Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Yz, I second the appreciation. You gave me the motivation to look into new writers, and I certainly found some keepers!

Oz, I liked Moon Called. I've now read all of the series to date.

I'll warn you that it's a bit of a slow start, but once the action begins, you're up and running for the duration.

Mercy Thompson is a series that gets better and better with each title as the main character becomes more noticable in the supernatural community.

Also, she's a Walker, a Coyote, which makes for an interesting departure from the more typical weres.

Romance is on a simmer-romantic relationships develop naturally and over time in this series, which I found a pleasant change and befitting of the main character. Perhaps mystery/suspense is the best way to describe it overall.

Let me know what you think!

Let's see if I read any new authors this month. Hm, a few. Here's my list so far:

1.A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith
2. Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
3. The Revolution of Sabine by Beth Levine Ain
4. Babylonne by Catherine Jinks
5. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
6. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
7. Skinned by Robin Wasserman
8. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Just one more to go! I think I have an advantage because I work in a library and am constantly picking up random books.

Michelle, I tried to read this Mercy book last year but something distracted me so I don't think I even got it open. If I did, I didn't even read but the first page. I'm enjoying it so far, and I'm about 40ish pages in. I'll keep you posted. :) I can't remember why I didn't ever read it last year. I carried it in my purse for a while but I just never got to it. I had a hard year last year from about mid May on. Just one thing after another after another. You know how it goes sometimes. So everything is a bit of a blur.

I read the first one in the Mercy series, but couldn't get into the second one, so I still need to catch up on those. I think it's a mood thing for me sometimes.

Okay, here is my updated list:

1. Night Keepers, Jessica Anderson
2. The Mistress Diaries, Julianne MacLean
3. Vampires Betrayal, Raven Hart
4. Fiance at Her Fingertips, Kathleen Bacus
5. Hot Property, Carly Phillips
6. Between Light and Dark, Elissa Wilds
7. The Saints of Midland, T.L. Schaefer
8. Shades of Dark, Linnea Sinclair

Good to know, Kristen. I had a definite mood last year. It was just a crazy time. But, I'm enjoying what I've read so far. Shame I didn't read it last year. I have two more on my shelf. LOL I coulda read them!

Dawn's February Challenge List

Almost done, not sure if I will make it with all my new books being released :>

1. One Bite With A Stranger by Christine Warren
2. The Messenger by Jan Burke
3. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
4. Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
6. Unwed and Undead by Mary Jane Davidson
7. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
8. Promise of Wolves by Dorthy Heart
9. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey - currently reading

Okay, finally got back on track and read something that was actually on my list. Marked improved as it went along, but I still want to strangle Zoey. I've already got the next two books in the series (I was suckered in by the cool covers), so we'll see if it improves.

1. Vulnerable The First Book of the Little Goddess Series - Amy Lane - 07 Feb *****
2. Blood Memories - Barb Hendee - Reading Now
3. Marked - P.C. Cast 24 Feb ***
4. Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead - 01 Feb ****
5. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - 03 Feb ****
6. When Darkness Comes - Alexandra Ivy - Reading Now
7. Greywalker - Kat Richardson
8. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine
9. The Becoming - Jeanne C. Stein - 05 Feb ****

No way I'm going to finish the 9 books I chose, so I'm going to leave it at:

1. Larissa Ione - Pleasure Unbound * * * *
2. Emma Bull - War For The Oaks * * * *
3. Deborah Cooke - Kiss of Fire * * * *
4. Mark Del Franco - Unshapely Things * * *

1. Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost 2-09
2.Deathbringer Bryan Smith 2-09
3. Dark Lover J R Ward 2-09
4. Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione 2-09
5. Working for the Devil by Lilth SaintCrow 2-09
6. Shifter antho. feat. Angela Knight
7. Count on Love Melinda Curtis
8. Marked Joely Skye
9. Risen J Smith

well, since everyone is boasting about their books--here is my totally completed list again.

1) James D. Doss—The Shaman Sings

2) Susan Sussman—Cruising for Murder

3) P. C. Hodgell—God Stalk

4) Sarah Graves—The Dead Cat Bounce

5) Lenora Worth—The Wedding Quilt

6) Lois Richer—A Will and a Wedding

7) Janet Tronstad—A Bride for Dry Creek

8) Jennifer Colt—The Vampire of Venice Beach

9) Elaine Corvidae—Winter’s Orphans

And yes, I am bragging a bit, but its also meant to cheer the rest of you on.

Melissa, I try to stay a little fluid in my selection of books for each month's challenge. Its the only way I can handle it, since if I can't get "into" a book I put it down and go on to something else, hoping that I'll feel like reading it later. Keep that in mind for next month's and later challenges.

Also, right now there is a LOT going on in "real life" for me, but reading helps me to stay sane and NOT go totally postal on those around me. Cabin fever ain't pretty folks. During the winter, I sometimes have a hard time getting around (severe arthritis) and get cranky and bad tempered.

Oh--one other benefit that these challenges have had for me--I'm seeing other people's lists of what they've read--and with the reviews that we are giving, I'm looking into a number of new authors. So--keep those lists a-coming folks.

Mum, I hate winter. Enough said. Hello 25 books in January. I think that I was having some sort of melt down. IF I hadn't had those books you'd have had to field more calls of me in crisis mode. LOL

Like my mother, I'm being rather fluid in my books and I'm also taking a look at what people are saying about their reads!!

My favorite of the books I've read so far for this challenge...is probably between STAY THE NIGHT by Viehl, and MY IMMORTAL PROTECTOR by Holling. I'm not very far into SABRIEL yet, so we'll see. I'm not a real big fan of vampire books, but the two I liked best are vampires. Though I did like BABY BE MINE by Gaddy a lot...

Don't think I'll get SABRIEL finished off tonight, so we'll see what I think tomorrow. I have to go check on my parents this weekend, so while I'll probably finish it by Friday, at the latest, I may not be able to get online to report. (My parents...forget things. They can still live by themselves, but--well, Mama can get Daddy wherever it is they're going, and once they get there, he can remember why they went there.) (He got lost in my house when they were here for Christmas...but it's just directions he can't remember.)

Yz's February Challenge List

1. Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frostfinished 2/14
2. Witchling by Yasmine Galehorn - currently reading
3. A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix - finished 2/17
4. Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione - finished 2/24
5. Working for the Devil by Lilth SaintCrowfinished 2/11
6. Addicted by Lydia Parks
7. Damned, Delicious and Dangerous by Delilah Devlin, et.al. - finished 2/25
8. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance - currently listening
9. You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister - finished 2/22

Time for an update:

Yz - 6 books done
Nichole - 7 books done
Dawn - 8 books done
LondonGirl - 7 books done
DarkHeart- 5 books done
Tammy - 9 books done - Completed - Congratulations!
Lori - 3 books done
Kenjii - 5 book done
Angie(US) - 2 books done
Angie(UK) - 7 books done
Lady Ozma - 7 books done
Jael - 6 books done
Melissa - 4 books done
Ann - 9 books done - Completed - Congratulations!
Sarah - 6 books done
Murrmaiyd - 5 books done
Melinda -3 books done
Gail - 8 books done
Barbara - 9 books done-Completed - Congratulations!
Karen - 5 books done
Martina - 8 books done
Michelle M - 8 books done
Erin - 7 books done

The following had signed up since last update.

Kristen - 8 books done

Group's running total: 152 books

Hope everybody is having fun exploring new authors.

*Signing up will remain open throughout the month.*

P.S. A few changes in tracking our progress. Before, what we do is go back and edit our original list. However, as the thread gets longer and longer, I'm having difficulty wading through the discussion.

So, please, repost your official list with your progrss after every update I make. That will really make my job easy, because I will just start from the last update to see where everybody is in their reading. Striking out the title and/or a finished date after the book's name will be best

Hope that makes sense..LOL

**Challenge will end midnight of February 28**

Final update will be March 1.

WOot! We beat last month's book total! YAY!!!!

So far for the year we're at over 300 books, isn't that awesome?

Thanks for the update, YZ!

Guys, I'm halfway through Moon Called and I'm loving this! Briggs is great! :)

Thanks for the update, Yz! Have to tell you: I just started the third Cassie Palmer and Chance's writing and characterization definitely improve with each book. How's the audio book going?

Lady, I'm glad you like Briggs! And it gets better. Mercy being a Walker is a great change from the standard Were. I also like that her romantic entanglements progress naturally in real-time. When compared to some other heroines in the genre, she seems so reasonable and, dare I say it, normal!

Michelle M,

Still plugging on. I'm on disc 7 out of a 10-cd collection. I do enjoy the reader. Right now, I can just shoot Pritkin since I find him irritating. Wondering if Tomas will be the main romantic interest for Cassie. I'm a romantic, that's why sometimes I'm having a hard time with UF books, coz I always want the characters to pair up..LOL..

I definitely like the Walker. I gotta tell you, sometimes I get tired of weres. Of all the shifters, they seem to get all the press. So to speak. I think it's part of why I like the Sookie books. There's were-everything. Not just wolfs. And then there's shifters. Fun!

I do like a good indian legend mix in, too. So much you can do with the folklore of this great nation... I like when people pull that in.

Anyway, so I'm glad I am reading this. I have the next two on my shelf. I'm hoping to be able to use book 2 for March. Because I'm really liking this story a lot.

I am glad to hear that things seem to progress. That's great!

I think I like Mercy because she is a bit of a punk and she does seem rather "normal". LOL I do like hte cast. They sound pretty interesting so I'd like to see how they progress, as well.

Not going to get to all of these so some will be carried over to next months challenge. So many books...so little time. I need the T-shirt :)

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix
Dark Protector by Alexis Morgan
The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
The Smoke Thief by Shana Abé
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Moon Called by Partricia Briggs
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione
Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

1. Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost 2-09
2.Deathbringer Bryan Smith 2-09
3. Dark Lover J R Ward 2-09
4. Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione 2-09
5. Working for the Devil by Lilth SaintCrow 2-09
6. Shifter antho. feat. Angela Knight
7. Count on Love Melinda Curtis
8. Marked Joely Skye 2-09
9. Risen J Smith

Hmmm...should I leave these unread on my reader's challenge book? Be cool to see how many I have/have not read huh?

Lori: I'd buy ur T-shirt =D

Lori, I just finished Moon Called! It was great! I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to hear what you think of it! When do you think you'll read it? I loved that it had fae and vamps as well as wolves. The throwing in the walker was a nice mix in. I really like Mercy, the walker mechanic chic. She's awesome!!

OK here's my finished list... I've only got one more book to go! Looks like I'll be able to finish up, I hope!

1. Tall, Dark, and Dead by Tate Hallaway
2. The Front by Patricia Cornwell
3. The Vampire of Venice Beach by Jennifer Colt
4. Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
5. The Haunting by Hope Tarr
6. Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel by Ronda Thompson
7. This is How It Happened (Not A Love Story) by Jo Barrett
8. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Martina's Feb Reading Challenge - COMPLETE!

1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong - 2/2
2. Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon - 2/16
3. Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow - 2/18
4. Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney - 2/23
5. Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin - 2/22
6. Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi - 2/20
7. Immortals: The Calling by Jennifer Ashley - 2/24
8. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward - 2/26
9. What's a Ghoul to Do by Victoria Laurie - 2/22

I've actually read at least 18 books this month - 19 if I finish my current one by midnight 2/28 (which is likely) - and that's an all-time personal best!! Yay!

Good job, Martina!!!

And wow, that's a lot of books! What else did you read? Anything worth mentioning to us?

Last month I read 25 which I think was a personal best for me. I was so happy. So I will totally raise my glass to you! I sure hope you can finish your current book so you can reach 19!!!

Hi Lady Ozma,

Here's my full list for Feb:
*Bitten (Women of the Underworld, Book 1) -Kelley Armstrong
*One Bite With a Stranger (The Others, Book 6)-Christine Warren
*Moonstruck (Borderlands, Book 1)- Susan Grant
*Wanderlust (Sirantha Jax, Book 2)-Ann Aguirre
*Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress, Book 1)-Gena Showalter
*The Snow Queen (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 4)-Mercedes Lackey
*Never Been Witched (Triplet Witch Trilogy, Book 3)- Annette Blair
*Pride (Werecats, Book 3)- Rachel Vincent
*The Invisible Ring (A Black Jewels Novel)- Anne Bishop
*Star Shadows (Oasis, Book 3)- Colby Hodge
*Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter, Book 1)- Sherrilyn Kenyon
*Night Shift (Jill Kismet, Book 1)- Lilith Saintcrow
*Moongazer- Marianne Mancusi
*Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Jaz Parks, Book 1)- Jennifer Rardin
*What's a Ghoul to Do (Ghost Hunter, Book 1)- Victoria Laurie
*Howling at the Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 1)- Karen MacInerney
*Immortals: The Calling (Immortals, Book 1)- Jennifer Ashley
*Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1)- J.R. Ward
*Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 2)- J.R. Ward

Except for the books I listed above as part of the challenge they're all authors/series I'm familiar with and love. Of course, I read so much that I "love" a lot - as long as they're within the PNR/fantasy genres, of course. :-) If there's anything you haven't read and are interested in, let me know and I'll try to give you my 2 cents on it. :-)

You've been busy!!! :)

I have the second Ghost Hunter book that I'm debating if I can get away with for the March challenge. I'm just not sure if I can use it or not. I'd love to read it! :) I enjoyed the first one!

It's the only one from your list that I know about. Though I recognize some authors as ones on my TBR bookcase!

I finally finished Shadow Game, which was painful.
And I'm swapping out Witchling for Heaven Sent by Jet Mykles. I read that near the beginning of the month, and now that I'm pretty sure I don't really want to try to finish Witchling all that bad, I'll switch 'em out. So now I can say... DONE!

1. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs *2/8
2. Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione *2/5
3. Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn
Heaven Sent: Heaven and Purgatory by Jet Mykles *2/6
4. Working for the Devil by Lilith SaintCrow *2/8
5. Wicked Ties by Shayla Black *2/10
6. Victorious Star by Morgan Hawke *2/1
7. A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix *2/17
8. Shadow Game by Christine Feehan *2/26
9. Witch Fire by Anya Bast *2/22

What to read, what to read...

I just finished the whirlwind that is Embrace the Night by Karen Chance and I LOVED it. Cassie is a great central character, and all of the supporting cast are well-wrought and often hilariously funny. I like how Cassie is progressing and that she's learning to roll with the punches and coming into her own. She's lost a lot of that hesitant, why-me attitude she had in the first book, and is becoming more and more likable and capable. Also, LOTS of things get revealed here. Some of which totally threw me for a loop! Can't wait till April and #4!

But after that exhaustive ride, I think I need some fluff. Tall, Dark & Dead will be next, and then I'll be done with my nine!

Which means that I'll have to fit A Rush of Wings into the next challenge. Hmm...

Oh and btw, Lady? I saw This is How it Happened as I was perusing the library today and snatched it up when I recalled your adoration!

Oh. I also picked up The Accidental Werewolf. Thoughts, anyone?

Nichole said: And I'm swapping out Witchling for Heaven Sent by Jet Mykles.

Oh Nichole...I am so excited for you! I loved, loved, loved Heaven Sent and every other book about the yummy rocker boys. Can't wait to hear what you think about it.

I really LOVED The Accidental Werewolf. There is a second book to the set "Accidentally Dead" and the final one in the series come out Mar. 3 (The Accidental Human)

All 3 books deal with the 3 friends you are introduced to in the first book.

Lori,
I actually read Heaven Sent a few weeks ago, near the beginning of the month. I couldn't help myself. I was reading something else (for the challenge), but it was just calling to me... :) It was such a quick read I didn't feel too guilty, though.
And I really, really liked it. I plan on ordering the next one from Amazon as soon as I have a little extra money.
Do you have any other suggestions for a good m/m romance? There's something about m/m that's just sooo cute and sweet, more so than m/f even, IMO.

Good to hear, Ann. Thanks for the input!

Nichole, check out my m/m erotica bookshelf. There are a lot of suggestions there. Also, if you just need a quick fix, go to this website for some yummy short stories http://www.fictionwithfriction.com.

Great job, Shazzy...

but now, you have to give me your former GR nick, so I would be able to update your info...

*scratches head in confusion*

Ok, latest update:

Witchling - Yasmine Galenorn - finished 2/16
Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - finished 2/19
Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead - finished 2/20
Club Vamp - Allyson James - finished 2/21
La Vida Vampire - Nancy Haddock - finished 2/22
Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris - finished 2/25
Nicholas: The Lords of Satyr - Elizabeth Amber finished 2/27
The Darkest Pleasure - Gena Showalter
Working For the Devil - Lilith StCrow

Ok, since last post I read Dead Until Dark, which I enjoyed, although the extreme southernness got on my nerves in the beginning... it eased off a bit later in the book though. Nicholas: Lords of Satyr was... odd...lol... I've been curious about it, so I'm glad I finally read it, and the covers of those three are spectacular, but the story was just... weird. I'm a stubborn thing, though, so I'm sure I'll read the other two anyway. :)

Next on the agenda, Gena Showalter's "The Darkest Pleasure"... I know I'll like that one, I started it once and liked it, but got distracted before I got very far. Hopefully I can read that whole thing by tomorrow night!

my report on which of the new writer's books I enjoyed the most this month. This is a hard one to pick. Most of them were at least interesting, even the 3 that I probably won't read any more books by. Its not that they were BAD--just that they aren't the kind of books I normally like. I will pass them on to my Mother, because they are the kind SHE enjoys.

I think I finally have the favourite down to only 2 books. The Vampire of Venice Beach and Winter's Orphans.

Vamp was a good, light read. Even tho I figured out who did it fairly quickly. Well, kind of. There was an amusing twist that I liked. And the bad guy DID get his comeuppance, as my Gran used to say. :o)

Orphan was a REALLY quick read. I think it might actually have been a young adult. But the story was was well told, even if it started out a bit grim. Almost like Dickens does one of the darker faery tales which is set in the ghetto's of an industrial town. The evil queen gets hers, the heroine and hero carry the day, but there isn't a real improvement in anything except THEIR lives. But despite the fact that it was a slightly dark (not quite Urban, but definately bordering on it) tale, it was still quite good

@ Lady Ozma:

I can't believe out of my entire list you've only read Victoria Laurie's Ghosthunter novel! Although a good part of my list crosses genres into urban fantasy (and one pure fantasy) so maybe it isn't that odd if you read purely PNR. The really big winners on my list are the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. They're firmly PNR. I've had the first two books on my shelf for over 6 months now and I could seriously KICK myself for letting them sit so long. They're FABULOUS! I finished the 2nd book today and have the rest of them arriving from Amazon.com tomorrow. I like them so much that I did 2nd day shipping on them - I just HAD to get them here ASAP.

I only finished 5 of the 9 books on my list for this challenge. The other 4 I've rolled over to next month. I did however, read 8 other books for the RRR challenge. So read 13 books this month in total. Still have one more day left though...

It's hard to pick a favorite because they were all good except I don't much care for Feehan's Carpathian series. A Rush of Wings was a surprise since I had never heard of this author before. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix
Dark Protector by Alexis Morgan
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Moon Called by Partricia Briggs
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione
Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair
The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
The Smoke Thief by Shana Abé

RRR challenge books read:
Dark Desire by Christine Feehan
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
If you Dare by Kresley Cole
Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh
Interstellar Service & Discipline Series: Fallen Star by Morgan Hawke
Dark Elves V: Discovery by Jet Mykles
Mona Lisa's Blossoming by Sunny
Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell

Michelle M - I'm glad you picked up the This Is How It Happened book! It was so fun! :) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

And I read the Accidental Werewolf last month. It was great! I followed it up with the sequel which I think is like Accidentally Dead or something. There's a third one coming out in a month or so. I look forward to reading it as well! :)

Ann, Am I to pick up the sequel to Orphans at Raven for you? Man I hope I can find a way to get that to fit in, I think i'll read it for sure after I finish this book I'm on...

Martina, I acually don't read a lot of "romance" just tend to get books with romance in them (because really don't all books). And it's not the paranormal that I read - it's the speculative. If it is in any way not hum drum every day... I'm good! I love all paranormal/fantasy/scifi type things! Bring on the elves, the wizards, the vamps, the psychics, the witches, the mech, and anything else! That's right... I don't just stop at paranormal... I'm an equal opportunity lover of all things!!

I'm limited in what I read by time. I tend to get most of my books given to me on loan or I pick them up at conventions from the authors themselves... which limits me to what people have... And because I homeschool my kids, my time is limited so I don't plow through the crazy amount of books people give me to read! So that's probably why we didn't have a lot of overlap. Could be in an upcoming month we have a lot of overlap :)

Lori wrote: "I only finished 5 of the 9 books on my list for this challenge. The other 4 I've rolled over to next month. I did however, read 8 other books for the RRR challenge. So read 13 books this month i..."

Lori, what's the RRR challenge? Did I forget or was it listed elsewhere?

And the final list is:

1. Gena Showalter - Lords of the Underworld (read all three books)

2. Alexis Morgan - Dark Protector

3. Tate Hallaway - Tall, Dark & Dead

4. Kerrelyn Sparks - How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

5. Terri Garey - Dead Girls are Easy

6. Karen Chance - Touch the Dark (read all three books)

7. Katie McAllister - Playing with Fire

8. Jennifer Rardin - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

9. Richelle Mead - Succubus Blues

Fin!

Thanks again to Yz for this challenge.

I can't choose a favorite! I have a top three:

Terri Garey's book was a great twist on the norm, focusing on ghosts and voodoo, and the creepy things that whisper in the shadows.

Richelle Mead's demons and vamps (with an angel thrown in for good measure) were very likable and oddly on the good guy side of things. The mystery wasn't all that hard to logic out, but there was a twist or two that made it interesting.

Karen Chance's series was action-packed, and though it took a little while to warm up to Cassie, I enjoyed the first so much that I moved on to the second book immediately...and then read the third!

This post was brought to you by the letter P and the letter R, as well as the number 9.

So nine hour flights, and the several hours you sit in the airport before hand, are brilliant for unintereupted reading! I still won't make all 9, but I'm getting closer.

1. Vulnerable The First Book of the Little Goddess Series - Amy Lane - 07 Feb *****
2. Blood Memories - Barb Hendee - 27 Feb ****
3. Marked - P.C. Cast 24 Feb ***
4. Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead - 01 Feb ****
5. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - 03 Feb ****
6. When Darkness Comes - Alexandra Ivy - Reading Now
7. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats - Mario Acevado - Reading Now
8. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine - 27 Feb ****
9. The Becoming - Jeanne C. Stein - 05 Feb ****

Non-challenge books finished this month:
* Wounded - Amy Lane
* Bound - Amy Lane
* Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
* Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead
* Frostbite - Richelle Mead
* A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry 1) - Laurell K Hamilton - Audiobook
* A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry 2) - Laurell K Hamilton - Audiobook

Okay, my favorites for the month. Like many, I couldn't narrow it down to just one, so I've chose two.

Vulnerable by Amy Lane is the first. I think Amy created an amazing world and I was quickly wrapped up in the characters of Cory, Adrian and Green, and all of the goings on at Green's Hill. It made be both laugh and cry - and run out and order the other two books in the series, and harass Amy about the status of the fourth book.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I was on a bit of a YA kick this month, but this series really stood out for me (although I've only read the first Morganville Vampire book so far and it was really good as well). I loved that Richelle created believable teens who aren't squeaky clean but aren't unrealistic cliches either. It was a quick and exciting read that completely drew me into the rest of the series. I am know waiting impatiently for the fourth book to come out in August (in hardback - eek!) to address the issues from book 3! Sigh...

Michelle,

First off I'd like to thank the letters P and R as well as the number 9 for your post. Their support was well worth it as your post was wonderful! I hope they will continue to support you! :)

I've read two of your books and have several others on my shelf. What did you think about Playing With Fire? I read it a while ago and enjoyed the premise very much! I need to go see if there are more in that world...

I read the Tall Dark and Dead as well and really enjoyed it. I've moved book two to my March reading and am looking forward to it!!! What did you think?

Darkheart,

Well you may not have gotten 9 new authors, but you banged out more than nine books. Good job!!! I think that's great!! :) I'm trying like mad to finish up my ninth book for the month, which will finish up my challenge, and feeling the time crunch. I think you should get a big freaking gold star for finishing more than nine!! :) Even if it didn't score you for challenge completion!

All done - YES

1. One Bite With A Stranger by Christine Warren
2. The Messenger by Jan Burke
3. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
4. Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
6. Unwed and Undead by Mary Jane Davidson
7. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
8. Promise of Wolves by Dorthy Heart
9. Megans Mark by Lora Leigh

This was a great challenge and while I did not read all of the books I intended to it was a lot of fun reading so many new authors which have started me on new series YEAH!!

Shazzy wrote: "Sorry Yz, it's London girl! I forgot about that."


LOL...that will sure help me out in the update. Cute new name!