DNF Early Review - Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, Book 1) by Richelle Mead (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Size: 464 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Release Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0525953685
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Age of X series
Source: eGalley from Edelweiss
Rating: 2/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through Edelweiss. Thanks to Dutton Adult and Edelweiss for allowing me the chance to read and review this book. I've pretty much love everything else Mead's written; from her YA to her other adult works (excluding her Dark Swan series). That being said I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately this book was a bit flop for me. Pretty much everything about it was sloppy, confusing, and just not at all well done.

I read about 40% of this book and ended up setting it aside. This is the third time I've sat down to try and read this book and it's just been a struggle for me. I have too many books to read and review to waste time struggling through a book like this.

The story is told from two main viewpoints. The first is that of Mae, she works for RUNA, and is being sent on a mission to Panama as a break from her normal duties. She recently lost her partner and is having trouble coping so RUNA decided a change of pace would be good for her. The second point of view is that of Justin March, a man who has been exiled to Panama for unknown reasons. He is the man Mae is sent to interact with. Together they are supposed to solve a series of murders that are happening in RUNA territory. There is a third POV that of a younger girl whose name I forget.

Let me start by saying that I'm not a big sci-fi fan anyway, and this is definitely a sci-fi type world. So, yeah I guess I should just let you know that. I do love some sci-fi, for example Scalzi writes some wonderfully entertaining stuff. My problem with a lot of sci-fi is that the world throws a ton of unknowns at you and never explains them. You are expected to struggle through and figure out what all this terminology means. This book definitely suffers from that. Mae works for RUNA (at 40% through the book I still don’t know what that’s an acronym for). There is also a sect called EA (it seemed to be some sort of Asian conglomerate). None of this is explained, it’s all kind of confusing and to be honest not all that interesting.

The characters are just as difficult to engage with. Mae is some sort of drug-enhanced fighter. Apparently this makes her edgy...she likes to hit things and have sex to take off the edge. Yet she somehow manages to come off as prissy, elitist, and boring.

Justin is incredibly confusing, I finally figured out that all of the characters he talked to were in his head...I think. Pretty much his POV starts out with him talking to all these people in italics and the people don’t seem to be people that anyone besides Justin can see. So yeah, very confusing. Justin likes to do addictive things like drugs, drink, smoke, and have sex with a different woman every night. I didn’t really like him and didn’t really want to know more about him.

I think Justin and Mae are supposed to be love interests to each other but am not sure. They are sleeping together after a drink at the bar and then hating each other for it very early on in the story. They have absolutely no chemistry together and were absolutely flat as a couple.

The most interesting character of the bunch was the young girl that moves from Panama with Justin in order get a good education at a RUNA university...and I can’t even remember her name because she just wasn’t in the story much.

The story was such a wandering and meandering mess that the whole murder investigation plot wasn’t dealt with all that much in the first 40% of the book. Justin and Mae do some investigating and then the story gets weirder with Justin seeing visions of flowers over Mae’s head. There are also strange people threatening Justin about the Gods and the evil people...but this isn’t ever really explained well and just makes the story a bigger and longer mess.

I finally just gave up on this. The story was meandering and a mess, the characters were not at all engaging. I tried, I really did. I have no idea where this story was going or why. I kind of was beginning to think this was some kind of joke to see what Mead’s readers will tolerate given her past successes.

Overall this was not a good read, I just couldn’t finish it. The world is confusing, the characters are numerous and confusing. Worst of all I just didn't find it engaging enough to work through all the confusion and actually care. I just can’t recommend this book. Check out Mead’s Vampire Academy series if you like paranormal YA, that’s a good read. Check out her Georgina Kincaid series for a decent adult paranormal read. Skip the Dark Swan series and skip this one.

Audiobook Review - The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, Book 3) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1595143198
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Bloodlines series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Bloodlines series by Mead. The fourth book will be titled, The Fiery Heart, and is scheduled for a November 2013 release date. There are six books planned for this series. This was, by far, the most spectacular book yet in this series. Sydney grows a ton as a character and the plot was absolutely wonderful and engaging. There is a lot more focus on the magic elements that really started showing up in the previous book.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was exceedingly well done. I really thought the narrator captured Sydney’s character spot on. The narrator also did an excellent job distinguishing between other characters’ voices and did a wonderful job conveying character emotion as well. This really was an excellent book to listen to on audiobook.

Sydney is determined to hunt down the elusive Marcus Finch in an effort to find out what the Alchemists are trying to hide. Unfortunately she has to balance her search with her continued Alchemist’s duties to protect Jill. Of course making things even more complicated are her interactions with Adrian. To add to the whole mess, Ms. Terwilliger, is suddenly pushing Sydney to learn more magic quickly because she believes an evil witch is out to harm Sydney.

This was by far my favorite book in this series. There are so many interesting things happening with both the plot and the characters in this book.

Sydney will just absolutely blow you away in this book, she really comes into her own. In previous books she hasn’t been my favorite character, but she made up for all of that in this book. In this book she really starts using that brain of hers and decides to hunt down the truth for herself. She takes a lot of risks (so un-Sydney-like) and really starts to think for herself. She is growing in magic potential and finally starting to listen to her heart as well as her mind.

Adrian was also amazing in this book. He is so respectful and supportive of Sydney. He’s become this absolute constant that she can always depend on. The relationship the two develop is so sweet and touching. Adrian’s patience with Sydney is incredible and astounding.

The plot was incredibly well done. You have three major plot elements: Sydney’s job as an alchemist, Sydney tracking down Marcus Finch, and Sydney learning magic and trying to hunt down an evil sorceress. All three elements are masterfully woven together. All three are incredibly interesting and do a lot to progress the story. These are all things I was so excited to read more about after reading the Golden Lily.

I love how there is more magic in this book and I love how the plot is expanding beyond just the vampires and introducing more interesting elements into this world.

This book is absolutely wonderful. It is incredibly engaging and well written and very hard to put down. I just loved it! Mead keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end of the book.

Overall an absolutely excellent continuation of this series! I really really loved it. By far the best book in the series yet. Both Sydney and Adrian really grow as characters and became something special in this book. Not to mention there is a lot more cool magic going on and we learn about the history of the Alchemist's even more. I strongly recommend this series to fans of YA paranormal reads; this book really made me happy I am reading this series. Now I am dying to see what will happen in the next book in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Color Coded Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Storm Born (Dark Swan, Book 1) by Richelle Mead (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Zebra
Release Date: August 1st, 2011
ISBN: 978-1420125795
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Dark Swan series
Source: Swapped
Rating: 3/5 stars


This is the first book in the Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead. There are four book in this series: Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned and Shadow Heir. It was an okay read but neither the characters nor the world really grabbed my attention much.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook quality was very good. The narrator wass pleasant to listen to and distinguished between different character voices well.

Eugenie Markham is a powerful Shaman who makes a living banishing spirits and fey. When she takes a case to recover a girl that has been stolen by the Fey she is forced to journey into the Other World. There she discovers startling things about her past and a prophecy that says that her first born will rule the Fey. Suddenly every Fey is interested in being the one to sire a child on her.

I usually love books about the Fey, I love the mythology behind it and the interesting world built around it. Unfortunately this book wasn’t as much about Fey as it was about sex. Every Fey thing is trying to rape and/or have sex with Eugenie for a good portion of the book. Seriously there is a lot of sex in this book...so yeah...I guess just be aware of that.

Eugenie is a pretty one dimensional character. In the beginning she dislikes Fey and can’t remember her past. We never really learn why she can’t remember her past just that eventually she starts to. It would have been nice to have this better explained. The other things we learn about Eugenie are that she likes rough sex and bondage sex. Believe me the sex thing is a major part of her character.

There are two males that feature in this story. The first is Kiyo a gorgeous shapeshifter that Eugenie is very attracted to. He falls in love with Eugenie very quickly and for reasons that aren’t really ever explained. The second is Dorian, a fairy king with a taste for bondage. Eugenie is willing to have sex with Dorian in exchange for favors that will help her case to rescue a human girl from Fey hands.

I didn’t really like any of the characters all that much. They were just so 2D and so very driven by sex. I don’t mind sex in my books, but none of these sex scenes were even all that good. The whole thing was just kind of ho-hum.

There are some positives to this book as well, the book does have some awesome action scenes. I also really enjoyed watching Eugenie learn to use her storm magic. The world is an interesting one and I wish we had got to spend more time learning about that than reading about Eugenies luke-warm sex life. I also wish we had gotten to see more different types of Fey, there are some interesting races introduced in this book...but they are talked about so briefly.

This is by far the worst of Mead’s books. The book is easy to read, but the characters were hard to engage with and the story was predictable and lacked something to really drive the story forward.

Overall a very mediocre urban fantasy. I love fey urban fantasies, but can’t really recommend this one. If you want to read an excellent fey urban fantasy series check out Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series...it is an absolutely stunning series featuring Fey. I won’t be reading any more books in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- FEY: Paranormal Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Review - The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, Book 2) by Richelle Mead (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 417 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: June 12, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1595143181
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Bloodlines series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. Right now there are six books planned for this series; the third book (The Indigo Spell) is scheduled for a Feb 2013 release. This was a decent continuation of this series. We get to see Sydney learn more about magic and watch as she copes with all of the vamps surrounding her.

Sydney is still at school trying to manage Jill’s safety. The vamps in the story are conducting some testing on Dimitri to see how his blood is different from other vamps. There is a lot of high school drama going on about who loves who and Sydney goes on her first date with a guy who seems to be the perfect match for her. The stakes are upped when one of the vamps is kidnapped by a group of Vampire Hunters and only the Alchmist’s ages old connection with the group allows Sydney to help out.

I enjoyed this book but when I sit down to think about what actually happened in this book, well not much happens. The first two-thirds of the book deals with Sydney trying to get through her day to day life. She finds a boy just like her (really smart and socially inept) and starts dating. She has a lot of tense scenes between her and Adrian. She tries to comfort Eddie as Jill continues to date a human. She tries to protect Eddie from Angeline’s unwanted advances. As I said lots of teenage high school drama stuff.

This book really start to get interesting when the Vampire Hunters enter the story. We got hints of this in the first book, Clarence the old vamp who everyone thinks is crazy has been paranoid about Vampire hunters from day one. The history behind this group and the way it ties into the Alchemists history is really interesting.

As the situation gets more dire Sydney has to face up to the fact that she is just never going to be a real physical fighter. In light of this she starts to investigate the magical abilities that first showed up in Bloodlines. This was another incredibly interesting part of the story and I can’t wait to see where this goes.

I enjoy Sydney as a character she is sooo different from Rose; she is smart, socially awkward, and just a bit blind when it comes to Adrian’s feelings. The tension between Sydney and Adrian definitely goes up a notch in this book. The scenes between these two were wonderful; but the way Sydney struggles between the Alchemists’ beliefs and her love for her friends is heartbreaking at times.

The book ties up nicely and adds a lot of interesting elements to the world. Mead is a very good writer; her writing is easy to read and in general very well done.

Overall a pretty darn good book. Not much happens in the beginning, we just follow Sydney around as she tries to cope with everything she needs to do; it was fun to read but didn’t advance the story a ton. The last third of the book though was incredible; lots more about vampire hunters, about Sydney’s magic, and some wonderful scenes between Adrian and Sydney. Highly recommended for fans of the Vampire Academy series and for fans of paranormal YA books. I can’t wait to see what happens in The Indigo Spell.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Bloodlines (Bloodlines, Book 1) by Richelle Mead (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-1595143174
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Bloodlines series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I've had this book for a while and just finally got around to reading it. It is a well done story but the characters didn't capture my heart like the ones in Vampire Academy did. Still the main character, Sydney, grew on me by the end of the book and I am eager to see where the next book in the series, The Golden Lily, takes the story. It looks like there are six books planned for this series (two books a year through 2014).

After helping out Rose in the last Vampire Academy book, Sydney is in trouble with the Alchemists. Still they need her to do a job that will have her in close contact with the Moroi. With Lissa on the throne, her only living family is Jill; if Jill dies Lissa looses the throne. Lissa is working on changing the law that links family to throne, but until then Jill must be protected at all costs. So Sydney is sent to be Jill's roommate at a boarding school in Palm Springs of all places. Sydney's job is to protect Jill until the law is changed. Along with Jill Sydney finds some of our favorite characters from Vampire academy (Adrian and Eddie). While there Sydney uncovers a rash of murders that may closely involve the Alchemists.

The story was very well done and very interesting. We get to learn a ton more about the Alchemists and it was great to learn. It was also fun to see Rose, Dimitri, and Adrian from Sydney's perspective.

Sydney isn't my favorite lead; she comes off as too stiff and too proper to be all that likable. As the book goes on though she grows and changes and by the end of the book I liked her a lot better. Jill also wasn't my favorite either; she comes off as weak and easy to manipulate for most of the story and I wish she had shown more backbone.

Adrian though is one of my favorite characters and he was pretty darn awesome in this story. I can't wait to see where the next story takes him. Eddie was also very well done and it was great to read more about him as well.

The plot is very intricate, there are a lot of politics, and a lot of twists and turns, as well as a little romance here and there. This story definitely isn't as romance focused as Vampire Academy was and none of the characters have the sizzle that Rose and Dimitri had. Still it was a very well done story and I enjoyed reading it.

Overall while this wasn't the absolutely awesome reading that the first Vampire Academy book was it was a solid book that fans of the series should enjoy. Sydney wasn't my favorite heroine but by the end of the book she started to grow on me. I do love that Adrian is in here and can't wait to read/learn more about him. Fans of paranormal YA and of the Vampire Academy series should find a lot here to love; although I will warn that Sydney is a much tamer heroine than Rose and there isn't as much sizzle to this book as there was to the first VA book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

News - Get a Copy of Bloodlines Signed

Hey guys on Monday I went on Amazon to order a copy of Richelle Mead's Bloodlines imagine my surprise when I found there were signed copies available for the same price as the original hard cover.  I thought this was pretty cool and my signed copy of Bloodlines showed up last night.

Anyway check it out!  You can click the picture below to order a signed copy of Bloodlines!

Review - Succubus Revealed (Georgina Kincaid, Book 5) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Paranormal
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: September 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0758232014
Stand Alone or Series: 6th (and final book) in Georgina Kincaid series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the sixth and final book in the Georgina Kincaid series.  It was a wonderful conclusion to the series; it tied up things nicely and had some wonderful surprises.

Georgina and Seth are finally getting things to work out between them.  Georgina is working as one of Santa's elves to make ends meet, not a great job, but better than nothing.  Seth's sister is struggling with cancer and this is putting a lot of stress on Seth.  Then Georgina gets shocking news, she's being transferred to Las Vegas.  It's a dream situation for her, but how will it affect her relationship with Seth?  Also why was the transfer so sudden, does it have something to do with her contract with Hell?

This was a great book.  The mysteries behind Georgina and Seth feeling like they have always known each other and of what might be wrong with Georgina's contract with Hell are finally resolved.  Let me tell you the resolution is wonderful and surprising and just very well done.

I love these characters and all of them are back in this story.  There weren't as many flashbacks to Georgina's past as in previous books, but we do finally learn the full history about her contract with Hell.  Roman features in the story quite a bit, we also finally learn Carter's reason for being around.

I loved how deep the conspiracy in Hell goes and how convoluted their efforts to keep Georgina from learning the truth about her contract are.  The book was paced well, not much action but a lot of great mystery.

Overall I really really enjoyed the conclusion to this series.  All the big questions are resolved and the answers were unique and surprising, but obviously well planned.  There aren't as many flashbacks into Georgina's past, but you do learn her full history.  The book is well written, well paced, and more of a mystery than anything.  Given how things end I am wondering if we will be seeing a spin-off series featuring Roman in future books...that would be awesome!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge

News - Richelle Mead's Storm Born to be made into Graphic Novel

Just saw the news in Richelle Mead's newsletter that Storm Born is being made into a graphic novel.  See the announcement here.

You can see the cover art below.  I have yet to read this series I am waiting for the final books to be released, but I have heard great things about it.  This graphic novel might be an interesting adaptation.  I am not huge on reading graphic novel adaptations of urban fantasy series; but I did pick up the graphic novel versions of the Dresden Files and they are really well done.  So I am hoping this will be a good one.

Review - Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the fifth book in Mead's Vampire Academy series.  There are six books planned for the series with the 6th book, Last Sacrifice, due out December 2010.  This was an absolutely excellent book in this series.

Rose is back at school with Lissa and the crew.  They are due to graduate and then they will be sent off to the Moroi Court until Lissa is ready to leave for college.  There are a number of things overwhelming the joy of graduation.  Lissa and Adrian still struggle with their Darkness from their Spirit use.  Rose and Lissa are still nervous over whether or not Rose will get assigned as Lissa's Guardian.  Then there is the issue of Dmitri; in the previous book Rose found out there might be a way to "cure" Dmitri from being Strigoi, Rose will plan a daring adventure to obtain this information.

The action is non-stop and poor Rose never gets a break.  It was nice to see more of Adrian; I do like him a lot as a character.  It was wonderful to have Lissa and Rose back in the plot together.  Rose still does some stupid things and acts more rashly than she should at times; but she has learned to temper that with some forethought.  Rose is definitely becoming one kick-butt girl and has grown a tougher skin; she usually chooses action over tantrums.

There isn't a ton you can say about this book without creating spoilers.  To be honest everyone who is a fan of the series will read it anyway.  Let's just say Dmitiri does return and is part of the story, a lot happens in this book to shake up Moroi and Guardian culture, Rose is thrust from one crazy predicament to another, and it is just an awesome ride.  I seriously could not put this book down and read it in a day or so.

The main story wraps up okay but then Mead leaves you with another cliffhanger.  I can't wait to find out how the series will wrap up.  This was an excellent, excellent addition to the series.  Mead is an excellent writer.  If you enjoy this series and are an adult I would definitely check out her Georgina Kincaid series also, this is another great series by Mead but is written for an adult audience.  I am counting the days to Last Sacrifice...

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Succubus Shadows (Georgina Kincaid, Book 5) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the fifth book in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead.  As far as I know, six books are planned for this series.  This was an excellent addition to the series, in fact I think it was the best book in the series so far!
Georgina has a lot going on.  She is forced into helping her best friend Maggie plan a wedding with her ex, Seth.  She is trying to learn to deal with having Roman for a roommate, and there is another Succubus in town on vacation that is making Georgina's life miserable because the visiting succubus keeps hitting on Seth.  Of course all those problems are nothing compared to what's been happening to Georgina at night.  Whenever Georgina gets a little depressed she starts hearing music that lures her away from wakefulness, when she comes back to she finds herself in dangerous situations.  These periods of unawareness are getting progressively worse and Georgina is getting scared about what will happen if she is lured all of the way away.

This was a great book, there is so much going on and the story was wonderful.  Mead is an excellent writing and does a great job creating both a tight plot and wonderful characterization.  The book was really engaging and super hard to put down.  I stayed up late a couple nights in a row because I just couldn't stop reading.

Georgina spends a good part of this book trapped in a dream state where she is forced to relive a lot of her past.   This was awesome to read about because I love learning more about Georgina's past; the history and settings are always so interesting, and it always shows you new aspects of her personality.  That was again true, we learn more about how Georgina has served as a succubus and about when she started to tire of her role.

Roman is in this book a lot and plays a pretty big role; he is a great character so it was good to see more of him.  Of course Seth and Georgina are trying to stay apart like normal.  Seth's extended family also features some in this book.   The mystery around Georgina's contract with Hell is brought up again and there are some hints at what the resolution to that might be as you get towards the end of the book.

This book does a great job of wrapping up the main storyline of Georgina's mysterious black-outs.  It also does a great job of setting things up for the next, and supposed, final book.  I think things are really in a good place to answer some final questions in book 6.  They are questions that won't surprise anyone: will Georgina and Seth ever get to stay together?  Is there a loop hole in Georgina's contract with Hell?  I am really wishing that I had the 6th book to read right now!  A wonderful addition to this series, I loved it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenge:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

News - "Succubus Shadows" and "Gone" Cover Art

A couple of series that I really love have new books coming out next Spring. The cover art has finally been released for them; and I think the covers are absolutely lovely :-)

The first book is "Gone". This is the third and final novel in Lisa McMann's "Wake" trilogy. Nice cover! I am totally looking forward to reading this book. Too bad it doesn't come out until Feb. 2010!



The second book is "Succubus Shadows"; which is book 5 in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. A stunning cover. I am also anxiously waiting for this book; although it doesn't come out until next April!

Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, Book 4) by Richelle Mead (4/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Vampire Academy series. This is a series that has consistently blown me away; I just love it. This book was a good addition to the series; although I didn't think it was as good as previous ones.

This book finds Rose in Russia on her quest to track down, and kill, Dimitri. We still see glimpses of Lissa's day to day life through Rose's eyes, as Rose visits her thoughts quite often throughout the book. Rose struggles with what she will do if/when she finds Dimitri. Lissa struggles with Rose's absence and finds herself spiraling into erratic behavior with no Rose around to shoulder the darkness for her. You learn quite a bit more about what it means for Rose/Lissa to be bonded and what the effects of Rose being shadow-kissed are.

It was interesting to learn more about Dimitri. I also liked the plot that enveloped Lissa. It was refreshing to see Rose out acting on her own and having to make decisions with maturity; without Lissa constantly driving her decisions. Like Mead's previous Vampire Academy books this book was an emotional roller-coaster; will Rose kill the love of her life Dimitri, will she join him, will Lissa make it without Rose around. The strongest point of the novel was the wonderful characters and characterization. There were ample fight scenes and those were also very well done. It was also fascinating to meet the Alchemists; a new part of the vampire society that has previously been a mystery. Unfortunately unlike the previous novels, there were a couple things that bothered me about this one.

Rose spends an awful lot of the beginning of the book wandering around and not making much progress. Gone is the hot headed, rashly decisive Rose of the previous books. She is replaced with a indecisive Rose, who questions her every decision and at times makes no progress at all towards her goals. I know that in a way this shows Rose developing a bit of maturity. At the same time though I thought some of this could've been omitted and the book would have been better for it. For me the first half of the book was very slow at parts and didn't grab me with the intensity of the rest of the book. At times it seemed that this book was just working to get things set up for the next book. That bothered me a bit because usually the Vampire Academy books are flawless in there pacing.

Despite that complaint; this was a very good book. The ending was especially thrilling. The way that all the pieces came together was exquisite and makes me desperately want to read the next book. Even with the small complaint above; I read this book in a couple sittings and had trouble pulling myself away from it. Overall another good book in what has been a fabulous series.

Succubus Heat (Georgina Kincaid, Book 4) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Georgina Kincaid series and I thought it was also the best. I was so excited to read this book after how the third book ended with Georgina and Seth on the rocks. I recently found out that there are going to be six books in this series. After this book I am eagerly awaiting the fifth book.

In this book Georgina is in a bit of a rut after breaking up with Seth. She has spiraled down and spends most of her time smoking, drunk, sucking the life energy out of moral men, and shacking up with the truly evil Dante. Jerome (her demon boss) is pissed at her bad attitude and loans her to another demon in Canada; he wants her to help with a problem that they are having there with some demonic cult that is just being plain annoying and getting Hell bad press. Shortly after her trip to Canada she gets sick and Jerome goes missing. With Jerome gone all of his underlings have their immortal powers taken away. Georgina needs to figure out what happened to Jerome and figure out how this cult is involved; but what does having her powers taken away mean for her and Seth?

This was a great book. The plot was wonderful, focused, and fast-paced. Georgina is a great character and I loved that Seth remained in the story. Dante is also an interesting character, but the angel Carter remains my favorite character of this series. It was fun to see how Georgina dealt with not having her powers. Overall the main mystery/puzzle of this book is concluded nicely and the broader story-arc regarding Georgina's contract with Hell and her relationship with Seth is filled out and made even more mysterious.

The strongest point of this book is characterization; Mead develops wonderful multi-dimensional characters that you can really care about. She also writes good sex scenes, which is something you don't get to see in her Vampire Academy series. The plot sucks you along and I had a ton of trouble putting this book down. I also love that the books in this series have good, well-organized plots that make sense and don't seem frantic. I run into so many of these paranormal books where the heroine ends up running around like crazy and seems lost; but these books are not like that. This book also has a healthy dose of humor to keep you chuckling :-)

If I had to come up with something to complain about it would be that we didn't get as many glances into Georgina's extensive past in this book and I really enjoy those little stories. Oh and the book cover and book name is still pretty corny...

Still this book didn't disappoint I loved it. I zipped through it and couldn't believe that it was over. I love her Vampire Academy series too and am eagerly awaiting the next book in that series. I think I will give her other series: Dark Swan a look too. Loved this book; this series just keep getting better!

Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Book 3) by Richelle Mead (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. While I enjoyed this book, I didn't find it as compelling as the second book was. The side characters introduced in this book also weren't as engaging as those introduced in the second book and I really missed Bastien.

In this book Georgina keeps having really vivid dreams the night after she takes a victim; the dreams leave her incredibly drained of life force. As if this oddity isn't bad enough the demon who owns the contract for her soul brings in a succubus named Tawny for Georgina to apprentice. Georgina is trying to cope with all of this and it is creating a stress on her relationship with Seth.

I didn't like this book as much as the last one; I thought Georgina was a bit unfocused through parts of the book. Also the side characters didn't grab me and hold my interest like Bastien did. It seemed like a lot of this book was focused on Georgina's struggles with her daily life, more than any big investigation. Having a bunch of angels in the book was interesting but they flitted in and out of the story so quickly that I didn't think they were developed into characters all that well. I thought Tawny's character was annoying and somewhat unnecessary. My biggest problem was with the ending. I won't give anything away but I thought that multi-book build up between Georgina and Seth was poorly and quickly treated at the end of the book (if you read the book you will know what I mean).

The things I did like were the interludes that told stories from Georgina's past. These short glimpses into Georgina's former aliases were griping, very interesting, and bittersweet. I also liked meeting the demon who took Georgina's soul. I found it very intriguing that Carter again hinted that Georgina's contract with hell might not be exactly what she thinks it is; this is a theme continued from the second book. I also liked the inclusion of Dante as a supporting character; he is somewhat interesting and I hope his role is bigger in future books.

The overall theme of this series seems to be Georgina's struggle against her contract for her soul and I am intrigued to see where this over arcing story leads. I was somewhat disappointed that the mystery and characterization wasn't as engaging as the second book. It was still a good read though and I look forward to the next book; I am still wishing these books had more action in them. They remind me a lot of the Kitty Norville series in their level of action.

Succubus on Top (Georgina Kincaid, Book 2) by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than the first book. I thought Georgina really came into her own as a character, some interesting side characters were also added. There was more urgency to this book too.

In this book Georgina knows something is up when her co-worker and friend Doug starts acting strangely. Georgina is determined to get to the bottom of Doug's issues. She is interrupted by a pleasant surprise when Bastien, an incubus whom she has had a close friendship with for centuries, shows up. Bastien is assigned with taking down a prominent conservative radio host; and is enlisting Georgina's help. Meanwhile Georgina and Seth are still trying to make their "hands off" relationship work.

This book was much better than the first one. With Bastien present you get more look into Georgina's history. The issues with Doug end up being really interesting and Georgina gets sucked into an investigation that propels the story forward. I thought Georgina gained a lot more personality in this book and that her character really became something special; she is smart and has a way of helping people out that is really admirable despite her demonic nature.

The plot-line of this book was tighter and more compelling than the last book. I felt like in general the writing was better. The characters of Carter and Bastien added a lot to the story. In summary I liked this book; my greatest complaint is still that I wish there were more action scenes. I guess these books are just much more paranormal romance than they are paranormal action.

Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1) by Richelle Mead (3.5/5 stars)

I was really looking forward to reading this book. The Vampire Academy series is one of my favorite new series and I was hoping that Mead's first adult series would be just as engaging. I didn't find this series opener as engaging as Vampire Academy was and I thought the characterization was a bit weak. The world that Mead created is interesting though and the main character has to deal with interesting moral issues.

Georgina Kincaid is a succubus. Unfortunately she is a somewhat unwilling succubus; instead of corrupting good souls she tends to feed off of the bottom-dwellers of society, much to the disdain of her demon boss. Georgina likes to live as a human and holds a job at a book store. When immortals in the community start dying after they argue with Georgina, the demon and angel community wants to know how she is involved.

I wanted to love this book, but I really only found it somewhat engaging. Georginia has been alive for centuries yet she still seems to struggle with some basic interaction with humans; which I found a bit unbelievable. She is also an indecisive and weak character. She spent a lot of the book getting distracted and making decisions and then unmaking them. She also spent the majority of the book whining about her succubus nature and then giving into it and then whining that she gave into it. All in all I thought the main character left a lot to be desired. Georgina's bright spot was her sharp wit; which after reading Magic Bites, still wasn't nearly as sharp as Kate Daniel's.

The above being said, some of the side characters were worth meeting. Gerogina's demon boss was interesting and his angelic friend Carter also promises to be an engaging character. The book writer Seth has many dimensions to his character that are just starting to be explored. The world itself is also interesting; Mead's angle on demon/angel politics was engaging and I am interested in learning more.

All in all I was expecting more of an paranormal action book and what I got was a paranormal romance novel. The actions scenes are all but non-existent; in fact Georgina spends some of what could be the most intense action scenes oblivious to the world. There are sections where the book drags quite a bit and not a whole lot happens. Overall though the book was engaging and interesting to read. In fact I have to say that the last three or four chapters in this book really redeemed it and made me decide to read the next book.

I am trying to keep in mind that this was kind of the intro book to the series, so overall I think it was okay. I am interested in what the second book will bring, but still on the fence as to whether or not I will continue reading after that. I really like my paranormal books heavier on the action, than on the romantic side. This book was definitely more of a romance. It has potential to be more of an action type.

I really enjoyed Kate Daniels series more than this one so far. I also enjoyed Mead's Vampire Academy a lot more. Hopefully the next book will be better.

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is book three in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. This was a great book; I am so happy that this series has been consistently wonderful.

In this book Rose is dealing with a lot of stuff. The guardians are starting their field training, Rose is seeing things, and Rose has been out of control angry lately. On top of all that Lissa's personal life keeps leeking into Rose's head while Rose is trying to get some rest. Of course there is the deal with Dimitri; will they ever end up together? There is also a rumor that the Strigoi are on the move.

This book moved quickly. Rose's character had some very interesting developments. I liked that her and Christopher start spending more time getting to know each other, I also thought Eddie was a strong character in this book. Lissa using magic again was also a nice touch. The ending of the book caught me by surprise and made me really excited for the next book.

I love these books. The characters are very interesting and strong, the plot line moves along nicely, and Mead packs in some nice surprises. Sometimes there is a little too much teenage angst going on, but well it's set in a high school so what can you expect? I think that Rose is maturing nicely as a character, she is starting to become a true heroine and take her job as a guardian seriously. Oh, yeah and did I mention she really kicks butt in the fighting department?

Mead is a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Frostbite by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It was just as engrossing and griping as the first book. This is another one of those series that I just can't put down, yet I am not sure why.

In this book a violent Strigoi attack on a noble Moroi family leaves St. Valdimar's academy in a state of panic as the Christmas holidays approach. An elegant solution is presented that will allow the students of the academy to mingle with their parents for the holidays. The whole school is put up in a ski resort for the holiday season; with the highest security measures taken. Lissa is forced to mingle with her noble kindred and much of her time is spent in the company of Christian. Rose finds herself in a lonely situation. Dimitry is doing his best to ignore her and Lissa is otherwise occupied. Rose's life is even further complicated when her famous guardian mother shows up to help with security. As Strigoi attacks continue to get more violent and more frequent, many questions are brought up; among them are whether the Moroi should learn to protect themselves and use their magic to harm others.

This book was well-written, the characters have a lot of depth, and the world is creative and interesting. The action scenes are well-written. The love scenes are sweet without being overly explicit. The binding between Rose and Lissa is interesting. The inclusion of both Adrian and a new love interest for Dimitri made for wonderful new character additions. Throughout the whole book is a overlying sense of urgency and doom as if the Moroi are being marched toward their extinction. The next book promises to have even more dire situations and more interesting character development.

I could not put this book down. I had to blink back tears at the ending for a number of reasons, it was sad and yet hopeful. It takes a good author to drag a reader into a story that thoroughly. The only thing that has bothered me about this series is that I think the book titles are a bit corny and the book covers could also use some help. That is a small quip though based on how much I have loved this series!

I was sad to finish this book and can't wait for the next one to come out. I would put this series right up there with the Twilight series given how much I love it.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. In an interview I read with her supposedly she is on contract for 6 books (so far) for this series. This was a great book.

The book starts with Rose and Lissa who have escaped from the "Vampire Academy" because of reasons initially unknown. Shortly after the start of the book they are captured and taken back to the Academy. Lissa is a Moroi, or a living vampire. Rose is her guardian, a dhampir. The Moroi need gaurdians to protect then from the Strigoi; immortal or undead vampires. Upon returning to school Rose resumes her training while Lissa fights to regain her social status as a Moroi Princess. The events that led to their initial flight from the school as well as the source of Lissa's emotional instability are revealed as the story continues.

This book was a fun and quick read. The characters are likable and the plotline is fast-paced and keeps you involved. I read this book in a couple days. I really liked the characters of Rose, Lissa, and Christian. The world that was developed for this story is also very complex and complete. Overall the book is an interesting take on vampires; the Moroi have very unique powers and the fact that they are threatened with extinction because of the Strigoi really propels the story forward.

The book was well-written and fun. Exactly the kind of book I was hoping it would be. I am excited to read the next book in the series.