book nook. Fallen by Lauren Kate.

new school, love triangle, battle of good vs evil.

If you like the Twilight or House of Night series, then I think you'd like this too. But, I like that here we're dealing with reincarnation & fallen angels, which is a nice switch from so many vampire-oriented books out there. 

You can figure out a few things easily before the plot unfolds, but there are still a couple twists towards the end. Of course it leaves a big question open at the end that, I hope, is explained in the second book in the series [library reserve already placed for it].

Oh, and I absolutely love the cover art. I want want a dress just like it.

Read the whole review and find more information about the book HERE>>>

Book Nook: One-Yard Wonders

One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker & Patricia Hoskins looks like a fabulous book & I can't wait to get my copy! Thanks to How About Orange for reviewing the book & for taking the inside sneak peak shots! See her (Jessica) original post here. Find out more about the authors at Storey Publishing's site here.

Happy Sewing!

♥-Kat.

Book Nook: A few more reads...

Skippyjon Jones. Too hilarious! Okay...if you're very cautious & try to be PC, then I warn you this is Siamese cat meets up with the Taco Bell chihauhua gangs...it's a kid's book, though, so chill out & have fun!Our favorite parts were when Skippito (aka Skippyjon Jones) broke into a little song & dance (clap clap) & I insist that you must sing with an accent & clap (clapp clap)!  We plan on reading the rest of the series & put this one our wish list.

Where's Waldo. My boy loves the "I Spy" books & I managed to get him hooked on the Waldo books! In addition to Waldo, we've made certain to find our "Waldina" & "EVIL WALDO!" in each picture as well. Just so you know...when you spot "EVIL WALDO!", it is quite necessary to shout out "EVIL WALDO!"  Note: Waldina looks like Waldo, except the hair is feminine &, well, Evil Waldo looks like regular Waldo (but) in yellow/black stripes instead.

The Shadow Year. Quick & easy read. I enjoyed it, but the first half of the book was my favorite. It was more humorous to me than suspenseful & there are certain passages that I almost busted a gut. It's a little dark humor...so don't expect to get all bubbles & fizz descriptions of days gone by. I could almost hear "Mother's Little Helper" by the Stones playing in the background! It was especially comical having experience with an italian-american family life & remember watching those delightful, "informative" movie reels with little Johnny, Dick and Jane this and that. I don't remember one with little Johnny being mauled by a train, but oh well!

I'm Bad. T-Rex with an attitude (quite Mr. T). It's cute & the boy kept engaged & had fun. Most of it's written with contractions/slang, so this is a book to goof off with & make funny voices (throw in an "I pity the fool..."!). Check out another book if you're looking trying to help your child to practice (proper) reading/pronunciation.

 

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Of course I check in on my vices...preview LKH's next book Flirt here, which comes out next month. Also, there is a preview of the next Sookie Stackhouse book (May release), Dead in the Family, here (link at top of page). LKH's is a typical 1st chapter for the AB series - Flirt will be about AB's necromancy/zombies vs police work based on the preview. Not sure what to think about the SS preview yet...it sounds like a downer. Based on the preview, the story could go a number of ways & I guess I will just have to wait until it's released to find out.

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♥-Kat.

Book Nook: Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

ISBN: 978-0-425-22772-5
Book #17 of 17 (to date) Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series

Background:
• Overall set in Las Vegas, NV in parallel universe where vampires & were-animals coexist with normal humans

Rundown:
•Closes the storyline of master vampire Vittorio introduced back in Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake book #12) –We find out in Skin Trade that Vittorio is much more than he seems
•Is this the end of the Mother of All Darkness? –We read that her resting place is bombed, but not very much detail is given. While Vittorio turns out to be comparable in powers to MoAD, I don’t think that LKH will end her here like that since she’s been wreaking havoc on Anita for quite some number of books now & Vittorio only had a part in the one previous book.
•Olaf (aka Federal Marshall Otto Jeffries/ assassin/ serial killer with Anita’s description fitting victim profile) is even creepier this book (morgue scenes) –We find that Olaf might even be interested in dating Anita (as in date, date…no knives & butchering). Anita & Edward are positive that they will be forced to kill Olaf one day (future book?).
•Anita is seriously thinking over her life & feels that she is losing out to all of the supernatural demands on her. –We continue to see that it’s increasingly more difficult for her to fit in with non-sups (may be forced to quit police work/ Federal Marshall’s program after almost shifting to tiger form in public). On a personal note, Anita feels that she’s never alone anymore & is constantly catering to all of the men in her life.
•More info is shared about the were-tigers –Some light is shed as to why Anita’s tiger calls to the various tiger clans.
•Richard not even mentioned in book –Personally, I’m thrilled to have a break from the back & forth arguing, but LKH will have to shed more light on Richard’s form of the ardeur that’s solely focused on Anita (introduced in Blood Noir).
•Very little sex in this book (for recent LKH) –Wicked & Truth promise Anita that they will stop her ever how if she abuses her growing powers as Belle Morte/ MoAD do. Truth gains a power up after drinking Anita’s blood again. Anita’s personal blood was used to bind Truth to Jean Claude, but not for Wicked. There have been references since Incubus Dreams that the two brothers are supposed to do everything the same. I just get the feeling that this will come into play in a future AB book.
•Anita saves Requiem’s life (& Vegas’s Master Vamp/ Wife, aka Queen of the White Tiger clan), however Requiem stays in Las Vegas for now & doesn’t return to St Louis (perhaps Truth will now become Jean-Claude’s third).
•Crispin & a new tiger return with Anita to St Louis.

Thoughts:
I’ve found that most readers tend to either love or hate the Anita Blake series. If you’re not familiar with the Laurell K. Hamilton books, here’s a quick insight: on the surface, each of the AB books primarily focuses on either her professional life or love life (with the other as a backdrop). The early books tend to focus more on AB’s professional life (necromancer/ Vampire Executioner/ police work) & later books on more of her love life (READ: Ardeur =’s sex, sex, sex, vanilla-ish dom/sub, erotica). Skin Trade is the first book in a while to really focus on Anita’s work again. If you liked the earlier books but lost interest with the most recent ardeur-focused books, then give this latest one a try.

If you’re new to the series, you can read each book alone, but you may miss out on some of the references. LKH does re-explain a number of the references, but not all & especially not enough to grasp the character developments. Parts of Anita’s personality & powers have changed tremendously over the course of the 17 books in the series. Each new book in the series builds upon a previous book (for example, this book closes a plot line introduced about 5 books ago).

So if this is your first Anita Blake book, borrow from a library 1st & if you like this one – check out the earlier books in the series. If you love the series (especially the earlier ones through Obsidian Butterfly), add this to your personal library.

•US Residents, follow this link to find your local public library: http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html

-Kat