July Reading

Once again I let my blogging slide, so I'll be giving brief reviews of what I read in July. I started the month with Heartless by Gail Carriger, the latest installment in her fun and funny Parasol Protectorate steam punk series. I enjoyed reading it but I'm glad there's only one more book planned for this series. It's time for it to end.

Undead and Undermined, the latest in Mary Janice Davidson's Queen Betsy series, was another fun and funny book. She's got some crazy stuff going on with Betsy, queen of the vampires; her sister who is the spawn of Satan; and some bizarre time traveling / timeline altering shenanigans. Kudos to Davidson who finds ways to keep this series fresh.

I read the Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance, which included Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night, Curse the Dawn, and Hunt the Moon. The series starts out OK, but if you stick with it you'll find that the fourth and fifth books really take off.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan was really good. Werewolves have been hunted to near extinction. Jake is the last of his kind and he's ready to die. After living a few hundred years he finds he doesn't have a purpose to his life, until something changes his mind. I found the vampire subplot a bit extraneous, but I really liked this character driven novel. Very well written.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the last of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. It nicely wraps up the story of Sam and Grace, but I found myself more interested in the dynamics between Isabel and Cole. On a side note, Maggie came to my local bookstore and I got her autograph in my book! She was really nice and had a lot of funny stories to tell. It was great meeting her.

The last Harry Potter movie (which was FANTASTIC) got me in a mood to re-read the books, but I'm trying to hold off until they're released as ebooks in October on Pottermore.com. So to tide me over I re-read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. All are wonderful and clever books. If you're a fan of the series and haven't read these yet, you'll really enjoy them.

I also read a few Kindle freebies which all turned out to be duds. I'll list them here so you know not to waste your money on them: No Rest for the Wicked by Rebecca Knight, Embrace the Night by Karen Chance; and Just One Taste and Another Sip by CJ Ellison.

June Reading

I'll start with my favorite book of June: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews, the latest in the Kate Daniels series. I love this series and I love this book. Andrews weaves a compelling story in an alternate reality. I absolutely recommend this whole series to everyone. I also read the two Curran POV releases. Interesting supplemental material to the series, but not must-reads.

I re-read Ilona Andrews' On the Edge, the first in The Edge series for my book club. Another home run for Andrews. There's our normal non-magic world called The Broken; there's a parallel magic world called The Weird; in between those two worlds is a thin band called The Edge that has it's own magic, laws and rules. Rose works for minimum wage in The Broken to keep food on the table for her two young brothers when a couple mysterious men show up in life as several evil predatory monsters. Great writing and great storytelling. I definitely recommend this series, too.

Hit List, the latest Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton, was a pleasant surprise. I'm not a fan of Anita or LKH, but I do like the characters Edward and Olaf and, thankfully, these were the featured characters. Edward is a sociopath with two distinct personalities, one he shows the rest of the world (his Ted Forrester persona) and one only a select few know about (Edward, the killing machine). Olaf has two personas as well, but we mostly see him in his full psychopath mode with his fixation on Anita. I wish LKH would drop the rest of the nonsensical characters from this world and focus on Edward and Olaf. If you've toughed this series out so far, you may as well read this one, too.

I tried to get into A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It won a Pulitzer and it's very well written, but I disliked it. There was no real plot and the entire book was depressing. I'm glad I tried it, though. Makes me appreciate my Urban Fantasy books with their HEAs.

Eternal Hearts by Jennifer Turner, the follow up to Eternal Seduction, was disappointing. With the first book she had her own unique twist on the vampire genre. This second outing was good, but it was just like every other vampire book out there. I'm hoping in future books we get back to the more unique aspects of her world.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne was a fun book. Atticus O'Sullivan is a Druid who's thousands of years old living in our modern times. There's lots of humor to go along with the action. I definitely recommend this one.

I re-read Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter for my book club. It was just as fun this second time around. It's slightly on the silly side, but it has to be because it's a world where people gain super powers. Lots of action and humor. If you like Urban Fantasy, this series is fun.

I plowed through a bunch of Kindle freebies that I've been collecting for a few years. I figured it was time to blast through some of them. The best was Operation Sheba by Misty Evans. It's a spy thriller involving double crossing CIA agents. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole book. I got it for free, but I'd even recommend that you buy it. It makes for great summer reading.

I can't say the same for the rest of the freebies I read. As I look back at my reading list I can't even remember what some of these were about. They were good enough to read because they were free, but I wouldn't recommend spending money on any of these: Reunion by FE Heaton, The Abandoned by Amanda Stevens, Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom, Hunter's Choice by Shiloh Walker, Out of the Box by Kallysten, Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher, Enchanting the Lady by Katherine Kennedy, The Marquis by Denise Patrick, Tyger Tyger Burning Bryght by Cathryn Cade, Duality by Renee Wildes, and Claimed by KR Smith.

Super 8 and Bad Teacher

Super 8 was a fun summer action/adventure movie. Set in 1980 before any kind of modern technology, it's about a group of kids filming their own movie who stumble on a big government secret. It's very Spielberg-y. The deputy was exactly like Brody in Jaws, the messy house was straight out of Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and the adventure the kids go on is just like ET. But it still all works. If you don't catch it in the theater then definitely put it in your rental queue.

Bad Teacher was funnier than I thought it would be. Cameron Diaz plays a teacher who shows movies in class until she finds out that the teacher with the highest state test score at the end of the year gets a bonus, which she plans to use for a boob job. Not a must-see movie, but it had me laughing out loud at a few scenes.

May Book Reviews

I started out May by rereading Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter, the first her Tales of an Extraordinary Girl series. It's a fun book about a girl who suddenly acquires super powers and can control the weather. It sounds hokey, but there's a lot of humor and sarcasm which mixes nicely with the plot. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who reads Urban Fantasy. I'll be reading the next book in this series in June.

Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill, the latest in the Chicagoland Vampire series, really knocked me for a loop. The writing and story were great, as usual. But there was a surprise at the end of the book that I never saw coming. I'm concerned with what Neill plans to do with this new plot development in future books. I hope they don't turn into anything hokey because this is one of the best written Urban Fantasy series.

Dead Reckoning, the latest in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, was disappointing, just like the last few books in this series. Harris should have wrapped up this series with the fairy wars. Instead, her contract got extended due to HBO picking this up but she's clearly out of things to write about. In this book, the first five chapters are about Sookie cleaning out her attic. Then some characters do things they wouldn't normally do. Then Harris comes up with the worst deus ex machina ever that's going to explode in the last book of the series. If you're not a die-hard fan of the series, skip it.

I picked up The Heat, The Strip, and The Spell which comprise the Big Bad Wolf series so far by Heather Killough-Walden. I downloaded them for $1 each on my Kindle. If they're still $1 and you like Urban Fantasy books about shifters, definitely download them.

I read a few short story freebies: Thrill of the Hunt by Nathalie Grey, Snaring the Huntress by Sylvia Day, and A Knight to Remember by Karin Tabke. They were all just OK. I'd skip them all.

I tried to fit in a reread of the whole Kate Daniels series at the end of the month before the next book came out, but I only managed to fit in Magic Bites, Magic Burns, and Magic Strikes. This one of my most favorite series. Well written, lots of humor, and a tough and sassy heroine. What's not to love?! I absolutely recommend this series!

April Reviews

Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione is the the first in her Lords of Deliverance series about the four horsemen of the apocalypse (or, to be more exact, three horsemen and one horsewoman). This one focuses on War/Ares and his attempts to keep his seal from breaking to prevent Armageddon. Good writing and an action-packed story kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book. This series is a spin-off from her Demonica series. You don't have to read Demonica first, but there are character crossovers from that series and a plot spoiler in this one for the end of the Demonica series. I definitely recommend both series to fans of the urban fantasy genre.

City of Fallen Angels, the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments YA series, doesn't disappoint. Fan's of the first three books will definitely enjoy this one. Simon takes more of a lead role in this one, but Clary, Jace, Isabelle and the rest are all featured. Readers of young adult literature will want to check out this series.

Unbreakable by Sydney Sommers was a surprise hit with me. I downloaded it several months ago as a Kindle freebie and decided to pick it up only to reduce my freebie TBR pile. Usually these freebies end up being somewhat of a disappointment, but this one was a fun, action-packed read.

I also read the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister. Aisling discovers that she's a guardian in charge of protecting the world from demons. She ends up falling in love with a dragon (in human form, of course) and gets dragged into dragon sept and other underworld politics. It's a fun, funny, entertaining four book series. If you're looking for lighter urban fantasy, you may want to try these.

Spring Round-Up

I've seen several movies and read many books since my last post. I'll just give a quick one line review and a rating for each.

BOOKS

River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) ★★★★★

I missed the pack in this one, but it was a nice departure from the usual story line.

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

These books are just as good the second time around!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis ★★★

A decent dystopian YA sci-fi novel, but I'd recommend The Hunger Games over this.

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain (Archie/Gretchen series) ★★★

Decent murder mystery, but Gretchen is very noticeably absent.

Battle of the Network Zombies by Mark Henry ★★

Too much humor and not enough story.

Iron Crowned by Richelle Meade (Dark Swan series) ★★★★

A great installment to the series. I can't wait to see how it all ends!

One of Our Thursday's is Missing by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next series) ★★★★★

Another brilliant book by one of my favorite authors.

A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce series) ★★★★

I will never grow tired of seeing the world through Flavia's eyes!

The Passion by Donna Boyd ★★★

Well written, but it ends up being a tragedy and I really need my HEA.

The Gift of Fury by Richard Jackson ★★★

It kept me reading even though I wasn't in the mood for it, which probably means it's better than how I rated it.

Primal Calling by Jillian Burns ★★

Boring and predictable.

Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick series) ★★★★

Great story with lots of humor - I might end up liking this YA spin-off better than the main Dark Hunter series.

The Sacrifice by Samantha Sommersby ★★★

Not as bad as I was expecting it to be since it was a Kindle freebie.

Fang Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground series) ★★★★

I'm enjoying this YA series, but I don't think Ms. Blue is planning to write many more of these books.

Lover Unleashed by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series) ★★★★★

Another home run for Ward. I don't think she's capable of striking out.

The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

I'm glad to be all caught up with this series. It was a challenge to keep reading.

Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey ★★

Another book that was too jokey and light on plot.

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

It was great re-reading these. Just as good the second time around.

MOVIES

Hannah starring Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana ★★★★

Great acting, great music, great scenery.

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhall and Vera Farmiga ★★★

A decent movie for your rental queue.

Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro ★★★★

Good movie. Definitely watch it.

Insidious ★★★

A decent attempt for a scary movie, though several key scenes were pretty hokey.

Rango ★★

Somewhat boring and predictable, though not the worst movie I've ever seen.

TV SHOWS

Nurse Jackie ★★★★

I'm glad this one started up again. I love all the goofy people who work in the hospital.

Gods of the Arena (Spartacus prequel) ★★★

It's not going to win any awards, but it's a fun show with lots skin and blood.

The Borgias ★★

This should be a lot more interesting than it is.

February Wrap-Up

Pale Demon, the latest in Kim Harrison's Hollows series, was incredible! Lots of good plot stuff happens, lots of great character development happens, and I'm left practically dying for the next installment. It's great that Harrison is still on the top of her game with this series and isn't painfully dragging it out like so many other authors. I definitely recommend this whole series.

This Side of the Grave, the latest in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, is unfortunately one of the books that is dragging out a series without too much substance. I had a feeling this was going to happen because Frost doesn't have a lot of "pieces" in play in the overall plot to successfully extend this series. This book was OK, but I wouldn't recommend it. I would recommend the first three books in this series, though.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was a pleasant surprise. This debut novel reads more like a regular novel than an urban fantasy one, which may or may not work for you depending on your reading style preferences. I definitely recommend it and I'm looking forward to more books by her.

Sapphique, the follow up to Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, was just as good as its predecessor. These are both just straight up well written science fiction. Dreams of a Dark Warrior, the latest in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole, was just OK. I thought the first half dragged.

I went to see Unknown starring Liam Neeson. It had a good twist, but the rest of the plot of painfully stupid. I don't recommend it. I watched The Maltese Falcon and was disappointed. It's all just people sitting around talking about what happened instead of actually showing what happened. Very boring. But I also caught Goodfellas, and that movie never gets old!

Last Dragonslayer, The Rite, and Other Reviews

Once again, Jasper Fforde's writing has thrilled me to pieces with The Last Dragonslayer. It's marketed to young adults, but is full of his usual intelligent wit so it's enjoyable for adults as well. Set in an alternate universe where magic is fading, 15 year-old Jennifer Strange discovers that she's the last dragonslayer and that she must slay the last dragon. Of course, there's also lots of social commentary as with all his books. Definitely a must-read!!

I re-read The Outlaw Demon Wails, the sixth book in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series. Lots of background and secrets are revealed in this installment. Jenks continues to be my favorite character in the whole series - who wouldn't love a smart-mouthed 4-inch tall pixie who's always cursing Tinkerbell?! Fans of the urban fantasy genre will enjoy this series.

I also read Archangel's Consort, the latest in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series, which was a bit of a let-down; Eternity Embraced, a short story filling out Larissa Ione's Demonica series, which was as good as the rest of the series; and I read several books in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, which were all total crap. Don't read anything by LK Hamilton!

The only new movie I've seen since my last post is The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins. Of course, he's incredible to watch in anything he does but this movie was boring in its complete predictability. It offered nothing new that you haven't already seen before. Disappointing.

January - Catching Up

Yikes! I've been bad about keeping up with my blog. I took a wonderful trip to DC last weekend to visit friends. It was so good to see them, but it makes me miss them all the more now that I'm back home. My favorite site was the Library of Congress. It's the most beautiful building in America, both inside and out. I got see the Gutenberg bible and Thomas Jefferson's library - both are quite incredible. Being the book nerd that I am I bought all of my souvenirs here. Such a great trip! This is a picture of me in the Library of Congress with my new library card.

I have to start my book reviews with Shadowfever, the last book in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. Talk about ending the series with a bang! It was a complete roller coaster ride full of action and jaw-dropping reveals. The previous books in the series are good, but this one is great. No fan of the series will walk away feeling unsatisfied, even if we still don't know what Barrons is.

I re-read the Mercedes Thompson series and the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. I love the Mercy series! Mercy is a 'walker' who shifts into a coyote at will. She lives in mobile home on the plot of land behind the alpha of the local werewolf pack. She works as a VW auto mechanic in the garage she bought from Siebold Adelbertsmiter, a metalworking Fae. One of her clients and friends is a vampire who owns a bus painted like the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo. Great writing and fun stories. I'm looking forward to the next Mercy release in March.

I also re-read For A Few Demons More from the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. I loved it as much this second time around. I tried Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey, but dumped it because I just couldn't get into it. Then I picked up the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, a decent urban fantasy series about a skinwalker who hunts vampires. I'll be finishing up the last book in this series tonight.

I caught a few older movies on Netflix this weekend. I loved Fanboys, a movie about the ultimate Star Wars fans. Very funny if you're into sci-fi, otherwise I don't think you'd like it. I also watched Unthinkable starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen and Carrie-Ann Moss. The casting and the acting was good, but the story lacked a little something extra so I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would.

The King's Speech, Black Swan, and other reviews

I absolutely loved The King's Speech! It stars Colin Firth as Prince Albert, who stutters. His father (the king) dies, then his older brother abdicates the throne to Albert (George VI), all this happening while Hitler is continuing to take over Europe. Albert finds help from a very unorthodox speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. With his help, Albert is able to deliver the radio speech to the nation on the eve of England's involvement in WWII. It's a wonderful movie full of humor and heart. I'm sure Firth and Rush will be getting Oscar nominations for their performances. Definitely go see this movie.

The Black Swan was just slightly too weird for me. Natalie Portman's performance as a driven ballet dancer will surely win her an Oscar nomination, but the character she played was unlikeable and I became more annoyed with her as the movie went on. That combined with the many suddenly bloody scenes had me anxious for the movie to end. It's well done, but I don't recommend it unless you want to see a movie that's a little too 'out there.'

I read Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex, the latest in Eoin Colfer's series. It was good, but not as good as its predecessors. Definitely worth reading though if you're into YA literature. I also read Hellforged by Nancy Holzner which rocked my world. Shifters, demons, zombies galore and a kick ass chick kicking all their asses - what more could you ask for? I just finished a re-read of For A Few Demons More, the fifth book in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series. Just as great the second time around. Great wedding scene, heartbreaking ending.

I played a few Nintendo games over the holidays. I love Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Both are puzzle games wrapped in fun little stories. Great series for the DS. I also played Epic Mickey on the Wii. It's sort of like a Mario game but not as fun for some reason.