A new side novel in the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong which takes place after the series end. Elena has been alpha for a few years now but it is still hard getting other Packs to acknowledge her as the true alpha but she is in London trying to work with their pack leader when she starts getting odd phone calls asking where her puppy is. She shrugs it off and decides that the situation is no longer worth continuing to miss out on their family vacation but by the time she gets back to the states she is informed that Kate, her daughter, is missing. She and many of the pack come to find her but when she gets there, she starts smelling the one thing she never wanted to find again, the scent of Malcolm, the father of the former pack leader and her father-in-law as well as a psychotic killer. The panic is immense especially as he is not alone. This was not a fight she wanted to have and especially not with her child in their clutches.
Such an amazing installment and I hated every time I had to put it down to deal with other things. The ending was a complete shocker and well played. I am so glad that Ms. Armstrong is continuing to give us stories about the Pack and most especially Elena and Clay. Never know when we are going to get one but they are such pleasures when we do,
Page count: 237p/4,260p ytd/219,194p lifetime
Thursday, February 26, 2015
16:120 Tales From Otherworld: Volume 1 by Yasmine Galenorn
A collection of short scenes that didn't fit in the books but add a nice little touch for those who have been reading Yasmine Galenorn's Otherworld series. In them, we get to see what happens when Camille in her early stages Earthside tries an invisibility spell, what exactly happened with the dang Thanksgiving turkey, a glimpse of Maggie's mom, and several other short tales. I would not recommend it for someone who hasn't read anything in the series as it does need the background of the books to make full sense but for those who enjoy the series, I definitely recommend it.
Page count: 36p/4,023p ytd/218,957p lifetime
Page count: 36p/4,023p ytd/218,957p lifetime
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
15:120 Age of Empires by Marjorie Wall Bingham
2nd time reading this. Here is previous review:
Middle school history covering the empires of 1200-1750AD including the the Mongols, Poland & Lithuania, Russian, Mughals, Ottoman, Portuguese, Spanish, Habsburgs, and Manchu. I hadn't even heard of some of these so I found it interesting to see how they came into being and how each often learned from the others.
It was even more interesting this time around as I read Trumpeter of Krakow while I was reading this so it was neat seeing my different reading projects intersecting.
Page count: 157p/3,987p ytd/218,921p lifetime
Middle school history covering the empires of 1200-1750AD including the the Mongols, Poland & Lithuania, Russian, Mughals, Ottoman, Portuguese, Spanish, Habsburgs, and Manchu. I hadn't even heard of some of these so I found it interesting to see how they came into being and how each often learned from the others.
It was even more interesting this time around as I read Trumpeter of Krakow while I was reading this so it was neat seeing my different reading projects intersecting.
Page count: 157p/3,987p ytd/218,921p lifetime
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
14:120 Darkness Falls by Keri Arthur
The final installment in the Dark Angels series by Keri Arthur. Time has run out for Risa. Hunter is making her move against those that have been vocal against her intentions and she has given Risa twenty-four hours to find and deliver the last key or her loved ones will suffer. The big problem is that the black sorceress who has been several steps ahead of Risa and managed to steal the first two keys out from under her nose is still on the loose. Add in that Risa doesn't want to hand over the key to Hunter but since Hunter has spies on her, if she finds it Hunter will know and if she isn't looking hard enough for it, Hunter will know that too. What's a girl to do when the fate of the world is on her shoulders?
So I have spent a lot of this series screaming at each book about how slow it is moving with little to no progress on the finding of the keys or dealing with Hunter or anything else. In this book, in just under 400 pages, the last key is found and all problems resolved with a nice tidy bow on them in less than 24 hrs. Really?! I didn't feel enthusiastic or overjoyed or anything by it, I felt bored and tired. It felt like things were stretched out way too far for too long and then "oh look, this is the last book in my contract and it's not going to be renewed so I need to wrap it all up quickly". I really enjoyed the heck out of Ms. Arthur's Riley Jensen series and was excited to see a new series in the same universe where even if Riley was barely around, it was familiar but the pacing was just awful after the first book. I wanted to like it and I kept with it hoping it would get better but it never got good. The best was ok.
Page count: 375p/3,830p ytd/218,764p lifetime
So I have spent a lot of this series screaming at each book about how slow it is moving with little to no progress on the finding of the keys or dealing with Hunter or anything else. In this book, in just under 400 pages, the last key is found and all problems resolved with a nice tidy bow on them in less than 24 hrs. Really?! I didn't feel enthusiastic or overjoyed or anything by it, I felt bored and tired. It felt like things were stretched out way too far for too long and then "oh look, this is the last book in my contract and it's not going to be renewed so I need to wrap it all up quickly". I really enjoyed the heck out of Ms. Arthur's Riley Jensen series and was excited to see a new series in the same universe where even if Riley was barely around, it was familiar but the pacing was just awful after the first book. I wanted to like it and I kept with it hoping it would get better but it never got good. The best was ok.
Page count: 375p/3,830p ytd/218,764p lifetime
13:120 Gifted by Kelley Armstrong
Gabriel's Gargoyles - set in the Cainsville universe but back when Gabriel was young. Every year in Cainsville the children hunt around to find as many of the gargoyles hidden around the town as they can. The child who finds the most gets a prize and the one who finds them all will get a gargoyle made in their image put up somewhere in the town. Gabriel doesn't care about having a gargoyle made in his image but he is determined to find them all simply because he knows he can so every time he is allowed to visit his Aunt Rose, he spends part of his time wandering the town in search of them. When he isn't doing that, he is working to try and get his Aunt the perfect Solstice present. Gabriel has plans and he will make sure they all come to fruition.
I really enjoyed seeing Gabriel as a young boy but it's not a happy home life and definitely explains a lot of his attitudes when we finally meet him. I also found the interactions between him, Patrick, and the Elders to be an interesting bit of backstory. Definitely not a necessary read to understand anything in the series but still nice backstory.
The Puppy Plan - Elena and Clay have Kate out on a shopping trip and Logan is out wandering when he discovers a half-dead puppy. Knowing that this is what Kate wants more than anything, he resolves to nurse it back to health and try to convince his parents to allow him to give it to her as a Christmas present. Things don't go quite as planned when a mutt shows up on the property and the surprise ends up being blown before he can come clean to them.
Ok, Elena and Clay were always my favorite characters in the Women of the Otherworld series and I'm so thrilled that so many of the novellas and short stories coming out since the end of the series have focused on them (and even more thrilled that it's now a TV show!). Getting to see their interactions with their kids is fabulous and this was wonderful getting to be inside Logan's head and hearing his internal debates and dilemmas. I'm glad I waited until now to read it though because they reference something that happened in the new novel "Forsaken" that I just received and talked about how traumatic it had been for Kate but without ever mentioning what had happened. Needless to say, that moved quickly up my "to read" list.
Page count: 82p/3,455p/218,389p
Sunday, February 22, 2015
12:120 Sudden Backtrack by Kim Harrison
A short story set in the Hollows universe, told from Al's point of view and detailing the curse that the demons put upon the elves and how Newt came to be the way we knew her in Rachel's time. It was definitely interesting to hear Al's voice narrating a tale and to see Newt as something other than crazy and out of it but in full command of herself and her destiny. Hearing the way the elves treated them, definitely makes you understand why things went down the way they did and have a lot more sympathy for the demons. I'm reading a lot of history right now and a lot about the slave trade and oh my yes, it was all in this even as short as it was. I really hope Ms. Harrison does more little shorts like this in that world because it was such a fantastic series and I agree that the main story is told but that doesn't mean I don't want to visit those characters from time to time.
Page count: 21p/3,373p ytd/218,307p lifetime
Page count: 21p/3,373p ytd/218,307p lifetime
11:120 My Sister's Song by Gail Carriger
A short story by Gail Carriger. Mithra lives in a small village near the huge Roman Empire and she knows, as do all in her village that it is only a matter of time before the Romans come for them. When it finally happens with the use of her wits and observational skills, she finds an ingenious and sweet solution to their problems and one that will keep them safe for many years to come.
Apparently this was Ms. Carriger's first professional sale and was based on a legend she had heard with some creative license on her part, of course. It's a sweet little tale but don't expect much in the way of character development or serious plot. It's short and simple but nicely done.
Page count: 17p/3,352p ytd/218,286p lifetime
Apparently this was Ms. Carriger's first professional sale and was based on a legend she had heard with some creative license on her part, of course. It's a sweet little tale but don't expect much in the way of character development or serious plot. It's short and simple but nicely done.
Page count: 17p/3,352p ytd/218,286p lifetime
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