Monthly Booklist

May is here and school is over! YES! Somehow I actually passed both of my classes and now I can focus on The Move before classes start again. I don't know how much reading I'll get done during that time, but over the past month here's what we have:

The Ruby Key by Holly Lisle: Always love Holly's work and this was no exception. I can't wait for the next one in the series (The Silver Door), but I guess I'll have to keep myself busy reading her awesome weblog and drooling over this book's cover art.

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder: I've had this book sitting on my shelf for ten months. I don't know why I put off reading it for so long since I absolutely loved the first one. I guess I was afraid I'd be disappointed. I can't say that I finished it 100% satisfied - there were little bits and pieces that bugged me - but overall it was great.

I need to start a new category in the booklist called Books I Started But Never Finished Because They Were Incredibly Annoying. This is reserved for books where the main character says, "I never refused a job" then three(!) pages later she talks about the kinds of jobs she refuses. I'm looking at you, Zoe Martinique! But I try to give these kinds of books the benefit of the doubt. I mean I DID slog through almost every book in the Anita Blake series. (To be fair, it was only slogging for the last 4-5 books. Before that, it was devouring.) More than likely I'll try to finish this particular book and move on to one that entertains rather than infuriates.

These books (and others) can be found in my Amazon.com store conveniently located right here.

Monthly Booklist

I was pretty slack in April. I only finished two books. I started a some others, but somehow haven't found the time to finish anything. Fretting over schoolwork rather than actually doing it while planning a cross-country move tends to take up a lot of time.

Jumper by Steven Gould: - I read Reflex first, which is the book that comes after this one. Then I watched the movie version of Jumper, then I read this book. You'd have to wake up pretty early to beat me when it comes to doing things ass-backward. But back to the book. Aside from the slightly implausible hijacking business, I really enjoyed it. I recommend that you do NOT compare this book to the movie, as they are pretty much nothing alike. The only thing they have in common is the main character's name is David and he can teleport. It seems like the producers thumbed through the book and caught certain keywords (as I've mentioned) and thought, "Hey! Teleportation. We can do something with that." Then they proceded to write their own story and say it was based on the book. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie... it just had nothing to do with the book. Here's a little fun fact: The cover of the newer paperback version has scenes from the movie on it that don't even happen in the book. At all. Griffin? Never heard of him.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson: - Max (aka Maximum Ride - great name!) is the leader of a flock of adolescent winged mutant kids on the run from their creators - the evil "whitecoats" - and Erasers (nasty mutant wolf-men whose sole purpose is to kill). They move quickly from one disaster to the next while searching for the truth about their genetically-modified origins, their destiny and the parents they've never known. The action-packed, cliffhanger chapters are mostly pretty short and led me halfway through the book before I even realized it. Great read. Technically this is a "young adult" book, but I'd never let that stop me from reading something that sounds interesting.

These books(and others) can be found in my Amazon.com store conveniently located right here.

Monthly Booklist

In March I was on a roll. I pretty much just read one series, but it was a good one.

Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened and Lover Revealed (also known as the Black Dagger Brotherhood series) by J. R. Ward: - I devoured each of these books, forsaking homework and TV for days at a time. An addiction, I suppose. I won't go into the storylines too much (or at all, really), but suffice it to say there are vampires involved. But then, aren't there always? Just go read these books already, would ya.

Serenity by Keith R.A. DeCandido - Wow, I can't believe I forgot to add this one. Better late than never, I guess. Anyway, this novel is based on the Serenity screenplay. I've seen the movie at least twice and from what I remember, the novel is pretty much exactly the same. No better, no worse. I suggest you watch the Firefly series before reading this book (or watching the movie), though. It's just better that way. And it is OH so very good. Love it!

These books (and more) can be found in my Amazon.com store conveniently located right here.

Monthly Booklist

Here's the list for February. Still no manuals on how to perform brian surgery for fun and profit. Just stuff I enjoy (mostly). Halfway through this month I got bogged down with homework and didn't have much time to finish any other books to add to the list. But here we go... books for February.

Idlewild by Nick Sagan - This is the story of a young man with a great name who attends an elite virtual reality prep school. He wakes up one day with amnesia and wackiness ensues. Okay, maybe not wackiness...or even hijinks. There are a few shenanigans though. But mostly, just some solid sci-fi writing. I enjoyed this book right up until this one chapter at the very end. It wasn't that the chapter was bad, it was just a little weird. Seemed disconnected. That didn't ruin the overall experience or enjoyability of the book though. I plan to read the next in the series, Edenborn, as soon as I find it or order it online. You should read it.

Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn - Kitty is a werewolf and also happens to have a supercool radio show about all things supernatural. Of course she also has several people who would like to see her dead. This is number four in the series, I believe. I recommend all of them, despite the silly titles. Great characters and stories. No gaping plot holes, which is nice.

Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke - Sara is an accountant turned New Age bookstore owner with a haunted air conditioner. Quinn is an immortal shapeshifting dragon guy who also happens to be a blacksmith. Supernatural forces bring them together, and some other shapeshifting dragon guys want to tear them apart - literally. I knew this was a "paranormal romance" when I bought it (even typing "paranormal romance" makes my teeth itch) but I liked the cover and I'm a sucker for shapeshifters. Overall it wasn't bad. (I might read the next one if I happen to see it on a shelf at the bookstore.) There was just a little bit too much romance for me, though. There was a lot of slow, sexy smiling and A LOT of sweating. However, the air conditioner was just a little bit too much of a main character for my liking. But if you're into romance novels and you happen to like supernatural junk, you'll probably like this one a lot.

These books (and more) can be found in my Amazon.com store conveniently located right here.

Monthly Booklist

In which I list and possibly recommend the books I've read this month... for no particular reason. You'd think I'd start doing this in a month where I read a few more books. Maybe some impressively thick ones on astrophysics or parliamentary procedure (whatever that is), but alas. If it doesn't have a vampire or people who've met and/or been bitten/threatened/seduced by vampires, you can just shove it. No, not really, but with this list you just might think that:

1. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs - Excellent as usual. I cried at the end and you will too, unless you're a heartless bastard. Enjoy!


2. Evermore by Lynn Veihl - My favorite Darkyn book to date. Much more memorable than the last one. Two thumbs up.


3. The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton - Suck. Do not buy this book. See previous post.

To buy any of the books I've recommended (and more!), check out my Amazon.com shop: Doomsday Girl Can Read!