Safe Harbor by Christine Feehan

Having read only the first book in this series, Magic in the Wind, this was the book I was looking forward to reading the most. Seeing how antagonistic Jonas and Hannah were to each other made me think that their book would be especially feisty. Not so much. I obviously forgot about Hannah's anxieties that make her a bit of a mess. And Jonas, well, he seemed to be descended directly from a caveman. The way he bullies and demands of Hannah got a bit old and it didn't really mesh for me that they took this long to finally admit their feelings to one another. I anticipated this to be cut more from the pages of an installment of one of Nora Roberts's trilogies. I haven't decided whether or not to pursue the other books in this series; Feehan's Game series is much more interesting. And I've only read the first one in her Dark series but I'm leaning toward regretting purchasing the first three books of it. So, this wasn't a bad read, not hard to follow since I didn't have a lot of the backstory that was made in between this one and the first but I'm not so excited about the following installments.

The Devil Inside by Jenna Black

Demons with a twist. Gay S&M. Exorcisms. This book was like a car crash - I just couldn't look away even though I wanted to. Morgan is an exorcist in a world where demons are legal. Humans can allow themselves to be possessed; they take a backseat to their lives while the demon they let in takes control. Not that this is a bad thing necessarily: demons have to behave or they get exorcised. To that end, many of them are productive members of society. They are cops, firefighters, etc. Morgan's brother is one of the possessed and she can't understand why anyone would willingly allow such a thing. What she doesn't know is that there is much more going on in her life that has to do with possession than she realizes and ends up working with Adam, a possessed gay man/demon; a demon cop who has a taste for torture. Much of this book turned me off but like I said before, I couldn't stop looking. And I'm looking forward to reading the next two books the first of which is out already.

Criminal Macabre by Steve Niles

Freaking awesome. What more is there to say? Lots, actually. Steve Niles is a horror writer best known for 30 Days of Night. Comics mostly but he took several of his graphic novels and turned them into a book of short stories about a private investigator named Cal McDonald. Cal is a mess. A former cop who was kicked off the force because he failed a drug test, he works cases that involve the supernatural. Oh, and he a drug addict. He hangs out with a ghoul named Mo'Lock who, for reasons unknown to Cal, keeps tabs on Cal and helps him out. These stories start out in D.C. but end up in L.A. Cal is a true anti-hero; he protects the people of the world from beings that, well, aren't very nice. The big head is one, a baby alien creature that eats everything and everyone is another along with teenagers who make deals with demons. Niles's writing is frank but funny. In fact, I found this stuff to be more amusing than scary (which was probably his intention). After I read this I found out my husband has been reading his comics for a while now so I have other material of his available in my own home. Yay me! Thanks to Lori from the library; she's the one who introduced us. Chick has great taste.

Stray by Rachel Vincent

I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of this one. I already had a copy of her second book, Rogue, courtesy of WalMart but I didn't want to read them out of order. Stray reminded me of Kelley Armstrong's Bitten on so many levels. The main character, a female were-something-or-other, is estranged from her pack by her choosing but gets sucked back in by a crisis. There's an ex-boyfriend left at home with a new one in her new life. She is a rarity in her were-life; Faythe (Stray) is one of only 8 females able to reproduce while Elena (Bitten) is the only female werewolf on the planet. Both Faythe and Elena are independent and headstrong. They'd have to be; leaving their families and familiarity behind is not something everybody could do. Especially since both of their families are depending on them for something that the males in their packs can't provide. The endings are similar as well. I liked this book and plan to read the next one I have and any others that come after.

Almost too much to keep track

Last night as I was describing the plot of a book by yet another new author I have recently picked up, my husband sighed and said, "I'm going to have to learn a whole new bunch of names aren't I?" My husband, dear man that he is, tries to keep up with whomever(?) I like to read. I guess it's not fair to him that I keep changing the names and all but oh well.

Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockmann

Love this woman. This was another touching and entertaining book from Suzanne Brockmann. Actually, I was more interested in what was happening with the members/staff of Troubleshooters Inc. than I was the players in the main plot (Izzy in particular) and now have to wait another 6+ months for a new Seal Team 16 book from her. Oh well, she's worth the wait.

Michael Phelps!

This would be one of those posts that have nothing to do with books (duh) but I have to say Congratulations Michael! It was just so awesome watching him make history last Saturday. I had no plans whatsoever to watch any Olympics coverage but I ended up hooked on Michael. And other swimmers too but mostly Michael Phelps. Maybe it's just that I live in Maryland that makes it so cool but watching the last relay he was in on that Saturday, my hands were shaking by the end. As my 3-year-old nephew would say, "Good idea!"

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

*SPOILER ALERT* Argh. I never thought she'd do it. I never thought Meyer would allow Bella to be turned into a vampire. Not only that, but she made Bella pregnant! I haven't finished this book yet; I started it the day it came out and have read probably two-thirds of it but I can't bring myself to finish it yet. I've read that it has a happy ending where everyone lives happily ever after. Literally. I'm so disappointed. I adored Twilight and liked New Moon but the last two books let me down. I have to admit that I was a member of Team Jacob; Edward became flat to me in New Moon. I was interested in the version of Twilight Meyer was working on in which the story is told from Edward's point of view but Jacob was so much more alive (pardon the pun) to me that Bella's loyalty and insistence of being with Edward really has annoyed me enough that I don't know that I would even bother reading it if it's ever published. I also have Meyer's The Host on my bookshelf, waiting to be read, but I don't have much enthusiasm for it right now.

Heart of Stone by C.E. Murphy

I liked this one. So much so that I was looking for a cheap copy of the next one online since my library doesn't have it. Margrit Knight is a lawyer who works for Legal Aid and is living in New York. She's black or mixed race and becomes well known in NYC after she wins a big case involving a woman in prison for the homicide of her abusive husband. Margrit discovers the existence of other races living in her world and becomes close with a gargoyle, of all things. Murder ensues. I enjoyed the idea of gargoyles flying around NYC; this is the first book I've read (I think) where gargoyles play a major part in the plot. There was one in Kim Harrison's last book but he was practically part of the scenery. Races in this book and their boundaries in society are very integral to Margrit's character. Too much so for my taste. I'm interested in what will happen with Margrit and Alban (the gargoyle) but I don't think I'll get that invested in their characters since their story will only last for three books total. The third one comes out next month.

Hot Ice by Cherry Adair

I learned about Cherry Adair through a book blog I read on a regular basis (thanks Booknerd!). Seeing the types of books she writes made me hopeful that I would like since she reminds me of Suzanne Brockmann; she reminds me of Tom Clancy on estrogen and Cherry Adair also fits in that category. Definitely my type of story. I'm still working on this one since I only started it last night and it is very promising. I'll hold off on writing about the plot and everything until after I've finished it but it makes me interested enough to be glad that I've already got another of her books on it's way to be via BookMooch. BTW here's the blog I like: http://booknerdsbrain.blogspot.com/

The Beginning of My Blog

To all you blog readers who have somehow landed here, welcome. The plan is this: keep a somewhat regular journal that covers what I read. Since I read lots of books I figured that keeping track and making some observations might be something fun to do. I'm sure I'll talk about other things too but books are a major part of my life so they'll be the emphasis. Not that I expect anyone to actually read this but still it would nice to feel like I'm contributing something other than my carbon footprint. :) Here we go...