A Book Obsession..

Magic Strikes

, by KT

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels Series #3

Kate's were friend Derek lands himself in major hot water in Magic Strikes. The two formed a bond when she took control of him and as a result had to claim him as a protector. That blood oath was released, but there are still major loyalty drives on both sides. In order to save him, Kate and some other weres must choose whether to disobey the Beast Lord's laws against the forbidden fighting ring. For the weres this potentially means a death sentence. As for Kate, well one never knows whether she is on the good or the bad side of the beast lord. As if angering the Beast Lord wasn't enough, she must be careful of showing her powers when it looks like her enemies of her heritage could be closing in.

Kate has been steadily building relationships with others even though it was ingrained into her while she was growing up to never trust anyone. I think this really has helped build her character and the series. Being a loner can be great considering how dangerous being her friend can be, but it was just too lonely for her. By trusting others she is finding support where she never thought she could. Her relationship with Curran, the Beast Lord has been building stronger and stronger. There is a major attraction there, and the sexual tension is really thick. Its only a matter of one or both of them caving from their refusal to relinquish any dominance. However, for those two that idea seems a near impossibility.

Buy now at Amazon:
Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3)

Magic Burns

, by KT

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels Series #2

Much to her reluctance, Kate is now employed by the Order as a liaison between the Guild and the Order. The Pack comes to her for assistance with an item that was stolen from them. Kate is the only one who has gained the Pack's trust and "friend of the pack" status, so she must accept the job. Once again, she finds herself knee deep in trouble when she stumbles upon a plot to release a vindictive god into Atlanta. She must find away to work with the increasingly but oh so charming beast master, Curran, if she is to have any hope of succeeding.

There has been an increasing tension between Kate and Curran. I wouldn't necessarily say its a sexual tension as of yet but I feel it is headed down that path. The two of them could not be more strong willed or determined to be the dominant. The dynamic of the dominance games between the two of them really make this series interesting. I would say Curran wins the dominance games except for the fact that Kate never truly backs down, never submits. There were some more hints to Kate's background in this book, and she shows some extraordinary powers she should not possess. Kate truly is growing and learning to use her powers to help friends rather then keep everyone at arms length.

Buy now at Amazon:
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)

Magic Bites

, by KT

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels Series #1

Magic Bites is the first novel in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Kate is a tough as nails, no nonsense woman who has a mysterious heritage who lives in Georgia. In her world, magic comes and goes in waves. When the magic is up, technology fails. The magic does not like large structures and as a result, most of the high rises in Atlanta have been reduced to rubble. Kate works for a magical guild doing odds and ends magical jobs. When her guardian and mentor is brutally murdered she goes back to the one place she swore she never would, The Magical Order, where her guardian was a Knight. She uses their resources to investigate the murder and finds herself sucked into the world of the Pack in a fight for dominance she cannot afford to lose. Due to some bad decisions she winds up with a personal were protector. The deeper she gets into finding her guardian's killer, the more personal the fight becomes.

The book is very vague about Kate's history, only hinting that her heritage is very important. I found this frustrating at first, but as the book went on there was more than enough action in the plot to compensate for the confusion about her past. Kate has a very sarcastic personality and is killer with a sword, literally. Her sword, slayer is very special, as it eats undead flesh. I have to say my favorite point in the book is when she sticks her foot in her mouth and says "Here kitty, kitty, kitty" to the beast lord. You would think she had a death wish, but in one of the hints about her past it was implied that she was trained to never show fear. So when she is afraid, she compensates with her wit and sarcasm. Throughout the book she continues to get herself in trouble with her mouth and sometimes the only thing that saves her is her sword. I look forward to more of her wit and revelations as to who she really is in future books.

Buy now at Amazon:
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)

Fatal Circle

, by KT

Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson
Persephone Alcmedi Series #3

Persephone Alcmedi, a witch, who has the werewolf king for a boyfriend, is also inescapably tied to the original vampire. But hey, what else can you expect from the prophesied Lustrata, the one who will bring balance and peace to all the races. In this third book, Persephone is still coming to terms with her destiny and the bond with her vampire. In all her teachings as a witch she was brought to see vampires as evil beings. However, being linked to the vampire Menessos has opened her eyes and helped her to get over her prejudices to strive for the balance she must provide. The high priestess of the local coven's position is empty due to the prior's betrayal of Menessos. Persephone is pulled into the running against her will. As a result of the trials, Persephone by protecting her adopted daughter inadvertently triggers an event that will lead to war with the fey.

This book deals with the three leaders learning to work together and truly become the powerful force they will need to be with war looming. The two men each have their own issues but the core problem is jealousy over Persephone. The love triangle theme is in full force in this series, and if not resolved could be the end of everything Persephone holds dear. There were a lot of resolutions in this book, but it still ended on a cliffhanger of dread. Something major is in the balance, making the end a tearjerker. I love books that stir up real emotion as you read them, and this most definitely was one.

Buy now at Amazon:
Fatal Circle (Circle, Book 3)

Stolen

, by KT

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Women of the Otherworld Series #2

After coming to terms with who and what she is, Elena Michaels is back living at Stonehaven with her mate, Clay. However she hardly has time to settle before her world is turned upside down when she finds out there are many more supernaturals in the world besides just werewolves. Witches, Half-Demons, Shamans, and Vampires are just a few of these races, and they have a governing body called the Council. Someone is kidnapping supernaturals and the Council calls on the werewolves to help. However reluctant they may be to get involved, Elena's conscience in the end prevails. The Pack sets out to investigate these kidnappings, and find a few of the thugs. However, Elena soon finds herself in the hands of the captors and it becomes a fight for her life as well as some new friends along the way.

This book touches on things that I think would be a real issue for supernaturals if they existed. The first thing humans would want to do would be to experiment on these supernaturals, and that is exactly what the captors in this book are doing. The leader of this project wasn't quite enough of a menace for my tastes, but in the end his arrogance does make his character believable. The book was mostly lacking the great dynamic between Clay and Elena from the previous book. This is of course understandable considering they were apart most of the book, but I found I missed it. Elena hold true to her strong kick-ass character throughout this book and even in the roughest of situations she never breaks down. I absolutely love the cover because it fits Elena perfectly; its mysterious, but sensual as well.

Buy now at Amazon:
Stolen: A Novel

Bitten

, by KT

Bitten by Kelley Armstong
Women of the Otherworld Series #1

The book centers around Elena Michaels, the only female warewolf. She was betrayed and bitten by her former fiance, Clay, and against all odds, she survived the change. To escape him and to try and ignore her change she moves to Toronto. She has a human boyfriend but it becomes increasingly hard to hide who she is from him. Things go sour when Elena ignore summons from the Alpha. Clay is forced to come and collect her to help with a Mutt problem. Though she fights it tooth and nail she cannot help but be sucked back into a world she has tried so hard to forget.

This book kept me up late until the wee hours because I was so sucked in I couldn't wait to read what happened next. There were several sad points in the book and one death that hit pretty hard, but in the end these events only sucked me further in. The sexual tension between Elena and Clay is really thick. As much as she may try to deny her feelings for Clay, there is a major connection there. However, she can never forget his betrayal of forcing her into this life. In the end she must make a choice to continue to ignore her heart or swallow some of her pride.

Buy now at Amazon:
Bitten: A Novel (The Otherworld)

Long one

, by KT

I finished the latest book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward last week, but I got caught up in another series and forgot to write about it on here. The series is told in third person, which is not usually my forte, but these books work well for me. The series is about vampires (surprise surprise), however these vampires do not feed off of humans, only the opposite sex of their own species. The Brotherhood is a group of male warriors that were bred to protect their race form evil beings called Lessers. The books continue over the series, but each book is mainly about one Brother and their finding love and resolution of their problems. Believe me they have all been through a lot, so the resolutions are no easy tasks, and some wounds can never heal. As each Brother finds his "love," new female characters come into the series and each becomes an important part. One becomes the Queen and helps the King ascend to a throne he never wanted but must take out of duty. Another is a therapist (much needed for this group), another is an extraordinary doctor. The list goes on and on. The books are a little predictable in that you know the love interest will work out in the end even though they may act like it won't. However, it is really interesting the different ways the author solves the issues in the end.

Last night the hubby surprised me by having my Mom come and watch the kids so we could go to midnight release of Eclipse. What he did not realize is that it was completely sold out. So, I called around and found a theater about 45 min away had tickets for the 12:15am showing. The place was INSANE. There were two lines that stretched around both sides of the building to get in. After picking up our tickets we went inside and the guy put us in a pretty short line inside. Not 30 seconds later a woman comes up and calls our theater number and takes us back to get seated, so we got the pick of our seats. Its amazing how we lucked out. I went out to get popcorn a half an hour later and had to wait about 20 min in that line. Even after all that time the other long lines still had not been released to go into their theaters. The movie was really good, but not as good as the book of course. I just do not think a movie can really ever be better than the book due to the time constraints. I am planning on seeing it again with my little brother next week though. We saw New Moon together so he wanted to see this one with me as well.

I am currently reading the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. When I finish on here I'm going to start the seventh book in the series. So, I'll post more about the books when I finish the tenth book.

Pray for Dawn

, by KT

Yesterday, Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake was released, so of course I had to read it immediately even though I am in the middle of another series. This is the fourth book in her Nightwalker series. This series is about vampires who are called Nightwalkers, but also werewolves and witches. There also are two races called the Naturi and the Bori who are both intent on destroying man kind as well as the rest of the supernaturals. The books center around Mira and Danaus. Mira is a 600 year old nightwalker and also is a fire starter. Normal vampires are extremely flammable, so Mira is the only one of her kind. Danaus is a 2000 year old half human half well, something else that cannot be said without being a spoiler. He has spent his entire life hunting nightwalkers convinced they were the root of all evil. He tries to kill Mira and fails and because of extenuating circumstances must join with Mira to battle the Naturi. As the books progress their fragile truce starts to develop into something more as the two fall for each other but both refuse to admit it. Pray for Dawn is told from Danaus' prospective. At first I was a little gun shy about the perspective change from Mira to Danaus. However, after reading it, I am really glad to have gotten a chance to see how he thinks. This book shows who he is at the core and made me understand his hesitation towards Mira a little better. The sexual tension between the two is amazing. This book also lived up to it predecessors in the fact that Mira is always going to find herself in the middle of major trouble. She wins and loses, but the question is how much can she lose before it becomes too much and she snaps? The book ends on a major cliffhanger that really left me wanting more, but the fifth book is being released next month, so it isn't too long of wait.. but..

Behind.. Again..

, by KT

Well, I am behind yet again. Just have been very busy with school work and the babies.

I read the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. While I typically do not like YA books, I LOVE this series. I should have known I would considering how much I loved her Succubus series. She is really good at twists and turns, and things that you never see coming. I've found that a lot of books are predictable, but her books definitely are not. The books are about vampires, who are split into two types, and Dhampires. The "good" vampires who are mortal and do not kill to eat are called Moroi, and the "evil" vampires who are immortal and kill are called Strigoi. The Dhampires are the children of a Dhampire. The Dhampires protect the Moroi from the Strigoi. The books are told from the point of view of a Dhampire named Rose. She is training to be her best friend Lissa's (a Moroi) Gaurdian. The books show the two girls as they mature and go through many difficult things. Rose in particular suffers because her life has always been sacrificed to Lissa's needs. As the books progress, Rose starts to do things for herself after she loses her love. She goes on a quest to save or destroy him and as a result has to pay the price. In the end however, it is amazing after all the two girls go through that they have stuck together with their bond. If I say any more I'll be giving away too much. ;)

I read the Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. The book was just a novella, so it was really short. It was nice to see things from the newborn's perspective, but I found the book to be kinda of disappointing since I already knew how the book would end. I am curious as to what happened to Freaky Fred. Maybe she will write something about him in the future.

I also read the Nocturne City series by Caitlin Kittredge. This series is about a werewolf named Luna who is a homicide detective. The poor girl goes through a lot, but stills comes out kicking. In this series, the weres are extremely volatile, and are very hard for the human side to control. Luna struggles to keep her were side under control, and with everything that is thrown at her it is amazing she has any control at all. The weres generally live in packs who are very territorial and any were that lives outside of those packs, like Luna, are called Insoli. They are treated as lower than low, and the pack wolves make a series effort to demean and ruin the insoli. Luna is extremely strong willed and as of yet has not lost her "dominance" and that is the only thing that has kept her alive in many situations. In the latest book at the end, things seem to be turning more positive for Luna, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I'm currently reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward. It isn't told in first person, so its not my normal choice to read, but this series is actually quite good. I should finish the last two books in the next couple of days, so I'll post about them then.

Gah..

, by KT

Well, it seems I am very behind on my postings. >< Since my last post, I've read several books. First up is Cheat the Grave by Vicki Pettersson. This is the fifth book in the Zodiac Series. The previous book, City of Souls had many events that were very upsetting, however, this book has made many things better. Several misassumptions were corrected, and overall made sucked me back into the series.

The second book is Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton. I had posted on here that I wanted to reread the rest of the series before I read bullet. Yeah. That just didn't happen. June 1st got here and I couldn't resist. I loved the book, but I can't imagine I wouldn't love anything she writes. There wasn't a lot of mystery or plot in this book. It was more character development and relationship building, which is completely okay. There are SO many characters in this series that I think it was a good idea to take a step back and work on those bonds. The book did set up for a major conflict in coming books and I just cannot wait, but that's pretty typical for impatient me. ;)

Finally, last night I finished the Otherworld series by Yasmine Galenorn. Well, I finished all the books that have been released so far. The series is far from over, and she just got contracted for more books. This series is told from the three sister's perspective, each having a book at a time. The girls are half human, half fae and are fighting against an evil demon's plan to overtake all the worlds to destroy and enslave. I have to say I enjoy reading from the moon witch Camile, the eldest, the most. That doesn't mean the other books aren't good, just her "voice" is the one that intrigues me the most. (Also she has the yummiest men ;])

Up next is the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. I find that I am enjoying YA books less and less. However, I love her succubus series, so I figured I would give this series a try. Well, that's all for now.