Books Galore

And I've been so good recently too!  Last week I just dived right in there at the local shopping centre.  I cut a swathe through QBD and Bookworld, sauntered through Big W and meandered in K-Mart.  I bought 7 books on my want list that I really don't need at the moment - seeings how I still have about half a dozen books left from my last little splurge :P  Still, I jumped right into them.  Moon Sworn is the last of Keri Arthur's Riley Jenson series.  I found it a little different from the other books, but not a bad read.  A good Aussie author, Ms Arthur has another series in the works that spins off from this one.  It sounds good and I will definitely give it a go.

Master of Fire is the Mageverse story that I know alot of people have been waiting for.  It's about Logan MacRoy, the son of King Arthur and Guinevere.  I've been following this series on and off for the last 5 or 6 years.  Not a bad book, but not as great as Master of Swords.  The next book however, Master of Smoke, sounds like it'll be a cracker of a story.

Dead in the Family is the latest Sookie Stackhouse book out.  After reading the comments on the Amazon website for this book I was a tad apprehensive about reading it.  For me the series has been slightly less enjoyable for each book.   DitF was different.  I enjoyed it much more than I did Dead & Gone.  Sookie is finally finding her feet in the supernatural world, and she is in a stready and loving relationship.  She is able to say NO to people she would have trusted in the first couple of books, and there are some great moments in it.  All in all, a good addition to the series.

My copy of Magic Bleeds arrived in the mail last week too.  It was great.  I devoured it in a couple of hours - yes, I know that's quick, but I just can't help it.  And I also received my Amazon UK stuff as well (yeah Dr Who!).  Then to top it all off, last Friday I went on a day trip with some of the family and ended up in Maleny. 

For those who aren't familiar with it, its a gorgeous little dairy/craft town in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.  Absolutely stunning views as you climb the mountain range in the morning and look back over the coastline to see the sun reflecting gold off the water.  Although if you're looking to visit in winter... take a hot water bottle with you! :D  Unfortunately for me, once I got there I found 2 secondhand bookshops as I was wondering around the main street, and a few other little crafty stores that I just had to stop in.  Now, I went up there hoping not to buy anything, but I just found the most delightful looking fern (yes, I am a closet gardener okay!), and a nearby store that sold quilted blankets.  If I had of had a spare $250 dollars there was a beautiful country quilt that would have been accompanying me home.  One place I did indulge in was the handmade sweets shop.  The fudge was to die for!  I tried the Rum & Raisin (mum's favourite), but fell in love with the Cookies 'n' Cream fudge.  It was heavenly!  So we bought a few chunks, and went for a lovely hot coffe at a local bakery.

My one regret of the day was that I didn't buy a book at the secondhand shop that I was drooling over.  My only hope is that it will be there when we next go back... hopefully soon?

Swamped

Wow, over a month has passed since I last wrote anything here.  I'm so slack at this at times.  I get busy, and presto... no blog!

I've been good lately and have resisted the temptation of the written word.  Well, the bound and very expensive word anyway.  I've been study a lot as I have 3 units on the go at the moment.  Who would have thought that studying for Librarian qualifications would be soooo intense?  {grinning as I slave over the keyboard!}

My recent orders have been research based, not recreational so nothing new to report unless you are interested in early nineteenth century/Georgian England.  It's a fascinating period in history, and one that has hard to find resources.  Everything seems to be Victorian this, Edwardian that, or Medieval who... it's enough to drive you potty at times.  Still, once you find the information you've been slaving for hours to locate... :P

I am awaiting the arrival of the last of my earlier orders from Amazon.  They sent me a nice little email last week to tell me that I should have Magic Bleeds in about another 2 weeks.  Now riddle me this - how is it that Amazon in the US takes over 2 weeks to get an item to me, when Amazon in the UK only takes about 3-4 days?  It's still as far away from Australia as you can get, but the Brits still manage to get things here earlier {psst, come closer.... and their DVDs and some books work out cheaper too!}  I find that a majority of my research information can be found there cheaper.  Ordinary fiction titles are not really worth the quibble over, unless the dollar is doing badly.  Hopefully it'll pick up in the next few days so I can order Season 3 of Doctor Who - yes, I know, I know.

So, for the next week or so I'll be haunting my mailbox.  Waiting for the elusive amazon parcel.  Then I have to do so all over again as I pre-ordered Laurell K Hamilton's Bullet!  Oy!  When will I learn? :D

New Kate Daniels/Curran Snippets

I just finished reading some snippets on Ilona Andrews blog for the next Kate Daniels book, Magic Bleeds, that's due out next May. They were fantastic. Not long (unfortunately) but just enough to wet the tastebuds for more Curran-Kate. How can she be sooo mean, teasing us with tiny little tidbits? Now I just want to be able to dive into the book and find out what Curran did!

There is also a Curran POV scene from his first meeting with Kate at Unicorn Lane that was good too. Although he isn't instantly smitten like most shifters are when they meet their mates (most authors have them instantly in love, or in lust), but he is intrigued by her. That's as good a start as any to a relationship, isn't it.

Here's hoping that Ilona Andrews will add some more snippets (either of the new book, or from Curran's POV) and keep us in catnip for the next few months until the first chapter is posted on the website.

If you want to get your hands on the posting, just head to www.ilona-andrews.com/ where you can find the snippets on her blog. But for more spoilers, head on over to her forum.