Ancient voodoo curses, magic and vampires....sounds like a great combination. Solis is the victim of harrassment of all levels by the descendants of Priestess Aldicia, who is a very nasty voodoo priestess. Solis's family in one of the ones that stood up to her way back when, and now they want their revenge. Enter Nico, also a victim of Priestess Aldicia, but in a different way. He was turned into a vampire, and Solis is his soul mate, the one he has been searching for forever. Solis and Nico team up to try and put a stop to the curse of Priestess Aldicia.

This seemed to have all the elements of a great story, and the story itself was very good. But I just didn't enjoy it. My problem wasn't with the storyline, plot, or characters. It was with the writing. The style and tone of the story seemed to be aimed toward young adults/early teens, but the language and content (very sexual) were definately more than I would have been comfortable or able to understand at that age.

2/5

Sweetbloods are a rare type of human whose blood is delicious...more than delicious, it can be addicting. Few vampires can resist drainging a sweetblood dry. Mackenzie Foster-Shaw is a sweetblood. It's a trait that runs in her family and would explain the mysterious disappearances over the years. Dominic is a wounded vampire. Mackenzie quite literally stumbles across him and he cant resist the lure of her blood to heal him, but somehow he manages not to kill her. But he does come close and to saave her life he must give her a small amount of his own blood. This has unexpected consequences, they become bonded, sharing thought and feelings.

Then the unthinkable happens. The evil vampires, known as Dark Bloods, discover that Mackenzie is a sweet blood and have made her a target in their most recent scheme. As Dominic tries to protect her their bond grows stonger and stronger, as do their feelings for each other. They must find a way to defeat the dark bloods and come to terms with each other.

One of the better vampire romances I have read. I enjoyed the added aspect of the sweet blood humans that can be addictive to vampires, good or bad. I loved Mackenzie. She was so head strong and independent. She didn't just swoon every time something bad or new happened. She tried to take care of it and freaked out later. Dominic is your typical "strong man" and has difficulty accepting Mackenzie's help. But she makes him get over it and they work well together. A great paranormal romance for vampire lovers.

4/5

Let's go back in time to the 1970's to UC Berkely in California. Cloyne Court, a co-ed student housing co-op, is the central location for much of this story. Hour leading man, Derek, moves in half way through his Freshman year. Before living at Cloyne Court, Derek commuted from his parent's house to school every day. The experience would be an eye opener and life changer for Derek as he experienced life in a whole new way. We follow Derek from his Freshman year through graduation. He experiences his first love and first hearbreak. He meets people and participates in events that were new and at times exciting, at times disturbing. Derek goes into the house one person and one outlook on life, and leaves changed and slightly damaged. Who wouldn't come away from a real life "Animal House" a changed man?

It has taken me a long time to figure out what to say about this book. I hope my brief description hasn't scared you away, because it is well worth the read. It's a story that is difficult to describe without telling too much. I was amazed at many of the characters that came and went in Derek's life while he lived at Cloyne Court. Many were such a positive influence, often without anyone realizing it until much later. On the other hand, many were what gave the co-op housing such a bad name. The housing politics were some of the best parts, with elected positions and assignments that were highly sought after at times. There was also a little of the high school drama mixed in, especially when it came to where and who you sat with at dinner.

A very unique type of coming of age story that I wish I could have lived part of. The story was entertaining and enlightening at the same time. Keep in mind that this is definately an adult book, with language, drugs and a sexual theme that runs througout. However, it is not over the top, it's just an important part of the story.

4/5

First off I have to say that I absolutely loved Thane and Mort. As lead characters and brothers, their interactions steal the show and kept me wanting to see what they were going to find themselves into next. In the first book of this series we are introduced to the Grym brothers and learn a little about their odd occupation, Grim Reapers. They are issued bounties on souls that are lost or have refused to move on to the Afterlife. This time they are given a rather unique request. Not only have two souls not shown up when they should have, but there is another person out there that should be dead, but might not be. Well, I don't want to give too much away so I'll leave you hanging on that one. To throw even more twists into the story, the two souls that were sent to find seem to have disappeared and the brothers won't get paid until they are found.

A very clever mix of humor and supernatural I flew through this book in one day, one sitting, without even realizing how long I had been reading. The story is interesting and involving enough to draw you in, but light and easy to read at the same time. As supporting characters come and go throughout the book, they only make the brothers more interesting.

4/5

This was one of the few books I've read that has left me with a feeling of wow. The characters, the setting, the storyline...everything seemed to line up perfectly to create a fantastic novel. Claire was brilliant. The perfect mix of repentant with enough of a real person to really make her come alive. Her life was extreme but still believable, if a bit lucky at times. Her relationships, not just with Sutton, but with the entire cast of the book, come slowly at first and the develope into something very rich and meaningful. I truly enjoyed watching Claire and Sutton get to know one another and discover their lives together.

Now many of you may remember me saying that I wasn't a big fan of Christian novels. Well, this book is one of the reasons I keep giving them a try. Religion was not written in every line, but rather between the lines, with characters trying to live their lives in the way they know they should be. They just picked right back up and tried again.

5/5

80. The Dead Couple by Jason Krumbine
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages:
Acquired: 10/27/11
Book of Your Shelf? No
Why I read it: Book Tour
Series: The Grym Brothers (1)

Thane and Mort, the Grym brothers and Grim Reapers for souls that did not find their way to the afterlife, have a new assignment. There are two souls that should have crossed easily, but for some reason they didn't. Jack and Cindy are happily married, but something pushed them over the edge and they became suicides. Now usually suicides are the easy one, they wanted to die and move on, but something didn't seem to work that way in this case. Meanwhile, Thane and Mort are still trying to find time to figure out what happened to their father who disappeared two years ago and figure out what the new Grim Reaping company that just moved into time is really up to.

Not quite as entertaining as the first in the seris, The Dead Couple still had my attention throughout the entire story. Mort and Thane are still at the brotherly bickering and both still have their bad habits. Thane is constantly trying to do the good deeds and help the lost souls really find peace, but it only seems to get them into more trouble. And with Mort's love life and gambling debts thrown into the mix there's a lot going on. Somehow, they manage to handle it all and still keep on track trying to find the souls of Jack and Cindy.

3/5

Lou is a teenager living in Alberta with her father, and she's miserable. She has no life, no friends, and her father's deteriorating health and prescription drug addictions are driving her mad. Her mother, a famous poet and author, left minutes after she was born. They reconnected when she was a older, but things have happened since that makes it difficult for them to speak to each other. When the unthinkable happens and Lou's dad ends up in the hospital after a stroke, she is shipped off to live with the mother she hardly knows. Lou decides to make the best of the situation and tries to figure out why her mother left. She is convinced the answer will be found somewhere in her mother's writing, but the conclusion Lou draws is not a happy one.

Lou rubbed me the wrong way. The author seemed to be trying to make her optimistic and hopeful, but it just didn't seem to come across the pages right. She had few original ideas and it often seemed like she just didn't get it - any of it. The situation between her and her father seemed extremely unrealistic and I had a hard time relating to them. The strain between Lou and her mother really held the story together for me. With both of them trying to figure their lives and themselves out, they keep missing what really matters most in their relationship.

I saw most of the final twist coming, but it was a bit more dramatic than I anticipated. The book ended nicely for me - it left things open to continue in the imagination, but closed enough to give me resolution.

3/5

Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it back to our world and out of Mag Mell - along with some friends and with some knowledge of Teagan's past that they all could have done without. The Dark Man is still on her trail, but is trying to be more persuasive, by trying to go after Teagan's friends and family. When the group finds themselves back in Mag Mell on a search to stop the growing goblin inside of her.

While I enjoyed returning to Teagan's world again, I had a much harder time following this story than the first. There were more "main" characters, and they each had their own agenda. On the other hand, they each brought out a little more of the old mythology which I absolutely loved. This book seemed to fall into the trap that many second books in a series seem to do - it was more of a wrapping up of loose ends and setting the stage for more than a story that I could really get into. I'm hoping there's a third book still. I love Teagan, and all her family and friends, there just need to be a little less going on in the background.

Archy Bass has found himself in an unusual situation. On a trip with a friend from school, he thinks he's just buying a souvenir, but ends up becoming the 58th Keeper of the Shroud. Now the shroud has quite a few very special abilities, including making the user invisible and flying. At first Archy doesn't realize what he has, and when the Kurul, the bad guys, send their best after him he wonders if it's all worth it. He finds out that in order to keep the shroud and the title of Keeper, he must pass a series of tests, none of which will be very easy. But he just might be able to do it with the help of a couple friends.

Pros: The action in The 58th Keeper was fantastic. I had a very hard time putting it down without finishing it. There always seemed to be something just about to happen. Archy is a fantastic main character with just the right mix of good intentions with adolescent mischief. Throughout the story he grows and develops into a young man that is willing to take on a great responsibility. My favorite part of the story was the Time Quest. I don't want to say to much and give away too many details, but it was the meat and potatoes of Archy's development.

Cons: There wasn't much about this story that I didn't like. I wish I had seen a little more development in Archy's friends and learned more about the history and purpose of SOTS, the keeper's helpers. I would have liked to see a little more descriptive of the places Archy visited. Now, since this is young adult story, I don't exactly expect to see an abundance of scenery, but it still seemed a little light in that area.

Overall: A great story that I hope ends up being turned in to a series. I loved Archy and reading about his adventures with the shroud. The perfect story to get wrapped up in.

3/5