Then a sudden burst of power sends her back to Oklahoma. Without magic, Shannon can’t return to Partholon – and so she needs to find help. Trouble is, it might take the form of a man as tempting as her husband. And along the way she’ll discover that being divine by mistake is a lot easier than being divine by choice…
Friday, January 21, 2011
DIVINE BY CHOICE by P.C.Cast
Then a sudden burst of power sends her back to Oklahoma. Without magic, Shannon can’t return to Partholon – and so she needs to find help. Trouble is, it might take the form of a man as tempting as her husband. And along the way she’ll discover that being divine by mistake is a lot easier than being divine by choice…
DIVINE BY MISTAKE by P.C. Cast
Somehow Shannon has stepped into another’s role as the Goddess Incarnate of Epona. And while there’s an upside – what woman doesn’t like lots of pampering? – it also comes with a ritual marriage to a centaur and threats against her new people. Oh, and everyone disliking her because they think she’s her double.
Somehow Shannon needs to figure out how to get back to Oklahoma without being killed, married to a horse or losing her mind…
NIGHT STAR by Alyson Noel
BLOOD OATH by Christopher Farnsworth
ONLY ONE MAN CAN SAVE US… AND HE’S ALREADY DEAD.
Zach Barrows is an ambitious young White House staffer whose career takes an unexpected turn when he’s partnered with Nathaniel Cade, a secret agent sworn to protect the president. But Cade is no ordinary civil servant. Bound by a special blood oath, Cade has spent more than 140 years in service to the president, battling nightmares before they can break into the daylight world of the American dream.
Immediately Zach and Cade receive their first joint assignment: one that uncovers a shadowy government conspiracy and a plot to attack the Unites States with a gruesome new biological weapon. Zach soon learns that the world is far stranger, and far more dangerous, than he ever imagined . . . and that his partner is the least of his problems..
This book started off more like a spy thriller than a normal Vampire Book that we've read in the past .. and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it grabbed me. The story flowed quite well - as each character was introduced, you were given time to get to know them and have them settle into the story easily. There is a mixture of science fiction, fantasy and mystery mixed in with the supernatural.
This book was great reading - the movement of the old partner to the new - Zach. who actually can't believe that he is now spending every day side by side with a vampire. A real vampire. And when they receive their first assignment, Zach had no idea of what they are walking into and the changes that will happen to him. Because really, he is a snivelling little boy until he is made to grow up and face some realities about the world around him.
Naturally we have the good and bad sides in this book - wouldn't be much of a story if we didn't - and it's interesting watching the way they are dealt with.
This is the first book for Christopher, with the 2nd book in the Series - the President's Vampire to be released in April 2011. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to move away from YA Vampire style of books.
RATING : 8/10
Sunday, January 2, 2011
VAMPIRE ACADEMY FANS ...
*Vampire Academy is being made into a graphic novel!
*Vampire Academy film options have been sold! Read this to learn what's true and what's not--and how you can help get a movie made.
* Want Vampire Academy shirts, jewelry, and more? Click here.
LAST SACRIFICE by Richelle Mead
She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.
Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.
But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?
SISTER by Rosamund Lupton
Publication Date: September 2nd 2010
ISBN: 9780749942014
Format: Paperback
Nothing can break the bond between sisters …
When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life – and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.
The police, Beatrice's fiancé and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.
The bond between sisters - is proven unbreakable in this book.
We follow the story of Beatrice jetting back to London, to help try to find her sister who is missing. And when Tess' body is found, it only pushes Beatrice further to squash the prejudiced verdict that she committed suicide. She knew her best, and refuses to believe that her funloving sister would take her own life.
The book is written in a way - that Beatrice has flashbacks to different times and places and the experiences that she shared with Tess, and at one point she feels like she is losing her mind. She's already lost her job back in the US and her fiancé is just one short step from leaving her for good.
But through all the dramas, hurdles and people that cross her path - she does get the answers - which shock her, but also gives her a peace that she would not have been able to find if she had accepted the original findings into Tess' death.
Read this book - you will enjoy it!
Rating : 7/10
HOMECOMING by Sue Ann Bowling
Only a single R'il'nian, Lai, is left alive in the Confederation, and he is mourning his lost Human love, Cloudy. Humans are now running the last R'il'nian planet, Central, which has become both the de facto Capital of the Confederation and the hub of the slave trade in the Confederation.
Snowy, a young slave dancer, has a secret, one his mother told him would lead to his being killed if he were ever found out. He feels the emotions of others. More, he is capable of reading the minds of others, making objects move, and even Healing his own injuries and those of his friends. But he does not dare to tell even his slave friends of his abilities, which are frighteningly similar to those of the R'il'noids, and some of his cruelest masters have been R'il'noids.
Not all of the R'il'noids are monsters. Snowy and his friends are sold to Lai's half-brother, Derik, and when Snowy falls ill Derik is able to recognize the disease as Kharfun syndrome, which leaves Snowy totally paralyzed. Could Snowy himself be R'il'noid? His first response is the firm conviction that he is being lied to, though there isn't much he can do about it when he can't even move.
But beyond the borders of the Confederation is Riya, settled long ago by the R'il'nai. Here Marna is the sole survivor of a planet-wide epidemic, kept alive only by her determination to warn off any other R'il'nai who may find the doomed planet. She was on an isolation satellite studying a different disease when the epidemic started, but now the life-support system of the satellite has broken down. Can she avoid being infected, two centuries after everyone she has ever known has died? Does she even want to?
Lai, Marna and Snowy (now renamed Roi) have the potential to keep the Confederation going without turning it into the R'il'noid dictatorship envisioned by Lai's R'il'noid heir, Zhaim, but they will need all of Derik's help, and everything Roi has learned during his slavery, to succeed against Zhaim's machinations.
I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I got it. Into the first chapter, I felt like there was a possibility this book may just be 'over my head' ... we were introduced to a lot of characters and it was a bit of a struggle to keep them all lined up where they belonged. But, as I kept reading, I found that the characters helped me understand certain aspects that normally would have had me scratching my head.
You will fall in love with Snowy (Roi) - we've all known someone like him, and at times it was hard to remember that he was a teenager. But as a mother, I found that his safety and sanity became very important to me throughout the story.
Other characters - Lai, Marna and Derick all found a place in my heart - I think that Roi brought out elements of these characters that they themselves had (a) buried away deep inside or (b) never believed they possessed.
I found so many aspects of this book rang true for me. It should make us all stop and think - to learn to look after our planet and the people we share it with a lot better.
Thanks also Sue Ann - found something useful in there that I plan to use with my Reiki healing - maybe it's what has been missing for me. All in all, this is a good book. It gets hold of you and you will become totally engrossed in the story and characters and you'll actually be sad when you turn the page to find the story has finished. I would love to see this book made into a movie - it would be really interesting.
The only down side I could find to this book was that I struggled to picture the characters and the locations mentioned - but I am sure that was just me.
Do yourself a favor - READ THIS BOOK!
Rating : 8/10