#51 Dark Desire by Christine Feehan

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

I liked this second book a little better than Dark Prince. I think it had a bit more of a story to it instead of just the romance, though I still got sick of all the flowery romance scenes and descriptions. I prefer my sex scenes to be a bit more graphic. I mean, I'd rather have Feehan talk about his "hard, thick penis" instead of "the hot, thick evidence of his desire". It's amazing how many flowery words and descriptions she can come up with to describe this part of the male anatomy!

In this book, we re-encounter some of the characters from the first book, as well as meet a few new ones as well. I believe that in these first few books there's a lot of establishing of the characters and the Carpathian race in general going on, so I'm still hoping these get better as I go along (woosang said so LOL) so I'm going to continue reading. I'm looking for more story, more danger and intrigue, and if more explicit sex if it's going to be there anyway. I've got the next 2 of the series here on my TBR and book 5 is supposedly coming to me via bookring anyway. I figure by book 5, I'll have a good handle on this series, and know if it's going to simply be too romance-y for me or what.

#50 Cirque Du Freak 2: The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Loved it... just as much if not more so than the first one. I love how these books are quick and can be read in a single day, allowing me to squeeze them easily into my TBR queue. :)

In this book, Darren is fighting his urge to take human blood, which he needs to keep him alive, instead sustaining himself only off the blood of animals. He feels that by taking blood from humans, even a sip or two without killing or draining them, would truly make him evil. He's also dishearted because he can no longer have friends his own age... his attempt to play street hockey with some kids in one town cripples one of the boys when things get rough. So he and Mr. Crepsley rejoin the freak show, so that Darren can be with others of his kind without fear of keeping his true nature hidden. But can he resist his body's need for human blood? Or must he instead conquer his feelings that doing so is evil, in order to sustain his life....

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book or Amazon.com for more reviews and information. This book is also available for mooching from me through BookMooch or PaperBackSwap.

#49 The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book going in, as this is the first I’ve read by this author. Rankin’s satirical style reminded me a bit of Christopher Moore or Terry Pratchett. The story, started off a bit slow for the first few chapters, but then immediately drew me in beyond that.

Jack and Eddie Bear set out to solve the mystery of who’s killing off the famous nursery rhyme characters one by one. Humpty Dumpty, made famous by his fall from the wall (which many in Toy City actually thought was an attempted suicide), was the first victim, followed by Little Boy Blue, and others.

The writing is very stylized, the humour of a British nature, and though I found it quite hilarious, having to read certain parts out loud to DH, I can see how it would put some people off for the silliness of it all. Not me though! I immediately went and added The Toyminator, which is more of Eddie Bear’s story, to my wishlist. :)

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book, or it’s Amazon page, for more reviews and information. I also have another copy of this book available, which you can mooch from me through bookmooch. :)

#48 Secrets Volume 6 by MaryJanice Davidson, Sandy Fraser, Alice Gaines, Angela Knight, Sandy Tetzlaff

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Wow, these were some great reads. I hadn't realized when I started this that it was actually erotica, so I was pleasantly surprised by that too.

Flint's Fuse by Sandy Fraser
I enjoyed the character of Dana, who was a tough as nails rich bitch who always got her way (and her man). And Flint too, who though he had feelings for her, didn't let it get in the way of doing the job he was assigned to do. I'm glad they wound up together in the end.

Love's Prisoner by MaryJanice Davidson
My first intro the MJD's Wyndham Werewolves, who appear in later books starting with Derik's Bane. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more about them now. Jeannie's character reminded me a little bit of Betsy from the Undead series, and I understand that in the final story in Dead and Loving It, which actually takes place before Undead and Unpopular, the werewolves meet the vampires. So I'll be curious to see if Jeannie and Michael are still around then. I hope so as I really enjoyed their story here.

The Education of Miss Felicity Wells by Alice Gaines
This one was only alright for me. The innocence and virginity of Felicity was a bit annoying. That she'd go to a known casanova to teach her to please her husband, and expect to retain her virginity throughout the process, was a little silly in my mind. But then again, maybe she's just stupid!

A Candidate for the Kiss by Angela Knight
The sex in this one was hot! I didn't care for the author's habit of inserting a chapter break in the middle of a conversation. You usually expect a chapter ending to allow you a good place to put down the book and get back to it later, but in the case of this story, I'd often have to go back and reread the last few paragraphs of the previous chapter to pick up where the new chapter started. Since I've got some of Ms. Knight's books on my TBR shelf, I can only hope she's become better in this regard because I found it quite annoying! At least the story (and the sex) was good.

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book or it's Amazon page for more reviews and information.

#47 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Though not my usual genre, this was a good read nonetheless. The story is told from the first-person viewpoint of Susie Salmon, a murdered 14 year old girl who died at the hands of a neighbor whom nobody suspects. Nobody that is, except her father who's got a nagging feeling that George Harvey is behind Susy's disappearance.

So Susie's looking down at her family and friends from heaven, watching her death split her family apart, remembering events that happened in the past, and trying as hard as she can (even though she can't affect things on earth) to point her family and the police in the right direction of her murderer. An old classmate Ruth, and former boyfriend Ray, become close, and Ruth is somewhat of a medium, able to communicate with spirits, a skill she doesn't realize she possesses until Susie brushes past her and actually touches her as her soul transcends to heaven. Ruth becomes important later in the story too with some of the things she can do.

Though I don't believe in the Christian concept of heaven, I do believe in a similar place where our souls go to await reincarnation. So I could still relate to this story just as easily as anyone else, especially since they didn't use Christian divinity concepts. As a matter of fact, Susy's heaven seemed much more like the Pagan Summerlands than what I've seen heaven portrayed as.

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

#46 His Immortal Embrace by Hannah Howell, Lynsay Sands, Sara Blayne, Kate Huntington

My Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

“The Yearning” by Hannah Howell
I found this story super predictable and in my mind, kept swearing at the characters that they were so slow witted. I mean, I figured out how to end the curse the first time Rona had recited it so many years ago. And yet it took 364 years for these people to figure it out. Granted the actual words were hidden for many generations, but still… the rest of the story, though predictable, was fairly interesting, which is what kept me reading. Overall, I’d give it a 6 out of 10 because of the predictability and the actual story line was secondary to the romance. And I don’t care for stories too strong in romance.

“Bitten” by Lynsay Sands
Keeran and Emily… eh, somewhat better than the first story, but it certainly didn’t endear the author to me in any way. Though I’ve already got some of Sands’ books on my bookshelf to read soon so I hope they’re not as sappy as this story.

“Stranger in the Night” by Sara Blayne
My Goddess, this author knows how to ramble! She could talk for an entire page on something as simple as an amulet, while throwing a bunch of historical information, people’s names and relationships at the reader all in a single paragraph. The antiquated writing style, and the dialogue she used, not just with the speech of her characters, which I could understand based on the story’s time period, but she also used all manner of antiquated words which I’d never heard of. Beyond that, her constant use of terms like “Faith” and “The Devil” smacked of Christian evangelism. It got tiring real fast and after only two chapters I felt I couldn’t take any more and moved onto the next story.

“The Awakening” by Kate Huntington
I thought this was the best of the four stories. It wasn’t all that predictable like the others and it kept me reading, not wanting to put it down. Yes, like the others this took place back in olden times, 1814 to be precise, but the author didn’t try to write as if she were from that generation as well. A very good read indeed. :)

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

#45 Beyond the Pale: The Darkwing Chronicles Book One by Savannah Russe

My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Wow! This was an awesome book, and a debut from this author no less. No wonder NeedSun had to immediately buy/locate book two. If she hadn’t, I might’ve had to. ;)

This book is classified as a romance, and though I can see the romance aspect, it definitely wasn’t the primary focus of the book which made me enjoy it even more. I like books where romance, if included at all, is more of an afterthought than part of the main story line.

Daphne is a strong, tough character, the kind I like, and a vampire to boot. Plus she’s a Monkey in Chinese Astrology like me. :) In Beyond the Pale, Daphne, a nearly 500 year old vampire, is approached to join a team of vamps working for the US government to help catch terrorists. Vampires aren’t widely recognized and accepted here like they are in the Anita Blake books, instead only certain government officials, and the Vamps themselves, really know of their existence. And with their superhuman strength, Team Darkwing makes a great set of heroes!

Though I just finished saying I don’t care for the romance aspect, I’m curious to find out what happens between Daphne and Darius in the next book. Joanne, hurry up and read book 2 so I can be next! ;) LOL

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

#44 Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a retelling of the Cinderella story which takes place in 17th Century Holland. While it retains a lot of similarity to the original story, at least more so than some of the other Cinderella stories we’ve read so far, most of the “magical” and otherworldly events have been given more real-world characteristics.

The cast opens with two sisters, Ruth and Iris, and their shrewd mother Margarethe, who are fleeing England by boat to Holland. Margarethe, originally from Holland herself, had moved to England when she married, and upon the death of her husband, assumed she’d be able to find family in Holland to live with until she could get her family back on their feet. Ruth, the eldest sister, is described as a simpleton: she’s rather large, learning-impaired, and somewhat mute. Iris, a few years younger, is very astute and smart, though rather plain looking. It is around these three characters that the story primarily revolves.

Since any remaining family Margarethe once had in Holland has all since passed on, the three are left to travel from house to house, seeking shelter in exchange for work. After a short stay with the Master, where Iris develops an eye for art, they’re taken into the van den Meer household, where we meet Clara, our Cinderella, a cloistered and coddled youngster whose forbidden to leave the house, and has since become too afraid to do so anyway. This initial portrayal of Clara, at least with regards to physical attributes, is not unlike the traditional Cinderella: she is a shy, beautiful girl with delicate features and golden blonde hair.

Shortly after Margarethe and her daughters have moved in to the van den Meer household, helping in the kitchen and with other household duties, Henrika van den Meer, Clara’s mother, falls ill and eventually dies. Margarethe, ever the shrewd plotter, instantly sees a way for her to elevate her position in the household and announces her upcoming betrothal to Cornelius van den Meer, Clara’s father. She then decides that housework is beneath her and assigns the majority of the household duties to her daughters. Clara, ever the spoiled little rich girl, initially refuses to help out, but once she realizes she can escape Margarethe for most of the day by working in the kitchen, she eventually resigns herself, discarding her beautiful dresses in favor of the rags of a house maid. She sleeps on the hearth and calls herself Cinderella, or Cindergirl or Ashgirl.

Of course, we eventually have the infamous ball. And like in the traditional story, Margarethe wishes to promote one of her daughters, Iris in this case, to the attentions of the Prince. Besides, the family has fallen on hard times due to market crashes, and Margarethe sees dollar signs with the possibility of Iris’s marriage to the Prince. But Iris is convinced of her dour looks, and would instead prefer to see Clara attend the ball, if only to cheer her up a bit. She also figures that Clara has a much better chance of snaring the Prince than she herself. All this can only help the family, as both Iris and Margarethe realize, and we see how Iris is very much like her mother, but in a much less ruthless way.

Clara finally agrees to attend the ball if she can go with her face veiled, as if in mourning or penance. And as expected, she catches the attention of the Prince on her arrival. The two eventually retire to a back room with a bottle of champagne while the party goes on out in the main room. When a fire in one of the rooms of the Pruyns estate breaks out, all the guests flee, including Clara, Iris, Ruth, and Margarethe. The Prince, knowing Clara not by her true name but by Clarissa of Aragon, is unable to locate her again and sets out on his quest the following day to find who fits the slipper Clara has left behind in her haste. The slipper is made of soft white kid leather (not glass), originally Margarethe’s who hasn’t been able to wear them since her eyes have started to go. But once at the van den Meer household, the Prince also accuses someone in the house of starting the fire at the Pruyns mansion the night before. It is here he finds his Clarissa, who begs the Prince to shield her family from harm, no matter their faults or wrongful actions.

And they live happily ever after… ;)

Of course, there’s a whole back-story to this tale too, with the Master and his paintings, and an attraction between Iris and the Master’s apprentice, that adds a lot to the traditional story. And I really thought it went a long way towards enhancing the story too, making everyone and everything seem more “real” and less like a fairy tale. On reading this story, one could easily imagine that everything could very well have happened as was told here. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t yet read it, whether they’re Cinderella fans or not.

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