In My Mailbox 4

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

My forth IMM post - here we go.

Books I received this week.

In The Post:

Throat - R.A. Nelson.

Sounds like a good vampire novel.

The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney.

For the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

Shades of Twilight - Linda Howard.

Just read and reviewed After the Night by Linda Howard looking forward to starting this one.

Brainjack - Brian Falkner.

Recommended by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom

My Soul To Save - Rachel Vincent.

The second book in the series. I might wait until I get the third, My Soul to Keep, before I start reading them.

Delirium - Lauren Oliver.

As you may know from an earlier post I won this arc from Jessica at Jess hearts books. How awesome is that! So I just thought I would post a few extra photos. And yes I am totally keeping the post-it on there forever. Thank you Jess!

Kindle:

Hush Money - Susan Bischoff
Not very expensive and it has good reviews so I thought I would give it a go.

Fools Rush In - Janice Thompson

Free on amazon.co.uk - who can resist a free book.

That's all for now.

All Night Long - Jayne Ann Krentz

All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz

After the violent deaths of her parents seventeen years ago, Irene Stenson left the tiny lakefront town of Dunsley, Oregon. Now she's back, and determined to discover the truth about what happened that night. Armed with a shocking new lead and her experience as an investigative reporter, Irene dives straight into the mystery and finds herself in deep trouble. Luckily, ex-Marine Luke Danner is on hand to pull her out, and his calm, quick-thinking response in the face of danger makes him the perfect ally. And as the intrigue deepens and the secrets turn deadly, Irene will need all the help she can find if she is to lay the past to rest.




Jayne Ann Krentz writes under several different names, the name depends on the genre of the book. Her other aliases include Amanda Quick -historical romantic suspense and Jayne Castle - paranormal romantic suspense . She writes contemporary romantic suspense under Jayne Ann Krentz.


All Night Long was a good book, I didn't like it as much as After the Night by Linda Howard which I have just read, but it was definitely enjoyable. Krentz writes great characters that you can't help but like and get involved with. The male lead character in particular I thought was great. The mix of laid back ease and Marine alertness was very appealing. I found his problems with his family very funny. On the one hand it was nice that they were so concerned about him but on the other hand how they chose to express that concern was outrageous. As to the mystery element of the book, I figured out what was going on before the big reveal but not who the actual murderer was. It's always nice to have a little bit of the unknown at the end and the author is very good at keeping the suspense level high throughout the book.


As I said before I read Krentz's books under all of her other names and I look forward to reading more of her back list in the future.


Side note. So I still haven't finished Nevermore yet, in fact I am only on page 112 out of 543, but I am going to finish it by next weekend. Definitely. Probably. Maybe.


That's all for now.

Booking Through Thursday 3

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme which asks a bookish question which you have to answer.

This weeks question is:

What’s the largest, thickest, heaviest book you ever read? Was it because you had to? For pleasure? For school?

I am pretty sure that I have read loads of big books but the only ones that come to mind right now are:

For school - my Business Studies text book back in college. It was a hardback monster that weighed a ton and it was not easy lugging that thing around three times a week especially on the bus.

Pleasure reading - The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop is pretty big, 1216 pages. But it was sooooo good that it only took me a couple of days to finish it.

That's all for now.

After The Night - Linda Howard

After The Night by Linda Howard.

Faith Devlin is a poor, outcast child in Prescott, Louisiana, who has always adored the rich, charming Gray Rouillard from afar. However, Gray plans to use his power to ruin Faith, despite his desire for her. And after he calls her "white trash" she also wants to hate him, despite her feelings.


OK that's not a very good description so I will try to elaborate. Gray's father and Faith's mother were having a long term affair. One night they both disappear, everyone assumes they have run off together. Gray's sister tries to commit suicide because of this, so Gray runs Faith's family out of town. Years later Faith finds out some new information about that night and decides to go back home to investigate and that's where the story really starts.

I love Linda Howard's books especially Open Season, Cover of Night and Mr. Perfect. I think I will have to add After the Night to that list. I love well written romantic suspense so it was pretty likely that I was going to like this. All I need to keep me happy are good characters who actually work well together and a of course a Happily Ever After is a must. I got both in After the Night. I love the way this book kept me hooked, I read it in one sitting, I just had to know what was going to happen next. Of course I figured out who was behind it all within the first few chapters but I found that this didn't really bother me. In fact I usually prefer to know whats going to happen before it actually happens. It was enough to just watch the relationship unfold and the mystery play out.


I have already bought another of Linda Howard's older books, Shades of Twilight, can't wait to read it when it arrives. And another of her books has captured my interest, Kill and Tell, but I think I already have a copy of this somewhere I will just have to spend some time digging it out.

Side Note. I am still reading Nevermore by Kelly Creagh, I haven't gotten very far because I have started another book already, All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz. I have got to stop starting another book before I have finished the first because it usually means the first one gets abandoned in favour of the second and then I forget to go back to the first.

That's all for now.

Waiting On Wednesday 3

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that highlights an upcoming book release that we are eagerly anticipating.

It was hard to choose just one book this week because I was just looking at my amazon wishlist and there are soooo many books on it that have yet to be published that I really really want. But I have managed to pick this week entry the rest will just have to wait.


The Lucky Kind - Alyssa Sheinmel.

Out on 10th May 2011.

High school junior Nick Brandt is intent on getting a girlfriend, and Eden Reiss is the one that he wants. He has exactly four semesters to get the girl, but when the phone rings on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday night, life for Nick and his parents will never be the same. What had been a seemingly idyllic home life has become something else entirely. But with this shake-up comes a newfound confidence for Nick; he's become a bolder version of himself, no longer afraid to question his parents, and no longer afraid to talk to Eden.

I really loved Alyssa's first book The Beautiful Between it was brilliant and if you haven't read it I highly recommend you do. I am hoping her second novel is going to be just as good.

That's all for now.

Five Flavours Of Dumb - Antony John

Five Flavours Of Dumb by Antony John.

The Challenge:
Piper has one month to get a paying gig for Dumb—the hottest new rock band in school.

The Deal:
If she does it, she'll become manager of the band and get her share of the profits, which she desperately needs since her parents raided her college fund.

The Catch:
Managing one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl who is ready to beat her up. And doing it all when she's deaf. With growing self-confidence, an unexpected romance, and a new understanding of her family's decision to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, Piper just may discover her own inner rock star.

This book sounds totally cute yes? Well if that's what you are thinking you would be right.
The easy way to tell how much I liked a book is how fast I read it. Usually the longer it takes the less I liked it and in this case I read it in one night so I think it's fair to say I liked it quite a bit.

Five Flavours of Dumb is a really easy read and pretty funny, I have never really dreamed about being in a band but it was great to read about one. I don't really know anything about hard rock so I was grateful for the history lesson and the info about Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.
However the band in this book is Dumb, and they are just starting out. It's is made up of five completely different members all of which Piper, our main character, is trying to manage. I found all the characters in this book unique and interesting each had a distinct personality and it was great to see them grow over the course of the book. Piper was the real heroine though she matured so much right before your eyes and she didn't let being deaf slow her down at all.

I haven’t read that many books with a main character who is deaf, it’s not that I don’t want to it’s just that I haven’t come across that many. But I did not find her deafness to be an issue. Although with the book being about music Piper being deaf was going to come up but I in no way found that it detracted from the story. The characters and the band were way to engrossing for that to happen. The book has a mix of parental issues, sibling issues, friend issues, job issues and relationship issues all rolled into one and while that may seem a lot all it all ended up making the book that much more real.

I would love to see a sequel to this book, I feel like we only got a little glimpse into the bands life when they were just getting started, it would be great to go on their journey with them. I would definitely recommend that you read this book.

I just took a look at Antony John's website and his next book sounds fantastic too I will definitely be getting it when it comes out.

The Hallelujah Book Tour

...in which sixteen-year-old Luke Dorsey tours Route 66 to promote his bestselling spiritual self-help guide. Accompanied by his agnostic older brother and a former crush (now enemy), Luke's about to discover that salvation sometimes comes from the most unlikely places.

Side note. I was just looking at Ally Carters website and it turns out she has a sequel to Heist Society coming out. It's called Uncommon Criminals and will be out June 21st 2011. I am beyond excited!

That's all for now.

I Just Won A Contest!

Sorry I just had to announce it on my blog.
I never win anything but today I have finally lost my unlucky streak!
The lovely Jessica over at http://jessheartsbooks.blogspot.com/
ran a contest in celebration of her 21st Birthday to win an ARC of either Delirium by Lauren Oliver or Matched by Ally Condie and I won Delirium.
I will definitely be reviewing Delirium when I have read it so look for it on the blog in the coming weeks.

Thanks again to Jess!

That's all for now.

Teaser Tuesday 3

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The idea is to:
Grab the book you are currently reading
Open it up to a random page
Share two Teaser sentences
Give the name and author of said book
And remember No Spoilers!

This week it's Nevermore by Kelly Creagh.

I have not gotten very far yet but from the description below doesn't it sound awesome!

"It made her skin prickle and the tiny hairs on her arms stand at attention. She drew to a halt on the steps and listened"

Page 95.

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

That's all for now.

White Cat - Holly Black

White Cat by Holly Black is the first book in her new Curse Workers series.

Cassel is cursed. Cursed by the memory of the fourteen year old girl he murdered. Life at school is a constant trial. Life at home even worse. No-one at home is ever going to forget that Cassel is a killer. No-one at home is ever going to forget that he isn't a magic worker. Cassel's family are one of the big five crime families in America. Ever since magic was prohibited in 1929 magic workers have been driven underground and into crime. And while people still need their touch, their curses, their magical killings, their transformations, times have been hard. His granddad has been driven to drink, his mother is in prison and his brothers detest him as the only one of their family who can't do magic. But there is a secret at the centre of Cassel's family and he's about to inherit it. It's terrifying and that's the truth. The White Cat is a stunning novel of a world changed by magic. In this world only 1% of the population can work magic but they have the power of nightmares.

So first off I have to say how much I loved this book. It was smart, funny and pretty brutal in places. I can’t say too much because it will totally ruin it for anyone who hasn’t read it. But it is definitely worth the read.

The main character, Cassel, is excellent. You have to admire someone who tries to do the right thing when the odds are really stacked against them but that is what he does. Cassel is pretty much treated badly by everyone around him, the worst treatment comes from his family. But he comes back fighting every time and handles things a lot better than I would in his situation.

The world the book is set in is very interesting, the concept of curse workers and different “gifts” is fascinating. In a perfect world those gifts would be a good thing but in reality they just get abused and exploited like everything else. The potential of these gifts is limitless and I would love to see more of the way they can be used.

Magic aside the crime aspect of the book itself was enough to keep me interested. Usually I find it hard to root for a character who is a criminal but Cassel was so easy to relate too. White Cat totally made me want to become a con artist myself. I did actually go through a phase when I was a kid of wanting to be a criminal and this book totally made me relive that dream.

The end of the book was very frustrating. I am not good with cliff-hangers even small ones like in White Cat. So I am really looking forward to the second book in the series, Red Glove, I can't wait to see what Cassel does next.

I thought it would make things a little more clearer and a little more simpler if I put the actual book description up when I review rather than me trying to summarise it myself and making a mess of it. We will see how it goes.

That's all for now.

In My Mailbox 3

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

My third IMM post - here we go.

Books I received this week.

In The Post:

My Last Duchess - Daisy Goodwin
A book being reviewed for the TV Book Club 2011. Sounded interesting.

The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans I bought this for a friend but I do own a copy and I read it along time ago. It made me cry so much that I vowed never to read it again.

The Demon Trappers: Forsaken - Jana Oliver Looks like another awesome book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

All Night Long - Jayne Ann Krentz One of my favourite authors and I am slowly (she has written soooo many books) trying to read her backlist.

Kindle:

Crown Duel - Sherwood Smith

One of my all time favourite books - had to get it on my kindle. I prefer the second part, Court Duel, the most.

The Shadow Project - Scott Mariani

Uprising (Vampire Federation) - Scott G. Mariani
Free on amazon.co.uk

See how is that for improvement. Hardly any books this week!

Finished reading White Cat by Holly Black now I just have to get on with writing the review. I am finding it hard to review it without giving away too many details of the book. It's one of those books that if you know too much of what is going to happen it could totally ruin it for you.

That's all for now.

Fatal Justice - Marie Force

This is the second book in Marie Force’s Fatal series. It follows Lieutenant Samantha Holland and Senator Nick Cappuano, their jobs, their friends and family and their relationship. Be warned there will be spoilers from the first book in this review.

Fatal Justice carries on from where the last book left off, so it’s probably a good idea to read the first book, Fatal Affair, before this one. Nick is now Senator taking on the role after his best friend, John O’Connor, the previous Senator was murdered and Sam has been promoted to Lieutenant. While not living together they are in a serious relationship and are trying to navigate all the complications that come with that. Nick is adjusting to being a Senator and Sam is juggling several difficult cases She has a murdered supreme court nominee who happens to be a friend of Nick and the O’Connor’s. And closer to home she has a murdered family that could be connected to the shooting of her father that took place several years ago.

There were many different story lines running through this book and apart from a few scenes involving different couples relationships it seemed to have one action sequence after the other. Which on one hand seemed a little over the top but on the other hand kept me reading so much that I finished it in one night.

We also got a little more focus on the secondary characters as they all interact with each other, which is what I hoped would happen after reading the first book. However it all seems a little fast as the book only covers a few days time wise and the developments in the relationships are going 100 miles an hour.

The murder mystery element was a little intense and far fetched but again I didn’t see the identity of the murderer until Sam figured it out in end so maybe far fetched is a good thing. The book involves several of Americas big political issues, namely abortion and homosexuality which adds an interesting twist. And the book did make me laugh out loud a few times with the absurdity of some of the situations the characters find themselves, but it didn’t pull me out of the story so I guess it works.

Overall I really liked this book. Not as much as I liked the first but it was very entertaining. I am definitely going to read the next books in this series when they come out later in the year.

Side note. I am currently reading White Cat by Holly Black and loving it. Review coming soon.

That’s all for now.

Booking Through Thursday 2

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme which asks a bookish question which you have to answer.

This weeks question is:

Even I read things other than books from time to time … like, Magazines! What magazines/journals do you read?

I don't read magazines or journals, I do skim read national and local newspapers once in a while but that's it. Back when I was in college and university I read Heat magazine religiously. Heat is a weekly celebrity/entertainment magazine, it used to come out every Tuesday so I used to trundle off when I had a free study period and get it. First I used to skim read it during the day and then properly cover to cover at night. I came to the realisation after about six years that maybe I was a little addicted to Heat magazine. I used to have a slight flip out when I couldn't get my hands on it immediately so I decided to give it up. Complete cold turkey, just stopped buying it, best decision I ever made. Looking back it was pretty much a waste of money anyway because you could get the info in the magazine off the internet. But still it hurt to give it up and I still stare longingly at it when I walk past the magazines in the shop. But on the brightside it gave me more time and money to spend on books.

That's all for now.

Waiting On Wednesday 2

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that highlights an upcoming book release that we are eagerly anticipating.






Tangled Threads - Jennifer Estep

Out on the 26th April 2011

This is the fourth book in the Elemental Assasins series and I cannot wait! If you haven't read the first three books in this series what are you waiting for, go read!

I'd rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings. But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson's front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn't shy away from my past--or my present. And right now I have a bull's eye on my forehead. Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there's a fifty-fifty chance one of us won't survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur--or die trying--because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too. The only problem is, Bria has no idea I'm her long-lost sibling ... or that I'm the murderer she's been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn't know just might get us both dead ...

Blurb from Fantastic Fiction.

Even more awesome is the fact that she has the first book in a young adult series, Mythos Academy, out this year. It's called Touch of Frost. Sounds good but it doesn't come out until July.

That's all for now.

Fatal Affair - Marie Force

I discovered Marie Force through a recommendation on amazon.com, I liked the sound of her books so I decided to download several of them on to my kindle. This is the second Marie Force novel that I have read, the first being Line of Scrimmage, which I read at the end of last year. The first book Line of Scrimmage was a straight contemporary romance where as Fatal Affair is the start of a new romantic suspense series.

Fatal Affair’s main character is Detective Sergeant Samantha Holland. Sam is assigned a case involving a murdered State Senator, John O‘Connor. Sam’s recent history with the metro police has not been good, she was involved in a shoot out that resulted in the death of a child so her career is now riding on this very high profile case. To complicate things even further Sam has a history with the murdered Senators Chief of Staff and best friend, Nick Cappuano. So while Sam and Nick try to solve the murder they also have to navigate the idea of starting a new relationship at the worst possible time.

I loved this book, it was fast, thrilling and pure escapism. Marie Force has managed to write the perfect balance of mystery and romance. There were lots of unexpected twists that I didn’t see coming. I can usually figure out who the murderer is but I didn’t in this book, there were way to many potential suspects.

Sam and Nick were both well written, well rounded characters and I like the fact that they have a previous history together. It made the story easier to get into and made me more invested in their relationship because it was obvious from the start that they had very good chemistry. I like the other characters in the book especially Sam’s partner Freddie and the Senator’s deputy chief of staff Christina. I hope the secondary characters story lines are developed in further books in this series. Another thing I really liked was the fact that the book was set in Washington DC, the political angle was very interesting, it makes me want to read more books that have this kind of setting.

I have already started the next book in the series, Fatal Justice, which is a continuation of Sam and Nick’s story. This series reminds me of one my all time favourite series the In Death books by J.D. Robb’s which also have the same main characters through out. If the Fatal series is even half as good as the In Death series I will be very happy.

I have just had a look at Marie Force’s website and it looks like she has another three books coming out in this series, two for later in the year and one early next year. Yay!

That’s all for now.

Teaser Tuesday 2

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The idea is to:
Grab the book you are currently reading
Open it up to a random page
Share two Teaser sentences
Give the name and author of said book
And remember No Spoilers!

No random page this week as I am reading it on my kindle and I don't want to lose my place. So a couple of sentences from the page I am on at the moment.

"I know you're dying to tell me what you think," Sam said as they crossed the 14th Street Bridge on the way back to Capitol Hill.
"I was told to be quiet."

Fatal Affair - Marie Force. Locations 4420-30.

So I managed to skip all the things I was going to read and went for this instead. I am going to get back to Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, I promise. But first I want to read the second book in this series - Fatal Justice. And then I really, really want to read White Cat by Holly Black. It's just sitting on my desk tormenting me, the second book Red Glove comes out in April and I want to have the first book read before then.

So many books, so little time.

That's all for now.

In My Mailbox 2

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

My second IMM post - here we go.

Books I received this week.

In The Post:

Sugar Creek - Toni Blake
The second book in the Destiny series. I have already read the first and hope to post a joint review when I have read this one.

The Espressologist - Kristina Springer
Been wanting this for a while and now I finally have it.

Harmonic Feedback - Tara Kelly

I've heard good things about this book and am looking forward to reading it.

The Second Betrayal - Cheyenne McCray

Second book in the Lexi Steele series, I hope she writes more.

Entangled - Cat Clarke

A book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

Another book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

And One Last Thing - Molly Harper

Got this shipped from America I think I may read this one next.

Kindle:

Room - Emma Donoghue
One of the books they are reviewing for the TV Book Club. I thought it was about time I read it.

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy Middlemarch - George Eliot I haven't read many classic novels which is crazy considering how many books I read, so I am trying to build up a collection on my Kindle. Hopefully this will make me more likely to read them.

Netgalley:

Queens of All the Earth - Hannah Sternberg
Everything I Was - Corrine Demas I love netgalley. It's my new favourite thing.

See not so crazy this week only seven real life books, three on kindle and two from netgalley. I am going to try for even less next week cause I am running out of floor space to stack them all.

That's all for now.

The Search - Nora Roberts

The Search by Nora Roberts is yet another re-read for me this year. I don't know why I am so keen to re-read so much at the moment but I do love it, but I'm sure I will get to some new books soon.

Nora Roberts is one of my all time favourite authors I am such a sucker for a nice romantic happy ending. Whenever I am in need of a good comfort read I pull out a Nora Roberts book. (I love the Eve and Roarke In Death books too which she writes as J.D. Robb.)

So as I said before this is the second time I have read this Nora Roberts book and I can't say it's my favourite but it does have it's own appeal.

The Search is about Fiona Bristow, a young woman who lives on an island on the coast of Washington State. She trains Search and Rescue dogs and has her own Search and Rescue team. Fiona is the sole survivor of a serial killer who is now in prison partly due to her actions in getting away from him. However from prison the serial killer she helped put away has groomed an apprentice who is now coming after her. Added to all this there is a new man in her life carpenter/artist Simon Doyle.

I didn't love this book like I have some of her others but it was very good. Nora Roberts books are so easy to read, she writes such great characters that you can't help wanting to know what happens to them. And while the whole ensemble cast is great Simon Doyle is the stand out character in the book, he is so blunt and rude that you can't help but love him. However some of the dialogue the author uses in the book is quite jarring, not very realistic at all. It almost pulls you out if the story but it only happens a couple of times so it's not really a big problem.

One of the greatest things about this book though is the dogs, I love dogs and I love books that include dogs and I found the whole Search and Rescue angle very interesting. It's good to know teams like that exist in the world. If only my dogs (two very big but very cute German Shepards) were as well trained as the dogs in this book.

If you are looking for an engaging, entertaining read this is the book for you. In fact a highly recommend any books by Nora Roberts in particular The Villa, Blue Smoke, Northern Lights and her In the Garden trilogy.

On a side note I had to go do my Emergency First Aid training course for work today so again not much time for reading. I did manage to finish The Search and write a quick review and I have also been working on my In My Mailbox for this week which I will post tomorrow. I don't know what I am going to read next. I will either go back to Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, start another of my netgalley books or start And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper. I can't decide, I will figure it out tomorrow after work.

That's all for now.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme which asks a bookish question which you have to answer.

This weeks question is:

Do you remember the first book you bought for yourself? Or the first book you checked out of the library? What was it and why did you choose it?

This is an impossible question for me. I barely remember what I read last week let alone what the first book I bought was. I started reading when I was about four. I am lucky enough to have a Mum who reads a lot so books were everywhere when I was growing up, my older sister and I had a massive collection of children's books and fairy tales. Every Saturday morning my Mum and I would go to our local library and check out some books. The limit back then was 14 so I used to max out my library card and then put extras on my Mum's as she only used to get six books. We would do this every week and when I got a bit older I would check out adult books on my Mum's card. It was quite a small library so I think I managed to read every children and young adult book they had.

In terms of buying books I didn't really get into that until I got my first job and actually had money to buy them - now I have way to many. But I do remember a time when I was about 14 going into one of those discount book shops and buying the first three Laurell K Hamilton Anita Blake books - I was totally obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and loved anything vampire related back then. I didn't actually get round to reading them until a few years later which in hindsight was probably a good thing.

My favourite author when I was growing up was Enid Blyton - I still have all her books, they live on a bookcase that is just for the books I read when I was younger. The first three Famous Five books in a special omnibus edition was definitely the first book I received as a gift The book is so worn out because I have read it so many times.

I know I didn't really answer the question but honestly my memory is not that good and it's the best I can do.

I think I may have hit my limit with memes for now, I think three a week is enough and I will try my very best to actually do them every week.

So going back to work has meant I haven't been reading as much. I am still in the middle of Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead but have taken a slight detour, I just started re-reading The Search by Nora Roberts. I don't know why but I've just been wanting to re-read it for a while now and last night I started it. It probably wasn't a good idea to read Shadow Kiss straight after Frostbite, I should have spread them out a bit. I will go back to Shadow Kiss when I finish The Search.

That's all for now.

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that highlights an upcoming book release that we are eagerly anticipating.


This is my first Waiting On Wednesday and my first pick is going to be Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales by Tamora Pierce. This is a collection of short stories about some old and some new characters set in the worlds she has has created in her other books. It is published on the 22nd of Frebruary 2011.

Let me explain. Tamora Pierce is one of my all time favourite authors and on a good day I would almost say she is my absolute favourite author. I have several copies of all her books and read them at least once a year. I was lucky enough to start reading her books when she had several completed series already out, namely her Song of the Lioness quartet and her Immortals quartet. But now as I have gotten older I have to wait a verrrrrrrry long time for her novels to be published. Seeing as I find the waiting excruciating (which is strange because in every other area except book releases I have more than enough patience) I have made myself wait until her latest series, Terrier, Bloodhound and Mastiff, have all been published before I read them. Mastiff has yet to be published. Now if you knew me you would know this is amazing self control, but I am afraid the long wait is really taking it's toll on me and my patience is wearing very thin. I have hidden Terrier and Bloodhound in my stacks somewhere and have made myself forget their location and I check all the time to see if Mastiff is up on amazon yet. (Just checked and nothing.) The Tamora Pierce website has a release date of November 2011 but the release date of Bloodhound was pushed back so I am not that hopeful.

The release of this short story collection however is a slight reprieve until Mastiff is released and might just tide me over without me hunting down Terrier and Bloodhound and devouring them.

So there you have it my first Waiting On Wednesday post. And yes I am as crazy as this post makes me seem.

That's all for now.

Frostbite - Richelle Mead

Frostbite is the second book in Richelle Meads Vampire Academy series. I read the first book on New Year’s Eve and I have to say it was a good start.

Now I imagine that a lot of people have read these books already but if you are one of the few who haven't here’s the gist. Our main character, Rose, is a dhampir, half human half vampire, all the good parts of being a vampire - strength, better senses, etc but none of the draw backs - blood lust, aversion to sunlight. She acts as the unofficial guardian to her Moroi best friend Lissa, unofficial as she is to young to legally be a guardian yet. Moroi are “good” vampires who do not kill when they feed and are quite weak as a result, they have elemental magic but do not use it offensively. The other kind of vampire in the series are the Strigoi “bad” vampires who kill when they feed and as a consequence gain benefits like strength.

The first book, Vampire Academy, was about Rose and Lissa’s return to the vampire boarding school after running away for two years. Rose believed Lissa was in danger and felt her only option was to leave. They are caught by another dhampir, Dimitri who later becomes Rose’s mentor, and are forced to come back.

Frostbite follows on from where Vampire Academy left off. There have been several Strigoi attacks and the academy has decided that it will be safer if the students and their families take their winter holiday in the same place, a private ski resort. Rose and her friends are caught up in a Strigoi attack and it has very serious consequences.

I find the characters in this series very likeable. Rose is an excellent main character very strong and independent however I do find her and her boyfriend issues quite annoying sometimes. Dimitri is awesome and absolutely perfect for Rose but it does not take a genius to figure out that their journey is not going to be an easy one. I liked Christian a lot in the first book and even more in the second, I find his attitude and sarcasm totally perfect. The only character I don’t like is Lissa and my dislike of her only grows. I find her quite selfish and irritating, I hope to find some redeeming qualities in her as the series progresses.

I found the first book too heavy on school politics, I figured that with the world they live in and the things they deal with that the students would be more mature than they were. But teenagers are teenagers and I suppose my expectations were to high. While Frostbite was not completely without high school drama - I mean how many potential boyfriends can one girl have - it has greatly improved. The setting has moved away from the academy so the focus has shifted off of the high school drama to the external threats they face. So now I have a whole new issue with this series, keeping in mind I have only read the first two and just started the third, and that is of the politics/rules of this hierarchy that has been created. The unwillingness of the Moroi to defend themselves, the assumptions made about the Strigoi and the position that the dhampirs are placed in and what is asked of them really bothered me in this book.

However the issues I have do not stop me from enjoying the books and I hope as the series goes on the problems I have with the hierarchy may be addressed. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

That’s all for now.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The idea is to:

Grab the book you are currently reading

Open it up to a random page

Share two Teaser sentences

Give the name and author of said book

And remember No Spoilers!

Seeing as I am new to the book blogging community I thought it would be great experience to participate in as many meme's as I can. Plus it's kinda fun.

"You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other."

Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead. Page 52.

On a side note, I am currently in the middle of writing my review of Frostbite - I think I am spending way to much time on the reviews, maybe they should be shorter. And I am also writing my review of Dead Is not an Option by Marlene Perez, I will be sending it to netgalley as soon as I am done but I won't be posting it on here until closer to the release date which is not until May.

Also I have to go back to work tomorrow after having time off to have my wisdom tooth out so less time for me to read and review which sucks but I will do the best I can.

That's all for now.

In My Mailbox 1

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

So here goes my first IMM post - I hope they don't all take as long as this one did.

Books I got this week.

In The Post:

Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead
Blood Promise - Richelle Mead
Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead
Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead
The last book of 2010 that I read was the first in the Vampire Academy series and I have to say it was a great start. I have already begun to read Frostbite, the second book in the series and I wanted to make sure I had the rest of them so there would be no waiting around if I wanted to read them all in one go.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride

I love the title of this book and the description sounds even better.

The Lady Most Likely...: A Novel In Three Parts - Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway
I like both Julia Quinn and Eloisa James historical romance so I am hoping this will be a good read.

Paranormalcy - Kiersten White
My first book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. Review already up.

My Love Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey
Out For Blood - Alyxandra Harvey
Blood Feud - Alyxandra Harvey
A vampire series recommended by Kristi from The Story Siren, looking forward to reading them.

Hexbound - Chloe Neill
I have the first novel in this series Firespell but I have yet to read it, hopefully having the second will give me an incentive.

Love And Other Impossible Pursuits - Ayelet Walman
This has been made into a movie staring Natalie Portman - I like to read the books before I see the movies - this usually means I am disappointed in the movies but oh well.

Kiki Strike: Inside The Shadow City - Kirsten Miller
Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb - Kirsten Miller
Looks like a cute series recommended by Leila from Bookshelves of Doom.

Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
I'm not really a werewolf person but loads of bloggers are recommending it so I'll give it a go.

You Against Me - Jenny Downham
I loved her previous book Before I Die so I hope this will be just as good.

Fall For Anything - Courtney Summers
I loved her first novel Cracked Up To Be. I have her second novel, Some Girls Are in my TBR pile and can't wait to read her third.

Nevermore - Kelly Creagh

Beautiful cover and it sounds like a great story.

Across The Universe - Beth Revis
My second book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. But I think I will wait until next month to read it as I have already read one for this month and I want to spread them out through out the year.

The Lonely Hearts Club - Elizabeth Eulberg
Elizabeth Eulberg has a new novel out called Prom and Prejudice that sounds really great - I love Pride and Prejudice and all things associated - but I figured I should read her first book first to see if I like her style.

My Soul To Take - Rachel Vincent

The start of a new series and another book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. Maybe March.

XVI - Julia Karr

A 2011 debut dystopian novel. I am not a fan of dystopian novels as they all seem to be about pretty bleak miserable futures but these books are everywhere now so I had better start giving some of them a go.

Angel's Blood - Nalini Singh

It seems that everyone loves Nalini Singh so I thought I would try one of her books.

Kindle:

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Julia Quinn
What Happens In London - Julia Quinn

Already have paperback copies but I wanted to re-read them on my Knidle.

Falling In Love With English Boys - Melissa Jensen

Read a review on the Hobbitsies blog and I couldn't resist.

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

One of my favourite books and I got it free on amazon.

Fatal Affair - Marie Force
Fatal Justice - Marie Force

Sounded like a good suspense series looking forward to reading them.

Wish - Alexandra Bullen

Free on amazon.

Moonlight - Rachel Hawthorne

Recommended by The Story Siren.

Netgalley:

I will be reviewing all the books I get from netgalley on my blog in the coming months.

I, Emma Freke - Elizabeth Atkinson
Dead Is Not An Option - Marlena Perez
The Vespertine - Saundra Mitchell
Always A Witch - Carolyn MacCullough
Whisper Falls - Toni Blake

Yeah OK I went a little overboard in the past few weeks it won't usually be like this but what with starting the new blog and getting my Kindle I just had to get a few books.

That's all for now.

Paranormalcy - Kiersten White

This is my first review for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren. I've wanted to read this book for ages as it was published in the US last year but I decied to wait for it to be published in the UK before getting a copy. I am glad I waited because it was a great book to start my very first challenge with. As the challenge suggests Paranormalcy is the first novel by Kiersten White and she has done a fantastic job.

Paranormalcy is the story of 16 year old Evie. Evie lives in a world of vampires, werewolves, faeries and other paranormal creatures. And while she is not one of these creatures she is something different, she just doesn’t know what yet. Evie, being an orphan, lives at the IPCA an international organisation that attempts to control the paranormal population. Although she is only 16 she also works for them as she has a special talent - she is the only known person who can see all other paranormals, she can see past their glamour to what they truly are. There is a problem however, paranormals are being murdered and the IPCA have no idea who is doing it. Luckily Evie meets Lend an interesting young man who is also, like Evie, unique and it’s up to them to figure out what is going on. Evie’s journey is an interesting, fun ride that I can’t wait to read more of. While the subject matter is quite dark the author manages to find a perfect balance that has you smiling in all the right places and on the edge of your seat in others.

From some of the reviews I had read of this book I got the impression that there was going to be some sort of love triangle involved which had initially put me off this book. I am glad to say however that this is not what you get - well so far at least as it is the first in a trilogy. There is a secondary love interest for Evie in the form of the faerie Reth - but he was so utterly and completely repulsive I didn’t take him as serious competition for Evie’s affection and I hope it stays that way.

I liked the fact that the romance between Evie and Lend felt like a teenage romance, sometimes YA books have a tendency to go to far to fast with characters relationships and can seem completely out of proportion with their age but this was not the case with Paranormalcy. The whole prom scene was very cute and one of my favourite parts of the book.

Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to any YA fantasy lover out there. I am very much looking forward to the other two books in this trilogy the first being Supernaturally which comes out later this year.

That's all for now.

Quick Update

I have finished reading Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge and am currently trying to write a review. As you have seen I have no practice at writing reviews and I am struggling a bit to find my groove so it is taking a little longer than I would like. I find it difficult to know what to include in terms of spoilers and how much to give away, I mean it's easy to say I loved/hated it because of X/Y/Z but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who may stumble over my review. Hopefully I will figure out a balance eventually.

I have also read One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake and when I have read the second novel in her Destiny series, Sugar Creek, I am going to post a quick review of them. This will lead me to my review of Whisper Falls, the third book in the series which I have recently received off of netgalley.

I have also been working on my In My Mailbox post which is taking far to long because I have bought far to many books but should hopefully be up tomorrow.

That's all for now.

I, Emma Freke - Elizabeth Atkinson

I recently joined netgalley where you can read and review upcoming or recently published books. I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson was the first book I have received from them courtesy of the Lerner Publishing Group. I requested this book because it sounded light and fun and I really wanted to read the story of a girl named Am A Freak.

I, Emma Freke is the story of a girl who feels that she does not fit in and her journey to try find a place where she does. Emma is very tall, very bright and has very few friends. This, she feels, makes her a freak. Her mother is completely hopeless and Emma pretty much has to fend for herself. This involves running her mothers shop almost single handedly, attempting to home school herself and most importantly going to a family reunion. The Freke family, her fathers family whom she has never met before, are not what I was expecting and I found the whole reunion very strange at first and then very funny when I finally realised what was going on. Whilst at the family reunion Emma finally finds what she has been looking for, she learns a few lessons about being herself and not letting it matter quite so much if you don’t fit in.

I am 26 and this is a book about a 12 year old, usually this would bother me because I don't really like reading books about characters this young but in this case I found myself enjoying the story so much that character age became irrelevant. Emma did not give the impression of being someone so young, she seemed much older I think due to her home life and the responsibilities she had. In fact I found that her mother and grandfather seemed to fit the role of children more than Emma did.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this novel was Emma's best friend Penelope she was cute, bright and completely fearless. In fact I liked Penelope so much that it would be great if she could have her own book, she had a very interesting back story and home life that would be good to see more of.

Overall I thought this was a great book with a great message for readers of all ages.

That's all for now.

What Happens In London - Julia Quinn

This is the second book in Julia Quinn's Bevelstoke Series and again a re-read for me (I told you in the first post I love to re-read). This book is the story of Lady Olivia Bevelstoke (the sister of the hero in The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever) and Sir Harry Valentine.


Harry and Olivia are neighbours, which is basically how they come to meet, Olivia spys on him through her window which looks in to Harry's study. Harry catches her and calls her it when eventually meet. They get to know each other through subsequent quirky meetings.

I like this book better than the first mostly because while at first Olivia and Harry disliked it each other, they soon came quickly to the conclusion that they love each other which makes it easier on the reader to root for them rather than be annoyed that they can't get their act together. The tension throughout the book was created by a third character - a Russian Prince and the mystery surrounding him. But most importantly this book was funny, serious books are just fine but sometimes you just want a book that makes you smile and this one does just that.

The third book in this series is called Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn and centers on Sebastian Grey the best friend of Harry Valentine. I hope to read this book sometime soon but I want to read my first book in the Debut Author Challenge which will be Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

What Happens In London is recommended to those who liked the first book in this series and to all historical romance lovers.

I am spending a little more time on my review of I, Emma Freke as I am sending it the publisher, through netgalley, as well as posting it here. But hopefully I should have it up soon.

That's all for now.

Quick Update

I was going to post my review of I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson yesterday but I had to go and have my wisdom tooth taken out after work so I didn't really have time. Feeling better now so hopefully I should have it up some time today. I am also going to try finishing What Happens in London by Julia Quinn and will post a quick review of that.
I received three books from netgalley on behalf of the lovely Houghton Mifflin Harcourt yesterday so they will be up next. I also got some awesome books in the post this week and a couple on my Kindle but I will reveal those in a special post on either Saturday or Sunday, haven't decided which yet, called In My Mailbox. Which was created by Kristi from The Story Siren with inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie - another of my favourite blogs. I always look forward to all the In My Mailbox posts in blog land as it gives me great ideas of what to buy next so I definitely going to join in.

That's all for now.