#35 You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

A good read, different from her vampire series though. I’m still not sure whether or not I like Aisling’s character all that much though, she’s a bit of a dunce at times, and the stupid-ness of her actions aggravated me sometimes. I tend to prefer a strong female like Anita Blake, to these ditzy ones, but that’s just my preference. Most likely it doesn’t bug others as much as it does me. And Katie’s characters always seem to be somewhat ditzy in most of her books anyway, yet I still read them so there’s obviously something I like that makes me overlook the annoying-ness of her character. I do have the 2nd in this series, Fire Me Up, which I plan to read shortly… hopefully Aisling has gotten a hold on some of her powers then and can learn to listen with her full mind instead of just what she can see right in front of her.

See more progress on: read 100 books in 2006.

#34 Shadowland (The Mediator, Book 1) by Meg Cabot

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

I enjoyed this book. Enough so that I’m going to add the rest of the series to my wishlist too. :) It was a quick, cute read… Meg obviously writing in the teen and young adult genre since she writes the Princess Diary books too. (I’ve never read the books though I like the 2 movies I saw.)

I was glad to see Meg’s self esteem pick up a bit later in the book, since in the beginning she always seemed to think herself not worthy of having many friends. However, I believe a person’s worth to others is only as strong as that which they see in themselves, so a negative self impression is more hurtful to a girl’s popularity than anything else.

This book also made me realize that the books I like best always have a strong female (or male) lead; I found myself not liking Suze that much at the beginning of the book, but began to admire her more as she became more sure of herself.

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information. See more progress on read 100 books in 2006.

#33 Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

This was another good read. Though not quite as witty as Donna Andrews cozy mysteries (her bird series in particular since those are the only ones I’ve read so far), these have a good story and mystery to them nonetheless, which always keeps me on my toes. In this book, I was able to deduce some of who might be involved early on, but the whole thing didn’t fall into place until the end, thus keeping me in suspense.

See more progress on: read 100 books in 2006.

#32 Cooking up a Storm by Emma Holly

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

This is my first Black Lace book and I loved it! I wish I could teleport myself into Abby and Storm's world. I'm going to Cape Cod this weekend myself so maybe I'll look for their little village (though I think it might be fictional). LOL

When playboy Storm Dupré blows into town, he turns Abby's world upside down, and opens her up to all kinds of new sexual explorations; things she couldn't imagine herself doing a few short weeks before. But what are his true intentions... and what can Abby do to keep herself from falling hard for the confirmed playboy?

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information.

#31 Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

I really liked this book. It’s considered a teen book so it was a really quick read, but in the same sense, also hard to put down, so I whipped through it in just a day. I’d love to read the rest of this series.

Darren and his friend Tommy go to a secret freak show that’s come to town… and that’s only the very beginning of everything that’s to follow…

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more links and information. See more progress on read 100 books in 2006.

#30 Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

I don’t think I liked this one as much as American Gods... there seemed to be so much more going on under the surface in that one. Still, it was an interesting story nonetheless, even though it couldn’t live up to it’s predecessor. I found I didn’t really endear myself to any of the characters: Spider was annoying and stuck on himself, Fat Charlie was a pathetic loser (until the end when he found his true self). I know I’ve felt the same way about characters in some of Gaiman’s other books though, so that doesn’t necessarily make them not a good book, just perhaps not as touching if it doesn’t speak to a certain part of me….

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information. See more progress on read 100 books in 2006.