The Dark Swan Series

Storm Born by Richelle Mead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Eugenie Markham is a shaman and a mercenary, but that's not all she is. In the first of the Dark Swan series, she finds out more about her origins and begins a journey to fulfill, or not, her destiny. Kiyo Marquez, a kitsune (fox) shifter, and Dorian, a fae king, play pivotal rolls in her adventures.



I enjoyed her sass and the fast paced story. However, her attraction/relationship/feelings toward Kiyo seemed too fast for me. One night, and she's gone for him--though she doesn't seem to realize it at first. The whole situation with Maiwinn is another thing that bugs me. I'm not sure whether I'm hoping she'll end up with him, Dorian, or another character entirely.



My curiosity is definitely engaged, and I'll be reading the next installment fairly soon!

The Vampire Voss

The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As we all know, a deal with the devil, or Lucifer, never works out quite how the promise seems. Viscount Dewhurst, or Voss, lives a life of pleasure and mischief after taking the deal offered by Lucifer to become a Dracule. As two factions of the Dracule line up on opposing sides, he stays neutral, until he gets drawn in over a woman. She is Angelica Woodmore, gifted with the sight and the second of three sisters. This story whirls them through Regency England and into the Dracule conflict.



This is the first story of the three Regency Draculia novels coming out this year (2011). I love vampires stories, and enjoyed finding one with some different little twists on the vampire myth. Ms. Gleason's description created a clear view into that world, without going overboard. The characters were interesting, and so were there interactions, though I didn't feel a strong "connection" with them so to speak. At the start, I really didn't like Voss, and as this was his story, was rather worried the entire story would be pulled down because of it. The pace picked up fairly quickly, and Voss and company became more interesting as the story moved along. I wouldn't have expected the ending based on the start of the story, but Ms. Gleason deftly moved it there. This is the first I've read of her work, and it was quite an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and exploring some of her other novels, too.



My thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin for providing this ARC.



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**Read April 2011**

Over the Moon

Over The Moon (Monère: Children of the Moon, #2) by Angela Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Four novellas by well-known PNR authors:
1. Angela Knight: Moon Dance Revisit the Mageverse world=this story focuses on Direkind on Earth, and we learn more about its history, and of course, enjoy a hot romance.

2. Virginia Kantra: Between the Mountain and the Moon Meet the Sidhe in North America: This is a bit different from her Children of the Sea series, but it continues another short story she wrote. In this, some rather unusual things happen on a hiking trip, and Cait learns some interesting things about her parents.

3. MaryJanice Davidson: Driftwood One of Queen Betsy's vamps is on a quest, and meets a werewolf along the way with unexpected results.

4. Sunny: Mona Lisa Three Mona Lisa is preparing her move to Louisiana, but has an unexpected visitor and task to finish before she and her entourage can leave.

I really enjoyed #1 & #2 and regularly read those authors. #3 & Queen Betsy just aren't my "thing" but it was a good short story. #4 was also OK, and wouldn't mind picking up some of her others, but won't rush out to buy.



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**Read November 2010**

Nocturne

Nocturne by Elaine Bergstrom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I came back to this series after an interval of many years because I couldn't get ahold of the books. It has a different flavor than many recent paranormals, but is very well written. Bergstrom has a very original vampire, variations on which we see in many other "current" series. This story is written mostly in first person POV, of one of the two "youngest" members of the Austra family, a continuation (after a few years) of Blood Rites. It has a lot of foreshadowing in the story, which I don't like so much, but it was still a very good read. I flew through the last 150+ pages just dying to know what was going to happen, and enjoyed some surprises along the way. The story/series ends here, but is open enough for more stories.



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**Read September 2010**

Strangers

Strangers by Taichi Yamada

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The story moves at a deliberate pace, and has some twists. There is (for me) a slight feeling of disconnect with Harada, but perhaps that's because he's annoyingly close to some men I know in real life! However, the story flowed by quickly and lightly!



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**Read September 2010**
This book was borrowed from the Tokushima Prefectural Library, Tokushima-ken, Japan.

N.P.

N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Connected scenes creating a story, visually...This story was image rich, and minimalist at the same time. Though I read it in English, I could hear much of it in Japanese in my head which made it very familiar but strange. I never get a feeling of deep connection with Yoshimoto's characters, but feel an attraction and curiosity toward them.



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**Most Recently Read: August 2010**

Animal Dreams

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a fantastic story. Kingsolver creates a vivid picture, and very real characters that you can't help but connect with. I've read this numerous times, and still cry, and feel joy along with the characters.







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**Most recently read: August 2010; First Read: approximately 1990**