What to read, what to read…

I just don’t know. I’ve got a really good selection and I don’t know where to start. What is wrong with me?

So, the other day I picked up book three (I haven’t read any other in the series) of Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly series and loved the hell out of it. Harris’ is really good at making her heroines take several ass whoopin’s. LOL

Without further ado here’s the list:

• Blood Lines by Mel Odom
• The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
• Bound by Light by Anna Windsor
• Kiss of Fate by Deborah Cooke
• Bedeviled by Maureen Child
• Marked by Passion by Kate Perry
• Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon
• Death’s Daughter by Amber Benson
• Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand by Carrie Vaughn
• A Perfect Darkness by Jaime Rush
• About a Dragon by G.A. Aiken
• Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken
• Every Move you Make by Carla Cassidy
• Blind Spot by Terri Persons
• Last Breath by Mariah Stewart
• Forgotten by Mariah Stewart
• Sirens by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
• Something Wicked by Evelyn Vaughn
• He Loves Me He Loves Me Not by Stephanie Rowe
• Fantasy an Anthology
• One Bite with a Stranger by Christine Warren
• Walk on the Wild Side by Christine Warren
• Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands

I think there are a few more that I misplaced, but you get the point. So many good books to read and no where to start.

I’m a little pissy. I just realized that I read the G.A. Aiken books when they were printed under the Shelley Laurenston name. I’ve got them in ebook format. I might have bought them, but now I feel like I’ve been tricked. This sucks!

Poetry from the 6-year-old

Vilis ARe Red
BOS ARe BUW
No Bude
is the Bes
As You

(Translation: Violets are red, blooms are blue. No body is the best as you.)

Dark Warrior Unleashed by Alexis Morgan

Favorite lines: “You’re a Kyth, spelled K-y-t-h, just like me and Ranulf. Our people originated in northern Europe, especially Scandinavia. Due to a genetic mutation, we developed the ability to absorb energy.” (p. 130)

Two men at odds with each other, Ranulf Thorsen and Sandor Kearn, have been given an assignment that brings them into the life of Kerry Logan, the only witness to an arson at a popular club. The men are Talion warriors, Kyth, not human. Ranulf is hunting the arsonist, Sandor is protecting Kerry, who doesn’t know that she too is Kyth.

An ancient warrior, Ranulf, has been at the beck and call of the matriarchal leader of the Kyth, Dame Judith, and just wants to retire. He is tired of hunting renegade Kyth, but as usual when the Dame calls, he answers.

Sandor is the Dame’s other chief Talion warrior. He doesn’t trust Ranulf because as Kyth enforcer he has consumed a ton of dark energy and is at risk of going rogue. The Dame doesn’t agree, but teams the two men together in a case involving Kerry and an out of control Kyth.

Kerry reminds Ranulf of the Dame and inspires a need to protect her within him. But most important to Kerry is the feelings of safety and comfort she feels when she is with Ranulf. Immersed in a world she never knew existed, she must survive because her life and that of the Kyth lie in the same direction.

Alexis Morgan is an ‘auto buy’ author for me. That worked for and against me with Dark Warrior Unleashed. I enjoyed the characters and the overall arc, but the relationship between the Dame and Kerry didn’t seem worthy of the ending Morgan gave them and it darkened my appreciation for the story.

Ranulf is the typical alpha hero. He is who I cared about in the story. Kerry was forgettable while Sandor was annoying. Kerry had a purpose and she filled it: get the hero interested in living, give the villain a person to chase and give the series a reason to continue.

All in all the story was quite forgettable. It wasn’t horrid, but there wasn’t anything that would make me continue the series.

Be heard for a change

This nasty cartoon was published in the New York Post and its editor is denying any racial tones.

My opinion: It’s appalling that in the year 2009 such ignorance is still being published and that people are expected to swallow it without comment. It is not sarcasm, but a blatant racial poke at President Obama. I’m disgusted and sickened that a major publication would publish such garbage.

Do something about it by visiting Color of Change and joining the electronic demand that change happen at the New York Post. Hold its editor accountable for the political cartoon.

I wouldn’t be as upset if he at least acknowledged his error. But by playing dumb, he has insulted all Americans and should be forced to take responsibility for his poor decision making.

It’s all over the web so find out for yourself and make your voice heard by your silence or comment.

I’m a Barbie girl in a …

Barbie world.  I want this in the worst way.

Eve of Darkness by S.J. Day

Favorite Lines: “His gaze was dark and intent, roiling with mysterious secrets and dangerous desires. She began to pant. With hunger. With fear.” (ARC p. 22)

One afternoon of raw, spontaneous sex, was all it took to begin the transition from normal young woman to that of a Marked. Raging hormones followed and with the help of a man Evangeline Hollis never thought she’d see again, a new world was unveiled.

As a Marked, Eve must hunt down and destroy evil with the help of two men, brothers, entwined in a deadly rivalry with roots in biblical times.

Eve’s path was solidified when she fell in love and laid down with Alec Caine. It evolved to a new life fighting for survival with the help of Caine and his brother, Reed Abel.

S.J Day’s newest series takes a known biblical tale and modernizes it: Caine  and his lover finding redemption, and Caine and his brother reconciling.

In Eve of Darkness we find the heroine awaiting  her chance for  redemption via celestial audience. Eve still has to survive which means following orders and dodging a serial killer intent on adding her to his collection of dead flowers because who knows when the angels will have time to review her case.

If handled the correct way, biblical stories updated and twisted can become excellent urban fantasy series. Yeah, I’m sure purists would hate this and stomp their feet, but Day did it right.  I found Eve of Darkness to be erotic, exciting and enticing. It is an excellent start to a new series. (Even if I particularly don’t care for the first chapter’s major spoiler, before going back in time and starting with Eve receiving her mark.)

The story goes back and forth in time with cleanly written flashbacks, and an arcing storyline provides momentum. I  guess the best thing I can say is, “Peeing gargoyles will cool you off when the heat from the two sexiest brothers of all time set you on fire.”

Can there be any better endorsement for a new series?

Eve of Darkness will be released April 28.

Hater promo

REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened ‘Haters’ by the media, the attackers strike without warning, killing all who cross their path. The assaults are brutal, remorseless and extreme: within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied, vicious killers. There are no apparent links as a hundred random attacks become a thousand, then hundreds of thousands. Everyone, irrespective of gender, age, race or any other difference, has the potential to become a victim – or a Hater.

People are afraid to go to work, afraid to leave their homes and, increasingly, afraid that at any moment their friends, even their closest family, could turn on them with ultra violent intent.  Waking up each morning, no matter how well defended, everyone must now consider the fact that by the end of the day, they might be dead.  Or perhaps worse, become a killer themselves.  As the status quo shifts, ATTACK FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER becomes the order of the day…  only, the answers might be much different than what you expect…. Macmillan

Similar book covers

Today I was playing online (big surprise) and found a book cover that reminded me of  Holy Smokes. So I’ve posted them below. Any opinions?

Author’s beliefs

I received a heads up email from a reader about an author expressing her views on homosexuality and other things. I don’t think that people should hide their beliefs, but I’m not sure how I feel about going to an author’s site and reading their views on hot issues like homosexuality. Here’s a link to what I read. Scroll down the page and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I guess what it does is serve as a conversation starter. Do you feel it’s appropriate for authors to put their believes on their website? Yes or no, and why. Me?

I believe that everyone has a right to their opinion. Just as I have the right to disagree with them and use their belief system as a basis to buy (or not buy) their books.