SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Read: The Ripple Effect by J.A. Saare
Shelf: Favorite Series
Date: 10/29/2012
Pages: 240
Rating: ★★★★✩ 

This 3rd book in the Rhiannon's Law series was a very bitter sweet and emotional ride. Without giving too much information away, this one deals with the aftermath of Rhia's trip to the future via not so clear demon deal. So she went from poor abused orphan to vampire servant in the first book, to yes Rhiannon there are also half-demons, demons, werewolves, etc. to this one. Now there are also fallen angels and something new that we are not sure of yet. This one is more of a wait and see what happens after you change the future and the "ripple effect" and what can be worse. Well we found out... She also deals with a stripper serial killer, a visit from her vamp family sire and a few friends, not. And her refusal to tow the line and keep her smart mouth shut.

Now it seems that these books are so heavily pirated, that she may now write anymore books in this series. That would truly be a shame. I do have to admit that this one made me soooo mad that I put it down for a day and read a non-PNR/UF book to break it up. Very good book &series, just hits my emotional buttons so I guess mission accomplished Ms. Saare.

How's everyone's picks for favorite series going? There was a couple of my favs in there, STORMWALKER and GUILD HUNTER series... Hope you are enjoying them!

Finished my book tonight and I loved it. Will triple R tomorrow :)

Sorry I'm so behind. The academic year began and it has been hectic. On top of that my allergies turned into a full fledged change of season cold.

I'm 50% into my Demons book and 50% into my favorite series book as well. By the way, I have changed my favorite series pick to .

Favorite-Series Shelf:
Date Finished: October 31st
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review:

The Iron Druid Chronicles is one of my personal favorites and this book was a great entry in the series. I loved that Granuaile had a much bigger role and of course I loved the development in her relationship with Atticus. Speaking of Atticus, he's still trying to make amends for the bad judgement he showed 12 years. I like that the Norse characters are still around to add diversity, but I'm starting to wish Ragnarok would just hurry up and happen. At least we have Oberon around to lighten the mood. I present you with his hilarious ode to Granuaile, Rick James style:

"She's a very Clever Girl, the kind you don't take home to Ogma. She will never feed you Brussel Sprouts, when she could feed you steak."

Yay Christal! I need to get back after that series. Oberon is a fun sidekick.

Favorite Series Shelf: Angels' Blood
Completed 10-31-12
4 Stars

Book 1 in the Guild Hunter Series.
Guild Hunter Elena Deveraux has been hired the Archangel Raphael to hunt down and dangerous killer, an archangel turned to the dark side.

Will Elena catch killer in time to stop the blood shed? Or will her attraction to Raphael keep her distracted.

This was a good start to a series. It kept my attention and left me wanting to read on.

Shelf: Demons
Read: Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole 5 Stars
Date finished: 10/29/12


This is going to be a short review because my computer has become an expensive paperweight. It crashed this week.

As with all of the IAD books....I loved this book. Garreth MacRieve...a big handsome Scot who happens to be a werewolf, what more could you ask for. Lucia...kickass Valkyrie, extraordinary archer and cursed to remain chaste for eternity. I loved watching how the relationship between Garreth and Lucia developed. There was loads of action and sexual tension. Can't wait to read the next book.

Book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Shelf: Favorite Series
Finished: Nov 2nd
4 Stars

Note: This is a review of the audiobook read by Carolyn McCormick. The narration is very good and McCormick does a good job of distinguishing the different voices, especially Gale and Peeta who sound masculine without coming across as too adult.

With regard to the book, it did not blow me away as much as I thought it would after all the hype. Yes, the concept is thought provoking and disturbing, particularly in light of the voyeuristic path our society has taken in recent years with Reality TV, but the pacing is problematic - plodding and bogged down with excessive detail concerning food, foliage and Katniss's internal ruminations.

That said, the dystopian world building is excellent and Collins succeeds in conveying the hardships of life in District 12 as well as the superficiality, cruelty and perniciousness of the Capitol. The characterization is also very well done with just enough detail on each and every character to make you feel you know them all personally.

I found myself liking Katniss even though she comes across as cold, unfeeling and manipulative at times. Her motivation is completely understandable given the circumstances. Peeta is simply lovely and if there is one thing I truly dislike about Katniss, it is her inability to see the truth and depth of his feelings for her - she is obtuse and constantly attributes ulterior motives to his actions, which are completely short sighted and wrong.

The violence is somewhat extreme for a young adult book. However, given the theme and nature of the plot, it seems appropriate.

Overall, a complex and compelling story with a disquieting message that makes you think.

Finished my Demons book in the nick of time...


Book: The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Shelf: Demons
Finished: Nov 3rd
3 Stars

The Atlantis plot premise has potential and the additions to the overall Dark Hunter world building are interesting but the romance is borderline idiotic.

Arik and Geary's relationship is completely inexplicable. Geary goes from overtly skeptical and suspicious of Arik to jumping his bones in less than a chapter and Arik goes from unfeeling and self-centered jerk to infatuated and self-sacrificing hero in the time it takes to fall off Mount Olympus.

The pacing is also off - the first 2/3 are slow and tedious but the last 1/3 picks up and manages to save the book from being a complete dud - the resolution to Arik and Geary's dilemma is inventive and I can only lament the fact that their romance is not worthy of it.

The secondary characters are the real highlight of the book from the various Greek Gods (Kenyon shows real insight into their egotistical, capricious and selfish natures) to Geary's quirky/nerdy cousin and Arik snarky "brother", not to mention the enigmatic ZT and Kat who is even more mysterious than before.

Ultimately, the book is worth reading for the tie ins to the Dark Hunter series, which fill in some gaps and add new details.

Shelf: Dark Fantasy
My pick - Micah

Thank Mr R. for helping keep the Anita Blake Series going!

So I've been trying to read ICED this week for a Buddy Read and with storms, Halloween and work have only got a few pages in.... So I am going to do a restart/ re-read since I only made it 2% along.
My Dark Fantasy pick will be

Cathy glad you are feeling better!

Lauren - That also happened to me. My daughter told me I sounded like a man for awhile.... nice.

Christal - I dont know the series but it sounds pretty good!

Lis - Ohh I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Iced. I'm considering buying it.

Seems like most of us have had a very crazy week. Same here.. a bit behind but I'm still read, read, reading.

I'll check back soon with my book for the Dark Fantasy shelf.

For the dark fantasy shelf,I'll be reading "Blood Song"

@Tiffanie - I think Micah is my fav of her collection of men. I hope you enjoy that one, they actually get a chance to leave most of the crazy behind. I saw her new book coming out in 2013 is more Micah centered again.

Angi - never seen your pick yet, but just added it to the wishlist. Sounds good, anxious to hear your review.

The cold /sinus fall funk must be hitting everywhere. My allergies also turned mean and been zapping me for weeks. I finally went to the Dr. and she dosed me with some antibiotics and finally started feeling better again.

Happy reading this week...

Thanks Angi. Sounding like a man might be better than sounding like a frog and looking like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer like I do right now.

Sorry to hear you've also been hit by the cold epidemic Lis and glad you're feeling better.

My pick for the Dark Fantasy shelf is . Cathy has given me incentive to continue with the series.

Hi team,

When I opened Micahup on my nook last night and found it was only 93 pages in ebook form I realized it must be a short story.

So I have changed my pick to Danse Macabre. I didn't a short story would qualify.

Tiffanie, Micah in paperback was 288 pages. I didn't think this was a short story. My kindle store sez 285, I think your ok.

Lis wrote: "Tiffanie, Micah in paperback was 288 pages. I didn't think this was a short story. My kindle store sez 285, I think your ok."


Okay, Great. Thank you.

Tiffanie, are you sure you have the whole book? Someone I know bought an ebook and several chapters were missing.

Hi ladies, hope you all had a great weekend. I think I will read Iced for the dark fantasy shelf as well. Message 36 became too long so I've continued the dark-fantasy shelf in message 37.

Ok ladies sorry I am so late posting my pick for this week but life in SC has been crazy. Last week my car started acting up, my dog has been sick (but on the mend), hubby has had dental problems, our daughter is moving back home (with her boyfriend), and my computer has become a very expensive paper weight (it crashed). This was all in a 2 day period. So I am behind on my reading and posting everything from my phone. So again sorry I have been MIA and slow with reads. Hope to get caught up this weekend.

Reading Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh for Dark Fantasy Shelf

Lauren wrote: "Tiffanie, are you sure you have the whole book? Someone I know bought an ebook and several chapters were missing."

Well..it seemed really short. I read it with in an hour. I think just to make sure I stick with my second choice. Danse Macabre

I want to keep everything fair and within the rules. Besides, it's not like was I wasn't going to read it next anyways. It's all good.

Cathy, sorry about RL happening all at once. My computer is trying to become a paper weight too. I was hoping to make it Christmas, or at least Black Friday sales... Not going to happen, I'm afraid.

Tiffanie, i did check my real paper back and Micah was 245 pages. So you probably missed the Micah and Anita sexploits if you got the condensed version. I think this was also when Nicki the tiger was introduced.

Yay Christal, I'm at about 40% into ICED and still liking it...

Just a FYI... Did play with a mini iPad today and pretty cool. It was a lot lighter than my Kindle fire and about as wide, but a taller screen. Books looked good. With iBooks, you still have your iTunes books and with a Kindle app, Nook app for your other collection of ebooks. Still a pricy book reader, but the email and web browsing is just as good as with a full size iPad.

Lis - I have had a few people recommend this series to me so I decided to give it a try. Hopefully it's a good one! :)Feel better soon!

LOL Lauren - you poor thing.Feel better soon!

Oh Christal - I wanna hear your review too! Thanks for keeping track of our books and reviews! :)

Tiffanie - Glad it all worked out. Hope you like Danse Macabre!

Two of my little girls got the funk back to back..(tossing cookies and all...bleh). They are better now and everyone seems okay so here's to hoping it's finished for us awhile. Stay well friends!

CONGRATULATIONS, Deadly Readers!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'demons'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

Book: Storm Walker by Allyson James
Shelf: Favorite Series
Finished: Nov 5th
4 Stars

Review:

I liked this series. It wasn't my favorite but it was a good read. Rebel girl (I did like Janet a lot) goes out on her own when she turns of age from her family because she feels they don't really care for her. She rides a motorcycle because it makes her feel free. In a town along the way she meets trouble, gets saved by a big, handsome man named Mick who is not affected by her power (she can harnass the thunder,rain storms, etc). She knows he isn't quite human but he is secretive and doesn't tell her where he goes when he leaves. They have great, fantastic sex all the time but she ends up leaving him as she can't deal with the secrets. Fast forward several years and Janet is in a new town looking for a missing girl. Janet's mother is from "beneath". She's a goddess...and not a good one. She wants to use Janet's stormwalker ability to help her escape the vortex she has been stuck in. In town Janet ends up facing her mother, Mick comes back into town and a whole new set of characters are introduced.

I enjoyed the story pretty well. I liked the characters. I loved Janet's relationship with Maya.
One thing that bugged me... how did she go from not really knowing what happend to Amy to all of a sudden figuring it out? That was pretty sudden and I felt like she just hurried to the solution.

This was a good read and I'll read the next one.

Thanks Angi - I think I'm on the mend.

@Cathy - sounds like you've had a terrible few days but glad things are getting better.
My poor little dog has some sort of stomach bug - took him to the vet this morning after a long and restless night. He gave him a blood test and huge dose of anti-biotics. Might have to take him back in a couple of hours if he doesn't drink enough so that he can get an infusion. He looks so miserable :0(

Congrats on the stamp Deadlies!

Thanks Sandra and Steph!

Angi, I'm glad you enjoyed Stormwalker and I'm very happy to hear your little ones are on the mend.

Cathy, you've had a rough time of it lately! I hope things begin to turn around for you soon.

Lauren, I am glad to hear you are starting to feel better but I am sorry to hear about your dog. :( I hope he feels better today.

Lis, I know your pain with allergies, darn this time of the year! I am liking Iced as well, except for a few squicky moments with Christian. I wonder why KMM decided to keep Dani so young.

Tiffanie, glad you got to keep the LKH train going and that you are still enjoying the books!

Christal, I know... Its really not YA, but her at 14 gets a little uncomfortable with the Unseelie princes and Christian's ewwwwww moment!!

Favorite Series Breathe by Kristen Ashley
Date Finished 11/7/12
Rating 5 stars

Still no computer so this is going to be a short review again.

I will say i yet again....i love Kristen Ashley's books. Yummy men, amazing sex, believable sweet stories and awesome supporting characters. The heroes are aplha all the way but they each have flaws that keep them real. Her female characters are strong, compassionate and loyal.

Shelf: Dark Fantasy
Danse Macabre
3 stars
Completed 11-06-12

Dealing with the onslaught of several masters visiting her city, Anita Blake, the executioner, the human servant to the Master of the City...... pregnant?? Who is the father? Vamp? Shifter?

I didn't like this book as much of the others in the series. It just to much drama. Baby possibility...Richard being a dink...New lion shifters being dinks....Additional Masters being dinks...

Just too many dinks to keep track of. I felt a little lost. I liked the baby drama, need less dinks.

Dark-Fantasy Shelf:
Date Finished: November 6th
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review:

I'm not a Fever fangirl, I actually just read the series for the first time this year. The books definitely got better as the series went along and I really enjoyed Shadowfever. Dani as a character never bothered me, I actually liked her pretty well, so I was excited to see what this new book would bring to the Fever world.

I have to say I was disappointed. The story to me wasn't up to the level of Shadowfever. It was more along the lines of Darkfever, which I didn't love. The beginning plot really dragged for me and the investigation aspect felt like a waste of time. A lot of the "revelations" felt like no duh moments. (view spoiler)[They were so shocked that their freeze-framing around the scene caused the ice to explode... have none of these people ever heard of an avalanche? It's pretty much the same concept. (hide spoiler)]

The lack of Mac and Barrons in the story bothered me because it felt really artificial. The "icing" was affecting not only Chester's and Ryodan, but all of Dublin. How could Mac not have been involved in the rescue of the city that she just literally saved? And how could Barrons not be an integral part of Ryodan's investigation? They are supposed to be as thick as thieves... The end made me mad to. Yes, KMM that was a cliffhanger. How could you say it wasn't?

I liked Dani as the narrator, but I felt that she was written a little inconsistently throughout the book. At times we were supposed to buy her as old for her years because she had to take care of herself for so long, but then at others she was foolish and headstrong just like any other 14 year old. She is still a child; this book firmly cemented that for me. Oh, and where did Dani's inner personality come from? That was just thrown out there with no mention until she needed to solve the problem and then it wasn't brought up again.

Ryodan and Christian made me feel icky. Christian has developed insta-love upon seeing Dani and plans to wait for her so that he can marry her one day. It's creepy. His descent into Unseelie princedom was a really interesting part of the story, but it was ruined by his thoughts of Dani. Ryodan was an odd duck in this book too. Why does he really need a 14 year old on his payroll anyways? And if he didn't like Mac because she was unpredictable, how can he even contemplate working with Dani? Not to mention that he is creepy with her too but then on top of that, he has no problem beating the crap out of her at times. Both guys are just icky, icky, icky. Dancer is the only one I really liked and even he makes me suspect that he isn't entirely up front with Dani about everything.

The thing with the sidhe-seers, and Kat especially, felt misplaced... like it didn't tie into Dani's story at all.

Overall, I really liked about the last 100 pages of this novel, but I didn't get what I was expecting. I wanted a fast-paced story with lots of butt-kicking, development of Dani's character, a mentor relationship with Ryodan, and maybe some age appropriate romantic dealings with Dancer. What I got was a great action at the end, pretty much nothing new with Dani, a weird and inappropriate relationship with a Barrons wannabe, and a gross and icky possible love square. I hope the next book can redeem Dani's story because she deserves so much better.

Christal wrote: "Dark-Fantasy Shelf:
Date Finished: November 6th
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review:

I'm not a Fever fangirl, I actually just read the series for the first time this year. The books de..."

WOW Christal. Your reviews are so long they make mine look like the suffer from ED syndrome.

I'm so jealous. I wish I had your ambition. :)

Christal wrote: "Dark-Fantasy Shelf:
Date Finished: November 6th
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review:

I'm not a Fever fangirl, I actually just read the series for the first time this year. The books de..."

Almost done. I'm not gonna look... I'm not gonna look...

CONGRATULATIONS, Deadly Readers!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'favorite-series'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

Congrats on the stamp Deadlies!

Thanks Steph and Sandra!

Lol Tiffanie, sometimes my reviews are longer than others. I didn't actually intend for that one to be so long but once I started complaining, I just kept thinking of more and more things.

Go Lis go!

Good news... Finally got a computer that doesn't freeze every other second.
Bad news... Been playing and not reading, sorry.

ROFL

LOL~Have lots of fun with it, Lis!

New computers do that to you :)
Enjoy!

Book: Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
Shelf: Dark Fantasy
Finished: Nov 8th
3 Stars

The Immortals After Dark is an excellent series and I had been eagerly awaiting Lucia and Garrett’s book ever since they were introduced in A Hunger Like No Other. Unfortunately, the book and their romance fell flat.

The first 1/3 rehashes the plots from the first two Lykae books. While the parallel storylines in the series are nothing new and usually mesh well, this recurring element is becoming tiresome and contributes little to Garrett and Lucia’s story. In fact, the narrative jumps forward one whole year after this section, which emphasizes its redundancy.

The romance is lackluster despite the excellent sexcapades. Lucia is quite bland as far as IAD heroines go. Yes, she suffers from a traumatic past but this is glossed over in the book and she seems to get over her fears of sex and vows of chastity very easily. Moreover, she comes across as childish and self-centered, and her constant “woe is me because sex will make me lose my archery skills” (which were never really hers to begin with) becomes annoying. She also has a tendency to keep secrets, which is a trope that I dislike intensely in contemporary romance and is out of place in PNR. Rather than confide in Garrett and work with him to defeat Cruach, she evades, prevaricates and lies, which ultimately gets them both into trouble.

Garrett, on the other hand, is far more likeable. He is sexy, strong and determined and his passion for Lucia is tangible despite the fact that it is impossible to see why his infatuation with her turns into love even with the dictates of Lykae mating. That said, the ultimate resolution to their relationship is satisfying.

The villain, while evil and disgusting, never seems to pose a substantial threat and the final encounter with him is predictable and anti-climactic.

Lothaire is the most compelling character in the book. The section in the Necropolis with him along with the epilogue are particularly intriguing and have definitely whet my appetite for the next three books.

Read: Iced by Karen Marie Moning
Shelf: Dark Fantasy
Date: 11/8/2012
Pages: 495
Rating: ★★★1/2✩ 

3.5 stars.... It's great being back in KMM's Dublin. We get to spend most of our time in Dani's head now, and she is still 14 and still hyped as ever. Her and Ryodan have kind of taken the place of Mac and Barrons. Ryodan is one of the 9 beast men we met in the fever series and Ryodan is one of the leaders who runs the club Chesters, which is a safe zone after the wall came down that separates fae and our world. He has taken an interest in Dani and trying to take care of her in an all "I am alpha" do as I say method. Well that doesn't go over with our little Dani "Mega" O'Malley so she spends a lot of the book proving that ain't no one going to "fecking" tell her what to do... Other players that surface are Christian MacKelter who due to his time in the silvers, eating the Unseelie that Mac gave him and the ritual his uncles & Barron's did in the fever series, he has almost completely turned into an Unseelie prince. He has also fixated on Ms. Dani as his love interest to a disturbing degree since he is in his mid 20's and he will be all "death by sex" fae soon (if not already), so there are just some very ewwww moments. Dancer is also front and center as he tries to help Dani in his special way to uncover the new big bad that is destroying her Dublin. That big bad is a mystery that Dani, Ryodan and eventually the team are identifying and stopping whatever is randomly "Icing" parts of Dublin. A few other characters hop in with their POV, mainly a few of her sidhe seer sisters from the abbey who are still trying to keep Cruze captive in the basement. He's not making that too easy.

Overall I liked the book. A lot of Dani in the beginning gets a little much so I needed a few rests. Ryodan is really a strong character added to the mix too. I just can't see where his relationship with Dani is going, not sure if its a future love interest paring or more of a fatherly need to take care of... Hmmm... It was nice to get a few additional POVs towards the end and seeing Dani thru the eyes of others. And of course we got a couple of KMM cliff hangers in the end. With all the build up and busy activity we get a pretty climatic end but for me all the build up just fell a little short.

Our dark-fantasy reads are turning out to be disappointing so far... all three stars!

I liked ICED, just kind of spoiled by the fever series so it might be a little unfair 3 1/2 only because I had high expectations. I am re-listening to Shadowfever now, what an awesome series ending. So much info and detail I forgot... I think ICED just needed some R or at least PG-13 lovin', KMM and YA just seem wrong...

So ready for our next shelf... I picked a fluff book for a filler and its not holding my attention today and I want to hold onto my new downloads for a possible shelf announcement.

Shelf announcement: 2012

http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/2012