Just Finished: Shift

Shift by Rachel Vincent
#5 in Shifters Series

Rating-

Book Blurb

TROUBLE IS IN THE AIR...

Being the first female werecat enforcer isn’t easy. Scars accumulate, but I’m stronger in so many ways.

As for my personal life? It’s complicated. Choices worth making always are. Ever since my brother’s death and my father’s impeachment, it’s all I can do to prevent more blood
from spilling. Now our Pride is under attack by a flight of vicious thunderbirds. And making peace with our new enemies may be the only way to get the best of our old foe.

With the body count rising and treachery everywhere, my instincts tell me to look before I leap. But sometimes a leap of faith is the only real option...

My Thoughts

This book picks up right where the last one left off. I really like the world that Rachel Vincent has built in this series. The characters are well developed and I personally enjoy reading about them. Faythe is a strong willed, never give up kinda girl. I like that she isn't afraid to speak her mind, even if she knows nobody is going to like what she says. I like Marc, but sometimes he frustrates me. There are times when he seems blind to what is going on around him, which contradicts his position as an enforcer. I don't particularly care for the love triangle that seems to be developing with Faythe. Sometimes triangles don't bug me, but it depends how they are used. This one is just annoying to me. Why does she all of a sudden have to develop feelings for someone else.. (or at least it seems sudden to me). The main storyline of the book involving the thunderbirds is interesting and compelling. I found myself staying up late just so I could read more of the book. There are plenty of unexpected twisted in this book that left me saying "Oh my!" and left me wanting to finish to find out how it ends. And as I got closer to the end of the book the more frustrated with it i got. I understand that you have to have tension in a book in order to keep people coming back, but the Faythe and Marc constant back and forth is starting to get really annoying. As much as the triangle annoys me, the story is well written and pulled me in. I'm looking forward to picking up the next book and figuring out what happens next.

Tuesday Teaser #2

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Title: Shift
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Paranormal Romance

"I shrugged. 'You'll catch me.'
'And if I miss, you'll break your other arm, or a leg, and you won't be able to fight when we go in for real.'
'Marc, in all the times I've fallen you've never failed to catch me.'" -Page 177/299 (ebook)

Just Finished: Like One of the Family

Like One of the Family by Kimberly Van Meter
#1 in Family in Paradise Series

Rating-

Book Blurb

Trouble in paradise

White beaches, blue waters...St. John is paradise for most. But not for Lora Bell. Her childhood home is a source of painful memories and obligation. And this visit isn't likely to change anything. She's here to deal with a mountain of trouble at her family's resort, her grandfather...and Heath Cannon, the guy she'd rather forget.

Being around Heath reminds Lora of another side of herself-the less serious, more carefree side. And while that might be a welcome change, this is not the time. She has to be strong to make the tough decisions required to save the resort. So these feelings need to stop. Now. But it may be too late. Because those beaches, the water and Heath seem to be changing everything.

My Thoughts

The description of the island with the resort, along with the ocean and beaches are amazing. The Male lead, Heath Cannon, is a family friend who while trying to open a business of his own was offered start up money from Pops (Lora's Grandfather). But things come into light that the money wasn't really able to be freely given, as a result the resort is in jeopardy. Enter the eldest granddaughter.. When first introduced to Lora Bell and experiencing her meanness, I figured it was all part of her living in a city as big as Chicago and working at a big company. That it would eventually fade the longer she stayed on the island and interacted with her family. I was willing to give some leeway and see if things got better between her and her family (Heath included).

I was halfway through this book and Heath and Lora were still acting like they hated each other.. At that point I almost stopped reading the book because I disliked Lora so much. But I kept going cause I wanted to see if she redeemed herself. The result of them still fighting at the halfway point is it all felt rushed, one minute they were arguing with each other and the next they couldn't keep their hands off each other. It wasn't believable to me and Lora's change of heart didn't seem like it had enough time to develop like it truly should have. Overall I really wanted to like this book but even to the end didn't really like Lora. Kinda hard to truly like a book when you are so much against one of the main characters.

Just Finished: House Rules

House Rules by Chloe Neill
#7 in Chicagoland Vampires Series

Rating-

Book Blurb

In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps.

At the tender age of twenty-seven, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal—tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries-old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

My Thoughts

The book opens to Merit and Ethan acting like any other couple. It was nice to start reading and know that they were together and happy, even with all that is going on with Cadogan House. Merit finally puts her position as Social Chair to good use and is throwing a party for the house and Chicago's Rogue Vampires, so that they can get to know each other more and hopefully become friendlier. The party starts and Noah (the unofficial head of the Rogue's) informs them that two rogue vampires are missing. To show that Cadogan House is willing to help the Rogue Vampires in anyway Merit takes on the task of figuring out what happens.

I was happy that Merit and Mallory's relationship seems to be improving in this book. The last book seemed a little off since they almost refused to talk to each other. The mystery of the rogue vampire killings was well developed and kept me interested. The ongoing storyline with Merit and the Red Guard is a nice twist to the story.

It is full of unexpected twists and every emotion you can think of. I really enjoyed this book and am glad I read it.

Get to know the lady behind the blog..

Hello I'm Kris!
(my full name is Kristen)

I thought that I should probably write a little bit about me..

I am a book lover and am not really picky about what I read. I have a twin and we generally read the same thing, when I'm done with a book and she has time she will read it also. It's nice to have someone so close to talk about books to. My little sister reads mostly PNR and UF, which I've just recently gotten into.. I love discovering new authors or falling back on the favorites that I know will give me a good story. Right now I'm concentrating on catching up with some of the series' that I've been reading. As a result it seems my reading has a heavy concentration of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy in it. I'll soon be breaking that up with some Historical Romance and Mysteries. Most of my books come from the library so I generally plan my reading out so that I don't run out of reading material. It seems the books I do own always get pushed to the back of the line and never get read. I'm gonna have to change that, I have some interesting books laying around here.

I enjoy making lists, which my family makes fun of... I have lists on my computer of authors I wish to read, series that I'm reading, favorite authors and which of their books I've read. I even have lists for my twin sister cause she never has a clue if she has read a book or not when I ask her if she wants to.

I'm enjoying this new adventure into blogging. I've been wanting to write up reviews for all the books that I read so that others can have a sense on how the book is. I'm hoping that as I continue my reviews improve and my ratings more diverse. My only wish for this blog is that it helps others to decide whether or not they wish to read a book. Even if I don't get many followers, it's still fun to write up reviews and put them out there.

Hope you enjoy the reviews I've posted and the reviews to come.

Feature and Follow #1 (7/26)

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

This Week's Question is: 

What do you do with your books after you are done reading them?

Most of the time I've gotten my books from the library so they just get taken back.. but if they are books I own then they just get put back on the shelf cause my sisters borrow my books from me after I've read them.

Next Week's Question: 

How do you handle a book you don't like? Do you DNF or do you power through?

Just Finished: The Indigo Spell

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
#3 in Bloodlines Series

Rating-

Book Blurb

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

My Thoughts

I have really enjoyed this series, and was looking forward to continuing. I like the idea of being able to get to know the secondary characters of the Vampire Academy Series. The ongoing storyline thru the series is that Sydney Sage is working to keep Jill (Lissa's sister) under the radar because she is the only other person in her line and without Jill, Lissa cannot be queen. So Sydney was assigned to help protect her, along with Eddie (a dhampir guardian) and Angeline. Also in this book she is looking for the person behind witches that have gone into a coma. It seems like almost too much in one book, but it works well. Sydney is on a mission to find Marcus Finch who is on the run from the Alchemists. Marcus holds answers to questions that Sydney has.

The story has a well balance between the various story lines. The character interaction is very believable. I am really enjoying the was this series is progressing. Sydney is growing and making her own decisions instead of fully relying on the Alchemists to make them for her. It was full of unexpected twists, also it was good to learn more about the people she interacts with.

Tuesday Teasers #1

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:




• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser


Title: The Indigo Spell
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Paranormal Romance

"'The Alchemist's beliefs are my beliefs,' I said quickly.
She arched an eyebrow. 'Are they? I would hope your beliefs would be your beliefs.'" -Page 90/401 (hardcopy)

Just Finished: Accidentally Yours

Accidentally Yours by Susan Mallery

Rating-


Book Blurb

WANTED: Single mom seeks billionaire's pocketbook to fund dying son's research cure. Will seduce if necessary. Blackmail is not out of the question. Miracles welcome. Cynical billionaire seeks working mom with a heart of gold for PR campaign to improve his standing in the community. Must be willing to attend social events. Anyone looking for love, need not apply. It seemed like the perfect match...until the unthinkable happened.

My Thoughts

When I started this book and found out that is was about a mother (Kerri Sullivan) who's son has a terminal disease I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read it.. because I'm a very emotion person. But I figured I would give it a shot and kept ready. I was immediately drawn in by Kerri's determination and witty remarks. She is definitely not afraid to speak her mind. She is determined to get millionaire Nathan King to donate money to the research company that is working on the cure. Kerri initially thinks it will be easy to get him to agree because his son had the disease and passed away from it. My initial reaction to Nathan was that he was the stereotypical millionaire, he doesn't care about anything. I think some of it has to do with losing a child, cause after going through something so hard why would you want to let anyone else in?

As I was reading the book I found myself laughing at the banter back and forth between Kerri and Nathan. She is so open and honest, while he is serious and very closed off. It made for some interesting conversations. I've been blessed with a healthy child, but while reading wondered if that was really how parents felt.. that if they put their own life on hold and essentially stopped living that their child would in turn be able to live.

This book was a nice balance between happy times and emotional times. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.

Just Finished: Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
#9 in Immortals After Dark Series

Rating-
Book Blurb

A Dangerous Beauty...
Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her—and those she loves.

An Uncontrollable Need...
Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.

Lead to a Pleasure So Wild...
From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness—her wanton desire for him. . . .

My Thoughts

This is Lucia and Garreth MacRieve's story, through the whole story people refer to him as MacRieve so I'm not sure why in the description he is called Garreth.. I guess it's just a quirk of mine. This whole series has grabbed me by the shirt collar and just dragged me along for the ride. And this book is no different. Once I started reading I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down. I had to force myself to stop reading last night at 2:40am cause I knew I had to get up with my daughter and nephew this morning... but anyways, back to the review. It was nice to learn more about both MacRieve and Lucia. They both made appearances in past books, but their parts were never really big.. just a conversation here and there. Lucia is an archer who rarely misses but when she does feels great pain because of it. MacRieve is Lachlain's younger brother so never really had any responsibilities. They first met while MacRieve is playing Rugby (in the rain mind you :)) and he is suddenly distracted by a scent. He discovers the scent belongs to Lucia, he has found his mate. Lucia was tracking a creature that was hunting mortals. MacRieve watches Lucia shoot some arrows through the crowd and find her mark, against the odds and he is in awe. The story continues with her wanting nothing to do with him and of course him following her wherever she may go to try and win her over. I found the story well written, funny at times but also serious when needed. The whole storyline is awesome and I personally loved that Lucia is strong enough to take care of herself and that MacRieve eventually comes to understand this and attempt to live with it. They are a really good couple.

Just Finished: Audiobook Grave Peril

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
#3 in Dresden Files
Narrated by: James Marsters

Rating-

Book Blurb

HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden’s faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. All par for the course for Chicago’s only professional wizard.
But in all of Harry’s years of supernatural sleuthing, he’s never faced anything like this: the spirit world’s gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble—and not just of the door-slamming, ‘boo’- shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly.
Someone—or something—is stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn’t figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself....

My Thoughts

It starts right in the middle of the action with Harry and Michael heading towards a suspected ghost. Then Harry backtracks to explain how they got there. They have no idea what is causing the increase in ghostly activity, but they know they have to stop whatever it is. Most of the book is spent trying to figure out who is behind everything.

There is a lot going on in this book, but at the same time it didn't have the same pull as books in the past. Most of the aspects of the previous books that I liked was missing in this book, I missed Murphy in this book, she seemed to be almost an afterthought in this book. Her working relationship with Harry is a big part of the cases normally. Bob (the spirit in the skull) wasn't as involved in this book either.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have finished this book at this time if I was reading it myself. It probably would have been put to the side and would have come back to it later, but I enjoyed James Marsters' narration so much that I just kept listening. He is really good at it, you could hear the emotions and he read with feeling.

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Just Finished: Killing Fear

Killing Fear by Allison Brennan
#1 in the Prison Break Series

Rating-

Book Blurb

FEAR NEVER DIES Theodore Glenn loves to inflict pain . . . both on his victims and on those who later find the mutilated corpses. At his trial seven years ago, Glenn vowed vengeance on Detective Will Hooper, the cop who nabbed him, and beautiful Robin McKenna, the stripper whose testimony put him behind bars. When a catastrophic disaster sets Glenn free, he blazes a freshly bloodied path across San Diego County. But the death he craves most is Robin McKenna’s. Putting aside their past troubled relationship, Will rushes to protect Robin, now a savvy businesswoman operating an upscale club. As the killings mount and Glenn proves a master manipulator, Robin and Will become snared in a twisted web of horror. But the shocking truth is even worse: The evil they are to face is even deadlier than they fear.

My Thoughts

I have always enjoyed Allison Brennan's books, and this one is no different. The introduction to the characters was smooth and they were well developed. The story starts by showing us what happened in the trial. It then flashes forward 7 years and follows Theodore Glenn in prison.. Then it all changes when he is able to escape and then has a chance to get revenge.

You could feel the pull between Will and Robin from the beginning, even though they were completely denying the fact to themselves. I thought that them having a past and all of a sudden getting back together would irritate me, but it was well written and believable. You knew the "Bad guy" from the beginning, but it made for a very interesting story to be able to experience things through him also. In addition, there was enough of a twist towards the middle that made me want to keep reading.

I didn't find anything overly frustrating in this book.. at least nothing that I constantly was like "Really, are you serious". It is well written and I really enjoyed it.

Recent Movies and Books

I recently rented The Great and Powerful Oz and Jack Reacher and enjoyed both of them. OZ was a nice introduction to how the wizard came about. While staying true to the original story. Jack Reacher is actually based on a series of books by Lee Child and watching the movie has just made me want to read the books that much more.

The movie theater here was doing classic movies on the big screen (movies from 1973). My mom, my sister and I took the kids to see Charlotte's Web and they really enjoyed it. It was their first movie and they did really well (one is 5 and one is 4).

I get most of the books I read from the library cause I read so much that there would be no way I could afford the habit. Normally this isn't an issue because the books are in good shape. Last night I was reading Killing Fear by Allison Brennan and was about 3/4 of the way through when there started to be burn marks on some of the pages. Then there were holes in the pages. There is no way I'm going to keep reading a book when I'm going to miss things on every page I read. So of course I was frustrated because it's a mystery and it was just getting to the part where everything gets explained. Thankfully a friend of mine had the book and I was able to finish it.