The Paid Companion

by Amanda Quick.

I decided I didn't have enough Amanda Quick after finishing the Arcane Society books that are currently out so I purchased The Paid Companion. This one was very interesting, the mystery was very captivating and I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The reader (who did not get good audible reviews) was very pleasant to listen to and I had no problem with a male reader doing a female character, I think he did a wonderful job!

Dark Light (Harmony series book 5)

by Jayne Castle.

Oh boy - no matter what time period I love this author. This is her futuristic world series. It's actually the most recent in the series but that's okay - I still loved it and there was plenty of intro and explanations so I never felt lost. And there were Arcane Society references! LOVED it!

Now I need to get my hands on the rest of the Harmony books!

Mischief

by Amanda Quick.

I really enjoyed this one. Imogen is a very strong willed woman and gets her way most easily. There were about 5 or 6 times that I could have sworn I read this book already (repetition of "scenes" with other AQ books) but this one is about Zamar which was unknown to me so I continued on :)

Just like when I finished my audible AQ book - I'm at a loss now after finishing this one. I have no more AQ books on my nightstand :( I did however have a Jayne Castle... (same author)...

Scandal

by Amanda Quick.

I read this one just before Thanksgiving. AQ is generally a nice quick read for me and I'm always happy to lose myself in the Victorian Age. This one was no different. As all the AQ books, it dealt with how easy it is for a woman to be scandalized (hence the name of this one). It was a page turner until the end kept me wanting more. So I jumped right into Mischief :)

The Third Circle (Arcane Society book 4)

by Amanda Quick.

Again another non-hunter which is nice. This one is back in the Victorian age and refers back to book 1 quite a bit (main characters from book 1 are the new heads of the society). Listening to these is a very different experience from reading them but still very enjoyable.

Unfortunately now that it's done I'm still in the mood for more Amanda Quick on my ipod - so after listening to the radio on my drive for 2 days (how come there is so LITTLE xmas music playing???) - I finally decided to purchase The Paid Companion on audible and listen to that... I sure was excited to turn my ipod back on in the car!

Sizzle and Burn (Arcane Society book 3)

by Jayne Ann Krentz.

I finally decided to do the Arcane Society audiobooks my mom got. I've been waiting for them to come out in paperback but could wait no longer so I started it. It was okay listening to them (book 3 and 4) but I do prefer to read them. I actually really liked that this one was about different talents (not a hunter) for a change and we got to learn a lot more about the Arcane Society in the "present" and Nightshade. It really makes me look forward to the next one (Running Hot) by JAK.

Hands of Flame (Negotiator Trilogy book 3)

by C.E. Murphy

Ahh.. the third and final book. I loved it! This trilogy was a complete joy to read and I ended up loving all the characters. There were some very interesting twists in this one, kept me on my feet for sure.

House of Cards (The Negotiator Trilogy book 2)

And we're back - almost immediately following the first book. Lots of interesting twists and turns and we get to the know the characters even better, especially The Old Races. Grit really gets herself in deep but it's not so scary now because she's earned a lot of respect. Again some romance but not over the top. I immediately had to start the third after finishing this one!

Heart of Stone (The Negotiator Trilogy book 1)

by C.E. Murphy

I loved this book! I'm really a huge C.E. Murphy fan now and immediately went and purchased the other two books in this trilogy to listen to! I love the characters, I love the plot, everything. There's some romance, but not over the top (only a little eye rolling). There's mystery inherent in the story since the world is one with a lot of secrets (The Old Races). The main character is strong and charismatic and stands up for herself against even the scariest of others. Highly enjoyable read!

Brisingr

by Christopher Paolini.

This is only book 3 of 4 (it is no longer a trilogy). What a wonderful book. It really tied a lot up and answered a lot of questions. It was great, well done and very enjoyable. The last hour or so I couldn't put it down and stayed up late to finish it.

The tough part is figuring out what to get into next ??

Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer.

Finally!!!! I had been waiting for this one - and then I had to wait to get 2 credits on audible before I could purchase it! It was worth it though! Very interestingly done in multiple parts from different perspectives.

Luckily, 2 of the things I had "spoiled" for me (my own fault by reading reviews) happened in the first and second part of the book so the third part was a complete unknown to me. The perfect balance.

And what a 3rd part! I loved this book and I think Stephenie Meyer did a wonderful job. I am ranking this up there as my second favorite series - the first one being Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study. This one is great!

Eldest

by Christopher Paolini.

A second time read for me - even though this is a large book, I went through it very fast. I really really love Eldest - probably because I love getting to know characters, see them grow/change without the conflict so that I later really understand their actions. I was also spurred on to get to the third book! I had forgotten a lot of how this one played out in the end and it was great to re-read it. I can't wait to see what Brisingr brings next!

Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers book 3)

by C.E. Murphy

I loved this one - the whole time - except at the very very very end - the last couple of lines practically - that part I didn't like at all. But the rest was great and hopefully if this series continues I'll be happy again. More character development and very well done. I really enjoyed it!

Eragon

by Christopher Paolini

I've read this twice before but needed the refresher - especially since I hadn't read Eldest twice and wasn't sure where the line was drawn between the two. I enjoyed this again and went through it fast - towards the end (Hadarac Desert) i started to wonder if I should just jump to Eldest since I remembered it so well but I'm glad I read it - the details and order of the very end get jumbled in my head easily.

I look forward to my cousins getting old enough to read this - I find them highly enjoyable!

Thunderbird Falls (The Walker Papers book 2)

by C.E. Murphy.

I really enjoyed this book - I love the character development and how my inkling of a bad feeling actually proved right - it was great! I like that there's a love interest but it's in the background and isn't a romance - this is much more about the character development and the main character learning about herself and her magical skills.

I very much enjoyed this and jumped right into the third!

Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers book 1)

by C.E. Murphy.

I've read this (listened to) in the past - it's a series about a Shaman in modern day world - she didn't know she was a shaman and didn't believe in those kinds of things until a near death experience awaken her abilities.

I really like this book, I like that the main character makes fun of herself, there's a lot of humor and it's very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series this time through :)

With This Ring

by Amanda Quick.

Ah... a little bit of a change!!! I liked this a lot! The heroine is a widow who is not a virgin - seriously - a huge change from the AQ books I've recently read. This one was great, she's a horrid novel writer and financially independent, I loved it :)

And this wraps up reading AQ for me for a bit - Brinsingr just came out - time to go back to Eragon!

Wicked Widow

by Amanda Quick.

SAME idea - but still great :) And I love the mysteries - pretty easy to figure out but enough of a mystery to keep my interest. Good bed time reading and I'm giving myself about 45 minutes a night!

And yes and another Vanza book - i think the last. This one was less heavy on the vanza ideas but had vanza throughout. I liked the heroine in this one a lot (having been trained in Vanza by her father essentially). She's a very intelligent woman too - highly enjoyable read!

Undead and Uneasy (book 6)

by MaryJanice Davidson.

This was my lighter audiobook read - and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Finally Betsy comes into her own! Left all alone she must not only figure out what's going on but she must fix the problem on her own - and boy does she! Excellent read/listen to! I like this stronger more confident (well in the last 20 minutes) Betsy - take charge!

I guess they're not in here but I previously listened to books 1-5 in the undead series as well.

I Thee Wed

by Amanda Quick.

Ah - like a breath of fresh air. This is another in the Vanza series (I think there were 3). It was quite enjoyable, although the Vanza stuff got kind of annoying. The other Vanza book I read did not going into the vanza details so much.

I have to say there are a good 3 or 4 parts of her books which are pretty much IDENTICAL - but still enjoyable - and now it just makes me laugh. The heroine (always a virgin - even if previously married!) - caught up in a whirlwind romance where the hero has no idea she is a virgin - until it's too late ... hmm.. but once you're past that part the book is excellent :)

Innocent in Death

by JD Robb.

For audiobooks I decided to go back to JDRobb for a bit. I needed the lightness right before the wedding. This one however was not light, dealt with a lot of jealousy and had some major tension between Dallas and Rorke, all worked out in the end of course and the mystery was quite intriguing.

Decided to go even lighter for my next but it turns out that that one might not be so light either!

Night Storm

by Catherine Coulter.

The third in the trilogy. This one wasn't as enjoyable. That bit about dominance and not embracing the independence in females bothered me the most in this book. All in all it was a good book, kept me plenty interested but very old fashioned views. I definitely prefer Amanda Quick for this time period of romances.

Night Shadow

by Catherine Coulter.

The second in the story, this one was about a bachelor who takes in his cousin's "ex-wife" and his cousin's three children. He who never wants to marry or have children until it's necessary to produce an heir ends up loving the children and the woman.

It's an intriguing story and I enjoyed this one very much. Even tied in the characters from the first story a bit at the end. Plenty of mayhem to keep the interest it was a fun read.

Night Fire

by Catherine Coulter.

A trilogy, given to me by my mom that I decided would be light enough for the honeymoon and I was right. Night Fire was the best of the trilogy, the main character is quite flawed having been beaten and abused horribly by her first husband. There are parts of this book (and parts of all of CC's books) that bother me a bit, she doesn't have the same views on relationships and female/male roles as Amanda Quick does, the male characters are much more dominant which I'm not such a fan of. Amanda Quick allows her female characters to be independent and the male characters embrace that independence, in Catherine Coulter's books the independence is finally "accepted" but never embraced and if accepted it is not easily accepted. Very old fashioned views of possession too.

But the book dealt with the abuse and the recovery well and ended up with a strong story I was happy to follow along too. It was a great lead in to the next book as well.

Dangerous

by Amanda Quick.

I picked this up at Walmart for $4 on the way out to the honeymoon. It was a great one to read quickly on the plane/in Hawaii and got me back into the light romance mood.

Witchling

by Yasmine Galenorn.

I bought this series (the first 3 anyway) and decided to try it out before the honeymoon. It was slow to get into as there are so many different new types of characters, it's basically a new world to understand which for such a light book is kind of tough (nothing like lord of the rings but the same level of difficulty with character differences). It was an okay read, in the end I enjoyed it but I wasn't racing to pick up the second, especially when I realized the second is from a different sister's point of view (same with the third) - so it's not even the same character I finally got used to. We'll see when I get back to these but they weren't honeymoon material, i finished it on the plane and went back to Amanda Quick.

Ravished

by Amanda Quick.

The second from my mom, I read this next, it was also good, a more internally tortured main male lead. I love this time period and always get a good laugh some where in the Amanda Quick books, this was no exception. A great way to pass the time.

Desire

by Amanda Quick.

After finishing Lie by Moonlight I happened to be at my mom's house where I passed it along to her and she handed me two more! That night I decided to start Desire - it takes place on an island called Desire and while not completely engaging I couldn't put the book down. I read until 6 am and finished the book the next morning... ah the power of a simple romance/light mystery!

Next up is the second she gave me!

Lie by Moonlight

by Amanda Quick.

This one I borrowed in hardback from a friend. As all of the Amanda Quick's I've read it was engaging and a great read. Some good mystery, some good romance and very enjoyable :)

Halfway to the Grave: Night Huntress book 1

by Jeaniene Frost.

This series I started the month before the wedding. It's a newer series and I loved book one. Unfortunately book 2 didn't arrive before the honeymoon so I did not get to bring it.

This book is about a heroine who is half vampire and kills vampires for a living. She falls in love however with a vampire learning that not all vampires are bad. It captured my attention easily and has lots of blood/gore and mystery to keep my interest mixed in with the romance part. I can't wait to read more of these.

Last Scene Alive (Aurora Teagarden book 7)

by Charlaine Harris.

Back to the beginning - that's what this book felt like - similar to the first book in this series which I really enjoyed. I was kind of getting bored with the Aurora series and this one really shook things up again. I really enjoyed it and stayed up late reading again which was a nice change to the last few.

There's an 8th book in this series that I don't yet have my hands on - but I think i could do with a break anyway. Besides, I have a new Amanda Quick just calling my name that I'm borrowing from a friend... ahhh...i can't wait!

Silent in the Grave

by Deanna Raybourn.

Wow this book was just awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and couldn't wait to get on to the second! It's amazing that this is the author's first book, she's a great story teller and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I'm kind of sad that it's only going to be a trilogy but I can't wait for the third to come out (not until next March I fear).

This book is set in the Victorian age, it's a murder mystery where the main character is recently widowed and after finally realizing her husband was murdered and not just dead of natural causes, she investigates with the help of the investigator her husband originally hired. It is quick paced and mysterious and just very satisfying!

On to Silent in the Sanctuary the evening I finished this one :) Unfortunately it's a different reader but now that I'm almost done with the second I'm not noticing the difference any longer.

Audiobooks

I've been very bad updating on my audiobooks! But I have listened to a lot in the last few months...

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - What an enjoyable read. Kept me captivating wanting to know what was next and guessing all along the way. So very much fun with some wonderful characters!

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - This was good, very enjoyable, not a page turner but kept me going to the gym at least.

Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - This series (4th coming out in August) was amazing. I couldn't put these down - literally. I was up late listening, I'd lay on the couch listening while doing nothing else because I had run out of things I could do while listening. I was obsessed. I loved these books, I love the characters. The third book was difficult for me because I didn't love exactly how things went but the ending was very good and I can't wait until the 4th! What a treat when I get back from my honeymoon i'll be able to jump into this!

Now I'm on to another series - a trilogy - only 2 books out so far but the third planning to come out March 2009.
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn - absolutely wonderful. I'm enjoying myself immensely, the mystery is strong and the characters stronger! I'm getting close to the end and if I wasn't at work I'd just stay up listening until it ended - I'm going to the gym at 4pm today - can't wait to listen some more!

Next up - Silent in the Sanctuary to continue the series!

A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Book 6)

by Charlaine Harris.

Oh My God! That's all I can say about this one. The mystery was good, I'm not a huge fan of the Aurora series so far (I loved the first one though) - but I'm really looking forward to number 7 now that I've finished this one... hmm.. I really liked the ending (that's kind of sick) but by that I mean that I respect the ending and think the author did a good job.

Dead over Heels (Aurora Teagarden book 5)

by charlaine harris.

Hot off the press - just finished book 5 minutes ago. This one again was not easy to figure out who the murderer was and was a fun read. Again nothing extra captivating and again she skipped 2 whole years between books but the characters are still going strong and I'm still enjoying myself.

On to book 6 and 7!!!

The Julius House (Aurora Teagarden book 4)

by Charlaine Harris.

This is the 4th book and this series really jumps time between books. Aurora is now married and has a new house with a mystery twist - the prior occupants completely disappeared 6 years ago! I really didn't figure this one out until the end and it was quite a fun read. Not as captivating as her other series' go but fun!

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

by Kim Edwards

This was not at all what I thought it was when I picked it up - it was very good though. It caused a lot of turmoil in my sleeping hours because I read before bed most nights. This book is about a doctor who in the sixties, delivers his wife's twins. The female twin has Down Syndrome so he sends her away with his nurse to a home. The nurse can not leave her and takes her and raises her as her own. He tells his wife that their daughter died. This secret he keeps and it builds a wall around him, between him and his family.

I think the hardest person for me to relate to in this book was the wife unfortunately, I hated the way she dealt with the distance in her marriage. I of course did not like the father for sending his daughter away but at least i could understand his reasons (they were described) - i didn't get this with the mother, maybe i just didn't feel like i knew her well enough to relate to her decisions.

All in all the book was very good and I enjoyed reading it up until the end. It was not a page turner and took a while to get through. I also realized while reading this that the bad dreams I have directly related to what I was reading - so it's back to happy, romantic murder mysteries for me for now.

Charlaine Harris - Aurora Teagarden series here I come - books 4,5,6 are waiting for me!

A Secret Rage

by Charlaine Harris.

Wow that was a tough read. It was a good book though. This one was about a rapist and there are some graphic scenes (not very detailed but you don't have to be detailed to be graphic when it comes to rape). I'm very glad I read it but I wouldn't easily recommend this to just anyway, they need to be warned ahead of time for sure.

I have no idea what to read next - I'm waiting on a large order of books to arrive, I do not have the 3rd Lily Bard so that's out (and it's very hard to get a copy of!) - I should have the 4th and 5th Aurora Teagarden books coming soon, maybe those will be next. Rather than start a new series it might be good to continue this one a bit.

Sweet and Deadly

by Charlaine Harris.

This was a very good mystery, light on the romance which was just fine with me. The mystery I thought was really good. My mom complained that some of Charlaine Harris' early work is a bit dated, there's a lot of stuff about racial tension in her early work which is strange to me, growing up in the Northeast, there just weren't any racial issues. So it's strange to have it be such a major part of some of her work.

For example in the Lily Bard series one of the white women is dating a black man at some point and this is scandalous - how bizaar, just a non-issue in my current life, i never would have even noticed it so it's kind of disconcerting to read about it like that. Hopefully this is because these are both dated and set in the south maybe.

Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard book 2)

by Charlaine Harris.

This was a good read, it dealt with some racial issues in a small town and had a very good conclusion to the mystery. I also enjoyed the relationships of Lily's better in this one and i really look forward to the next couple in this series. I have to borrow number 4 and 5 from my friend and number 3 is very hard to get and getting republished i think this year but i'll try to track it down.

Now i'm reading some of Charlaine's first books, non-series books. I think the one I started is Sweet and Deadly.

Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard book 1)

by Charlaine Harris.

I love this series (okay - have I read a book I haven't loved in a long time or what!) It's a charlaine harris so it's a mystery, it's got some romance, it's great. I love the main character, I love the strength she possesses and the haunted past that recurs through every day life and makes her who she is now. This was very well done and I can't wait to read the next in the series...

BUT FIRST!!! I have in my possession currently- Sookie book 8!!! It's on loan from a friend (only out in hardcover so I won't buy it until soft cover) and I have made a date with myself to read it tonight!!!! Oooooo I can't wait - really I can't! I've heard it wonderful too - okay - now to focus on work - I'll be reading in exactly 12 hours from now!!!

The River Knows

by Amanda Quick.

This is not an Arcane Society novel and it was wonderful. I couldn't put this down this weekend and finished it up last night! It was a mystery and love story set in victorian times - no supernatural stuff to speak of and the mystery was twisty turny enough to keep me guessing a lot and I didn't figure it out so early that I was annoyed with the characters! It was quite fun and the romance was wonderfully played I thought, I loved the poking fun of romance novels within the romance novel :)

I'm definitely going to read more of hers!

White Lies (Arcane Society book 2)

by Jayne Ann Krentz.

This is the second Arcane Society book - set in more modern times and it was exceptional! I really really like Jayne Ann Krentz's writing style (both as herself and as Amanda Quick so far) and look forward to reading more of her books. First up I must go and track down the next 2 in this series and then anything else i can get by her!

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse (Aurora Teagarden book 3)

by Charlaine Harris.

Book three picked up pretty close to where book 2 ended which was better. It also had a new and interesting character and I really enjoyed this mystery. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes and have to wait until June until book 4 comes out - yikes!!!

A Bone To Pick (Aurora Teagarden book 2)

by Charlaine Harris.

The second in the Aurora Teagarden series, it was better than the first in my opinion! The only strange part was that there was a large gap between book one and book two (that's not too strange) but in that gap a lot happened in the main character's personal life and it wasn't explained completely to my satisfaction... I don't want to give much away though so i'll just leave it at that.

This was a fast read, again I read it in CA and quickly moved on to the third in the series next...

DragonSpell

by Donita K Paul.

I got this book for my birthday and it didn't take long for me to pick it up with my love of dragons. It was a very enjoyable read and I finished it on the plane ride out to CA. It's a series - with 5 books so far (the 5th coming in June) so i'm looking forward to getting more of these.

DragonSpell is intriguing, it's got some great concepts, good for children's readings as well as for anyone with an imagination. I really liked the main character Kale and I'm looking forward to her development through the series!

Pride and Prescience

by Carrie A Bebris.

I got this book for Christmas and finally decided I was in the mood for something light - it was great. It's a mystery with characters you already know and love. It's definitely light reading, some mystical goings on (and Darcy is not a believer!). I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was well done.

For my birthday I got 2 more P&P books, both by Linda Berdoll - "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" and "Darcy and Elizabeth" which are continuations of P&P.

Second Sight (Arcane Society book 1)

by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick.

What a great book! I really loved this book, and even better the ending really wrapped this up so I wasn't left hanging. Even though this book is a series, each book is about different characters in different time periods so this particular story was nicely wrapped up - which is different than most of the series' i've been reading.

I have already loaned this out to my sister because I loved it so much and next in line is a friend of mine for it - and I've got some more Amanda Quick books in line now as i'm a big fan!

Second Sight (Arcane Society book 1)

by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick.

So far I love this book. I started it on my trip back from California last week - 4/11/08. And so far it's been hard only having 20 minutes a night to read it.

It takes place in the Victorian Era with a single woman who pretends to be a widow of a man she recently met that has passed away. This man is involved in the Arcane Society which she knows very little about but which brings some mystery and danger to her life unexpectedly. She also has the power to view people's Aura's. Giving this series some paranormal twists to the mystery.

I believe this series is a compilation of books that all revolve around the Arcane Society but do not share the same characters so I'm looking forward to each one actually giving a conclusion to the mystery and the characters lives since the next book may be a different time period all together!

Real Murder (Aurora Teagarden book 1)

by Charlaine Harris.

She's at it again (Ms. Harris) - with another series - so far with 6 or 8 published. I enjoyed the first book, like Sookie the main character has more than one possible love interest which always annoys me but keeps it interesting for sure.

In this series the main character is in a group called "Real Murder" which likes to explore murders, then someone in the group is brutally murdered, in an imitation of a specific murder that was to be discussed. The main character who is not a detective gets pulled into the murder spree investigation this way and that. It's basically a Sookie story without the vampires, werewolves and other ghoulies, just people. Very enjoyable.

Ghost of a Chance (Chintz n' China book 1)

by Yasmine Galenorn.

I also started this on Monday 4/7/08 (lots of airport/flying time). It's a new series someone directed me to and I really enjoyed it. The author has decided to stop writing any more but there are about 5 published in the series so i'm looking forward to following the characters for a few books at least!

This book has ghosts and ghoulies and some great characters trying to solve mysteries. Some love interest for the single mom main character too which is great. Plus who wouldn't love to own an antique tea shop (not shoppe!).

All Together Dead

by Charlaine Harris.

I read this book all day Monday 4/7/08 (flying to california). It definitely lived up to my expectations and was riveting of course! The 8th book comes out soon (hardcover) - I'm going to try to hold off for soft cover and I think I have the books to help me do that (see next few posts!)

Three Cups of Tea

by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver.

I started this book Sunday, it's a true story about the work Greg Mortenson has done in Northern Pakistan, creating schools for children. I'm only in the beginning but I'm enjoying it so far, the writer does a good job jumping around a bit to keep it interesting. I may get interrupted to read something lighter in the middle but so far it's great bedtime reading!


I finished this around the beginning of April and immediately recommended it to my fiance. The book is great, slow in the beginning, I almost put it down at one point but it really picked up in the second half.

What got really interesting is how Greg Mortenson was in Pakistan near the Afghan border during 9/11. His fight against terrorism from an educational point of view is amazing and I whole heartedly agreed with everything he had to say in this book and I wish everyone would read this book. I highly recommend it!

My fiance is about halfway through and he's enjoying it so far!

Change of Heart

by Jodi Picoult.

I finished this book Friday night (around 2am)! I thoroughly enjoyed what the author did with this book and as always I loved the ending (sometimes I don't love the ending but appreciate them). This book dealt with the death penalty and religion. I really like how the author can delve into huge issues without getting preachy. The story itself is just enchanting.. about halfway through i was thinking "I know where this is going to go - no surprises - but this is Jodi Picoult so it probably is a surprise" -- and I was right - I was able to guess some things but not all and was very pleased.

I haven't decided what to read next, being a mini vacation i wanted something light but my "next up" book is not a light one so I'm listening to the end of Master of Dragons instead for now and will put off the new book decision until at least tomorrow!

Garden Spells

by Sarah Addison Allen.

This book is awesome. It falls under the same category that I would put Like Water for Chocolate. Some mystique, some magic, some love, some loss. Great character development and so much fun with a touch of magic throughout.

I picked this up as a new start Friday night, planning to get a good hour before bed in. Next thing I know it's almost 2am and I decided I couldn't put it down until I finished it (4am) so it's another 5 hour read! I was enchanted and fell in love with the characters. It was extremely satisfying!

Next up I started Jodi Picoult's newest book "Change of Heart" last night and got a good 4 hours into it - not even halfway yet! It's very good, I'm not sure where it's going to go, whenever I read her books they feel predictable, like I can't be satisfied because I just know how it will end but she ALWAYS surprises me so I hold on. Generally it's not a sacrifice since the characters are so well done, this is no different. Of course all these late nights and my head is mad at me (read: Migraine) so today has not been fun trying to work!

Mistress of Dragons (again) and Dragon's Son

by Margaret Weiss.

This is my second time listening to Mistress of Dragons, it was back in 2007 (June!) the first time so I needed a refresher before reading the rest of this trilogy. I'd say the first is definitely the best so far of the three. I'm noticing a lot of repeating in the other two, sometimes repeating something that was just said which can be annoying. But i've very interested to find out how this will all end and i love that Dragons are main characters since I'm only slightly obsessed with dragons ;)

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen.

Well the second half of this book is very very hard to put down, especially if you go back and re-read chapter 1 so you kind of know what's coming. This is what happened to me last night, I picked it up right in the middle and couldn't put it down! The circus flash backs become longer and more often and it's captivating.

This book is great, I knew it would be, it came highly recommended by a few people so I was delighted to get this for Christmas from my fiance's step-mother's mother. It will be one I definitely recommend to others and I think my fiance may even enjoy it (he's read parts over my shoulder).

And now to choose what's next. I have this new Jodi Picoult which might be the pull but I need to check my "shelves". The latest Charlaine Harris is coming out in paperback soon too so I need to book a night to read that :) Oh man - I love reading!

Jodi Picoult Book Signing

Since this is my reading blog -

Last night we went to a book signing in Acton! I got the new book by Jodi Picoult "Change of Heart" and I can't wait to read it! Jodi read an excerpt and answered questions which was way more than happened at BJ's when she just signed books!

Now I have 6 books of hers signed out of 7 that I own - it's great! Plus both hardcovers I have are personalized too!

It's so very exciting to meet an author you really respect, she's very articulate and educated, it was a real treat to listen to her speak.

And then I went home and finished reading Water for Elephants so I could start a new book :)

Jodi Picoult

For my own memory - the books I've read or listened to:

Audiobooks:
My Sister's Keeper - my favorite
Plain Truth - amish farm
Vanishing Acts - search and rescue, memory
Second Glance - ghost story
The Tenth Circle - date rape, Alaska

Book Form:
Perfect Match - child abuse (own)
Nineteen Minutes - school shooting (own)

What's left to read:
Change of Heart (own)
Salem Falls
Keeping Faith (own)
The Pact (own)
Mercy
Picture Perfect
Harvesting the Heart
Songs of the Humpback Whale (own)

The Code Book

I have not yet finished Water for Elephants but I've been sidetracked. I'm taking a cryptography course and one of the books for the course is "The Code Book" by Simon Singh. I started reading it last weekend and it's a fabulous read. It details cryptography throughout history, how it was used, how it was broken and what impact historically it had.

If you have an interest in history and math I highly recommend this book. I hope to get back to Water for Elephants after this one.

Edited to add: I did finish the Code Book - at the very end of Feb. It was an excellent read! I forgot to post about it - I know by the weekend of march 3rd I had picked up water for elephants again.

New Start and current audiobooks

Yup I decided to read Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I'm somewhere around chapter 6 or so and really enjoying this book. I had the option of doing it as an audiobook but I'm in the middle of a few audiobooks so it would have had to wait too long. Plus it's a great before bed read.

What am I listening to?

Well i stopped part way into "Born In Death" by JDRobb. This was because my CD's were out of order on my ipod so it was skipping disk 4 and I didn't want to deal with it. Plus if I finish this book i have only 2 more in the series, i'd rather save them a bit.

So i started up Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis for the second time. This is actually part of a trilogy and I'm re-listening to this one so I can continue with the whole trilogy having freshly read it. I'm enjoying it just as much the second time around.

The Jane Austen Book Club

by Karen Joy Fowler

I finished this up last night, I didn't realize the epilogue was so short or else I would have finished it the night before.

I really enjoyed this book and i'm looking forward to seeing the movie now. It was a pretty quick read too since it took about a week and that's with just evenings before bed to read it.

I do recommend this one, especially if you like Jane Austen as they discuss her work quite a bit but really it's about people and relationships. It does make me want to read more Austen now as I have only read 3 of her books.

Next up I think is "Water for Elephants" as it's been highly highly recommended to me so I will start it by this weekend probably.

Nineteen Minutes - Finished

by Jodi Piccoult

I finished this book Friday night. I was very very happy with it. One thing I really like about Jodi Piccoult books is that she doesn't skimp on the ending. I'm never disappointed that things didn't get finished or something. This one was no different.

I think this book was probably one of her best, I rank it up there with My Sister's Keeper. I haven't disliked any of her books so far and I've read about 5 or 6.

Next up I'm reading "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler. I'm on chapter 2 and thoroughly enjoying it so far!

Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Piccoult

I'm more than halfway done with this now. It's a good read. It's about a school shooting, similar to "We need to talk about Kevin" in that, but only in that. The characters are all easy to relate to and very deep. The writing is of course great. (This all contrasts "...Kevin"). I don't know where it's going exactly but I'm enjoying reading it and always get emotionally involved with her books.

I got a TON of new books for xmas, not sure what will be up next, I got 3 new Jodi Piccoult and so much more.. decisions!