King Book Mail (+ one)

Hello, and welcome to my newest Kingly book mail video!

Sorry this will be quite short.  There are some major storms brewing so I need to get off the computer ASAP.  All of these items arrived in the last few days, so I just had to film a book mail video - so I could get them off my desk!  I have left links for all the editions mentioned in the video in the description area.

I hope you enjoy this, and until next time...

Anita Blake #25 Announced!

Just discovered that the 25th book in the Anita Blake series has been listed on Goodreads and Book Depository.  

Crimson Death

In her twenty-fifth adventure, vampire hunter and zombie raiser Anita Blake learns how far she’ll go to save someone she loves…

When Damian—Anita’s sometimes lover, servant, and friend—is kidnapped, Anita heads to Ireland. There she must face off against the vampire who created him. M’Lady, Moroven, Nemhain… under every name she brings terror and destruction. But Anita brings her own weapon to the party: Edward, the man known as Death itself…

Sadly, there is no cover art available yet.  I will post an image as soon as it becomes available.

Crimson Death will be available from June 07, 2016.

Until next time,

 

T5W || Characters you wish you could drown

Hello, once again!  I hope you are enjoying your morning.  I'm freezing my fingers off - Winter is finally setting in - and so to get back to my hot water bottle, I'm just going to dive right in.

This week we discover all those characters we wish we could drown.  The mean, the nasty and the just plain horrible.  Meet the characters I'll be sending down to meet Davey Jones ;-D

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,

 

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 fiancée.

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 . . .

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,

 

This time I let my fingers do the walking

As if my Big W blow-out wasn't bad enough, I then let my fingers do the walking after yesterday's splurge and visited two of my favourite online places to buy books.

First port of call was Booktopia.  I already had some amazing specials in my cart.  Bought The Swan Gondola for $9.90, and Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch for $6.35!  They also had a copy of Steal the Dragon by Patricia Briggs - to complete the Sianim Quartet - which seems to be either Out of Stock (OOS) or Out of Print (OOP) at Book Depository.  Every time I browse Booktopia I find so many great titles with great discounts.  Great for my bookshelves, bad for my wallet.

About half a hour later, my fingers got itchy again, so it was off to Book Depository.  I caved and pre-ordered Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton.  This is book 21? in the Anita Blake series, and from the sample I read in the back of the novella, Jason, it sounded pretty good.  We're back into the zombie raising aspect of the series, and I hope to see some of the RPIT characters that I have been missing for the last 12 books or so ;-D

So, in all Friday was just a book-fest of a day.  I spent way too much money.  Will have to tighten my belt for the next couple of weeks and ban myself from browsing the online book sites. . . maybe?

Until next time,

Book Review || Jason (An Anita Blake Novella)

Jason

Anita Blake #20.5

Laurell K Hamilton

Published: December 2014

Headline, Paperback B Format, 255p.
ISBN: 978-1-4722-2698-3

Enjoying pain with your pleasure is something you either get, or you don't.  And if you don't then no amount of talking is going to convince you it makes sense.

My name is Anita Blake, I'm an Animator, a Vampire Executioner and U.S. Marshal for the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team.  And I have a complicated domestic life.

Jason Schuyler is one of my best friends and favourite wolves.  J.J. is his lady love, an old flame from childhood who dances at one of the top ballet companies in New York.  She's accomplished, beautiful, and she's crazy about hime, too.  Neither of them wants to be monogamous, so what could go wrong?

J.J. is enthusiastically bisexual; she plans to keep sleeping with women, because Jason can't meet her desire for a female lover, but she can't meet Jason's need for rough sex and bondage with another woman because she doesn't understand just how rough he needs his sex to be, so Jason asks me to help him explain.  With some encouragement from a few other lovers in my life I reluctantly agree, and J.J. makes plans to fly into town for an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Note: there are some minor spoilers below.

So what did I think of this novella?  I think it is complete and utter crap.  That's it in a nutshell.  It seems that the further on in the series we get, the more frivolous and unnecessary the sexual content has become.  It's now just a super erotic series with a side of murder/mystery that was once the basis of the story.  It never used to be like this...

In the beginning, as all good stories should start, Anita was very moral and wasn't the type of girl to just jump into bed with a new boyfriend, let alone a whole stable of strangers.  But once the ardeur reared it's ugly mug it was game over - although NiC is one of my favourite books.  However the longer this series goes on, the worse it's getting. 

But I digress.  Back to the review of this book.

I have two main issues with this book.

1) the abundance of unnecessary sex : Basically, Jason was just a book about sexual preferences.  How rough is rough?  BDSM, vanilla, topping, the list goes on.  It was okay for the first 66 pages where Anita is discussing sex and sexual preferences with Jason, Nathaniel, Envy and Domino.  Even in Chapter 2 when Anita, Jason and Nathaniel pick J.J. up from the airport it's still actually sex free.  Talking about sex.  Fine.  Then we hit Chapter 3 and it's back to hitting the sheets.  Although this time there is some major girl on girl action instead of just Anita being the belle of the ball.  I just rolled my eyes and skimmed because this novella is literally a how-to for Anita in regards to pleasing a female lover.

Though for all the negatives about this series, there is one positive aspect to these books.  They are very, very, open about their LGBTQ characters.  I think nearly everyone in the Anita-verse, well, main characters anyway, has at least dipped their toes into LGBTQ waters.  Our only outstanding complete heterosexual - homophobic? - character is Richard.  But that's another post ;-D

2) lack of originality : For the majority of the books post-ardeur the author seems to be stuck in a rut.  Anita has bad guys to fight, but feeding the ardeur takes priority so she jumps into the arms - and shorts - of the nearest man in her life and boffs his brains out, before going out to solve the mystery de-jour.  The men in her life are still getting pissy with things, and the characters seem to be in this never-ending loop.  It needs to stop.

I think what this series needs is an injection of fresh ideas.  I mean, seriously.  Anita has beaten Marmee Noir, the freaking Mother of All Darkness, for Gods sake.  She's defeated the originator of the Vampires and yet she can't seem to get out of her own way long enough to figure out how to remove the ardeur!? Pleeease.  {serious eye rolling happening here}

However the story, while blah, was not my only problem.  Let's talk about the physical copy next.  I borrowed Jason from my library (the edition listed), but the type was really odd.  It was so large and weirdly spaced out.  Just to show you how truly annoying it was, I took a photo of it against my paperback copy of Narcissus in Chains. 

As you can see it is so spaced out.  Was this just to allow it enough pages for printing?  I would have rather had this as a short story at the end of Affliction instead of paying for such a pathetically small book.

Overall there was nothing that endeared this instalment in the series to me.  I keep hoping that we will see a more story-based, action packed, book.  And yet I still faithfully purchase the paperbacks - wouldn't waste my money on the hardcovers - in the hopes that it might one day revert back to a less sex oriented series.  I have Merry Gentry for that! ;-D

I give Jason a begrudging 

What did you think of Jason?  Do you think that LKH should just finish the series?

Let me know down below ;-D

Until next time,

Top 5 Wednesday - Top Worlds

This week we're counting down the Top 5 Worlds.  When I think of worlds, I think of the amazing world-building in my favourite series that allow you to effortlessly jump into a book or series and not question the environment {people, places, objects, technology, etc} around the characters at every turn.

So in honour of the Top 5 Worlds, I have mentally sifted through the hundreds of books on my shelves and after careful consideration, I finally narrowed it down to my top 5 worlds...

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The world of Harry Potter is wonderfully imaginative.  I love the idea of a

 magical world hiding from the everyday, Muggle, world. 

Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh

This is a fabulous series about angels and vampires and Archangels {oh my!}

With a great storyline, amazing characters, action, romance, and every other

emotion from A-Z, the Guild Hunter series is a great way to spend a few hours.

 

Anita Blake Vampire Executioner series by LKH

 The Anita-verse comes in third for world building.  Although I haven't enjoyed

 the last couple of books in the series, the world building has remained

 amazing.  It takes skills to make shapeshifters, zombies, necromancers 

and vampires seem like everyday folk you might share a town with.

 

In Death series by J.D. Robb

With 38 books in the series published - and counting - the In Death series is just

a brilliant collection that revolves around the life of Lt. Eve Dallas, and her husband, Roarke,

in the not too distant future of 2060.  Robb's imaginative ideas of what our world might be like

in 50 or so years is so well done that I almost expect to see some of the tech ;-D 

 

Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

OMG!  The world building in the LOTR trilogy (and The Hobbit) is just so complex

and imaginative.  With languages, poetry and appendices full of information, J.R.R. Tolkien

built a world that is so rich in details that you don't even have to watch the movies to

picture it in your mind.

So that's it for my Top 5 this week.  I hope you enjoyed your stay ;-D.  If you leave a link below to your Top 5 list I'd love to check it out.  Oh, and if you want to join the fun, then head on over to the Top 5 Wednesday page on Goodreads {here}.

Until next time,

 

Review: Anita Blake is back in Affliction

Affliction

Anita Blake, Book 22

Laurell K. Hamilton

Released: 02 June, 2013

Berkley, Hardcover, 576 p.

ISBN: 978-0425255704

Some zombies are raised. Others must be put down. Just ask Anita Blake.

Before now, she would have considered them merely off-putting, never dangerous. Before now, she had never heard of any of them causing human beings to perish in agony. But that’s all changed.

Micah’s estranged father lies dying, rotting away inside from some strange ailment that has his doctors whispering about “zombie disease.”

Anita makes her living off of zombies—but these aren’t the kind she knows so well. These creatures hunt in daylight, and are as fast and strong as vampires. If they bite you, you become just like them. And round and round it goes…

Where will it stop?

Even Anita Blake doesn’t know.

After the sheer frustration - and a whole heap of disappointment - I felt reading the last couple of Anita Blake books, I swore that I would wait for the library to get a copy before committing myself to buying it.  I was sick of all the slutty bed-hopping Anita, and I missed the Anita of old who spent her nights 'animating' zombies at the local cemeteries and solving RPIT cases.  So, I cautiously reserved my copy of Affliction, and spent the the last two days staring at it - not sure I wanted to go down the trashy rabbit hole again.  Last night I thought 'bugger that!' and grabbed the book as I headed to bed.  I finished it just before midnight, and even though I was so tired I couldn't see straight, I was glad that I hadn't given up on Anita Blake just yet.

Anita Blake wallpaper for you

Hi there!  Just thought that I'd post a copy of the Anita Blake wallpaper I made last week.

Enjoy!

Review - Kiss the Dead

Kiss the Dead

Laurell K Hamilton

01 June 2012

When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more…   But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them…

My response...

This series has been a pain in the butt in recent years, and after being a faithful follower since the late 90's, I have been reluctant to read the last few.  So, instead of pre-ordering, I reserved a copy from my local library.  Yesterday I picked up my book and when I got home I was still a bit reluctant to read it.  Thank God I did!

KtD was so much like her earlier books, that apart from 2 or 3 sex scenes, it was like reading Anita at her best.  I think it was because of the involvement of RPIT, and Anita being back to her Marshal-ling ways.  We find Anita chin-deep in vampire trouble again, only this time it seems to be aimed at her.  The storyline is complete, not jumping here and there, and once again it is set in St. Louis.  No flying for this Vampire Executioner.  I liked the fast pace of the story, and like a most of the recent books, it's set over a few days, not weeks.

For those on Team J-C, he does have a few scenes with Anita and Asher.  But don't get me started on Asher... he was a total dick this time round.  I don't want to give it away so I won't tell you what happens, but lets just say that J-C, Anita and everyone else, have reached the end of their tethers with the pouty vampire.  His latest actions have serious consequences for him, and possibly set up a new story arc.

Micah and Nathaniel are prominent fixtures, and surprisingly Richard only gets a mention once or twice.  It was nice not to have to go through all the angst of the self-hating Richard.  Anita has a new twist to her powers, and there is a new Marshall in town.  Marshall Larry Kirkwood (Anita's one time trainee) is back and boy is he a pain in the arse... both him and his wife are.  Det. Arnett, that obsessive man-stealing cop is back.  She's still ragging on Anita about her relationship with Nathaniel, and has a real grudge against Anita.  I foresee this only getting worse - if I was Anita I would want to knock her on her arse after their latest confrontation.  I was pleased to see that Dolph has settled down - he's almost back to his old self! - and what can I say about Zerbrowski?  He's still the same guy we've always know.  Oh, and for all those wondering, there is no Ted cameo.  Sorry :D

So, after being disillusioned with this series, I will wait for the paperback and add it to my collection.  And while it wasn't up to the classic Anita (pre-ardeur), it was refreshing to not be skipping pages as Anita was off boffing one of her harem.  If LKH keeps that side of Anita's life in the background (perhaps mentioned, but not in full on chapter sized details) I'll be a happy camper again.  If you liked Narcissus in Chains then you'll probably enjoy this one too.

Kiss the Dead

To read, or not to read?  That is my question.
I've been trolling the blogs for book reviews and much to my horror, it seems like KTD is just as bad, if not worse, than Hit List.
Has Ms Hamilton lost her mojo?  Anita Blake was always a series I got excited about when a new book was being released.  The plot was great, dialogue snappy and you formed a real bond with various characters.  Sex was hinted at, but Anita had her reasons for declining and the resulting sexual tension just made the series fabulous!
Now, 15+ years later, sex is just a vehicle for the lack of plot, and too many characters and subplots.  The series itself seems to have lost the plot.  Anita's gone from a strong woman who is trying to keep her integrity in a tough and violent world to (as one Amazon reviewer put it) a Super S - and it rhymes with nut - who seems to hit the sheets more than she sits down for a meal.
As a long time fan, I think LKH should take a break from this muse and really try to salvage this previously great series before it's beyond saving.