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 theme is: BOOKS YOU WISH WERE PART OF A SERIES, BUT AREN'T

Oh my! This one gets trickier because most of the books I read are apart of a series, even if it stars different main characters like Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. My, my, my!

5.

The Claire Switch Project by Lynsay Sands, was in the anthology Dates from Hell. Another short story, that as far as I know, wasn't a series. It was an interesting little story where people could morph into someone else, like a picture from a magazine. It was interesting! There was another short story in Holidays are Hell with the same characters and world, but with a different main character and storyline.

4.

The Midday Mangler Meets his Match by Rachel Vincent from The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (Volume 1). I loved how this short story went. It was a neat little way of seeing vampires in society and I liked it. But sadly, it is only a short story and not a series.


3.

Old Magic by Marianne Curley. OMG! I LOVED this book!! It was mostly about magic/witches and then the teens went back in time to put a stop to a curse and whatnot. It was just a 1 booker, but I loved the story so much. Don't know how many times I read it! But there weren't ever any other books starring Kate and Jarrod. Sigh...

2.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. I totally loved this storyline, better than the movie, but the movie was okay on its own I really enjoyed the mystery and how these characters were and ended up. Would have loved to seen more of them, but again, another 1 book deal.

1.

Demon in my View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. The one that started it all!! This was my first vampire book and I totally loved it. Maybe it had something to do with the heroine being named Jessica with the hot bad vamp starting to fall for her. I don't know. I just adored this one. And while Amelia wrote other vampire books in the same world, there was never another Aubrey and Jessica book. So I'm counting this too!

Review--Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

A SACRED OATH, A FALLEN ANGEL, A FORBIDDEN LOVE

When Nora and Patch are forced together as lab partners, Nora would rather fall to her death than put up with his elusive answers to her questions, his teasing, and his infuriatingly handsome face and hypnotizing eyes. It seems Patch was put on earth just to drive her crazy.

But before long, Nora's defenses start to break down as her curiosity about Patch heats up. Why does he always seem to be wherever she is and know exactly what she's thinking? How does he know what to say to both attract and repulse her? And what it up with those V-shaped scars on his chiseled back?

As their connection grows stronger, Nora's own life becomes increasingly fragile. Nora needs to decide: Is Patch the one who wants to do her harm or the one who will keep her safe? Has she fallen for one of the fallen?

Becca Fitzpatrick's New York Times bestselling debut it a page-turning leap into the unknown world of fallen angels. Do you have someone to catch you?

Another 1 day read! For awhile I've been hearing good things about Becca Fitzpatrick's debut, Hush Hush, and the wait for Crescendo, so I added Hush Hush to my birthday list and got it and just now read it. And all I have to say is wow! I've been lucky by reading nothing but GREAT books lately and Hush Hush is just another one to add to the list.

It's really no secret that this is a book about angels, fallen angels. The cover and BOC description tell you that much. But it does take awhile for Nora to realize this. So for awhile it seems to be a normal teen book, albeit with the weirdness Nora sees in Patch.

I kind of liked the beginning of their relationship. What really made it funny was that they were partners in biology...for the sex session. So yeah, there was definitely some awkward moments between Nora and Patch. Disregarding the class topic, I saw a bit of myself in Nora when it came to her reactions to Patch's teasing of her. I liked how she fought back some, tried not to be a flirty ditz about the attention she was getting from Patch. I liked how she was tough, yet still melted just a little inside when Patch would act up.

So for most of the book was the knowing that there is a big secret going on and we have no clue as to what it is, other than that it involves Patch. And we do get the history behind that and what Patch is after.

It was quite surprising as well. There is some mystery intertwined within the story as well, for someone is stalking Nora. Or at least she thinks there is. There are times when she thinks she might be losing her mind, because one moment she sees her room's a wreck, 15 minutes later it's not. Is she being stalked? Or is she losing her mind?

Nora's BFF, Vee, was a splash of color in Nora's sometimes bleak outlook on things. She wasn't dreary and negative or anything, more conservative while Nora is her complete opposite. They complete each other in a way only best friends can. There are a few other characters as well who play important roles and they were written very well too.

The pacing was somewhere in-between I would say. I liked the bantering between Nora and Patch. Then something strange would happen and the tension notches up, then it goes back to ordinary. The romance, for you can tell there will be romance, was the sweet budding kind, but still intense at moments. Patch is a very deep and complex guy. I loved him! And he had more than one dark, foreboding secret!

Totally loved this one! There were a few times, very brief where I was slightly miffed with Nora and her behavior with this or that event. I really can't even recall now what they were. Just moments where I rolled my eyes and said "oh please". But there weren't that many really. So my overall rating for this one is 4.5/5 stars!

Adding Crescendo to my list of books to buy once I get my TBR stack down some!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

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!):

This is a weekly blog meme created by Parajunkee's View.

Thought I would give Follow Friday a go around this week and I might continue doing so as well for my blogging time.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://annettesbookspot.blogspot.com/

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: WHO DO YOU CHEER FOR?

To be honest, I'm not a sports-fan. At all really. I think it has to do with my childhood, I wore a brace on my leg and wasn't allowed to play contact sports or do any real hard running. So if I wasn't just "taking it easy" in the game during gym I was sitting on the sidelines. And trust me, watching everyone else doing something I can't do for the whole gym period is not fun. So I kind of detest watching sports because of that. I don't know if I was allowed to play sports more if I would like watching them now, hard to say. But on the bright side, because I wasn't allowed to play sports during my childhood I turned to reading!! And boy is that FUN!


So I root for the Urban Fantasy team! ;)

Cover Art--Erin Kellison

Saw over at Dark Central Station that Erin Kellison, one of my new fave authors that I discovered last year has posted the cover and BOC description for her next release, Shadowman, that comes out September 6, 2011!! Very excited about this for Shadowman is a very mysterious character in her series!!

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.

LOVE

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...

SO can't wait to read this one! If you're a fan of fairy tales and other legends of the Fae, this is definitely a series I recommend looking into!

Here is my review for book 1: Shadow Bound

Here is my review for book 2: Shadow Fall

And while this series isn't necessary to read in order, it does help with events that are referenced in Shadow Fall that occurred in Shadow Bound and it is helpful to read them in order, but not really necessary. It's like Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld books in the reading them in order, but not necessary!

Review--If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell

SHE PUT UP WALLS. HE WALKS THROUGH THEM.

Since she took over her father's construction business, Melanie Turner has made quite a name for herself remodeling historic houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. But now her reputation may be on the line.

At her newest renovation project, a run-down Pacific Heights mansion, Mel is visited by the ghost of a colleague who recently met a bad end with power tools. Mel hopes that by tracking down the killer, she can rid herself of the ghostly presence of the murdered man.

Mel's only clue is an odd box she discovers inside a wall at the job site. If she can make sense of its mysterious contents, she might be able to nail a killer--before she becomes the next construction casualty...

**Yeppers, another book in 1 day!!

I totally loved Juliet Blackwell's Witchcraft Mysteries, so I decided to give her new series, A Haunted Home Renovation a try. If Walls Could Talk does not disappoint! It's my favorite kind of mystery with nicely blended paranormal aspects intertwined with the mystery.

Mel is a different character than what we normally see, a 38 year old divorcee living with her father while she runs the family business. She herself is an oddity in a sense because she is a woman working in what people think of a man's field by renovating houses.

But her latest job takes a wrong turn when one of her coworkers dies...but then his ghost comes back to say he was murdered and it wasn't an accident. So things get a little intense, not to mention poor Mel thinking she's losing her mind by seeing a ghost!

The mystery was seriously good, there were a ton of suspects, at least to my eye. So it was so hard to figure out who actually done it! That's what I love about a good mystery, to be turned around so many times you don't really know who did it! When watching the shows on TV I can always spot who the killer is based on my own personal theory. Irrelevant.

Moving on...the mystery was good. The characters were good as well. Mel has a great dad and an interesting family history that she learns about during this strange occurrence. And there is a dog in the book as well that was kind of cute.

There was a bit of a love interest as well, but the plot didn't really focus on it. The romance wasn't apart of the mystery. But there was definitely romantic tension between Mel and a certain character. Well, there was actually 3 total that I can immediately think of, but only 1 was meant to "grab our hearts"...or at least in my opinion!

Looking forward to seeing where this series continues to go next. The only thing that nagged at me was there wasn't enough "ghost time". The ghost pops up here and there during the investigation and there were a few other "creepy" moments, I just wished there would've been more!

Overall I give it 4/5 stars. There was also a sneak peek at her next Haunted Home Renovation Mystery that is currently untitled and is set to release in December this year. Such a long wait--which is why I didn't tempt myself with reading it! 

A good mystery if you liked Blackwell's Witchcraft Mysteries or Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye Mysteries or Ghost Hunter Mysteries.

Review--Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. 

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh — a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world... or destroy it.

Wow. Wow. Wow. That is what I have to say about Karen Marie Moning's Shadowfever! It was super long, but didn't really drag out at all. Every moment was intense! I hated stopping for trivial things such as meals! But I finished it today and was eating it up over the last pages. I kept thinking it was almost over, but realized there was still more to happen!

I will try to keep this review short. And it will most definitely be SPOILER FREE. Hence the shortness because the more I talk about it, the more I might let something slip. But I won't let it happen! I will diligently look over each sentence after I type it.

Moving on...so as many might know since the first two chapters were posted online, the book immediately picks up where we left off in Dreamfever. And I finally did get around to reading it. Like 2 hours before Borders opened and then I was left waiting for over half the time afterward. And OMG was my heart pounding just from that. I was right in my guess of who the monster creature was.

Nothing is ever at it seems in this world. Of course that is basically the rule of the Fae and it's hard to remember that throughout all the different Fae books there are! And boy was there plenty of surprises. I was continually blown away again and again. 

This was probably one of the BEST books I read with a character going through self-discovery. There are have been really good books and GREAT books with heroines finding who they are, but seriously, Shadowfever blows them all out of the water. In my opinion, from the books I've read! Needless to say, Mac goes through a lot and she goes to different limits to get what she wants in the end. And I loved her for it. Mac is the urban fantasy heroine that I truly love. She isn't necessarily your leather wearing kick ass chick--although she does eventually wear leather and kick ass, but she didn't start out that way. This is Mac 5.0 and she is so far gone from her Barbie persona of Mac 1.0 in Darkfever as Mac herself points out.

So the tension and suspense were really thick here and really drags you into the story. I mean I was shocked with all that happen just in the first part of the novel--it's divided into 4. And seriously, there were a lot of interesting surprises and revelations in this one. And pretty much every mystery Mac has come across is answered. Every mystery.

The ending was satisfying as well, I thought. It leaves enough to make you satisfied that the story is over. But I won't lie. There was something that Karen says that makes you think otherwise, but who knows. Totally loved this book and wish I could say more on it, but it would weave in spoilers and I won't go there.

So to be mathematically correct, I give this one 5/5 stars...you know instead of 1,000/5 or some other such improper fraction. Always hated math! :P

Waiting on Wednesday

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

Well moving on down my list, I have to bypass Outside In since I read the e-ARC for that, my review will be up in early February. So next is a book I have been dying to read ever since finishing the first one. Care to take a guess...?

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Yup! After my love for Shannon Delany's 13 to Life, I have been dying to read her next book in the series Secrets and Shadows!! So looking forward to it!

Nothing's simple when you run with werewolves. Jess Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's suspected. With Jess' realization that the Rusakovas' mother is still alive and imprisoned, the group's choices become harder and trust more important. Lines are drawn and relationships change as the broken Rusakova family struggles to reunite to free their mother - and those who Jess thought to be normal people show themselves to be much, much more...

TITLE: Secrets and Shadows
AUTHOR: Shannon Delany
GENRE: Paranormal YA
RELEASE DATE: February 15, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Naturally I'm reading Shadowfever, hence the lateness in putting a teaser in!

Here are the rules to Teaser Tuesday:

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 am the last thing he expected. He believed he would find a terrorized, hysterical girl.


I'm not and never will be again." p 27

TITLE: Shadowfever

AUTHOR: Karen Marie Moning

GENRE: Urban Fantasy

RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2011

Review--Hexbound by Chloe Neill

LILY PARKER IS NEW TO ST. SOPHIA'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, BUT SHE'S ALREADY LEARNED THAT MAGIC CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND...OR YOUR WORST ENEMY.

They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago’s nastiest nightlife—including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.

Then Lily’s invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He’s hot, powerful, and offering to help her harness the magic flowing in her veins in a way no one else can. He’s also a Reaper. Lily can’t hide her suspicions. But she’ll soon find out that the line between good and evil isn’t always clear…

Hexbound is the second book in Chloe Neill's YA series, the Dark Elite and it was quite interesting, but it is only the beginning of what's going to be plenty of trouble for Lily and her friends. Time is moving on from Firespell, but not too far, it's still the school year and not much has changed. Enclave Three is still battling the Dark Elite and its reapers, leading them is Daniel who Lily and her friends like more than Katie and Smith.

But trouble is still brewing as there are strange things happening in the undergrounds beneath St. Sophia's. You know, stranger than the normal strange things. Weird creatures are slinking about. Creatures that they don't even have a name for.

We also get to see other creatures taking resident in Chicago, vampires. And no, it wasn't Merit and her friends either...although that would've been cool! And right now there is a turf war brewing with the vamps and Lily and her friends are caught in the middle of it.

But other than trying to save the world from strange supernatural creatures and the Reapers who are bent on destroying mankind, Lily and her friends indulge in teenage normalcy. Dating, friends, dealing with the ever vicious brat pack.

Hexbound was a fast pace read and one I could've done in a day if I hadn't of started it yesterday. The pages flew by as Lily and her friends were dealing with the imminent danger. And there is more exploration into the mystery that is Jason. So naturally there was a pretty teasing cliffhanger, nothing to agonize about like in Dreamfever! (Couldn't bring myself to read the first 2 chapters, I want it all or nothing! Stubborn I am! :) )

Overall I give Hexbound 4/5 stars and looking forward to the next one!

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:

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

My Review

Haven by Kristi Cook

My Review

Killing Rocks by D D Barant

My Review

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

My Review

Shadowspell by Jenna Black

My Review

Currently Reading

Hexbound by Chloe Neill

What I plan to read this week:

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning (Duh! ;)  )

If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell

And that's it mostly. Since I have to wait for Shadowfever Tuesday morning and it's a long one! Might not get a whole lot done this week. Will have to see!

Contest Alert--Rabid Reads

It's week 2 of Carmel's Wolfish Giveaway at Rabid Reads. This week it's one from my list that I am dying to read this year, Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.

The movie Red Riding Hood comes out in March, and yeah, it's by the Twilight director, but I still have to see it. I read Debbie Viguie's Scarlet Moon years ago and loved the idea of the wolf being a were and him falling in love with Red! 

The contest runs from now til 11:59PM EST January 22, 2011. So click here to enter.

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.

Well I didn't get too much this week for there wasn't a whole lot of releases for me. But I did get D D Barant's Killing Rocks.

Here's my review for that as well.

Then I also got my Kobo replacement and got myself a Kindle!!

So that was my mailbox this week. What did you get?

Totally stoped for Shadowfever on Tuesday!!! YAY! The wait is ALMOST over!!

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 the theme is: FAVORITE VILLAINS X HEROES

Ooh this is a toughie...going to take some thinkin... (And they won't be in any particular order either!)

FAYTHE vs MALONE--he was the villain you loved to hate! And Faythe was the heroine that you love and hate. Or in some people's cases just hate! **I was a lover and a hater!

CAT vs DADDY--who cares about Daddy's girl when Cat can kick some serious butt against her alleged father! Totally loved it! Only a month and a week to go til the next one!

JENNY vs JULIAN--(The Forbidden Game trilogy by L.J. Smith) Sorry for the blurry cover, I wanted to use the old school one because this is the copy I have. Julian was so the bad guy but without revealing spoilers, I loved his and Jenny's interactions because he was obsessed with her which gave him a very creepy evil villain guy attitude! I have this one next to my old school The Vampire Diaries books as well!

DANA vs ERLKING--another strange relationship between heroine and villain. The Erlking is definitely a bad guy, but he's very mysterious and I still can't quite figure him out. Look forward to learning more in Sirensong!!

SABINA vs LAVINIA--Lavinia is the grandmother you just have to hate! I mean she is one evil b*tch! Scary too! Sabina definitely has her hands full and she isn't afraid to speak her mind around granny dearest and doesn't "watch her mouth"!

Review--Shadowspell by Jenna Black

On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm. A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?

So I so didn't plan on reading Jenna Black's Shadowspell in one day, I planned on reading 1/2 today and 1/2 Monday so I was totally ready for Shadowfever. Well, that plan got shot down hard! I couldn't stop reading this one because I had to know what was going to happen. Needless to say the halfway mark--or really the 200 page mark--left me wanting more.

Another book in 1 day, usually a cause for celebration, but not so much this time. And I really don't see myself going ALL day Monday without reading.

Moving on! I read Glimmerglass way back in May last year when it first released and I remember I saw the cover flap early at RT and was amazed by it! And I loved this one and the little deer figure drove me nuts prior to reading because I didn't know what it was supposed to mean, and don't worry it does get explained!

It was a rather interesting read as well. It picks up shortly after Glimmerglass, so my mind was a bit fuzzy on some details, but for the most part the important things are recalled so we can remember. And boy did it help me remember. I remember my feelings about certain characters and whatnot as well.

The Erlking has come to Avalon and that spells trouble, because he is on The Hunt, which is definitely not a good thing. Like the BOC describes he sets his sights on Dana for some reason and will do whatever is necessary to get what he wants. And he does do drastic things.

The Erlking is one complicated character, granted he is fae so that might explain the majority of it. There are times when I can't figure the guy out and Dana is in the same boat. But she's beginning to learn the rule of fae: Don't trust the fae! Of course Dana doesn't really have the privilege of knowing this fact because, well, she likely doesn't read UF books as much as I do, along with my fellow readers!

The romance in the book was more of a tension only. I won't lie, there are a few kisses here and there, but nothing really further. There were definitely some intense scenes, but I won't elaborate. I can't really say that I am a fan of Ethan. I read my friend Cem's review and I don't think it biased my opinion of Ethan. I generally try not read reviews of books I want to read prior to reading them for this reason. But I just didn't care for his character and I still don't. I'm wary of him. We are reminded of his actions in Glimmerglass and it amazes me that Dana keeps giving him these second chances. I truthfully don't think I could've done that if I were in her position.

But overall it was still very entertaining! There was quite a bit of suspense laced into the action scenes. But mostly suspense and tension. Tension is soooo good! And the ending was filled with one surprise after another after another. It just didn't seem to stop. And when it did, I was really wishing it was July 5 already so I could read Sirensong, the next book in the series. Which has an amazing cover!

Overall I give the book 4.5/5 stars. The whole thing stopping me from giving it the perfect rating is that I disliked Dana's decisions at times. I understood the reasons for some of them, but there was one that I really didn't like...won't say what. And it just irritated me a little too much. But still LOVE this series and can't wait to read more!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

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!):

"Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?"

I read mostly urban fantasy and I guess what draws me to it, first is the paranormal bits. Like last week when I said I adored Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, it was that book that just really grabbed me into the vampire world and then of course I discovered the wonderful books that contain the other creatures of the night.

What I like is the "urban" and "fantasy" parts, that here we have realistic settings, most of the time, with normal people and then there's the supernaturals who come in and usually spice up the story. I like the strong female characters as well. I like that they can be strong and yet there still some sort of weakness about them that they have to try to overcome and this may take several books--which is fine by me!

This is a weekly blog meme created by Parajunkee's View.

Thought I would give Follow Friday a go around this week and I might continue doing so as well for my blogging time.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://annettesbookspot.blogspot.com/

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: What makes up your non-human family?

In our house we have 2 dogs, big pain in the you know whats! My mom is the dog lover in the house and I guess I'm a dog liker. I like dogs and everything, but ours are a huge pain. One has an attitude problem thinking he's all that! Seriously! The other is a drama queen. During the day he will just all of sudden give out this loud whining howl and it's so darn dramatic!

*Review--E-ARC Wither by Lauren DeStefano*

WHAT IF YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHEN YOU WOULD DIE?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

I received this E-ARC from Simon & Schuster.

I've been hearing a lot of anticipation regarding Lauren DeStefano's debut Wither, so when I had the opportunity to read the E-ARC I thought, why not? And it was pretty good too actually.

Please keep in mind that I am a strong fan of paranormal books: urban fantasy, some paranormal romance and Paranormal YA so my opinions here may not be 100% adoration, but it was still a decent read, just not exactly my taste. Give me werewolves or another supes any day! But I was curious about this one, hence the reason why I read it.

It is set in the future, an unclear year or anything. There are references to "our time" here in the 21st century and what not. But in this reality there is a deadly virus that the new generations are born with. Girls die when they are 20 years old and boys 25 years old--why boys get the extra 5 years I have no idea. And what makes it a little difficult to understand is that there are still a batch of "first generations" living, meaning these people age older than 20 or 25. So that part makes the timeline a little harder to compute for me. Obviously we aren't too far into the future or this new virus thing is still pretty new.

The situation Rhine finds herself in is sort of scary. Because of the short lifespan she and the others have, there is a group called the Gatherers that kidnaps young girls as young as 13 so they can become wives and bear children for a new generation and many people still hope for a cure. Of course there is a group against finding a cure as well.

Seeing Rhine being sold to a husband was very unnerving. It reminded me of The Missing with Tommy Lee Jones when his granddaughter was kidnapped to be sold to Native Americans for the same purpose. It was a little terrifying. And there in the beginning when we are seeing what Rhine is experiencing, it was kind of scary.

Rhine has 2 other sister wives, one older the other younger. Both very different and the relationship that forms between the three was quite a development. I don't want to get into a play by play on details, the BOC does a decent job of giving you the general idea. Rhine was a likable character as well, not selfish or anything like that. She doesn't want to be a wife, she wants to go back home to her twin bro--who we don't see except for her memories. So she begins to devise a plan to escape the mansion she lives in to return to her brother for her last remaining years.

At times I found myself devastated, because Rhine only has 4 years left to live. Gabriel was 18, so he has a little longer, but the two become somewhat fast friends. For they are both prisoners in the house, but Gabriel has been there for 9 years and it feels like home to him, at times.

So yeah, there is a lot of confusing emotions being tweaked and pushed here. And there are times when I wasn't sure if Rhine was really falling under Linden's spell or if it was still apart of her plan. It felt at times there was going to be the typical love triangle here, but I don't think it was really there. Hard to say without revealing too many details.

I did enjoy Rhine's humor. There were times when she would say or do something that I was totally proud of her for. So she was a very likable character when she spoke whatever was on her mind.

Overall I give it 3/5 stars, maybe 3.5. But again this wasn't my usual type of read. Not sure if I would read the next in the series or not. The ending left it so it could go either way, but since this has the series title Chemical Garden, I am pretty sure there will be more books in the works. Whether or not I'll read them has yet to be determined.

But if you like futuristic like books, that don't have any vampires or anything else supernatural. But with an urban feel still. Then you might like this one. The future here isn't overly confusing, although there are holograms. ;)

This title will release March 22, 2011

RELEASE DAY!

Today is the release day for Jordan Deen's Half Moon, the second in her trilogy! This has really become one of my fast faves for werewolves are seen differently here. And the storyline is also different from what I expected from a novel with a love triangle!

But it is actually pretty good and I am looking forward to the final book later this year!

You can find my review here

And I had Jordan over earlier this month, here is where you can find the interview I had with her. And today would be the last day of her White Flame Tour, so click here to enter her contest to win signed books and other goodies!

Review--Killing Rocks by D D Barant

FBI profiler Jace Valchek's ticket home from the twisted parallel universe where she's been called to duty hinges on the capture of serial killer Aristotle Stoker - and an alliance with a sorcerer known as Asher. The problem: Asher has joined forces with some of the most dangerous creatures Jace has ever encountered. The solution: There is none, without Asher's help...

Jace's goal seems simple enough - to get her man, like always. But just hours after she arrives in Vegas, she's abducted...and she isn't even sure who the real enemy is. Now Jace has to wonder if she's the predator or the prey in a very dangerous game that could change not only her fate, but the world's...Meanwhile, a serial killer is still on the loose. And time has already run out...

Finally got my copy of D D Barant's Killing Rocks and managed to squeeze it in this week in between my ARC readings. And it wasn't too bad.

My only problem is the timespan between releases. It's getting to be too long, for I read too many other books during that time and I have a hard time trying to remember the details of the last book, so I talk a little while to piece this and that together. It's nothing wrong on the author's part, it just is what it is.

Basically Jace is still on her mission to find the serial killer Stoker and get the sorcerer, Asher, to send her home without there being a major time gap. For he could send her back home, to her world, 30 years later if he so chose, or he could send her back a few hours later. Depending on his mood.

Things get complicated this time around when Jace is kidnapped and ends up teaming up with some unlikely allies in order to get Stoker, who happens to have another enemy after him as well, Jace's new partner.

It's hard to determine what to talk about here without giving away spoilers, so I'll pretty much leave it at that. Some problems I had with the book was some of the language, mostly when it got into science like talk and historical references (references in their different worlds) it became hard to focus at times. But overall it wasn't too strenuous.

Jace is quite a character. She has a lot of attitude and tends to try to lighten the tense situations with sarcasm. Which was a sort of comic relief at the time.

There wasn't any romantic tension or romance at all involved in this one. It is shelved in horror so romance probably might not play a part in the series at all. Not sure yet.

Overall I give it a 3/5 stars.

Cover Art--Jenna Black

Saw Jenna Black's cover for Sirensong this morning and had to share it here as well. I love it! The white is in stark contrast to the other covers we've had before. Dark purple and shades of blue. And I still like the shimmery dots that speckle the cover. And seeing Dana's face, like my friend Cem said, is cool too. We've seen most of her face before, but here we get more of it to put a better face on the character!

I still have to read Shadowspell it's in my TBR pile and I plan to do that early next week. Reading a book now, then I have an ARC to read and then Shadowfever comes out Tuesday so that takes over first because of the MASSIVE cliffhanger. But after that I will read Shadowspell!!

Anyway, Sirensong is scheduled to release July 5, 2011, which means the longer I put off reading Shadowspell the shorter the way til Sirensong. But really, I will read it next week and the wait will still be agonizing!

Waiting on Wednesday

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

Moving right on down the list I have Rachel Caine's Outcast Season: Unseen! Really liking this new spinoff series. Still miss Jo and David, but they deserve their HEA ending/break. They still might pop in this series like they did in book 1!

After Cassiel and Warden Luis Rocha rescue an adept child from a maniacal Djinn, they realize two things: the girl is already manifesting an incredible amount of power, and her kidnapping was not an isolated incident.

This Djinn-aided by her devoted followers-is capturing children all over the world, and indoctrinating them so she can use their strength for herself. With no other options, Cassiel infiltrates the Djinn's organization-because if Cassiel cannot stop the Djinn's apocalyptic designs, all of humanity may be destroyed.

TITLE: Outcast Season: Unseen
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2011