Review - "Infinity" by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I was so happy to find a copy of this on the day it was released. Darn my local bookstores, they almost never get anything in on the release date. But guess who did? That's right, Kroger! My local GROCERY store came through for me in the book department - and for 25% off! Well, okay, maybe I'm a little over excited, but still!

Disclaimer: I, the book reviewer, purchased this book on my own. I was not given the book, nor anything else, in exchange for a review.

Type: YA Fiction, urban fantasy, series

From the back of the book: " At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough, and savvy, Nick and his quick sarcasm are the stuff of legend... until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.
Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil covering a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before Nick can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh-eating zombies. And he's next on the menu.
As if starting high school isn't hard enough... now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chain saw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that? "

Well, Sherrilyn Kenyon has done contemporary romance, historical romance, character name source books, writers guide to the middle ages, and of course, paranormal romance. But that wasn't enough, oh no! Now she has decided to try her hand at Young Adult. And this is another well done attempt, at least in my opinion.

First off, those of us familiar with the Dark-Hunter series know Nick as an older man. Or, at least we know him in his late teens and early twenties. But as mentioned on the cover, he is fourteen in "Infinity." And I think Kenyon pulled it off very well. Nick feels fourteen - he's worried about graduating, he's worried about schoolwork.. or at least he is when zombies aren't attacking him. And most of all, he's checking out nearly every girl that comes by. I chuckled every time he made sure to get an eyeful of a newly arrived girl.

And of course, we get to see all of our old favorite characters - Kyrian, Acheron, Simi, Tabitha, etc. And seeing Nick interact with them, and starting to shape the relationship he will have with them at the beginning of the Dark-Hunter series is wonderful. And I'm sure some of you are going "Simi?! But that's not right!" Well.. I don't want to spoil anything, but trust me, things are a-changing. It's a very interesting plot dynamic.

Also, a bit of a random note here, but I found out that I've actually been saying Nick's last name wrong all this time! However many books into the series, and it takes a whole 'nother series (sort of) to make me really learn his name. Well dang! And once I learned, I felt a little silly. Of course that's how it's supposed to be said..

Now, the only downside to this book.. is that if the reader is not familiar with the Dark-Hunter world, I can definitely see how it can get confusing. There are plenty of characters to learn, and even more confusing new terms that are mentioned, but aren't really explained much. However, at the same time, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. If the reader is unfamiliar with the DH world, they're learning everything along with Nick, and figuring things out as he does.

Well, for the rating, hmm.. I would give "Infinity" by Sherrilyn Kenyon a FIVE out of FIVE. I did really enjoy it, I mean, I sat down and read it all in one sitting. It was great seeing some beloved characters again, and I can't wait to see whats thrown Nick's way next. So please, give "Infinity" by Sherrilyn Kenyon a try!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Review - "In the Spotlight (Mayne Attraction)" by Ann Mauren

I was given this book to review by the author who put it on Smashwords, so this was actually my first experience with it. I haven't researched it much, but I think it's an interesting venture. However, that's not what this review is about, so I guess we should get right to it..

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me to review by the author. I have not received any money in exchange for a review.

Type: Modern YA fiction, Romance

From the back of the book: " Ellery Mayne is a high school girl who makes a disturbing discovery. After a foiled abduction attempt, she realizes that an entire team of security personnel are secretly shadowing her every move. As she works to make sense of this startling development, she secretly transitions from the one who is being observed to the one who carries out observations of her own, testing the limits of a secret service detail who think they are conducting transparent surveillance on a clueless teenager.
When the mystery behind the secret security unravels, Ellery is faced with decisions that involve her future and the hopes of two unlikely love interests: A handsome but conflicted security agent who doesn't realize she knows about him, and her first love - a boy that broke her heard - who has returned to explain his actions and his feelings for her. Told from Ellery's perspective, she puzzles over what could interest not one but two handsome suitors and a whole security force. Suddenly this quiet loner realizes that her life is In The Spotlight and she is the Mayne Attraction. "

I saw some great potential in this book. Ellery is an interesting character, some of her quirky habits (looking up phobias, or even creating names for phobias), can resonate with the nerd in all of us. And I really like the idea of a girl being followed by a security team, with no clue why, and even conducting "experiments" to see what the team would do in certain situations.. That's wonderful. I think I'd love the chance to do something like that.

Unfortunately, this book fell short, at least in my opinion. I generally like the idea of a girl having two men who love her, and having to choose the right one between the two, or maybe she makes the wrong choice and the guilt eats at her.. either way, it can lead to some great drama. But in this situation, I was uncomfortable with it. In this book, Ellery is a senior in Highschool. She felt far too immature to be in this situation. I mean, she meets Ash, guy number 1, only in passing, and not even as her real self (she was dressed up in goth clothes at the time), and the next time she really converses with him, she tells him she loves him. And there was a fair amount of time between that first meeting, and the second, but Ash is only mentioned maybe once or twice. If she has been dwelling on him this entire time, why wasn't he mentioned more.

And Ash returns these feelings. Now, I can believe his position a little more. This is a guy who has been following her for months, watching her every move, watching out for her. In that scenario, I can see someone either completing hating or having an affection for their charge. In Ash's case, it was affection. But he's supposed to be older (I won't go into how old, since it's a mystery until near the end of the book), but he really doesn't act like it. I had a very hard time dealing with his real age, after seeing how he acted since he started actually talking to Ellery.

Back to Ellery, she seemed to get too easily attached to people. Which isn't a bad thing, for the most part, I'm the same way. But there's a difference between getting attached and liking someone.. and getting attached in a creepy stalker way. I think Ellery leans a bit to the other side. She has "heroines" she loves, and idolizes them. This, again, makes her seem far younger than she should be.

Despite all that, there were some aspects I liked. In the end, Ellery finally did some much-needed growing up. She stood up for herself, and made a decision that will eventually lead all of the characters into the second book in this series called "In the Smoke." I think, initially, the way Ellery went about the ending was a good idea. Her plan was sound and made sense. At the same time, what she did to give herself some time to think all this through was extremely risky, possibly dangerous, and parts of it seemed rather illegal. And the people who helped her along.. it just didn't seem reasonable.

As I said, I saw some potential in this story, and in this author. She has an interesting voice, and her descriptions of some of the scenery Ellery gets to see near the end are beautiful. Maybe when Ellery returns, she will be more of an adult, and hopefully Ash will do some serious growing up as well.

All that said and done, I'm giving "In the Spotlight" a TWO out of FIVE. As I said, plenty of potential.. but still quite a ways to go. If you would like to purchase "In the Spotlight (Mayne Attraction)" by Ann Mauren, you can find it at Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13213

Review of "Flirting with Forever" by Gwyn Cready

I actually finished this book a few days ago, but kept putting the review off. Not because it's a bad review, or a bad book, but because I just wanted to be blah for a few more days. I feel better now. So on to our review!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any money for a review, or anything else.

Type: Romance, Time Travel, Historical-ish (that's a type, right?)

From the back of the book: " Art historian Campbell Stratford is about to make a name for herself with her scandalously sexy tell-all "fictographies" of famous seventeenth-century artists, but she's more intimately familiar with her subjects than her eager readers can imagine. Thanks to a time portal she accidentally discovered, she has caused quite a stir in the Great Beyond. To save their reputations, the Guild protecting dead artists convinces playboy Peter Lely, a portraitist to the king, to sabotage Cam's latest project. A few hours posing on Sir Peter's modeling chaise leads to a night of seductive passion - then Cam returns home and discovers his betrayal. But before she can turn her angry pen on her love, Sir Peter makes a surprise visit to the future and transforms Cam's twenty-first-century life into chaos of classic proportions. "

I have to say, I think this was my first experience with a hero/leading man named Peter. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it, to be honest. I'm a huge fan of strong, interesting, mythical sounding names... and Peter seemed so.. ordinary. That, or I was constantly afraid of imaging Peter Griffin from Family Guy. But you know, I have to give the author some major credit here - I really connected with Peter as a character, and I even grew quite fond of the name. The name fit him, and he was/is quite the strong character, so I now see the name Peter in a different light.

In my early semesters in college, I took some Art History classes, the first just to fill a requirement, and the second because I enjoyed it so much. Since then, other than an occasional trip to a museum, I've almost lost my love of art. But after reading this book, I've found it again. Describing the painting process Peter used, or what was going through his mind with each stroke, made the whole process very sensual.

On a similar note.. Hoobah! Talk about sensual (read: sex) scenes! Whew. I actually took this book to work with me to read on my breaks, and I know I was blushing like crazy during the.. delicious scenes. The painting scene was wonderful, amazingly described, and frankly, I want to run out and find me a painter and hopefully get the same feeling Cam got to experience... lucky girl.

And on to the evil villain - the sister. Ahh, what a good evil person she was! Sure, there were some definite cliched moments, but they were perfectly so, at least in my opinion. She was so b**chy, so hateful, so mean.. I just wanted to smack her. I was a little disappointed with how she turned out in the end, however. I wanted her to... well, if I said any more, it would be possibly spoilers, so no more!

And my last, but certainly not least, point was to mention the only con about this book for me. I had trouble getting into it, and it seemed a little confusing in the beginning. I believe this was because this was the first book by this author I have read, and therefore missed a little more explanation that would have been present in a previous book. But things made sense in the long run, and I'm glad I stuck with it and kept reading.

Final verdict - FOUR shirtless hunks out of FIVE. I really did enjoy this book, despite the occasional confusion. I do hope to check out more by this author - I think this author's idea of time travel and such is fascinating. Hope you all get to check out "Flirting With Forever" by Gwyn Cready!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Review of "Love in the Time of Dragons" by Katie MacAlister

Well, another book positively inhaled. "Love in the Time of Dragons" came out last Tuesday, and I've been searching for it since then. Finally managed to find it at Borders, which is a 30 minute drive, btw, but dang was it worth it.

Darned Disclaimer: I, the reviewer, bought this book on my own. The book, nor any monetary compensation, was given for me in exchange for a review.

Type: Paranormal romance (the Dragon kind!)

From the back of the book: " Tully Sullivan is just like any other suburban mom - unless you count the days every ear that she zones out and turns base metals into gold. Those are weird. And now she's woken up in a strange place surrounded by strange people who keep insisting thet they're dragons - and that she's one too. But not just any dragon. She's Ysolde de Bouchier, a famed figure from dragon history.
Tully can't shape-shift or breathe fire, and she's definitely not happy being sentenced to death for the misdeeds of a dragon mate she can't remember. All Tully knows is that she wants her son back. So she'll have to find a way to solve the crimes of a past she has no memory of living... "

Sounds good, right? It was! But then, this is Katie MacAlister we're talking about. I wouldn't expect anything less. While I love everything she does, her Dark Ones and the Dragons series are the best. And "Love in the Time of Dragons" is no exception. In her Dragons series, we've had Drake, wyvern of the green dragons, Gabriel, wyvern of the silver dragons, and now Baltic, who is a Light dragon - a whole new ball game here, folks. While this book has classic Katie Mac elements, at the same time, this feels so different. These two - Baltic and Tully/Ysolde, are fighting to find out their past, and to keep their lives. Despite this being a novel of the Light dragons, this part of the series may be taking a slightly darker path.

Baltic has been the Big Bad through the whole series, though he didn't really make an appearance until May and Gabriel's books. But here he is in his own book, and this time, maybe he's not as bad as we think. Oooh, I just love stories where you get to see things from the supposed-bad guy's point of view. And Baltic definitely isn't a goody two-shoes sort of Dragon (are any of them?), but he's not the horrible creature every thinks he is.

I loved Baltic's character, and Tully, and Brom - Tully's son. Normally, reading a book where the heroine already has a child or is pregnant is not my thing. But Katie MacAlister even managed to get me to enjoy that! Brom is such an interesting character, and adds an equally interesting dynamic to Baltic and Tully/Ysolde's relationship. Speaking of Tully/Ysolde... I can't imagine what it's like to forget everything about your life, and only get glimpses of it through visions or dreams. Entire decades, or maybe even centuries, of her life are missing. Which is also an interesting twist to the story - to know someone, in this case - Baltic, but at the same time, you don't.

There are a few things I wish could be tied up in this story - like who the heck Gareth really is? And what he is. If this was mentioned in the book, I managed to miss it. There were also a few other points (all spoilers, so I won't mention them here) that were left hanging out there - a cliffhanger ending, darn it. But Katie MacAlister has already mentioned she's working on the second Baltic and Ysolde book, so thank goodness for that.

I give "Love in the Time of Dragons" FIVE hunky shirtless men out of FIVE. Trying out a new rating system based on the suggestion of a good friend. I love Katie MacAlister and all she does, obviously, but this book left me with a whole different feeling at the end - and it's not a bad one. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.

And speaking of eagerly awaiting - in the back of "Love in the Time of Dragons," there's a teaser for the next Dark Ones book - "In the Company of Vampires." Katie has already revealed the cover and stepback cover (so gorgeous!!), but I've been awaiting this book for years - it's Ben and Fran's story, from her Goth Faire YA books. In the next Dark Ones installment, Ben and Fran are re-united, and I say it's about time! I about pulled my hair out after reading the teaser - I can't wait until November!

Upcoming releases for Katie MacAlister:
"Cupid Cats" - anthology with Vicki Lewis Thompson and Connie Brockway (July 2010)
"Deaths Excellent Vacation" - anthology (August 2010)
"In the Company of Vampires" - Ben and Fran's book (November 2010)

Happy Reading!

Review of "Selene of Alexandria" by Faith L. Justice

I warn you right now, this review is probably going to be a complete gush-fest. I finished it last night, and could barely sleep because I was so excited about this book. Whew... well, let's get right into it!

Disclaimer: I received this book (ebook copy), "Selene of Alexandria" in exchange for a review. This book is from Librarything.com's Member Giveaway program, put up by either the author or publisher.

Type: Historical Fiction (With some historical facts thrown in)

Description, taken from the author's website: " Set in AD 412 Alexandria, Egypt and based on historical events, this story of ambition, love and murder brings to life colorful characters and an exotic time and place. SELENE is bright, impulsive, stubborn, and a little spoiled by her father, a city councilor. Since her mother’s death, she longs to forgo the privileges of her class to become a physician— an impossible dream for rich Christian girls who never engage in a profession. But Selene perseveres and gains a powerful champion—HYPATIA, the renowned mathematician and Lady Philosopher of Alexandria.
The old Christian Patriarch dies and the city splits in support of two candidates. After days of rioting, the Patriarch’s nephew CYRIL is proclaimed Patriarch and sets about consolidating the Christian sects and purging Alexandria of pagans and Jews. ORESTES, the new Augustal Prefect, struggles to keep the peace and also seeks the advice of Hypatia. He finds her a woman of enormous personal charm and astute political insight and places her first among his advisors, to the humiliation of the new Patriarch. These events set the stage for a contest of wills between Church and Empire. [...]
It's not long before Selene is unwittingly drawn into the deadly rivalry between Cyril and Orestes. She comes of age amidst riot, plague and political intrigue . But will Selene survive the consequences of her own ambitions and impulsive actions? "

I'll start off with the one issue I came accross while reading this book - it did take a little while for me to get hooked. Getting the ebook version, I wasn't completely sure what I was reading (since I didn't have a synopsis on the back to go on. My first thought was that this was just a coming of age tale.. but it's so much more, because it's not just about Selene. It's about her brother, her servant, the local leader of the church, the local leader of government, Selene's father, her friend, the lady philosopher... ahh! I loved them all. Well, not all of them. Cyril, to me at least, was definitely the big bad guy, and boy was he good at it!

At the back of the book, there are some notes and historical facts, about which characters are not just characters, but recorded historical figures. Some of what occured in this book actually happened during this time, and I think that makes the events you read about even more powerful. Frankly, there were times while reading I couldn't make out the words... and it turns out, I couldn't do so because my hand was shaking so much I was so nervous. I was afraid for the characters, I was afraid of the characters.. They were real to me. The author, of course, used her creative license with looks, and, I'm sure, some motives as well, but she did an amazing job. Everything was entirely believable, and in some cases, relatable.

At a certain point in this book, I'm going to guess it was about a third of the way into it, I couldn't put it down. Or if I did, it was under extreme protest. I took my reader with me everywhere, pulling it out to read a few more sentences even when I knew I would only have a few spare moments. I needed to know what happened. And there were a few times in the book I teared up because I was so into the story.

I hope to see more from this author, whether it be more historical fiction.. or anything, really. I'm quite the history nerd, so of course I was a little in love with this book already, but I honestly think this book will appeal to anyone and everyone.

As for the rating, I would give this book a six out of five if I thought that might not be a little overly dramatic on my part... so I guess it'll have to be a perfect FIVE out of FIVE. Please, I hope you all get a chance to check this book out.

Happy Reading (you'd be even happier if you started reading "Selene of Alexandria".. then came to talk to me about it!), and enjoy the rest of your week!
~!~ Morning Glow

Slump? Overwhelmed? Apocalypse?

I assume one of the issues mentioned in the title is my problem.

Time seems to be moving too quick for me the past couple weeks, no specific reason I can tell, I'm just behind in everything. It's not like I'm suffering a lack of books to read and review (at the moment I have three sitting here, with more expected). It probably doesn't help that I'm trying to get back into writing, which means less time just sitting and reading like I used to.

Bah! Bah, I say! Even if it means creating a schedule for myself, I will get back on track, dangit!

Along those lines, coming up for review are...
"Selene of Alexandria" by Faith Justice
"Flirting With Forever" by Gwyn Cready
"Breath of Magic" by Tracy Madison

Or maybe I'm just in a total slump.. Also, totally possible.

In other news, Katie MacAlister's newest Dragon novel, "Love In The Time Of Dragons" (Baltic's Story) is out today!! I've been to TWO bookstores so far, trying to find it, and no luck. Going out again tomorrow to search it out, if no luck... Amazon, here I come! I can't wait to see the world from Baltic's point of view.. he seems such a bad guy in the rest of the series. But then, he seemed to be the type you love to hate, maybe I'll start loving to love him. Or something.

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

Review of "The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker" by Leanna Renee Hieber

It's release day for Leanna Renee Hieber's new book, "The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker"!!! The sequel to the infamous "The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker." Go out and get yourself a copy! Of both, of course, because you'll love them, I'm sure.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, Dorchester Publishing, in exchange for a review. No money or anything else was given to me for a review.

Type: Historical Fantasy/ Romance

From the back of the book: " With radiant, snow-white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun.
Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams - or nightmares - might come. "

So, I rather assume this is the end of this series, and I'm really sad to see it go. I think so much could be done with these characters, and with the world The Guard lives in. Though the back of the book mentions that Rebecca and Michael, two of the Guard, are featured in "A Midwinter Fantasy" coming in October, though I'm not sure if this is an anthology, or what.

That said... oh my gosh, did this book frustrate me! I felt like through the entire first part of the book, I was waiting for something to happen. And yes, things did happen, mostly character-wise. But I wanted fighting, I wanted action. I wanted all that The Guard was worrying about to come to fruition. And finally, closer to the end of the book, it did. And now that I've finished it, I'm almost glad for that waiting period. Putting myself in these characters' shoes, I have to think of how they feel. They know a great battle is coming, they're not sure when, but they have to keep dealing with the little things. Being frustrated with things not happening quickly enough for me, made me understand how frustrated the characters must be knowing they will be fighting for their lives and everyone else's, but they don't know when, what will happen, or how it will go.

And oh boy, once the fighting and action does start, it doesn't stop. The whole first half of the book was basically the calm before the storm, and the storm hit HARD. How The Darkness looked... I just have to say, that is fascinating to think about. And the final battle between The Darkness and The Guard, all of them, whew. Mesmerizing, fantastic, and maybe even a little epic.

The only fault I could possibly find with this book was the epilogue. I wished things hadn't been cleaned up so easily. I would have rather had some mystery left in the characters' lives. It was too neat and tidy. I had a similar issue with the epilogue for the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. A powerful series is, at least for me, complimented with a very loosely wrapped up ending. I like enough space to create my own ending for the characters, but I'd still like to know if they're okay.

All that said, I'm giving "The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker" by Leanna Renee Hieber a FOUR POINT FIVE out of FIVE. While I can understand the need for the slightly slow pacing in the beginning, and holding off most of the real action until later, I still would have liked to see more action in the beginning half, to push the story further along.

Please, check out "The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker" by Leanna Renee Hieber, and of course, "The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker" if you haven't already!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow