The Good, The Bad, And The Stupid

As if it could be possible, but Kelley Armstrong has moved up another notch on my "great author radar". In the 3rd installment of The Women of the Otherworld series she has brought new characters to the surface and changed narrators.

The change in narrators was hard for me. I had grown used to Elena's train of thought, but once I got used to Paige Winterbourne things moved along rather quickly. Paige had been a minor character in Stolen, along with Savannah, the child Paige has taken under her wing.

Now with Paige in the lead everything has changed. The first two books had been about Werewolves, now we must learn about a new part of the supernatural world: witches and sorcerers.

Although these "races" have been touched on in Stolen, we do not get a real feeling for them until we begin Dime Store Magic.

Paige is a successful, strong-minded, young woman. She has recently lost her mother and gained a "daughter". The entire book is based on Paige protecting Savannah, but she must also learn to open her heart and mind.

After the American Coven of Witches discredits and throws her aside like yesterdays news Paige is on her own to deal with what is to come. And boy, oh boy there is A LOT to come.

Savannah's father, Kristof Nast will do whatever it takes to get his daughter back. He is the CEO of the Nast Cabal and he is not a very good guy. To top it off he is a sorcerer with a lot of dirty little tricks up his sleeve. He makes contact through his employees with Paige to try to gain custody. When she refuses she sets everything in motion.

Since Kristof and Savannah are supernaturals they will not undergo blood testing to prove that he his her father, and since this is what Paige has suggested she thinks she has won. Too bad she herself had entirely too much confidence. Kristof's employees make the next move by setting Paige up for murder.

Since the Coven has left her behind and the human law can do nothing to help, Paige finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. That is until Lucas Cortez, helpful lawyer, shows up at her door. Then she relaxes... HAHA just kidding! She runs for her life thinking this is a set up. Lucas is none other than a sorcerer himself! But he won't seem to take no for an answer. He pursues Paige like no other and for some reason Paige actually grows used to him and feels safe with him.

With Lucas at her side they fight the good fight. Lucas really is on the good side. He is the son of the CEO of the Cortez Cabal, yet he wants nothing more than to put the Cabals out of business. He is a lawyer, taking one case at a time to meet his intended goal with Paige's case taking the cake. Until Paige and Savannah are kidnapped.

The search for Paige and Savannah falls on Lucas. Can he outsmart the evildoers? Can he find where they are hiding his Love and her "daughter"? And most of all can he save Savannah from herself?

I quite enjoyed this book. It has been about a year since I have read it so I had to do a bit of skimming to refresh my memory but I totally love the relationship between Paige and Lucas. I also love the relationship Paige and Lucas are building with Savannah. This is an adult series so there is a bit of language in it and a bit of sex. That being said it is a great story. It is very suspenseful at times and full of love at others. I give this book a 10 out of 10... This grade my be a bit bias simply because Kelley Armstrong is 100% my favorite author. So, just read it an form your own opinion. =)

You Give Me Fever

Okay, so, WOW. This book was completely different from Shiver. Yes, it has the same characters but it is not based on love. Yes, Sam and Grace are still in love with each other but the majority of the book is about independence, defiance, and coming to terms with life altering events that are out of their control.

Grace and Sam are soul mates. They are meant to be together but for some reason life keep getting in their way. The story began in Shiver with a boy who is a wolf loving a girl who is a human but now the roles have reversed. Now the girl becoming a wolf is desperately trying to hold onto her humanity to be with the human boy she loves.

Now that we have discussed Grace and Sam lets move onto Isabel and Cole. Isabel is a not so nice girl in a smokin' hot body. She is popular and materialistic. Both of her parents cope with life through alcohol, drugs, and work; pretty much leaving her to herself and her parents money. But the best part about Isabel is that she is Grace's friend. They have nothing in common but the fact that they share the same secret -- the knowledge of the "wolves". And that brings us to Cole.

Cole is one of the recent additions to the "pack". Before the leader of the pack changed into a full-time wolf he made three new pack members to take care of business, this is where Cole came in at the end of Shiver. Although, I still don't know what Beck was thinking because Cole is unstable, self loathing, and careless. But for some unknown reason Isabel is the one to break him.

Isabel and Cole are my favorite characters in this book. They are both so boxed up and closed off from everyone but each other. They open up to each other and it makes their characters blossom, yet they are not a couple. Physically attracted to each other, yes. Together, no. They are a team, both trying to cope with their hardships and both trying to help Grace and Sam.

Throughout the book Grace is unusually sick. Her nose keeps bleeding, she has a horrible fever and a headache from hell. Everyone knows there is something wrong with her, but the people that know what it is are to afraid to said it out loud. Although, what everyone thought is completely ass backwards and the twist in the end of this book is so far off in left field that you will NEVER see it coming.

What I also didn't see coming was the lack of love in this book. Quite honestly it felt more like obsession and desperation. This book was full of fear. The fear that you are leaving someone or something behind. Don't get me wrong, it's a great book! It's just not what I expected. Although, I do not like where this book left off I am still willing to give it an 8 out of 10. Maggie's writing style is still amazing and she allowed her characters an amazing amount of feelings -- fear, love, lust, angst, sadness, disgust, and many others. Her characters have definitely grown from the previous book. =)

I am impatiently awaiting the arrival of the third and final book Forever!

Nothing Like A Cup Of Coffee OR A Good Old Fashion Back-Stabbing Bitch

Have you ever heard the phrase "it's time to put the past behind you"? Well, it's kind of a hard concept to follow when you're Zoey Redbird, newly marked fledgling vampyre, and you have just accidentally imprinted with your human boyfriend. How can you put your past in the past when it is now the very center of your existence? And is it really so bad to have the guy you love be bound to you for all of his existence??? Let's Find out.

Betrayed by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast is a pretty good book. I wouldn't say it is my favorite book, but it is definitely a good read. In this book Zoey has a lot to overcome. Although she seems to be fitting in at the House of Night she is still not completely in her element. (Haha I made a funny... she can control the elements but she still hasn't found her element =)) She has recently been made leader of The Dark Daughters and has been seeing fledglings who had died. She actually thinks that she is going crazy or that she could possibly be seeing ghosts.

Despite everything that is going on in her life right now Zoey is trying her best to keep it together and pave the way for a better future for herself, her friends, and her fellow students. She had decided to implement new rules and regulations for the Dark Daughters, a code of conduct that must be followed to maintain admittance. To do this she has chosen to have her friends help aid her in the processes and decision makings. Things are running smoothly for a while, accept for the fact that people from her old human life are turning up dead. Aside from the fact that all evidence is pointing directly at the House of Night Zoey is holding it together, until a fledgling dies immediately after she leads her first Dark Daughters ritual.

This death is what causes her downward spiral. With all of the stress Zoey takes a few wrong turns and makes quite a few mistakes. Although these mistakes seem detrimental throughout the book, one mistake is the best mistake. This one poor decision is what paves the way to a brighter future, and in turn creates a safety net that allows Zoey access to not only save one life, but two.

So, Zoey saves two lives... but what has she saved them from? Haha, I'm not going to tell you, but I will give you a hint. Her trust is misplaced and the one person she thought she could trust the most is the one person who has orchestrated this entire catastrophe. Now that loyalties lie elsewhere Zoey soon realizes that the individuals she once believed to be evil are the individuals she should actually be putting her faith in for further assistance in uncovering the truth that is buried so deep it might as well be in the center of the earth.

For more information on this book visit http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/betrayed.html

P.S. I'm going on record again to say APHRODITE IS MY FAVORITE! =) <3 Gotta Love Me A Hag From Hell <3

Top Ten Authors

Just for fun I thought I would post my Top Ten Favorites!

1. Kelley Armstrong of the Darkest Powers Trilogy

2. Cate Tiernan of the Sweep Series

3. L. J. Smith of the Vampire Diaries

4. Alyson Noel of the Immortals Series

5. P. C. Cast of the House of Night Series

6. Lauren Kate of Fallen Series

7. Erica Hayes of the Shadowfae Series

8. Nancey Holder of the Wicked Series

9. Rick Riordan of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series

10. Kami Garcia / Margaret Stohl of the Caster Chronicles

Lets Get Nasty =)

I'd like to begin by saying I don't believe I have read anything by Cate Tiernan that I haven't liked! She is wonderful =) The author of the Sweep/Wicca series and of Balefire has blown it out of the park AGAIN in her newest series Immortal Beloved.

Nastasya, well that's what she is calling herself these days, has been around for more years than you can imagine. Centuries for that matter. For well over 400 years she has lived as an immortal, skipping from country to country with multiple identities and multiple skeletons in her closet. She is unhappy and disgusted by her meaningless existence and is searching for peace and acceptance of who she is.

After being frightened beyond belief by her best friend Incy she decides it is best to run and hide from her so called friends and try to the best of her ability to come to terms with her haunting past. She runs to Rivers Edge, a place for "wayward immortals" for help from the one person she has met in her 400 years who seems able to bring stability and safety to her life.

Though once at Rivers Edge Nasty runs into more than she has bargained for. She meets Reyn, the picture of perfection and absolute lust -- mixed with uncertainty and remembrance. Reyn is gorgeous, yet he is gruff, standoffish, and all around unwelcoming. She is instantly drawn to him, of course, otherwise she wouldn't be a "stupid" girl. But she is also fearful of this attraction because through it all she can't get over how familiar he looks, and anyone from her past is not only something she doesn't want to remember it's something she should we wary of.

Nasty has been running from her past for as long as she can remember, but there is a constant reminder of these horrors burned right into the back of her neck. The scar she works so hard to cover and disguise. The scare she fears will reveal who she really is and put her life in jeopardy.

With both of her immortal parents dead, along with the rest of their bloodline, Nasty is the last one standing and the only one who holds the key to the line of lost power in her immortal house. To protect herself she must relearn the past and discover who she can trust. Most importantly she must trust herself to use and control the power bestowed upon her and continue to choose light over dark. This constant power struggle will be a life long battle for good and evil, does she have it in her to take on this responsibility?

For more information on this book visit Catie Tiernan at http://catetiernan.org/
I hope you enjoy this author as much as I do. She is in my top 5... rated at number 2 =)

Daughter of Darkness

OHMYGODDESS I love this freakin' book! I guess you could say I am one for ciaos and bickering. This book is definitely full of it!!!!!!

The lead character Zoey Redbird is a normal 16 year old teenager from a not so normal home or background. Her mother is a bible thumping house wife with no brain but the one she shares with her mega monster husband. Yet her grandmother is a Cherokee woman who believes in a much more calm and spiritual path of life. Zoey is caught in the middle of the life she used to have with her mother and grandmother and the life she is forced to lead now, until she is marked.

Her entire world turns inside out when she is taken in by the House of Night and all that it has to offer. Upon arriving she is greeted with love and respect from many of her fellow students and also from her mentor, Neferet, the High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night. Things seem to be looking up for Zoey as she starts to feel loved and accepted by everyone but the leader of the Dark Daughters, Aphrodite.

And I would just like to make it known that Aphrodite is the biggest bitch on the planet, yet, she is my all time favorite character in this book. This is not to say that every other character in the book is unworthy of my attention, I just tend to like the strong bitchy characters that make me giggle in remembrance of my high school days =)

Back to the story line though.... Zoey is marked by Nyx, The Goddess of Night Personified and is informed that she has been marked for a reason. She also realized quite quickly that she has not only been marked, with a different mark at that, but she has been given powerful abilities to aid her in her journey, and with these abilities come much responsibility.

Zoey must find the courage from deep within to accomplish the tasks that The Goddess has set for her, and courage is hard to find with it comes to dealing with snakes. But Zoey is a STRONG young woman and whether or not she believes in herself her pride won't let her self doubt get in the way.

You can preview this book at http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/marked.html but I must warn you, IT IS ADDICTIVE! I read the first 5 books in less than a week... Have fun, I hope you all enjoy this book/series as much as I have! =)