Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris

An HBO series called "True Blood" is based on these novels by Charlaine Harris.

This is about a small town waitress named Sookie Stackhouse who has the ability to read minds.This ability makes it impossible to date. That is, until the Chinese invent True Blood, a synthetic blood that's just like the real thing.

Vampires decide it is time to make themselves known to the public since they no longer have to rely on humans as a food source. The first vampire Sookie meets comes into the bar where she works. She notices right away that she cannot hear his thoughts and feels drawn to his silence. It's a welcome relief not to hear the constant bombardment of thoughts. She overhears with her ability some other patrons planning to drain the vampire of his blood. Vampire blood is like a drug and is sold for about $200 a vial.

When she realizes that the couple left with the vampire, Sookie is compelled to try and save the vampire. Now outside the bar, she listens with her ability and locates the couple. She can't hear the vampire but she hears the couples thoughts and they are none too good. She sees they have him chained down with silver and they are draining him with an I.V. Arming herself with a large chain she gets out of her brothers truck, she sneaks up behind one guy and slams him with the chain. There's a fight and the couple leave. So, she saved the vampire. He feels grateful and notices something different about her. They start up a romance, but things get ugly when dead girls keep turning up around town with vampire bites. Sookie tries to use her ability to find the killer.

Suspense, romance, action, very hot sex, and intrigue, this novel has got it all.

READ CHAPTER 1 of DEAD UNTIL DARK CLICK HERE!

You'll want to read the whole series:

Book 2 Living Dead in Dallas
Book 3 Club Dead
Book 4 Dead to the World
Book 5 Dead as a Doornail
Book 6 Definitely Dead
Book 7 All Together Dead
Book 8 From Dead to Worse
Book 9 Dead and Gone
Book 10 Dead in the Family

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

Melanie Stryder is in love with Jared and on the run. Aliens have taken over Earth and if they find her they will insert an alien into her body taking over her life. She'll become a "host" an empty shell the alien can live inside of. It's just her, her brother, and Jared left as far as Melanie knows. Oh no! She's captured and an alien soul called Wanderer is inserted into Melanie.

The story is told from the point of view of the Wanderer (alien). This makes for confusing reading of the first chapter. If you can stick with it, you will absolutely LOVE this book. I never thought I would enjoy a book about aliens, but this book proved me wrong. I keep hoping for a sequel.

Wanderer is mad. Melanie is still inside her head and won't go away. This has never happened before with a host. Melanie's body longs to be with Jared and Melanie convinces Wanderer to travel through the Arizona desert in search for Jared and her brother. Wanderer/Melanie is found by her Uncle almost dead from the heat of the desert with no food and water. She's brought back to an underground camp full of human survivors. Wanderer is at first hated and treated very badly. The humans learn to accept Wanderer and that's when Wanderer changes her outlook on humans.

A human named Ian falls in love with Wanderer but she's inside of Melanies' body and Melanie is still alive inside there too. So Jared has big problems when Ian wants to move in on HIS girlfriend (Melanie). So there's a love quadrangle going on and it gets very interesting. What a fantastic book you will be sure to enjoy.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE HOST CLICK HERE!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

This book was great! It's about a young girl who is 15, living in a future where when you turn 16 you are given plastic surgery that makes you supermodel gorgeous. Tally can't wait to be pretty. All her older friends are partying it up in prettytown while she's stuck in the Uglies dorms outside of the city. She misses her friends but makes a new one in uglyville, Shay.

All Shay's friends are either in Prettytown or have escaped into the wild where a mysterious guy named David lives. He has been rumored to have grown up in the wild. In a place called "The Smoke" Shay shows Tally she has other choices. She doesn't have to become pretty, she can stay ugly. Tally doesn't want to stay ugly, but when Shay escapes into the wild, Tally is recruited by Special circumstances to track down Shay and expose "The Smoke". Tally doesn't want to betray her friend but she must if she wants the operation to become pretty.

Something else happens during surgery that may change Tally's outlook on becoming pretty. And she didn't mean to fall in love with Shay's almost boyfriend, David, either. Now she's torn between becoming Pretty and staying Ugly when she finally decides what she wants to do Special Circumstances swoops in to ruin it all. Will Tally become a Pretty and reunite with all her old friends or stay ugly, stay with David? Hmm. I guess you should read it and find out! It's a great read.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM UGLIES CLICK HERE!

Book 2 Pretties
Book 3 Specials
Book 4 Extras (Spin off book)
Originally this was supposed to be a trilogy.
ENJOY.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr

Aislinn was born into a family with a unique ability to see faeries. With this ability comes 3 rules to follow:

1) Don't ever attract their attention.

2) Don't speak to invisible faeries.

3) Don't stare at invisible faeries.

You see Aislinn has been taught that faeries are mean, nasty and evil. She's involved with a human named Seth but all that changes when Keenan, The Summer King of all faeries stakes a claim on Aislinn as his mate. He's been searching for his queen for NINE CENTURIES. The King needs his mate to complete his power and save the faeries from his evil mother the Winter Queen. Aislinn must pass the test to become the Summer Queen and if she doesn't she will have to endure the Winter Queens cold until the next chosen one takes the test. Aislinn doesn't want to have anything to do with faeries, she just wants to be with Seth but Keenen is not taking no for an answer. Once someone is chosen they cannot be unchosen.

This book is interesting but I rate it "G". There is no graphic or adult content, just good story. The book kept me reading greedily until the end. It was a really good read, but I was slightly disappointed in the ending. Marr ties up all her ends into a neat bow. I usually like that scenario, but I guess in this instance I was hoping for something more heart wrenching.

Book 2 Ink Exchange
Book 3 Fragile Eternity
Book 4 Radiant Shadows
Book 5 Darkest Mercy (Releases Feb 22, 2011)

Wait Until Your Vampire Gets Home, by Michele Bardsley
(Broken Heart, Oklahoma Series)

I found myself without a book to read so I picked this up at Walmart while I was shopping and I was glad I did!

This book was highly entertaining. I rarely find myself laughing out loud when I read a book and this one made me LOL. The main character "Libby" is really funny. She works for her parents doing investigations trying to prove the existence of the paranormal. You know ghosts, vampires, zombies, dragons etc. She doesn't have much luck until a chance encounter with a vampire in a graveyard.

From the beginning to the end is nonstop action and romance. "Libby" falls for a vampire who is a father of twin boys who are human. His wife passed away. During their first meeting they get attacked by a zombie and a couple of dragons having a war with each other. One of the Dragons gets badly wounded and catches Libby and tells her she must not let her brother get her powers and kisses Libby transferring half of her soul and her power into Libby. The other half gets accidentally transferred into the Vampire. This causes the two to need each other in more ways than one!

I won't give it away, but for a cartoonish cover things get pretty steamy. I would rate it "adult content" Don't mistake this for a mushy romance because it isn't. I would say more action then anything else, and the sex is just a bonus. This book is very entertaining. I didn't know this book was part of a series. It might be worth getting the other books to see how they compare. This book turned out to be book 4 in the Broken Heart, Oklahoma Series.

READ CHAPTER 1 of WAIT UNTIL YOUR VAMPIRE GETS HOME CLICK HERE!

If you are interested in starting at the beginning here's a list of the previous books:
Book 1 I'm The Vampire, That's Why
Book 2 Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire
Book 3 Because Your Vampire Said So
Book 5 Over My Dead Body
Book 6 Come Hell or High Water
Book 7 Cross Your Heart
Book 8 Must Love Lycans (Coming 2011)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

This is the story of a young boy of about 18 months old. While his family is being murdered he climes out of his crib and wonders out the front door which the killer has left open. He wanders into a graveyard under the locked gate. The killer searches for him and spots him in the graveyard. As the killer attempts to gain entry into the locked gate the boys' slain mother appears before a ghostly couple who discovered the boy.

The mother begs the couple to protect and care for her son. The ghostly couple reluctantly agree. The boy is granted the protection of the graveyard and can disappear from sight. He is hidden from the killer and the ghostly couple divert the killers attentions away.

The boy is given the name of "Nobody" and is nicknamed Bod. Bod has many adventures in the book. He meets a young girl, visits an ancient grave protected by a strange being. He gets swept into an underground hell by ghouls and is rescued by the Hounds of God.

The ending was a little heart wrenching, but kind of realistic. Terrific book!