It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Jan. 16, 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.


Even with attendance at an author signing on Tuesday night, I managed to get quite a bit of reading done. Amanda Hocking was at one of our local Barnes & Noble's signing Switched. I had to get a copy for my Media Center and a copy for me since she was so close. I managed to be first in line (I always get places too early) and was just in front of a couple from Michigan who had come to Rochester for an appointment at the Mayo Clinic and were scoring big points for the fifteen-year-old daughter by getting a signed book for her. Two TV stations were there filming the event which sort of lets you know how few authors make Rochester, MN a stop on their book tours. Of course it helps that Amanda is sort of a local girl - Austin isn't that far away - and has an interesting publishing story.

OK. Excitement's over. Here are the books I read last week:

Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz hit my mailbox and was immediately chosen as my next book. I love her style and characters. This story was no exception. She is beginning a new series with this book. This one is a  contemporary paranormal. It looks like the next one will be a historical paranormal based on the teaser in the back of the book. I look forward to reading the rest of them. My review will be posted on Jan. 21.

Daughter of Centaurs by Kate Klimo was a book I received from the Amazon Vine program. I hadn't heard much about it and was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this futuristic fantasy. Clearly, centaurs aren't featured enough in young adult books. I was fascinated by the world Klimo created and enjoyed seeing her main character - possibly the last human - interacting with all the other characters. This review will also be posted on Jan. 21. The book will be released on Jan. 24.

The other young adult book I read this week was Torn by Dean Murray. I received this self-published title from the author and found it to be a very intense paranormal with rival werewolf packs and the girl who gets dropped in the middle of it all. My review will be posted on Jan. 23.

A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson was chosen as a chaser to Torn because I was looking for something on my TBR mountain that would be a lighter read. This is a wonderfully sweet romance about a werewolf and the author whose fiction seems to show too much about the secret werewolf society. I loved the interplay between the characters and I loved the happy ending. My review will be posted on Jan. 26.

I just finished A Werewolf in Manhattan and haven't started anything new yet. Here are the books that are on my stack for next week. All of them are books that I have received for review.

Blood and Bullets by James R. Tuck is the beginning of a new urban fantasy series. This one has a male main character which is rather unusual for the genre. The author emailed me a pitch for this book which will be published by Kensington on Feb. 7.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie was an Amazon Vine book which will be released on Feb. 7 too. It is really different than the genres I usually read but I was interested because of the description. 

When Kate Sandford lands an interview at her favorite music magazine, The Line, it's the chance of a lifetime. So Kate goes out to celebrate—and shows up still drunk to the interview the next morning. It's no surprise that she doesn't get the job, but her performance has convinced the editors that she'd be perfect for an undercover assignment for their gossip rag. All Kate has to do is follow "It Girl" Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop—and complete the thirty-day program—they'll reconsider her for the position at The Line. Kate takes the assignment, but when real friendships start to develop, she has to decide if what she has to gain is worth the price she'll have to pay.

On the YA side of things are two books that were each sent to me by their authors and which have spent a fair amount of time on the TBR mountain waiting for a break in the review schedule. It looks like this might be the week for:

• Earth Blend by Lori Pescatore -- I recently read Human Blend and thought it was pretty good. This is in the same universe.
• The Fate of the Muse by Derrolyn Anderson -- I read two of her earlier books in the Marina's Tale series and was surprised when she sent me her latest.

This is the last week of the first semester of our school year. I know I will be busy finishing up with the classes I have been seeing since September and getting ready for the new classes coming in. I still hope to have some reading time.

What are your plans for next week? Did you read anything great last week that I need to add to my stack?