The 5th book in the Queen Betsy series. Betsy is doing all the work planning her wedding with zero help from her fiance, Sinclair. It's only a few months away and horrors! She doesn't even have her dress yet! Her birthday is any day now and while she has protested that she doesn't want a party or presents, she is secretly hoping that no one listens to her (they never do anyway) and plans something wonderful. Nothing is ever that simple in her life tho and now the European vampires have finally sent over a delegation but everything goes crazy when it turns out one of their members was responsible for killing and turning one of Betsy's friends years ago. Add in a zombie in the attic and the Ant constantly leaving BabyJon with Betsy and it's non-stop craziness for the Queen.
I'm glad I took a break because I was able to just enjoy the book without completely wanting to strangle Betsy most of the time. Admittedly, she does seem to do some growing up a bit in this one and may finally be starting to grow into her role as Queen of the Vampires. Definitely a bubblegum book but a nice break from all the school stuff I'm having to read right now.
Page count: 286p/35,007p ytd/179,407p lifetime
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
132:120 Nothing O'Clock by Neil Gaiman
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary 11th Doctor short story. The Kin have escaped the temporal prison the Time Lords put them in eons ago and are now buying up property all over the Earth using their temporal shifting techniques. Now they want The Doctor to come so they can use his TARDIS to go back to the beginning of time to populate the entire universe with only themselves. Will he figure it out in time or is the universe doomed?
Love Gaiman and he truly captures the mannerisms of the 11th Doctor in this one. The story is quick but engaging, the Doctor quirky and energetic, and the whole thing a fun read. The 11th Doctor is not one of my favorites but this is a great read nonetheless.
Page count: 45p/34,721p ytd/179,121p lifetime
131:120 A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin
The 4th book in the Song of Fire and Ice (or Game of Thrones) series. This book only follows a handful of the characters we've been reading about over the next interval of time: Cersei, Jaime, Brienne, Arya, Sansa, and Samwell. We get a bit of some other minor characters and get introduced to a few new ones but not to any great extent. Many of the questions left unanswered at the end of the last book are still unanswered at the end of this one. The main thread is watching as things go downhill under Cersei in King's Landing and just how crazy she has become. Kind of fun but not nearly as interesting when concentrating on her to the exclusion of almost everything else. I'm very thankful that I do not have to wait several years for the next book and can only hope that Dances with Dragons flows better and answers questions and fills in some holes. I enjoy the complexity of the world and don't mind the tons of characters but I think the story would have actually been much better served if he had kept writing about all the characters instead of breaking up the too big 4th book the way he did.
Page count: 753p/34,676p ytd/179,076p lifetime
Page count: 753p/34,676p ytd/179,076p lifetime
130:120 Search and Destroy by Nancy A. Collins
The first new Sonja Blue in almost a decade and I was so looking forward to finally getting back into that world. Unfortunately, this was a disappointment. Yes, it was Sonja but all that made her different and unique was missing. Her personality was bland and the entire thing was simply her hunting a basic vampire because that's what she does. No other reason, nothing more to the story, just that. After the other short story I bought that ended up just being a recycled story from several years ago with a few culture references updated, I'm not sure if I will try again or not to recapture my feelings for this series. Sonja Blue was an incredible character and vampire slayer years before Anita Blake or Sookie Stackhouse or any of the others that we see currently but it doesn't seem like Ms. Collins heart is really in writing her any longer. Her story seemed to be told and done and while I'd love to find out more, this type of thing is not worthy of her.
Page count: 63p/33,923p ytd/178,323p lifetime
Page count: 63p/33,923p ytd/178,323p lifetime
Sunday, December 8, 2013
129:120 The Queen's Witch by Karen Chance
Another Kit Marlowe short story. Kit has found Gillian again and this time has convinced her to help him discover the threat to Her Majesty before he gives her what she needs for her and her daughter to leave England altogether.
Definitely needs to be read after The Gauntlet as it is a continuation of that story. Again, a fun little romp in Kit's past but has very little to do with the Cassie story line especially since Kit is such a minor character in it.
Page count: 26p/33,860p ytd/178,260p lifetime
Yes, I know I've been reading a lot of short stories lately. I've been trying to get some stuff off my to-read list and I've been doing a bunch of reading for the kids' school so short stories have been easier to just get through between all the other reading.
Definitely needs to be read after The Gauntlet as it is a continuation of that story. Again, a fun little romp in Kit's past but has very little to do with the Cassie story line especially since Kit is such a minor character in it.
Page count: 26p/33,860p ytd/178,260p lifetime
Yes, I know I've been reading a lot of short stories lately. I've been trying to get some stuff off my to-read list and I've been doing a bunch of reading for the kids' school so short stories have been easier to just get through between all the other reading.
128:120 The Gauntlet by Karen Chance
A Kit Marlowe short. Kit is looking for a witch to help him with a deception but when he finds the one he thinks will work, the Circle starts trying to bring the prison down on top of them. In the process, Gillian, the witch, ends up becoming more powerful than either of them knew and that's when things get really interesting...
A fun little read but nothing spectacular. Kit is not a major figure in the Cassie Palmer series but I've heard he figures more prominently in the Dorina series which I haven't read so maybe seeing more of him there, this would have had more relevance.
Page count: 52p/33,834p ytd/178,234p lifetime
A fun little read but nothing spectacular. Kit is not a major figure in the Cassie Palmer series but I've heard he figures more prominently in the Dorina series which I haven't read so maybe seeing more of him there, this would have had more relevance.
Page count: 52p/33,834p ytd/178,234p lifetime
127:120 Cold Turkey by Nancy A. Collins
A short story set in the world of Sonja Blue. Sonja is mistaken as a regular human by a guy at the bar and proceeds to try and play human for him...until the Other takes over and proceeds with her own ideas of what constitutes a fun relationship.
I was disappointed as this was billed as being written in 2012 but really it was the same story as one published in 2002 with only a few things changed to make it more contemporary. I enjoyed the story the first time I read it but wasn't happy to basically be duped into buying it again. The additional story with it is the first in a serial that Ms. Collins is doing, "Absalom's Wake", was not enough to make up for the duplicity. It was definitely not my cup of tea and not something I'll be searching out to continue reading.
Page count: 44p/33,782p ytd/178,182p lifetime
I was disappointed as this was billed as being written in 2012 but really it was the same story as one published in 2002 with only a few things changed to make it more contemporary. I enjoyed the story the first time I read it but wasn't happy to basically be duped into buying it again. The additional story with it is the first in a serial that Ms. Collins is doing, "Absalom's Wake", was not enough to make up for the duplicity. It was definitely not my cup of tea and not something I'll be searching out to continue reading.
Page count: 44p/33,782p ytd/178,182p lifetime
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)