catwoman Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Started: 19/08/2009 Finished: 23/08/2009Rating: 10/10 Synopsis from Waterstones: Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favours beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose. This is the second book of the Morganville Vampire Series and starts off exactly were the first book Glass House ends...which did end with a great cliff hanger. Even though this is Rachel Caine's young adult series, it is fast pacing and pact with adventure which kept me interested. I just love the fact that there is never a dull moment in Morganville. I enjoyed learning more about the characters in this second book and the few surprises that happen too. If you are a vampire lover and need to fill the "Twilight" gap, I suggest reading this series. It is so much fun. I have heard a few people up the library rave about them, if I like Twilight (Which will be my next book - Dear god!!) and the sookie books I might read this! Thanks Shin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 I have heard a few people up the library rave about them, if I like Twilight (Which will be my next book - Dear god!!) and the sookie books I might read this! Thanks Shin! Glass House is the first book this ones the second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 You have and that's baaad I havent started reading The Host yet but my Mr Man bookmark is firmly placed on the first page Well, I am getting started with the Sookie Stackhouse books and I am really enjoying Dead Until Dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funrun Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Will need to read some of these from your list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 Well yesterday I finished Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris and now I have started Betrayed by P.C and Kristen Cast. I will do my review of Dead Until Dark tomorrow and I am a bit tired and need to go to bed. But I have added more books to my TBR list and to be honest they may be there for a while. They are books that my mum and my sister gave me to read as in Catherine Cookson!!! I have never read any of her books and they tell me they are good stories. I suppose I have to read them to see if they are right. I did start one and then put it down because I had others I really wanted to read. So if you have read any Catherine Cookson books I'd loved to know your opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Started: 15/09/2009 Finished: 19/09/2009Rating: 10/10 Synopsis: Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is ...but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans and he's never around during the day ...Yep, Bill's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim ... I was recommended to read the Southern Vampire Mystery books after I read the Twilight series and I was looking for something to fill the gap. I seriously don't know why it took me so long to actually purchase the first book to read but I am currently watching the first season of True Blood and enjoying it so much and decided to finally buy Dead Until Dark. I was really surprised at how close the storyline is to the TV programme (I thought I'd put this in as a spoiler in case you haven't watched the programme or vice versa). I loved the humour in the book and it was fun and sexy in a tasteful way and just can't wait to get my hands on the next book. By the time I finished the book, I only watched up to episode 10, season 1 of True Blood. Of course reading the book did spoil the ending of the programme for me since now I know that Rene is the killer. That is something I did not expect. I was also surprised that Tara was not in this book at all but understand that she is introduced in the next book. I do have to admit that it was hard for me to review this book as I seem to be comparing it to the programme. Overall, I enjoyed this book more than Twilight...yes I did say that. Don't get more wrong, I loved Twilight but I found Dead Until Dark more exciting and funny. I really do recommend this book to read, you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Started: 19/09/2009 Finished: 21/09/2009 Rating: 8/10 Synopsis: It seems that (un)life is going pretty well for Zoey Redbird. She has settled in at the House of Night finishing school and is coming to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her. She even has a boyfriend...or two. Best of all, Zoey finally feels she has found somewhere she belongs. Then the unthinkable happens.Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the vampires at Zoey's school. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's past life, she begins to realise that the very powers that made her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Zoey finds herself facing a betrayal that could break her heart and jeopardise the very fabric of her world. Yes, another vampire book! This is the second book in the House of the Night series and much a teen novel as some parts of the book I found quitely childish and cringe worthy. The first book Marked sees Zoey being "Marked" and the story is of her coming to terms with living at the House of the Night. This second book sees her settling into her role in the school. I must admit the book turns quite dark which I wasn't expecting and I was surprised at the turn of events in the book. Zoey starts having bad feelings about her mentor, the High Priestness, Neferet and she is also has sympathy for her enemy, Aphrodite. I was really surprised how Neferet turns out to be far from the nice mummy figure that we pictured her to be in Marked. I was also shocked that Zoey's best friend, Stevie-Rae did not survive the Change which means she is now a horrible, evil, undead monster that only Zoey knows about. Even though I did end up enjoying the first book in this series, I was dreading reading this book because I thought it was going to be a silly teenage story but with the twists in this book I can't wait to read the rest of the books to see how the story unfolds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 Synopsis: What did it mean? The note with the hieroglyphs was found in the pocket of a man lying dead in an alley. The only other item of interest on him was a piece of jewelery, a reproduction of the Charlemagne talisman, but so well done that Vicky Bliss thought she was being shown the real thing. The gold work had been done by a master craftsman; the stones were of top quality synthetic...Vicky didn't know what it meant yet, but ion the sundrenched streets and moonlit courtyards of Rome, she was going to find out - if the dangerously exciting Englishman didn't get in her way! This book was a short read however I found it hard to get into, well that and the fact that I just needed a little reading break. But last night I got into the book again and was able to finish it this afternoon. This is the second book in the Vicky Bliss Murder Mysteries and as I said in my review for the first book, they are not the normal books I would pick out of the library to read. This book sees Vicky, now working for Professor Schmidt at the National Museum in Munich, going on another adventure after a dead man is found with a fake of the Charlemagne talisman sewn into his coat. Vicky travels to Italy to find out who is the mastermind behind the production of the fake jewelry and of course often finds herself in a spot of bother here and there. One thing a find about these books is, not only are you getting to read a short story but you are also getting a history lesson rolled into one. I find the author spends a lot of her time writing about facts in relation to art history, describing the surrounding areas and mentioning the places in Italy than getting to the actual story line. But then again I didn't know that Han van Meergan was the greatest forger of Vermeer! If all of this was removed from the book...would there be much of a book? There are no existing characters in the book from the first one except for Vicky and Professor Schmidt. Professor Schmidt is not in this book often and therefore really can't say I enjoyed how the characters evolved. That's including Vicky. It was getting to the point were I was going to give up reading this book and the whole series but I got more into the book at the end and surprised to say I will continue with the series and can't wait to read the next book. Despite the few spelling mistakes in the book (there was some in the first aswell which I thought was just me going mad), I am thinking that now there will be something about Vicky that I will be looking forward to see develop! Rating: 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 (edited) Synopsis: The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, pediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach. When a second victim is found, crucified, only a few days later, it becomes clear that Sibyl's brutal murder wasn't a one-off attack. What Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is dealing with is a seasoned sexual predator. A violent serial killer.... Well were do I start? I was recommended this book by catwoman and all I can say is that I am glad of the recommendation. This book was gripping from the very beginning to the end and I just didn Edited October 12, 2009 by Shin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Synopsis: The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, pediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach. When a second victim is found, crucified, only a few days later, it becomes clear that Sibyl's brutal murder wasn't a one-off attack. What Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is dealing with is a seasoned sexual predator. A violent serial killer.... Well were do I start? I was recommended this book by catwoman and all I can say is that I am glad of the recommendation. This book was gripping from the very beginning to the end and I just didn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Mate, that was an awesome review. You pointed out some many good points of Slaughter, espcially how everything clicks into place and the characters. Trust me the characters stay with you like friends the more you progress through the series. The next book is a little more gruesome and a little more harrowing as it involves Teens, but please do not let that stop you, Slaughter presents the gruesome details with empathy and with sensitivity. Major twists with that one too. Thanks, as you know I don't see myself as a great reviewer and it was hard to give a review to this one without giving anything away. I just wanted to write about everything. :eek2: I know I didn't say much about the actual murders and the murderer but I hope that "everything clicking together" covered that. I get want you are saying with the characters staying with you. I have had that with other books and that to me only says its a good book. I am going to finish my other three library books then order Kisscut...actually I think I will just order it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks, as you know I don't see myself as a great reviewer and it was hard to give a review to this one without giving anything away. I just wanted to write about everything. :eek2: I know I didn't say much about the actual murders and the murderer but I hope that "everything clicking together" covered that. I get want you are saying with the characters staying with you. I have had that with other books and that to me only says its a good book. I am going to finish my other three library books then order Kisscut...actually I think I will just order it now. YOu know you want to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 YOu know you want to It's on loan out of my local library..going to have to wait until 21st!!! :eek2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 It's on loan out of my local library..going to have to wait until 21st!!! :eek2: Don't you just hate that! Well you might find a cheap copy in a charity shop before then, I quite often find her earlier works in my local charity shop. My Slaughter hardbacks are my pride and joy. I love them. I actually have them on a shelf above my bed. I have Indeliable signed by her. It is one of my few material items I would save in a burning building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Don't you just hate that! :eek2: Well you might find a cheap copy in a charity shop before then, I quite often find her earlier works in my local charity shop. My Slaughter hardbacks are my pride and joy. I love them. I actually have them on a shelf above my bed. I have Indeliable signed by her. It is one of my few material items I would save in a burning building. I don't have much hardback to be honest. I know my library has Triptych and Fractured on shelf so might get them so that I am ready for...is it Genesis that has the Grant County characters and the characters in these books together? Well, I want to read those before I get there so I know a bit about them. After searching around on Fantasy Fiction, I have came across another author Natsuo Kirino who is another crime writer and my library has her "One" book so might get that too while waiting for Kisscut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Oh and a girl in work is lending me her Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest. So I think I will have plenty to keep me going for a while...including my TBR list. Oh, it just gets bigger. :eek2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Oh and a girl in work is lending me her Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest. So I think I will have plenty to keep me going for a while...including my TBR list. Oh, it just gets bigger. :eek2: Awesome! I have read the Girl with the Dragon tattoo and I have to read the girl who played with fire I got it from my library a few weeks ago and I have yet to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Awesome! I have read the Girl with the Dragon tattoo and I have to read the girl who played with fire I got it from my library a few weeks ago and I have yet to read it. Well, I got all 3 today and those 3 books from the library and that is not including the 5 library books I already have but I have read 2 of them. I have now to put them in number order of when I have to read them. :eek2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Well, I got all 3 today and those 3 books from the library and that is not including the 5 library books I already have but I have read 2 of them. I have now to put them in number order of when I have to read them. :eek2: Awesome you have some damn good reading times ahead love! Even though I have probably said this a hundred million times. Keep at it with The girl with the Dragon Tattoo, at some point you may want to stop reading it because it drags on a bit, but trust me. The second half of the book is AMAZING!!! Don't read the Karin Slaughter ones until you have Kisscut, you will regret it if you do. I noticed that you asked if Genisis was the lst one with the Grant County and Will Trent series combined. Yep it is. I am going to the chairty shop today if I find Kisscut in there I will buy it for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Synopsis: Rachel Morgan is a white witch and runner working for Inderland Security, in an alternate world where a bioengineered virus wiped out a great deal of the world's human population - exposing the existence of the supernatural communities that had long lived alongside humanity. For the last five years Rachel has been tracking down law-breaking Inderlanders in modern-day Cincinnati, but now she wants to leave and start her own agency. Her only problem is that no one quits the I.S. Marked for death, Rachel will have to fend off fairy assassins and homicidal weres armed with an assortment of nasty curses. She's a dead witch walking unless she can appease her former employers by exposing the city's most prominent citizen as a drug lord. But, making an enemy of the ambiguous Trent Kalamack is just as deadly as leaving the I.S. This is the first book in the Hollows series and as it says in the synopsis, this book involves a world of humans, vampires, witches, pixies, fairies, weres, troll, you name it, living among each other after the Turn forty years earlier. The Turn, is when a virus, carried via tomatoes wiped out most of humanity and then supernatural beings crawled out of the woodwork and lived openly with humans. This book was very hard to get into and for me it wasn't the first few chapters but it was for about 200 pages. I am glad I stuck with it though and the story picked up and I couldn't put the book down. The main character, Rachel Morgan is a white witch and is a runner for the I.S. When she decides to leave taking with her, her backup Jenks (a pixy) and the I.S. best runner Ivy (vampire), the I.S. put a price on her head for breaking her contract. Rachel runs into many troubles and it not only the I.S. wants her head on a plate. Rachel decides to prove that a well respect council man, Trent Kalamack is a bio drug lord to get the I.S. to pay off her contract. She also has the added pressure of living with a living blood sucker. Rachel is unlike her cool, sexy and sleek roomie, Ivy. Rachel is more careless and not as smooth when doing her runs but she also has Jenks as backup. Jenks is such a funny little character and I warmed to him instantly. Ok, besides the slow start, I really enjoyed this book. After reading I just couldn't wait to read the next one. The story doesn't just end at the end of this book. You know there is unanswered questions and you know you just have to read the series to find out more. Rating: 8.5/10 (I may have rated this higher if it wasn't a slow beginning) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) Synopsis: During the last few months, former bounty-hunter Rachel Morgan has been rather busy. Having escaped relatively unscathed from her corrupt former employers, she's not only acquired a vampiric room-mate called Ivy, faced werewolf assassins and battled shape-shifting demons, but has also found the time to pick up a boyfriend (even if he is only human) and open her very own runner agency. But, cohabiting with a vampire, however reformed, has its dangers. Ivy's evil vampire ex-boyfriend has decided that he wants her back, and views Rachel as a tasty side-dish. To make matters worse, Rachel's demon mark is the ultimate vamp-aphrodisiac; one that works both ways. The stakes are high, and if Rachel is to save herself and her room mate she must challenge the master vampire and confront the dark secrets she's kept hidden even from herself. I thought it was just the first book that took a while to get into but I found it hard to get into this book aswell. But again, 200 pages in and I was off, couldn't put the book down. In the second installment of the Hollow series, Rachel has to deal with Ivy's problems and also go a murder investigation for the FIB. I really enjoyed more than the first and is just because we get to know the characters more and how all there relationships mesh together. As I have said in my review of the first book, that there were questions unanswered. Well, we get some of those answers in the second book. As I have said that Rachel is having a hard time with Ivy, she has been attacked by her on more than one occassion until her attacks become more scary. But still she refuses to leave her. Ivy is wanting Rachel to become her scion but Rachel refusing, this offer from a vampire any human would die for but not Rachel so Ivy feels insulted that she has refused this offer. I was shocked to find out that Ivy had this whole "leaving the IS, living with Rachel and hunting Rachel" for this purpose and it was all planned with the master vampire, Piscary. In the meantime, Rachel is working on her relationship with her human boyfriend Nick and the fact that both of them have a debt to pay to the demon from the first book. Rachel finds that Nick has been summoning the demon without her knowledge however, Big Al gets summoned quite a bit in this book. Rachel is also on a run for the FIB, to investigate the murders of ley line witch and the finger is pointed to the one and only Trent Kalamack. I really enjoyed the whole relationship development between Trent and Rachel. Yet again, there is still a few more unanswered questions and I just can't wait to read the next book to see how all the relationships develop. I really hope that the third book I can get into quite quickly. Rating: 9/10 Edited October 26, 2009 by Shin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Thanks for the review, I think I might read the books now, they did seem quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 Well, I haven't been around in the passed month or so but I have read 5 books since and I will have a review done on all of them this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I don't have much hardback to be honest. I know my library has Triptych and Fractured on shelf so might get them so that I am ready for...is it Genesis that has the Grant County characters and the characters in these books together? Well, I want to read those before I get there so I know a bit about them. After searching around on Fantasy Fiction, I have came across another author Natsuo Kirino who is another crime writer and my library has her "One" book so might get that too while waiting for Kisscut. I just noticed that you talked about Natsuo Kirino. I have been trying to find 'One' for a while now, and found it a few weeks ago and I was very excited. did you get it? If so did you read it. I hope and pray that if you did it was good! As for your reviews. I can't wait. we generally have the same taste in books so I always keep an eye out for your reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 OMG...I missed giving reviews for 6 books that I read last year...how slack of me!!!! Ok, I will give quick reviews of each and then I will be requesting to close this log and onto my 2010 one. Jeff Lindsay - Darkly Dreaming Dexter Ok it was quite a while ago that I read this but I have to say I struggled with this. Being in Dexter's mind was terrible...I mean I got really really bored with the way he was thinking. I was really disappointed in this book and honestly don't know if I will read the rest of the books. I gave this one 6/10 and that is being generous. Karin Slaughter - Triptych Again, another one a read a while ago but I do remember that this was another book I just couldn't put down. I loved the way Slaugher introduced the characters and I loved the way you thought the bad guy was the good guy and vice versa at the beginning. Very enjoyable so this one got 10/10 from me. Karin Slaughter - Fractured This still was a great read for the second book in the Altanta series however I did not think it was edge gripping as Triptych but still great. 10/10 again. Karin Slaughter - Kisscut Finally I got the second book in the Grant County series to read. After reading the first book (the only book in a long time that had me reading until the book was finished in record time - UNPUTDOWNABLE!!! ). I found the story a little hard to take in, due to the child abuse in the story. So I little harder for me to enjoy compared to the first one. But I loved catching up with the characters especially Jeffrey...for some reason after this book I am not liking Sara...don't know why. That may change when I read the third one but this book still gets 10/10. Charlaine Harris - Living Dead in Dallas & Club Dead I am just going to review this books together. I just love the Sookie Stackhouse series and I can not say a bad thing about these books. I just love the relationship between Sookie and Bill, Sookie and Eric, Sookie and Alcide. These books are just pure fun and I highly recommend them. 10/10 for each. Sorry that was all rushed, but after a few months of reading a book I do forget details. But you can find my reading list for 2010 in my sig. Hope to see you there and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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