A Book Obsession..

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Waiting on Wednesday

, by KT

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights an upcoming release we are greatly anticipating.

My pick this week:

Alpha - Shifters #6

by Rachel Vincent

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

Amazon Pre-Order: Alpha (Shifters Book 6)

From Rachel's website:

YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE…

The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we’ve been busy. But now it’s time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother’s death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council.

It’s not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I’m heading for a final showdown that can—that will—change everything forever.

I love the shifter series, and cannot wait for this last book in the series. I will be sad to see it end, but hopefully we will be left with some satisfaction.

Host

, by KT

Host by Faith Hunter

Rogue Mage Series #3

As a result of her new Seraphic visa and station her birth Enclave sends a metal mage emissary named Cheran to train Thorn. However, she immediately realizes there is more than meets the eye to the pompous Cheran, and she senses a underlying current of danger from him. While she is trying to juggle the demands from the different organizations due to her new position, and trying to figure out how to rescue her twin, the Succubus Queen makes a reappearance threatening the ones she loves. When the attack turns deadly, the trapped uses that death power to escape his prison, and he has his sights set on Thorn.

Once again the evil darkness led by the Dragon does all it can to get a hold of Thorn and her power. Its up to Thorn to stop him as she cannot call for Seraphic help without risking the town as humans always die whenever a Seraph draws their sword. While she may not always handle diplomatic situations well, she never once flinches when it comes to duty and honor in protecting others. She would rather allow herself to be gravely injured than risk the human's deaths. A character with less strength and determination could not have survived her perils. Through the battles she learns some distressing truths about her past and who she really is, as well as what her birth prophecy really means. These revelations are bittersweet and many came as a shock to Thorn as well as myself. I knew many things were hidden to her in her past, but some of them just completely floored me. The book ended with most things tied up, but still left open the possibility for more books. The series had a slow start but did not disappoint me as it went on. Thorn is really admirable character and her "voice" makes for a good read.

Buy now at Amazon:
Host: A Rogue Mage Novel

Eternal Kiss of Darkness

, by KT

Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Night Huntress World #2

An Ancient Egyptian vampire named Mencheres has grown weary of life. After losing his visions of the future, he has been convinced his time on this earth must be coming to an end, as all he can see is darkness in store for him. The last thing he expects however is Kira, a private detective, who at risk to her own life tries to save him from an assault. What she didn't know was the vampire didn't really need her help; or does he? Kira may be the one thing that could truly save him, but at what cost? Another ancient covets Mencheres' powers and will do anything to see his ultimate destruction. Mencheres must tread carefully to prevent the ancient from gaining his powers even if it means giving up his heart's desire.

Contrary to Cat's (from The Night Huntress series) view of Mencheres being only a methodical manipulator, in this book he is shown in a whole new light. We see real emotion and regret for the things he has done. Regardless of the good intentions and reasons for his actions in the past he still feels tremendous guilt and that guilt is crippling him. In all the times we have seen him in previous novels he is very careful to hide his feelings behind a impenetrable emotional mask. I really enjoyed seeing behind the mask and the real emotions proving there is more to him than meets the eye.

Kira, unlike Mencheres, proves to be very strong without hiding her emotions away. Her moral fiber is amazing as is her devotion to uphold her mentor's motto to "save one life." Even with everything that is thrown at her in such a short time she holds steady. I do not think any other character could be more perfect for Mencheres. The heat between the two is smoldering and will not disappoint.

While Kira and Mencheres are the main focus of the book some of my favorite characters from The Night huntress series make appearances. Many unanswered questions from prior books are also revealed. This book will only suck you further into The Night Huntress World and its characters. Eternal Kiss of Darkness is truly a must read.

Buy now at Amazon:
Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2)

Teaser Tuesday

, by KT

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser is from Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost. It was just released today and this quote is 12% of the way in according to my kindle. (Sorry, no page number, that's one of the very few downsides to the kindle)

" So much of what had happened in the past thirty-some hours had a dreamlike quality to it. All she needed to make this scenario more unbelievable would be for leprechauns to come somersaulting out of the nearby garden."

Seraphs

, by KT

Seraphs by Faith Hunter

Rogue Mage Series #2

After the events of Bloodring, Thorn can no longer hide who she is. She has a few very loyal allies, but as for the rest of the town most are wary of, if not outright against her. Most fear her, and a few would love nothing more than to prosecute and execute her. Although their fears are mostly based on prejudice, some of them are warranted. The dark forces on the Trine are drawn to Thorn as they want Thorn and her powers, bringing the fight to the town. In the end, to save the ones she loves she must do something she vowed never to do again, go underground into the Darkness' lair to rescue a fallen Seraph that is vital to the looming war.

This book was much less confusing than the last one, and while we still do not know the entire truth of Thorn's past, things are starting to become a little more clear. Considering how frustrating it is to me to not know what she truly is, I cannot imagine what it would be like for Thorn. The poor mage has had so many things thrown at her, and everyone seems to know much more about her than she does, its a wonder she can even begin to handle it all. Throughout this book Thorn continues to prove her inner "goodness" regardless of what the townspeople may say, nor the fact that she is supposed to be soulless as all mages are. She never hesitates to risk and sacrifice her safety to protect others and that it a very admirable trait. The mage heat is still an issue for me as you would expect something to come of it, but nothing ever does. While Thorn is so strong willed that she can mostly avoid the temptation, a normal person would not be able to. Since mage heat affects the person it is directed at as well, it would make sense that one of these times something would have happened. Putting that aside Thorn is an amazing character and her selflessness is amazing. I hope in the next book she get some recovery time and a little peace as a reward for all she has done and sacrificed.

Buy now at Amazon:
Seraphs: A Rogue Mage Novel

Its Monday, What are you Reading?

, by KT

It's Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Journey, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

This is my first week participating, but it looks like really great way to recap your week as well as to see what other bloggers have been up to. Here is my list for the week:

Stray by Rachel Vincent
Rogue by Rachel Vincent
Pride by Rachel Vincent
Prey by Rachel Vincent
Shift by Rachel Vincent
Bloodring by Faith Hunter
Seraphs by Faith Hunter

This was my second time reading the Shifters series by Rachel Vincent. She posted the first Chapter of Alpha, the final book on her website, and I probably shouldn't have read it since it made me really impatient for the book to come out. October is such a long time away! I wound up going back and re-reading the series since I just couldn't get Faythe out of my head. I also read the first two books in the Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter. I posted my review on the first book, but since I just finished the second book last night, I haven't written its review yet. I also participated in the Book Blogger Hop as well as follower friday.

For this week look for the review on the Seraphs by Faith Hunter, as well as any other reviews I get finished. As far as reading, this is the list I'm looking at for now:

Host by Faith Hunter
Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost (releases Tuesday SQUEE!!)
Wait for Dusk by Jocelynn Drake (Also Tuesday release, another I've been waiting for!)
Some Girls by Chloe Neil
Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neil
Twice Bitten by Chloe Neil

Name Change

, by KT

Well due to the book hop, I stumbled upon another blog with the same name as mine. The blog is by Page over here. Since her blog has been around much longer, I feel a name change is in order. Even though I just found out on Friday the names were the same, and I really love the name, I just have to change it. I've been thinking about what to change it to all weekend, and for now I think I'm going to change it to "A Book Obsession." I'm not really sure if that's going to be the final name. I like it, and it does fit since I really am obsessed with books, I just think I'm a little partial to the old name, so its kinda hard to accept anything else.

What do you guys think about the new name? Good, terrible, let me know ;)

Bloodring

, by KT

Bloodring by Faith Hunter

Rogue Mage Series #1

Bloodring is told from the perspective of Thorn St. Croix. Thorn is a stone mage, the only one of her kind who is not confined to a mage community called Enclave. On the run, she must keep her identity a secret for fear of her life. If she is found by the Seraphs, who are angel-like beings, she will be sent back to the enclave where she faces certain insanity for she has a "gift" of mind reading her own kind, and thousands of minds get a little noisy. However, if she is discovered by the humans she hides amongst she faces death by stoning. When a temptingly attractive police officer named Thaddeus knocks on her door in the middle of the night to tell Thorn her ex-husband has been kidnapped, she must risk using her powers to find him, even with the fear of discovery looming over her.

I found the first half of this book to be a very frustrating read. I did not have much of a clue what was going on in the novel, and just when things started to become clear new revelations would be made, further confusing Thorn's identity. I enjoy a little mystery to a character, but this book could have used just a little more back story sooner for everything to make more sense. The book loosely follows biblical aspects, and at root is a war between good and evil. Thorn is on the side of "light" and makes stands against the evil "darkness" that tries to hurt the ones she loves. She is a very strong character, and when she sets out to do something she perseveres, not matter the risk to herself. One aspect I didn't care for was the "mage-heat," it is portrayed as this all consuming desire, but never seems to serve a true purpose in the book other than to "throw a wrench" into things for Thorn, possibly in future books it will have more meaning, but for this book I just didn't feel it was necessary. Poor Thorn had enough thrown at her without it. Thorn's personality, her "voice," is great and her world is interesting, however the story was hard to follow at times. The ending resolution was only a partial one, and the peace Thorn gains seems tentative at best. With how the ending played out, there is definite potential for this series, and I think as more about Thorn's true identity and past are revealed, the better it will get.

Buy now at Amazon:
Bloodring (Rogue Mage, Book 1)

Book Blogger Hop

, by KT

This is a weekly blog hop that seems to be a great way for bloggers to meet each other. This is my first time stumbling upon it, but I think its going to be a lot of fun.

This week's question is: TELL US ABOUT THE BOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING!

I am currently reading Bloodring by Faith Hunter. I'm only a few chapters in, and since this is the first book in a series, I do not have much of a clue as to whats going on yet. As of right all I know is the book is told from the point of view of a neomage named Thorn, who is in hiding for fear of her life since she is the only one not in the Enclave. She is hiding amongst humans, and when her ex-husband is kidnapped, she becomes a suspect.

Starting a new series is always exciting yet frustrating for me. I love new things, but at the same time its very frustrating to not understand whats going on. Eventually, after reading for a while, you start to make sense of whats happening. However, once I finish reading the most recent book in a series I get frustrated all over again because I want to keep reading, but the books are not out yet. Then, the process starts all over again with a new series. I think it wouldn't be so bad if I did not read so fast, because then the process would be drawn out longer. However, when you finish most novels in 2-4 hours, the cycle never seems to end. Anyone else have this frustration problem?

Follow Friday

, by KT

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - toreadornottoread-vampangel.blogspot.com/
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers