Books Read in January 2011

Here's my list of books read for January 2011. It's a short list this month, due to circumstances beyond my control. After a painful and frustrating battle with our school district, my son - who just turned 16 & has Aspergers - dropped out of school. I spent the last two weeks running around with him. The end result - he's enrolled in college as a non-matriculating student. So, good and bad, hopefully the good wins out. But it made for a very scattered, stressed me & that meant reading fell by the way-side. Still, I read some good books this month.

Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter ****
Immortal by Lauren Burd *
Firewalker by Allyson James ***
Right Hand Magic by Nancy A. Collins (see blurb)
Demon Underground by S.J. Wright ****
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking ****
Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning ******
Firespell by Chloe Neill ***
Crossed by J.F. Lewis ****

6 Stars Book (yes, you read that right)
Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning - I love this series (as I've mentioned before). From the first sentence of the first book it takes you on an epic journey. Mac, the main character, will grow on you. And Jericho Barrons (yum) - well, he is just dark and badass with a vulnerable side. This last book wraps the story up beautifully. Some people might not be happy with certain revelations, but they all made sense to me. Wonderful.

4 Stars
Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter - 3rd book in her Jane Yellowrock series. Jane is a shape shifter, only she's very unique in that Beast, her cat form, is actually a separate soul. This book deals with werewolves who have been driven out of town by Leo, Jane's vampire boss. A pending treaty with shape shifters. And Rick, Jane's boyfriend, has disappeared. It's action packed, beginning to end. If you like books with strong female leads, you'll like this series. Jane is tough. And Beast is fascinating.

Demon Underground by S.L. Wright - 2nd book in the series about Allay, a bartender who tried to save a woman being attacked only to be turned into a demon. The demons in this have names that relate to how they came to be & what they feed on. And no, demons aren't good in this book. But some of them are likeable. Allay is unique in that she retained her human nature. This makes all the other demons want her (and not in a good way). This book picks up where the last left off, so I'm trying not to throw in spoilers. But suffice it to say, Allay's in a whole boatload of trouble because of her abilities. And Theo Ram (her sex interest) isn't helping matters. Very unique, well thought out world. Excellent.

Crossed by J.F. Lewis - 3rd book in series. These books crack me up. Eric is a vampire - he owns a strip club, he kills indiscriminately (except for kids), he's a womanizer - and he ought to be thoroughly unlikeable, but he's written with such affection and humor that I can't help but like him. In fact, I like every last character in the story. I love Talbot. And Greta (she's scary funny). And Fang the 'Stang. Very unique story. Probably not for everyone but I definitely enjoyed it.

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking - This is a zombie apocalypse tale and I've already blogged about it because I enjoyed it so much. Definitely a good read.

3 Stars
Firewalker by Allyson James - 2nd book in series. Janet is a stormwalker. Her mother is a goddess from beneath. Her boyfriend Mick is a...well, I'm not going to tell you what he is because that's revealed in the first book. This book deals with both Mick's problems, and Janet's growing powers. I enjoyed this book until near the end where Janet's personality started to grate on my nerves. It might not have been her so much as me. I'd still recommend this series.

Firespell by Chloe Neill - 1st in series (Hexbound is next in my pile). I'll save the review until I've read both.

1 Star
Immortal by Lauren Burd - This was an eReader story. The basic premise of the story was okay. The characters were interesting. The idea was there. The problem was the story was inconsistent and jumpy. It just needed more development and explanation for why characters did what they did. I felt like it was incomplete.

Not Rated
Right Hand Magic by Nancy A. Collins - I didn't rate this one because I didn't finish it. I fully intend to go back and read it. (I managed 3 chapters before I put it aside.) I don't know why. I just couldn't finish it. It was well written, the characters were well developed, the world was well thought out. I just couldn't get into it. (Did I mention my month was bizarre & stressful? I think it was me.) I'll go back & read it & rate it then.