Vanessa’s Comments (group member since Jun 15, 2017)

Vanessa’s comments from the Read, Reading, Planning to Read and More group.

Monadh... The Corinthian is one of my favorite Heyer books. So is The Grand Sophy. I just love her unusual spin on the historical life. She makes the adventure plausible.

Have you read Laura Kinsale?

So, I have been listening to Then Came You.

J.R.Ward is planning on releasing another novella in the BDB world. It has two new unknown characters like the last novella. Dearest Ivie. It is due to be released on January 2nd and is called Prisoner of Night. I liked the last one and I am looking forward to the next.

Happy Birthday Doug!! I hope that it is a great day.

Myself, I read Historicals for the pure pleasure of the story. Granted, I do see blatant mistakes, but I tend to skip over them just because I want to listen to or read the story. I do understand everyone's point, especially with your backgrounds. I nearly exclusively listen to Historical novels and a bad reader can blow it just as easily as modern slang will. Yes, I agree a bit more historical research would be beneficial. Also, wouldn't a good editor/beta reader question some of these things? Or have those gone the way of top hats and parasols?

On to books... I finally finished Tower of Dawn. For about the first third of this book, I was slogging along in the mire. Then the story started picking up and really started rolling at maybe mid-point. I like the main characters, Chaol and Irene, but some of the "royals" I still want to slap.
Chaol, once the captain of the guard in another kingdom, Ardarlan, is asked to travel to Antica to ask for help to fight the volg, a dark entity which has one goal to completely rule this whole world. (Enter sinister music). ;-}
Chaol, also has a spinal injury and is also there to seek out the most famous healers, the Torre.
Add in lots of royal intrigue, a very determined healer, and many, many side characters and you have a very long book. I liked it and I am glad that I finally read it because of a couple of dramatic reveals, but I am ready to get back to Aelin and the rest of the original characters and the dramatic conclusion in Kingdom of Ash. which is a whopping 33+ hours on audio.

Doug... I was just going to ask you if you got an ARC, The Other Miss Bridgerton the third book, comes out Tuesday, I believe. (I did see that you corrected the title.) Quinn has been posting the first few chapters on her website. l liked the first two books.

Georgiana... Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. They are appreciated.

Welcome Katlynn!!

Once again, all of the folks who post here are wonderful people. Your well wishes and prayers are so welcome. My husband is doing great, tries to push himself and gets tired early in the evening. Makes it easier for me to control the TV, LOL!!

LAB... How is your husband doing? Feeling any better?

Doug... I think that the Castle's Ever After series is my favorite series by Dare. That book in particular is a classic. I would put it in my top 3 romance novels. I listen to most romance books and the reader for those is excellent. Thanks for the Death Knell info. I'm actually reading Bone Driven right now.

Demetra.... Thanks for the pod cast info. I might check it out at some point. I always listen to books on my phone, it's easy because I always have it with me. I liked Phoenix Unbound too.

LAB... Sorry to hear about your husband. Lots of hot things and water will help clear his lungs. Also, hot coffee without cream or sugar is a great "emergency" method to prevent an asthma attack or to open up your lungs when they are closing up because of pneumonia, bronchitis, or even a reaction to something like smoke. Yes, the snow and rain is like shoveling cement. I have a suburban and scraping the snow off of it yesterday morning was a never ending task. I also downloaded the Soul Summoner books, I haven't read any of them. I might put them off for now.

Melindeeloo... I haven't read Kennedy's series either but I do have Seasons of Sorcery: A Fantasy Anthology in my TBR.

Georgiana I'm revoking your lurker card. :-)
Shannon or Georgiana have you read the Iron Seas series? I really liked it.

I have been reading quite a few excellent novels lately. The latest is Charlaine Harris's An Easy Death. It was a quirky, steady, action packed urban fantasy. I tend to like loner characters who overcome the odds to establish themselves. Set in an alternate world, with plain people trying to scrape out a living, magic wielders, and lots of secrets, Harris provides a very entertaining tale. I found that I was eagerly looking forward to the next chapter and anticipate the next in this new series. I would give it 4.5*- 5*'s. A definite keeper.

Some forested areas allow locals to harvest the dropped trees which in turn leaves less fuel on the ground for wildfires. That was the reason that Yellowstone had such a tremendous fire in the late 80's. They had stopped allowing locals "lots" to drop and remove trees, and put out every fire that started naturally. Now their policy is to allow the burns to happen and only get worried if conditions change, (for example wind). They then employ helicopters to drop water.

On the reading note, so far I am really caught up in An Easy Death. The main character Gunnie, (Lizbeth), Rose is a gunslinger for hire and has been employed by a couple of Russian wizards to find a man with Grigori blood, who is hoped to heal the ailing Czar. In this world the U.S. has been divided up between Mexico, Russia, Canada, Britain, and has a couple of independent areas, Dixie and New America. Set in the 1930's, the world is part wild west and part depression era.

I listened to Wild Hunger. I must admit that I happen to really like the next generation. The story line was interesting, the children of the main characters of the original series are unique. You can see the small band of players coming together and I look forward to the next books in this series.

I also read the latest book in Mayer's Desert Cursed series, Oracle's Haunt. All that I can say is this series is jump in and hold on. It is fast action and emotional all in one. There are a number of players with all different agendas and the MC, Zam, (Zamira), has to run head long into danger to protect her family/pride. A small black cat, (the size of a house cat), is her shifter half. Cursed, (like her departed Mother), to be this tiny animal, she is actually the alpha of her rag tag pride and is sworn to safe guard them all. Clever, quick, a purveyor of magical gems and magical weapons, Zam has had to fight her whole life and if she loses this battle the fate of all of mankind is lost to Merlin's evil father, "the Emperor". No pressure! LOL!! I can't wait to see the ultimate showdown. I hope that the series doesn't have too many more books. This is book 4 in the Desert Cursed series and I am really hoping that this series will follow in her previous pattern and only have 5 books. Fingers crossed.

I have had this since it came out weeks ago, so I think that I will see what Charlaine Harris' latest book is all about, An Easy Death. It is set in an alternate U.S. history, namely Texas, and reminds me of Laura Anne Gilman's The Devil's West series.

On audio, I have returned to the Throne of Glass series, Chaol's book, Tower of Dawn I like Chaol, and am interested in the kingdom of Antica, but quite frankly this book is entirely too long, IMHO. Now that Kingdom of Ash is out, I want to get back to the action of the main story of the series, Aelin and Dorian.

On the home front.... My husband is doing really well. His Dr thinks that his progress is remarkable. I went back to work this week and he has permission to drive short distances. He has gone to work, however briefly, a couple of times this week. I have the next 2 days off, so I figure that he will be hanging around. No rest for the weary, LOL!! Thanks for asking. :-}

I believe that you have to leave your review on Netgalley itself. At least that is what I have done. There is a place where you can link reviews to your Netgalley review. I did have one peculiar thing happen, I left a review for Demon Hunting with a Sexy Ex which I received as an ARC. My review was there for a while and now there is no trace of it, and it keeps asking me to review the book. I have no idea what happened to my review, and I didn't think to copy it to my Goodreads or to Amazon for review. I learned my lesson and I now copy and paste my review to both.

On the book scene.... I finished Miss Frost Chills The Cheater I liked it very much. In his book, Jayne Frost, heir to the Winter Throne, returns to the North Pole with her nearly fiancee, Sinclair Crowe. She wants him to see just what he will be getting into if she accepts his wedding proposal. Of course there is no way that their trip is without a mystery, and this time it is aimed at Sin. The ending appears to point to this being the last of the Jayne Frost/Nocturne Falls Mystery series. I'm not sure of the original series, it appears to be still in play.

I just started, Oracle's Haunt and haven't read enough to draw any conclusions about it.

On audio, I am listening to Wild Hunger I wasn't sure how it was going to play out, but the story starts with Elisa Sullivan already through college, and living in Paris. She has been living with a local vampire house and they require a year of service to the house as protection or whatever else is your talent as a favor for allowing you to go to school and reside with them. Chicago is hosting a big supernatural conference so Elisa returns home, but only as a part of the security for the Paris house. We get to see all of the main characters in the Chicagoland Vampires series, just about 25 years later. So far I like the progression and the quick movement of the story line.

TINNGG... I can sure sympathize, I am the fix-it girl in my house. I have had to fix various problems over the years too. Even when we had a so called maintenance guy living with us for a couple of years, I found many occasions that I have had to correct his "fixes". It would have been OK if he had done these things for free, but my husband thought it necessary to pay him for his work. All I can say is Good Luck and safe, quick fixes in your future.
(As a side... just this morning I had to take apart the trap in one of our bathrooms. My contact lens bounced right into the drain when I was getting ready. )

I think that some here have read these, but the Sisters Bothers books are now a movie. The Sisters Brothers

Diane... I don't have an Oasis, but I do know that having the audio capability is a plus. (I use my phone for Audible books.) The old kindles had audio, but it was a computer generated reader.
I haven't had much need to sit in the bath or the rain to read my kindle, but waterproof is a plus. I do think that the wide screen and high resolution are a good thing.

I have had nearly every type of kindle over the years, and each serves a purpose. I use my Fire like a tablet when I travel and I watch movies on it on the plane, train, and in my hotel room. My voyage is always with me in my purse.

HappyBookWorm2020 wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "DemetraP wrote: "Has anyone read Grace Draven's backlist? The only book series I've read from her is The Wraith Kings."

Demetra... I have also read almost everything that Grace Dra..."

HappyBookWorm.... Believe it or not, the hospital issues a firm, red, oblong pillow to it's heart patients for coughing and sneezing. It has been a godsend.

I have been happily reading a couple of great books in a row.

On kindle, I read You Only Love Twice. I really enjoyed Gemma and Obsidian's love story. I am now caught up and am free to read Charlie and Lark's story. I wasn't surprised about the "inside man" so to speak.

I also read and reviewed Diamond Fire. I really loved Catalina, with all of her insecurities and feeling her way around her ability. I did like Rogan's Mother too. I thought that she was going to be rougher on Nevada, but she turned out to be much more down to Earth than I imagined a Rogan House Prime would be. I think that she is the perfect mentor for Catalina. I am also glad that the Andrews took the opportunity to clear the air regarding an old storyline.

I am reading the lighter Nocturne Falls spin-off Miss Frost Chills The Cheater. After that, I think that I will read the just released book in the Desert Cursed series, Oracle's Haunt.

DemetraP wrote: "Has anyone read Grace Draven's backlist? The only book series I've read from her is The Wraith Kings."

Demetra... I have also read almost everything that Grace Draven has written. Master of Crows and The Brush of Black Wings are both good. Entreat Me has a fairy tale feel to me.
She has multiple short stories in various anthologies, a couple are in the Master of Crows universe. I don't know if you know that there is a connection between the MoC and the Wraith Kings series.

LAB.... You must be so proud and happy that your daughter has had such a quick response. I hope that she gets to go where she really wants to go. Any word on the Charley Davidson book on NetGalley? I haven't received my rejection yet.

I have been busier than I thought that I was going to be. Somehow my husband has me hopping around doing all kinds of "stuff". He hasn't had too many "manly" ideas yet though Doug. Thanks for all of the encouragement and helpful hints. :-)

I didn't get a chance to read You Only Love Twice so I am catching up so I can continue on with To Catch A Rogue

For those who read the Nocturne Falls spin-off the next Jayne Frost book is out today. Miss Frost Chills The Cheater

Carol.... Thanks!! How is your husband doing?
The Court series by Maas has a love triangle. The Throne series not so much. She does "date" one man and then develops feelings for another. This isn't unusual if you are young, also she has been raised as an assassin, with practically no relationship experience.

Demetra... I agree with HappyBookWorm. The Verus books get better as the overall story line continues over the series. I especially love this series on audio.

LAB... Yes for Outlander!!! I am awaiting my NetGalley rejection for the last Charley Davidson book too! LOL!!
Thanks for posting about the Banks book, I forgot about that series.

Hi All... My husband ended up with a quadruple bypass and an aortic heart valve replacement. He is doing remarkably well. I took him home yesterday and not even 24 hours later he his trying to do too much. I don't have any potions available to me to calm him down, but I wish I did, I would slip one into his food. ;-) (I'm only half kidding, I think).

I finished Shades of Wicked I loved Ian, (of course), and really loved his mate, Veritas. She is so much more than she has been portrayed in previous books. She IS his match. I loved this book all the way until the end. There is no cliffhanger but now I have to wait a really long time to find out more of their story. I did not know that this was the first of a series, which is probably 3 books like Vlad's series, but the title should have given it away, duh! Anyone know how many books she is writing about Ian and Veritas? I think that the cover art actually looks like what I would imagine Ian looks like. Finally a cover that is a close enough match.

Next up is the Chicagoland Vampires next generation, Heirs series book Wild Hunger.

I read the Sarah Maas books. I think that the first book of the Throne of Glass series is a bit disjointed, but through the subsequent books the main characters develop. I also think that some of the confusion is done purposefully because she, (the main character, Celaena), doesn't actually know who she is either, and many factions have to come together to battle the big bad. I tend to like the Throne of Glass series better than the Court of Thorn and Roses series. The Court books have more of a YA and fairy tale feel to me, which isn't bad, just a different journey. If you stick it out there is a well developed storyline in either series.

it's called Shades of Wicked

Vinity... I am listening to Ian's book,

hi everyone. I am sitting in the waiting room while my husband has heart surgery. I'll be here for a while.
I finished the latest Wilder book, Wilder (The Wild Ones Book 3). It was different than the first two the couple is an outsider and a townie and is mostly from the h's pov, (the outsider). This is a crazy, warped, but loyal town and I always enjoy them. I would give this a 4 star rating.

I decided that it was time to read The Kraken King again. I needed a book that I knew the relative story, if not all of the minute details. I still love this couple as much as I did when this came out as a serial.