Contest Alert--at Book Reviews by Jess

There's a contest over at: http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/07/contest-my-soul-to-take-soul-screamers.html to win an ARC of Rachel Vincent's newest YA series My Soul to Take!

Taken from Rachel Vincent's website: http://rachelvincent.com/MSTT.html

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH
KAYLEE CAVANAUGH

She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

SOUL SCREAMERS
The last thing you hear before you die...

This is on my TBR pile, yet I still have to buy it first! Trying to win an ARC myself. If not it can be bought at bookstores August 1, 2009. Maybe 1 week earlier if stores put it out early!

But all you have to do for this contest is go to Jess's blog and leave a comment under the contest thread. There are a few other things you can do to earn extra entries, such as being a follower or posting the about the contest on your own blog! The instructions and details are all there for you at the website. That website again is: http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/07/contest-my-soul-to-take-soul-screamers.html

Contest ends July 24, at midnight.

Open to US residents only.

Winner will be announced on July 25 or soon thereafter. And you have to check to see if you won, she won't track you down. You'll have 3 days to claim your prize.

Review--Dying Bites

I just finished reading this new book in a new series by a new author. At least new author for me! It was a very interesting new series too. I just love the world that Jace enters!

Prior to reading this I had read a bad review on it, and let me just say this person was completely and entirely wrong. They said the ending was predictable, I didn't see it coming. I didn't automatically know who the bad guy was. This person was just entirely negative about the book and did not say 1 good thing about it. I really enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next book in the series.

Here is what's on the back of the book:

Her job description is the “tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers.” What this really means in FBI profiler Jace Valchek’s brave new world—one in which only one percent of the population is human—is that a woman’s work is never done. And real is getting stranger every day…

Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she’s the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David’s world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again…

Jace is literally in another world. That part was a little confusing to grasp at first, that the world she is now in is in another dimension or something, but you just have to accept it at face value. She was ripped from her reality and placed into this new one in order to solve a crime spree of murders committed by someone who seems to be insane. This is a world, as it was mentioned, where humans are the lower race. Vampires and lycanthropes outrank them as well as golems.

This was the first time I read a book where golems actually had a more active role in the plot and enjoyed it. Golems were always interesting creatures. There is even some historical background on some of these creatures, golems included that tell the reader, as well as Jace, what they are all about and where they came from.

The book was told from in the present tense, something I was not used to whatsoever. It was the first time to my recollection that I was reading a book in present tense instead of past. Meaning things would be like: "What's that?" I ask. Instead of "asked". It was different, but I liked it. I like venturing away from what I usually read, to a certain point of course! Not really likely to read something that's non-fiction anytime soon. I like my fiction way too much!

The back of the book actually gives a good description as to what happens without too many spoilers. I don't want to give out more details because then it would be leaning more to giving you spoilers. But there is going to be another book that picks up where this one left off. Not sure how many total, but there is an excerpt at the end of the novel for the next one, titled, Death Blows. Not sure when it's due out yet either.

Jace is a funny and fresh character. I liked her a lot, she was real. Someone you can relate to. I also liked the fact that Jace works out of the FBI office in St. Louis--where I'm from! I hardly get to see my city as a location for a story, but the story unfortunately doesn't take place in St. Louis. It takes place in several cities and other countries as well come to think of it. St. Louis was just mentioned briefly, once.

Since this book kind of falls under a mystery-suspence category, I actually bought it under horror, but there's mystery to it. It's a crime fighting kind of novel, so talking about the book is hard for me because there are too many things that I think would spoil the novel for new readers. The crime fighting suspense is awesome, I realize that I don't read enough of these kinds of books because they really gripping. I can't wait for the next one!

Review--Wicked Resurrection

The WICKED series is BACK!!!

After a 6 long year wait, Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie have come back to complete their Wicked series with this final and epic novel! While I'm sad to see the series ending I am glad there is finally a conclusion to the last book!

I originally read the series when the books first came out which were:

Wicked Witch
Wicked Curse
Wicked Legacy
Wicked Spellbound

The books were a great read. Since I'm here mostly to discuss Resurrection, I will just briefly mention the other books. In these we meet the characters and the start of the war between witch and warlock clans begins. As the discovery of the girls finding out they were witches.

But back to the book at hand, Resurrection continues where Spellbound left off. Holly is working with Alex, who as we know isn't who he says he is. Yet Holly doesn't know this at all. She thinks he's a great guy.

The war is still brewing despite Michael's death. There are still other enemies to consider. There are still more deaths to be seen, deaths of loved ones. And the title Resurrection also has in its own part in the storyline--enough said!

But overall--not wanting to discuss the plot too much because then it would be like a book report/summary--the book was great! The characters remain true to their selves. I have missed reading these books. There were some slow points, such as the flashbacks to the past. But they serve their purpose. The changing of p.o.v. is still fresh and enjoyable. At times though, I wanted to get back into character x's mind but we had to be in character's c point of view. There is a lot of jumping around as well, but that was seen in the other books as well, so it was no hindrance to understanding the novel.

Wicked Resurrection is a great conclusion to the series. I was happy with the ending. There are several surprises that will be had by all Wicked readers.

The other four books in the series can be bought in 2 volumes now known as Wicked and Wicked 2, with the other titles listed below Wicked.

Fans of YA and witches, magic, sorcery, time travel, romance, action and so much more will adroe these books. I had become addicted by book 1 and was devastated upon hearing the series was canceled at book 4, with all the cliffhangers that it had. I was ecstatic to hear that the series was continuing with one final book where all those cliffhangers are answered/resolved. So if you were like me and read the books 6 years ago, you must return and finish the series. And if you're new to the series you must start it soon! You won't be disappointed if you like all or some of the things I mentioned in this paragraph. And you have the plus side of having the series right in front of you! No waiting for the next book like I had to do!!

Review--Shadow Kiss

Shadow Kiss

Just finished reading the third book in the Vampire Academy series today and oh man...I am now dying to read the fourth one that's due out next month. Too long of a wait if you ask me.

The covers have recently gotten a makeover as well. I still have the old ones, these new ones are a bit different. The second one is really the only one that didn't change much. The first one just zoomed in on the girl, this one got a whole different look. This way the fourth one will match with the new look. But that's just rambling! Onto the actual book content! Minus spoilers of course!!

Things at the Academy are different. The Strigoi attack during the winter holidays is still fresh on Rose's mind. She is still upset about Mason's death. But now has come for the time when the guardian trainees receive their assignments in a mock trial of sorts. They are assigned to protect a Moroi student and must protect them 24/7 or really 24/6 as the guardians get 1 day off, but that's besides the point. Rose knows she'll get Lissa, because she's going to be assigned to Lissa after graduation, so she's feeling confident. Not even Jesse and his snide comments can bring her down.

But things don't go as Rose had planned. Eddie is Lissa's guardian for the "test" that last 6 weeks and Rose is assigned to none other than Christian. But that's only the beginning of Rose's problems. Adrian, from Frostbite has decided to stay at the Academy and learn the ways of the spirit with Lissa, and his crush on Rose remains strong.

But the fun just keeps on coming as Rose learns that Victor's trial is coming up soon. She, Lissa and the others who were subject to his ways, aren't going to go testify, which enrages all who were involved, namely Rose, Lissa and Christian. They all want to make sure Victor gets put away for good, so he can never harm Lissa or anyone else again. But they are not permitted to go, until an unlikely someone pulls some strings.

I don't want to divulge into too much because then that's when spoilers start sprouting up, but let's say some pretty interesting things occur during and at the palce of the trial. There are some pretty interesting revelations that become known to Rose by the Queen herself.

Rose also learns more and more about herself as being shadow-kissed and what it entails. Not to mention that some students are being attacked, they show up one day with bruises and cuts but don't explain for what happened to them.

Not to mention that Rose begins to question her sanity when she starts seeing someone from her past. It involves being shadow-kissed and that's all I want to say because I feel like this tiny detail might be a spoiler. As would the rest of the details in the novel. But I will say that there are a LOT of revelations for Rose, some good, some bad.

The ending will leave you dying! It did for me! So if you haven't read it yet and are new to the series but have read the other 2, I would almost recommend waiting a little closer to August 25 when Blood Promise will be released, but that's just my advice. If you can't wait to read Shadow Kiss then go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Richelle Mead's YA series, Vampire Academy, is beautifully written. There are times when I can't believe it's at YA level, the vocabulary is normal, there are no strange words or new ones to come across, which I guess is what makes it YA. It reads simply and wonderfully. The book really drags you into Rose's world and you feel like you're apart of it, like you're one of the students silently watching Rose as she interacts with her friends.

This is definitely a series I will be sticking to from here on out. Technically, I could've said that after book 1, Vampire Academy, but Shadow Kiss is where I really-really got hooked to the point of no return! This is an amazing series that I recommend for all vampire fans who enjoy a good YA every now and then! Trust me when I say you won't be disappointed!

Once again, I'll post what's on the back of the book in case you want a different kind of synopsis. Here it is:

What if following her heart means Rose could lose her best friend forever?

Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa--the last Dragomir princess--must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...

But since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling right. Something dark has begun to grow in her mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. And now that Lissa and Rose's sworn enemy, Victor Dashkov, is on trial for his freedom, tensions in the Moroi world are higher than ever.

Lying to Lissa to Dimitri is one thing, but suddenly there's way more than friendship at stake. Ther immortal undead are on the prowl, and they want vengeance for the lives taht Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most...but will her choice mean that only one can survive?

Contest Alert--at Fantastic Book Review

Over at http://fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com is a contest to win the entire Shifters series so far. And PREY will be a signed copy! It's really simple all you have to do is follow a few simple rules such as:

1. Comment on the author interview +1
2. Comment on the book review +1
3. Link to blog +1
4. Follow the reviewer on Twitter +1
5. Be a follower or become a follower +2

When you get to the blog you will find links that will lead you to the interview and review, and as of right now this is the top/current message or post. So they'll be right there.

Not sure how many entries you get if you become a follower for the first time, so don't take my word for it being 2 entries. Each action you take on the blog gets you one entry or as in the case of #5 2 entries. This is a fantastic giveaway and it's at http://fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com

But hurry you only have until midnight on July 17, 2009 and unfortunately it's only available to U.S. residents only, as said on her blog.

My Soul to Lose

In case you haven't heard already Rachel Vincent is writing a new YA series called Soul Screamers that hits shelves August 1. With the sequel to follow early 2010 by my last check. The series starts with My Soul to Take, but first there's a little prequel you can read, My Soul to Save. You can download this e-book free at the following website.

http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/9F49332E-D306-456D-93A8-1B588D450AAD/10/126/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=27DEC691-35B0-4197-87EB-2B51315EDA8C

Here are the covers for My Soul to Take (book 1) and My Soul to Save (book 2)

Review--Frostbite

Frostbite is the second in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead and has quickly become one of my faves!

Now I know my previous post about the first one was pretty long and I apologize. I usually have a lot to say about a book that I love a lot! Of course it's hard for me to tell people about a book without giving away too many spoilers. Which I did leave out quite a bit about the end of the first book, but I didn't want my review to turn into a book report. So I left a lot of that out. As well as a few other things, like that the Academy runs on night time hours instead of daylight ones so that the Moroi won't get exhausted from the sun. Sunlight doesn't kill these vampires like it does in Buffy or other movies, it just weakens them. As a Dhampir Rose can handle it since she has human blood in her as well.

Moving on to Book 2 in the VA series, and there will be Vampire Academy (Book 1) spoilers so don't read this one unless you've read the first book.

Rose has got guy trouble (it says this on the back of the book too!), she still has strong feelings for Dimitri, and the spell that was put on the two of them to keep them from rescuing Lissa is still strong in her memory. As much as she tries to forget it, it is hard, especially when she works daily with Dimitri. She knows now that Dimitri has to feel something for her otherwise the spell wouldn't have worked, but he returns to being his stoic self.

Rose has matured greatly since book 1 and even Dimitri notices, although there are times when her maturity slips, like it does for all of us too!, making Rose a more believable character. People have flaws, it's a given.

It's near Christmas time at the Academy and families are visiting and among those families comes the guardians and one of those guardians is Rose's mother, the mother she hasn't seen in a VERY long time. Rose isn't connected to her mother in any real way. There is definite resentment there, for Rose feels like her mother just dropped her off to be rid of her at the Academy and Rose hardly ever hears from her mom like some of the other students hear from their parents.

But prior to this "lovely" reunion, Rose and Dimitri were supposed to go see another guardian for Rose to take a test of sorts, but when they arrive he is dead, along with everyone else in the house. The attack was brutal and it is soon discovered that humans are working with the Strigoi to attack other Moroi, most particularly royal ones.

Due to the recent attacks that pop up, the winter ski trip the Academy hosts is mandatory. Rose is looking forward to it somewhat, because it will allow her to relax with her friends. Although, she has been feeling neglected as Lissa spends a lot of free time with her boyfriend, Christian. Since Dimitri has shown no signs of affection towards her, besides one incident that occurs early in Book 2, which I won't mention in full, ;) Rose turns to Mason who has always been in love with her. She flirts with him more and more, but realizes that there is an empty feeling in her when she's with him. She still wants Dimitri, but Dimitri has been spending a lot of extra time with someone else.

There is also another Moroi vampire at the resort who has taken interest in Rose and partly Lissa. He says he needs to talk to Lissa, because they have something in common and he wants to talk to Rose, because there's something about her that he likes. He seems a bit....off, I guess you could say, but his character identity is revealed a little more as the chapters move on.

Rose also discovers more about her mother that she never knew before, changing their relationship. *Getting a little close to spoilers there, so I'm stopping at that issue*

Soon word lets out there are Strigoi in hiding nearby and 3 students leave the safety of the winter resort to hunt them. When Rose finds out about it, feeling gulity for taking part in the conversation that led to the students leaving, she seeks Christian's help in going after them.

But the students learn that they really weren't ready for battling the Strigoi, as Rose was trying to tell them, as Dimitri had told her, they have a lot to learn still. They end up coming face to face with the Strigoi which changes things for them.

There are quite a few surprises at the end of the novel, none that I can divulge you with since they would spoil the ending for you. But the second book was very-very good in my opinion. There were a few slow points, where there was more socializing happening rather than conflict or action, but it was nice to have those normal moments though, because it gave the story more believability.

Once again, incase this wasn't enough to give you an idea of what the story is about, here is what's on the back of the book:

When love and jealousy collide on the slopes, winter break turns deadly...

Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladmir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians--including the legendary Janine Hataway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad's holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safett. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose--and her heart--are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...

Review--Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy

I recently picked up reading Richelle Mead's Young Adult (YA) series: Vampire Academy (VA); which I'm glad I did, because this series is fantastic for YA!

As you might guess based on the title vampires are involved, but it's not all about vampires going to school, so don't think Harry Potter but with vamps instead of witches/wizards, because that's not how it is.

A little bit of Vampire Academy 101, first there are the Moroi these are the "good" vampires in that they don't kill people in order to feed and all that jazz. They're the vamps with a soul if you want, such as we saw in Buffy. These vampires also have a special power that they specialize in that involves the elements; fire, water, air, earth. And there is also the unheard of 5th element: spirit. More on that later.

Then there are the Strigoi the bad vampires, they kill to feed or just kill for fun. These vampires have no ounce of humanity left in them, where the Moroi do, you could say. These vampires are very hard to kill, you either stake them in the heart with a silver stake, decapitate them, or set them on fire, all very hard to do since Strigoi are very powerful beings.

The ones who fight the Strigoi are the guardians, the ones who also protect the Moroi vampires. So yeah, they're basically body guards, mostly male, but there are a few females such as the series protagonist Rose.

Now on to the review of the first novel! Rose is a dhampir, meaning her father was a vampire, a Moroi and her mother is human. Her mother is also a guardian but she dropped Rose off at the academy as soon as she could so her daughter could start training to be a guardian. She technically was one already in a way for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi princess, the last of her family and the one who she will likely be a guardian for once she graduates. We also learn that her family died in a car crash not so long ago. She was the only survivor of her family.

Rose is set to protect her, but she soon learns something about her best friend, something very quickly. Lissa had never shown any sign of her upcoming power specialty which was cause for Lissa to worry, but soon it becomes apparent that Lissa has the 5th power, the special rare one; the spirit, this isn't learned until later though. Although Lissa has the ability to heal people or animals, but never really understood what that power was, she also could use compulsion very effectively which makes things easy for her when she really needs something.

These abilities makes Lissa very-very special indeed, not to mention being the last member of her family. The Strigoi are going to be after her if word got out about her abilities. So Rose and Lissa kept it all secret and when Rose had the feeling her friend's life was in danger they run away from the Academy. And this is really where the novel starts--sort of. They have already ran away and a group of guardians have come to bring them back to school.

So that's where they find themselves in Chapter 2, in front of the headmistress who is not one of Rose's fave people. They have been gone for 2 years now and Rose as well as Lissa have a lot of catching up to do in their studies. Rose is forced to take extra practices with an experienced guardian just to get caught up in her defense skills. She is partnered with the very guardian who captured her, Dimitri. An older guy who has definitely caught Rose's eye once or twice since her capture.

Life soon finds some sense of normality at school, if you could call it that. But some things have changed and Rose and Lissa discover that they have an enemy, Mia, another student who is set on making their time there hell for reasons unknown. At least in the beginning. Those reasons are revealed later.

Also someone is terrorizing Lissa, leaving dead animals in her room that she shares with her cousin. Could it be Mia who has a grudge against her or someone else? Rose isn't sure, but she does her best to protect her friend. There is an enemy among them, that much is clear since the Academy is so heavily protected due to all the Moroi students. Rose is going to have to try to figure out who has it out for her friend, while attending classes, extra practices, and oh yeah, being grounded to her room until the headmistress says so.

Rose is definitely the polar opposite of anyone I would ever be. She is very flirty and promiscuous. While she tries to fight her attraction with Dimitri, she busies herself with the other guys at school. But soon dirty rumors about her start to fly and they could only have come from one person, someone who was their enemy from the time they set foot back at the academy.

Basically Rose and Lissa must deal with regular high school woes, friends, an ex-boyfriend of Lissa's who's still hung up on her, enemies, along with the actual learning and living with the rumors that are scattering across the school, and try to figure out who is terrorizing Lissa. Yeah, no problem. That's definitely the regular high school woes, perhaps that should be phrased a little differently. Such as regular high school woes, plus crime solving?

Other details that I neglected to mention are that Lissa and Rose have a connection of sorts, Rose can read Lissa's mind and actually get inside her mind and sees what she sees. There is also guy trouble involved for both girls, as Mason, Rose's guy friend has a major crush on her, and Lissa has a growing friendship with Christian, another Moroi at the school, one who is "destined" to turn Strigoi like his parents did. A fact that Rose doesn't like and tries to keep the two apart. This is what made me dislike Rose, that she butted into Lissa's business, I realized that they're friends and Rose wants to protect Lissa, but she has no right getting involved in Lissa's personal affairs. Rose is very childish and selfish for that portion of the book. But she grows up a little bit towards the end and of course in the next book as well.

There are quite a bit of flashbacks for Rose, as she is the narrator every now and then we take a trip down memory lane that flows nicely as Rose is thinking about something and then is reminded of the time...and so on.

This is a thrilling start in the VA series, with twists and turns that are unbelievable. The tension between Rose and Dimitri is beautifully done, as well as the growing relationship between Lissa and Christian.

And as always since I can't give away too many spoilers, I might have left out other plot details, but I feel like I have already said too much. But here is what's on the back of the book, most of which I have talked about and added more detail here and there, that wasn't what I thought to be much of a spoiler, never fear for a whole lot more happens in the 332 page novel.

Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies...

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires--the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking Academy hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's--inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals, and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...

Review--City of Souls

The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac

Vicki Pettersson's Zodiac series is one of my faves, the books are so gripping that you can barely believe all the things that happened. The protagonist, Olivia/Joanna, goes through a lot of turmoil yet she still comes back up again. For those who haven't read the series yet this is a must-read-series, starting with book 1 of course, it's important that you read them in order because like many other series, this is not a stand alone novel.

The books in order are:

The Scent of Shadows
The Taste of the Night
The Touch of Twilight
City of Souls

And now without further ado, my opinions on the book. City of Souls opens up a shirt while after The Touch of Twilight ended, with some time going by. Suzanne, Cher's mother and Olivia's closest friends, is celebrating her engagement to an Indian prince. But the party ends shortly for Olivia for she learns that her backup for that night, incase something with the Shadows happened, was missing and Hunter showed up instead in a very surprising manner.

Hunter and her immediately leave to join the rest of their troop to figure out what to do about their missing member. And after following a trail left by their enemies they find their troop member being held hostage by the Shadows in a safe zone, but they soon learn that things are still changing in their city due to Olivia, while it wasn't entirely her fault.

It has become clear now that there are no more safe zones for the Agents of Light, and Warren wants Olivia to fix this by going into Midheaven, a world that hides near our mortal one. Midheaven was an utterly strange place, it was like a scene from a John Wayne movie, back in the West--it was fun and interesting, but this is when all Olivia's problems begin. She was sent on a mission to find Jaden Jacks, the one who once broke a changeling and supposedly knew how to fix one as well. Since Olivia had left part of her chi in Jasmine which gave Jasmine a share of her powers, leaving her sister Li, and predecessor damaged and dying. So Olivia must try to fix Jas in order to save her and Li.

But Midheaven provides no easy answers for Olivia and she loses more than she thought possible, but manages to escape. She also meets some formidable foes there in the shapes of women. Women who rule Midheaven and take what they want when they want. They are hard to understand, for me at least, they have their own agenda but I never got a clear meaning as to what they were really after. Their leader Solange is the strangest of them all.

Her love life with Hunter, as we saw in The Touch of Twilight is still on the rocks, but there are some very heated moments between them.

Olivia soon learns more than she ever wanted to about what was really going on. There is a traitor in their midsts who had been telling Regean, yeah she's still around, information that should've remained secret. She learns the riddle of how to heal Jas without killing her, but as I said it's a riddle so it's hard to figure out.

I don't want to give away anything too vital to the story but at the end a LOT of things happen that come together, to make some things make sense. Of course the ending still leaves you with questions burning inside your head.

At points the novel was a little slow, just where things were taking too long to happen, but there was still plenty of action, so to speak, surrounding those moments. I would love to say more, but I fear that anymore info might be considered a spoiler and I don't want to spoil the novel for anyone. But as I said the ending is phenomenal! It will literally blow you away! That's all I can say really, I'm trying to be vague here because I hate ruining the ending of books/movies even, for people who haven't read/seen them.

Review--Prey

The BEST in the series so far!!!

Just finished Rachel Vincent's Prey today and it is by the far my favorite book in her series so far!! When Rachel says that this is the book where everything changes for Faythe--she's absolutely right!!

From my previous post you already get the back of the book summary, which does a VERY good job at giving you an idea as to what happens in the book without giving too many spoilers.

Well to add a little to that summary and leaving out spoilers--and this book is filled with them!--I'll give a little more insight to the book.

When we open up Faythe is on her way with Manx, Des, Ethan, and Vic to go to Manx's trial while making a stop in Mississippi to get extra security on the way. Yes, Marc joins his fellow old Pride members and assists them on their trip. It had been a long time or what felt like a REALLY long time since Faythe got to see Marc, so they had a joyous reunion. Of course what would a joyous reunion be without a little mayhem??

Trouble occurs almost immediately upon the trip when the gang is back together again, but that is only where the trouble starts. As the back of the book says Marc is missing. Days later, when Faythe returns home and is trying to convince Kaci to Shift, who refuses, she learns that Marc is missing and there was blood in his house. Fear takes place in Faythe's heart but she never once gives up hope.

Soon she and her fellow Pride members return to Mississippi to track down Marc and his kidnappers and bring him home. But this trip is harder than ever to be expected. No sooner had Faythe started and was taking down leads she is called home again to hear the Kaci is still not well and refuses to Shift. Faythe is torn between her duties but eventually makes the decision to return home briefly with her brother while the others continue the search for Marc.

This is where all the serious SPOILERS start and I don't even want to try to discreetly walk around them because there really is no way to do so. Let's just say things get really, really tough for Faythe and her Pride members.

On another note while searching for Marc Faythe and the others (Vic, Ethan, and Dan) make a shocking discovery that they discover becomes a part in the battle brewing between Malone and Greg Sanders, Faythe's dad. As Pride showed us Malone is rallying his allies in order to throw Greg off the head of the council and the political war grows stronger in Prey and will likely continue on in Rachel's next book, currently titled Shift. Which has a tentative release date for March 2010--which is way too long of a wait if you ask me.

Once you've read it and are wanting to talk about it, like I am!, head over to Rachel's discussion board, The Pride and click on the appropriate thread, which would be Prey, and feel free to talk about whatever issues in the book or series that you feel like. The members over there, which I am also apart of, are real nice and friendly too. So come on over, we don't bite...much!

Here's the link:

http://rachelvincent.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Upcoming Release!

Prey comes out in a matter of days!! 11 to be exact. Although stores might put them out early. One can only hope. This is book 4 in Rachel Vincent's Werecat series that is slowly coming to an end. Sob! There will be 2 more books, as of now. But I really think Rachel plans on ending this particular series with 6 books. The next book is Shift followed by what I recently head Alpha.

The series is very good. Since I'm in the middle of it I don't want to divulge into the plots too much because I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. I hate when people tell me the end of movies I haven't seen or books I haven't read, so I won't do that here. I did already post about Pride (book 3) a few months back if you want to see my opinions on that one. It's been awhile since I read Stray (book 1) and Rogue (book 2), so I can only recall some details and the big picture of the book.

Anyway here's the summary of Prey taken from Rachel's website:

Summary: While accompanying werecat tabby Manx to her hearing in Atlanta, enforcer Faythe Sanders and her fellow Pride members meet up with Faythe's exiled lover, Marc Ramos. They barely survive an attack by a group of strays, then Faythe is called home to deal with another problem: Teenage tabby Kaci Dillon still refuses to shift, and it could kill her.

No sooner has Faythe begun to make progress with Kaci than another crisis arises: Marc is abducted, and the quantity of blood found at the scene suggests he may not have survived the attack. Faythe refuses to believe Marc is dead and sets off with her new partner, Parker, to find him. In the process, they uncover a conspiracy -- and come to a sobering conclusion. Werecat war is brewing, and there's nothing they can do to stop it. (MIRA, Jul., 400 pp., $7.99)

Contest Alert--at Patricia's Vampire Notes

Over at http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com/ is a contest to win some of Karen Chance's books. There is a great interview that gives us an idea of how she writes and who her fave characters are.

It was a really great interview. I've read all her books in the past, which is why they aren't posted, since I read them awhile ago. But I do remember they were very good otherwise I wouldn't have all her books on my shelf. Including her short story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.

Review--Street Magic

Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge is the first novel in a new series called the Black London series or novels as it says below the title on the book.

This series is different than her leading Nocturne City novels. We have more magical involvement here, which should be obvious, hence the title. ;)

Pete Caldecott is a police officer in good ol' London (yeah, she's a woman, Pete's short for Petunia and if you tell anyone her real name, she'll kill you), and her recent case involving a kidnapped child is more dangerous than she could imagine. With no leads whatsoever on the case and whether the girl is still alive, Pete receives an anonymous letter to meet with someone who might have information regarding the case. Taking a chance she goes to meet the source alone and finds that it is none other than Jack Winter, a man she thought for dead nearly 12 years ago.

Pete and Jack have a history together that Ms. Kittredge develops perfectly, there is definitely something strong brewing between these two. After the initial shock at seeing the man she thought for dead over a decade, Pete is shocked when he greets her with open hostility. He tells her when and where she can find the girl and leaves abruptly. There was no heart-warming reunion between the two.

Then the next night Pete finds the missing child right where Jack said she'd be, except the child has been blinded and traumatized. Pete wonders how Jack knew the girl would be there and sets out to find him and make him tell her. But when she eventually finds Jack, he is high on drugs and still greets her with hostility.

But that's not even close to the beginning of the novel nor the end of Pete and Jack. Soon two more children go missing and Pete enlists Jack's help, which took a lot of bartering and making Jack go cold turkey from his drug addiction, something that made him ultra mad.

Pete has always known that Jack has magical capabilities and figures that he used his abilities to find the first missing girl and wants him to use them again for the next two children. But with Jack so doped up she feels his powers won't be up to par and makes him give the drugs up.

As the novel progresses Pete learns more about the day when she was sixteen and Jack had "died". They had been in the graveyard trying to perform a ritual to summon a spirit so Jack could claim to a rival that he had power, real power. But things went wrong and then Jack died, or so Pete was led to believe.

There is definitely some evil mojo at work here that is behind the kidnapping of the children and blinding them. When a young girl with magical capabilities is the next victim Pete is more determined than ever to rescue her before she too is blinded and left just an empty shell. Pete and Jack must go further into the pits of London where the magical creatures lie, they will have to face possible enemies and allies. They will have to figure out who they can trust and who they cannot. But will they be able to trust one another and cooperate, for Jack still holds a grudge over Pete that she cannot figure out.

Soon Pete makes a shocking discovery about herself that Jack had always known and was perhaps the reason why he was always around her when she was younger. But trouble still lurks about the dark streets of London and if Pete doesn't learn what she needs to know, lives will be lost.

Contest Alert--at Darque Reviews

GIVEAWAY AT DARQUE REVIEWS!

That's right there's a giveway over at Darque Reviews to win a copy of Rachel Caine's Carpe Corpus, book 6 in the Morganville Vampire series for young adult.

I'll admit that I haven't read any of these yet, but I am reconsidering going out and buying the first one to start. I'm on my last new book to read for awhile. Right now I'm reading Caitlin Kittredge's Street Magic, but I'll post that later.

Right now you need to go over to Darque Reviews blog and enter this contest for a chance to win one of five copies of Carpe Corpus. In order to enter all you have to do is leave a comment near the interview/review about the book. Right now, it's the first thing you see on the website. So go, now, enter!

Here's the link: http://darquereviews.blogspot.com/

Review--Storm Glass

The Glass Series!

Maria V. Snyder has done it again with another brilliant series. For those who may not know, Maria wrote the Study Series which followed a young woman, Yelena, who discovered she has magical talent. Well, since I am talking about the new series, I don't want to get too into that one. If you stop by her website, you can find information and book descriptions for her first three books from her first series.

http://www.mariavsnyder.com/books/

Her new series still takes place in the same world as Yelena. A few years later, Yelena even stops by in the last few chapters. Along with a few other characters from her first trilogy.

Storm Glass brings us into Opal's world, a young glass maker that we met in the first trilogy. It is not necessary to read the first three books in order to know what is happening. Any details you need to know about how Opal connects to Yelena are mentioned in the book, although, I HIGHLY recommend reading the Yelena books. Those are Poison Study; Magic Study; Fire Study

Those are really GREAT reads. Maria's books brings you into this whole other magical world. All books draw you into their world and most of the time, the ones that I read, are already in our current world and time, things are just different with vampires lurking about. There are no vampires in this series, this is a strictly magical series.

Going back to the Glass Series, Opal is a glass-maker and a magician in training, but she feels like maybe she is only a one trick magician, meaning she can only do one thing really well. Opal has the power to do amazing things with glass blowing, she is even able to trap bad guys' souls into them or create glass object so other magicians can communicated to one another from long distances. No need for cell phones!

But something is going wrong with the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, powerful magicians are dying. The clan needs Opal's help, especially with her particular talents. But the things go wary when she reaches the clan and naturally things are a lot worse than she was originally led to believe.

Opal soon discovers that she has a different kind of power within her and that it can be dangerous, to the people around her and to herself if the wrong people were to find out about it. So now she must keep a secret from her most trusted adviser and few friends.

To make things even MORE interesting and intriguing there is a conflict of love interests going on the book. Opal is torn between two men, both who have the power to steal her heart. She cannot determine who would not break it if she were to hand it over and the results are shocking! You will never see it coming, unless you look (read) very closely. I caught on pretty quickly and was mostly right about the turnout. I won't delve further into my guesses because then that would ruin the book for you.

Maria's books are wonderful and exciting to read. I can't get enough of them. To top it off with every book there is a contest, where you must answer trivia questions regarding the book to win a signed bookplate and then your name is put into a drawing for a signed copy of the book. There are ongoing contests from her previous books as well to win signed bookplates and a chance to win a signed copy of the book as well. So if you read the book or one of her past novels or want to win a signed bookplate and the chance to win an autographed copy of one of her books, check out her contest page on her website:

http://www.mariavsnyder.com/contests.php

Maria is a wonderful author and I love reading her books. I even had the pleasure of meeting with her last year at the Romantic Times Book Convention 2008. I was able to talk with her about her writing career and how she got started since I want to be a writer myself someday soon. She had to go through several rejections before finally getting published by Mira books. Determination is the key, you have to keep going for your dream no matter how many rejections you get. I have taken this advice to heart and think about it constantly as I am trying to write my first novel. I again say, that she is a wonderful and thoughtful person who I still talk to through email every now and then.

So go now, read her books!!

Did you know?

HBO's True Blood series is actually based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery Series?

It is probably common knowledge by now, what with the DVD release today and Season 2 kicking off next month. I don't have HBO but bought the DVD today and plan on watching it all tomorrow since I don't have to work.

I already know, from hearing others talk about what it's like that it is really like the books. Some of the characters are vastly different in the show than they are in the book. I heard someone mention Tara being really "crazy" on the show and in the book, she is nothing like that. She was once into the whole vampire thing, but after a serious incident she steered clear of them and went back to being plain old human Tara, instead of the Tara who hangs out with vampires.

Why is it that Hollywood, to put it in basic terms, always messes with the book when making it into a TV show or movie? I understand editing scenes out for time purposes, although, I can say for myself if the movie would be exactly like the book, keeping in all the important and not-as-important scenes, I would stay in the theater no matter how long the movie is. Everyone knows by now that the Harry Potter movies are nothing like the books, I mean come on where the hell has Dobby been since the second movie? He has a critical role in the last book, a whole chapter is dedicated to him. What is it going to be Neville instead?

But that's Hollywood. I am fully prepared for there to be extreme differences from the actual series, which are wonderful to read by the way. If you loved the show, check the books out, they are fabulous. They even have a pack of the first 7 books in paperback. Charlaine is up to book 9 that released just a few weeks ago. There is to be another set of paperbacks releasing books 1-8 later this year. Or if you really love the show, they are revamping the covers to have pictures from the show on it instead of the cartoon drawings that are currently on the covers.

Speaking of vampires and televison shows along the line of books, since this is a reading blog, there is very vague news that L.J. Smith, another fantastic vampire author, this one for YA, who wrote the Vampire Diaries which had recently been republished with a brand new book starting a new Vampire Diaries series, so to speak, called The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall. This series is supposed to focus more on the character Damon, apparently. At least that was what I heard. I read the series years ago, back when they were 10 years old and now they're over 20, wow! It's a good series, high school and vampires pre-Twilight. I read this long before I read Twilight, and I liked Twilight.

Anyway back to the news, there is supposedly a possible TV show in the making of this book series. The CW is up for making the pilot to pitch it to the people on top, whatever that means, and if it goes okay, we might have ourselves another vampire television show based on a vampire book series! Yea! I am super excited to hear about this and hope whoever it is that makes the BIG decision gives it the okay. There's a chance it might since Twilight has become so big. Ian Somerhandler is supposed to be playing Damon, the bad guy. I think he's perfect for that role, because he does have a sort of rugged bad boy look. Don't ya think?

Review--At Grave's End

At Grave's End

Again if you haven't read the first or second one yet, do NOT read this post any further for there are more spoilers!!!

The third and current installment in the Night Huntress Series. The fourth novel is due out this July. Yea!

In this one Cat and Bones celebrate the holidays, with a battle that takes place in the dead of night. Zombies attack! Seriously!

A woman from Bones' past has come to reek havoc on his life and those around him. Which puts Cat into danger and not even her training she learned as a special agent can save her. She is going to have to embrace the vampire half of her life.

On subplots this book is pretty good. Cat and Bones are married in the eyes of vampires, and Bones is now set to make the union legal in the eyes of humans. Yes, Cat and Bones are planning their wedding, although the plans are put on hold when chaos erupts.

Tate, once Cat's best guy pal, is still vying for her affections despite Bones' many warnings and despite the fact that she loves Bones and is married to him, in one way. Tate takes on certain obstacles and changes his life around in order to make himself more appealing to Cat. He is determined to win her affections once and for all.

While reading the book, you can tell what Cat is going to decide. So be prepared. Cat's father makes another appearance in the book and the results from that are shocking. Not to mention the fact that Cat must tell her mother, who hates vampires with a fiery passion, that she is going to marry Bones.

Her mother has a better role in this novel than she did in book 1. We see more of her as Cat feels she would rather be the one to protect her at her side while this thing with the woman from Bones' past takes place.




Destined for an Early Grave

Out on shelves on July 28!

Taken from Jeaniene Frost's website:

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.


Now for a little extra news:

Jeaniene is running a contest to win an ARC of Vicki Pettersson's newest book in the Zodiac Series on her Live Journal Blog. Here is a link to get to the site:

http://frost-light.livejournal.com/

All you have to do to enter is email her, it's real simple. I have read and loved Vicki's Zodiac series, I just have not gotten to posting about it since I have read them so long ago. Hers is a fantastic series that has an ongoing battle with the Shadows and Light, members of each Zodiac battle against the other. Check out Vicki's website for immediate details about the series at:

http://www.vickipettersson.com/home.html?p=index

Review--One Foot in the Grave

One Foot in the Grave

Okay if you haven't read the first book, don't continue reading this, for there will be some spoilers.

This second installment of the Night Huntress series takes place a few years after the first one. Cat has joined up with the special unit in the FBI and hunts down more of the bad vampires and other supernatural bad guys. Although she still cannot forget the vampire that she loved and left behind in order to protect; Bones.

It doesn't help that Tate, one of her men on her team is starting to show more affectionate feelings towards her. She doesn't want to be romantically involved with him, but he is determined to win her.

When Cat attends a wedding of one of her friends, who does she standing across from her on the groom's side. Why none other than Bones. Cat begins to panic, wondering how he was able to find her after so long.

But that is nowhere near the beginning of Cat's problems. Someone wants her dead. Permanently. And they're willing to pay big for it. Bones is there to protect the woman he loves who left him without a word.

Cat and Bones' relationship grows stronger than ever when an old flame comes to aid Cat at Bones' request. Cat learns some things about Bones' past. She is also introduced to a large group of vampires and takes part in an important ceremony among the vampires. She also comes face to face with her father.

While a whole lot more happens, I do not want to tell the whole story here. Even the last bit might have been too much of a spoiler, but never fear, I end my rambling here.

Review--Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave

Okay so I am super behind on blogging on my favorite books and such. I've been busy.

So I want to talk about some books I have read and this is one of them. Halfway to the Grave is the first in the Night Huntress series and is a fabulous read!

In it is Cat who we learn right away is half vampire and half human. Her mother was raped by a newbie vamp and it left her mother hating vampires. Vampires are still a secret to the majority of society and when Cat learns of her father's true identity she begins hunting vampires. She was only a teenager when she killed her first one and is determined to hunt down her father and kill him for what he did to her mother.

Along the way she kills any vampire she can get to. Her mother is pleased by this. But then there is one vampire, Bones, who outsmarts her and is about to kill her, but then he discovered her secret, that she is half vamp. The two then form a union of sorts to hunt down a different vampire that is bad, obviously, but Bones promises that he will use his sources to find her father.

Since this is found in the romance section of the bookstore, you can probably guess what happens between the two. The ending is the ultimate shocker, one that I will not reveal. You'll just have to buy the book for yourself!

Review--Made to be Broken

Made to be Broken

Not the Otherworld, but still just as exciting!

Nadia Stafford isn’t your typical nature lodge owner. An ex-cop with a legal code all her own, she’s known only as “Dee” to her current employers: a New York crime family who pays her handsomely to bump off traitors. But when Nadia discovers that a troubled teenage employee and her baby have vanished in the Canadian woods, the memory of a past loss comes back with a vengeance, and her old instincts go into overdrive.

With her enigmatic mentor, Jack, covering her back, Nadia unearths sinister clues that point to an increasingly darker and deadlier mystery. Now, with her obsession over the case deepening, the only way Nadia can right the wrongs of the present is to face her own painful ghosts—and either bury them for good, or die trying. Because in her book, everyone deserves a chance. And everyone deserves justice.

This is Kelley Armstrong's second novel in her Nadia Stafford series. It is a pretty interesting series. There is no supernatural aspect but the action is still good. In this one the girl Nadia is trying to find is really one of her employees that works at her lodge. When she goes missing she thinks that maybe the girl quit but it soon turns out there is so much more involved than a teenager mother simply skipping out of town.

I don't want to give too much away, as you may know I am pretty bad at this, I feel like I can't tell more than what the back of the cover says for this is what the author or publisher uses to lure the reader in and any more info would give too much away.

There is a bit of romantic interest involved for Nadia, a man from the first book which I haven't read since it was published awhile back. And there is also a hint of a complicated love triangle, but it is not dwelt upon. Really it spent maybe half a chapter talking about what may or may not exist between the two characters, although they were not the ones holding the conversation.

There is a lot of action in this story and tons of "showdowns". It is not a western themed book in the slightest but I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say that Nadia is not your typical girl, she is in no way the damsel in distress. She is the heroine.