Book Review

Enchanted No More (Mystic Circle #1) 
By Robin D. Owens
Published by Harlequin
egalley received by netGalley

Summary (from netGalley): “I’ll do the mission,” Jenni told Tage. “you win.”

As one of the last surviving Mistweavers, half-blood Jenni knows what it’s like to be caught between two worlds: the faery and the human. But the time has come to choose. The Lightfolk require her unique talent for balancing the elements to fend off a dangerous enemy—and rescue her missing brother.

Only for Rothly will Jenni deal with those who destroyed her life. Only for him will she agree to work with her ex-lover, Tage, and revisit the darkest corners of her soul. For a reckoning is at hand, and she alone has the power to hold back the forces of dark....

Dislikes: This book really needed a prologue. I spent the first half of the book thinking this was a second in a series and actually had to check at one point and make sure it wasn't. The story of what happened to Jenni's family at a ceremony/mission fifteen years previously was dragged out and repetitive throughout the book when it could have been taken care of in a few pages at the beginning. With so much time spent on the family tragedy and the bitterness/guilt that Jenni feels it really drags down the rest of the book. I also did not like Aric, Jenni's love interest. He seemed very condescending and talked down or at Jenni through a lot of the book. There are points in the books where this is mentioned but nothing is ever done about it. This made Jenni professing her love for him, when in the previous paragraph she was saying she still didn't trust him, very unbelievable.


Likes: I actually really liked the world that the author built as well as the concept behind the book. Jenni is the only person left in the magical community that can balance a place with all four elements. The parts of the book that focused on this were interesting and well done. I also loved the background characters and they made this story for me. The brownies, dryads, and even the Royal Eight were more engaging than the main characters.


Overall: I really wanted to love this book. The concept behind it and the world that was built was well done, but the romance and guilt/ bitterness really hurt the book. Parts felt like a really long couch session that I was not interested in. 


Rating: 3 only for the world and background characters. There is a second book coming with a character that is not from this book but the same community that Jenni lives in. 

Book Review

Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom #1)
By Devon Monk
Published by: Roc


Summary: (from Goodreads) Using magic means it uses you back, and every spell exacts a price from its user. But some people get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent. Then it’s Allison Beckstrom’s job to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune—and the strings that come with it. But when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father’s signature all over it, Allie is thrown back into his world of black magic. And the forces she calls on in her quest for the truth will make her capable of things that some will do anything to control.


Dislikes: This book started really slow for me and I had a hard time getting into it. I can't really pinpoint what I didn't like it just seemed like a slow read. By about the halfway point it seemed to pick up and I read right through to the end. 


Likes: I loved the world that the author built for this series. Very different from any of the other books I have read involving magic.  I really liked the characters as well. Both Allie and Nola (even though she is not in it much) were very strong characters and you could relate to them well.  I also enjoyed Zayvion and cannot wait to find out more about him.


Overall: I really enjoyed the second half of this book and cannot wait to read the next in the series.  I liked how Monk resolved the main focus (problems) by the end of the book without leaving you hanging, but still managed to leave enough for you to want to continue with the series.


Rating: 3.5

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the Kristi over at The Story Siren. The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.. The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.

This was another big library week, could have gotten several more but ran out of room in my bag and still had to get books for my son.

Library: dawnbreaker By Jocelynn Drake
Ecstasy Unveiled By Larissa Ione
Inside Out By Maria V Snyder
the short second life of bree tanner By Stephanie Meyer
Clockwork Angel By Cassandra Clare
Killer Instinct By Zoe Sharp
Mistwood By Leah Cypess
Toads and Diamonds By Heather Tomlinson (had not heard of this one but loved the cover)
Nightshade By Andrea Cremer

Also for Review from netGalley:
My Soul to Steal By Rachel Vincent
Stone Kissed By Keri Stephens

That's all for this week, so what did you get?

Follow Friday and Blog Hop

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee. No question this week.



The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This meme is hosted by Crazy for books

This weeks question: What is your favorite Book Cover?

I don't know if I have a favorite. Ones that I like right now are the Iron Fey series By Julie Kagawa. Really anything with color since there seems to be so many that are white, gray, and black of late.

Happy Friday and leave a comment letting me know you stopped by.

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to take a second and wish everyone celebrating a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Book Review

Darklight (Woundrous Strange #2)
By Lesley Livingston
Publisher: HarperTeen


Summary:(from back cover) Soft purple light flooded the darkness, and Kelley spiraled up into the fly-tower. She felt whole. Free. Faerie. She had her wings back. And now there was only one thing she needed in all the worlds. All she had to do was find Sonny.

Dislikes: There were just a couple of things that bothered me in this book. Bob, not the character, the name. You have all these flowing faerie names in this book Auberon, Mabh, Tyff, etc and then you have Bob. Every time I saw him by this name it caused to pause and and say why. I'm sure there is a tale behind this version of his name that I'm not remembering at the moment but it still bothered me throughout the book. The other thing was, with all the complaining about and from Kelley about how she does not know how to be faerie and needs to learn, everyone still followed everything she said. I kept wanting someone to say "No" and make her learn something and follow their lead or at least try and talk some sense into her. That being said I don't dislike her character, just found this odd.

Likes: I liked the story as a whole and the flow from beginning to end. I like the introduction of the leprechauns in this book. I enjoyed the fact that they weren't the happy, carefree guys that they are in most books. I loved the sense of whodunit from the prologue all the way through to the very end of the book. It really added to the overall book.

Overall: I really enjoyed this book. You learned more about the characters that you were already familiar with and met some new ones, even if they weren't nice. I'm looking forward to reading the next book and finding out who is behind the power plays from this book and seeing what happens with Kelley and Sonny.

Rating: 4

Book Review

Night of The Vampires
By Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Received for review through netGalley


Summary (netGalley): As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president’s horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade’s sister. Enemy or ally, he can’t yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.

Megan Fox’s quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can’t disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn’t come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?

Dislikes: There were times while reading this book I forgot that it was supposed to be a period piece. It felt as if you could pick the characters up and place them in any city today and they would fit right in. This caused moments when a character would say something that seemed out of place and I had to remind myself of when the book was taking place (civil war time). At the same time the war and characters involved with the war, president Lincoln and soldiers, were well done and fit the time period. I also found the prologue not needed, it  didn't add anything to the storyline for me that wasn't also explained during the book itself.
Likes: I enjoyed the female characters in this book. They all possessed qualities that made them strong even at a time when woman were not perceived as so. I enjoyed how Megan stuck up for herself and did what she felt needed to be done, even while trying to be a lady and get Cole to trust her. 
Overall: The romance in the story was just okay for me. I never really connected with Cole (though others probably will) so I found myself not caring if he and Megan ended up together or not. I was more interested in if she was going to find her father or not.  I did enjoy the story of the vampires and how everyone, no matter what side of the war they were on, fought together to try and end the plague (this is how it is described in the story).
Rating: 3

Follow Friday

Follow Friday was started by parajunkee as a way to support fellow bloggers.

This weeks question: How long have you been book blogging? I have only been blogging for about a month.

Have a great week, leave a message and let me know you stopped by.

Mini Review

Mini Reviews of Short Stories...

I'm in the middle of reading Night of the Vampires By Heather Graham. I decided until I am finished with that I would review some short stories I have been reading. I sometimes have a hard time getting into short stories because there is not enough world or character building.

These are from Year's Best Fantasy 8 (Best of 2007) Edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer.

Paper Cuts Scissors By Holly Black

I really enjoyed this story. It is about a guy who goes to library school to find a way to save his girlfriend. The girlfriend did not want to deal with the real world and gets lost inside a book, literally. The settings and characters were well done and you can visual the scenes in this story from the college classroom to the dusty old basement filled with books.

Rating: 4

A Portrait In Ivory By Michael Moorcock

This story seemed to be missing something and left me trying to figure out where the author was trying to go with it. The main character was well described and you could picture the setting for this story well. Those are the only things I liked about this story. It is about an artist carving the likeness of the Elric out of ivory from a dragon. I believe it is supposed to make you think about what happens in this situation; does the person that is being carved lose a piece of themselves in the carving and if so how does it affect them. You don't really get this from the story itself, you get it more from the Editor and what they tell you the premise is supposed to be.

Rating: 2

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the story siren. The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.

Mine are mostly library finds this week with a couple of egalleys (from Netgalley).

egalleys from Harlequin (for review):
Night of the Vampires By Heather Graham and Enchanted No More By Robin D Owens.

Borrowed (2 local libraries):
Magic to the Bone By Devon Monk
Crave By J.R. Ward
Darklight By Lesley Livingston
The Iron King By Julie Kagawa
hush, hush By Becca Fitzpatrick
Hex Hall By Rachel Hawkins

Now I just have to find the time to read them all before they have to go back. So what did you get this week.

Happy Haul-idays with Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books is giving away $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger and one reader who comments on that persons blog. Learn More here Chronicle Books
My wishlist of books is:
Witch Craft: Wicked Accessories, Spellbinding Jewelry, Creepy-Cute Toys and More  $14.95
Humanity: A Celebration of Friendship, Family, Love & Laughter.   $24.95
Cake Pops By Bakerella: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for Irresistible Mini Treats.     $19.95
Art of the Slow Cooker    $24.95 
More Things Like This    $35.00
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies   $12.95
A Child's Garden of Verses   $19.99
Obsessed With Baseball: Test Your Knowledge of America's Pastime  $24.95
Postcards From the Boys   $24.95
The Art of Tangled   $40.00
The Art of Toy Story: 100 Collectible Postcards  $18.95
TCM Classic Movie Crosswords  $9.95
Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) about TV  $15.95
All My Friends Are Dead  $9.95
Pocket Cash  $19.95
Band ID: The Ultimate Book of Band Logos  $40.00
Lots of Dots  $15.95
Day & Night  $14.95
Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book  Illustration    $24.99
Seeing Stars  $14.99
The Dinosaurs'  Night Before Christmas  $18.99
By The Light of The Harvest Moon   $16.99
You Are Here $24.95
Total: $489.24

Follow Friday was started by parajunkee as a way to support fellow bloggers.

This weeks question: What is your usual monthly book budget? Mine is usually under $50

Thanks for stopping by and leave a comment so I can visit back.

Book Review

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy)  
By N.K. Jemisin


Summary (from Goodreads)
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.
With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together. 


Dislikes: The only thing I really did not like in this book were the breaks in the story when Yeine seems to be talking to herself. This got better as the book went on and made more sense, but during the beginning half of the book it just seemed to come out of nowhere.


Likes: I enjoyed both the characters and the world that was created by the author.  The story flowed from the beginning right until the end. The struggle between Yeine and Scimina (Relad never really seemed to be a part, even though he was an heir as well) throughout the book right up to the end were some of my favorite scenes.  I also liked how you were never sure who the real villains were in this book, there were some obvious ones from the start and some that caught you by surprise at the end.


Overall:  I loved this book. From the moment I started reading I couldn't put it down.  I can't wait to get my hands on the second book in this series.


Rating: 4

Book Review

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo                                  
By Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland (translator)


Summary (from book)
Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Dislikes: I felt at times this book was two separate stories that didn't really go together. There was the trial and follow up between Blomkvist and Wennerstrom and the search for Harriet Vanger. There was some weak lines in each story to connect the two together, Vanger promising dirt on Wennerstrom to Blomkvist, in order to get him to work for him, which turns out to be nothing.
I also felt disconnected from Lisbeth Salander in this book. She did not seems to be as prominent or integral to this book as the title would suggest.
Likes: I loved the cover for this book. The colors and graphics make it stand out among the rest of my books. As disturbing as the family is, I enjoyed the research into the disappearance and history of the Vanger family. The supporting characters in this book made it worth reading.
Overall: I didn't feel it was as great as all the hype. It did not make me want to read the second book and I had to read the summary before deciding to continue with this series.
Rating: 3

Book Review

Angelology
By Danielle Trussoni

Goodreads Summary
A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time- between a hidden society and heaven's darkest creatures

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Genesis 6:5

Dislikes: Not many. This book is in 4 parts (present, past, present, present). There were times during the second part that I found myself wanting to jump ahead to the expedition that you knew was coming from the first part. While the information leading up to it was useful and helped understand the characters and actions taken later in the book it was an overload at times.

Likes: The character and world building were well done. Instead of having a large info dump at the beginning of the book and then moving forward with the story, as sometimes happens, the information was a part of moving the story forward. I also liked how in this book you knew who was playing evil in this good vs. evil. The Nephilim in this book are evil from beginning to end and never give any reason to think they may have redeeming qualities.

Overall: I Loved this book. It was a great read filled with suspense, angels, history, and great characters that you could love and characters to hate.

Rating: 4

Follow Friday was started by Parajunkee.com as a way to support fellow bloggers.

This weeks question: Who are your favorite authors?
J.D. Robb, Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.K. Rowling, and many more. I'm a big fan of series and most of my favorites are because of this.

I'm very new at this, so please leave a comment if you decide to follow and I will follow back.

Book Review

The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld #5)
By Gena Showalter

This is Aeron's (keeper of Wrath) HEA

Dislikes: I did not enjoy the female lead, Olivia. This character came across as more of a spoiled brat sex fiend than an angel (fallen). She also did not seem to make a big sacrifice like the other females in this series, Aeron was the one to make the sacrifices.
Likes: New character Scarlet (Nightmares) grabbed my attention from the moment she showed up in the alleyway with Aeron. Loved the interaction between her and Gideon and where their story seems to be heading.
Overall: I will be continuing with this series. It is well written and I enjoy most of the characters. I also enjoy the good (LOU) vs. evil (Hunters) aspect of this series.
Rating: 3

Currently Reading


The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld #5)
by Gena Showalter


Struggling with this book. I am not enjoying the romance part of this pnr. The lead female, Olivia, is very annoying and if I see the words angel (fallen) one more time I may scream.
I will finish just so I can continue with this series and know what is going on.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)
by Stieg Larsson


I am just starting on this book. So far an easy and enjoyable read.