Adrian's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:57:41 -0700 60 Adrian's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Long Way Down 845322
After their fantastic trip around the world in 2004, recounted to acclaim in Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman couldn't shake the travel bug. Inspired by their UNICEF visits to Africa, they knew they had to go back and experience this extraordinary continent in more depth.

In Long Way Down, they share their 15,000-mile journey, from the northernmost tip of Scotland to the southernmost tip of South Africa, to ride some of the toughest terrain in the world. Along the way, from the pyramids in Egypt to Luke Skywalker's house in Tunisia, they meet people who have triumphed over terrifying experiences—former child soldiers in Uganda and children living amidst the minefields of Ethiopia. They have a close encounter with a family of gorillas in Rwanda and are nearly trampled by a herd of elephants in Botswana. Riding through spectacular scenery, often in extreme temperatures, they face their hardest challenges yet. With their trademark humor and honesty, they tell their story—the drama, the dangers, and the sheer exhilaration of riding together again through a continent filled with magic and wonder.]]> 336 Ewan McGregor 1847440533 Adrian 1 non-fiction, own 3.91 Long Way Down
author: Ewan McGregor
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: non-fiction, own
review:
Sorry, as big of a fan as I am of Ewan's, I just can't finish this book. I'd love to learn more about what they discovered along the way and less about whining. (Sorry Ewan, but you and Charley both whine.)
]]> Savages 13260234
A breakthrough novel that pits young kingpins against a Mexican drug cartel, Savages is a provocative, sexy, and sharply funny thrill ride through the dark side of the war on drugs and beyond.

Part-time environmentalist and philanthropist Ben and his ex-mercenary buddy Chon run a Laguna Beach–based marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their loyal clientele. In the past when their turf was challenged, Chon took care of eliminating the threat. But now they may have come up against something that they can’t handle—the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, and sends them the message that a "no" is unacceptable. When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys� playmate and confidante. O’s abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of one amazing high.

Following "the best summertime crime novel ever" ( San Francisco Chronicle on The Dawn Patrol ), bestselling author Winslow offers up a smash hit in the making. Savages is an ingenious combination of adrenaline-fueled suspense and true-crime reportage by a master thriller writer at the very top of his game.]]> 358 Don Winslow 1451672535 Adrian 5 fiction, crime, suspense 3.75 2010 Savages
author: Don Winslow
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/28
shelves: fiction, crime, suspense
review:
I actually liked the movie better--because of the ending. But all in all, I really liked this book.
]]> Collateral Man 2356344 p
Maybe that's the greatest achievement of the novel: to confuse the reader by making him dive into a dark and dense "fog" inside which good and evil are no longer clearly distinguishable and where it is possible to share the suffering of every character. But don't mistake my words: Collateral Man is a fast-reading, attractive and captivating novel, and so well written that you can't put it down. The authors know how to play with the character's personalities in such a way that our perception of them is modified as we go on reading.
p
The story is like playing cat and mouse, a permanent game of perceptions and concepts such as guilt, responsibility and family bonds, which transcends Mondragon and Sagasti to end up nesting inside each reader.
p
The fans of good suspense and smart psychological thrillers will greatly enjoy this novel, as it does not run short of effects when necessary but -a rare case in modern narrative- it does not underestimate the reader who will be thankful for it. Collateral Man has traveled beyond its original borders, both in format as in language, and very probably it won't be the last time we'll hear from it, thank God (or the Devil).]]> 336 Alex Ferrara 9874365633 Adrian 0 to-read 3.50 2003 Collateral Man
author: Alex Ferrara
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Caught Forever Between (Hoodoo, #2.5)]]> 13431114

Deep in the bayou, justice comes in many forms.


When Cass finds her partner lying on the floor of their New Orleans tattoo shop in a pool of blood, the world as she knows it ends. Alex, her ink-slinging Michelangelo, lies in the hospital comatose, perhaps permanently.


Lacking faith in the police and their ability to find whoever shot Alex, Cass puts the word out that she's seeking justice, justice she will willingly pay for.


When a Voodoo mambo offers the services of her mysterious godson, Cass finds herself stepping into a dark, deadly world, one that she may not walk out of again intact.


"Phoenix is a beautiful storyteller--her prose flows like poetry."
-- the BN SciFi & Fantasy Blog


Adrian Phoenix is the acclaimed author of two urban fantasy series--The Maker's Song books (A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, Beneath the Skin, Etched in Bone) and the Hoodoo books (Black Dust Mambo, Black Heart Loa).]]> 40 Adrian Phoenix 1466153334 Adrian 5 4.09 2012 Caught Forever Between (Hoodoo, #2.5)
author: Adrian Phoenix
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/26
date added: 2022/04/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Nightmares & Dreamscapes 518851
A solitary finger pokes out of a drain. Novelty teeth turn predatory. Flies settle and die on an old pair of sneakers in New York, and the Nevada desert swallows a Cadillac. Meanwhile the legend of Castle Rock returns . . . and grows on you. What does it all mean? What else could it mean? First there was Night Shift (1978), then Skeleton Crew (1985), and now Stephen King is back with a third collection of stories--a vast, many-chambered cave of a volume, with passages leading every which way to hell . . . and a few to glory.

The long reach of Stephen King's imagination and the no-holds-barred force of his storytelling have never been so richly demonstrated. There's something here for readers of every stripe and predilection--classic tales of the macabre and the monstrous, cutting-edge explorations of the borderlands between good and evil, brilliant pastiches of Chandler and Conan Doyle, even a teleplay and a non-fiction bonus, a heartfelt piece of Little League baseball that first appeared in The New Yorker.

In story after story, several published here for the first time, he will take you to places you've never been before, places that are both dark and vividly illuminated. Fair warning: You will lose a good deal of sleep. But Stephen King, writing to beat the devil, will do your dreaming for you.

Can you believe? Then come . . .

Dolan's Cadillac --
The End of the Whole Mess --
Suffer the Little Children --
The Night Flier --
Popsy --
It Grows on You --
Chattery Teeth --
Dedication --
The Moving Finger --
Sneakers --
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band --
Home Delivery --
Rainy Season --
My Pretty Pony --
Sorry, Right Number --
The Ten O'Clock People --
Crouch End --
The House on Maple Street --
The Fifth Quarter --
The Doctor's Case --
Umney's Last Case --
Head Down --
Brooklyn August]]> 816 Stephen King 0670851086 Adrian 0 currently-reading 3.79 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/04/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Revival 20926278
In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It's a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.]]> 405 Stephen King 1476770387 Adrian 4 horror, dark-fantasy 3.78 2014 Revival
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/17
date added: 2016/04/17
shelves: horror, dark-fantasy
review:
I enjoyed this read. I think HP Lovecraft would've been honored.
]]> Cell 10567 Where were you on October 1st at 3:03 pm?

Graphic artist Clay Riddell was in the heart of Boston on that brilliant autumn afternoon when hell was unleashed before his eyes. Without warning, carnage and chaos reigned. Ordinary people fell victim to the basest, most animalistic destruction.

And the apocalypse began with the ring of a cell phone...]]> 449 Stephen King 1416524517 Adrian 4 3.67 2006 Cell
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/09
date added: 2016/04/17
shelves: currently-reading, dark-fantasy
review:
I LOVED this book and this story. And the characters, of course--although the unexpected death of one had me mourning while reading for a while. I kept trying to imagine how I would've handled a scenario like this. Dead, I'm sure. I wouldn't have lasted. LOL.
]]> <![CDATA[Sudden Fury: A True Story of Adoption and Murder]]> 1924933 384 Leslie Walker 0312034369 Adrian 3 own, true-crime 3.60 1989 Sudden Fury: A True Story of Adoption and Murder
author: Leslie Walker
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/11
shelves: own, true-crime
review:

]]> The Bazaar of Bad Dreams 23512999 495 Stephen King 1501111671 Adrian 5 3.91 2015 The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: dark-fantasy, horror, magic, paranormal, short-story-collection
review:

]]> Just After Sunset 2906039
A blind intruder visits a dying man - and saves his life, with a kiss.

A woman receives a phone call from her husband. Her LATE husband.

In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Emily starts running. And running. Her curiosity leads her right into the hands of a murderer... and soon her legs are her only hope for survival.

Enter a world of masterful suspense, dark comedy and thrilling twists which will keep you riveted from the fist page.]]> 367 Stephen King 1416584080 Adrian 5 3.89 2008 Just After Sunset
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: short-story-collection, dark-fantasy, horror, magic, paranormal
review:
I love this collection. Some of the stories broke my heart, others awakened it. He IS the master!
]]> <![CDATA[He Shall Thunder in the Sky (Amelia Peabody, #12)]]> 66517 512 Elizabeth Peters 0380798581 Adrian 3 historical, mystery 4.32 2000 He Shall Thunder in the Sky (Amelia Peabody, #12)
author: Elizabeth Peters
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kings of Cool (Savages, #1)]]> 13544841
Now, in this high-octane prequel, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are. Spanning from 1960s Southern California to the recent past, The Kings of Cool is a breathtakingly original saga of family in all its forms—fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, friends and lovers. As the trio at the center of the book does battle with a cabal of drug dealers and crooked cops, they come to learn that their future is inextricably linked with their parents� history. A series of breakneck twists and turns puts the two generations on a collision course, culminating in a stunning showdown that will force Ben, Chon, and O to choose between their real families and their loyalty to one another.

Fast-paced, provocative, and wickedly funny, The Kings of Cool is a spellbinding love story for our times from a master novelist at the height of his powers. It is filled with Winslow’s trademark talents—complex characters, sharp dialogue, blistering social commentary—that have earned him an obsessive following. The result is a book that will echo in your mind and heart long after you’ve turned the last page.]]> 336 Don Winslow 1451665342 Adrian 4 fiction, crime Prequel to Savages. 3.96 2012 The Kings of Cool (Savages, #1)
author: Don Winslow
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, crime
review:
Prequel to Savages.
]]> Olympos (Ilium, #2) 3972
THE EXTRAORDINARY AND MAGNIFICENT EPIC CONCLUSION TO THE HUGO AWARD-NOMINATED ILIUM

Beneath the gaze of the gods, the mighty armies of Greece and Troy met in fierce and glorious combat, scrupulously following the text set forth in Homer's timeless narrative, but that was before twenty-first century scholar Thomas Hockenberry stirred the bloody brew, causing an enraged Achilles to join forces with his archenemy Hector and turn his murderous wrath on Zeus and the entire pantheon of divine manipulators; before the swift and terrible mechanical creatures that catered for centuries to the pitiful idle remnants of Earth's human race began massing in the millions, to exterminate rather than serve.

And now all bets are off.]]> 891 Dan Simmons 0380817934 Adrian 4 3.94 2005 Olympos (Ilium, #2)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: science-fiction, historical, fantasy
review:

]]> Ilium (Ilium, #1) 3973 731 Dan Simmons 0380817926 Adrian 4 4.02 2003 Ilium (Ilium, #1)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fantasy, historical, magic, science-fiction
review:
Amazing story. Not sure how to classify it. I believe it is mainly science fiction with fantasy and mythological elements. We have the siege of Troy, Mars, Greek gods, space ships and robots--and it's all brilliant.
]]> <![CDATA[Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)]]> 13507212 9780805090031)

Though he battled for years to marry her, Henry VIII has become disenchanted with the audacious Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son, and her sharp intelligence and strong will have alienated his old friends and the noble families of England.

When the discarded Katherine, Henry's first wife, dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice, setting in motion a dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason.

At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over a few terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally himself with his enemies. What price will he pay for Annie's head?]]> 412 Hilary Mantel Adrian 5 fiction, historical 4.26 2012 Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)
author: Hilary Mantel
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)]]> 7826803 604 Hilary Mantel 0312429983 Adrian 5 fiction, historical 3.97 2009 Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)
author: Hilary Mantel
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, historical
review:
Beautiful writing. This book shows true events through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. I've never seen him portrayed as a sympathetic character or witnessed events that occurred during his times through his eyes. This book filled me with wonder and possibility and sorrow--knowing what was coming--and made me ponder the possibility that history has maligned Cromwell.
]]> <![CDATA[Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History]]> 239186
Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.]]> 323 Erik Larson 0375708278 Adrian 5 historical, non-fiction 4.04 1999 Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
author: Erik Larson
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, non-fiction
review:
True story about a devastating hurricane in 1900 in Galveston, Texas. The writing is so detailed and so full of foreboding, you feel as if you are there as the horrible events unfold.
]]> <![CDATA[Death of Kings (The Saxon Stories, #6)]]> 11734251
For the Viking-raised but Saxon-born warrior, Uhtred, whose life seems to shadow the making of England, this presents him with difficult choices. King Alfred is dying and his passing threatens the island of Britain to renewed warfare. Alfred wants his son, Edward, to succeed him but there are other Saxon claimants to the throne as well as ambitious pagan Vikings to the north.

Uhtred's loyalty - and his vows - were to Alfred, not to his son, and despite his long years of service to Alfred, he is still not committed to the Saxon cause. His own desire is to reclaim his long lost lands and castle to the north. But the challenge to him, as the king's warrior, is that he knows that he will either be the means of making Alfred's dream of a united and Christian England come to pass or be responsible for condemning it to oblivion.

This novel is a dramatic story of the power of tribal commitment and the terrible difficulties of divided loyalties. This is the making of England magnificently brought to life.]]> 335 Bernard Cornwell 0007331789 Adrian 4 historical, fiction 4.28 2011 Death of Kings (The Saxon Stories, #6)
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:

]]> The Burning Land 8299269 The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit BBC America television series.

At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred’s reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats.

For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by tragedy. Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings, swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar-and his old foe Haesten-he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself.Ěý But fate has different plans . . .

In The Burning Land, Bernard Cornwell, “the reigning king of historical fiction� (USA Today), delivers a rousing saga of Anglo-Saxon England-an irresistible new chapter in his thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of England and the legendary king who made it possible.]]> 345 Bernard Cornwell 0060888768 Adrian 4 historical, fiction 4.30 2009 The Burning Land
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sword Song (The Saxon Stories, #4)]]> 1297150 314 Bernard Cornwell 0060888644 Adrian 5 historical, fiction 4.30 2007 Sword Song (The Saxon Stories, #4)
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:
The ending of this book was perfect and heartbreaking. Brilliantly written.
]]> <![CDATA[Lords of the North (The Saxon Stories, #3)]]> 68526 317 Bernard Cornwell 0060888628 Adrian 5 historical, fiction I love this series. 4.34 2007 Lords of the North (The Saxon Stories, #3)
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:
I love this series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Stories, #2)]]> 68528
This is the exciting—yet little known—story of the making of England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the years in which King Alfred the Great, his son and grandson defeated the Danish Vikings who had invaded and occupied three of England’s four kingdoms.

At the end of The Last Kingdom, The Danes had been defeated at Cynuit, but the triumph of the English is not fated to last long. The Danish Vikings quickly invade and occupy three of England’s four kingdoms—and all that remains of the once proud country is a small piece of marshland, where Alfred and his family live with a few soldiers and retainers, including Uhtred, the dispossessed English nobleman who was raised by the Danes. Uhtred has always been a Dane at heart, and has always believed that given the chance, he would fight for the men who raised him and taught him the Viking ways. But when Iseult, a powerful sorceress, enters Uhtred’s life, he is forced to consider feelings he’s never confronted before—and Uhtred discovers, in his moment of greatest peril, a new-found loyalty and love for his native country and ruler.]]> 349 Bernard Cornwell 0061144835 Adrian 5 fiction, historical 4.30 2006 The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Stories, #2)
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, historical
review:
A gripping series. You feel as though you've stepped back in time.
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1)]]> 68527
The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex (Alfred’s kingdom and the last territory in English hands) Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane. He certainly has no love for Alfred, whom he considers a pious weakling and no match for Viking savagery, yet when Alfred unexpectedly defeats the Danes and the Danes themselves turn on Uhtred, he is finally forced to choose sides. By now he is a young man, in love, trained to fight and ready to take his place in the dreaded shield wall. Above all, though, he wishes to recover his father’s land, the enchanting fort of Bebbanburg by the wild northern sea.

This thrilling adventure—based on existing records of Bernard Cornwell’s ancestors—depicts a time when law and order were ripped violently apart by a pagan assault on Christian England, an assault that came very close to destroying England.]]> 333 Bernard Cornwell 0060887184 Adrian 5 historical, fiction 4.27 2004 The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1)
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and eagerly bought the next three in the series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1)]]> 24876258
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…]]> 630 Jim Butcher 0451466802 Adrian 4 steampunk Looking forward to the next. 4.15 2015 The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: steampunk
review:
Looking forward to the next.
]]> <![CDATA[Elemental Arcane (The Eldritch Files, #1)]]> 24295042
Until children start turning into blood-thirsty Changelings and attack their parents.

When one of these children shows up in front of her shop, Sam and her friends are determined to find out where they’re coming from and where the exchanged children are being kept and put a stop to it. But will they succeed when they find themselves pitted against ninja ghouls, one of the oldest and darkest enemies of the mortal world, and a secret from Sam’s childhood that could unravel her magic?]]> 174 Phaedra Weldon Adrian 4 3.84 2014 Elemental Arcane (The Eldritch Files, #1)
author: Phaedra Weldon
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: magic, mystery, paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires
review:
I really enjoyed this (and got a major kick at the mention of Club Hell and Inferno) and plan to grab the rest in the series.
]]> The Quick 23278597 For fans of Anne Rice, The Historian, and The Night Circus, an astonishing debut, a novel of epic scope and suspense that conjures up all the magic and menace of Victorian London
Ěý
1892: James Norbury, a shy would-be poet newly down from Oxford, finds lodging with a charming young aristocrat. Through this new friendship, he is introduced to the drawing-rooms of high society and finds love in an unexpected quarter. Then, suddenly, he vanishes without a trace. Alarmed, his sister, Charlotte, sets out from their crumbling country estate determined to find him. In the sinister, labyrinthine London that greets her, she uncovers a hidden, supernatural city populated by unforgettable characters: a female rope walker turned vigilante, a street urchin with a deadly secret, and the chilling “Doctor Knife.� But the answer to her brother’s disappearance ultimately lies within the doors of the exclusive, secretive Aegolius Club, whose predatory members include the most ambitious, and most bloodthirsty, men in England.
Ěý
In her first novel, Lauren Owen has created a fantastical world that is both beguiling and terrifying. The Quick will establish her as one of fiction’s most dazzling talents.
Ěý
From the Hardcover edition.]]> 560 Lauren Owen 0812983432 Adrian 4 3.27 2014 The Quick
author: Lauren Owen
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, paranormal, vampires
review:
I very much enjoyed this. Beautifully written, wonderful vampire mythology and setup. And in a time period I love.
]]> The Victorians 2062843 544 A.N. Wilson 0393049744 Adrian 4 historical, non-fiction 3.65 2002 The Victorians
author: A.N. Wilson
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Why Kings Confess (Sebastian St. Cyr, #9)]]> 18114102 The gruesome murder of a young French physician draws aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his pregnant wife, Hero, into a dangerous, decades-old mystery as a wrenching piece of Sebastian’s past puts him to the ultimate test.

Regency England, January 1813: When a badly injured Frenchwoman is found beside the mutilated body of Dr. Damion Pelletan in one of London’s worst slums, Sebastian finds himself caught in a high-stakes tangle of murder and revenge. Although the woman, Alexi Sauvage, has no memory of the attack, Sebastian knows her all too well from an incident in his past—an act of wartime brutality and betrayal that nearly destroyed him.

As the search for the killer leads Sebastian into a treacherous web of duplicity, he discovers that Pelletan was part of a secret delegation sent by Napoleon to investigate the possibility of peace with Britain. Despite his powerful father-in-law’s warnings, Sebastian plunges deep into the mystery of the "Lost Dauphin�, the boy prince who disappeared in the darkest days of the French Revolution, and soon finds himself at lethal odds with the Dauphin’s sister—the imperious, ruthless daughter of Marie Antoinette—who is determined to retake the French crown at any cost.

With the murderer striking ever closer, Sebastian must battle new fears about Hero’s health and that of their soon-to-be born child. When he realizes the key to their survival may lie in the hands of an old enemy, he must finally face the truth about his own guilt in a past he has found too terrible to consider....Ěý
]]> 340 C.S. Harris 0451417550 Adrian 3 historical, mystery 4.22 2014 Why Kings Confess (Sebastian St. Cyr, #9)
author: C.S. Harris
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin, #1)]]> 10593786 Sophie. Accompanied by his eccentric new friend, the physician and naturalist Stephen Maturin, Aubrey does battle with the naval hierarchy, with his own tendency to make social blunders, and with the challenges of forging an effective crew -- before ultimately taking on enemy ships in a vivid, intricately detailed series of sea battles.]]> 412 Patrick O'Brian Adrian 3 fiction, historical 4.00 1969 Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin, #1)
author: Patrick O'Brian
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1969
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, historical
review:

]]> Naked in Death (In Death, #1) 479309 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780425148297

Here is the novel that started it all- the first book in J.D. Robb's number-one New York Times-bestselling In Death series, featuring New York homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke.

It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing: passion.

When a senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she'd been leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washington politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Roarke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome... and the leading suspect in the investigation.]]> 306 J.D. Robb Adrian 3 4.11 1995 Naked in Death (In Death, #1)
author: J.D. Robb
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: science-fiction, suspense, mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)]]> 127455 Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling...

An orphan's life is harsh � and often short � in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains � a man who is neither blind nor a priest.

A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected "family" of orphans � a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting.

Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld's most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful � and more ambitious � than Locke has yet imagined.

Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi's most trusted men � and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr's underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game � or die trying...

]]> 499 Scott Lynch 0553804677 Adrian 2 fantasy 4.28 2006 The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
author: Scott Lynch
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fantasy
review:
This book was hard to get into at first. Once I did, it was all right. The characters I liked the most died, however, and the main character didn't interest me as much as the secondary. However, that said, I would be willing to take a chance on the second Gentleman Bastard book.
]]> <![CDATA[Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, #1)]]> 1265656
Through a series of courageous raids against the Tartars, Temujin's legend grew. And so did the challenges he faced--from the machinations of a Chinese ambassador to the brutal abduction of his young wife, Borte. Blessed with ferocious courage, it was the young warrior's ability to learn, to imagine, and to judge the hearts of others that propelled him to greater and greater power. Until Temujin was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject unknown nations and even empires to his will.]]> 578 Conn Iggulden 0007201753 Adrian 4 historical, fiction 4.40 2007 Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, #1)
author: Conn Iggulden
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: historical, fiction
review:
A fascinating look at the (fictional) life of Genghis Khan and what might have made him the man he became.
]]> The Thorn Birds 3412
The central figures in this enthralling story are the indomitable Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, the stunningly handsome and ambitious priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph's course moves him a long way indeed, from a remote Outback parish to the halls of the Vatican; and Meggie's except for a brief and miserable marriage elsewhere, is fixed to the Drogheda that is part of her bones - but distance does not dim their feelings though it shapes their lives.

Wonderful characters people this book; strong and gentle, Paddy, hiding a private memory; dutiful Fiona, holding back love because it once betrayed her, violent, tormented Frank, and the other hardworking Cleary sons who give the boundless lands of Drogheda the energy and devotion most men save for women; Meggie; Ralph; and Meggie's children, Justine and Dane. And the land itself; stark, relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.

Alternate Cover Edition ISBN 0380018179 (ISBN13: 9780380018178)]]> 692 Colleen McCullough Adrian 4 fiction, historical 4.24 1977 The Thorn Birds
author: Colleen McCullough
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1977
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction, historical
review:
I really enjoyed this one. Sad, though, in many ways. Beautifully written, well-drawn characters.
]]> The Last Don (The Godfather) 364089
This is a mesmerizing tale that takes us inside the equally corrupt worlds of the mob, the movie industry, and the casinos - where beautiful actresses and ruthless hit men are ruled by lust and violence, where sleazy producers and greedy studio heads are drunk with power, where crooked cops and desperate gamblers play dangerous games of betrayal, and where one man controls them all.]]> 502 Mario Puzo 0345412214 Adrian 3 fiction 3.87 1996 The Last Don (The Godfather)
author: Mario Puzo
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide and the Criminal Mind]]> 156297 Dark Dreams he reveals the twisted motives and perverse thinking that go into the most reprehensible crimes. He also catalogs the innovative and remarkably effective techniques--techniques that he helped pioneer at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit--that allow Law Enforcement agents to construct psychological profiles of the offenders who comit them.

Hazelwood has helped track down some of the most violent and well known criminals in modern history; in Dark Dreams he takes readers into his world--a sinister world inhabited by scores of dangerous offenders for every Roy Hazelwood who would put them behind bars. These are sexual sadists, serial rapists, child molesters, and serial killers. The cases he describes are as shocking as they are perplexing; their resolutions are as fascinating as they are innovative:

* A young woman disappears from the convenience store where she works. Her body is later found in a field, strapped to a makeshift St. Andrew's Cross and mutilated beyond description. Who committed this heinous crime? And why?

* A teenager's corpse is found hanging in a storm sewer. His clothes are neatly folded by the entrance and a stopwatch lies in the grime beneath him. Is he the victim of a bizarre, ritualistic murder . . . or an elaborate masturbatory fantasy gone awry?

* A married couple, driving with their toddler in the back seat, pick up a female hitchhiker. They kidnap her and for seven years keep her in a box under their bed as a sexual slave. The wife had agreed to this inhuman arrangement in exchange for a second child. Who was to blame?

But as gruesome as the crimes are and as unsettling as the odds seem, Hazelwood, writing with veteran journalsit Stephen Michaud, proves that the right amounts of determination and logic can bring even the most cunning and devious criminals to justice.Ěý

Dark Dreams is a 2002 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime.

]]> 288 Roy Hazelwood 0312980116 Adrian 4 non-fiction, true-crime 4.04 2001 Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide and the Criminal Mind
author: Roy Hazelwood
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/04/03
shelves: non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> Omerta (The Godfather) 22028
Now his time has arrived. The Don is dead, his murder one bloody act in a drama of ambition and deceit --- from the deadly compromises made by an FBI agent to the greed of two crooked NYPD detectives and the frightening plans of a South American Mob kingpin. In a collision of enemies and lovers, betrayers and loyal soldiers, Astorre Viola will claim his destiny. Because after all these years, this moment is in his blood ...]]> 369 Mario Puzo 0345432401 Adrian 2 fiction, suspense 3.74 2000 Omerta (The Godfather)
author: Mario Puzo
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: fiction, suspense
review:

]]> I Am Pilgrim 18144124 Pilgrim.']]> 612 Terry Hayes 1439177724 Adrian 4 4.25 2013 I Am Pilgrim
author: Terry Hayes
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves:
review:
Enjoyed it. Might read more featuring this character.
]]> The Prophet 13498709
Adam Austin hasn't spoken to his brother in years. When they were teenagers, their sister was abducted and murdered, and their devastated family never recovered. Now Adam keeps to himself, scraping by as a bail bondsman, working so close to the town's criminal fringes that he sometimes seems a part of them.

Kent Austin is the beloved coach of the local high school football team, a religious man and hero in the community. After years of near misses, Kent's team has a shot at the state championship, a welcome point of pride in a town that has had its share of hardships.

Just before playoffs begin, the town and the team are thrown into shock when horrifically, impossibly, another teenage girl is found murdered. When details emerge that connect the crime to the Austin brothers, the two are forced to unite to stop a killer - and to confront their buried rage and grief before history repeats itself again.]]> 399 Michael Koryta 0316122610 Adrian 3 suspense 3.73 2012 The Prophet
author: Michael Koryta
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: suspense
review:
Ar first I thought this book, the story, the way it was being told was odd and off-putting. But I gradually fell into it and enjoyed it.
]]> <![CDATA[An Evil Mind (Robert Hunter, #6)]]> 19582934
The case is immediately handed over to the FBI, but this time they're forced to ask for outside help. Ex-criminal behaviour psychologist and lead Detective with the Ultra Violent Crime Unit of the LAPD, Robert Hunter, is asked to run a series of interviews with the apprehended man. These interviews begin to reveal terrifying secrets that no one could've foreseen, including the real identity of a killer so elusive that no one, not even the FBI, had any idea he existed ... until now.]]> 496 Chris Carter Adrian 2 mystery, suspense 4.52 2014 An Evil Mind (Robert Hunter, #6)
author: Chris Carter
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: mystery, suspense
review:
Couldn't get into the characters. A few nice twists, despite some predictability. Don't know if I'll read more in this series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Wild Inside (Glacier Mystery #1)]]> 22883411
It was a clear night in Glacier National Park. Fourteen-year-old Ted Systead and his father were camping beneath the rugged peaks and starlit skies when something unimaginable happened: a grizzly bear attacked Ted’s father and dragged him to his death.

Now, twenty years later, as Special Agent for the Department of the Interior, Ted gets called back to investigate a crime that mirrors the horror of that night. Except this time, the victim was tied to a tree before the mauling. Ted teams up with one of the park officers—a man named Monty, whose pleasant exterior masks an all-too-vivid knowledge of the hazardous terrain surrounding them. Residents of the area turn out to be suspicious of outsiders and less than forthcoming. Their intimate connection to the wild forces them to confront nature, and their fellow man, with equal measures of reverence and ruthlessness.

As the case progresses with no clear answers, more than human life is at stake—including that of the majestic creature responsible for the attack. Ted’s search for the truth ends up leading him deeper into the wilderness than he ever imagined, on the trail of a killer, until he reaches a shocking and unexpected personal conclusion.

As intriguing and alluring as bestselling crime novels by C.J. Box, Louise Penny, and William Kent Krueger, as atmospheric and evocative as the nature writing of John Krakauer and Cheryl Strayed, The Wild Inside is a gripping debut novel about the perilous, unforgiving intersection between man and nature.]]> 404 Christine Carbo 1476775451 Adrian 2 mystery 3.61 2015 The Wild Inside (Glacier Mystery #1)
author: Christine Carbo
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: mystery
review:
Hit and miss with me. Some of the writing was beautiful, but hard to care for or identify with the characters, especially the main one. Some the character reactions felt false to me and some of the metaphors and similes used were just plain weird.
]]> <![CDATA[Let's Kill Mom: Four Texas Teens and a Horrifying Murder Pact]]> 24611927 Ěý
DaysĚýbefore, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Bailey, her thirteen-year-old brother David, and their friends Paul Henson and Merrilee White had made a gruesome they’d kill their parents, steal their cars and credit cards, and flee to Canada.
Ěý
Paul and Merrilee’s parents thwarted their fates, but Jennifer and David’s mother Susan Bailey wasn’t so lucky. When the devoted mother returned home from work, her two children and their friend Paul took turns stabbing her and slicing her throat. When they were done, they fled in Susan’s car. They made it as far as South Dakota before being arrested.
Ěý
What really led them to make such a despicable pact? The answers would cast a disturbing new light on the way we see the all-American family, our neighbors, our children—and the society that nurtured them. Now an Investigation Discovery TV Special]]> 323 Donna Fielder 0425280373 Adrian 3 true-crime 3.58 2015 Let's Kill Mom: Four Texas Teens and a Horrifying Murder Pact
author: Donna Fielder
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America's Youngest Serial Killer]]> 22249679 The Devil in the White City.

In the early 1870s, local children begin disappearing from the working-class neighborhoods of Boston. Several return home bloody and bruised after being tortured, while others never come back.

With the city on edge, authorities believe the abductions are the handiwork of a psychopath, until they discover that their killer—fourteen-year-old Jesse Pomeroy—is barely older than his victims. The criminal investigation that follows sparks a debate among the world’s most revered medical minds, and will have a decades-long impact on the judicial system and medical consciousness.

The Wilderness of Ruin is a riveting tale of gruesome murder and depravity. At its heartĚýis a great American city divided by class—a chasm that widens in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1872. Roseanne Montillo brings Gilded Age Boston to glorious life—from the genteel cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill to the squalid, overcrowded tenements of Southie. Here, too, is the writer Herman Melville. Enthralled by the child killer’s case, he enlists physician Oliver Wendell Holmes to help him understand how it might relate to his own mental instability.

With verve and historical detail, Roseanne Montillo explores this case that reverberatedĚýthrough all of Boston society in order to help us understand our modern hunger for the prurient and sensational.

The Wilderness of Ruin features more than a dozen black-and-white photographs.]]> 308 Roseanne Montillo 0062273477 Adrian 3 crime, historical, true-crime 2.82 2015 The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America's Youngest Serial Killer
author: Roseanne Montillo
name: Adrian
average rating: 2.82
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: crime, historical, true-crime
review:

]]> Bravado's House of Blues 18617661 240 J.A. Pitts 1933846410 Adrian 3 urban-fantasy 3.86 2013 Bravado's House of Blues
author: J.A. Pitts
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2014/12/25
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves: urban-fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1)]]> 18775247
Months later, an ex-cop named Bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from "the perk," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, fearing another even more diabolical attack and hell-bent on preventing it.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of eccentric and mismatched allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.
--front flap]]> 437 Stephen King 1476754454 Adrian 4 horror, mystery, suspense 4.01 2014 Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1)
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/08/01
date added: 2015/01/14
shelves: horror, mystery, suspense
review:
Thoroughly enjoyed this latest by the master. I had a hard time putting the book down. As usual.
]]> <![CDATA[A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)]]> 10664113 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B004XISI4A

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.]]> 1125 George R.R. Martin Adrian 4 fantasy, paranormal 4.33 2011 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2014/12/14
date added: 2014/12/15
shelves: fantasy, paranormal
review:
I enjoyed it, but I hate not knowing what has happened to Jon Snow and Danaerys Targaryen. Need to get book 6!
]]> Greywalker (Greywalker, #1) 140099
But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker- able to move between the human world and the mysterious cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift is about to drag her into that strange new realm-whether she likes it or not.]]> 341 Kat Richardson 045146107X Adrian 3 3.47 2006 Greywalker (Greywalker, #1)
author: Kat Richardson
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2014/11/14
date added: 2014/11/16
shelves: paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, magic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Souls (Eric Carter, #2)]]> 20579053
And things are just getting worse.

His link to the Aztec death goddess is changing his powers, changing him, and he’s not sure how far it will go. He’s starting to question his own sanity, wonder if he’s losing his mind. No mean feat for a guy who talks to the dead on a regular basis.

While searching for a way to break Santa Muerte’s hold over him, Carter finds himself the target of a psychopath who can steal anyone’s form, powers and memories. Identity theft is one thing, but the guy does it by killing his victims and wearing their skins like a suit. He can be anyone. He can be anywhere.

Now Carter has to change the game, go from hunted to hunter. All he has for help is a Skid Row Bruja and a ghost who’s either his dead friend Alex or Carter’s own guilt-fueled psychotic break.

If things go right, he just might survive a week where everything is trying to kill him and nothing is as it seems.]]> 264 Stephen Blackmoore 075640942X Adrian 3 3.98 2014 Broken Souls (Eric Carter, #2)
author: Stephen Blackmoore
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2014/11/07
date added: 2014/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Boneyards (Diving Universe, #3)]]> 11340238 Coop and Boss want to keep stealth tech out of the Empire’s hands, too, but for different reasons. “Stealth tech� powers Coop’s ship in the form of its anacapa drive. A drive that malfunctioned, leaving Coop and his crew stranded. But to find a way home, he must know what happened in the past.
When Squishy’s actions threaten Coop’s mission, he must make a choice—help Boss attack the Empire, or risk losing his hope for a future.

“Rusch follows Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins with another fast-paced novel of the far future.�
—Publisher’s Weekly

“Filled with well-defined characters who confront a variety of ethical and moral dilemmas, Rusch’s third Diving Universe novel is classic space opera, with richly detailed worldbuilding and lots of drama.�
—RT Book Reviews

International bestselling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch has won two Hugo awards, a World Fantasy Award, and six Asimov’s Readers Choice Awards. For more information about her work, please go to kristinekathrynrusch.com. For more information about the Diving universe, to which this story belongs, go to divingintothewreck.com.]]> 301 Kristine Kathryn Rusch 1616145439 Adrian 4 science-fiction 3.75 2012 Boneyards (Diving Universe, #3)
author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2014/10/15
date added: 2014/11/03
shelves: science-fiction
review:
I really enjoy this series and look forward to picking up the next one! This is the best science fiction I've read in a long time.
]]> Hell Bent (Broken Magic, #1) 16158553
When the government discovers the breakers� secret—and its potential as a weapon—Shame and Terric suddenly become wanted men, the only ones who can stop the deadly gift from landing in the wrong hands. If only a pair of those wrong hands didn’t belong to a drop-dead-gorgeous assassin Shame is falling for as if it were the end of the world. And if he gets too close to her, it very well could be....]]> 358 Devon Monk 0451417925 Adrian 3 urban-fantasy 3.91 2013 Hell Bent (Broken Magic, #1)
author: Devon Monk
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2014/09/29
date added: 2014/10/01
shelves: urban-fantasy
review:
I enjoyed this first book in Devon's new series. Now I need to pick up the next book.
]]> <![CDATA[Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident]]> 17707141
On the night of 1 February, something or someone caused the skiers to flee their tent in such terror that they used knives to slash their way out. Search parties were sent out and their bodies were found, some with massive internal injuries but no external marks on them. The autopsy stated the violent injuries were caused by 'an unknown elemental force'. The area was sealed off for years by the authorities and the full events of that night remained unexplained.

Using original research carried out in Russia and photographs from the skiers' cameras, Keith McCloskey attempts to explain what happened to the nine young people who lost their lives in the mysterious 'Dyatlov Pass Incident'.]]> 224 Keith McCloskey 0752491482 Adrian 4 non-fiction, mystery
Again, for a time machine. ]]> 3.45 2013 Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident
author: Keith McCloskey
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/20
date added: 2014/09/24
shelves: non-fiction, mystery
review:
I enjoyed this book about the Dyatlov Pass incident very much. The author examined the facts, various theories, and even introduced new ideas and material. Well worth reading.

Again, for a time machine.
]]> Gone Girl 19288043 What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?]]> 415 Gillian Flynn 0307588378 Adrian 4 mystery, suspense 4.22 2012 Gone Girl
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/16
date added: 2014/09/18
shelves: mystery, suspense
review:
This had some really fascinating twists and turns, psychological, emotional, and story-wise. I won't say more than that for fear of giving something away. Definitely worth reading. I honestly don't see how it will work as a movie since the most important things happened from inside the characters heads.
]]> <![CDATA[Thief of Lives (Noble Dead Saga: Series 1, #2)]]> 413896 On the heels of Dhampir, Barb and J.C. Hendee's acclaimed Fantasy debut, comes Thief of Lives, the new novel featuring Magiere and Leesil, Slayers of the Undead...

Magiere the dhampir thinks that her nights of hunting vampires are over. After settling down in her newly adopted village of Miiska � now vampire-free, thanks to her and her half-elf partner, Leesil � she looks forward to quiet days tending to her tavern.

But far away in the capital city of Bela, a prominent councilman's daughter has been found dead on her own doorstep... and all signs point to a vampire. Knowing that the battered and burned village of Miiska could use an infusion of cash, Bela's town council offers a generous bounty to the dhampir if she will slay their vampire. Magiere resists, wanting nothing more than to forget her past and ignore her half-vampire nature. Only Leesil can persuade Magiere to follow her destiny � before more innocent lives are claimed by darkness.]]> 410 Barb Hendee 0451459539 Adrian 3 3.98 2004 Thief of Lives (Noble Dead Saga: Series 1, #2)
author: Barb Hendee
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2014/07/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: dark-fantasy, paranormal, vampires, werewolves
review:
I enjoyed the second book in this series (and the first). Again, I'm very late to the party, given that this came in 2004. But just imagine all the reads ahead!
]]> <![CDATA[When Gods Die (Sebastian St. Cyr, #2)]]> 39148 Brighton, England� 1811.

The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses-that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr's mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness's death-and his mother's uncertain fate.

As he edges closer to the truth-and one murder follows another-he confronts a conspiracy that imperils those nearest him and threatens to bring down the monarchy.]]> 338 C.S. Harris 0451219686 Adrian 4 historical, mystery 4.06 2006 When Gods Die (Sebastian St. Cyr, #2)
author: C.S. Harris
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2014/07/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: historical, mystery
review:
I really like this series and plan to continue with it. I like the characters, the historical details, the writing.
]]> <![CDATA[Dixie City Jam (Dave Robicheaux, #7)]]> 571942
It's out there, under the salt of the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast--a buried Nazi submarine. Detective Dave Robicheaux of the New Ibera Sheriff's office has known if its existence since childhood, when he was terrified by nightmares of the evil Nazi sailors just offshore. Then, as a teenager, he stumbled upon the sunken sub while scuba diving--but for years he kept the secret of its watery grave.

... And now he must face the terrible reality.

But decades later, when a powerful Jewish activist wants the sub raised, Robicheaux's knowledge puts him at the center of a terrifying struggle of conflicting desires. A neo-Nazi psychopath named Will Buchalter, who insists that the Holocaust was a hoax, wants to find the submarine first--and he'll stop at nothing to get Robicheaux to talk.

James Lee Burke looks long and hard into the human heart of darkness in his most electrifying novel yet, a story of terror and courage in a Southern Louisiana where the horrific and the beautiful rise from the same fertile soil.]]> 494 James Lee Burke 0786889004 Adrian 3 fiction, mystery, suspense 4.07 1994 Dixie City Jam (Dave Robicheaux, #7)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 2014/07/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: fiction, mystery, suspense
review:
I love the atmosphere and details in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels--so beautifully written. A good, tense read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Making of a Gentleman (The Sons of the Revolution, #2)]]> 7724746 363 Shana Galen 1402238665 Adrian 2 3.77 2010 The Making of a Gentleman (The Sons of the Revolution, #2)
author: Shana Galen
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2014/08/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves:
review:
I will be the first to admit that it takes an extraordinary story/romance for this genre to capture my attention. But I'm always willing to give historical romances a try since I love history. Not a bad story, but (for me) a bit predictable. I'm willing to bet that's not the case for everyone, however, and that they will enjoy this book very much. I enjoyed the historical details. Also, I just realized this is the 2nd book in the series. Perhaps I need the first.
]]> Downfall (Cal Leandros, #9) 19366810 I let it go—all of it. Everything I’d been saving up all my life, building and growing inside me, too much to hold in one half-human body. It pushed and fought to be free with a force that turned me into a bomb with a timer vibrating on zero. I was free.

But so was everything I’d fought so hard not to be�

Brothers Cal and Niko Leandros know trouble when they see it—and then proceed to wipe the floor with it. But now it seems their whole world is falling to pieces. Cal’s nightmarish monster side is growing ever stronger, changing Cal physically as well as mentally. Which is exactly what Grimm—Cal’s savage doppelgänger—wants. And when a covert supernatural organization decides that it’s time to put Cal down before he threatens pretty much everything else in existence, the brothers find themselves in a fight they actually might lose. But the dark temptations Cal has denied all his life may prove to be exactly what can save them.

Even if he must fall forever…]]> 352 Rob Thurman 0451465296 Adrian 5 4.12 2014 Downfall (Cal Leandros, #9)
author: Rob Thurman
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/08/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves
review:
I LOVED this latest book in the Cal Leandros series, just as I have LOVED all the previous books in the series and everything else that Rob Thurman has written. Looking forward to the next.
]]> <![CDATA[Master of None (Gavyn Donatti, #1)]]> 6611074
Gavyn Donatti is the world's unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he's lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor's thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.

Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of "Ian"—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn't interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life's purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.

At first Donatti's too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price. . . .]]> 376 Sonya Bateman 1439160848 Adrian 4 urban-fantasy 3.48 2010 Master of None (Gavyn Donatti, #1)
author: Sonya Bateman
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: urban-fantasy
review:
A fun read and I really came to like Gavyn Donatti--not to mention his use of the word "crud." LOL. Yes, I'm late to the party since this book came out in 2010, but better late than never.
]]> <![CDATA[The Wicked Wit of Oscar Wilde Centenary Edition]]> 290027 ." With a timeline of his life and quotations divided by themes, this book demonstrates why people are still drawn to Wilde’s wicked brilliance.]]> Maria Leach 1854795422 Adrian 4 non-fiction I love Oscar Wilde. 3.88 2000 The Wicked Wit of Oscar Wilde Centenary Edition
author: Maria Leach
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/01
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: non-fiction
review:
I love Oscar Wilde.
]]> <![CDATA[Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident]]> 17557470 288 Donnie Eichar 1452112746 Adrian 5 non-fiction 3.94 2013 Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
author: Donnie Eichar
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/09/09
date added: 2014/09/13
shelves: non-fiction
review:
An absolutely fascinating mystery and tragedy. What drove 9 experienced hikers from their tent into a sub-zero night in their stocking feet to die? We'll never know, we can only guess and theorize. So tragic! Another instance in which I wish I had a time machine so I could travel back and see what actually occurred. Of course, I'd probably try to stop it, thus causing all sorts of problems.
]]> The Green Mile 978695
There are more wonders in heaven and hell than anyone at Cold Mountain can imagine and one of those wonders might just have stepped in amongst them.]]> 399 Stephen King 0743210891 Adrian 5 4.45 1996 The Green Mile
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2013/01/31
date added: 2014/06/04
shelves: dark-fantasy, mystery, own, paranormal
review:
I'd seen the movie, of course, and thought it was okay. But I finally got around to reading the book. LOVED it! Mr. Jingles both warmed and broke my heart. One of King's best.
]]> Raylan (Raylan Givens, #3) 12037108 —New York Times Book Review

With more than forty novels to his credit and still going strong, the legendary Elmore Leonard has well earned the title, “America’s greatest crime writer� (Newsweek). And U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.� Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business. Suspenseful, darkly wry and riveting, and crackling with Leonard’s trademark electric dialogue, Raylan is prime Grand Master Leonard as you have always loved him and always will.]]> 263 Elmore Leonard 006211946X Adrian 4 crime, mystery, own 3.61 2012 Raylan (Raylan Givens, #3)
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2014/03/28
date added: 2014/03/29
shelves: crime, mystery, own
review:
I love the TV series JUSTIFIED, based about Elmore Leonard's story "Fire in the Hole". I love the characters, dialogue, and writing. And given the late Leonard's wonderful writing (RIP), I had to read his latest novel featuring Raylan Givens.
]]> The Historian 10692
Late one night in 1972, as a 16-year-old girl, she discovers a mysterious book and a sheaf of letters in her father's library—a discovery that will have dreadful and far-reaching consequences, and will send her on a journey of mind-boggling danger. While seeking clues to the secrets of her father's past and her mother's puzzling disappearance, she follows a trail from London to Istanbul to Budapest and beyond, and learns that the letters in her possession provide a link to one of the world's darkest and most intoxicating figures. Generation after generation, the legend of Dracula has enticed and eluded both historians and opportunists alike. Now a young girl undertakes the same search that ended in the death and defilement of so many others—in an attempt to save her father from an unspeakable fate.
(Fall 2005 Selection)]]> 704 Elizabeth Kostova 0751537284 Adrian 4 3.78 2005 The Historian
author: Elizabeth Kostova
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2014/03/04
date added: 2014/03/29
shelves: horror, own, suspense, vampires
review:
I enjoyed this very much. Beautifully detailed, rich in setting and history, a bit slow-paced (which was fine for the story) and a story that filled me with dread.
]]> <![CDATA[Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, #3)]]> 1412138 I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape - but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her...]]> 287 Patricia Briggs 0441015662 Adrian 3 4.34 2008 Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, #3)
author: Patricia Briggs
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/25
date added: 2014/01/26
shelves: own, urban-fantasy, werewolves
review:
I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as I enjoyed the first two. The first two thirds seemed to consist of conversations and observations, not a lot of interactions. Still . . . I enjoyed the read and will continue to follow the adventures of Mercy Thompson.
]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2)]]> 16130549 The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless � mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.]]> 531 Stephen King 1476727651 Adrian 5 own, paranormal, horror 4.11 2013 Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2)
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/01/16
date added: 2014/01/16
shelves: own, paranormal, horror
review:
I really enjoyed this and found it to be a satisfying and moving follow-up to The Shining. It totally works as a stand-alone too. :)
]]> Outlander (Outlander, #1) 10964
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.]]> 850 Diana Gabaldon 0440242940 Adrian 3 4.25 1991 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at: 2012/09/23
date added: 2014/01/10
shelves: historical-fantasy, own, historical-romance
review:
Beautiful writing and I loved all the historical and character details.
]]> <![CDATA[Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)]]> 9533378
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.]]> 304 Kevin Hearne 0345522478 Adrian 3 4.09 2011 Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2014/01/02
shelves: own, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves
review:
I finished reading HOUNDED by Kevin Hearne, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. The writing was fine and the author clearly knows all things Celtic and Irish, but the story didn't really grab me. Still . . . I might give the second in the series a go. Atticus is an interesting character. However, his beloved Irish wolfhound Oberon, didn't seem very doglike in his thoughts. His views seemed too human to me. And that could've been just me.
]]> Gone with the Wind 18405 1037 Margaret Mitchell 0446365386 Adrian 4 fiction, historical, own 4.30 1936 Gone with the Wind
author: Margaret Mitchell
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1936
rating: 4
read at: 2013/11/30
date added: 2013/12/31
shelves: fiction, historical, own
review:
I really enjoyed this. I watched the movie afterward and thought the book was much better. A book I thought a lot about after I was done.
]]> Dead Iron (Age of Steam, #1) 9645260
In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he's going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all...]]> 337 Devon Monk 045146396X Adrian 3 own, steampunk, western 3.58 2011 Dead Iron (Age of Steam, #1)
author: Devon Monk
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2013/12/01
date added: 2013/12/31
shelves: own, steampunk, western
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Garden of Lies (Garden of Lies, #1)]]> 762661 575 Eileen Goudge 0451162919 Adrian 3 own, contemporary-romance 3.87 1989 Garden of Lies (Garden of Lies, #1)
author: Eileen Goudge
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2013/09/10
date added: 2013/10/19
shelves: own, contemporary-romance
review:
I really enjoyed the author's well-drawn characters and story-telling. But stories where the characters are separated because they misunderstand each other or through a failure to communicate their feelings drive me nuts. Those scenarios are just not my cup of tea. I was able to put this book down and walk away from it for months before picking it up again. Still, I finally finished the book. I DID enjoy it even though this type of story is not my usual preference. Very well written, compelling characters, and, at times, TONS of tension.
]]> <![CDATA[Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1)]]> 78129 474 Lee Child 0515141429 Adrian 3 mystery, own, suspense 4.08 1997 Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1)
author: Lee Child
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2013/10/19
date added: 2013/10/19
shelves: mystery, own, suspense
review:
The first Jack Reacher book, a read I enjoyed. I'd heard many good things about the Jack Reacher books and enjoyed the movie with Tom Cruise. I'm looking forward to picking up Reacher #2.
]]> Slashback (Cal Leandros, #8) 15808602
±Ę±ô˛ą˛âłŮľ±łľ±đâ€�

Taking on bloodthirsty supernatural monsters is how Caliban and Niko Leandros make a living. But years ago—before they became a force to be reckoned with—the brothers were almost victims of a very human serial killer.

Almost.

Unfortunately for them, that particular depraved killer was working as apprentice to a creature far more malevolent—the legendary Spring-heeled Jack. He’s just hit town. He hasn’t forgotten what the Leandros brothers did to his murderous protégé. He hasn’t forgotten what they owe him.

And now they are going to pay� and pay� and pay.…]]> 352 Rob Thurman 0451465024 Adrian 5 4.19 2013 Slashback (Cal Leandros, #8)
author: Rob Thurman
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/03/21
date added: 2013/04/14
shelves: own, paranormal, urban-fantasy
review:
The 8th book in the series and just as awesome as the previous seven. I especially loved the look at Cal and Niko's life as kids. I agree with Robin Goodfellow's thoughts: "I've I'd known . . ."
]]> Different Seasons 13222951 Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method.]]> 534 Stephen King Adrian 3 4.21 1982 Different Seasons
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1982
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/03/22
shelves: dark-fantasy, horror, own, short-story-collection
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)]]> 10572
It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Here is the second volume in George R.R. Martin magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R.R. Martin stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.]]> 1009 George R.R. Martin 0553381695 Adrian 4 4.42 1998 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/01
date added: 2013/01/11
shelves: fantasy, own, paranormal, thriller
review:
I finally got around to the second book and thoroughly enjoyed it. While I'm entertained by the HBO series, I enjoy the books more.
]]> <![CDATA[Lucas (Vampires In America, #6)]]> 13510645
THE BADLANDS of SOUTH DAKOTA . . . haunting landscapes, legendary outlaws, and . . . vampires?

LUCAS DONLON, Vampire Lord, is one of the most powerful vampires in North America and beyond. Charming and irreverent to his friends and lovers, he enjoys everything about his life as a vampire. But when a neighboring lord makes the mistake of declaring war, he quickly discovers that Lucas is every bit as lethal as he is charming.

KATHRYN HUNTER doesn't care about powerful vampires or their wars. Her baby brother is missing and she will do anything to find him, even if it means going against both her FBI bosses and the local vampire lord. But Lucas Donlon has other plans for the lovely FBI agent who's landed on his doorstep.

Waging war against their enemies and each other, Lucas and Kathryn will risk everything to keep the most deadly vampire war in hundreds of years from engulfing every vampire, and human, in North America.]]> 337 D.B. Reynolds Adrian 4 4.22 2012 Lucas (Vampires In America, #6)
author: D.B. Reynolds
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/01
date added: 2013/01/11
shelves: own, paranormal-romance, vampires
review:
As always, D.B. Reynolds knows how to write a riveting story! Another great addition to her Vampires in America series. I'm looking forward to the next!
]]> Gerald's Game 32692
But this time Jessie didn't want to play. Lying there, spreadeagled and handcuffed to the bedstead while he'd loomed and drooled over her, she'd felt angry and humiliated.

So she'd kicked out hard. Aimed to hit him where it hurt.

And now he was dead - a coronary - on the floor.

Leaving Jessie alone and helpless in a lakeside holiday cabin. Miles from nowhere. No-one to hear her screams.

Alone. Except for the voices in her head that begun to chatter and argue and sneer...]]> 332 Stephen King 0831727527 Adrian 3 horror, own, suspense 3.58 1992 Gerald's Game
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2012/12/01
date added: 2013/01/11
shelves: horror, own, suspense
review:
This book ended much differently than I expected--something I enjoyed.
]]> The Man from St. Petersburg 5053 the man from St. Petersburg...

The Man From St Petersburg is a dark tale of family secrets and political consequences. Ken Follett's masterful storytelling brings to life the danger of a world on the brink of war. A Secret Negotiation 1914. Tensions are rising as Europe finds itself caught in a web of alliances and dangerous warmongering. To help tip the balance in their favour, Britain aims to draw Russia into an alliance with them instead of Germany. Czar Nicholas’s nephew, Prince Aleksei, is sent to London for secret naval talks with Lord Walden. A Play for Power Walden has a personal connection to Aleksei; his wife is Aleksei’s aunt. And they are not the only ones interested in the Russian's arrival; so too are Walden’s willful, idealistic daughter, the head of Special Branch, and a ruthless Russian anarchist. A World at War With the British desperately needing a signed treaty and the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the destinies of these individuals become inextricably linked, as tragedy threatens to shatter the Waldens� complacency . . .]]> 320 Ken Follett 0451208706 Adrian 4 3.88 1982 The Man from St. Petersburg
author: Ken Follett
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/10
date added: 2013/01/11
shelves: historical, fiction, own, suspense
review:
I enjoyed this one very much. First book I've read by Follett. Believe I'll be reading more.
]]> <![CDATA[Vampires in America: The Vignettes, Volume 1 (Vampires in America, #5.1)]]> 13480085 124 D.B. Reynolds Adrian 4 4.15 2012 Vampires in America: The Vignettes, Volume 1 (Vampires in America, #5.1)
author: D.B. Reynolds
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/29
date added: 2012/09/30
shelves: own, paranormal-romance, short-story-collection, vampires
review:
As always, thoroughly enjoyed this latest work from DB Reynolds! Looking forward to the next book!
]]> All Seeing Eye 13260196
Tessa’s death triggers an even more horrific family massacre that, combined with this new talent he neither wants nor can handle, throws Jack’s life into a tailspin. The years quickly take him from state homes to the streets to grifting in a seedy carnival, until he finally becomes the cynical All Seeing Eye, psychic-for-hire. At last, Jackson has left his troubled past behind him and found a semblance of peace.

That is, until the government blackmails him. Helping the military contain the aftermath of a bizarre experiment gone violently wrong, everything Jackson knows about himself will change just as suddenly as it did with his little sister’s shoe.

And while change is constant...It’s never for the better.]]> 380 Rob Thurman 1451652224 Adrian 5 paranormal, thriller 4.04 2012 All Seeing Eye
author: Rob Thurman
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/18
date added: 2012/08/18
shelves: paranormal, thriller
review:
As always, another great read from Rob Thurman! I'm looking forward to the next Jackson Lee Eye book. (Please tell me there will be another.)
]]> The Dark Half 11597 #1, #2, #3

Thad Beaumont would like to say he is innocent. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the series of monstrous murders that keep coming closer to his home. But how can Thad disown the ultimate embodiment of evil that goes by the name he gave it-and signs its crimes with Thad's bloody fingerprints?]]> 460 Stephen King 045052468X Adrian 3 dark-fantasy, horror, own 3.81 1989 The Dark Half
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2012/08/04
date added: 2012/08/18
shelves: dark-fantasy, horror, own
review:
It was interesting, but I had a hard time swallowing the central concept. But, hey, it's King. I'll go with it.
]]> ’Salem’s Lot 11590 Librarian's Note: Alternate-cover edition for ISBN 0450031063

Thousands of miles away from the small township of 'Salem's Lot, two terrified people, a man and a boy, still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. They must return to 'Salem's Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives on in the town.]]> 483 Stephen King 0450031063 Adrian 4 horror, paranormal, vampires
]]> 4.06 1975 ’Salem’s Lot
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2012/07/21
date added: 2012/07/21
shelves: horror, paranormal, vampires
review:
A great read! Really chilling vampires--the true undead, not even close to human. A scary, riveting tale of characters you care about and are scared for as they deal with a nightmare of ever-growing proportions.


]]> <![CDATA[The Black Ice (Harry Bosch, #2; Harry Bosch Universe, #2)]]> 24244 Working the case, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is reminded of the primal police rule he learned long ago: don't look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together.

Soon Harry's making some very dangerous connections, starting with a dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that wind from Hollywood Boulevard to the back alleys south of the border. Now this battle-scarred veteran will find himself in the centre of a complex and deadly game - one in which he may be the next and likeliest victim.

]]> 439 Michael Connelly 0446613444 Adrian 3 mystery, own, crime 4.07 1993 The Black Ice (Harry Bosch, #2; Harry Bosch Universe, #2)
author: Michael Connelly
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2012/07/06
date added: 2012/07/07
shelves: mystery, own, crime
review:
I still plan to read the first book in this series, but I was happy that I didn't need to in order to enjoy this story.
]]> <![CDATA[Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War]]> 55403 386 Mark Bowden 0871137380 Adrian 3 non-fiction, own 4.30 1999 Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
author: Mark Bowden
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2012/06/18
date added: 2012/06/19
shelves: non-fiction, own
review:
This was a fascinating (and sad) read.
]]> <![CDATA[On Night's Shore (Edgar Allan Poe, #1)]]> 2328356
Narrated by the precocious Augie, the story swings wildly from the hidden depths of the Five Points slums to the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue society. As Poe and his sidekick gather information, a sadistic killer threatens to destroy everything they've worked for. The clock is ticking, and Poe must solve the mystery or become a victim himself.]]> 368 Randall Silvis 0312982100 Adrian 2 historical, mystery, own 3.63 2001 On Night's Shore (Edgar Allan Poe, #1)
author: Randall Silvis
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at: 2012/06/04
date added: 2012/06/05
shelves: historical, mystery, own
review:

]]> 11/22/63 10644930
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane � and insanely possible � mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.

In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald...]]> 849 Stephen King 1451627289 Adrian 5 4.33 2011 11/22/63
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2012/05/20
date added: 2012/05/20
shelves: contemporary-fantasy, historical, own, suspense
review:
Absolutely love this one. The ending was bittersweet and satisfying. An intriguing story about stopping the assassination of JFK.
]]> Nightlife (Cal Leandros, #1) 421007 There are monsters among us. There always have been and there always will be. I’ve known that since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one ... Well, half of one, anyway.

Welcome to New York City - a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares � and his entire otherworldly elf race are after Cal. His half brother, Niko, gave up college to keep them on the run for four years, but now the Grendel monsters are back. And Cal is about to learn why they want him. He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life...]]> 339 Rob Thurman 0451460758 Adrian 5
Yes, I'm reading this again!]]> 3.65 2006 Nightlife (Cal Leandros, #1)
author: Rob Thurman
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2011/04/24
date added: 2012/04/23
shelves: fiction, own, paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, re-reading
review:
I loved this! The relationship between Cal and his brother, their world, their own history. I just ordered books 2-6 in the series. Can't wait to continue reading their adventures!

Yes, I'm reading this again!
]]> Doubletake (Cal Leandros, #7) 11473820
As Cal tries to keep both Niko and Robin from paying the ultimate price for their kin, a horrific reminder from Cal's own past arrives to remind him that blood is thicker than water—and that's why it's so much more fun to spill.

]]> 339 Rob Thurman 0451464443 Adrian 5
You won't regret it.

Me, I'm going back to Nightlife (for the 4th time), then reading the rest again--right now. I'm not ready to leave Cal and Niko or their world quite yet. ;)

]]> 4.15 2012 Doubletake (Cal Leandros, #7)
author: Rob Thurman
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/03/15
date added: 2012/03/15
shelves: own, paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves
review:
Loved, loved, loved the latest Leandros brothers dark, dangerous (dare I say, grim?) adventure. No spoilers from me, you need to read/savor every word of Rob Thurman's switchblade classic on your own. If you've missed this series, you are doing yourself a grave disservice--which you can correct by buying book one in the series, Nightlife, then by buying the rest.

You won't regret it.

Me, I'm going back to Nightlife (for the 4th time), then reading the rest again--right now. I'm not ready to leave Cal and Niko or their world quite yet. ;)


]]> The Lovely Bones 12232938
So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.]]> 372 Alice Sebold 0316166685 Adrian 2 fantasy, own
I couldn't believe that and it pissed me off.

Then the way Susie's murderer died was just lame. No justice. Sure, it might be that way in real life, but if I wanted real life, I'd read the newspaper (which I do. LOL.).

Disappointing.]]> 3.87 2002 The Lovely Bones
author: Alice Sebold
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 2012/03/09
date added: 2012/03/10
shelves: fantasy, own
review:
I was disappointed in the end. I also felt totally disconnected from poor murdered Susie (but maybe that was the idea). However, I totally couldn't believe that she would allow the man who murdered her to just drive away in order to have sex with the boy she'd had a crush on while alive. Never even mentioned the fact that she'd just seen her murderer. She could've described his car, etc. The man was a fugitive! he'd been stalking her own sister and would keep killing. But instead of letting Ray know that when she was briefly allowed to possess Ruth's body, she had sex instead.

I couldn't believe that and it pissed me off.

Then the way Susie's murderer died was just lame. No justice. Sure, it might be that way in real life, but if I wanted real life, I'd read the newspaper (which I do. LOL.).

Disappointing.
]]> Needful Things 411204
With a demonic blend of malice and affection, Stephen King says goodbye to the town he put on the map -- Castle Rock, Maine . . . where Polly Chalmers runs You Sew and Sew and Sheriff Alan Pangborn is in charge of keeping the peace. It's a small town, and Stephen King fans might think they know its secrets pretty well; they've been here before.

Leland Gaunt is a stranger -- and he calls his shop Needful Things. Eleven-year-old Brain Rusk is his first customer, and Brian finds just what he wants most in all the world; a '56 Sandy Koufax baseball card. By the end of the week, Mr. Gaunt's business is fairly booming, and why not? At Needful Things, there's something for everyone.

And, of course, there is always a price. For Leland Gaunt, the pleasure of doing business lies chiefly in seeing how much people will pay for their most secret dreams and desires. And as Leland Gaunt always points out, at Needful Things, the prices are high indeed. Does that stop people from buying? Has it ever?

For Alan and Polly, this one week in autumn will be an awful test -- a test of will, desire, and pain. Above all, it will be a test of their ability to grasp the true nature of their enemy. They may have a chance . . . But maybe not, because, as Mr. Gaunt knows, almost everything is for sale: love, hope, even the human soul.

With the potent storytelling authority that millions of readers have come to prize, Stephen King delivers an Out Town with a vengeance, an inimitable farewell to a place his fiction has often and long called home.]]> 690 Stephen King 0670839531 Adrian 3 dark-fantasy, horror, own 3.94 1991 Needful Things
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at: 2012/02/25
date added: 2012/02/26
shelves: dark-fantasy, horror, own
review:
I enjoyed this, as I do all of King's books, but no character stood out as truly special. I liked Sheriff Pangborn and Polly, of course, and Norris Ridgewick, but I wasn't truly invested in them. Still, that didn't spoil the story!
]]> <![CDATA[Duncan (Vampires in America, #5)]]> 12729465
A power unto himself, Duncan has served at Raphael’s side for a hundred and fifty years. But long laid plans have finally borne fruit, and the time has come for Duncan to leave Raphael and tackle the greatest challenge of his life. He will face treacherous vampires and murderous humans. He will rock the halls of human power if necessary. But Washington, D.C. will be his.

Emma Duquet cares nothing for vampire politics. She just wants to find her missing roommate and best friend, Lacey. But Lacey’s been playing with vampires of a particularly dangerous kind, and Emma will have to deal with the new vampire in town if she’s going to find her friend.

Battling powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets, Duncan and Emma will dig beneath the corruption and depravity that is Washington, D.C. and uncover the most heinous conspiracy of all…]]> D.B. Reynolds 1610260848 Adrian 4 4.23 2011 Duncan (Vampires in America, #5)
author: D.B. Reynolds
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/02/03
date added: 2012/02/05
shelves: own, paranormal-romance, vampires
review:
Loved this latest addition to DB Reynold's VAMPIRES IN AMERICA series! If you haven't read these, do. Immediately. Starting with RAPHAEL.
]]> The Collection 127735 How far would you go . . .
. . . with a hitchhiker who'd left behind an unimaginable trail of horror and destruction?

How would you feel. . .
. . . if your father's new bride was something dredged up from the bowels of hell?

What would you do. . .
. . . if you discovered an old letter suggesting that one of America's Founding Fathers had been a serial killer?

How long would you last. . .
. . . in a mysterious border town that promised to let you in on one of its most gruesome secrets?

This is The Colleciton - 32 stories of hot blood and frigid terror that could have come only from the mind of Bram Stoker Award-winning author Bentley Little. And that's a scary place to be.]]> 453 Little Bentley 073942761X Adrian 3 3.53 2002 The Collection
author: Little Bentley
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/18
date added: 2012/01/19
shelves: dark-fantasy, horror, paranormal, short-story-collection, own
review:
All good stories, some very creepy, some downright bizarre, but all good reads. I loved reading Little's comment above each story on how he came up with the idea for each one.
]]> Blaze 349473
The last of the Richard Bachman novels, recently recovered and published for the first time. Stephen King's "dark half" may have saved the best for last.

A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of Blaze among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this get here?!"), and decided that with a little revision it ought to be published.

Blaze is the story of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr. --of the crimes committed against him and the crimes he commits, including his last, the kidnapping of a baby heir worth millions. Blaze has been a slow thinker since childhood, when his father threw him down the stairs--and then threw him down again. After escaping an abusive institution for boys when he was a teenager, Blaze hooks up with George, a seasoned criminal who thinks he has all the answers. But then George is killed, and Blaze, though haunted by his partner, is on his own.

He becomes one of the most sympathetic criminals of all of literature. This is a crime story of surprising strength and sadness, with a suspenseful current sustained by the classic workings of fate and character--as taut and riveting as Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.]]> 285 Richard Bachman 141655484X Adrian 3 own, fiction, crime, suspense 3.76 2007 Blaze
author: Richard Bachman
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/02
date added: 2012/01/02
shelves: own, fiction, crime, suspense
review:

]]> Riven Rock 24732 Riven Rock, T.C. Boyle transforms two real people from the pages of American history into rich mythic creations whose tortured love and epic story is intimate enough to break our hearts.

Boyle anchors his unforgettable tale with the remarkable and courageous Katherine Dexter. Her husband, Stanley McCormick, thirty-one-year-old son of the millionaire inventor of the Reaper, has become schizophrenic and a sexual maniac. Stanley is locked up in his Santa Barbara mansion and forbidden the mere sight of women � above all, his wife. Throughout her career as a scientist and suffragette, Katherine's faith never wavers: that, one day, one of the many psychiatrists she hires to try to cure her husband will free him of his demons.

One of America's most imaginative contemporary novelists, Boyle weaves his hallmark virtuoso prose into a masterful epic. Textured with his acclaimed humor, versatility, and imagination, Riven Rock is his most fully realized and compassionate novel to date.

]]> 466 T. Coraghessan Boyle 014027166X Adrian 4 fiction, historical, own 3.63 1998 Riven Rock
author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/29
date added: 2012/01/02
shelves: fiction, historical, own
review:
I love this time period (late 1800s, early 1900s). A fascinating look at the time, madness, and relationships. The prose is truly beautiful, the writing lyrical and, at times, breathtaking.
]]> <![CDATA[Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, #2)]]> 285205 Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.]]> 292 Patricia Briggs 0441014739 Adrian 4
More, please.]]> 4.30 2007 Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, #2)
author: Patricia Briggs
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/22
date added: 2011/12/23
shelves: own, paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves
review:
I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed the first one. I really love these characters and this world. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I especially like Mercedes Thompson. She's strong and capable, but full of heart and empathy. She's completely relatable, someone you would want for a friend. Briggs' vampires are truly frightening and her werewolf and fae cultures are detailed and fascinating.

More, please.
]]> Night Shift 10628
This is the horror of ordinary people and everyday objects that become strangely altered; a world where nothing is ever quite what it seems, where the familiar and the friendly lure and deceive. A world where madness and blind panic become the only reality.

Listening Length: 10 hours and 33 minutes]]> 409 Stephen King Adrian 3 4.04 1978 Night Shift
author: Stephen King
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at: 2011/12/13
date added: 2011/12/15
shelves: anthology, horror, own, vampires, dark-fantasy
review:
I read this when it first came out in the late seventies or early eighties. The stories still entertain.
]]> <![CDATA[Mainspring (Clockwork Earth #1)]]> 1296444
MainspringĚýis the story of a young clockmaker's apprentice, who is visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He is told that he must take the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring of the Earth. It is running down, and disaster to the planet will ensue if it's not rewound. From innocence and ignorance to power and self-knowledge, the young man will make the long and perilous journey to the South Polar Axis, to fulfill the commandment of his God.]]> 320 Jay Lake 0765317087 Adrian 3 steampunk, own 3.24 2007 Mainspring (Clockwork Earth #1)
author: Jay Lake
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2011/12/04
date added: 2011/12/05
shelves: steampunk, own
review:
I enjoyed the read and was fascinated by the world Jay Lake created.
]]> <![CDATA[Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, #1)]]> 71811 289 Patricia Briggs 0441013813 Adrian 4 4.14 2006 Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, #1)
author: Patricia Briggs
name: Adrian
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2011/11/21
date added: 2011/11/22
shelves: own, paranormal, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves
review:
I FINALLY got around to reading the first in the Mercedes Thompson series! I thoroughly enjoyed it and the world Patricia Briggs created. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.
]]> Revenant (Zoe Martinique, #4) 7768634
Zoë Martinique's life hasn't been ordinary for quite awhile. First she developed the ability to travel outside her body at will-where she encountered some seriously weird things. Things that left her with powers that she didn't really want or need. Still, a person can get used to almost anything- even being a Wraith. Though more often than not, it plays serious havoc with her love life.

But for once, Zoë is glad of her abilities. Bodies are showing up all over Atlanta, drained of blood. They're beings from another astral plane, called Revenants-and they're being stalked by her old enemy, the Phantasm. The Revenants are hardly the nicest of creatures-but to preserve the cosmic balance, Zoë will need to put everything on the line to save them...]]> 352 Phaedra Weldon 0441018653 Adrian 0 to-read, urban-fantasy 3.96 2010 Revenant (Zoe Martinique, #4)
author: Phaedra Weldon
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/11/19
shelves: to-read, urban-fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sea Dragon Heir (The Chronicles of Magravandias, #1)]]> 176717
But now, five lifetimes later, the Palindrake heir, Vlraven V, has a twin sister, a woman who embodies their inheritance of power in a way that no wife ever could. The tidal power in their blood draws them to each other, into a forbidden passion that cold sweep away the bonds of fire placed upon the oceanic magic of the sea, and free Caradore from its long imprisonment.]]> 384 Storm Constantine 0312873662 Adrian 3 fantasy, own 3.61 1999 Sea Dragon Heir (The Chronicles of Magravandias, #1)
author: Storm Constantine
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2011/11/08
date added: 2011/11/09
shelves: fantasy, own
review:
I enjoyed this and am planning to pick up the second in the series. A shame it took me so long to discover this book given that it came out in 2000.
]]> <![CDATA[In the Shadow of Gotham (Simon Ziele, #1)]]> 6316381
Detective Simon Ziele lost his fiancée in the General Slocum ferry disaster—a thousand perished on that summer day in 1904 when an onboard fire burned the boat down in the waters of the East River. Still reeling from the tragedy, Ziele transferred to a police department north of New York, to escape the city and all the memories it conjured.

But only a few months into his new life in a quiet country town, he’s faced with the most shocking homicide of his career to date:ĚýYoung Sarah Wingate has been brutally murdered in her own bedroom in the middle of an otherwise calm and quiet winter afternoon. After just one day of investigation, Simon’s contacted by Columbia University’s noted criminologist Alistair Sinclair, who offers a startling claim about one of his patients, Michael Fromley—that the facts of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to Fromley’s deranged mutterings.

But what would have led Fromley, with his history of violent behavior and brutal fantasies, to seek out Sarah, a notable mathematics student and a proper young lady who has little in common with his previous targets?ĚýIs Fromley really a murderer, or is someone mimicking him?

This is what Simon Ziele must find out, with the help of the brilliant but self-interested Alistair Sinclair—before the killer strikes again.

With this taut, atmospheric, and original story of a haunted man who must search for a killer while on the run from his own demons, Stefanie Pintoff’s In the Shadow of Gotham marks the debut of an outstanding new talent, the inaugural winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition.]]> 400 Stefanie Pintoff 0312544901 Adrian 3 crime, historical, mystery 3.51 2009 In the Shadow of Gotham (Simon Ziele, #1)
author: Stefanie Pintoff
name: Adrian
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2011/10/31
date added: 2011/11/01
shelves: crime, historical, mystery
review:
I love historical thrillers/mysteries and especially in this time period. Even though I knew who the killer was by page 100 (and predicted most of the twists--probably because my mind skews the same way as the author's), I still enjoyed this. An entertaining read with interesting characters,I plan to continue with the series.
]]>