Ultimate Annus Confusionus

Book number 46 was another book from the Morganville Vampires series. I took a break from them for a little while so I could catch up on other books and also so I would still have something to look forward to from one of my favorite authors. Rachel Caine has continued to keep the series fresh and exciting even after 7 books. And now there are a total of 12 Morganville books available... I hope she has continued to keep them at the same level. It is very easy for books in a very long series to start going down hill and I think it really shows how good of a writer an author is if they can continue a series for a long time and never lose the interest of the readers. I'm still hooked and can't wait to read book 8.

3rd Kaprekar Number

I have been really bad with my book blogging lately. I completed my 45th book probably about 2 weeks ago but it was such a forgettable book that I keep forgetting to review it. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey wasn't exactly a bad book but it just couldn't hold my attention for long periods of time. It was very easy to put down and didn't have me craving for more. I love the fact that the author allowed his teen hero to be homosexual... there are not enough young adult authors out there who go there, and there needs to be more of them. I feel like if he had just been a little more out there with his plots and had a little more action, he could have had a very good book.

.44 Magnun

My 44th book was very unplanned. I took my husband to the Museum of the Moving Image for his birthday and while we were there we had to stop in the gift store. I really wanted to get something good as a memory but all the books were too expensive and I could always find them cheaper else where so I kept looking... then I found the most hysterical book and by some miracle it wasn't marked up 100%... in fact it was at the normal retail price. So I had to get it. It is written by the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The title of the book is How to Survive a Horror Movie and it is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. I started to read it the second we got in the car to drive back home and was halfway through by the time we pulled up at our house.
The forward by Wes Craven is the perfect opening and every chapter after it leaves you wanting more. It's cliched, and expected but that's what makes it hilarious. If you are looking for a light, quick read that will keep you in stitches this is the book for you, even if you are not a horror movie fan.

12th Lucky Number

I just completed the Skinned trilogy by Robin Wasserman. All three books were good but the third, Wired, was the best, which is very unusual. Typically, in my experience, a series will start out strong but will often fade a bit the further into it you get. I enjoyed both Skinned and Crashed very much but they were a bit bland and boring. There didn't seem to be too much going on in them but Wired was action packed and interesting all the way through. There were several large twists to the story that I never saw coming and a couple of other small twists that I had seen coming but that fit the story real well and helped to tie in some loose ends. I never imagined it ending the way it did and I applaud the author for giving it an ending that is both happy and not at the same time. Definitely a series worth picking up and finishing.

Shi Ni

My debut author for August (yes I know I'm a bit late), is Julia Mayer and her book Eyes in the Mirror. I am very pleased with my recent book choices, they have all been so different from what I typically end up reading.
This book was a mixture of two of my favorite genres in YA: teen problems and fantasy. Both genres were present but Eyes in the Mirror was more of a teen problems novel than fantasy fiction. The fantasy part of the book showed up in the form of an alternate reality, through the looking glass sort of idea, add in teen pregnancy, losing a parent at a young age and self mutilation and, believe it or not, what you end up with is a very interesting story.

Jupiter Symphony

Another day, another book. Now that I have completed The Secret Circle series I am even more excited to see the TV show. I was able to guess a couple of things in the books but there are quite a few things that I feel LJ Smith left unfinished. I'm hoping the rumors that she will be continuing to write more books for the series are true because I want to see if my unanswered theories are correct. I do believe that the TV show will go in the direction I thought the books would go and I can't wait to see. But mostly I just can't wait to learn more about these characters and follow them through their adventures again.

Got Milk?

Book number forty is done. LJ Smith is still one of my favorite authors. Her writing isn't spectacular or extremely unusual but her story lines are very interesting and I enjoy reading her books. She's good at appealing to the teenager that is still inside me. The friendships and other relationships (whether good or bad) are all well developed and easily relate-able, doesn't matter that they are witches, vampires, other paranormals or just human. I'm excited to finish up the third book in the series and of course I cannot wait to see what they have done with the TV series (I may have said that in my last post). I really hope the rumor of her writing more sequels is true.