Just a Thought...

Ah I haven't been on here in way too long.  I don't know what made me want to write today but I did have a small epiphany.  As my vacation draws to a close and the weather gets cooler all I can seem to do these days is sleep and read.  My 'read in 2012' list is rather long and all of a sudden I'm not so much concerned with the number but the books themselves.  It's not so much about the sheer amount I can read (I surpassed that goal last year with 150) but with the books themselves.  (Finally right?!)  Okay enough of that....

I have for the first time in my life not finished books just because I HAD to finish them.  I stamped down my need to see all things through.  I have finally just said no.  What can I say I know what I like and I want what I like.  The last five books I've read have been wonderfully filled with fantasy love.  And I ate it up.

Just a quick list:  Throne of Glass (freaking AMAZING!), Succubus Blues (picked up because of author but a nice Adult novel change), Unspoken (unexpected greatness....two words snarky Asian), Taken by Storm:  Raised by Wolves #3 (I cried...no balled. Ugh I can't even start), and finally Carnival of Souls (ah carnival, carnival, carnival...Ms. Marr you've done it to me again.)

Sad to say after reading these past five epic reads I can't seem to get into a book that's not steeped in the supernatural.  Preferably with excitement, romance (a love-triangle?!), and some sort of twisted land that I know nothing of.  I fell head over heels into these worlds these authors created and I will settle for nothing less.  Today alone I started and discarded two books and will be returning them to the library tomorrow.  They will sit on my to-read shelf because I really am not giving them a fair chance.  In short I'm just not in the mood.

Review #7: Drink Deep

Chicagoland Vampires #5:  Drink Deep
by Chloe Neill

Goodreads description:

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

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

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


My take:


Oh my God!  I loved this damn series.  I devoured it.  I swear Chloe Neill owes me like three nights of sleep.  I've been walking around work tired and sad for days now, but I digress.  Merit is awesome.  From the beginning of the series I fell in love with her snarky comments and stubborn attitude.  She is definitely a heroine to stand behind and proves it again and again throughout the series.  At the beginning of this story she is dealing with a lot of emotions and hardships (I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read it).  She is trying hard to stay out of the way of the Council while still protecting her house as Sentinel.  


There are a lot of new characters in this installment and they all made me want to read further.  I was heart broken at the end of Hard Bitten.  Literally heart broken, I even cried.  Ugh Ethan I miss him.  In this story Merit finally has to come to terms with the vampire she has become and has to truly evaluate all her relationships and where her loyalties lie.  I was a little disappointed throughout the novel because I figured out the antagonist about 100 pages in and no one else seemed to notice.  Very frustrating.  


Strongly recommend!  Of course start off at the beginning Some Girls Bite was amazing.

Review #6: Destiny and Deception

Destiny and Deception (13 to life #4) by Shannon Delany


Jessie and the Rusakuvas have seemingly survived the worst of it.  They've had some losses along the way but they survived.  Survived the mafia, the big company that wanted to study them and have even found a cure for their condition.  Jessie finally has the nice normal, human boyfriend she always wanted.  Or thought she wanted...


As a new threat has come to shake up their lives will the Rusakuvas escape relatively unscathed or will they have to survive more losses?  Will Pietr's change ruin Jessie's hope of a long lasting relationship?  Will Max and Amy finally get to have the relationship they both deserve?  Will Cat be able to keep the secret that the cure may not be permanent?  And of course Alexi, he is just trying to hold them all together, will he be able to?


My Take:  Ah I couldn't wait for this book to come out.  I inhaled the first three and likewise this fourth installment of the series.  I absolutely love this series.  Of course we already know I like werewolves but RUSSIAN werewolves I'm sooo in.  I have an odd fascination for all things Russian even took it in college as an elective but I digress.  


SPOILER ALERT:  If you haven't read the series yet and are planning on it don't read ahead!


Anyway, at this point in the story the Rusakuvas have taken the cure and all seems to be falling into place.  Of course Jessie isn't happy.  She finally got all she wanted and its more than she bargained for. I have to agree with her.  This new Pietr is a far cry from the former, brooding, wild, masculine Pietr.  I miss that one.  Why she doesn't just tell him I'll never know.  They hardly even talked the whole book.  


Of course Max and Amy are still adorable I just wish that she would give him something.  He's being so perfect with her and I feel like it dragged the whole book with nothing resolved for either of them.  


This book made me feel bad for Alexi again as I had in all the other books.  I just want him to be happy and not stress so much.  


I loved the ending to this book with the cliffhanger but of course it makes me angry that I have to wait so long for the next one.  Ahh the pains of an avid young adult reader.  


I highly recommend if you're at all interested in werewolves, Russia or experimenting on teenagers and having paranormal results.  

Review #5: Raised by Wolves

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Bryn never felt like she quite fit in with her adoptive family but she tried her best.  She is the adoptive daughter of the pack leader and pack life is the only life she's ever known.  She walks the fine line between pack life and her human nature, never quite able to submit always feeling like the weak one no matter how much she trains or prepares.

When the pack starts closing in around her Bryn starts to get curious about what they could be hiding. She soon discovers the big cover-up, Chase, a teenage boy locked in her guardians basement.  She realizes Chase may have the answers she needs about her parents death and will stop and nothing to find out what she needs to know.

Will Bryn's disobedience and refusal to submit finally cause too much of a rift in the pack?  Will she lose the only family she's known?

My Take:  I've always loved werewolves.  Vampires may be my favorite mythological beings to read about but werewolves are a close second.  I think it has to do with the dynamic of the beast within but having to deal with being a human most of the time.  The wolf within being extremely loyal and protective with strong family bonds.  Plus werewolves are always so hot.  Alcide Herveaux anyone?

This book had excellent descriptions of pack dynamics especially interesting because it's from the point of view of Bryn who is as close to pack as an outsider can get.  Watching Bryn be more and more "wolf-like" was insightful.  Did the mark of the alpha make her like this or was it inside her always? The beginning of the book was a little slow and I was curious to see where it would go but had a very good story line eventually and great character development.  I always enjoy a strong female character of course.  

Review #4: Tempest Rising

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs


Tempest has loved the ocean for as long as she could remember.  Felt more at home there, more than on land.  All she wants is to keep living her life as it is enjoying the time with her boyfriend Mark, taking care of her brothers and surfing with her friends.  But the pull of the ocean is getting harder to ignore.  Tempest is half-mermaid.  With her seventeenth birthday looming she will soon have to make the choice whether or not to keep her status quo or choose the ocean like her mother.


Tempest is certain her future is on land.  That is until she runs into Kona.  He has a draw that she can't deny and makes her feel her connection to the ocean even more.  When she finally can't deny her desire for the ocean any longer she is thrown into an underwater world full of wonder, beauty, secrets and a destiny she may not be ready for.




My Take:  My first mermaid book.  I have to say I don't hate it.  It was interesting and different with the introduction of all the other sea creatures and the underwater world.  I was a little put off by Tempest herself because she was annoying with her confusion all the time.  I feel like she never questioned enough and when she did she never asked the right questions.  I do love her relationship with Kona but was iffy about Mark disregarding her so quickly.  I know she was gone for a while but he just let her go and concentrated on someone else.  I guess it needed to happen to ally her to truly feel okay with leaving but still I hate an unrealistic relationship and/or break-up.  I'm glad there's another one because Tempest's true role in all of this was never really explained.  We shall wait and see.

Review #3: My Soul to Take

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

As if sensing people are going to die isn't enough she can't hold in the panic and blood-curtling scream that threatens to erupt from her every time these attacks occur.  Kaylee is just trying to be a normal teenage girl;  dealing with her attention-grabbing best friend, her newly popular cousin who doesn't seem to know her anymore and wondering if the cute guy in school will notice her.  All the while trying to not worry about the fact that another panic attack could send her right back to the place she fears the most...the mental hospital.

A night out proves to be a new beginning, Nash Hudson the aforementioned cute guy in school, has finally noticed her.  Kaylee is lost in the dancing and promise that this night brings only to be roughly pulled back to reality by the shadow surrounding a fellow dancer.  As the scream starts to build in her throat Nash is by her side gently trying to calm her.  How is it that he seems to know more about whats happening than he lets on?

A girl has died and she can't shake the feeling that it wasn't meant to be.  As more teenagers die, Kaylee can't help but question it all.  Her past, her future and what it could all mean...

My Take:  I must say I genuinely enjoyed this read.  I read it on breaks from work, I read pages here and there when I could..I just couldn't put it down.  As I mentioned in my previous post I love Kaylee's spunk (hehe).  I can't help but admire her for her resilience and determination in finding the truth in what's happening around her even though she was left so in the dark.  I was a little disappointed i didn't get to see more of Emma in this book but was of course loving Nash.  Their relationship is so cute.  I wish I was Kaylee sometimes it was so darn cute.  I'm looking forward to more of the relationship and of course the interesting dynamic of Tod as well.  

Review #2: Touch of Frost

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1) by Jennifer Estep

Gwen Frost is just trying to fit in at the strange and unwelcoming Mythos Academy.  She comes from a long line of gypsies.  She can touch something and sense all the feelings and emotions attached to it.  Where its been and its secrets.   At Mythos, all the myths of many of the cultures of the world are real.  So are the warriors.  Here to learn to train to fight against the Reapers who serve Loki the Norse God of Chaos.  Trying to free him from his prison to unleash chaos, war and destruction on the world.  

Gwen is just trying to get by while missing her mother that she lost 6 months earlier.  When the most popular girl in school is killed in front of her Gwen will stop at nothing to find out the truth.  She is thrown into the world of warriors and gods just trying to figure out where she fits into all of it.  Not to mention where she fits in with all the warriors around her.   Especially how she feels for the dreamy but distant Spartan warrior Logan Quinn.  How will Gwen handle her growing powers and fight against the powers that be that threaten the world around her?  

My take:  First of all I LOVE the new idea of mixing all the gods and goddesses, warriors and monsters of all the different cultures.  It definitely could've been more confusing because it's such a hodge-podge but I think Jennifer puts it together really well.  I like Gwen and that she is probably the biggest underdog ever.  She has absolutely no idea what she's doing and it was interesting to see her grow and become more sure of herself.  

Plus the lovely Logan is sexy as hell.  I love those big, sexy, aloof, warrior types.  Plus he's Gwen's hero.  Who wouldn't love that?  He's saved her life all warrior-like and yummy.  I could read about him all day.  A new book-boy crush has begun.

Review #1: My Soul to Lose

My Soul to Lose (Soul Screamers #0.5) by Rachel Vincent


Kaylee is just a normal teenage girl dealing with the normal teenage issues.  An upcoming dance, a rat of an ex-boyfriend and a best friend who always has her back.  But Kaylee has a secret that no one knows.  She has panic attacks but not just your average panic attacks these are full body, blood-curtling-scream inducing panic attacks where she sees shadows around people who are going to die.  Her day at the mall is ruined when one of these panic attacks takes her over.  She is now in the middle of her worst nightmare...she wakes up strapped to a bed in a psychiatric unit.  


As Kaylee tries to convince everyone she's not crazy so she could just go back to her "normal"life she cannot help but notice the other patients.  Especially Lydia who is keeping a secret of her own.  


My take:  I'm not going to lie usually I read the prequel after I've already started the series.  This is the first time that I started from the beginning and I was not disappointed.  This was just enough of a taste of what's to come to keep me wanting more.  With the introduction of a bunch of characters that will appear as regulars in the series it was a perfect short story to get the series going.  I loved Kaylee's spunk (for lack of a better word) and I have a feeling I'm going to love Emma.  I can't wait to start the first book in the series!

Books to be read!

Now I'm not going to lie I have over 200 books on my to read shelf.  Some that haven't come out yet and some older ones.  I also have a lot of classics that I want to read but that'll be a separate post.  I'm not trying to put a time limit on it but I really want to read 100 books this year.  Some of them classics.  Wish me luck!

1. Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
2. Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon
3. Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon
4. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
5. Enthralled by Melissa Marr and others
6. The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
7. Firespell by Chloe Niell
8. Hexbound by Chloe Niell
9. Wildefire by Karsten Knight
10. Divergent by Veronica Roth
11. Soul Screamers:  My soul to lose by Rachel Vincent finished 2/13/12
12. Soul Screamers:  My soul to take by Rachel Vincent finished 2/16/12
13. Soul Screamers:  My soul to save by Rachel Vincent
14. Soul Screamers:  My soul to keep by Rachel Vincent
15. Soul Screamers:  My soul to steal by Rachel Vincent
16. Soul Screamers:  If i Die by Rachel Vincent
17. Soul Screamers:  Before I wake by Rachel Vincent
18. Shifters:  Stray by Rachel Vincent
19. Shifters:  Rogue by Rachel Vincent
20. Shifters:  Pride by Rachel Vincent
21. Shifters:  Prey by Rachel Vincent
22. Shifters:  Shift by Rachel Vincent
23. Shifters:  Alpha by Rachel Vincent
24. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
25. Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany finished 2/27/12
26. Nevermore by James Patterson
27. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
28. Fallen in love by Lauren Kate
29. I am Number four by Pittacus Lore
30. The Power of six by Pittacus Lore
31. Red Glove by Holly Black
32. A beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies
33. Daughter of Skin and Bone by Laini Taylor
34. Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes
35. The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney
36. A beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton
37. Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter
38. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
39. Balthazar by Claudia Gray
40. The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
41. The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
42. Endure by Carrie Jones
43. Underworld by Meg Cabot
44. The Serpent's Sword by Rick Riordan
45. Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
46. Black Dawn by Rachel Caine
47. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
48. Until I die by Amy Plum
49. Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep
50. Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz
51. Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson
52. Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs
53. Arise by Tara Hudson
54. Rapture by Lauren Kate
55. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
56. Endlessly by Kiersten White
57. Rivals and Retribution by Shannon Delany
58. Nocturne by Christine Johnson
59. Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz
60. The Mephisto Kiss by Trinity Faegan
61. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
62. Hidden by P.C. Cast
63. House of Embers by Rae Carson
64. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
65. The Gates of Paradise by Melissa de la Cruz
66. Taken at Dusk by C.C. Hunter
67. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
68. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
69. The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
70. Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
71. Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
72. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
73. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
74. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
75. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
76. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

First Post!

Well hello, hello, hello.  I'm new at all this.  I've in fact never blogged before.  However I figured I take a stab at it.  I decided it was time to start posting about the things I love...books.  I hope you like it.  Here goes nothing..