Going Crazy at the Book Sales Part 2

Here's the second batch of books I bought at the sales. Part three will hopefully follow shortly. If you have read any of these books, it would be nice to know, what you thought of them.

Stephanie Barron: The White Garden
Sixty years after Virginia Woolf's suicide landscape designer Jo Bellamy arrives to Cissinghurst Castle to study the famous White Garden created by Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West. While there Jo makes a stunning discovery. She finds Virginia Woolf's last diary and the first entry in the diary is dated the day after Woolf killed herself! This sounds very interesting. I hope to read this novel very soon.

Gail Carriger: Soulless
This book actually was not on sale, but I bought it at the same time as my sales loot. I have been looking for interesting steampunk novels to read as I'm participating in the Steampunk Challenge. I did make a short list of five novels earlier, but I have a feeling there might be some books I missed that would suit me better than some of those on my list. I first saw Carriger's Alexia Tarabotti novels in a book store at the Madrid airport, but restrained from buying any there. (You see, I do have some selfcontrol sometimes! :)).
Alexia is a Victorian spinster without a soul and when she accidentaly kills a vampire Queen Victoria sends Lord Maccoon, a werewolf, to investigate. This seems like a really funny read.

Lucy Dillon: The Ballroom Class
This is a story of three couples who join a ballroom dancing class. I've been eyeing this book for a long time. It's the ballroom dancing part that interests me, but I'm not quite sure if it otherwise is a book for me. I hope I'll be proven wrong.

Katie Hickman: The Aviary Gate
Sixteenth-century Constantinople, the Topkapi harem, and English merchant looking for his lost love... This historical novel sounds very promising.

Alyson Noël: Radience
This was another book not in fact on sale, but bought at the same time as the sales loot. Radiance is a YA novel. The story is told by Riley, a dead girl who is "just settling into a nice, relaxing death", when she learns that afterlife is not quite what she expected. Instead of eternity of leisure she is assigned a job as a Soul Catcher and sent back to earth to try and get a ghost stop hunting an English castle and move on to the afterlife. This is the first book on a series about Riley and her curious teacher Bodhi.

Guest Post: Author Stacey Kennedy

TGIF! I am very honored, and excited, to end this week by introduce you all to author, Stacey Kennedy. The brilliant mind behind, The Magical Sword Series and The Blue Bloods Series, just to name a few. Today she's going to tell us all about her newest release, which happens to be the final book in her Magical Sword Series, and little bit about how her journey as a writer began.

Hi Everyone!

Big thanks to Taking it One Book at a Time for letting me stop by and share my new release with you all. My novels are light-hearted fantasy with heart squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and even give a good chuckle every now and again.

My journey as a writer began as a way to keep my brain alive since being a stay at home mom can be a little let’s say numbing. It was an escape from screaming kids, dirty diapers and plain old mom duty.

It started as a hobby, but as the stories progressed it became a passion. Now, I indulge at nap time, especially the juicy bits! Every mom needs a good thrill!

FIRST AND LAST
The Magical Sword ~ Book Four

Liquid Silver Books ~ January 24, 2011

One woman, one bond, one final battle … can even Nexi Jones defeat the deepest darkness of evil?

Meet Nexi Jones—Witch, Guardian and now, Lady of the Underworld. Embracing her new role, Nexi begins the task of changing a world led by darkness. But not everyone is happy to see her rise to power. Before long, a resistance within the Underworld is forming.

As the darkness begins to close in around her, Nexi’s magical abilities flourish in response—forcing Nexi to dig down deeper into her past to discover this source and why she was gifted with such incredible strength.

With her Guardian, Kyden by her side, Nexi will meet her greatest challenge yet as she begins to discover that fate might have been a bitch, but she was a bitch with a plan.


Click here to read an Excerpt from Chapter 1

Find Stacey:
Website

Facebook (Personal)

Facebook (Author)

Goodreads

Twitter

Buy Links:

Liquid Silver Books

Amazon

Fictionwise

Fresh Face Friday 1-28-11

TGIF! Last Friday of the month, man I can't believe it'll be February in 4 days! Better start searching for thee biggest stuff bear I can find for my sweetheart :)

This week I am super pleased to introduce everyone to Kim Harrington! Her first release, Clarity, is due out March 1st, 2011, and has quiet a buzz around it. Initally I was drawn in because of how intriguing the main characters family is. Clarity is psychic, her brother is a medium, and her mother is telepathic. Can you imagine what family dinners must be like at their house? No secrets there....

Here's just a little insight so you know what the books about:

 

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch an object and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case — but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother — who has supernatural gifts of his own — becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Now you all know the drill. Stalk her on Twitter, Like her on Facebook, and make sure you definitely check out her website. I for one can not wait to get my hands on this book!

 



Randomness & Work

So here I am, sitting at my desk, "working" hard (as my boss would say). When suddenly I'm starting to realize that our "Busy season" at work is fast approaching, only about 2 more months of bliss, then BAM! It'll be customers, payroll, billing, product pushing and non-stop chaos!

                                                                                    
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Now I'm trying to plan ahead, work out kinks, and form some sort of schedule. I want to make sure that this blog, my reviews, and reading combine to form a well oiled machine. Considering that I started my blog in the middle of October last year, this is coming as sort of a new challenge for me.

I know there have to be more bloggers then just me out there who work 40+ hours a week, have 3 kids, go to the gym, AND run a review blog? If you know them, send them my way, I need to form a support group, lol.

Regardless, I have faith in myself. Because if I don't then who will? It might be a trail by error, and error, and error, but I am determined to figure this all out and make things run smoothly. Whether they like it our not!

Bonded by Blood (A Sweetblood Novel #1) - By Laurie London

Release Date: 1/18/2011

Publisher: HQN

Website: Laurie London

Purchase Info: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she’s cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.

For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her...(borrowed from Laurie London's website)

Amazing, yes, amazing. Laurie has managed to create a vampire world that stands out from others I've read. Each author can put their twists and spins on certain things, tweaking them to make them their own, but it's whether they truly make that world stand out in the readers mind that matters. 

Dom & Mackenzie's relationship seemed to truly capture me. Their passion for each other, and how it consumes them, melted my heart. Though there are secrets, as with any great book, I particularly like that Kenz didn't find out right away that Dom was a vampire. I thought it really added a lot to their story, the building anticipation of when she'd find out really sparked my interest. Then there's Dom. Oh tall, dark and handsome, take me away...please....Though dealing with his own demons, now he has Mackenzie thrust into his life as he just seems to be getting every thing back into order. While trying to mask her scent from Darkbloods, resist her blood himself, and figure out all the side effects from their blood bond, Dom slowly realizes that he's falling in love and it scares him to death. (Well he's already dead...but you know what I mean)

The book creates a lot of very different, and intriguing story lines, without getting lost or not making sense. Laurie did a fabulous job, and now I just can't wait for, Embraced by blood, to hit the shelves in July!


5/5

Talkative Tuesday 1/25/11

Welcome back!! Another week down, only a lot left to go....

Oh man, this past week I felt like I was in a whirl-wind trying to get everything done for this week! It's sheer craziness, but thank goodness I have a great blogger lined up already. (It just makes my job that much easier)

Larissa's Bookish Life, is probably one of my favorite blogs that I follow personally. In 2009, after having her friends constantly bug about what's good to read, she founded, Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life, and hasn't looked back since. Her reviews are honest, and never sugar coated, there are always amazing contests, that usually involves a signed copy from the author. Plus I think I'm slightly in love with the fact that she's Brazilian too, lol.

So if you're looking for a great new blogger to follow, make sure it's Larissa! Find her on Facebook, her website, or on Twitter!

Teaser Tuesday 25.1.2011

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.


The rules are:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers
• Share the title and author too so that other Teaser Tuesday participients can add the book on their TBR lists, if they like your teasers!

I've been terribly busy with both work and dancing this past week and will continue to be so for a few more weeks, so I'm afraid I will not be able to post as often as I would like to. I will try to get the remaining two parts of Going Grazy in the Books Sales posts up soon, though, and hopefully at least one or two reviews, too, but just in case I go a bit missing in action during the coming weeks, know that everything is just fine. I promise to be back posting more regularly after the two first weeks of February.

I finished reading Mark of the Lion, a historical mystery by Suzanne Arruda a few days ago. I liked the book, but that's all I'll say now, as it's one of the two books I hope to review soon. :) Mark of the Lion was not on my original list for the books I want to read for the Historical Fiction Challenge, but I think I'll count it towards the challenge as it surely qualifies for it.

After Mark of the Lion I started another challenge book: Grand Slam by Samantha Brenner. This book actually is on my list for this year's GLBT Challenge. :) All too often I read books that qualify for some challenge I'm participating, but that I have not listed in my book lists. Not that it matters really, but anyways. :) Grand Slam is a lesbian love triangle set in the world of professional tennis. As a huge fan of tennis, when I found out about this novel, I simply had to get it! However, about 1/4 down the story my inner jury is still out on the book. I love the tennis tid bits, but am undecided on some other aspects of the story. We'll see how it turns out. My teaser is from page 94. Lawyer-turned-realtor-turned "professional girlfriend" Stephanie Alexander's relationship with tennis champion Sydney Foster is not going smoothly:

"Sydney, I'm dead-tired and this is not open to discussion. You have two choices -put your clothes on and stay here or put your clothes on and go home."

What are you reading at the moment?

Mark your calendars!

Make sure you mark your calendars for Friday, Jan. 28th! Author Stacey Kennedy will be stopping by to talk a little bit about her newest release, First and Last. It's the last book in her Magical Sword series, which is amazing, and is also wrapping up Nexi's journey.

So synchronize your watches, and make sure you stop by!

Some people cease to amaze me!

Ok, so this might be slightly off subject, and has nothing to do with reading, but it has hit a MAJOR nerve with me.

Over the weekend, in CLEAR daylight, 2 young kids jumped the razor wire fence at the asphalt plant I work at & threw rocks thru every window in my office building. Oh, and boulders the size of my head were used to smash in the double pane front & back office doors.

(Front door side)

(Front door head on)

Stuff like this makes me furious, not just because it was my work place, but they were just kids. Probably bored on a Saturday afternoon looking for something to do, but at what point in their lives does breaking-and-entering become entertainment? What lead them to believe that this was even remotely ok? All I can say is that I will do everything in my personal power to make sure that my children know that what happened here is not entertainment.  That I will be there to watch over them, direct them to a different outlet so that they will never EVER think that it is ok to do something like this. There are consequences out there in this world, and that just because you might not be caught by Johnny Law, there's this bitch called karma and things ALWAYS come back to get at one point or another.

Okay, I'm down venting now. Have a wonderful Monday :)

So I'm making a list, checking it twice....No I'm not Santa

Looking around at all my fellow seasoned bloggers, I'm noticing a trend lately, List & Challenges. Apparently my machine malfunctioned when the "Blogger" faxes came out stating I needed to create a 2011 challenge, or make a list of everything I read in 2010....not that I'd remember, because I read A LOT!

So I got to thinking.....no I didn't hurt myself....Since I was re-introduced to the art of reading in 2010, there are still
oodles of books out there that I haven't read. Mainly a lot of different series that my pretty little ears have heard about, but I haven't had the chance to read. Well, I've decided to give myself a personal challenge, to read 11(or more) series' this year. This will be in addition to all my regular readings, reviews, etc. That way I can be brought up to pace with all these discussions and forums I see around, and acutally hold my own :)




So here's my 2011 P.S.C (Personal Series Challenge) List:

• Accidentals Series - By Dakota Cassidy (5 Books)
• The Hollows Series - By Kim Harrison (9 Books)
• Black Dagger Brotherhood - By J.R. Ward (9 Books)
• Night Huntress Series - By Jeaniene Frost (5 Books)
• Darkest Powers Series - By Kelley Armstrong (4 Books)
• Night Tracker Series - By Cheyenne McCray (4 Books)
• Jaz Parks Series - By Jennifer Rardin (7 Books)
• Vampire Academy - By Richelle Mead (6 Books)
• The Underworld Series - By Kelley Armstrong (12 Books)
• The Maker's Song - By Adrian Phoenix (4 Books)
• Guardians of Eternity - By Alexandra Ivy (7 Books)

These are just off the top of my head! With a total of 72 books, I'll have my hands full! I'm hoping to have the list cut in half before the beginning of May, so wish me luck, and if you can think of any other amazing series' that aren't on this list then PLEASE let me know!! Thank you!

Fresh Face Friday 1-21-11

Happy, happy, Friday all!! Today it's clear & the high is suppose to be 73 degrees! (It's OK to be a tad jealous, I won't judge).

Each week it seems that my FFF keeps getting easier & easier. It's like I'm being drawn to these amazing authors, and the Book Gods are demanding I shine the light on them or face their wrath....hmmm....wonder what the wrath of a book god would be like?

Anyways, onto to the goods!

Would you want to read a book that had a miniature unicorn, magical market places, and a sexy-as-sin incubus? Umm, you had me at unicorn! In Allison Pang's first novel, A Brush of Darkness, main character, Abby Sinclair, is struggling to pull her life back together and manage all the new weirdness that had been thrown in. When realizing her life is in danger, Abby must figure out who to trust. Not only with her life, but now with her heart.

I for one am SUPER, SUPER excited about Allison's upcoming release. There has been such a buzz following this book, and I've heard nothing but wonderful things from my fellow bloggers. So make sure to check out Allison's website, stalk her on Facebook, and you'll love her Blog. Enjoy!

Death's Sweet Embrace (A Dark Brethren Novel #2) - By Tracey O'Hara

Release Date: 1/25/2011

Publisher: HARPER Voyager

Website: Tracey O'Hara

Purchase Info: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

After thousands of years of secret conflict, humans and parahumans have reached an uneasy truce. But unspeakable evil now threatens to shatter the tenuous peace.

Teenaged shapeshifters are being slaughtered by a twisted, sadistic serial killer who rips their still-beating hearts from their paralyzed bodies. A task force must be formed to halt the madness—a union of avengers including the vampiric Aeternus, Christian Laroque and Antoinette Petrescu, as well as Kitt Jordan and Raven Matokwe, members of enemy Animalian tribes…and forbidden lovers.

A centuries-old blood feud has divided their peoples—pitting wolf against snow leopard in a battle to the death—and if their passion is discovered it will doom them both. But past hostilities must be put aside in light of the scourge that is now upon them. For the killer they seek is but the first sign of a blossoming terror rising up from their long-buried pasts: the all-consuming nightmare of The Dark Brethren. (borrowed from Tracey O'Hara's website)

Going into the second book in the, Dark Brethren series, without reading the first, I found the story easy to follow. The author does a great job with providing enough back story and information without boring you, or getting lost it what they're trying to tell you. Kitt to me is an amazing leading character. I like the fact that she's strong, but vulnerable at the same time. She doesn't have super bad ass fighting skills, but her shifting ability allows her to defend herself when needed or hold her own in a bar fight. Then there's Raven, oh I need to order me a Raven too! Bad boy in the perfect package. The relationship with Raven & Kitt is probably one of the best on paper romances that I've come across in a long time. There's so much that draws them to each other, besides the sexual chemistry, you can't sit back and not be cheering for them. 

When these ex-lovers meet up again after so many years, they're far from trying to re-spark the flame. They have to come together to find out what's been brutally killing off the students on the campus of NYAPS, where Kitt has just taken a job. With a great plot, TONS of twists and turns, and and ending that I didn't see coming, Death's Sweet Embrace will leave you glued to it's pages, not wanting to put it down. (Your husband will probably have to pry it out of your hands so you can make dinner)

5/5

Fall into Winter - By Eden Baylee

Release Date: 2/11/11

Website: Eden Baylee

Purchase Info: Amazon, Barnes & Noble 

(Also see authors site for additional purchase links)

Four women embark on their own journeys of fantasy fulfillment, marked by lust, passion, and obsession

In Fall into Winter, a provocative collection of erotic novellas, four women seek pleasure in unique ways and are soon swept up in maelstroms of lust, seduction, and obsession.

After Ella Jamieson trades self-control for a stolen moment of unbridled passion with a younger man, he surprisingly pursues her, leaving her wondering if he could become more to her than just a boy toy. After Stella Christy's fantasy of a ménage à trois with two men comes true, the rules suddenly change; she finds herself excited and terrified in ways she never imagined possible. Leah Jones isolates herself in a cabin to complete her latest book, but is soon distracted from her goal when she reunites with a man from her past. Ten years after Elena Lee enjoys a torrid love affair while vacationing in Austria, she is back in historic Salzburg with doubts about why she left.

Knee-deep in steamy affairs, these four women will make choices that eventually lead each of them on an unforgettable sensual journey to ecstasy. (borrowed from Eden Baylee's website)


For my first Erotica novel I was honestly blown away. When I thought erotica, I thought, "porn on paper", which isn't bad. Then in reading Eden's book I was swept away with each story. The passion, and depth in each couple amazed me. Don't get me wrong, it was very HOT & STEAMY, but at the same time each story had a different level of erotica. From role-playing couples, to re-connecting lovers, and finding what truly turns you on, Fall into Winter will shape erotica into something that will amaze you & have you fanning yourself all at the same time! I give this book 5 out of 5 steamy hearts!

Have you finished Shadowfever yet?

.

That's all I'm seeing posted on Twitter and Facebook lately, and I love it! I for one am a secret Sidhe-Seer who wants to fight evil right along side Mac & Dani! Like the little girl off Kick Ass!

Though it does make me sad that I don't have my copy of the book yet, I am trying to stay away from all chat rooms, blogs, discussions, and/or flying sky banners, that will reveal any secrets from the 5th and final book.

Here's to hoping I can have the will power to stay away until then!

Talkative Tuesday 1/18/11

Yes, it's that time of the week again! TALKATIVE TUESDAY! Where is this month going? Seriously, doesn't it seem like yesterday was the 1st? Crazy!

Anyways, now onto the good stuff.....

The Thoughts of a Book Junky originally grabbed my attention with their blog header. Yes, I'm guilty, judging "book" by the cover....again. It's like a guilty pleasure (I love an amazing book cover). Once I started reading the articles, reviews, weekly quotes, and of course the FMN (Forget-me-not), it was Steph's point of view completely had my attention. She's honest and tells you exactly what she loves, and doesn't for that matter. I think the fact that both of our reading interest were re-sparked by Twilight really made me gravitate towards her blog even more!

So please make sure that you check out Book Junky's blog, her Facebook, and of course follow her on Twitter. Enjoy!

Teaser Tuesday 18.1.2011

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by LizB of Should Be Reading.

The rules are:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers
• Share the title and author too so that other Teaser Tuesday participients can add the book on their TBR lists, if they like your teasers!

I'm fast falling into the "read-too-many-books-at-once" trap this January. I would like to read all my library loans and my new acquisitions simultaneously! This means that while I'm still only 1/3 into Pinkerton's Sister I got impatient and wanted to read a shorter book before continuing with the junkster. I was in mood for a nice historical mystery with a likable and maybe a bit unconventional heroine. I seem to have found just such a book in Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda. I'm almost half way through this mystery set in 1919 in colonial Africa and enjoying the book very much. Young American Jade del Cameron, who rode an ambulance in the Great War and can kill a hyena with a clean shot, is rapidly becoming one of my favorite sleuths. :) My teaser is from page 67.  Jade has just suggested Lord Colridge that she would like to join a hunting party trying to eliminate a hyena problem.

"'You forget, sir, that I was raised out west. I'm accustomed to hunting.'
'We are not going after rabbits, Miss del Cameron,' he exclaimed with a snort.
'When I was sixteen, a mountain lion took some of our stock. We lost several lambs.'
'And I suppose your father took you along on the hunt, did he?'
Jade looked directly at the aristocrat until he felt the weight of those emerald eyes boring into him. She kept the tone of her voice very factual, careful to omit any trace of bragging. 'No, sir. My father was gone at the time. I took out that cat myself.'"

As Mark of the Lion is first in a series I'm already looking forward to reading more about Jade's adventures in the future.

Monday.....ugh

Sorry, total slacker today. Between work, the kids, pneumonia, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I have found no time to do ANYTHING today...thus my lack in blogging...sorry all. I'll be back tomorrow with vengeance!

Going Crazy at the Book Sales Part 1

This week, more exactly on Thursday morning, the sales started at the largest book stores in Helsinki. And Friday was my pay day. Dangerous combination, as you can certainly imagine! ;) I worked quite late on Friday, but could not keep away from the sales, so instead of heading home I took the train downtown and went to see the bargains at my favorite book store. And of course I could not just take a look, I had to buy a few - well quite a few - books. But it did not end there! On Saturday I visited the store again, and ended up with another pile of books. And I should be saving money, not spending it on so many books! Well, as a friend of mine reminded me once, after I had bought some clothes from a sale, it would have cost me quite a lot more had I bought all those clothes, and this time all those books, at their original price. I quite like my friend's logic here! ;)

I'll divide this book sale buys post in three parts and start with some classics:

Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen): Seven Gothic Tales
Ever since I saw an old interview with Karen Blixen on TV some years ago I have intended to someday read something by her. She was a veritable master story teller. She also had quite an interesting life. I'm looking forward to reading at least some, if not all, of these tales later this year.

Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone
I actually already had a copy of The Moonstone somewhere, but this Oneworld Classics edition is much more reader friendly than the one I already had. The Moonstone has been said to be the first modern English detective novel. A tale of thwarted love and a stolen diamond, and it's written by Wilkie Collins! What more could one want from a book?

Olivia Manning: The Levant Trilogy
I read The Balkan Trilogy as a teenager, but have not read this one yet. This historical novel continues the story of Guy and Harriet Pringle started in The Balkan Trilogy, but now the story moves from Europe to Egypt, Jerusalem and Syria. The time period is WWII. Hmm, it might be a good idea to reread The Balkan Trilogy before I read this one...

Sylvia Townsend Warner: Summer Will Show
I read this wonderful historical novel set in Paris during the 1848 revolution in 2009 and am happy to have my own copy now. Summer Will Show tells the story of Sophia, who joins her enstranged husband in Paris after the death of their children and falls in love with her husbands sometime mistress Minna. The book was originally published in 1936.

Part 2 will follow in a few days...

Fresh Face Friday 1-14-11

Happy, happy Friday!! Can't believe that 2 weeks out of the New Year are gone already. Time sure does fly when you're reading up a storm.

This week I have the pleasure of introducing author, Birgitta Snyder. Currently I'm reading her first book, Jonas: Brother of Present, and it just seemed natural to feature her in this weeks FFF! Birgitta's first book introduces you to triplets, Sister of Future, Sister of Past, and Brother of Present, who are soul eating shape shifters. They're not your average shape shifter, and I don't want to say to much to give anything away, but believe me you'll enjoy what you read. For her first novel I have been very happy with what I've read so far, never boring, and no rambling (oh how I hate rambling). She's able to paint a great picture in your mind with ease, and can put a great story together.

So make sure you check her out! If you're interested in stalking, I mean following, Birgitta, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or stop by her Website. Enjoy!

Three Good Reads

I was really bad at reviewing the books I read in November and especially in December. I did not even write anything about a book that ended up being on my top 10 reads in 2010 list! Well, to remedy that at least to a certain degree I've decided to write sort of mini-reviews of three books, two novels and a graphic novel, I read (mostly) in 2010. Mostly in 2010, because I started the graphic novel in 2010, but finished it just a few days ago. Anyway, here comes:

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

This YA novel has been talked about all over the blogosphere. I don't often read YA lit, but some of the rave reviews made me curious and I borrowed the book from the library. I must say I was not dissapointed. In general I liked the book. I liked both Nick and Norah, and theirs was a sweet story. I absolutely loved how sexual orientation really was a non-issue for both of them and in the book in general. I've never been to clubbing, so the club and music scene portrayed in the book was alien, but interesting, to me. However, I don't think I have ever read a book with more swearing in it than in Nick & Norah's Infinite playlist! I don't usually really even take notice, if there is some swearing in the book I'm reading, but this time it really annoyed my quite a lot. So, not a five star read, but in the end the posivites clearly make up for the one negative thing. And if I ever come across the movie made of this book, I will most definitely want to see it.

The Fixer and Other Stories by Joe Sacco

This is the graphic novel I started last year by reading the first, long story. There are also two other stories in the book, and those I read only after the New Year. Sacco's stories tell about Bosnia and especially Sarajevo during and after the war in the 1990s. The first story The Fixer is a good introduction to the history of the conflict and a powerful narrative about the insanity of war. I learned quite a lot from this story. Soba tells the story of a young Sarajevan man trying to pick up the pieces of his life after the war. This was my favorite of the three stories in the book. The last story is Christmas with Karadzic, where a group of Western journalists are following a lead that Karadzic is going to attend Christmas mass at a certain church. Sacco's stories are not pretty, but they are powerful, they are important. I liked this book very much.

The PowerBook by Jeanette Winterson

It has been my intention to write a separate post about Winterson's fiction and why I like her writing so much, but I haven't had time to really think about the post yet. I can tell, however, that I fell in love with her writing from the start of the first book by her I ever read. I have since read most of her books written for an adult audience. I even own most of them, but somehow I had not read The PowerBook even though a copy had been sitting in my bookself for a few years. Maybe I was saving the book for the right moment, savouring the thought I had some wonderful writing there waiting for its turn. The PowerBook is a both a novel and collection of stories with a twist. The stories overlap and in the end one is not quite sure what is fiction written by the main character and what is "reality". I also loved the idea that the main character does not want to reveal their gender, and it really takes quite many pages until one is sure whether the main character is a man or a woman. I totally loved The PowerBook, and will definitely reread it at some point.

Here's a humorous quote from my favorite story within a story in the book:

"Tulips, every one - and hundreds more - each distinctively different, all the same. The attribute of variation thet humans and tulips share.

It was Key of Pleasure and Lover's Dream that I carried from Sulyman the Magnificent to Leiden in 1591. To be exact I strapped them under my trousers...

'Put it this way.'

'No. I'll crush them when I rest.'

'Put it this way...'

'No. I'll crush them when I pray.'

'Put one here and one here...'

'No! It will look as though I have an evil swelling.'

Well, where whould you store a priceless pair o bulbs?

That gave me the idea.

In the same place as a priceless pair of balls.

Yes! Yes! Yes!" [p. 9-10]

    

Yes, Winterson does humour perfectly! ;) The PowerBook was my 8th favorite read in 2010.

First 2 Chapters from Shadowfever!!

Karen Marie Moning has posted the first 2 chapters from Shadowfever over on her blog! There are spoilers, but if the first 2 chapters are that great, then I can't wait to get my hands on the book!

Here's the link: KMM Blogspot

Blood Vice (The Nightfall Syndicate Book #1) - By Keith Melton

Release Date: 12/1/09

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Website: Keith Melton

Purchase Info: Amazon

Business has never been better for hit man Karl Vance. Boston is awash in mafia blood, and Vance has a certain fondness for blood. He’s a master vampire—one of the most powerful of his kind. Having sworn to never again feed on the blood of innocents, Karl preys instead on Boston’s criminal underworld. Which makes him a valuable asset to those who deal in death.

Maria Ricardi intends to use that asset to its full extent in order to gain power within her patriarchal crime family. Vance thinks he’s been hired to keep track of the family’s princess, but she’s got a plan to get her hands dirty and earn the respect she deserves. And she’s not above using their instant attraction to get what she wants.

That driving ambition draws the attention of a rival clan’s newest and most dangerous “consultant.” Alejandro Delgado, Vance’s centuries-old nemesis. Delgado zeroes in on the one chink in Vance’s armor—his fondness for the headstrong Maria.

When she becomes enslaved by Delgado’s unnatural kiss, only one thing is certain. Vance has to decide which he wants more. To settle the score—or rescue her soul.
(Borrowed from Samhain Publishing)

Karl Vance, to me, was a great vampire character. To instill such a true faith in god to a creature, that by definition, is damned, perked my interest in him for sure. I mean, he prays outside a church for the souls of his victims after each killing, that's pretty faithful. Vance seems like your run-of-the-mill vampire until you catch a glimpse deeper into who he is and the struggles he's had. Determined to find his rival Delgado & destroy him, once and for all, the last thing he needs is a distraction. Especially one that comes in the form of Maria Ricardi.

Maria instantly grabbed me as a truly unique female role. Not only is she book smart, I mean she has a degree in accounting, but she's blood thirsty enough to try and prove herself to her mafia boss father. Creating an elaborate plan to hit a rival mafia family where it hurts, Maria decides it wise to call in favored family hit man, Karl Vance. Though she knows little about him, except that his reputation is full of fear and death, she puts 100% faith in him to carry out her plan. When realizing that her need to "see" things for herself may have been a bad choice, Maria is thrown into a life she never even imagined possible. Now trying to get out of that life makes taking down a mafia boss look like a piece of cake.

The chemistry between these two definitely heats up in the second half of the book, it's funny how a heated battle can bring out the need in some people. Creating an amazing series of events can develop a relationship between two people more then they realize. I think Vance & Maria's relationship is one of the things that really sparked my interest in the second half of the book, simply because it wasn't your typical "vampire relationship".

Please, don't be intimidated by the size of this book, yes there are a lot of pages for the first book in a series, but Keith did a great job of never rambling. His scenes run together with ease, he never over described anything (which is one of my true dislikes),  plus you're never left wondering, "why was that said". Blood Vice was a great read, and I can't wait to pick up the next book by Mr. Melton