REVIEW: Cirque du Freak #10: The Lake of Souls by Darren Shan

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

In The Lake of Souls, the 10th book in the Cirque du Freak series, Half-Vampire Darren Shan and Little Person Harkat Mulds set off on a quest to discover the person that Harkat used to be, before Desmond Tiny remade him into a "Little Person". As they step through the mysteriously glowing arched doorway, suspended midair in the middle of a field, to the strange world beyond, they have no idea of the kinds of odd and fantastical creatures they will soon encounter in the land beyond, nor if they'll even make it back alive.

This was another great but fast read in the Cirque du Freak series, which is very nearly at the end. Book 12 is the last in the series. Though it's been several years since I read my last Cirque du Freak book, the author is great about dropping in extra description at appropriate points to remind you of past events when necessary. It may even be easy enough for a new reader to pick up any book in the series without having read the previous ones, though they wouldn't know the characters nearly as well as someone who's followed the story from the beginning. As usual, the writing style is swift and the action is quick, which I believe makes it quite suitable in the young adult genre, and definitely had a hard time putting it down once I started reading. I have a library book I have to tend to now, but I look forward to returning to the world of Darren Shan again really soon.

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REVIEW: The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo, & the Poltergeist Accountant by Vivi Andrews

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

As a consultant to the dead, Lucy Cartwright receives nightly visits from the dead, usually from horny or sexually frustrated ghosts who have trouble moving on for one reason or another. But when she's visited by a live, hunky PI named Jake Cox who's investigating a murder and believes one of Lucy's ghosts has the answers he seeks, the sexual sparks between them are immediate and potent. Unfortunately, until Lucy's Cassanova ghost pays her a visit, the hookup between her and Jake is an itch that just can't be scratched since it would mean no more visits from the hornball ghosts.

This was a cute little short story. Some of the dialog seemed a bit cheesy at times, but mostly that was in the ghosts, and of course that's how they were supposed to be. As a short story, it held my interest even if the eventual outcome was a bit predictable and happily ever after. :)

REVIEW: From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 8) by Charlaine Harris

My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

This is the 8th book in the True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie has returned home to Bon Temps and is hoping things can finally get back to normal after all the horrible events that took place at the Vampire Summit in Rhodes. The Queen is on the mend but several of her lieutenants are still MIA, and though Sookie's boyfriend Quinn did make it out alive, she has yet to hear from him.

But there's plenty else going on in Sookie's life to keep her from dwelling too much on her failed relationship. For starters, wars have broken out in both the Vampire and Were communities and as usual, Sookie is caught smack dab in the middle of all the ruckus, with lots more killings going on all around her. When the dust settles, it brings with it some some major leadership changes in both the Vampire and Were communities, and the lives of a few more supernaturals are lost in the uproar. But when one life is lost, another is introduced, or so they say, and to that end, Sookie is introduced to a new family member whose existence had remained secret up until now.

As the story progresses and Sookie grows more accepting of her blood bond with area 5 sheriff Eric Northman, I can only hope their relationship goes back to the way it was when Eric had amnesia, especially since Quinn no longer seems to be in the picture. I'd rather see Sookie with Eric anyway. Mmmmm Eric.... *drool*

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, which according to the author herself, is slated to end after book 13. I will be sad to see Sookie go but hey, there will always be True Blood reruns to relive, in addition to the other projects Charlaine Harris is working on. :)

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REVIEW: Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire

My Rating: 4 out of 10 stars

The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm and the world comes to Montefiore.

In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia--decadent children of a wicked pope--no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care (so to speak) of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ...

I had a difficult time making it through this book. The pace was pretty slow most of the way through, and the dialog and phrasing would often set my mind to wandering so next thing I knew, I wasn't even comprehending what I was reading. That's usually a strong indicator that I'm pretty bored with a book. :( I decided to plod through anyway. Perhaps it was because I enjoyed Wicked so much--both the book and the theater production--that I thought Mirror Mirror would eventually get there too, but alas it did not, and I was left feeling that my time could've been better spend with my nose in the next Sookie book which has been lying in wait on my night stand. :)

The reason I'm not giving this book a lesser rating is that even though I didn't enjoy it, I still felt the author himself is a good writer. I didn't find myself criticizing the story itself as I was reading as I do with other books with really bad writing. So just because this book wasn't my cup of tea, and I'm sure others will agree that it's a bit slow-paced, there may be others who enjoy it a lot more than I did.

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REVIEW: All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 7) by Charlaine Harris

My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Sookie has agreed to accompany Vampire Queen Sophie-Anne Leclerq to the Vampire Summit in Rhodes. Also in tow are several of the other Louisiana vampires including Bill, Eric, Pam, and a few of the other area sheriffs. During the summit, the Queen is set to stand trial for the charges of killing her short-time husband, Peter Threadgill, King of Arkansas, and Sookie is prepared to serve as witness in the case. Unfortunately, due to the disastrous events of Katrina, the Queen's kingdom is in a much weakened state and so of course, many of the other vampires present are attempting to take advantage, and Sookie's telepath duties prove quite useful to the queen during all the wheeling and dealing and power struggles going on.

While in Rhodes (this is near Chicago, not the island in Greece), Sookie also meets up with the only other telepath she's ever met, Barry the Bellyboy, who now works for the Vampire King of Texas. Together, Sookie and Barry manage to uncover a deadly plot perpetrated by a group of haters wanting to take down a large number of vampires at the hotel where the summit is being held.

In addition to the summit events, there are several other sub-plots going on. Sookie's relationship with Quinn starts to get a bit complicated as he realizes how deeply she's tied to the vampires. In particular, her ties to Eric have grown stronger with the forced taking of more of his blood. (Yay!) One can only hope that Sookie and Eric wind up together from here on out, but of course Sookie will keep trying to deny their bond, even though it's apparent that Eric really cares deeply for her.

In the end, all is well, and Sookie saves the day, although several vampires (and humans) are indeed lost in another terrible tragedy. Though the main plot is wrapped up nicely, it's the underlying sub-plots which have you drooling for the next installment. I can't wait to see what happens next!!

Overall, this has got to be one of my favorite Sookie books in a long time! The action was non-stop and the underlying chemistry between Eric and Sookie is once again beginning to heat up. Woohoo!! Bring it on!! :)

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REVIEW: Definitely Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 6) by Charlaine Harris

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Sookie is headed to the Big Easy in this 6th book of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Summoned by the Vampire Queen and her lawyer, Sookie is charged with finalizing the settlement of her cousin Hadley's estate down in New Orleans. Hadley, once a favorite consort of the Queen, was murdered at the hands of another jealous vampire on her staff.

Unfortunately, the trouble starts for Sookie before she even leaves Bon Temps, with an attack by a couple of bitten weres as she's leaving the theater with new beau Quinn the weretiger, and then later when the sliced-up body of the half-demon messenger who was sent with Sookie's summons is found in her backyard. And then things only get worse after arriving in New Orleans where Sookie is no longer the only target. But who could possibly be after the Queen too? And are all these attacks even related?

In this book, we're also let in on Bill's grand revelation regarding his placement in Bon Temps by the Queen, a fact which has already been revealed in the True Blood television series. And it's from this point on that Sookie's feelings for Bill really take a nosedive. While the TV series and the books follow each other closely enough, there are certain characters that are either more prominent (Tara, Lafayette) or non-existent (Jessica, Bubba) in one place or another, and events don't always follow along on the same timeline. Plus there's always that little bit of manipulation that takes place for TV, to keep the action flowing quickly. I'm particularly happy they kept Lafayette around (he was killed off at the end of book 1) as he's definitely one of my favorite characters next to Eric. :)

And this is why after 4 years away from this series—while I caught up on several other books including Ms. Harris other series—I realized I best get caught up on these before True Blood overtakes where I am in the books! LOL While I found the previous book, Dead as a Doornail a little less memorable than the first 4 books for some reason, Definitely Dead picked right back up full steam and left me craving more. If you're a fan of the series, you've probably already read this one and so I don't have to tell you how it left me craving more. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean. If however, you haven't yet read this series, then what are you waiting for?! I've already started the next one!! Yummy!!! :)

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REVIEW: Personal Demons by Stacia Kane

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Megan Chase is host to a new radio show that promises to help callers slay their demons. Too bad the demons are taking that literally and are now coming after Megan themselves. But there are some who would prefer to work with rather than against her, including a particularly hot, chiseled and sexy fire demon named Greyson Dante. He's helping Megan stand up to the personal demons who are after her, and along with his team of crazy, cockney guard demons, they're chasing down all the demons that get in her face. :)

This was a cute, fun read. What it lacked in substance, it made up for in quirkiness and humor. While I found a few parts to be a little predictable, the author put a few new twists on typical demon lore to spice things up a bit, like the whole Meegra "family" thing. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and once I get caught up on some of my other reads, I may peek in on Megan and Greyson again in their sequel. :)

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REVIEW: Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga, Book 4 by Stephenie Meyer

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

The choice has been made and Bella and Edward are ready to start their life together. Bella's unusually strong connection to her dear friend Jacob has not diminished and it's making Jacob crazy to have to stand by Bella's choices.

Yet when Bella manages to conceive Edward's child--a miraculous event that the vampires didn't even realize could happen--things threaten to get even worse as the exceptionally strong fetus rips apart Bella's insides trying to get out. But Bella is committed to bringing this exceptional child into the world, refusing to abort despite the life-threatening risks, or the eventual consequences of the Volturi vampire council. Who will be left standing (or breathing) at the end?

Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight Saga, and upon finishing it I found myself immediately looking forward to the movie, due in November. This final book wraps things up quite neatly, and I was also quite happy with how things turned out for Jacob. Though I probably liked it just a tad bit less than Eclipse, it was a fascinating read nonetheless.

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