Library Liz·ard

Library Liz·ard

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

Groucho Marx

Review
2.5 Stars
Review - Trade Me
Trade Me -  Courtney Milan

 

I hate to bash it but Trade Me just sorta bored me. Except for a few stand out moments the drama felt manufactured and I was left underwhelmed. Also, despite much (oh, so much) time spent in both main character's heads, I didn't felt invested in them separately or as a couple! Ugh, so disappointed! Thought I'd be on the bandwagon with this one but nope, another NA bust. :(

waiting for Spring

Review (two-fer!) - Thankless in Death, Concealed in Death
Thankless in Death - J.D. Robb Concealed in Death - J.D. Robb

Two more slightly predictable but very enjoyable installments in JD Robb's in Death series.  I mostly read these for the non-case related scenes and I suspect I'm not alone!

 

I love Eve's relationship with Roarke, the vulnerability she only shows to him and the constant wonderment she experiences when examining her feelings for him.  I get supreme kicks out of almost every scene with Peabody and their friendly bickering. Every cop on her squad, Nadine, Summerset, even Galahad (that fat cat!) make me smile. I guess these are the reason I'm still sticking with this series even after 38 books!  The cases are a bit predictable but some new characters introduced in CiD are giving at least the procedural aspect a wisp of fresh air.

 

I'm almost all caught up now, one more to go and I'll be ready for the first 2015 release.

Review
4 Stars
Review - No Sooner Met
No Sooner Met - Seanan McGuire

Sweet lil Toby/Tybalt short story made even better told from Tybalt's POV!

 

“I won’t pretend that you do not have the capacity to break my heart. The fact that I would trust you enough to risk the breaking of it is a compliment, and I believe in telling people when they have earned such trust from me. Would I sulk for a time, years perhaps? Yes. I am only a man. But I would return to you with my hat in my hands and ask that my friend take me back, even if my lover had journeyed forever into that strange and distant country known as ‘Memory,’ where never a living soul may go.”

 

 

She blinked once, slowly and deliberately, before putting her somewhat mangled bread to the side and saying, “You know, sometimes I can’t tell whether you realize how much you sound like a romance novel.”

 

“My dearest October.” I pulled myself up straight in my chair, smiling at her languidly. “The romance novels learned everything they know from me.”

 

Siiiiigh, Tybalt!

Review
2 Stars
Review - Dreamer's Pool
Dreamer's Pool( A Blackthorn & Grim Novel)[DREAMERS POOL][Hardcover] - JulietMarillier

The more I think about this the more disappointed I become. As someone who completely adored Daughter of the Forest I found Dreamer's Pool to have much of the same atmospheric writing but with a plot that was way too formulaic. I liked Blackthorn and Grim and their buddy adventure but Oran bored me stiff and I didn't appreciate being hit over the head with how perfect and wise and just he was. Unfortunately, I also had pretty much guessed the who, when, where and how of it all early on and found the meandering pace frustrating. Ah well, guess I'll go back to Sevenwaters next time.

Review
4 Stars
Review - The Secret Heart
The Secret Heart (No Better Angels Book 1) - Erin Satie

Complicated, flawed characters made this historical romance unique.  The Secret Heart doesn't fall prey to the usual overblown hist/rom tropes but strong emotions and a quiet tone give the story a strong impact. Really enjoyed it.

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SO.MUCH.THIS!
SO.MUCH.THIS!
Source: http://cavehominemuniuslibri.tumblr.com/post/25424845026/this-is-the-only-chance-ill-ever-have-to-read-the-book-f
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All books, all the time
All books, all the time
Source: http://cavehominemuniuslibri.tumblr.com
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Review
3.5 Stars
Review - Feast of Stephen (A Charm of Magpies 3.5)
Feast of Stephen - K.J. Charles

Lovely little Christmas interlude with Crane, Stephen, Merrick and Saint. I want more! :0)

Review
4 Stars
Review - Marked
Marked - Sarah Fine

Sarah Fine's first foray into adult paranormal is a hit. I loved it; a perfect blend of mythology, romance and action with Fine's trademark flair for immediately drawing you into the fierce emotions of her characters. Definitely looking forward to book 2.

 

edited to add: this book is due to be released in January, but if you have Amazon Prime you can get it free today through their Kindle First program.

Reblogged
Sock Poppet's 2015 Read-By-the-Month Reading Challenge

 

I've seen quite a few people saying they have a hard time with yearly challenges and they feel like failures because they are unable to complete them. I know it can be very difficult to keep going when you see a long challenge list staring at you.

 

So . . . my challenge this year will be delivered monthly. That's right, you won't know what each month's challenge will be until about a week or so before the month starts.

 

Since people are already starting to plan their challenges and because December can be super busy for many, I will present the first month's challenge now.

 

Rules:

 

1 ~ I will list 4 book prompts each month related to a theme.

 

2 ~ Choose one prompt and read the book. (For those with more time, choose two or more prompts.)

 

3 ~ Post a link to your review/post of the book(s) you read in the group. 

 

http://booklikes.com/groups/show/255/sock-poppet-s-2015-read-by-the-month-reading-challenge

 

4 ~ Using books for multiple challenges is perfectly acceptable, but a book can only be used once within this challenge.

 

5 ~ That's it. Choose a book to read each month in 2015 and you will have completed this challenge!

 

January's Reading Challenge ~ First Things First

 

This month you will read:

 

1 ~ a book with the word "One" or "First" in the title.

 

2 ~ a book by an author who is new to you.

 

3 ~ a book that is the first in a series.

 

4 ~ your first book of the year.

 

Now see how easy that is. All you have to do is read your very first book of the year and you've completed the January part of this year's challenge.

 

Or you can push yourself a little and choose one of the other prompts. Or two or three. The decision is yours.

 

 

 

Reblogged from Sock Poppet at Play
Review
3 Stars
Review - Prosperity
Prosperity (A Prosperity Novel) - Alexis Hall

A little difficult to read because of the vernacular but once I got going I didn't notice it as much. Very entertaining steampunk adventure with airships and floating cities and krakens oh my! Enjoyed it.

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Cartoon by Tom Gauld

Review
4 Stars
Review - Another Place In Time
Another Place in Time - KJ Charles,   Jordan L. Hawk ,  Aleksandr Voinov,  Kaje Harper, Tamara Allen, Joanna  Chambers

Read this mainly for the K J Charles short which was scorching hot *sigh*

 

Did also enjoy the others, they are from new to me m/m authors and a great introduction to style!

Review
4 Stars
Review - Steel's Edge
Steel's Edge -  Ilona Andrews

So that's it for The Edge series which make me very sad. I enjoyed Declan and Rose's story, loved Cerise and William's adventure and how could I not fall in love with Kaldar and Richard Mar? It is a real loss that with this series shelved we may never get a full length continuation of both George's and Jack's stories..they were, for me, the most fascinating and interestingly developed characters of the whole bunch and I would have loved to have revisited them 10 or so years down the road.