September '10 Book

Gail Carriger's Soulless



Alexia Tarabotti is soulless. She's the only one of her kind living in London. She's able to nullify the powers of a vampire, or a werewolf with just her touch. She's stubborn and refuses to follow the social norms of the Victorian Era, making her an oddity. Alexia is attacked by a vampire and kills him in self-defense. Then, vampires and were's start going missing in the area. Some think that she might be responsible, or at least have some insight into the situation. Lord Maccon, a were, tries to keep Miss Tarabotti from snooping, and getting into even more trouble, but that's near impossible when she keeps ending up in the middle of it all.
I went into this expecting to hate it. It's a genre called Steampunk. "The term denotes fictional works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era Britain—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, often featuring anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as the people of this historical period would have envisioned them to look like, i.e. based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc." (Copied from a friend who didn't site their source.) It seems like this genre is either hit or miss with people. Some love it, but others can't get into it. I didn't like my first steampunk novel. It took place in the Victorian era, but it didn't feel Victorian. It felt like the author was reaching and trying to force a modern story into a bygone era. Carriger managed to make you feel like you were in a different era. I loved the relationship between Maccon and Tarabotti. They just get on each others nerves and it reminds me of Kate and Curran from Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I also loved the hedgehog issue. (I've always wanted one.) =) Alexia was sassy and strong and I liked that about her. I look forward to reading the next 2 in the series.
I don't think this is the best Book of the Month, but it's the best one I finished in September.

Also, FYI, starting in October I'm going to start posting books and review on this blog rather than carry on with two blogs.

August 10 Book

Technically there are 2 books this month.

Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games

This is a wonderful YA book that deals with so many different issues. The series as a whole was great, but the first book was my favorite. The story is of a world after the fall of the U.S. government. As punishment for a past rebellion, the new government makes each district sent 2 of their children into the Hunger Games. The winner of the games will bring prestige and more food to their district for the next year, while the actually winner will be taken care of for life. The games are a mix of Survivor, with a little Lord of the Flies thrown in. It's a huge televised production, much like the Olympics, with a catch - the winner is the last child alive in the games. In order to survive, the kids must try and destroy their opponents. It's almost sickening to think about the content, but it's exceptionally well written and the plot raises so many discussion points about the role of government, how much a populace should take, when is it acceptable to take the life of another, etc. The whole series is a must read.

Simone Elkele's Leaving Paradise

I expected this to be another fun, but cheesy read. I didn't think I'd like Elkele's for some reason. I was very wrong. She has the ability to write gut wrenching stories that bring you to tears, or close to, while making your heart flutter at the same time. Leaving Paradise is the first book in a series (I hope to get to book 2 in the next few weeks). The story is about a boy, Caleb, who has just been released for a juvenile detention center after being accused of a hit and run while drinking and driving. The book switches perspective between him and the girl who's life was changed the day she was hit by his car, Maggie. It's an emotional roller coaster about everything that is influenced by an accident such as this one. Caleb is labeled as a criminal and has to deal with the prejudices that come from said label. His parents, particularly his mother, has issues dealing with public perceptions and tries to shut herself down emotionally. Maggie, now disabled, is labeled a "freak." People taunt and tease her because of her disability, her mother babies her, she's lost her best friend - Caleb's sister, and she's afraid to try and get back into her old life for fear of failure. Elkeles does a wonderful job of weaving their stories together and there's a nice unexpected twist in the end.

May 10 Book

I've kind of forgotten that I had a blog until recently. Sorry. It's not like any of you actually read this or anything posted here is important so I guess that's okay. =)
Anyway, out of all the books I've been reading recently, and there have been a lot... The only one that I've given 5 stars to since the Frost book has been:

Ilona Andrews' Magic Bleeds

It's the 4th book in a series and it's my favorite of the series as well. I fought reading this series. The covers are so tacky and I didn't expect much from them. The first book took a while to get interesting. The second one got better and so forth. With her newest book, I was excited, nervous, frustrated, happy... I enjoyed the emotional roller coaster. if you looking for entertainment then this is a good read.

Other recommendations:

The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting

January 10 Book

Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave

I overlooked this book for months because I thought it was going to be one of those cheesy romance novels that suck. Well, there is romance in it, but it was a great book. I'm glad that multiple people recommend it to me or I wouldn't have given it a chance.

This book is the first of a series of an action/horror/romance/comedy that features the best leading characters I've come across. Cat and Bones are great together. Their chemistry had me interested within the first 20 pages and it held my attention throughout the rest of the series. Cat is a half-human, half-vampire mix who has a deep hatred of vampires. She sets herself up as bait in order to kill them. Bones, a vampire bounty-hunter, manages to outsmart her-starting a whole new adventure for Cat.

Frost's creating a spin-off series that will debut this February. I can't wait.


Other Recommendations:

Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson, #1) - Patricia Briggs
Fade (Dream Catcher, #2) - Lisa McMann

December 09 Book

Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush

I loved this story. It's beautiful inside and out. The cover caught my attention and good reviews convinced me to try to read the story. The main character, Nora, has two boys that are interested in her and someone is trying to kill her. She doesn't know who she should trust. Both of the boys have shady pasts and the more Nora discovers, the more uncertain she becomes. She knows that there's something unusual going on and she has to figure it out before her and her best friend gets hurt.
I enjoyed every second of it. There's some suspense, action, and a whole lot of flirting. It's a good YA novel, but I think adults will like it as well. I think kids could become more obsessive about this than Twilight if enough people try it. I'm anxiously awaiting book 2, Crescendo.


Other Recommendations:
Wake (Dream Catcher, #1) - Lisa McMann



For other books read this month go to My Reading Blog.

November 09 Book

Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study

I love Snyder and her characters. She is an intelligent author that writes fun stories. It's the first book in her Study series. All of the books were good, but this one was my favorite. I love the dynamics between Valek, Yelena, Ari, and Janco.

The story is about Yelena, a girl who has been charged with murder after killing the man who raped her. According to the laws of Ixia, she is to be executed despite the reasoning behind her murder. However, the law also states that if the royal food taster dies, the next in line to be executed is given the opportunity to choose to replace them. After taking the position, Yelena must learn how to tell if food has been poisoned. She begins to study under Valek, an assassin who purposely poisons her. She's constantly watching out for foods being poisoned, her rapists' father trying to have her killed, and trying to find ways to escape her fate.

Other recommendations:

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2) - Laurell K. Hamilton
Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #5) - Laurell K. Hamilton
The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6) - Laurell K. Hamilton
Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #17) - Laurell K. Hamilton
Fire Study (Study, #3) - Maria V. Snyder

October 09 Book

I have a list of all the books I read each month listed on my reading blog, but I've decided that I should start choosing a "book of the month" so to speak. Something that I've found really interesting, was well written, or was just really entertaining and helped me de-stress a little bit.

This month I've chosen:

Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.

It was a beautiful story that was very well written. It's about a man who can travel through time (although, he mostly only visits the past). As an adult he travels back to meet his future wife when she's a child. They get to know one another in a very well organized and wonderful story. Time skips around - seeing how he's a time traveler - but it all comes together in the end. I'm impressed that this is Niffenegger's first book. It made me laugh and cry more than once. I think that this book would appeal to almost everyone. I hope the movie is done as well as the book.

It took me some time to pick this one up, but thanks to Mo, I gave it a shot. Thank you for the recommendation!


Other recommendations:

Frostbitten (Women of the Otherworld, #10) - Kelley Armstrong
Tempted (House of Night #6) - P.C. Cast
Evernight (Evernight, #1) - Claudia Gray
Beauty (A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast) - Robin McKinley
Evermore (The Immortals, #1) - Alyson Noel