Let's Try This Again

Seriously sorry for such a hiatus. This summer I played host to my thesis class, which meant one month shorter to research and write such a project as well as the fact that my grandfather is sick and so I had to take a three week break in the middle to deal with family drama. Yes, it made the production of my thesis a stressful and extremely time consuming endeavor. I now appreciate my father working on his dissertation with four children running around as well. The only difference, I had four children running around and no spouse to remove them from the house when the noise became too extreme. However, after all that stress and nearly 400 pages later, I had my Master's thesis complete and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with my Masters in Library and Information Science. Now, if only I could get a job. . .

As a result of a stressful last two semesters, I have been a complete and utter failure in the upkeep of my reading log. However, I have seriously gotten down to business in the last couple of months. Largely  because I have found some seriously fun reading material in the form of some great E-Book material. Yes, some of it can also be in print, but many of these were originally published in E-format. Now me personally, I love the printed book. One, it doesn't get hot when I read it. Two, I don't have to charge it constantly in order to read all day. Three, a paper book has both the texture and the smell to go along with it. However, in our lovely digital age, digital books cannot be ignored. It is cheaper to publish via digital printing and I really think there are a lot of new authors out there who don't get the chance at paper but do in a digital format. The only major issue I have with digital books is that they really seem to not be edited as well as a print books. There are far more typographical errors in an digital book than in a print book although those are not exempt either. It is annoying but if the author has construct a story that pulls you in enough, I'm able to accept that these books are not edited as well and move on.

**For July and August I'm just going to put up a list of what was read and if you have any questions about any of them, just give me a shout.**

July 2012

**Note: Any E-book listed does not contain page numbers. Titles with * beside them are series that are not yet completed.**

*Warriors of Ankh; By: Samantha Young
1-Blood Will Tell
2-Blood Past
3-Shades of Blood

*Fire Spirits;  By: Samantha Young
1-Smokeless Fire
2-Scorched Skies
3-Borrowed Ember

The Tale of Lunarmorte; By: Samantha Young
1- Moon Spell
2-River Cast
3-Blood Solstice

Drip Drop Tear;  By: Samantha Young

*The Fade;  By: Samantha Young
1-Slumber

NOTE--Samantha Young has become a favorite of mine after reading these. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Also, The Tale of Lunarmorte series, while technically being complete, looks like she may continue with a spin off type series.

The Watchers Trilogy;  By Karice Bolton
1-Awakening
2-Legions
3-Cataclysm

Total for the month of July: 14 titles


August 2012

*Midnight Fire;  By: Kaitlyn Davis
1-Ignite
2-Simmer

*Darkwoods Series;  By: J.A. Redmerski
1-Mayfair Moon
2- Kindred

Cloud Prophet Trilogy;  By: Megg Jensen
1-Anathema
2-Oubliette
3-Severed

The Initiate;  By: Megg Jensen

*The Swarm Trilogy;  By: Megg Jensen
1-Sleepers
2-Afterlife

*The Grey Wolf Series; By: Quinn Loftis
1-Prince of Wolves
2-Blood Rites
3-Just One Drop
4-Out of the Dark

*The Arelia LeRue Series; By: Kira Saito
1-Bound
2-Punished
3-Possessed

*Ancient Legends; By: Jayde Scott
1-The Job-From Hell
2-Beelzebub Girl
3-Voodoo Kiss
4-Dead and Beyond

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy; By: E.L. James
1-Fifty Shades of Grey (528)
2-Fifty Shades Darker (544)
3-Fifty Shades Freed (592)

*Delirium Series; By: Lauren Oliver
1-Delirium (441)

*Otherworld Trilogy;  By: Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
1-Faelorehn
2-Domarehn

*The Arotas Trilogy; By: Amy Miles
1-Forbidden
2-Reckoning

*Fallen Angels Saga; By: E. Van Lowe
1-Boyfriend from Hell
2-Earth Angel

The Rippler Trilogy; By: Cidney Swanson
1-Rippler
2-Chameleon
3-Unfurl

Seasons of the Moon; By: S.M. Reine
1-Six Moon Summer
2-All Hallows' Moon
3-Long Night Moon
4-Gray Moon Rising

Total for the month of August: 38 titles

I have to say that I believe August is a personal record for me, one I'm actually hoping to meet or break in September but we shall see what life hands me. I have many opinions on each title, all you have to do is ask, but I will admit keeping up with my habit and discussing each book in detail would take alot away from the actual act of reading and I kind of need that more than anything else right now, so I'm going to ease back into the blogging thing in the hopes that this time it sticks.!! Happy Reading Everyone!

The Tide Lord Quartet: Books 3 and 4

I finished the series so fast, I haven't been able to collect my thoughts enough to type up anything, so I'm doing the last two books together.

Title: The Tide Lord Quartet: The Palace of Impossible Dreams, Book 3
Author: Jennifer Fallon
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: Adult
Pages: 461

Arkady cannot escape immortals, no matter how much she wishes she could. Sold into slavery by Bryndon to get back at Cayal, Arkady must choose the lesser of two evils. She becomes a very wealthy man's wi-ah (a slave mistress). When swamp fever breaks out in cities, the physician's guild send the physician and his wi-ah into the swamps to "cure" the fever at its source. The swamps are home to many chameleon crasii and before too long, Arkady realizes that the "cure" is a cure for life rather than the death by swamp fever. However, her revelation doesn't come before the Immortal Trinity who protect these creatures find out. Dr. and his wi-ah are tied to the Justice Tree to be devoured by the gobi ant. But wouldn't you know Declean is an immortal now, and he is determined to find Arkady. Can he save her in time?  

Title: The Tide Lords Quartet: The Chaos Crystal, Book 4
Author: Jennifer Fallon
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: Adult
Pages: 476

Saving the world can be tricky business, especially when you have to save it from alot of someones just like you. Declean cannot condone Cayal's death once he realizes that the method to dying is to open a rift in the world and in so doing destroy the world the immortals leave behind. The problem is that those who really understand things, have their own agenda and it's all about them. Can Amyrantha actually survive? Can Arkady survive in a world of immortals?

I have really loved the series.  However, I admit to being disappointed by the ending, simply because the series is suppose to be only 4 books and the way it was ended leaves you really hanging. I'm not expecting neat little wrap ups because that doesn't make a great book either, but there needs to be a happy medium and this one really leaves you.  I loved the story though and found myself both putting the book down because I was afraid of what would happen and totally unable to put them down.

The Tide Lord's Quartet: The Immortal Prince, Book 1

Title: The Tide Lords Quartet: The Immortal Prince, Book 1
Author: Jennifer Fallon
Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: Adult
Pages: 493

Arkady Desean is the Duchess of Lebec. An intelligent woman who married to save her father's life and who tries to live a good life regardless of the world around her and their ideas about women. When a man sentenced to die, just won't oblige, Arkady is asked to interview him to prove he's either a con man, a spy, or just plain crazy, because of course, his claims that he is in fact Cayal, the Immortal Prince--an immortal Tide Lord--just cannot be true. Afterall, the Tide Lords are merely myth.

I personally love Fallon's books and so far she hasn't disappointed me. This is an adult fantasy book, in that their are some sexual scenes.  The book reads so fast and I love that I finally have all four in hand so that I can read the whole series as one. Fallon has a real talent of interweaving both Arkady's story and Cayal's. The book really is a tapestry woven by two different stories, and each draws you in on different levels. You find yourself both hating and rooting for Cayal, at least I do. I both hope he can find a way to kill himself without taking the world with him but I also hope he can find redemption and a reason to live with Arkady. The love relationships are so well done, you feel yourself rooting for so many different people and also hating others. There are very few authors that can write characters that are so real you want to jump into the story and strangle them yourself, but Fallon is definitely that kind of author.

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

Since the second installment just came out and I hadn't read the first one since it first came out, these two were read together and herein reviewed together.

 Title: The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid, Book 1
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy, Egyptian Mythology
Grade Level: 5-12
Pages: 516

Carter and Sadie Kane are brother and sister with an ancient past. Kept apart for the last 6 years in order to keep down their ancient power. But Ma'at has been slowly eroding and their father in an attempt to restore balance, tries to release Osiris from the Rosetta Stone. When the stone explodes, 5 Gods are released. Osiris enters Sadie and Carter's father and is immediately entombed by his evil brother Set. Unbeknown to Sadie and Carter at first, they too become hosts to two Gods, Horus and Isis. Together they must find the path of the Gods, learn to both harness their powers and control the Gods within, try not to be killed by a bunch of magicians who believe the Gods are evil, save their father, defeat Set, and save the world. 

Title: The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire, Book 2
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy, Egyptian Mythology
Grade Level: 5-12
Pages: 452

Apophis is rising and in order to stop him, Sadie and Carter must find all the pieces to the Book of Ra and awaken the decrepit King of the Gods. Sounds easy. But this is the Kane family we are talking about, and nothing with them is ever easy. They must find the book, fight evil magicians, fight other Gods who wish to thwart them, travel the underworld, gamble their souls, find and restore Ra, and stop Apophis. Thing is, one cannot bring forth the God of Order without also freeing the God of Chaos. Can the Kane's find the answers they are looking for? Can they save their family from the wrath of the Gods? Can they save themselves?

The Kane siblings are just as compelling as Percy Jackson, and their story is just as much fun. I personally have a major soft spot for ancient mythology so I find the storyline alot of fun. Ancient world brought successfully into the modern world. Two unlikely heroes, must fight the world around them and the world inside them. They must find the strength of the ancient Gods without succumbing to them. I greatly look forward to seeing how this series progresses, but I fear by the time the next book comes out, I'll have to reread them again. Good thing these books are as good the second time around as they are the first. Riordan truly has a talent of merging the ancient with the modern and leaving you wanting to take the journey over and over again.

Sadie and Carter Kane. Yup, they really are brother and sister.

Beyond Foo: Geth and the Return of the Lithens by Obert Skye

Title: Beyond Foo: Geth and the Return of the Lithens, Book 1
Author: Obert Skye
Pages: 214
Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 4-9th grade

Foo is at peace. Geth is a Lithen, a being that has always rolled with fate. However, the merging of Geth with Ezra has caused unrest within his heart.  Geth goes searching for excitement and excitement finds him. Eve has come to Foo looking for a Lithen to save her world. A world known now as Zendor, a world beyond the border of Foo. A world that has been taken over by an evil man named Payt. Payt's voice has the power to seduce and steal the mind of everyone he talks to. Can the great Geth save Zendor as the prophecy has proclaimed?

Obert Skye is a very talented man. He has a knack for writing a compelling story with few pages like his Pillage books. This particular new series is after the Leven Thumps books have come to a close. I love his writing style, because it really feels like he is telling you the story, like a conversation. The story is compelling and the continuation and of Geth's story is alot of fun.

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Title: Beyonders: A World Without Heroes, Book 1
Author: Brandon Mull
Grade Level: 4-7 grade
Pages: 454
Genre: Fantasy/Juvenile Literature

Jason is intelligent, tall, loves baseball and animals, and is 13. Rachel is smart, homeschooled, 13, and an only child. Both magically find themselves in Lyrian, a world controlled by an evil magician Maldor. All they really want is to get home, but fate is funny that way, and instead they find themselves united in a quest to find a magical word that will unmake the evil magician.

I really love Fablehaven and thoroughly enjoyed The Candy Shop War, two of Mull's other books/series. However, I had a really difficult time getting  into this book. At about the 2/3rds mark, it finally pulled me in and I admit I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. However, I will say that the "heroes" in the book--Jason and Rachel--just are not believable as 13 year old kids. I think that was one of the most difficult things for me with this book. I may have been convinced that this was appropriate for their age, if they're background was expounded upon more. But Jason is the youngest child in his family, and while he is an independent person, I just don't see a 13 year old doing some of the things he does. Rachel is a little more believable in her more grown-up reactions simply because not only is she an independent child, she is an only child. Family dynamics speak volumes. Rachel is not a very compelling character anyway, but that may be a personal bias towards "home-schooled know-it-alls". The story went very quickly, and felt  more like a movie that should have been three times as long but the director just didn't feel like taking the time. This was very disappointing since normally I think Brandon Mull is a great author. The story is compelling, the characters just were not up to par with his other books. So as far as story goes, pretty good and compelling. Characters, need some serious work and if these two are 13, they need to act like 13  year olds not 16/17.

The Clockwork Angel

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel, Book 1
By: Cassandra Clare (author of The Mortal Instruments Series)
Genre: Supernatural Fiction
Grade Level: 5-10
Pages: 479

Tessa Gray was just a normal 16 year old girl.  Orphaned and sent for by her brother, living in England. Upon arriving in port, Tessa is stolen away be the evil Dark Sisters.  Kept and taught by force to bring out her "talents" just to keep her brother safe.  Tessa is not normal.  Saved by the nephilium from the Dark Sister's lair before they can marry her to the mysterious "Magistar," Tessa is plunged into a world of Angels and Downworlders.  Her gifts are her curses, and love is the most dangerous path of all.  The storyline is a bit too similar to the Mortal Instruments for my liking.  I enjoyed the book because I enjoyed the previous series.  However, although this particular storyline takes place in England in the latter end of the 19th century, the character dynamic is practically parallel.  Now, since this in merely the first book in the series, I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps this is more of a companion to the Mortal Instruments series and how it ties in will become more apparent as the series progress.  I do hope so, otherwise, I would have to say, it's time to come up with another storyline.

February Reads 2011

Okay, I admit, this month totally pathetic--at least in the amount read for this particular pursuit.  Not only did I not get much read, I totally forgot to blog about the ones I did, so this may be a bit longer than usual, since I'm going to try to cram it all into one this month.  This might have to be the norm for the rest of the semester, especially since I really should be working on midterm papers right now, but wanted to take the time to catch up.  At the end of the semester, I will talk about every textbook I had to read and what I thought of them.  I won't be including the plethora of journal articles I've had to read too, though, because that is simply too extensive for me to cover here.

The Exiled Queen: Book 2 in The Seven Realms series, by: Cinda Williams Chima

Princess Raisa has escaped to Oden's Ford, and is busy with her studies in the warrior school.  When a chance meeting brings her face to face with Hans Alister, it leads to more complications than either is prepared for.  Raisa falls in love and so does Han, but is their love enough to save or destroy them both?  Chima has a gift for writing a compelling story that really draws you in and leaves you dying for the next book.  I'm so happy I was finally able to get to this one.

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 7-12
Pages: 586

 Blackveil: Book 4 Green Rider by Kristen Britain.

Karigan must enter Blackveil again to save the Sleepers, a massive host of "sleeping" Elitians than unbeknown to the "good guys" have been severely tainted by the evil of Blackveil. Karigan must use her gift to fade back in time to a slot in time preserved by Lauralyn, the ancient Queen of Elitians, in order to save both the sleepers and all of her world.  Britain weaves a dark but compelling tale in this newest installment.  However, again she leaves you with a horrible cliffhanger.  This cliffhanger is the worst I have ever read, and so I would not recommend reading this series until Britain finally does bring it to a close.  The length between her books is just to horrid to start this series until it is actually done!

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 10 and up
Pages: 664

Slathbog's Gold: Book 1 in the Adventurer's Wanted Series by M.L. Forman.

When Alex saw the sign in the bookstore, he wondered if it was some kind of joke.  Going inside to find out, he finds himself swept away on an adventure with 7 companions is strange lands.  On his adventure, he finds great friendship, great knowledge, and more adventure awaiting him at the end.  The story reminds me a little of the Hobbit. There are elves and dwarfs, albeit, alot nicer ones than were found in the Hobbit. The story moves along quickly and leaves you wanting more.

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 5-9
Pages: 385

The Horn of Moran: Book 2 in the Adventurer's Wanted Series by M.L. Forman.

Alex has been in the "real" world for 6 months, honing his magic skills and dying to go on another adventure.  His dreams are haunted by a terrible nightmare, and when the opportunity to go on a "safe" adventure comes, his wizard mentor allows him to go.  His party must find the lost Horn of Moran, an ancient horn lost more than a century before by a foolish prince, in order to save the known lands from major civil war.  Along the way, Alex's skills as a wizard are truly tested, and finding the horn is only the beginning of what lies ahead in Alex's life as an adventurer.

I know that Forman's books are not well known, but I just love them.  They are fast moving but exciting and completely compelling.  I do hope that he will continue with his series, as I personally cannot wait to see what kind of adventures young Alex will go on next.

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 5-9
Pages: 376

Total for February: 2013
Total for 2011: 4522

Adventurers Wanted: Slathbog's Gold: Book 1

When Alex saw the sign in the bookstore, he wondered if it was some kind of joke.  Going inside to find out, he finds himself swept away on an adventure with 7 companions is strange lands.  On his adventure, he finds great friendship, great knowledge, and more adventure awaiting him at the end.  The story reminds me a little of the Hobbit. There are elves and dwarfs, albeit, alot nicer ones than were found in the Hobbit. The story moves along quickly and leaves you wanting more.

Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 5-9
Pages: 385