December 2010 reading

This is way late I know and I still need to finish my best of 2010. In some ways 2010 was an awesome reading year, there were some great new authors, I managed to complete two of my reading challenges, one whipped my butt - I'm looking at you 1010 challenge, ( I managed a dismal 62, I blame the books, they kept sidetracking me dammit).

Here's my December books list, which took my total to 144 books read for 2010. Not all of them have reviews, cause I wanted to finish posting this on LibraryThing - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

115. Call me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

I thought I’d start December off with some Christmas spirit and my first Debbie Macomber. As expected this is light fluff, enjoyable, but a rather predictable, by the numbers book. It’s the sequel to Mrs. Miracle, both of which have been made into movies. Even though it’s nothing new this is an easy read, perfect for some Christmas reading. I’ve been meaning to try Macomber before this and I’ll end up reading some of the Blossom Street stories, but to be honest I’m not going to be running out because I have to read it ‘right now’.

116. That Perfect Someone by Johanna Lindsey

This is the 10th in the Malory series, set in Regency England. Julia and Richard are the reluctant lovers, who’ve been betrothed to each other since early childhood. The problem being – they detest each other and at their last meeting 9 years ago they both vowed that if they ever saw each other again, they’d kill each other. So it’s no surprise that on their next meeting there’s fisticuffs and just a little bit of seduction, as you do. This was a fun read, I don’t read a lot of regency romance, but I did enjoy Johanna Lindsey’s writing and her characters, obviously explored more in the other Malory novels.

117. Private by James Patterson

Mike as a character is not particularly likeable, sure he’s dealing with shit from his past, but he doesn’t treat the ladies in his life very nicely. Over all, I did enjoy the story, it was a fast paced, if slightly predictable, thriller. And what up with all the James Patterson AND ……. I don’t really get the new phenomenon of authors writing with other authors, it can get kinda meh, and at least they’re not related. Don’t get me started on offspring who write. *hulk*

118. Family Ties by Danielle Steel

Ugh. Here's what I learnt from this book:

1. A woman must sacrifice everything for children, you can't have a career AND children - it's too hard.

2. Relationships between different cultures don't work, (the one in this was between a non- practicing Christian and Muslim) - they're just TOO hard.

3. All people who have tattoos and piercing are bad bad people who spread AIDS and Hepatitis.

4. It's ok to be an indiviual and go your own way, as long as you learn your lesson and realise that you have to be the same as everyone else by the end of the book.

Harsh I know, but I was really pissed off by the end of this and don't get me started on the repetative, descriptive paragraphs. Enough said, moving along. And swearing to never read DS again.

119. Burning Up by Susan Anderson

OMG! How awesome was this!! Way awesome I tell you. This was lots of fun to read and my first book by Susan Anderson, but it definitely won’t be my last. I think fire fighters are the new vampire/werewolves. This is the third series I know about featuring fire fighters hot enough to scorch the words right of the page. It features one very bad girl, one super hot fire fighter, a hunky Irish rocker and a not so good primary school teacher *gasp*, with lots of steamy situations, flirting, and fried chicken (very tasty – I made it for tea on the weekend).

120. Obsession by Karen Robards

121. The Ugly Duckling by Martin Powell

122. Don’t Blink by James Patterson

123. Angel: After the Fall by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch & Franco Urru

124. Dreaming of Dior by Charlotte Smith & Grant Cowan

Beautiful vintage dresses, the downside – I wish the illustrations, beautiful as they are, were photos. I would’ve loved to have seen more detail.

125. Classic Tales of Horror by Various

This was a collection of 19 stories. Some were quite dry, not very scary and a bit meh. I did enjoy The Brazilian Cat by Arthur Conan Doyle – Cousin tries to kill his cuj to inherit the families wealth. The Corpse Light by Dick Donovan – ghost wanting to get his body discovered. The Lame Priest by S. Carleton – warewolves. The Eyes of the panther by Ambrose Bierce.

126. Worst Case by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

127. Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard

128. Alpha by Rachel Vincent

129. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

This was fang-tastic and a nice move away from all the vampire novels of late (although I now think 'Angels' are the in thing). It features a group of vampires, trying to survive, aided by two humans.

130. Irresistible by Karen Robards

131. The Other 51 Weeks by Lee Welch

132. Fundamentals of children's services by Michael Sullivan

133. Spellbound by Nora Roberts

134. Orchard Valley Grooms by Debbie Macomber

135. Crazy For Love by Victoria Dahl

This was lots of fun, although the male lead was kinda annoying sometimes (he has a need to take care of everyone), which can get annoying sometimes. But this is full of sext sassy writing, just what I've come to love from Dahl. I also enjoyed the side story between the main characters bestie and brother.

136. No Place To Run by Maya Banks

This was brilliant and I gobbled it up, the second in the KGI series, it's a romantic suspense, rather thatn the usual eotica that I read from Maya, but it still has her trademark Southern charm and alpha male hero's. I'm really looking forward to the other brothers stories (there'll be at least 6 books in the series & if we get lucky, we might get some of the side characters from KGI get theri own story). Well written, fast paced and lots of fun.

137. Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

This wasnt quite what I expected it to be. It tells the story of Elizabeth, Amarican girl, navigating her way around Paris with her French husband Gwendal. How she adapts to life. I wasn't 100% about this when I started it, it's seemed to move quite slowly, but as I kept on reading I got more and more into the story. I love the relationship food played in the book, bringing the characters together despite language barriers, plus there's the added bonus of the recipes at the end of each chapter. This was our last book club book for 2010 and we had a French night for our breakup. One lady made the mini almond meal and raspberry cakes - devine!

138. Trailer Park Zombies by Jason H. Jones

This was one of the better written zombie novels of the year - but not for the faint of heart, it's quite voilent and graphic in it's description of zombie mayhem. So if gore isn't your thing I suggest you stay away, but I thought this was a well written novel and I like the twist in the zombie ethos.

139. One Hundred Great Books in Haiku by David Bader

And with this - finally - I've started my Popular Penguin category for my 1010. This was a lot of fun and amazingly correct descriptions for some of the books.

140. Poems of John Keats by John Keats

What is more lovlier than Keats, ok so I'm being romantic, there are other fantastic poets out there, but Keats is a delight.

141. Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak by writers famous and obscure

An interesting concept, that works suprisingly well.

142. Secrets of a Proper Lady Victoria Alexander

Regency romance, that had me laughing out loud, I'm going to be tracking they others in the series dwon in 2011, perfect fodder for my 11 in 11 challenge!

143. The Bad Widow by Barbara Elsborg

144. Better Late than Never by Savannah Stuart

C.

Bookapalooza!!

Here's my November reading - hardly finished anything this month - I've got another 4 or 5 books I started in November, but I got sidetracked. I thought I'd put all my reviews in with this post so sorry it's all a bit random :)

111. The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest by Stieg Larsson

Wow, I’ve finally finished the Millennium Trilogy. The start was a bit slow in this book, but goodness the story really revved up from the middleish onwards. My fave character was Lisbeth, so I was glad when the story focused on her moreso. I was continually getting confused with characters names - which was frustrating, but I don't think took away from my enjoyment. Despite Mikke’s apparent ‘animal magnetism’ to the ladies *snigger* -- I found his jumping into bed with another lady a bit tiresome, (he's journalisms answer to James Bond) and I'm sure a throw back to Larssons inner 14 year old boy - who wouldn't want 'teh ladies' falling all over them. From now on Mikke shall be called LL Cool M. I'm glad I read the series, even with all the hype, I enjoyed them regardless of what everybody thought. Did I think they were the greatest thing ever - no, and I'll probably not read them again, but I did have lots of fun reading them.

112. The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens

This is the 2nd book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I quite enjoyed this, although I'm reading it out of order it hasn't been hard to follow the story, when I'd finished The Brazen Bride, I remember reading somewhere that there was too much smexy time in it, but this kinda seemed to have the same amount - the difference being, I think, is that in this story the lady isn't so forward about her liking for the horizontal mambo. As with the third book, there isn't a lot of explanation of who the bad guys are, or what it is they've done, just that they're evil, nefarious and wear lots of black - oohh, maybe they're models! But I did enjoy the action, lots of swashbuckling fun and games.

113. Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts

Laine and Jenny reminded me of Sookie and Loralai from Gilmore Girls and the banter bwtween Laine and Max was well written. This was a good fun read. I'm enjoying going through Roberts' stand alone titles, I've read a few of her older titles, they're light and fluffy and perfect for decompressing my brain between uni reading. It’s somehow part of the In Death series with Det. Eve Dallas – which I don’t quite get since that’s set in the future. Apparently this was previously published as Remember When, Part 1. I did try to work it all out but I was in danger of my head exploding.

114. Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

The first in the Alex Rider series, I've read the Spy High series, but this was much more enjoyable. Both in plot and character. Obviously there is total suspension of reality - metal eating paste disguised as acne cream - but it was lots of fun to read. I still hold out hope that they’ll make the rest into movies. Either way, I'll happily be finishing the rest of the series!

C.

Let's do the mash! The monster mash!

I've been busy busy lately, trying to finish all my categories for the 1010 and 100 in 2010 on LibraryThing, that I haven't posted any reviews. So I thought I'd have at it and whack a couple on the old blog. Here goes lovelies, gird things and whatnot it's a monster mashup!! Linkage isn't working, cause I'm lazy - also why there are no photo's of covers <--- It actually is, totally using LibraryThing from now on, I don't have to separately add links. Huzzah!

First up is:

65. Love in a Time of Zombies by Paul Gude

I got this for a couple of dollars through my kindle app. A bargain! And well worth it, it was a lot of fun.

Sex and zombies. That's all you really need to know. (That's the very helpful product description on Amazon).

I love this book, so far it's been my favourite zombie book to date. I know the above Sex and Zombies sounds kinda eww, and while there is some boomchica it's mostly between the non infected. (Y'all can rest easy now ;D).

I don't know if it was supposed to be as funny as it was. At the time I was reading this I was playing Zombie Farm on my iPhone a lot. When the zombies are running round the farm they yell out "brains? brains?" All in a tiny high pitched voice. So that's the voice that all the zombies in the book had while I was reading it - the zombies in the book all run around asking "Brains". They stop at crossings, drive cars, anwser the phone and in general - just want hugs! Not quite the usual zombie, but still just as creepy.

The story centers around Roy and Kim, exes who are trying to get outta Seattle without getting dead. They do this with lots of sarcasm, witty banter, smexy flirting, violence and some shop lifting. I think it also helps that they're both a little crazy. In fact, most of the characters that you meet along the way are a little skewed.

The whole infection part of the story is kinda hazy, it's explained a little, but not in any depth. I think this part of the story could've been expanded and the correlation between the infestation and Roy's dreams.

But overall, this was fun, perfect for some breezy holiday reading. And really - who doesn't love some crazy zombie capers.

Next it's a back to Portland...

101. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

I actually really enjoyed this novella, I felt that it was slightly better written and I liked the Bree character, I enjoyed her more than some of the other characters introduced in Breaking Dawn, it's a pity that she gets dead as I think she would've added a nice dynamic to the last book. And although they barely take off, I enjoyed her relationships with both male vampires that befriend her.

This is written as one long chapter, which made for easy reading and gave a nice insight into the newborns and how they were manipulated, it further touched on the dynamics of their group, that you only saw glimpses of in Eclipse. For those that liked the Riley character, it also has a tiny bit more about his relationship with Victoria, (although the character is only referred to as 'She' throught the novella). Although I felt like he was manipulated by Victoria in Eclipse, in the novella it seemed like he knew more about what was happening, so it made me like the character less.

The alternate story unfolding around the events in Eclipse flesh out the original story and compliment it well. Although there is nothing to say this couldn't be read as a stand alone if you didn't want to read the rest of the series.

Obviously, if you like the original series, you'll end up reading this, if you don't continue to feel free to hate on it. I know that this series is wildly popular in both love and hate camps. But when all's said and done, I enjoyed this just like the others, not as anything literary or spectacularly written, just as another wee slice of fun and frivolity and for a change there's no mooning, brooding, creepy stalking and sadly no smexy abs *sigh* (Okay maybe a little brooding, but it wouldn't be Twilighty goodness without it!)

And lastly, but certainly not least - Whedonverse :)

102. Spike: After the Fall by Brian Lynch; art by Franco Urru

It was great to be able to see what had happened to the rest of the gang, post apocalyptic Angel & Co. Vs Wolfram & Hart fight to the death. This takes off after the fight, LA has been transported to Hell, Wesley is dead, Spike and Fred/Illyria have teamed up and are fighting the big bad in Hell, there are cameos from Gunn and Connor/Stephen (I always wondered if the name was picked intentionally with the ‘I know my first name is Stephen’ movie in mind - sorry, tangent!). Angel doesn’t appear (he’s got his own After the Fall series). But I’m assuming that there will be crossover. I don’t love the illustrations, but it was great to see Spike back to his tally ho bad guys days and I like the Fred/Illyria characters slipping between each other. It adds a nice dynamic to the character. And what’s this – could there be romance budding between our two heroes?? Which could be kinda cool, but I don’t know 100% about that yet, cause even though he's dead I'm still a fan of the Fredly combo. I read this over the weekend and was then 'forced' to watch the last episode of Angel, the one where Fred gets infected by Illyria and the puppet episode (just for giggles). Needless I was all a bit crying at the end, remembering the good old days, both Buffy and Angel are still favourites of mine and it’s nice to visit Whedonverse every now and again. I've been constantly impressed with the Buffy/Angel comics, they don't let fans down, IMO.

Enjoy. I know I did. And HELLO! I've made it to the grand old total of 111 read so far, 3 more than last year and am partway through books, 112, 113, & 114 :) I'm so awesome, I'm kicking my own arse!

C.

The Brazen Bride by Stephanie Laurens

Before I went away I was lucky enough to receive a proof of one Stephanie Laurens new titles from the lovely people at HarperCollins, yay twitter!! So here's my review - late as usual, but that's just how I roll.

The Brazen Bride (Black Cobra Quartet, book three). 432 pgs of swashbucking adventure, saucy excapades and smexy behaviour!

This was released in July, so Laurens readers would most likely have already read this, but if you're one of the uninitiated - I definately recommend giving this book and the rest of the series a closer look. As per my usual lazy self I've used the blurb from the HarperCollins website

They're bold, courageous, resolute . . . ex-officers of the Crown united against a deadly traitor known only as the Black Cobra.

Shipwrecked, wounded, he risks all to pursue his mission—only to discover a partner as daring and brazen as he.

Fiery, tempestuous, a queen in her own realm, she rescues a warrior—only to find her heart under siege.

Bound by passion, linked by need, together they must brave the enemy's gauntlet to win all their hearts' desire.

I haven't read many of Stephanie's books, but I liked this. I hadn't read the first two books in the series, but I was mostly able to follow what was happening with the plot and storylines. Linnet Trevission is not the typical romance heroine. She's Captain of the Esperance, sometimes in the employ of the English Navy. She is living at Mon Coeur, with her rag tag family when the lucious Logan Monteith is literally swept onto her doorstep.

And so begins the next chapter in the Black Cobra quartet, with Linnet's help, Logan may just manage to to complete his part of the mission to bring down the Black Cobra. Sounds dramatic, I know, but it is rather. There's lots of action, with sea battles and sword fights in dark alleys with nasty assassins. All in all it's lots of fun. One thing I didn't like about the story, (without going into too much detail), was how easily Linnet changed her mind at the end. She's all whiny about her independence and not needing a man. Which will totes make sense when you read the book for yourself!! The other thing I'm still not sure about is the relationship between Alex and Daniel (the bad guys), half brothers, lovers??? Far be it from me to deny anyone some bum fun, but I'm not sure what it has to do with the story and it's a bit incesty, which gives it an ick factor. Maybe it makes more sense having read the first two books in the series.

Overall, an awesome time was had by me, it was the perfect way to start my holiday reading. It was a nice change of pace from the other books I'd been reading. Looking forward to reading the rest in the series.

C.

No Longer Mine by Shiloh Walker

I was happily playing on the net on Sunday night, catching up on new book titles coming out and I found a most wonderful blog Leontine's Book Realm lots of lovely reviews and it was here that I found her review of No Longer Mine. So of course in this age of instant gratification I bought it from Amazon and in the twitch of a whisker there it was on my iPhone - imagine my delight! This was at 2 in the morning, I of course was going to be on my best behaviour and only read the first couple of chapters. That was before I started the story, once I started I didn't want to stop - I did at 5:30 in the morning, after I'd read the whole thing. Here's what all my fuss is about!

As usual, I've used the blurb from Amazon, cause Ima lazy biatch. This was purchased in ebook format, at the very affordable price of US $6.40.

One woman, one man, and a love that won't let either of them go.

Born on the wrong side of the tracks and dealt a fair share of hardship, Nikki Kline never gives up a fight. Even when her reason to keep going is ripped from her, Nikki tries desperately to hang on. But when the man who broke Nikki's heart comes back into her life she doesn't know how much she can take. Especially since that man seems determined to win back her damaged heart.

Wade Lightfoot is a man who knows he's made more mistakes than most. As much as he would like to repair the damage he's done to those he loves, Wade also knows there is no going back. But when he sets out to put things right the last thing he's prepared to find out is that he had a son. A son he'll never get the chance to meet.

When the truth is out and all the old wounds are bared, it seems impossible that Nikki and Wade will find their way back to each other. But true love is an undeniable force that even past hurts can't destroy.

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.

Warning: This title contains heartbreaking tragedy, lies and deception, and a scorching passion that nothing can deny.

****Here Be Spoilers and my review :)****

What can I say, this book had me as soon as I started reading it, from the first chapter I was hooked. I think I spent the majority of the book with my hand on my chest, having a little cry every now and then, it's just that kinda book, a little bit dramatic I know, but the story got to me. In most romance stories, the main characters don't have quite so much angst to deal with. This story seems to be heavier in subject matter than usual, I know that you need something that needs to be resolved for the characters to move on and I think anyone reading this would be hard pressed to not be moved by the story.

Walker does this without being too sentimental, it's written with honesty and feeling. It's heartbreaking without being too superficial or sentimental. I was wondering what it would be like as Walker herself had said it wasn't her finest writing, but to be honest I didn't even notice and normally shit like that annoys me, but I was too busy loving it.

There were a few times when the characters made me cranky, I was wanting to slap Wade upside the head Gibbs style. The scene with Wade and Leanne at dinner when Wade hears about Jason's death was particulary difficult to read and I found it hard to like him at that point. And while Nikki's stubborness was frustrating at times, it was refreshing that she wasn't just another character that just 'gives in', which often happens in these types of stories.

Then again, I could handle Walker drawing out the teasey bits as it made it all the sweeter when they finally get together, even if it's not 100% outta love on both sides. And as sexy bits go it was rather sexy, although slightly tamer than what I've been reading lately. But it read real to me, it wasn't over the top, just two people rediscovering, in all their hot nekkid glory, what they've lost and could have again if they can forgive each other. (As an aside, what's up with all the car sex?? It's all up in my shit lately, I think the last 3 or 4 books I've read have had some auto loving - not in the creepy "Mmm hello exhaust pipe" kinda way, but in the "Lets christen the car"!!).

I do wish that there was more, I would've loved to have been able to explore Nikki and Wade's world more. To see where they went after the final chapter. One can dream, I would also love to see a story between Dylan (Nikki's older brother) and Kris (her editor), as there seemed to be a story there.

Overall, this book is of teh awesome, I've actually read it through again, twice. I love it when you find a book like that. It's only made me want to read more of Walker's books, which are on my ever increasing Mt. TBR, which is threatening to topple and crush me in my sleep. Bring it on for Fragile and Broken, I wants to read them. Now.

C.

P.S: FYI, I asked Walker if she was considering a sequel, with Dylan and Kris' story. And it's already out (and I had bought it the same night as NLM), colour me stupid!! So expect a review on Always Yours once I'm done. And yay! I don't have to wait to read it.