Still alive! Sorta

Hello dear readers.

I know, it's been forever since I've posted. But unfortunately, I have that fun, fun, superfun condition known as TMJ - basically, my jaw sucks and gives me headaches. Or something like that. Well recently, it's gotten much worse, and I even had to miss a few days of work because the headaches and such were so bad. So now, I'm paying for those missed days of work by working seven days in a row, off one day, and then back for four days. And since the headaches aren't totally gone, just a little better, this means I'm spending my off time sleeping or wishing I was sleeping.

Sadly, I haven't been doing much reading, but I do have a bunch of library books I'm working through (The House of Night novels, Angelology, and falling, fly, etc), as well as a few books I've been sent to review (yay!). Hopefully I'll have some new reviews/posts up soon... but possibly not until this week is over.

Oh bloglandia, I miss you. :( Sad face.

Happy Reading!

Everyone needs to see this video

It's book-related, I swear! It has Lord of the Rings!

Seriously, I chuckled the whole way through.

Review of "The Vampire and the Virgin" by Kerrelyn Sparks

I'm not so much for the cover of this book. I mean, if you look at the vamp in a certain light, he looks so pale he's almost sparkly. And we all know how I feel about sparkly vampires. Badly.

Disclaimer: "The Vampire and the Virgin" by Kerrelyn Sparks is a library copy. I was not given this book, or any sort of incentive, for a positive review.

Type: Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Series

From the back of the book: " FBI psychologist Olivia Sotiris was looking for a cool ocean breeze, sand between her toes, and a break from her crazy, chaotic, and sometimes all-too-dangerous life. But when she escaped to the small Greek island of Patmos, all she got were meddling grandmothers trying to marry her off. Can't they see that none of the men around interests her - except Robby MacKay?
Robby needs to cool off, too, since all he can think about is revenge on the Malcontent bloodsuckers who once held him captic - but then he meets Olivia, the beauty with wild curls and a tempting smile. When a deadly criminal from a case back home tracks her down, Robby will have to save her life - along with giving her a first time she'll never forget... "

I have read a book by this author, and actually in this series, before. And while it was good, I didn't go out actively searching for more of her books. Since then, I have picked up one or two at sales and such, but haven't gotten a chance to read them yet. I keep buying books at used sales, garage sales, etc.. and then never get to them. Quite frustrating! Also, not the point. A while ago, I happened accross the synopsis for "The Vampire and the Virgin" and I said to myself - Yep, gotta read that one. I'm really glad I finally got my hands on a copy.

I have a thing for cop dramas (Bones! Castle!.. Etc!) And some of my favorite episodes are when the heroine goes up against a serial killer, either after he's already in jail or not, and even though he teases her, scares her, and more, she's willing to take on the case, and eventually kicks the bad guy's butt. And that situation is what Olivia faces. Olivia is an interesting character, with an even more interesting ability - she can sense people's emotions, as well as tell when they're lying. Because of that, she doesn't date people for long. The instant she knows he's lying, he's outta there! Except for Robby, whom she can't read. So Olivia, so used to knowing where she stood in a relationship, was thrown for a bit of a loop, which I enjoyed seeing. I was a little thrown at how quickly she got paranoid and how easily she believed Robby could betray her (not really any spoilers here, people, it happens early on). But the reader has to remember, Olivia is somehow being stalked by a man who is in an isolated cell in prison. If someone was stalking me, sending me letters and packages and scaring the crap out of me, I would be quite paranoid as well.

And Robby... dang do I love a man who wears a kilt! I'm a big fan of the kilt. I'm also a big fan of finding out if the myth of men wearing nothing under their kilts is true or not. And I couldn't help chuckling to myself when this legend is brought up in the book during a Christmas get-together. Robby undergoes a transformation throughout the book, from a vampire bent on revenge to the man Olivia needs and loves. I loved watching his character grow. I also loved seeing how his and Olivia's long distance relationship developed. From emails, to picture sharing, telling stories of family and friends, and eventually to getting webcams to chat face-to-face. It was.. dare I say it? CUTE!

As I believe I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of series. Especially series were each book features a different character, or each character gets their own run of books, then it switches. Some examples of this are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Katie MacAlister, Lynsay Sands, etc. Kerrelyn Sparks' Love At Stake books follow this tradition, and past characters show up as friends, family, etc. And because of "The Vampire and the Virgin," I found some more single side characters that I cannot wait to see get their own stories, and I hope they do. So I will definitely be checking out more of this series in the future.

I'm going to give "The Vampire and the Virgin" a FOUR out of FIVE (4/5). I enjoyed it, enough that I'll be looking for more by this author in the future. Especially if they include more kilted men. It's hard to go wrong with more kilted men.

Check out "The Vampire and the Virgin" by Kerrelyn Sparks!
Happy Reading
~!~ Morning Glow

Review of "A Breath of Magic" by Tracy Madison

Alright! My second time using the Amazon affiliates thing.. I might actually be getting the hang of it. It's a nice little link. Mostly easy.

Disclaimer: "A Breath of Magic" was sent to me by the publisher, Dorchester Publishing, in exchange for a review. I have not received any incentives, or anything else, for a positive review.

Type: Romance, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Leisure, Series

From the back of the book: " Chloe Nichols is holding her breath. All her life, finding true happiness with a family has seemed as easy as.. well, snagging a bubble off the wind - a bubble that her current boyfriend seems dead set on bursting. Yes, every time Chloe mentions her one true desire, Kyle shoots down her hopes. But he hasn't reckoned with the awesome power of Gypsy magic, or with loyal kith and kin. One way or another, Chloe's going to get her happily-ever-after. One could sometimes be found after you'd convinced a man he loves you, right? All Fate needs is a little puff in the right direction... "

I seriously tossed around the idea of not finishing this book, and declaring it a DNF - Did not finish. I have way better books to spend my time on that something I'm not interested in. But I had some time to kill, and unfortunately this was the only book in my purse at the time. So I did end up reading it all, but I'm really not pleased with it. I know this book is the third in a series, and my issues are with this specific character, so maybe the previous books are fine, I'm not sure. Maybe someday I'll check them out.

My issues are with Chloe. I really didn't like her, and even more than that, I didn't trust her. First off, we meet her when she's asking her friend to use her magic to rid her boyfriend, Kyle, of his fears of commitment, because she wants them to get married. So, and her friend explains this to her, she's willing to practically trick the guy she loves into marrying her. She knows it should be his decision whether or not to proceed, but instead, she decided to give him a magical kick in the right direction. And this isn't the only instance. Several times throughout the book, Chloe uses her magic to get what she wants - use her will (with her magic behind it) to get another guy to agree to a date, to tell her things, to get her best friend and relative to tell her something she wanted to keep to herself.

Not only that, but each and every person she bespells forgives her, and in my opinion, a little too quickly. Kyle, while the only guy mentioned on the back cover, is not the only guy in the book. Ben is the main male character, and he goes out with her originally because she wills him too. And this continues throughout their budding relationship. I believe if I had found out that I went out with someone because of magic, and not my own free will, I would be pretty dang upset, and not sure if I could trust that person ever again, even if I were that close to them.

Yes, things get wrapped up in the end, and Chloe does grow as a character, but I really couldn't get over her actions in the beginning. As said in Spiderman - "With great power comes great responsibility." Yes, Chloe is new at the whole using magic thing, but that did not give her free rein to go do whatever she wants with her quite powerful magic.

Parts of this book just didn't feel real to me, including the ending. And for that, I'm giving "A Breath of Magic" a TWO out of FIVE (2/5). I really didn't care for it, I'm not going to re-read it, and I'm probably not going to be checking out the rest of the series.

Happy Reading, and stay tuned for more reviews, and possibly even a give-away!
~!~ Morning Glow

Currently Reading: "Betrayed, A House of Night Novel" by PC Cast + Kristin Cast.

"Wicked Appetite" - Diesel gets his own series!

As you all may or may not know, I'm a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. My absolutely favorite character of them all? The lovingly paranromal Diesel! Unfortunately, he shows up only in the Between the Numbers novels. But now, Evanovich is giving Diesel his own book, titled "Wicked Appetite." The series is titled "The Unmentionables," so I'm not sure if Diesel will always be our leading man, or if each book will feature a different character. Personally, I'm hoping for more, more, more of Diesel.

"Wicked Appetite" is up for pre-order on Amazon.com, and releases September 14th, 2010.

And for more Janet Evanovich news.. "Sizzling Sixteen," her latest Stephanie Plum book was released on Tuesday - go pick up your copy today!

Review of "Insatiable" by Meg Cabot

Since I'm stuck at home with a massive headache all day, I decided to keep my mind off of it by reading. It at least helped a little. So I finished the first House of Night novel, but had no urge to review it.. maybe after I read a few more of the series I'll do a massive review. So I started on the next book, "Insatiable" by Meg Cabot.. Been looking forward to this one for a while. Let's see...

Disclaimer: "Insatiable" by Meg Cabot was not given to me for review, nor was anything else. This book is most definitely a "Library Loot" item.

Type: Fiction, Vampires, Romance (?)..

From the back of the book: " Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper. But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them. Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.) But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets - then makes the mistake of falling in love with - Lucian Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for. The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able to look into her own. And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare. Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future... If she even has one. "

Wow, that description looked shorter on the book, whew. Anyways. I have been a fan of Meg Cabot for some time, because of the Princess Diaries series. Yeah, I watched the movies first, but then got really into the books. So when I heard "Insatiable" was coming out, I got a little excited. Especially after reading that blurb. And now, having read it, I feel almost let down. And there are two specific moments in this book that made me feel less than pleased with it over all.

First up, when Meena was talking to her best friend about the encounter she had the night before. This particular scene happens early on in the book, but just in case, I'll put up a SPOILER warning.

********SPOILER ALERT************
In an early scene, Meena is unable to sleep and gets up, originally to take some sleeping medication, but when her dog gets excited thinking it's time to get up, she decides to take him for a walk. While on their stroll, she walks past an older church currently undergoing renovations. Suddenly, it looks like something is falling from the church, and a second later, Meena realizes there is a colony of bats bearing down on her. A good looking man that had been walking past dives on top of her, shielding her from the bats. She can feel his body twitching and shivering from the bites, claws, etc, but when they both get up, she sees he is completely unharmed. He walks her back to her apartment, and it's not until a little later she learns he is Lucien Antonescu, the famed vampire prince. After this encounter, Meena goes home, and takes her sleeping pills so she will actually be able to rest, instead of continuing to think about what happened.
*******END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS******

What bothered me was how her friend wouldn't believe that it actually happened. And I don't mean she was going "Oh my gosh, no way! NO WAY!" I'm saying her friend kept telling Meena she obviously just took her sleeping pill earlier than she thought, and dreamed all that. Despite what Meena said to try and convince her friend, she just didn't believe it. But Meena knew better. Now, maybe I have a particularly odd group of friends, but I'm fairly positive that no wonder how weird my story is, they're going to at least pretend to believe me, and not try to convince me I'm making everything up, or dreamed it. I'd get annoyed pretty quickly if someone tried to convince me that I just dreamed something I know I actually experienced.

And lastly... the ending. Man did that ending frustrate me. I will not offer up any spoilers here, but I will say it disappointed the crap out of me. I had expectations, and not only did Meena fall short, but so did Lucien. In fact, the only main character that did not make me angry in the end was Alaric, our favorite member of the Palatine Guard (read: Vampire Hunters). The last big battle was epic, I mean... what Lucien did/how he changed during it was AMAZING... a really interesting little twist.. but how Meena ended up acting after she witnessed this act just irked me. Yes, it might weird a person out, but.. well, as I said, it was annoying. I looked on the author's website, there is no mention that there will be a sequel to "Insatiable." I would be so willing to let this ending go if I knew for sure there would be something more after it. But so far, it's a stand-alone novel, one with a really crappy ending. At least in my opinion.

I'm going to give "Insatiable" by Meg Cabot a THREE POINT FIVE out of FIVE. 3.5/5. I didn't care for the ending, and the way the characters turned out. Yes, Meena grew as a character, which is good, but I feel like if this is going to be a stand alone novel, the author should have given us way more.

I'm sorry if this review seems a little all over the place, as I mentioned, I'm still battling this headache. But I wanted to get the review over and done with while the book was still fresh in my mind. Maybe I was just hoping for too much with this book, so the actual product fell short of my expectations. But what are your thoughts?

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow

"Eclipsed by Shadow" by John Royce

"Eclipsed By Shadow" is actually Book One in a trilogy, titled "The Legend of the Great Horse." And holy cow, I can definitely see why this needs to be a trilogy. Quite a lot of interesting plot, way too much to be contained in one book.

Disclaimer: I received this book, and this book only, in exchange for a review. The book was posted on the Member Giveaways section, part of Librarything.com's Early Reviewers program.

Type: YA fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy/Magical

From the back of the book: " Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of an exciting new trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, a journey through the ages when horses were everyday companions in work, war, sport and spectacle. The story is told through the eyes of a young woman, a horse-crazy teenager traveling through time with a knowledge of 21st Century horsemanship as her only defense. "

Well, wow, the back of the book really doesn't do this series justice. It makes the whole story sound flippant and childish, even. But really, I found this book to be far more powerful than the blurb. Yes, we do follow a young girl (she's 15 through most of the book), and yes, she does travel through time, but these aren't easy things Meagan is dealing with. And despite the young age of the main character, I'm not sure I would give this book to a fifteen year old.. unless he or she was very mature. There are definitely some harsh moments in "Eclipsed by Shadow." Not to give too much away, but death, rape, slavery, beatings, etc, are all issues Meagan has to see and live in fear of. All this lends to a very powerful and thrilling tale, definitely, but this book should definitely not be taken lightly.

As mentioned, Meagan does travel through time, in this book alone visiting several periods through History, and I'm sure even more in the sequels. As a bit of a History nerd, I was in love with the accurate details during each time period. A lot of research went into the writing of this trilogy, and I think the author should definitely be commended for it. The language was well done - Meagan didn't just understand everyone she met. In fact, her first several stops on the way, no one spoke English, and she had to find some way to get by without knowing the language. The settings seemed perfectly done, and even the people and their actions fit each time period perfectly.

You could also tell this book was written by a horse lover, knowledge of the breeds, rituals, and the connection one feels to horses is obvious throughout. I rode for several years (missing it almost every day), and I was amazed at the details that were mentioned. Even something as simple (or so most people would believe) as grooming is mentioned in perfect detail, with each type of brush, and the order. It may seem a little information-heavy, but I think it helps to show how attached and connected Meagan feels to the great beasts.

I'll be honest, when the "Legend of the Great Horse" was told to Meagan in the beginning, I thought it was a little cheesy. In fact, several of the beginning chapters weren't really all that amazing. The prose and descriptions were well done, but it wasn't horribly interesting... I actually thought I'd get aggravated with Meagan quickly. But once Meagan's real journey began, I was positively enthralled. Meagan definitely showed her true colors, her spirit and her willingness to fight for herself and those she cared about.

I'm going to give "Eclipsed By Shadow" a FIVE out of FIVE. I truly think this book deserves such a good rating - the History was accurately done, even down the smallest detail, the journey is amazing, and Meagan really rose to each occasion she was thrown into. I do hope to find the rest of this series and continue reading them, and I hope everyone checks out "Eclipsed by Shadow" by John Royce.

For more information about The Legend of the Great Horse, visit the series website at TheGreatHorse.com

Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow