I’ve been reading a lot of vampire stuff lately. A lot. I finished up the other two Lynsay Sands books in the Argeneau series, Vampires are Forever and Vampire, Interrupted. I like that series a lot, and I’ve always enjoyed reading related stories, so the idea of stories based on a whole family of vampires is pretty cool. I definitely intend to get the rest of the series.

I read Bad Blood, by L.A. Banks. I’ve read her Vampire Huntress series, and enjoyed those, but I liked this one even more. The MC is a strong, kick-butt-and-take-names military girl, who just so happens to be a shadow wolf. There’s a lot of action in this book, and the werewolves…well, they’re just not nice. I’m looking forward to the next book.

Next up is Rogue, by Rachel Vincent. Loved it. Loved the first one, Stray. I hated how this one ended, however. It just stopped! I wanted to run right out and buy the next one, except, oh yeah, it isn’t out yet. As a reader, I hate it when the book just stops (as opposed to ending). As a writer, I think “Wow. I wish I could get my readers hooked in like that.” Rogue has a good mystery, lots of action, and some surprising character developments. You should definitely read it.

Embrace the Night, by Karen Chance, is the third book in the Cassie Palmer series. This is an excellent series. The MC is interesting and accident-prone. In fact, she’s like a magnet for trouble. Her sidekick, the ghost Billy, is great, too. She’s always getting herself into some sort of predicament. I hope this isn’t the last book with these characters.

I read Shanna Swenson’s Once Upon Stilettos and Damsel Under Stress. Can I just say how jealous I am of this idea? I think the concept is great, and really original. I love all the little details, like the gargoyles being the security system. The MC, Katie, is always entertaining. She’s so doubtful of herself, but she always manages to come up with something to save the day, even if it’s purely accidental. Some of the things in these two books had me laughing out loud and thinking “That’s the kind of thing that would happen to me.” (Except for, you know, the whole magic thing.). The supporting characters are great. Owen, who’s too smart for his own good and way too shy. Rod, who uses glamour to make himself look hot instead of putting any effort into his personal appearance. And of course, the CEO, Merlin. Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

I decided to try some new series I’ve been hearing about, so with that end in mind, I read The Devil Inside by Jenna Black. Interesting premise. I haven’t read much with demons lately, so this was a nice change of pace. I like the MC, who is definitely flawed (and knows it). She’s an exorcist who has been possessed by the ruler of Hell, except she doesn’t know it, and the demon isn’t strong enough to control her. She gets caught up in the struggle for power in Hell. Her demon, Lugh, is pro-human, and the opposing factions are trying to burn her alive to destroy Lugh. Lots of action. I intend to buy the next book in the series. A note of warning: some of the sex in the book could be a little disturbing to some people. I consider myself open-minded, but I was caught off guard a little bit when they went to the exhibitionist (for lack of a better word) demon club.

My next foray into a new series was Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews. This book had an entirely different vampire concept. And I did not like these vampires at all! Yuck. Strong heroine with lots of mystery surrounding her, which is probably the main reason I’ll be reading the next book in the series, just to find out about her. My favorite character was the Beast Lord. I thought he was great.

Last, but far from least, is Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine. This book sucked me in from the very first page. I couldn’t put it down. It had a ton of things to interest me. First of all, it’s set in a small Texas town. How many vampire stories have you seen with that kind of setting? It’s got a goth girl who’s making fun of the vampires, evil b*tches after the MC, Claire, a nice mystery line. Pretty much everything you could ask for. Claire is a super smart sixteen-year-old who graduated early but her parents wouldn’t let her go off to any of the big schools just yet. So she goes to this small university, and gets on the bad side of Monica, the big dog on campus. And Monica tries to kill her, so Claire runs away from the dorm, and ends up in a cool, Gone with the Wind style house, where she meets Eve, Shane, and Michael, who try to protect her. The vampires in this story are mostly bad, as near as I can tell, and give their protection to families in town in return for blood donations. You should definitely check this book out! I’m getting the next book this week!

Okay, seriously, how sad is it that I didn’t quite get that all of Kim Harrison’s titles in the Rachel Morgan series were Clint Eastwood movies? Bad, right? I mean, I recognized The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, and Dead Witch Walking, but the others? Not so much. I was really wondering about the title of this one, too, until someone pointed out the connection to me. Duh. The Outlaw Demon Wails. But the book was good. Except for the part where she stubbornly didn’t bring Kisten back from the dead. (Not that I thought she would, but I admit to nursing a faint hope.). I have enjoyed all the books in this series, and I can’t wait until the next one comes out. Rachel is a flawed character, but one I’ve very attached to.

Then I read Darkling, by Yasmine Galenorn. Interesting book. I haven’t read any of the others in the series, but I liked this one. To be honest, I bought it because of the cover art. That picture really caught my eye (it was the braids), and I picked it up and read the blurb. That convinced me completely. I like all the different creatures that are in the book, and I really like the idea of the baby gargoyle. That’s too cute.

Then I read Enchanted, Inc., by Shanna Swendson. I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. It was great. The whole set-up blew my mind, and the MC was fabulous. I really liked Katie. And Owen. We can’t forget Owen. I’m buying the rest of these books this week.

I also read The Kitchen Witch, by Annette Blair. It was good, parts of it made me chuckle, but it was a little too…romance novel for me. I know that sounds bad, but I don’t mean it that way. I was just hoping for a little more from it. I’ll probably be reading more of the series, though.

Howling at the Moon, by Karen MacInerny was a great find. I enjoyed the breezy style and voice of the book. The characterization was great, and by the end I felt like I knew Sophie personally. I found myself snickering all throughout the book, too. I mean, an undercover werewolf who worries about her purse when she’s forced to change? And getting caught in her wolf shape with pantyhose on? That was pretty funny, even when she wasn’t griping about her gorgeous best friend.

I just finished The Accidental Vampire, by Lynsay Sands today. Couldn’t put it down. I laughed out loud several times while reading this. Poor Elvi. She thinks all the myths surrounding vampires are true (No eating, must wear black, sleeps in a coffin), and when her best friend places a personal add on her behalf, the vampires who respond let her in on the truth. The scene where she finds out she can eat was hilarious, with her first demands being cheesecake and chocolate. Now there’s a vampire after my own heart!

I’ve been reading a lot the last month. I’m up to a total of 26 books out of my goal of 150 for the year. I know I’ll have no problem meeting that goal, not with the frequency I’ve been ordering books lately!

I re-read Skinny Bitch. Yeah, I just read it six months ago, but reading it again reconfirmed my choice not to eat meat. Not that I’m saying it’s like the Bible or anything, but it just strengthened my resolve. Now if I could just get people to stop asking me “Don’t you miss meat?”

I finished the Star Wars Dark Nest trilogy with The Unseen Queen and The Swarm War, by Troy Denning. Both decent books. The Star Wars world always entertains me, so that was enjoyable.

Next up was Kitty and the Silver Bullet, by Carrie Vaughn. I enjoy this series. Kitty is a good character, and she’s grown a lot through the series, getting stronger with every book. I was glad to see her develop even further in this one.

I’d heard a lot about The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory. Now, I was more or less familiar with the story of Anne Boleyn, but this book was a whole other take on that story. I’ve always felt sorry for Anne in the past. In this case…not so much. I didn’t like her at all. Her sister Mary was a great character, and I read this really fast to find out what happened to her (Not to Anne. I knew what was going on with that.)

Then I read The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while, and finally got around to it. It was good. Not as good as his Odd Thomas books or the ones about Chris Snow (Seize the Night, Fear Nothing), but good. You can always count on Koontz to tell stories that could happen, but with a twist of something just a little bit harder to believe thrown in.

I also read three books by Sunny, Mona Lisa Blossoming, Mona Lisa Craving, and Lucinda, Darkly. I like her writing, although it inevitably brings to mind the Anita Blake books. Sunny’s premise is quite a bit different, with the Monere. I like the fact that they’re from the moon originally, and there’s a lot of original ideas in her stories. I actually liked the Lucinda, Darkly book even more than the Mona Lisa books. It’s about Lucinda, sister to Halcyon of the other books, and she’s quite an interesting character, with a lot of conflict in her life.

I’ve read the first two books in Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine series, so I was looking forward to reading The Devil’s Right Hand. I think I need to go back and re-read the first two, though, because I don’t remember them being quite so…futuristic/sci-fi. Actually, I don’t remember that at all. This kept distracting me from the story, which I liked a lot. Dante’s such a strong character, but she’s so insecure sometimes that I want to scream. And who wouldn’t want to be all kick-butt like her? She’s great. That’s why I don’t understand the insecurity, even though it makes her a very realistic character.

On my best friend’s recommendation I read Nighthawk, by Kristen Kyle. She said it was “Pretty good, for a romance.” Um, there’s a reason I don’t read straight romance any more. Not that this was a bad book. But I wasn’t expecting it be a space romance, and similarities to the original Star Wars movies kept rearing their heads at me. A little distracting, that.

Last, but definitely not least: Chosen, by P.C. and Kristen Cast. I love these books. Love, love, love. The premise is great. I mean, a vampire finishing school? Excellent idea (Why can’t I think of these things? Why?). The tattoos that appear on the fledglings and vampires are cool. Then you’ve got the conflict between Zoey, the MC, and the High Priestess (who’s really evil), her dead best friend, and her numerous boyfriends (one human, one a fledgling, one a grown vamp). Throw in her horrible family, her conflict with the ex-Priestess-in-Training (and hag) Aphrodite, and the fact that someone’s murdering adult vamps, and you’ve got a great, fast-moving read. I read this in like two hours. I started to do some other things, knew I wouldn’t accomplish anything as long as the book was waiting for me, and sat down and read the entire thing. Now I have to wait until fall for the next one!