Saturday, May 05, 2007

Books I'm Looking Forward To Reading:



Have not been reading much lately.

The good news is that this has also given some of my favourite authors a chance to release some books I haven't read yet!

Here's what I'm looking forward to between now and the beginning of August:


All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
Latest in the Sookie Stackhouse mystery series
release date: May 1, 2007

I'm leaning towards waiting until this either shows up at the library or comes out in paperback. It's one of my favourite series, but I wasn't wild about the last book in this collection. Will let you know how it goes once I've gotten through it.


No Humans Involved, by Kelley Armstrong
Part of the Women of the Otherworld series
release date: May 1, 2007

Her last book was good. I've requested it through the library, but I might buy this one if I've read my stack of unread stuff before it arrives. Ellena is still my favourite character, but it might be interesting to see what happens with Jaime ... and Jeremy ...


Demons are Forever, by Julie Kenner
Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series
release date: July 3, 2007

Ok, so it's "chick lit". So it's fluffy, a light read, not so much with the heavy emotions. And? Do we really have a problem with that? The first two were great: Carpe Demon, followed by California Demon. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a soccer mom. Absurd, right? And that's one of the things which makes it such great brain candy. I'm hoping this latest book rocks as hard as the other two.



The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake series
release date: June 5, 2007

I'm nervous about this one. I bought the last two - in hardcover, natch - and was so bored by the last one I literally started skimming it. Did I read the last three pages? Maybe; who can remember. It feels like Laurell K. Hamilton has run out of new ideas, innovative ways to push boundaries in her books. It's unfortunate.

But I'm still a fan, albeit a reluctant one at this point. I'll probably wait for it through the library system. Unless the reviews are really really good ...



Thin Air, by Rachel Caine
Weather Warden book 6
release date: August 7, 2007

Another fave series. It has moments where it borders on chick lit, but it's such an easy read with lots of action and layers of inter-connected relationships. The other five have been so consistently good that I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out.

More to come!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Lists ...


Looking for something genre-related to read? What follows are a few of my favourite books ... in no particular order ...:

  1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
  2. My Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
  3. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
  4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
  5. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It's my favourite.

My Silver Metal Lover
is a stand-alone, although a sort-of sequel was released several years after this one.

Burnt Offerings
is somewhere in the middle of the Anita Blake series. They're all good up to Narcissus in Chains; after that, they started losing their focus to become more of a crazy mass sex partner plus ick factor storyline and less of a kick-ass detective story line.

Dead Until Dark
is the first of the Sookie Stackhouse supernatural mysteries. One of my favourite series - an easy, light read with a sense of humour. The later books seem to be losing their freshness a bit, but the first four are great and even the ones after that are readable.

Dead Witch Walking
is the first in the Rachel Morgan series. I've really enjoyed every book in this series -- it isn't waning for me at all. The only one I wasn't crazy about was A Fistful of Charms ... but even that was well-written. It was just some elements of the subject matter that annoyed me.

Recently Read ...

For A Few Demons More, by Kim Harrison

Haven't posted in quite a while! It's not like I stopped reading ... although maybe I've been reading a bit less ...

The most recent book I read was For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison. It's the fifth book in her Rachel Morgan collection, currently one of my favourite series. I as wasn't crazy about the fourth book -- A Fistful of Charms -- but this latest work more than makes up for it.

We're talking magic, we're talking decisions, we're talking poignant. The characters are evolving. I'm a little concerned about Matalina, since clearly the author doesn't have a problem with removing key characters as needed. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan? I'm guessing "yes" on that one ... LOL ...)

The main characters in this installment are the core trio - Rachel, Ivy and Jenks. Look for appearances by Glen (Edden's son), Trent Kalamak, Kisten, Piscary, Skinner and of course Rachel's alpha and insurance agent, the werewolf David Hue. And did I mention the demons? Oops.

If you're already into the series, I think you'll find this book satisfyingly bittersweet. If you haven't started the series yet, I recommend going to the library or bookstore and picking up the first one -- Dead Witch Walking.

To check out the author's site, click here.