It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Nov. 22, 2010)

It's Monday, What are you reading is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  

 

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I didn't think I would have a very good reading week this week but a slow Monday through Thursday was followed by a great Friday and Saturday.

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl was my Monday -Thursday read. The lush prose and sheer size of the book required that I read slowly and savor the story. Also, I had to work around a lot of my favorite TV shows early in the week. I really enjoyed this book. My review is here.

Then I chose a book that I knew would be a quick read. I chose Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston. This was a free book for my Kindle this week. The story is a humorous paranormal about a young woman who doesn't know that she is a werewolf and the werewolf who comes to town to protect her. Neither one is looking for romance but romance is looking for them. I really liked the book. This was a re-read. I have the book in print version along with the sequels. My review is here. 

The next book I chose was Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Don Bruns. This was sent to me by the publisher. It was a humorous mystery with two of the most inept detectives that I have ever heard about. This is the fourth book in the series but was a good stand-alone. I didn't feel that I needed to have read the first books to understand this one. It was a good mystery but with main characters that I felt were a little unsympathetic. They were lazy layabouts who were constantly trying get rich schemes that would provide wealth with no effort. My review is here. 

Then I warmed up my Kindle and read Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber. This is the first book in a new young adult paranormal series. I received it for review from Harper Teen via NetGalley. This is the story of Celeste who is a nice girl from the right side of town who falls in love with Brandon who is a new kid in school, gorgeous, but from the wrong side of town. Also there are persistent rumors of werewolves in the woods around the town. Celeste is saved from wolves by Brandon when she gets lost in the woods. Brandon is scratched and odd things happen when the full moon comes. This book will be published in late December or early January. I have written the review and scheduled the post for early December. I am eager to see the finished book and plan to order it for my HS Media Center. 


While my Kindle was charging (the weird formatting on the Schreiber book really ate the battery), I chose a book that had been hanging around my TBR stack for a while. I chose Crave by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz. This was another excellent, quick read that would be suitable for younger young adult paranormal readers. Shay is known as "the Sick Girl" because she has always had a blood disorder that requires frequent blood transfusions. When she starts getting blood from a new source, she develops new vitality and is having visions of another life when she is getting transfusions. This glimpse into Gabriel's life encourages her to start living her life to the fullest. This was a very enjoyable read. My review is scheduled for Wednesday.

My current book is My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent. This is also an eARC that I received from Harlequin Teen via NetGalley. This book will also be published late December to early January. It is the fourth in the Soul Screamers series. I like this series because it features paranormals who are out of the ordinary -- bean sidhes or banshees. There is a lot of teen angst in the series too.


I am hoping to have a lot of reading time this week. I will be going up to Duluth for Thanksgiving and do not plan to take part in any of the Black Friday shopping frenzy. I'll shop later when the stores aren't so crowded and crazy. I'll be bringing my Kindle with these books that I need to read and review before January 1:

Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell - The blurb makes this sound like a cross between a dystopian book and a paranormal book. I think it sounds fascinating. This one is from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley.

Choker by Elizabeth Woods -- This is a young adult thriller by a debut author. I got this one as a part of Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab program. The only disadvantage is that I have to read it on my computer instead of my Kindle as it was only available as an Adobe Digital Edition.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand -- The product description says that this is "a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart." I got this one from HarperTeen via NetGalley.

I will also be bringing home some print books to read while my Kindle is charging and also to provide some variety. I need to read and review some books for this blog since all of the above titles are young adult books. Luckily I have hundreds to choose from on my TBR mountain.