Weekly Reading Update 5/27 - 6/02/16!

Another week, another update! As always, click the title for more information.

You see my reviews on the blog, but my weekly updates are all about the weird, random, and reviewed-for-other-places reading that I do throughout the week. If you want to see what I read as I read it, as well as my ratings and quickie reviews, be sure to follow me on Goodreads.

Once again, I went graphic novel crazy, so I’ll just list them all quick and move on to the meatier books. It was a mostly Image comics weekend, with a Marvel and DC mixed in for something different. I started with Gotham Academy 2: Calamity by Becky Cloonan, then moved to Miles Morales, Ultimate Spider-man 2: Revelations by Brian Michael Bendis. I then breezed by way through Thief of Thieves 1: “I Quit” by Robert Kirkman, Five Ghosts 2: Lost Coastlines and Five Ghosts 3: Monsters and Men by Frank J. Barbiere. I finished up the comics binge with Morning Glories, Volume 9 by Nick Spencer. Obviously, I had a very busy Friday.

I then moved on to Sticky Fingers by Niki Burnham. I read the Royally Jacked series by her a few months ago, so Goodreads suggested this title to me, and I took the bait. It was an interesting read, a little preachy.. But I think the author dealt with this tough situation really well. It’s not one for the keeper shelf, but I thought it was an entertaining read. Honestly, I would probably look into reading more books by this author.

Next up were a few books for Romance Reviews Today. Rocked by Love by Christine Warren is the fourth book in the Gargoyles series, and it was super fun to read. I really liked the two main characters. I hope the author writes the next book soon so I can get my hands on it! After that I read Wicked Heart by Leisa Rayven - and oh wow. I loved this. I didn’t enjoy Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet as much as the rest of the world (or at least it feels like the rest of the world disagrees with me) - but Wicked Heart more than made up for it!

I’ve been working my way through all of the Tor.com novellas that my library owns, so my next book choice was Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Guys, seriously.. If you like futuristic science fiction, you need to read this. It was so good! And thankfully, it’s the beginning of a series, so there will be more in the future - I just don’t think I can wait that long. This is probably my second favorite of the ones I’ve read, my first favorite being The Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal.

Last, but of course not least, I read The Dark Vampire by Kate Baxter, for Romance Reviews Today. I’m super grateful that they keep sending me the next book in the series to read whenever it releases, because this is a fun paranormal romance series.

Happy Reading!

!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Weekly Reading Update 5/20 - 5/26/16!

Another week, another update! Let's see what sort of trouble I got to up this week, hmm?

As always, click the title to get more information about each book!

Saturday was ALA’s annual Readathon, so I spent my day reading an 800 page book - The Fixed Trilogy by Laurelin Paige. This author is part of the writing team Laurelin McGee, so I’ve decided to try reading some books by both individual authors. So, since The Fixed Trilogy seemed to be Laurelin Paige’s most well known book, I requested a copy to read. 800 pages later, I’m still torn about my feelings. These characters are messed up, very very messed up. But it’s been several days since I finished it, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. So that says something about the author’s ability to write a compelling story - it definitely gets under your skin.

I also read a short novella (or novelette?) by Mary Robinette Kowal titled The Forest of Memory. This was a random find at work, and I’m so glad I read it. It was weird, but oh-so-good. If you like strange, haunting science fiction - definitely check out this short book. And by short, I mean 80-ish pages! Definitely perfect for a lunch break or stormy evening. I’ve already decided to hunt down more books by this author.

To finish off my weekend, I went on a graphic novel reading binge. Surprise, right? I read Figment and Figment 2: Legacy of Imagination, both by Jim Zub. I love love love all things Disney, so of course I had to pick these up when my library bought them. They were adorable! I want a Figment of my own. I also read Young Avengers 1: Style > Substance by Kieron Gillen. I’m not the biggest Young Avengers fan, but I really enjoy Kieron Gillen’s work, so I had to pick it up. And it was definitely worth a read. I already have the next volume requested.

Next up was Royal Wedding Disaster by Meg Cabot. Since the Princess Diaries series ended with Royal Wedding (though I will always hold out hope for more Mia!), I have to get my Michael Moscovitz fix in however I can - even if it means reading the diaries of Mia’s younger sister. But you know what, they are legitimately adorable books, just like the rest of Cabot’s work. The first book in this series, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess was just as cute - and frankly, I think they will both have to be added to my wish list.

I moved onto the paranormal and science fiction route after that - reading The Devil You Know by K.J. Parker. This is another one of the short novellas/novelettes from Tor.com, like The Forest of Memory. It was a very interesting read, with devious characters and the whole selling your soul to a demon thing. After that, I moved onto Rocked By Love by Christine Warren. This is the fourth book in her Gargoyles series. Christine Warren is a go-to for me when it comes to paranormal romance. I have several of her books on my keeper shelves. And I love the direction she’s taking with this series.

I finished off this week reading Creed by Kristen Ashley. I read Knight a few months ago, and it really got under my skin. I didn’t think I liked the book, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.. So I searched out the second book. As of writing this, I’m only halfway into the book (hopefully finishing it

tonight), but it’s already got the same feel. I even dreamed about the characters last night! It’s just frustrating - I didn’t know I could like and hate something at the same time.

Happy Reading
~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Then where is he? Review of "Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here" by Christine Warren

 Why this book?: THE TITLE. Ha, I love it. But seriously - Where does he live, then?

Disclaimer: Another library book. I did not receive this book or anything else in exchange for a review. I'm reviewing it for my own sick pleasure.

Type: Paranormal Romance, Romance, Series, the Others, Sexy hero names, and He's a P.I.? Excuse me while I undress

About the book: Danice Carter is a lawyer. A damn good lawyer, actually. And when the senior partner of her firm called her into his office for a special assignment, she thought that was it - she was getting the case that will make or break her career, and finally make her a partner in the firm. She never expected for her client to be her boss' granddaughter, or for said granddaughter to not show up to their meeting. Instead of finding her client, Danice found a private investigator, McIntyre Callahan - who also happens to be searching for Rosemary. This case is turning out to be a lot worse than Danice thought. Good thing she has the sexy PI on her side... especially when Rosemary's trail leads them right to a gate into Faerie, and a lot more trouble than either of them could have forseen...

My review: Faeries! Private Investigators! Sexy names! How could I not enjoy this book? There were definitely a lot of things I liked about it. Such as a hero that isn't TOO alpha male. Don't get me wrong, I love alpha males, but every so often, you want a guy that just feels.. real. Even if he does happen to be a faerie, which might make me a little weird but I'm okay with it. And Danice is a strong, confident woman. She's smart, she's driven, she has a lot of good qualities. But this book features something I'm getting a little tired of... When a woman is smart and strong, but yet apparently doesn't know that she's getting too far into something she doesn't understand, and therefore gets herself into trouble. Danice and Mac have to go into Faerie to try and find either Rosemary, or the man that hired Mac. And even though Mac explains how truly frightening Faerie can be, Danice - who is entirely human and knows she's about to step into a place unlike anything she's ever known, just figures she's strong enough to deal with it, and refuses to listen to Mac's warnings. Of course, this leads to trouble, but the trouble is slightly spoiler-y, so I won't get into it. I know the book would turn out entirely different if she had chosen to let Mac, who is definitely more capable, go in alone. But I wish she was strong and smart enough to realize she was in over her head. Or maybe for this sort of thing to not have come up at all.

All that said - really, I enjoyed the book. The end has some "Whoa, what?!" moments, but the novel certainly kept me entertained. And I love, love, love Mac. As I said before, he just felt so.. real. Like the kind of man I want by my side... in or out of bed. And there was a great cast of supporting characters as well. Quigley, for example. Oh man, I laughed in every scene he was in. And his version of crack/meth? Oh, perfect. This is definitely an author I'm going to look into, since this is the first book I've read by her.

Cover Loving?: I like it well enough. Definitely some good chest-age going on. I get that wolves play a part in the rest of her series, but I feel like the wolf at the bottom of the cover is a little misplaced. There's not much mention of wolves in "Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here."

Recommendation: I'd say yes. This is a good book, and I've heard good things about the series, so this is an author I would recommend trying out. As mentioned, I'm going to add the rest of this series to be "To Be Checked Out" list.

Final Rating: I'd give it a THREE POINT NINE out of FOUR (3.9/4). Weird score? Yes. But it didn't quite feel like a four, and it definitely felt better than a three or even three point five. So three point nine it was.

Have you read "Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here" or any other books in The Others series? Are you a fan of Christine Warren? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Want to get this book? Click the link on the left to purchase it from Amazon.com!


Until next time, Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~