Books Read in June '09

Nerds Like it Hot by Vicki Lewis Thompson (B+)
City of Dust by Steve Niles (B+)
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn (A)
The Love Affair of an English Lord by Jillian Hunter (B)
Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts (B+)
Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts (A-)
The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (B-)
The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow (B)
Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh (B+)
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (A)
Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie MacAlister (B+)
A Girl's Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister (C)
Next to Die by Marliss Melton (A-)
Stolen Magic by M. J. Putney (B-)
Bloody Good by Georgia Evans (B)
Wild Card by Lora Leigh (C)
Then Came Heaven by LaVyrle Spencer (A)
The Seduction of an English Scoundrel by Jillian Hunter (B)
Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros (A-)
Ashes of Midnight by Lara Adrian (A-)
Time to Run by Marliss Melton (B)
Ladies' Man by Suzanne Brockmann (B)
Body Language by Suzanne Brockmann (B)
The Kissing Game by Suzanne Brockmann (B+)
Freedom's Price by Suzanne Brockmann (B)
Forbidden by Suzanne Brockmann (B)
Kiss and Tell by Suzanne Brockmann (A-)
Leaving Normal by Stef Ann Holm (B+)
In the Dark by Marliss Melton (A-)
The Kiss of Fate by Mary Jo Putney (B+)
The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (B+)
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (A-)
Lucy Gets Her Life Back by Stef Ann Holm (B-)
Harbor Lights by Sherryl Woods (B+)
Flowers on Main by Sherryl Woods (B+)
Edge of Darkness by Cherry Adair (B+)
Edge of Fear by Cherry Adair (B)
Edge of Danger by Cherry Adair (B)
Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett (dnf)
Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr (A)
The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods (B)
A Belated Bride by Karen Hawkins (B+)
Forget Me Not by Marliss Melton (A)
Cry Mercy by Toni Andrews (B+)
Angel of Mercy by Toni Andrews (B+)
Beg For Mercy by Toni Andrews (B+)

(June total: 46, 2009 total: 225)

City of Dust by Steve Niles

What's not to love about Steve Niles's work? He's disturbing, funny, raw, etc. I had left the husband a note to make sure he orders this TPB and then I forgot all about it :) It arrived today and I quickly devoured it in one sitting.

Phillip Khrome is a cop in a world where religion and fiction is against the law. His own father is in prison for telling his son a fairy tale. Phillip should know, he put him there. Anyway, strange murders are happening in his city and to solve them he has to look at that which is against the law. Cryptic, I know, but this book isn't very long and telling much more would give it all away. I liked this graphic novel but would have enjoyed it even more if it had been in regular-type novel format. I felt that the ending came too quickly in the story without it being fleshed out enough. But what can I expect for a five issue miniseries. I want more, Steve Niles! Please :)

Slave to Sensation, Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

I have no words. There's nothing that I could write that would properly convey how good these two books are. They are an outstanding beginning to a series that is about to have its sixth book published. My biggest problem is that I want to know how I had never heard of Nalini Singh before I bought Angel's Blood? I'm fairly new to the blogosphere but I'm certainly no newbie to bookstores. So, in my effort to spread the word...Anybody reading this post who loves paranormal romances (or just good books), read these books!

NavySEALs series by Marliss Melton

Months ago, I took this book home from the library but ended not reading it. Not sure why exactly, guess I wasn't in the mood. Well, I brought it home again recently and this time I read it. I'm so glad I did - Melton is now one of my can't miss authors. Forget Me Not is the first in this trilogy. She continues with more SEAL books but the first three are all related.

Gabriel Renault has been dead to his wife, Helen, for one year. She was just starting to let Gabe go and move on with her life when she's notified that he's been found and is still very much alive. Here's the catch: he doesn't remember the last three years. That includes the year he spent in captivity and the two before, which includes their marriage. He doesn't remember his wife or stepdaughter at all. Gabriel has to come home to a home he doesn't remember, a wife and stepdaughter that he wasn't ever close to when he was married, and he has to figure out who betrayed him and tried to murder him and why he can't remember three years of his life. I loved this book; I generally enjoy a series about SEALs anyway but this one is almost as good as Brockmann's stuff.

This is book two (duh). It involves a subplot in the first book and continues through this one. The officer that masterminded Gabriel's capture is going to go free if Hannah Geary and SEAL Luther Lindstrom don't get the evidence Gabe needs. Someone else is also trying to kill Hannah, so Luther and Westy (he's the 3rd book) work to keep her safe and save their team leader at the same time. I liked Hannah and Luther and was really anticipating Westy's book after this one. It's almost as good as the first one.







Westy's books was a bit of a disappointment. I was so looking forward to this one because he seemed mysterious in the first two. I also had read the preview in the back of In the Dark; it was a scene where Westy offers Sara a ride to where she needs to go on his motorcycle. It was not in the actual book however, and I felt it would have helped. Anyway, here's the deal: Sara Garret is the wife of the JAG prosecution attorney who is trying to put away Gabe Renault. He's an abuser, and when he strangles his son's pet rabbit in front of him to teach him a lesson about playing his music too loud, Sara decides that it's time to leave. She approaches Westy, who's real name Chase McCafferty, to plead for help. It appears that the two of them have an almost relationship - they keep running into each other, especially when she needs help. (This is where a little more backstory showing their previous run-ins would've helped. I definitely would have been scratching my head if I hadn't read the missing preview.) Chase is leaving Virginia to head to Oklahoma to see the ranch that he inherited from his abusive stepfather and Sara begs him to take her and her son with him. And he does! He risks his military career on this woman that he supposedly barely knows and shortly after they leave he sees an Amber Alert on the tv, showing the boy he's "kidnapped." Awaiting them in Oklahoma are skinheads who want their guns back from Westy's dead stepfather so that their militia can shoot up a country club. You know, I liked Westy in the first two books as a background character but Ms. Melton didn't do him justice in this one. I'm not sure why she had to rewrite parts of it - that's the only conclusion I can come to since the book didn't match the preview. It does have a happy ending though. :)

Saturday, 20 June 2009

Well, it looks as if I'm on track to meeting what I read last month. When I look at all the books I read and think of all the hours I've been sitting on my butt reading, I get kinda sick. Don't get me wrong, I love my books, but for my health's sake alone it's alarming :)

The past few days though, I've been stuck to my DS, playing sudoku and doing crossword puzzles. I have Brain Age, that game that's supposed to make your brain more efficient or whatever; I did the tests today to determine my brain's age and it was 56! That's almost twice my actual age. Talk about alarming. It's not my fault if the stupid thing can't read my writing.

I'd like to say Hi to all my BookMooch friends who are bored enough to see what I've been reading lately. I've met some completely awesome people there who have introduced me to some awesome books. I really need to get busy reading Nalini Singh's psy-changeling series because Jane from MN has been kind enough to reserve books 2-5 for me and I would love to be caught up for the next one since it comes out in the beginning of July. Also, I've mooched a bunch of Susan Wiggs's books since I enjoyed Sherryl Woods's books so far (Thanks Barb!) and I love Robyn Carr's stuff and I figured they are in the same genre. Gotta keep those books coming since I'm now addicted to getting them in the mail :)

I'm writing this at 2 am since I can't sleep. I probably sound like I'm punchy and when I go to check my blog Saturday morning I'll end up deleting most of it so I don't embarrass myself. 'Night.

Then Came Heaven by LaVyrle Spencer

This was LaVyrle Spencer's last book, published in 1997. I love her books and I hope she's doing well in her retirement. Then Came Heaven has got to be one of her sweetest books. Eddie Olczak is in his thirties and his children aren't even in their teens when his wife is killed in an accident (she wasn't fast enough crossing train tracks) and he and his two daughters are shattered. His family lives in a small town in the upper midwest somewhere, a very catholic town that is mostly first and second generation polish immigrants. He is the janitor for his church; he rings the bells everyday, cleans the parochial school and basically does everything the nuns don't do. He feels especially close to one of the nuns, a thirty-year-old woman named Sister Regina. Sister Regina has begun to have doubts about her vocation as a nun and begins to have feelings for Eddie. What follows is a lovely yet interesting love story. Perfect ending to a wonderful career for Mrs. Spencer.

Bloody Good by Georgia Evans

I know nothing about this writer. This may the first book she's ever published and I know "Georgia Evans" is a pseudonym but I liked Bloody Good. The first in a trilogy set in WWII England, it's about a small village doctor and her family, neighbors and friends in their attempts to protect England from Nazi Germany via vampires. Yep, the Nazis have finally flipped their lids and decided to send vamps to the UK to sabotage England so that Germany can take over. It might have worked had the vamps not been so inept and ill-prepared. Fairies, pixies, dragons, witches and shapeshifters (i.e. weres of more than one persuasion) manage to save the day this time around. Book two, Bloody Awful, and book 3, Bloody Right, continue the story only with different points-of-view. The main characters in this one, Alice Doyle, the village doctor, and Peter Watson, a conscientious objector who is sent to be Alice's physician's assistant, are enjoyable and end up in a sweet romance together. Here's to hoping that book two isn't bloody awful :)

Books Read in May '09

A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr (A)
Welcome to Serenity by Sherryl Woods (B+)
Feels Like Family by Sherryl Woods (B+)
A Slice of Heaven by Sherryl Woods (A-)
Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods (A-)
My Nerdy Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson (C+)
The Nerd Who Loved Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson (B-)
For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper (B+)
Burning Alive: The Sentinel Wars, Book 1 by Shannon K. Butcher (B-)
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley (A)
The Very Thought of You by Lynn Kurland (A)
Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh (A-)
Loose Screws by Karen Templeton (A-)
All That Matters by Stef Ann Holm (A)
If You Deceive by Kresley Cole (B+)
If You Desire by Kresley Cole (A)
If You Dare by Kresley Cole (A)
Body of Evidence by Stella Cameron (C+)
The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks (B)
Beauty in Black by Nicole Byrd (B)
Widow in Scarlet by Nicole Byrd (B+)
Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks (B+)
The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh (B)
Much Obliged by Jessica Benson (B)
As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason (A)
When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason (A-)
The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason (A-)
An Offer From a Gentlemen by Julia Quinn (A)
Lord of Ice by Gaelen Foley (A)
Lord of Fire by Gaelen Foley (A)
The Duke by Gaelen Foley (A-)
Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder (A-)
Talk Nerdy To Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson (B+)
Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge (B+)
The Hellion by LaVyrle Spencer (B)
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (B)
Never Too Late by Robyn Carr (B+)
Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (B-)
Lover Avenged by J. R. Ward (A+)
Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason (A-)
The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason (A-)
Walk on the Wild Side by Christine Warren (B+)
Howl at the Moon by Christine Warren (C)
Small Town Girl by LaVyrle Spencer (A)
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer (A)
Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong (A)

(May total: 46, 2009 total: 179)