I recently read Captivate by Carrie Jones.  This is the sequel to Need.  We see familiar characters and learn about new fairies as well as Valkyries.  There are new faerie kings that are invading, her faerie father ends up dying, and the main character makes a drastic choice at the end.  The story is engaging with some unexpected twists and, much to my frustration, has a bit of a cliffhanger ending.  Overall, we see some character development as well as new plot points.  I would suggest reading Need before your read Captivate.

I am currently reading The Mortal Instruments Trilogy. The City of Bones, the City of Ashes, and the City of Glass by Cassandra Claire.  I’ve finished the first two and am about halfway through the third.

Page one hooked me, maybe it was page two, but I’m pretty sure it was page one.  That’s always a promising start to any book.  What’s interesting is that I’ve been reading a lot of books and even watched a t.v. series featuring the concept of Nephilim.  In everything else that I’ve read they are generally presented in a negative to evil manner.  So it was refreshing to see someone take a different approach.

In these books, the Nephilim, aka shadowhunters hunt demons and/or other paranormal creatures depending on if they are “law abiding” or not and part of the agreement between, underworlders and the Nephilim.  Interesting enough, the primary villain is another Nephilim.  A rogue who is using demons to do his bidding and trying to destroy the current nephilim order of things.

Our main character doesn’t know she’s a shadow hunter and therefore has not been properly trained, but she suddenly starts seeing demons and other nephilim, which is how she gets sucked into their world.  The books are packed full of action, magic, runes, plot twists, and yes some romance.  These are very good young adult books that are entertaining and engaging.  I don’t want to give too much away of the plot but suffice it to say, you will not be bored.

To learn more about the books, go to:

http://www.mortalinstruments.com/

To learn more about the author, go to:

http://www.cassandraclare.com/

Well, I finally did get this book from the library (there was a waiting list) and promptly devoured it.  This is on my “to buy” list.

Before you read The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett, be sure and read its prequel, The Warded Man.  Essentially The Desert Spear picks up where The Warded Man leaves off.  However, it quickly backtracks, which confused me at first but then I realized that we were flipping back and forth, time wise, and then it all made sense.

In The Warded Man, we see Arlen and company grow up.  We learn who they are and what makes them tick.

In the Desert Spear, we see Ahmann Jardir grow up and come to power.  Now, in my mind he is a “villian” from the first book, but as we learn more about him in this book he becomes more sympathetic.  The first third or so of the book concentrates on Jardir and Abban and the ways of Krasia.

It’s around page 190/200 are that we return to Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer.  It’s about this point that the time line of the story stays linear and quits jumping into the past.

Eventually, Jardir meets Leesha and Rojer but has not seen the “warded man” yet.  He doesn’t know or think that it’s Arlen, since he thinks Arlen is dead.

One plot point I hated/liked all at the same time involved Ranna, Arlen’s former betrothed.  I don’t want to spoil it so that’s all I’m going to say.

This book is a lot darker that the first one and I wouldn’t let a very young audience read it.  I felt that it was more of an adult than young adult book.

I”ve read other reviews that state they didn’t like the beginning of the Warded Man and/or they didn’t like the POV change in The Desert Spear.  Well, the beginning of the Warded Man is a bit slow.  Something my husband commented on (which shocked me consider his usual authors), but it does pick up if you stick with it, and quickly becomes very engrossing.  Granted, I read very quickly and prefer really thick books so that probably influences my definition of “quickly.” However,  I do feel the set up is necessary to really understand the culture and world that the characters are living in.

As for The Desert Spear, I was thrown at first to not start with Arlen, but as you recall the last pages from The Warded Man, then the beginning of the Desert Spear makes sense.  Also again, having that understanding of culture that the characters are functioning in, is generally vital to a story.  Essentially there are two vastly different cultures in the same world, not so unlike our actual world that is filled with a variety of people and beliefs.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and think it’s a good sequel.  I really wanted to be able to pick up the next one after reading the last page, but cliffhangers are good in the business of writing even though they frustrate readers.

To learn more about the books and the author go to his website:

http://www.petervbrett.com/

So, I happily discovered a new book series I am ravenously devouring.  This would be the demon hunting soccer mom series by Julie Kenner.  The first two books, which I’ve read, are Carpe Demon & California Demon.  I really enjoyed both of them and have the remaining three waiting to be picked up at the library.  The only thing that really annoyed me in the first book is the overuse of specific brand names.  I don’t care if you are debating between kashi or cocoa puffs cereal.  The first few chapters were littered with brands, but the use of brand names quickly lessened and the plot became more apparent. The characters do develop and the plot thickens so to speak with book two and the use of brands is significantly less in book two.

The pitch line for these books that I read on my library’s website was, what if Buffy the Vampire Slayer got married and had kids. Well, being an avid Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan for the show’s running, that had me intrigued.  It was an incredibly good pitch line I must say.

I really liked that this was a supernatural series, featuring a demon hunter who is also juggling a family.  I like that there’s no hackneyed heroine/hero love story.  Instead it deals with the very real challenges of making a marriage strong around the chaos of kids and work and random obligations.  Kate’s obligations happen to deal with saving the world.

Overall, a good read.  I’m looking forward to see the characters develop, learn more about the character David Long, and find out if Kate will tell her daughter (though after book tow I don’t think she has much of a choice) and eventually her husband.  Plus her husband Stuart is campaigning for county attorney.  Oh and you can’t forget the best friend and psudeo grandfather.  There’s a lot going on and the author does a good job of juggling it.

To learn more about the author, check out her website.

http://www.juliekenner.com/

This is the story of a group of teenage girls whose job is to round of supernatural nasties at the direction of their coven, oh and the girls are witches.  The Revealers by Amanda Marrone has a unique plot with some intriguing twists.  The main characters are betrayed by their coven, which includes their own mothers.  They ban together to overcome what appears to be an inescapable fate, overcoming personal obstacles along the way.  It’s definitely worth picking up and I enjoyed it, cover to cover.  One of the things I enjoyed most is that it’s a solid one story novel, with a complete ending.  It was a nice change from reading series with cliffhangers, which I’ve been doing a lot of.

To learn more about the author, check out her website:

http://www.amandamarrone.com/

Awhile ago, I did a review of the first book in The Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan.  Since then I’ve read up through book 10.  I’m waiting on the remaining 5 books, which I’ve requested from the library.  Needless to say I’ve enjoyed the books. They each have an element of mystery, betrayal, and romance that most readers would like.  Books 1-9 are told from Morgan’s point of view while book 10 is told from Hunter’s point of view.  I was happy to see that while it is a struggle at times Morgan and her parents come to an understanding, after definite turmoil and surprises.  The series develops well and each books leaves you wanting the next one.  If you like supernatural books, especially those that revolve around witches, then give the series a read.  This is a series aimed at young adults.

The Books:

I just finished reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  The writing is excellent, the plot provoking, the characters entertaining, and some of the best books that I’ve read.  It has the same draw for me that Harry Potter did.  I rarely go out and buy and entire series of books after reading the first one. I’ve only done it about four times in my entire life.  After reading the first page of the first book I knew that this was going to be one of the series that I bought and I did.  One of the best things about this series is the humor that is woven throughout it and the character development.

Obviously I recommend reading the series before watching the movie.

The Movie:

I have to say if I were the writer I’d be very upset with the way the Lightening Thief Movie turned out.  Yes, the casting is good, especially the boy who plays Percy, but the plot barely matches the book.  Yes the point is to return the master bolt to Zeus, but the movie leaves many, many of the details out and fabricates it’s own plot–seemingly playing in the world that the author created versus following the story that he wrote.  Vital things like Percy being claimed by Poseidon, hearing the Oracle’s Prophecy, being given a quest, and even the places they went were left out or frankly screwed up in the movie.  They also left out key characters such as Clarisse and Dionysus.

The movie made it clear that Hades wanted to start a war, even to the point of him showing himself at Camp Half-Blood.  This is not what happens in the book at all.  Hades thinks that Percy may have also stolen the Helm of Darkness–a plot point completely left out of the movie.  Persophone, I don’t believe appears in the first book and definitely doesn’t knock Hades out. Grover does not stay behind in the underworld. There are a multitude of other things that irritated me about the movie.

Needless to say I was deeply disappointed in the movie.  Read the books, they are so much better and you’ll be getting the full experience.

To find out more about the series and author, visit his website at:

http://www.rickriordan.com/

Just a quick, FYI for those that are interested.  Awhile back I did a review of Peter V Brett’s The Warded Man.  I loved the book and haven’t read one that well done in quite awhile.  The sequel is going to be published soon!  The Desert Spear is set to be released in the US and Canada on April 13, 2010.  So be sure to pre-order your copy.  To learn more, check out the author’s website (it’s really cool so check it out anyway).

http://www.petervbrett.com/news/

Ok, I have to admit that I saw the first season of True Blood before I picked up the Sookie Stackhouse novels, popularly known as The Southern Vampire Series and written by Charlaine Harris.  After watching the first season I ran out and bought the first book.  Then I checked out the second from the library.  I have to admit the first two books didn’t hook me.  Maybe, it was because of the tv series which is quite a bit different than the books.  Then…I read book three.  Book three is where the series swallowed me.

I requested the rest of the series from the library and read nothing but Sookie Stackhouse books until I’d finished the series.  Now I anxiously await the next book.

I admit at first I thought the t.v. series was better than the books but after reading book three and the rest of the series I have whole heatedly changed my mind.  I love the books and we will see if HBO can do them justice in the upcoming seasons of True Blood.

I love the vast array of characters that Ms. Harris introduces throughout the books as well as the many plot twists and conflicts that poor Sookie has to deal with.  I also love watching the characters develop.  Sookie becomes a much stronger person throughout the books, though she remains slightly fickle with her love life.  Eric is one of my all time favorite characters and who I am personally routing for as Sookie’s boyfriend.  Yes, you read correctly–I am not a Bill fan.  I think it’s hard to be a Bill fan if you read the series.  All in all, I can’t wait for the next book.

As for the True Blood series, I have enjoyed the first two seasons and will be watching the third.  However, if you are reading the books and watching the series you basically have to let them be two separate entities in your mind.  The t.v. series makes a lot of changes and doesn’t stick with books closely.  It is loosely based on the book plots and takes a lot of liberty with the characters.  For example, poor Lafayette does not live quite so long in the books, but he is one of my favorite characters in the t.v. series.

Anyway, I recommend you read the books for the full experience of plot and character development, but I’d also recommend watching the series–but be forewarned, HBO LOVES to cliff hang every episode.

To learn more about the author, check out her website:

http://www.charlaineharris.com/

A friend of mine recommended that I give this series a shot and I’m glad that I listened to them.  The Blue Bloods’ plot is intriguing, especially the author’s use of colonial history and her unique take on “silver bloods.”  This is not your average vampire book even though it does have the typical share of teenage angst found in pretty much all young adult books.

If you are looking for something different, give this series a try.  I will be getting the next book to find out just where the plot is going to lead.

To find out more, visit the author’s website:

http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/index.php/books/title/blue_bloods/