Book Bits

2011-06-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book surprisingly gave me a similar feeling to when I first read Twilight. I was quite disappointed when I got to the end and found that I wanted to read the next book, which apparently hasn't been written yet.

Gemma Flannery is a "circus kid" who has just lost her mother. Her circus family decides that the circus will remain in Eaglefern until Gemma, Junie, and Ash complete their senior year in the local public high school. There, Gemma meets Henry Dmitri whose father runs just about everything in the area, including financing the circus. From there, we begin a rollercoaster ride involving shades (aka ghosts), magic, good vs. evil, and first love. It is not a peaceful ride, and the ending is something of a cliffhanger. I hope that this series will continue.

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2009-12-04T21:42:00.001-06:00

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't help but hope that Stephenie Meyer will eventually complete this book. Basically, it is the first several chapters of Twilight, only told from Edward's point of view instead of Bella's. It is interesting to read of all the different ways he thought of killing her in the first moments after catching her scent, and even more interesting to read of how his love for Bella develops. I am just afraid that by the time Mrs. Meyer feels ready to complete this novel, the interest in the series will have faded.

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2009-11-28T18:58:00.001-06:00

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mariketa is a twenty-three year old witch competing in the Hie, a contest that immortals hold every two-hundred and fifty years. Bowen is a Lykae (werewolf) competing in the same contest. This book runs somewhat parallel to the previous book in this series No Rest for the Wicked. In that book, Kaderin, a Valkyrie, is competing in the same Hie with Sebastian Wroth, a vampire, as her main competition. Mariketa is a fierce competitor, but she has little control over her magic, plus she is disadvantaged by still being mortal going up against competitors who are all immortal and will heal from most mishaps. Bowen finds himself drawn to her, but he knows that she cannot possibly be his mate, since he lost his only mate nearly two hundred years ago. He strongly suspects that she has cast a spell on him to make him want her. He shuts her in a tomb with other immortals during the contest, fully expecting that she will be able to free herself. He is defeated in the final contest of the competition by Sebastian Wroth, and spends weeks trapped in fire caverns, growing ever weaker due to a spell that Mariketa cast on him as he closed her in the tomb, making him unable to heal from his wounds. If Mariketa is trapped in a tomb and Bowen is trapped in fire caverns, how will they ever work out their differences? Read this episode to find out. I did not feel as close to these characters as I have to others in the series.

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2009-11-22T18:33:00.001-06:00

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kaderin is on a mission to destroy yet another vampire, when she suddenly finds herself unable to make the killing stroke with her sword. Sebastian Wroth has been wishing for death for three hundred years until this moment - it seems that Kaderin is his Bride. He feels his heart beat for the first time since he was turned against his will. But Kaderin lives to kill vampires since the vampire horde killed her two sisters. How can she possibly be feeling an attraction to one of the race that murdered her family? How can she be feeling anything? After her sisters' deaths, Kaderin prayed for relief from the pain of their loss and received the blessing of having no feelings of any kind. Now suddenly, she is feeling again! How can these two possibly work out their differences? Read this romantic thriller to find out.

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2009-11-17T18:03:00.001-06:00

Covet by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story takes place in the same location as the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, Caldwell, New York. Marie_Terese Boudreau is working in The Iron Mask, the club that replaced the Reverend's club, that is owned and operated by Trez Latimer. She is deeply shamed by the job she must do to repay the debts she owes, but her young son makes it all worthwhile. Jim Heron is a construction worker, who isn't interested in becoming involved with anything or anyone, but who finds that life has other plans for him. Vin DiPietro is a wealthy contractor who has everything anyone could want and is about to become engaged to his gorgeous girlfriend, Devina. Adrian and Eddie are Jim's co-workers and drinking buddies - at least that is what Jim thinks. This story has many twists and turns, and you certainly won't expect what happens in the end.

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2009-11-14T19:10:00.001-06:00

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lachlain has been imprisoned in the catacombs beneath Paris for one hundred and fifty years, having the flesh burned from his body each time his immortality regenerates it. He is pulled from this torture by the scent of his one true mate on the streets of Paris and he is able to free himself to go in search of her. Lachlain is king of the Lykae (werewolves) and is appalled to find that the scent he followed led him to Emmaline, a vampire. As he convinces her to help him return to his home in Scotland, he realizes there is something different about Emmaline. He begins to doubt that she is truly his life mate. Emmaline just wants to get away from him and return to her aunts in New Orleans, but she is becoming weaker from not having fed in several days. Read this story to find out if these two can get past their differences.

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2009-11-12T20:06:00.001-06:00

Playing Easy to Get by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I bought this book because it has the beginning of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series as one of the three stories. The first story in the book, by Sherrilyn Kenyon, is a good basic romance, with no immortals involved. The second story, by Jaid Black, is a story of a race of Vikings who live beneath the earth, with bride-hunters who go above ground to steal eligible women to bring below and marry the Vikings and provide them with children. This one was interesting, with the Vikings seeming to have some immortality to them. I may read more of Jaid Black's work later on. The third story involves vampires and Valkyrie and how one of each came together after nearly destroying one another. This one left me wanting more and I continue on to A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole.

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2009-11-11T10:51:00.001-06:00

A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is 4 short stories about Sookie Stackhouse. Each gives just a taste of a Sookie Stackhouse adventure. If you enjoyed reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, you will enjoy these stories as well. They left me wanting more, but I will have to wait until next Spring for the next full length Sookie story.

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2009-10-30T20:40:00.001-05:00

The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Isabel Dalhousie is living with her lover, Jamie, along with their young son, Charlie. Once again, Isabel is drawn into the affairs of someone else, this time at the request of her acquaintance Minty Auchterlonie who draws her into an intrigue involving two other men. At the same time, Isabel's relationship with Jamie takes a giant step forward and Isabel finds that her niece, Cat, has once again become engaged to a totally unsuitable man. The relationship between Isabel and Jamie is very touching, and I continue to hope that eventually Isabel will turn away from interfering in the affairs of others and devote herself completely to her own little "family".

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2009-10-26T21:13:00.001-05:00

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jamie and Claire begin this story by attempting to return to Scotland, where Jamie plans to retrieve his printing press and return with it to America, where he plans to make an attempt at proving that "the pen is mightier than the sword". They plan to take young Ian with them to fulfill the promise that Jamie made to his sister and her husband that he would return their son to them. As usual, matters interfere with the best-laid plans and Jamie, Claire, and Ian find themselves embroiled in the Revolutionary War as it begins. Other strands of the story keep us abreast of Brianna, Roger, Jem, and young Mandy in the twentieth century, Lord John Grey and his attempts to keep his stepson, Willie, safe, and the way the stories intertwine with one another. I don't know if I can stand the likely 5 year wait before I find out what happens next. As usual, Diana Gabaldon leaves me wanting more!

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2009-10-26T21:01:00.000-05:00

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jamie and Claire continue their love story in this epic book about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Brianna, Roger, and their son Jem are living with Jamie and Claire on Fraser's Ridge. Claire succeeds in creating ether, enabling her to operate on a young boy with appendicitis successfully. Brianna uses phosphorus to make matches. Jamie becomes a colonel of the militia for the governor of North Carolina, while contemplating when he must make it clear that he is rebel, rather than loyalist. The "Frenchman's gold" makes a reappearance in an unexpected way and the house fire that Brianna came into the past to warn them about happens, but not in the way that anyone expects.

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2009-10-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In The Fiery Cross, Jamie and Claire continue to establish their home on Fraser's Ridge. Brianna and Roger, with their son Jemmy are part of their extended family, which continues to grow as Jamie adds more settlers to his mountain land. In this book, we see the beginnings of the strife that will eventually lead to the Revolutionary War.

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2009-09-15T20:50:00.001-05:00

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As Jamie and Claire begin to make a life in the mountains of North Carolina on Fraser's Ridge, circumstances conspire to bring not only Brianna, but also Roger Wakefield through the stones into the past in the hopes of saving the lives of Brianna's parents. How will Brianna find her mother and Jamie and will Roger find Brianna and make her his wife? This story was full of twists and turns over a road paved with love.

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2009-09-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Claire finds out that Jamie did survive Culloden and returns to the past to find him, leaving their daughter, Brianna, in the 20th century. Jamie is working as a printer in Edinburgh, while also smuggling on the side. Jamie and Claire return to Lallybroch to take Jamie's nephew Ian back to his parents, and encounter Laoghaire, who, it seems, is Jamie's wife as well. Claire leaves Lallybroch, planning to return to the future, when young Ian, the nephew, finds her and tells her that Laoghaire has shot Jamie and he is dying. Claire returns to save Jamie's life yet again, this time using skills that she gained training as a surgeon in the 20th century. This is just the beginning of the adventures that take Jamie and Claire from Lallybroch to France again, back to Scotland to take ship to Jamaica in search of young Ian who has been kidnapped. Where will this adventure take Jamie and Claire and will they still be together when it is over? Read this installment to find out.

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2009-08-21T19:57:00.001-05:00

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Rachel and Darcy have been best friends since elementary school and Darcy has planned a night out in celebration of Rachel's thirtieth birthday. Rachel has not achieved what she had hoped to achieve by the time she was thirty - no handsome loving husband, no children, no fabulous career. She is an attorney with a major New York City law firm, but she is miserable. Darcy is engaged to an incredible guy that Rachel introduced her to, has an exciting job in PR, and the kind of personality that makes her the center of attention everywhere she goes. Darcy has a little too much to drink at Rachel's party and goes home, leaving her fiance, Dex, to finish out the night with Rachel and take her home. After many more drinks, Rachel and Dex end up sleeping together. Will Rachel and Darcy's friendship survive this betrayal? Will Darcy and Dex's engagement end in heartache or marriage? Read this to find out.

Although I enjoyed this story, I don't plan to read the others in this series - it was a bit too much "Sex in the City" for me and I didn't find myself caring too much about the characters.

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2009-08-09T12:47:00.001-05:00

To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

I enjoyed Moning's The Dark Highlander, so I checked out the others in the series from the library, but I found that I just wasn't interested in what would happen and I was forcing myself to read just to say I finished. It is similar to the way I felt when I read Darkfever, which I did finish but didn't continue the series. I can't put my finger on what it is that loses my interest after I start these, but it seems to be the repetition of problem-solution-problem-solution without much exposition. I love a good romance and I have enjoyed reading about Highland warriors in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, but this one just didn't do it for me.

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2009-08-02T13:03:00.001-05:00

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Claire Randall and her husband Frank are spending some time in the Scottish highlands at a bed and breakfast, becoming reacquainted after a long separation necessitated by World War II. While exploring, Claire comes upon a stone circle which seems to be the meeting ground for a group of women. Returning later to the stone circle to find a plant she wanted a sample of, Claire finds herself drawn to the cleft in one stone. Suddenly, she finds herself thrown into chaos and when she recovers her senses, she believes that she is still in the same place. She finds herself in the midst of a squirmish between redcoats and Scotts in kilts and becomes aware that maybe she is not in the same place after all. She meets Jamie Fraser and begins a relationship that is unlike any she has ever known.

This book has everything - drama, romance, war, science fiction, fantasy, time travel - all twisted together in a masterful story that kept me turning the pages despite its length.

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2009-07-29T17:50:00.001-05:00

The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dageus MacKeltar has been cursed with thirteen evil souls in addition to his own since he violated the Compact and went through the stones to save the life of his twin brother Drustan. He has been living in New York City, searching ancient Celtic texts for a clue that will help him rid himself of the curse. Chloe Zander is sent by her boss at the Cloisters to take him a copy of text that Dageus hopes will hold the answer he needs. She is appalled that stranger will be allowed to touch and use one of the books that she holds precious, but when these two meet, sparks fly and nothing in Chloe's life will ever be the same. Can Chloe help Dageus defeat the darkness of his demons and win his love? Read this dramatic tale to find out.

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2009-07-25T16:25:00.001-05:00

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
MacKayla Lane is enjoying summer in Georgia, sunning herself by the pool, listening to music on her Ipod, waiting for her sister Alina to come from Ireland and her parents to come home from a cruise. She is as happy as she can be without her parents and her sister. Then comes the call that will change her life - her sister has been murdered in Dublin. MacKayla goes quickly from shock to anger when she sees that noone seems concerned that the murderer has not been caught. She decides to fly to Dublin and do everything she can to find out who killed her sister and see to it that the murderer is brought to justice. As soon as she arrives, strange things begin happening that will forever change not only MacKayla's view of the world, but her life itself. She finds herself plunged into the Fae world of Seelie and Unseelie, vampires, and nightmares brought to life. Will she find her sister's murderer or will she become just another victim?

After reading the sample of this book on my Kindle, I probably would not have purchased it, but it was free, so I downloaded it. It held my interest, but I really did not enjoy the story as much as others of the same genre. There seemed to be too much left unsaid about the characters that I would like to know about them. MacKayla's character was fairly well developed, but I don't feel like any of the other characters were. Of course, many of the characters didn't last long enough to get familiar with.

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2009-07-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Mikhail Dubrinsky has lived for centuries and has finally decided that he no longer wants to live an existence that is without meaning or love. He is so despondent that he plans to end his life by "meeting the sun". Raven Whitney hears his despair in her mind and calls out to him, startling him with her telepathic skills. Mikhail decides to put off his end until he discovers the women who is able to speak to him with her thoughts. When he meets Raven, he realizes that he has found his true lifemate. Raven is equally drawn to Mikhail, but she doesn't understand or trust the powerful attraction he has for her.

Although I was drawn into this story at the beginning, by the time I got halfway through the book and the characters had already made love multiple times and had each barely survived mortal wounds, I found myself less interested in their story. It seemed to go from disaster to disaster without developing the characters and relationships the way I would like. I finished the story and read the bonus selection at the end, but I likely will not read others in this series.

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2009-07-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7) by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rehvenge has been approached by a high-ranking member of the glymera who wants him to kill the king, Wrath, in order to accommodate a change in leadership among the vampires. In return, he is offered the role of leader, but his symphath side detects another agenda on the part of the aristocrat making the offer. Lash, son of the Omega, continues to plot and plan the end of the race of vampires. Ehlena, a nurse in Haver's clinic, takes on the task of caring for Rehvenge when he comes into the clinic for a refill of the dopamine that he uses to control his darker impulses, and finds him strangely compelling. All of the nurses in the clinic have always been afraid of Rehvenge, but she is the type that doesn't back down and when she sees the infection in his left arm, she insists that he have it seen to. Will she be able to get past his defenses to get him the help he needs? Will Rehvenge find a way to help Ehlena with her schizophrenic father? Read this episode of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to find out.

This is currently the last of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, but there is obviously more to the story, so hopefully more books will be forthcoming.

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2009-07-19T16:19:00.001-05:00

Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Phury has agreed to become Primale in place of Vishous and be father to a new generation of Brothers with the Chosen, but he is having problems with living up to his side of the bargain. He has brought Cormia, his First Mate, from the other side to the Brotherhood's mansion, but he has not mated with her because he feels that it would be against her will. Cormia has been staying to herself in her room except for meals, so Phury arranges for John Matthew to spend some time with her, hoping that they could be friends. John Matthew, for his part, is having problems of his own following his transition. His friends Qhuinn and Blay are as close as ever, but his former enemy Lash is back to cause problems. Will Phury consumate his union with Cormia and lay with the others of the Chosen as required by his station of Primale? Will Cormia return to the Other Side to be with the Chosen? Read this interesting chapter in the adventures of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to find those answers and many more.

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2009-07-17T21:51:00.001-05:00

Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Vishous is happy that his best friend Butch has finally hooked up with Marissa and that the two are happily mated, but he can't help but feel a sense of loss that he can no longer be as close to Butch as he once was. He is still necessary to Butch, though, since he is the one to draw the evil out after Butch inhales the lives of lessers. Vishous has never known love or kindness in his three hundred years of life, but in this story he finally discovers the identity of his birth mother, when she appears to him to tell him of his destiny. Unfortunately, he is so distraught by this revelation that he ends up with a gunshot wound to the chest while wandering on his own and he is taken to a human hospital where his surgeon, Jane Whitcomb, operates to save his life. What happens between Vishous and Jane, and Vishous and his mother makes for an exciting and interesting story.

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2009-07-15T23:14:00.001-05:00

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Butch O'Neal, former cop and current friend of the Brotherhood, has tried to get over his infatuation with Marissa, a vampire from an aristocratic family, with little success. The Brothers refuse to let him get involved with the fight against the Lessening Society as anything other than a sidekick. Unfortunately, the lessers are perfectly willing to use Butch when they capture him, hoping he will lead them to the Brotherhood. When the critically injured Butch is retrieved by the Brotherhood, he is taken to Haver's clinic to be healed. But there seems to be more to his injuries than the torture he has undergone - he has a black scar on his stomach. Marissa finds out that Butch is in the clinic and despite warnings to protect herself with a hazmat suit, she enters his room. Will Marissa be able to save Butch, or has she doomed herself by her contact with the evil that seems to surround him? Read this engrossing thriller to find out.

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2009-07-14T22:44:00.001-05:00

Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a novella telling the story of Zsadist and Bella as they struggle to find peace after the birth of their daughter. Zsadist is struggling with dreams of his captivity and sees his baby daughter in the cell with him. Bella is wondering if Zsadist still loves and wants her and if Zsadist will ever hold his daughter. This story fills in the gaps nicely between the end of Lover Awakened and its epilogue.

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2009-07-14T16:01:00.002-05:00

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Lover Eternal, Bella has been kidnapped by lesser Mr. O, who is holding her captive in a torture building operated by the Society of Lessers. Zsadist, his twin Phurry and the rest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood have been searching for her for weeks, but they are beginning to lose hope of finding her alive. Zsadist is the scarred and tortured member of the Brotherhood that Bella had been drawn to when she visited the training center with her friend Mary and the young man that she had recognized as a pre-transition vampire. Zsadist refused to have anything to do with Bella when she was there, but now refuses to stop until he finds her. Will Zsadist find Bella and if she is still alive will they be able to find a common ground? Read this fast-paced, thrilling romance to find out.

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2009-07-13T14:04:00.002-05:00

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