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I have decided that my goal will be to review every book I've ever read. Or, failing that, to review every book that I read from here on out. If anyone has suggestions based on what I've read or what you're read, I'm more than willing to hear them! I always love getting new books/authors.

Murder With Peacocks
By Donna Andrews

I adored this book. I can see why it got so many great reviews and won awards. It's a pretty standard murder mystery with a very different heroine. Meg, who is our narrator, is a blacksmith who has been press-ganged into being maid of honor and subsequently running three weddings. As if that isn't hard enough, a dead body drops in her backyard.

The story is standard but the writing is fantastic. If you're a fan of Janet Evanovich and the 'funny mysteries' this is a good one for you. It's got a great cast of characters.

Murder With Puffins
By Donna Andrews

As the title suggests, this is the follow up novel to Murder with Peacocks. Meg is back, this time trying to get some much needed alone time with her boyfriend. You know that's not going to happen.

Andrews did a good job of bringing back her cast of characters without making it seem like she was just inventing excuses to drag them around with Meg. I love her parents. Her mom's melodrama is so over the top you have to love it.

Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
By Donna Andrews

Third book. Meg and her boyfriend are trying to survive a weekend at a shindig put on by his mom.

Perhaps it was reading the books back to back like this, but I really noticed some similarities in the plot. You have a victim that no one seems to like who dies and a score of people who could have killed him. Meg's family are back but it's plausible this time, as the shindig is taking place just a few miles from home.

That being said, the undercurrents of competition between Meg's Mom and Michael's (her boyfriend) mom are hilarious and very well done. Everything his mom does, her mom has to be that one step above. It makes for very entertaining scenes between the two because they're both such nice southern women that they never come right out and yell at each other. :3

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
By Donna Andrews

Book 4. Meg has been press-ganged into working at her brother's computer gaming company. Naturally someone dies.

Andrews did a good job varying the format in this one. For starters, the death happens a lot earlier and before we have a good grasp of the character who's doing the dying. Only later do we realize he's a blackmailing jerk. Also, her brother gets arrested which he thinks is the coolest thing ever.

I think what I love most about this series is the progression of Meg and Michael's relationship. They fight like a real couple and when he pisses her off, she ignores his phone calls.

The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins

Book one in the trilogy. Katniss volunteers for the games to save her sister.

Great book. Very visual. It was really written for the screen. It's dark. Almost dark enough to be considered just adult and not young adult but not quite. The style takes a bit to get into because it's written in first person present while most books are written in past tense. Still, a good book and one I reccomend.

Glass Houses
By Rachel Caine

Book one in the Morganville Vampires. Claire is a smart college student who is beginning to learn more than she wants to know about the secrets in this little Texas town.

First book I've read by this author and I can't say enough good stuff. The writing is fantastic and the pace is just right. It's not first person but the narration definitely centers around Claire. There are some killer twists and some downright unlikable characters (coughMonicacough).

Just to warn you, you might want to give careful consideration to having the second book ready when you go to finish the first.

The Dead Girls' Dance
By Rachel Caine

Book two in the Morganville Vampires. Claire's boyfriend Shane has this dad who really hates vampires and comes back to Morganville ready to kill some. The only problem is, when vampires and humans clash, it's almost never the vampire who gets hurt.

Another great installment. The characters are great again and Claire does a good job showing her true colors. Which just made me like her more. All of the characters shine in this one and you have real good reason to hate the one vampire but I won't spoil it for you. The end for this one isn't nearly as dramatic as for Glass Houses but it's still pretty intense.

Midnight Alley
By Rachel Caine

Book three in the Morganville Vampires. Claire is now working directly with Amelie who is not incredibly concerned with how Claire's new status will affect her life. Not to mention when a nearly dead vampire shows up at their house, all fingers point to Shane.

My enjoyment of this one was tainted somewhat by knowing that I didn't have book four on hand and would have to wait to find out what happens next. Still, this one was fantastic. Secrets abound and Claire has to reveal that she signed a deal with Amelie. We also learn why Amelie is so very interested in Claire. All in all, Caine does a good job moving the story on and keeping us interested without making the whole thing fast and jumpy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By J.K. Rowling

A boy finds out he is a wizard.

I'm just going to use this one post to talk about all seven. If you haven't read them or seen the movies, nothing I can say will change that. I adore the books. The characters mature as we read and in theory so does the audience. I read these books as they came out and I'm not ashamed to say that I paid a friend to stand in the Midnight line for the final book for me. Worth it. Any way, They're great books and good choices for kids of all ages.

A is for Alibi
By Sue Grafton

Book one. Kinsey must research the death of a divorce lawyer, a death that's eight years cold.

Kinsey is an interesting character. I enjoyed her in this book but I think I'm going to have to take a break between each novel. She's a good character but her personality is such that I might be tempted to dislike her if I have to read them too close together. Maybe that's just me. Still, she's a good detective so I think I'll pursue this series.

The Witches
By Roald Dahl

A boy learns from his grandmother that witches are real and not so very fond of children.

Perhaps it's just that I grew up on these stories, but I love Dahl. He is very good at writing for children and simply wonderful at creating characters we like. Go and read some of his if you don't believe me.

On a side note, I have to say I enjoyed the film version of this. Angelica Huston was simply divine in the role as the head witch. It was my first time seeing her as a villian and she was superb.

The Mediterranean Caper
By Clive Cussler

Book one in the Dirk Pitt Series.

Ah Dirk Pitt. These are my guilty reads. They're not badly written but the plot does tend to get a bit far fetched. This one was well done but that probably has to do with it being the first in the series. Still, they're entertaining if not completely accurate.

The Tomb (Adversary Cycle, #3)
By F. Paul Wilson

Jack is a person who fixes things, those things usually being situations. When his ex-girlfriend's aunt goes missing things start leaning towards the supernatural.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I picked it up at random, one of those yardsale finds. It was marketed as horror and it certainly fits the bill. Jack is a wonderful character and I want to steal him away from Gia (his lady love) and keep him all for myself. Alas, Wilson did not ask my oppinion.

The book is intended as the third in the Adversary series but it is just as easily read on its own. Wilson took off with the Jack character after this one and I believe there are fifteen books in the series. I've read most of them and will be posting on them as I go. Still, this book can stand alone so if you're not up for starting a new series, I'd reccommend this.

The Golden Compass
By Phillip Pullman

Lyra leaves her safe home in Oxford to find her missing friend, Roger.

This is my favorite of the trilogy. Lyra is a devious little kid and I enjoy her escapades. She just doesn't really understand what she's trying to do or that it's impossible. Part of why she makes it work. Good book but a little heavy for kids. Young Adult, would be my call.

The Subtle Knife
By Phillip Pullman

Sequel to The Golden Compass. Lyra must team up with Will to find out more about Dust and why she and he are both so important to Azriel's war.

Much more mature than the first book. Very heretical too, dealing with the idea that God is dead, never lived to begin with.

The Amber Spyglass
By Phillip Pullman

Final book in His Dark Materials. Will and Lyra set about going to the world of the dead.

I sort of wish Pullman hadn't gone into the whole Lyra/Will thing quite so heavily. He really leaned on it for this book and I was a bit disappointed by that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for them as a couple but it was too much Romeo-and-Juliet, starcrossed-lovers thing for me. That being said, I'm pretty glad that he ended it the way he did. Lyra and Will had to have that kind of ending or their journeys wouldn't count.

The Hobbit
By J.R.R. Tolkien

Prequel to the Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins sets out with a posse of dwarves to help them rid their home of a dragon.

I will not mention the movie to anyone who has not seen or did not like the film (I LOVED it, but whatever...). The book is wonderful. Again, it's a story I grew up on so that might taint my opinion. If I read it for the first time, here and now, I can't say what my thoughts would be but that's how it is. The book is well done. It is my favorite book of all time. I can't say enough good things about it so I'll stop trying. :3

A Tale Dark & Grimm
By Adam Gidwitz

The untold and unedited story of Hansel and Gretel.

Very cute story. Some parts were predictable but I really enjoyed it as a whole. At first I was a little off put by the interruptions from the narrator but after a little while, they were cute.

A Game of Thrones
By George R.R. Martin

With the death of the Hand, Eddard Stark is asked to fill the position. As he finds himself looking for answers in a city of lies, he realizes only too well how dangerous the truth can be for him and his family.

Ever have a book that every one keeps telling you to read? And you hear nothing but good things about it so you keep avoiding it because you get this unrealistic mindset of it and you don't want to be disappointed? Yeah, that was Game of Thrones for me. I've been hearing nothing but good stuff about it for over five years now from my friends and critics so I kept putting off on reading it. Finally they made the TV series and I saw Sean Bean was in it and I was like, darn, now I really want to see that. So I broke down and read the book.

It was sooooo good! The characters are so real and all you want to do is shove an ice pick down the bad guy's throat but you can't because he's not real and you're not the one writing this story. I wish I was half the writer Martin is.

A Clash of Kings
By George R. R. Martin

The battle lines have been drawn but trust and truth are still more subject to change. Five contenders arise, all vying for the kingdom as far more dangerous forces threaten from the shadows of the north.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything. There are new characters in this one, to replace some of the old ones. Martin did a good job setting up the new ones as well as continuing the development of the original characters. I'm very devoted to characters in books so that could have something to do with how much I enjoy his books. Probably.

A Storm of Swords
By George R.R. Martin

Win the battle, lose the war. The Stark family remains divided and new dangers, political and physical close in on our friends and foes in the aftermath of the Blackwater.

Again, don't want to say too much but this book just blew me away. The characters were awesome as usual but what I loved best about this one was the myriad of plot twists. And the deaths. Oh, so many people die.

A Feast for Crows
By George R.R. Martin

Westeros is still recovering from the two weddings and the deaths that accompanied them. Power struggles resume with new players entering the game. And winter is coming...

This one was interesting. Martin divided the characters and this book focuses on the events that take place on the main continent, excluding those over seas and the Wall which kinda sucked because some of my favorite characters were barely mentioned in this book. Still, I liked it because it gave us a chance to focus on a smaller number of people and get to know them better. I'll be interested to read A Dance With Dragons, as it shows the flipside of this story, focusing mainly on the characters we've left out until now.