Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Fiery Cross


Title: The Fiery Cross
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Series: Outlander (Book 5)
Genre: Historical Romance/Time Travel



Jamie, Claire and everyone else on Fraser's Ridge are living out their lives fairly normally. There are a few marriages, a few new babies and of course a few deaths. There is another war/skirmish that doesn't really amount to much in the way of wars.

I had a very hard time getting through this book. Not as hard as I did the first time I read Dragonfly, but pretty close. The only thing that kept me going was already knowing the characters and being invested in what happened to them.

I felt like there was little plot line in this book and was just a little of this and a little of that. There were parts that went VERY slowly, yet a few short parts that I loved as well. I think my biggest issue with this series is I don't really want to read about the war. I much rather hear the love stories and stories of families.

There is a big surprise, well it was big to me - I cried. But I don't want to share it and ruin the story.

Aside from the few parts that warmed my heart, this was a disappointment in the Outlander series. I hope that she can redeem herself in the next book.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Divine By Mistake


Title: Divine By Mistake
Author: P.C. Cast
Series: Divine (Book 1)
Genre: Fantasy, Romance



Shannon Parker, a high school English teacher with incredible wit is on her way to an antique auction. She is drawn to an urn and upon closer inspection realizes that the woman on the urn looks exactly like her - simple things like the same hair, and more complex like the same scar on her hand. Shannon buys the vase and starts to take it home.

While driving the vase essentially sucks her into a mirror world, switching her with her mirror. Shannon now finds herself to be the High Priestess of Epona, Rhiannon.

Apparently Rhiannon is unlike Shannon in many ways. Rhiannon is a selfish *ahem* witch who doesn't value anyone. She is spoiled and mistreats everyone. Shannon is nothing like that and constantly surprises everyone with how nice Rhiannon is starting be be.

Immediately Shannon (Rhea, as she is called) is hand-fasted to Centaur ClanFintan, who Rhiannon loathed, but Shannon loves. The two fight a mighty battle that is being warred against their people.

I LOVED this book. It was exquisite. I knew in the first page when Shannon says, "Only the slightly insane would choose a career teaching teenagers." that it was going to be great. I saw so much of myself in Shannon and perhaps that is what helped it take that extra step.

The relationship between Shannon/Rhea and ClanFintan is beautiful and I loved how they got to know each other. How Shannon had to get over the fact that ClanFintan is half horse and unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. Like being a nervous virgin, to some extent, all over again.

Shannon's relationships with her servants, who she insists on calling "friends" and treating way better then Rhiannon ever did, and those around her is touching. She is able to take the world she is thrust into and make it her own.

Simply Amazing.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Savor the Moment


Title: Savor the Moment
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: Bride Quartet (Book 3)
Genre: Romance



Laurel, the pastry chef for Vows, likes Del, Parker's brother. She thinks that Del views her as another sister and couldn't have feelings like that for her. One day in a moment of frustration, she kisses him, and he kisses her back.

They decide in a very adult (and slightly unemotional way) to try out dating for a month (without sex) and see where it goes. See if they can move past their past "label" and become more to each other.

I felt that the story overall was severely lacking in conflict or essentially plot. Couple kisses, decides to date and then BAM! One day Del asks Laurel to marry him. Sorry if that was a surprise.

I looked forward to this book more then any other in the series and I felt a little disappointed in it. Although I might not enjoy the descriptions of photos or flowers from the previous stories, I LOVED reading the descriptions of the cakes. I cannot wait to pick out a wedding cake when that day comes. I wouldn't say it was a bad book, just simply non-eventful.

A rather uneventful book, although come November, I'll pick up the fourth in the series and hope that it can redeem itself.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

A Lady of Persuasion


Title: A Lady of Persuasion
Author: Tessa Dare
Series: Dare Trilogy 1 (Book 3)
Genre: Historical Romance



Isabel (Bel) is Gray's younger sister. He has brought her to London for a season and to find a suitable husband. He has given her a very large dowry so that she can choose anyone she wishes. Bel wishes to marry to gain a foot in the political world. She wants to have an influence to help those less fortunate then herself.

Toby, Sophia's jilted betrothed, thinks Bel is just the most beautiful woman at the ball. He goes over to meet her and when he learns that she is Gray's sister, he must have her. He is slightly angry that Gray took Sophia "away" and wants to essentially take his sister. He offers for her hand in marriage the night that they meet. Surprisingly, Bel accepts.

I really felt like this was the weakest of the three books in the trilogy. I started out with such high hopes after reading Goddess of the Hunt, which just seemed to fall at every book. There were times when I just didn't like Bel. I understand that she was standing up for what she believes in, but sometimes I just thought she was being unreasonable.

I also felt that their story was a little monotone. There wasn't really any conflict, except briefly at the end and I didn't even believe that.

I did finally see where the books came together. Toby was the man that Lucy wanted to seduce in the first book before she accidentally ended up with Jeremy. Lucy is prevalent in this book along with Sophia and Gray. A very disappointing ending to a fabulous beginning.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Born On A Blue Day


Title: Born on a Blue Day
Author: Daniel Tammet
Series: None
Genre: Non-Fiction; Memoir



Daniel Tammet was recently on a 20/20 episode entitled, "Superhumans." Mixed in with women who think they are real mermaids was this man in his early 30's. Mom called me to watch him because he has memorized over 22,000 digits of pi. (3.14159...) This isn't the first time I've heard of someone memorizing several of the digits (I've judged past pi competitions) so I was overly impressed. It was what he said about the numbers of pi and how he remembered them.

Daniel has synesthesia. He sees numbers and letters (even days of the week and words) as colors and pictures. He can remember pi because to him it is a landscape that he just needs to "read." The picture to the left is Daniel's actual drawing of what he thinks the first 20 digits of pi look like.

His method of doing multiplication in his head is also astounding. For example, if he was to do the problem 53x131, he sees the illustration to the left. He only sees the two numbers and they are in the specific shape that they always show to him. Then he sees the shape that should fill the void between the two and that shape is also a number to him - the answer. It's just amazing.

Daniel is an Autistic Savant who functions at a very high level. He currently is living with his partner and even has his own website. This is Daniel's memoir.

I didn't find it to be as excellent as some of the reviews on Amazon said. It reminded me a little of a young child who is telling a story and saying, "and then....and then...and then" It doesn't say that exactly, but that's the feeling I got.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Goddess of the Sea


Title: Goddess of the Sea
Author: P.C. Cast
Series: Goddess Summoning (Book 1)
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Christine Canady (CC) has an okay life. She isn't overly attractive, nor ugly. She is a Sargent for the US Air Force, but lives alone. Her parents have forgotten her birthday as has her best friend. To top it all off she's about to be deployed to Saudi Arabia and has to take several planes. She hates to fly.

Her life dramatically changes when the cargo plane she is traveling on crash lands in the Mediterranean Ocean. There she meets a Mermaid and is kind of tricked into changes bodies and lives with her.

CC now finds her self being called Princess Undine. She is the daughter of Gaea, Goddess of Earth and Lir (think Poseidon), God of the Sea. Her half brother is lusting over her and tries to rape her. When Gaea finds this out she decides to send Undine/CC to live temporarily on land. CC must return to the sea every 3 days to turn into a mermaid else she will die. If she finds true love on land, she will be able to petition her father for the ability to keep her legs and live on land with her true love.

The only flaw to this plan is that she falls in love with a handsome merman, Dylan. Although it isn't as easy as that with her half brother constantly interfering.

This was a bit Little Mermaid meets Splash in my opinion but I loved every minute of it. I picked it up because it is by the same (well one of the same) authors as the House of Night series. There were several times when I just sat there reading with my jaw dropped. It was not short on action or surprising me. I cannot wait to pick up Goddess of the Spring, the next in the series. Simply Fantastic!

Surrender of A Siren


Title: Surrender of a Siren
Author: Tessa Dare
Series: Dare Trilogy 1 (Book 2)
Genre: Historical Romance



Sophia Hathaway is another privileged London Debutante, but we never really get to see her in that role. She decides to jilt her betrothed and hop on a ship bound for Tortola. She pretends to be Jane Turner, a governess setting out for a new job. She has about 600 pounds hidden beneath her clothing.

Gray is brother to the captain of the ship as well as the owner. He agrees to let Sophia sail on the ship as their only passenger. This is the passage that Gray has decided to go respectable. He and his brother are no longer privateering and have made room for passengers on the ship. Upon seeing the way Gray looks at Sophia, his brother makes him promise not to kiss or bed her.

The two seem to have an instant attraction (don't they all?) and cannot help but be drawn to each other when in such confined space for such a long amount of time. Their relationship is another one of yearning for what they feel they cannot have.

Although not as amazing as Goddess of the Hunt, this was still a decent read. The chemistry between the two main characters was very hot. One thing about Tessa Dare is in my opinion she knows how to write a love scene.

This book doesn't really appear to be connected to Goddess of the Hunt and I would consider them stand alone books. I'm not entirely sure why they are considered part of a trilogy. The next book in the series, A Lady of Persuasion at least is tied into Surrender of a Siren. It is the story of Gray's sister Isabel.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Succubus Shadows


Title: Succubus Shadows
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Georgina Kincaid (Book 5)
Genre: Paranormal



Seth and Maddie are getting married. Since Georgina is Maddie's best friend, that means she is first in line to help plan the wedding and be a bridesmaid. Maddie has no idea about Georgina and Seth's history nor how much pain planning the wedding is causing Georgina. Georgina doesn't want Maddie to find out about the history so she goes along with the planning anyway.

Georgina's love life (or lack thereof) with Seth has put her into some down moods. Oddly enough, every time she's down she gets a feeling of comfort and is drawn to something. Only problem with that is she ends up doing things she's not conscious of such as climbing onto her balcony railing or wading in the ocean. She tries to get help from everyone, but no one seems to be able to give her the help she needs.

Eventually she is captured by this warm fuzzy feeling, which is not so warm and fuzzy. It seems only the one person that she has a true connection with can save her and even that looks doubtful.

My secret wish came true :) I just love the characters in these books. I think about them long after. Although the plot lines of each book have some similarities, which was actually addressed in this book, I love them. Each one is full of twists and things to keep me guessing. I feel like they've come a long way since the oh so predictable book 1.

2011 until the next book. This means at least 6 months.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Tales of the Otherworld


Title: Tales of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld Accompaniment
Genre: Paranormal



There were several short stories packed into this book. Some better then others. I'm not entirely sure what Kelley Armstrong was trying to achieve in this book. I know they are her e-serials packaged together in a book form, but some of the stories were so short and without real plot that I wasn't sure why they even really exist.

Rebirth
A mere 18 pages in length, I thought this was definitely one of the weaker stories. Told from the point of view of Aaron, we learn about his brief struggle with being a vampire in the first year of his life and how he met Cassandra. Decent for a little character building, but really doesn't explain the relationship that they have now.

Bewitched
Told from Eve's point of view, this was one of the better stories. I feel like we know little about Eve, especially her life. I enjoyed learning how she and Kristof got together and how Savannah came about. A real eye opening to Savannah's relationship with her actual "grandfather" who refuses to acknowledge her.

Birthright
Logan has been dead for as long as I can remember in the series. We know he was a good friend of Elena's and that she was upset when he died. This is another quickie, where we learn where Logan came from and how he came to be part of the pack. I personally always love a good pack story.

Beginnings
The longest story and I am happy to say the best. Told from both Clay and Elena's point of view we get to learn how they met. Their entire story is told from the time when they didn't know each other to the point where Elena is bitten. A beautiful prequel to Bitten.

Expectations
Another quickie at 14 pages that in my opinion falls flat. Lucas hears out a man who wants him to steal a grimoire because it is in the hands of a witch. Logan does so and ends up meeting Eve, who he is stealing from.

Ghosts
The shortest of them all at 10 pages, we get a brief look into Jeremy's mind.

Wedding Bell Hell
Lucas and Paige meet and eventually get married in the series, but we never actually get to be part of the series. This remedies that and is quite humorous.

The Cast of El Chupacabra
The second longest in the series and only okay by my standards. It encompasses several known characters: Savannah, Sean, Paige, Lucas, Cassandra and more. A murder mystery surrounding Vampires and Chupacabra.

Having LOVED the Men of the Otherworld I was very excited by this and thought that overall it did not live up to my expectations. However, it was a nice way to keep my mind fresh with the characters while waiting for the next story in the installment.