How much are YOU willing to forgive?

Almost everyone that reads fiction has a favorite - whether it be genre, type of pairing, type of creature, etc. My point with this post is... how much are you willing to forgive an author to get what you want?

This idea came from my previous review - "Fallen" by Lauren Kate. As I'm sure you're all sick of hearing, I have so many favorites.. but Angels, fallen or otherwise, are definitely at the top of the list. I blame (read: LOVE) Thomas E. Sniegoski for this, his "The Fallen" series changed me so profoundly, not just as a reader, but as a believer, etc. After that, I searched for more books featuring angels, and was left wanting. Then suddenly.. the boom hit. Now we have "hush hush," "Fallen," "Gentlemen Prefer Succubi," "Covet," etc. I'm in heaven (Get it? Punny?)! But it's still not enough..

Finally, to my point. "Fallen," as well as a few other books, fell somewhat short of my hopes and dreams, but I was and still am so grateful that my want.. nay, my NEED is being fulfilled, that I'm willing to forgive authors almost any transgression. Like I mentioned in my "Fallen" review, I had a hard time getting past the idea that all of these immortal characters were spending their time in highschool. A very prison-like highschool for that matter. But while that bothered me, I was still so happy to get some Angellic action, that I was willing to overlook it. For the most part, anyways.

Am I alone in this? I will hazzard to guess that every reader has something they're looking for in a book they pick up, whether it be some quirk of the hero or heroine, or maybe a type of person/being you love. But what about you, dear readers? Are you willing to forgive authors things like plot holes, flat characters, weird ideas, etc, just because they write what you want/need?

Please, feel free to comment and share your thoughts! I welcome anyone and everyone else's opinion on the matter.

Review of "Fallen" by Lauren Kate.

I think it's offical. My reading slump is over! Two reviews in two days? It has to be a sign..

Disclaimer: This book is a "Library loot" - I have this checked out from my library, so neither it, nor anything else, was given to me in exchange for a review.

Type: Paranormal romance, YA Fiction, Angels/Fallen Angels

From the back of the book: " There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school in Savannah. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are screwups, and security cameras watch every move.
Except Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce - her goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret... even if it kills her.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story. "

I hate to say it, but with books like this, I can't help comparing them to the Twilight Saga. Which is usually a good thing for the books, since almost anything can look better when compared to Twilight. This is true in the case of "Fallen" too, I enjoyed this book far more than the Twilight series. Though there were a few similarities - the biggest one being.. why the heck were these immortal beings in high school? A school for delinquents, for that matter. Well.. maybe I shouldn't say delinquent, I'll say "Troubled students." Now, that isn't to say I didn't enjoy the setting - I thought it was an interesting place to throw these characters. But I really don't see why they would want to go through highschool. I mean, most people can't wait to get out of it, why would immortals want to go through it over and over?

So.. on to the characters. I didn't hate Luce. I thought she was interesting enough, and she had real emotions - guilt, trepidation, fear, etc. I also liked the fact that her love for Daniel wasn't just a sudden thing. There was an instant connection, of course, but there was a reason. Another issue I had with the Twilight saga - the love between Bella and Edward didn't feel.. right. It was too deep, too quick. But with Luce and Daniel, they have some other forces playing with them, and it was a good little curve thrown in there. And speaking of Daniel... any one that studies Angel legends, or has read.. any, really, books featuring angels, fallen or otherwise, had to recognize his last name - Grigori. I loved the spunk he showed in the beginning of the book, but he lost some of that spark later on. Admittedly, more and more bad things started happening, so there wasn't really a cause for spunk, but I wouldn't have liked to see more of that side of him. I mean, he had the audacity to smile at Luce, and then flip her off during their first encounter. It would have been a nice twist if he had kept that amusing side to his character, instead of delving into the "almost always serious" territory.

I love books involving angels, especially fallen ones. So because of that, of course I'm more willing to forgive this book any faults I might find. I really want there to be more fallen angel books out there - no no, I NEED there to be more. That said, I didn't feel the whole "I GOTTA HAVE THE SEQUEL NOW!" feeling I usually get - that is.. until the epilogue. A conversation between two important characters that only lasted a page, if that, was enough to make me want to keep reading. And I think that's a great tactic. It wasn't even a teaser for the sequel, just part of the book. And if you can make a person want to read more with less than a page - then you definitely deserve some kudos!

I'm going to give "Fallen" by Lauren Kate a FOUR out of FIVE. I was going to give it a three point five out of five.. but that ending redeemed it a little in my eyes. That.. and the fact I am outrageously bias to anything with angels in it.

Check out "Fallen" by Lauren Kate - and its upcoming sequel, "Torment." Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Next up: I dunno! Maybe "Insatiable" by Meg Cabot. Or any of a number of books in my TBR.

Review of "Shadow Bound" by Erin Kellison

I was actually sent this book months ago, but I put off the review because I knew the release date was some time away, and I wanted to wait until closer to that date. I know it just aggravates me when I see a book reviewed, I get excited about it, and OH WAIT - you can't get the book for another three months. SORRY! And other times, I forget about the book because the hype was started too early, and then filtered off. So this is me, taking a stand and not reviewing the book until now. Take that, world!

Disclaimer: I was sent this book by the publisher, Dorcester Publishing, in exchange for a review.

Type: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Suspense

Release date: This book hits the shelves June 29th, and it's sequel "Shadow Fall" will be released July 27th.

From the back of the book: " DEATH Some people will do anything ot avoid it. Even trade their immortal souls for endless existance. WRAITHS Secretly, inexorably, they are infiltrating our world, sucking the essence out of unsuspecting victims with their hideous parody of a kiss. SEGUE Adam Thorne founded the Segue Institute to study and destroy his monster of a brother, but the key to its success is held in the pale, slender hand of a woman on the run. There is something hauntingly different about Talia O'Brien, her unknowing sensuality, her uncanny way of slipping into shadow. TWILIGHT This is the place between life and what comes after - a dark forest of fantasy, filled with beauty, peril, mystery. And Talia is about to open the door. "

I'm a big fan of mythology. I'm nerdy enough to study it on my own, and I especially love mythology in fiction. Some great examples of this would be my love for the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. There are countless others, as well, and now we have "Shadow Bound" to add to the list. I believe Celtic mythology is the most prevalent in this book, though there are hints of others as well.

I thought this book was fantastic because of the creatures. There's a demon, Death, wraiths.. wonderfully created beings that just make me want more. The Wraiths in "Shadow Bound" can be likened to vampires, immortal beings with super-enhanced abilities, and the urge to feed not on blood, but on human souls. Along with wraiths, we have the demon who heads them. Death, a chained creature that plays a powerful role. All of these together form a hugely dense bit of fiction. At times, I was a little overwhelmed by how much was packed into what felt like such a short novel. "Shadow Bound" is 322 pages, but so power packed, it felt like it went by in a flash. I'm not sure how much I can express my need for the second book, so I can see what happens to these creatures. After the ending of this one, I'm not sure the second can hold a candle.. but we'll see.

As for the characters themselves, I liked them - Adam especially. But Talia just felt off to me, for some reason. I liked her well enough, but she seemed... I don't want to say flighty, but there were several occasions where she seemed resolved to something, and several pages later, she would be just as dead set on doing the very opposite. There were circumstances that made her change her mind, of course, but she had been so passionate about doing one thing, it felt a little weird for her to switch so completely, without even a moments hesitation. These moments occured earlier on in the story, and by the end, her character had redeemed itself to me. I felt better about Talia, and especially loved the choice she made in the end, which lead to the choice Death made, which I loved even more. Seriously, there's has to be something wrong with me that I often love the Death personified character in books. I loved Death in "Shadow Bound," I love Hades in the Dark-Hunter series.. and there are plenty more.

I'm going to give Shadow Bound a FOUR out of FIVE. I enjoyed the plot, the story, and the characters. I'm going to have to go out and pick up the sequel, "Shadow Fall" when it's released July 27th. And please, make sure to go get your copy of "Shadow Bound" by Erin Kellison when it is released, June 29th.

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Next Up: "Fallen" by Lauren Kate

Review of "Vampires, Inc." by Rick Taubold and Chris R. Hosey

This book was released some months ago, and one of the authors contacted me to see if I was interested in review the book, to gain a little more press. After reading the first chapter online, I was definitely on board. I'm so glad I got a chance to read and review this book.

Disclaimer: I received this book, and this book only, in exchange for a review. So money or anything else was given to me for a review, be it positive or negative.

Type: I'd say Urban Fantasy.. or maybe even Urban Fiction with Vampires.

From the back of the book: " 'Vampires, Inc.' is the first novel of a trilogy that follows the stories of the twenty-two-year-old vampire Adrian Shadowhawk and his mentor Eli Howard.
These are not your classic vampires. They don't have fangs (regrettably for some); they're not predators. They still require human blood (voluntary donations), but they also eat regular food. They have telephathic powers. And they are mortal.
Thousands of vampires exist in the world. At one time normal humans, now they are infected with a unique, transmissible-by-blood virus that has changed them into what they are. For centuries, most vampires have lived a peaceful existence in secret among humans.
A hundred and forty years ago, Eli Howard murdered his slaveholder's family during the temporary madness brought on by the infection. In 1905, he helped quell in a violent conflict starting in Europe against humans by dissident vampires. Since then, Eli has kept to himself, trying to erase the violence in his past. He teaches at a Detroit collect, to help humans better themselves. Adrian Shadowhawk, on the other hand, is less judicious in his behavior and flaunts what he is to his human friends.
Then Cyrus Hayes, the vampire behind the murder of Eli's first love, arrives in Detroit. On a quest to make vampires the mast race, Cyrus performs unconscionable experiments on humans. With the future of humans and vampires at stake, Eli can no longer stay in the background. "

You know, it's been so long since I read the back cover, I had forgotten it was part of a trilogy. Thank goodness! I don't think I could handle it if it didn't continue. I need to know what happens to everyone, now that certain things are set into motion. Let's delve right into it, shall we?

This book is very character driven. There is, of course, an overall plot, but this book always felt more like an introduction, rather than a full story. Which is perfectly fine if it is the first book in a series, like this one. I will warn, that there are plenty of characters you need to keep track of - but every character had a part to play, and they were all necessary and important, so after the initial "Oh, here's a new one!" moment, you can easily keep everyone straight. The characters are likeable (at least the ones you're supposed to like), but they're consistant, which is always a good thing. And it was great to see some characters grow throughout the story. Eli started to learn he can't just sit at home anymore, Adrian... well, Adrian still had his wild streak, but he stepped up to the plate when necessary. I can't wait to see how these two fair in the upcoming books.

And continuing with characters - I love their version of the vampire mythos. There are so many old legends with vampires, so many different takes on what makes a vampire, how they become vampires, whether they are immortal or not - I think the vamps of "Vampires, Inc." are a fascinating new breed, so to speak.

"Vampires, Inc." started somewhere so different, something interesting all in itself, and ended in a place even better. At the beginning of the story, vampire Eli Howard witnesses an attempted rape, and finally decides he has had enough of letting his city fall to ruins. He plays to enlist the help of a few friends to clean up the city, but in the process of doing so, he comes to find there are a lot worse things occuring than that. Cyrus Hayes, the big bad of the book, has come to town and has "revamp"ed the Vampires, Inc. organization. Hayes is creating drugs for the vampire population, as well as doing other biological experiments on not only vampires, but humans as well. And he has plans on top of plans, not to mention safety measures in place should something happen to his work. And that is what leads us into book two.

I really enjoyed "Vampires, Inc." and I'm so glad I got the chance to review this book. I hope to read the rest of the trilogy, as well as see more books popping up like this in the future. A fascinating plot, a host of loveable, genuine characters, vampires... It has everything I love in a book. Which is why I'm giving "Vampires, Inc." a FIVE out of FIVE!

I hope you all get to check out "Vampires, Inc." and I do hope we see more from these two talented authors - especially the rest of the series!

Lori Foster Author/Reader Get Together

Well, I had quite the weekend! It all started out on Friday. I worked, then ran home to change, and straight off to a wedding, which was wonderful. Then home that night, only to get up bright an early the next morning to head to the Lori Foster Reader/Author Get Together. This wonderful event happens every year, but this is my first time attending, and I'm so glad I got to go! Tons of authors (75-ish) from the Ohio area come to hang with each other and readers, there are raffles, great meals, some fun parties, and TONS of free swag and books! Not only that, but if you registered in advance (or in some cases, during the presentation before hand), you could get a pitch meeting with an agent or publisher. I even met two ladies who came from Oklahoma to pitch their books.

I was so overwhelmed by everything going on, I didn't even attend any of the lectures/presentations. In fact, I think I spent most of my downtime going through all of the beautiful promotional items.
I know, I know, the quality is terrible - but that's just SOME of what I received. Three of the books were bought, and I won a goody bag in a raffle - I'll get into that a little more in a moment!

Everyone received a goody bag when they signed in - a wonderful, sturdy totebag full of swag, and at least one free book. I went to the get together with my Mother and Aunt - each of them got two free books, but I just got one. But no worries, I ended up buying several books that will keep me busy for a while. Not to mention my already huge TBR shelf! I probably looked crazy carting my bags everywhere.. I already had a purse, my bag with my clothes in it, a laptop bag, and the new tote bag I bought and decorated for authors to sign. And to gain several more bags to carry around? Quite the load to carry, but man was it worth it!

Now on to the raffle and other great prizes. There were well over a hundred raffle prizes, and while I didn't win any - my Mother and Aunt both did. I'm planning to steal the books while they're not looking. Now, there were your regular types of raffle prizes, the kind you'd expect - some with wine and glasses, some with books, a tote bag full of goodies, etc. But there were a few baskets that includes brand new eBook Readers, and the biggest one included a brand new Apple iPad. If I had won, you'd know by now. While I didn't win any of those, I won the raffle Desiree Holt was having at her table.

If you stopped by to visit and chat with you, you received a ticket you wrote your room number on. While resting in the room before dinner, I got the call saying I won! I found her later, after dinner - and what a great prize pack it was! I got a signed book by her, "Cocked and Loaded", some very steamy looking cover copies, a signed Tshirt, and it all came in a Desiree Holt Tells All totebag.

And of course, Barnes and Noble had set up a small "Store" selling books by some of the attending authors. And I believe someone mentioned eBooks were for sale as well. Quite the smart decision on their part, to be included in the event, because they got thirty plus dollars out of me, and I'm sure quite a bit out of everyone else that attended. I picked up "The Taking" by Erin McCarthy, "Ecstasy Unveiled" by Larissa Ione, and "Jared" by Sarah McCarty. And my free book - "The Next Best Thing" by Kristan Higgins. I got both Larissa Ione and Erin McCarthy to sign my tote bag, yay!

I'm so going back next year. And I hope anyone in the Southwestern Ohio area that has yet to hear about this great event will look into going next year. Registration was extremely cheap, and well worth it.

Authors! Books! A general author/book-ish post!

I know, I haven't been around in a long time. But I've got an excuse! I got promoted at work, so that means more hours, and WAY more stuff to learn. But I'm managing. And I have been reading! I'm actually preparing to go to the Lori Foster Reader-Author get together, coming up this weekend. There's going to be 75-ish authors attending, and there's so many I've never heard of!

So what did I decide to do? I picked up some new books, of course! My first find was "Tails of Love" a benefit anthology by several of the attending authors - Lori Foster, Stella Cameron, Kate Angell, Dianne Castell, Ann Christopher, Marcia James, Donna MacMeans, Sarah McCarty, Patricia Sargeant, and Sue-Ellen Welfonder. What's great about this anthology? As I mentioned, it's a benefit anthology, so the author advances all went to an animal shelter. Every story featured an animal of some sort, and the stories were wonderful. There are other benefit anthologies by these authors, I know there's one called "Power of Love" and another "Gift of Love." There may be others, I definitely want to check into them.

Since I'm talking about meeting authors - I got the chance to go to a book signing featuring Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan. Except for some very uncomfortable chairs, the signing was great. They were so amusing to listen to, I loved their stories. And they were both kind enough to sign the books I bought, as well as the new canvas tote bag I decided to buy, so I can have authors sign it. I heard about this great idea on a message forum, and I figured it's a great way to get autographs without carting around stacks of books!

And finally.. some exciting news, at least for me. I was browsing the book section at my local Walmart when I came upon... THIS!

What is that, you ask? It's the re-issue of the first two books in Thomas E. Sniegoski's Fallen series!! I have them all, of course, but this makes me want to buy the new versions. This series... oh man, I love them so much. I firmly believe these books changed me. They were wonderful. I heard once they made a miniseries out of them... but I never even wanted to research it, or try and watch it. Nothing will come close to the books.

I think that huge update, at least in part, made up for my lack of reviews and posting. There will definitely be a big post about the festivities of this coming weekend. Eeeek, I'm so excited!

A great contest you should check out!

Blogger Parajunkee got to go to a Sherrilyn Kenyon signing (Ahh, I'm so jealous!!), and picked up a ton of swag. Lucky for us, she's sharing some by offering a contest! Plenty of stuff up for grabs, including a signed book, other books, a bumper sticker, BAD promo swag, a poster, etc.

Plenty of chances for bonus entries, so run on over and enter now!
http://www.parajunkee.com/2010/05/sherilyn-kenyon-giveaway-extravaganza.html