Skin Trade: Laurell K. Hamilton

I have been reading the Anita Blake series since it came out and I haven’t been enjoying the series as much with the later books as I did in the beginning. The departure from the animator activities into the sex feeding has been a little over the top for me. I could take it if there was a balance “Work/Life Balance" so to speak. But that balance has been lacking in the last several books. I do enjoy erotica and the Meredith series is truly a guilty pleasure for me, but I also enjoyed the original up-tight Anita. If the series had started out sexual, I wouldn’t have an issue…. but I miss the tone of the first few books.

Skin Trade is less sexy than the latest few in the series (I think the first encounter is around past the halfway point). But it still has a way to go before it captures the magic that she created at the beginning. I do enjoy it when Anita and Edward interact, that was a great part of the book. But I could really take or leave the rest of it. Definitely a library book.

Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 2009
Format: Paper (Library)
Series: Anta Blake series book 17
Author Web Site: http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/
Reason for reading:
Rating: Ho Humm

Description (Amazon)
A proven series with a hot new look. The #1 bestselling author returns with her most anticipated novel yet.
When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City’s local authorities what they’re dealing with. Only it’s worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain—paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where’s she’s joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It’s a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses “tiger” too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.

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The Grand Finale: Janet Evanovich

The Grand Finale is a very light read, extremely light….think cotton candy. This book is a reprint of a Loveswept book from the 80’s and it maintains the feel of the romances in the 80’s. If you enjoy romances that are light and fluffy, you will enjoy this one.

Things enjoyed: I liked the old women that the main character befriended.  I would have liked to see more of them, they were amusing.

Things I didn’t enjoy:  I wish that this book had a bit more depth.

Reason for reading: I saw it on the shelf at my library and I picked it up for light reading.

Rating: Ho-Humm

Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: February 09 (this is a reprint of a Loveswept)
Format: Print
Genre: Romance
Series: No
Author Web Site: http://www.evanovich.com

Description (Amazon) 

Berry Knudson had a talent for disaster, but when she climbed a tree to rescue a kitten, she wasn’t prepared for the scrumptious hunk undressing in a nearby window, or her dive downward that smashed Jake Sawyer’s pizza and won his heart! But was there room in her chaotic schedule for a risk-taking inventor with dreams? She took classes, delivered pizzas, and cared for three eccentric old ladies she rescued from the train station. But Jake thrived on a challenge, and he could be very inventive. Could he teach her there was time to make butterscotch pudding and let herself be loved?

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White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7): Kim Harrison

This book wasn’t a great read for me, I finished it and I did consider it entertainment. But the overall read for me was Ho-Humm, I was glad that I got this book from the library instead of purchasing it.

Things enjoyed: I like the characters in the Hollows, and this was a change to get re-acquainted with them. The banshees are interesting characters, but we didn’t see enough of them.

Things I didn’t enjoy:  The lack of movement in the main character’s life bothered me. The reader doesn’t get a sense that she is developing as a character in this book. It feels like the same circumstances as the other books in the series. 

Reason for reading: I have read the others in the series.

Rating: Ho-Humm

Publisher: Eos
Publication Date: February 09
Format: Print
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Series: Yes – The Hollows
Author Web Site: http://www.kimharrison.net/

Description (Amazon)

Some wounds take time to heal . . . and some scars never fade.

Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, has taken her fair share of hits, and has broken lines she swore she would never cross. But when her lover was murdered, it left a deeper wound than Rachel ever imagined, and now she won’t rest until his death is solved . . . and avenged. Whatever the cost.

Yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when a new predator moves to the apex of the Inderlander food chain, Rachel’s past comes back to haunt her.

Literally.

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A Perfect Darkness: Jamie Rush

I requested A Perfect Darkness from my library after reading the sample on Kindle. The sample didn’t grab my attention enough to purchase the book, but the premise seemed interesting, so I thought this was a perfect library book.

I think that this book could have been great, but I could not get past a few things that bothered me.

The romance between the two main characters Lucas and Amy is not as developed as I would like. It seems too pat, almost effortless. I can understand when characters fall into bed, but this goes beyond that. I really would have liked to see more with their relationship.

I like the idea of the Offspring, but I think that all the Offspring characters need more development. The idea of heightened sexuality was introduced as an Offspring trait, but the reader does not see this as a consistent attribute for all of the Offspring characters.

I am not sure that I will continue with this series, the first book was really ho-humm. I may pick up the next at the library, but I would have to make a point to remember. As it stands, the series in not memorable for me.

Publisher: Avon

Format: Print

Publication Date: January 09

Description (Amazon)

They live ordinary lives, but they are extraordinary. They are the Offspring, children of a mysterious experiment gone awry—and they are in terrible danger.

A sexy stranger awakens Amy Shane in the dead of night. Lucas Vanderwyck barely has time to whisper a few words before three men burst into her bedroom and drag him away. But what Lucas reveals shatters Amy’s safe little world forever.

Lucas and Amy share a psychic gift—a gift that could put them in mortal danger. And as they share night after night of savage passion, as a shadowy government conspiracy tracks their every move, they will fight to save each other. But only with their powers of second sight can they escape the terror of a perfect darkness.

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Magic’s Design: Cat Adams

I wanted to love this book, really…. but that wasn’t what happened. I liked it ok, but I thought it could have been better. I liked the ideas that are presented, but I think that they could have been more developed.  I did like the concept of the book and I did finish it, but I don’t think that I’ll re-read it.

Description

They were destined to save the world from an ancient evil.

Talos is a magic wielder, born into the mage guild of firecrafters. As an agent of the Overworld Police, he has come from a secret land to protect Earth from magicians intent on enslaving humanity.

Mila has always had the gift of healing. But this very modern woman never realized that her skill was born of an ancient magic that only firecraft can fully unlock.

Together, Tal and Mila discover that the source of their powers is in unity. Love’s shining light might burn them alive protecting the magic of the world, but if the Tree of Life dies, and all the magic in the world is extinguished … will it matter?

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The Chaos Code: Justin Richards

The Chaos Code was an impulse buy for me, I needed a book to read while waiting in line for something or another. I wish that I had opted for a paperback instead of purchasing this hardcover.  I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as some of the other YA titles that I have read recently. I am not sure if I can identify what I didn’t like… It may have been the lag in the story in the middle or the information about the computers/programming (being a programmer, I tend to get a but picky about my technology in fiction).

I would have liked it better if I had purchased it in paperback.

 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Publication Date: October 2007
Format: Print

Description (Amazon)

Matt Stribling is stuck spending another vacation with his brilliant, yet scatterbrained archaeologist father. His dad’s house is often a mess, so when Matt arrives to find the place turned upside down and his father missing, he’s not immediately worried. But a cryptic message and some strange sandy footprints quickly persuade Matt that all is not right. With the help of some unusual family friends, Matt discovers that his father had been searching for an ancient code, one rumored to have brought down the Mayans, and maybe even the fabled civilization of Atlantis. Now in the hands of a madman using high tech computers to decipher it, the code is being readied for new and sinister uses. Matt and his friend, Robin, will traverse the globe, battling terrifying sand creatures and mercenaries alike in their efforts to stop the chaos code from being fully reactivated—and dooming the modern world to a catastrophe not seen since the days of Atlantis.

Rating: Ho-humm

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Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side: Beth Fantaskey

Hmm… not a favorite, but still entertaining. As I read the book, I found that I really didn’t care for the main characters. Jessica was a bit whiny and Lucius came of as an elitist pain in the butt.

The ending gave the book a dark and brooding romance feel. Simialr to the romances of the 80’s with the brutish wounded hero (almost Heathcliff, but not quite).

Product Description (Amazon)
The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .
Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess.
But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction

Amazon

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Author Web Site

http://bethfantaskey.com/

The Rogue Hunter: Lynsay Sands

Usually, I really like the Argeneau books but this one left me less than satisfied. The story never seemed to develop any steam, it just just chugging along at a steady pace. I was looking forward to the humor and smart fun that you see in the other books, but I was disappointed. I felt that the characters were just going through the motions, which is a shame.

Description (Amazon)

Samantha Willan is a workaholic lawyer. She’s grateful for some rest and relaxation in cottage country, and after a recent breakup she wants to stay as far away from romance as possible. Then she meets her irresistible new neighbor. There’s something strange and mysterious about his eyes. Is it just her imagination, or are they locked on her neck?

Garrett Mortimer is a rogue hunter. His last assignment united Lucian Argeneau with his lifemate, and Mortimer is hoping this one will be less . . . adventurous. He’s here to track down a reported rogue, but fun in the sun is every bloodsucker’s nightmare. Worse, he can’t seem to get his mind off Samantha, especially when he spies her skinny-dipping in the lake. After eight hundred years as a bachelor, is he ready to turn a volatile attraction into a lasting love affair?

FaeFever: Karen Marie Moning

I have read all of the books in the Fever series and Faevever (#3) was my least liked read, Darkfever (#1 ) was my favorite,  and Bloodfever (#2) was ok. I am not sure if I will continue with the series at this point. The story in #3 wasn’t what it could have been… I didn’t see the Mac character develop significantly, the relationships that Mac had been cultivating throughout the first two books didn’t evolve that much. I was hoping for a lot more in book #3.

I won’t even talk about the end. I did not care for it.

Description (Amazon)
The New York Times bestselling author of Darkfever and Bloodfever returns to Dublin’s Fae-infested shores in a bold, sensual new novel. Hurtling us into a realm of seduction and shadows, Karen Marie Moning tells the enthralling tale of a woman who explores the limits of her mysterious powers as she enters a world of ancient sorcery—and confronts an enemy more insidious than she could ever have imagined.
He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.
Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.
As All Hallows’ Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds—with devastating consequences.…

Websites:

Author: http://www.karenmoning.com/

Series: http://www.sidhe-seersinc.com/

Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3): Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini has created a wonderful fantasy world in the Inheritance series. I really enjoyed Eragon and thought that Eldest was good (if not a bit long).

When I finished Brisingr I was expecting a conclusion, maybe even a grand conclusion. The book is about 750 pages and it left me wanting the next in the series, but I am not sure that I want it for the right reasons. I think that I want it just have that grand conclusion, not because I am in love with the storyline. At the end of Eragon, I was in love with the story but not so much with Eldest and Brisinger. Now I just want the finale….

I think that the next in the series will be a library check-out, not a hardback purchase.

Description (Amazon)
OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.
Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his  dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

Author Website http://www.alagaesia.com/