A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was next on my list. I had heard from a friend who heard from one of her friends it was really good so I dove in blindly. For maybe the first 100 pages or so I struggled to get into the story but after that I loved it. Vampires, witches, and a forbidden relationship, whats not to love! I think this was also technically an adult book but is probably fine for older teens too.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

5 out of 5 stars

Dark-Hunter Series

I've been continuing the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I have now read up though Night Play, the fifth book in the series. I've really enjoyed reading this series but at the same time I've found the format of the books to be very predictable. Despite that though they are really good and worth the time. Again must mention these are NOT young adult books!

Dear Reader,
Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear. For centuries, I've protected the innocent and watched over the mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me then one night.
Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can't remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.
But every time I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death. I am cursed never to know peace or happiness-not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.
--Talon of the Morrigantes

4 out 5 stars

Dark-Hunter: A soulless guardian who stands between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. Yeah, right. The only part of that Code of Honor I got was eternity and solitude.

Insanity: A condition many say I suffer from after being alone for so long. But I don't suffer from my insanity-I enjoy every minute of it.

Trust: I can't trust anyone...not even myself. The only thing I trust in is my ability to do the wrong thing in any situation and to hurt anyone who gets in my way.

Truth: I endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter. Now I'm tired of enduring. I want the truth about what happened the night I was exiled-I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Astrid (Greek, meaning star): An exceptional woman who can see straight to the truth. Brave and strong, she is a point of light in the darkness. She touches me and I tremble. She smiles and my cold heart shatters.

Zarek: They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. I never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to me and made this feral beast want to be human again. Made me want to love and be loved. But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?

5 out of 5 stars

Wulf is an ancient Viking warrior with a useful but extremely aggravating power-amnesia. No one who meets him in person can remember him 5 minutes later. It makes it easy to have one-night stands, but hard to have a meaningful relationship, and without true love he can never regain his soul.

When he finally meets Cassandra, the one woman who can remember him, she turns out to be the princess of the cursed race he's sworn to hunt-and forbidden to him. The two of them must face ancient curses, prophecies, and the direct meddling of the Greek gods to find true happiness at last.

5 out of 5 stars

Bride McTierney has had it with men. They're cheap, self-centered, and never love her for who she is. But though she prides herself on being independent, deep down she still yearns for a knight in shining armor.

She just never expected her knight in shining armor to have a shiny coat of fur...

Deadly and tortured, Vane Kattalakis isn't what he seems. Most women lament that their boyfriends are dogs. In Bride's case, hers is a wolf. A Were-Hunter wolf. Wanted dead by his enemies, Vane isn't looking for a mate. But the Fates have marked Bride as his. Now he has three weeks to either convince Bride that the supernatural is real or he will spend the rest of his life neutered--something no self-respecting wolf can accept...

But how does a wolf convince a human to trust him with her life when his enemies are out to end his? In the world of the Were-Hunters, it really is dog-eat-dog. And only one alpha male can win.

4 out of 5 stars

Dark Swan Series

The Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead: Storm Born, Thorn Queen, and Iron Crowned.

Summary of Storm Born

Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants...

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy--one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable

allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her...

Summary of Thorn Queen
Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she’s also become queen of the Thorn Land. It’s hardly an envious life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one—except Eugenie—seems willing to find out why.
Eugenie has spilled plenty of fey blood in her time, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and nursing a very personal grudge. And the men in her life aren't making things any easier. Her boyfriend, Kiyo, is preoccupied with his pregnant ex, and sexy fey king Dorian always poses a dangerous distraction. With or without their help, Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in an unpredictable power she can barely control. Reluctant queen or not, Eugenie has sworn to do her duty—even if it means facing the darkest—and deadliest—side of her nature…

Summary of Iron Crowned
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear. . .
Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown's ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril. . .

I loved this series and Eugenie! It is definitely worth mentioning that these books are NOT young adult though. The characters and setting are interesting and unique. Eugenie is a strong female who kicks serious butt. I find her very refreshing compared to the young adult characters I usually read. There are twists and turns to keep you guessing. 5 out of 5 stars :)

So far in 2011...

So in hindsight maybe being a book reviewer blogger isn't for me. I completely and totally love books but when I finish them I don't want to take the time to write an in depth review, just a I loved/ hated it and I do/ don't recommend it before I'm off into my next adventure. So far this year I've read 54 books for a grand total of 20,168 pages. A list of the books I've read so far can be found here but I'll see if I can sum up my favorites and least favorites

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1163300-lisa-sperry?read_at=2011

First and foremost if you haven't read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels) shut down your computer and start reading...pure genius. The most recent book, City of Fallen Angels, has been out for a week now and I'm already itching for a reread. Of course my pre-ordered copy won't be here until July with another pre-order so I'm stuck waiting until I see it back on the library shelf. I am anxiously awaiting City of Lost Souls in May 2012 and City of Heavenly Fire in September 2013.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan is amazing as well. The books in order are The Forest of Hand and Teeth, The Dead Tossed Waves, and The Dark and Hallow Places. Zombies, love, broken hearts, and many many tears shed by me, need I say more?

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton was an unexpected delight packed full of awesomeness.

The Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent is worth your time for sure: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal, and it will conclude with If I Die in September I believe.

The Faeriewalker series by Jenna Black is another one of my favorites, Glimmerglass, Shadowspell, and Sirensong (due out in July).

Need, Captivate, and Entice by Carrie Jones are full of pixies, fighting, and of course love.

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain was one of my all time favorites and the story continues in The Lost Saint and a yet to be titled book due out later this year.

Hex Hall and Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins had lots of witchy, demony, vampirey action that should not be missed.

That just about rounds out the good for books I have read this year. Mind you there are many others I'd recommend I'm just looking at the 54 I've read this year.

Now the bad...I tried not to be to harsh but I am a book lover and for me to not enjoy a book I must really dislike it, there have only been two that I haven't finished in my life.

The most disappointing book I have read is Afterlife by Claudia Gray. I absolutely LOVED the Evernight series and ranked it as one of my favorites. I expected this book to have my emotions pulled in every direction reading it but instead I found myself thinking come on when is the good stuff going to start the entire time. It wasn't that I was disappointed with the ending, in fact I found it quite fitting, just the book as a whole was a major let down.

My other major disappointment so far this year was Midnight (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #3) by L.J. Smith. I've read all of the Vampire Diaries books and quite enjoyed the first four and the first The Return book (Nightfall), the second The Return book, Shadow Souls, was okay, but Midnight was borderline ridiculous. The thoughts for a great story are there but I find the execution lacking.

My First Try At A Book Review

The most recent book I finished is Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann.

In the beginning of Cryer's Cross I was confused and not sure I liked it. When I started it I didn't really have any idea what it was about but I liked another series of Lisa McMann's so I assumed it would be good. Sure the story was basic and easy to follow but the stuff in between chapters had me totally lost. I remember getting a message on Facebook and I replied to it that I was on page 66 and had no idea what was going on. Shortly after that message was sent a bomb could have gone off in my kitchen and I wouldn't have noticed. Once I started to guess what those in between messages were talking about, the story got really good. I love books where you can guess some of the elements but there are other connecting pieces that you don't realize until the characters do. Between trying to figure out what was going on and waiting for Kendall to figure out Jacian was a good guy I was totally hooked until the last page. Another thing I really liked about Cryer's Cross was the OCD aspect of Kendall. It was nice to get an idea of how a person with OCD actually feels about their habits.

Overall an excellent read and I'd definitely recommend it.

A Bit About Me

I figure before I start trying to post book reviews (we'll see how that goes) I should introduce myself. I am 23 years old, 24 in August. I married my husband in June 2006. Our first child, Holly, was born in April 2007 and our second, Aiden, in November 2008. I've held a few part time jobs here and there but have basically been a stay at home mom for four years.

I loved to read in high school and spent any free periods I had in the library. After high school though I did two semesters of college, one living in the dorms and one commuting the two hours (an hour there, an hour home). I love college, I like to learn new things. I don't like tests, well they are okay, but I hate papers, group projects, and public speaking of any kind. While I liked going to school I had no idea what I wanted from a college education. Starting a family seemed like the way to go to me.

During my crazy years after high school I never read. I played The Sims, I had a part time job, and then I got into playing World of Warcraft. I became hooked on WoW and finally quit playing because I knew I was playing it way to much. Sometime in my withdrawal from WoW period I was walking through a store and the cover of a book caught my attention. So I bought it and read it even though I had no idea what it was about. It was Eclipse my Stephenie Meyer ironically.

Since Eclipse I've been a book addict again. I've learned to balance my chores around the house, caring for my kids, reading, and even World of Warcraft occasionally. But my nearest and dearest hobby always has been reading. I will read just about anything I get the chance to read. I prefer fiction stories though. I do read adult genre books but overall I find young adult to be my favorite.

My absolute favorite authors are: Cassandra Clare, Richelle Mead, Claudia Gray, Rachel Vincent, Melissa Marr, Jenna Black, Charlaine Harris, Lesley Livingston, Bree Despain, Melissa de la Cruz, Megan McCafferty, Meg Cabot,

You know what, rather than typing authors names for 3 hours I'll just say you can find me on goodreads.com :) http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1163300-lisa-sperry

I absolutely love books and reading and I'm hoping that I'll be able to connect with other people who share that. I have an awful habit of rambling on so if my posts are long winded and make no sense I apologize but please feel free to leave me a comment telling me to shut up :)

a new beginning

I just deleted all my old posts. There were probably some that I'll miss but there was also a lot of drama from years ago that I'm totally over and I feel doesn't need to be brought up again. I think that maybe I'll try to start posting reviews of the books I read. On public sites I am really careful about not posting spoilers but here on MY blog I can write whatever I want because its MY space and people will be choosing to come look at it :)