Books are good for you!

I had some busy days. First I finished “Iron Kissed” (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs. Mercy is endangering herself to save her Fae mentor. Zee the blacksmith is wrongly accused of murder and imprisoned. The story was frustrating because you knew something bad is going to happen to Mercy (which did!). The only good point was that she finally chose between Sam and Adam! I’m waiting for the next book already.
Then I was happy to spend half day finishing “Succubus on Top” by Richelle Mead. Remember Georgina Kincaid? She is back and is helping an old friend seduce a hypocrite radio-lecturer and her mortal friend Doug is doing drugs that are way strange. Loved the story! It ended too soon in my opinion!
After that I finished the book club assignment of this month, three books of Crazy series. “Crazy Wild”,” Crazy Love”, and “Crazy Sweet” by Tara Janzen. The series has five or six books (“Crazy Hot”, “Crazy Cold” and “Crazy Kisses”) and the sequel series is Loose series (“On the Loose” and “Cutting Looses”). A group of chop shop boys turned secret agents are fighting crime and terrorism and finding love.
And two more books from my new favorite series Elemental Masters: “The Wizard of London” and “Phoenix and Ashes” by Mercedes Lackey. In the first one, a power hungry lady master of air is threatening the life of a ten year old true medium. It is Victorian England and a private school for talented children houses the most amazing headmistress ever. No, I won’t tell the story! Go read it yourself!
“Phoenix and Ashes” is a new take on Cinderella. Young Eleanor loses her father in the World War II. Her new stepmother is a black earth master and turns her to a housemaid. Reggie is an air master and the lord of nearby property (yes, the prince charming!). He is a shell-shocked pilot and the wicked stepmother wants him as her son in law. Anyway you know the story! But believe me when I say it is very enchanting and well worth reading!
And no, I haven’t finished “Holy Smokes” yet! It is quite boring compare to these other books!

Argeneau Vampires and Holy Smokes

I was able to finally finish “The Accidental Vampire” (Argeneau Vampires, Book 7) by Lynsay Sands. The darn book was taking forever! Well, I have read all of Argeneau vampire books. Here is the list if anyone is interested:
A Quick Bite (Argeneau Vampires, Book 1) Lissianna and Greg
Love Bites (Argeneau Vampires, Book 2) Rachel and Etienne
Single White Vampire (Argeneau Vampires, Book 3) Kate and Lucern
Tall, Dark & Hungry (Argeneau Vampires, Book 4) Terri and Bastien
A Bite to Remember (Argeneau Vampires, Book 5) Jackie and Vincent
Bite Me If You Can (Argeneau Vampires, Book 6) Leigh and Lucian
Vampires Are Forever (Argeneau Vampires, Book 8) Out Jan 29 08. Thomas and Inez
Vampire, Interrupted (Argeneau Vampires, Book 9) Out Feb 26 08.
And yes, book 7 is about Victor and Elvi (Ellen).
Ms. Sands is finding lifemates for all the Argeneau clan but I wonder if she is paying any attention to Marguerite. My only concern, really!
Then I started on “Holy Smokes” (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 4) by Katie MacAlister. I was waiting for this book forever and as much as I adore Drake, Aisling is starting to fry my nerves! So far they have missed their wedding day twice! Good news is, yes; there is a baby, so they have to end up together!
Let’s wait and see what happens at the end.
And my favorite book of the week “Reserved for the CAT” (Elemental Masters Novel 5) by Mercedes Lackey. Ninette is a little ballerina in Paris Opera Ballet and her biggest ambition is attracting a benefactor but when she performs her dream rule, she is fired and starving and soon to be homeless. No, wait! Was that a talking cat?
It was a great historical fantasy and a very funny story. Loved it! Am going to read the rest of the series and am hopping all of them will be this great.

P.S. Hah! I knew it! I just checked Ms. Sands’s website and read about book 9. Guess what? It is about Marguerite! She deserves happiness after all those centuries with that bastard Jean-Claude!

I’m not writing!

I am not in the writing mood, am too tiered, sleepy and cranky! Why? Don’t know!
I discovered, read and finished a new series by Patricia Wynn, “The Birth of Blue Satan”, “The Spider's Touch”, “The Motive from the Deed”, all Featuring Blue Satan and Mrs. Kean (Blue Satan Mystery series).
Blue Stan aka Viscount Gideon St. Mars, an aristocrat in 1715 who was wrongly accused of murdering his own father and lost his lands and titles. The cute and intelligent girl Hester Kean is his only friend. The series a historical mystery and pictures the events at the end of Louise XIV life and the war between James Stuart and George of Hanover very well. The series is well researched and well written, the plot absorbing and the characters endearing. I’m so in love with St. Mars! Can’t wait too see what happens at the end. Hope he gets back his home and clear his name and live happily!
Then a quick look on “City of Shadows” by Ariana Franklin showed me that I’m seriously tiered of reading about that girl who impersonates the Grand Duchess of Russia Anastasia. Didn’t finish the book! Humph!
“Lover Unbound” (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5) by J.R. Ward was disappointing. Yeah, V is this total jackass hero! Hated him and the story too! He finds Jane and then she is killed and her ghost comes back and lives like a real person?! WTF? She can eat and drink and talk and make love? Very convenient, very unbelievable, totally F-ed up!
I’m going to fallow the Black Dagger brotherhood series but I don’t like it! All that mob-trash lingo (even women talk like that!) and that hip hop mismatch dressing and … I’m so not feeling it! Just want too see how Ms. Ward finishes the series!
And last but not least, I finally finished “Rebel Fay” (The Noble Dead, Book 5) by Barb Hendee and J.C. Hendee; just on time for the next book! Well, it is violent and all the characters are lost and frustrated and unhappy and the ending looks dark and grim. However, I still have hope that this series will ends happy and Margier and Leesil and Chap can go back to their tavern and live a nice life! And maybe Lily will go with Chap too! And Wynn finds a nice man (not that Chane guy or that stupid Osha!), and every elf and human will be friend and there is flowers and laughter and songs everywhere and… What?! I can hope, can’t I?

Books and Nutella

Why everybody think they can write murder mystery and detective novels? Why do we have all these librarians and designers and teachers and … running around trying to find killers and solve crime cases? I blame that wretched spoiled little girl Nancy Drew!
Anyhow, I had the misfortune of reading “Ghost of a chance” and “Legend of the Jade Dragon” by Yasmine Galenorn. These are the stories of Emerald O’Brian a tearoom and china shop owner in a small town who is the town’s witch and self-appointed detective. In the first book she exorcises a demon and finds a killer, in the second one she is trying to get rid of a cursed jade statue. The stories bored me out of my skull with repeating and discussing every tiny unimportant detail.
Then I finally (finally!) finished “Holidays are hell” a collection of four novellas by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson. All four stories were well written and entertaining.
After that it was “Witchling” (The Sisters of the Moon, Book 1) by Yasmine Galenorn. I had read the second book “Changeling” a few months ago and liked it. The first book is the story of Camille the older sister who is a witch (a very sexy curvy one!). Her only problem is that her spells tend to backfire with embarrassing if not dangerous result (once she made all her clothes disappear in a middle of a bookstore instead of becoming invisible!). The third book is supposed to be out (haven’t find it yet!).
Ms. Galenorn did a great job in this series (contrary to her detective series) and I hope she gives up writing mysteries and just continues with fantasy fiction romance.
And then I enjoyed the third book of Kitty Norville series “Kitty takes a holiday” by Carrie Vaughn. After that fiasco in Washington, Kitty takes some time off and goes to a mountain cabin to write her memoirs (and cry in peace!). But someone is throwing sacrificed animals on her porch and her lawyer turns up bitten by a werewolf. The werewolf hunter Cormac is there to help but … yeah, it is not a happily-ever-after for Kitty this time (although she now has a pack!). Loved the book! Can’t wait to start the fourth book!
I have a love-hate relationship with Nutella. I buy a jar and finish it in a couple of days, then I feel so bad that I don’t eat any Nutella for a few months then again…. Anyway I just wanted to tell all Nutella lovers that it taste great with banana! Enjoy!!!

Judith Merkle Riley

I have been reading Ms. Riley’s books and enjoying times long gone. Aside from “In Pursuit of the Green Lion: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel” the second book of Margaret of Ashbury Trilogy, I finished three more of Ms. Riley’s books all historical novels with a little romance for the flavor.
In “In Pursuit of the Green Lion”, Margaret tells us how she married Gilbert (aka brother Gregory) and how she came to love him.
“The Serpent Garden” is about a widowed young woman in England of Henry VIII. Susanna has learned painting from her father a master of Flemish style but she never thought she has to earn her living by painting. After the death of her unfaithful husband, she takes up painting portraits and ends up in the house of King Henry’s mighty advisor. She travels on assignments and witnesses important historical events all the while trying not to fall in love with Robert Ashton. I liked this book almost as well as Margaret series.
“The Master of all Desires” is happening in France when Catherine de Medici is trying to size power right before the death of King Henri II. Dr. Nostradamus is one of the characters in this book.
“The Oracle Glass” is about a deformed girl in France who can see visions in water at Louise XIV court. The story is about fortune-tellers, prisoners, and witches of Paris in that time.
All in all, very entertaining! Ms. Riley’s style of story telling is fascinating and her historical facts accurate. Her characters are well developed and each has her own distinguished voice. Her books are of the best historical novels I ever read. I enjoyed these enormously.
What else? Nothing as great as Riley’s books, I assure you! Well, “Devil may Cry” (A Dark-Hunter Novel, Book 11) by Sherrilyn Kenyon was disappointing. I have read four or five books of Dark-Hunter series and didn’t like them that much. Dark-hunters are like mafia thugs and Atlantian and Greek gods are more like mafia bosses. Those GODS! Artemis is a crazy pretentious bitch and Acheron is a masochistic lost soul! The whole series is so over-rated in my humble opinion! Not worth the time!
“Agnes and the Hitman” by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer was really long and (at the end) boring. Characters were too simple and one dimensional to be real or attractive.
And yes, I finally was able to finish “Fanged and Fabulous” (Immortality Bites, Book 2) by Michelle Rowen. I think the first book “Bitten and Smitten” was much better. Sarra came out kind of whiny in this one!
Maybe I made a mistake starting my holiday readings with Riley’s books, everything else paled comparing to her work!