Just Friends by Natasha5

I found this real gem of a short book that a friend of mine was reading over at Goodreads.

You need to read this. Its available for free here

This was a very sweet read about two childhood friends, Adrian and Friday, who love each other and are always together. They're just friends, real close friends.

This is a coming of age story where Adrian discovers his feelings for Friday.

I loved Friday with his pacifist ways and big curls and flowers in his hair. What I liked best was I didn’t have to dislike one character to root for the others. This is written well enough that you can see things from all the 3 main characters points of view.

I wonder what Friday and Adrian are up to now.
Every chapter begins and ends with a snippets of a Bob Marley song.  I've been singing Bob Marley since I read this yesterday. Isn't it great when a book leaves you in a happy mood


Btw, there's a sequel (or more of an epilogue) to this story: Johnny Was.
I should also mention here that Adrian and Friday are both guys, so if you don't read MM, (even if this one is only light kissing) ....

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Fire by Kristin Cashore

Series: The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, Book 2

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Copyright: 2009

Pages: 352

Rating: 5 / 5

Synopsis:


Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells. 

Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans. 

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story. 

Wondering what makes it a companion book/prequel? Fire takes place 30-some years before Graceling and has one cross-over character with Graceling, a small boy with strange two-colored eyes who comes from no-one-knows-where, and who has a peculiar ability that Graceling readers will find familiar and disturbing...

Review:

After the awesome debut that was Graceling, I wanted to get my hands on anything that was Kristin Cashore. And the wait for Fire was well worth it. Fire is the prequel to Graceling, in that is set 30 years before and has one cross over character that you’ll recognize at once. The book is based in the lands beyond the Seven Kingdoms, where there are creatures called monsters who are beautifully coloured and can mesmerize you. Fire is the last of the human monsters, but one who understands the effect of her beauty on others, and who understands the difference between right and wrong.


The book is based in a land at war with its neighbours and a kingdom shaped by the late king, and his trusted advisor Cansrel, who was Fire's father. Fire tries to use her monster powers to help with the war when asked. She struggles to use her powers now, when she's been trying not to all this while, and the attraction she feels for the king’s brother isn’t helping.

This book, for me, was a lot better than Graceling, and I absolutely loved Graceling. It is a lot more mature, and I felt it covered a lot more emotions and situations. Each character has its own distinct personality, and you'll feel for all of them. Nash, the weak-minded king smitten by Fire; Brigan his stoic brother; Brocker, the man who brought up Fire and Archer, her first lover and friend. I loved em all.

I loved Fire as a character. Gorgeous in body, she was gorgeous in mind as well. She cared about those around her, and despite the brave face she showed the world, had her own little insecurities. Cashore has created a breathtaking world, with vivid characters and an even paced storyline. You will feel a part of this book while reading it, and live through all of Fire's experiences. You'll love the time with Brigan, and your heart will go out to Archer.

Go. Read.

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Loretta Chase - Lord of Scoundrels

Series: Scoundrels, Book 3
Genre: Romance
384 pages
Published: 1995
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb:
DETERMINED LADY
Tough-minded Jessica Trent's sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And when Dain's reciprocal passion places them in a scandalously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction...


LORD OF SCOUNDRELS
Damn the minx for tempting him, kissing him...and then for forcing him to salvage reputation! Lord Dain can't wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place -- and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it -- though Sebastian is less than certain he can continue to remain aloof...and steel his heart to the sensuous, head strong lady's considerable charms.

Review: Wow. I haven't had so much fun reading a romance novel in a long time. I absolutely loved this book.

If you like believable tortured heroes and witty heroines, good dialogue and a storyline that will keep you up till 5 in the morning, like it did me, then this is the book for you

Sebastian Dane had a horrible childhood - his mother left him, his father ignored him at best, and he grew up unloved and believing he was ugly. Classic symptoms for the cold hearted notorious rake he's turned out to be. There are a lot of references where he's called lord Beelzebub - I think that should explain a bit.

Jessica Trent has arrived in Paris to rescue her nitwit of a brother from the influence of Dain. He's ruining himself and the family finances trying to emulate the much richer Marquess. Things don’t turn out quite as Jess imagined them - she's falls in lust with him. Dain never deals with respectable women, he finds no point in wasting his time with them. However, Jess is an entirely different story. Thankfully, their attraction to each other doesn’t stop the witty repartee between the two.

I don’t really want to give much away from this book - there are twists and turns I'd never imagined in a regency novel. I usually find the intelligent independent heroines pretty annoying. Jess, however, is very well written and a joy to read. I loved Dain from the beginning, even when he was a hopeless debauchee. Reading his reluctance to bed Jessica and fight against his feelings for her was a real treat and you'll love his transformation into a caring and loving husband.

This is my first Loretta Chase book, and I'll definitely be reading more. The story flows well and left no loose ends. It’s a bit like reading a mystery novel, where you don’t know what'll happen next. This one is a keeper for me. Now on to starting with the beginning of this series.

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The Smoke Thief (Drakon, #1) - Shana Abé

324 pages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Imagine a place so ripe and thick with the promise of magic that the very air breathes in plumes of pearl and gray and smoky blue; that the trees bow with the weight of their heavy branches, dipping low to the ground, dropping needles and leaves into beds of perfume" - Thus begin the first lines of The Smoke Thief, the story of the mysterious race of half-human half-dragon, and from there it only gets better.

This book is about Clarissa Rue Hawthorne, who as a half breed Drakon child is pretty much looked down upon in her Drakon Shire of Darkfrith. The only thing going for her is her loving mother and Christoff, the Drakon next in line to be Alpha, who she can only afford to look at from afar.

Then she decides to make something of her life.

Fast forward a couple of years and Clarissa (who goes by the name Rue) has made a name and a life for herself in London, far away from the other Drakon and living by her own rules. She's the famous smoke thief, only no one knows this other than a little street urchin, Zane, who she rescued one day.

The Drakon know it is one of them who is the thief. Christoff, all grown up and hotness personified (my words, not from the book) is now the Alpha. He's got a plan for catching the thief - The Langford Diamond - one no Drakon can resist. Only the plan goes kaput when Christoff (or Kit) sees a previously-presumed-dead Clarissa at the showing for the diamond and is smitten.
And then the diamond is stolen.
To make matter worse, Clarissa escapes from Kit.
By Turning to smoke.
The first female Drakon to do so in I forgot how long.
Now the Drakon need their diamond back, and they need Rue..as does Kit.

I loved this book. Shana Abe is being added to my favourite authors based on only this one book, which really should tell you all you need to know. You can picture the words that flow in this book - imagine the events as they happen. Get completely immersed in the mystery and wonder that are the Drakon. I loved the history and legend of the Drakon that the author weaves into this beautiful story.
This is a story where you want to read the next page simply because it is a joy to read, to know what these two characters will do next.

Clarissa Rue is a strong character - lacking in ego but confident in her own abilities and her own skin. A woman/Drakon who decided she wanted better than life had to offer her and went ahead and created that life for herself. The smart witty dialogue, and the effect she has on Kit and the other Drakon only adds to her appeal. And when she tells you the reason why she left her previous life, you'll only respect and admire her more.

Christoff / Kit, now Marquess of Langford, is an Alpha through and through. He's ruthless, knows his mind, also extremely confident in himself and uses his charm shamelessly. He's also a Drakon besotten (is that even a word?) with Rue from the moment he sees her in London - No, not love at first sight. Atleast he doesn't show it if it is. He'll do anything to get what he wants..and he does..but you can see as the story progresses how he softens his stand for Rue.

The romance is..intense. Kit is charming, and he uses all of it on Rue. This is sweet seduction at its best - and its all sincere, which is the bestest part.The kissing scenes are lovely..and the conversations..oh well -

"I've wanted you from the moment I first saw you in the museum. Before that. I wanted every part of you from the first time I felt you, your presence. I want you in the sky, and against the earth. I want to kiss you again, I want to touch you, I want to feel you in my arms and I want to hear you gasping my name when I'm inside you. I want all that, and I want it badly. Every time I look at you, I want it. So you're going to have to become used to that, Rue. It won't change."

Now tell me you don't want Christoff for yourself.

And now on to the next book, The Dream Thief which has more my favourite street - urchin Zane...
In case I didn't mention it, this one goes up there on my Favourite shelf - way up there with Bitten, Daughter of the Forest, Graceling...oh well - GO READ!!

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Dark Slayer (Carpathians, #20) - Christine Feehan

416 pages

A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer—a woman—who travels with a wolf pack and any among the vampires who meets her is slain. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of the vampires.
Ivory Malinov is that woman, betrayed by her own people, by her family, by everyone she held dear and she hunts during the night with only her pack to sustain her sanity. She has not spoken to or been with any other person for a hundred years other than to feed from or slay. She stumbles across a body on her way back to her lair and discovers—her lifemate.
He is Razvan, branded a hated criminal, detested, feared and loathed by all Carpathians—he is also a dragonseeker of one of the greatest lineages of all Carpathians Held captive nearly his entire life by his grandfather, the Carpathians bitterest enemy, he is seeking the dawn to end his terrible existence.
This is a story of two people, horribly betrayed, wounded in spirit, fighters to the death, who must struggle to unite against a common enemy.
 
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I've said this for the past 3 Carpathian books I reviewed, but this really is the best Carpathian book so far. Or close to it atleast. Dark Slayer is about Ivory Manilov and Razvan.

Ivory is the sister of the 5 Manilov brothers who purposely turned Vampire because they thought they could rule the world that way. Ivory was tortured and hacked and left for dead by the Mikhail's brother Draven and the vampires under Xavier's direction. However mother earth and the wolves saved her and now she slays the undead along with her wolf pack - with no allegiances to the undead, Xavier or the Carpathian race that left her for dead.

The grandson of the evil mage Xavier, Razvan has been in his grandfather's clutches since he was fourteen and has had his body and mind used for crimes against Xavier's enemies. He's lived only with his honour and endured to save those he loves, but now he's giving up.

Many things are thankfully different in this book. The two meet and don't want to be tied to each other because they're both being hunted, but cant abandon the other nonetheless. Ivory is the warrior in this book, while Razvan is more the calming influence with tremendous inner strength (that just sounds corny now, but you know what I mean)
He had learned long ago that he couldn’t control others or events, only his own reaction to what happened...“I do not control others, Ivory, only myself. I do what I must, no matter the cost.”

I can honestly say these are the strongest characters I've come across in anything I've read so far - both mentally and physically these two have endured and have been honed in the fires of hell. They have a single minded determination to accomplish whatever they set their sights on - be it Xavier or ravishing each other. Despite their strengths, they both have vulnerabilities - and it is lovely how they are there for the other at their times of need. At time I thought there was too much of the inner dialogue - with how they didn't deserve each other and how they had found joy and happiness. But considering both their tortured pasts, the gratitude and joy they found in each other did make sense, and it wasn’t so bad to read.

Razvan's lack of ego is refreshing after all the previous Carpathian men and their i'm-the-best-thing-that-ever-happend-to-you attitude. He's happy following Ivory's lead in areas that are her forte, and they support each other as partners. The part where they Razvan uses his skill at strategy along with Ivory's abilities and tricks the ancient Carpathians had me laughing for quite a while.

A lot of the old characters are back in this book along with some new ones. We catch up with what's been happening in the other lives and how they're fighting the undead, Xavier and they're own extinction with the inability to keep their babies alive. There's also sad re-unions with Razvan meeting his sister Natalya (who I wanted to slap in this book a lot of times) and his daughter Lara and coming to terms with the new knowledge of what Xavier had been using his body for.

Lovely story this. I wondered how the two would meet, how they would reconcile with the Carpathians and whether they would defeat Xavier and where the series will go from this book onwards. Feehan does a almost perfect job on all counts. A lot of things are wrapped up in this book, with enough to keep you waiting for the next book.

Really, this isn't an adequate review. It'll make you laugh, it might make you cry. It'll keep you invested in the lives of these two. So go read the book. (But read some of the previous books first so it makes a lot more sense)
See my reviews on some of the previous Carpathian books here

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Fractured (Will Trent, #2) - Karin Slaughter

416 pages
Blurb: The #1 internationally bestselling author returns to the damaged landscape she knows so well in a bold new novel—at once a powder keg of suspense, a gritty portrait of a cop’s life, and a searing exploration of a shocking crime and its aftermath…

With its gracious homes and tree-lined streets, Ansley Park is one of Atlanta’s most desirable neighborhoods. But in one gleaming mansion, in a teenager’s lavish bedroom, a girl has been savagely murdered. And in the hallway, her horrified mother stands amid shattered glass, having killed her daughter’s attacker with her bare hands.
Detective Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is here only to do a political favor; the murder site belongs to the Atlanta police. But Trent soon sees something that the cops are missing, something in the trail of blood, in a matrix of forensic evidence, and in the eyes of the shell-shocked mother. Within minutes, Trent is taking over the case—and adding another one to it. He is sure that another teenage girl is missing, and that a killer is on the loose.
Armed with only fleeting clues, teamed with a female cop who has her own personal reasons for hating him, Trent has enemies all around him—and a gnawing feeling that this case, which started in the best of homes, is cutting quick and deep through the ruins of perfect lives broken wide-open: where human demons emerge with a vengeance

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a amazing novel. When I say amazing I mean go-pick-up-a-copy-to-read-amazing. Triptych was the first Karin Slaughter book I read last year and I was hooked. I loved Will Trent - the detective with undiagnosed dyslexia who cannot read, is socially awkward, looks at everything with different eyes, is extremely intelligent and makes one hell of a detective.
In Fractured, Slaughter brings Will's past and his disability to the forefront - he excels because of what he is and is held back because of his dyslexia too. But enough about Will.
What this story really is about is Emma and getting her back.

"This time yesterday morning, Kayla and Emma had probably been getting ready for school. Maybe Adam Humphrey had slept in because he had a later class. Abigail Campano had been getting ready for her day of tennis and spa treatments. Paul had been on his way to work. None of them had known how little time they had left before their lives were forever changed or—worse—stolen."

When the Atlanta police are called in to a crime where a mother has just killed her murdered daughter's attacker, they peg it as a murder-and home invasion gone wrong. Only Will sees the clues, and realises there is more than meets the eye (see blurb for more)

Partnered with a female cop who hates him and blames him for her mothers retirement from the Atlanta Police, Will has to piece the clues together to find Emma, his old nemesis' kidnapped daughter, before her time runs out and even the cops on the case give her up for dead.

If you've read any Karin Slaughter, you'll know why you need to pick up this book. Its only my second by her, but I know I'll be reading a whole lot more of her as soon as I can get my hands on em. This book grips you from the get go, makes you feel what each of the characters are going through (and not just the main ones), their hopes and frustrations, it makes you cheer for every breakthrough they make and gets you emotionally invested in saving Emma and praying for hope of a happy ending for all these guys.

Slaughter's depiction of situations is real and at times heartbreaking. See, I don't cry. No matter how emotional the book or movie. But when Will was trying to break their suspect into telling him where Emma was, and he used his own experiences to connect with the suspect and get him to talk and everything that happened thereafter - well, that was pretty heady stuff.
I hope she writes more Will Trent books. Go read this one people.

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Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4) - Richelle Mead

480 pages.
DIMITRI'S HEART HAS GONE DARK
Now Rose must journey to the ends of the earth to find--and kill--her one true love...
Or has the time come to join him?
BOUND BY LOVE, BUT SWORN TO KILL...
The rest of the world had considered Dimitri dead. And to a certain extent, he was. But I hadn't been able to forget a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead—truly dead—than walk the world as Strigoi. It was time to honor our words.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one gets 5 stars for a lot of reasons
I really really wanted to read this to find out what happens next even if i have been late latching on to the Vampire Academy series, i took the trouble to pre-order it even, i sat up till 5.30 reading it...and well, it was really really good.
Rose has left St Vladimir's to find and kill Dimitri, and she's gone to his hometown to do so thinking that's where he would have gone.
Can't give a lot away, but she obviously meets Dimitri - The Strigoi. And on the way we meet a wonderful cast of characters, some of whom i hope are in the coming books too - including Dimitri's damphir family. Rose has huge decisions to make in this book - and her guilt at leaving Lissa and everyone else behind doesn't help either.

She loves Dmitri's family, she has a Moroi who wants her gone from Russia although she doesn't know why, she thinks Lissa doesn't want her anymore and wants to stay in Russia with the Belikovs, but then there's Dimitri and the promise she made of killing him.
Damn, i really can't say that much without giving away spoilers, and i really don't want to. Suffice to say it was heartbreaking what she had to go through with Dimitri as a strigoi. Does she kill him, does she turn strigoi herself, or just leave and go away. Didn't know what would happen until it did. The only think i was sure of was that she couldn't die seeing as there were supposed to be more books coming out - which was little consolation considering the suspense which kept building up slowly.

Meanwhile Lissa has a new friend at St. Vladimir, and more politics with the queen - and things aren't right on both counts. The one person that i really really fell in love with even more was Adrian. He certainly developed more as a character - he still has feelings for Rose, and his concern for others around him and his actions make him grow on you.
There's no real happy ever after at the end, but a huge promise of maybe there might be one after all in the coming books.
The only annoying part now is waiting for the next book Spirit Bound which doesn't even have a release date yet.

PS: If this review makes even less sense than my other ramblings, it could be from staying up all night reading the book and no sleep for 36 hrs does that to me sometimes. But was totally worth it.

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Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, #4) - Jeaniene Frost

355 pages

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stayed up reading this till 5 am and was completely worth it.
Cat and Bones are back – and on holiday. Cat has resigned from her job and Bones has settled all affairs from the vampire war in book 3 - At Grave's End
Cat starts dreaming of another vampire, Gregor – who has connections to her past from before she met Bones, Gregor claims she's his wife and wants her back. Cat keeps Bones, who can now read minds, out of her mind with mental shields – and that leaves Bones wondering what she’s hiding or not telling him. Cat, in typical Cat manner also does some things without thinking in entirely through, thinking she’s helping save the day. Enter Mistrust and a lack of communication that leads to things getting even worse.

Cat and Bones both being head strong individuals do things their own way - thinking they’re protecting the other – and that leads to a huge fight which made for very horrible reading since I love these two, but at the same time I kinda agreed with the things Bones said. Heartbeaking stuff.
Things obviously get worse before they get better. In the end, it was adds up to an awesome read that still has me left with a huge grin on my face.

The old characters are back – specially my two favourite ones - Spade, who was too cute as he kept trying to get the fighting couple back together and Vlad, as the voice of reason proved to be a very good friend to Cat
Mencheres, Rodney, Annette and Justina are back too – things don’t turn out well for some of them. There’s also Fabian – the friendly ghost who helped a lot.

Amid the fighting, splitting, and eventual getting back together, there’s the trademark Frost one-liners that make this series one of my favourites. Midway during reading the book, I realized that everytime Bones had a line, I’d be reading it to myself with an imagined British accent.

Cat, while waiting in line at the loo in Paris:
“He fucks even better than he looks,” I settled on saying. Several heads turned. I didn’t care; I was pissed. “And that beautiful face is going to be clamped between my legs as soon as we get ooome, don’t you worry.”

The fear of that made my reply snappy. “Hey, Walks Like An Egyptian, how about for once you drop the formal stuff and talk like you live in the twenty‐first century?”
“The shit’s gonna splatter, start buggin’, yo,” Mencheres responded instantly.
I stared at him, then burst out laughing, which was highly inappropriate considering the very grave warning he’d just conveyed.

Spade: Lucifer’s bloody balls, is this why you haven’t returned my calls?”
Spade: “Lucifer’s hairy ball sack. You’ve become a Morlock.”

Bones: “Don’t care for her tongue, do you? How strange. I find it’s one of my favorite parts.”

There’s a new book on Spade and Denise coming out Jan 2010 : First Drop of Crimson.. Cant wait for that one. See more here

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Playing With Fire (Silver Dragons, #1) - Katie MacAlister

331 pages
Rating: 5/5

Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern of the silver dragons, has found the one woman who can withstand his fire. Too bad May Northcott is already bound to a demon lord. But when the demon orders May to steal one of Gabriel's treasures, an immensely important relic of all dragonkin, Gabriel has to decide which to protect: his love or his dragons.

I've been waiting a while to get my hands on this book. May Northcott is a doppelganger (a being created from her twin); she's bound to a demon lord Magoth, who she works as a thief for; she has a twin Cyrene who gave up her common sense when creating May; she's in a lotta trouble for stealing from the chief archimage of the Otherworld; is being blackmailed, and now finds out she's also a wyvern's mate. Gabriel's mate to be more exact.

Gabriel Tahou, the wyvern of the Silver Dragons, was first introduced in Fire Me Up - the second Aisling Grey book where he healed Aisling's wound after the amulet was stolen. I loved Gabriel then, and he's just as great now.
This books starts off where Book 4 of Aisling Grey left off.

The Silver Dragons broke off from the black dragons and were cursed with no mates born to them. Hence Gabriel is mate-less unless he steals someone else's. Enter May. Who isn't born but created from her twin, or in Jim's words:

" May’s a virgin lesbian doppelganger wyvern’s mate"

I was laughing my ass off at the part where Cyrene tries to tell Gabriel and everyone else how Mayling cannot be his mate because she isn't into men or sex. Read it to know more. I love Cyrene. She's just to stupid you have to love her.

This book was typical MacAlister funny. Even the sex scenes between Gabriel and May were funny. Gabriel cannot seem to control himself around May, which while weird, made more quite a few laughs:

Gabriel: ‘‘Only because I am determined to prove to you that I value you more than anything else in my life. I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t explore any more of my stomach, because that too will send me over the edge. In fact, I’d be eternally grateful if you would arouse yourself, and tell me when you are ready.’’

Magoth made for one interesting Demon Lord. I also enjoyed Savian character - the thief taker who was chasing May for the Otherworld reward. And there's more of Kotya, with his constant "The black dragon sept will regain what we once held but was taken from us" tirade.

Nice book this. It ended on a sad note, but intriguing enough to make sure you pick up the next book.

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Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9) - Charlaine Harris

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps—and nothing about weres.
Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works—and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.
But there’s a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings—older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves—is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle

Sookie Sookie Sookie . How long I’ve waited to read this. Where to begin?

Well, before i forget - Ms. Harris, I like how all the books have their own unique style of jacket covers and all, but really!!! Can you make them look a wee bit better maybe. You’re killing the hot image of Eric that I’ve created in my head with that cape clad buffoon on the cover. And Bill just looks like he’s completely doped out.
Thank heavens for Alexander Skarsgård in True Blood for keeping my hopes for Eric alive.

Now considering how long I’ve waited for this book, I absolutely loved it. Didn’t have much of a choice here. Harris has added quite a few sub plots here that you have to appreciate that finally here’s a book where thing tie up at the end (not all, but at least a little. Am I still making sense? I’m still on a giddy high after having read this at a stretch with only a break for some orange juice and lots of chocolate in between. I was thinking maybe I should write the review tomorrow when i'm back to my relatively more saner self. But its amazing how the ideas whoosh by and how fast you can type on a one-too-many-bars-of-chocolate high. Really)

No, no. That didn't make sense at all. I'll have another go at this:

A lot of things are happening in this book, every chapter has some incident nor another. The Weres make their big reveal. A lot of people end up dead by the time the book is done - some of them characters i really liked. Harris didn't really address the emotional fallout from these deaths. They just were. With everything else happening, Sookie doesn't get any time to process what these deaths mean. I do hope she gets to this in the next book.

A lot of stuff from the previous books get answered - Eric tells her about the curse and why he would up near Sookie's place in Dead to the World.
Arlene and the Fellowship Of The Sun try their tricks - and i liked that Sookie finally told Arlene off and gave up on her. Been pending for a long time i think.

Quinn is back, if only for a short encounter - which actually left me a bit spooked and also supporting Quinn in his statement that Sookie is harder on him that anyone else. Although i didn't buy his reasoning for it. Never thought I'd be siding with Quinn - something about him calling her Babe all the time that just ruins it. Like he can't be bothered to remember her name. My Boyfriend used to do that. Call everyone 'darling' regardless of gender or whether he met you 10 minutes ago, so he didn't have to remember names. He knows better now. But i digress.

The main event of the book is the Fairy war with Niall and the pro-human fairies on one side and his nephew Breandan and the 'no-contact-with-Humans' fairies on the other side. And obviously Sookie in the middle - with disastrous and torturous consequences for her and her friends. That part was really horrible. Harris really has a way with writing dark stuff. Her Lily Bard Series is a good example.

I found this book had a more mature and subdued Sookie (and Jason too, for that matter). One who faces a lot of revelations. You can see the effects of it in her interaction with those around her. Specially with Eric. She's confused about her feelings and the blood bond. Their relationship changes in that Sookie seems more detached when it comes to Eric now while Eric seems to want to get closer to her. Almost like her needs her.

Then there was also the conversation after Sookie is rescued and she asks Eric why he wasn't the one who came after her and she had hoped he would, and he says “You’re killing me” Plus at the end Pam makes some comment about how Eric will live on in Sookie. So many cryptic things in this book. VERY VERY FRUSTRATING.

And BILL IS BACK!!! Who would have thought that. I mean the man really managed to redeemed himself, almost dying for her and all. Whew!!

Can i now complain about the extremely abrupt ending. After page after page of a rollercoaster ride of events, it felt like Harris got tired of writing and just left it hanging. Like i mentioned before. Frustrating.

But all in all, i still loved it.

Is now a good time to bring up how this book was only 336 pages? Its like going to wait a long awaited movie only to be shown the trailer and then asked to leave at the end of it with no movie in sight.

Well, maybe not exactly like that. But still.

Aaah well. I always seem to complain about this series. Because i love it so much.

See.
Told you.
Chocolate rush = too much writing.

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Click here for reviews of books 1-8

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Deadly Desire - Riley Jenson Guardian Series 07 - Keri Arthur

368 Pages
Rating: 5/5
Seduction that kills. Pleasure to die for.
She just can’t resist . . .
Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used—and discarded—in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil—or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.

Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread

Aaah how I've looked forward to reading this book.
And it did not disappoint for the most part.

There's someone brutally killing vampires and another set of murders where young women are being killed. Both have suggestions of dark magic and the second set of murders is what brings Riley in contact with Kye Murphy. Again.

Kye, in this book, is a killer for hire chasing the same murderer and while Riley tries unsuccessfully to get him to walk away from the case, they both cannot seem to control the strange physical attraction they have for each other, despite both not wanting it.Which you know can only mean one thing...but i wont mention that here :O)

Kye also has a unique ability and that had me thinking of Peter from Heroes and wondering whether that's where Arthur got the idea from. Or it could have been because Heroes was on yesterday when i was reading this.

The last three chapters were absolute magic to read. For once, Arthur goes against her earlier trend and does a bit of a happy ending. For which i will say - Thank you. And it finally tackles the whole can a person with two different souls have only one soul mate question. Which i have been waiting for forever.

Part of me isn't happy that this was such a short book- considering that i finished it in one day and keeping in mind how much i was looking forward to it - damn! it should have been longer. There's only that many times you can keep re-reading the book to make yourself forget that it didn't take longer than 8 hours to read. All that waiting and over so soon.

Also i'm not sure if i remember correctly but i don't think Quinn had ever met Kye in any of the previous books, so when Riley mentions that he did, i guess that makes this a mistake in the book?

Oh and Miss Arthur, its a lil irritating reading about the kaleidoscope of sensations and the shuddering and the shattering during sex. C'mon change things up a bit. This is book 7. I don't even need to read those paragraphs when Riley's having sex with someone anymore. They've been the same from book 1 onwards. Hell, i could probably recite it word for word without actually reading any from this book and i know I'd be right every time. There's only so many times you can read the same thing over and over. If this was exam material I'd be getting top marks for memory right now.

That being said, this along with book 6 is the best of the series. Mostly because I'm a sucker for Quinn and Riley being together. But also because the characters are stronger and their relationships with each other on a more mature level. This is also the first book where Riley is relatively happy. And not brutally bashed up every few pages.

Here's looking forward to a very interesting book 8 which annoyingly doesn't even have a blurb out yet.

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Sookie Stackhouse 04 - Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse is back! The mind-reading vampire-dating, small-town cocktail waitress from small-town Louisiana returns in her fourth Southern Vampire Mystery. Life is never simple for Sookie Stackhouse, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that she always tries to do the right thing. Maybe that's why, when she comes across a semi-naked vampire on the road home from work, she doesn't just drive on by, even though she knows it almost certainly means trouble. Turns out the vampire hasn't a clue as to who he is. But Sookie does. It's Eric, still as scary and sexy - and dead - as the day she first met him. But now that he has amnesia, Eric is sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help - because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires and werewolves. But the greater danger could be to Sookie's heart - because the kinder, gentler Eric is very difficult to resist ..

I think i enjoyed this book the most - Mostly cause Bill isn't there much in it and Eric is there - a lot.

It couldn't have started out better - you know the book will be great when Bill has left in the beginning itself.

And then Eric - i love the dynamic between Eric and Sookie - and the descriptions are, ahem, hot as well. I did kinda shake my head in disappointment when she first decided that jumping Eric was good, but then well, i guess this was going to happen eventually. And the whole memory loss thing really helped, i guess.

Sookie didn't get beaten up much in this book - which is a good change from the previous 3.

There's a lot more supernatural characters in this book - which means the coming stories will be great.

The best thing about the book is that it had 2 stories - Jason's disappearance and Eric's memory loss, and both played out seamlessly even though they didn't have anything to do with each other. Plus, it left a lot of questions to be answered in the next books - Will Eric remember, and then what? Will Alice find out about Debbie - and then what? Will Jason turn every full moon. How will all of this change Sookie and her relationship with these men in her life.

I do hope there's more of Eric and Sookie tho - it makes much more interesting reading than Sookie and Bill ever did and they seem great together.

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