June 13, 2015

Tuesday was a really good reading day



Usually I read one book, perhaps re-read another, depending on what my mood is like.  However on Tuesday I had a great reading day!  I received Dead Ice in the mail, and started that before lunch.  I powered through it in about 5 hours - perhaps 5½ hours - and was pleasantly surprised as to how much I enjoyed it after recent disappointments in the Anita Blake series.


Then I pulled Uprooted by Naomi Novik from my TBR shelves.  It took a little while to get into the swing of things, but I really enjoyed this book.  Would have loved to keep reading, especially with the ending we got.  Will have a review up soon.


As if that wasn't enough (I'd just read 1011 pages!), I decide to start on another book.  The City's Son by Tom Pollock.  This book has been on my TBR bookshelf for more than 6 months.  I don't know why I chose this book, but I'm so glad I did.  I enjoyed my romp through the bowels of London.  Fighting iron wolves and seeing the amazing characters that Pollock created out of the industrial landscape. My only problem was that I don't have books 2 or 3 in the trilogy.  I hate when that happens!

By the time I closed the book and turned off my light it was about 11pm.  I think my eyes were dragging on the ground - in the sand!  But it was worth it.

So on Tuesday I read a total of 3 books or 1468 pages!  That's longer than The Lord of the Rings!  Wow, very proud of myself {patting myself on the back}.

NOTE: I woke up the next morning and my eyes were so sore that I just sat and watched Penny Dreadful all afternoon.  Couldn't read a darn thing!  Fingers crossed that I can finally jump into my TBR shelves again ;-D

Until next time,
 

June 11, 2015

Book Review || Dead Ice by LKH

Dead Ice
Anita Blake #24
Laurell K. Hamilton

Published: 09 June, 2015

Berkley, hardcover, 576p.
ISBN: 978-0-425-25571-1

Anita Blake has the highest kill count of any vampire executioner in the country. She’s a U.S. Marshal who can raise zombies with the best of them. But ever since she and master vampire Jean-Claude went public with their engagement, all she is to anyone and everyone is Jean-Claude’s fiancĂ©e.

It’s wreaking havoc with her reputation as a hard ass—to some extent. Luckily, in professional circles, she’s still the go-to expert for zombie issues. And right now, the FBI is having one hell of a zombie issue.

Someone is producing zombie porn. Anita has seen her share of freaky undead fetishes, so this shouldn’t bother her. But the women being victimized aren’t just mindless, rotting corpses. Their souls are trapped behind their eyes, signaling voodoo of the blackest kind.

It’s the sort of case that can leave a mark on a person. And Anita’s own soul may not survive unscathed . . .



T5W || Multiple POVs



Bonjour!, and welcome to another T5W.  This week we were set the trickier task of finding books with mulitple POVs.  It took me forever to find five books with more than 2 or 3 characters through which we follow the story.

After much scouring of my shelves - and a little help from Goodreads - I finally came up with a list.

 
5.  Throne of Glass was the first - or final - book on my list.  We follow multiple characters, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the following books.
4.  While it doesn't happen very often, during this series Meg, Simon, Henry, sometimes Tess, Vlad and even the police characters get a scene of two.
3.  Had to add this book, but it's still on my TBR pile.  I know we follow multiple characters, and that was good enough for me.
2.  Great fantasy series.  Love that we follow the story through about 5 characters.  Jaenelle, Saetan, Daemon, Yaslana and occasionally a snippet from other characters.  So good ;-D
1.  One of the ultimate POV books.  Follow Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Aragorn, plus others as you journey through Middle Earth.



I hope you enjoyed my Top 5 list.  Next week's should be easier to compile... I hope ;-D  Let me know if you agree with my list - or what books you would add instead - in the comment section below.

And, as always, T5W was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {HERE} if you would also like to participate. 

Until next time,
 

June 10, 2015

Dead Ice has arrived!


My postman just delivered a package to my door.  It was my pre-order of Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton.  This is book number twenty-something in the Anita Blake series.  I read the sample chapter at the end of Jason {READ MY REVIEW HERE} and it sounded so good.   


Bought this from Book Depository, and it was a little expensive at just over $32, but I just had to have it.  I wanted this cover to match my other books, and Australian book shops don't stock this edition.  Isn't it so pretty.  The endpapers are just so gorgeous, and completely unexpected.  Total bookgasm ;-D

Hopefully I can start this some time today.  Fingers crossed that we're back into RPIT/animator mode with little to no ardeur action.

Until next time,
 

June 8, 2015

T5W || Favourite Books of the Year... So Far


Sorry this post is going to be super short - as well as super late.  I'd hoped to get it up on Friday, but the internet was not talking to me (and Photoshop has been playing up).  What are you gonna do?

This week we are listing the top 5 books that we've read so far this year.  I'd love to be able to add some of the gorgeous hardcovers I've been accumulating, but I just haven't gotten around to reading many of them yet.  Perhaps I'll be able to add them for my favourite books of the year.

Anyway here goes.  So without further ado, here are my favourite books of the year... so far.



I had to add Fuzzy Nation, not only because I loved it, but because it has been one of the best recommendations I've received from Booktube.  Thanks Lindsey @angelaudacity!

I hope you enjoyed my Top 5 selections.  I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments.  Have you read any of these books?  Let me know down below.

And, as always, T5W was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {HERE} if you would also like to participate. 

Until next time, my lovelies

Upcoming series review


In the coming weeks, or perhaps months, I'm finally going to review the Stephanie Plum series.  A huge task as there will be twenty-two books by November (and I hope I've caught up by then!), but I have enjoyed this series so much over the years that I thought it was about time to actually review all the books.  There are one or two books that I have mentioned in this blog before, but I won't be looking at those reviews and instead will be reviewing them with fresh eyes - as I'll be re-reading the whole series again!  Oh boy, what have I got myself into. . .

June 7, 2015

Book Review || Steal the Dragon

Steal the Dragon
Sianim Quartet, Book 3
Patricia Briggs

This edition published: 2008
Originally released: November, 1995

ACE Fantasy, mass market, 275p.
ISBN: 978-0-441-00273-3


Slave.  Swordwielder.  Spy.  Some girls have all the luck...

When Rialla was young, slave traders from Darran ambushed her clan, killing all the men and enslaving the women and children. For years, Rialla lived in bondage, until she escaped and fled to the mercenary nation of Sianim.

Now she can strike back at her former masters. A lord in Darran seeks to outlaw slavery—but there are plots to kill him before he can. Rialla is chosen by the Spymaster of Sianim to prevent the murder—and is plunged into a world of deadly magic.


At a glance...

First and foremost, I do love the new cover.  The original was a little too much 80's fantasy movie for me, and because of that, I was a little hesitant about purchasing this book.  Why?  Well, because each time I visited one of the online bookshop I use, all they showed was the old cover.  I have the rest of the Quartet in the re-issued covers and I really wanted to have a matching set.  But when I couldn't see the new cover, I just ordered it.  I'd just have to live with a mis-matched set.  

Thankfully when my order arrived on Friday this was the cover that greeted me when I opened the parcel.  With it's eye catching colours - and the action pose of model - it made me very eager to start reading this immediately... which I did ;-D