Almost a year.

Wow, it is almost a year since I did my last post/book review. I think I will have to start doing it again just for my own record...as evidence from the lack of comments on this blog just like my crafting blog. It is obvious no on gives a rat's ass about my opinions.

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe

Lord of Rage (Royal House of Shadows, #2) by Jill Monroe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well here was book two in the Royal House of Shadows series and I have to say I really enjoyed this book! There was enough of the fairy tale in the story to know what it was without a problem. And the story was fun, aside from the tragic background of the characters. Full of adventure and magic, all parts of this book was fun. I am anxious to start the 3rd book! :)



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Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Gena is my favorite romance writer and I hate to say that I was disappointed in any of her books but this was one of them. :( I was hoping to read something that even though was inspired by a fairy tale, I thought there would be more references to the fairy tale. I would barely recognize Alice in Wonderland for this story and it bummed me out. Jane was a pretty cool character and I loved Nicholai but the storyline, being the start of a series, let me down. :( That doesn't mean I won't be reading the rest, I already have all 4 and am currently reading the Lord of Rage.



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MockingJay Review

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Wow, I can't believe how disappointed I was in this book. I just had such a problem with the way they tied things up. I am glad that there was an "ending" and it didn't leave you hanging. I have always been a person who likes a happy ending, and although this story ended, it was far from happy in my opinion. But I guess that is to be expected with war novels. And another reason why I stay away from them. I am glad I listened to this novel because I know I never would have been able to read it til the end.



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Riptide-My Review

Riptide by Cherry Adair

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I had first read one of Cherry Adair's short story's and out of the three stories in the book her's was my favorite! It was so full of suspense! So when I saw this book I didn't even read what it was about til I got home, I just bought it. I was so excited to read it. That is where things got unexciting. I had a really hard time starting this book. That may have been because it was part of a series and this was the first I have read. But I usually don't have a problem with that. Once I got into the story, it got better then kind of hit a slow point in the middle. Not til the climatic end scene was a glued to the pages. Those were the reasons I gave it three stars instead of four.



What I really loved was the way she was able to add twists to the story that I never even picked up on or could have guessed. I really enjoyed all the action scenes and the realistic behavior of the characters and their "powers." All in all I would recommend this book to others..but maybe suggest they read from the beginning.



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Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Tried to read it, couldn't get into it. (9/24/10)



10/01/2011-Well, I tried it again. This time I listened to it. So I changed my review from 1 star to 3. And I gave it 3 instead of 2 because I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.



I got a little annoyed at some of the events. The book was so slow moving up until Katniss and Peeta watched Haymitch's Second Quarter Quell. From then on things got interesting and held my attention. I liked Peeta and Katniss much more in this book than in The Hunger Games. I am now going to listen to Mockinjay and hopefully I will be happy with the results. Otherwise I may come back and set the stars to 2.



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Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Book of a 1000 Days by Shannon Hale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! This book wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be...and it was 50 times better! I fell in love instantly with Dashti! She is such a pure and genuine character! I listened to this book in every single free moment possible. When I wasn't listening to it I was thinking about it. The stuff that her and Lady Saran go through is sad but interesting, and while I know that they're still alive as she's writing her own story, I still was anxious to find out what happened. The Full Cast Audio was just the best thing that could happen to this story. This is one I WILL listen to again.



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Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland by Shannon Hale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! Boy was I just pleasantly surprised how much I LOVED this story!! I think this one would be really fun to discuss in the bookclub, that with it's subtle similarities to it's namesake, Jane Austen.



You really can enjoy Jane's character arch. She learns so much yet most of it has all been inside her from the beginning. Truely an enjoyable read/listen. I loved every moment of this story. I'd like to see it as a movie but am afraid Hollywood would just ruin it like they do with so many.



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The Wedding Girl

The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What an interesting tale. Especially to one who is in the process of getting married. I was kind of disappointed that it didn't deal with Millie really doing much work for the planning. Maybe because I envied her?
I found her a character that really is a genuinely nice person at heart and I was excited to learn that her fiance, Simon, was too. I would have loved Madeline to delve more into Simon's issues with his father, but maybe that would be something for another book.
All in all I really enjoyed this. The more into the story the more I felt for what Millie and Rupert went through. The same goes for Isabelle. I loved her character and truely was surprised on how her story concluded and would love to find out what happens with her...although I don't know if there are any continuing stories for this book.
It's amazing how one event when you're 18 can shape so much of your life without you even realizing it.



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Demon from the Dark

Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow, like always, Kresley doesn't disappoint.
This story was like an adult version of Beauty and the Beast...and no "damsel in distress." Carrow can really kick but with her magical powers. Actually, the only real part of Beauty and the Beast was that he was A beast..it all differs from there.

It was not hard to side with Malkom after first meeting him..although he made it really hard by being such a bad@$$ in his lair.

So often it was torture to tear my eyes away from the pages. This is definitly a good read and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves dark romance and adventure.



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Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It had been awhile waiting to find out what happened to these characters. Boy but I was totally happy with the results!

At first, Lucia was really driving me crazy! The stuff she did to Garreth was just unfair. But boy did he take it in stride.

I loved the journey through the Amazon and as scary as it was for them, I still wanted to be there to experience the adventure. However, being safe in my home was plenty exciting for me!

All in all a Great book!



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The Darkest Passion

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So, I decided to give this 4 stars instead of 5 only because I was kind of annoyed at the characters in the beginning. It wasn't til I got through the first 150 or so pages that I felt better about Olivia and Legion.



Definitely shows the love of and forgiveness of an Angel. I really didn't like being around Lysander since I liked his own story but was frustrated with his inability to understand Olivia's love for Aeron.



Was really surprised and happy how it ended!!! And it makes me even more excited to start The Darkest Lie. I've been anxiously awaiting Gideon's story, and was pleasantly teased in this book. Gena foreshadows some of Paris's story so I'm waiting for that also!



All in all, the love and sacrifice of the characters kept me moved and makes me want to be apart of their group, even though doom is lurking there in the future.



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Acheron

Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My oh MY!!



I guess it's harder for me to appreciate Acheron's story only because his was the second Sherrilyn Kenyon book I've been exposed to. So far, I have only listened to her story's, never read them. This one may have been easier to take reading since it is so BRUTAL in the beginning...but I still found it fascinating.



I gave this book 4 stars because it was just so brutal. I mean it was hours of listening to him being beaten, tortured, abused, killed. I mean, anything possibly horrible that could happen to a person/immortal happened to him.



I can't even imagine, living for 10,000 years and EVER forgiving anyone from his past, but Acheron does and I admire him for that. I have to say thought, the story became much more interesting when Tori came into the picture. She is perfect for Ach. There were so many times I wanted to jump up and cheer for her and how she handled herself. Mostly because I don't think I could ever do what she does, but then again, for love...maybe I could too.



Even so, I wouldn't say this was an "enjoyable" read, but was definitely interesting from start to finish. I even find myself wondering how Acheron is doing today as if he's a real character in the world.



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Changeling

Changeling by Roger Zelazny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This one took me longer to read than I planned to, mostly only to time constraints with my Bookclub. However, it still took me a few chapters to get the feel of the story and try to understand what was going on in addition to the main characters.

I was glad that the "main" character was the one that grew up in our reality. The mixture of Fantasy and Science Fiction into one book was really well done, especially by still keeping it grounded in reality.

I love that the weapon and important instrument of the story was the guitar, in that it wasn't used as a specific weapon, but by it's natural purpose being it's strengths. Was also happy that the dragons and creatures were so much a part of the world not just as animals. But other cultures. That includes the dragons.

Only thing I didn't like was the abruptness of the ending. I guess that it's part of a series but as someone who has read other series books, I tend to enjoy them better when they each have their own ending and an epilogue.

In conclusion, don't mess with the guitar.

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Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this story!! It was the earliest book available online to check out from my library so I got confused with some of the characters since I was unfamiliar with the universe. Sin is a great character. I am not sure how someone that has gone what he has to have any sanity left. Kat was a also great character. She was so understanding but willing to fight for herself. All in all, I'm anxious to listen to or read the next ones. Oh, on a side note though, the Brother of Sin and the leader of the Gallo (sp?) Demons names was WAYYYY to similar.

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Not that anyone cares, but...

Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I thought this was a nice little tale. I was really happy there was a mystery to the death of his ex-girlfriend. I was so happy the way the story started out and ended. Am anxious to listen to the next one.

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Breaking Dawn (Audio)

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is just as awesome to listen to as it is to read. I just can't get enough of this vampire tale. Most everyone has read this book already so I really don't think my review is necessary...but even so I will say this:I felt Bella finally grew up as a character in this book. I loved her determination and her willpower, not everyone could go through all that she has and still remain sane...even though that is questionable. This book is really the only one where I like Jacob. I was sooooo very annoyed having his POV when I first read it since I wanted to know what was going on with Bella. However, having read it already and this being the second time with the story...knowing it was coming up and what happens made me appreciate Jacob's POV waaaaay more than the first time.All in all, an unique and enjoyable story. I really didn't know how she was going to conclude it. And although she ended it, I still feel that one day she could go back to the characters and not ruin the first stories.

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The Man who Loved Pride and Prejudice

The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice: A modern love story with a Jane Austen twist by Abigail Reynolds

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I was really excited to read this book and was very happy up until the middle. I felt the author was on the right track, but once the characters found their place, it actually got boring. The characters seemed to easily figure out their relationship to easily after their rocky start.

I see the similarities to Pride and Prejudice, and most of them are not subtle since it obviously is the modern telling of the story. I'm glad I read it and would possibly read one of her other stories, but we'll see.

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The Choice

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Well, thanks to my sister I read this book, because otherwise I'd never have touched it since it's written by Nicholas Sparks and anyone who knows me knows that his stories take me beyond the point of emotional.

That being said, this book definitely opens your eyes about how short life is. However, in my life lately this reminder has been continually thrown in my face so I've not been a stranger to it.

I felt the book really didn't pick up til Part II. The whole Part I was dedicated to the two characters life as they met, fell in love, and made their choices in life from Both POV's. I really didn't start caring for Gabby until Part II.The POV's seemed to changed right in the middle of the chapter's paragraphs. Part II is where you only get one POV and I really started to feel for the characters. True to Sparks nature, he brings your emotions right there for all to see.

All in all, I'm glad I read it. Definitely showed me that Sparks can write somewhat of a good ending. Wouldn't say I'd read another of his but for now I'm content.

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Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, leave it to Michael Crichton to write another awesome tale!(so going to miss that author!!) I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. Was sad by the ending but sort of glad that it was more realistic. The crew's adventures were very suspenseful and exhilarating! I highly recommend this book!

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