A Most Awesome Book to Recommend

I am so happy that new author, Jeaniene Frost has gotten some great buzz, especially in the on-line world. Her debut novel- Halfway to the Grave blew my mind after fellow blog poster Christine (who really needs her own blog) recommend this book. I had no clue who this author was or anything about Halfway to the Grave. But let me tell you, I am so glad I had the chance to pick up with book! Jeaniene can count me in as a new loyal fan.

For all purposes, I had cemented down my top 10 list for best books of 2007. Well, after I finished reading Frost's book, I had to change my list all over again. Halfway to the Grave is a must read and one of the best paranormal/vampire books I have read in a long time. I urge you to run to your nearest library or bookstore and get this book.

The story is about twenty-two year old Catherine, who prefers to go by Cat. See already she is a great character just by her name. *G* Cat can kick some major vampire ass. The reason why she wants to kill all those bloodsuckers is because her biological father, whom she has never met went on a date with her mother, raped her and 9 months later Cat was born. Cat has major daddy issues. She goes out at night and trolls the bars and clubs for vampire men so she can kill them. For some reason she hasn't killed any vampire women yet....hmmmm.....

But her plans go to pot when she meets one vampire male who will change her life forever. Cat meets Bones, and their first interaction is so hilarious. She goes up to the guy asks qute bluntly, and I quote- "Do you want to F---?" (Kristie, is this blog PG-13?)

From that moment on I couldn't take my eyes off the pages. Bones is to die for (no pun intended). He lives in a cave that has cable and internet. Bones is a vampire bounty hunter for hire. He kicks Cat's ass from one wall to the other to train her, to make her stronger. He becomes her mentor, her undead Jedi Knight. But the attraction between these two is something fierce. And let me tell you, Bones knows how to treat a women! Cat has no real experience with men, and with Bones she is off her axis. But these two make a great team. They are so cute and funny together. And if you have ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and know about Spike, imagine Cat and Bones as Buffy and Spike. I wonder if Jeaniene was a fan of Buffy before writing?

Because this is an on-going series, with the second book, One Foot in the Grave coming out in April 2008, which I am dying to read right now, I need an ARC please! The ending is not what you expect, but oh so good. The last line sent chills down my spine, very sexy ones.

Not many authors can make me stand up and cheer and hope they have a very long career, but with Jeaniene Frost I wish her all the best and hope Cat becomes the new superheroine everyone will be talk about for years to come.

Katiebabs- who wouldn't mind shacking up in a cave with a man like Bones

Recent Read

If His Kiss Is Wicked by Jo Goodman

Why This One: Because she's one of the best writers in the romance genre and there's not a shadow of a doubt I will buy every book she writes!

Steam Level: Perfect

Amazon Blurb: Goodman's latest Regency romance concerns Emmalyn Hathaway, living with her relatives in London since the tragic death of her parents three years earlier. Emma spends her days assisting her artist uncle and her privileged younger cousin, Marisol, until she becomes the victim of a savage attack. Believing that the attack was meant for her cousin, Emma seeks out Restell Gardner, who offers protection and sleuthing services for a price. A confirmed bachelor and notorious rake (or so he wishes), Restell is taken with young Miss Hathaway and her plight. By taking on her case, he soon discovers that all is not as it seems in the Vega household and that Emma may truly be in danger. The attraction between Restell and Emma is hard to deny, and their dialogue sparkles with wit and emotion. Though there's enough intrigue and romantic charm to please any Regency fan, the mystery takes center stage, casting the romance in a secondary role. Regardless, authentic characters and a thrilling story line will keep readers smiling and guessing.

My Thoughts: Warning - Complete and Adoring Gushing To Follow

I actually started writing my thoughts on this book before I finished – a very rare thing for me to do. Jo Goodman isn’t for everyone – I’ll be the first to admit that. In some ways she’s not even for me. I read fast, at times very fast. That’s impossible to do with a Jo Goodman book. If you don’t take the time to read slow and savour, there are so many very precious bits you’ll miss. I tend to skip a lot and kind of pass over words when I read. Again, I can’t do that with on of her books.

But when I can slow myself down, take the time to read every word, what you have with Ms. Goodman’s writing is a very rich feast indeed. She is a master at putting words together to create those small moments that make you sigh with delight in pure reading enjoyment.

I’m not one to mark up my books. As sister Lisa can testify, I can barely bring myself to break open the spine, but as I started reading this book, there were so many passages I wanted to earmark, to underline, and to highlight so I can somehow convey the richness of her prose. Instead, the book is full of little bits of paper to mark the pages of particularly enjoyable passages.

I just finished this little tidbit – thus the need to start this review early, so I won’t be swamped with magical moments to share.

Before Emma agreed to marry Restell she thought she had touched on every concern of import. A point she failed to clarify was the speed at which the thing was likely to occur. She had imagined there would be time enough to visit a modiste and have a gown made for her. She thought there would be fittings. She wanted to speak to the priest who would marry them and she had particular thoughts about the flowers she would carry. She had depended upon the bans being read.
She presented all this to Restell the same evening they became engaged. He listened to her quite closely, tilting his head just so as she rattled on about gowns and flowers and vows. He listened to her argue about tradition without offering an opinion of his own. He listened to her discuss the guest list at great length, not inquiring once how she had come suddenly to have so many friends. And when she fell silent, finally satisfied with the persuasiveness of her discourse, he presented her with the special license he had procured a few hours after securing her promise.
“We’ll exchange vows in the morning,” he’d said.

I’m in awe that she can convey such emotion with her writing. Maybe it’s because I take the time to really read her books, but I can so clearly picture the entire story in my mind as I read along. She doesn’t have a lot of action in her books, but wow can she convey what she is trying to say. Her love scenes aren’t very graphic, but there is such a richness, such a subtle eroticism to them. Here’s another page that I bookmarked

Pleasure was in the touch, the fragrance, the sight of his hand on her hip and her fingers buried deep in his hair. It was the sounds he could not hold back and the ones he whispered quite deliberately against her ear. Her skin prickled. The muscles of his back and arms grew taut. They were conscious of their own breathing, of the coursing of their blood, and the sense of friction, tension, and heat as they skimmed the surface of pleasure

For a while restrain offered reward. The pitch of everything was sweeter, sharper, and more defined and for all those reasons it could not last. They teased it out as long as was possible, but in the end it was what lay just below the surface that they wanted.

Closing their eyes, they dove headlong into it.

Moment of silence here…………… Ah, now that is a love scene.

She also can write the most subtle yet funniest of short little scenes. Here’s one I found priceless.

Suitably chastened, Hobbes said, “Well, then if I might know the approximate size of the—

“ Restell interrupted. “It is all for my wife.”

Now the valet’s sandy eyebrows jumped in the direction of his hairline. “Miss Hathaway?”

“Yes, but we’re calling her Mrs. Gardner now, remember?”

Hobbes did not respond to Restell’s wry rejoinder. He simply stared.

Another thing I really appreciate about all of her books and certainly in this one, is the way the hero treats the heroine. Above all, he respects her. Restell is no exception and although he does things for Emma that she might disagree with, it is always for her own protection and deep inside, she realizes it. Also, while the hero always seem very self-confident, there are such subtle little moments when it's clear that he is very unsure of himself where the heroine is concerned. I like that in a hero!

I've finished the book now, with a deep sigh that it's over, another wonderful book by an author I think is one of the best there is.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Recent Read

Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

Hotness Level: Toasty warm

Amazon blurb: After a decade of piloting interstellar patrol ships, former captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn’t commit–and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows.

Gabriel Sullivan–alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue–is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz’s past is offering her a ticket to freedom–for a price. Someone in the Empire is secretly breeding jukors: vicious and uncontrollable killing machines that have long been outlawed. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates Imperial space. The mission means putting their lives on the line–but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all.

Why this one: I was blown away by Games of Command. I already have Finder’s Keepers and Accidental Goddess, but I heard that Gabriel’s Ghost was just as good or even better than Games of Command – so me being me and I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this, I skipped over the other two that I do have and ordered GG.

My Thoughts: I loved this one almost as much or just as much – hard to say – as Games of Command. I was a bit surprised when I saw it was written in the first person, but Stephanie Plum and Blair (nee Mallory) Bloodsworth have gotten me past my first person prejudice. I think Jennie and I were reading this one at the same time although she got her review up first. I got distracted dog sitting.
Sully made a very delicious hero!!! While a few of the things that didn’t work for Jennie, they worked very well for me. He had decided a long time ago that Chaz was his mate and he would do anything to get her. The book opens when he is rescuing her from a prison planet she had been sent too after being set up for a crime she didn’t commit. At first Chaz is very wary of Sully. They had known and been attracted to each other for years, but he was a pirate who had been reported dead. He is so protective of her and he seems to be a very touchy feely guy. I really liked that about him.
Now Sully has many secrets and he keeps these from Chaz throughout most of the book. Normally I would have been very irked by this, but the author writes so believably that I had no problem buying into why he felt he couldn’t confide things to Chaz.
I had the same – I wouldn’t call it a problem, more of an issue really, in that we just didn’t seem to get enough background into the characters. Again, this is a rather lengthy book at 447 pages. Regretfully I think the author had to make cuts even to get it to this size and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the background information was what was cut.
Chaz too is a wonderfully strong heroine, more than able to hold her own against such a strong personality as Sully. She was the captain of her own ship and acted like it. She was a heroine to admire.
I am so impressed with these two books and so glad I have at least two more to read.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

'til later