Showing posts with label Mercedes Lackey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercedes Lackey. Show all posts

Sunday, March 18, 2012

2011 Books: 26-40

More book catchup (I bet you thought I forgot!).  These have been almost a year ago, so although I remember they were good & the gist of them, some I don't have anything to say about.  And a few I have things I'd LOVE to say, but it would be huge spoilers because they're part of a series, and so I'll refrain because I know I have a lot of followers who may be reading them & not as far in the series as I am.  But here they are

#26
Rachel Caine
Weather Warden Book 5
Paranormal Romance




#27
Rachel Caine
Weather Warden Book 6
Paranormal Romance





#28
Lucy Monroe
Children of the Moon Book 3
Paranormal Romance

I thought for sure this would be the third sister (the first 2 books had the first 2 sisters), so I was caught off guard when it wasn't.  And now I'll probably waiting for that third sister to appear in the next book LOL.  But it's a good thing really, I don't like a series to be too predictable.

#29
Rachel Caine
Weather Warden Book 7
Paranormal Romance




#30
Rachel Caine
Weather Warden Book 8
Paranormal Romance

Looking back, you can kind of see that things are going from bad to worse for Joanne just by looking at the coves LOL.  Dark, dangerous, stormy seas - for most if not all of this book if I remember correctly

Anthology
Romance

This anthology featured stories from:  Lauren Dane, Megan Hart, Emma Holly & Bethany Kane.

Usually if I'm going to read romance, it's got to have a paranormal aspect, but this is one of the exceptions - I mainly picked up because I'm a fan of Emma Holly.

Rachel Caine
Weather Warden Book 9
Paranormal Romance

I didn't realize when I started reading this one that it was the last book in the series.  Things did wrap up pretty well, but I still want to know what happens next.

There is another series (that I have at this point completed) set in the same world - Outcast Season, a 4-book series - but it's set in the same time frame & ends at the same point, so while you get to see what else was going on, you don't get to see what happens after it all goes down.  But I hope the author will continue to write in the world because it's become one of my favorites.

#33
Cameron Haley
The Underworld Cycle Book 2
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

There are a few aspects of this series that remind me a bit of the Fever series - not necessarily in the writing style, and certainly not in the characters, but more in the way that the magical world is coming out from under wraps - I think in a few more books, if that, there'll be no hiding from "normal" people & it will all be out in the open.
#34
Undone
Rachel Caine
Outcast Season Book 1
Paranormal Romance

Set in the same world as the Weather Warden Series, the Outcast Season series follows the Djinn Cassiel as she is cast out by their leader & down into flesh  as a human - something she is in no way happy about.  But she was asked to do something she would not do, and I can't remember if you even learn what it is in the first book or the second book so I'm not going to spoil it by telling you what the request was

#35
Richard Castle
Nikki Heat Book 2
Mystery




Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Book 20
Paranormal Romance

I know a series this long-running isn't to everyone's taste, but I love gigantic series.  Even when a story is wrapped up in satisfactory manner, I almost always still want to know what happens next.  And so series like this - that the author has flat out said she has no intention of ending anytime soon - are right up my alley.

#37
Mercedes Lackey
The Elemental Masters Book 6
Historical Fantasy

Mercedes Lackey is one of the authors I've been reading the longest, and still one of my absolute favorites.  She's also one of the most prolific writers, and has a lot of active series going on - while a lot of authors only do one or maybe two books a year if you're lucky, I'd say Mercedes usually has at least 3 or 4 & usually at least one anthology with other authors set in her world of Valdemar.

#38
Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels Book 5
Paranormal Romance





#39
Rachel Caine
Outcast Season Book 2
Paranormal Romance





#40
Karen Chance
Cassie Palmer Book 5
Paranormal

It seems like I waited a very long time for this 5th book to come out - & looking back at my book list, it looks like #4 was in 2009 so it wasn't just my imagination.  But it was worth the wait, and almost understandable - although I always feel like writers need to hurry up & give me more good books, the key word is not hurry but good ... I'm not interested in reading some hastily-thrown together thing with plot holes the size of Texas.  And since this series deals with a crap load of time-travel, it's even more open for mistakes that most, so I'm glad that she took to time to make everything match up & make sense.

One more installment should finish up last year - then I can move on to this year =)  I've already read around a dozen books which isn't too shabby.  I always feel like I'm not reading enough LOL, but I know I still read a lot more than most people.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette


Saturday, January 8, 2011

Final 2010 Books: 62 - 66

Well, as I said around the new year, I didn't meet my goal of 100 books.  There are a lot of things I could blame this on, from the blog, YT channel, work, etc, etc, but I know the real reason & it is poor time management.  I haven't gotten around to making any official resolutions for 2011, but at least unofficially, better time management is at the top of my list.  I think I'm doing better.  We'll see how it goes as the year progresses. 
 
Harvest Moon: A Tangled Web\Cast in Moonlight\Retribution (Luna Books)#62
Anthology
Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
 
This anthology included novellas from:  Mercedes Lackey, Michelle Sagara & Cameron Haley
 
Of course Mercedes Lackey has been a favorite of mine for some time.  The other 2 I had not read before, but Cameron Haley immediately caught my attention with a mobster sorceress - does that not just have a cool ring to it?  I requested her full-length novel right away & it was my first book of 2011 that I finished so stay tuned for me to start my next book list later this month.
 
Strange Attractions (Berkley Sensation)#63
Emma Holly
(Slightly Paranormal) Romance
 
Romance plus .... wait for it ... quantum physics.  Oh, and kinky stuff.  Which is kind of par for Emma Holly but she manages to fit in a real story along with all the sexy bits, which is why I like her.
 
The Sleeping Beauty (Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms)#64
Mercedes Lackey
Five Hundred Kingdoms Book 5
Fantasy
 
So I realized I'd had this on hold for like, months, after I read Lackey's novella in Harvest Moon (above).  I un-held it, and breezed through in only a few days; I like this series because it puts such hilarious twists on so many traditional tales.
 
Legacies (Shadow Grail, No. 1)#65
Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill
Shadow Grail Book 1
Teen Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
 
I thought that this book was either going to be trying to be Harry Potter, with the poor orphan sent off to school to discover their magic - but it didn't give me that feel at all.  Looking forward to the 2nd installment.
 
The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas)#66
Meljean Brook
Iron Seas Book 1
Steampunk
 
I haven't delved a whole lot into steampunk.  When I first heard the premise for the genre, I wasn't too impressed - but this was at a time when I really hadn't read any good historical fiction.  Since then I have not only read good historical fiction, I've come to appreciate a good alternate history as well, and I like the twists that steampunk ads to the "normal" world.  Taking that "what if ...?" and running with it.
 
Do you keep track of your reading?  & if so how many books did you devour in 2010?  I'm off to a slow start for 2011 (only 2, the second just finished this evening), which is a shame considering how sick I've been - I feel like even if I am too weak to do anything else, I should have picked up a book more often than I did.  I just finished my 2nd book for the year.  I'd like to read more in 2011 than I did in 2010, but other than that I'm not aiming for any particular milestone amount.
 
Thanks for reading =)
 
~Colette

Sunday, November 28, 2010

2010 Books 49 - 61

I'm pretty much seriously doubting I'll make my goal of 100 books for the year - I'd have to read like a book a day for the rest of the year, and I don't think that's going to be happening, with holiday shopping & cooking & everything else!  But here's what I've been reading lately:
 
Courting Midnight (The Upyr Series, Book 5) (Berkley Sensation)#49
Emma Holly
Fitz Clare Chronicles Book 5
Historical Paranormal Romance
 
This book follows Lucius - the eldest living upyr, and the last who remembers the very beginning of their race.
 
Twice Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 3)#50
Chloe Neill
Chicagoland Vampires Book 3
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
 
Not my favorite book of the series - too much setting up of things.  Which I suppose is a good thing, if I want this to be a long-running series, but I think there could have been some more actual action going on.
 
Kissing Midnight (Fitz Clare Chronicles)#51
Emma Holly
Fitz Clare Chronicles Book 6
Historical Paranormal Romance
 
Breaking Midnight (Berkley Sensation)#52
Emma Holly
Fitz Clare Chronicles Book 7
Historical Paranormal Romance
 
Saving Midnight (Berkley Sensation)#53
Emma Holly
Fitz Clare Chronicles Book 8
Historical Paranormal Romance
 
These were the first 3 books of the series that really almost stood alone as a trilogy - following the same characters throughout the books rather than just being set in the same world as the rest of the series.
 
Dark and Stormy Knights#54
Anthology
Urvan Fantasy/Paranormal
 
This anthology featured short stories by:  Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Shannon K. Butcher, Rachel Caine, P.N. Elrod, Deidre Knight, Vicki Pettersson, Lilith Saintcrow, and Carrie Vaughn.
 
I liked this anthology because the stories were a little longer- if you get over 10 authors, sometimes the stories almost seem too short to even bother with.
 
Immortal Sea (Children of the Sea)#55
Virginia Kantra
Children of the Sea Book 4
Paranormal Romance
 
Until this book, the series has mostly been focusing on the selkie, but this book gets more into the finfolk - who are more powerful in that they can take on the form of any creature in the sea, rather than just seals.  They don't have any skins to be stolen either, making them less vulnerable than their kin.
 
Path of the Sun: A Novel of Dhulyn and Parno#56
Violette Malan
Dhulyn & Parno Book 4
Fantasy
 
Not exactly a cliffhanger ending, but I will say that there were more loose ends left hanging that I'd prefer LOL - at least considering there is no release date for the 5th book yet!
 
The Demon's Daughter (Tales of the Demon World, Book 1)#57
Emma Holly
Tales of the Demon World Book 1
Historical Paranormal Romance
 
Wasn't quite sure whether to classify this as Historical Paranormal or Steam-Punk ... somewhat of a fine line I suppose, and kind of open to interpretation.
 
The Truth of Valor (Valor Novel)#58
Tanya Huff
Confederation  Book 5
Sci-Fi
 
I used to read a lot more sci-fi than I do now, but there are still a few series that I can't pass up when a new book comes out & this is one of them.  I actually kind of thought that book 4 might be the last one, because things seemed to be neatly wrapped up - but of course things are never that simple for Torin.
 
First Blood#59
Anthology
Paranormal Romance
 
This anthology featured short stories by:  Susan Sizemore Erin McCarthy, Chris Marie Green, and Meljean Brook.
 
I originally picked up this anthology for the Guardians short story (Meljean Brook) & it took me just forever to get through the rest of the stories.  Of the other 3 authors, I think only one of them would I care to read again.
 
Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files#60
Jim Butcher
Dresden Files - Anthology
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
 
This anthology is a collection of all the Dresden Files short stories, plus a brand-new novella that takes place after the last book, Changes.  I had my hopes that it would take the edge off of the cliffhanger that book ended with, since Ghost Stories isn't due out until spring 2011 - but no such luck.  Although it starts mere hours after the end of Changes, the entire story is narrated by Murphy, and no further clues to Harry's fate were given.
 
Intrigues: Book Two of the Collegium Chronicles (A Valdemar Novel)#61
Mercedes Lackey
Valdemar - Collegium Chronicles Book 2
Fantasy
 
I have been reading the Valdemar series since I was about 12 LOL.  It's always a world that I enjoy, even if things are a little more black & white - simple - than in other series that I love for their complexity.

So, now I'm caught up for the moment posting books =)  A pile out from the library, as usual, but I've just been having trouble fitting reading time in - so many other things I am equally behind with that clamor for what little free time I have.  What do you have a bookmark in at the moment?

Thanks for reading.

~Colette
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