Dani O'Malley!

Have you all read the Fever Series? If not, GET ON IT!

If so, did you see that the Dani O'Malley books are announced and tentatively scheduled? I know, I'm just as excited as you are! Check out the details...

http://karenmariemoning.blogspot.com/2011/11/upcoming-books.html

Question

So what is a book or series that you are most looking forward to reading? It could be something that is coming out soon or something that is just on your "To Read" list.

I'm geeked about Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire. It's the last of the his Wicked Years series. You might know the first book of the series, Wicked. There was a small musical based on it. [There should be a heavy tone of sarcasm to those last two sentences.] I'm so happy to be getting back to Oz even if I have to play nice with Dorothy.

So spill it people - what book can you not wait to read?

Those Across the River

Another Early Review from LibraryThing.

When a dead relative leaves you property but also leave you a letter demanding you sell said property and never set foot in town, you should listen. When a town runs perfectly good pigs across a local river during the Depression and those animals are never seen again, you should run. Run fast.

Frank Nichols inherits a house in a small sleepy Georgia town.  He’s down on his luck so he takes up residence and begins working on a book about an ancestor who used to own a plantation in the area. That’s when the world starts going wrong.  The locals are suspicious at best. The surrounds woods are deemed unfriendly. The local traditions are odd to say the least. When those traditions are stopped because of economics bad things start to happen.

I really liked Those Across the River.  It’s a great first novel from Christopher Buehlman.  Actually, it is hard to believe it is his first novel.  It really is wonderful.  It seems like the story proceeds as such a leisurely pace but that is deceptive.  The action is really fast paced and at time shocking.  There is no doubt that this book belongs firmly in the horror section. Those Across the River is a book you should read, but not on a dark stormy night.

This one is a four out of five for me.

Little Black Dress

I received Little Black Dress by Susan McBride as an Early Review book from LibraryThing.  It's out now for purchase and I'd give it three stars out of five.

Little Black Dress is a novel about a grown woman waiting for her love life to start, her relationship with her mother, and a mysterious black dress in their past.  Toni Ashton returns to her hometown after her mother suffers a stroke. She leaves behind her long term boyfriend who just popped a questions and her thriving party planning business. While Evie lingers in a coma, Toni attempts to set her mother’s house to right discovering some long hidden family secrets in the process.  

 It’s a great fun read with a little love, a little mysticism, and a little wine. I love how the story is told from both Toni and Evie’s perspectives.  It allows the reader to continually try to puzzle out the story and leave you slightly stunned when you get to the final resolution.  Once the story grabs your heartstrings it is impossible to put down until you finish it.

Black Dagger Brotherhood

This is another vamp series I've been reading... I think there are 10 so far and I am on book 5. Lots... and I do mean LOTS of sex, lots of fighting. Not my FAVORTIE, but they're definitely good and worth checking out =)

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

I just finished this, the second book in Kim Harrison's "The Hollows" series. Tina has mentioned these before - she's farther along in the series than I am. They are good - not spectacular-amazing, but very entertaining. Pretty original language and concepts and execution (the author has rearranged history a bit in the book and I think that's really fun).

I'm definitely invested in the characters, so book 3 has now been downloaded (there are 9 in total...so start reading!).

freebies + favorites from KMM!

A couple of things to share...

1 - Freebies for Kindle. For those of you who have a Kindle, I have joined a few new groups on FB (you can also sign up for email alerts) for free book tips. Check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/EreaderNewsToday
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Free-Books-for-Kindle/136225579732999

2 - For those of you who are Karen Marie Moning fans...B&N asked her to compile a list of her favorite romance novels and she posted a blog with links to that list and a bit of commentary. Romance novels aren't exactly my thing, but it looks like one or two of them have a supernatural element to them :) http://karenmariemoning.blogspot.com/2011/07/im-featured-at-barnes-noble.html

happy reading!

Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton

I know we've got quite a few Sookie and Fever fans here, and these books have plenty of fey action to go around. So far I've read the first two books, A Kiss of Shadows and A Caress of Twilight, and I'm just starting the third, Seduced by Moonlight. You would think that means I'm genuinely addicted... but actually, I still don't know quite how to feel about the series. I do like it and I want to see where it's going, but it's very different from the other supernatural fiction I've read.

The books are very sexy - Meredith (Merry) is very frank and open with her sexuality, and she's always getting hers. However, since Merry is often in some kind of danger, she does some untoward things in exchange for protection. I don't want to spoil anything by going into detail, but you'll see what I mean if you choose to read. So far, creatures we've encountered are Seelie and Unseelie fey, goblins, demi-fey, and ghosts - no vampires and werewolves.

Also, while I'm sure love will eventually turn up, so far there is no Bill vs. Eric or Barrons vs. Vlaine sort of deal - it's kind of a free for all right now. So if you need a focused romance novel, these aren't quite it, yet. There are people to root for, but there's no way to tell which way things are headed. Maybe it's because there are several more books in the series!

Merry is an important person, and her adventure is an interesting one (I really want to know how it turns out), so I'm sticking with it. They're quick reads and have lots of sexytimes, but so far they haven't quite gripped me as much as Fever did. Then again, comparing anything to Fever might be a mistake!

A Few Tidbits for Your Consideration:

Ok, I've been slacking on sharing what I've been reading and I'll try and make up for it.

First is The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.  It's volume one of the Kane Chronicles, a new series that's about Egyptian mythology.  Riordan is also responsible for the Percy Jackson series of books that focus on Greek myths.  I have to put it out there that I love love love mythology. Give it to me any day.

The Red Pyramid follows Carter & Sadie Kane on their adventures to find their dad after he disappeared in an explosion at the British Museum on Christmas Day.  Oh, and they destroy the Rosetta Stone.  Yeah, that's in the first few chapters.  The story keeps going from there and we pick up some great supporting characters that I'm excited to get back to in the next installment (The Throne of Fire, and yes, it might be sitting on a table in my house waiting for me to pick it up.) I like reading is books - they're easy, entertaining and you might pick up a few tidbits of knowledge.  He's also great at creating pictures with his words and I love that.  It's on my 'You should read this list' and possibly a guilty pleasure for me. Oh, I actually didn't read this book. I listened to it on audio book and it was fabulous. I loved the two performers who did Carter and Sadie's voices.  I kinda wish I had the second one to listen to instead of read.

Up next is another Rick Riordan novel - The Lost Hero.  It's a new series but it also ties in with the Percy Jackson series.  Percy is missing and Annabeth is on the warpath to find him.  She stumbles across three half-bloods trying to get themselves killed at the Grand Canyon.  Jason, Piper and Leo finally make alive to Camp Half Blood in New York only to leave shortly after they get there on a quest to rescue Hera because she's been imprisoned by an unknown force. You know the drill if you've ever read another Riordan book. He takes us to locations all over North America and we meet several mystical being and minor deities. I'd also classify this one in the just fun to read pile.  You know you want to.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is an interesting book.  I really don't know how to describe or place it.  It's Young Adult but it's not fluffy and uber romantic like Twilight etc.  I guess you could describe it at dystopian.  It follows Finn who is locked in Incareron, an ideal prison and closed system to reform it's 'residents' and Claudia who is the daughter of the Warden of Incareron and set to marry the heir in a power play by her father. Claudia's world is shaped by the Protocol, an edict by a previous ruler to eliminate social strife and create an ideal world.  Can you guess how well both experiments are going so far? Their stories intertwine and it makes for a great ride.  I'm now plotting on how to get my hands on Sapphique, the second book.

Up next, Cemetery Dance.  This is evidently one in a sort of series and not the first.  Ugh, I hate picking up in the middle of something.  I picked it up because I like the blurb.  It mixed murder, mystery, and anthropology. Oh, and zombiis and a little bit of hoodoo. It's fast paced, had eccentric characters, and is not lacking in the excitement category.  This is not a book I recommend reading on a dark and stormy night, but I would recommend it.  I think I'm going to have to find some of the previous books to fill in some gaps in my comprehension.  Sorry if I'm misleading - Cemetery Dance really is a stand alone book but part of a series and I think reading the series would enhance my enjoyment of this one.  Oh crap! I should tell you what the book is about.  Bill & Nora are attacked on the evening of their first wedding anniversary and Bill is killed. The attacker is easily identified as their neighbor, Colin Fearing, but the only snafu is that he's been dead two weeks.

I just finished Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison yesterday.  This one is another one is her Hallows series about Rachel Morgan who has a talent for getting into trouble.  It picks up where White Witch, Black Curse left off and just keeps going. Rachel is shunned from the witch community because of her ability of kindle demon magic.  She's offered basically two options. Either be neutered or become a slave of Trent Kalamack.  Rachel chooses option three which is leave me alone and let me live my life.  I enjoyed this one the most of any of the Hollows I've read recently and now I have to find the next book, Pale Demon.


Now I have to decide if I want to read The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan or The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Sookie!

I haven't seen any posts/ updates about the newest Sookie book.  What did everyone think about Dead Reckoning?

If you haven't finished or read it at all, you might want to avoid the comments for possible spoilers.

book swap goodies...

The library at work has a giant yearly book swap. So far, I've stayed away, but this year I got sucked in...by vampire books. No pun intended. I have no idea if they are any good, but if you've read any of them, I'd love to hear your perspective...and I'll surely post if/once I finish them.

apparently this one is the 3rd in a series...boo...


aaaand this is the 5th in the series...



this is book 3 in a different series...boo AGAIN!






hooray! this is the FIRST in a series!

The Outlaw Demon Wails

I got sucked back into the Hollows. The series in question is by Kim Harrison.  I found the next book I needed while we were in Birmingham for $6 and couldn't say no.  Now I'm on the next one because I had to go pick up another hold I placed for Husband at the library and might have know that they had the next book. Yes, I'm sneaky like that.

Outlaw Demon is about how Rachel Morgan deals with a rouge demon who is out to kill her and anyone she cares for. I know it's a really short and vague summary but there is so much background that it would kill the previous books for you if I told you about it. I like the series.  It's fun escape and the supes aren't all pretty and perfect. The main character has a weakness for leather and dressing slutty. Yeah, It's a very nice escape.

Oh, and I'm calling out Christy right now! I need to know what you think of Cinderella Ate My Daughter. It's on my to read list and I'm going to request it as soon as I remember to log in and do so.

Paranormalcy

This one was suggested to me by my Young Adult Librarian friends, and since they know all the good stuff, I always take their suggestions seriously. I JUST started the book, so I can't vouch for how good it is yet, but so far, so good. I doubt there will be super sexy stuff (there will definitely be romance of some sort), but so far it's got vampire, werewolves, faeries, and mermaids (!) and some mysterious unidentified creature. I know it can't top Fever, but it's got a Fever/Sookie/Buffy vibe. Anyway, I thought maybe you guys might read along with me! And yes, it's a trilogy.

Click here for the Amazon link!

The 158-Pound Marriage -- off genre

I post book reviews/thoughts on my blog and I just finished The 158-Pound Marriage by John Irving. Tiffany suggested I post it here too. I'd be fabulously excited if one of you has read it and can/will comment extensively.

I FLEW through this book. First, because it's short. And second, because I got really wrapped up in the characters. There are 4 main characters and I liked some more than others but they were all very interesting and had deep personalities/motives/emotions. They seemed very real to me.

This is the first John Irving book I've read and I liked it so much, I'll have to read another. (He wrote Cider House Rules and I know it's a movie, but I didn't see it and couldn't tell you anything about it except it was nominated for some Academy Awards.)

The briefest synopsis I can give you is 2 couples begin a casual affair where they swap wives. (The book calls it a foursome, but never in the book are all four parties in bed together) I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever been in a stable serious relationship is like, "What? This will not end well." And not to spoil anything(the back of the book will tell you) it doesn't.

It's told from the perspective of one of the husbands and he seems to be a very reliable narrator. btw, the book was published in 1974, so give you a little historic perspective.

This is the kind of book that after it was over I wanted to talk about it. A LOT. This is the kind of story, that if it was a movie I watched with Husband, we'd still be talking about it.

I can't imagine a situation where I would ever think it was a good idea that Husband and I find another couple and intermingle socially and sexually with them. So, that part of the story was hard for me to relate to, but I definitely believed it was a possible scenario. Plus, I enjoyed reading how each of the four dealt with the affair.

I recommend it.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Loved it! Seriously, I finished this book last week and I'm still thinking about the characters.

The story revolves around Diana, a witch who is trying to live without magic, and her discovery of a bewitched alchemical manuscript.  Something weird, even for a witch, happens when she touches the manuscript.  After she send it back to the stacks all heck breaks loose.  Witches, vampires and daemons start coming out of the woodwork and following Diana trying to get their hands on the manuscript. Oh, and then there is Matthew.  Yeah, still thinking about him.  That is a paltry summary and doesn't even really cover a 1/4 of the book but I can't tell you about it because it gives away way too much.

I love the pace of the book - its variable speed. You're cruising along enjoying the story and bam! hyper speed. Then its slows down and lingers.  I love the way the characters are drawn and evolve.  I love the mystery.  Many curve balls a thrown and every one is fun and takes the story in a different direction. I love the science/ alchemical talk.  It's makes me smile and tickles my brain.  Oh, and the houses! I'd like them all.  Well, at least three of them. Mostly the one that magically expands and contracts to meet the occupants needs and is full of family ghosts.  I was the perfect read for me right now. 

But one thing I hate - it's the first book of a trilogy and I want book 2 now!!!

book suggestions

My fabulous stylist is always recommending books. Last week she recommended The Hunger Games and since then, three other people have suggested it. I'm not sure that it's paranormal in any way, but it is set in a sort of post-apocalyptic world and it sounds fascinating.

I love Charlaine Harris and I will occasionally go to her blog to see what she's reading (and she reads an amazing amount of books!). If your well of inspiration is running dry, check out her blog!

Harper Connelly Series

This is another series by Charlaine Harris. I loved the Sookie books so much that I pretty much started "author stalking" her and I've downloaded almost all of her stuff to my Kindle already. I'll write more on the others as I get to them, but for right now- let me tell you a little about Harper Connelly.

She's a very different character from Sookie but she's equally lovable in her own way. She has a unique gift that I don't want to dive into here b/c I feel like it's a bit of a spoiler since the books revolve around that. There are no vamps or witches in this one, but her gift is supernatural in nature. I'm very much enjoying these books and I think you guys would too.

They are easy to read. The mysteries aren't blatantly transparent. The characters are very enjoyable and easy to relate to. Check these out!!

I GOT ONE!!!

I finally have a Kindle!!! My sweet husband brought it to my work and surprised me with it today!! Let the books suggestions roll in! I'm a downloading JUNKIE!! C'mon Tiff, Lauren... why didn't you guys tell me I needed this sooner?!?! (I'm SO j/k....hehehe)

Sweep

Ok, so I've been reading the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan.  I'm six books in and I have to admit I like it.  It is the story of Morgan Rowlands, a sixteen year old high school girl, who finds out she's a witch.  The books follow her journey into her witch heritage, growing as a witch, and the trials of just being a teenager. 

It's fun and entertaining and you actually pick up bits of knowledge about Wicca, Gaelic folklore, runes, etc.  I like it.  For the first three books I had a problems with one of the characters because I knew I was supposed to like them wholeheartedly but I just couldn't.  I know that's evil to say but I thank Tiernan for not making all the characters straightforward and boring.  The people change and grow and its wonderful to watch.  That's resolved and now I'm on a desperate hunt to find Volume 3 of the series.

Oh, the list of books if you are interested:
Book of Shadows
The Coven
Bloodwitch
Dark Magic
Awakening
Spellbound

Found Another Series

I know you're going to love me, Tiffany.

So, another series to check out - the Maker's Song sequence by Adrian Phoenix.  Sounds very interesting. It's got music, hot vampires, and all the stuff that makes me love reading.