Full Moon Rising

A while back, I was shopping, and I picked up a book called Destiny Kills. I thought the author was Kay Hooper. And I never even looked twice, just assumed it was a re-release I hadn't read.

Then I got the book home. It was really by Keri Arthur. Don't ask me why my brain didn't register. I have no idea.

So, I've got this book. It looks like it's in the middle of a series, and so it's been sitting on my shelf ever since, waiting for me to read (notice that is not the title of the blog? That's because I still haven't read it).

When I was at the library (not mine) the other day, I saw a third Keri Arthur book. I picked it up. Turns out it's about 7 books into a series. Whoops. So I back tracked through my library, and just finished the first in this series.

Meet Riley Jensen. She's a little special. First of all, she has a twin, Rhoan. He's a pretty great guy. He's a Guardian. Oh, no idea what that is? Well, let me explain a few things then. You see, Riley and Rhoan aren't your average twins. They're half werewolf, half vampire.

In a world that's a lot like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, or Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, it's a pretty well known fact that there are werewolves and vampires. But here, weres are born that way. Vampires are still made.

Anyway, Riley works for Dictorate (not like the Dictorate in "Alias") in Melborne, Australia. Dictorate is basically a seperate police force for nonhumans (supernaturals). Even among nonhumans, Riley and Rhoan are special. Of course, special isn't a good when it comes to genetics.

So, we meet them, and Riley is not a Guardian. She's just a liason. But that's all about to change. One of her two regular boyfriends wants to get her pregnant. And the other boyfriend is just barely on the good side of things.

She's got to fight down clones, half-breeds, and her love life. Which goes especially hairy when she meets Quinn, a vampire that's somewhere around 1200 years old. He's bitter, and lying to himself.

Be warned! This is really violent, and really sexual. Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but not everyone will.

But I really liked it. I really like Riley. She's a spitfire.

Vastly Amusing

I just finished All I Want For Christmas is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (3 snowflakes), and I was flipping through the back.

You know how sometimes they'll give you a teaser for new books coming out? This one had 3 teasers.

One of them was for All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks. I laughed.

Consumer Driven Awards, and Why I Love Them

So, in doing a bit of research, I found a book award called the Quill Awards. I'd direct you to their website, but it doesn't say anything, and you can't see any of their back awards. Or any pending awards.

Hence where Wikipedia comes in handy. I look up the Quill awards. Wikipedia quotes the Quill homepage as saying, "The Quill Award was 'consumer-driven awards created to inspire reading while promoting literacy.' "

Amazing. I can't believe they admit to it. Most awards are based on popularity or lack there of, but no one comes right out and says it like that.

Anyway, thanks to the short-lived Quill Awards (the foundation only lasted from 2005-2008), I have rounded out my Award Winning books, leaving me with only 3 categories left (Written by Men, Classics, and Biographies).

Many thanks to J.K. Rowling, because the Harry Potter books took up over half my award winners.

Embarrassed

Okay, so it's the end of the month (an hour and a half left, and I have a visitor coming...I doubt I'm going to finish another book today), and I've never before been embarrassed to admit how many books I read in a month. Seriously...it's pathetic. I need help. I need a life.

44 books in June. The best part it isn't even a longer month! Geez. This is a cry for a life. Someone save me.

Anyway, that brings my total for this year up to a ghastly...203. And we're only half way through the year. I need serious help.

Angry Conversations With God

I just finished Angry Conversations With God: A Snarky by Authentic Spiritual Memoir by Susan Isaacs. I've decided that it does fit in the biography section of the 9909 challenge, even if it is shelved in the 200's (religion).

Okay, so this is the third time I've blogged about it tonight (this morning? Whatever). Anyway, I probably wouldn't have blogged about it if it wasn't amazing, but it was.

Susan is your typical artsy Southern California native. She wants to be an actor, or a writer. She grew up in SoCal, then at one point moved to New York. She was also raised in the church.

For those of you who don't know what that can do to you, let me tell you. Being raised in the church tends to mean 1 of 3 things. (1) You forever have this cookie cutter image of God where you never mature, (2) you at some point decide God isn't real, and jump off the religion train, or (3) you decide that life is tough, but God is tougher. And you deal with life, and keep God. It's hard, but people do it.

Anyway, Susan had a nice mix of all 3 (so I guess there are 4 choices?), and she turned out okay. Of course, she took God (in her mind) to couple's therapy (for real). Which is weird, but pretty freaking amazing, when you think about it.

And the memoir? Well written, snarky (and you know how I love snarky things), and potent. I was on an emotional rollercoaster all night. I loved it.

If you're curious about religion, have religion, or have ever had religion, you should read this. It's great. 4 snowflakes. Now, excuse me while I go contemplate the state of my soul (sad truth...)

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love

I found this book at work, and it was intriguing. Especially because the Sweet Potato Queens have a whole bunch of books out, and this is the very first. It's written by Jill Conner Browne, the creator of the Sweet Potato Queens.

Did I mention this is nonfiction?

Okay, here's where it get fun. The Sweet Potato Queens are a group of women who live in Mississippi. They are true Southern Women. One day, Jill decided she wanted to be a queen. It didn't matter of what, she just wanted to be one. She knew a guy who owned a sweet potato farm, so she offered to be the Queen every year. He never got back to her, but she (and some friends) decided to declare themselves Sweet Potato Queens. They also decided to throw their town's very first Saint Patrick's Day Parade. The entire parade consisted of the Queens riding around in the back of a truck, wear green ball gowns and waving. Well, it somehow caught on.

And now, in Jackson, Mississippi, they do this every year. It's actually turned into a pretty big thing, I guess (maybe I'll do that next year...).

But in the book, Jill talks about all the things you need to know to be a Sweet Potato Queen (though you can't actually become one...you have to be a Wannabe first, and then a Queen has to die or move away).

Things like The Promise (which I can't talk about, because this is a family-friendly blog, but if you want to know, let me know and I'll totally tell you... lindy [at] anovelbeat [dot] com), the Best Advice Ever Given ("Be particular"), the 5 kinds of men you need in your life (and 4 of them can be gay), recipes for the most fattening food on the planet, and why trashy lingere is actually a good thing.

No kidding, I laughed out loud reading this. And now I pine to be a Sweet Potato Queen (though, I'm probably too young, and have no desire to move to Jackson, Mississippi anytime soon, even if I can spell Mississippi without have to look it up).

4 snowflakes for rocking my world.

Dead and Gone

I finished the latest Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire/TruBlood) book yesterday.

I know that I really liked the early books, but Dead and Gone was a bit of a disappointment. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but that it was a little crazy. It had this really, really slow build up, then the end was wayyy to fast.

Of course, Eric was his usual ass-type self. He somehow got him and Sookie married, at least in the vampire world. It'll be fun to see how this works out.

And the fairies came to Earth to fight a war. People were lost on both sides (of course they didn't kill Bill, but it was close), and that was sad. And now, no more fairies.

Jason...I just don't know what to think of him. He's an ass (see last book for that one!), but he's hurting. I'm just glad he's not my brother.

3 snowflakes. I enjoyed it, but it could have been better. Maybe the TV show is getting to her?

Unreliable Narrator

I just read my first book with an unreliable narrator.  Well, my first outside of school.

I never realized just how much I trusted the narrator.  I mean, the whole time we're talking about a guy who died, and I'm trying to make the other people fit, and it's just not working.  But still, the narrator never occurs to me!  You're supposed to trust the narrator to tell you the truth...and to tell you every thing they know!

Leaving out that you snuck down the stairs and killed your husband is no good for the reader.

I have no idea what I thought of the book.  I enjoyed it, though it was fraught with oddities.  But still... the unreliable narrator makes me squirm uncomfortably.

Names

You know what I hate?  Names where you can't tell if it's a girl or a guy right off.  Jordan, MacKenzie, Adrian, Madison...I hate that.

I'm reading a book (surprising, right?) written by an "Adrian"  an "Adrian Nikolas" even.  So this is me, assuming it's a man.  But, just to be sure...I look them up.

It's a woman!  Why?!?  Does she not know that I am severely lacking in books written by men for the 9909 Challenge? 

Ugh.

Not that I'm not enjoying the book...but this one (the second in the series), doesn't even take place in Louisiana, like the last one did!  So (enjoyment aside), it's completely useless to me!  Sigh.

Bibliophilia

I read Bibliophilia by Michael Griffith yesterday.  It's a book of short stories, but the longest one (which is actually a novella), is Bibliophilia.

It's about a librarian, who claims that she doesn't fit in with the librarian stereotype (the old, bitter, sex-less woman), but she really does.  And as the story goes on, you find out her past and why she fits it so well.

But that's not all.  Every other chapter is written by a man named Seti, who is in America (Louisiana, in particular), to get a degree in hydrology so he can go back to Egypt and find a way to get more water to people who need it.

So it's an odd mix of Seti's trying to figure out Americans (including his knowledge of slang...it's great), and the librarian's past.

That is, of course, until it all comes to a head.  When the librarian finds a young couple having sex in the stacks, and Seti comes to rescue her.  But the shock of it all...well, it's amazing.

Then she runs home to start her new life...and then the twist happens.

The ending is a little questionable, but still...the twist...oh, the twist rocked my world.  A word of warning though...the whole book is a little sex obsessed.  But I still really liked it. 

And!  If I were double dipping, it would fill 3 spots in the 9909 challenge: Southern, starring a librarian, and by a man.  Stellar.

Another One Bites the Dust!

I finished another category for the 9909 challenge.  New Vampire Books.  Done!

Now...I need to get on Classics... I haven't read any yet.  Shame.

Finito!

I finished one of my categories in the 9909 Challenge!  Yep..that's right.

Which one, you may ask?  While it seems like it should be "vampire novels", it's not.  Oddly enough, I finished "Books starring librarians" today.

I'm proud.  1 down...8 to go!

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?

Under the Blood Red Moon

Okay, so Mom and I went to a bookstore in San Diego, and the title intrigued me, if only because I want to see "Under the Same Moon"

Then I read the back.  And I was intrigued by the plot.  Mina Hepson wrote this, and every time I saw her name, I kept thinking of Mina Harker, from the original Dracula.  

Anyway, it takes place in 1871 London (I know, I know.  I don't usually read historical stuff).  Princess Angelica (she's half-English, half-Russian) has spent most of her life hiding in her library because she can hear people's thoughts.  But when her brother decides that she needs to be introduced to society, she moves to London to meet suitors.

At one particular ball, she meets a man who teaches her how to block other people's thoughts out.  As time goes on, you find out that the man (Prince Alexander from Moscow) is actually a visiting vampire who has come to stop another vampire who is killing people and vampires alike.  If the humans figure out that vampires are real, the age of the vampire slayer will come again, and Alexander is in charge of keeping the war from breaking out.

It sounds crazy...okay, well it is crazy.  But in a really great way.  Aside from the whole historical thing (which drives me nuts), it was pretty fun.  She's brilliant, but kind of dumb sometimes.  He's stoic and a little annoying.  Her brother is great, her aunt a real menace, and the other vampires are interesting, to say the least.  Oh, and if you don't see the twist coming, don't blame me.  Once they started talking about her parents, it seemed pretty freaking obvious to me.  However!  I did not figure out who the real bad guy was.  Amazingly done, and I was so happy when they died.

An Explanation

Okay, so here's why you haven't heard from me in forever.

When I find an author I like, I tend to read every thing I can my hands on that they wrote. Sometimes it's no big deal, and I find myself backlogged 3 or 4 books. Sometimes, however, I find my self with 14 books checked out by the same author.

I recently (this year) found Jayne Ann Krentz. Well, that's not completely true. Last year Mom had me read some of her book in one of her (many) pen names, but I was only kind of eh about them.

Now, of course, I want to re-read them.

Anyway, so I've been reading a lot of Jayne Ann Krentz lately. And, many of her books take place in (a) the Pacific Northwest, (b) Arizona, or (c) the business world. Not too many that make the 9909 challenge (though some are about librarians...)

Not that I haven't been reading a lot. I have. I really really have been. It's just that most of it isn't post-worthy.

So there you go. My reasoning for being mysteriously absent lately.

How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About it

Okay, so I have to admit that when I started looking for books about librarians, this one came up first thing. It looked a little odd, so I decided against it. But then I changed my mind and thought, "what the heck, why not?"

Rhett Ellis wrote How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About it (and let me tell you how freaking long that title is!).

It's a short book, just 101 pages about how a small town minister falls in love with the new librarian. Why did he have to live to tell about it? There was no great murder mystery, no overwhelming force that kept them apart.

The librarian was bipolar.

And then there's the guy who wants to shut down the library, and tries to blackmail the minister. It (of course) doesn't work out that well for him.

Anyway, it was cute, if a little odd.

Ghost Hunter

Ok, are you ready for this one? I'm reading Ghost Hunter, by Jayne Castle, and the male lead is a librarian! Awesome!

Okay, so Jayne Castle is the pen name for Jayne Ann Krentz. Anything by Jayne Castle takes place in the future in another realm. It's kind of weird, but fun.

Anyway, every city has The Guild, a mafia-type organization that keeps ghosts from hurting people in the catacombs under the city. Yeah, I know, far fetched. But still...fun.

In this one, Cooper is the new Guild Boss of Aurora Springs. When Elly breaks off their engagement, he waits 6 months before following her to Cadence where he can try to woo her again.

But things start to go awry when Elly's neighbor gets hurt in the catacombs, and suddenly they're trying to uncover a drug dealer who's trying to set up Cooper.

Confused yet? Let's throw in her pet dust bunny just for fun. Little predators, big fun.

I liked it. Plus...male librarian. How often does that happen?

Ella Enchanted

Okay, so part of my idea when I said I was going to read more award winning books was that I was going to read award winning kids books. Because, face it, sometimes you learn more from a kids book than you would than reading Shakespeare.

You think I'm kidding? Read The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, or The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster.

Okay, there's my rant on why I love kids books.

Anyway, I have to admit that I saw "Ella Enchanted" when it came out (starring Anne Hathaway), and at some point heard it was a book first (unsurprising, really).

As far I can remember, the movie and the book (the latter written by Gail Carson Levine) are a lot a like. Well, Prince Char (for Charmont in the book, but Charming in the movie) is a lot nicer in the book. In the movie, he's kind of a diva.

Anyway, the book was fun. Ella has glass shoes, a terrible step-family (Hattie is really a terrible sister), can learn any language, and even tame ogres in her spare time. Not to mention runs away from finishing school, and steals Hattie's wig on her way out. Not bad for a girl who is cursed and has to do everything she's told.

Oh, and I did mention that her fairy godmother is her cook? Yeah, but she makes really good food.

The book won a Newbery Honor. I liked it. 3 snowflakes.

Running Hot

I just finished Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz. Okay, what you have to understand about most of Jayne Ann Krentz's work is that it usually has to do with paranormal/psychic stuff. The Arcane Society novels (Running Hot is the latest) are all about those.

The Arcane Society is a secret society of people with psychic powers. The whole point of the series is taking down a group called Nightshade, who is trying to create a drug to enhance (and even start more) psychic powers.

And, of course, in everyone one, there are two really powerful psychics (1 male, 1 female) who get together to fight the big-bad, even if at first it's not the big-bad.

In this one, it's Grace Renquist (not her real name, but then, we never find out her real name) who's a genealogist librarian (!!) with J&J (basically the Arcane Society revolves around the Jones and Jones (J&J) agency, who promote all things in learning about psychics), and Luther Malone, ex-cop who does some contracting work with J&J.

I did mention it's in Hawaii, right?

Anyway, so they're in Hawaii, trying to see if a guy is really a killer, when they stumble upon the fact that he's using Nightshade, and that there's a big meeting of Nightshade upper management (Nightshade is a corporation). When a woman who can kill with her voice come onto the scene and tries to kill Grace, and succeeds in killing the guy Grace is looking for, they eventually end up breaking the back of Nightshade.

Weird? A little. But oddly believable. You know how if you sing a high enough note, you can shatter glass? Her trick is a little like that...except she causes an aneurysm in the brain. Awesome.

Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Competition!

Okay, so for one of my classes, I have to create a Wordpress blog.

Wordpress. Pshaw. I like Blogger.

Anyway, that said, it pretty much has the same function as this blog. I'll probably delete it when the class is over, but in case you want to see it (it's rather boring still), visit

www.anovelbeat.com/blog

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...

Plum Spooky

I have mentioned that if you ever need a pick-me-up, you should read something by Janet Evanovich, right? Her books are seriously laugh-out-loud funny.

Anyway, Plum Spooky is her latest. It's part of the Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter series, but this one is a Between-the-Numbers book (the regular books all have numbers in the title...One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Twelve Sharp, Fearless Fourteen etc...), but there are a handful of Between-the-Numbers books.

The main thing about the non-numbered books? They always have Diesel, and he's always chasing some weird bad guy. I'm so serious. This time, it's Wulf, who is trying to build and evil weather machine.

But the book is awesomely funny. I laughed out loud more than once. Steph is pet-sitting a monkey named Carl, Diesel has moved in until Wulf is taken care of, and Joe has taken in one of the many Morelli men for the duration of the book. Stephanie only destroys 1 car in this book (which isn't really her fault...she left it sitting out in the woods and raccoons took it over). Lula and Tank are, well, Lula and Tank (they set a wedding date, which is scary, then break-up over Tank's cats. The man has cats).

Ranger kind of hovers in the background and provides backup (because he's Ranger), and tells Steph that she shouldn't be hanging around with Diesel, because he's a bad guy (like Ranger has any room to talk there!)

Anyway, I really enjoyed it.

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!

The Haviland Touch

So, everyone knows I'm a big Kay Hooper fan, right? So when I was browsing a paperback shelf some where, I stumbled across The Haviland Touch and went, "Romance? Intrigue? World-traveling? A couple reuniting after 12 years apart? Sounds great!"

It wasn't too bad. Yeah, they fall back in love (unsurprising), and yeah, they eventually find the missing cross. Woohoo.

He's kind of a really big jerk at the beginning. In fact, I yelled at him (called him a bad name) the first time they see each other again. But he deserved it.

I never really got over that. Yeah, they work their issues out and fall back in love, and he takes off his bitter mask and learns what she's really like...but I still don't really like him.

Plus, he calls her "Sweet" which makes me mad because that's what Alex calls Morgana (from her Thief series), and I hate it when books overlap with stuff like that!

It seems silly, but it's true.

Anyway, 3 snowflakes.

Ummm...Right

Okay, so it's officially Feb 1, which means it's time to go over my monthly list.

Of course, I'm not sure I want to. It's a little embarrassing.

37 books. 3 were re-reads. The other 34? All new.

It's like I don't have a life.

Conspiracy in Death

Okay, so this is filling in an unblogged re-read in my 9909 Challenge.

Conspiracy in Death is part of J.D. Robb's In Death series, starring Lieutenant Eve Dallas, her (totally sexy) husband Roarke (no last name needed or wanted), and their band of merry police officers.

In this one, Eve is investigating the murder of a homeless man. He had his heart taken out, and it looks too perfect to be anyone but a doctor. While she's trying to chase down leads within the biggest medical center in New York, she's also having trouble with another officer who just wants to make trouble for Eve.

Roarke, in true Roarke fashion, has his hand in many of the pies that Eve is investigating (I did mention that along with being incredibly sexy, Roarke owns about 1/3 of the known universe and is incredibly loaded too, right?), but can drop everything when Eve needs his help.

This time, it's worse because when the officer Eve was having trouble with ends up murdered, Eve is suspended from her duty, which sends her into an emotional tailspin that could never be repeated. Roarke, of course, drops everything to help her get back on her feet and solve the case outside of official bounds (he's a good husband like that...not to mention stellar with hacking electronics).

Of course, Peabody is there, helping out. Feeney is doing his backup thing. McNab and Peabody aren't dating yet, but it's not far off. In this one, we meet Louise Dimatto (MD), Officer Trueheart (as cute and amazing as the day is long), and every one's favorite rat-squad detective/ex-lover, Don Webster (he works with Internal Affairs, hence the rat-squad reference).

Anyway, due to the excellent police work and the equally great personal drama, this is one of my favorite In Death books. Sometimes the weight in on one side or the other, making the neglected side...well, neglected. But this one balances both equally well.

4 Snowflakes for rocking my world.

Ugh!

So, I just finished a NR book, and here's my question.

In my 9909 Challenge, why the heck did I pick 9 books that take place in the South? I should have chosen the Northwest, because I think I'd be done with the category by now!

Just because at the time I wanted to move to the South, and I thought I should "read up" on my future home...

And, of course, now I don't want to move to the South, and...just...ugh.

Vampire Academy

In the new brilliant tradition of teen vampire novels, I give you Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

This one stars two girls, Lissa, a vampire princess, and Rose, her half-human/half-vampire bodyguard.

It's an odd story, but really easy to get into. Much like the Blue Blood series, there are good vampires and bad vampires. Good vampires also have a certain magic they can tap into.

But Lissa and Rose ran away from the school that was supposed to keep them safe, only to be brought back. Lissa is doing her best to survive (high school sucks even if you are a princess), and Rose is training to make sure that she can protect Lissa.

Never mind the new girl who has it in for Lissa, or Lissa's rather odd talent. And Rose's terrible temper.

Oh, and did I mention the dead animals everywhere?

Right. It's a good book, fun read. I liked it.

And yes, it's the first in a series.

After Caroline

I swear I've been reading! I just haven't blogged about it in a really long time.

Anyway, I just finished After Caroline by Kay Hooper. Now, this one is older and kind of slow. It's when she was just starting out with novels more about mystery than about romance.

Joanna lives in Atlanta as a reference librarian. On July 1st, she gets into a car accident, and while her car is totalled, she emerges without a scrape. But as she is standing outside the car in awe, a tree falls on her car, and she is electrocuted. They revive her, but something weird starts happening.

Joanna is plagued by dreams from a place called Cliffside, and when she finally figures out where it is (Oregon, near Portland), she goes only to find out that she looks just like a woman named Caroline.

Caroline was also in a car accident on July 1st, and Caroline wasn't as lucky as Joanna.

Joanna is absolutely convinced that Caroline wasn't in an accident, and starts to dig into her life. Given the small town, it's easier than it could have been.

This, of course, piques the sheriff's interest in her, and Griffin decides to stick close. As time goes by, Joanna reveals a lot of secrets in this seemingly happy small town, but the most dangerous is about Caroline's last lover.

It was really slow to start out with. The first 100 pages or so, I didn't really care that much. The romance angle (Joanna and Griff) takes for-freaking-ever, and even then it's slightly unbelievable. Scott (Caroline's husband) and Lyssa (who works for him) have a thing, but it's slightly unbelievable too. It seems to be about settling often.

Anyway, it was fine. Not overly stellar, not terrible. Once you get into it, you really want to know who did it, but before then you only kind of care. At least, that's how I felt.

Lady and the Vamp

Okay, so I did mention as part of my 9909 Challenge that I have to blog about every book that I read that fulfills the challenge, right? It's like...proof.

Well, in case you missed it, this on hits the "New Vampire Book" quota. Lady and the Vamp is the third in a series by Michelle Rowen. Thankfully, you don't need to read the first two (which are about Sarah, a different vampire) in order to get this one.

It stars Janie Parker and Michael Quinn. Janie is in the business of doing whatever her boss tells her to do...because she signed a contract in blood (bad idea). Quinn is a vampire. A new vampire. Who used to be a vampire hunter (read: killer).

They're both going after The Eye, a magical...item that grants 1 wish every 1,000 years. Janie's boss wants it to do...well, what he does, while Quinn wants it so that he can become human again.

Needless to say, they see each other again (Quinn hung out with Janie's brother when they were younger, and Janie had a huge crush on him), and sparks fly. Mean while, they're trying to outwit each other for The Eye, defeat the many bad guys they come across, and not fall in love with each other. Oh, and Janie's partner is in lust with her, and Quinn's partner is a werewolf who can't stay in one form.

Confused yet? It's actually not so bad. The dialogue is witty (though a touch lacking), and the (rather inevitable) sex scene come very close to the end.

And, really, he should have let her kill Malcolm any of the times she wanted to. Both of them should know by now that enemies going after the same artifact will keep trying to get it until they either have it, or are dead.

All in all, the book was cute. I like it.

The Apple That Astonished Paris

I don't often sit down and read a book of poetry. I really like to peruse them as I have time.

The trouble is, I hate carrying them around, and therefore never peruse them.

So when I heard that my favorite poet, Billy Collins, had a new book out, I decided to request it. Then I saw another book out that I hadn't read, so I requested that as well. The Apple That Astonished Paris is short, and I'd read some of the poems before. Heck, I memorized one of them for my poetry class.

Anyway, it made me want to read Anna Karenina, just for a moment. I really liked the poems "Cancer", "The Frankenstein Poet", and "The Morning After My Death"

This book is more serious than funny, but I still really enjoyed his poetry. As always.

Plus...he's a man, so this counts as a book written by a man. Score!

C.J.'s Fate

So, when anyone asks me what I did at home...the easy answers are "read" and "watched movies"

I just finished C.J.'s Fate, and older Kay Hooper. But it stars a librarian! Although the only reason we know that is because it's mentioned...she does absolutely nothing librarian-esque.

Anyway, C.J. is attending a wedding in Aspen. On her very first night, tired of her friends harassing her about not dating, she enlists a stranger to pretend to be her lover. You can see where this is going, right?

Fate (yeah, his name is Fate) falls in love with her immediately, so he decides to woo her and play along. She can't decide if the affection is really him, or the role he's playing.

Eventually, of course, they end up together, but it was fun getting there. Especially when Fate decides to read C.J. poetry in order to woo her. Fun. Not at all demanding, very fluffy, and probably not anything I'm ever going to read again, but I enjoyed it.

Out of Sync

Okay, so I have two confessions to make before I review this book. (1) I love biographies, I just never sit down and read them. I always want to, but if I put them down for any length of time, I rarely want to pick them back up. (2) About 8-10 years ago, when *N SYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, 98 Degrees and the like became famous...I was one of those teeny-boppers who loved them. With a heart filled passion. In every boy band, I had the one that I wanted to sweep me off my feet. With Backstreet Boys, I was a die hard Nick Carter fan.

When it came to *N SYNC, though, I was a little more subtle. I was Lance Bass fan. So when his biography, Out of Sync, came out, I have to admit that I was intrigued. Once I decided to do biographies for my 9909 Challenge, I decided it would be the perfect excuse to read it. So I did today.

It was interesting. It's about his life, a little before *N SYNC, about 1/2 during, a few chapters on the almost-astronaut months, then the breakup of the band and Lance's eventual coming out as gay (of course I liked the gay one...it just makes sense).

Anyway, it was short (under 200 pages). I get the feeling he wrote it himself, and you can tell he's not a writer. I feel a little bit bad about critiquing his work (he is telling his life story, and how would I feel if someone told me it was lacking?), but I wasn't as interested as I could have been. It mostly centered around his feeling of just not being in tune with the rest of the world (though the fact that he had an irregular heart beat would have been a very good metaphor...too bad he had that fixed).

Anyway, I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't recommend it. Not unless you're a die hard *N SYNC fan, or curious about famous people who have come out as homosexual.

Surprised

I'm at my mothers, reading, and she's surprised when I finish my book.

Well, it's her book, technically. And it's my second book of the day.

But still, when I close it and bust open my laptop, she looks at me and goes, "Done?"

I, of course, look sheepishly at the couch in front of me, let out a small smile, and nod.

What can I say? I'm a fast reader.

She thinks it took me less than 3 hours. It's entirely possible she's right. But it was only 320 pages. What do you expect? This is me.

The Dewey Decimal System of Love

Okay, so I found this book for $5 on a clearance rack at Barnes & Noble. I thought to myself, "Huh...a book about a librarian falling in love. Fun."

So it's by Josephine Carr, and is entitled, The Dewey Decimal System of Love On the cover is a card that you could stick in the card catalogue. Since I barely remember using these, it makes me laugh.

Oh, yes, and it is my first filled requirement for the 9909 Challenge.

So, onto the story. Ally is not your typical librarian. Unless you count wearing her hair up, wearing "librarian clothes", having thick glasses, and her most intimate relationships are with books, then no, she's no typical librarian.

But when she goes to a concert and falls in love with the conductor (Aleski), her whole world changes. When he seems to be interested in her (never mind his lovely wife), everything is glorious.

Except the odd homeless man with a PhD from Harvard who may or may not be placing stink bombs in the library. And her boss, Gordon, who suddenly sees her as, well, a woman. And Yvonne, who's in love with Gordon. Oh, and did I mention that Aleski's lovely wife might be planning to kill him? How odd.

It's funny, yes. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but funny anyway. It's quick, and wraps up very nicely at the end. She bemoans her fate as a single woman (at about 40) after the first time she sees Aleski, and spends a lot of time talking to the reader (which is a little...unsettling).

Though, at the beginning of every chapter, it tells you where to find certain things in the Dewey Decimal System (oh, Dewey...).

A Quick Edit

So, you know how I'm doing the 9909 challenge (9 books in 9 categories in 2009)?

I have something to add to one of them. #2 is "9 Re-Reads" I'd like to change that.

#2 shall now and for the year read, "2. 9 Re-Reads I Haven't Blogged"

End of the Year

So, it's the end of the year.

And you know what that means...

The final count for how many books I read.

Okay, even I'm a little appalled this year. I'm trying to remember what else I did, because the number is astronomical...even for me.

Wasn't I in school? Didn't I hang out with friends? I hold down a job. When did I have this much time to read?

The total? 256 books.

Holy-freaking-cow.

2009 Challenge

So, I was reading on Mom's blog...a while back, and she linked to Becky (who I don't think I know...), who talked about reading challenges. Including one where you pick xx amount of topics, and read xx amount of books in them. The "xx" is the last 2 numbers in the year.

So, in 2009, you have 9 categories and you have to read 9 books in each category. I thought this sounded like fun, so I chose my own categories.

1. 9 Award Winners-- Doesn't matter what kind of award, so long as it's won one.
2. 9 Re-Reads-- This one will, of course, fill up the fastest.
3. 9 Books by Men-- I tend to read books written by women. I should work on that.
4. 9 Classics Everyone Should Read (But I Haven't)-- AKA the books I should have read in my college classes, but read the Cliff-Notes instead (No...I only read the Cliff-Notes for one book, I promise)
5. 9 YA Novels-- YA= Young Adult.
6. 9 New Vampire Books
7. 9 Books That Take Place in the South
8. 9 Biographies
9. 9 Books Starring Librarians.

So...here we go!

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.

Random Epiphanies and Why I've Been So Quiet

So, I had a really random epiphany today.

I'm re-reading Tribute by Nora Roberts, and I realize why I'm not such a big fan. I don't want to be Cilla, and I don't want a guy like Ford. I don't want their jobs, their cars, their lives.

Not that I want to be every character I read, but Nora Roberts has a way of making everything seem so cool.

One of the big reasons I always wanted to try playing the cello again was because Callie plays it in Birthright. A crazy awkward guy like Bo from Blue Smoke? That'd be cool.

But Cilla is a house rehabber, and Ford is...well, not my favorite NR man ever.

So that was my epiphany.

And why have I been so mysteriously absent lately? Well, I was working on homework, and then I re-read Divine Evil, then tried to read Broken by Kelley Armstrong, but decided that I'm really not that into her books. They take too long to get into, and I'm not sure how much I like the characters. Too much emotional drama, and I have enough of that in my own life, thanks.

And re-reading Tribute has taken me days, though who knows why. Nothing like today where my lunch break ended and I had something like 8 pages left. Makes me crazy.

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).

The End of November

So, November is over. You know what that means here at Have Pen, Will Travel (huh...maybe I should change it to Have Book, Will Travel...)

Time for the monthly recap.

Here we go.

27 books. 2 non-fiction. 11 re-reads (impressively short!).

Oh...and 1 that I'm half through. Which is not included in the list, because in order for me to count a book, I have to have finished it.

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.

100 Posts

Okay, so at the Sardonic Girl, I just mentioned that I found the best, most inappropriate quote that I love.

Since I was reading it, I thought I'd mention it here.

I found this book... The Official Nora Roberts Companion.

Too funny. So I'm flipping through reading polls and glancing at pictures, when I see a quote relating to French fries. So I pause.

"How can one live without French fries? Not well, I say. In fact, I've been known to say that a day without French fries is like a day without an orgasm." -Nora Roberts.

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...)

Paying Attention

So, I bought a book today.

I thought it was Destiny Kills by Kay Hooper.

Turns out it's Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur.

They both start with a "K" and end with an "R"...that's the only reason I can even remotely come up with for why I confused the authors.

Lean Mean Thirteen

Lean Mean Thirteen is the thirteenth novel in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Man...I bet guessing where it was was tough.

Anyway, have mentioned lately how much I like these books, right? Because I do. They're fun and funny and just a trip.

In this one, Stephanie's ex-husband (Dickie) goes missing. Since Steph attacked him the day before he went missing, she's at the top of the suspect list.

Of course, then all the other people associated with Dickie's law firm start showing up dead, and she's suddenly not nearly as worried about being framed for murder as actually into the investigation.

And she has to move in with Ranger while Joe is working. I love it when she has to live with Ranger.

And Tank gets shot. I swear, the more Steph hangs out at RangeMan, the more dangerous it gets.

And I did mention how much I love Ranger and Joe, right? Because they're freaking awesome.

Bitten

Okay, so I was looking at the Amazon 4-for-3 lists the other day, and came across this series by Kelley Armstrong. The first was Bitten, so I decided to read it. I requested it from work, and it came in yesterday.

Of course, yesterday I was in the middle of Hunting Fear, so it had to wait.

Oh my gosh. I really liked this novel. It's about a woman (Elena). When we first meet her, she's living in Toronto with Philip. And she sneaks out in the middle of the night, changes into a werewolf, and runs to a ravine.

Then Jeremy calls. And she has to go back to New York, see her old "family."

Including her old fiancee, Clay.

Poor girl. She's put through an absolute emotional wringer, but finally figures out who she is. And who she loves.

Let's just say, she moves out of Toronto in the end (Which, of course, made me really, really happy. I like her and Clay together).

I was sad to lose Logan though, even though I don't know him at all.

This was her first novel, it became a series. One that Elena doesn't narrate the whole time (which makes me sad...I like Elena!).

Anyway...I'm going to see if anyone near me has the second one... I like Kelley Armstrong.

Oh, and I want to mention that it's a little graphic. The killing scenes are a little graphic, it includes references to torture and child sexual abuse. Just a warning.