The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

TITLE: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
AUTHOR: Carrie Ryan
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE: Young Adult/Fantasy
PAGES; 310
SERIES: 1st in a new series

REASON FOR READING: Katiebabs talked me into it with her review

Summary : {From Goodreads}
In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
At first this book was hard to get into. I couldn’t understand or sympathize with the main character. She grew up her whole life afraid of everything outside her fence. Her father was turned and now her mother was crazy with the loss. She resented the fact she had to watch her mother to prevent her from going to the fence after her father. And the worse thing that could happen did. Now Mary has to survive and learn what is really out there for her and if there was more to life then fear.

Things I enjoyed:
-Like I said at first I didn’t care for Mary I thought she was selfish and immature however, as the book continued Mary grew into a person that I could relate to a little bit. Yes she still had her selfish moments but she also had moments of understanding and realization. These are what helped her grow
-I liked seeing what the world was truly like and how one group controlled another by keeping the past from the people. It had an underlining mission to it that I thoroughly enjoyed and related too as well.
-The ending was wonderful and left just enough questions for the second book.

Things I didn’t care for:
-Again I didn’t care for the selfish moments that Mary had all the way up until a major life turning event. She was so single focused on those issues and hang-ups she couldn’t ever appreciate what she had until she lost it. It was rather depressing but still it made her into the person she needed to be by the end.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it b/c it was a library book. After the next one comes out and if I like it I will probably buy both.

Anything Else: This was an interesting story line different that I normally read but I was glad I gave it a try

Review ~ Lamaent: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

TITLE: Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: Young Adult/Fantasy
PAGES; 326
SERIES: 1st in a new series

REASON FOR READING: The girls over at Book Smugglers Talked me into it. Although I can’t recall what they thought I just had to read it after their review.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. When a mysterious boy enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of nowhere, Deirdre finds herself infatuated. Trouble is, the enigmatic and conflicted Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin – and Deirdre is meant to be his next mark. Deirdre has to decide if Luke's feelings towards her are real, or only a way to lure her deeper into the world of Faerie.

Luke isn't her only problem. A sinister faerie named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Long-time enemies with a common goal, Luke and Aodhan carry the same assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is her best friend James whose devotion has been teetering precariously on the line between friendship and love for months – a feeling that Dee doesn't quite reciprocate. It's Luke she can't stop thinking about: Luke, who was supposed to kill her immediately but hasn't. Luke, who cannot refuse the Queen's orders without paying an unimaginable price. Deirdre ultimately must confront the Faerie Queen before she loses everyone she loves.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This starts off with a young girl trying to find her place. She gets stage freight bad enough she throws up before every performance but her mother still makes her play. This time however, she runs into Luke the boy from her dreams. At first she can’t believe its real but after he continues to show up along with some other, too beautiful to be real, people she begins to wonder about them. Add to it her grandmother’s warning, attacks, and of course the general weirdness that happens around her and Deirdre begins to wonder if she loosing her mind or if there is something more out there. Turns out there is someone out there that views her as a threat.
Now Deirdre has to stay one step ahead of the queen to prevent her death and those she cares about. This was a wonderful fantasy book that kept my attention through the whole thing.

Things I enjoyed:
-At first I didn’t like Deirdre. This is the problem I have with teenage books I think they are all too young, whinny, and have the its all about me complex. Which Deirdre did except she grew in the book and started to come into her own. Her issues with Luke were annoying but they even started to shape and form. So after a while I finally started to sympathize with her and that’s a HUGE feat for the author to do.
-I loved Dee best friend he was awesome! He played the bagpipe he never doubted her when she told him about the weirdness in her life. He was very supportive of her and he was in love with her. OMG I was so rooting for him.
-I like the twist she did on with the Faire world, the myths and world building the author did was very good.

Things I didn’t care for:
-Like I said at first Dee got on my nerves and I wasn’t happy with her personality but she grew and that was impressive.
-I didn’t care for the songs. Its just me but I just couldn’t get into them and I ended up skimming them but this was just a minor thing.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it b/c it was a library book. After the next one comes out and if I like it I will probably buy both.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

Anything Else: This was an interesting look at the Faire world and I highly recommend it.

Rapture in Death by JD Robb

TITLE: Rapture in Death
AUTHOR: JD Robb
COPYRIGHT: 1996
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 320
SERIES: 4th in the series
1. Naked In Death
2. Glory in Death
3. Immortal in Death
4. Rapture in Death

REASON FOR READING: Well I read the others in the series and thought I should continue

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Mind games
At the flick of a switch, Eve's face flashed onto a monitor, all pertinent data split-screened beside her. A fascinating woman. Birthplace and parents unknown. The abused child discovered hiding in an alley in Dallas, Texas, body battered, mind blanked. A woman who couldn't remember the early years of her own life. The years that formed the soul. Years when she had been beaten and raped and tormented.
What did that sort of life do to the mind? To the heart? To the person?
It had made the girl a social worker and had made Eve Dallas into a woman who had become a cop. The cop with the reputation for digging deep, and who had come into some notoriety the previous winter during the investigation of a sensitive and ugly case.
That was when she had met Roarke.
The computer hummed, sliced Roarke's fave onto the screen. Such an intriguing couple. His background was no prettier than the cop's had been. But he'd chosen, at least initially, the other side of the law to make his mark. And his fortune.
Now they were a set. A set that could be destroyed on a whim.
But not yet. not for little time yet.
After all, the game had just begun.


THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This time we are at Roarke and Eve’s honeymoon they have had LOTS of sex but yet Eve continues to play VR with criminals. Only to discover on their last night at the fancy resort off world that a member of Roarke’s hotel staff has killed himself. The weird part he died with a smile on his face. Eve can’t let it go and once they return the case still bugs her especially when she starts to see it happening to others. As a mystery it was pretty flat. I figured out the killer within the first half of the book. The interesting parts were the relationships.

Things I enjoyed:
-I did like watching Peabody coming into her own. I enjoyed her growing as a professional and learning more about her past in her personal life
-It was nice to see a book that showed the ups and downs of relationships even thought they were humping like rabbits they still had some quarrels that I thought was a nice touch to show us. That even though it looks perfect they will both still have to compromise.

Things I didn’t care for:
-I didn’t care for the mystery. As I stated above it was pretty predictable as far as who the killer was.
-It took a lot to get me to read this book all the way through. I have no idea why but it did and I am not sure I will continue. While I love the characters I am getting tired of the series already.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it

Anything Else: It isn’t necessary to read the series in order. Ms. Robb does a job at catching you up with a flashback sort of thing but it would help to understand their relationship.

Review ~ Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

TITLE: Blood Rites
AUTHOR: Jim Butcher
COPYRIGHT: 2004
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 372
SERIES: 6th in the series
1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rite
7. Dead Beat
8. Proven Guilty
9. White Night
10. Small Favor
11. Welcome to the Jungle

REASON FOR READING: Well I really enjoyed Death Masks so I thought I should continue with the series

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Per usual, wizard-detective extraordinaire Harry Dresden is in trouble. He barely escapes an assassination attempt, courtesy of the Black Council of vampires, when Thomas, a vampire who has helped Harry out on occasion, asks him to take a case. It seems someone doesn't want porno film director Arturo Genosa's latest effort to get off the ground. An entropy spell has killed two of Arturo's assistants, and Thomas wants Harry to find the culprit. With suspects abounding--Arturo has no fewer than three ex-wives--Harry decides to pose as a production assistant at the studio. Though he isn't able to stop another sabotage attempt, this one threatening an actress' life, he does save the young woman. With danger closing in, the last thing Harry needs is a sexy succubus and a surprising revelation about his heritage. Filled with sizzling magic and intrigue as well as important developments for Harry, the latest of his adventures will have fans rapidly turning the pages.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
We are back in Chicago with Harry picking up where he left off a few months after Susan. This time it opens up with Harry being chased by flying moneys that shoot poop out of their buts that is acidic. Thomas is involved and after a narrow escape ask Harry to help him with a job. The job it turns out involves the porn business. Between a succubus and murder attempts Harry’s life is pretty full at the moment. Add in some assassination attempts and you have a whole party. Once again another great book by Butcher

Things I enjoyed:
-Uh duh Harry! He’s the best wizard EVER!!! *clears throat* Okay let’s be more specific. He is loyal, trusting, honest and well just wants the good guys to win even if that means getting his butt kicked.
-Another part I enjoyed was the plot. Mr. Butcher did an excellent job at keeping the pace of the story moving forward the action was enough and throughout that it kept the rest of the plot moving. The twist caught me by surprise but were not so out of left field that I had to think about it.
-I also enjoyed the humor Harry has the best one liners ever.

Things I didn’t care for:
-There is a scene I didn’t care for that takes place in the cave towards the end but I don’t want to give away any of the plot so I’m sort of stuck.
-I didn’t care for Murphy’s side storyline regarding her sister. Those of you who don’t know the story yet you will understand when it gets there.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it only b/c it was a library book and sadly enough I haven’t kept any of the series.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

Anything Else: This is a stand alone but fits in the series wonderfully.

Review ~ A Rush Of Wings by Adrian Phoenix

TITLE: A Rush of Wings
AUTHOR: Adrian Phoenix
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 416
SERIES: First in the series

REASON FOR READING: Anna and others have talked about this book and with the 2nd one out I thought it might be time to see what it is all about

Summary : {From Goodreads}
HIS NAME IS DANTE.
Dark. Talented. Beautiful. Star of the rock band Inferno. Rumored owner of the hot New Orleans nightspot Club Hell. Born of the Blood, then broken by an evil beyond imagination.


HIS PAST IS A MYSTERY.
F.B.I. Special Agent Heather Wallace has been tracking a sadistic serial murderer known as the Cross Country Killer, and the trail has led her to New Orleans, Club Hell, and Dante. But the dangerously attractive musician not only resists her investigation, he claims to be "nightkind": in other words, a vampire. Digging into his past for answers reveals little. A juvenile record a mile long. No social security number. No known birth date. In and out of foster homes for most of his life before being taken in by a man named Lucien DeNoir, who appears to guard mysteries of his own.

HIS FUTURE IS CHAOS.
What Heather does know about Dante is that something links him to the killer -- and she's pretty sure that link makes him the CCK's next target. Heather must unravel the truth about this sensual, complicated, vulnerable young man -- who, she begins to believe, may indeed be a vampire -- in order to finally bring a killer to justice. But Dante's past holds a shocking, dangerous secret, and once it is revealed not even Heather will be able to protect him from his destiny....



THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Alright this book starts off with a bang. We have FBI Agent Heather Wallace looking at yet another body this time in New Orleans and she is more than certain it’s the same killer she has been tracking for the last 3 years. The CCK (Cross County Killer). She is also confident that it has something to do with Club Hell. After all the body was found out in the back yard with a new symbol and a new message. So off Heather goes to investigate. But you see Club Hell brings up old memories for Heather. Her sister used to sing in places like this, use to dress like these people and ended up killing herself. Not to mention on top of bad memories, chasing a killer and a club that caters to the undead (which she doesn’t believe in) she finds Dante very intriguing.

Things I enjoyed:
-I enjoyed learning about Dante’s past. It was hard to swallow at times and it was not pretty but learning about what made him who he was fascinated me through out the whole book. I really wanted to get to know Dante better.
-Heather herself was very interesting. She wasn’t the typical I’m so tough I don’t need anyone to help me. I’m so bad ass until I get into a fight. She was very focused on her job. Was good at what she does and knew her limitations and that’s the kind of heroine I grow to respect and want the best for them.
-The plot twist was anything Grand but I enjoyed watching it unfold. The author had a way of writing that sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. Every time I knew something was coming, it did, but in a way I hadn’t expected.

Things I didn’t care for:
-This is rare but there wasn’t a lot I didn’t care for. I thought the plot was tight enough that if you would’ve cut anything out you would’ve missed a lot. I thought most if not all the characters were needed to keep things moving. The only one I had reservations about and could’ve done without was Wallace’s boss. He really didn’t play that major of a roll other than getting Dante’s past to Heather.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Sadly enough this was a library book. But I think it might just get added on to the TBB pile.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

Anything Else: I haven’t read anything else by this author but plan to pick the 2nd one up in this series ASAP

Go and Check out the website for further questions http://www.adrianphoenix.com/

Also as a bonus: ~If you like this author you might like these authors: Jeri Smith-Ready, Justine Musk, Marjorie M Liu, Jenna Black, and Barb & JC Hendee

Review ~ An Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair

TITLE: An Accidental Goddess
AUTHOR: Linnea Sinclair
COPYRIGHT: 2005
TYPE: Sci/Fi romance
PAGES; 448
SERIES: nope stand alone

REASON FOR READING: I am a great fan of Ms. Sinclair’s work and have been glooming her back list.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillaine Davré has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last three hundred years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time-traveling, she was ordained a goddess…. Gillaine’s only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler—or worse. But he can’t begin to imagine the full extent of it. For Gillaine is now Lady Kiasidira, holy icon to countless believers, including Mack—a man who inspires feelings in her that are far from saintly…feelings she knows are mutual. But when their flirtation is interrupted by a treacherous enemy from the past, Gillaine’s secret—and secret desires—could destroy them both

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Okay as the summary stated this book takes place in space 300 hundred years in the future from the last place Gillie was at. The last place she was at was fighting a great enemy and protecting the same people who now worship her as a Goddess. The book had a lot of back story, religion and culture in it in order to help us understand the situation. It was a little tedious at times but at other times I found myself wanting more. Of course there is a romance element to it with Mack and Gillie together. At first it was a little hard to swallow considering that they had just met 2 weeks prior but towards the end of the book it felt natural. Even if I didn’t like the reason she gave behind it.

Things I enjoyed:
-I enjoyed the plot. What would you do if you woke up in a sick bay to find out that not only were you 300 plus years in the future but also worshipped as a Goddess? I know I would be just as upset as she was. Especially if I felt that they were taking my words and actions and making them into something more than they were.
-Gillie was a character that was born into greatness and people recognized that early on. She had no choice in the matter and only desired to be treated as a normal everyday person. Even in relationships most of the guys wanted to date her b/c of her power or her heritage and that hurt. So when she acted out or denied who and what she was it made sense. I did like how at the end she learned that she had to except who and what she was in order to save those she loved.
-The secondary characters were lovely I enjoyed Simon and the others and thought it was handled well. Simon actually stole the show a few times.

Things I didn’t care for:
-As I mentioned above I didn’t care for the whole falling in love thing in 2 weeks. It just doesn’t happen in real life and I have a hard time falling for it in books. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.
-I didn’t care for some of the movement in the story it just seemed to slow down in places then in others it felt as if it moved super fast. All and all it was good but I felt there were parts that could have been cut and still made it a good book..

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it

SCORE: 7 out of 10

Anything Else: .This is yet another great read from a fantastic author. I would check out any of her previous books as well as this one.

Go and Check out the website for further questions http://www.linneasinclair.com/

Also as a bonus: ~If you like this author you might like these authors: Susan Grant, Robin D Owens, Patti O’Shea, Rowena Cherry, Deidre Knight, Susan Kearney, Ann Aguirre, Susan Sizemore, and JD Robb