SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Shelf: Demons
Finished: 7/25/12
Rating: ★★★★★

I have now had the pleasure of reading twenty books written by Keri Arthur and only 2 of those twenty have ever been rated under 3 stars. She is such an amazingly consistent writer that I know I’ll always be entertained by whatever she has written. I love her Riley Jensen series and this, the Dark Angel series, is set in the same wonderful world and while Risa is similar to Riley in certain aspects, she is most definitely her own kickass woman.

Risa’s books are never-ending rollercoaster rides of sex, violence and awesomeness. From book one I’ve been hoping that one certain thing would happen and it finally happened in Darkness Devours. I almost can’t contain my giddiness over what happened, but I’m keeping it in because I hate putting spoilers in my reviews. Besides that little nugget of goodness, Risa is put between a rock and a hard place with Madeline Hunter and the vampires and with the Raziq that are hunting her father. The poor girl can’t seem to catch much of a break…except maybe that special awesome moment that I can’t discuss.

I am so excited for book 4. I love the way that Keri Arthur is handling to overall arc of the keys along with other smaller overall arcs like Risa’s love life, her powers, her future (so many people want to kill her), along with the stand alone book arcs. I’m wrapped up in every word and every little thing that happens in these books and I hope that they continue to be as amazing as they have been thus far.

Hey, just wanted to let you ladies know that I will not be home tomorrow when the shelf is announced. I am spending the day with my nephew and the rest of my family. But I will be on later to post the shelf and all that, unless one of you is able to do it.

Thanks!

urban fantasy, new shelf

There are a ton of books, I think I will read By a Thread

I'm going to read Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Woohoo Urban Fantasy will give us another 3 in a row. Super excited about that.

I am probably going to read with as a backup.

Okay and cross your fingers...we do not want to see the following shelves called cause they will result in a Game Over:

Kick ass heroine
Male Lead
Reader's Choice
New Series
Dragons

Finished 7/29/12
Rating: ****/5
Shelf: Urban Fantasy

This is the first book without Mab. Yahoo! I was afraid she had cloned herself or something. But that might be book 8...I was getting sick of her.

I am not going to say a bunch about the plot, since several of you still have this book to read. But her characterizations were still quite good.

I am beginning to dislike Bria, the sister, because she is acting like a bitch to Gin.

Gin takes a vacation, runs into trouble, and all the old favorites are back (except Mab!) Even Donovan, the old boyfriend, who acts even more like a jerk than ever.

I liked the new aspect in this book, a new place, and Gin is forced to consider how much crap she will take from Bria, who I liked before, but not so much now.

The only spoiler is:
 (view spoiler)[

Gin still digs Owen and he understands her. Thank God no screw up in that relationship! (hide spoiler)]

Deidre wrote: "
Finished 7/29/12
Rating: ****/5
Shelf: Urban Fantasy

This is the first book without Mab. Yahoo! I was afraid she had cloned herself or something. But that might be book 8....."

I really like this series, but I was getting sick of Mab too, so it's nice to know she isn't around at all this time. I was worried about them coming up with a way to bring her back. Although I do like that Donovan is around. I keep hoping to read about Owen giving him a beat down. lol

Well, Paris, you could call it closure for Gin. LOL.

Sandra wrote: "Well, Paris, you could call it closure for Gin. LOL."

She definitely deserves it, that's for sure. Now I'm kinda hoping to read about Gin giving Donovan a beat down. lol

Of a sort!

I'm going to read First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost for Urban Fantasy.

Suzanne wrote: "I'm going to read First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost for Urban Fantasy.

"

Sweet. Thanks Suzanne. I updated the main list with your choice.

Sorry for being MIA but I got crazy busy in July and my reading dropped off a little. I'm working on my DEMON book and should have it done tonight.

I'm going to read by Sable Grace for the UF shelf which I will get done over the weekend.

Barbara ★ wrote: "Sorry for being MIA but I got crazy busy in July and my reading dropped off a little. I'm working on my DEMON book and should have it done tonight.

I'm going to read by Sabl..."

Thanks for checking in Barbara. No worries...life gets crazy at times. Take whatever time you need to catch up!

I finally finished my demon book, 8/2.

★★★★★
This book really surprised me. I don't expect to be amazed when I read YA novels. Yeah for the most part they are okay but they have to much angst which tends to get on my nerves. This book didn't have any of that. We have two brothers, Nick and Alan who are especially close, fighting demons and running from magicians. I loved the family angle, the "we stick together" mentality and the wonderful, surprising plot twists. Definitely a series I will be continuing.

Hey Barbara, great review...how many stars are you rating it?

Thanks!

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Finished: 8/2/2012
Shelf: Ghosts
Rating: *****

Words cannot describe how much I love this series! Iron Kissed made me cry and was by far my favorite in the series. I keep expecting these books to go downhill or get tedious but they don't, they just get better! I don't know why I wait so long to read these but I want to savor them! I love Mercy and Adam's relationship and how they've incorporated Samuel into their pseudo-family and now this book brings Stefan into the mix as well. So good...definately on my list of books to re-read.

Finished: 8/2/2012
Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★

I don’t know why I kept putting off starting this series. I’ve read other books by Rachel Vincent and knew that I liked her writing style. I’ve read a ton of urban fantasy and knew that it was a genre that I enjoyed. And really…who doesn’t like shifters, so I knew the subject matter would be something that I would enjoy. Of course as soon as I started Stray, I didn’t want to put it down. I love Faythe and her sarcastic, smart mouth. I completely understood her desire for freedom and a life away from the Pride, but at times her attitude got a little old. Her whining about her life and some unnecessary descriptions is why I only gave it the book a 4 instead of a 5.

I loved the rest of the characters and can’t wait to see more of them in the rest of the books. Marc and Jace were my favorites, followed closely by Ethan and Owen. I found the Pride dynamics to be extremely interesting and slightly oppressive for tabbies, which given their situation is understandable, yet totally frustrating. This book was pretty brutal in the middle as far as violence and descriptions of things that had happened. It might be a little much for some people, but I loved that Vincent wasn’t afraid to get dirty and rough. I look forward to seeing how the loose ends that didn’t get tied up spill into future books.

I already have the second book queued up and ready to go on my Kindle, but I’m trying to fight the desire to read it right now. I have other books in line and need to get to those first, but I do have a vacation next week…

Paris wrote: "
Finished: 8/2/2012
Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★

I don’t know why I kept putting off starting this series. I’ve read other books by Rachel Vincent and knew that I liked her w..."

I really liked that series too. Hope her new ones are as good.

I loved the first book in her Unbound PNR series. It's different from this though. Heavier, if that's even possible given all the crap that happens in this first book. I have the second book, Shadow Bound, waiting to be read, but I can't decided if I should read that or Rogue first. Darn you Rachel Vincent!! lol

Sorry I'm super behind right now. I had to help teach at Vacation Bible School for my MIL this week. I'm going to catch up as much as I can tomorrow and Sunday.

I finished my urban fantasy selection today August 4th.

★★★★
I liked Kyana from the first chapter. She's one of those people who even though they fight to save humans from demons, couldn't care less about humans and it shows. She has trouble showing her emotions but she does the right thing so in my book, she's an okay chick. I also really liked Ryker, son of Ares. Now Ares is an ass but Ryker, he's a horse of a different color and a yummy horse at that. This is a unique mix of urban fantasy, paranormal and mythology. It takes a while to figure out who's who and what's what but definitely worth the effort.

Sarah wrote: "Sorry I'm super behind right now. I had to help teach at Vacation Bible School for my MIL this week. I'm going to catch up as much as I can tomorrow and Sunday."

No worries Sarah. Catch up when you can. Hopefully today's shelf won't be one that ends the game.

Woohooo! New shelf announcement

Our next shelf announcement is up ~ 'Series Catch-up' (personal shelf)

NOTE:
❀ Members are allowed to choose a book from any series that they have already started - no genre restrictions
❀ Book must be 200+ pages, part of a series, but not the first in a series
❀ Re-reads are not allowed - must be a book in a series you need to catch-up

So many books to choose from for this new shelf. I have a ton of series that I need to catch up on. lol

Gonna be either:

or

Just depends on what I feel like reading come Monday since I won't get much (if any) reading done today and tomorrow. Gotta concentrate on celebrating my birthday. lol

Wow this is awesome. But such a hard decision to make!

I think I will go with Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward or One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost.

Happy Birthday Paris!!!!

Sarah I totally feel your pain. It's so hard to pick just one. lol

Sandra wrote: "Happy Birthday Paris!!!!"

Thanks Sandra! We're going out dancing tonight, gotta love a club that has 80's night.

Sounds like a good plan to me. LOL

I'm changing my Demon book, I'm reading First Drop of Crimson for Demons and Faefever for UF.



First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
Finished: 8/5/2012
Shelf: Demons
Rating: *****

This book was really good! I enjoyed the dialogue and the story was really good as well! The Cat and Bones appearance was nice too, I've only read the first 2 books of that series. I wonder where this book fits in with that series? It didn't really matter, this book was it's own story and you didn't really need to know anything from the other series inorder to enjoy this one. Will definately be reading the next book!

My Series Catch up will be

My Series Catch up is , and the end of the series, too. Supposed to have everyone in this one...

Series catchup = which is the final book in the Rogue Mage trilogy.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Finished: 8/6/2012
Shelf: Series Catch Up
Rating: **

I would've liked this book better if the story was told from Mia's point of view. Hearing Adam's side the story was interesting at first but by the end of the book he was wearing on me. He just sounded really whiny at the end and I just wanted to tell him to grow up. I would've rather of heard Mia's side of the story instead.

Well I finished my series catchup book on August 8th. ★★★

This is the third and some say, final book in the series and I still have trouble with the world building. It's so complex and religious that it just can't hold my attention long enough to figure out the dynamics.

After reading Seraphs (the second book), I had this thought "I enjoyed Bloodring but this book is way too religious for my tastes. It's God this, the High Host that, scripture left and right, and over-zealous religious leaders. It's way abstract and ambiguous and I keep losing focus as to what is really going on. I have to read the conclusion to hopefully tie up all the loose ends and explain a whole lot of stuff which I don't understand.

Well believe it or not, this was actually more religious than Seraphs which made it super hard for me to keep reading. And very few of the plot points were actually explained or concluded which leads me to believe that at some point, another book will be released concluding this series. However, I don't think I will be reading it. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book and the ending was exciting though kind of abrupt and not real conclusive. I just don't think I can deal with another book with the escalating religious fervor that they contain. So for my purposes, this series i8s done and over all it was good but very confusing with things thrown into the mix that just don't make sense, like the mage-heat. If they couldn't act on mage-heat....then what exactly was the point of introducing that element?

Great review Barbara. I've looked at that series a couple times, but didn't really feel it was for me. After reading your review, I'm 100% certain that it isn't.

glad I could help. lol

Shelf: Series Catch-Up
Finished: 8/10/12
Rating: ★★★★


Once again I started the book with a little trepidation, unsure of how Max and Sophia could hold my attention given that neither were a changeling. At first they didn’t, not as much as the storyline did. I find the Psy fascinating in their creepiness and the whole storyline with someone going after Nikita’s advisors really showed a lot of what I love about the Psy. There was also a super creepy serial killer in there that I enjoyed (I know I’m weird). And while I was enjoying the creep factor, Max and Sophia snuck in there and made me adore them and their budding relationship.

I did find Sophia more approachable then the other Psy females and I think I like her more than Ashaya (sorry Dorian). I loved seeing Vaughn and Clay and Dorian and of course Sascha and Lucas. It was interesting to see Sascha talk to her mother and let her know that she was pregnant. And I’m really interested in what Kaleb has going on. He’s so freaking fascinating. There is so much going on with the Psy and the members of the council and their personal and political agendas. I am really looking forward to uncovering more of all of that.

I also have to say that I liked how things ended with Sophia and Max and how they can be together. I was so unsure of how the PsyNet situation would be handled as far as Sophia was concerned and I think it was handled brilliantly. Totally something I didn’t see coming at all. Now I’m off to start the next book, although I’m getting worried about what I’ll do when I run out of Psy-Changeling books to read.

Series catchup - I was going to read thirteen by armstrong, but I was reading the Burke books by Vachss, and instead I read, for the first time,
book 17.
Terminal by Andrew Vachss
read 8/10/12
rating ****

I had lost track of Burke, the Secret Children, and what was happening with his family. These are very violent books, written by a former prosecutor and lawyer who only represents children,

Burch is a "criminal" who kills child molesters and who is a thief. This book was out in high tech killing stuff, but Vachss is still singing his song and preaching the gospel on saving kids, and how, as a society, we let parents get away with more than we would ever let a stranger do. Not a PN, not a fantasy, a straight noir series, and next book is the end.

Even the bad books are good...

Read: 8.10.12
Rating: 4/5

Review:
This is the first book I've read by Maureen Johnson, and it had a horror aspect to it which is unusual for me. I loved the background for this book, and that it was based on Jack the Ripper's murders. I liked the paranormal aspect as well. The romance was lacking in my opinion. I enjoyed learning about Rory and Jack the Ripper. I loved the world that Johnson created. I'm definitely interested in reading the next book in the series.

Putting in for another stamp ladies!!

Ghosts 5/5
Stamp Received:

√Sarah: The Name of the Star - 8/10/12 - ★★★★ - Review
√Paris: Chasing Magic - 7/19/12 - ★★★★★ - Review
√Barbara: Walking Dead - 7/18/12 - ★★★★ - Review
√Suzanne: Bone Crossed - 8/2/12 - ★★★★★ - Review
√Deidre: The Replacement - 7/15/12 - ★★★★ - Review

Woohoo! Ladies we have a new shelf announcement! And it's one that once again doesn't really help us much, but it is not a winning shelf for anyone else either. So I'll take it.

Our next shelf is 'angels'

Crap, I don't know which book to pick. I've at least got it narrowed down to these ones that I have on hand. Any suggestions?

Paris wrote: "Crap, I don't know which book to pick. I've at least got it narrowed down to these ones that I have on hand. Any suggestions?

[bookc..."

No suggestions, I don't have any of those, and I am going to have to go control F looking for to read books. phooey!

I've read quite a few books in the first 5 pages and then have a bunch more on my TBR. Problem is, I'm kinda not feeling any of them at the moment even thought I really want to read them. Does that even make any sense? lol

I will be picking mine from the following:
or, once again, Thirteen by Armstrong which is on the list as 13, but it's the same book, different publisher.