Reading Roundup…

This has been an interesting reading week for me, running from really good…to really not.  Even though I don’t do reviews, I am going to try and do a brief weekly wrap-up so that I can refresh my memory about what I liked or didn’t like without spoilers.  Either I read too much, or I am getting old (er, or both?), but I am getting hazy on how I felt on books I read a while back.

Fury of Seduction – This third Dragonfury book from Coreene Callahan is a bit tricky.  I really like the story and the characters, but I found that this one (even more so than the first two books) was so very Black Dagger Brotherhood feeling.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that it was more BDB than the real BDB is.  Not in terms of storyline, but in terms of voice.  I don’t mind the slangy, ultra-cool dialogue, but there was so much of it that it threatened to take me out of the storyline sometimes.  I like these books but I think a bit of a toning down would make the series even better.

Black City – This one had originally went under my radar, but when I saw that there was talks about buying the movie rights for this Elizabeth Richards series I decided to take the plunge.  The fact that it had a beauty of a cover didn’t hurt, either.  Unfortunately, the story didn’t live up to the cover art.  It did start off promising, with a unique young adult/vampire/dystopian set up, but it didn’t follow through.  I found myself really, really trying to get into things, but I just couldn’t.  It was actually a bit on the cheesy side, and I found myself rolling my eyes more than once.  I don’t mind insta-love stories, but this one was more melodramatic and shallow than anything else.  Unfortunately, this is my first DNF of the year.

Shadow’s Claim – What can I say, I am a total Kresley Cole fangirl (my love is only equaled by my love of Nalini Singh).  But for reasons I can’t fathom, I wasn’t my usual psycho self anxiously awaiting this one.  I was looking forward to it, of course, but not with the usual passion that a Kresley Cole release generates.  Not sure why, but once I dove in my old self kicked in and I loved it.  It was a great addition to the IAD world, and while I know some people weren’t that fond of the heroine, I enjoyed all of the characters (and Trehan moves to very near the top of my favorite IAD men).  This one was a one-sitting read, and I am looking forward to going back for the re-read for the character guide.

So, how did your reading week shape up?  Anything you loved, or anything you really wanted to like and just didn’t?

New Series Alert…

It seems that this week’s post will be all young adult, since the adult side of things is pretty quiet.  The first new series is from Elizabeth Richards, and it is called The Black City Chronicles.  The first book is called Black City.

Synopsis…

Deep in the heartland of the United Sentry States are the burning ruins of the Black City, a melting pot simmering with hostility as humans and Darklings struggle to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a brutal and bloody war. A wall now divides the city separating the two races. Trapped on the wrong side of the wall is sixteen-year-old hustler Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling who’ll do whatever it takes to survive, including selling his addictive venom ‘Haze’ to help support his dying mother.

Then there’s Natalie Buchanan, the daughter of the Sentry Emissary, who feels imprisoned by her life of privilege and fame. When their paths cross, they instantly detest each other but Ash is shocked when his once still heart starts to beat. Bonded by a mysterious connection, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed. Then Haze users start dying all over the city and Ash discovers the terrible truth behind his and Natalie’s mystical connection. Suddenly, city walls and the threat of execution become the least of their problems.

Black City Chronicles reading list HERE.

The second newbie comes to us from J.A. Souders.  Renegade is the first book of the Elysium Chronicles series.

Synopsis…

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb… and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Elysium Chronicles reading list HERE.

And the final one for this week is from Kassy Tayler.  Ashes of Twilight is the first book of the Ashes series.

Synopsis…

Wren MacAvoy works as a coal miner for a domed city that was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to protect the royal blood line of England when astronomers spotted a comet on a collision course with Earth.  Humanity would be saved by the most groundbreaking technology of the time.  But after nearly 200 years of life beneath the dome, society has become complacent, and the coal is running out. Plus, there are those who wonder, is there life outside the dome, or is the world still consumed by fire?  When one of Wren’s friends escapes the confines of the dome, he is burned alive and put on display as a warning to those seeking to disrupt the dome’s way of life.  But Alex’s final words are haunting. “The sky is blue.”

What happens next is a whirlwind of adventure, romance, conspiracy and the struggle to stay alive in a world where nothing is as it seems. Wren unwittingly becomes a catalyst for a revolution that destroys the dome, and the only way to survive might be to embrace what the entire society has feared their entire existence.

Ashes reading list HERE.

What were you looking forward to this week?  Are any of these on your buy list?  I already pre-ordered Black City a while ago, so looking forward to that one.

Young Adult Spotlight…Black City

Wow, two posts in one day.  On a roll or what?  Speaking of being on a roll, looks like the young adult book-to-movie phenomenon continues, this time with a book that hasn’t even hit the shelves yet.  Page to Premier Network reports that Screen Gems is set to adapt Black City, the first book in the Black City series by Elizabeth Richards, which is scheduled for release in hardcover on November 13th.  I have to say, this one had already been preordered before I found the movie info, so here’s hoping it lives up to the hype.

Synopsis…

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable–they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed–but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

With the absolute endless stream of book adaptations heading our way in the coming months, which one are you most excited by?  Which do you think will best make the jump to the big screen (or even the small screen for that matter)?

Cover Lover – 11 New Titles

As I said in my last post, there were a couple of covers I came across on my latest updating spree, both for young adult and adult titles.  Some are new, some are just new to me.  The first one is from Sandra Hill and her Deadly Angels series.  Book two, Kiss of Surrender, will be released on September 25th.

Melissa de la Cruz continues her Witches of East End series on June 12th with the release of book two, Serpent’s Kiss.

Starling, the first book of the upcoming Starling series from Lesley Livingston, will be released in hardcover on August 28th.

Next up is Sweet Shadows, the second book in Tera Lynn Childs‘ Medusa Girls series.  This one is due out on September 4th.

The Shadow Shifters series from A.C. Arthur continues with the release of Seduction’s Shift on September 25th.

Amanda Ashley upped the cover for her upcoming release, Desire the Night.  This one is due out on September 1st.

This is one I haven’t heard of before, but author Karen Mahoney will be releasing Falling to Ash, from the Moth series, on August 30th.

I like this one…very eye catching.  Black City is the first book from the Black City Chronicles from Elizabeth Richards, due out on November 13th.

Kept is the next one from Shawntelle Madison, a sequel to Coveted.  This one is due out on November 27th.

Almost done.  This one is from Heather Burch and her Halflings series.  Guardian is due out this October.

The last one from this batch is one I have seen before.  Man, not sure on the dude’s outfit – at all.  Revelation is the first book in a new series from Erica Hayes, due out on October 2nd.