30 May 2013

Absolution (Penton Legacy #2) by Susannah Sandlin

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}

Absolution (Penton Legacy #2)

by 
With the vampire world on the brink of civil war over the scarcity of untainted human blood, battle lines are being drawn between the once peaceful vampire and human enclave of Penton, Alabama, and the powerful Vampire Tribunal. Mirren Kincaid once served the tribunal as their most creative and ruthless executioner—a time when he was known as the Slayer. But when assigned a killing he found questionable, Mirren abandoned the tribunal’s political machinations and disappeared—only to resurface two centuries later as the protector and second-in-command of Penton. Now the tribunal wants him back on their side. 
To break their rogue agent, they capture Glory Cummings, the descendant of a shaman, and send her to restore Mirren’s bloodthirsty nature. But instead of a monster, Glory sees a man burdened by the weight of his past. Could her magic touch—meant by the tribunal to bring out a violent killer—actually help Mirren break his bonds and discover the love he doesn’t believe he deserves?





















Hello again! I actually finished this a day or so ago and have already started on book 3 in the series, but am just now getting around to reviewing this one! Absolution is book 2 in the Penton Legacy, and it is by Susannah Sandlin, read by Amy McFadden, whom is slightly familiar, but her name doesn't stand out or ring a bell for me, so I guess I can say it's a first hearing her read. I enjoyed the first book in this series, and really enjoyed this second one too. The story/plot sort of picks up where the first one left off, but there's a different "bad guy" in this one, although still tied into the main overall plot, so the bad guy in this one was mentioned briefly in the first book, so we all know who the main players are in these stories by now. From the first book, I knew I was going to love Mirren and his story, which I was happy to learn book 2 was about! I loved whom Sandlin paired Mirren with as well- who happens to be Glory, a southern no nonsense kinda chick. The heat was turned up a tiny bit compared to the first book, which I loved, but STILL with the infernal cell phone ringing at the most inopportune times! WTF is up with that, anyway? LOL! Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I noticed it in this book too, as I did in the first book lol! Now it's burned into my brain and when it happens in the 3rd book, it's going to make me go GAHHHH! I'm sure! heh! Anyway, this book was just overall good for me. It didn't blow me away, wasn't OMG outstanding, but a good, decent listen that moved along steadily and kept me interested. I loved hearing about Mirren's why's how's and when's of his life and Glory's "gift" was very neat to listen to as well! Like I said, I have already started book 3, will be giving it a little listen here shortly while starting some household chores, so I'll be back in a couple of days with that review too! :) Thanks for reading!

... an easy:


Omega (Penton Legacy, #3)

27 May 2013

Redemption (Penton Legacy #1) by Susannah Sandlin

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}

Redemption (Penton Legacy #1)

by 
For vampire Aidan Murphy, life has never been so desperate. The vaccine used to treat a global pandemic has rendered human blood deadly to his kind, leaving them on the brink of starvation and civil war.
In tiny Penton, Alabama, Aidan establishes a peaceful community of vampires and unvaccinated human donors. He dares to hope they can survive—until his estranged brother descends upon Penton and begins killing the humans. Determined to save his town, Aidan kidnaps an unsuspecting human doctor—and finds himself falling in love for the first time in nearly four centuries. 
Dr. Krystal Harris thought she was coming to Penton for a job interview, but Aidan Murphy has other plans. Infuriated by his high-handed scheme to imprison her in the small town, Krys can't ignore the attraction between them. But is it love? Or does her dangerous, charismatic captor want only to bend her to his will?




















Hello! Late last night I finished a really neat book called Redemption. It's by Susannah Sandlin, whom I'd never heard of and read by someone else I'd never heard of; Angela Dawe. By the end of the book, I was enjoying Dawe's reading voice, it was nice, but was kinda bummed to find out that she's not reading book 2 in this series, which I started, briefly, last night. So this book was interesting. The way they set up the "story line". How there was a vaccination for humans and most humans got it, which turns their blood to poison for vampires. Kinda neat! And I guess the vamps can "smell" if the human's gotten the vaccine or not so that is helpful hahahah! The characters are fairly interesting in this book. It had a lot to say! It told a couple of stories, one main story about the main male character Aidan, which was relatively interesting too. I wasn't completely blown away but was drawn in and stayed fairly interested in it. The whole Stockholm syndrome thing was slightly annoying... the Dr Krystal Harris (that name, terrible!) was pretty much kidnapped and she pretty much talked herself into staying and that it was okay, even after a exceptionally unremarkable "first time" (s.e.x) with the main vampire character. Kind of odd the way Sandlin described their first time having...errr... relations. It sounded like a couple of minute of rutting around, poking, hip flexing and well, it was over! And WTF was up with his cell phone always ringing right after? I get it, he's a busy man. But can't a guy have some afterglow?! *shrug* Anyway... like I said, I started book 2, so will keep on with the series!

This might be a bit closer to a 3.5, but I'll give it a 4 because I never made .5 graphics! heh!


24 May 2013

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) by Charlaine Harris

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}


Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart...
Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.
But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough...



















Hello all! *waves* I'm back with my review of the final book in the Sookie Stackhouse series; Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris... read to moi by Johanna Parker. Parker read all of the other books in the series, which I've listened to, so her voice was familiar and friendly, which is nice... but this book, like the last one, was a snore-fest! Sadly! Being it the very last book in a 13 book series, you'd think Harris would have wanted to go out with a bang, but unfortunately, this book was not bang-worthy! LOL! I recall the last book giving me this same sort of feeling, so I wasn't surprised and felt sort of obligated to listen to this final book even though I really had no desire to do so... like I said; obligation! Everything was familiar, all the characters, the reading voice, the surroundings and everything else, it was just really flat. It was a 'who done it' plot, which we were kind of privy to the "bad guy(s)" and why's from the beginning of the book when it started out in a different POV than the rest of the books in this series (they are all in Sookie's POV) and honestly, when the book first started, I thought I had loaded on a different book! I kept saying WTF is going on!? LOL! It was very confusing at first, but you kind of had to trudge along and get through it, then the book shifted into Sookie's perspective and it flowed along that way until a few other perspective shifts back and forth. Very different and strange. It had been a while since I read a Sookie book, so the over-all plot was kinda fuzzy to me, I mean I recall the characters, recall them being in Bon Temps and whatnot, but where everyone was really, I just couldn't recall, but luckily, the plot did a fancy little "reminding" the reader/listener of sort of 'where we left off', which was helpful because I was a little forgetful! And... not to mention the fact that every time a character came onto the scene I would envision the True Blood actors lol! That never bodes well, when you have a tv series (VERY LOOSELY) based off a book series and you think of the tv actors/characters while reading/listening to the book! LOL! So yeah. Glad the series is over, and I'd have to honestly say the book were real good up until around book 6 or 7, after that, meh!

I gave this final book:


And I think I'll be starting this series next:

Redemption (Penton Legacy, #1)











22 May 2013

Kiss of a Demon King (IAD #7)

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}

Kiss of a Demon King (Immortals After Dark #7)

by 
From New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole comes this spellbinding story of a demon king trapped by an enchantress for her wanton purposes -- and the scorching aftermath that follows when he turns the tables and claims her as his captive.
HIS OBSESSION...Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions: the evil beauty who surrenders her body, but not her heart.
HER DOWNFALL...Rydstrom Woede: the ruthless warrior who vows to keep her at all costs.
THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO WANT EACH OTHER THIS MUCH...With each smoldering encounter, their shared hunger only increases. If they can defeat the sinister enemy that stands between them, will Sabine make the ultimate sacrifice for her demon? Or will the proud king lay down his crown and arms to save his sorceress?























Hello hello! Here I am back with a rousing review *snort* of the above book- Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole. It's book 7 in the Immortals After Dark series, which is BY FAR, my favorite series that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to- hands down! I have NEVER not liked any of the books in this series! It's just a shame that they are all out in paperback, but her audio releases are several months apart... and I listen to them very quickly because I have my mp3 player strapped on 24/7 with her books LOL! It actually shut off from low battery the other day, which hasn't happened in a great long while! Means I do NOTHING but listen! LOL! So this is read by the lovely Robert Petkoff, which all of the other books have been read by him as well, so it's soothing and familiar! I loved these characters and this plot! The last book- book 6, we heard a story about this main character's brother, which touched very briefly on scenarios from THIS book, which is always sooo fun! I love when books intertwine that way! We were introduced to the main male character form this book- Rydstrom - in previous books, but really got to know him a lot better in this book and it was a pleasure! :) I loved his mate- Sabine! She was as awesome as all of the other female characters in previous books, strong, mouthy, bold and doesn't put up with any crap! And these books are FUNNY too! Cole even gives a friendly nod to The Lords of The Underworld (Gena Showalter) in the book! I just freakin' LOVED it! This book had its lulling slower moments, but they picked back up quickly- no rest for the wicked, you know! I just love this world and it's 'lore'! Awesome series, I recommend to EVERYONE into paranormal!


Alllll day long, this book gets:


...and I have the newest Sookie book loaded up, and will start shortly, I don't have high hopes for it as the last one, if I recall correctly, SUCKED lol! But giving it a go!

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13)

20 May 2013

Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie Moning

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}





Shadowfever (Fever #5)

"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it's good."
MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. 
Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years. 
What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds. 
In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. 
Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card? 
From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.

















Okay... so. Wow. I just finished the above book, 5th book in the Fever Series~ Shadowfever and I've got the whole gambit of emo's going on right now! LOL! Gonna be frank here, (when am I not?!) I had to shut it off before listening to the strange ass fucking "Song" at the end. WTF was that? I got about 1.5 minutes in and um, yeah. It's some strange music with a sitar going on and uhhh, PHIL GIGANTE's voice saying random, creepy, sexy things... I never honestly thought I could feel embarrassed sitting home ALONE in a room, (my cat's even upstairs sleeping) but my cheeks got all hot and red and I cleared my throat and plucked out my ear buds and said out loud "Okay, enough of that... I'm good bro." LOL! It was that... disturbing? It bordered on sexy and creeptastically ODD! I dunno. *shudder* but since that was the last thing I HEARD from my mp3 player, it's fresh in the ol' noggin'! Sorry. Most, if not all, of you don't do the audiobook thing, but this was quite the errrr... "production". The dude's got the voice of the sexiest thing EVER walking this earth, I swear to god! Gigante does Barrons voice just like... so... well, that I think he may be my #1 favorite male narrator now! I'm sorry Holter Graham, step aside and take a back seat! :P Seriously though, this book was fantastic. I had left my last blog entry all freaked out and anxiety ridden, worrying that what I thought was going to happen, WOULD happen, and well, yeah, it DID happen, but it ended up being not so horrific as I thought it would be, even though I sniffled and privately sobbed like a baby through the first freaking half of the book! LOL! I know, mushy baby! Shuddup! This was the culmination of all the whole story, the "ending" for this plot (even though she's done a spin off, "Iced" which is Dani's book, but I am going to pass on that, I think!) and it was a fantastic ending. This whole series has been awesome, I'm SOOO glad that I finally sucked it up and started it! The sexy sexy took a couple of books, but once it took stage, it was my weakness, hahah! It made me HAVE to love the book, and I did! *bashful* This last one was a bit long, definitely not THE longest book I've ever listened to (um, hello Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon!) but it felt like it was kinda dragging along in parts, though it quickly picked back and moved right along for me. Everything balanced out and there was plenty of twists and turns to keep me on my toes and interested enough to finally fall madly in love with it! I recommend this series to ANYONE and EVERYONE, and even though I have that book mourning thing going on right now, I have many lined up on my mp3 player that I'm sooo excited to give a listen! Just not sure which I'll pick next! :) Happy reading everyone! 

This book and WHOLE series gets:



Up next... I've several loaded up and ready for my ears:






 

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