Ninth Key by Meg Cabot.

Heroine: Susannah Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B-

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status—not to mention apparent disinterest in her—make him unattainable.

What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

This was a great addition to the series, it's got me hoping and wishing that in the next book, Reunion, that we'll be reunited with the boys that just up and disappeared from the first book. I want to see Bryce Martinson again, I want to see if him and Suze will hit it off like Tad Beaumont did in this book, even though Suze didn't really like him the same way that most girls like boys in school, I mean she only liked making out with him. But whatever, I want to see Bryce and Suze before I find another hottie guy for her to like.

I'm really excited to see Suze's reunion with her best friend, Gina from New York. I think that will be such an awesome story. I've been anxious to see what Gina would be like from all the talk that Suze does about her in the previous books.

But back to this book, it was good. I liked Shadowland better but I still enjoyed this story as well.

I enjoyed the whole "vampire" thing going on and I hecka enjoyed reading Suze's reaction to all of that. She's seriously the bomb.

I fell a little more in love with Jesse and dude, what is up with him and Suze? Can she really have relations with a ghost?

I WANT THAT FOR HER!

Nobody that Meg has introduced us to has come close to being perfect for Suze as Jesse has but I want her to get some experience before she goes on her merry way with Jesse, however that will be possible.

That's why I want her to have a thing with Bryce.

Well that and because he's such a cutie, even if he is a whiny baby. HA!

What I really enjoyed about this story was how the dynamics for Suze at home have changed and she DOES have a family with her step brothers and with Adam....and how her life in Northern California is started to grow on her and is becoming...HOME to her.

I loved the change in her relationship with her younger step brother, David. I have a soft spot for David and his nerdy geeky facts but I really love that he's in on Suze's little secret and understands. I just love this little guy a whole bunch!

Brad cracks me up, him and Suze's relationship is so funny to witness. Brad thinks he's all rough and tough and I totally think that Suze can kick his ass!

HA!

Jake, goodness, I want that boy to hurry up and get his Camaro so that he can get back to having a life. He's a handsome boy, he needs to start living it before a ghost comes and gets him and there goes his life. I really like him though, he's funny and he's good to Suze.

The parents are cool and it was cool to see Andy get all pissed off at Suze and yell and hollar at her the same way he'd yell and hollar at the boys.

They're a family, YAY!

I liked getting to know Tad and his crazy family and his Uncle? Holy wow, I wonder if he'll make an appearance later on in the series...hey, it could happen.

Anyway, this story was really good, I enjoyed the storyline, the interactions with all of the characters and it's made me look forward to a whole lot more from these guys. I'm really enjoying this reading experience and can't wait to start on the next book...tonight.

Great read for sure!

Shadowland by Meg Cabot.

Heroine: Susannah "Suze" Simon
Category: Young Adult
Grade: B+

Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way.

Meg Cabot strikes again!

A big thank you to Dance Chica for pimping this series to me a few months ago. I'm finally reading them and am super stoked about it. This was a great way to start out the Mediator series, it was great getting to know Suz and her new family.

You see, Suze's Dad dies and a few years later, her Mom remarries a guy named Andy from Northern California. He comes with 3 sons and his own construction business so it would be easier for Suze and her Mom to relocate themselves instead of having the Ackermans move to New York. Suze moves to California to make her Mom happy and she thinks that she can start fresh.

Because, you see, Suz has a gift.

She can see and talk to dead people.

She's a Mediator.

This story introduces a great cast of characters from Suz to her Mom, her new Step Dad Andy who seems pretty cool so far, her 3 step brothers, Sleepy, Dopey and Doc. I enjoyed meeting Adam McTavish, CeeCee and Father Dominic and holy wow, Izzy, how funny is it that Suz goes to get this, Father Junipero Serra's Mission School?

HA! We were just talking about Missions and Father Junipero just the other day.

But this was a great book! I loved it and I loved getting this little glimpse into a Mediator's world. I loved the little world that Meg Cabot created with Suz, Suz is one kick ass little girl and when she put Debbie Mancuso in her place that first day of school, I was laughing at the same time I was rootin' her on.

One thing I really enjoyed was her friendship and crush on her roommate ghost, Jesse.

Jesse is a fox and I cannot wait to find out more about him and his life. The mystery behind Jesse is a huge part of why I want to continue this series. I'm anxious and eager to see where the next adventure takes Suz but mostly I want to see her world unfurl before me.

I want to see if Adam and CeeCee ever get together, I want to see if David really is using steriods (yeah I know it's highly doubtful but I want to know for sure), I want to see what Sleepy does that makes him so tired and I even want to see if we see anymore of Bryce now that he's going to another school.

This book opens a door of great adventure and loads of laughs, I cannot wait to read the others!

A great read!

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Hero: Valek
Heroine: Yelena Zaltana
Category: Paranormal
Grade: B++

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster . . .

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways -- and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better . . .

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training -- especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince -- and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies...

MAJOR SPOILERS IN REVIEW, DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ANY SPOILERS...YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
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Wow.

I zipped right through this book, it was so good.

I zipped from the beginning to the end, loving this book with every word that I read. Maria V. Snyder sure knows how to tell a story. She had me so engrossed in this story that I thought about the book when I was away from it, wondering what Yelena was going to get herself into when I was able to read again.

By page 200, though I was enjoying the new characters and enjoying learning more about Yelena and her background, I was missing Valek horribly. I even bitched at Holly for lying about there being more Valek in this book but then I kept reading and I got more excited.

I'm a reader who loves to revisit with old friends from previous books and Mrs. Snyder doesn't disappoint in this book. I loved seeing the Commander, Ari and Janco and most of all, I LOVED seeing Valek again. Seeing Valek in action and just being the amazing chamelion that he is, made the book just all the more great in my opinion.

I love how pure and strong Valek and Yelena's love is. I loved how intune with eachother they are and how fierce they are...together. I mean, apart their love never wavered but together, they are such a force to be reckoned with.

It was fantastic meeting Yelena's long lost family. I loved Perl and Esau, I loved reading about their reunion with their long lost daughter. I loved that they accepted Yelena for who she was and what she became and I loved how Perl wanted to make up for the fourteen years that Yelena was away from them. I loved how she worried Perl was when Yelena had to go and I loved Esau's intense faith in his daughter. I loved how instead of trying to keep her from the things she needed to do, they accepted that she had to do these things and even helped her with her mission. I loved how they had faith in her ability to get through all these complicated things and I just loved them.

They were a great family.

And then there was Leif. This guy totally annoyed me a lot throughout the book, with his crap toward Yelena. He was more of a hinderance to Yelena than anything else and that bothered me a lot during this book because I swore this guy was a bad guy...but I was glad that I was proven wrong with him because he proved to be a strong ally at the end with Valek and Yelena so I was glad that he was there to guard their six. haha.

The Master Magicians didn't prove to me that they were all powerful since Yelena was supposed to be no match to their all greatness and yet she singlehandedly took care of all of the problems that Sitia faced.

And she was the outsider.

What's really going on?

I loved all of the other characters that I met in this story, except Rose. I even liked Cahil up until the end, ooh, now I'm hoping that Valek will end him and rid his crap from Sitia and Ixia. I loved Mrs. Snyder's little world she's created with Yelena and Valek, I'm loving all of this magic business and cannot wait to get my hands on Fire Study.

The ride is not done and I'm so anxious to continue the ride in Fire Study. A total two thumbs up, get this book and read it, you'll love it!

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann.

Hero: Mark "Jenk" Jenkins
Heroine: Lindsey Fontaine
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B

In a remote, frozen corner of New Hampshire, a Navy SEAL team and the elite security experts of Troubleshooters Incorporated are going head-to-head as fierce but friendly rivals in a raid-and-rescue training exercise. Despite the frigid winter temperatures, tension smolders between SEAL Petty Officer Mark Jenkins and former cop turned Troubleshooter Lindsey Fontaine after an impulsive night of passion goes awry. And then suddenly Tracy Shapiro, the Troubleshooters' new receptionist, vanishes while playing the role of hostage during a mock rescue operation.

Teaming up with the FBI to launch a manhunt in the treacherous wilderness, Jenk and Lindsey must put aside their feelings as a record snowstorm approaches, dramatically reducing any hope of finding Tracy alive. The trail is colder than the biting New England climate until a lucky break leads to a horrifying discovery - a brutally murdered young woman wearing the jacket Tracy wore when she disappeared. Suddenly there is a chilling certainty that Tracy has fallen prey to a serial killer - one who knows the backwoods terrain and who doesn't play by the rules of engagement.

In a race against time, a raging blizzard, and a cunning opponent, Jenk and Lindsey are put to the ultimate test. Risking everything, they must finally come together in a desperate attempt to save Tracy - and each other.

I'm a straight up Suzanne Brockmann fangirl.

I love this woman for introducing me to some of my most favorite characters, EVAH. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love this series (despite how long it took me to read this latest addition to the series) and I really really loved this book.

I loved getting to know Mark Jenkins, who has only been in the background until now. I thought Lindsey was a kick ass heroine, I didn't think she was a TSTL heroine because she was a cop and she knew when it was okay to do what she had to do in order to get the job done. So yeah, Lindsey rocked my socks in that aspect but she was a real stupid head when it came to her love life.

I wanted to slap her upside her head so many times when she would push Jenk away and say stupid things to throw Jenk off her scent (which was clearly smelling like, DO ME NOW JENKY BOY! instead of the thanks for the great sex but I'm over you scent she THOUGHT she was sending out) and it pissed me off at first when Jenk just sort of walked away from her with his tail between his legs. It made me think, 'Where are the Sam Starretts and the Wildcard's of this series when they were assholes right back to their women because at least when they were assholes, they weren't whining like little panty boys over stupid girls.

Not that I thought Jenk was a whiny baby or anything, it was just...wow was he way different from Tom, Johnny and Sam them...he was so junior high compared to their college level of hotness. I felt older compared to Jenk when reading this book because of his whole situation, the whole crush/love thing he had for Tracy and then the whole I want Lindsey thing too...it was all just so childish to me.

But it didn't ruin the book for me, and this is where I don't know if Suz does this on purpose or what but she tends to highlight and make the secondary characters overshadow the sexiness of the main characters in these books.

Because in this book, it was ALL about Izzy Zanella for me.

I just love me some Izzy and I love his smart ass mouth and his sense of humor (which I totally got, each.and.every.single.time.) I loved HIM. And regardless of what you said, Ames, I want Izzy to end up with Tracy. She's his Lys. He's Sam and he's the new secondary character that I just can't get enough of. Izzy was the one that made me love the book and not think it to be a lame junior high, something that my niece Chelsea would call me after school and tell me all about. This guy liked this girl but liked this other girl too and he wanted to be with that girl and when he was the other girl who doesn't even love him called him to come help her and he took off running and blah blah blah.

Wow, what a way to set up Izzy's book though, man, that was the ish. I just effing loved it. What I loved most about this book was that EVERYONE was in it. I mean, not front and center, no, that was all Jenk and Lindsey and the people in Jenk's world, the world that we don't get to see because Sam, Johnny and Wildcard don't run in the same circles as them but even though they weren't front and center for this book (which I think Jenk should thank Suz for because they would have outshined Jenk for sure) I loved that they were still apart of the book, I loved that even Muldoon who only gets passing comments wasn't left out of this book.

I just loved seeing the crew again, back together again and ridding the world of the scum we all hate.

It was a great book, with the secondary characters picking up the slack for the front runners, Jenk was a good hero but that's about all it was for me, he was just good, he wasn't this hot shot YUMMY hero, but just your standard swoonworthy hero who was sensitive and the "good guy" instead of the Billy Bad Ass that all the women want to jump through hurdles to love and be loved by him in return.

It was a great read and I look forward to more from Suz on this series..but I'm hella looking forward to, Izzy's book and his heroine had better be, Tracy friggin' Shapiro.

Hot Ticket by Various Authors.

Here's a book of short stories that caught my eye on the Doubleday website. I bought it thinking that some short stories about hunky athletes (one of my favorite kind of men) would be just what I need at the time that I bought them. I wasn't all that impressed with some of these stories, I'll tell you that.

Lucky Charm by Julia London
Hero: Parker Price
Heroine: Kelly O'Shay
Grade: C

Uninhibited radio host Kelly O'Shay loves to take on the egos of overpaid sports stars. then she goes after hot-shot shortstop Parker Price, whose losing streak takes an unexpected turn when he goes head-to-head with his lovely nemesis-on the air and off.

This story was a great big ball of corn. I mean, we have a whiny hot baseball player who keeps whining about how the talk show radio host keeps talking about him (badly of course) on the radio and then he blames her for her poor performance on the field? Yeah, how is a whiny baby hero going to make me drool with delight? He didn't. I just didn't really care for the story, it was too short and just really corny.

Same Rink, Next Year by Deirdre Martin
Hero: David Hewson
Heroine: Tierney O'Connor
Grade: C-

I'm not sure what it was about this story that I just couldn't get. It fell flat for me, I couldn't really connect with the characters and I really wanted to because this story had such good potential to be such a cute story but the dialogue felt forced and the witty characters and most especially the talk between the hockey players seemed...silly. I know, that word silly gets me in trouble with rabid fangirls but I can't help it...that's how I saw it, it may work for others but it just didn't work for me. I read the chats between David and his friends as, not good. It didn't flow well with the personalities of the hockey players, it just didn't fit. But David and Tierny were good together, although once while they're getting jiggy, I laughed because well, while they're going at it, he says stuff like, "Better?" and "You like that?" and it totally just takes me right out of the scene...but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, it just wasn't the best either. So while the story could have been cute, it just sort of is silly.

You Can't Steal First by Annette Blair
Hero: Juan Santiago
Heroine: Quinn Murdock
Grade: C-

Famous for his big numbers at bat, Juan Santiago's struck out only once in his life--with Quinn Murdock. Now the Red Sox star player is getting one more shot with the sexy sporting goods magnate. But first he has to prove he's not just playing the field.

I don't know what's wrong with me but I did not really care for this story either. I mean, Tiago and Quinn are long lost lovers who have this big misunderstanding and go all these years without seeing eachother or talking to each other and then Quinn's friends throw her on his train thats heading for Orlando for Spring Training and on the train, they fall in love again? Hmm, okay, but the dialogue between these two, can it get any cheesier? Tiago didn't have as much game as he thought he did, if he said some of the things to me that he said to Quinn, I would have laughed at him. I didn't get how him and her kissing making it on the front page of the newspaper was funny...it seemed childish and juvenile. I just didn't get this and I didn't feel any kind of connection between Quinn and Tiago, though one thing that was a sure winner for me in this book, was the name Tiago...I like that Latin lover name, it's yummy!

Can't Catch This by Geri Buckley
Hero: Josh Weldon
Heroine: Lindy Hamilton
Grade: D/C-

Lindy Hamilton got her two-timing boyfriend right where it hurts--by stealing his pricey tickets to the Florida Moccasins football game. When she discovers that the really interesting action is in the stands, it proves to be the hottest season opener on record...

Okay, I think this was the worst of all of them. I really wanted to like ONE of the stories a whole lot because I love sports and sports stories like SEP's were such winners for me, but this one fell right on it's face for me. I was bummed because I felt like, ehhh, I can't wait til I'm done with this book so that I can read something else already. The problem that I had with this story was I didn't care for Lindy and Josh fell in love wayyy too fast with her, I didn't see them connect anywhere and yet faster than you snap your fingers, they were in love..it was unbelievable and I just didn't enjoy the interactions between Josh and Lindy. I thought the nephew was cute though, but that's about it. I thought it was really weird that Josh's cousin used Lindy as his lucky charm considering he had never met her or talked to her, it was hooky but whatever...so yeah this story was just blah for me.

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Hero: Dean Roubillard
Heroine: Blue Bailey
Grade: B++

Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard is the luckiest man in the world. But life in the glory lane has started to pale, and Dean has set off on a trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he hits a lonely stretch of Colorado highway, he spies something that will shake up his gilded life in ways he can't imagine. A young woman . . . dressed in a beaver suit.

Blue Bailey is on a mission. As for the beaver suit she's wearing . . . Is it her fault that life keeps throwing her curve balls? Witness the expensive black sports car pulling up next to her on the highway and the Greek god stepping out of it.

They're soon heading for his summer home, where their already complicated lives and inconvenient attraction to each other will become entangled with a charismatic but aging rock star; a beautiful, fifty-two-year-old woman trying to make peace with her rock and roll past; an eleven-year-old who desperately needs a family; and a bitter old woman who hates them all.

Natural Born Charmer . . . for anyone who's ever thought about leaving their old life in the dust.

Man but I really enjoyed this book.

Lots of spoilers in my reviews (like you didn't know that) so here's your warning, didn't read the book? Skip this and come back when you read the book...but this is your review (the non NBC readers) THIS BOOK IS REALLY GOOD, GET IT AND READ IT FOR SOME GREAT LAUGHS, A CUTE LOVE STORY AND FANTASTIC SECONDARY CHARACTERS, SEP REALLY SHINES WITH THIS BOOK...

Now, onto the spoiler ridden review for those of us who enjoyed the book...very much.
It was one of those books that I wasn't expecting to like and ended up really liking anyway. The one where you don't think it will hold a candle to the previous book and yet it stood well on it's own without the added bonuses of old characters that you love and can't get enough of.

This book did a great job dragging me in and keeping my attention until the book was done. Susan Elizabeth Phillips weaves a story that made me smile long after I put the book down. It's one of those stories that had just the right amount of sarcastic wit, sparkling characters and that small town charm. SEP did an extraordinary job of Dean's story. I was a bit bummed when I learned that though Annabelle and Heath played little parts in this book, they weren't in a huge bulk of the story, there was only passing remarks on Phoebe and Kevin (LOVE HIM!) but none of that mattered because I met some wonderful new characters that I just loved to death.

This is the same kind of story, studly football star hero and not so great looking but has potential heroine, thrown together for a wild ride. Dean and Blue are no different from the other story but SEP does a great job of giving Dean and Blue their own twist on the same storyline, I didn't mind it one bit. I really enjoyed SEP's wit and her characters.

Dean was the perfect bonehead hero that had me laughing out loud more times than I can count. I loved his sarcastic sense of humor, his Godly looks and his indifference to everyone but Blue. I loved the wall he tried to form around himself concerning his parents. I loved it even more when he manned up where Riley was concerned, because though he didn't want to, he knew that he had to because she was..family. The family he always wanted. For better or for worst, I just loved Dean through his thick headed stubborn self and I loved him even when he was a big time dick, he was just so effing great.

Blue on the other hand was just as fantastic as Dean, in her I don't know how to dress myself, hide my feminine side and sharp wit. Her sassy mouth totally worked for her. I loved her personality, her no bullshit attitude and just everything about her....well except her sense of fashion. That needed a great deal of help and I cheered when she finally got it right. And can I just say that I LOVE the dress on the cover of the book? Is that not the cutest dress? I think so....but anyway, I enjoyed Blue's character and I enjoyed the things she brought to the story, she was a fantastic heroine.

I loved the way Blue and Dean met and how taken with her drama that Dean was. I loved how Dean tells Blue that he's gay and then later shows her how much...he's not. That was a riot and Blue's parting remarks to Dean at their wedding..had me crackin' the hell up, if you want to read the remark, you'll have to read the book (since I don't have the book with me, hehe)

I fell right in love with April Roubillard and Jack Patriot, not to mention Nita Garrison and little Riley Patriot. I loved the journey to being a real family these guys had to go through in order to get it right and when they finally had what they were looking for, it was just great to see. I was glad that Dean came around and things worked out for them in the end. It was oodles of fun.

This was a great book, a great storyline and filled with great characters, a definite read!

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Hero: Heath Champion
Heroine: Annabelle Granger
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B+

In This Heart of Mine, you met Kevin Tucker. Now meet Kevin's shark of an agent ... and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed.

Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. She's endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. But that's going to change now that she's taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is land the Windy City's hottest bachelor as her client, and she'll be the most sought-after matchmaker in town.

With his money-green eyes and calculated charm, Heath Champion is the best sports agent in the country. He's wealthy, driven, and gorgeous, so why does he need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? True, she's entertaining, and she does have a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of his success—the perfect wife. And to make an extraordinary match, he needs an extraordinary matchmaker, right?

If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town -- a man who's beginning to ask himself ... exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?

I really liked this book.

It starts out with us meeting Annabelle Granger, a firecracker of a woman who is frowned upon in her family. She's the "black cat" of her family. She's got 2 successful brothers and a mother who nags the ever living daylights out of her because she's 31 and hasn't settled down into a career. Annabelle's had a few businesses that have gone under and she's trying to turn her grandmother's matchmaking business around and make something of herself. She's very passionate about life and just reading about her attacking the venture of making a success out of her grandmother's business, modernizing it and everything was just a crack up.

She was a very quirky heroine and she kept me laughing and just feeling for her. I loved her sense of humor, I loved all of her little gripes against Heath and what I most liked about her was the way she handled being handled by him.

The chemistry between Heath and Annabelle is unmistakeable to the reader, even if it was farthest from Heath's mind. I loved the way SEP wrote these two's relationship. I loved how at the very beginning they were so at ease with eachother, the scene where Heath makes her ride with him somewhere and she thinks he's gonna leave her and she's running through traffic hollaring for him to wait and she's got her Mocha frap and how he just kept taking it from her and drinking it, the SECOND time he met with her...I loved that kind of business.

I liked seeing the old characters from the previous books actually having reasons to be in the story and not just talked about. Those are some of my favorite characters and to see them back in action right along with Heath and Annabelle scored major points with me.

I loved revisiting the campground from This Heart of Mine. I loved seeing Kevin (my favorite SEP hero) and Molly again and more over, I loved seeing little Hannah again. Goodness, that little girl is just about my favorite kid character ever, she's so great!

Heath Champion, there were times when I wanted to take him by the shoulders and just hold him still for a minute, he so reminded me of Jerry Maguire in that, I move faster than my feet can take me and I'm eager to please all of my clients to the point where I am in dire need of therapy way. The transformation from first class jerk to the insecure manly sexy man at the end was great. I loved seeing him grow attached to Annabelle, it was a treat to see him all wanting to make things right Annabelle.

I even loved little Pippy...she was so cute with her phone fettish...with her Heath's phone fettish. haha.

Annabelle's family got on my hot damn nerves so I was really happy that Heath came into her life and became her Champion...even if he didn't see her family the same way she did. I loved that finally, Annabelle was one up on Candace that conniving little bitch.

The way the story was told had me reading early into the morning, I didn't get to sleep until 3:00am on the dot and I can't say that I'm mad about it. The only thing that didn't boost this book to an A is that I felt the end was sort of rushed and kinda fell flat with Heath's realization of his love for Annabelle, I wanted more from that but as a whole, this book was a really great read for me.

Thanks SEP!

The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Hero: Arikos
Heroine: Megeara Kafiero
Grade: B-

In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them...

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he's in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he's drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he's finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she's seen many times.... in her dreams.

What she doesn't know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara's soul.

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she's getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter's existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?

This book was pretty good.

I liked Arikos, I liked getting to know the Dream Hunters, but I've got to say, I didn't like the Dream Hunters better than the Dark Hunters. For me, it's still all about the Dark Hunters but I liked reading and getting to know Arikos, Solin, D'Alerian, M'Ordant and even M'Adoc. Those cats are some interesting fellows. I'm more than a little intrigued by Solin and can only wonder if he's going to get his own book since everyone and their mother seems to be getting their own book these days. I might be persuaded to buy Solin's book should it ever become available. I also need to go back and read D'Alerian's book, he did have one, right?

Megeara, who wanted to be called, Geary (for reasons that are totally beyond me, why not Meg or Ara, but Geary? Yeah, okay...whatever rocks your socks, girl!) was actually a pretty decent heroine. Her story of trying to find Atlantis to clear her father's name and snub all of those people that laughed at her father for his pipe dream to find Atlantis and prove everyone wrong was a pretty good story.

I loved reading about all of the Gods and Goddesses. It was a little funny to read about Hades being this outrageously hunky manly God, when all I can think of is the Hades from Disney's Hercules. He was soooooo not outrageously beautiful, like the Hades of SK's world, but hey I liked that touch. It was cool. I'm hecka loving this twist on the Greek Mythology stuff, it's really good stuff.

I don't remember much about the Dream Hunters from the previous books, so I can't really say that SK messed up on some of her own rules because if she did, I didn't catch any of it in here, but....I did enjoy this book and am glad that I read it.

Would I recommend this book to others? Oh yes, this book was for sure better than Sins of the Night, so yeah....go on and read it, it was good. You'll love you some Arik, I know I did. Geary was easy to read as well, she wasn't a TSTL heroine and I'm glad for it. I loved that it was, well I can't tell you guys that without spoiling the book so if you want to know what I liked most about Geary and this story, then email me and I'll get the talkin' with you on there. I enjoyed this book, it wasn't this dramatic book that made me cry and weep and all that, it was just good stuff.

I thought I would be able to stay away from SK's DH series since I've been so annoyed with the direction she's been taking it in but I was glad that I went against what I wanted to do and read this book, it was good...really good.

Good job, SK.

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

Hero: Max Beghat
Gina: Gina Vitagliano
Category: Contemporary
Grade: B+

As commander of the nation's most elite FBI counterterrorism unit, agent Max Bhagat leads by hard-driving example: pushing himself to the limit and beyond, taking no excuses, and putting absolutely nothing ahead of his work. That includes his deep feelings for Gina Vitagliano, the woman who won his admiration and his heart with her courage under fire. But when the shocking news reaches him that Gina has been killed in a terrorist bombing, nothing can keep Max from making a full investigation - and retribution - his top priority.

At the scene of the attack, however, Max gets an even bigger shock. Gina is still very much alive - but facing a fate even worse than death. Along with Molly Anderson, a fellow overseas relief worker, Gina has fallen into the hands of a killer who is bent on using both women to bait a deadly trap. His quarry? Grady Morant, a.k.a "Jones," a notorious ex-Special Forces operative turned smuggler who made some very deadly enemies in the jungles of Southeast Asia . . . and has been running ever since. But with Molly's life on the line, Jones is willing to forfeit his own to save the woman he loves.

Together with Max's top agent Jules Cassidy as their only backup, the unlikely allies plunge into a global hot zone of violence and corruption to make a deal with the devil. Not even Jones knows which ghosts from his past want him dead. But there's one thing he's sure of - there's very little his bloodthirsty enemies aren't willing to do.

Okay, it took me over four months to finish this book and boy was I glad that I did. So Max and Gina we know from Over the Edge are back and they're getting their own book. Max is still being a butt head about not wanting to keep Gina in his life because even though he loves her with every breath in his body, he's afraid of loving her and well it doesn't make things any better with her being like 20 years younger than he is.

But love her, he does.

In the first half of the book, it drove me up the wall how many times Max tried to drive Gina away. There were times when I wanted to do bodily damage to him at how dumb he was being, but that was when I thought his issues were the age thing between him and Gina.

Well, and then there was the thing with Grady Morant, Dave Jones to those of you guys who have read Out of Control, Molly and Jones were a big part of this book since Molly is Gina's new best friend, they served in a camp out in Kenya together and became very close. Gina laid her life on the line for both Molly and Jones and I just loved their little family.

Max Beghat, the fucker. My friend LindaLou, loves when Sam Starrett says that about Max in I believe it's Out of Control. And I totally agreed with Sam's sentiment toward the FBI Hot Shot in this book. He got on my damn nerves in the beginning of the book, while he was in rehab?? Yeah, I wanted to stab him in the neck. When he didn't share some pertinent information with Gina, forcing her to run away from him??? Yeah, I wanted to gouge his eyes out with a butter knife. But when he finally comes clean about how he really feels for Gina and everything he went through while she was away from him, all of my madness at him faded into the wind because just like *snaps fingers* I was done being mad at him for all of his transgressions in this book. Max proved to be a great hero, one that by the end of the book, I was more than a little bit in lust with. He will never replace Sam Starrett in my heart (especially after the short story in the back of the book) but he's one of the best heroes this series has.

Gina Vitagliano. What a great heroine, I love her sassy mouth, I love how in the most dire of circumstances, she was still able to keep her wit and her smarts about her. For someone who kept getting into hostile terrorist situations, Gina was seriously one of the strongest heroines, EVER. She's also my favorite heroine too...in this series, I haven't been a big fan of any of the heroines because none of them have Gina's personality or her vibrance for life and her determination to land her man. Gina was everything the other women weren't and she seriously was the best heroine, for me at least. She was as Ignacio said in Nacho Libre, good, realllllyyyyyy good. HA!

The story started out a bit slow for me but as soon as it started picking up, it picked up and just kept right on runnin'...I loved it. The storyline was great, the characters were the best and though it would have been nice to see some Sam and Alyssa up in there or even any of the other Troubleshooters, it was still a great read for me.

I loved the secondary storylines with Molly and Jones and then Jules as well. How can you NOT love Jules? I don't know how SB does it but when she writes about Jules and all of his sexy mens, it doesn't bother me. The man love concept doesn't really bother me. I'm so busy cheering Jules on that I guess his sexual orientation doesn't register for me the way it does in other books by other authors. But I just love Jules personality, I love what he brings to these stories and I love him as a man and want him to get his very own book. I want him to find happiness the way all of his friends are finding happiness. He totally deserves it.

Molly and Jones, oh holy wow...I loved how their story ended, it was just the right amount of everything that's right in this world. I loved how SB was able to write their story AND give them their happy ending. I loved Dave Jones shady ass from the moment I met him in Out of Control and I loved him all the more in this book. I loved his fierce devotion and adoration of Molly, I loved how he worried over her and how he was so hot damn sorry for bringing her into his dangerous life even though he didn't want to harm her, I loved how he was so damn sorry that he took a gamble and lost. I just loved him! Their story was a great addition to this already great book.

What I loved most about SB's writing in this book is something that Nikki said in a comment left for me on my personal blog, Coffee House Banter.

She said, "No other author has this way of planning books so far in advance that really works. There is a reason and a purpose for everything. No other series seems that way to me. She really controls circumstances and characters in her books not the other way around. She never gets herself in a corner that she has to come up with a quick explanation (that doesn't make sense)."

I loved how I was able to read something in this book and think, "OMGOSH I remember that" from 4 books ago. It was amazing how well thought out this book was. Things that happened in Out of Control were poppin' up again in this book and everything that didn't fit then, now fit perfectly and totally meshed. I loved that aspect of the book and applaud Suzanne Brockmann on a job well done.

Entertained? Yep, I sure was. Annoyed and Peeved? Yep, you got it, at Max, I sure was. Filled with joy and gooey goods? Oh yes, she totally delivered on this.

Now seriously? You can't ask for a better book, then. The only reason I gave it a B and not an A is because it took me so long to get through this book, but after careful thought, it wasn't the story that made me take so long, it was my frustration at Max...so brava, Suz...great effing job! =)

Haley's Cabin by Anne Rainey.

Hero: Jeremy Pickett
Heroine: Haley Thorne
Category: Erotic Contemporary
Page Count: 107 pages.
Grade: B+

Every good girl longs for a chance to be a little naughty.

Raw from an ugly divorce and wrung out from her demanding job, Haley Thorne needs a break. When Haley’s doctor urges her to take a vacation, she heads to her secret cabin in the woods.

The very first night, Haley dreams of an erotic threesome that leaves her panting and aroused. When sexy police detective Jeremy Pickett shows up at her door, she’s shocked: He looks like the man in her midnight fantasy! Levelheaded Haley unleashes her inner seductress and has a little fun—handcuffs and all!

A very quick and fantastic read.

I was very wary about reading this book and at the same time a bit excited because I've read Anne's blog for a while and thought her blogs are great, I've got this thing with eBooks, I either really love them or really hate them.

Anne Rainey, I really loved your story.

It was hot and sexy and thoroughly filled to the brim with juicy bits. I loved every juicy morsel of it too. It was the bomb diggity! This is actually my first erotica book and while this book would totally get me in the dog house with my parents if they ever knew that I was reading these kinds of books, I didn't care one bit!

Call me slutty and be done with it because this book was a sure winner.

The opening of the story was just fanfrickin'tastic! I've never seen myself as the naughty temptress, always seeing myself shying away from stories with this much hot and steamy sex, but dude that shit was HOT! You go girl!

Jeremy Pickett was one fine ass hero that I just loved him to gooey bits! The sexy cop thing you had going with Jeremy had me sighing and wishing he was real and right here with me. LOL. I'd gobble him right up like he was my very own Thanksgiving dinner! haha. What I loved most about Jeremy, or Jay as Haley called him was how manly he was...he seemed so real, he said and reacted the same way a real man would react, he wasn't perfect and always saying the right thing and the sweet thing....so I effing loved it!

My favorite quote in the book came from this sexy man, when he told Haley when referencing their ages..."My experience in your gain."

HEYYYYYYYYYYY!

Haley was a great heroine too, I loved how she was able to match Jeremy in the bedroom with everything he wanted to do to her. You have to be good to actually pull off the having sex with a guy you've only known for a few hours thing off and you totally did, Anne...I found the story easy to follow, your storyline was quick paced and well put together. Between all of the sex, and there was quite a bit of it (thank you very much =)!) the story still moved and progressed greatly throughout this book. It didn't dull out or anything, you kept a great pace and I'm a total fan of yours!!

You know you're good when you can write about anal sex and I wouldn't even blink. I don't think I'd be down with that or even reading about it but I read about it in your book and wasn't even fazed by it...I was all like, HEYYYYYYYY! LOL. I even counted how many times I read my most despised word EVER used in your book (it was 3 times) and still I really enjoyed your book. GOOD JOB!

So....does Brad have a book coming out? Oh goodness I hope he does! I'm all curious about the sexy doctor and Lisa...can't wait for that one, please say you're writing it!

Another thing that I have to commend you on, Anne is your spelling...I didn't catch ONE SINGLE spelling error or typo in this book, so if they're in there, they're so cleverly hidden that I didn't catch them or else I was so wrapped up in the book that I didn't even notice them. So that's another plus for you sweetie.

I think this was a great first release and I eagerly await the rest of your books sweetie...I'm a big fat fan of yours!!! =)

I totally recommend this book for all of you naughty wenches who are looking for something quick, fun and thoroughly naughty...don't expect anything extremely deep with this book, because this book is all fun and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Great job Anne!

Slow Burn by Julie Garwood.

Hero: Dylan Buchanan
Heroine: Kate Mackenna
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 424 pgs.
Grade: B

An unpretentious beauty who rediates kindness, kate MacKenna doesn't have a bad bone in her body--or an enemy in the world. So why are bombs igniting everywhere she goes? The first explosion brings her face-to-face with a handsome Charleston police detective. The second one sends her into the arms of her best friend's brother--a Boston cop who's a little too reckless and way too charming for cmofort. But Dylan Buchanan won't let emotion prevent from doing his job: Someone is trying to kill Kate, and Dylan is the only one standing between her and the monster who wants her dead.

I finished this book in one sitting. So I guess it was good. LOL.

I'm still kind of unsure how I feel about this book because I read it so fast but I do love some Dylan Buchanan...man that man is frickin' sexy as all get out but I think his brother, Alec still has him beat as my favorite Buchanan, which surprises me since I love heroes who are big time flirts and trust me when I say, Dylan knows how to flirt.

So Kate, who doesn't have any enemies that she knows of can't seem to go anywhere without someone trying to blow her up, the first one could have been a fluke but not the second one. The second one, she was the only person around so it was more than a little evident that whoever is blowing things up is trying to blow HER up. That's when her best friend, Jordan Buchanan sends her brother, Dylan who just got shot in the line of duty (he's a cop) and is recuperating to Charleston to find out what's going on. Dylan is sweet on Kate so with little persuasion, he goes...even though he's miffed with her after the way she leaves Boston without a word to him.

I thought as a couple, Kate and Dylan were great. The chemistry between these two leaped right off the pages and I laughed whenever Dylan would back Kate into a corner or a counter and fluster her. I love reading about things like that and Dylan did a great job landing Kate because she was so lost without him. It was great crap!

This book is pretty fast paced, the flow was on point and Julie Garwood does a great job writing these two's story. You could tell a great deal of love was between these two, the end was a bit rushed but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the entire book and am already anxious to start the next book, Shadow Dance.

If you read the rest of the series, I don't think you'd be disappointed in this book, it wasn't spectacular but it was still nice. It's no Killjoy that's for sure, but on the flipside, it's no Ransom either.

But still it's good.

Oh wait, what I loved most about this book is Dylan's nickname for Kate. How cute was that? And how unique...when he tells her that he loves pickles, Awwwww....I love it and I love him!

Murder List by Julie Garwood

Hero: Alec Buchanan
Heroine: Regan Hamilton Madison
Category: Contemporary
Page Count: 425 pgs.
Grade: B+

Hotel heiress regan Hamilton Madison is flirting with danger. She agrees to help a journalist friend expose Dr. Lawrence Shields, a shady self-help guru who may have been responsible for the death of one of his vulnerable devotees. Hoping to find some damning evidence, Regan attends a Shields seminar, where the doctor his guests make a list of people who have hurt or angered them over the years and asks: Would your world be a better place if these people ceased to exist? Treating the exercise as a game, Regan plays along.

The experience is all but forgotten--until the first person on Regan's list turns up dead. Shock turns to horror when another name from her list surfaces as a corpse. While brutal murders seem to stalk regan's every m ove, her atteaction to the detective assigned to protect her grows. As the menace intensifies had a serial killer circles, regan must discover who has turned her private revenge fantasies into grisly reality.

I liked this book far more than I thought I was going to like it considering how much I didn't really care for the previous book which I read years ago, Killjoy. It's not that I hated Killjoy it was just that compared to Julie Garwood's historical/highlander books, her contemporaries weren't as good.

But I really got into this book, Alec was a fantabulous hero, I think he's my favorite Buchanan brother so far. You see, Regan Madison is in the hotel business. She's in the part of the business of giving money away. She's really good at what she does too, everyone loves her.

Everyone but the guy that's trying to kill her.

Alec Buchanan, who is brother to the hotties, Nick (JG's Heartbreaker) and Theo (JG's Mercy) Buchanan is a cop who is being recruited by the FBI, he finally takes the job as an FBI and his boss gets so pissed off at him that he tacks him with Bodyguard duty for the hotel heiress.

My favorite part of reading these books is watching the journey the couple go through while they fall a little bit in love with each other...bit by bit. The whole story that revolves around them forming feelings for each other, to me is just about the greatest thing. The romance in these books is just about one of the greatest things I can think of. It's why I read romance novels, to read about the journey to the happy ending.

Julie Garwood does a great job of setting up Alec and Regan's story, the way she brought these two together and the way she tells their story really had me so engrossed in the book that I zipped right through it.

I enjoyed this book a whole lot. I enjoyed Alec's sloppy sexiness, I loved his flirty confidence where Regan was concerned, I loved their first meeting, with him stinking to high heaven and her laughing at him. I loved how protective he was where she was concerned and I loved loved loved...him. He was the bomb, seriously.

Regan was a great heroine too, I really enjoyed Laurent from Heartbreaker and Michelle as well, but my favorite couple so far, is Alec and Regan...their story and them two as a couple really fit and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entire b ook.

I loved how Regan, Sophie and Cordie met, how they became friends and stayed friends throughout each other's lives. It was really sweet.

Now, what I didn't like...I didn't like how we were left hanging about Aiden and Cordie, do they get together or not? Are we going to get their story soon or no? JG can't leave me hanging like this...seriously. Another thing I didn't like was not being able to meet Walker. After all the talk about him throughout the book, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to meet him at all. I hope that means that Walker will soon be getting his book, gosh I really hope so.

Aside from those two things, I really liked this book and totally recommend it. It's better than Killjoy and just as great as Heartbreaker and Mercy. The mystery surrounding the story kept me guessing throughout most of the book and the story fell neatly into place which I loved. The ending was great and Alec is a sexy hero...what more could you want?

Read it, you'll like it.

Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern

From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as as they're discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they're separated. Alex's family move from Dublin to America - and Alex goes with them. For good.

Rosie's lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland.

Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles - or new relationships.

And at the back of Rosie's mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything for true love?

After reading PS I Love You, I raced out and put my name down at the library for Cecilia Ahern's other books because I just *had* to read them. And today just happened to be my day..so I picked up Where Rainbows End, raced home and started to read it. Now let me tell you..by the third chapter I had probably laughed out loud at least sixteen times. No joke. I just couldn't help myself. The things that Rosie and Alex said when they were but 5 years old..oh it's priceless.

At first, I thought the first chapter of "letters" between Alex and Rosie was just the authors' way of introducing us to the characters and setting the scene..but after the first 5 chapters being the same as the first, I quickly flicked forward (without looking too closely and spoiling the story) and I realised that the entire book was made up of letters, emails, IM-ing, and various other communications like that to tell the story. I was a bit skeptical with this form of story telling and I wondered if any author could pull it off. But amazingly, even though the story was told in letter/email and whatever else format, I was still thoroughly engrossed by the story.

There was not one page in this book that I wasn't cheering on Alex and Rosie wishing and hoping they they'd finally sort through the obstacles and just be together. But I guess Cecilia must like to torture her readers, because I was in absolute agony the entire time..becoming giddy with excitement at the possibility that their HEA is on the rise, and then to have it come crashing down because life happened.

Seriously, I love the whole "The One That Got Away" and the "Best Friend is my soul mate" type plots..but towards the end of this one, I didn't know if my heart could take any more separation between Alex and Rosie. It was so obvious that they needed to be together. I understand that things happen that alter our course in life, but oh my gosh, did Rosie and Alex have so many life changing moments that affected their HEA! I just wanted to shout: Enough already! Haven't they been through enough to prove that they belong together?! I was so upset for them and their missed opportunity. No really, I felt like I was the one being deprived of my HEA.

Personally, I would have been far happier if Alex and Rosie finally sorted through everything a few years earlier than they did, because wow..their battle for love was such a long and hard one. I only wish that they spent of that time together, than trying to sort through their lives.

But even though I would have liked a HEA sooner, I still liked this one very much. I laughed out loud alot, especially in the earlier chapters and I became very teary eyed when I read some entries. You'll see what I mean when and if you read this one. I'd love to say I'd want everyone to read this one..but this one might not be everyone's cup of tea. There's alot of bad timing and life changing consequences from one error in judgement..so you've been warned. But if you can handle that, then I'd say..definitely pick this one up to read.

4/5

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Alex Stewart
Heroine: Rosie Dunne
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 400+
Grade: B++

Sometimes you've got to get things wrong a few times before you can get them right.

First off, I didn't think this was the same book that Grace reviewed a while back because it had a different title, but then I started reading the book and by page 7, I was laughing out loud and grinning from cheek to cheek, knowing this was the same book that she was talking about.

I swear, this story was one gigantic emotional rollercoaster for me. I loved it just as much as I hated it and I think I hated the book because it took them SO long to get things right. They just kept going round and round and I didn't know how much I could take anymore.

I totally picked this book up on accident, thinking I was just going to see what the story was like, just kind of browse through this book because I had already just started The Stranger In Her Bed by Janet Chapman.

But I forgot all about Ethan's book (I know the scandal, huh Grace and Jazz?) once I started reading this book. I was so engrossed in this book that my niece, Chloe who is not a reader begged me last night to hurry and finish the book so that she can read it for school. She needs an SSR book and thinks this book will be just perfect for her.

I loved seeing Alex and Rosie grow from young snot nosed kids with magicians at their parties to elementary school kids who hated double maths on Monday. I loved reading all about Rosie's 16th birthday and the trouble that Alex and Rosie got into. I loved everything about this book, except the big IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH crap that kept them from each other, for all those years.

This story, the best friends falling in love storyline is one of my all time favorites and the one that got away, well yeah Grace can tell you all about how much I just love this storylines (it's a storyline love that we both share) and this one fit those both to the tee.

It was great just as it was horrible that so many things got in between these two being together. Cecilia Ahern did a fantastic job of wrapping me up in Alex and Rosie's world, because I was rootin' them on since the beginning, after the book ended though, I felt emotionally drained and I called Grace crying because I was so happy and so worn out by the book, but by golly I did love the book and Alex...gosh I loved me some Alex, even when he was being such a dummy head...

Go read this book! Gosh I want to experience the "silence".

*sigh*

Every Boys Got One by Meg Cabot.

Hero: Cal Langdon
Heorine: Jane Harris
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 200+
Grade: B+

When cartoonist Jane Harris’s best friend Holly, New York Journal art director, announces that she’s eloping to Italy with longtime doctor boyfriend Mark, and asks Jane to come along as her witness, Jane jumps at the chance, delighted by the prospect of her first ever trip to Europe.

What Jane doesn’t gamble on is Mark’s witness, New York Journal foreign affairs correspondent Cal Langdon. It’s hate at first sight for Jane and Cal, and neither is too happy at the prospect of sharing a villa with one another for a week —not even in the beautiful and picturesque Le Marche countryside.

But when Holly and Mark’s wedding plans hit a major snag that only Jane and Cal can repair, the two find themselves having to put aside their mutual dislike for one another in order to get their best friends on the road to wedded bliss, and end up on a road themselves —one neither of them ever expected....

This was one of those, I hate you but I'm falling for you and I don't want to love you stories that I thought was just so cute. I finished it in one day and just enjoyed the heck out of it. It's a really quick read, with no really steamy love scenes because this story is told through emails, blackberry IMing's and PDA journal entries and travel diary entries.

It's fun, light and just extra cute.

I loved Cal, even when he was a psycho cell phone guy in the airport and a I do not believe in the institution of marriage jerk to Jane, Jane was funny, quirky and just cute all over. She reminded me of me, she remembers all sort of pop culture trivia, like only I would remember when Britney Spears filmed one of her commercials in Italy and talk of the oil problems in Saudi Arabia would bore me to death, much like it did for Jane, the cartoonist though that's where our similiarities stop because she loves cats and I hate them.

But the story moved at a great pace, the characters were fantastic (though it appears we've read about these characters in Meg Cabot's other books, The Boy Next Door and Boy Meets Girl)...Cal is one of John Trent's journalist friends and Jane Harris used to work with her best friend, Holly at the NY Journal with Amy Jenkins and Dolly Vargaz (remember them, Izzy? They're in this book) ...Cal is a pimp too and I love it!

Read this book when you're in the mood for something fun, cute and light, this is the book for you. I'm telling you, I heart Meg Cabot.

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

Object of Her Affection: Cooper Cartwright
Heroine: Heather Wells
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 200+
Grade: B+

Former pop star Heather Wells has settled nicely into her new life as assistant dorm director at New York College--a career that does not require her to drape her size 12 body in embarrassingly skimpy outfits. She can even cope (sort of) with her rocker ex-boyfriend's upcoming nuptials, which the press has dubbed The Celebrity Wedding of the Decade. But she's definitely having a hard time dealing with the situation in the dormitory kitchen--where a cheerleader has lost her head on the first day of the semester. (Actually, her head is accounted for--it's her torso that's AWOL.)

Surrounded by hysterical students--with her ex-con father on her doorstep and her ex-love bombarding her with unwanted phone calls--Heather welcomes the opportunity to play detective . . . again. If it gets her mind off her personal problems--and teams her up again with the gorgeous P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives--it's all good. But the murder trail is leading the average-sized amateur investigator into a shadowy world. And if she doesn't watch her step, Heather will soon be singing her swan song!

Okay seriously? I can't get enough of this series, I'm sucked into the world Meg Cabot has made up for Heather Wells and Cooper Cartwright, yeah they don't get together in the first book and it doesn't seem like they'll get together throuhgout this book but Meg is expertly dangling the hook of hope before me and I have no doubt that they WILL get together, cause though Cooper does not seem like he likes her in both of these books, we, the readers know different...we know that he's got it just as bad for Heather as she's got it for him, he's just very covert about it, instead of coming out and saying that he's got the hots for his brother's ex girlfriend, he does sweet things for her like, saves her from herself and the many enemies that she makes while trying unsuccessfully to stay out of the trouble Cooper told her to stay out of, she should be this TSTL heroine, but she's not...she's just so funny and so damn smart, it makes for great entertainment and reading.

In this book, Heather's dorm is being labeled, Death Dorm because of all the dying students from last semester and really, who could blame them? But, Heather loves her dorms (even if she refuses to call them dorms but to hell with all that, they're DORMS dammit!) and even though she'd like to stay out of everything, she can't help but ask questions and go to parties and unknowingly lead students who have crushes on her on all in the hopes of getting into the party she needs to get into to get to the people she needs to talk to in order to get the answers she needs to solve the crimes Cooper has told her to stay out of, but gosh...she's like Stephanie Plum for the college kids and I'm a fan! She may not be a size 6 hot shot klutz who is bangin' the hottie cop with the adorable dog and the sexily mysterious Bounty Hunter with which she works with from Jersey, but Heather Wells holds her own, she's a lively crackhead that totally cracks me up.

Her personality as seen through these books is very catchy and just fun.

And I just love it!

My favorite character of this book? Gavin McGoren. We saw him as the elevator hopping student from the last book, but he shows up again in this book and has a bigger part in it and I just love him to death, he's so effing cute and funny, good gosh he's funny...and I hope to see more of him!

So many things are happening in this book and the flow is fantastic, the writing superb and just everything is on point and I think you lovely ladies will enjoy it, so make sure you read it!

Good stuff.

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot.

The Object of Her Affection: Cooper Cartwright
Heroine: Heather Wells
Category: Chick Lit
Page Count: 345 pages
Grade: B+

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective!

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .

I.heart.Meg Cabot.

She's such a great writer, I haven't read a book by her that I didn't absolutely love and this book was no different. I enjoyed Heather Wells persistence is trying to find her groove after having been dealt the worst life hand ever handed out.

She's a pop sensation to all the tweeny girls out there but as soon as she turns 18, her life falls apart. Kind of like Britney now, hehe...Getting dropped by her label (who happens to be runned and owned by her fiance's father) Britney Spears Heather Wells comes home to find her boy band fiance', Justin Timberlake Jordan Cartwright getting tender attention from the other tweeny bopper girl singer, Christina Aguilera Tania Trace, but if that wasn't enough to depress anyone, Heather's mother runs off with all of her money and her manager or someone, leaving her flat broke and all alone since her dad is in jail.

Poor girl.

But she just keeps right on trucking along, she finds herself a job, the black sheep of Jordan's family and Jordan's older brother, Cooper, offers her the apartment in his brownstone, free of charge in return of her doing Admin work for him, because he's a hottie Private Investigator. Heather develops a big time crush on Cooper which changes to her being full blown in love with him because he's like her Knight in Shining Armor, the only problem with all that is that Cooper doesn't seem to see her like that, he treats her as a brother would a younger sister...much to Heather's chagrin.

So anyway, Heather finds a job as an Assistant Director at Fischer Hall at New York College. Girls are turning up dead and everyone seems to think that they're just freak accidents, everyone but Heather. So Heather takes it upon herself to investigate these deaths and see what turns up.

It was funny, exciting to see the mystery unfold before me in the book. I hecka enjoyed reading about Heather's world through her eyes and I just loved Heather Wells. She would totally fit in with me and Mulu (my best friend), she's the right amount of funny, ditzy and cute all mixed up to make a great character.

This book was a fun read and I totally recommend it to anyone who wants a good time of a read.

Great job, Meg Cabot!

And THANKS SO MUCH to Mailyn for buying this book for me, I hecka loved it!

Red Lily by Nora Roberts.

Hero: Harper Ashby
Heroine: Hayley Phillips
Category: Contemporary, Paranormal
Page Count: 287 pages
Grade: B+

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had - including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper - as much more than a friend...

If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again - and whether she's willing to risk it...

Holy goodness, I really enjoyed this book. But for the sake of I'm too lazy to really get into a long winded review on this book, I'm going to take a page out of Holly's book and just tell you, the good, the bad and the ugly about this here book...

The Good: The characters and the friendship. This book was filled to the brim with great characters and great friendships. The friendship between Roz, Stella and Hayley was fantabulous. I loved reading about how much they cared for each other, how they all had each other's back and how they were all quick to let eachother know when they were being dumbasses. The patience Roz and Stella showed with Hayley was what really made me like them because had I been in their places, me and Hayley would have been scrappin' all throughout this book because of her stupid attitude. Gosh she got on my nerves, but beyond her, I also loved the friendship between Harper and David. I loved how well they understood each other, I loved the bond between them and just the way they were with each other. Steady and strong, they both were and I just loved the friendship factor, Nora Roberts writes her best stuff when she's writing about strong friendships and family.

Another good is the overall story. I loved how the romance took a backseat in most of these books but was still there. I loved the bigger story being told, the mystery behind the ghost and I loved watching the crew getting closer and closer to finding out who she was and what happened to her and then righting the wrong. I thought the story about the ghost was most interesting and it definitely had me intrigued from the jump. Good stuff.

The Bad: All the plant talk. I guess it sort of fits in with what they're about, being gardeners and all but all the plant talk was wasted on me because I skimmed most of it not being a plant person myself but hot damn was there a lot of plant talking or what? I could have planted my own garden from the descriptions in this book, but like Mitch, I can't plant a Chia Pet...so I'll leave all the plant business to Roz and Harper.

The Ugly: Hayley. Can the girl get on my nerves or what? With all of her mood swings, her bitchiness and just her I've-got-through-this-on-my-own-and-don't-need-a-man-to=help-me attitude drove me absolutely bonkers! I'm still debating on whether she's a candidate for the TSTL heroine title. She just got on my hot damn nerves and throughout a whole lot of the book, I kept thinking, "Are you sure you love her, Harper?" Because seriously, the girl got on my hot damn nerves.

As a whole, I really enjoyed this book and this series. It was a little slow to pick up but when it did, it took off. Thanks for the pimp, Nicks and Holly, I enjoyed these books a great deal and this book in particular, this story closed out the series on a perfect note, everything was tied up in a neat and tidy bow and I was one happy camper!

Dude, so much for being lazy, it's still one long ass post! lol.

Black Rose by Nora Roberts...

Hero: Dr. Mitchell Carnegie
Heroine: Ms. Rosalind Harper
Category: Contemporary, Paranormal
Page Count: 291 pages
Grade: B-

Roz is a woman of independent means who thinks love is all in the past-but she's about to be taken by surprise.

Number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts presents the second novel of her In the Garden trilogy, as three women discover the secrets from the past contained within their historic home.

Book #2 was more enjoyable for me than Book #1 was. I'm sure it had to do with me liking Roz more than I liked Stella. She was an older woman who had lived a great life which was sometimes hard, sometimes good. It was great to finally meet people that were mentioned in the first book, like Harper's brothers and Roz's other sons, Mason and Austin. I enjoyed meeting and seeing them interact with their mother, it was a treat.

I loved reading about Mitch and his son and their little weekly date night. He's so cute. What I loved most about Mitch was how honest he was. That may have had to do with the fact that he's no longer unsure of what he wants and he's a lot more mature than most heroes, being almost 50 and all but I really, really liked Mitch. I loved how honest he was about his first marriage and taking his part of the blame in it and owning up to it. I loved how much he wanted to stick up for Roz but let her do it on her own because he knew it was what she wanted.

I loved how he understood Roz and still loved her anyway. She was a complicated woman, a hardheaded woman at times (which sometimes drove me up the wall) but I loved how he stuck by her because she was the one for him. What I loved most about him is that he didn't back down from Harper when Harper went over to his house, itching for a fight. I loved how even though he was pissed at Harper, he let him rant and rave at him and then let him sit and finish watching the game with him.

I loved when he said this line:

"I'll hold your coat, then you can hold mine."

I thought that was the most perfect thing to say to Roz's son after finding out the latest catastrophe that happened. It was so cute and made me fall in love with Mitch for Roz. I got all gooey inside for Mitch after reading that line.

It was fantastic!

Roz was a very strong, capable and admirable heroine. Being that she was older than your average heroine, I guess that was the only way to go but I really liked Roz. She was smart, funny and just great. It did grate on my nerves a bit that she just wouldn't lean on Mitch and her family the way they wanted her to, the way she just HAD to do and handle everything herself. But what I liked about her is that she didn't run away from calling herself an idiot after all was said and done.

The storyline was great, the flow of the book was a bit slow on the pick up but for the most part, this book was a great read. I'm glad I read it and I think most anyone would enjoy this book, if you and finish Blue Dahlia, then I know you'll like this book a whole lot better.

Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Hero: Ravyn Kontis
Heroine: Susan Michaels
Grade: B-

Susan Michaels was once the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until a major scandal ruined her life and left her writing stories about alien babies and Elvis sightings. Life as she once knew it is over, or so she thinks until she gets a lead on the biggest story in town: The Seattle Slayer. She heads to the local animal shelter, expecting a tip on the latest rash of killings. Instead, she gets a story about the mayor feeding citizens to a ring of vampires... yeah. Just another day in her life.

Then she gets talked into adopting a cat she's allergic to. Her first thought is to neuter the cat. But when he turns out to be a gorgeous shapeshifting man who claims to be an immortal vampire slayer she thinks: not so fast. Next thought: seek professional help.

Susan doesn't know what to believe, but as she's drawn into a paranormal world, she comes to realize that the story that could bring her credibility is too unbelievable to expose. Now it's no longer a question of bringing the truth to her readers, it's a matter of saving lives and souls, and her only ally is a man she's allergic to. In the world of the Dark-Hunters, it's always dangerous. But never more so than when one very human woman can shatter their entire world with just one story. The only question is... will she? Dark Side of the Moon is full of Sherrilyn Kenyon's trademark sexy humor and breathtaking imagination.

Dylan Says:

Whoa.

I inhaled this book like there was no tomorrow, like my life depended on finishing this book before I could ever go on and live a normal life again. I really enjoyed it too. It was a fun roller coaster, meeting new Dark Hunters, seeing old Villains who just won't stop, seeing more of the people we wanted to see more of in the previous books, men who are still oh so mysterious and has me curiouser and curiouser to find out more about them. Lots of shocking news, a bunch of OMGOSH cliff hangers, the book had it all.

I was literally gripped throughout the entire book. But, that might be because I LOVE the whole Katagaria and Arcadian side of these books. It was really crazy, I mean one adventure after another and boy was Susan Michaels one kick ass heroine. She didn't really get on my nerves which is the norm for me and heroines. I either don't care for them, forget about them later or think they flat out rock!

And Susan Michaels flat out rocked! She was a good strong heroine, one who didn't back down from a fight, one who stood by the man she loved and fought (I mean literally battled it out by his side, think Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to the death with him. She didn't take crap from no one, she let people get to her but was done with all that so she got strong and she didn't back down from no where and she was one funny cat too...had a quirky sense of humor that cracked me the hell up.

Now as for Ravyn, I really liked how SK portrayed him. Quiet and lethal. That was Ravyn. Trust no one, that's how he saw things and yet Susan fought her way into his heart and I loved how he didn't shy away from his feelings for her, how he didn't push her away like all of them do, he knew what she was capable of and instead of being all alpha male on her, he embraced her capabilities. He held her hand while they went and fought the good fight, but you didn't get the I'm a sissy vibe from him, he didn't NEED Susan to fight with him but he did like having her by his side, someone that he trusted with all that he was, since he wasn't the trusting kind. I thought it was more endearing than anything, it was cute.

We get lots of Ash in this book and I have developed a soft spot for him, I mean I really liked him in the other books, but he wasn't this ULTIMATE hero for me, he was more or less my Adam Black of the DH's. I liked him well enough but not nearly as much as I liked the other, lesser DH's. But in this book, I really softened toward him, I really felt for him. He's so alone, Ash is...never letting anyone in, I wish he trusted someone, anyone enough to confide in, because everyone needs a friend to talk to, he lost the best friend he ever had to his hasty comments, words that he didn't even mean.

Nick is back and as much as I love this man, I can't wait to see what SK has in store for Nick's character because he is really pissed off at Ash, a lot of it is unjust but he's really emotional right now and everyone grieves in their own way, I guess Nick's way of grieving is to lash out at the person he thinks is responsible for it all, at Ash. *sadly shakes my head* Nick, Nick, Nick...you retarded guy, stop being so pissed off and wake up and see what's really going on. Ash isn't the enemy, you dolt!

Savitar. I love this guy and can't wait to read more about him. He seriously cracked me the hell up in this book.

We meet a lot of new Dark Hunters, Cael, Dragon, Amazon, Zoe, etc...I like them all, nice addition to the Dark Hunter family. I look forward to getting to know them better.

Now, don't' get me wrong this book was good, really good but there was a great deal of things that bothered me. Like Susan gets dicked in the beginning, someone set her up and her career ends because of that something that happened, we never find out who set her up, it was as if she was suddenly over it and was forgotten, in true SK form, Ravyn should have found out who did it and righted that wrong, just like Vane did in NP for Bride and Kyrian did for Amanda in NP, they all got their ladies back and Ravyn was cheated out of coming to Susan's rescue. So that's what sucked about it. Oh wait and then there's the assumptions about what Ash does when he's doesn't take their calls, it seriously makes me mad when they all assume Ash is lazing around letting them get beat up, like he didn't care....if they only knew what the hell Ash goes through on their behalf, it would shut them up but good. Gosh, I can't wait to see how they react when they find out.

So, this book has it's ups and it had it's downs, BUT the downs didn't ruin the book for me, not at all...I would totally recommend this book, it was great fun to read and I totally enjoyed this book. Give it a shot, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

But I must say this, Izzy and Grace I know you guys will enjoy it. Holly, I know you might not. So, I don't know if I would recommend for you to read it, I know you'll be pissed.

Isabel Says

This book was ok. It was great, but it was still good. My favorite is still Night Play.

Nick just totally pissed me off with his "I hate Ash, I hate everyone attitude." What happened to the Nick I used to love. And Nick *bitch slap* What the HELL are you thinking?

Did I miss something about Kyrian and Amanda dying in New Orleans? Cause I don't remember that at all.

Cael and his wife? ( I don't know how to spell it.) Oh shit. This shall be interesting.

Ash. What are you? I had a feeling you were a god. Is Nick right? Hmmm.

I liked Susan. I thought she was sarcastic, funny and kick ass. Ravyn, my heart broke for him. Damn his family. They were just jerks. Except for Dorian. He seemed to have compassion. But I cheered when Susan gave them a piece of her mind.

Again, it was all right.

Grade: C=/B-

Holly Says:

I wasn't even going to read this book, because I just flat out refused to buy it in hardcover, but a good friend sent it to me and I couldn't resist. After reading what Dylan and Izzy had to say about it and forcing my friend (the one who sent me the book) to tell me all the spoilers, I was curious.

It's funny, because in all the different threads I've looked at where this book is being discussed, hardly anyone talks about Ravyn and Susan. Mostly the discussions surround Ash and Nick and Savatar and Stryker and whatever. Just from peeping out those threads, I thought the book would be more focused on Ash and Nick than on Susan and Ravyn and I was prepared to be irritated by that. To my surprise, that's wasn't the case at all. We don't really even see any of Ash or Nick until halfway through the book. I was glad of it, too. I think a lot of times we, as SK readers, forget to focus on the main characters and instead get caught up in speculating about everyone else and what will happen in future books.

Anyway, on to my thoughts for the book:

Sarah over at Life Romantisized said that she couldn't get into the story and put it down after reading about 20 pages. I can see now why she felt that way. The beginning of the story seemed to move really slowly for me. I read extremely fast and it still took me two days to finish this. It finally picked up around the middle of the story, but it didn't grip me like some of her earlier novels did.

Susan: In the beginning, she really irritated the crap out of me. I was sure she was going to end up as one of those idiot heroines with Penis Envy that I hate, but she managed to redeem herself. I think it was her constant, "I do what I want, not what other people tell me to do", that bugged me in the beginning. There comes a point - oh, like say when you're being chased by really scary guys with guns who are shooting at you - when it's better to err on the side of caution and listen to the big, badass man who just saved your life, right? Luckily, by the middle of the book, she'd settled down.

One of the many things that bothered me in this one was the time frame. Susan seemed to be fairly planted in reality. She didn't suspect that there were "other" people/things in the world and she was extremely skeptical. But in the space of one day, she softens towards a man who can turn into a cat, accepted that there were evil vampires in the world, agreed that the Greek myths she'd learned in grade school were actually truth and then had sex with a complete stranger (ok, maybe that didn't happen in the first day, but you get what I mean). At least in previous books SK gave the heroines time to adjust to having their world turned upside down. I just think that was wayyyy too convenient. I did like that Susan was able to take care of herself in most situations, though, and I did enjoy her quick wit and sarcastic humor. Reminded me of...me.

Ravyn: Meh. I wasn't all that into him. In the beginning, he seemed the dark, tough, tortured, brooding type that I've enjoyed in previous books by SK, but after awhile he just seemed like a big ol' pussy cat (pun intended). Anne over at Let's Gab had a post up recently in which she stated that Ravyn didn't seem Alpha enough for her. I totally agree. She quoted a specific line from the book that showcased his Betaness and when I read it for myself I nearly gagged. What kind of self-respecting Alpha-Male says, "Ooo, a Starbucks girl after my own heart." Real men don't say "Ooo", do they? Overall, I wasn't that impressed with him.

Ok, now for my opinions on other things, some speculations and some confirmations:

Nick: Meh. Whatever. He didn't irritate me near as much as I thought he would. I was basically just rolling my eyes at him. Though I was surprised to hear that no one else remembered what happened in NO when his mother was killed. But him blaming Ash for everything, including the hurricane? Way over the top. He acted like the spoiled child he's always been and I just couldn't work up enough enthusiasm to even get irritated by him.

Ash: I've always like Ash. Right from the very beginning I was intrigued by him and couldn't wait to read his books. But to be honest, I'm starting to get really, really tired of seeing him act the ManWhore with Artie. Yes, I realize he's tortured and blah, blah, blah. But I am so sick and tired of seeing him sacrifice himself all the damn time it's disgusting me. I ended up just skimming over the parts with him and Artie together in this book. I was disappointed, too, that we didn't see more of Simi. I love her. heheh

Savatar: Love him. I liked him in Unleash and my opinion hasn't changed. I'm curious about how things will play out. And his line to Nick? Loved it.

Satara: I think she's going to be Ash's heroine. Which will be just perfect since she was instrumental in ruining Nick...can't wait to see how it plays out.

Overall, the book was ok. Not good. Not great. Not horrible. Just ok. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. Would I recommend it? Probably, just because it's part of the series and I have a hard time stopping in the middle of one, but that's just me.

2.75 out of 5

Jazz says:

Okay now I'm gonna be very honest here. I was not impressed with this book. I started it off really excited, I've been waiting forever for this book. Well actually let me correct that, I've been waiting for another SK to come out, I was not so pleased when I found out it was going to be another "animal" one. I am more into Dark-Hunters that were human and DON'T change into animals. Like this part grossed me out, actually at first it was hot then it was like ewwww why'd it have to get ruined like that! Okay here it is:

Susan's eyes widened as she realized that he was already growing hard again. Pulling back, she looked down to see that she wasn't imagining it.
Shocked, she met his evil grin.
"Welcome to the world of the Were-Hunters, baby. We're not like human men."
"No kidding. . . ." Before she could move, he sat up with her in his arms.

Hot right? Well here's were it got ruined for me.

"Now let me show you how a cat makes love to a woman."

Okay now granted he wasn't meaning 'me cat you woman let's get freaky'. lol, they both stayed in human form to do the deed, but still just him even jokingly saying that grosses me out.

But anyway ...... So I'm reading and so far so good even if Susan was a bit annoying. Then I continue on and it's good, the plot seems to be thickening and I'm getting into it. Then I don't know I kinda just lost interest. I was a little disappointed in Ravyne he wasn't a big-strong-macho-Dark-Hunter type like the others, he was kinda a softy. I mean in the beginning I was all kinds of hot for him he had the badass thing down, but only for the first 5 or so chapters. He really didn't fight much in the book, he was mostly in hiding, so that could have had a lot to do with it. This is a part that was in the beginning of the book that I really liked and if Ravyn kept like this the book would have been better:

He threw his hands out and some kind of invisible wave went through the room, knocking the two men off their feet. His eyes matched the red blood that still dripped from his chin as black clothing appeared on his body.
"You don't knock on the devil's door, boys, unless you want him to answer," he said, his voice deep and evil. He wiped the blood from his chin.
"Th-they said you wouldn't attack us," one of the thugs said in a frightened tone.
"They lied."

Nick came back in this book, at first I was like okay he can be angry and bitter. With what he went through who wouldn't? Right? Well yeah, that was all good and fine. Till he did the stupidest thing at the very end. I don't see how this is going to work out in the series to come. But we'll see.

Ash kinda annoyed me in this book, he seemed more and more the male god whore to me. I know, I know something happened like forever ago to make him basically enslaved to Artie but I'm sorry it just really made my skin crawl this time around. And I know a lot of you will say it is so wrong that everyone gets annoyed with Ash and thinks he's lazy but what are they supposed to think? That's what they are all lead to believe and he doesnt correct them.

I think what this book was really lacking was emotion. I didn't feel that connected with the characters. I mean with Ravyne I felt sorry for him and it was sad everything he went through in his life but my heart didn't break. In SK's earlier books I seriously would cry, this one just didn't touch me the same way. I think I felt more connected to Cael then Ravyne. Speaking of that was a big loose end left hanging, I really hope to see more of him.

And let me tell you loose ends is one thing this book had plenty of. We were left hanging with Nick, Cael, Ash......

I mean even Ravyne with his family. For a minute there you think your going to get some closure there, and then ... nothing. Like nothing happened at all.

And the romance between Ravyne and Susan? Well it just seemed kinda like a joke most of the time. I mean you definitely knew they loved each other but it was so flippant and I don 't know, I think that the sarcasm to define the two of them was fine, it was part of who they were. But I just wish we saw more of them beyond that.

I also really hope her next books are in paperback, cause the hardback was not worth the money this time.

One last thought....Zoe. Is she a lesbian? Do you think she'll get a book? And would you read it if it was about her and another woman? Just wondering. And just so you know, I would probably read it. I really like Zoe. She seems so kick ass.

Grade- C

Daphne's Review:

I feel like the last person on the planet to have read this, mainly because I refused to buy the hardback. Now that I've read it, I'm relieved that I didn't go through with buying the hardback. One thing I will say for this book, I could not put it down, and I pretty much spent all afternoon reading it. Now here are my thoughts on several aspects of the story:

Ravyn and Susan: Meh, I didn't really go nuts over this hero. I'm kinda over the whole DH hero thing, and I really like the arcadian/katagaria stories more than the DHs, but Ravyn just didn't do anything for me. I remember more of his lines as a cat when he sent mind messages to Susan, than I do his lines as a human. Susan - at first I liked the fact that she wasn't completely helpless and she was pretty strong/brave, but it got to the point where it seemed unrealistic. Unlike Tabitha from the previous books, Susan knew NOTHING about the DH world. So I can understand Tabitha fighting off the Daimons, but Susan? I don't think so! I don't care if she was trained by Dragon in martial arts/combat, it's not like she does that for a living. She's a news reporter! Since when do news reporters just start kicking butt when vampires start attacking them? She made such a big deal in the beginning of the story about how vampires could never exist, and then she's okay with it all of a sudden and not a bit scared?

I also had issues with the fact that Ravyn and Susan barely knew each other, and then out of nowhere they have sex in the basement. Hello! You guys barely even exchanged words. And the whole allergic to cats thing was unnecessary, oh please. Can we not start sneezing and then just go down on Ravyn? There were too many questions left unanswered or just "resolved" in a hurry. What happened in Susan's past that made her lose her job and make her cut her wrists was never resolved. I stll don't fully understand it, and at this point I really don't care. Also, I didn't like Ravyn's family storyline. It seemed like it was just thrown in there to make me feel sorry for Ravyn, but I've already seen enough family drama in the previous stories (i.e. Zarek/Valerius, etc)

Ash and Artie: Seriously. I'm getting annoyed with these two. More so with Ash than Artie. Don't get me wrong, I love Ash like most gals out there, but come on! Enough already! I'm so sick of him being Artie's whore, and yes I know he's sick of it too, but geez louise, it's making me feel like he's a wuss. That whole scene with him having to give Artie six orgasms in an hour? Oh come on! I literally laughed out loud at how ridiculous that was. *sigh* I don't know how much longer she's gonna keep writing Ash in this way, but it needs to stop. I get it, I understand his relationship with Artie, but please don't write anymore scenes like that one. It just frustrates me. And I'm also frustrated that all the DHs get pissed when Ash doesn't show up the instant they need him. Most of those DHs have been that way for hundreds of years, and then you need Ash for 5 minutes and get pissed off when he doesn't show up.

Ash and Nick: I was surprised with the ending in the last book, Unlease the Night, and I'm curious to see where this goes, but I'm already annoyed with this storyline. I love how Nick swears he knows Ash better than anyone else, yet he still doesn't realize that Ash isn't completely responsible for what happened to him. And why are we blaming Ash for the Hurricane Katrina incident? That has nothing to do with you shooting your brains out or your mother's death. Arrrrghhh!

Overall I'd say this was a great book for discussion purposes. But I wasn't that impressed with it and I don't see myself rereading it other than for informational purposes. I'm giving this one a C.