Yes, this will be the post about books I’ve read lately. Except I’m not going to list all the books I’ve read since I last talked about it. There are far too many, and not because I’ve read a lot this year. (I haven’t. I’ve only read 43. I’m woefully behind on my goal of 165.) It only means I’ve been horrible about posting here. But I’m trying to remedy that, I swear.

I mentioned three of the books I’ve read lately (Outlander; Need; Tattoo) in my post about Conestoga, so I won’t mention them again here. (Except to say you should really go buy them. Right now.) So, skipping those, and touching on a few of the books I really, really enjoyed over the past couple of months.

First up are a pair of books by Maria V. Snyder: Magic Study and Fire Study. These two are the last books in the trilogy that started off with Poison Study, which I read last year. I don’t know how I managed to forget that there were more books in this series, but when I saw them on the shelf, I immediately bought both of them. How to explain just how sucked into these books I became? I can’t. The first one, Poison Study, intrigued me from the very first page, when Yelena is taken from the dungeon, where she’s about to be put to death, and offered a position as the General’s poison taster. Freedom or death? Hmm. Not a tough choice. The catch is, she’s given a poison, Butterfly’s Dust (I think that was the name of it), for which she has to come to Valek, the General’s chief of security and über-spy, every day for an antidote. Of course, much chaos and intrigue ensue, at the end of which, she’s revealed as having magic, and therefore is banished…back to the homeland from which she was kidnapped as a child.

In Magic Study, she is reunited with her family, and then taken to the Citadel to learn how to use her magic. Except that there’s a crazy-mad magic-wielder out there who is kidnapping girls and torturing them in a bizarre ritual to gain unlimited power (aren’t they all after unlimited power?), and she ends up as his final victim. This story carries over somewhat into Fire Study. Ms. Snyder’s writing and storytelling kept me absolutely riveted, and I found myself staying up far too late on several nights, desperate to find out what happened. Her newest book, Storm Glass, which is set in the same world, came out last week, and I’m eagerly anticipating its arrival in my mailbox.

I’m a huge fan of Rachel Caine, especially the Morganville Vampires series (new book out in approximately one month), but I enjoy the Weather Warden series as well. She has a new series out, the Outcast Season, the first book of which is Undone. This one is set in the same world as the Weather Warden books, and it’s about Cassiel, a Djinn who refuses to do as she’s ordered, and gets cast out and into a human body. Needless to say, this does not make her very happy. Or well-adjusted. But she ends up working for the Wardens with a human partner, and discovers that something evil is after her new friends.

And I just finished reading Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner. The cover caught my attention first, so I picked up the book and read the back cover copy. Helen of Troy as a young girl who can’t figure out why everyone thinks she’s so pretty, nor does she understand why it even matters? I immediately fell in love with the idea. She doesn’t care about being pretty, she just wants to be a warrior, like her brothers. For a Spartan, you wouldn’t think that was such a big deal, but she is a princess, so apparently that’s a no-no. But she manages, and when her sister is sent off to the neighboring kingdom to be married, she goes along to comfort her, then ends up on several grand adventures of her own. Adventures that would make even her Spartan-king father have a heart attack. This one is firmly YA, and I really liked it. There’s a second book of Helen’s adventures, too, called Nobody’s Prize. I assure you, it will be making an appearance on my bookshelf in the near future as well.

I’ve been to this con three times now. Does that qualify me as a regular? Possibly. I have to say, this year seemed a lot… tamer than previous years have. Not nearly so many people in costumes this time around, which was something of a disappointment. I always enjoy checking out the costumes.

We did sit in on some interesting panels. And, of course, discovered some great new (to me) writers. One of them was Carrie Jones. I went out and bought her newest book, Need, which came out in December and is on it’s 7th print run. 7th! Isn’t that awesome? And the book was great. I think I read it in under 3 hours. Actually, I owe Carrie a great big thank you. Her YA tale of pixies running amok kept me entertained in the airport AND distracted during my flight. And I’m terrified of flying, so that should tell you what a great book it is.

I also-finally-read books by two authors I “discovered” at Conestoga last year. The first one was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. Yes, I know that book has been out a little while, and many people have told me to read it, I just…didn’t have time, okay? But I couldn’t put it down. LOVED it. I love me some Scotsmen in kilts. And how many hot red-headed protagonists do you really see these days? Not enough of them, if you ask me. I already bought the next two books in the series (and would have bought more, if the bookstore had had the third one in stock just then).

I bought Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Tattoo. I’ve been on a bit of a YA kick lately. It seems my own writing is running to YA, and I’ve always loved reading it, it just seems to be dominating in my reading pile the last few months. Although, glancing at said TBR pile, I seem to have run out of YA. Hmm. Well, Rachel Caine’s new Morganville Vampires book will be out in June. Guess I can wait ’til then. I think. Anyway, enough blathering. Tattoo was an excellent, engaging read. I liked the premise, loved the characters. I’m a sucker for a four-friends book anyway, but the girls in this one were so different and yet so compatible, I really enjoyed it. The idea of temporary tattoos that give you cool Sidhe powers and only having three days to save the world from an evil fairy, all while getting ready for the biggest dance of the school year, is awesome, too. I definitely recommend this.

Caine, Rachel: Chill Factor (01/03/09)
Caine, Rachel: Windfall (01/04/09)
MacInerney, Karen: On The Prowl (01/08/09)
Caine, Rachel: Lord of Misrule (01/10/09)
Frost, Jeanine: At Grave’s End (01/11/09)
Black, Jenna: The Devil’s Due (01/14/09)
Evanovich, Janet: Plum Spooky (01/16/09)
Gaskell, Whitney: Good Luck (01/17/09)*
Banks, L.A.: Bite the Bullet (01/21/09)
Henry, Mark: Happy Hour of the Damned (01/24/09)*

These are the books I’ve read so far this year. Currently, I’m reading three hardcopy books simultaneously, and seven through DailyLit. (Which is awesome, by the way, but I tend to get over-excited and grab a ton of books all at once. Which is why I’m reading seven.)

I see this list is skewed heavily in favor of Rachel Caine. What can I say? I love gift cards for Christmas! And I’ve been dying to read Lord of Misrule for months. Seriously, though, the endings just kill me. And I’m now hooked on the Weather Warden books as well.

Mark Henry was a new author to me. Sort of. I did sit in on one of the panels he was in last year at Conestoga (And yes, the whole zombie sex comment he made contributed to my buying this book–that was too funny to pass up.) This book had me laughing out loud! Zombie fashionistas, a flamboyant vampire, and psychotic baristas? Oh, yeah. I’m there. Normally, footnotes in a fiction book drive me crazy, but these just made me laugh harder. I will definitely be buying Road Trip of the Dead when it comes out next month.

And speaking of laughing, if you want to read a book that will immediately make you feel like your life isn’t as bad as you thought, read Good Luck by Whitney Gaskell.

This is the final catch-up reading post, and unfortunately, it contains two books that I left behind in Texas (one belonged to my best friend, and she has the other one as well). A Taste for Control, by Patrice Michelle, is one of them. We sat in on some panels with Ms. Michelle this summer at Conestoga, and decided to buy one of her books to see if her writing was as good as promised. It was, and this book had a lot of action. It was way hot, too, but I’m a little fuzzy on the details at this point. The other “left-behind” novel was Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs. Now, I love the Mercy Thompson books by Ms. Briggs, and this one was loosely connected to them (set in the same world, some of the same characters), but I found it a little harder to get into. I think it’s because the MC seemed so…well, kind of quiet and retiring. I prefer my heroines strong and outspoken. But it did end up being a good read.

Next up, Nighwalker, by Jocelyn Drake. This is the first in the Dark Days series, about Mira, who’s a sort of cop who keeps the vampires in her area in line. She was a very strong character, and I liked her a lot. She goes head-to-head with Danaus, a vampire hunter who is determined to kill her, although they end up being quite intrigued with each other.

Then I read A Bite to Remember, one of the Argeneau vampire books. I do love the humor in these books, and the titles are great, too. Jackie is a PI who is hired to investigate the sabotage directed at Vincent Argeneau. Of course, they end up falling for each other, but there are some good laughs and nice action along the way. This book is as good and reliably enjoyable as the other books in this series.

And the last of the group are Midnight Rising, Kiss of Midnight, and Midnight Awakening, by Lara Adrian. I am really excited about this series. There’s a group of hot vampires (Breed), who are trying to kill off the Rogues (dangerous vampire killers). The characters in these three are all believably drawn, with flaws and strengths just like everyone else. They’re not infallible, untouchable warriors, either. And the females are just as believable, with real problems and personalities, not cookie-cutter heroines. All of these books were super reads, and I can’t wait to get the rest of them.

And now I’m back to my vampire books again. They seem to dominate everything I’ve read for…well, this entire year. I can’t help it, I just love to read about vampires. Funny that I have no desire to write about them, isn’t it? I just don’t have an original idea for a vampire story. If I ever happen across one, I’m on it.

I’m going to start with The Awakening and The Struggle, both by L.J. Smith. The cover art is what caught my attention: a shadowy close-up of a face (I think a guy’s), with blood on the lips and cool glowing eyes. So I read the back cover copy, and saw that it’s a YA vampire story about a (human) girl and two vampire brothers. Nice. Sounded good, so I picked it up. Elena is the human girl who falls in love with the vampire, Stefan, though she doesn’t know he’s a vampire for a while. He keeps pushing her away, but eventually gives in to the attraction. This kind of gave me a Twilight-esqe feel, but I checked the pub date, and it said 1991, so that’s a no-go. I did enjoy this book, although I didn’t get into quite as much as I’d hoped. I did find myself liking Stefan, though not his brother Damon at all. I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the last two books in the series (assuming I can find them).

Next up are Don’t Talk Back to Your Vampire, and Because Your Vampire Said So, both by Michele Bardsley. Ms. Bardsley is hilarious in person, and her books are hysterical, too. Really. Laugh-out-loud funny. Like the idea of a small town in Oklahoma being taken over by vampires isn’t funny enough. Don’t Talk Back to Your Vampire is about Eva, the town librarian with a teenage daughter, who was changed into a vampire by Lorcan when he was on a rampage. But then she starts to fall for him. Kind of weird to be falling in love with the man (sort of) who murdered you. Because Your Vampire Said So is about Patsy, a country-girl hairdresser with a rebellious teenage son. Patsy is attracted to an outcast shape-shifter, but she also has her son to worry about, not to mention a prophecy about the queen destined to unite the vampires and shape-shifters. Kind of a lot to take on for a middle-aged vampires. These books are both really funny and well-written, with strong, distinct characters that I loved.

And now we come to Untamed, by P.C. and Kristin Cast, the latest in the House of Night series. If you haven’t read these books, you should run out and buy all of them immediately. They are fabulous. In this one, Zoey has managed to make all her friends mad at her, except for Aphrodite, who no one else even knows she’s friends with. Erik isn’t speaking to her. Heath thinks she’s dead. No one knows about Stevie Rae being sort-of-alive-and-sort-of-not. She has a mysterious connection with the new fledgling Stark, which ends even more strangely that usual for her. Her grandmother is in danger, and the only ones who can help her are a group of nuns (Is that a flock of nuns, maybe? No disrespect intended. Just wondering.). Oh, and Neferet is finally going to make her move. All in all, well, I don’t know if I can wait until March for the next book!

In case anyone is wondering why I’m posting all these book blogs back-to-back, it’s because I’m trying to get it all done before NaNo starts and madness ensues. I’m almost done with my phase outline for my NaNo story, which is now titled Tempest of Angels. In fact, I should be finishing up the outline tonight, which gives me an extra day to re-read and fine-tune my notes. Anyway, on to the books, which are all urban fantasy.

First up is Kelley Armstrong’s Personal Demon. I like Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. I haven’t read all of them, but I think I’ve only missed two, and I’ve liked every one so far. This book is no exception. I want to give props to Ms. Armstrong for making her MC, Hope, of Indian background. I haven’t run across very many books with MCs of that ethnicity, and it was good to see something different. Hope Adams works for a tabloid, and she’s recruited to do a job for the Cortez Cabal—infiltrate a gang that’s trying to make them look bad. Hope happens to be a half demon who is drawn to chaos, which makes for all sorts of interesting happenings.

Then I read Katie MacAlister’s Playing with Fire, about May, who is a doppelganger and can hide in shadows very well. She’s also a thief, which lands her in a lot of trouble, with the demon who sort of owns her, and with Gabriel, the leader of the silver dragons. Oh, and she just so happens to be Gabriel’s mate, which is something she’s not all that thrilled with. Not a bad story, but I had some trouble getting into it. I haven’t read any of the other dragon books by Ms. MacAlister, so that may have been the problem.

Then I read The Devil You Know, by Jenna Black. Okay, I’m going to go ahead and confess: I read this book a couple of months ago, and it ended up left behind at my best friend’s house when I moved (Hey, she and I swap books all the time. I figured it was just one more excuse for her to come visit.). So, I’m afraid I don’t have a terribly clear memory of the plot. I remember that Morgan Kingsely becomes the target of a demon bounty-hunter so scary he frightens other demons. I remember a lot of action, and I remember that I couldn’t put this book down and can’t wait to read the next one. I hope that’s enough.

Next is Heat Stroke, by Rachel Caine. I do love these books, and I can hardly stand knowing there are so many more out that I can’t currently afford to buy. This book is about Joanne, who is now a Djinn. She’s able to see a disturbance in the atmosphere the Weather Wards and and Djinn work in, and has to stop it. Of course, she also has to avoid being claimed by a human, especially the oh-so-nasty Yvette, who is after David.

Last up is The Darkest Pleasure, by Gena Showalter. I think this is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Showalter, and can I just say wow? This book is hot. Why have I not read the other two books in this series? An amazing premise, that when Pandora opened that fabled box, the demons inside bonded with immortal warriors who took on the traits of their demon and became the Lords of the Underworld. This is about Reyes, possessed by the demon of pain, and Danika, who has been running from the Lords for months and is determined to save her family. You should definitely go buy this!

And now for the next round. This group is all fantasy, and it runs the gamut from sort-of religious fantasy, to dragons and urban fantasy.

First, I’ll go ahead and admit it: I read Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini. I have heard/read a lot of the criticism directed at the guy, and I feel sorry for him. Honestly, I think a lot of it is sour grapes on the part of his critics. I mean, I certainly didn’t write a best-selling novel when I was fifteen, a book which then spawned a movie and two sequels already. I don’t believe in dogging on other writers. Do I wish I had already published three popular novels and had one of them made into a movie? Yes, obviously. Does that make me want to go around spouting off about how much better a writer I am than Christopher Paolini? Uh, no. (Okay, climbing down off my soapbox now. Sorry for the detour.)

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I’ll talk about Brisingr. I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it was far from the worst. It had none of the pseudo Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trappings of Eragon (And yes, I do remember being annoyed by those things when I read that book.) The writing seemed much stronger than that first book, stronger even than Eldest. It took me a while to get into it, but then, I’m not much for battles and wars, so I think that’s why my interest lagged a bit, but it had a lot of action and some pretty good revelations that I, at least, didn’t see coming. I would recommend it.

Legend of the Firefish, by George Bryan Polivka, was a little different from most fantasy books I’ve read. It was set in a fantasy world, yet the Christian theology (with Jesus as the Son of God, dying on the cross) was intact, and was a motivating force. The MC was a believer who stowed away aboard a notorious pirate ship, determined to learn the secret behind catching and killing the Firefish (huge sea monsters). In doing so, he left all he loved behind and open to the whims of a dangerous swordswoman bent on revenge. This is the first of the Trophy Chase trilogy, and I fully intend to read the others, as I enjoyed this one.

Next up is Storm Born, by Richelle Mead. I’ve read Ms. Mead before and been impressed, and this was no exception. It’s about Eugenie, a shaman who banishes spirits and fey from the mortal world. I’m intrigued by anything to do with the fey, so I was sold immediately. Then Eugenie becomes the subject of a powerful prophecy, and the target of demons and other fey with ambitions (or delusions of grandeur). I couldn’t put this one down, and I liked Eugenie (not to mention Kiyo and Dorian) a lot. Can’t wait to read the next one in this series.

Last up is Wicked and Curse, both by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie. These are about Holly Cather, who is suddenly orphaned and has to live with an aunt she never knew about. It turns out that her family were powerful witches, and their perennial enemies are still out to get them, leaving Holly and her family in peril, while Holly is strangely attracted to the son of the rival family. These stories had a good premise, but I found the writing a little uneven in places. Certain dramatic, important events were pretty much skipped over, and the next sentence would start off weeks, or even months, later.

Dark Matter, by Cameron Cruise was an interesting read. I had never heard of the remote viewing program when I started reading the book, and I figured it was just something the author came up with (imagine my surprise when I saw a mention of it in relation to another book this past week). Autistic kids are turning up missing, and psychic twins Adam and Evie are involved.

I read Ted Dekker’s Thr3e on the recommendation of a friend (Thanks, Jake!). I never did figure out who the bad guy was in this book, so the end came as quite a surprise. The MC, Kevin Parson, gets a phone call on his way home from work. The caller asks him to confess his sin in three minutes, or his car will blow up. Kevin has no idea what sin he’s supposed to admit to, but he does manage to get the car off the freeway before it explodes. And that phone call is the first of several that lead him back to a dark time in his childhood, and raise some very unhappy memories.

The next book has a lot of flashbacks and childhood memories as well. Whispers, by Lisa Jackson. Claire St. John comes back to her childhood home (along with her two sisters), at the request of her father, who is running for governor. Her father wants to know what really happened the night her fiancée was killed all those years ago. But Claire and her sisters have never told anyone what actually happened. To make matters worse, writer Kane Moran is back in town, too, writing a story about the whole situation. And he’s part of Claire’s past as well. Interesting story, with the flashbacks skillfully woven in. I enjoyed this one.

Then I read The Healer, by Sharon Sala, about a man who has a weird connection to animals. This ability has kept him on the run for years, from the man who wishes to use his talent. Jonah ends up in a tiny town, and helps Luce’s grievously wounded dog. The two of them connect, and soon he’s caught up in the mystery of her stalker, as well as when his own follower will catch up. I liked this book, too. The little town was very vividly imagined, and I liked the characters a lot as well.

Last up is Caitlin’s Guardian Angel, by Marie Ferrarella. I have to confess, I borrowed this book, read it two months ago, and it’s been long-since returned, so I’m a little fuzzy on the details. It’s a romance, though, about Caitlin, who owns a lingerie shop (I thought that was pretty cool.). On her way to work one morning, she witnesses a murder. The detective who responds is someone from her past. Their relationship ended badly, through misunderstandings on both parts. They have to work together to keep Caitlin safe from the murderer, and to resolve old issues. This was a pretty good, quick read.

Of the next group of books, there were three I hadn’t read before, with one of those authors also being new to me, and the other two old favorites. One book I had read before, multiple times, although I’ve read nothing else by that author. And one book I think I’d read before, from an author I’ve read many times. Confused yet?

The new-to-me book and author was Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder. Can I just say that I really, really liked this book? It’s a couple of years old, and I’m pretty sure there’s at least one sequel already out (yes, I must get it). It’s about Yelena, who is about to be executed for murder. At the last minute, she’s offered a choice: execution or to become food taster for the Commander (a position also fraught with danger, since the Commander is a political target). Not only is she in danger in her new position, the chief of security gives her Butterfly Dust, a strong poison that she must have the antidote to each morning (Oh, Ms. Snyder, you are so cruel to your characters! I love it!). Add all this to the fact that someone in the castle is spying on the Commander, the father of the man she killed is out to get her, and she’s unexpectedly developing magical powers she can’t control (and in a land where magic is outlawed, no less), and you see just how interesting this book is. From the first page, I was hooked.

Let’s see, the book I think I’d read before, from an author I’d read many times was Godplayer, by Robin Cook. I was a little dissatisfied with this story, but I think it’s because it was already familiar to me. I’ve read Robin Cook many times before, and have usually enjoyed the stories. This one’s about an intern, married to a renowned surgeon, who works in a hospital where post-op patients are dying mysteriously. She gets involved in trying to figure out the cause, and then tragedy strikes her own life, and she also ends up in the hospital herself. Lots of drama and conflict, especially between her and her husband.

I read Blaze, by Richard Bachman (or, as the whole world knows him: Stephen King). First of all, sometimes I wonder about Mr. King’s sanity. Now, I think I’ve read pretty much everything ever written by him except for Rose Madder (somehow, I’ve never been able to make myself pick this one up). And, like a lot of other people, The Stand is my favorite of his novels. I’ve even read most of the Bachman books (and if you’re looking for a real head trip, read The Regulators and Desperation back-to-back. You’ll start to question your own sanity.) But Blaze is something else entirely. I picked it up at about 10 p.m., and finished it a little after midnight that same night. No sleeping ’til I found out what happened. Clay Blaisdell and George Rackley are long-time partners in crime who’ve planned the perfect crime: kidnapping the infant heir in a wealthy family. George is the smart guy in the partnership, but there’s one little problem: by the time the kidnapping goes down, George has been dead for several months. So Clay’s on his own. Except he’s not, since he keeps hearing George’s voice telling him what to do.

I read The Keepsake, by Tess Gerritsen. Loved it. I’m a fan of hers, and I’ve liked all of her books, but I really enjoyed this one. It combines two of my favorite things to read about: forensics and archeology. The string of murder victims in this story have all been preserved rather uniquely, with ancient techniques (including one mummy). And there’s something weird about Josephine Pulcillo’s past that the archeologist doesn’t want the cops to know about. Again, I read this straight through and could not put it down. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles are big players in this one, too, and they’re as fun as always.

Last up in this group is Link, by Walt Becker. Okay, I’ve read this book at least three times previously, and it always fascinates the heck out of me. Again, it has archeology in it. And it’s about the missing link, something else that’s always interested me. Although the missing link in this book is a little unexpected, and it becomes the biggest find in archeological history. Now, I know some of the stuff in this book isn’t quite realistic, but the references the author uses are realistic, and basically blew my mind. The Nephilim are in this book (and yes, that’s how I came to be interested in them years ago and writing about them for NaNo this year). But the author talks about the Piri Reis map, the flood legends in countless cultures all over the world (It’s not just Noah’s Ark, people.), as well as the precise calculations used by many different and varied cultures. Every time I read this, I end up on an internet tangent, looking this stuff up. It’s just beyond interesting to me.