Monthly Round Up: September

September has to have been one of my worst months for reading since I was 19. I thought August was bad. Well September has left August in the dust. Five. A total of five books read, and one was a short story. I have no excuse except that I'm still trying to dig my way out of my reading slump. TV is the devil :)

I have actually watched way too much TV this month. -I'm eating it up like devil cake. I'm currently enjoying;
Alphas
The Revenge
Son's of Anarchy
Terra Nova
Jersey Shore
The Secret Circle
Downton Abbey
Warehouse 13
Hart of Dixie
Haven
Awkward (although this has just finished)

And that's not including shows I'm downloading but have yet to start.

Anyway. Reading. I really enjoyed Outside In, Archangel"s Blade, and Touch of Frost. Archangel's Blade being my fave of the month. I was only a little disappointed with One Grave at a Time.

85. Outside In, Maria V. Snyder
86. One Grave at a Time, Jeanniene Frost
87. Archangel's Blade, Nalini Singh
88. Devil to Pay, Jeaniene Frost
89. Touch of Frost, jennifer Estep

Review: The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood and The Duchess Of Northumberland

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.n the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined 

I saw this reviewed on The Book Smugglers and quickly added it to my TBR list. It sounded really interesting and very different from the books I'd been reading recently.

I loved it's tone and I really liked Jessamine. Weed was interesting but the father drove me crazy. You definitely got a feel for the era. It was easy to read, even when I was busy my stopping and starting didn't jar the story. I felt it got a bit silly towards the end but all in all it was quick, easy and fun to read. 


Rating: 4/6 - I liked It

Monthly Round Up: August 2011

I wish I could get out of this slump I appear to be in. Yes, I'm enjoying a lot of TV shows at the moment even though there's still loads of books I want to read but never find the time. Obviously because I'm too busy sat in front of either my laptop or TV :/

Biggest disappointment this month was Working stiff. I thought that would be much better than it was, and I doubt I'll carry on with the series. My fave was a toss between Inside Out and The enemy. I really enjoyed both.

79. The Poison Diaries, Maryrose Wood, The Duchess Of Northumberland
80. The Enemy, Charlie Higson
81. Working Stiff, Rachel Caine
82. Inside Out, Maria V. Snyder

I watched too many films during August:
Super 8
Bridesmaids
Kick ass
Up
Rise of the apes
Diary of the Dead
The Road
Friends with Benefits
Choke

I've also managed to watch a lot of TV. A lot. I obsessively got into Fringe and watched all 3 seasons and I finally started series 4 of True Blood (and finished :'(). I also caught up with Bones and Sons of Anarchy, both of which I'd gotten seriously behind on. So all in all a very good month for TV, but not for reading.

Review: Venom (Elemental assassin #3) by Jennifer Estep

What kind of assassin works pro bono? 

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most. 

To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists. 

At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.

I really need to stop star rating books on goodreads immediately after I finish reading the book. I'm way too involved and often give a 5 when really it should be a 4. I want to give this book a 5 though. :/ but I have issues with it. Notably the re-capping of previous events, and also the fact that Gin kept saying "don't worry I kill him/them. You'll never have to worry about him again" then she'd mess up, but she'd keep on saying it so that I stopped believing her. It's a little thing but still :/ 


After reading Spider's bite and Web of Lie in quick succession, I couldn't wait to get stuck into this 3rd instalment, Vemon. I'm loving this series. Gin is still kick ass but we're starting to see a little beneath the surface now. Again, it's action packed and fast paced. One of the many reasons I love this series. The only thing I don't like (and I've already mentioned) is the way Estep re-caps everything that happens in the previous books. Everything! All the time. It's like the start of a TV show "previously on..." but throughout. I find it jarring, and it makes me skip ahead a lot and I don't want to do that. This happens in every book and by the 3rd book I wanted to pull my hair out. Okay, it didn't bother me that much and the fact that it's a great series makes it up a little but I wish it would stop. I know there's a reason for it but it's getting repetitive, and to be fair, if you're going to start a series in the middle, or 3rd book in you deserve to not know what the hell is going on (IMHO). 


 All in all Vemon is a great read. You get everything you expect from Gin and more, although, please start at the beginning of the series :) 


Rating: 5/6 - Really Liked It

So behind

Apologies if you read my blog. I've gotten so behind with posts. I can't even blame it on slow reading because I have at least 10 reviews in first drafts. They just need a bit of work and posting. My home and work life have become a little hectic so by the time I get home from work I have to start all over again at home, which makes going on the laptop feel like a chore.

Still, that's no excuse. Tonight is the night I clean the deck and get organised. Wish me luck!

Review: Street Magic (Black London #1) by Caitlin Kittredge

 Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life  mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective, Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self.  But he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey.  Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago

I'd seen a review for this somewhere (most probably Goodreads) and it instantly caught my attention. It sounded dark and gritty, both of which I really love so I kinda had high hopes.

We meet Pete in the middle of a case where children are going missing. It felt like I'd been dumped in the middle of something and didn't know what the hell was going on, but saying that, that can be a usual thing for me. And although I liked Pete right away I Initially I found the 3rd person narration a little confusing. I don't normally, but for some reason I did while reading this.

I was disappointed to be honest. Street Magic had everything I like but it never got me excited. There was just something missing that I can't put my finger on. I don't know whether it was the fact that Jack was a heroin addict, or that there was no spark between the two, I just don't know. And I don't just mean a romantic spark SPOILER (scroll to see) incidentally, I really didn't understand why she'd offer to die for him. Up to that point it came across as she really didn't care for him at all END SPOILER. 

I need to mention the swear words. They were so distracting. On one page it would be all Wankstick, demon-buggering gits, then on the next it would be fucking cunts and dickheads. You either commit to swearing or you don't. The strange mix of hard and soft swear words just sounded stupid. 

Also I never really believed that they were in London. The story could have took place anywhere really. I first thought that it was maybe it was London USA until Big Ben chimed. But I never really felt it but that could be just my predjuice. If I think of London I think dank and dark Jack the ripper London. 

I never connected with Jack and I know it's not the actual drug theme as I never had a problem with the drug use in the Downside Ghost series. It's because he's a heroin addict. It's just a dirty stanky drug. I think if he'd had an addiction to a fictional drug, or pills, or anything else but heroin I would have felt differently but I just didnt like him because of that drug, and couldn't take to him on an emotional level. I've already said that I liked Pete, and I did at the start but Jesus H Christ what a nag she was. I felt like yelling for her just to stop. She didn't shut up whinging and moaning and after a while it wore on my nerves a bit. 

I just didn't become emotionally engaged in the two leads or the story at all. Not at any point of the story did I feel like I knew what the hell was going on, even the magic was confusing and wasn't very visual. The second half of the book was much better than the first but it wasn't enough. I will read the 2nd book in the series though. I thought it was okay (I did finish it) but I had issues with it. I'm sorry I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. 

Rating: 3/6 - it was okay

TBR Thursday

Although I've not been reading as much as usual it's not stopped me adding to my forever expanding list. 
First up is Switched by Amanda Hocking. I actually added this some time ago but it has a new cover and I love it. I adore the colour more than anything.

Switched - the first book in the Trylle Trilogy...

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.

With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

Next up is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I've added this because I've fallen in love with the story but I've experienced Maggie Stiefvater before. I really, really struggled with Shiver. In fact I've not even finished it. I started reading in January and finally abandoned it at some point in July. However, it has not put me off reading the aurthor's book, well it had before I read the synopsis for this story :)

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

So not as many as last week, or even the week before but considering the amount (or lack of) I've read these past few weeks it's not surprising