spiffikins

books read in 2009

43)Deader Still, by Anton Strout (swap)
44)Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy (swap)
45)The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (L)
46)The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (L)

Embrace the Darkness is the second in a series - I liked it much better than the first. The characters were less annoying and more fleshed out. Not sure yet if I'll keep this book - there's a queue of people who will be willing to take it off my hands on paperbackswap.com so if I need credits I can easily swap this one out like I did the last.


The Hunger Games is one that I've heard a lot about - it's a YA book but it's really good! Post-apocalyptic future where North America is divided into Districts, ruled by the "Capitol". Every year a boy and a girl are selected to compete in the Hunger Games - a survivor-type game where contestants must kill or be killed and the sole survivor earns fame and glory.

books read in 2009

38) Demon's Kiss by Maggie Shayne

Vampires, shape-shifters and shadowy government agencies - not a single demon in the story though...sometimes I think authors are running out of book titles.

books read in 2009

32)Morning Light by Catherine Anderson (L)
33)Sunrise Alley, by Catherine Asaro (L)

I really enjoy Catherine Asaro's books - this one is a new series in a new world. And, it just fell flat - the writing was fine, the story was kind of meh in a predictable way, and I really didn't find any of the characters terribly likeable. I found the relationship between the two main characters to be unbelievable and forced - it just didn't read true.

I have the second book in the series, Alpha, that I got via paperbackswap.com (very cool program if you live in the US and have books you are willing to part with). I'll read Alpha - it's only tangentially related to this book, although it's in the same series, so hopefully it will be better.

books read in 2009

nearly missed these...

23) Kiss of Fate by Deborah Cooke
24) Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong
25) BAD Attitude by Sherrilyn Kenyon (L)

Books Read in 2009

20) Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card (L)

I've read most of the Ender series a long time ago, and this is a new "mid-quel" that just came out in hardcover - I got it through the library. Ender's series is one that I enjoy, although I am of two minds in terms of reading this author's books, as the author is a voluble critic of equal rights for gays and his opinions are offensive to me :(

Books Read in 2009

18) Undone by Rachel Caine

A new series in the Weather Warden universe - I like the author's writing, and the book moves quickly, with interesting characters and a nice alternate view of the real world without going into the future or too far off of "reality".

3 books on the go now...still finishing up the short story anthology, half finished a paperback romance from the library, and finished Komarr in the omnibus, but haven't begun A Civil Campaign.

Books Read in 2009

14) Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Libary hardcover)

Seriously disturbing - to the point where the Author's foreword warns the reader that the first half of the book involves graphic descriptions of abuse and torture. Compelling read, though I was glad that the book (weighing in at a hefty 728 pages in hardcover) was split into 2 parts - I finished the first part at 2am and it was a natural place to stop - otherwise I would have ended up gulping down the whole thing in one sitting. Note to self - don't start 700 page novels at 11pm at night...

next up - a collection of short stories called "Wolfsbane and Mistletoe" that I picked up at the library.

Books Read in 2009

10) Princeps Fury, Jim Butcher

This is a series that I keep forgetting how much I like, which is too bad. I also think I may have skipped a book or two, and I don't remember which books I own and which I've read from the library. This is the downside of the library for me - I get to read *hardcovers* and then I'm confused when the paperback comes out, as to whether I have it or not.

Anyway - this is the latest, and it's a fantasy series with lots of travelling across vast distances, finding out that there are other civilizations on the planet, and big battles. Well-written, with an unlikely hero, who finds intelligent solutions to problems where everyone else seems to assume that violence or fighting are the only options.


11) Pride, Rachel Vincent

3rd book in a series - Faythe is a werecat, who has been in trouble since book 1. Werecats come in 2 flavours - born ones like Faythe, and strays, who are humans that have been scratched or bitten by a werecat in cat form. Most humans die if they are infected, but a few live through the infection and come out as werecats. In this novel, Faythe is on trial for infecting (accidentally) and later killing (in self-defense) her human ex-boyfriend. Female werecats (tabbies) are incredibly rare, but Faythe's father is the leader of the North American Pride and politics make it possible that Faythe will be executed for the crimes of infecting a human, and murder.

Good series - Faythe can be annoying - she's a spoiled brat in a lot of ways, but generally seems to be growing up a bit over the course of the series. My chief complaint is that other interesting characters are brought in, we're given slices of characterization to make them intriguing, and then they're killed off, or wander off never to be seen again.

Books Read in 2009

6)Snake Agent by Liz Williams

A detective story set in Singapore Three, in the future. Lots of Chinese mythology, interesting characters and good writing. However, even though the inside cover says this is the first of 4 books in the series, I felt like I'd been thrown into the middle - lots of references to things that happened in the past. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was done enough that I felt like I had missed a whole book.

I bought this and the second in the series used, so I will read the second one before deciding whether to continue on and purchase the 3rd and 4th.

Books Read in 2009

4) Stay the Night - Lynn Viehl

Book number umpty billion in a series. More vampire-like-immortal beings - mostly males. More super-awesome-secretly-with-super-powers human women who become "bonded" to a male, get pissed off about it, realize they really do love this arrogant, heavy-handed pushy male and give up their entire existence to be with him. Nothing new here, just fluff and entertainment. There's a handful of these series that I tend to get mixed together - these Darkyn ones, Jacqueline Frank's books, and JR Ward's Black Dagger brotherhood - although the writing styles and voices are all very different.