It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (June 25, 2012)

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.


Last week I read six books. I didn't quite make my book a day goal but, in my defense, they were mostly long books. Here are the three adult books and three young adult books I read.

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead is the second in her young adult Bloodlines series. I liked this one even more than I liked Bloodlines. I like seeing Sydney wrestle with her beliefs about the "evil vampires." My review will be posted July 4 at Ms. Martin Teaches Media (MMTM).

Ransom River by Meg Gardiner was a tense thriller with awkward family dynamics. I received this one for review from Dutton. It was a compelling story. My review will be posted on this blog on July 5.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman is a young adult fantasy that I got from NetGalley. This book has been highly touted but it lives up to the hype. After a slow start with lots of world-building, the story took off and was fascinating. My review will be posted on MMTM July 5.

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness is the sequel to last year's A Discovery of Witches. It is a long, complex story that was very well done. I thought that the romance plot line was more compelling than the historical details but I am a sucker for romance. My review will be posted here on July 7.

Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton was an adult book off my TBR mountain. It is the latest in the Anita Blake series. I read it mainly because I am a "completist" - it takes a lot for me to abandon a series. This one was just okay. I thought the plot was slight and the kinky romantic series and Anita's problems with her many men took up too much of the story. My review will be posted here on July 12.

Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde was a young adult book that I got through the Amazon Vine program. This is one for younger "young adults." It was a very entertaining story about a younger sister who has to show the strengths she didn't know she had and who has to go into a virtual reality game and convince her older sister to come out. My review will be posted on MMTM July 7.

Somewhat unusually for me, I am currently reading two books. I began The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson which is a young adult dystopia that I got from Amazon Vine but wasn't finding it particularly engaging. I am just at the beginning which seems to me very heavy on the world-building. So I thought I would just read a couple of pages of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold which I have in eARC from Baen Books months in advance of the book's November publication date. This is the most recent story in her Vorkosigan Universe series. I love Bujold's work and finally forced myself to put the book down at 1:15 in the morning after reading nine chapters.

Here is what I have planned for next week:

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan is the second book in the Sky Chasers series. This one is young adult science fiction. I both read and listened to the first book - Glow - and am eager to see what happens next. This book will be released on July 17 and was an Amazon Vine pick.

Before You Go by James Preller is his first young adult book. This one is a contemporary story that I got for review from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. It will be released on July 17 too.

The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane is an adult thriller that I received from a publicist for a blog tour. The book will be released on June 26 but my tour date isn't until July 26.

Dragon Justice by Laura Anne Gilman is the most recent in her PUPI (Private, Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigations) urban fantasy series for adults. I got this one from NetGalley. It will be released on July 24.

I am writing this early Sunday morning before I take off for the Twin Cities for work and fun. The fun part will be a couple of casino stops. The work part will be attending a Reading Summit put on by Scholastic Book Fairs. Gordon Korman, who is a well known middle grade author, is the keynote speaker. There will also be sessions on ways to keep kids reading. It should be a good workshop.

I'm leaving my computer at home and will be off line until sometime Monday evening. I'll make the rounds of the It's Monday posts then (and deal with an over-flowing Google Reader).

What are your plans for the week?