SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Good review, Lili. LOL "drip drip drip"

Don't forget to post your review for Hot Mama, Christina. ;) Stamp is at the ready.

Hot Mama - 15 Apr 11 ★★★

Hot Mama was written in first person. I felt it worked better as an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance. In fact, I would have rated higher had it been an UF.

Spoiler: If you haven't read the first book, and planned to, then it might be a good idea to skip reading this. There's no way to talk about this book without revealing the true identities of the superheros.

What I liked:

Fiona's dedication to her duty as she sees it: protect the innocent and stop the uber-villains, preferably without killing them. She doesn't see herself as a vigilante, exacting her own justice as she sees fit. If at all possible, villains are captured and turned over to the police. Death sometimes happens -- for instance, failing to heed warnings to flee when things about are about to explode/self-destruct/backfire is an occupational hazard faced by both superheros and uber-villains. Killing them for revenge is a no-no in Fiona's book.

Fiona isn't in it for the glamor or notoriety. She would be the first to admit that being a superhero is a lot of hard work. It's dirty, rough, painful. She may have super strength and be immune to flames, but she can still get hurt. And as for notoriety, it's no picnic having the press constantly in your face, prying, and asking inane questions. She already puts up with it as a successful fashion designer. However, Fiona also knows that fame has it's uses, and she uses her popularity to further worthy causes important to her.

The Fearless Five is her family and she'd do anything for them. Chief Newman is her father, but the rest of them are just as important to her. Fiona may have gotten off on the wrong foot with Carmen, but she's grown to accept her for Sam's sake. She's even gotten to the point of confiding in Carmen, and see her as a friend and confidant. The same goes for Lulu Lo -- Carmen's hacker friend and Henry's honey -- to a lesser extant.

I also liked that the superhero aspect of the story was over-the-top and intentionally corny. It was fun!

What didn't work:

The romance. I had no problem with Fiona's issue regarding whether she was ready to move on after her fiancés death -- I thought it was realistic to still have her doubts. I also liked that she was willing to sacrifice her own chance at happiness if Johnny continued his vigilante ways. The romance just felt flat to me. I think it was a combination of the first person narrative and the quantity of his page-time in the book.

I liked the first book, a lot of the second book (including Fiona), and the author's writing style in general, so I plan to read the last book.

Stamp comin' up! I didn't read your review (well, I did read the "didn't work" part) since I may read that series. Ya never know. :) Thanks for the warning.

{Team Stats Updated}

CONGRATULATIONS, The ONEders!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'urban-fantasy'.

[Your new BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

Steph wrote: "Stamp comin' up! I didn't read your review (well, I did read the "didn't work" part) since I may read that series. Ya never know. :) Thanks for the warning.

You're welcome. The characters were fun (one of the many superheros in Bigtime is called Halitosis Hal -- his bad breath is his superpower) and it was a nice change of pace from the darker UF/PNR.

Oh yeah, I remember your mentioning Hal earlier. Too funny and ick. LOL!

I heeded the warning & didn't read it Christina, just jumped off the book ordering site & got them both, still tracking down Jinxed. LOL.

Congrats on the stamp, ONEders!

Rock on team! I'll update the stats post tomorrow when I'm at work--I'd rather read right now. :)

And I lied--I'm reading for the Paranormal Fiction shelf--I need to read that one for the "5 Senses" category on the I Spy challenge. :)

Looking forward to your review of that one, Laura. Happy Reading!

Steph wrote: "Oh yeah, I remember your mentioning Hal earlier. Too funny and ick. LOL!"

....I did??

Well, Christina, no you didn't but someone did, as that sounds familiar to me too.

Sandra wrote: "Well, Christina, no you didn't but someone did, as that sounds familiar to me too."

*whew* Probably read it in a review? Since he's not a major character, if someone wanted to cite an example of the type of heros in the book without talking about the main characters, it's a pretty safe choice.

LOL! Oops. I do remember someone mentioning Halitosis Hal though.

Steph wrote: "LOL! Oops. I do remember someone mentioning Halitosis Hal though."

:D One of us must be losing her mind. Glad it's not me. ;-)

And YAY!!! for the stamp.

We rock!!!

All BINGO Cards

Free Space - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***completed April 7***

Part-Of-A-Series, G1 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 5 - completed March 12***

Shifters, I5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 12 - completed March 27***

Paranormal, G3 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 19 - completed April 7***

YA-Fantasy, G2 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 26 - completed April 10***

Demons, N5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 3 - completed April 15***

Urban Fantasy, O4 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 9 - completed April 18***

Paranormal Fiction, B5 - 0/8 completed
***announced April 16***
Laura Lulu The Sweet Scent of Blood
Laurie City of Ashes
Diane
Lili Lover Unleashed
Christina Darkness Dawns finished April 17 - awaiting review
Sarah Destined for an Early Grave
Jen Pale Demon
Thenia Ill Wind

City of Ashes read for Paranormal Fiction Shelf

5 out of 5 stars

Book Two in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare continues the tale of Clary, Jace, Isabella, Alec, and Simon as they band together to fight against Valentine, a rogue Shadow Hunter who has twisted ideas on how the world should be. In this story, Valentine is hunting other Downworlders (werewolves, vampires, fae, and warlocks) to obtain his twisted goals with Mortal Instruments he has stolen. There is pulse pounding action and incredulity at the villian in his twisted efforts to monopolize those around him. The young Shadowhunters' lives hang in the balance at the end of this tale and has the reader anxiously biting his/her nails while screeching.

Cassandra's ability to to weave a tale of strong characters, evil creatures, and the human condition is astounding. I wish I could write a book as well as she does. Again, this book would stand up to any adult paranormal fiction out there. I highly recommend this book to any Paranormal or Urban Fantasy Genre fan.

I finished for the paranormal-fiction shelf. 4/19/11 and 3 stars.

Review:
Ophelia's stubbornness and inability to believe is starting to get old. You'd think she'd be willing to try anything to save Tink.

What I enjoyed:
* Aunt Dot. She was a hoot.
* Ethan. I wish he'd been around for more of the book.

What could have been better:
* The book was practically shouting the answer and Ophelia managed to ignore it as usual.
* Ophelia. For a hereditary witch with a medium daughter, she is sure reluctant to believe anything outside her realm of knowledge. In fact, the books should focus on Tink or Darci in the future if Ophelia doesn't get more likable.

Finished Ill Wind by Rachel Caine!

★★★

Pretty unique story about Weather Wardens and Djinn. There's a lot of explaining what they both are and do in the book so I won't get into it here.
I liked the book but for some reason it doesn't feel like a 4-stars to me...

We get to learn things about Joanna in bits and pieces here and there while following her in her escape from... well we have no idea what for a good part of the book.

There's a lot to sort through and it can get a little too much at times, but now that I got a first taste of the "Warden/Djinn-world" I hope it will be easier to get into in the next book and Joanna's new big adventure.

Great job team!

We are rockin' down the bookshelves! Yay us!

^^ Good job everyone!!

Can't wait for the new shelf!

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward 04/22***

I had to re-read Lover Mine so I could pay this book the attention I thought it deserved and at the end, it didn't matter.
This was a BIG book and that's because there was soooo much going on!

3 main stories:
- Payne and Manny... meh!, their story was not that interesting, and the author seems to thinks so too because the book wasn't so much about them
- V and Jane.. Jane is really nice and I love V, or I did... after reading this book I just think V's an ass and a pussy. Why go back to them like that?
- Quinn and Blay... I'll just say I'm getting tired of waiting.


Maybe I got so disappointed because had such high expectations for this book, I've loved the other ones but this was lots of fuck and shit, lots of sex, silly male bonding and not much story.
And what's with the new guys?... I guess we were running out of brothers.

Good review, Lili--it seems that's the consensus around town on Lover Unleashed. I don't have much urge to read it. :(

Paranormal Fiction

finished April 21 ★★★★

I really enjoyed this book. The main character, Genny, was really likable--I've read a few books lately where I didn't like the main character, so I've been paying more attention to that lately.

Lots of different supes in this one--fae, witches, vamps. I really liked all the different fae that were introduced. It was pretty cool how they're all just integrated into humanity--trolls, goblins, leprechauns, etc.

There were a few continuity issues I had with it, and I wasn't crazy about the investigative conclusions. The book is in first person, so we should have been in Genny's head as she figured things out, right? But all of a sudden, she'd confront someone with a "you did blah blah blah" and I was like, "Wait! How did you figure that out? WTF?" But other than that, it was a really good read. :)

All BINGO Cards


Free Space - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***completed April 7***

Part-Of-A-Series, G1 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 5 - completed March 12***

Shifters, I5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 12 - completed March 27***

Paranormal, G3 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 19 - completed April 7***

YA-Fantasy, G2 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 26 - completed April 10***

Demons, N5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 3 - completed April 15***

Urban Fantasy, O4 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 9 - completed April 18***

Paranormal Fiction, B5 - 5/8 completed
***announced April 16***
✔Laura Lulu The Sweet Scent of Blood finished April 21 ★★★★
✔Laurie City of Ashes finished April 19 ★★★★★
✔Diane The Witch Is Dead finished April 19 ★★★
✔Lili Lover Unleashed finished April 22 ★★★
Christina Darkness Dawns finished April 17 - awaiting review
Sarah Destined for an Early Grave
Jen Pale Demon
✔Thenia Ill Wind finished April 20 ★★★

Come on Steph, wake up and give us our new shelf...I gots nothing to read until then. :)

It's 4am her time, so I guess she can sleep a bit more. Fingers crossed that one of the 2 books I have left to read for April is on the new shelf. :)

Darkness Dawns by Dianne Duvall - 17 Apr 11 ★★★★

I liked this book a lot.

What I liked:

The world building. Immortal Guardians and vampire have a lot in common. The fangs, sensitivity to sunlight, increased strength and speed, and a need for blood. What makes them different is their "gifts". Immortal Guardians were born with certain gifts (telepathy, empathy, healing, teleportation, etc.). Once turned by a vampire, their uniqueness transforms the virus. They are less sensitive to sunlight and they don't have the same level of dependency on blood. Vampires go crazy from the blood lust, have shorter life spans, and rarely work together as an organized group. The Guardians are led by Seth, the oldest (Roland is 937 years old and Seth is still older than that). They protect humans and destroy vampires. They also have a network of human support staff.

The romance. The author took the time to allow Sarah and Roland to get to know each other. Though he initially conceals the truth about himself out of necessity, once Sarah learns Roland's not human , he answers her questions. They talk about themselves, sharing things about their pasts, and they even discuss the reality of sustaining a long term relationship. There's no big misunderstanding, no trying to push away from her on his part due to some well-intentioned, but misguided sense of nobility.

Roland. Besides the above, he was likable. A warrior, but not overly alpha. He's been betrayed, more than once, by people he cared about, people he thought cared for him in return. A couple of them had been women, but that didn't turn him into a woman-hater. It made him standoffish and hard for him to trust others. He avoids social interactions with humans, so there's a couple of times throughout the book where he's at a loss at how to handle things, especially in the beginning. Even his interactions with other Immortal Guardians over time were kept to a bare minimum. He's a loner. I think his gift made him a naturally compassionate, caring person.

Sarah. Though she wouldn't last long going up against a vampire alone, she's no helpless damsel-in-distress either. She save Roland's life. She strong enough not to fall to pieces at the first sign of danger. She's pretty good with a gun, having learned to use one while she was living in Texas, and she can definitely fight back -- she stabs someone in the butt.

I thought the pacing was pretty good, considering all the talking that goes on in the book. There are two story lines: who has been targeting Roland and how did he manage to amass a small vampire army, and the search for the mysterious person Seth can hear psychically calling out in pain. Maddeningly, the author allows Seth to find out what so special about the person he finds but leaves it as a cliffhanger for the reader. The other story gets a resolution.

I did have one niggling problem: you can see it coming a mile away -- because it is a romance novel after all -- but I think I would have preferred the Guardian's scientists doing the "Eureka!" moment than having Seth basically saying "Hey, remember those cockroaches and tornadoes?" Those who've read the book will know what I'm talking about.

LOL! New shelf announcement coming soon. :)

Good reviews, ladies!

@Lili, thanks for the breakdown. I'm interested to see how I like it. Like I've mentioned, never was a big Manny fan, but ya never know. Definitely w/you on the long wait for a Qhuinn and Blay story.

@Christina, Glad you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to checking out.

Happy Easter!
This shelf will give several teams 4 in-a-row! Game's movin' along quickly!

OUR NEXT SHELF IS ..... 'favorite-series'
DIRECT LINK: 'favorite-series'

Happy Reading, Everyone!!

Woo hoo! And we're one of those teams! After we finish this new shelf, we'll have 4-in-a-row in two places. Yee haw!

All BINGO Cards


I'm going to read for the favorite series shelf. And I would like to thank the one person who shelved it as a favorite series, even though it's the 1st book in the series and it only came out 11 days ago. Must be good! Lol.

For favorite series shelf I will be reading Afterlight by Elle Jasper

LOL! That is lucky then, Laura. I've been wondering about that one. I like Ann's Jax series, so I hope to enjoy that one too.

Steph wrote: "LOL! That is lucky then, Laura. I've been wondering about that one. I like Ann's Jax series, so I hope to enjoy that one too."

I love her Jax series, but haven't heard the greatest about her other series, Corine Solomon. So I'm a teensy bit worried on one hand, but have super high expectations on the other. I'm just sad it's a skinny little book, only 259 pages. :(

True. I'd heard the same (not so great for CS), so I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Enclave. Thanks for bein' the group guinea pig. :)

I will be reading Laid Bare for the favorite series shelf.

I've been interested in that series for a while, Laurie, but have yet to start it. So, I'll be looking forward to your review.

I've been eyeballing this series for a while, too. It's time to take the plunge and dive into it. I just downloaded it. I am looking forward to sharing my review.

Hope you like it! :)

Woo Hoo, my last book for my monthly challenges is on the list. I'll be starting it after I finish my current book.

Sunday, a day to chill and rest... and do laundry, clean the house, go grocery shopping, give the dog a bath and get everything ready for the week...

yeah!, I feel well rested and relaxed... I even picked the book I'll be reading for the favorite series shelf.
Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb, which by the way is the last book in my April challenge.
I had my finger crossed hoping I could use it and what do you know!...

Hope you all have a great week!

{Team Stats Updated}

All BINGO Cards


Free Space - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***completed April 7***

Part-Of-A-Series, G1 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 5 - completed March 12***

Shifters, I5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 12 - completed March 27***

Paranormal, G3 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 19 - completed April 7***

YA-Fantasy, G2 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 26 - completed April 10***

Demons, N5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 3 - completed April 15***

Urban Fantasy, O4 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced April 9 - completed April 18***

Paranormal Fiction, B5 - 6/8 completed
***announced April 16***
✔Laura Lulu The Sweet Scent of Blood finished April 21 ★★★★
✔Laurie City of Ashes finished April 19 ★★★★★
✔Diane The Witch Is Dead finished April 19 ★★★
✔Lili Lover Unleashed finished April 22 ★★★
✔Christina Darkness Dawns finished April 17 ★★★★
Sarah Destined for an Early Grave
Jen Pale Demon
✔Thenia Ill Wind finished April 20 ★★★


Favorite Series, G5 - 0/8 completed
***announced April 23***
Laura Lulu Enclave
Laurie Laid Bare
Diane Changes
Lili Immortal in Death
Christina
Sarah Afterlight
Jen
Thenia

I'm not sure what I'll be reading. I don't know which is worse: the book you want to read NOT being on the list OR having so many options you don't know what to read...

Some of the not-so-obvious choices:



And somewhat obvious (since they're fantasy):

I have heard pretty good things about Luxe but I have not read it. I did like My Soul to Take. Those are my two choices for you... :)

4 stars to Laid Bare

Read for Favorite Series Shelf

Laid Bare by Lauren Dane is a novel about love, survival, and family. This is a non-traditional contemporary romance with a triad relationship. The story begins with Todd and Erin starting their relationship with a fling. Todd runs from Erin because he is not comfortable with their relationship because their liaison brings out a deviant sexual side in him. Ten years later, Todd and Erin have dealt with life altering situations in their lives independent of the other. The start of their emotional healing comes from their respective families and friends. They have each learned to pick the pieces and move on. Erin and Todd come together again and build a strong emotional relationship. Soon Ben, Todd's best friend, is welcomed into their relationship with open arms. From there, they all three set up house together and continue to help each other heal the scars from their pasts. This story is poignant and has a lot of steamy love scenes most of which are built on complete trust and love. The sexual element of the narrative is important to the unfolding of events in this book because the lovemaking adds to the connection between Erin, Todd and Ben. For anyone who likes their romance spicy, this book is wonderful choice for you to read.

Laurie (Laurielu) wrote: "I have heard pretty good things about Luxe but I have not read it. I did like My Soul to Take. Those are my two choices for you... :)"

Thanks Laurie. :) I've read bits of The Luxe, so I know I'll enjoy it. Part of the next phase in the process of elimination is length of book. It's a bit long -- wouldn't want to get too far behind.

I just noticed that the name of the heroine of My Soul to Take is Kaylee -- I think I'll hold off on this one to use for challenge that starts in May. Kaylee's on the list of names.

My choices have been narrowed down to:

I finished for the favorite-series shelf on 4/25/11 and gave it 5 stars.

My review:
Wow. I feel like I've just gotten off some crazy ride. That book was intense and the name was perfect as just about everything changes for Harry.

What I enjoyed:
* Mouse. He had his biggest role yet.
* Getting some closure on some story threads that have been hanging around for awhile.
* Murphy is seriously awesome.
* Poor Harry, he always gets in over his head, and he had to make some really tough decisions this time around.

What could have been better:
* Really, you end the book there? I hate cliffhangers.
* (view spoiler)[I'm not sure why Maggie didn't die from the blood curse. She was related by blood to Susan. Or even why Harry didn't use the dagger on the Red King instead of Susan. (hide spoiler)]

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Wow. I feel like I've just gotten off some crazy ride. That book was intense and the name was perfect as just about everything changes for Harry."

It was a perfect title. I thought the same thing when I read it. :)

I'm reading Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton for the favorite-series shelf.

It's been a long time since I read Anita...

Favorite Series

finished April 25 ★★★★★

Let me preface by saying I love YA dystopian books. And this one was awesome. Ann Aguirre didn't let me down. She has a wonderful way of writing great, fully fleshed out characters, characters who are not perfect, but who you love all the same.

This one is about a post-apocalyptical New York, we're still kinda in the dark about how it happened, but all clues point to a virus/plague. The main character, Deuce, is a girl who grew up in an underground community (the enclave), learning to fight underground dwelling zombies called "Freaks". Tons of rules in the enclave, and when Deuce gets a new partner, Fade--a boy who grew up "Topside" and was found wandering the tunnels as a young teen--she starts to see that everything is not roses in the enclave.

Great book, and now I understand why someone shelved it as "favorite series", even though it's only the 1st in the series and it came out less than 2 weeks ago. :)