Hunter’s Blood

Title: Hunter’s Blood
Author: Marianne Morea
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: A fun, steamy read which includes some cliches but also threw out others in a way that made this a great read.

I don’t read much paranormal romance, largely because even the little reading I’ve done has made me acquainted with the cliches of the genre. This book has some of those. There’s the supernatural abilities as an explanation for unrealistically over-whelming sex appeal; the insta-love; the girl who feels overwhelmed by the guy’s magic enhanced mojo; and the guy intrigued because the girl is the only one who can resist his appeal.  However, if you like paranormal romance, I’d suggest you check this one out for the good qualities that make is stand out from the pack (pun completely intended).

Hollow’s End

Title: Hollow’s End
Author: Marianne Morea
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This book had some of the most believable YA characters I’ve encountered and with a new ending the author wrote, I loved it.

Hollow’s End is inspired by both the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the history of the town where the legend is set. Events from the Revolutionary War  pitted the town’s inhabitants against each other, leaving lingering animosity that leads to paranormal activities as Halloween approaches. Although Rowen is from a family of witches, she’s never wanted to do anything with such things. Unfortunately, her relationships and her powers leave her little choice but to deal with visions sparked by ancestors of the towns current inhabitants…

Soul Sisters

Title: Soul Sisters
Author: Janiera Eldridge
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Summary: The unique vampire mythology the author created was fascinating, but half of the book was spent getting ready for an anticlimactic final showdown that only took two pages.

Although Dana is human, as soul sister to vampire Ani she could potentially live forever. Unfortunately, Ani’s decision to kill a human who tries to hurt Dana causes the vampire leader Donovan to decide that the sisters are more trouble than they’re worth. Fortunately, the sisters have some powerful friends and if they manage defeat Donovan, Ani will be safe as the new vampire leader. But first, they have to survive…

Bookends – Finishing the Raine Benares Series

Current Fiction Readings

This week I’ve finally (after waiting a whole day :-P) gotten to read the rest of the published books in the Raine Benares series.  Although the plot in each book is pretty unique, the second and third books did seem a  lot like the first.  One common complaint which I share is that the author reuses words and phrases from book to book.  It’s not unreasonable for the author to recap parts of earlier books, but most other authors are able to do this without directly quoting the previous books.  The direct quotes gave me an unpleasant feeling of deja vu which pulled me out of the current action a little bit. In the first book, I enjoyed all the flirting.  I thought it was enough to give the books a little sex appeal, but not enough I’d be uncomfortable if my mom looked over my shoulder.  But by the third book or so all the almost having sex was beginning to feel kind of ridiculous – it was obvious it was going to happen, but it never did!  The fourth book was one of my favorites, both because something (no spoilers, I promise!) does happen in terms of sex and some of the bad guys begin to get what’s coming to them.  This made for a very satisfying read.  The fifth book was also much more action packed in terms of fighting the bad guys and in Raine’s sex life.  I really liked these last two and can’t wait for the new book this year!

Non-Project Non-Fiction

None this week.  Surprisingly, I’ve actually had less time to read at home than I did my last week at school, so I haven’t done a whole lot of extra non-fiction reading!

Summary

Armed and Magical (book 2) and The Trouble with Demons (book 3) – 4 stars – new engaging plots, but largely similar to the first book in tone, style and wording.

Bewitched and Betrayed (book 4) and Con and Conjure (book 5) – 5 stars – I really enjoyed these two!  Much more satisfyingly action-packed than the previous two books.