I might return to this one.
Over all, I was unimpressed upon my first initial glance through. But perhaps I'll return to it.
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Did not finish. I grew bored with her work.
I've been increasingly dissatisfied with quite a number of vampire books. Especially if there's a female vampire that's the main character.
Somehow, despite the fact that the main character (female) is a vampire, she still has to be rescued by the macho manly vampire.
It's not cool anymore.
Let's talk a bit about vampires.
They're walking corpses, true, but the mythology and legends around them don't necessarily deviate: eternally young, don't love silver, don't sparkle (especially don't sparkle), strong as all get-out, possible sun affliction (the mythology isn't clear on that-- some sources will say they boil and melt, some say that they aren't affected whatsoever). Possibly could be staked or beheaded as a way of killing them, but good luck getting close enough.
That being said, I still don't understand the author's that don't realize the mythology for what it is: male or female vampire makes no difference.
In the end, they can still rip out your throat without a normal person being able to do anything about it.
That being said, let's talk about Bloodshot, by Cherie Priest.
What I enjoyed most about this author and her work with vampires is that the lead character is a female vampire and she kicks total ass.
Cheshire Red is a thief. A damn good one.
In her other role as Raylene Pendle, she's a detective.
Blind vampire Ian Stott contacts Raylene-- he wants her to retrieve some documents from a secure lab about a time when he was captive by a very classified government group and experimented on; he believes the surgeon he's in contact with can find a way to restore his sight with the help of the information.
The problem with retrieving the information is that it won't help Ian.
On the contrary, it puts a big target mark on Ian and Raylene.
Well, killing the bad guys is a dirty job, but hey, more blood for the vampire, right?
What Raylene uncovers is a cruel and sadistic group of people that were interested in the supernatural side of things. And though the experiment was shut down, those that were involved wanted to resume things immediately.
This book was a refreshing read. There was no doubt that Raylene is a vampire and isn't afraid of anyone really knowing because they're not going to walk away, you know.
Demon Diary, Vol. 01 - Kara,Lee Chi-Hyong Demon Diary, Book 2 - Kara Lim,Lee Yun Hee Demon Diary, Book 3 - Kara Lim,Lee Yun Hee Demon Diary Volume 4 (v. 4) - Kara Lim,Lee Yun Hee Demon Diary, Book 5 - Lee Yun Hee,Kara Lim Demon Diary Vol. 6 - Kara Lim,Lee Yun Hee Demon Diary, Vol. 07 - Kara,Lee Yun-Hee
So, I've gone beyond my word quota for today for NaNoWriMo. So I decided to go back and revist Demon Diary, a seven volume manwha that I read back when I was attending the University of Central Florida. I did so especially because one of my character for NaNo is based off a character from Demon Diary.
I've read this series many, many times and up until now, I didn't especially understand it. But after immersing myself in Doctor Who, I finally do understand this series. I'd always been a sci-fi girl (after all, I grew up on Star Trek TNG, Voyager, and DS9-- not to mention Star Wars) but see, those never real went into temporal shifts and splits-- except for Voyager for one episode.
But Doctor Who, more so its Classic Series, really, really delves into time/temporal matters. So I can thank BBC for finally understanding this series. I've always liked this story: the story of a demon lord who died before his time and the lost waif that takes his place, only to find out that he's splintered personality-wise. And that's only half the story.
To be honest, this is one of my favorite manwhas. It's technically not a manga because it's not Japanese. And I'd read again and again just because I like it so much.
So if you're looking for a walk on the wild-side and want to try something completely out of your realm, give Demon Diary a try!
So it didn't take me long to finish this book. After reading Archangel's Legion, I was happy to see that there was another book coming out pretty soon and it would be Janvier and Ashwinni's story, a couple that I think most fans were curious about seeing as Ashwinni's haunted Janvier a total of three (maybe four) times and each time she finds him, he makes nice with the angel he's pissed off.
See I read Angel's Pawn, the precursor to Archangel's Shadows. And there we get a glimpse of Janvier and Ashwinni-- well, more Ashwinni than Janvier. But we glimpse Arvi Taj, Ashwinni's older brother who seems like he's a real bastard.
To tell the truth, I was a bit disappointed with this book, Archangel's Shadows. It felt incomplete, and I read it thinking that Arvi Taj, brilliant surgeon was as much of a bastard as Yoshio Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club. *shrugs*
The sex was mediocre; the action the same. This book just felt like it was a bunch of notes cobbled together as opposed to being a book.
In short, I was a bit disappointed with this latest installment although I was rooting for Ashwinni to join the ranks of Tower/Guild workers.
Well, I think I've mentioned that I really, really like Nalini Singh.
So Rock Addiction is one of her newest books. Hey, something has to keep me entertained until Archangel's Shadows comes out.
This book... didn't disappoint but then, I'm not going to give it a standing ovation.
It was a pure fluff romance between two emotionally scarred individuals, one a rock star and one a librarian who's trying to forget her family and the past it has.
That's the storyline in its most simplistic terms.
While Rock Addiction was good, it wasn't her Psy-Changling series or her Guild Hunter's Series, either.
What I absolutely love about Singh's writing is how... human her human characters are and how alien her non-human characters are.
Singh probably could have built the world of Schoolboy Choir a bit better, but over all, I liked this book.
1. Which book, most recently did you not finish?
DON'T get me started on how absolutely stupid this book was. Actually, just search through my entries and you'll come to a post about it.
2. Which book is your guilty pleasure?
I just adore this series! But this one was really, really good.
3. Which book do you love to hate?
How about a series, instead? Have you ever heard any of the music from Wicked? There's this one piece called, What Is This Feeling? It's a duet between Elphaba and Galinda-- whom respectively become The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch. That's what this series is for me, total loathing. And complete and utter mockery of all things vampire.
4. Which book would you throw into the sea?
If not the one above then this one:
I hated them both equally. One because it just sucked period and the other because apparently having an MFA in Literature means the author doesn't know how to do research. Both failed so bad.
5. Which book have you read the most?
I don't know why, but I've read this one so many times and I still love it.
6. Which book would you hate to receive as a present?
I've heard one good thing about this from another associate at work...and she only read it because she wanted to read it before seeing the movie. I've read really, really poor reviews about this book. So no thanks.
7. Which book could you not live without?
Ohh... tough question. Probably
Out of all the Rizolli and Isles books I've read, this one is my favorite. In fact, I rushed through the others to get to this one and it didn't disappoint.
8. Which book made you angriest?
It didn't really make me angry... but this didn't improve my mood when I started it:
And it didn't improve my mood when I figured things out some 30 pages into it.
9. Which book made you cry the most?
This one sort of made me cry:
What would you do to save your child? What lengths would you go through to make sure he or she survived physically? This book calls that into question with a poignant view on what life really is.
10. Which book cover do you hate the most?
This'll do:
I didn't actively hate this book, but nor did I love it. Next time, let's just label this for what it really is: fanfiction that rips off other fanfiction.
Comments are loved.
I have to say, I was not as impressed by this book as some others were.
This book felt like a teenager was writing it.
Do you know what makes characters cool and memorable? Life experiences from the author infused into the characters. Be it someone else's experiences or their own. Having those little tid-bits that don't include fighting with Mom and Dad or whining about Dad or Mom leaving, or being bullied, make up for great characters.
Take Evie O'Niell from The Diviner's by Libba Bray. I really liked 'The Diviners' and Evie's experiences made it enjoyable. Like when she called out the guy in question in the first half. The one who got the maid pregnant and she'd used her powers to denounce him. That introduced me to someone from the Roaring Twenties that had psychometry and she was a great character.
But then, Libba Bray is not a high school kid who really has no life experiences beyond, well, high school.
And it annoyed me that the extent of Amy's experiences were: being bullied, living in a trailer, and cleaning up after her mother who's a drunk and pill addict. In terms of characters, Amy wasn't the most inspiring.
The other characters were also two-dimensional. And that makes me wonder for the rest of the characters and the rest of the series. But we'll see. Maye Amy and the authoress will grow up and gain some life experiences.
I read this book long ago. I think it was a deal with Barnes and Noble or something where you pay x-amount of dollars plus tax and viola! a book. Or maybe it was a free deal. *shrugs* Semantics, I suppose. Either way, I read it.
Conceptually, it wasn't a bad story. Conceptually, that is.
The execution was horrible.
I don't understand why some fiction authors think that second person p.o.v. is okay. It's not.
I can admit that I hate reading a book that's written in a semi-camera point of view and then seeing you, yours, etc.
Second person point of view is the most awful form of writing for fiction.
I don't recall much more of the story, aside from how much I hated it because of the second person point of view that this author seems to love.
My opinion? Don't bother with it.
I read this book long ago. I think it was a deal with Barnes and Noble or something where you pay x-amount of dollars plus tax and viola! a book. Or maybe it was a free deal. *shrugs* Semantics, I suppose. Either way, I read it.
Conceptually, it wasn't a bad story. Conceptually, that is.
The execution was horrible.
I don't understand why some fiction authors think that second person p.o.v. is okay. It's not.
I can admit that I hate reading a book that's written in a semi-camera point of view and then seeing you, yours, etc.
Second person point of view is the most awful form of writing for fiction.
I don't recall much more of the story, aside from how much I hated it because of the second person point of view that this author seems to love.
My opinion? Don't bother with it.
And now I need the other two or three books. Chills was good. Your classic love-story. But what I appreciated was the time the author took to set the scene and build the world she was writing in.
of course it was glaringly obvious that Jack Ettington's betrothed was Pixie. I mean seriously.
Still, over all I liked is book.
This book, like Death's Mistress is a convoluted mess. I can't think of anything else to say other than I was hoping for better.
what bothered me the most about this book was how much it seemed--to me at least-- to borrow from Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D series. I was actively thinking that if Dorina were male and the books were set in 12,090 common era, she'd probably be remarkably similar to D.
Anyhow, I think my head hurt just trying to make sense of portals, vampire zombies, and the whole nine yards.
I will not lie, I bought this book because Nalini Singh is part of the quartet that created this. Nalini Singh is the author the Psy-Changeling Series (which I haven't read) and the Guild Hunter Series which I love. Singh wrote the last story of the quartet Lord of the Abyss. The other aithors include Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe, and Jessica Andersen.
Despite my my reasons for buying these four stories, the entire theme of this quartet was fairy tales reimagined, all writers working towards a common goal: defeating the Blood Sorcerer that has killed the magical realm of Elden with his malignant sorcery.
I enjoyed this quartet of reimagined fairy tales. I really did. I liked the bar rations of the different authors and how the goal of these stories was emphasized over and over again without it being want-to-strangle-books because of the repetition.
I did think Dayn's intended was a bit on the weak and wishy-washy side, but beyond that, I would totally recommend this quartet to anyone that wants hot romance and seamless storytelling.
I tried. My good God, I tried.
But this book?
This book? (If you're brave enough to call it that. Me, I call it shit in print.)
This book was...beyond awful. Uninteresting. Stereotypical. Oh, let's face it: stupid. In capital letters.
This thing masquerading as a book reminded me of all the stupid fanfiction I've read (and at one point written) over the years.
This is what I want to happen in that book. Him to wipe everyone in this insipid tale out. Totally. See, if you're not familiar with Bleach, let me enlighten you: this is Kuchiki Byakuya, the Sixth Division Captain. And his blade, Senbonzakura, slices you to a thousand little pieces.
That's what needs to happen to this book.
Let's start with this takes place in Purgatory.
I have no problem with that. My problem is with the fact that purgatory is described as a place where people live and have lives!
No. Just no. Even Dante Algheri would probably agree with me on that. Purgatory is not a place where you'd have a kid, raise a kid, send it to high school, and so on. It's, in Christian culture (yes, Christian culture, because Judaism doesn't have the concept of purgatory or hell), where souls go and remain because they're not evil enough for hell, or good enough for heaven-- so the inbetween would be purgatory. Or so I recall. It's been a while since I've take Humanities.
So in this book, apparently purgatory is an okay place. There's a governing body, there's angels, demons, souls... They even have a dreaded high school.
Really? They do? Well shit. Maybe that's what I went through for four years when I was in high school.
And then there's the demon hunters and the Quasi-demons. Quasi-demons fight in the Arena. I keep imagining a Coliseum type of building since it's not described. And hey, if a quasi-demon is going to fight damned souls and other ilk, then a Coliseum is where it should happen right? Right?
Let's talk characters with no substance. That would be Zeke (who believes everything female is in love with him. They had a name for that: Narcissus. I'll bet you he's the one from the Greek myths.) Cissy (Mayla's best friend who also believes that her best friend has a problem with Zeke-- narcissism; it's a condition don'cha know?) and Mayla who lives to fight because she's got wrath flowing through her veins. (Apparently, all of the quasi-demons have some sort of deadly sin essence flowing through their veins. Mayla and her ilk have wrath.)
Really? I feel sorry for him, then. Okay, so he's Pride in the first anime. So sue me.
That's as far as I got, because the stupid girl Mayla actually managed to immediately fall in love with a demon hunter that can't stand. No build up, nothing-- just boom, she's attracted and in love.
In short, this book is totally not worth anyone's time.
This book.
It's the second in Karen Chance's series? featuring Dorina.
I had no idea with this book which way was up, down, or any which where and I got lost several times and had to back track.
When she finally got to the whole point of it: the person who's hunting Senate Vampires and killing them and the rune she needed to retrieve for Claire's son Aiden, I was so confused that I practically went to the beginning all over again so I could understand it.
In short, not happy with the second book and hoping the third one is better.
Yes, it's another vampire book.
Sort of.
No, it's not Vampire Hunter D, but it is similar to the Night Huntress Series.
Sort of.
Dorina's half-vampire, too. Same thing for her. Her father didn't realize the curse that was upon him and he got a girl pregnant.
The two world's are sort of similar. Maybe.
Although, I prefer Jeaniene Frost's Vlad to the Karen Chance's.
So, Dorina's half vampire. But unlike Cat from Jeaniene Frost, she can't be changed into a full-fledged vampire. She should know, she's tried. She also suffers from murderous rages that she blacks out from.
Her father, who's part of the Vampire Senate (I know, right?), has "hired" her to hunt down his brother: the infamous Vlad. Last time she tried, she was eviscerated. This is in addition to finding her best friend (only friend, really) Claire.
Now her father wants her to try again because Vlad's back from where ever he was trapped and wants revenge yet again. But Dorina won't be working alone. Vampire Louis-Cesare is her co-pilot and you would think that things are just hot, hot, hot between them, but truthfully? There's more steam between Dorina and Caedemon (a fae lord) than her and Louis-Cesare. Not for lack of trying on Dorina's part. Still, if I had to choose, I'd love to see her with Caedemon.
But see, the strange thing is, Vlad in this story (aside from being a complete sociopath) reminds me of a spoiled child.
Over all, this book was non-stop action-- to the point where it actually kind of annoyed me. But that being said, I did enjoy it and would recommend it,
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