104:60 The Necromancer by Michael Scott

The 4th book in the "Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel". Sophie and Josh are now in San Francisco. Scathach and Joan are lost somewhere in the past. Nicholas is weakening rapidly and Perenelle doesn't have much more time than he does. Dee has been declared outlaw with a bounty on his head by his Elder masters. Machiavelli and Billy have failed in their mission and are being brought before Billy's master for judgement. And that's just where we start the book!

Again, there is a ton going on with this book with so many different characters and their stories that weave together but separate for periods before weaving in again. Mr. Scott continues to do a wonderful job of switching back and forth to keep you updated with all of them. I don't want to give away a ton of spoilers but this one definitely lives up to the rest of the series with tons of action and more twists and turns.

Page count: 389p/17,891p ytd

104:59 Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

This is the second compilation of short stories from Kelley in her Otherworld series. The first covered the background of the men that inhabit her series. In this one, she has fun filling in some of the backstories of characters we already know or filling in some of the gaps that happened between books.

Some of the stories were really short throw away things. The first story, Rebirth, I couldn't even remember who the characters were at first since it had a) been a while since I read the books and b) they were only semi-major characters in one of the previous novels. The next story was wonderful. Bewitched told of the story of how Eve and Kristof meet, fall in love, and then its ending. It gives a lot more insight into how they each end up how we finally meet them and explains a lot of their relationship in the afterlife as well. The third story, Birthright, was interesting but again featured a character that it took me forever to remember as it was someone who wasn't a major character except in that he died.

The fourth story makes the book well worthwhile tho. Beginnings is an in depth look at the courtship of Elena and Clay, exactly how they met and how things progressed to his eventually biting and turning her into a werewolf. It swings back and forth between their points of view and was just a wonderful read. I barely put the book down until it was done. It was so nice to go back in time and read their start, knowing how it will eventually end, but seeing Clay being almost un-Claylike in his pursuit of her.

Ghosts gives us a brief glimpse into Jeremy's understated powers. Nothing major but a fun little read. Wedding Bell Hell takes us through the wedding of Lucas and Paige and how they deal with the meddling father-in-law. Again, a very fun glimpse into the characters that we saw hook up and knew got married and now we got to see that gap filled in. Did it give any major character revelations or shake anything up? No, it was just a fun read of a time that didn't fit into the book series but we all knew took place.

El Chupacabra is the last. It was interesting for getting some more insight into Cabal politics in general and seeing Benetio trying yet again to bring Lucas back into the fold but I felt it was the weakest of the stories presented. The biggest insights are that Lucas is finally figuring out how to deal with his father a little better and we find out how Paige and Lucas got their new business off the ground.

All in all, a really fun group of stories. Some were a little weaker but others more than made up for those. What's even better, imo, is that all proceeds are donated to World Literacy of Canada, a non-profit that promotes international development and social justice. She made the proceeds of her last compilation a donation as well and made that a condition of publishing her short stories. Way awesome!

Page count: 387p/17,502p ytd

104:58 Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

The 5th book in the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy still has the book Phin loaned her previously and now someone is looking for it. Add in that there are those in the pack that are unhappy that she is mated to their Alpha and she is still dealing with her own issues regarding the bond to both him and the pack and you have the makings of a whole lot of stuff going down.

Patricia did a wonderful job of dealing with a lot of the stuff that had been brought up in previous books and had been continuing but not fully resolved. The first 2/3 of the book had some stuff about the book and the problems that was causing but dealt mainly with the relationship between Mercy and Adam (and to some extent Samuel) and the pack. The last 1/3 saw the showdown with the fae who wanted the book. There weren't any loose ends at the end of this book so I'm not sure where, if anywhere, she'll go from here but I hope to see more. This was fabulously written, very intense and I finished it in less than 12hrs and wished it was longer so I could keep reading.

Page count: 342p/17,115p ytd

Please say 'Hello' to Amelia and Gandalf

Okay, in a moment of kitten fever weakness I fell pray to one of the classic blunders. It's the one just behind never get involved in a land war in Asia and never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line. It's the one that states, never let your children out of your sight near a pet store. Now, in my own defense, I didn't have a choice. I was in KSW testing for my blue belt with Nicholas who was testing for his blue stripe. I told the boys to stay in the dojang but they wanted snacks and sat outside to eat. Where they were so noisy they kept getting in trouble by our instructors. Now, also in my defense, I had no idea that there would be someone giving away free kittens right in front of Safeway since it's right next to a pet store. They had over an hour to get pulled in by the lure of the 8wk old kittens. This came at an especially bad time since we have so recently lost several beloved cats and had to kick two more out for bad behavior. This has left a void in the house and in their hearts. Add in that my youngest monster child is now 4 and there will be no more babies until the grandkids start coming. I'm okay with this but I was definitely starting to get kitten fever.

And then these furballs entered our lives and I didn't say no. I was weak. So I passed off the final decision to Mark. He was distracted getting ready for his blue belt test and tried to pass the decision back to me but I knew I didn't want the blame for saying yes so I passed it off again.

I introduce the final decision:

Jonathan with his kitty, Amelia Pond

Nicholas with Gandalf

Christopher with his new kitty, Gandalf
Amelia trying to go find her raggedy doctor (or trouble, she seems to be content with that)

104:57 American Vision by Glencoe McGraw/Hill

Ok, it's a US History Textbook but darn it, I read 34 chapters and over 1000 pages of it and it wasn't even for MY class so I get to count it (my game, my rules LOL).

I'm going to start with saying that I am NOT a big fan of US History. Yes, I am an American Citizen and yes, I have done my years in school studying it but it just doesn't grip me. I like ancient history through middle ages but you get more modern and I lose interest. I'm starting to gain an interest in the founding fathers but really, that's about as far as I get.

So saying that, how was this text? It was okay. I did actually learn a lot about time periods that weren't really covered in my textbooks growing up (or if they were, I dont' remember any of it at all). There was a lot of background information on the conflicts and I felt like I had a much better understanding of why they occurred and the events that led up to the decisions causing them. So I give it some kudos for that.

Unfortunately, it was still very dry and textbook like. I know that's what it was but gee, go figure why so many people don't get excited by history when it's dull and boring. I read this one for the same reasons I read the ones in school, I felt I had to. I also did not like their method of presenting the issues. Instead of showing a year or presidential term and covering everything that occurred during that time period, it was broken down by event. So you had a chapter covering the Vietnam War (1954-1975) and then another covering the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) even tho both were happening at the same time. However, the impact of one upon the other and how both in combination were affecting society was not covered. It covered how the Vietnam War affected things in one and it covered how the Civil Rights Movement affected things in the other but without much talk about them in relation to each other. This is just one example but the entire book is laid out like that and I found it very disorienting to be covering one section of history and going through those presidents and then end up going backwards in history and covering presidents before that as we covered a different topic. Sorry, but I prefer to see each year as it happened instead of each movement or major topic in a chunk. I, personally, feel like I get a better perspective that way. I can see why they did it this way and they did an okay job of it, but it wasn't great enough to make me not want to scream every time I realized we were moving around disjointedly.

Page count: 1,037/16,773p ytd

104:56 Thinner by Stephen King

Typical Stephen King book. I found this one to be really, really slow and tedious. It was like "here is the point of the story, let me hit you over the head with it a million times so you can't possibly miss it". Basic plot, guy is driving along and getting some "attention" from his wife and misses seeing a gypsy step out from between two cars. He hits her and she dies. He's a big shot lawyer in town so the sheriff and judge gloss it over. Gypsy's father takes matters into his own hand and curses all him plus the judge and sheriff. He knows he's been cursed but takes forever to talk to the other people involved or do anything other than shifting all blame in his mind over to his wife and resent her for his being cursed while she's not. Finally takes about 100 pages to find the gypsies and call in a buddy to terrify them into taking off the curse when asking nicely doesn't work.

I liked the premise of the book but just felt that it moved way too slowly. You as the reader are about 100mi ahead of where the guy in the book is and every little "important" detail is repeated over and over and over again. You know, just in case you missed it the first 20xs.

Watch the movie. I haven't seen it but it has to move faster than the book does and really, I don't think there is any way they could leave any important details out and it will save you the couple of extra hours it would take to read the book.

Page count: 318p/15,736p ytd

104:55 Dark Designs by Luisa Prieto

Ok, I have to put a disclaimer in here as this was written by a good personal friend of mine. One whose talent I have had the great pleasure of watching grow from way back in high school when she was one heck of a DM during our many Ravenloft and D&D games and now I couldn't be more thrilled to be reading a book of hers that I bought off of Amazon.

However, never let it be said that I won't tell it like it is and if something isn't good, I'm going to say so. So let's start the review, shall we?

Dark Designs introduces us to a world where the Darkness is a real entity, searching for a soul and a way to become truly part of the world's events. The Darkness has it's knights that fight for it and try to bring it to it's full power. Of course, there are the mages who work against the Darkness to keep it held back. Then there are the Hunters who are humans who don't understand much of anything and think if there is any magic going on, it must all be bad.

Now here's where it gets tricky. Part of the story is set in today's world. We have Kyler who is a reborn knight of Darkness but doesn't know it. There is Sorin who was his lover in a previous time and bound them together unknowingly. There are others who have been reborn as well but in this story, it revolves mostly about the two of them during their convergence which is where their memories of their past lives come back.

The story weaves between the present day and how the convergence process is affecting them and their past. I found the first couple of chapters where everyone was getting introduced and the story was getting started a little hard to follow and keep everyone straight because there is just so much going on as things are getting set-up but it isn't long before things settle down and I got sucked in. Beautifully descriptive, it was so easy to visualize the settings right down to the smells and sounds. I even caught myself so wrapped up that when chocolate was mentioned I had to put the book down to go in search of some. Talk about some powerful suggestion! (or my extremely weak will when it comes to chocolate LOL)

My biggest problem with this book is that it's the first in the series and ends really just as people are finding out who they are, not like so many where the main plot of the book is finished in that book but then there is something to bridge over to the next one. There are no spoilers or teasers about the next one and I have no idea when it's coming out. I may need to make some phone calls and start bugging some people about that.

Page count: 437p/15,418p ytd

104:54 The Great Brain Does It Again by John D. Fitzgerald

The 7th book in the Great Brain series and the last one I knew about until recently. Tom is having to be sneakier in his cons but he's still got it going on with several minor things but I think in this book that while he is still ruled by his money loving heart, we start seeing him doing more good like when he solves the case of the missing rocking horse and how he becomes an Indian blood brother. His behavior in the case of Herbie Sties, while it has horrible consequences, you also know that he had no clue it would have the effects that it did. But all things must come to an end and for Tom, that comes when he turns 13. His father puts him to work at the office and Polly Reagan places her spell upon him. His money-loving heart, once famed for not parting with a penny without a good reason, has now been turned to mush as he spends all his money on ice creams with Polly. Is this really the end of Tom's conniving days? Was a girl able to do what no one else could?

I liked this book being the end of the series as I knew it. I thought it wrapped up the series nicely but apparently almost 20yrs later, an 8th book came out. We'll see how that changes things but it will be neat to read one of these with the boys where none of us knows what's going to happen next.

Page count: 129p/14,981p ytd

104:53 Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione

The 4th book in the Demonica series. In this one we are following the story of Lore, the Seminus half-breed brother of the main characters from the previous books. Being half-human has caused a lot of issues with the way Lore's powers should work and has landed him locked into an assassin contract with a demon in Sheoul to save his sister. His master has now declared that he can finish his contract by killing Kynan who now possesses the locket that almost caused the apocalypse in the previous book. One problem with that tho, Kynan is Pimori, a being protected by a guardian, in this case an earthbound angel trying to get her wings. Can she seduce Lore and keep him from his appointed task? What will happen to her future as an angel and to Lore and his sister if she succeeds?

Another fast paced book with lots of interesting sub-plots being thrown around. Very fun series and I'm sad that this is the last one currently out.

Page count: 410p/14,852p ytd

104:52 Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione

The 3rd book in the Demonica series. This one focuses on Wraith. Roag left a reward for anyone who killed his brothers and as a result Wraith is now poisoned with something that has no cure. They finally find that if he can get a charm from a virgin, it will cure him but doing so will kill her. As the seduction begins it becomes less and less clear who is the seducer and who is being seduced. When the time comes, will Wraith be able to do it knowing Serena will die? If he refuses, how will he deal with the knowledge that it means not only his death but that of his brothers and the hospital? For someone who has always lived in the moment and never cared about anyone, Wraith becomes truly torn between a rock and a very hard place.

I continue to be amazed with this series. Each one has a wonderful plot and good character development. You have feelings about the characters (not always good feelings but something none-the-less) and there is so much action and inner workings stuff going on that they are basically impossible to put down. An absolutely incredible series.

Page count: 460p/14,442p ytd

104:51 The Return of the Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

The 6th book in the series. Tom was put on trial in the last book to try and mend his crooked ways but can he really stay on the straight and narrow? For the most part he does and his great brain helps him solve a train robbery and put on the town's first magic show. But is gentling the jackass backsliding? What about his wheel of fortune? He certainly is playing right at the line, even if he's not crossing it and whether or not he's crossing it is in serious doubt by many.

The kids are continuing to love the series and beg for as many chapters as they can get each day.

Page count: 150p/13,982p ytd

104:50 Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione

The 2nd book in the Demonica series. This one follows Shade, the 2nd brother, as we learn of his curse while he battles against it and a demon who knows him far too well. Hard to say much on this one without giving away a lot of the surprises (even if the big ones happen fairly early on) but it is still fast paced and sex-filled as the first one but continues to have a real plot with character development, not just a few pages of half-hearted writing to get the characters to the next sex scene. Really loving the series and so glad I have the next two waiting for me. Nice break from all the school reading I've been doing. LOL

Page count: 380p/13,832p ytd