Book 56-Lover Mine by J. R. Ward

Ever have the issue where you want all the books in a series strictly in paperback or hardcover? One of my pet peeves is having a mismatched series of books. Anyone share my dilema? Anyone? Hmmm....

Lover Mine was a book that came out last year...but in hardcover. As all my J.R Ward novels are paperback I had to wait...and wait...and wait...for the paperback. I would check every month religiously for the release date. On November 30, I was at Indigo books with money in my hand and a smile on my face.

Love Mine is the 8th book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Dawn told me about the first book Dark Lover around the time we started our 100 book challenge for 2010. I think she has created a monster. I love the stories and characters (oh Vishous I STILL heart you!). Each book is about one of the members of the Blackdagger Brotherhood, and their journey to find thei one true shellan (word for wife in the books).

Lover Mine is the story of John Matthew, one of the newest members of the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) who after a sorted past came to be with the Brotherhood after being picked up by the brother Tohrment.

John Matthew has always loved Xhex, the tough, ass kicking "sympath" assassin working at a local club as head of security. Xhex is not interested in love, she is all business, but John turns her feelings upside down, even though she won't admit it.

After Xhex is kidnapped by the Lessers (enemies of the BDB and vampires in general), John fights to find her alive, or dead, and kill those that took her from him.

This is a story of love, revenge and retribution. I completely love Ward's novels. As I said Dawn has so created a monster with these books...I even love the language and slang they use ( I can see Dawn cringing here, she hates the BDB lingo). Yes, the lingo is a little tiresome...I mean you can only read the word "shitkickers" so many times, but hey, it gives the story a kind of life of it's own.

I am eagerly awaiting the next Ward novel in this series Lover Unchained...but that will probably be in hardcover...and then I'll have to wait another year...sigh...

Gonna put on my shitkickers and go Christmas shopping. Ya feel me? (sorry Dawn I HAD to, you know I LOVER these books!)

Hee hee... :)

Book 55 Subterranean by James Rollins

I was introduced to James Rollins by my BF Dawn. She is quite the fan of Mr. Rollins and in her future bestsellers circle has gotten some words of wisdom from him for her writing career.

Dawn introduced me to Mr. Rollins through the book "The Alter of Eden" which I thought was an amazing read. I absolutely loved this book, and now work to find books by James.

Anyway..on our yearly (sometimes semi annual) trip to Canmore Alberta, I discovered a copy of Subterranean at the used book sale for the public library there.

Actually I found a LOT more than Subterranean there, but that's another story....

So after struggling through Twisted Branch (book 54) I picked up Subterranean hoping to be swept away with Mr. Rollins literary finesse. Unfortunately, I was not that impressed....

Subterranean centers around a research team hired to explore caverns underneath the island of Antarctica. They venture into what they think is an unexplored set of caves, or what they think is an unexplored set of caves...little do they know the previous research team disappeared and has never been found.

Ok, so the best way I can describe this book is like a cross between Aliens and Indiana Jones. You have the action\adventure of Indiana Jones (alas, there's no chilled monkey brains), and sort of extraterrestrial creatures of Aliens.

There is one scene in the book where Ashley (one of the main characters) walks into a cavern and sees eggs all over the floor with a Mama monster in the background. I couldn't help but picture Ripley walking into the "egg room" in Aliens.

Don't get me wrong, the book was good, just not my thing.

I wanted to enjoy it, but really...didn't.

My next book was Lover Mine by J. R. Ward. I actually have already finished it (I should have done this blog entry a week ago), but with Christmas shopping, decorating etc. etc. I haven't found the time to sleep, nevermind blog.

I'm going to catch up I swear!

Book 54-Twisted Branch by Chris Blaine

When Dawn and I started this challenge of 100 books in 2010 we agreed that we would find new and exciting authors to read. My sister borrow this book from a friend, and lent it to me thinking it would be something that would interest me. Yeah...if I enjoyed watching paint dry or dust settle.

Twisted Branch is the story of Sam Ford, a History teacher for Jefferson Junior High. He is a respected teacher who enjoys his job and the kids he teaches..until a student accuses him of sexually molesting her. Sam is forced to run, and run he does, to the town of Cape May where the Abbadon Inn awaits.

The Abbadon in was built in the 1800's and is owned by the Mitchell, and Rachel Morrison who live there with their strange son Carl. Carl is unable to attend school in the town, as he is bullied and harassed by the other kids. Sam comes to the Inn looking for work, and the Mitchells hire him to teach their son.

Sam is penniless, and is forced into living in the Abbadon Inn to support himself, but soon finds out the Inn may not want him there. Strange noices, nasty smells and heating problems lead Sam to delve deeper in the history of the Inn and try to make sense of what is going on. It may cost him his sanity, or his life.

Sounds like a decent story huh? Yeah well I don't know how many times I almost put the book down, getting to tired of listening to Sam deal with issues in his love life, and personal doubts. The story completely dragged on, going no where, until about the last 70 pages. It was really quite disappointing. I had such high hopes for this book (so much so I went on to ebay and bought the next book in the series before reading this one).

I've probably gotten myself into trouble. As I have mentioned before, if I start a book in a series, I HAVE to finish the entire series...maybe I'll get lucky when I read the next one...and Chris Blaine's writing technique has improved dramatically.

Book 55 is Subterranean by James Rollins.

Till next time!

Book 53 Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Wow...it's taken me a few days to finally get around and doing this post...lets hope I remember what I read! LOL!

Book 53 was Beautiful Darkness which is the sequel to Beautiful Creatures, so unfortunately I can't tell you to much of the plot without spoiling some of the story before it, for those of you who have yet to read the story.

Beautiful Darkness is about the continuing story of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. These two met in the first novel, Ethan, the basketball star, and Lena, stranger to the town of Gatlin and neice of the town recluse Macon Ravenwood.

These two meet and fall in love, but it is strained due to their "differences" After suffering a tragic loss, Lena pulls away from Ethan, she says she is desperate to find her self. Ethan is having more visions of Lena and other strange people...he doesn't know who they are, but he has a feeling they are trying to tell him something about Lena. Ethan sets off to find her, and help her through whatever struggles she is going through.

Honestly I wasn't all that interested with Beautiful Creatures (the first novel) but I am a die hard for reading an entire series (even though I haven't finished the Harry Potter books yet. Tsk Tsk!), so I picked up Beautiful Darkness.

Again, this book wasn't a "hold you to the end" type of story, but it was engrossing enough to keep me turning the pages. Maybe it's just me?? I'm more of a "hack em up" type of girl, than a lovey dovey type of girl...Dawn you'd probably like these novels. They are more your groove :)

But! I am not regretting picking up this book, it was enjoyable, and answers some questions from the first book. It's kind of like making a puzzle and having a time when all the pieces are fitting into place.

What is different about this book is that it is told from the perspective of the main male character Ethan,which is definitely a change. It's nice to see an author stepping out of the usual female "oh my god I love him" garbage in novels. Definitely a breath of fresh air on the fiction front.

The next book I am reading is called Twisted Branch by Chris Blaine. I've never heard of him before (this book was lent to me by my sister, who borrowed it from a friend) but I am going to step out of my usual author scope and try someone new! I THINK the story is kind of like a ghost story with blood. EXACTLY what I like!

Till next time!

Book 52-The Cellar by A. J. Whitten

My BF Dawn, always one to give me leads on good reading, directed me to the website www.netgalley.com. This website allows people to request advance reader copies of unpublished (or yet to be published) books. While scanning the provided titles, I can across a YA novel called The Cellar by A. J. Whitten. The tagline reads "Romeo and Juliet with Zombies", can we say my interest was peaked with this words??? Oh Hell Yeah! So I sent the request to the publisher to read the book, and waited about a day until it sent it to me to view. Alas, they only sent it to me in PDF form, so I was unable to load it into my Kobo (I tried, honestly I did). So I was stuck at my computer reading this novel. This idea didn't sit well with me, but I figured I would tough it out. The whole premise of the book was something I definitely wanted to experience, so I sat at my computer and turned the first page...

Right from the first chapter I was sucked into the story, it wraps around you like a proverbial boa constrictor that holds you in it's clutches and squeezes. until you almost can't breathe. I remember after the first few chapters, I was sitting at my computer, and I was honestly dieing to have a bath, you know, relax and just let the day go...but I couldn't leave the computer and this book!

The story focuses on Meredith and Heather Willis, two sisters trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, after their father is killed in a car accident. The two of them struggle with their feelings and are usually arguing with each other, until the house next door which has stood empty for some time is finally purchased by the St. Germains.

Adrian St. Germain has taken the school by storm, every girl is fawning all over him, and wants him to notice her...almost every girl...not Meredith. Meredith finds Adrian cute, but something is eating at her (no pun intended) that says Adrian is not what he seems. Could it be his strange recluse mother? The strange hallucinations she's having? Or the fact she swears she saw "something" behind his ever present sunglasses, which he wears even at night.

Meredith knows something is strange, and when her sister starts to go out with Adrian, she knows she has to come between their "love" to save not only her sisters life, but her own as well.

I am absolutely in love with A.J. Whitten! This book had it all! Gore, emotional trauma, revenge, and of course a love story. It was a fiction smorgasborg! A fictionasborg? Sorry, I'm a little tired :P

Now I am on a crazed hunt to find their other book, The Well, it sounds just as amazing as The Cellar!

Till next time!

Book 51: Henry VIII: Wolfman by A.E. Moorat

Walking through the local Chapters bookstore with my BF Dawn I happened upon this book and was instantly reaching for it. I have always been fascinated by the story of Henry VIII,his wifes and their untimely end via the executioners axe (anyone want to start singing "I'm Henry the 8th I am??) This book followed the history of Henry fairly well, but added in quite a bit of fictional accounts to make it not read like a high school history assignment.

Many authors are jumping on the "historical fiction"bandwagon. From "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, they are all giving us a different taste of the history most of us already know. They are enjoyable, gory and often humorous accounts of what we have all been told in textbooks.

Henry VIII: Wolfman took some time to get rolling, I struggled a bit getting into the story. Although after forcing myself to continue to read, I was pleasantly surprised. The book moves along at a good pace, that keeps the reader interested enough to keep picking up the book and turning those pages (after about the half way mark, anyway).

I found it strange how the book was not all that intriguing in the first half, but after that I couldn't put the book down, it literally "drew me in" giving me a different look at a King that we have all been told was ruthless and heartless. I know this is a work of fiction, but you can't help but empathize for Henry who is struggling with his change, and the impending war with the Wolfen. Didn't you all read in your high school textbooks how in the 1500's werewolves were running rampant in England?? No?!?!

Anyway, if you do enjoy history with a bit of a twist, pick this one up.

My to be read pile has grown...after a book sale in Edmonton with the Public Library, and the Canmore Public Library book sale..I think I am drowning in books. My husband is going to kick me and my books out of the house soon...as we have no where to live!

Well no, not seriously, but the pages are starting to cause a bit of a space issue...I REALLY need my out library.

Till next time!

Book 50-Absolution by Dawn Ius

This book is another novel that has not been released yet to the public, but I am giving you all a little peek at this book written by my best friend Dawn.

Now I read this book when it was still in the "works" and thought it was amazing then. After some feedback from her agent and editors, Dawn had to make some changes. I was pretty upset with the changes (basically taking out all the gore and good stuff), but after reading this "new and improved" version I am pleasantly surprised.

I find the book so much better without the gore, and violence (GASP! Can't believe I am saying that!), it seems to flow better and is more complete...if that makes any sense :)

The book is a story about Cait, a reporter, who is forced to quit her job after her car is blown up by Nico, the person who she is doing a report on. Nico is a private investigator to the stars and Cait knows he isn't working between the lines of the law.

Cait is offered a job with Skeptic magazine. This job sends her to Italy to do a story on the Nivola, a ceremony in the Catholic Church where a Bishop retrieves a nail from the crucifixion of Jesus, and it is said to grant miracles. Many people have witnessed this ceremony and attest to the miracles. One lady was cured of cancer, another got pregnant after trying for seven years. Cait's job is to find two sides of the story, believers and non believers, but someone has a different plan for Cait...and it has nothing to do with her writing about the Nivola.

Father Amadeo Duretti on the eve of the Nivola ceremony, is forced to listed to Nico Pasquali's "confession". Nico is Amadeo's brother in law, and Amadeo is forced to decide which is more important to him, his love for his sister, or his love for his God.

All of the characters stories wind together into a "miracle" of a story, that moves at a solid pace, and keeps the reader enthralled.

Dawns use of description in the book really gives you a good view of what the city of Milan looks and feels like. You can almost feel the air whisper through your hair, see the greatness of the Duomo, and smell Nico's cigars.

When this one hits the shelves I definitely recommend picking it up. For those of you who are into the psychological thriller genre it is definitely a keeper. And I'm not saying this because she is my BF, I'm saying this because I REALLY enjoyed this book!

Watch out world! My buddy Dawn is coming to the fiction world! Future New York Times bestseller here!

Book 49-Rusty Nail by J.A. Konrath

I've said it many times on this blog...I love J.A. Konrath, and with every book I read by him I love his characters and writing style more and more.

Rusty Nail is the third book in the Jack Daniels mysteries. This one takes place after the events of Bloody Mary. Jacks mother is in the hospital suffering from a coma, Latham, Jacks beau has left her, and her cat Mr. Friskers is running amok in her home as usual. Jack is trying to keep her personal, and professional life together when a video tape shows up at her work.

The video shows a woman tied to a chair, naked. The woman struggles against her binds, but then a person walks slightly into view, and slices her throat. Jack is struggling to figure out why this video seems very, very familiar....

This story was one of the better Daniels novels. The story line really shows how much of a kick ass cop Jack is, but also how she is a sensitive and caring individual. I love how Konrath can take Jack from a sarcastic smart ass (reminds me of myself) to a dead serious police officer working to get the job done. She is able to dish the butt kicking out, but also able to take some beats as well. I totally respect (and love) her character.

Reading the kill scenes in this book made me smile. The killer is one twisted S.O.B. who enjoys peeling the skin off his victims while they are alive, cutting a small hole in the stomach and feeding intestines to the victim (Choo, Choo here comes the train!), and other wonderfully gorey death scenes filled this book. Konrath definitely has a knack for describing the gore factor in words, he does an absolutely "fandibulous" job.

Finally we have the humor. All the Jack Daniels books have a nice mixture of intensity, gore, romance, and laughs. I actually caught myself laughing out loud as some of the crazy things the characters say and do...I loved Harry with the midgets! To know what I am talking about, go pick up the first book in the series, Whiskey Sour, and get to know Jack. You won't be disappointed.

I was planning on reading the next book in the Daniels series "Dirty Martini". I want to catch up on the series as I have been given a copy of "Shaken" the newest book in the series via email by Joe Konrath (It was a surprise to all of us who pre-reviewed Draculas. Thank you Joe!) but my BF Dawn just read what sounds like an amazing YA novel called "Under My Skin". It sounds really good! If you want, check it out on her blog, it tells you about the book! http://dawn-ius.blogspot.com/2010/10/book-49-under-my-skin.html

Dirty Martini, or Under my Skin...decisions, decisions...

Book 48-Draculas by J.A Konrath, Blake Crouch,Jeff Strand and F. Paul Wilson

Wow...that's all I have to say. Wow! This book was freaking amazing!!! An absolute smorgasbord of blood, guts and all out mayhem. What a change from the usual horror novel writing.

Draculas was the effort of 4 horror novelists: My personal favorite J.A Konrath, along Jeff Strand, Blake Crouch and F. Paul Wilson. These 4 put together create a masterpiece of a vampire book. We aren't in Forks Washington anymore people, there are no sparkly vampires here. No! We are in the Blessed Crucifixion hospital, where it all begins.

Mortimer Moorecook, a retired wall street tycoon, is dieing of cancer. He is a millionaire with money to spare, and he hears of a strange skull found in a Romanian farmers field. The skull has baffled researchers and the rumor is that it is a vampire skull. Mortimer is trying to beat death, and pays millions to have the skull shipped to him. He hires Shanna an anthropologist to look at the skull and tell him if it is in fact a vampire skull.

The day comes that Mortimers investment comes to his home via Fed Ex. Shanna and him are looking at the skull and trying to figure out if it is a fake. Mortimer takes the skull and clamps it on his neck...and all freaking hell breaks loose.

The book doesn't have all that much in depth to it. It's not going to give you some life long lesson to live by (besides stay the heck away from people with REALLY big sharp teeth), but it will churn your guts, and make you wince. The introduction states "If you are easily disturbed, have a weak stomach, or are prone to nightmares, stop reading right now. There are no sexy teen hearthrobs herein"

You have been warned.

Now come on, who wouldn't want to read a book with those words in the introduction?!?!

I can't say enough about how super the gore factor is in this book. It's is all about the blood, brain matter, balloon animals made out of intestines (SWWEEET!!) and an 8 month old fetus chewing it's way out of it's mothers belly (I will say it again SWWEEET!!!).

You can download the first few chapter here via amazon: http://www.amazon.com/DRACULAS-Chapters-Upcoming-Release-ebook/dp/B0042ANZBU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC&s=digital-text&qid=1286642937&sr=1-2. This is a teaser trailer for the book. Or you can purchase the entire book (which I so recommend) here: http://www.amazon.com/DRACULAS-Novel-Terror-ebook/dp/B0042AMD2M

If you haven't been made all "froofy poofy" by nice vampires like Edward Cullen, and can handle a whole lot of blood and guts (or if you're like me and relish in it) then Draculas is the book for you to read. I can see it becoming a classic in vampire literature.

Here's to you J.A Konrath, Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand and F. Paul Wilson!!! You have brought the scare factor back to the vampire!

I have no idea what my next book will be...I think I'm going to sit and wallow in the greatness of Draculas.

Book 47-The Hearts Filthy Lesson by Sheldon L'Henaff

Ok first of all I have to say this book is by a co-worker friend of mine. Sheldon is part of the team where I work here in Edmonton Ab. He has been working on his writing career for a few years now and published his first novel "Drowned World" a year or so ago.

The books he writes are not my usual literature choice, but to be a supportive friend I am always asking him if he has anything new...and I have to admit his books interest me. Yes they are works of fiction, but they have such a "real life" kind of aspect to them, that you can't help but continue to read.

The Hearts Filthy Lesson is a book about two best friends Dutch and Eli. They are both homosexual young men working in the call centre of Go! Credit. The story reads basically like a month in the life of these two. The good, the bad, and yes...the very ugly.

Dutch and Eli are two individuals that are an unlikely pair, kind of like oil and water. Eli is an absolute dirt bag, having sex with anything that moves pretty much, and living on meth, cocaine, and ketamine. The best words I can use for Eli are "morally bankrupt" as one of the characters in the book state. Eli, doesn't care what he does, or who he hurts as long as he is satisfied both sexually and personally. Dutch is a quiet individual who also is addicted to ketamine, cocaine and meth, but he is able to hold himself together, and is a decent human being, but he is in love with Eli.

I don't know what drew me to not stop reading this book. I couldn't put it down. I told Sheldon it must have been morbid curiosity (there are quite a few gay sex scenes in the book) or maybe it was just my NEED to see something really NASTY happen to Eli. Honestly you can't help but hate the guy, and really feel for Dutch.

This book has not been released as of yet, but I recommend everyone to go and pick it up (unless you suffer from homophobia), it really is an enjoyable read.

My next book will be Draculas by J.A Konrath. I am just dieing to get home from work so I can download it!

Book 46-Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

The blog "Reading Teens"rave review of Beautiful Creatures gave me the push to pick up this book on my Kobo. I had seen the book many times at the bookstore, Wal Mart and the grocery store and always thought "Damn I need to pick that up, it looks good." So after reading the review on Reading Teen, I decided I would venture to Wal Mart to pick the book up. Alas, there we no copies..which really ticked me off, as I had been there 20 times before and had seen it! So I turned to the Kobo store, where they are never out of stock! :)

Beautiful Creatures takes place in the small town of Gatlin, Texas where everything is the same day in and day out. Until, Lena Duchannes, niece of the town recluse, comes to live. Everyone is against her, and finds her weird, with her crazy clothes, and strange jewelry. But Ethan Wate is having dreams about Lena where she is calling to him to save her. He sees her hand pass by him, as they both fall into an abyss. After these dreams Ethan feels a need to "know" Lena and figure out the truth of why he is dreaming about her.

This book has a nice supernatural twist to it, that has broken away from the usual vampire craze. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE vampires (c'mon who can resist Damon Salvatore?), but this book brought in witchcraft, incubuses, and other otherworldly delights. The book really didn't appeal to me at the beginning, but as you read you are sucked into the town of Gatlin, and are forced to root for Lena and Ethan in their quest.

The second book in the series (I have always been a sucker for the series) Beautiful Darkness comes out very soon, and I think it will be the next one for my Kobo.

Book 45-Linger By Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is the second book of Maggie Stiefvaters series dealing with teen life and werewolves. This book was an intriguing read with a slow and steady pace in the writing. The writing was enough to keep you interested, but not overwhelm you. I actually found myself wanting to read this book...I just had to know what was happening with Sam and Grace, the two main characters in the story.

I really can't tell you to much about this story as it is a series, and if I say to much it will not only spoil this book, but the first one as well! All I can tell you is Grace is getting sick, and only Sam can help her, but everyone is against the relationship they have created.

I am not a lover of teen urban fantasy, but I do find I am becoming a slight fan (who doesn't love a vampire or a werewolf, when they're portrayed as amazingly hot males??). It's nice to break away from the usual blood and guts I wallow in, to sit back and take it easy with a simple read that can really pull at your heartstrings (almost cried at the end of this one).

I am now reading Beautiful Creatures, which was recommended by the authors of the Reading Teen blog (which I follow as I have teens and young readers in the house. Plus it gives me some good reads for the future).

Till next time!

Book 44-Wicked Lovely Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely was a suggestion from my BF Dawn who absolutely loved the book. Me, I enjoyed the book, but I am not a faery fanatic so it took quite a while to give me the push to continue to read.

Wicked Lovely introduces you to Aislinn who sees faeries. Not the pretty kind you see in artwork but dark, and sometimes nasty faeries. She lives with the rules provided by her Grams (who also sees faerys) #3 Don't stare at invisible faeries #2 Don't speak to invisible faeries and #1 Don't ever attract their attention. Aislinn follows these rules to the letter, until Keenan shows up.

Keenan is the future Summer King, who is looking for his Queen. Keenan has been searching for centuries for the one girl who will break the Winter Queen, Beira's curse over faerykind and humanity. Beira is also Keenan's mother....who is fighting against Keenan to keep her "throne".

When Keenan finds Aislinn, he is determined to make her his Queen, and take his rightful place as Summer King, but Aislinn is fighting him at every turn. Aislinn fears the faeries, and refuses to have anything to do with them.

Now, I need to reiterate that I am not a faery lover, nor do I enjoy stories of unicorns, and happy fluffy bunnies...I am more of a vampire, zombie and all out gore girl...but honestly I enjoyed this book once it got over Aislinn pissing and moaning about how every faery seemed to be around her and her friend Seth (who I must admit, I grew to love quite a bit).

When Aislinn finally gets a backbone and is able to stand up to the faerys things seem to pick up and run much smoother. Now is when you can actually start to enjoy the book and have that desire to not put it down, because you WANT to know what happens.

All in all, it was a good story, and I most likely will read the second book, (like I said it does eventually grab you). Honestly I do want to know what happens in the story!

The book I am reading now is Linger, the second in the Shiver series.

Books 42 & 43

Well after a weekend of family fun in Calgary Ab I was able to finish off Serial Uncut by J.A Konrath, Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch along with Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I can`t say to much about Serial...it was an interesting ebook, with lots of gore and violence, but it felt like it went nowhere. There were moments of the Holy Crap! feeling, not because of the gore, but of the twists and turns in the novel. Most of the time I had to go back and double check that I was following the story. The story eventually winds up fairly nicely with a sort of cliffhanger.

It wasn`t the best novel by Konrath andor Kilborn, but who wouldn't be impressed with a quote in the foreword like this one:

Warning: This horror novella begins where others end, and leaves nothing to the imagination. You probably can't handle it. Go read Twilight instead...

Book 43 was The Hunger Games. I was a little unsure of reading this book, as it is not my usual reading material. But after being told by my BF that the book was amazing and well written I decided to grab it for my Kobo. I am not disappointed.

Hunger Games is a story about Katniss Everdeen a 16 year old girl living in what is regarded as District 12. And area of her home country Panem, where people fight for survival everyday. Katniss is accustomed to sneaking under "the fence" and hunting to feed her mother and younger sister.

Once a year The Reaping takes place, where one boy and one girl from each district 1-12. No one is safe from The Reaping, anyone between the ages of 12-18, rich or poor are thrown into a large glass ball and one name is picked from the boys and one from the girls. These two are called tributes, and are forced to play The Hunger Games...where only one of the 24 tributes (total from all districts) can survive and win.

Katniss is forced into the games, when her younger sister is picked. She runs to the front of the crowd and volunteers to take her sister Prims place, even though the thought of never coming home scares Katniss to death. Katniss is forced to play The Hunger Gamea, and fight to survive.

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down. The story pulls you in and takes one hell of a hold on your mind, and heart. You want to see Katniss win, and struggle with her through the book. Go and pick it up if you haven't yet! Yes it's a young adult novel, but it reads just like many adult novels I have read. There is no teen angst or froofy poofy little girls running around who are boy crazy. It's an all out fight to survive.

Still deciding what my next novel will be...I'll keep you posted. :)

Book 41-Disturb by J.A Konrath

Hello everyone! Today I am here to introduce you to a new drug called N-Som! This drug will allow you to stay up for days on end! It will increase your endurance in many ways, and allow you to rarely sleep, while still maintaining your normal life. Sounds like a dream come true doesn't it?!

Um..yeah...no...

So is the setting for Disturb, it's a story about Manny & David, two test subjects for the new drug N-Som. They feel great, look great and are doing better than ever on the tests...until people start dieing. Not just dieing, but being shot, butchered, hung from trees...and so on and so forth. The nice little "non drowsy" world the makers of N-Som are hoping to produce is slowly falling through the cracks.

Seriously, this book didn't really do much for me. It seemed kind of hollow...I guess is the best word...it was shiny and pretty on the outside, but really there was nothing deep down in the middle. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, kind of like a person would enjoy a Robin Cook novel (which I am REALLY not a fan of). You have the medical aspect, with the scientific aspect, and throw in some blood and guts, a chivalrous man hero, and sort of fragile female, and of course the big bad guy.

I love Konraths work, but this one just seemed kind of "un-konrathlike". Maybe I'm just so used to reading his other persona, Jack Kilborn....who is all about the gore and blood...Yup...thats what I like!

So the next book is Serial by J.A. Konrath, Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. I am about half way through this book and am LOVING it!! If anything please pick up this book ( in e book format only) for the foreword. I have never laughed so hard in my life!

Till next time!

Book 40-Trapped by J.A. Konrath & Jack Kilborn

Wow...what can I say. This book is AMAZING! And no, I'm not being biased, even though Jack Kilborn is one of my favorite authors....I will say it again the book is AMAZING!

So after being told by Joe Konrath on my blog (which I am still totally tickled about) that his books are available on Kobo format, I rushed to smashwords.com and got all of the books available by him. I am not disapointed with my purchases.

Trapped starts with a husband and wife taking 6 of their wards on a camping trip. Martin and Sara, two psychologists, are the owners of a Center for kids that have had run ins with the law. 3 days of camping on an island in the middle of Lake Huron. What a time to bond, grow...and bleed.

They establish camp and Martin tells a scary campfire story about soldiers that were held in a confederate prison during the civil war on an island "such as this one". These prisoners were mistreated, malnourished and eventually went crazy and resorted to cannibalism to survive.

When Martin gets "pulled" into the woods by something, everyone thinks it's a joke, but Martin doesn't return.... Sara decides to set out after him, figuring her husband is just being a jerk. Little does she know the night is going to turn ugly, pretty damn fast.

The novel Trapped is like a roller coaster ride of horror. Joe/Jack brings to life the words when he is describing things such as the gridiron. Some of the scenes in this book actually made MY skin crawl...and believe me that is tough to do.

The only thing I was disappointed with, was that I had the big "DUN_DUN" (wow that was nicely figurative wasn't it???) moment figured out about halfway through the book. But I think that's more my fault, for being the horror junkie I am...I kind of expect things like that.

In the afterword of the book it states there is the original copy of Trapped the way Jack wanted it, is included. There's more gore, more sex...you know all the stuff that makes a good horror story. I'm not sure how much more gore you can put in this book, but hey, look who your talking to...I am all for it!

I tried to start reading the uncut version, but found myself skimming over parts, thinking I've read this before...so I'm going to read something else and then get back to it. With a new "reading palate".

One last thing...I am not a camper...I don't like camping at all...but the thought has crossed my mind to go as of late. After reading this book all I have to say is: No freaking way! I will not be in the woods anywhere for the rest of my life...sure as hell not on an island. So Dawn...no camping EVER for me. You never know what may be in the woods around you...

Till next time!

Book 39-Shiver by Maggie Stievater

It's official! I am an ereader lover! I really didn't think I would enjoy reading on the Kobo, but being able to access a ton of books at the click of my mouse has turned me into a reading addict again! I love it!

So book 39 was Shiver a YA novel that really didn't interest me when I first started it, it seemed kind of empty, and as I said earlier it's like Twilight with fur....but hang on, the story gets so much better then yes, even Twilight.

Grace is a high school student, doing high school things. She is happy, independent, and struggles with the memory of when she was almost killed by a pack of wolves at the age of 11....but the thought of the one wolf in the pack that "saved" her, is stuck in her thoughts. She remembers the eyes, so yellow and beautiful. Then she meets Sam, an 18 year old boy whose yellow eyes seem very familiar...

As I said, Shiver didn't capture me right from the beginning. The book seemed kind of hollow, and unfeeling. You don't really get to "feel" how Grace deals with her feelings, both for and against the wolf pack in her area. She loves them, but yet fears them as well. But as the book progresses, Grace meets Sam, you learn more about Sam's own hardships and how it brings the two of them together it seems to open like a new bud into a beautiful rose (Ugh, where is this coming from?!?! To much love story BS for me!).

I loved the character of Sam, he reminded of a "Damon" with yellow eyes (Vampire Diaries watchers will know who I'm talking about) :) All the more reason to read the book!

Stick with this one...in the end it will please your reading appetite. I so want to go and get Linger...the next book in the series! BUT!!! first is Trapped by J.A Konrath & Jack Kilborn. I need some blood and terror to get me back to myself...no more talking about flowers. GACK!

Thank you so much Joe for telling me about smashwords.com! You've made me happier then my husband ever has! LOL!!! Just kidding...but it's pretty close! ;)

Till next time!

Book 38: Bell Hollow Ghost Hunters Files

Well I've done it...something I said I would never do....I bought an e-reader. I don't know if I should feel happy or ashamed. :) As a book FANATIC it took me quite a while to actually decide if I wanted one...the push to get one was that one of my favorite authors (J.A Konrath/Jack Kilborn) has decided he is going to be publishing most of his new books on ebook. Thus the decision was made.

So here I am trying to decide which one to get, Kindle, Kobo, or a Sony eReader. After checking all the specs and what they offer, I decided on the Kobo. Comparing all the ereaders wasn't all that hard, each one has it's benefits and it's drawbacks. For instance, the Kindle has 2 gigs of memory where you can store approximately 1500 books. On the other hand the Kobo has only 1 gig of memory which stores approximately 1000 books (the math doesn't quite add up there huh??) , but they do allow you to insert an SD card where you can increase the memory up to five gigs. The Sony E-reader comes with 1 gig, and is not expandable.

The Kobo does not have Wi-Fi capabilities, where the Kindle does. Now, I could understand the concern if I wanted to surf the net or send messages with my e-reader...but I only want to read a book...so that wasn't a huge deal for me.

Included books??? Kindle-no, Sony e-reader-no, Kobo-yes. The Kobo comes with 100 classic novels already installed on it. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Canterbury Tales etc. etc. This was a nice bonus as I have been wanting to read these books for quite some time, but never got around to it. The screen on the Kobo is 6" diagonally, and is not back lit. The Kindle is the same size, while the Sony is like 5" and you can't change the size of the display.

Functionality of the Kobo is a bit clunky, no bells and whistles on it. You open the book and push a button to turn the page...taadaa the end. I can't tell you about the Kindle or Sony E-reader as I couldn't get my hands on one to check it out. The Kobo is a bit slow loading and changing pages but hey...I'm not running a race, I'm reading a book.

Ok the first book I read on the Kobo was Bell Hollow: Ghost Hunter Files. This is the story of the haunting of a home in the Bell Hollow district of Nashville. When I first started reading the story I felt totally strange, holding this light little slab, and not worrying about breaking the books spine, or ripping the cover. Definitely a change for me.

The book is touted as a "true story" but I think 75% of it is total BS. Half of the "information" given in the book I believe is fictional, and honestly there is really no way to determine what happened to a single man living in a lean-too in the middle of the woods in 1750! I mean really...Anyway... look past all the stuff you think is crap and it is a decent book.

Oh! I have discovered that a lot of the ebooks don't have a spell checker looking them over. One line in this book stated "Jared poured creamed in his coffee" now I must confess grammatical/spelling errors in books DRIVES ME NUTS!!! Seriously spend some money and have someone read the book over for these things! Hell, I'll do it for FREE! UGH.

Anyway...all in all I love the Kobo, it does what I want it to, and the book selection isn't half bad.
Now I'm just rooting for Mr. Kilborn to hustle and get his books on Kobo!

Book 37 The Rising by Brian Keene

Just to give you all a head warning...this blog entry is going to turn into a bit of a rant.

Brain Keene's book The Rising was a great story of another zombie apocalypse. With lots of blood, innards, and just all out violence...along with the living struggling to survive, and the zombies driving cars, firing guns and launching coordinated efforts to wipe out the living. Wait?!?! WTF?? Intelligent zombies?? Yes...they are in this book..

The Rising starts with Jim who is stranded in an underground bunker (constructed by himself for Y2K) he is deciding what he should do....should he shoot himself or should he come out of the bunker and join the zombie denizens. Which one of them, is his pregnant second wife. Suddenly Jim's cell phone goes off, he picks it up and hears his son (from his first marriage) asking him to come and save him. " I love you to infinity Daddy" Danny says and then the phone goes dead.

Jim sets out to save his son. Along the way he befriends, Martin a preacher, Frankie a former heroin addict, and Baker a scientist that worked for the company that they figure created the zombies. Which would make sense in a "The Stand" kind of flashback, but alas...it is not to be.

Instead, the zombies are created by an "unseen force" that takes over the dead body. These zombies are intelligent, calculating, and crack one liners. To me that is not a zombie. Zombies are brainless eating machines with nothing to do besides groan, walk and chew. Don't you all just start hearing the famous line "Braaaaaiiiiinnnnnnsss!" But I digress...

Anyway so my major complaint is that this book took on a science fiction type of aspect, with some "thing" taking over the dead people's bodies, (and animal bodies, did I mention that?? Lions tigers and bears plotting against us! Yup...your reading right) kind of like an alien possession?? Folks the beings from another planet aren't just abducting you...they now live in your body! Well, what's left of it...

Other than that, the book was enjoyable. I pushed through the absurdity of zombies being able to drive, fire weapons etc. and discovered I actually enjoyed the book. I may bitch about the "mensa zombie group" , but Brian weaved that aspect in quite well with the horror and made the book really entertaining. I give it two thumbs, a femur, and a decapitated head up!

Sorry...I think I've been reading to much zombie fiction. :)

Rooting around looking for my next book to read...maybe I'll go dig something up ;)

Book 36-Endurance by Jack Kilborn

Ok now I have to admit I was very upset when I found out Jack Kilborn was publishing his book "Endurance" onto ebook only...as I don't have a Kindle, or Kobo...it was quite traumatic for me. So I was figuring I wouldn't read this book which Jack has said was "very scary" for quite some time...I was crushed.

So I was browsing around on Facebook the other day and saw an add "Kindle for the PC", my eyebrows went up, and I clicked the link. I was passed to Amazon.com where I could download the Kindle application for free! The download completed and I hunted for Endurance!

Now you have to understand, I am not an ebook lover. Nothing beats the feel of a book between your fingers, the act of flipping pages, and the satisfying smell of a new book (besides what would I do with electronic books??? I wouldn't have to worry about breaking the spine?!?!?) Well all that aside I purchased Endurance, and sat in front of my computer and read it all in a few days. And Damn what a book!!

The story in Endurance centers around a few groups of people who are all-at one point or another-wanting to compete in the Iron Woman triathlon. There is Deb, an avid marathon runner who recently had both her legs amputated due to an accident, Letti, Florence and Kelly, a mother, grandmother and daughter who also want to compete in Iron Woman. Mel who is a reporter, Felix and Cam who are looking for Maria (who went missing a year before). This group of people are forced to stay at the Rushmore Inn as all the hotels in the small town are booked solid.

The Rushmore Inn is a little backwoods bed and breakfast in the middle of no where...well at least that's what it SEEMS to be. ;)

Jack Kilborn is an amazing author. He has a knack of really putting the reader into the story. I fell in love with all the characters, the good guys, the bad guys, Ronald and JD. No, I'm not going to tell you who Ronald and JD are...go get the book! It is so worth it!

Although I was under the impression this book was extremely scary, I really didn't find it that scary, it kind of reminded me of a cross between "The Hills have Eyes" and "Wrong Turn" two so-so horror movies. Then again, maybe I'm numb to the scare factor in books/movies...My BF Dawn actually asked me when I was describing the book to her-"Would "normal" people find it gorey/scary?" Ummm....thanks there BF. LOL!!

The Rushmore Inn is waiting for you all, don't get to comfortable, you won't be staying long.

Book 35-Ghoul by Brian Keene

I must say this book was good, but a bit of a disappointment from Brian's "Dead Sea". It was not zombie infested, and didn't have the gore factor. Like I said before, a bit dissapointing, but still enjoyable.

The book takes place in 1984 with Timmy, Barry and Doug as the main characters. They are 3 best friends set to enjoy their summer vacation, exploring and hanging out together in "The Dugout"-an area where the boys have dug a large cavern under the edge of the local cemetery. They spend the days hanging out, reading dirty magazines, talking about girls, and playing with BB guns.

While they are playing around the cemetery the boys start to notice sinkholes forming around the graves, both old, and new. Their parents say it's normal for that to happen, but Timmy thinks something else is happening. And he's right.

Again, I can't get to far into explaining the book, as it is not that deep of a story. This story is a typical monster in the dark type of story, that all the adults don't believe exist when the kids bring it up to them.

The story was good, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't have the "Keene edge" I saw in "Dead Sea". There was no gratuitous gore, and no flesh eaters. Instead there was family abuse, pedophilia and depression. Kind of read like a Dr. Phil self help book.

And another thing!?! Why is it all monsters in books have HUGE penises?!?! Sorry just never understood that... :)

Book 36 will be "The Rising" by Brian Keene...yes I'm still on the Keene kick.

Book 34 Dead Sea by Brian Keene

Hello All! Please forgive me for not keeping up with my posts. I have temporarily drifted away from my goal of 100 books to read in 2010. My love of cross stitching kind of got in the way...plus the fact I couldn't actually latch onto a book that would cleanse my fiction palette. Alas, so much time was lost...BUT I have found an AMAZING author who has cleaned the slate for me, and I am hungry for more!!

Brian Keene..what can I say...but that he is an amazing author. I have seen many of his books come to my mailbox by way of the Horror Book Club I subscribe to (Thank you Dorchester!). I glanced at them and thought, I'll get to him eventually. Man am I a DOPE.

Mr. Keene, in Dead Sea pulls out all the stops in this zombie apocalypse novel. It is not your typical zombie story...he adds some scientific aspects along with the humanity and the gore...god the gore!!! Every word on the pages brought a HUGE smile to my face. I mean really who doesn't love a good zombie munching gore fest!

Dead Sea is about a young gay black man named Lamar Reed, who is struggling to survive after being laid off from his job at the Ford plant. That is, until the rats come out of the sewers and start attacking people, not just any rats...dead rats...with innards hanging out, and limbs missing. They are the undead rats, that start attacking people and transferring "Hamelin's Revenge" (so it is named in the book, after the story of the Pied Piper). A disease which kills the host and turns them into the living dead, who feed on ANYTHING living.

Now don't think this disease is transferred only to humans, it seems this zombie plague only affects some species-cows not horses, dogs but not cats, and so on and so forth. Definitely different from the zombies I'm used to...but yet totally refreshing.

Lamar struggles to survive, lurking in alleyways to avoid the afflicted, and finds two young children-Tasha and Malik-who are also struggling to survive. They work together to avoid getting munched on by the undead.

I can't tell to much more, as it will give to much away...but trust me...this book is an absolute roller coaster ride! Brian Keene has a great "literary eye" and explains the zombies and gore beautifully. I mean what a work of art...Lamar is hiding in a dark alley when he sees a human (not yet afflicted) walking by holding his stomach together with his hands. He is in a daze, blood oozing between his fingers..Lamar watches him pass and then notices a zombie child following him eating his intestine. God damn is that poetic!

Read further and you have all sorts of innards, rotting corpses, skin stripped from bones, empty eye sockets and lots, no tons...of blood. It makes this horror fanatic smile a happy smile, and sleep well at night. Kind of like my lullaby...

For those of you without a weak stomach, I would definitely say pick this one up! It is definitely a treasure! I am going now to search my bookshelves for his other books. They are now the top of my "To be read" pile.

Till next time everyone!

Book 33 Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Okay okay...now before you all start lynching me for not reading something horror, or even around horror...after all this is "my rants about the horror world I so love", let me explain.

My BF Dawn and I agreed to try and read 100 books in the year of 2010. Now I don't know if that will be accomplished, but damn it I'm still trying!! Anyway...the whole point of this 100 books was to branch out, and "step out of your comfort zone" when it comes to authors. So when Dawn handed me Naked in Death by J.D. Robb..I knew she is also known as Nora Roberts...I was kinda iffy. But I took to heart I enjoyed Morgans Cross immensely, so I went with it and took the book. Well lets just say I am a happy camper now!

Naked in Death is the first book of 30 or so in the Eve Dallas series. The book focuses on Eve and how she is trying to find the person who is killing "hired professionals" in other words prostitutes..but without the street corners and without pimps. Did I forget to mention this book also takes place about 50 some years in the future?? So with flying cars, autochefs and no guns anymore, here is Eve trying to discover who the killer (who by the way is killing them with an "antique handgun) of these women is, when she meets Roarke.

Roarke is immediately attracted to Eve, and Eve is completely trying to keep him away, but something about him keeps drawing her in (cough cough-c0uld it be the amazing blue eyes, the super body, Irish accent and the fact he's a multi-millionaire?!?! No...No...not at all).

The book is absolutely amazing!! It's like nothing I have ever read, it's kind of like a scifi/romance/mystery type of story...a scimancetery??? Hmm....I kinda like that... :)

J.D. Robb is wonderful with her descriptive language and really pulls the reader into the story. I love the fact that you can feel the sexual tension between Eve and Roarke seep off the pages. Eve, the hard as stone cop up against the smug, but patient and caring Roarke. They fight like cats and dogs, but also use each other to lean on in times that get rough. It's very warm and sweet. Ugh...I think I just had flecks of gag in my throat there...I think I'm getting old...

Anyway...next book is Glory in Death. Yes I know..I'm an addict! I can't help it! Maybe I need to go to JD anonymous. Don't worry fans, followers and friends! Zombiemom hasn't changed, I'm still the bloodthirsty freak you know and love...I'm just stepping out of my box for a bit...Right Dawn?!?!

Till next time!

Book 32-Bloodline by Kate Cary

The book focuses on the characters of John and Lily Shaw, siblings who have lost their parents. Mary Seward, a nurse in the sanatorium in the England town of Purfleet, and Quincey Harker, John Shaws commanding officer in the army.

John Shaw is enlisted in the army and is forced to the trenches where he works as a communications officer, under the command of Quincey Harker. There are whisperings of how Harker is strange, and often brutal with both the enemy and fellow soldiers.

John is overcome by a wound he receives, and is forced to return to Purfleet to the sanatorium where Mary works. Mary takes John under her wing helping him through his nightmares and the fever he has developed.

Lily Shaw meets Harker when he returns from the trenches, and so the story begins.

Bloodline was almost like a blast from the past. It takes place 35 years after the original Dracula and is written basically the same way. Journal entries from the major characters in the book. It was definitely different and something I'm not used to, besides when I read Dracula many many years ago. It makes things a bit hard to follow on occasion, but once you understand how the book is written your buckled in and ready for a heck of a ride.

The characters were a little bit hard to swallow, as they book is set in 1916 during the first world war. Women being concerned with being submissive to the men. Men being to much of the "I'm the hero" kind of mentality...but that was the way things were then, so I choked my distaste back and finished the book, and i was glad I did. The book brought a heck of a lot more than I thought it would.

Kate Cary has a way of describing settings, and characters with a keen "eye", she takes the time to describe things so the reader can actually envision the characters and setting cleanly. When the setting is dark, gloomy or somewhat glum she chooses her words well.

I think my biggest complain was someone was a crappy editor when one of the journal entries is listed as "John Seward". I actually had to go back and check and make sure I wasn't losing my mind, I remember asking myself "Isn't it John Shaw?" Yes it was...stupid editors. Nothing bugs me more than finding a poorly edited book.

Possibly a new career path?!?! LOL! Not likely!

Next book is Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. As recommended by my BF Dawn. She says the books will become and obsession...which worries me a little...but hey I haven't gone wrong with her recommendations before.

Books 30 & 31 The Vampire Diaries The Fury & Dark Reunion

What really pushed me to read these books was the TV series "The Vampire Diaries". I was curious to see if I could place the TV actor Ian Somerhalder as the Damon in the book, plus I was wondering how much the TV show was based on the book. Alas on both counts. Damon in the book is described as being dark haired and dark eyed...which is not so of Ian. With those amazing ice blue eyes...how could I picture him with dark eyes in my minds eye?!? I couldn't fathom it...I swoon at the thought of those eyes! Excuse me for a moment.....

Ok back! The Vampire Diaries books read almost like there is not a break in the books at all. Each book starts right after the last book ended. For instance, the book could end with "She opened the door" and the next book will be like "She opened the door and a blinding light came at her". Sorry I'm not a writer...or I'm just tired tonigh...probably both.

I can't tell you much about the books as it is a series and I would give to much away. But I can tell you the book left with with a LOT of jaw dropping moments. I sat there dumbfounded many a time in the third and fourth book going "What the hell?!?!"

These books honestly are really good to read. Yes they are a YA novel, and yes not all that heavy on the gore factor, with a bit of romance...but hey, it's about vampires. How can you go wrong?!?! The ending of the fourth book left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth...it was way to "fruffy poofy" (for those of you who don't know me, that means a happy lovey squishy type of thing, which I am really not into. I would be happier if someone ended up slaughtered in a very bloody fashion, but hey, I can't have everything right?). Still L.J. Smith weaves a nice story that is easy to get into and serves the vampire masses what they crave.

The next book is Bloodline by Kate Cary. I picked this book up in Montreal, when I was there briefly in 2008 on a trip for work. I have never picked it up, but always looked at it thinking "I should really read that". Well I guess now is the time to read it. :)

Book 29-Beware by Richard Laymon

I was introduced to Richard Laymon about a year ago, and now I can't get enough. He uses the art of horror unlike no one else!! With a dash of suspense, some romantic tension, sexual violence and all out gore...he is my dream man, to bad he passed away a few years ago. Dead or not, he can always turn your stomach or start the chills!!

Beware is a story that starts with Elsie Hoffman is a retiree who owns the local grocery store in town. She is a content woman who does everything she can for her local town mates. One night she is getting ready to close up her store when weird things start to occur. Elsie leaves the store only to come back the next day with Red and his dog Rusty to take care of the "hooligans" who harassed Elsie. Well needless to say...Rusty ends up a bloody smear on the store linoleum.

Red & Elsie decides to spend the night at the store to avenge his fallen comrade with his shotgun. Well I guess you can imagine what happens to the two of them....Elsie ends up shrink wrapped on the meat counter in little pieces, and Red...well...Red dies after losing an arm. And this is only how the story starts...it definitely is a joy ride of blood, guts and yes quite a bit of sex.

After this the story centers on Lacey Allen the reporter who found Red and Elsie dead in the market, and who is raped by the "presence" in the store. She flees away from the town to try and come to terms with what happened and start a new job. Although her wishes won't be fulfilled so easily as the "presence' has followed her.

Beware was a ton of fun to read! Honestly it kept me going and I wanted to read every second...but sleep had to come in there to. :) I wasn't a big fan of how it ended, but thats just me.

Would explain more, but I have a lot to do tonight! Heading to Banff tomorrow for a much needed break from my kiddies. To bad it's going to be rainy and cold all weekend. :(

I am reading The Vampire Diaries books 3 & 4 next.

Book 28 Morrigans Cross by Nora Roberts

Ok...well I went into this book with lots of "Why are you picking this up" and "What the heck are you thinking?!" Nora Roberts?!?! My brain must have taken a vacation to pick this book up...but you know what?! It wasn't that bad!! It was actually quite enjoyable.

Morrigan's Cross begins it's story in the 12th century and is the story of Hoyt, who is called on by the god Morrigan to stop Lilith, a vampire "queen" who is planning on taking over the world. He is put to task to gather 5 others to create the "Circle". One of the members is Hoyt's brother Cian who was changed by Lilith into a vampire.

Hoyt sets out on his journey after being told to travel to the "Dance of the Gods" where he is thrown into New York in the 21st century. He discovers his brother is still alive and doing quite well for himself. Hoyt convinces Cian to help him in his quest and so the story begins. Together Hoyt and Cian gather Glenna, the witch, Moira, future queen of Geall, Larkin a shape shifter, and Blair a demon huntress. These six individuals are tasked with saving the world, past present and future.

When I first started reading the book I didn't know how to take it. You have Hoyt who is a sorcerer mixing potions and the like and planning on going after Lilith who has changed his brother. It totally read like a fantasy book which I totally despise.!

Once Hoyt ends up in New York things change. It becomes more present day. Cian and Hoyt almost remind me of Damon and Stephen from the Vampire Diaries. One is quiet and the other is a loud mouthed ass. They have a lot of animosity toward each other for different reasons, and you can feel the tension while reading the pages.

The book is very well written and flows like a good song. It pulls you in and holds you there. You can feel what the characters are feeling and almost physically feel it when they are injured. I actually ended up laughing out loud at some of the scenes, and usually I don't do that.

Honestly I think I will soon pick up the second book in this trilogy "Dance of the Gods" and maybe look into her other vampire trilogies. With writing so smooth and enticing, how can I say no???

Now don't get me wrong, but I am not going to jump on the Nora Roberts band wagon. Personally, romance novels (unless they deal with vampires, werewolves and the like) do not interest me at all. If there's no blood with the gratuitous sex...I don't want to read it.

Anyway..book 29 I haven't quite figured out yet...but I will let you know in time.

Book 27-Celia by Ruby Jean Jensen

Ahh Ruby...how do I love thee...let me count the ways...your writing talent is a nice change from what horror usually is today.

Celia, I thought, would be another one of Ruby Jean Jensen's books about killer dolls. I thought...but was totally wrong (grab your seats everyone...my husband knows I don't say I'm wrong often!). The story centers around Celia, an abused wife and mother, who is desperate to get out of the situation for the safety of her kids. Her son-of-a-bitch husband Durk, tells her " I'll get you Celia. You kill me and I'll come back as your worst nightmare. I'll get you and I'll get your kids too".

"I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!!!" Sorry...drifted off there....

Celia lives in fear everyday, until one day Durk does something so unspeakable, she is driven to kill him and hide his body in the swamp. Celia flees with her three kids, Jonie, Drew and Blair to the "Underground Railroad", a group of people who help battered wifes and families get away from the abuse.

Celia meets Mel, the man who is escorting the family to a new life in Northern California. On the way they all stop at safe houses-families who also work with the Underground Railroad to give food and shelter to those fleeing until they reach their new lives. Unfortunately soon after they leave the people they are staying with, wind up dead.

Mel, Celia and the kids are running from an unseen force bent on killing them, and anyone who gets in its way.

I really did enjoy this book. Ruby Jean Jensen has a way to wind together supernatural horror along with "real life horror" (the type of thing that happens everyday to people). She does it so in a way that you can feel for the main characters and hope that they get out of the situation alive. She doesn't need to throw in a lot of macabre slasher scenes (even though...most of the time I CRAVE them LOL!). She is able to get the chills going with out the blood, sex and one liners that are pretty much the fodder for most horror stories. But you know...blood and sex isn't all bad either... ;) Any one up for a Saw movie?!?!

So if anyone has their hands on a Ruby Jean Jensen novel (they are very hard to find. Took me a year of calling second hand book stores all over the country trying to get what I could. I still don't have them all!). Read it!!!

The next book I'm keeping a secret...mainly because my BF would drop dead, if she knew I had picked it up...so until my next blog...it's all a hush hush thing, I don't want to scare her to death...BWAHAHAHA!!

Till next time...

Book 26-Dark Zones by Sharon Jarvis

Dark Zones was the second part of Sharon Jarvis's true paranormal accounts. The first book Dead Zones, didn't impress me much, but this one was another "lendie" from a co-worker, so I decided to read it.

Again I am disappointed. The books have an interesting look at the hauntings they describe, but lack that nail biting kind of terror. The front of the book states "In the blood curdling tradition of Dead Zones" and the back shows "The truth is more terrifying than fiction". Um, yeah no.

The book reads like an encyclopedia. This is the place and this is what happen. Very matter of fact with no emotion at all. It was not bloodcurdling and definitely not terrifying. I mean what is so "terrifying" about a chair moving with on it's own, or ghosts smiling at you. Damn that makes my blood run cold...yeah whatever.

If I'm going to read a true paranormal account, the writer can't be so matter of fact about the writing. Seriously, keep to the facts of the matter, but put some effort into the words you use. It would work out so much better if the writer was a little scared his or herself.

Then again...maybe it's just me...

Book 27 is a book from one of my favorite horror writers Ruby Jean Jensen, who us horror junkies haven't had anything new from in almost 10 years. It's sad...such a great horror writer... lost. The book I have chosen is "Celia", one of her typical "dolls gone bad" stories. She was famous for these during her writing time. Personally those little porcelain dolls really creep me out, so hopefully this book will keep me up at night. :)

Hey Dawn! There's something you can write about!?!?! Creepy dolls! That will make my skin crawl! Maybe not scare me...but definitely give me the heebie-jeebies!! Xoxo

Book 25 The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

Book 25 was The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong. On man what a book it was! Now I may be a bit bias as I am a crazy Kelley Armstrong reader, but her "Darkest Powers" trilogy (of which The Reckoning is the final book) enticed and intrigued me right from the first chapter of "The Summoning".

The story is about Chloe, who at the age of 15 gets her first period, and begins to see ghosts. Does the classical movie quote: "I see dead people" ring through everyone's heads here?? Well that is basically what Chloe can do. When she realizes the people she's seeing are in fact dead, she has a sort of break down. Doctors feel she is schitzophrenic, and thus send to her to Lyle House: a centre for "troubled teens". Chloe notices strange things going on at Lyle House, things starting on fire, poltergiests floating around, items going missing as well as her housemates.

Ok so I can't say to much about "The Reckoning". Without ruining the story. All I know is I whipped through this one at lightning speed (as with the first two). The story is fast paced, and has the ability to "suck you in"

For those of you that have read Kelley's Women of the Otherworld series, you will be pleased that Kelley is actually pulling the Nast and Cortez Cabals into the story! To me that was pure genius!!! So I'm thinking Chloe may become another woman of the Otherword...and me...I will be right there gobbling up the pages!

Books 23 & 24 The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith

Hello Followers, Horror Junkies and the Curious!

I would like to say that what drove me to read books 23 and 24 was the fact that I love the TV show of the Vampire Diaries (and of course Ian Somerhalder, right Dawn!??!). So we are near the end of the first season of the show and I was wondering how the show followed the book. Yes...does NOT AT ALL pretty much sum it up?!

Well ok I can't say not at all, but it's pretty darn close. The book has the same characters, Stephan, Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Damon, and a new character called Meredith.

The first book is called "The Awakening", where Stephan and Elena are introduced. Now, in the first story Elena drove me freaking crazy! She is portrayed in the book as a stuck up snotty teenager, that is driven to have every boy in the school. Personnally I wanted to beat the snot out of her.."oh Stephan isn't looking at me, I think I'm going to go home and cry" UGH!

For those of us who watch the show, Stephan is a serious vampire who choses to feed on animals instead of people. In the book he drinks both from humans and from animals, but he doesn't want to drink to the death for either of them. This was definitely an interesting twist in the story.

Elena finally meets with Stephan they get together, in a somewhat serious relationship. Elena reminds Stephan of Katherine, his one true love from 15th century Italy (yes they are 500 + years old). Everything is progressing rather well in their relationship until Damon, Stephan's older brother-who is also a vampire-shows up wanting a piece of Eleana as well.

The second book "The Stuggle" carries on the story from the first book.So there is teenage angst, vampires fighting, along with humans fighting etc. etc. etc. What really took me for a loop was the fact that Damon can turn into a crow! Now when watching the shows, I kinda figured Damon was the crow..but wasn't totally sure on the issue, well now I am!

The books lent a bit of hints to the back story to the show. Like the crow issue, there are other things that Damon and Stephan can or can't do, but I won't spoil it for anyone. I was a tad disapointed in the lack of bloody guy wrenching scenes...but hey, the book is a young adult novel. We wouldn't want to warp any young minds, right?

Both books were enjoyable and I will probably pick up the 3rd and 4th books after Kelley Armstrongs "The Reckoning".

Book 22-Altar of Eden

Altar of Eden...wow what can I say about it...besides the fact it is absolutely fantastic!!! Now as a true Zombiemom, I am one who flocks in a ravenous bloodthirsty manner to anything horror. Although..after some prodding from one of my BF's Dawn, I decided to pick it up.

And well now...I am addicted to James Rollins.

Altar of Eden is the story of Lorna Polk, a veterinarian who is led to a shipwrecked fishing boat housing some exotic animals, By exotic I mean a parrot (named Igor) with no feathers, who can recited pages and pages of the full numerical value of pi (for those of us that aren't math whizzes, pi is used in geometrical formulas and is an almost never ending value, but those of us in the real world use 3.14 as a value for pi). Along with Igor is a saber toothed tiger cub, and two capuchin monkeys that are joined at the hip...siamese monkeys?!?

Now the real trouble starts when the Mama saber toothed tiger escapes, with one cub and leaves the other behind. Lorna is forced to track down the Mama tiger and cub, but the "catch the tiger" game soon turns into a full blown dive into military and governmental testing to create the perfect weapon...bioweapons.

Whoa now, I know your thinking this is another politcal thriller bull crap story, but it is anything but. It is like Indiana Jones and National Geographic thrown together with some John Grisham and a little sprinkling of romance. This book reads like a textbook with all it's scientific wording, but not in a way to ruin the full effect of the book. The book was a great read, that kept me entertained and rooting for the good guys for a change.

I am not totally interested in reading more James Rollins. As long as his books don't drown me in political and/or militay BS I'm a happy camper. I HATE books that come across like a MLA's handbook.

Book 23 and 24 will be the first two books in the Vampire Diaries series. Ever since the TV show started I have been dieing to read these books! I so want to compare the actual story to the TV show...and plus I love Damon! LOL! Horns is still on the backburner...I will pick it up again..but it's just not peeking my interest...and the fact that is fell in my bathtub makes it kind of hard for me to pick it up again...it makes me nauseous to look at it.

Book 21 done!

Book 21 was borrowed to me by a co-worker. I know...I said book 21 would be Horns, but this was a lendie book, and i think my co-worker is more anal than I am with books. If thats possible...

So the book is called Dead Zones by Sharon Jarvis. No fictional work here, just a collection of true hauntings, UFO sightings, strange creatures and the like.

What was different was how the book included addresses or directions to the locations that are shown in the book. That was definitely different! Gives me some ideas for future travels!

The book was enjoyable, but not to creepy. I love it when I read a true paranormal story and I get the cold shivers up the spine feeling, and you feel like theres someone watching you...actually I haven't had that in a very long time...maybe I'm just to learned on the subject of hauntings and the paranormal to get creeped out? Hmmm...it's a possibilty...

Book 20-Snow by Ronald Malfi

Book 20 I decided I would pick an author I had never read before, which is kind of a tall order, as i have read most authors in my genre of choice-of course that would be of the horror genre.

So when I got "Snow" in the mail (I subscribe to Dorchester Publishings Horror Book Club), I considered it, and shoved it to the back of my "To read" pile. Silly silly me!!

Todd Curry, a divorced dad, is trying to get to his son for the first visit in over a year. It's Christmas Eve, and he his flight has been canceled due to a snow storm. Desperate to get to his son, both from loneliness and guilt, he rents a car and with 3 other people trek out into the snowy wasteland that is Chicago, heading for Des Moines.

Todd, Kate, Fred and Nan trek out into the snow in the rented Ford Explorer. They are traveling down a desolate road (they think they are going in the correct direction) when they happen upon a man (Eddie Clement) who is looking for his missing daughter. They gather Eddie into the car and travel to the next town that is Woodson.

Here where things start to get good, the town seems to be deserted, but the travelers soon find out, it is anything but. The story turns into a true tale of survival against amazing odds, personal and paranormal. The story is a guy wrenching, bone munching, romp through a horror wonderland. (if you so choose, insert favorite X-mas tune here, me I prefer Winter Wonderland).

Ronald Malfi is an amazing author! I was pretty much unable to keep myself from thinking about the book. Definitely a book that keeps you wanting to read! I'm going to have to find his other books now...Shamrock Alley, Passenger and any others I can find!

Book 21 will be Horns by Joe Hill.