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My reading goal for 2011 is 50 books.

Obtained: A Christmas present this year.

The last in the Vampire Academy series, I actually skipped reading the fourth book to get to this one. And I'm not sad that I did. There's something about this series that both drew me in and frustrated me, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

The last book ties up a lot of threads that had unravelled across the series, and leaves a few new ones dangling, which is appropriate as I believe that Mead is going to write a new series based in the same universe. My money is on either Adrian or Jill as the MC in the new series.

Some things came together a little *too* neatly, while others were frustrating. I appreciate what Mead was trying to communicate about Adrian in this book, but found the final scenes involving him didn't strike the right notes for me. This may have been because I skipped the fourth book, but he didn't seem entirely consistent with the Adrian we met in books two and three.

Otherwise, it was a quick read and I'm glad I got it!

Making a list of these, separate from my goal of 50. Hoping that I don't buy nearly as many as I did last year. I might make a point of re-reading the ones that I've acquired and noting whether there was anything I particularly liked or disliked about them:

1. Cowboy Swagger by Joanna Wayne (Jan 3)
2. Genuine Cowboy by Joanna Wayne (Jan 4)
3. The Wild Card by Rhonda Nelson (Jan 4)
4. Breaking the Rules by Tawny Weber (Jan 5) - I felt uncomfortable reading most of this book because of the central conflict between the hero and heroine, i.e. that he kept making decisions for her, for her own good. That kind of thing drives me nuts.
5. Not Another Blind Date by various authors. A collection of three short works.
6. A Daring Proposition by Jennifer Greene. Would have been infinitely better if some chapters had been written from the hero's perspective.
7. Tangled Tinsel by Vivian Arend (Jan 8)
8. Heat of the Moment by Karen Foley (Jan 13)
9. My Favourite Cowboy (I think?) (April 7)
10. !! Can't remember, but I'll fix that (April 8)
11. Mitzi's Marine (April 10)

Pretty entertaining, actually. I might like Nikki and Rook more than Beckett and Castle At least, until I see the next new episode of Castle.

It took me a bit to get into this book, but it proved to be as delightful as the first one! I love the voice this is written in, and the colourfulness of the characters.

I already have the next in the series, and I imagine I'll be reading it next!

Amusement. I read review that suggested this was a less than satisfying conclusion to the cliffhanger (of sorts) at the end of Changeless. While it wasn't 100% of what I had hoped it would be, I think it was a good start and hopefully Heartless, out on July 1st, will carry through on the promises made in this book.

I liked it.
Even though it felt like a lot of running back and forth between three or four locations, and having characters exit stage left at the end of a chapter only to be yanked back on stage at the start of the next (okay, maybe that only glaringly happened once...)

I need some relationship resolution in the next one though.

Great concepts, terribly annoying main character who drove me nuts with her damsel in distress behaviour.

Intriguing Fae world.

I stopped with the second of the trilogy because I can pretend it's a happy ending to the love story.

Pretty good, pretty good. Solidly on team Cal <I think that's the right name, it's been a month since I read it>. Hoping Archer turns out to be a bad guy, so that there's no awkward brush-off, even though I presume he and the main character will end up together.

Relatively satisfying ending to a series I loved and hated.

Really enjoyed it though the return to the lab at the end didn't quite fully work for me. Wish it had been an adult series so we could have seen more of the relationship between the mc and the love interest.

Fluff.

Cannot wait for the next book. Must have relationship between Cassie and Pritkin. Please?

Ugh. Some enjoyment of this book, but the description of the rest of the series made me cringe over the love interest issues that crop up.

The text of this book is syrupy like honey. Sometimes sweet, sometimes cloying. I need more umph in it to really feel the impact of the climax, but still, a decent story.

These books were devoured within 24 hours. Gulp gulp.

Love the sassy main character, slightly less love for arrogant love interested, but big love for sassy main character standing up to him and not letting him push her around.

Love that Merit was also portrayed as suitably analytic as befit her grad student status. That was a lot more satisfying than the totally dependent on the new man in her life professor in the last novel or two that I read (whose title escapes me!)

I'd rate this a nearly 7 on a scale of 10. The cast in this book is so few as to make me feel almost claustrophobic by the standards of most urban fantasies.

I'm interested in reading more of them, but... not interested enough to rush out to buy them.

I paused reading this book during the climax and came back to it two or three weeks later, which should give a sense of how 'into it' I was.

It's not a story that really drew me in. I enjoyed it, and I'd pick up the other books in the series if I saw them on sale, but I won't go out of my way to get them.

6.5/10

I'm coming to realize that I really like sassy heroines, but overbearing heroes ruin a book for me. And if the sassy heroine is embarassed/humiliated/has to rely too much on the hero? Sometimes, it's like I take it personally.

I mean, I get that we need conflict in a book, and I don't want the hero and heroine to be together automatically (if that's the way a story is going to go), but... I guess I really want them to be on equal footing, in some way.

Anyways, I have the next two in this series already out of the library, so I'll probably read them later in the week.

Can't quite recall the proper titles, but I enjoyed them. I like female POVs because I can slip into them more easily, but I thoroughly enjoyed Dresden's adventures. I've got the third sitting on the top of my TBR pile from the library right now.

Enjoyed these a lot more than the first one in the Stephanie Plum series.

Stephanie is a very relatable character, for me at least, and I found Morelli and Ranger both were much more enjoyable after the first book.

I'm glad this is a LONG series, because I'm pushing through the books pretty quickly.

I do expect my interest will top off after... eight? Maybe nine?

Good good good.

Didn't expect the ending. Looking forward to more

I've come across Holly Black's name a lot.

As a modern fairy tale... I wasn't expecting the drug elements at all.

I did enjoy it, and I think I might look for another by her.

So I'm starting to see some cracks in the series. I enjoyed this one, lots of amusement, but I'm starting to want Stephanie to have a serious relationship with either of the men in her life.... And I suspect that I'm not going to find much satisfation as the triangle seems to be alive and well by book seventeen....

And it's clear she'll end up with Morelli eventually... and that just makes me want her to be with Ranger.

Disappointment.

An improvement over some earlier books when I felt like the story was both rushed and didn't have much happening - figure that one out.

I'm not happy with something that happened in this book, it felt out of character and entirely so that readers would feel a certain way about a decision Harris has apparently made.

I enjoyed these. I was worried about hte premise of the second one, but it worked out much much better than I thought.

I'd definitely read some in the Duchess series before, and just forgotten about it - maybe even these ones... but still, I enjoyed these.

I'm finding myself less interested in the mystery plots than in the regular cast of characters.... I ground through this book more slowly than previous ones in the series in part because I have a hint of what is coming and I'm not sure I'm on board..

Still, Hard Eight... next on my tbr pile from the library

Hmm... I was a little let down by the Ranger-Stephanie hook-up, but... yeah.

I'm burning through these as though I think that when I reach the end, there'll be resolution.

I know there won't.

Irritating.

At least I'm not spending money on them. I have the rest through 16, plus the between the plums books out of the library already. I'd be surprised if I didn't burn through the rest before the end of the month (heck, before the end of next week!)

And finished.

Still frustrated by the lack of Ranger-Stephanie romance, but JE doesn't seem to write very satisfyingly on that front anyways. I do see the need for some kind of progress though. I'll probably pick up 17 when it comes out next month... what are the odds that Stephanie will choose Ranger over Morelli in it and I'll be happy?

Ha.

Finally got around to reading this, and it was a gem as I expected. The balance of the narration was interesting as it was split in *long* chapters early on between the two MC, and by the end, the chapters had become much shorter.

Great characters, interesting world. I'd definitely read a sequel, though I don't know that there's any plans for there to be one.

Not the best in the series... The relationship with Cheney.... isn't quite right. Hoping for more in S is for... Silence, I think?

Super short books, they're kind of... twilight-esque. The author does a great job of capturing the feel of teenagers... but I'm not loving how short the book are, that they have cliffhanger endings, that they're full price (I get them from the library though)....
I also am annoyed with the main character for being so completely taken in by the boy who she's dating, *completely* ignoring her instincts about why he's interested in her... etc., etc..

Really loved this book.

SPOILERS



I'm a total Pritkin fan, and I really don't like Mircea. I liked Mircea a bit more after this book, and Chance achieved what I thought was impossible - while I still REALLY want Cassie and Pritkin to become a real couple, she provided reasons within this book that made me feel okay with the fact that they weren't.

A reflection for how much I love Pritkin? Maybe....

The downside is that now I have to wait for the next one... I gobbled this one up waaay too fast.

I was curious about fiction for boys, so I picked this one up. Irritatingly, the library didn't have the next few in, so I'm waiting on those.

I did like it. There was definitely a moral, but it wasn't so blatant that I was put off by it.

I picked up Grand Finale out of curiosity about her earlier romances and found it was lacking heat.

It's cute, and I actually liked that the guy knows early on that he wants to be with the woman. It's clear how these earlier romances contributed to the development of the Stephanie Plum series.

Smokin Seventeen was... about what I expected. There was a huge copout so Stephanie didn't have to take responsibility for wanting both Morelli and Ranger. I'm burnt out on the whole thing, to be honest. Pick one already, and honestly, if it's not Ranger, I'll be sad.

Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night, Small Favor, Turn Coat and Changes all by Jim Butcher; Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter; Demon Bound and Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge; Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews; Ghost of a Chance by Simon R. Green; Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle; The Water Room by Christopher Fowler; A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan


Brings me up to 69 for the year so far

The Help - the movie Disneyfied the book a lot... it wasn't as funny as the movie made it seem like it should be. I'm glad I read the book first.

Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl - delightful frothy fun. I'd love a Jamie in my life, if, you know, my husband wouldn't object I'll look for Eric's story in november (or whenever it's actually released)

The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter - Enjoyed it a lot. Definitely becoming a fan of hers, though I read her Atlantis series and didn't adore it. Still, good stuff.

I bought this one so long along on a recommendation from I'm not sure where, that I had no idea what to expect.

It was definitely erotic fantasy, which was okay, but not really as meaty as I was hoping for. I certainly don't mind erotic fantasy, but I do expect to have more plot.... I might read another one, but I probably wouldn't buy a new copy of her work unless it was discounted (or a less expensive ebook)

I enjoyed it, as I expected I would. Wasn't thrilled by the relationship but it was expected, and hopefully clears up some baggage (though it created new baggage, I'm sure).

Hopefully the next one, Sept 6 2012, embarks down the relationship path I've been waiting for, and also starts to deal with Toby's mom a bit more directly.

Loved this book, loved it!

I like the slow build, I loved the characters. I had to hop online immediately after to see if there's a pub date for the next one in the series... not yet, but I hold onto hope that one will come out this year.

A Harlequin Blaze novel(la), I liked this one because none of the moments in the book struck me as forced or out of place. I find that with these short books - 140 pages or so - that often there's *something* that really makes my nose wrinkle as the author tries to bring the main characters together in a believable way (possibly why I like the childhood friends/friend of a sibling type story the most right now - there's already a history and feelings established).

Anyways, it was good. I've come to expect that of her books, so... huzzah!

I found this book to be really interesting because it was discovered as a complete manuscript after Crichton's death. I think it must have been a labour of love for him, as there's some suggestion he'd been working on it off and on since the 1970s. Further, I don't think he had finished tweaking it, and the evidence of that is, I believe, in the sections that needed to be more fully developed to be satisfying.

Still, a solid entry, and it makes me curious about how it compares to the quality of writing in some of his other, more recent works.

I quite enjoyed the latest entry in the Nikki Heat series. The book felt very full, I liked the references to things that happened on the tv series although I didn't feel there were as many in this book as there had been in the previous two. Still, quite good, and I look forward to next year's.

A mystery set in Three Pines, Quebec, it was nice to read a mystery that was more mystery than thriller.

I thought this was the first in the series when I bought it from Amazon, but clearly I didn't do my homework - it was the third.

I liked the author's voice. I liked that there were enough clues that it was reasonable to guess at who the murderer was, but that there was plenty of reason to keep guessing the wrong person.

I also liked the subplots, though the Inspector-central one really would have benefitted from reading the first two books, I think.

I'll definitely look for the rest of the series.

I wasn't expecting to like this one - not sure why. Something about the premise, I guess, just didn't interest me too much. But I was pleasantly surprised, and the chemistry/romance between the two main characters worked.

I'm definitely acquiring a list of Harlequin authors I prefer vs. those I don't, and a list of things I like/don't like in my romance novels. I'll have to write those things down to keep in mind when I write.

Both of these made me cry at one point during them - I'm clearly overly emotional these days

Like both of these authors, so no surprise I enjoyed the books.

Not terrible books, but not genius, by any means. Patterson's trademark short chapters (which start and finish and start anew in the middle of scenes so that a single scene can be multiple chapters...) is both ideal for the YA story he's telling, as they keep the pace quick, but also a major drawback. Any time there's a chance for emotional development, the chapter ends and we move on.

I will undoubtedly keep reading these, but I don't have high hopes.

Amusingly, making things happen that I wanted to see happen inspired me to write my first fanfic in *years*. So... there's that.

I don't usually read short stories. I enjoyed these, for the most part, though I didn't get quite as much romance out of them as I hoped. I think I was also expecting more sexual content, which was not really fair of me at all.

If I see more of the Mammoth books at the library, I'll pick them up - or heavily, heavily discounted at Chapters - but no buying more of them at full price or just on sale.

Lucy... I like your shelf. It's overflowing with entertainment.
You're the type of person I'd befriend just so I could borrow her books!

~~~~~~Signature's Off~~~~~~

LOL!

Thanks Carrie!
I love reading, and so does my husband. He's actually building us (me!) a built-in bookcase *just* for paperbacks to try to get more of our books out of boxes. I'm so looking forward to rediscovering old favorites and poaching from his side of the shelves!


And I'm so far behind on updating what I've read this year! I better hop to it!

I'm the same way... I have to restrict myself when I go to the bookstore. My rule is: If I can't hold them all in one hand then I have to start prioritizing.

My ability to balance books has improved significantly while my bank account continues to suffer.

Hope the book case turns out to be gorgeous! Happy reading!

~~~~~~Signature's Off~~~~~~

A Pathfinder book, I had a lot of problems with this one: the first two chapters in particular are really poorly edited.

But! I got into the story, and appreciated how defined the main characters were. It also... amused me to see how tightly plotted the book was in terms of making full use of EVERY location and person to be mentioned - except for, really, the people in the first chapter.

*shakes head*

Already planning to borrow the next in this mini-series within the broader Pathfinder series from my friend. Not sure if I'll delve into the other authors or not yet....

I just finished reading this one last night, and really enjoyed it! True fantasy, which I haven't been reading enough of lately. I'm already fifty pages into the third book in the series, so yes, I'd recommend this to fans of the fantasy genre.

All short reads, I don't know that I really enjoyed any one of these more or less than the rest. The kind of thing that I'd read off an ereader while taking transit, or while in the tub - if I had an ereader.

Instead, usually a guilty pleasure while my daughter is napping, when I should be working.

A very satisfying final book in the Ancient Blades Trilogy. I would definitely like to read more in the world that Chandler's created. I'd like to follow Malden, I'd like to see Cynthera in her own book. I'm curious about what the future holds for Croy (though he couldn't sustain his own book, I think).

Very good!

(and an excellent reminder to myself of how much I love the fantasy genre!)

Argh, argh argh. 2.5/5 . This book was not satisfying, I needed more meat. I don't like that the prologue/epilogue both happen beyond the end of the first book. I was not at all happy with that.

Unless I get a really good deal on it, I won't pick up the second book in the series. I can, however, envision how this will become a movie, and I could see taking a pre-teen daughter to see it... you know, if my daughter wasn't 19 months old.

Read this as an ebook, I will admit, solely because it's the next pick for Felicia Day's "Vaginal Fantasy Book Club". So glad that I did. I love, love, love the world that Brook creates. So much material here to explore - zombies, nanobots, alt history, steampunk... love love love.

I liked the romance, I liked that the alpha male was willing to acknowledge his mistakes, I liked his attitude towards Mina (the possessiveness was acceptable when paired alongside his acceptance of her without wanting to change her).

I'll look for more by this author, definitely.

I read this throughout the month of March. I really liked them all except for the "Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume VI," which were two shorts tied together by a fairy tale theme - I didn't mind the Hansel and Gretel tale, it was the Little Mermaid one that left me a little cold.

Well, I told myself I wasn't going to read it, but then I caved because both my sisters tore through it and told me I was next.


Lots of spoilers to follow so don't read if you haven't read the book !


What worked for me:

Katniss was a likable, relatable character and I felt like she had a realistic balance of guts and nerves.

I liked the Games themselves - okay, like might be the wrong word. But the details around it, about the event itself, all of that was well done.

Haymitch, and all of Katniss' internal dialogue around figuring him out.

Peeta in terms of him not suddenly hulking out in the Games to come to Katniss' rescue at any point. I liked that he was truly vulnerable through the entire book - emotionally for most of it, and physically during the Games.


What didn't work for me:

The love triangle. I *liked* that Katniss was solidly in the "Gale is just my best friend" camp. Wouldn't it have been so novel if this great friendship hadn't been elevated into a spoiler for the Peeta-Katniss relationship in this book?

Effie - I feel like she didn't live up to her potential in this book. She's clearly a kooky character... give me more.

The Avox girl's storyline - Partially an excuse for flashbacks so we could see more Gale, I think, I wanted more than I got from this subplot.

The wolves at the end... really? *really*? This felt like a James Patterson twist, straight out of the Maximum Ride series... where it actually kind of works. It didn't here.


I've already spoiled myself by reading the wikipedia rundowns of the plots of the next two books. I don't know if I'll read them or not.

I really enjoyed this entry in her series. I liked how the Parasol Protectorate came into being, I liked that there were some real changes to the situation of the various characters.

I'd like to go back and re-read the first three books to see if there's any indication of some of the developments we got in this book - just how well planned were they?

I'll probably read Timeless next, though I'm reading two ebooks at the same time right now as well


SPOILERS:
I feel like this could have been a logical stopping point if the infant-inconvenience subplot had been wrapped up with an explanation as to why the vampires are so scared of it.

I enjoyed this book, as I expected I would. The romance isn't so strong in Carriger's books as in other urban fantasy, but I love the world. And I enjoy Alexia.

I like how she handles reminding the reader of what's happened before, though I found a few phrases that 'show' mannerisms or particular observations of other characters that were repeated directly from the previous book. Hard to tell if it was a deliberate recycling or just the author's instinctive way of phrasing things.

I like that *a lot happens* in each of these books - Alexia's world has distinct changes to it by the end of each book, which also gives Carriger material to work with at the start of the next one. It's a definite strength of the series.

Well, well, well. This is going to be spoilery so don't read if you haven't read the book and are planning to.


I'm having a love-hate relationship with Katniss. I like how strong she seems at times - within the Games, supporting her family, doing what she thinks needs to be done to keep everyone going.

I *hate* how the love triangle makes her seem so wishy washy ALL THE TIME. And I don't like that she does seem to be falling apart more, the farther into the series I get. Is Collins trying to comment on what happens to people during war when they don't really stand for something? I mean, Gale has a definite position, and I suppose Peeta's determination to see that Katniss survives could be considered a position.... I just feel like Katniss flips back and forth on what needs to be done so much. And why was she so angry with Peeta towards the end of the book? I must have missed something. Her "I hate him, I'll keep him alive, but I'm going to be really bitchy towards him now" attitude being launched by the slightest perceived slight drove me CRAZY.

What would have made me happy?

If Katniss stuck with her feeling that Gale is definitely 'just' her best friend as per the beginning of the Hunger Games. This would have allowed for her to still desire to protect him and respect and value his opinion, but it would have also allowed her to fall in love with Peeta without so much inner conflict. And then the focus could have been put on how to keep that fragile relationship alive in the chaos of the Games and the ensuing revolt. There would have been some conflict too over what she thought would be best for Peeta versus her family but maybe it wouldn't have rendered Katniss so completely flip-floppy.

And, of course, without the triangle to distract her emotions, she could have been more of a conscious participant within the political machinations of the book.

Regarding the broader context of the book, I did find the world that Collins created to be quite intriguing. I'd like to know more about a lot of the different elements - who are these peacekeepers, why are there so many, because the people in the Capitol seem a little, ah, flighty a lot of the time. So how are they raising such a big fighting force to smack down the Districts - or is it just a question of firepower?

I'd like to know more about how the Avox live, to know more about life in the different Districts. I'd have liked to see Katniss interacting with non-romantic interest friends more.

I'm sure I'll read the last book in the series to see how things are resolved (I did skim it to get a sense of where things go, but i'll read it through for the full effect). I'm just not sure that this series *overall* really does it for me. Great ideas, great concepts, but poor execution of romantic subplot and the main character just deteriorates too much for me.

Note that I do get that she's in a really extreme situation so it does make sense for Katniss to mentally start shutting down, but I guess I expected a little more. I would have been fine if she'd had moments of weakness, an emotional breakdown here and there, tunnel vision on a goal she's set for herself, etc.. But making a decision and then two pages later reversing that decision and then two pages later not knowing what to do and two pages later loving someone and two pages later hating them and so on just drove me nuts.

I really enjoyed this book - once I really got into the story, I couldn't put it down.

Definitely will add Ms. Lyle to my to buy list.

Spoilery!!

The different perspectives were quite interesting to flip between because of all the secrets being kept from each of the main characters. I liked that Ned wasn't a terribly likeable character, and that Coby's secret was only revealed to Mal.

I'd love it if there was a sequel already out so I can see what happens to Mal and Coby as they move forward from this story.

Well it was a fluffy tale, that's for sure. And I did enjoy it... I was actually surprised there wasn't *more* hot sex scenes, to be honest.

It was a welcome 'brain off' option after reading Catching Fire and Alchemist because they both had me really thinking.

Won't go out of my way to pick up more of Cole's books, but if I see some for cheap, I'll definitely grab 'em.

Before I start, I don't think I've read either of the two books that this book has been compared to, and so I didn't have any expectations or hopes before I started reading it.

This book is a sweet, light, soft story featuring characters who have unexpected maturity and wisdom.

The hero of the book, in particular, struck me as far more mature, wise and confident than I would expect in a teenage boy. There's a scene towards the end of the book, that I won't spoil, but in which he expresses his perspective in such a clear and insightful way that I couldn't quite imagine a teenager doing. But good for him. He's certainly swoon-worthy on those fronts.

It's a quick read, which I think is perfect for a lazy afternoon. There's no major dilemmas, no crisis to overcome, no *horrible thing* that puts a massive kink in the inevitable conclusion of the story, though there are some minor wobbles. Kind of like an afternoon spent lounging in a rowboat, rocking on the waves caused by speedboats whizzing past.

There was nothing to dislike in this book, but I also think there was nothing to *love*. It'll make a lovely teen movie, I think, as long as the pacing can be managed to keep the audience engaged.

I *do* think that there was a sweet message in it about loving yourself and being confident and such that may or may not strike home with the reader. Certainly it's something that I think we could all do with being reminded about. Not that we should all walk around, full of ourselves, but that we should love ourselves rather than comparing ourselves unfavorably to others.

Enjoyed this, I powered through them book in less than 24 hours.

I wasn't expecting to take to these quite so much - I've read enough Nora Roberts to generally not get excited about her work anymore.

I *definitely* didn't expect the slight futuristic bent. I enjoyed the mysteries, liked Roarke and the romance that developed. I *hope* that theirs is an easy relationship over the course of the books. How novel that would be, to have a long-standing love story without all the drama in it that other authors feel compelled to give us. I see on wikipedia that there are roughly 44 books featuring this couple so... yeah. I may have to dig out my library card or acquire a new one, because I'm not sure I want to *buy* all of these.

But still, a good, solid series so far.

Enjoyed Immortal in Death. I think the romance going on between Eve and Roarke is what I'd like to have seen on the sides in the Alphabet Murder series by Sue Grafton - i.e. a measure of happiness and support for a strong, independent female character.

I *didn't* approve of Roarke tranqing Eve so she would sleep - it *REALLY* upset me, and I wish there'd been more of a reaction to it from Eve.

I'll pick up more of these books, but slow acquisition because there's so many of them! If I could get them in cheaper sets, even as ebooks - 3 for 8.99, e.g., instead of 8.99 each, I'd snap them up a lot faster. As it is, I might end up borrowing from the library or checking the local used bookstore. Something to think about Big Publishing!

Also read Grave Witch, which was the first selection for Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy book club. I'm glad I did! Interesting magic environment, a depth to the world that was definitely not fully explored in the first book.

I actually enjoyed all of these again, so good work Harlequin.

I've got a cart full of ebooks I want to buy from them but I'm trying to be patient until I get through a bunch of other books.

Elements of this reminded me of Viehl's Stardoc series which I have mixed feelings about (I haven't finished the Stardoc series either so my feelings might be less mixed if I got around to it).

Anyways, the connections might only be because I haven't read much else in the range of science fiction / science fiction-romance.

I liked the voice of the narration once I got into it, though I didn't like that Jax kept drawing attention to how much she had changed - I didn't think she really did change that much -> I'll need to re-read it to see if that's just a product of reading it so quickly or not.

Will read more books in this series

A sort of languid, meandering tale about four different female generations of a single secret-laden family.

I think the unveiling of the main secret could have happened in about a hundred fewer pages without compromising the integrity of the story, and in fact, I was quite frustrated with certain characters for not seeing certain things faster.

The telling of the tale through the three different time periods also made it difficult to track what was known by the later two generations, and I think there was one point where the modern woman knew something that I'm not really sure she actually got any clues to know.

So some structural problems, but it was a lovely, winding story otherwise.

Two more YA books with no preternatural components.

I enjoyed them both. Already plan on checking out of the library the second in the Jessica Darling series.

Neither was a perfect book, but they were entertaining enough!

I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it, and I ended up just skimming the third and fourth books (which I'd also taken out of the library) to get a sense for where the story goes. I'll skim read the fifth too, just to know how it all ends.

Not great, but not terrible. The overarching universe stuff was interesting, but the romance was kind of meh.

Not going to read more in this series.

Another six quick reads.

My top three this month were (in no particular order) Suddenly Sexy by Susanna Carr, Long Road Home by Vicki Lewis Thompson and Blazing Midsummer Nights by Leslie Kelly.

Lots of heroes this month who, while protective and clearly knew what they wanted, didn't run roughshod all over the heroines. *thumbs up*

Enjoyed this, and would read more. At one point, I misunderstood a reveal that would have made the book so cruel, but possibly made it have a deeper resonance? I don't know.

There was a *lot* of information to pick up regarding the different cryptids, so for those who *hate* infodumps, this is not a winner.

Also, severe suspensino of disbelief. I have no problem with this - if you tell me that in your New York, it is feasible to travel around by rooftops, never touching the ground, never breaking your bones, etc., etc.. I will believe you. That's the New York of your book's world. But I understand that some people had difficulties with this.

*shrugs*

I'll pick up the sequel next year. I don't have a problem with that kind of thing.

Three books by Sarah Dessen.

She's a hugely successful YA author, from what I understand. And it's not hard to see why - her books follow a certain formula on a basic level - girl facing personal problems connects with boy who teaches her, along with aid of secondary characters that whatever her personal fear or 'deal' is, it's okay for her to open up to others.

The details, however, change quite a bit. One of these featured the only child of a divorced couple, in which the father was remarried with a brand-new baby girl. Another was about a girl with two older sisters and two happily married parents. The last was about a girl who never knew her father, whose mother abandons her, and thus she goes to live with her estranged older sister and her husband.

The heroines are all holding back for some reason - whether afraid to rock the boat by telling the truth, afraid to trust because people chronically have let her down or afraid to give anything she might not be good at a try.

It was *super easy* to see how a teenager might relate to any of these young women or the various shenanigans that go on in the books. I'll probably read more of her books as they become available at my local library.

So I read this a week or more ago and I couldn't really remember what it was all about and had to skim the last chapter to get a refresher.

Basically in the genre of modernizing popular 19th century fiction - this book takes Pride and Prejudice as its inspiration.

Honestly, it's so short that it had to cut out a lot of the P&P story. Plus the way that the mother figure is worked in is REALLY awkward and forced.

I enjoyed it on a superficial level - it was kind of like B-grade Harlequin fiction for teens - not as good as some of my favorite Harlequin authors, but not bad for a quick afternoon read.

I enjoyed this one - I'm a fan of Caine's Glass House series though I've only read the first four or five, and also the Weather Warden series though again, I've only read maybe three?

So a casual fan?

Anyways, this story went where I didn't expect it to in the first couple chapters, which I liked.

I did feel that the romantic subplot wasn't established strongly enough early on. The strength of emotions or interest or whatever was too sudden for me later in the book - I felt like I'd missed a key chapter. To be fair, I tend to read in dim light while putting my daughter to sleep or speed read during the day when I can, so I *might* have missed a key chapter.

Still, I'll look for the next in the series due out in the fall I believe. One great think about Caine is that she's prolific so no waiting a full year for something new from her.

Another month when I can't complain about any of the books. I enjoyed each of them thoroughly. I think part of that is because I've now been reading these for enough months recently that I was familiar with all the mini-series that were continued in July's set.

I think Breathless on the Beach was probably a favourite, though the reveal for the mystery at the end was not particularly well done. Tall, Dark & Reckless suffered from a similar too quick ending for the background story.

Still, though might be my favorites, though, as I said, they were all good this month

Not a great conclusion to the trilogy. I was especially disappointed in the treatment of the love triangle and the SUPER FAST conclusion.

The latter makes me wonder how much was push back from the publisher/editor versus the author's decision.

I'll probably keep an eye out for more from this author, but it won't be an auto-buy for me.

I don't even know where to begin.

I was disappointed.

I really, in my heart of hearts, want to trust that she's going to a happy place and the final book in the series will resolve everything in a way that I am happy with, but I'm also concerned that if I hold onto that, she'll break my heart in the end.

Reasonably good stories with some uneven characterization.

It's unclear to me why Sylvie's business partner sticks around - there's not a *lot* to endear Sylvie to anyone that comes across in the books. Sylvie's also a little hit or miss in terms of being as ruthless as she thinks she is - but I'm chalking that up to her own opinion being a little off base. The author has expressed her dislike of reading in the first person, but I think this series might be stronger for it. It's all written from a very limited third person - Sylvie's perspective - anyways.... But maybe I'm off base here.

I like the use of mythology and paranormal components. Already reading the third and have the fourth, and then I'll have to wait to see if there's a fifth forthcoming....

Another cute riff on Pride and Prejudice, I think I enjoyed this one more than the one I read earlier this year. It just seemed to click a little better for me.

Wow.

This is one *dense* *long* book. The story starts slow as she lays the groundwork for the political intrigue that will come later. It is worth sticking with it - even skimming these pages so you can keep a hold of the plot threads without being bogged down in the details. I suspect that many readers will come back to this book multiple times and spend more time with these early chapters once they see how these threads tie-in to the plotlines.

I'll definitely be reading books 2 and 3. Easily one of, if not the best book I've read this year.

Somewhere around a 3.8 or so.

In the vein of Twilight (I hate to make the comparison, but sorry, there it is), it also reminds me of Fallen, though it's been ages since I read that and I mostly recall the angel component rather than the actual plot

Anyways, I enjoyed the book, for what it was, though the plot didn't come together very tightly for me.

The relationship between Patch and Nora was also only superficially developed. I suspect it resonates with the teenage girl experience, but I don't think it was very satisfying from a more experienced perspective. Still, enough here for me to enjoy it.

I felt like this was more even than previous entries in the series, so that's a positive.

Negative is that one of the minor characters from the previous book underwent a bit of adjustment to fit the needs of this book, so his personality was a bit... different.

But overall, enjoyable. I wish I'd been able to read it in larger chunks with fewer sittings (rather than in between turns during a Civ V game)

Quick YA reads.

The mother characters bothers me a lot - she's not the most responsible of women, it seems to me. Also felt like the relationship troubles in book 2 and the amnesia in book 3 were contrived to create drama between the heroine/hero.

I'll pick up the final book in October to see how it all ends.

A cute "life is not always greener", body-snatching story.

I'll probably follow up with the rest in the series if I remember to grab them at the library.

I hope the MC gets to spend some time in her own body at some point so that she can develop her new potential romance a little.

Enjoyed, but not enough to seek out the sequels, I think.

The story was decent, but tracking it from different angles just doesn't interest me at all.

94 was the Dark Side of Desire and 95 was A Devilishly Dark Deal

Went on a Harlequin binge.

Generally fairly good, except the last two, and particularly the last one. I feel like I've read Maggie Cox before and liked her work, but this one... The dialogue was so stilted. Who, in post-coital afterglow, while defending their character suddenly to their lover uses the word "Whilst"? The language both hero and heroine used was so stilted and formal and awkward that I couldn't sink into the story.

Disappointment on that front.

But the Blaze stories were good, and I liked the Courtney Milan (Proof by Seduction).

Had forgotten how much I enjoy Lori Foster's books. The resolution of the romance could probably have been spun out a bit more for me, but overall, enjoyable.

I enjoyed the Christie Craig book a lot more than I expected. It was cute, and I felt for the hero and heroine, which was nice. I'll look for the third in the series!