September’s Book of the Month

I know this was pretty much a formality, but Nalini Singh‘s Archangel’s Viper is September’s book of the month. I read this one a couple of months back, but I am ready for a re-read, too. I think the bigger story is that J.D. Robb‘s Secrets in Death came in at #2 – it is the 45th freakin’ book in the series. Forty. Fifth. And more popular than ever. Blows my mind.

Synopsis…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…

No one is safe.

I was surprised by how much I liked Holly. I mean, of course I expected to love the book, but I am really bitchy when it comes to female leads. It isn’t rare for me to like a story in spite of the heroine rather than because of her, but Holly made this book for me. I am still getting a Bluebell/Sparkle vibe, maybe not as strong as before, but it is still there – and I am still hoping I am wrong. I haven’t read many M/m stories – maybe two? One for Blay and Qhuinn (BDB), one for Caspion and Mirceo (IAD). I ended up enjoying them both, but I wasn’t as invested in their characters as I am Illium and Aodhan, either. We shall see, I guess.

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Mark the Calendar

Yes. Mark the date…

The next Psy/Changeling Trinity novel by Nalini Singh will be called Ocean Light. According to Amazon.uk, it will be released on June 28th, 2018.

So, pretty much guaranteed it is a BlackSea-centric book, right? Malachi and Miane? Leila and…Bo? Let the guesswork begin!

Book of the Month

Some months it can be a bit of a struggle to find 10 interesting books, but September has almost too many. There are a couple of really big releases, and a bunch of “smaller” ones that look just as good. Time to vote and see what book will be chosen as the book of the month for September. If none of the titles listed below appeal, just select “Other” and leave your choice in the comments section. A complete list of September’s releases can be found HERE.

 

I have already read Nalini Singh‘s Archangel’s Viper, and there are quite a few more that might be finding their way onto my ipad, too. Not so sure how excited I am for Christine Feehan‘s Dark Legacy, though – I have completely lost track of the characters and storyline at this point. And I am pretty sure a re-read of the series isn’t in the cards, either.

Reading Wrap Up

Welp, my story hasn’t changed much since my last reading wrap up post – still short on time. But, things haven’t been going to badly besides that. I am still working my way through Divided in Death by J.D. Robb, and for the first third I found myself thinking that it was the first In Death book that didn’t quite grab me. Well, that changed. Once Roarke finds out that there were those in the know about what happened to Eve as a child, things took off big-time. I haven’t managed to finish it yet, but I am glad to say that I am finding it as good as all of the previous stories.

Oh, and I might casually add that I received an ARC of Archangel’s Viper from Nalini Singh. I am almost finished it, actually, and I am surprised by how much I liked Holly. Venom, too, but Holly was the standout for me. I still can’t quite put my finger on the whole Illium/Aodhan vibe that is going on, but it will be interesting to see where that goes in coming books.

So, that wraps things up for me, sadly. What have you been reading lately? Anything exciting (or disappointing) to share?

Reading Wrap Up

Sooo, I am back from my little book-based vacation, where I devoured Silver Silence in, well, complete silence. All by myself, no noise, no tv, just peace and quiet and a great book. It was heaven. I loved Silver Silence, but I expected nothing less from a Nalini Singh book. The bears were a great addition to the world, and I hope we get back to them soon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Pavel and Arwen novella in our future, either. Maybe Bo up next? That would be great, since it has been a while since a human was in the mix.

I also pulled a re-read of White Hot – and loved it just as much this time around. That is one hell of a world Ilona Andrews has created, and it has honestly jumped to the top of my favorites list…I might go so far as to say it could be my absolute favorite, beating out even the Psy/Changelings and Kate Daniels. Bold statement, but it just might be true.

Oh, then there is The Darkest Promise from Gena Showalter. I managed to get a solid start on that one, too, but…eh. The humor is falling flat, I don’t have much interest in the characters or the world, and the romance just isn’t doing it for me. I am skimming over pages, which is bad when you are only a third of the way in, and I find myself a bit bored and feeling like I have read it all before. Honestly, it might just be that I read and re-read two great books just before it, but at this point I keep thinking that either the series should change direction or just wrap it up. Maybe focus on the angels, or William and the four horsemen, or move on. I am going to put it down for a while and hopefully I can get more involved after a break. Or I will just skim the sucker and get it over with. We’ll see.

If you feel like spoiler talk on any of this week’s books, let it fly in the comments section. How did you like the new Trinity storyline for the Psy/Changelings? Am I just being bitchy about the LotU or do you feel it is in a bit of a decline, too? What have you felt the need to re-read lately?

Pick of the Week

Hahahaha….yeah. Like you were all on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what I would pick, right?

Anyways, I am off to grab the pick of the week, get a hotel room and a pizza, and have 24 hours of complete alone-ness with Silver Silence. I do this once a year (had to skip last year, and missed it a lot), and I can’t wait. My own version of silver silence, I guess.

Reading Wrap Up

After a particularly brutish work weekend, I am for once sort of out of words. In person, I have been pretty much reduced to blink once for yes and twice for no, so I am not going to dawdle on the reading wrap up, either. Maybe.

I did tackle the second book in J.R. Ward‘s Fallen Angels series, Crave. And like the first one, I find it quite decent. A solid, middle-of-the-road book for me. Nothing I didn’t like, but honestly nothing that made me rabid to start the next one, either. Interesting premise, decent characters, and no guarantee that the good guys will always win is in its favor, but it doesn’t have that something-something to suck me in. I plan on keeping on with the series for sure, but it might take a while before I get it finished.

And then there was Shadow Reaper. It was vintage Christine Feehan, and she seems pretty much back on track after the issues of a couple of years ago. Love it or hate it, she has a style that either works for you or doesn’t, and this one is no exception. I find myself quite liking this newest series, but the only thing that pulled my enjoyment down was the Shibari side story. Honestly, I am not that exciting, but even I found that part dull. I mean, how much do I really need to know about rope? So, I skimmed those parts to get back into the story, and that worked for me. Decent, non Feehan Female Formula lead (Blonde! Never cooked! Don’t think she said honey even once!) was a really nice change, too.

I also pulled a re-read of Moonshadow by Thea Harrison, which I mentioned a bit in a post below, so not going to go on about it. I think the highlight of this bunch, though is my continued trek through the In Death series from J.D. Robb. I finished up Portrait in Death (Roarke backstory. Niiiiice), and am almost through Imitation in Death. Still loving them, and I show no signs of getting tired of them at all. Honestly, I get excited when it is time for the next one (I space them out a bit), and I already have the next one ready.

Your turn. What have you been loving the last couple of weeks? Did you find anything to fill the days between last month’s White Hot from Ilona Andrews and this weeks’ Silver Silence from Nalini Singh?

Silver Silence Review

As we all start the countdown to the release of Nalini Singh‘s Silver Silence next week, early reviews have started coming in…and they are good. Really good. Doug Meeks was kind enough to share his thoughts on this one, and it makes me even more excited to get my hands on it.

What Doug said…

This book was around 500 pages …….. not enough pages! There are few books that can even hold my attention without scanning for 500 pages and this one did that and could have gone on for another 500 pages.

Silver and Valentin are the couple in this new excursion that is part of the new “Trinity” story arc. We get to see a few people we already knew like the most powerful man in the series Kaleb Krychek which we could not leave behind, since he just adds to any scene.

The story revolves around the persistence of Valentin (an alpha bear changeling) and the semi-Silenced Silver (hence the title), there is the usual life threatening plot that goes with almost all of the books in this series and the drama and several subplots just make for an intoxicating mix of drama, romance and family values (these families value “disposing” of anyone who threatens the family). Since the book starts out with an assassination attempt (this is in the synopsis so not a spoiler) the “families” involved have simple solutions if they can find the culprit.

The book has several scenes that are just hilarious and an equal number that are just as warm.

The book starts out at full speed after about 2 pages and seldom lets up so hang on because it is going to be a bumpy ride for about 500 pages and you will still want more when it is done.

Bottom line: Great story, exceptional romance, amazing plot and subplots, humor, engaging and memorable characters. So what more could you want? 5 Stars and still thinking about it 2 days later.

I will be doing my yearly run-away-from-home for this one. Even though I have it preordered for my ipad, I will be driving a couple of hours to the nearest big town (and sadly the nearest town with a bookstore. Go figure) and picking up the hardcover, too. I go all by myself, take myself out to supper, then get a hotel room and spend one glorious night reading. Alone. By myself. In peace and quiet. Serenity now.

June’s Book of the Month

So, I don’t imagine too many people are shocked to discover that Nalini Singh‘s Silver Silence was chosen as the Book of the Month. By a margin of 132 to 14. Yeah, pretty decisive, I would say. Coming in second was Gena Showalter‘s The Darkest Promise, and rounding off the top three was Jeaniene Frost‘s The Sweetest Burn. Did I mention there are only 12 days left until Silver Silence? Not like I am counting or anything. Honest.

Don’t Do It!

I might’ve been cruising around Amazon.com today, and I might’ve noticed that Nalini Singh‘s upcoming Silver Silence is showing up with a blue cover I haven’t seen before. And I might’ve clicked on that cover for some reason – AND IT MIGHT’VE TAKEN ME TO THE LOOK INSIDE FEATURE. Holy hell, if you are absolutely, positively desperate to get a monstrous “sneak peek” – aka a crap ton of the entire book, it is there in all its glory. I hope you are stronger than I am, because I so accidentally spoiled myself on a bit of the plot while I was stupidly trying to figure out if I was really seeing what I thought I was. I have done my job…you have been warned. Let’s see who has way more control than I did.

Do you like to be spoiled on a much-anticipated book, or do you want to go in completely blank? I fall somewhere painfully in the middle, usually wanted to go in clueless but too weak to avoid snippets and advanced reviews. And if it is a particularly huge nail-biter, I will sometimes jump ahead just to make sure everything works out ok. But it never fails – I will usually randomly open to a page and the first thing I see is “I can’t believe so-and-so died!” or some game-changing piece of info like that. I am a weak, weak woman.