Doktor Max Sturm & Baron Ludwig Von Drang, this intriguing book includes "notes and sketches," arranged with some updating, plus a Transylvania travel section, fold-out maps, and "Sightings Record Pages," so you can record your own encounters. Don't be caught dead without it!

Fascinating facts revealed in the book include documented "sparkling vampires" in 19th-century folklore (page 26), why wolfsbane is sometimes known as "Dumbledore s Delight" (page 92), and much more.

Illustrator Bruce Waldman is an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His works are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and The Royal Collection in London. Illustrations and additional historical images throughout.

Suzanne Schwalb's Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies: Compendium Monstrum is actually just a small little fun read that I picked up on one of my many trips to Borders. I saw it just before checking out and threw it into my basket! It's a cute little book that has info about vampires, werewolves and zombies.

There's actually some pretty interesting facts in it. It's not all joke book kind of thing. There's small sections with bits of history, like a paragraph on Vlad. There's also accounts of vampire and werewolf attacks in certain parts of the world. One or two I might have recognized even!

I'm not sure how much of it's accurate, but the historical facts do sound about right. Of course there's other sort of fun nonsense, like translating some zombie speak! As well as a language or two that vampires and werewolves would be most familiar with. So you'll know how to say Help me! or Run!

The maps and other illustrations were also remarkably done! Very detailed maps and other drawings really helped make it complete!

So for a fun little read with some interesting facts this is definitely something you might want to check out if you're looking how to survive from a zombie apocalypse or looking for tell tale signs that someone is on of the fanged or furred!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

Friday Hops

This blogger hop was created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.

Here are the rules:
1. Enter your book blog link in the Linky List below (be sure to include how long you've been blogging and what genres you review!). If you post about the Hop on your blog, please link directly to your Hop post (don't forget to answer this week's question - see below!).
2. Visit other blogs in the Linky List! Make new friends! Follow new book bloggers! Talk about books! Rave about authors! (Please do not leave your link and not visit other blogs - it's just not cool and not in the spirit of the Hop!)
3. Post about the Hop on your blog! Spread the word about the book party! The more the merrier!
4. In your blog post, answer the following question (new question each week!):

Non-book-related this week!! Do you have pets?

MY ANSWER: Yes, we have 2 dogs who have really bad attitude problems!! They're both Husky mixes, one being Great Perinese and the other German Shepard with their Husky side. They may only be half Husky but they have the full Husky attitude!

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week's question is: In books like the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series the paranormal creature in question "comes out of the closet" and makes itself known to the world. Which mythical creature do you wish would come out of the closet, for real?

MY ANSWER: I know a lot of people will say vampires and I wouldn't object to them coming out of the closet either, but I think I wouldn't mind for werewolves to come out of the closet! Werewolves tend to have a lot of traits that are worth having--if you were to be turned--that tend to seem positive in my eyes. Plus they usually are totally hot! Like Clay! And Pieter! And Max!

Aug 25, 2011

Review--Bloodlands by Christine Cody

The New Badlands—a desolate area in the West forged by the terrible events that altered the entire country, where a few frightened citizens retreated underground to shelter from the brutal weather... and from a society gone deadly dangerous.

Then the vampire arrived—and they started calling it the Bloodlands.

Not because Gabriel, the so-called monster running from his true self, was searching for his lover’s murderer. Nor because Mariah, the woman who reluctantly took him in, was willing to do anything to survive in the changed world.

No, the Badlands officially became the Bloodlands the moment a gun-for-hire who’d decided to slay every monster left in the country came after Gabriel...

Christine Cody's Bloodlands, kicks off a new series set in a desolate landscape that used to be the United States. Now things are different, and not necessarily for the better, far from it actually. This is definitely a dystopian novel and it wasn't all that bad given how I don't read too many.

It definitely has a unique style to it as well. The chapters are sporadically divided between Mariah and Gabriel, with a chapter here or there from a bad guy's p.o.v., while only Mariah's p.o.v. is in first person, everyone else is in third. A little disorienting maybe, but the only times I got thrown off really was when we were in the mind of a bad guy, for the chapters are labeled Mariah or Gabriel, while the other limited chapters have no identifier. So hence the disorientation.

What was also a little off was that some of the bad guys spoke the language Text, which is exactly what you think it is. The "texting" language. Although I was warned of this ahead of time, and my worries weren't really necessary. There are only a small few amount of times the bad guys spoke this language and it wasn't at all hard. Nothing made up like that one commercial from a few years back with the kids and grandma saying stuff like "TGHM" The girl hates me, or whatever. That really annoyed me! No the text here is pretty simple and easy to follow since I am one of the people that practically texts in the English language with only a few abbreviations.

The story itself was pretty interesting as well. I won't lie, a few times my mind did wander because I wasn't sure where it was going. Gabriel is obviously looking for the woman he loves who disappeared on him some time back, while Mariah and her group of people hiding out are doing just that, hiding out from the bad guys.

Since this is a dystopian novel, there is a whole new world to grow accustomed to and new terms and events to learn as well. It wasn't too hard to follow along, but describing it in detail would take too long. But basically it comes down to survival. The bad guys are after Mariah and her friends because they have something precious that they want, a valuable resource.

It was definitely an interesting read, there's a bit of a spark between Mariah and Gabriel that was nice. It wasn't super intense and lustful, but still they seemed to connect on a deeper level. But Mariah is harboring more than one secret from him. And both could threaten the fragile relationship budding between them.

The ending led to several shocking surprises that definitely changed my opinion of the book overall. I will definitely be needing to get the next book, Blood Rules, this coming week.

Overall rating 3.5/5 stars

Random Thursday

One supernatural show I remember watching back in 2001, was Dead Last. Actually took a bit of research for me to remember the show's name, but in my defense it only lasted 13 episodes unfortunately. But it was sooo cool! I can't believe it ended! Then again this was before supernatural shows became so popular, yet another incredible show before its time.

Anyone else remember this show? It feature these 3 people here and when they held that stone or ring--whatever it was--they were able to see and talk to ghosts. Usually it involved them trying to help the ghost with unfinished business so they could move on. I can't remember a lot of it. Just enjoy the heck out of it!

Tyler Labine starred in it, remember him from Reaper? Another paranormal (sort of) show that got cancelled? Sara Downing was also in Roswell for a few episodes as one of the Skins, the one that liked Michael a lot! And the other guy is Kett Turton, he was in the movie Saved and he starred in an episode of Supernatural from season 1, The Phantom Traveler--the airplane episode as one of the passengers to survive the plane crash and put himself into a mental hospital because he thought he was seeing things when the demon possessed dude opened the door to the plane and caused the crash.

So yeah, even the actors were involved in supernatural shows besides this one. From what I can remember it was pretty good and had some comedy mixed in, likely dark comedy or something similar, but it wasn't a real dark show with super serious themes like Buffy has. It was just funny and cool to see this trio go to extreme lengths and help the spirits.

And that's my Random Thursday post, figured it would be better to do one show at a time since I have several in my quiver of knowledge!!

Aug 24, 2011

Review--Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

On her 12th Birthday,  Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Rachel Hawkins's Hex Hall was a wonderful read! I'm not sure what took me so long to jump on the bandwagon and read this, but I am so glad that I did! Definitely gonna have to find Demonglass on sale soon somewhere! Not sure I can wait to read it after the ending of Hex Hall!

This book blew me away and was far better than my expectations. I admit, I am a cover snob. Hate to admit it, but its true. And while the cover here intrigued me, it did leave me thinking it might be a bit too...juvenile? Whatever my hangups were, this book blew me out of the water! Sophie--although while the math makes it seem like she's 15, I'm pretty sure she said she was 16, whatever--was incredible! She's everything you look for in your Paranormal YA book! She's got sass and spunk! She doesn't let the bullies keep her down.

And I just say how evil and spiteful the witch trio she meets is? Lead by Elodie, she sets out to make Sophie's life extremely chaotic! At times I was surprised that Sophie fell for some of Elodie and her friends' tricks. I mean, why would she trust them after what she learns her first day?

Archer, the love interest, was a fabulous character too! He's sort of your typical smarmy high school boy, who happens to be dating Elodie. And for whatever reason, he can't see her cold-heartedness and ruthlessness. He says there's something more to Elodie, yet Sophie cannot see it. She develops a crush on him pretty fast and even faster was her ability to fall in love with the guy. That part really through me. Love? Seriously? She barely knows the guy, had a few conversations with him and served some detention with him as well, and suddenly she loves him? That went a little too fast for me, but I digress.

Sophie's roommate, Jenna, was wonderful! I mean come on, a pink-loving vamp?! How can that not be cool?! Jenna though is neck deep in trouble, because the attacks around the school keep getting blamed on her just because the victims were drained of their blood and there were puncture marks on their necks. Sophie is determined to prove her friend's innocence even when evidence is saying otherwise.

This was actually a very entertaining read! I found myself grossly involved with the characters and the mystery of the attacks. Quite a few shocking things happen and plot-wise, this story rocks! The characters are full of depth as well. Very complex people we're reading about here and learning about! They were quite enjoyable and more than one of them will surprise you in the end! 

The ending has a cliffhanger of sorts as well, there's a few questions that leave you wondering, but the bulk of the story does leave you satisfied. The ending hangs off with learning of what Sophie will do next.

Overall rating 4/5 stars