Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

I really, really wanted to love this book.  But, I just didn't.  I thought it might be because I had just read it right after the awesomeness that was Slammed and Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover, but I know that's not true.

To be honest, I haven't really been excited over the Sookie Stackhouse books for a while.  I started reading this series right when True Blood came out.  I can't quite remember which came first for me, the show or the books.  I think it was the books, because I remember thinking how closely the first season followed the first book, and then it all went to shit, in a good way - I love the crazy turns the show takes.

After I began the series, I devoured it, reading every book that was out.  I loved Sookie, and every nightmarish situation she got in.  But then I ran out of books, and sat around forever, anxiously waiting the arrival of the newest release.  When it finally came out, it was good, but not as great s the ones before it.  And that started the pattern of every book since.

I don't know what it is, but I feel like every book since the birth of the TV show has had a slight decline to it.   I still hear Charlaine's voice in the books, and still love the way she writes...but I find myself bored.  Like, really, really bored.

In this last book, the last of the series...I think I raced and skimmed through the majority of the book, trying to get to the end, just to find out who Sookie ends up with.  That was my only motivation for finishing it.  I did like how Charlaine brought back each of Sookie's lovers and allowed her to have a special moment every one.  But, those were the only parts that interested. me.

And the ending!  Totally let me down.  I'm not going to go into detail, but wow...I didn't see that coming, and I don't mean in a good way.  I feel like she took an easy way out and made a random connection that was totally out of left field.

I still love the world Charlaine's created.  I will always hold a special place in my heart for Eric, and especially Quinn - seriously....when are they going to bring him into the show?!  I want to see him live and in living color!!  But I wish she would have done more with the ending.  I did see there is a follow up to the ending?  Kind of a dictionary with every character, and a synopsis of what their future beholds.  That idea I kind of like since so many story lines were left wide open.

So, do I recommend it?  As a stand alone?  No.  If you are a Sookie fan?  Yes.  I mean, you need to finish the series right?  And you at least need to find out who she picks!!

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Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Ok, so before I slay her book, I would first like to say that J.R. Ward is still one of my favorite authors and even if she wrote a book entitled "This book seriously sucks" I would still buy it.

That being said, Lover At Last was not one of my fav's in the Black Dagger series.  And no, it's not for the reason you are thinking.  Yes, this book is about a gay couple, but that was the least of my worries regarding the book.  It was actually one of the few parts I enjoyed about the book.  But more about that later.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is one of my top favorite series of all time. I can't tell you the number of people I have gotten hooked on this series from my endless rantings.   The last book, Tohr's book - I was actually pissed going into it.  How could she re-mate him?  Don't they only get one?  But I LOVVVED that book.  It was beautiful and had me in tears.  When J.R. announced her next book was on Blay and Qhuinn, I  had to give her mad props.  Let's all be honest.  We all know why we read a J.R. books.  They have a great plot, and she's a kick ass writer, but come on...  The real reason we all pay major bucks to crack open her book the minute it comes out is because the woman can write a sex scene like no other.  So when the reigning Queen of sex scenes decided to dedicate an entire book on two gay characters, what did her fans do?  They jumped up and down with glee!  It just goes to show how awesome and devoted we are to the series and J.R. Ward.

So the reasons the book was just "eh" for me.  First, it was long.  Like really, really long.  I don't mind a long book, but combined with several other reasons, I felt like it was endless.  Secondly, I've noticed this pattern taking place in the series.  I don't know if its always been there, or new in the last few books, but she seems to have books with just one main plot, and others that are have a ton of set up going on.  In Tohr's book, there was one main plot.  Most of what happened in that book revolved around Tohr and Autumn.  In Lover At Last, there are about fifty different things going on.  New characters are introduced, other's are made more prominent.  She's setting the ground for future books, which is great.  I'm glad the series will be continuing on.  But I felt like it took away from Blay and Qhuinn.  I wanted more of them, and their story and I felt everything else was a distraction.

Speaking of Blay and Qhuinn...I know you must be asking...how did she, you know??  Well, let me just say that the Queen does not disappoint.  Only J.R. Ward could write a romance novel for women, take two men, throw them in a room and make it totally hot.  I mean, come on...it's Blay and Qhuinn!  I'd still prefer a scene with V and Belle, or Wrath and Beth, but it was still pretty hot.

So, if you're a fan of the Black Dagger Brothers, I already know you're going to read this book.  You're already addicted, and there's no hope for you.  So, go buy the book and just know it's a long ride.  But the HEA for Blay and Qhuinn is worth it.

If you haven't read a single Black Dagger book....don't let this one be your judge.  Go out and pick up Dark Lover - Wrath's book.  You won't be sorry.  And then you'll be a junkie like the rest of us.  ;-)

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The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Ok, so hmmm....

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.  I really wanted to love this book.  And I think I got there in the end, but it took almost the entirety of the novel.

You know when you read a really good book, and you literally can't put it down?  One of your children come to you for something and you hold up a hand and say "Shhh!"....You're husband asks what's for dinner, and you snap "Later!"....you forget what the word "sleep" means.  No??  Ok, maybe that's just me.  :-) But there are some books that you just want to devour.  As soon as you start that first sentence, you're sucked in and feel like your world won't be normal again until you reach the last page.  Throughout this entire book, I was trying to figure out what it was missing, and I think that's it.  That unique quality that keeps you up late at night saying "WAIT, just one more chapter!!"

The Demon Lover is beautifully written.  Juliet Dark is supremely talented.  I think I said in an earlier post, but I have extreme writer's envy.  Her descriptive abilities are phenomenal.   She takes something mundane as a candle burning and turns it into a work of art.

"The candle flames dance in it, the wicks guttering in the pools of melted wax.  Outside I could see treetops tossing in the wind.  The stream twisted in the air, coiling like a tail of a kite."

Also, the amount of research she would had to conduct on this book must have been staggering.  It shows in every chapter, and every character.  Serious work went into this book.  The mythology and academic work that went into this book is impressive.  She didn't just wake up one day and say "Gosh, I think I'm going to write a book today."

The book centers around Callie or or Cailleach McFay, a professor just hired at Fairwick College, a small private college on the East Coast.  Passing up several other larger opportunities for this position, Callie finds herself wondering if there is something odd going on  besides the ordinary quarks of a small college town.  She is soon visited by a love talker, or incubus, known for seducing his victims and sucking their life force.  Thinking it's only a dream, she continues her new life at Fairwick until she's cornered by the Dean and several of the other ladies in town telling her things are not what they seem.

"The three figures standing in the light of my front porch were so muffled and wrapped in layers of wool, down, and fur that I didn't recognize them at first.  They might have been the three magi- or the three witches in Macbeth.  Only when the middle one turned down the collar of her fur coat and spoke did I recognize my boss, Elizabeth Book.
"Hello, Callie, dear.  Won't you invite us in?"
I look from her to Diana Hart, zipped up in her wide-open eyes in a bright red down parka, and then to Soheila Lilly, muffled in a burgundy wool cloak.
"It's a little early for Thanksgiving dinner, I said.
We're not here for Thanksgiving, dear," Dean Book said with a sigh. "We're here for an intervention."

Even though this book is classified as romance, I feel it leans more towards fiction.  The love story is the most prominent part of the book which is why its in the romance category, but the actual romance, or um...heat, is low.  Not to say it isn't there at all, but the love scenes are brief and definitely not descriptive.  What I found most interesting is the more graphic love scenes were the ones not between the main characters, but between the characters in the romance books Callie would read.  Those were the steamiest scenes in the entire book.  Being a romance lover, I would have loved more heat between Callie and her Demon Lover.  But every author is different, and they write to their own comfort level.  The worst thing an author can do is write a scene they aren't comfortable with.  An awkward love scene is worse than a brief one.  But the scenes between Callie and her Demon Lover were beautiful, even though brief.  :-)

"I went to bed so exhausted that I was sure I wouldn't have the dream again.  But I did. I had it that night and every night for the next three weeks.  Each night I woke-or thought I awoke-to a moonlit room.  The shadows reached for me and swelled into the dark dark lover  I'd fell his weight on my chest and then, just when I thought I'd suffocate, he'd press his lips to mine and blow his breath into my lungs and we'd make love-long, deep, utterly spine-rocking, toe-curling sex that went until the first light of day."  

But I still felt it was missing that special something I need as a reader.  That part that makes me want to forgo a night of sleep to finish a book (even if my husband won't let me).  My life was crazy in the last two weeks, and I've been highly distracted, but I still had plenty of opportunities where I could have sat down for a few minutes to read this book...but I didn't.  It just didn't call to me as strongly as it should.  It wasn't until the very end of the novel when all of those carefully woven treads started to unravel, that I started to become more interested, to the point where I couldn't put it down.

I'm glad the book finally got to that point because now I am excited for the second book, The Water Witch.  The Demon Lover does not end. I want to make that clear.  It is not a stand alone book, and the story-line does not resolve itself in the end.  I wouldn't say it ends in a cliff-hanger, because if it did, you would see some serious sailor words flying right about now, but the story definitely isn't over.  It's just enough to keep you coming back to the second book.

So, am I recommending it?  Yes........but. :-)
Just know going in that it's on the longer side, and it takes some time to get into.  It's not a love at first sight book.  But I think it's worth it in the end.

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Edge of Dawn by Lara Adrian

Lara Adrian - you totally rock.

The Midnight Breed series is one of my favorite paranormal romance series.  It's like a tamer version of the Blackdagger Brotherhood series.  I use the word tame loosely, these books are still seriously hot...they just don't go to the ah, extreme (yeah that's a good word), that Blackdagger tends to do.

Edge of Dawn is the 11th book in the Midnight Breed series.  After that many books, I was starting to wonder how in the world Lara was going to keep this series going.  She had basically mated every male around and was running out of characters.  Being the brilliant author she is, she solved the problem by jumping ahead 20 years and introducing an entire new cast!  Many of the new characters are the result of past matings/books, and some are the childhood characters we already knew and loved.

Mira one of those children who was present throughout many previous books, having been rescued by the Order and taken under their protection.  She is now one of the only female warriors in the Order.  Having suffered a great loss eight years ago when her best friend and lover, Kellan Archer, died at the hands of human rebels, she's been numb, angry and unable follow orders well.  Because of that, she is pulled off active duty and given the task of escorting a very prominent scientist to a gala where he will be honored for his research.  When her "babysitting mission" goes wrong, she finds herself face to face with a man she'd thought she never see again.

""You died," she finally managed to crock.  "I was there.  Eight years ago, almost to the day, Kellan.  I watched you run into that warehouse, I saw it explode.  I still have shrapnel scares from the debris that fell out of the sky that night.  I can still taste the smoke and ask from the fire.""

Having suffered the ultimate loss as a young teen, Kellan's only source of friendship was an annoying little girl who wouldn't give up on him.  As they grew, so did his feelings and and he found himself wanting a future he was afraid to take.  So instead, he runs, telling himself he is protecting those he loves most.

Why, Kellan?  The truth this time.  Something happened the morning we were together.  Something bad enough to make you think I'd be happier believing you were dead in that explosion."

This book had a hopeless urgency to it.  Every moment they have together feels stolen and possibly their last.  Mira is willing to give up anything and everything for the love she feels for Kellan but he wants a better life for her and thinks anything less will be an injustice.  Even though he is the outlaw in the book, Kellan is constantly striving to be the man of honor he once was.  In contrast, as Mira falls deeper and deeper, her warrior self is willing to break every rule to keep him by her side.  I loved this constant push and pull struggle between Mira and Kellan.  It made their relationship seem doomed and desperate, and yet you can't help but want to see them pull through and find a way.

""If you don't love me," she said, "if you truly want me gone...then let go."  He didn't.  His fingers stayed clamped around her hands, going tighter despite every sane and logical cell in his body tell him - no, demanding him - to release her now and walk away.  "Fucking hell, Mouse" he hissed, low and lethal.  Then, without a second's warning, he brought his head down to her and took her mouth."

Seriously, if that quote didn't get you, I really don't know what else to say, lol.

I felt like this new set of recruits/characters in the Breed world brought new life to the series.  I loved the older characters, and still enjoy their presence in the series, but now I feel like there is a world of possibilities - new characters, new love interests, new enemies...the list goes on.  My love for this series doubled with this book - great job Lara!  Can't wait for book twelve...I have a feeling it might center around a certain ex-assassin named Nathan?!

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