In Which I State the Obvious

So I'm halfway through February and I've read, and by read I mean finished to the end, half my chosen list already. Here's what I've learned:

• I don't care for Mario Acevedo's books. An acquaintance of mine told me she didn't like The Nymphos of Rocky Flats but I didn't listen since her idea of a tasty book is extreme horror. While this book wasn't "horrible," I didn't like Felix Gomez enough to keep reading. I also didn't like the habits of Mr. Acevedo's vamps, especially when eating: they pour blood on all their food. Pasta and beef would have a very red sauce for example. I guess I've become used to reading vampire stories where they feed off the hoof, so to speak, but the mental picture of regular food covered in blood bothered me. Sorry Mr. Acevedo, I really wanted to enjoy your books since I have two others to add to the first one in the "outbox."
•  I'm not sure why but I ended up with five books about vampires in my pile this month. Two of them were familiar; I had already read the first books in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series and Meljean Brook's Guardians series. The third one is mentioned above but the last two, they were pleasant surprises. Staked by J. F. Lewis and Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells were completely different takes on vamps. I plan to review these two a bit more closely later and I will be picking up Lewis's sequel, Revamped, from the library in the next few days.
• I finally finished the Nicola Cornick trio that I bought last year. I had never read a full-length book of hers before; she did a short story in an anthology that came out late '09 and had a reprint of a novella by Mary Balogh and introduced Courtney Milan, a new author whose first book I own but have yet to read. Cornick's trio focused on a village in Yorkshire, England in the 19th century. The local town squire decided that he would enforce some ye olde medieval laws so that he could rake in some moolah. The law gave him the authority to claim a substantial percentage of each eligible unmarried woman's money if they didn't get married by the end of the year. Thus, a new marriage mart was born, as were many headaches. This trio was about average for historical romances set in that period: Oversexed couples overcome heartache, pride, and social injustice (?) in order to find true love. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but not the best efforts I've read either. 
• I'm thinking that for next month's challenge I won't be picking random books but may go in a different direction (kinda) - choosing a few authors of whom I have several books or a series and finishing them. C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp's Tales of the Sazi series in one possibility as is Anne Bishop's Black Jewels. Those two suggestions came off of the first page of my inventory on LibraryThing so I know there's lots more to choose from :) Or, pick a genre and stick to it all month. Also, one of these months Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice may be on a list. I keep telling myself that I will read it someday. I'm probably the last woman in America that loves books that hasn't read it yet.
• I have a feeling that I won't be getting into Napoleon's Pyramids anytime soon - it just isn't holding my interest. Roxanne St. Claire is iffy too. Maybe I'll get through the others :) Just maybe...

P.S. I'm falling behind on my reviews again. Reminder: think about Staked and Red-Headed Stepchild and write down what pops. Do this for Kelly Meding's book and Deidre Knight's books as well.

One for the Money is finally going to be a movie?

And Katherine Heigl is supposed to be Stephanie Plum? REALLY? I think I'll be skipping this one or else I'll be kicked out of the movie theater for throwing popcorn at the screen and heckling the actors :) Stephanie Plum is one of my absolute favorite females in fiction and I don't think I could bear to watch what they are going to do to her on the big screen. I cringe when I wonder who they'll pick to play Morelli. Or Ranger. Or Grandma Mazur. :(

February Challenge Booklist

I have chosen eight books, plus two alternates to give me a little wiggle room :)

Demon Moon by Meljean Brook
No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole
Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Longing by Mary Balogh
The Confessions of a Duchess by Nicola Cornick
Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire
Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich
Staked by J. F. Lewis

Alternates:

The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo
Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

State of the Month

Officially, I'm going to call my experiment a failure (technical). I failed to read all the books on the list. However, I did get two extra Julia Spencer-Fleming books read as well as my two Marliss Moon books (these have staring at me for months). The Eyre Affair and Charmed to Death are going back on the shelf to be attempted again in the future. That all being said, I will be coming up with a new list of another eight books to be read in Feb. Eight books = two per week. That is definitely doable...I just need to choose more wisely this time around.

I discovered a fascinating new writer in C. L. Wilson and am looking forward to reading the other three books that have been published in her Tairen Soul quintet. Obviously, book five isn't out yet. I read somewhere that she'll be doing a new series, also about the Fey, so I'll definitely be looking out for that. Other new notables: Kim Lenox, Jeri Smith-Ready, Shirl Henke (what a surprise), and Helen Scott Taylor. I expect that I'll have a weak moment, break down, and go to the bookstore to buy The Phoenix Charm. I don't think I can wait!

Only one DNF in January - Lori Avocato's A Dose of Murder. I was so disappointed by this book and as a huge fan of Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum, I was astonished at what a lousy job the author did (Sorry) and how much of a rip-off it was of Stephanie. I didn't even get through fifty pages of this one. I had high hopes for it too.

I had a good run of Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick books for some reason. Ms. Krentz writes very good romances but I think I prefer her historicals under her Quick pseudonym. Her strength of writing intelligent yet vulnerable women with a sharp wit really seems to shine when she writes about 19th century England. I've got two more to go in my library.  

I'll be doing my usual separate post of the best book of January was but I want to mention A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh. Mary is one of my favorite authors and this book was short but so sweet, with a neat little twist I did not see coming. At all. This was one of only two A+ books in January but sadly, it won't win this month. When it comes out in paperback, I definitely plan to pick up a copy of this too short book.

So, not a bad run this time. I averaged a book/day and that's pretty good for me. Having a few days a month where I don't read at all and a few more where I read two or three a day seems to work for me. I do have a life, after all. No, really :)

Books Read in January 2010

By Starlight by Marliss Moon (B+)
Red Kiss by Deidre Knight (B+)
Red Fire by Deidre Knight (B)
Danger's Promise by Marliss Moon (B+)
Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods (B)
Ain't She Sweet? by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (B)
Lord of the Fading Lands by C. L. Wilson (A)
Intertwined by Gena Showalter (B-)
All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming (A)
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming (A)
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (A)
Night Falls Darkly by Kim Lenox (B+)
Covet by J. R. Ward (B+)
The First Rule by Robert Crais (A-)
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (C+)
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (B+)
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready (A!)
Yankee Earl by Shirl Henke (B+)
The River Knows by Amanda Quick (B)
A Dose of Murder by Lori Avocato (dnf)
All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz (B-)
Light in Shadow by Jayne Ann Krentz (B-)
The Paid Companion by Amanda Quick (A-)
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh (A+)
From the Mists of Wolf Creek by Rebecca Brandewyne (C-)
Sizzle by Julie Garwood (B+)
A Deal with the Devil by Liz Carlyle (B+)
The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor (B+)
Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier (A)
Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier (A-)
Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier (A)
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (A+)

Total: 31