Low Red Moon

In an effort to clear my mind of child murder for entertainment, I decided to read "Low Red Moon" by Ivy Devlin.  I must admit, I have a Nook, and therefore don't always know what I'm reading.  By that I mean, I get the book, put it on my Nook, then forget what it's about.  Since I have yet to figure out a way to read a preview, sometimes I'll just pick a random book and try it out.

I really like "Under the Blood Red Moon", and this is at least partially why the title caught my eye.  Sadly, this is not much the same.  This is a whiney YA werewolf novel.  Oh yeah, that annoying. 

Avery is not your average teen whose parents are killed.  While dealing with this (and being the one that finds them), she also falls in love with Ben.  Oh, yeah, and she can't remember how her parents died (even though she witnessed it), and something about the forest communicating through her.

Don't get me started.  It goes way to fast on the things that do matter, and spends too much time on things that don't.  Character development?  Meaningful explanations of the book's lore?  Yeah, not included.  I kept thinking that this was the first of a series, or possibly a second and I was just missing things, but after looking around online, this doesn't seem to be the case.

In fact, she's a one hit wonder, and from the looks of her blog, not much older than her main character.

The pacing was odd, the story didn't make a lot of sense, and the killer?  Seriously?  He could have been so much better!!!  Minus the expected twists, turns, and not plot devices, there was nothing to this book.  It would have helped if she had explained things better, but instead just skims over the lore.  Not cool, Devlin, not cool.

2 snowflakes.

Note: Some language, Supernatural, Violence, Teen Sexuality (minor)

The Hunger Games

I know that it seems like everyone has read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, especially with the movie coming out, but I hadn't.  I'm kind of on an anti-popular thing.  As in, just because everyone else has read it, doesn't mean I need to.

But, Mom and a friend of mine both read it and recommended it, so I though I try it.  I finished it in one day.  I did enjoy it.  Even texted my mom and friend about how mad I would be if they killed off either of the 2 main characters.

Here's the thing.  It reminds me of "Lord of the Flies"  Which I haven't read, but know the plot line.  And you can't help but feeling for Peeta the entire book.

If you missed it, it's basically about a girl, Katniss, who winds up volunteering to participate in The Hunger Games to save her younger sister.  In The Hunger Games, 24 kids (ages 12-18) are put in a hostile environment where only 1 can survive.  The survivor gets riches, comfort, and glamor, all for the price helping murder 23 other kids.  It's also a tool to keep the citizens both entertained and cowed.  For Katniss, it's just another thing to survive in her hard life.

Yes, she has a hard life, and yes, you feel for the poor girl who's had to survive, but I just cannot understand a government that does that.  This was part of my problem while reading it. 

There are 2 more books in the series, and I'm eager to see what happens.  But before that, I decided to take a break from the politicking to read a few other books.  The first is coming up soon.

But, I enjoyed it.  If you like entertaining books,dystopian novels,  the show "Survivor", or getting a good glimpse into the human psyche, read it.  Even if you don't, you may still like this.

No graphic, but 4 snowflakes.

Note: This book contains violence and major politic maneuvering.

Stake That!

Okay, so you know how I have this rabid interest in teen vampire novels?  It comes from reading the Twilight series, the Blue Blood series, and the Vampire Academy  series.

I found a series that makes me change my mind.  It's the Blood Coven series by Mari Mancusi.  I actually read the second one (oops...), called Stake That! today.  It was...a romp through the modern gothic teenagers mind.  And not in a good way.

Rayne and Sunshine are twins.  Rayne is a goth, and all she wants to do is be a vampire.  She spends the first part of the book lamenting about how her twin wound up with everything she wanted (almost becoming a vampire, a vamp blood mate, being vamp queen).  Not only that, but Rayne is somehow elected to become the next slayer (think Buffy, my friends).  And then...well, then it gets complicated.  Like how she's falling in love with a moody, arrogant vampire who's just like her.  Listening to her complain about her daddy issues.  Watching her and the moody vampire.

Oh, and did I mention the whole thing is told through her blogs and then diary?  It's...wow.  Not the best thing I've ever read.  Not the worst, but it's pretty low on the list.  Yikes.

All in all?

Shadow Kiss

Okay, we all know I love teen vampire novels, right? Because I just finished Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, the 3rd in the Vampire Academy series, and it made me want to throw the book at the wall. In a good way, of course.

Let's see...Mason's dead, and Rose is having a hard time dealing with that. Well, so's Eddie, but that's okay. Adrian has followed Rose and Lissa back to St. Vladimir's, so he's around, drinking and smoking.

Oh, and this is when they have their field practice. Rose and Lissa are not together, but still see each other.

And! The big fight at the end? Amazing. However, I hate Rose seeing ghosts. That's what kept this from being a 4 snowflake book for me.

And Dimitri! Oh, Dimitri...

Frostbite

Okay, so I just finished Frostbite by Richelle Mead. It's the second in the Vampire Academy series. Yeah, yeah, me and teen vampire novels. Give me a break!

Anyway, I just want to say...amazing. Rose is still protecting Lissa, and they're in school, but this time Rose isn't just protecting Lissa. She's trying to protect all of Moroi kind. But it's not going so well with the bad vamps attacking people.

Oh, and I did mention that she's totally in love with Dimitri, right? Who, by the way, I love too. What can I say...sometimes, I'm a sucker for the good guy.

In this one, her mom comes to her school (the guy she's protecting is visiting for the holidays), so Rose has a bunch of lovely (read: awkward and bad) family moments, including when she was battling her mother and winds up with a killer black eye. Nice.

Oh, and there are more vampires with the spirit magic, and Rose ends up making her first two kills.

Violence, drama, intrigue, and forbidden romance? How can I refuse!

Blood Sins

Okay, so before now (and excluding the Thief Series), Kay Hooper has written books that are supernatural stand-alones. I mean, they're all about the in the same vein, but you don't need to read one before the other. Some times they mention the same people, but it's different.

Well, this time, it's not like that. I'm assuming that the third book in this set is going to be...well, more complete, but this one was kinda...weird.

It's shorter. It seems more like an outline than a the real book.

The storyline was fine, but underdeveloped. We never really find out what it is that Cody can do, but it's good. And what's up with the romance thing? Tessa and Sawyer never really get together. They just kind of skirt around it.

But I'm glad they took Samuel out. I'm really hoping that she fleshes that out more next book.

Which won't come out for a year.

I was disappointed. But it was okay.

Working Stiff

Tori Carrington is a husband and wife team who get together and write mystery novels starring Sophie Metropolis. Working Stiff is the 4th of this series.

Sophie is a Greek-American living in Queens. Specifically, she lives in Astoria, which (at least in the book) is like New York's own Little Greece.

Sophie is a private investigator, and she's had her share of odd cases. She mostly finds lost pets (see Sophie Metro for the reasons why...) and cheating spouses cases. She has a loud family who's always in her business, an office manager who is afraid of a lot of things and Puerto Rican, and having trouble deciding between two men.

Does this sound like any other fictional PI to anyone?

Anyway, in this book, Sophie has two major cases. The first is to find a missing body that disappeared from her aunt's mortuary. The second is to prove the innocence of a kid who's about to go on trial for killing his girlfriend.

As usual, she stumbles around, finally figuring things out...in an odd, round-about way. She and Dino (her Greek boyfriend who has great husband potential) get into a big fight, and she finally hooks up with Jake (a man of mystery who's not really husband material, but for one night he's pretty amazing. Oh, and he frequently gets her out of trouble).

And, she solves the mystery. Thankfully. Both of them.

I like these books. They're Stephanie Plum meets "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"

I'm serious. She even has an annoying dog.

Oh, and she and Rosie (her office manager) believe that there is a vampire family.

And she is continually having run-ins with the Mob (where she was actually fitted for cement shoes in Dirty Laundry).

Revelations

You know, I used to hate series books. Because I'd always accidentally start in the middle of one, and I'd have to go back and read up to where I started...

So would someone please explain to me why the last 9 books I've read have been part of a series.

The most recent one was Revelations, the third in Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods series.

It was...odd. In a really good way. Schuylar has been forced to move in with the Forces, which means that Mimi is driving her crazy and Jack is fully ignoring her.

Meanwhile, her grandfather has taken over the vampire clan, which is driving Mimi crazy.

Now, I don't get who didn't see some of these things coming. Bliss is bleeding after something important went missing? Weird... (right...)

I like Bliss. I'm sad that she's such a psycho. And in some totally weird way, I understand that Mimi just loves Jack, and can't live without him.

And what is up with Ollie being all...woo-ey and in love? It's weird.

Anyway, I liked this one. The big fight scene, the beginning of the second war, the unknown history... it's really fun.

Salvation in Death

I promise you, I've been reading a lot lately, I just haven't been blogging about it.

That said, I just finished the latest J.D. Robb novel, Salvation in Death. I have no idea what I thought it was going to be about, but whatever I was expecting, it was so much better.

It starts out with a priest. He dies after drinking the sacrificial wine during a Mass for a dead man (I have no idea what that would be called...).

Just pitches over, mid-Mass.

And here I start thinking, oh, some guy who hates the church. Expect a bunch of priest killings.

Nope! Turns out...he's not really a priest.

So the whole book focuses on this one murder, though it branches out into old murders, and then there's the one mid-book. It was a little weird, another preacher (evangelical, this time) who is poisoned during his big preaching time. So then you think it's about killing religious leaders who are making bad choices.

Still not.

It was really good. I enjoyed it...even though I found some of it hard to follow. I know where the girlfriend comes in, and I know all the stuff she did, but it's still a bit confusing for me.

There was something else too.

Oh! Right! Ariel, from Creation in Death came by with a giant cake, and later Eve said something about Roarke going around the law to bring down the killer, and I couldn't for the life of me remember what he did! And I can't just go back and read Creation right now, because I've got (a) homework! and (b) tons of other new books in series that I'm supposed to be reading right now.

So confused!

Anyway, I really liked this one.

Dime Store Magic

So, Dime Store Magic is the third in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series (the first is Bitten, the second Stolen). If you remember, the first (and second, though I haven't read that one yet) starred Elena, a werewolf.

This one stars Paige, a witch. A lot happens in the second that leads up to this, but Paige is in custody of Savannah, a 13 year old witch.

When a half-demon tells Savannah's dad (Kristof) of Savannah's mother's death, she also convinces Kristof to go after Savannah.

Paige knows that it's best for Savannah to stay with her, and goes about fighting for her. She employs a human lawyer (Kristof has a sorcerer for a lawyer), but he's killed (by Leah, the half-demon).

Lots of things go wrong after that, most of them involving police action. Between stealing grave dirt, killing a boy, bringing an entire mortuary of dead bodies into zombiehood, and a police chase, Paige has her own problem.

Lucas Cortez, a sorcerer, has shown up, volunteering to be her lawyer.

The only other really important thing you're missing? The sorcerer's have their own mob-type families, called Kabals, and both Kristof and Lucas are heirs to their own Kabal thrones. Lucas doesn't want it, and Kristof does.

So Paige is also trying to keep Savannah out of that kind of trouble, and falling in love with Lucas.

It's a lot to follow sometimes, and it's a little slow (it took me a while to really get into this one...maybe because I read Haunted, the 5th in the series starring Eve, Savannah's mother, before I read this one). Other than those things, I liked it.

For A Few Demons More

You know, one day, I'm going to look back at this time in my life and laugh at all the things I read.

Anyway. I just finished For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison. It's a supernatural mystery novel where vampires, werewolves (and all other weres), witches, humans, demons, and elves all coexist.

Of course, it takes place in Cincinnati, which is always fun.

Anyway, in this one Rachel (our main character and a witch) is trying to save everyone around her from going postal, maintain some sort of balance with her roommate (Ivy, a living vampire who's in love with her), her boyfriend (Kisten, another living vampire), keep herself from getting killed or turned into a demon's familiar (it's a complicated story), and solve the case of who's killing the weres.

I did mention this is part of a series, right?

Anyway, it's fun. Rachel is a little crude, a lot crazy, and a total adrenaline junkie. It's kind of awesome watching her work.

This one is intense, both emotionally and physically. Everything will, eventually, be okay, but right now it's all a little crazy. And then, Kist...oh, Kist. I love him. Have I mentioned how glad I am that they killed Piscary? Because he was a real jerk (that happens to really old vampires...)