Weekly Reading Update: 10/7 - 10/13/16

Another week, another update! It's been a very review-ful week for me, so this week won't be an overloaded one like some others. But just because it was light in quantity does not mean it was light in quality!

First up was Cocky Bastard by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland. This is a well-known writing pair, and I absolutely loved Stuck-Up Suit, so I had high hopes for Cocky Bastard. Alas, it wasn't as good as I would have liked. I loved the beginning, and I absolutely loved Chance (and Mutton/Pixy!!), but Aubrey made me so mad in the second half of the book. That said, I'm very eager to give Playboy Pilot a shot!

Next up was Dragonmark by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The Dark-Hunter series was one of the first ones I read when I started getting into the paranormal romance world. I love all the mythology, the creatures, and even the characters themselves. And while I did enjoy Dragonmark - I'm worried this series is starting to lose its magic. Too many series are converging, and she's throwing in more than even she can handle. My review for Dragonmark will be going up on Romance Reviews Today this month.

Next, I went into graphic novel mode, reading Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I've been eagerly awaiting this book for months! I knew Coates would hit it out of the park, and he did. I just wish it had been longer, since it felt so unfinished. And I know, it's just volume 1 and the story will continue - but I needed a little more resolution before it ended. After that, I picked up American Vampire Volume 8 by Scott Snyder. I voraciously read this series back in the day - until I caught up with what had been released. Now that I have to wait for each new volume to come out.. while I still like the series, it just seems to have lost some of its magic. Probably because I can no longer binge read it.

Lastly, I read Charming by Elliott James for work. I am one of the staff moderators for the Positively Paranormal Book Club - a library lead book discussion about paranormal, urban fantasy, and science fiction reads. The club has been running for five or six years, and is one of the library system's most successful book clubs. Charming is an excellent urban fantasy read for fans of Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Richard Kadrey, and more. I loved it! And can't wait to continue the series.

That's it for me this week.

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

Weekly Reading Update 7/8 - 7/14/16!

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

It feels like I have been super busy this week, but I’m not sure that’s really true. I think I’m just exhausted. We’re down five employees at work, so we’re all rushing at work to get everything done. Unfortunately, this means I’m worn out by the time I get home, and so I haven’t read too much. Mostly shorter books.

I finally read Driven by K. Bromberg. I’ve read another book by this a while ago, a later book in the series. I can see why people are so obsessed with it. I had to request the second book from the library, and I’m not sure how much longer I can stand to wait for it. There were quite a few moments where I wanted to shake both of the main characters, so they would come to their senses about each other. But in general, the first book has that tension that I enjoy so much in my romances.

I read a couple more Tor.com novellas. I’m working my way through all the ones my library system owns - I’m pretty addicted. I read Pieces of Hate by Tim Lebbon, as well as The Last Witness by K.J. Parker. Honestly, Pieces of Hate didn’t work for me. It’s a classic case of “great idea in theory, not so much in execution.” sigh. But The Last Witness was good. Not as amazing as some of the other novellas, but still a good read.

I’m still working my way through the Aftershock series by Jill Sorenson. Book three, Badlands, is Owen and Penny’s story, and I have been looking forward to this since book one! Just like the previous books in the series, this was another awesome romantic suspense, and one that immediately went on my wish-list upon finishing. I already have the next book, which is a quick novella in a book with another author. Honestly, I’m so eager to read Jill Sorenson’s story that I might just skip the other story in the book…

I finally got the chance to read Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward. I loved it! I can see why it got so much good press in the romance community. It was another instant wish-list book. And now I’m going to have to find what else these two authors have written together.

I read Someone Like You by Jennifer Gracen for Romance Reviews Today. It was a good read, I really liked it, but it took me forever to read because I had so much other stuff going on. Tossing in the titles of a few other quick reads from this week - Learning to Ride by Erin Knightley, Batman & Robin Eternal Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, and Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore. I read Learning to Ride because I wanted to give one of those Bookshots novellas a chance.. But I hate James Patterson, so I refused to read one of his books. Luckily another couple authors joined in the trend. Batman & Robin Eternal was awesome, and I can’t wait for the next volume. And Dead Things was read for our paranormal book club at work - it was so good. Amazing character development and story, despite it being less than 300 pages.

See you next week!

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