So, I’ve actually gotten some reading done this week! Yay!

I had to read Shift, by Rachel Vincent, as soon as I had it in my hot little hands. All of it. That day. Another dose of non-stop action, romantic angst, and cool shapeshifters. I was a little anxious going into this book, considering what happened in the last book, but… Can I say that the thunderbirds are way cool? I’d love to see more of them. The baby thunderbirds made me laugh, bursting into feather at the slightest provocation.

The war between the prides is on the verge of blatant hostilities (a.k.a. all-out battle) when the mythical thunderbirds attack, and all sorts of havoc ensues. Like it’s not bad enough that Faythe is the first female enforcer AND heir to the pride, now she has to worry about who set the thunderbirds to attack her pride, not to mention how she’s going to stop them. And then there’s her other little problem: Marc or Jace? Jace or Marc? (Gee, we should ALL have such problems!) The last and final book in the Shifters series, Alpha, will be out October 1st.

I also read The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa. YA fantasy about the fey? I was all over that! Meghan Chase is a 15-year-old misfit with only one friend, Robbie. On her sixteenth birthday, her younger brother is kidnapped, and she discovers she’s really a half-faery princess and she has to venture into the Nevernever (Great name, isn’t it?), and risk herself and everything she holds dear, to rescue her brother, and the rest of Faery, from a deadly new evil. With the help of Robbie, who turns out to be her guardian, the faery prince Ash, and Grimalkin the cait sithe, she sets off on her journey, into the land of dreams–and nightmares.

This was a pretty good read. I enjoyed it a lot, and I’ll be picking up the next book in the series–The Iron Daughter–just as soon as it comes out.

I finally finished reading A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin. If I had to sum it up in one word, that word would be “Wow.” It took me several weeks to read it. Not because it’s a BFF (big, fat, fantasy), which I love. And not because I didn’t enjoy it, either. No, it took me so long to read because I just didn’t have time to read! So far, that’s the only book I’ve read this month. Shocking, I know, but I’m hoping to remedy it soon.

This book has been on my TBR pile for a while (a LONG while, sadly), and I just hadn’t had time. But when Holly Lisle assigned it in the HTRYN class, I knew I had to make time. I’m glad I did. I’ve seen this book mentioned in several places as an example of how to do wonderful things with characters. I’ll be honest. I was so into the book, I’m not sure I retained anything of a How-To nature. Several nights, I was up WAY too late saying “Okay, one more chapter. One more chapter. One more…”

Some of the characters I loved(Bran, Arya, Jon, Tyrion, Dany, Khal), some of them I hated (the queen, Joffrey, Viserys, Petyr). I wanted to shake Sansa frequently. But I’m pretty sure every character drew SOME sort of respone from me, and most of them were strong responses. So, yeah, wow. If you haven’t read this, you should. Even if you don’t like BFFs.

I finally got to read a book I’ve been waiting for for at least a couple of years: Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s the follow-up to Eat, Pray, Love; which, if you haven’t read it, you SHOULD. It’s how she got through a horrible divorce and discovered just what matters to her in life while she healed from the experience. I loved that book. A lot. Read it twice in the same year, actually. It just made me feel so much better about certain things going on in my life. Ms. Gilbert put into words exactly how I felt at a couple of times, and sort of validated the whole experience for me. (And also, I was a little jealous of her packing up and traveling for a whole year. I’ve always longed to do that, but have been too chicken to actually consider it.)

So, anyway, Committed is the follow-up. It… wasn’t the same as Eat, Pray, Love, which was what I was hoping for. This time, Ms. Gilbert explores the history of marriage and different marriage customs around the world as she tries to come to terms with marriage after her bad first experience, in preparation for her… rather unplanned… second venture into wedded bliss.

However, it did make for some interesting reading. I enjoyed it, actually, and it’s probably something I needed to read, to maybe help me over some of my own skepticism concerning marriage (My divorce was nowhere near as bad as hers, but I still have issues, okay?). A worthwhile book, as long as you don’t go into it expecting it to be a repeat of Eat, Pray, Love.

Okay, so about a year and a half ago, at the Conestoga writers’ conference, I sat in on a panel with Rachel Vincent and her agent, Miriam Kriss. Rachel mentioned she was writing a book about a girl who finds out she’s a banshee. I thought Wow. What a cool idea. I HAVE to read that. So, when the first one, My Soul To Take, came out, I was all over it. Now, I love the Shifters books. A LOT. (Although I was not so happy with a couple of things that happened in the last one. I do have faith though, and am eagerly awaiting the next one in March.) I think Ms. Vincent is a talented writer, and she tells a dang good story, so her YA story about banshees was kind of a must-read for me.

If you haven’t read My Soul to Take, you should. Seriously. Teenager Kaylee thinks she’s going crazy when she starts having an uncontrollable urge to scream, and people drop dead around her. The second book, My Soul to Save, has Kaylee trying to figure out why teenage pop stars die in front of her, and she has no desire to wail. This means the dead girls don’t have a soul, and of course, Kaylee is determined to find out why these girls are trading their souls, which involves sneaking around and trips to the dangerous Netherworld.

There’s a lot of the typical teen angst in the books (Apparently, banshees aren’t exempt from this.), overbearing parents, and school drama. But Ms. Vincent captures these things so well you really feel like you’re the one going through it all. Since a lot of my writing is YA, I’m truly amazed by this (and hopeful that one day I might manage to capture some small part of it in my own work). If you like fast-paced YA books set in a truly original world (Or, in this case, the DFW area, which made me a tiny bit homesick.), you should definitely read both of these books.

I just finished reading Captivate, by Carrie Jones, the sequel to Need. It’s about pixies, but not cute, glittery Tinker Bell pixies. No. These are blue, have scary-sharp teeth, and sometimes eat people. Yeah. So NOT Disney-approved. But still very cool.

Zara is half-pixie, half-human. Her father is a sometimes-insane pixie king she keeps imprisoned. Nick is her werewolf/guardian boyfriend. Then there’s Devyn, another were, and Issie, who is human. Together, the four of them patrol for pixies and lock them away for the safety of their small town. But then things change. Astley, another pixie king shows up. Someone has to take over the territory left untended by Zara’s father, so the pixie kings are circling like vultures. This in turn draws the Valkyries, who are searching for warriors. Nick is a warrior. He’s determined to protect Zara, which puts him in danger. And Zara has to decide between giving in to what she fears the most to protect Nick, or remaining true to herself.

This book is an excellent read. Once I started it, there was no putting it down. The voice is light-hearted and fun, yet serious and angsty at the same time. Very fitting for a YA book. Some funny moments, lots of tension and drama, and some pretty cool relationship moments. My only issue? The fact that it ended and I can’t find out what happens. RIGHT. NOW. Can’t wait for the next one to come out! (Whenever that is.)

Okay, honestly, I haven’t really been reading that much lately. Shocking, I know, but I’m trying to keep up with Holly Lisle’s HTRYN class, so that’s taking up a lot of my time. And before that, it was NaNo, so there went a whole month’s worth of “free” time. But I did make time to read two much-anticipated (and big) novels by some of my favorite authors.

First up was Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson. When Robert Jordan passed away, I wondered if the Wheel of Time series would ever be finished, and if it was, if it would measure up to the rest of the series. Yes, I know there’s a lot of flack out there for this, ah, never-ending, overly-detailed storyline. So? I like it. I like getting to know characters and caring about them, and finding out all the little details of their lives. And I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed Gathering Storm quite a bit. It’s been quite a while since I read the other books, so I was more than a little bit fuzzy on recent happenings, but it didn’t take long to get my memory refreshed. Frankly, I think Sanderson’s writing blended seamlessly with Jordan’s storytelling, and I was very happy with the results. Yes, it’s detailed. Yes, it’s long. Yes, there are a lot of characters to keep up with. But this book built steadily from the beginning, and while there wasn’t really a resolution at the end (How could there be?), it had a satisfying (to me) ending.

I also read Under the Dome, by Stephen King. Every time I read a King book and I scare myself silly, I swear I won’t read another one. And then the next one comes out, and I can’t wait to read it, and end up scared again. This book…wasn’t scary. At all. I don’t think it was meant to be. This is more of a character study. And King creates some great characters, so I really enjoyed this book. Interesting premise, about a small town (in Maine, of course) that gets trapped under a mysterious dome (hence the title). And what changes the trapped townsfolk undergo. I liked the MC, “Barbie” a lot. He was a good character, a strong, upstanding and stubborn guy. The supporting cast is vividly realized, and I found myself actively hating Rennie and wishing horrible things on him (Admittedly, I thought he deserved a LOT more bad things.) In the end, the explanation for the dome was a little bit…out there, but what King story doesn’t have a little bit of the strange and weird in it? I still enjoyed the story a lot, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s afraid to read King. This one’s not scary. Not even a little bit.

Lately I’ve been reading quite a bit of YA. Some of it in series I’m familiar with, and then a series I’ve been wanting to read for a while and just hadn’t. I enjoy YA books. I guess they speak to a part of me that never really grew up, and maybe that’s why a lot of my own writing ends up being YA. Either way, the books I’ve read lately have been excellent.

First up is Tempted, by P.C. and Kristin House, the sixth book in the House of Night series. By this time, the characters are well-established and I’m completely invested in the series. Completely. Anytime one of these books hits my hot little hands, that’s all I’m doing for the next couple of hours. This book was no exception. There’s a great mystery in this one, with Stevie Rae keeping major secrets from everybody, and of course, Zoey has her little secret as well, not to mention boyfriend issues. A lot of them. This time we get to see some of the action through the eyes of other characters as well, which was really enjoyable. I really like how Aphrodite is turning out, despite my immense dislike of her in the first few books. I…didn’t care for the ending. At all. But it fits the book, so I’m not really complaining (Can I help it if I like a HEA ending?). Just saying. I can’t wait for the next one.

Next is Fade Out, by Rachel Caine, book seven in the Morganville Vampire series. These books are also one my “Must Sit Down And Read Immediately” list. So I did. Another entertainingly good read. Things have settled down a little bit for Claire since Bishop is gone, but things still aren’t good in Morganville. Amelie is having issues and everyone is worried about her. There’s a new Goth chick that is trying to take Claire’s place as Eve’s BFF. And, just for laughs, Ada the crazy computer/ghost is out to get Claire. This book didn’t have the usual dangling-over-a-cliff ending, but I’ll still be anxiously awaiting the next one.

And the “new” (new to me) series I’ve been wanting to read for a while: the Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter, which have really awesome titles. The first one is I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You. The second is Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy. The Gallagher Academy bills itself as super exclusive private school for rich girls, but in reality, it’s an all-girls spy school. This doesn’t have a Harry Potter feel, if you’re wondering. They’re in a chick lit, fun voice, that had me drawn in by the second page. The books are about Cammie and her three best friends. Cammie’s mom runs the Gallagher Academy, and was a super spy herself. (No pressure to live up to parental standards there.) The girls know how to do all kinds of things, including speaking umpteen different languages, and killing someone with a paper clip, but when Cammie meets a regular boy from the local town, she’s clueless how to handle him.

In the second book, boys from the even-more-secret boys spy school arrive at the Gallagher Academy; the sparks really fly for Cammie and her friends. There are some awesome little details in these books that make the stories really come alive, from the classes the girls take (like Covert Ops, taught by an Indiana Jones-esque new professor), to the magazines they read (Espionage Today), and things like Evapopaper (paper that disintegrates, of course). Really excellent reads, both of them. The series is now on my automatic buy list.

And, that’s all I have for now. Happy reading!

I haven’t been doing as much reading as normal lately. I’m not sure why. It just seems like I’ve been super busy, and reading has actually fallen by the wayside (Unheard of, I know). I’m only up to around 112 books read for the year, and that’s pretty far short of my year goal of 165. I’m not sure if I’m going to make that one…

I read the newest book in Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta series, The Scarpetta Factor. I’ve read this entire series, and I enjoyed most of them immensely. There were a couple of books, probably the last three or so before this one, that I thought weren’t quite up to Cornwell’s normally stellar standards, but they were still good reads. I think The Scarpetta Factor brings back a lot of the wonderful things I liked from the earlier books.

All of the familiar characters are back: the reformed Marino, self-destructive Lucy, and of course, Kay and Benton. There’s an interesting murder case, as well as a missing person, a bomb delivered to Kay’s door, and a mysterious singing Christmas card that really gave me the creeps (Good thing I didn’t get that little gem in the mail.) The ending felt a little rushed to me, but it was a good, fast-paced read, and I had trouble putting it down.

A book I absolutely could not put down was Diana Gabaldon’s An Echo in the Bone, the newest book in the Outlander series. I read the rest of the series back-to-back during the summer, and was honestly confused to come back to the real world and not find myself in Scotland. (It just felt wrong to not be surrounded by warrior-type men in kilts. Wrong, and sad.) The newest book was absolutely wonderful! I love the characters, feel like I know them personally (I wish, anyway.). Ms. Gabaldon makes the setting, whether it be an early American hillside, the dells of Scotland, or the deck of a sailing ship in the middle of a sea battle, come to life so vividly it amazes me. She’s a marvelous writer, and even the minor characters come to striking life on the page.

I stayed up far, far too late reading this book (more than one night), and I have to say, I wish it had been even longer. However, the ending about drove me mad. I wanted so badly to find out what happened next that I could have cried. And when I realized the previous book came out four years ago and I might have to wait that long to actually find out what happens, I did cry. (Huge tears of frustration.) However, I did manage to refrain from banging my head against the wall, so there’s one small victory. If you haven’t read this series yet, you should run right out and get it. But when you come dragging in some morning, having been up all night glued to the page, and growling because Jaimie and Claire are in limbo while waiting for the next book, don’t say I didn’t warn you.