Catwoman's Reading List 2009

[Nollaig]

Awesome - it's definately going on the wishlist!

[Weave]

Great review Catwoman I have Mr Darcy, Vampyre on my TBR pile

[Stephanie2008]

Great review I didn't realise it was a sequel, I thought it was a retelling. I've definitely added it to my list

[northernnutter]

Thanks for the review, Catwoman.

This will also be added to my TBR pile. I love P&P so this should be very intersting!!

[catwoman]

Thanks everyone.

 

It is a good book and I would recommend it. I went into not knowing how good it would be. It is not a masterpiece, but kept me engrossed.

[catwoman]

Book # 26: Blood Brother - Jack/ J.A Kerley

 

Synopsis

 

The spine-chilling serial killer thriller featuring Carson Ryder - the homicide detective with a hidden secret that could destroy his career These brothers have murder in their veins. Detective Carson Ryder's sworn duty is to track killers down. He's never revealed the fact that his brother, Jeremy, is one of America's most notorious killers -- now imprisoned. Secretly, Ryder has used Jeremy's homicidal insight to solve cases. He's made a career out of it. Now his brother's escaped and is at large in New York. With Jeremy the chief suspect in a series of horrifying mutilation-murders, a mysterious video demands Ryder be brought into help. It looks like a straightforward manhunt. It couldn't be more different -- or more terrifying. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game develops between Jeremy, and the NYPD with Ryder in the middle, trying to keep his brother alive and the cops in the dark. But it's a game of life, death and deceit, a game with an unknown number of players and no clear way of winning!

 

 

Ok so this is the Fourth in the Carson Ryder series, a series which I have really started to love and appreciate.

 

 

 

This was as normal a good and enjoyable read. I am always able to somehow wizz thorough them.

 

 

 

Starts off with a really quick pace, with Ryder being chucked into the thick of things. This time it is set in NY instead of the normal setting of Mobile. Becuase of this some of the regular characters are not a big part of the story which is a shame. Harry, his partner is in the book but only in certain parts and is working to help Ryder. This to me did bring the book down a little, I love the chemistry between them and found that because of the lack of Harry something was missing.

 

 

 

As normal there are a few twsits and turns and there were a few "Oh yeahs" after you read it.

 

 

You can read this book as a stand alone book, BUT and this is a big but. You will not get the complexity of Ryder and his brother's relationship which has been a huuuge part of the series especially in book 1 and 2. You will miss parts of their childhood that is explored in this book, but parts have been missed out which have been explained in previous books.

 

 

Good points - Quick, fast paced, yet still had for me the detail. More psychological than forensic.

 

 

Bad points - Lacking something, though still good, it missed some of the chemistry that was in previous books.

 

 

In a nutshell I would recommend this book. If you are thinking about reading Kerley for the first time, I recommend you read The HUndredth Man first. To get the background on Jeremy and Carson and to be honest it is a better book:P

 

 

 

8/10

 

 

Off now to read the next one In the Blood!

[catwoman]

Book #27: In the Blood by J.A. Kerley.

 

The author of BLOOD BROTHER returns with a new psychological thriller featuring Carson Ryder, the detective with a unique perspective on serial killers -- his brother's one. TV evangelist Reverend Scaler made his fortune from firebrand rhetoric on the sins of modern America. But Scaler has preached his last sermon after being bound and beaten to death in an apparent S&M session. Detective Carson Ryder has his own problems. He's edgy and unpredictable, the crime scene barely seeming to affect him any more than finding an infant abandoned in a boat -- nearby, a burnt-out shack, a body and signs of a struggle. Scaler's tangled personal life reveals bizarre connections between the cases. And it seems the baby fighting for its life in hospital has powerful enemies. Ryder can't seem to save himself -- but can he save the life of an innocent child?

 

Ok so this was the book that originally caught my interest in Kerley, thanks to a review by Mac.

 

Ok so I original craved tlurb on the book just becuase of the blurb on the back.

 

It kept the same style, fast pace, fantastic relationahip between Carson and Nautalis.

 

As for the plot. I found it initially harder than usual to get into. This does not mean it was bad, just normally you can read a few pages put it down and come back to it, but I felt with this one you could not. As soon as I started to block read it it was fantastic.

 

Ok I did get the ending, there were some other things to it which I did not get but I did however get

The plot about his not so nice wife

. I found the plot about the

baby

a little Umm whats the word, strange. and to be honest I actually did not care about that bit. I found it all a little strange and rather co incidental.

 

But all in all another good book by 'Da man. I have the next one on my TBR pile and I will read it soon.

 

7/10

[catwoman]

Book #28: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

 

'I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first. My nose isn't at its best when surrounded by axle grease and burnt oil ...' Mercedes Thompson runs a garage in the Tri-Cities. She's a mechanic, and a damn good one, who spends her spare time karate training and tinkering with a VW bus that happens to belong to a vampire. Her next-door neighbour is an alpha werewolf - literally, the leader of the pack. And Mercy herself is a shapeshifter, sister to coyotes. As such, she's tolerated by the 'wolves but definitely down the pecking order. As long as she keeps her eyes down and remembers her place, the pack will leave her in peace. Hardly a normal situation, but then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself...and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

 

Ok I randomly found this at my loca library and was not sure what to expect as the blurb on the back was pretty fague, not sure why to be honest it would not have given much of the plot away, but I will try and do my own DIY blurb: Moon Called introduces Mercy, a female mechanic who can shape-shift into Coyote form.When a teenage boy walks into Mercy's garage asking for a job, she realises he is a werewolf. Mercy soon regrets her decision to employ the youth, as the local lycanthrope pack are riled when their alpha male is attacked.

 

Ok many twists and turns and I found Mercy to be a fantastic lead character, I warmed to her instantly. ok so alot of the princable and 'theories' of werewolves were not very different, I found the plot to be different to what I had read previously, even though I am a newbie to the fantasy genre. There are MANY charactors in the book, so I got a little confused with and I had to go back inthe book to check who they were, but that for me did not amke me looks any of the empathy of any o the main charactors. There are vampires, witches and of coursde warewolves.

 

If you do care for the main charactors the ending will make you want to read the end of the series.

 

But all in all a readlyy good book, which I found personally better than Bitten.

 

Pros: A quick read, which lays the introductions to many charactors, with many twists and turns; good for YA, as there hardly any romance, and NO sex scenes, also no swearing, maybe one curse word.

 

Cons- The whole werewolf thing was not that much different to others in the genre, with no different theories on wolves. There were many charactors in the books, some I totally forgot about and had to go back in the book to remind myself who they were again.

 

8/10

[Charm]

Oooh Moon Called sounds interesting catwoman, I think I'll add it to my wishlist, I'm on the lookout for a new supe series. Sounds like it could be a good read for kookie too

 

Great review, thanks for doing it so promptly!

[catwoman]

Book #29: Marked ( House of the Night BK 1) - P.C & Kirstin Cast.

 

When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends. Not suitable for younger readers.

 

*Scratches head* Ok this is going to be a really hard review for me to do as I have two very extreme points to make about it. So here goes.

 

I decided to read this series, as I saw this book in Wallmart when I went to the states and it looked good, I saw loads of people, young and old buying the later books in the series and, of course they all raved about them. So what did I do, come on here and read some of the reviews. So I reserved it in my local library, it has taken me a while to get to it, as it was not one of the books that initially grabbed my attention on my shelf, but what I will say is if you want a quick read and keeps you... Hmmmm.... Entertained, then this could well be the book for you.

 

Ok this book is written by two people (Mother and daughter combo) and man can't you tell. I don't think they could honestly figure out who there target audience was, one minute, the main character Zoey, Zo, Zobird or just plain Z, could not even say the word sh*t and always said poopie! Next minute she is saying p****d, and all these other curse words. On one page, the langauage and style of the book is really young and in some places cringeworthy and far to young for me, yet in other places, they talk about oral sex, like it is an everyday occourance for a teen to see. for the first 200 pages, I was infurriated with the slang, the constant back and forth of use of language and the different perspectives of the writers. But once I had got over that 200 page mark, my views suddenly changed....

 

Instead of giving this book say a 3, I started to get into it, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN, I was engrossed, I wanted to know what happened, I had absolutely no idea, what the ending would be, the story was a totally different spin on the whole vampire genre, that I think it would live everyone guessing. Some people becuase of the total difference in its 'Vampire theories' so to speak, I think some people will feel it looses the vampire essence and the reasons why they like it, but for me, I don't know that little quirkiness, kind of made the book for me.

 

I ended up liking Z's friends, especially her best friend, and found the ending to be quite nice. There are a few characters that stand out and I hope they will return in the future books.

 

So all in all a surprising end, which has made me reserve the next in the series, in a nutshell it reminds me (even though I have not read the books) Harry Potter with vamps.

 

Pros - Totally different plot in a genre that seems to be churnning out a lot of the same, which in effect makes the twists and turns totally unpredicatable.

 

Cons - NOT AN BOOK FOR YOUNG TEENS!!! Yet has elements only made for that audience. You can tell that there are two writers and the two different writing styles do clash at certain points. Some people may find the book to far away from 'vampire roots' and not find anything that attracts them to the genre.

 

6.5/10. I may have given more if the word poopie was not mentioned as much!!!

 

I have however reserved the next one already, I want to know what happens!!

 

***I would also like to apologise for any misspelling or grammer issues, I am rather tired and close to putting matchsticks in my eyes, but wanted to review this Asap. CW

Edited December 30, 2009 by catwoman

[chesilbeach]

Excellent review, catwoman. You've hit the nail right on the head with this one. I've read all six of the books in the series, and I find the conflict of writing styles and use of language a source of irritation throughout, and they do get a bit formulaic, but I still find them entertaining enough to want to keep going with the series.

 

I had thought I would give up after book five, but a bargain in the Borders closing down sale saw me arrive home with book six, and the overall story arc deviates from their usual formula and I want to see how it develops so will be sticking with the series.

 

I have to warn you though, that Zoey's refusal to use swear words doesn't get any better and still irritates me to the extreme!

[catwoman]

Excellent review, catwoman. You've hit the nail right on the head with this one. I've read all six of the books in the series, and I find the conflict of writing styles and use of language a source of irritation throughout, and they do get a bit formulaic, but I still find them entertaining enough to want to keep going with the series.

 

I had thought I would give up after book five, but a bargain in the Borders closing down sale saw me arrive home with book six, and the overall story arc deviates from their usual formula and I want to see how it develops so will be sticking with the series.

 

I have to warn you though, that Zoey's refusal to use swear words doesn't get any better and still irritates me to the extreme!

 

Thanks hun They, for me are entertaining, like I said previously, I did not know where the story was going to go, ok so you knew the basics of what she was and whom she may become, yet I wanted to know how, a little like Twilight when you know Bella is going to be changed but yet you had to know how and by who.

[Charm]

Great review catwoman! So pleased I didn't put you off and you ended up enjoying it. I guess the conflicting styles of writing did put me off too much but I'm glad you persevered and were entertained!

[catwoman]

Great review catwoman! So pleased I didn't put you off and you ended up enjoying it. I guess the conflicting styles of writing did put me off too much but I'm glad you persevered and were entertained!

 

You were totally right and some of the phrasing was totally off putting, but I did seem to like the story, it is a little frustrating, I can only imagine the potiential of the book and the totally different story and how amazing it could really be.

 

I think with me reading the next book it is a case of 'Curiosity Killed the cat!'

[Chrissy]

Book #3: Karin Slaughter- Genisis.

I was in two minds about this book prior to reading due to her previous books. Slaughter had to prove and convince me to stay loyal to her. I have all her other books on my bookshelf, all hardbacks and even a signed edition of Indeliable. So this had to be good.

 

AND IT DID NOT LET ME DOWN... SLAUGHTER AT HER BEST!!!!

 

Within thirty pages I was hooked. I was fortunate to have the day off and I sat all day reading and did not budge! The story combines the Grant County series with sara Linton and the Will Trent series! A combination that got me salivating just thinking about it.

 

The crimes are typical Slaughter gruesome, up there with Blindsighted and Kisscut. What Slaughter does for the first half of the book is really emphasise the characters really show off their traits and personalities so you love/ hate them. She had to do this for the benefit of her fans. She even dedicates the book to her readers for sticking by her. (Obviously for the book Skin Privliage) After the half way point, it jumps into action packed mode. In which the storylines twist and turn and you do not know where you are heading, just like Slaughter's books are like.

 

Karin Slaughter at her best. I can't give too much away as I don't want to ruin a single page for the reader. But it leaves you wanting more. I am dying for the next installment and I hope that they keep the Trent/Grant county combination, it could really be something special.

 

For people who have never read some of her books. I would say it is not compulsory to have read previous books but I would recommend it, especially Skin Privaliage, Triptych and maybe even Fractured where faith is introduced. If you don't I don't think that you willl gain much from some of the characters especially Sara.

 

I hope that if this combination continues that Sara will become more involved without it becoming two much of a soap opera.

 

I am still buzzing I am waiting for the next one!!!

 

A definate 10/10.

I can only agree. This mojo charming book just make me want to contact Ms slaughter and let her know she doesn't need to apologise anymore ~ All is forgiven! Great review CW, and a pleasure to agree with.