So, a few weeks ago, my best friend and I went to Conestoga, in Tulsa, OK. (Okay, it’s been almost a month ago. What can I say? I’ve got a lot going on. Plus I procrastinate.) This is our second year to go, and we hope to make it a tradition. If you ever get the chance to go, I recommend it. It’s a good learning experience: not so big as to be completely overwhelming, but not too small, either. (Of course, it’s the only con I’ve ever been to, so take this with a grain of salt.)

I came back with a list of authors I want to try. Sitting in on panels listening to these people made me (in some cases) want to buy their books. In any case, here are my stats from the trip:

-number of authors at Conestoga I had already read: 8 (PC & Kristin Cast, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Marie Brennan, Deborah LeBlanc, Jeanine Frost, Shanna Swendson)

-number of authors whose books I bought there: 2 (Dakota Cassidy and Michelle Bardsley)

-number of authors my best friend bought there (and whom I therefore get to read): 3 (Patrice Michelle, Talia Gryphon, and Jaci Burton)

-number of authors I will buy: 5 (Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Ken Lorey, Mark Henry (OMG! The zombie lubrication teaser is enough to guarantee I buy his book.), Tiffany Trent, and Diana Gabaldon)

-number of authors I will probably buy: 2 (Melissa Marr, Steven E. Wedel)

-number of authors whose books aren’t out now but who will be in my TBR pile: 2 (Sarah Rhees Brennan, Devon Monk)

-author I was most impressed with: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She seems so young when you first lay eyes on her. Then she starts speaking and you realize just how smart she is. (She’s even more impressive when you find out her education history.)

-author I was most intrigued by: Sarah Rhees Brennan. Okay, so at first, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. Some of the comments she had were made in this almost-fake British accent (the comments that were her spoken thoughts). But the more I listened to her, the funnier she became. BTW, her blog is in the same tone, which I find hilarious.

-most interesting workshop: How To Write a Sex Scene Without Blushing by Diana Gabaldon. Quite funny, actually. Especially since her first piece of advice is to wait until after your parents are dead, so you won’t have to deal with that embarrassment.

-only book so far from a con author that I couldn’t finish: Key to Conflict, by Talia Gryphon. I tried. Really I did. I plowed through 150 pages before surrendering, and that took me a week! I just couldn’t find make myself care about the characters. A paranormal counselor, twin vampire brothers, a mysterious ghost, all of these things are great. But the writing killed it for me. There was way too much telling of events instead of showing (sometimes I know that’s a necessity, but in this case, not so much). And I felt so removed from the MC that I just couldn’t do it anymore. Although, now that I think about it, that ghost was the most interesting thing. I’ll have to make my best friend tell me what was up with him.

So, those are my stats from Conestoga. Sorry for blathering on for so long. I know it’s been a while since I blogged about what I’ve been reading, so I’ll have to break that down into a more manageable size. Soon, people, soon. I promise.

I finished up the Tess Gerritsen’s duology (sort of), with Thief of Hearts. The MC in this story is the brother to the MC in In Their Footsteps. This was a good, quick read, with some funny moments. I kept picturing the MC as the brother to Rachel Weiz’s character in The Mummy, for some reason.

I’m not much for anthologies, since I like to get really involved in my stories, but I enjoyed My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, edited by P.N. Elrod. Several of the stories were good, but my favorite one, hands down, was Dead Man’s Chest, by Rachel Caine. I’m a fan of Ms. Caine’s Morganville Vampire series (all of her work that I’ve read so far), so combine that liking with Captain Jack Sparrow (Well, that’s who it sounded like to me.), and the result is a really great story that sounds like one of my own personal fantasies. Really enjoyable.

Next up was Dagger-Star, by Elizabeth Vaughn. I’m not sure if I’ve read anything of Ms. Vaughn’s before, although the quote from Anne McCaffrey caught my attention. Being a fan of that author, I decided to give this one a whirl. Good story. Strong writing, interesting and well-built world. I liked Red, the MC, a lot, and the author kept me guessing about what, exactly was behind her red gloves throughout most of the story. To be honest, I was so curious about that, I probably would have finished the book even if had sucked. But it didn’t. Not at all. Definitely a recommendation.

Then I read The Hobb’s Bargain and When Demons Walk, by Patricia Briggs. Boy, am I glad they re-released these books (And with such great covers, too!) It would have been a shame to miss two great stories like this. The Hobb’s Bargain is about the return of magic and magical creatures to the land, and the troubles a village has fighting that as well as a group of raiders. There was a pretty big unexpected development (to me, anyway) with the MC and the hobb. I really enjoyed this story a lot. When Demons Walk was great. I loved Sham, the MC, and I’d be happy to read about her more, if Ms. Briggs should ever be so inclined. Some funny stuff with Sham, who’s a thief, playing the part of a high-society mistress. Those scenes made me laugh out loud. And I did manage to guess who the demon in disguise actually was, but only about five seconds before Sham did.

I read 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper. Very good book. Very moving. If you’re looking for a little bit of hope or encouragement in your life, you should read this.

I read the first two books of three interrelated stores by Brenda Novak. I’ve never read Ms. Novak before, but these two stories were a pleasure. Trust Me and Stop Me. I’m looking forward to the last one, which comes out next month. I get on a suspense run every now and then, and these two books kicked another one off. The two MCs helped start The Last Stand, a group that helps victims of violence. Both of them were victims of violence in the past, and that past comes back to haunt both of them.

You can’t go wrong with Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, and Fearless Fourteen was no exception. Great read. Couldn’t put it down. Had me laughing hysterically several times. The potato bazooka was funny. Gramma Mazur as a goth on-line gamer was hysterical. Ranger wasn’t in it quite enough to suit me (but he never is). And I have to say, the “Shazam!” part cracked me up.

I devoured the fourth book in Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series, Feast of Fools. Devoured. Couldn’t put it down. Why, oh why, does the next one not come out until January? Why? As much as I love these books, it drives me insane how they stop right after some big bombshell has been dropped. This story revolves around the power struggle between the Founder and her father, Mr. Bishop. Claire’s parents are involved in the whole mess, which just makes things worse, and Monica is back to her witchy, Claire-hating ways. I just want to smack her in this book! Love Shane, of course, and Michael and Eve. Lovely book. Wonderful series. I just love YA fantasy!

I finally got Armed and Magical, by Lisa Shearin. I’m loving this series! Raine is a great character, struggling with a lot of unexpected power dumped on her by a “soul-stealing rock”. It seems like all the bad guys in the world are after her. Someone is kidnapping spellsingers, and someone close to her just so happens to be the most powerful new spellsinger around. Which makes Piaras a target, of course. And Raine’s determined to protect him, rescue the other spellsingers, and break the bond between herself and the Saghred. Not to mention flirting with disaster while juggling Tam and Michael. Great read.

Then I read Love Walked In, by Marisa De Los Santos. This is a beautiful book about a woman who desperately wants to be in love with her charming, Cary Grant-ish boyfriend, when his unmentioned daughter shows up because her mother has had a breakdown and abandoned her. Cornelia comes to love Clare, and also comes to some other hard realizations about her life.

Last up is Last Known Victim by Erica Spindler. The cover copy got me for this one, since it takes place in New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina. For the last twelve years, since my first visit there, I’ve read anything I could get my hands on about that city. I love it there. (Which is a good thing, as I’ll probably be moving there soon.) I enjoyed all the little details about the city. Ms. Spindler brought it to life very well, especially the scenes during Katrina’s immediate aftermath. It matched up with the stories I’ve heard from my dad, who did relief work there. The story itself kept me guessing. I never figured out who the killer was. But I did feel…distant from pretty much all of the characters. I never got too close to any of them, too into their heads. Apart from that, it was a good read.

Okay, it’s been about a month since I’ve posted on what I’ve been reading. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve forgotten some of the…details on some of these books. Terrible, I know. The sad part is, I’ve forgotten some of the details even on books that I liked! I’ll try to post more quickly next time. I promise. (You know, as long as I don’t get busy or distracted or…)

I read Frostbite, by Rachel Mead, the second in the Vampire Academy series. Liked it a lot. But I think Rose is a great character, strong yet flawed. She’s very impulsive, and that gets her in a lot of trouble in this book. Although for once, she’s not in the trouble all by herself. This book took an unexpected (to me) turn, and the death of one of the characters completely surprised me. Very enjoyable read, though, and left me eagerly awaiting the next one. (That would be sometime this fall.)

My mother gave me Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, to read. I loved this book. It is a beautiful book. Since I read it, I’ve been recommending it to all sorts of people. Some of the things at the beginning of the book I could really relate to, when the MC realizes she doesn’t want to be married anymore. That’s a hard decision to come to, especially when you still care about the other person, and Ms. Gilbert did a wonderful job of conveying that to the page. It’s such a wonderful story about growth and change and exploration of new things. After her divorce, she spends four months in Italy, four months in India, and four months in Bali, Indonesia. While reading this, I yearned to be in each of those places (especially Bali). Everything just came to life so well! I felt like I was there. I’ve always envied people who just pack up and move to a foreign country on a whim, but I’m secretly way too scared to ever do that, so I have to live vicariously through books like this. I intend to read it again very soon.

Then I read Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin. This book started off a bit slow for me, but by about a quarter of the way through it, I was hooked. There’s a lot of power and magic, a lot of politics and power games. Great characters. I liked them a lot. I also liked the author’s voice. The whole book had a strong thread of sometimes subtle humor woven through it, and I found myself laughing several times. I enjoyed it enough that I just ordered the second book in the series.

Next up is Odd Hours, by Dean Koontz. For some reason, I never have any clue when a new Odd Thomas book is coming out. I just see it on the shelf and squeal with delight. I have read (I think) everything Dean Koontz has written, but two characters stand out strongly for me: Chris Snow (from Seize the Night and Fear Nothing), and Odd Thomas. I’ve been addicted to these books since the first one, Odd Thomas. How can you not love a character who not only sees ghosts, but has a relationship with the ghosts of Elvis and Frank Sinatra? How cool is that? This is an excellent read, and I stayed up until the wee hours finishing it.

I have to admit, I read Gone with the Witch by Annette Blair strictly because of the title. Since Gone with the Wind is my absolute favorite book, I had to give this one a shot. This is the second book I’ve read by Ms. Blair, but I’m not sure I’ll be reading any more. It wasn’t a bad book, and I’m sure it would have been helpful if I’d read the first two books in the trilogy first, but I was a little bit lost at times. The story just seemed kind of…jerky is the word that comes to mind. It progresses in fits and starts. I did like the MC, with her Goth clothing and in-your-face personality, but the story just didn’t quite work for me.

Then I read Dark of the Moon by Susan Krinard. I loved the time period this book is set in, with speakeasies and flappers, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the vampire mythology. Not that it was anything outrageously strange, I just couldn’t get too into the book to really care what happened to the characters.

Another surprising find I made was Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. Another wonderful book, and pretty far from my usual genre. (Definitely doesn’t qualify as urban fantasy, although it was probably many little kids’ fantasies.) This book is about the circus life, behind-the-scenes during the Prohibition era. Very nicely written. The story is told in flashbacks of the circus life interwoven with scenes from a nursing home in the present day, where the MC is a 90-year-old man. I finished this in less than a day. Thank goodness work wasn’t busy, because I literally could not put this down. Even the minor characters are hugely memorable, with the elephant, of course, stealing the show.

Then I read Tess Gerritsen’s In Their Footsteps. This is a re-release of one of Gerritsen’s early novels. Good story, excellent mystery, kept me guessing the whole time. (Okay, I did figure out who the killer was, but it was only a few pages before the climax.)

The last two books I’ve read are series novels. Blood Noir, by Laurell K. Hamilton stays true to the Anita Blake series. I had some trouble getting into it at first, but then I got sucked in. (Note to self: must learn how to write short chapters with lots of actions to keep readers riveted.) This book focuses on Jason and Anita going out of town together to visit Jason’s dying father. Jason happens to be one of the minor characters that I love, so I was pretty excited about this. And I did hear Ms. Hamilton do a reading of the first chapter of this book last summer, so I knew it started off pretty steamy. Fortunately, there was more plot than sex in this book, and that keep me turning the pages far too late into the night.

And last, but not least, is From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. I really think I like this series even better than the Anita Blake series. Sookie is a great character. I love Sam. I love Eric. There’s always some new and unexpected development going on, and I’m usually just as shocked as Sookie is when it happens. This book has a lot going on, from a werewolf turf war to a vampire coup, not to mention some pretty big revelations for Sookie. You should rush right out and buy this!

I actually branched out a bit recently, and read something besides the urban fantasy I’ve been devouring lately: Private Arrangements, by Sherry Thomas. I haven’t read straight romance in a long time, but I kept reading about this book on Kristin Nelson’s blog, and decided I had to read it. I’m glad I did. I loved the heroine, she was completely ballsy and unapologetic about trying to marry to better herself, and I found the hero strong and engaging as well. The story switches back and forth between the present, where the couple have been married ten years but have resided on separate continents the entire time, and the past, where they met, fell in love, and got married. I was so desperate to find out what had happened to drive them apart that I kept skipping the present chapters! (Then, of course, I had to go back and read them to find out what was going on.) I thought the writing was quite well done, and to me at least, the story wasn’t predictable at all.

One of my newest finds (and I know it doesn’t really qualify as new, except to me) is Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. I read the first one, Vampire Academy, in less than a day. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the idea behind the series, with the half-vampire dhampir as guardians for the “good” vampires, the “Moroi”, against the “bad” vampires, the “Strigoi”. Excellently done. A YA book ( I think), but I liked it a lot. The MC, Rose, is great. She is one of the dhampir guardians-in-training. She’s flawed, and she knows it, and she’s struggling to overcome those flaws to protect her best friend, Lissa. Meanwhile, she gets a crush on her mentor, Dimitri, all the while a plot to terrorize Lissa is going on. I liked that book so much I immediately bought the second one, Frostbite. Um, I stayed up quite late to finish that one. It was a great read as well, with a group of Strigoi attacking and killing the royal Moroi. So, the entire academy relocates to Colorado for the Christmas holidays. Dimitri is interested in someone besides Rose, and Rose’s legendary guardian mother shows up, resulting in some not-so-bonding moments between mother and daughter. I really recommend both of these books, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next one.

I read Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, by Maria Acosta. It was amusing, although for a long time, I didn’t have much more idea of what was going on than the MC did. Interesting take on vampires, though, and some pretty memorable minor characters. I liked the Latina MC a lot. There’s not a lot of ethnicity in the urban fantasy genre. Well, not a whole lot. I have read and loved the Vampire Huntress series by L.A. Banks, but I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.

I devoured Don’t Hex with Texas, by Shanna Swendson. Can I say again how happy I am that I discovered this author and this series? They are wonderful. Wonderful, I tell you. I can’t say enough good things about them. I loved so many things about this book. I’m from a small town in Texas, so I loved the setting (and Ms. Swenson brought it to life so well!). The whole curious/protective-family thing I could completely relate to as well. There’s quite a bit of action and mystery, along with some events that seem like the sort of unfortunate occurrences that happen in my life. And there’s plenty of Owen! You should definitely read this book (and the others in the series).

Jeanine Frost’s second book, One Foot in the Grave was another book I eagerly anticipated. And this book definitely lived up to all the anticipation! I love the new Cat, a kick-butt secret government operative. She’s tough and can compete with the bad boys (which is always a draw for me). I liked Bones even more in this book than the first one. There’s a pretty good mystery going, with someone trying to kill Cat, and her mother goes completely mental when Bones shows back up in the picture. I found myself seriously wanting to slap that woman several times. If you haven’t read this series, run right out and buy both of them (the first one is Halfway to the Grave).

The last couple of books I read took me less than two days total. Dead Girls Dance and Midnight Alley, by Rachel Caine. I literally could not put these books down. I liked the first book, The Glass House, and was thrilled to find out there were two more out. I took Dead Girls Dance to work (fortunately it was a really slow day), and finished the entire thing in maybe two hours. Yes, it was that good. These books are YA, so they’re not difficult to read, but I like them a lot. Claire has some series run-ins with her nemesis, Monica, in Dead Girls Dance, with Monica fawning all over her and trying to be her friend because Claire now has the Protection of the Founder. Needless to say, Claire isn’t impressed. Then one of the vampires ends up dead, and Shane is under suspicion because of his dad. (Okay, maybe that’s in Midnight Alley. I read them back-to-back, so the plots sort of run together in my mind.) There are a lot of surprises in these books, and Ms. Caine has a knack for cliffhanger endings. Well, not really endings, per se. She just resolves the main conflict of the book, has everything wrapped up nice and neat, and then throws out a completely enthralling new bit just as she writes “The End.” This left me desperate to get my hands on the next book immediately. Speaking of which, I have to go now. Have to find out when the next book in this series comes out…

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!