Finger Lickin Fifteen

First things first. Let me just assure you that i Loved the book. Funny story and i mean who doesn't love a cross dressing fireman in a chicken suit? Interested yet?

But.

Because there is a but.

WHY WONT SHE SLEEP WITH RANGER!?!?

I'm a tad bit of a fanatic for Ranger. He's hot. He wears all black, he says, "Babe" and his obvious weakness is Steph. She keeps going on and on about how Ranger would be no good in a relationship. Honestly though...what guy is until you give him a shot? She thought Morelli was a playboy jerk before she started to date him too. He wrote a dirty poem about her and wrote it on the men's bathroom, she ran him over with her car...Now he's her 'domesticated choice'.

Morelli is the adult choice. I get that. He has a normal job, a house, likes football and drinks beer, has the extended family that would give Stephanie a regular life. (Or as regular as she could manage) But i guess i'm just 5 because i dont want the adult choice. I want the 'really bad idea, but we'll have a hell of alot of fun making this mistake' choice. I read to live vicariously through the heroines experiences and I WANT TO SLEEP WITH RANGER. *pant pant*

Okay. I'll go try to grow up now and wait til the next book comes out in a year.

Moravian Dark Ones by Katie MacAlister

I love Katie MacAlister. I first found her when i read her Guardian series. Her writing is fast paced and Hilarious. And her characters are always unique.

I've been waiting to read the Moravian Dark Ones series until i could collect the whole thing. I think i read one out of order before i realized it wasn't a stand alone book. Well, i've just finished the first 3 in the series and I can assure you, it was worth the wait.

What i liked best about the first book was that even though the main character was 'fated' to be with Dark One Christian, she chose to go her own way and fell in love with another man. I've read so many of these books that i halfway assumed throughout the entire story that something would happen and she would end up with Christian anyways so it really kept the story fresh and interesting for me. I totally felt for Christian too, poor guy, finally finds his Beloved after centuries and it turns out she is a true 20th century girl, determined to have it how she wants it regardless.

The second story is Christians story and i loved how the underlying message was that sometimes you Learn to become someone's soul mate. That it doesn't always have to be some cosmic thing, fated from birth - that you can grow into the role and be what someone else needs.

Christian and his beloved are back in the 3rd book, but as secondary characters. And i think this may have been the book i'd accidently read out of order years ago because some parts of it seemed pretty familiar.

In order:
A Girls Guide to Vampires
Sex and the Single Vampire
Sex, Lies, and Vampires

I highly recommend this as a light hearted paranormal romance. Katie MacAlister never fails to put a smile on my face!

I love the Sookie Stackhouse series. However, after finishing the latest book i felt, disappointed. I didn't feel like anything had Happened. Okay, she married Eric, on accident. She gets involved in a war between different factions of the Fae. Her grandfather leaves, seemingly never to see her again. That was sad. Oh, and Arlene helps plot to kill her. That pissed me off. But, i didn't like Arlene anyways.

Maybe it's because i'm a Bill supporter and Bill has practically become a secondary character. I get that he lied. I do. It would infurriate me also. But..how many books have you all read were the couple meets and one or the other is lying about their intentions in the beginning, then gets to know the hero or heroine and suddenly they have feelings for them and change their mind? Numerous. It's the base of half the romance novels out there. I dont get why we're still hating Bill. He has proven himself numerous times, and he loves her. Eric..is .. slick. He tricks her into marriage for crying out loud! It doesn't make sense to me that she'll accept things from Eric that when Bill did them or offered them she thew a fit.

My sister-in-law likes to go on and on about how Eric graveled her driveway because he was taking care of her and knew she needed it. When Bill set up an account for her at the clothing store he bought so she would have clothes for the vampire business he was taking her one she threw a freakin fit! She said she doesn't want to be taken care of, she doesn't want to be a 'kept woman' and that it made her feel cheap. So..clothes for work bad, gravel good? Huh?

Eric has a business. His vampire business is WAY more important to him than Sookie. He has manipulated Sookie so many times. Bill doesn't. He gives her the info and she gets to make her own decisions. He tried to keep her out of the vampire world once he started to care about her.

Ok. Ok. I'm not talking about the book anymore, i'm ranting. I've had this arguement with so many people. Anyways bottom line - book okay, not the best, but okay.

But that's okay, TruBlood premieres Sunday! Yay! Does anyone else get creeped out with how the actor playing Bill says "Sookie" ? Honestly it sounds like an explenative when he says it, like he spits it out. Verra Creepy. But Eric is hot in the series. Go figure, i can't be pleased.

Skin Trade

I did read a couple books before if started the Maggie award pile. I just realized i never wrote those ones up. As i mentioned earlier I'd read the entire Anita Blake series. It had been a goal of mine for awhile since accidently reading the Incubus Dreams without realizing it was a series. I was sooo confused, Who is this woman and why is she sleeping with 20 different men?? And upset about it?? I knew to truely appreciate the story i'd need to start at the beginning.

I'll admit i liked Anita best when she was celibate. Not that the sex scenes with Richard and Jean Claude weren't hot, but i liked that the story focased more on the case than the bedroom gymnastics. I love a steamy love scene and i'm not so much a prude to think it Has to involve one person and that one person Needs to be the girls One True Love..but i swear one book after the Audeur showed up took place entirely in one bedroom. And that is all they talked about. Sex, talk about the sex we just had, more sex, talk about some possible sex we may have to have later, surprise sex and then puppy pile. It was getting old for me.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I think we were 2/3rds of the way in before she fed the Audeur. And i like how she was having to deal with her reputation, i felt so bad for her. The usual cast of characters wasn't entirely present. Jean Claude, Richard, Nathaniel, and Michah were not in the book. She only spoke to Jean Claude on the phone a few times. Am i the only one that likes it when Jean Claude cracks and starts yelling? Anita goes to Las Vegas with Edward, Olaf, and Bernardo to try to catch a serial killer that has fixated on Anita. There was a little bit of uncomfortable accidental underage sex. Didn't like that. Neither did Anita. But overall the story was actually about the killer and not the musical chairs of bedpartners Anita has been dealing with for so long.

I truely hope there is an end or at least some control to this soon. Anita doesn't seem to be pleased with how many men she has to collect.

Overall, much happier with this book than the last one.

Haven't quit reading

I'm helping judge the Maggies again this year. Last year they sent me like 4 books to read and then rate. This year I ended up with 7 books. So that's what i've been doing for the last week, working my way through those books. I'm up to book #4.

At first i thought to operate as usuall, doing a write up of the books as i read them. But, i thought since I'm judging them I should probably wait to share my opinion until all the results are tallied.

At least this task isn't a hardship. I mean, Require me to read romance novels? The nerve! Lol. Wish me luck!

Salt and Silver

I really hate to say bad things about a book, but this one didn't do it for me. I started reading this last night and was over half way done before i gave up.
The story idea wasn't bad - a hellmouth in someone's diner, a hot demon hunter, and a girl with developing powers. Yay, right? It was written in first person and it felt like the whole book was just this girl's stream of conciousness. I didn't feel connected to the story, to the characters or even to her. The main character was supposed to be nearing 30 but acted 14.
I really felt like i was reading a young adult book honestly. Except for the sex scenes - and that was just randomly thrown in there. We went through the whole first quarter of the book with the protagonist making it clear that the hero wasn't interested in her. Then suddenly..he's feeling her up in the basement. And it wasn't the hot spontanious groping either - i felt like i'd missed a page or something.
I honestly felt like i was hearing this story second hand, it just didn't pull me in. Some parts were pretty funny, the author has a quirky sense of humor that got me giggling a couple times.
I also didn't like the main character, Allie. She was kinda stupid. and spoiled. and childish. Which i supposed she was supposed to be, since she was a former rich girl turned poor diner manager but i never saw any growth from her. She just kinda told us that she was rich and now she was all responsible and grown up and stuff.
Over all i'd say no. I might read something from her again..just to see if her writing has improved because like i said, good story idea and quirky humor...but i'm not going to finish Salt and Silver.

Cassie Palmer Series

Okay so i just finished the Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance. So far it's up to 4 books. Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night and Curse the Dawn.

I LOVED this series! It's now on my list of series that i keep up with.

The story is about Cassie Palmer a twenty-something claravoyant who has been hiding out from her surrogate vampire guardian for years. Her side-kick is Billy a card shark who died decades ago, he was dropped into a lake to drown and ended up bonding with a necklace he'd been wearing at his death. Now Cassie owns the necklace and Billy does errands for her in exchange for sharing some of her energy and keeping him a bit more active than the average ghost.

It's been discovered that Cassandra might be next in line as Pythia and ancient office dating back to the priestesses of Apollo. Cassie wants none of this and no one but the vampires seems to want her in the office either.

Dont let the first book discourage you. Although it was very well written it was a bit of a struggle with so much back story to get out, flashing forwards, backwards and even Sideways in time. I had serious concerns about continuing with it just because i'd find my self lost and confused.

But the author really hit her stride with the second and third book in the series. I Love how Cassie and Pritkin interact! The books sometimes remind me of a paranormal version of the Stephanie Plum series as we watch Cassie blunder her way through one fight to the next..somehow surviving on sheer luck and help from her friends. We get to watch Cassie finally accept her position as Pythia and stuggle to be the person she Wants to be instead of what everyone else would like to make her. She fears being controlled by the vampires and the circle.

All in all, i love this series. It's laugh out loud funny, seriously fast-paced, and full of action. There is Never a dull moment and no point where the story lags. The romance is great too - the tension between Pritkin and Cassie is just what I've been looking for and the scenes with Mircea are hot.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

..On to the next....