Chasing Inspiration

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Books Read in June

Lover Enshrined by J. R. Ward -- Oh. My. God! This latest installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood vampire series is, in a word, amazing! If you have not started this series yet, you must! It's not your mother's vampire series. Trust me, if you loathe the traditional vampire fare, you have a great chances of liking this series.

Nightkeepers by Jessica Andersen -- Mayan prophesies of the end of the world. Demons, prophets, mages and magic. This is the first book of Jessica Andersen's Final Prophecy series and it is not a book to miss if you are a fan of the paranormal/other. Seriously! The book is so well put together that it doesn't read like your typical first book of a series. It reads with such adept world building, character development and plot arcs that you are immediately thrust into the action and you believe every moment of it. Truly one of my best reads for June and perhaps the year. *grin*

Twin Targets by Jessica Andersen -- Jessica Andersen developed her storytelling skills writing for Harlequin Intrigue. Her latest Intrigue is perfection.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn -- Julia Quinn is back for me. I ran a bit dry during her Bridgerton series, but I've loved her last two books. I look forward to the sequel to TLDOW this fall!

My Immortal by Erin McCarthy -- Demons. Deadly Sins. Lust and a man who gives his soul. I really loved this book! It was different and dark and all twisty and turny. I will definitely give her next book in this series a try.

3rd Degree by James Pattersen -- Not as good as the first book in his Women's Murder Club series, but still a solid mystery. I had a serious WTF moment that shocked me to no end. I can't share or I'll give away a major plot point, but that alone made this a good book to read.

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah -- This was a reread for me. And it was just as poignant this time as it was the first time. This book speaks to me about the resilience of the human spirit and the healing power of love.

4th of July by James Pattersen -- Much better than the 2nd and 3rd books. I grabbed onto the plot and felt the same twists in my gut as I imagine Lindsay did at various points. I did figure out some of the bad guys early on, but I was always a little iffy on the motivation so I'm glad there was a surprise for me at the end. *grin*

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger -- I started this before the evil gallbladder decided it needed removing. I haven't finished it yet. But I started it in June so thought I would mention it here. So far, I'm very intrigued by the plot...and the time travel.

Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson -- This was a good solid romance. Second chance at love is one of my favorite romance hooks and Rachel did a good job with this. I did with for a little more paranormal than the hint of it here and there, but that didn't keep the book from being a good read. It was also a satisfying end to this quartet of books about for single authors and the directions life, writing and love take them.

The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney -- Wow! MJ Putney doesn't ever disappoint. I have loved everything I have read of hers. Okay, so I haven't read her paranormals except this one, but I'm sure I would enjoy them. TMS is romance and magic at it's best. There's amazing inner conflict, wonderful historic accuracy and characters you want to care about. I hope she follows this up with stories about the hero's three friends. Those are stories I would love to read. *smirk*

Dead and Loving It by MaryJanice Davidson -- An anthology with stories about a vampire queen's honeymoon, a mermaid and a wayward adventurer and werewolves. All with MJD's trademark snark and humor. I. Loved. It!

The Shadow & The Star by Laura Kinsale -- Wow. There are no words for this amazing book that travels deep into the soul to find restoration and love.

The Hidden Heart by Laura Kinsale -- The prequel to The Shadow & The Star and Laura's first published novel. I'm glad I read this story and I loved Tess and Gryph's struggles and the distant lands, but geographically and internally, that I was invited to travel. I think Laura is the author to break me of my historical novel drought.

2 comments:

  1. I loved The Marriage Spell. It makes me want to give A Kiss of Fate another shot.

    I liked Julia Quinn's and I want to read the next one, but I liked Miranda Cheever better.

    I just lent The Time Traveler's wife to my mom. I hope she'll like it.

    I have one Jessica Anderson book and I have the Erin McCarthy book. I'll get to them eventually. I liked how Erin McCarthy's started, and I can't remember why I put it down. She has so many different types of books. I like some of them, but I try them all just in case. :) I love how dark this series is so far.

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  2. Yeah, I think I'm going to try her Guardian series again, as well. I'm not sure why I didn't finish AKOF. But I loved The Marriage Spell so much that I'm all for it!

    Oh, I just started the second book in Erin McCarthy's Seven Deadly Sins series. I'm only on the prologue, but I like it!

    Oh, say, you had mentioned something about having replies emailed to you in blogger. Email me and let me know how to do that, okay? *g*

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