In My Mailbox

I've decided that I'm going to participate in this weekly event hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

So I didn't get a lot of books, but I have a lot that I'm getting ready to order pretty soon!  (once I get some money to actually buy them, heh). But here's what I've bought this week!

1. Ravish by Cathy Yardley

Saw a review for this book by Amy J @ My Overstuffed Bookshelf and was tempted to check it out.  The preview pages for it on Amazon made it sound pretty good.  Then again, the first chapter for a lot of books sound good to me haha so let's hope I enjoy it!

2. Unknown by Rachel Caine

I didn't get a chance to order this book as soon as I had wanted to, but I'll be reading this ASAP! 

 

3. Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter

I love Gena's books, so here's to checking out a new universe created by her :D

Like I said, not too much this week.

Slacker Saturday

Just got back from class a few hours ago, and my arms and legs feel like noodles.  I pretty much power-walked 18 blocks in 22 minutes from Grand Central Terminal to my college, and then did it again back to GCT.  I'm also running on 4 hours of sleep.  Yay!

Anyway, I've been slightly busy these past couple of days due to that evil institution known as college.  So, I've decided to make a quick post about what I'm in the process of writing a review for, and what I plan on reading next.

I'd love to hear your input about any of these books if you've read them, and if you have any suggestions for books I should consider checking out next!

Currently Reviewing:

1.  Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken
Part 2 of my review: Chains and Flames

2.  She's No Faerie Princess by Christine Warren

Reading Next:

1. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Had this for a while in my TBR pile, so I figured now is a good a time as any to start reading it.

Rereading:

1. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

YES!  I can't start Shalador's Lady until March 2nd, so I've decided I'm going to re-read this whole series before said date just so I can reacquaint myself with this beautifully woven world :)

Thanks to Amy C. @ Romance Book Wyrm for posting about BJT so much that I finally gave in to restart it again hehe.

So that's it for now.  What books have you guys read/bought this week?

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter

As a vampire hunter and skinwalker, Jane Yellowrock is public enemy number one in the vampire community--even though she's also the key to their survival.  Now she's about to learn that working for the enemy can be just as dangerous as hunting them.

The Vampire Council of New Orleans has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules.  But she quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep.

With the help of her witch best friend and local vigilantes, Jane finds herself caught between bitter rivalries--and closer than ever to the secret origin of the entire vampire race.  But in a city of old grudges and dark magic, Jane will have to fight to protect both sides, even if no one will protect her.

Obtained: Bought
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Romance
Series: Jane Yellowrock
1. Skinwalker (review)
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (book review)
My Rating:
I read this book in one day and put it down twice in order to eat and take care of my dog.  In retrospect I wish I had slowed down, but I was addicted the second I opened it.  The ending to Blood Cross made me squeal in happiness.  Hunter, you appeased the romantic in me, and that is why this book is the first on the site to receive the Faerie of Honor rating.  (Want to know what's so special about this rating? Go here!)

Story:
The last book finished off with Jane being offered/hired again by the Vampire Council.  This time she has to hunt down a master vampire who is turning humans into vamps and setting them out into civilization with bloodlust controlling their every actions.  (Vampires typically stay chained for roughly ten years before deemed "sane" enough to be released into society).  Big no no in the vamp world.

Molly and her children are living with Jane now.  Despite having to decapitate some young rogues and almost having her temporary home burnt down by a crazed vampire in mourning, it would appear that Jane is content with her living conditions.

That is, until Molly's children and one of Katie's Ladies are kidnapped by a mysterious group.

What I think:
Hunter had me tearing up at one point when Molly's "kits" (I love when Beast purrs that! haha) were kidnapped.  Jane's anguish was so... moving.  It takes a lot for a book to get me that emotionally involved, and I'm not surprised this was the book to achieve that.

While the seductive Leo made more of an appearance in Skinwalker, George (aka Bruiser) gets to star in Blood Cross.  And I gotta say that Bruiser's grown on me. At first I thought he was just some horny bodyguard, but Hunter reveals more of a personality to the Brit, and it becomes apparent throughout the tale that Bruiser genuinely cares for Jane.  And Jane?  Well, I thought it was amusing how she transforms from a puddle of raging hormones into a blushing little school girl when Beast isn't messing around with her.

Rick stars a bit more, but not as much as the vamp bodyguard.  I was slightly disappointed initially, mainly because I want to really learn more about who Rick is (I mean, come on, the initial book emphasized him more in the summary too!), but I have a feeling he's going to be the leading man in Hunter's third book ;)

Leo also made a few guest appearances, and when he wasn't mourning, he was okay.  There were a few scenes where I appreciated his character, but overall, I'm disappointed that he wasn't as arrogant and Leo-ish in Blood Cross.  I understand why he wasn't though, so I forgive him. I just hope that in the following book he's back and is his old self.

So aside for the three bad boys, Beast plays an integral role once again.  I know I complained in my Skinwalker review about how I initially didn't like the writing for Beast.  Now I find myself complaining about the fact that Jane doesn't transform into Beast enough.  There's no satisfying me.

As for the plot itself, there were a few scenes that I found somewhat unnecessary.  Surprisingly, while I found said scenes unnecessary, it did not take away from the plot.  Don't ask me why, I'm not entirely sure myself.  And in regards to the evil villain:  I had an idea about who the villain was going to be in this story, but Hunter tricked me once again.  Gotta love it.

Read the Jane Yellowrock series if you get the chance, Hunter deserves mucho love!

---

• Paperback: Mass Market - 336 pages
• Price: $7.99
• ISBN-10: 0451463072
• ISBN-13: 978-0451463074
• Released: Jan 5 2010
• Faith Hunter's Website
• Buy it at Penguin.com
• Buy it at Amazon.com

Contest Links: 2/21

2/23: Win a Book Shelf @ Tales of Whimsy...
Your choice between two book shelves.  Hurry and enter before the 23rd!
http://www.talesofwhimsy.com/2010/02/got-shelves-contest.html

2/26: New Books in the New Year Contest @ Wicked Awesome Books
Lots and lots of possible winners from the look of it!
If you go join this contest, please mention me (so we can both get +5 to our entries haha).
http://ahauntofancientpeace.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-books-in-new-year-contest.html


2/28: Win a copy of Dark Pleasure Prince @ Parajunkee's View
Kresley Cole is awesome.  Parajunkee is now awesome.  Now we've all got a chance to win!
10 copies will be given out :)
http://www.parajunkee.com/2010/02/win-copy-of-kresley-coles-pleasure-of.html

2/28: Blogoversary Giveaway @ Steph Su Reads
Let's get more followers!  Every additional 50 followers = one more book added to the list pile for this giveaway!  Major congrats on getting over 900 followers!
http://stephsureads.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-blogoversary-giveaway.html

2/28: Contest @ Once upon a book blog/fourteen years
January/Feb contest.  $20 and under book of your choice that's come out, or will be coming out.
http://runningforfiction.blogspot.com/2010/02/contest.html


3/6: 400 Follower Contest @ In Which a Girl Reads
Win $20 for any (one) book you want!  International contest too.
http://inwhichagirl.blogspot.com/2010/02/400-followers-giveaway-international.html


3/12: 50 Followers Contest @ Elegantly Bound Books
First winner gets the first two Morganville Vampire books by Rachel Caine and then their choice of either Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz or Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.  2nd place winner gets the leftover book.
http://thegreatyaescape.blogspot.com/2010/01/50-followers-contest.html

3/21: 500 Follower Giveaway @ Dark Faerie Tales
Four winners, lots of books to win/choose from! 
http://darkfaerietales.com/500-followers-contest.html

4/1: Contest: $15 Book Choice @ Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories
Jackie's having a sweet contest.  Winner gets $15 for any book they want.  International contest too!
http://jacaburintexas.blogspot.com/2010/02/followers-contest-for-choice-of-book.html

Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

It's not always easy being a female with a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody.  Men tend to either cower in fear--a lot--or else salute.  It's true that Annwyl has a knack for decapitating legions of her ruthless brother's soldiers without pausing for breath.  But just once it would be nice to be able to really talk to a man, the way she can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer.

Too bad that Fearghus is a dragon, of the large, scaly, and deadly type.  With him, Annwyl feels safe--a far cry from the feelings aroused by the hard-bodied, arrogant knight Fearghus has arranged to help train her for battle.  With her days spent fighting a man who fills her with fierce, heady desire, and her nights spent in the company of a magical creature who could smite a village just by exhaling, Annwyl is sure life couldn't get any stranger.  She's wrong...

Dragon Actually
Note: This review focuses solely on the first part of this book featuring Fearghus and Annwyl.  You can see the second part of this review about Chains and Flames here.


Obtained: Bought
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book #1

My Rating:

I found Fearghus and Annwyl's relationship slightly lacking and rushed, which is why the book gets a C+.  It gets a B- for the fact that despite the quirks, I still craved to see what would happen in the end.  If Aiken were to adjust certain aspects mentioned in the "what I think" section, I would bump this book up to a B+.

Story:
Annwyl the Bloody is out for her evil brother's head.  That is, until she gets separated from her troops and cornered by her enemies.  Upon receiving a fatal blow, the female warrior is saved by a huge, dark dragon... who incinerates her opponents as easily as one would flick a strand of hair.

She wakes up later to realize that she is not hallucinating: she is in a dragon's cave and she's not going to be his dinner for the night.  From this point on, Annwyl and Fearghus form a slow, yet steady friendship that grows more and more strained once a tall, dark, and handsome knight is assigned to teach Annwyl how to really fight.

Will Annwyl stay loyal to her beloved dragon, or will she give in to the desires that plague her whenever she approaches this mysterious man?

What I think: 
Two stories in one, can't complain about that, eh?

I would have preferred that instead of including the second story about Fearghus' parents, that Aiken focused more on developing the relationship betwixt Fearghus and Annwyl and lengthened the tale from the 200-something pages to 300 or so pages instead.  If the primary focus of a book is going to be about developing a relationship, then you better do it well.

Aiken was successful in keeping my interest to an extent, despite the unrealistic way the relationship developed in my eyes.  (I don't want to say much about it, just because I think I'll give a lot away if I mutter a word, so I apologize for not further explaining why I feel the way I do).  Others may disagree with me about said development, but I stand by the fact that overall, Part I felt rushed and two-dimensional.

Despite the 2D characters, I finished Part I with a smile, and I enjoyed Fearghus the Destroyer's character as a dragon.  He appeared more like a gentle giant, one that I wanted to jump onto and hug.  However, when Annwyl found out what she found out towards the middle of the tale, I felt that Fearghus' character deteriorated.  Pity really.  As for Annwyl... eh she seemed kind of bipolar at times.  I don't have much to say about her because I didn't care much for her as a character.  Rawr I r mad.  Rawr I will keel j00.  Rawr I bow to no man! .... Meh.

The one true thing that irked me was the fact that Aiken would write 1/2 a page in Annwyl's point of view, only to switch to Fearghus for another page, and then back to her.  It got distracting after a while, and I feel that this in the end ultimately hurt the book more than helped due to the fact that the focus was more on telling readers how the characters felt instead of showing them.  That and you were never really given the opportunity to get inside the characters minds due to how briefly they would star at any given time.

I enjoyed some of the jokes and actions.  It was at these points that the characters appeared more life-like to me, which is what ultimately redeemed Dragon Actually.  Will go and read the second story and review it later.  As of right now, I am slightly hesitant about buying any other books for this series.  We'll see how i feel after I completely finish the book, though.

Giveaway: the Georgina Kincaid Series by Richelle Mead

This giveaway is [CLOSED]

Succubus Shadows comes out on March 30th!

The Georgina Kincaid series is absolutely amazing and doesn't receive enough love.  So to celebrate the release in style, I've decided to give away all the GK books so one lucky person can fall in love with our favorite succubus.  That includes:

Succubus Blues
Succubus on Top
Succubus Dreams
Succubus Heat

Contest closes Friday, March 19th.

Winner should respond back to my email with their shipping address by Sunday 3/21.  

Failure to do so = me picking a new winner.

Guidelines
This contest is open to everyone in the US and Canada.

-You must be a follower on Google friend connect (or an email subscriber).

-Leave your email in your comment so I can contact you if you're the winner.

-Tell me what your favorite book or book scene is!

Extras

+1 freebie for doing all of the above in the guideline

+2 for each place you share this giveaway: Sidebar, Facebook, etc. (include a link)

+5 for linking my blog on your sidebar (include link)

+10 for a full blog post about this contest (include a link)

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Last year Jane nearly lost her life taking down a deadly family of vampires who preyed on the helpless local populace.  Now, after months of recuperation, she's back and ready to fight again.  Except this time, she's been hired by those she's trained to kill--vampires.

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind--a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires--and hunts the undead for a living.  But now she's been hired by Katherine Fonteneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampires who's killing other vamps.

Amidst a bordello full of real "ladies of the night", and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission...or else the next skin she'll need to save may be her own.

Obtained: Bought
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Romance
Series: Jane Yellowrock
1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross (book review)
3. Mercy Blade (book review)

My Rating:

An amazing start to a hopefully spectacular series!  There were a few things that I personally wish were included/different, which is why it's not A+, but Skinwalker is wonderfully written and so enjoyable that I ordered the second book in the series as soon as I possibly could.  Definitely a must read for everyone--especially for those who loved the Mercy Thompson series!

Story:
Jane's a skinwalker who is also a vamp killer for a living.  Ironically, a vampire named Katie is her new employer in this tale, and Jane finds herself traveling on her beloved motorcycle to New Orleans to hunt down a vampire gone rogue.  There she meets a plethora of intriguing side characters ranging from the lackeys (Bruiser and Troll) to the head of the vamps himself, Leo.

In this intricate modern world, vampires and witches have exposed themselves to humanity.  There are specific laws that have been imposed, and special agencies have been developed to monitor and learn more about these mystical creatures.  We don't see as much about witches in this novel due to the fact that Hunter dives straight into the vampire world, and Jane seems to be learning alongside her readers about this society of bloodsuckers.

With the help of Beast, her mountain lion counter-part, the duo must hunt down a rogue vampire for the council.  Not only that, but Jane soon begins to confront a hazy past, including coping with how she and Beast really became one. 

What I think: 
I feel Hunter weaves such an interesting world that is easy to grasp.  You aren't bombarded with a bunch of names that star in this novel for a total of three lines, only to be forgotten by the next page, which makes me appreciate each and every character's role that much more.

Beast, for example, plays an integral role in this book.  There are a few sections dedicated to her transformation and thought processes during the hunts that she partakes in.  Initially I didn't like the way Beast's scenes were written.  I felt the writing was choppy, which I understood was to further separate Jane and Beast.  I think Hunter succeeded in doing so, but it was strange to get used to.  Once I did get a feel for both Jane and Beast, however, I loved the scenes where we saw through this mountain lion's eyes. 

One thing in particular that I enjoyed was the separation between Jane and Beast later in the book.  Initially Jane is simply a badass, but as the story progresses and we learn more about her life, a more vulnerable side to Jane's character is revealed.  This vulnerability is most prominent when Beast is in control.

Even in a book that's packed with action, Hunter makes time for Jane's love life.  There isn't sex.  There is no set "mate" for Jane, which makes her story/character that much more believable.  While I didn't particularly enjoy Bruiser's little flirtations with Jane (primarily because I like Jane/Rick and Jane/Leo) I must say that what I appreciate the most in the romance department is that Hunter teases her readers.  Jane isn't the type of character to fall head over heels over a guy, letting him consume her every action, and it shows in this book.  Perhaps in later books (since this will be a series) we'll see more interaction between the love interests.

---

• Paperback: Mass Market - 336 pages
• Price: $7.99
• ISBN-10: 0451462807
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462800
• Released: July 7 2009
• Faith Hunter's Website
• Buy it at Penguin.com
• Buy it at Amazon.com

Introduction

Hi! My name's Tori. I'm 21 years old, live in New York, and attend college in Manhattan.

I am an avid book reader. I love paranormal books, particularly romances, though as long as the book is good, I will probably enjoy it.

I decided to start a blog writing book reviews because I wanted to practice writing as often as I could. That, and because the books I read are amazing and they deserve to be praised!

As for the ones that aren't as enjoyable? Well, I'd like to talk about that with others and see how they feel. I'd also like to give a fair warning to others who may have a similar taste in writing styles that I do.

If I am criticizing a book, I am not trying to offend anyone. We all have our own preferences, and I want to give a good enough reason as to why I don't like the book I read.

So here I am, and I hope that as I write more, and visit other blogs, that I make lots of friends and broaden my reading horizon :)