TITLE: White Night
AUTHOR: Jim Butcher
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 416
SERIES: 9th in the series
1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rites
7. Dead Beat
8. Proven Guilty
9. White Night
10. Small Favor
11. Welcome to the Jungle

REASON FOR READING: Come on I’ve read them all up to this one so I had to complete the series.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Professional wizard Harry Dresden is investigating a series of deaths in Chicago. Someone is killing practitioners of magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards. Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry's half-brother, Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling's name, Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and dearest, too...

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
We are back in Chicago with Harry picking up where he left off in the last one. Okay FINALLY we get a WHOLE book on Harry’s Half Brother Thomas whom I heart but not nearly as much as Harry himself!!! Not to mention the action was kicked up a notch. People from Harry’s past showed up to play and Lash became a main character! Well she sort of has been but she grew into a character I adored in this book.

Things I enjoyed:
-Uh duh Harry! He’s the best wizard EVER!!! *clears throat* Okay let’s be more specific. He is loyal, trusting, honest and well just wants the good guys to win even if that means getting his butt kicked. (Still sticking with this statement from the last 5 reviews)
-Okay like I said before we got to see more of Thomas and his interaction with Harry. Learning about him and what he’s been up to while hiding his secret (which was an excellent twist never saw that coming) was wonderful. Favorite scene was when the cops showed up at Thomas’ apartment and Harry acted like his gay lover LOL. OMG was ROTFLMAO seriously.
-I think this book had more humor in it that really offset the darker side of the story. Again this one is my favorite of the series because of Thomas.

Things I didn’t care for:
- There wasn’t much that I didn’t enjoy in this book. This one has been my favorite of the serious hands down

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it only b/c it was a library book and sadly enough I haven’t kept any of the series.

SCORE: 9 out of 10

Anything Else: You need to read the series to understand the complex nature of this book. Too many of the sub plots are taken from other stories in the series.

*******
100+ Book Challenge

45 / 100 books. 45% done!

TITLE: Rising Tides
AUTHOR: Nora Roberts
COPYRIGHT: 1998
TYPE: Romance
PAGES; 330
SERIES: Yep Book 2 in a 4 book series
1. Sea Swept
2. Rising Tides

REASON FOR READING: I enjoyed book 1 and really liked Ethan’s character so I had to read what happened to him.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Set on the windswept shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Nora Roberts's Rising Tides, the second book in the Quinn Brothers trilogy, continues the story of the lives and loves of adopted brothers Ethan, Cameron, and Philip Quinn. Eager to honor their father's dying wish that their other brother, Seth, be cared for, the three settle into life with a 10-year-old. Of all the brothers, it is Ethan who finds himself drawn to the young boy, because both suffered horrific abuse before being adopted by the Quinns. Time hasn't extinguished Ethan's pain, only buried it deep within his heart, a fact that may keep him from the only woman he has ever loved

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Ethan’s story is the one that I wanted to read the whole time I was reading Cam’s story. I really enjoyed how serious he was, how calm, and that he took his time before making a decision he appeared to be the kind of man you could like and respect. I also found that I was really interested in Grace’s story during book 1. She appeared to be the kind of woman I could be friends with and I just wanted to see her get a HEA. The book takes off a few months after the last one. Cam and Anna are married and on a honeymoon in Rome. Leaving Seth with Ethan which was good b/c Seth’s past was a WHOLE hell of a lot like Ethan’s the only difference was how far the abuse went. God what Ethan had to go through was horrible and I found myself crying with Grace while he told her. The shame and guilt he felt and the fact he believed he was tainted about broke my heart.
As far as Grace is concerned she is doing everything she can just to survive. She has a daughter with no father. Her own father cut her out of his life (but that was a mutual thing) she is working 2 jobs and trying to give her little girl the best life she can. She was exactly what Ethan needed.

Things I enjoyed:
-I really enjoyed that Ethan helped Seth come to terms with his shame and helped him to realize that he was still an okay kid even after what had happened to him. I really feel that Ethan is the reason that Seth started to connect with the family.
-I enjoyed Grace. Yes at times she was beyond stubborn but she figured out early in life you can’t count on anyone to take care of you but yourself and by God did she ever.
-Watching these two dance back and forth fighting their feelings, mis-reading each other and not talking would usually be a turn off for me. But in this case I really enjoyed it.

Things I didn’t care for:
-I didn’t care for the almost rape scene that happened at the bar and how Ethan reacted to. I thought it was a little out of character for him and didn’t do anything for the plot other than help Grace realize that maybe it is okay to ask for help.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it. It was a cute book but not a re-read for me.

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything Else: You really need to read book one in order to fully appreciate the situation with Seth and the brothers.
*******
100+ Book Challenge

47 / 100 books. 47% done!

2nd in a series

5 / 12 books. 42% done!

TITLE: Princess of the Midnight Ball
AUTHOR: Jessica Day George
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE: Romance
PAGES; 280
SERIES: You know I’m not sure

REASON FOR READING: The ladies over at the Book Smugglers reviewed it and it was one of my favorite fairy tales as a child so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.
Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George's take on the Grimms' tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
I really enjoyed the sisters and there interactions with each other. However, it did get old having 12 of them in a conversation LOL. Yeah that’s me hard to please. The author was very good at setting up the story and telling it in a way that stayed true to the original myth I remembered as a child but yet added some things I didn’t know like the knitting (or at least that I didn’t remember). Galen was an interesting character and I enjoyed learning more of the Under Stone part of the story.

Things I enjoyed:
-Galen he was not a young man to be messed with after fighting in the war as long as he did. He lost the only family he ever knew but yet still had a sunny outlook on life. He wasn’t one to sit and brood about it or turn into an ass about it either. I enjoyed that even after a hard life he still enjoyed living.
-As I mentioned above the author stuck to the original fairy tale but at the same time managed to bring it to life without altering it too much.

Things I didn’t care for:
- -I did enjoy the 12 sisters but at times it was almost too much

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it. It was a library book that was cute but not a re-read unless I have children.

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything Else: If you enjoy fairy tale remakes this one is pretty good.
*******
100+ Book Challenge

46 / 100 books. 46% done!

TITLE: Small Favor
AUTHOR: Jim Butcher
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 416
SERIES: 10th in the series
1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rites
7. Dead Beat
8. Proven Guilty
9. White Night
10. Small Favor
11. Welcome to the Jungle

REASON FOR READING: Come on I’ve read them all up to this one so I had to complete the series.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
The new novel in the New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series.

No one's tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she's calling in her marker. It's a small favor he can't refuse...one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills-and loyalties-to their very limits.

It figures. Everything was going too well to last...

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
So wow its been a while since I’ve read this book so give me a second to think about it more. I know that in this one Harry finally starts to slow down with life and then WHAM Mab comes back to claim a favor he owes her. Gentleman Johnny Marcone is taken and Harry can’t determine if this is a good thing or not. Before he can make up his mind Mab comes in and request her favor. In the meantime Harry has the 3 Brother’s Billy Goats chasing him. Michael doesn’t trust him, the Denarians are back and badder than ever and its going to take everything Harry possess to keep them from getting what they want.

Things I enjoyed:
-Uh duh Harry! He’s the best wizard EVER!!! *clears throat* Okay let’s be more specific. He is loyal, trusting, honest and well just wants the good guys to win even if that means getting his butt kicked. (Still sticking with this statement from the last 6 reviews plus he’s in my hut now!!!)
-This had a lot more action than the normal Harry books. Harry gets the ever loving crap beat out of him and yet still manages to use his brains in order to save the day and a little girl. All in a days work.
-I liked that Harry has actually got a reward this time in the form of a Warden which I think added to making me appreciate how much Harry is a real person.

Things I didn’t care for:
- I got tired of constantly getting the reminders of people. Most of the people picking up this book are going to know that the Blue Beetle isn’t really blue, that Thomas is Harry’s half brother and that Mouse is a gifted dog.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it only b/c it was a library book and sadly enough I haven’t kept any of the series.

SCORE: 9 out of 10

Anything Else: You need to read the series to understand the complex nature of this book. Too many of the sub plots are taken from other stories in the series.
*******
100+ Book Challenge

48 / 100 books. 48% done!

TITLE: Sea Swept
AUTHOR: Nora Roberts
COPYRIGHT: 1998
TYPE: Romance
PAGES; unsure
SERIES: 1st in the series
1. Sea Swept

REASON FOR READING: Well I’ve never read a Nora book before and this one came HIGHLY suggested so I figured why not

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Sea Swept tells the tale of three brothers--all former juvenile delinquents adopted by Raymond Quinn and his wife, Stella. Cameron, Ethan, and Philip are as different as can be, but they are bound by their love and respect for their adoptive father, who has recently passed away. On his deathbed he asks his sons to look after their most recent brother, 10-year-old Seth, who--if the rumors are to believed--just may be Ray's biological son. Of course, the brothers don't know anything about caring for the young boy, and if social worker Anna Spinelli has anything to say about it, they won't. However, the sparks that fly over the fate of Seth are nothing compared to the romantic sparks that fly between Anna and Cameron

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
For my first Nora book it was pretty good. I enjoyed the setting St. Christopher Bay. The brothers were different all from a horrible background and taken in by wonderful people who gave them a chance to better their lives. The only hiccup was the fact they were all BEAUTIFUL, GIFTED, RICH, Ect… and so forth including the women listed. That got old but I cancelled that out based on their horrible childhoods and made it work. The brothers are living their lives when it falls apart. The man they call Dad just died and left behind a kid just like them. Only this time Seth is left with scandal. The town believes that he is Ray’s son which of course the brother’s don’t believe. This book focuses on the eldest Cam who races boats for a living and his “heroine” Anna who happens to be Seth’s Social Worker.

Things I enjoyed:
-Anna she was very strong, she knew what she wanted and wouldn’t stop at anything to get it. Plus when Cam was being an ass she decided that yes it would hurt but she didn’t need him to survive. She is a heroine after my own heart and I really enjoyed her whipping Cam into shape.
-The plot was pretty good and watching Seth and the brothers come to terms with their life being flipped around was very sweet. I also liked that Seth and Cam liked each other but at the same time didn’t know how to take each other. It wasn’t like the brothers became a family all at once.
-Seeing how the brothers interact with each other was fantastic. Their fights and arguments were very believable.

Things I didn’t care for:
- Like I stated above the brothers were almost too perfect. They were all handsome, rich, well to do, had a great job, ect. It was a little too much
- I didn’t care for “Ray” making a ghost like appearance I thought that was a little silly. I guess it worked but something about it was off for me.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it. While it was cute it just wasn’t a re-read for me.

SCORE: 6 out of 10

Anything Else: I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fluffy and quick romance read.
*******
100+ Book Challenge

44 / 100 books. 44% done!

1st in a series Challenge

12 / 12 Books. 100% done! DONE BABY!!!!

Okay I finished my first Nora book. All and all pretty good. I liked the characters, and even though they appeared to all be "too perfect" (everyone of them was handsome, beautiful, good with kids, had the money, great personalities ect.) I still found that I liked them. Maybe it was due to them having such horrible backgrounds or whatnot.
I liked that our hero actually had to fight for our heroine and that she would have been fine without him. She was capable and able to move on even though it hurt (that was very nice.) I liked that he had to admit that Seth was growing on him and that he allowed him in.

All and all good like I said and yes for those of you curious I will be reading book 2 by her in this series b/c I'm just that curious. And if that holds my attention I will pick up book 3.

So what did you like about it? What were you favorite parts? and whose your fav brother?

Well I finally did it. I took the plunge and began my first Roberts book. And man am I sucked in or what. The sad part no idea why other than the lady knows how to write a novel that tugs at your heart. But I digress the reason this is important is A) I've never read Nora b/c I had a prejudice against her and B) I figured it was time to grow plus most of her novels (that I know of) are contempoary romance and I just don't care for them.

Okay so I started it today during my 12 hour shift and was like okay no biggie. Then WHAM she hit me with a plot twist and 3 brothers that I must know all about. Ethan has my heart as does his possible heroine so really looking forward to that story. Cam is a woman's version of a wet dream and Philip is the one I would marry simple for money. But the backstories will make you want to cry and smile.

Seth's story is the one that's breaking my heart. Watching him grow has been wonderful and I can't wait to see what he does with his brothers or how the story pans out. So needless to say my first experience so far with Nora has been a winner. Makes me wonder why I'm so against contemporaries (and am I even spelling them right?)

So what's your favorite Nora story? Did you have the same notions I had about her?

TITLE: Riding Wild
AUTHOR: Jaci Burton
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: Erotic Romance
PAGES; 288
SERIES: 1st in a series

REASON FOR READING: Christine and everyone was talking about the latest release so I thought I should join in and at least read the first one.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
He's a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She's a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen...

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact--and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Okay don’t hold this against me but to be honest I don’t care that much for erotic romance. Usually I can do okay with it when I am so engrossed with the story/plot that I forget about what I’m reading or the sex makes sense. So bare with me through this review b/c while I LOVED the plot and the sex was HAWT. I could’ve done without five or six of the sex scenes. I didn’t think they helped anything in fact a couple of them were just pointless to me (and only me so don’t flay me alive).

Things I enjoyed:
-I enjoyed that Lily was able to fully enjoy sex without any reservations. She knew what she enjoyed in bed and wasn’t scared to try anything new. In other words she wasn’t your typical I love sex but really I have no idea what I’m doing.
-I liked that Mac really did love Lily and always had but thought he wasn’t good enough for her. Those kind of heroes always make me swoon. He’s a bad boy that knows it and only wanted what he thought was the best for Lily.
-I liked that Mac came to realize that only Lily knows what’s good and what isn’t for Lily not him and that he was going to have to let her experience things on her own without being the over protective alpha that doesn’t budge.

Things I didn’t care for: -Like I said above I could’ve done without some of the sex scenes and ended up skimming through most of them (the superficial ones) once they came together as a couple it was perfect.
-Another thing was introducing us to all the guys. I understand for interaction sake it was important and to let us know who the future books were about this was important but still it just seemed unnecessary.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it b/c it was a library book. If I like the next one I might considering buying but I doubt it. I just don’t do long series anymore.

SCORE: 5 out of 10

Anything Else: If you like erotica this is a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it.

*******
100+ Book Challenge

42 / 100 books. 42% done!

1st in a series challenge

11 / 12 books. 92% done!

Yeah I just couldn't get into this one. I tried I really did especially with Lesley and Katiebabs telling me that it picked up towards the end. But I just couldn't accept that and couldn't wade through it.

This really upsets me b/c the whole plot SOUNDED so fantastic only to fall flat in my eyes b/c of the characters. I am beginning to realize just how important me being able to relate to the character is important. Even being able to relate on a basic level is important to me. Or hell even liking the characters is important but for some reason I just couldn't with this one.

Maybe I was just in a reading funk. How about you did you like it?

Didn't work for me this time. Not sure what it was, it was written the same way as the first but this time it just didn't stick. I found I didn't care what happened to Dante (he appeared to be more childish then before) I really didn't care about Heather which is sad b/c I really liked her as the main character in the first one.

Maybe it was all the new people being added in. Or the simple fact it was a month since I read the first one but for some reason or another this one just didn't stick with me. So it became 6th DNF's for this year.

Let me know what you thought? Should I have stuck with it? Did it pick up?

TITLE: Dead Beat
AUTHOR: Jim Butcher
COPYRIGHT: 2006
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 448
SERIES: 7th in the series
1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rites
7. Dead Beat
8. Proven Guilty
9. White Night
10. Small Favor
11. Welcome to the Jungle

REASON FOR READING: Come on I’ve read them all up to this one so I had to complete the series.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Filled with kickass adventure and supernatural fireworks, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels have been compared to Harry Potter. Now, Harry Dresden must save Chicago from black magic and necromancy-all in a day's work for the city's only professional wizard.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
We are back in Chicago with Harry picking up where he left off in the last one. His hand is still mess and not working, he still fears using his fire magic due to the accident. He has conflicting emotions regarding Murphy (She is going to Hawaii with Kincaid and it burns his ass) However, he doesn’t realize it until its too late. There were a couple of twist including Wardens and Harry for once seeing eye to eye. And the demon coin he touched has taken on a more active role.

Things I enjoyed:
-Uh duh Harry! He’s the best wizard EVER!!! *clears throat* Okay let’s be more specific. He is loyal, trusting, honest and well just wants the good guys to win even if that means getting his butt kicked. (Still sticking with this statement from the last review)
-The plot continued to move forward letting us get to see the Warden’s and the war. What the effects are for the most part this has been happening in the background but not in this book.
-Also Mr. Butcher is very good and interweaving plots from previous books and showing you that just b/c the book has ended some of the loose ends will be wrapped up in another story line. I really enjoy that.
-I also enjoyed the humor Harry has the best one liners ever.
- I enjoyed SUE and BOB’s role in this book (you will know what I’m talking about once you read the book)

Things I didn’t care for:
- Okay I didn’t care for Butters at all. He annoyed me and I seriously thought someone needed to shoot him or just run him off. He kind of made up for his cowardly ways toward the end but not enough to satisfy the urges.
- And the Warden twist was good but I didn’t like the whole bait and switch (again you will have to read it to understand what I am talking about.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it only b/c it was a library book and sadly enough I haven’t kept any of the series.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

Anything Else: You need to read the series to understand the complex nature of this book. Too many of the sub plots are taken from other stories in the series.
***********

100+ Book Challenge

40 / 100 books. 40% done!

TITLE: Silent in the Grave
AUTHOR: Deanna Raybourn
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: Mystery
PAGES; 512
SERIES: yes first in a series

REASON FOR READING: Everyone kept talking about it and hey I wanted to join in. Renee actually was the first to suggest it.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.
Determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This book takes place in Victoria England which was a selling point for me. Anything during that time period is interesting. Add in that its not your typical romance and I was hooked. The book is 1st person POV of Lady Julia Grey and it starts off immediately with her husbands death. A death she assumes is from natural causes b/c after all Edward had a bad heart. During her year of mourning she comes to believe that he might have been murdered. At first this book started off really slow for me. And there were a few times I was tempted to put it down. However, as the mystery became deeper and deeper I found I couldn’t put it down.

Things I enjoyed:
-While the book was slow we did learn a lot about Julia Grey and I enjoyed that. Watching her grow into the woman she always was but didn’t realize was an interesting sub-plot
- I liked the mystery behind Nicolas Brisbane he was a fascinating character that I enjoyed learning about. I had hoped that Nicolas and Julia might end up together but alas this is a mystery not a romance so that didn’t happen.
-The mystery itself wasn’t too complicated until the end when extra pieces that fit together were thrown in. Usually I don’t like this but it worked really good for this plot.

Things I didn’t care for:
-Like I stated before this book moves really slow so unless there is something there that holds you interest you have a long way to go before the mystery is solved. Sometimes that got a bit old and I found myself skimming parts.
-The March family was really odd while some of it made sense some of them made me want to pull my hair out.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? This is a library book. If I read the second and enjoy it I might consider buying the series. But for now it would be a pass

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything Else: This is a good first book and sets up the characters well
******
100+ Book Challenge

41 / 100 books. 41% done!

1st in a series Challenge

10 / 12 books. 83% done!

Okay just started In The Blood by Adrian Phoenix finally. Its been sitting in the library pile forever. And everyone warned me to read it as close to the first one as I could but since I Have this thing where I can't binge on an author or I burn out. I had to wait a few weeks.

Anywho starts off with a bang guys dead but have no idea who he is or if he was even in the first one. It doesn't sound like it but one can never be sure and since I don't own the first one I can't really go and check. Seeing how I'm only on page 6 and we have a death I would say that is a BANG effect no?

I'm still trying to think about the first one and if I remember enough to read this one but I guess we will see. I hate doing reviews where I give stuff away in the book but thinking that might be a better idea then what I'm doing b/c I can't remember half the things that happen LOL. Oh well as I read further I will give reports

WOW I still don't know what it is about this book that sucked me in. Maybe it was the story, or the characters or that it was in 1st person POV but something about this story sucked me and I didn't even realize it was doing it. I have to say the first half moved so slowly that I was a bit surprised I hadn't given it up yet. And then I realized by the last half that I couldn't give it up. But for reasons I don't yet understand.

Worse I just requested the next one in the series LOL I'm surprised and trying to decide if this is a wise decision or not. However, I will say if you like Victorian England and/or like mysterys you will enjoy this book. The first one sets up the characters and that might be why it moved so slow while the others hopefully should move faster.

The mystery was generally good I didn't know who did it until the end which is good and made sense. In a way I feel bad for Julia (I will not explain that yet) Formal review to follow on challenges site within the next week or so.

I just don't get why I am hooked on this series... Oh wait yes I do MAN I LOVE HARRY. And so not in the way oh: I want him, I need him, oh baby oh baby. But more in the way of OMG he so rocks!
This one started off with a bang and fizzled until recently. Part of my problem with the plot is the whole Charmed show. It reminds me too much of the one where Phobe's movie dream man comes to life b/c the killers are coming out of the screen and the Charmed ones have to protect everyone.
However, Jim does it better than the show but still I can't help waiting for Billy. Anywho... other than that interesting information was decided on Murphy finally which helped wrap up that idea. I was starting to wonder if we would ever discover what those two might do with each other *grin* and now I know.

I am going to wrap this one up this weekend the action is finally starting to kick in again and I want to know if Molly and her mother make up or if Michael survives. I'm sure he will but you know what they say about cats.
I think I only have 2 more after this one to catch up with the series *Gasp* I know me caught up with a series image that LOL

I don't know about this book. There is something that is keeping me reading and yet something is holding it back from being one of thos OMG this is the best books ever. I can't tell what either reasons are.
I am about 1/2 of the way through. The first part was rather slow for me it took a while to get around to the main point. Now don't get me wrong it starts off right off the bat with Lady Julia Grey's death but now we have gone a year (summed up) without anything and then BOOM she finds a letter that threatened her husband.
She ignored the PI that tried to tell her it might have been murder the year before but now she wants to find the killer after a year... I'm just not buying it I guess or maybe it's the character Lady Julia herself. She is a "I want to be normal, I long for it, but..." kind of gal and I understand a lot of it but something about her isn't sticking with me. Its not rubbing me raw but its just not making me want to learn more about her. I will say the only character I am even remotely interested in is the PI and only b/c I want to know why his "Headaches" are so bad and what they, Julia and him, would be like together.
I think so far the only question that has me hanging on is: Will they hook up? Will there be more action? Will she ever discover who she is? And is there really a murder plot here at all or are we just chasing straws...

TITLE: Lord of Misrule
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE: young adult
PAGES; 244
SERIES: yes book 5 in the series
1. Glass House
2. The Dead Girl’s Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus (not released yet.)

REASON FOR READING: I have read all of them and wanted to see what was happening with the series.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
The feast is over ... and the battle for Morganville has begun. Bishop's on one side, Amelie's on the other, and Claire's status as Amelie's most trusted human ally has just landed her on Morganville's Most Wanted list, along with all of her friends. As a bitter Texas storm bears down on the town, there's nowhere to hide ... from anything.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This takes off right where the last book left us. So we jumped right into the middle of the war. Knowing that its YA and all I didn’t expect some of the twist and turns that happened. It wasn’t anything too graphic but it was still different than I expected.

Things I enjoyed:
-Claire is starting to prove that she can handle herself and that being 17 isn’t going to stop her from getting what she wants
- Claire actually grew in this one she still had her teenage moments but she FINALLY had a couple of adult thoughts
-The group as a whole had to depend on each other a lot more which was a nice surprise.
-And the greatest surprise had to deal with Shane (I won’t ruin it) but man was it sweet.
-I REALLY Liked the ending and I can’t wait for book 6

Things I didn’t care for:
-There wasn’t a lot I didn’t care for. I still don’t like a lot of the vampires. And the storyline with the humans rising up against the vamps wasn’t the greatest.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping! It was a library book but I rushed out and bought it.

SCORE: 9 out of 10

Anything Else: This is a series you have to read in order or you will be lost.
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100+ Book Challenge

39 / 100 books. 39% done!

TITLE: A Woman’s Guide to Healing Heartbreak of Divorce
AUTHOR: Rose Sweet
COPYRIGHT: 2001
TYPE: Self Help
PAGES; 296
SERIES: nope

REASON FOR READING: I was looking for something to help me with my divorce

Summary : {From Goodreads}
It's not just grief that breaks a woman's heart. After divorce, residual feelings about the man you loved and the life you lost can lurk undetected for years. A Women's Guide to Healing the Heartbreak of Divorce can bring real recovery and genuine joy . . . in a heartbeat!

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This was a great book for those of us going through a divorce or even in my situation a year later trying to pick up the pieces. It is very God centered and Christian in its focus which really helped me to understand some different things in my life and to help me understand why things happened.

Things I enjoyed:
-I enjoyed the letters at the beginning of every chapter. Each one focused on what the chapter would be about and they were from God telling us he understands and will help.
- The chapters flowed in a nice order and were well written. This woman has been through a divorce so she understood where some of the emotions were coming from even when I couldn’t figure it out.
I did enjoy the ending prayer to help get through the day or week however, long you wanted to take to get through he book.


Things I didn’t care for:
-The only thing I didn’t care for were the chapters with children involved. I understand a lot of people that go through a divorce have children but I didn’t and it would have been nice to see a book for single with picking up the pieces without children or women like me who were in a relationship most of their 20s and have no idea how to date.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it has parts I would like to take a closer look at again.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

Anything Else: This is a very good book that focuses on building your relationship with God and trusting in him to help and heal you after your heartbreak.
***
100+ Book Challenge

38 / 100 books. 38% done!