Read and Reading

Raise those arms and steeeeerrrrreeeeetch! Feels good, no? Yeah I'm stretched out, relaxed from lap swimming and all caught up on my blog hopping. I feel so balanced and happy because I'm reading every day again. Right now I'm reading Jo Goodman's IF HIS KISS IS WICKED. Only 50 pages in and I'm hooked pretty good.

I have, however, surrendered to the fact that I now read more than one book at a time. It's snuck up on me little by little. GG just asked me the other night if this was the 3rd or 4th book I was partially through. He thinks I've put the books down because I didn't like them. Au contraire! I just see another book in my TBR and like a toddler with a short attention span pick it up and start reading.

Although I did read CARESSED BY ICE straight through. As previously mentioned that is one rockin' good book. Anyway I thought I'd do a quickie review of the other books I read over the Labor Day weekend and the books I'm currently reading.

MY IMMORTAL by Erin McCarthy. This is nothing like any of her other books. Damien du Bourg is in service to a demon for his "gift" of immortality. Marley Turner comes to New Orleans looking for her sister. This isn't one of her humorous tongue in cheek books. Straight up dark paranormal. I liked it very much and hope she keeps writing in this vein. As I've noted previously in reviews, I like when the characters are struggling with internal issues that make me examine moral issues in my own life. Good solid read.

DARK POSSESSION by Christine Feehan. Yes I bought it. Hardcover no less. I have to say this branch of the Carpathians who live in the rain forest are a bit intriguing to me. Ms Feehan certainly has pushed my curiousity buttons about the eldest of the DelaCruz brothers, Zacarias. This is the second eldest, Manolito's story. No real new ground broken here just another chapter and entry into the saga. At the very least this is a much better installment than the horrendous and plotless DARK CELEBRATION.

THE PRICE OF DESIRE by Leda Swann. Someone somewhere in the blogosphere mentioned liking Ms. Swann's erotic novels. So I gave this one a whirl. This was a very well done version of formerly wealthy young lady having only one thing to barter to keep she and her four siblings from starvation. No trite story here. Elements of realism, sorrow and heartbreak that go with leaving your respectability behind make this a cut above other books of this type. I will definitely be looking for other books by Ms. Swann.

FOR HER PLEASURE by Maya Banks. I'd read a couple of Ms. Banks ebooks. One I liked and one I didn't. While in reality this is one book it's broken into three parts almost giving it an anthology feel to it. This is a spicy read and I have mixed emotions about it. Some of it was very good and some of it not so much. Not a lot of depth here. What you see is what you get. If you are looking for a sexy romp with a bit of plot this is the book for you.

Here's the books I've started and haven't finished yet:

TANGLED UP IN YOU by Rachel Gibson

BREATHLESS by Laura Lee Guhrke

THE SERPENT PRINCE by Elizabeth Hoyt

THE DEVIL MAY CRY by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I don't have any particular problems with these books. In fact I was enjoying both BREATHLESS and THE SERPENT PRINCE but I just got distracted by another new shiny book. I've never had so many books started and in limbo before. New experience for me. I'm hoping to catch up and finish them over the next week. Then I'm feeling a hankering for some westerns coming on. I'll have to crack open my tub and see what I've got languishing for me to read. Seriously? I can hardly wait.

THE DREAM HUNTER by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Let me start this off by noting I've been a Sherrilyn Kenyon fan since she first started writing about Dark Hunters. While I can honestly admit that I've read some books in the series that stretched the premise a bit thin, by and large I have to say I've enjoyed these books...some more than others. I've also enjoyed the off shoot books about Were Hunters as well. Again, some more than others.

However, as more and more mythology seems to be creeping into the books I'm finding myself less and less interested. This is not a commentary on Ms. Kenyon's writing ability. This is about my own interest in a particular subject. Am I the only one who has to constantly remind myself who everyone is in the god families and how they are related to one another in these books? Ms. Kenyon does make references and leaves bread crumbs in each book reminding us of connections, but I still find myself getting confused and have sometimes found myself stopping my reading and going to her website to get sorted out. Sadly my knowledge of Greek mythology is so poor that I don't even know how much license Ms. Kenyon has taken with the actual facts.

THE DREAM HUNTER has a wonderful premise and I must admit I was anxious to give it a try. To have a flesh and blood man just show up when you've only known him in a very up close and personal way in your dreams would be pretty startling and freaky. I also thought it would make for a very interesting story premise.

Not only is Arikos a guy who walks through human dreams, he is a god. While the mixing of real life and those of the "gods" takes a leap it's no worse than the leap we take when reading about werewolves or vampires. However, I do think here that the real life characters accept the existence of these gods a little too readily. Even so, that wasn't my problem with this book. Frankly, I just felt mired down by all the mythology. While Ms. Kenyon made attempts with humor and character devices to teach us about the world of ancient Greece that she obviously loves and finds intriguing I was just not interested. I didn't feel it gave the story gravitas or progressed the plot in anyway. It seemed like a way for her to show off her knowledge and how she was cleverly weaving it into her story.

This isn't a bad book by a long stretch. I did finish it. I just felt disappointed and dissatisfied when I was done. I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the main characters in this book. Go figure...like that's never happened before. Those that like all things mythological and fantasy will probably love it. For me...not so much.

My Haul from the Bookstore

Ames posted a great review of DARK FEVER by Karen Marie Moning. While I'm a KMM fan I wasn't sure whether I wanted to buy this book in hardcover since it has the fae in it. For some reason the fantasy, fairy, elf world just doesn't appeal to me. But what with Ames' review and the excitement of Halloween and all the cute little kiddies dressed up I lost my mind and bought the book. Yeah it was actually part of my November book allowance and I put quite a dent in it last night with my purchases.

Here's the list:

DARK FEVER by Karen Marie Moning

PASSIONATE THIRST by Cameron Dean (new to me but somebody recommended her and I'm giving it a try)

KNIGHT OF DARKNESS by Kinley MacGregor (aka Sherrilyn Kenyon) This is a Lords of Avalon book. I have the other one in my TBR. But I didn't want to chance not having this if the first one is good.

THE RULES OF SEDUCTION by Madeline Hunter

CONSPIRACY GAME by Christine Feehan

VALLEY OF SILENCE by Nora Roberts (Book 3 in Circle Trilogy). I now have all 3 books and have yet to crack one. But now that I have them all, maybe it's time to give them a go.

I went to the store to get Kresley Cole's book NO REST FOR THE WICKED, but no such luck. I have to work again today, but I'll go looking for it again on Friday.

I just finished MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Maureen McKade. I'm so glad I found this author thanks to Wendy (Super Librarian). Ms. McKade has been a real find for me. This wasn't your typical mail order bride book seeing as how the groom was dead in a mining accident upon the bride's arrival. It was a good read.

Now I'm anxious to read Feehan's book as I've been enjoying her paranormal series and of course I'll probably read KMM's book right away too. I'll be too curious to leave it and it IS a hardcover after all.

So, what's everyone else reading?

Clang, Clang, Clang went the trolley...

Yeah, I don't know why I titled this post that...I was trying to think of something that would sum up the crazy busy I've been lately and that's what popped into my mind. Posting is going to be intermittent the rest of this month, June is just a beehive!!

Here's a couple of quickies about some books I've read.


Jory Strong - ROPING SAVANNAH I'm a big fan of Ms. Strong's books. They are usually fast paced and intense. She has a couple of different series going on. This particular book is part of the FALLON MATES series. It is futuristic and the least of my favorites. This book was only okay for me. I didn't really like Savannah that much. I couldn't figure out why these two guys would like her either...DNA matched mate or not. This book gets a 'MEH' from me.

The new Sherrilyn Kenyon - THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON which is her hard cover debut for the Dark Hunters I believe. Okay, I'm a fan and was soooo looking forward to this book. My biggest interest in this book was the information Ms. Kenyon gave us that progressed the Dark Hunter lore. Changing locations to Seattle did nothing for the story line, IMHO.

I was not invested in Ravyn or his story much at all. For such a hard ass who is supposed to be so mean and difficult to get along with he seemed pretty tame to me. He was a sort of "metro" DH if you will. This would have been okay, not all DH's have to be the same, but Ravyn just seemed sort of confused and without focus. I do have to say I am curious to read Nick's story, which has been set up with bits and pieces in three different books now and also, Savitar looks like he would make an interesting book. We already know he just kills the people who irritate him. How do you make that guy redeemable?

Lynn Viehl - DARK NEED. Now this book I loved! I couldn't put it down. While I must admit it took me the first couple of chapters to get reacquainted with the Darkyn world, I still enjoyed every page. I'm already a big fan of the series and I think this is the best book yet. I was hooked trying to figure Lucan out. We know he has a story, but Ms. Viehl, without frustrating the reader, slowly unveils his past as the current day story progresses.

There is a whole Darkyn world that has been created with these books which touches on the dark side of the Catholic Church. This book differs dramatically from the Kenyon book because we are not only interested in the progression of the story of the Darkyn kind, but get engrossed in this individual story of Samantha and Lucan. Ms. Viehl does well here with the characters creating in-depth people we care about. Both Samantha Brown, homicide cop and Lucan the Darkyn assassin are flawed, misunderstood, and lonely individuals. I found this to be a tightly written and compact story that moves briskly and takes for granted the reader's intelligence to keep up with the interwoven story lines and characters. I love that there is an overall continuing saga here while you can easily read each of the three books in the series as stand alones. Kudos, this is a standout book in an already interesting series. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Iris Johnsen - KILLER DREAMS This is another long-time favorite author. I've been reading her books since she wrote for Bantam and did little serial Loveswepts. Her books are somewhat formulaic but I just can't seem to resist them. I really like her writing voice. One of the other things I've always admired about her is that while she frequently has children in her books as pivotal characters she doesn't dumb down the conversation or the child's intelligence.

This particular story has to do with what would happen if sleep research and the power of the sleep therapist were corrupted to give "suggestions" to people while they are sleeping. Let me just say...some really bad stuff could happen! Duh!

I guess most people would call Ms. Johansen's books romantic suspense. That doesn't quite describe them to me because they always have that touch of mystery and espionage in them as well. Characters from previous books such as COUNTDOWN and the Eve Duncan books also appear in this novel. This is a hard cover, but large print and is a very quick read. I mention it because spending the money for a hardcover and getting a "quickie" sort of book may turn some people off.

While my work days have been long and busy, it's been nice to escape into a book and relax in the evenings. I'm looking forward to a summer filled with good books.