Friday Blog Hops (3)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Allison Can Read and is a great way to find new book blogs.

Q. Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of a story? If so, which one??

While I like rooting for the good guys, there are few things I love more than a good bad guy. That said, I can't remember ever wanting a villain to win. Antiheroes and villains evolve to be heroes on the other hand, those I happily root for - like Devlen and Valek in Maria V. Snyder's Glass and Study trilogies.


Want to play? Original posts are here and here.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy for Books and is another great way to find awesome book blogs.

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

I tend to bounce around between different genres so there isn't one that I primarily read....there are four: paranormal romance, urban fantasy, young adult and cozy mysteries. If they all stopped being written, I'd probably switch to a mix of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and crime. But then there's always the option to reread old favourites :)

Want to play? Original post is here.

Booking Through Thursday (3)

What are you reading now?

I am currently reading The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.

Would you recommend it?

Right now? Yes I would as I'm really enjoying it, however I've just gotten to the part where several other reviewers have commented that the book has gone downhill so my opinion may change.


And what’s next?

I'm not entirely sure. It's a toss up between Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I'm going to signings with both authors next month and want to be up-to-date before I go. What do you guys think I should read first?

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-00-739011-3
Pages: 335
Series: Paranormalcy #1
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Gift
Goodreads

Evie has always thought of herself as a normal girl with a paranormal life, after all her best friend is a mermaid, her ex is a faerie and the only thing unusual about her is the ability to see through paranormal's glamours. When a shapeshifter breaks into the compound where she lives, Evie's world begins to change. She starts to have dreams filled with haunting prophecies and paranormals begin to die under strange circumstances. But as her feelings for the shapeshifter grow, so do her doubts about who she is working for.

This is one of those books I've had recommended to me so many times I've actually lost count. I was excited to read it, but also a little worried that I might not like it. I really enjoyed the story and found it to be cleverly written with great world development. It begins with Evie making an arrest for her employers, the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) and is action packed from page one.

The world is populated with a huge variety of paranormals - vampires, werewolves, mermaids, faeries, nymphs, trolls, hags - basically anything and everything you can think of, plus a few more. There is no info dumping despite the depth of story and all the species are amazingly well developed.

Evie is a very likeable character with a lot of snark and a slightly weird dress sense. Given that she's been bounced through the foster system until she was 8 and then taken in by the IPCA she's well written and believable. Her mermaid best friend Lish is brilliant, especially the fact that she has a computer to speak for her which refuses to swear leading to lots of 'bleep' placement which in some ways is funnier than any swear word could ever be.

There is a hint of a love triangle in the book between Evie, her faerie ex Reth and the new shapeshifter Lend. I pretty much disliked Reth from the page he appeared - arrogant, stuck up and annoying. On the other hand Lend is sweet and funny, and helps Evie without even realising it.

All in all this was an amazing read and I can't wait for Supernaturally.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Each weekend I'll post about any new books I've gotten either in my mailbox or from a store or library that week. If I haven't gotten any new books, I'll wait until I do.

This was a random gift from my family and I can't wait to read it. The previous book had a massive cliffhanger ending, and as this is the last in the trilogy I'm hoping for a great ending :) It looks quite a bit shorter than the first two (by at least 100 pages) so I'm hoping that doesn't affect the story.

This I got from my local library after a purely noisy trip to see what it looks like now it's gone self-service (not that different). I was lucky to get it as they had received it while they were shut for the change over so the librarian had to go find it and put all the stamps and things in it :)

Friday Blog Hops (2)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Allison Can Read and is a great way to find new book blogs.

Q. If you could change the ending of any book (or series), which book would you choose? Why and to what?

To be honest, I can't think of a single book or series where I actively want to change the ending. There have been books where I didn't like the ending or ended up shrieking in frustration at a massive cliffhanger, but I wouldn't change them. Usually those cliffhangers come part way through a series, more commonly in trilogies, and just help to develop the long term story arc. However if I know a book has a cliffhanger, I'll wait until the next is available before reading.

Want to play? Original posts are here and here.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy for Books and is another great way to find awesome book blogs.

“What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation? (If your next season is other than fall/autumn, tell us about it and what you are most looking forward to in your part of the world!)”

Umm, all of the above? I love autumn! The leaves falling, the cooler temperatures (I'm not a summer girl), snuggly clothes., halloween..autumn is almost as awesome as winter. Also I have an extra bonus - I'm visiting Glastonbury in a couple of weeks which I'm super excited about :)

Want to play? Original post is here.

Booking Through Thursday (2)

While my town dries out of record-setting, epic flooding from Hurricane Irene, let me ask you:

What’s your book with weather events? Hurricanes? Tornadoes? Blizzards? Real? Fiction? Doesn’t matter … weather comes up a lot in books, so there’s got to be a favorite somewhere, huh?

The first books that come into my mind whenever anyone talks about weather has to be Rachel Caine's amazing Weather Warden series. Starting with Ill Wind they are great urban fantasy novels about people who can literally control the weather. It's now complete, but worth a read for any urban fantasy fan.





In terms of the weather I like...I love storms and snow. Basically give me any weather that requires bundling up under snuggly layers, preferably with a book, and I'm happy. I even love those weird overcast grey days :) In my books I don't really notice weather much, but I love a stranded-by-snow story like Get a Clue.

Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Destined for an Early Grave
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-158321-6
Pages: 365
Series: Night Huntress #4
Type: Adult Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Ever since Cat and Bones met six years ago they have been fighting against all manner of opponents. Now they finally have time for a proper vacation, but Cat's dreams are being invaded by a vampire named Gregor who claims that she belongs to him, and she's beginning to realise there are gaps in her memory. Cat wants to know who he is and why he thinks he can claim here, but finding out may cost her Bones...and her life.

This is the fourth book in the Night Huntress series (after Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave and At Grave's End) and it steps up a notch from the previous books. Cat's past and future are called into question, and decisions are made that will change the direction of the series for good.

The plot is clever, managing to pick up the tiniest of plot threads from the previous books and tie them together to create a story that makes perfect sense, and well paced. The book starts off at quite a fast pace and manages to sustain it most of the way through. The world opens up a little more with a visit to New Orleans that introduces ghosts in a larger role as well as fleshing out (no pun intended) what we know of the ghouls.

Some of my favourite characters from previous books returned (Spade, Vlad and Annette) and the newly introduced Gregor and his minions are sufficiently unnerving. Cat and Bones's relationship goes through a few changes as well with Cat taking the calmer mature role and Bones acting irrationally and, at times, like a massive jerk. Their whole relationship is called into question and it brings some unexpected twists.

All in all, this was a great read and I can't wait to get stuck into This Side of the Grave.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 47/50