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

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

Melindeeloo wrote: "Anyone else excited for the iron and magic audio ? I am going to do a reread when it comes out. the new male reader sounded very promising. I am glad they decided not to use the regular reader for ..."

I think that I will listen to Iron and Magic . I do not like the Kate Daniels, Hidden Legacy, Jane Yellowrock, or the older series, The Hollows on audio. My imagined voices are really different, and they pull me out of the story.

I listened to a time travel story that was free on audible romance, A Viking For The Viscountess It wasn't bad, the Viking has been transported 1000 years in the future to the 1800's in England. This is my first book by Michelle Willingham.
Now I'm listening to a Scottish tale set in the 1600's , Captured by a Laird which is a Margaret Mallory tale. The opening of the story is the burning of the h's dead husband's bed in the courtyard. Hate much? LOL!!

I agree w/ HappyBookWorm. You know more about the outlying characters who show up throughout the series if you read those.

I finished the Suzanne Wright Deep in Your Veins series, it was pretty much non-stop action & sex. I did like the bad guys, and their squad. The main characters were pretty good at saying what they thought, not a lot of hidden problems. The series about Jared and "Sam" (Samantha), ends with Taste of Torment, but the story continues on.

I listened to Marked: Alex Verus. I really liked it especially the very end. Finally!! I think that this book is a transitional story to point us in another direction. I love this series on audio.

LAB... I hate it when you try to anticipate anything that can go wrong on your car for an upcoming trip and bam! something else happens. We're going to Maine, (Rockport/ Mid-Coast area), the third weekend in July. I Love Maine, especially it's wild coast.

Elizabeth wrote: "Kristi (foxtail_too) wrote: "I was just reading a NYT article on diversity in romance novels (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/07/bo...). I already read some of the aut..."


Yay Liz!! A new job, that's great!! Congrats!! :-)

Finally a reader and writer event worth going to, OK maybe not next year, LOL!!!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/romance-...

OMG Paula... You crack me up!! :-)

I finished reading Here Be Sexist Vampires. and I don't know if it is just me but the spelling errors are killing me. I know that there are differences between "American" and "The King's" English but the lack of a good edit takes you out of the story. It's an OK read, much better than the Hocking book.

I am curious about this world so I have continued on with The Bite That Binds which is also free on KU.

Thanks!!

LAB... I didn't care for Vanessa as much either. She was a crab to say the least. In my humble opinion, most "Vanessa" characters tend to be awful. It is a popular theme. :-)
If you need another "town" the Thunder Point series is pretty good, and I did like the Invertary (Scottish Highlands), series. The first book is Lingerie Wars. This series has some of the funniest scenes. The underlying stories do get serious over time.

I'm with Vinity, if an ebook is above the price for my Audible credits, then I will usually opt for the audio. Sometimes I pay that much but it is usually for a favorite author whose books I don't do in audio. Some characters I have been reading for so long that I have their voice in my head and any narration knocks me out of the story.

I am almost finished with Frostfire and I just can't get into the main character. She is quite the little Bi***. She is a loose cannon about to go off at any minute. I might have enjoyed the story with just a touch of tenderness, but she is setting fires everywhere she goes. I am listening to this story so maybe it comes across stronger in narration. I can't wait to start Marked. I love the characters and narration in that.

So in kindle roulette I ended up with Here Be Sexist Vampires. I'm sure that it is a smexy read because it is by Suzanne Wright.

Wow that was really weird, my last post, posted twice.

I finished the Invertary, (Scottish Highlands), series. I liked the crazy characters in this town and will continue with the more serious series, Benson's Boys at some point. At the end of Caught there was a nice little catch up with all of the couples set 6 years later.

I also read Jinn's Dominion which was an action packed addition to the Desert Cursed series. I found no fault with the story. The action was fast paced and pretty much non-stop. I would give it 4.5*. I can't wait until the next book, Oracle's Haunt which will be out in early November.

Now I really don't know what to read.

Doug... Those sound good.

For those who haven't read the Alex Verus series and have an audible account, the first book is currently part of the $5.95 sale.

Fated

Also Silver Silence
is a part of the $5.95 sale too.

Amazon's next "Prime Day" is Monday July 16th @ 3:00p.m. EST. If anyone finds a deal for Prime or Audible, please post it. Many times the KU offering is cheaper on Prime Day.

I'm glad that HBW posted about Marked. I always pre-order these and I forgot to check. I love this series and it is especially good on audio.

I am trying to listen to a ton of audios that I skipped over. I listened to a cute book that was a daily deal, The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant This book is written like a diary, and each adventure is chronicled as an entry. The author is Drew Hayes and if I had to compare it to anything else I would say that this is written in Christopher Moore's self deprecating style. I am glad that I finally listened to it.
I am listening to a definitely YA book, Frostfire I don't mind the premise of the book, an alternate world accessed through the Canadian wilderness, but the mooning over the H and the overall irritating temper of the h, is getting on my nerves. I only have a little bit more to read and then I can start on Marked.
I am also almost done with the last of the Invertary, (Scotland), books. I am finishing up Caught I like this crazy town and I hope to find another fun read like this series.

Paula wrote: "Wow, I can't believe people are complaining to Ilona Andrews about the lack of Innkeeper. From the example email Ilona sent out I would be so pissed that I probably would want to do it.
Of course ..."

Paula I got that same email and I couldn't fathom that someone, who appears otherwise intelligent, would write to complain that Ilona and Gordon aren't writing enough innkeeper to satisfy them.

They just released a new book, are writing and editing 2 more, have a family that they must interact with, and hello, they write Innkeeper so you can read it for free!! ? Ilona has been posting about her problems with her hands, which make it painful to type.

Some people have nothing else to do with their time. I say, get a job and try and accomplish all that they do, because you obviously have too much time on your hands that you can write such drivel. I just can't comprehend that way of thinking. End of rant! ;-)

On the book side of things, I finished Bad Boy. These are quick reads, they have their funny moments, but I feel just a tiny bit of a switch to a more serious side. I am reading Here Comes The Rainne Again. This book is the second to the last book in the series, and it is about the wedding of the couple in the first book, Lingerie Wars. It is also about his sister, Rainne and her ex-boyfriend, Alastair. In the end of the Lingerie book, Rainne runs away from Invertary and refuses to return.

On audio, I am attempting to clean out my audio TBR, so I am listening to a very tongue-in-cheek book, The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant. I got it in one of the audible sales, and have never read anything by this author. I've only just started, so I can't make a judgement yet.

Demetra... I listen to the Psy/Changeling series, but surprisingly I haven't listened to that particular book because I got it in paperback. I think that I have only 2 actual books in that series, and I guess I should count myself lucky that I didn't listen to that one. I had a real hard time with the narration in the beginning of that series because the Psy were unemotional and flat in their speech. I nearly stopped listening to them but I had purchased a few during a sale on Audible, and didn't want to waste them.

I finished Year One, and I tend to agree with Demetra, It was kind of meh for me. I might read the next book, but only after the price goes down or if it was on an Audible sale. I got Year One on sale and I'm glad I did. Some of the female characters were a bit much for me, too weak and meek, and I didn't appreciate the killing off of characters either. A lot of woo woo in it, and a lot of prejudice. Not my favorite combo.

On kindle, I returned to Invertary, Scotland and I am reading Bad Boy. I like this quirky town and it tends to lean to the absurd which is a welcome break and good entertainment.

I finished Iron and Magic and liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

I finished to 4th and final book in the Chance sisters series, The Summer Bride. In this book the final "Chance" sister Daisy, (who was raised in a brothel), resists marriage to the man she is definitely attracted to, because she fears that her dreams of opening up an exclusive dress shop will be dashed. In this era as soon as a woman marries, her husband owns everything that was hers. She has lost everything twice before and struggled to come back from nothing. She doesn't want anything to do with marriage and refuses the H, Patrick repeatedly. These characters are well written, and not your usual naive HR young ladies. I am sad to finish this series.

I started listening to Year One and it seems to be a pretty good book, but the initial set up is kind of sluggish. To be fair, there is a wide cast and it does take a while for their back stories. Because I listen to these, I do keep thinking that I am hearing Ethan's voice from the Chicagoland Vampires series in one of the characters. They are two different narrators, but I keep hearing his sound. It is a little bit distracting.

I actually liked this book more as I read it. After a while the sniping became more of their romance and less of actual hate. All of the side remarks were quite funny.

I was apprehensive that I wouldn't find a way to like Hugh. He's not my favorite hero, but he is growing on me. I love his horse, Bucky and his new dog, Cedric. Her adoration and his kindness to the rescued little girl, Diedre, kind of started tilting into the I like Hugh category.

Elara is kind of a prickly character too. She doesn't really trust him, but is strong enough to demand her way. A less snappy h would have been a disappointment.

I wasn't surprised that he told the Pack representatives what Nez would do to break it up. I was pretty sure that he was going to side with Kate. (After all he is turning over a new leaf, sort of). When he stated that he should have gone with the brother approach, I think that's when he realized that he was Kate's brother in a way. I did not expect Roland to show up, but I am really glad that he is afraid of Elara. There's another really strong female on Kate's side.

His Iron Dogs seem pleased that they will get a chance to be against Roland, after all, he systematically killed them off.

I don't get Hugh's surprise with the ability to use blood magic. He said the Roland gave him his blood, Kate can do it because she has Roland's blood. I think that maybe it is because Roland led him to believe that everything that Hugh had was because of him.

I wonder what Elara is, maybe some kind of soul eater Goddess or Elder. I guess that we will find out in the next book. I am surprised that they made no mention of her struggle to come back after going into her altered state.

One of the things that I really like about Ilona Andrews is that they throw in little cameos, like with the first archer shots against the vampires, and that one of the archers was the young man, Alex whom Elara and Hugh saved.

What was the actual point of the Lexington Red Guard leader Fortner coming to the castle?

Strictly speculating, I think that Vanessa will return, and she will be with the other faction of people who broke off from Elara's people. She likes power and thinks that she is a legend in her own mind, so I think that she will try and take Elara down. I'm not sure who is sending the Mrogs, but I think that they are linked to Elara or the castle. I think that the little girl, Deidre will return, I can't see her uncle and aunt taking care of and being nice to her. I can't wait until Curran greets him, with a couple broken legs of his own, I bet.

Paula.... Genre? Bujold is one author where I don't even know where to begin. I'm keeping The Curse of Chalion on my want to read list. Thanks Karen and Paula for the info.

Karen that sounds like quite a lot of work in high heat. We've had to do that sort of thing before and it isn't fun at any time of year. Good Luck!!

On kindle I finished Calamity Jena it seems that in every book there is an hysterical scene that has me laughing until I cry, this one was no different. I'm off to begin Bad Boy and I hope to find more insanity in Invertary.

On audio, I finished The Spring Bride. These characters are surprisingly well written and never once have I said there's a TSTL moment. Usually historical books have at least one point where usually the naive h finds herself in trouble. Not in these books. once in a while I think that people in that era, (probably), would have never done that, but not very often. I think that I will continue on with the 4th and final book of the series, The Summer Bride.

Paula wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "Jinn's Dominion The third "book" in the Desert Cursed series came out June 12th, and is free on KU. I'm not sure if this is a bo..."

Paula... This is a different realm but a couple of the immortal characters are in both series. I like this world a bit better. This series has a better feel to it. The venom and vanilla series is a bit disjointed. Not bad but kind of tacked together rather than flowing smoothly.

The Unyielding is on sale for $1.99. This is the 3rd book in the Call of Crows series.

https://www.amazon.com/Unyielding-Cal...