July/August Prequel and Sequel Challenge Wrap-Up

Once again I'm doing two months together.  Just seems to work out best for me to do it that way.


July:

1. Paranoia (Night Walkers #2) by JR Johansson - 2 points
2. The White Glove War (Magnolia League #2) by Katy Crouch and Grady Hendrix - 2 points
3. The Burnouts (Quarantine #3) by Lex Thomas - 12 points (final book in series) Book 1, Book 2
4. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare - 12 points (final book in a series) Books 1-3, Book 4, Book 5
5. Flawed (Perfection #2) by JL Spelbring - 2 points, Book 1

August:

1. Astray (Gated #2) by Amy Christine Parker - 2 points, Book 1
2. Undead with Benefits (Eat, Brains, Love #2) by Jeff Hart - 2 points, Book 1
3. Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman - 2 points, Book 1

Not so great the last two months.  But with my September is for Sequels Reading Challenge coming up, I should be getting a ton more points!  The trend also continued with my 2nd month being less than the first.   I had made it to 100 points back in June.  Now I'm adding 36, so 136 points now. Which makes me a Veteran, the top of the challenge!  Yay!  But I'm not done!  And if you want to join into my September reading challenge, it's simple and there will be a giveaway for those who participate, just click on the button below!

May/June Prequel ad Sequel Challenge Wrap Up

It just seems like it is easier for me to do these posts every other month as the in between months just seem to be too busy at the end.  So let's see how I did on my challenge the past two months.


May:

1. Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) 2 points
2. The One (Selection #3) 12 points (final book in series) Book 1, Book 2
3. The Liberator (Dante Walker #2) 2 points
4. The Warrior (Dante Walker #3) 12 points (final book in series) Book 1
5. Savage Drift (Monument 14 #3) 12 points (final book in series) Book 1, Book 2
6. Divided (Dualed #2) 2 points

June:

1. City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments #5) 2 points
2. Erased (Altered #2) 2 points

Wow, just like the last update I did, the 2nd month of my challenge update was not that good!  And I was doing some recovery from my surgery in June.  Weird.  Guess I'd better get back on track this coming month!  So last time I was at  59 points.  Add the 46 points, and that puts me at 100 points overall.  And now I'm up to the Professional level in the challenge.  One more point and I'll be at the top level.  Okay, let's hope I get more of what I planned to read done over the next two months.

Review: City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare

I've had this book for at least a year, and decided to get to it now that the final book is out.  And it will definitely contribute to my Prequels and Sequels Challenge that I'm doing.  Now, I remember the end of book 4, but there was a lot of details that were a bit fuzzy.  Fortunately I was able to get right back into the book and not feel lost at all.  I have to say that I really enjoyed this one, and am extremely excited for the final book.  Guess I'll have to purchase that sometime soon.  When I have some money that is.  Now, obviously, if you haven't read the books before this, you should probably STOP right now.  I promise to do my best not to give any spoilers on this one, but can't promise anything about the past books.

The one thing I remembered from the last book is right where we kind of start off.  Sebastian, Clary's brother, had been dead, but now had disappeared, along with Jace, during the short time Clary went to let the others know he was okay.  Clary is having to deal first with the Clave, who have basically put her on trial for what she did in order to save Jace's life.  The Clave gives up on searching for him, or at least puts it on a back burner after they decide Clary is not guilty of anything really bad.  So of course Clary, Alec, and Isabelle decide they must continue the search on their own.  Of course Simon will be there to help Clary, and Magnus will be there for Alec.  But then Jace and Sebastian show up, and Jace says he just wants Clary to come with them, and be with him.  Clary's mother, Jocelyn, tries to kill Sebastian, but Clary knows that killing Sebastian will kill Jace because of how they have been bound magically.  So as she goes to stop him, Luke, her mother's boyfriend, gets shot with something that has demon blood on it. And this poisons him.  And now Jocelyn wants to take Clary and go somewhere that Jace can't come look for them.  But Clary feels that if she went to Jace and Sebastian, maybe she could figure out how to get Jace back, and also find out what Sebastian is up to, in order to try to stop it. So she goes looking for Jace.  And finds him.  From then on she is staying with them, trying to find out what is going on, and also trying to stay near Jace. But she knows this Jace isn't really her Jace, even though it is obvious this Jace still loves her.  At the same time Alec and Magnus are trying to find a way to separate Jace and Sebastian, or even to just find a weapon that could hurt Sebastian while not hurting Jace.  There is an attempt to get a demon to help them find a weapon.  To get an angel as well. 

Simon and Isabelle's relationship is still going along, both trying to figure out where they want to be.  Alec is so unsure of his relationship with Magnus.  The fact that Magnus is immortal, and has had such a long life before him.  When someone offers to take away Magnus's immortality, Alec doesn't know if that is something he wants done or not.  Many people are coming out and trying to make deals.  The Seelie Queen, the vampire Camille, even the Vampire Raphael.  Many, many things all come together in this story.  But it's not too much, at least it wasn't for me.  Everything was very well developed, the emotions of the characters, all of it.  As I said, I am so eager for the final book now!  It wasn't a huge cliffhanger ending, but that's okay, I'm back in that world, and so ready to go on and find out how it will all end. 

I didn't get to officially meet Cassandra Clare at BEA, as I chose to wait in line for Maggie Stiefvater instead.  I did get her autograph though, and a wave from her, but no picture unfortunately.  I will definitely hope to get to meet her some other time.

Review: Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicales #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for quite a while now I think.  Can't even remember when I first bought it.  Probably sometime soon after I read and enjoyed the first book in the series, Beautiful Creatures.  Since this series is not a trilogy, it has 4 books in it, maybe that is why it doesn't suffer from what I call the 2nd book syndrome.  It wasn't as good as the first one, but it was still good, and I didn't feel like it was just a bridge to get us to the next book.  It definitely had a good story to it.  It was a bit of a journey book though, as Ethan did have to follow Lena to the Great Divide or Barrier to try to save her from, well from herself in a way. 

Since her 16th birthday, when Lena didn't get chosen as either good or evil like she was supposed to, things have been different.  But part of it is the heartache she feels from losing her Uncle Macon.  Ethan stays by her side, always there for her.  Even as she begins to pull away.  He can't figure out what has made her quite so stressed.  While he understand grief, he lost his mother, Lena seems a bit more than grieving.  You see, Ethan doesn't know that the day of Lena's birthday, he died.  And by saving him, Lena ended up taking the life of another, which just happened to be Macon.  So now she feels guilty for Macon's death.  And looking at Ethan just reminds her of the choice she made.  As she pulls away, Ethan begins working in the Caster Archives with Marian.  Marian has another helper, a Keeper in training, named Liv.  Ridley is also back.  And she and a boy, who seems to be part Incubus, are hanging around Lena a lot.  And soon Ethan notices that both of Lena's eyes are yellow, the color of an evil Caster.  As Lena's family decides to move away, Lena decides to run off.  Ethan knows he must follow her and keep her from making a horrible mistake.  But he has started having new visions.  Now they include Abraham, one of the most evil Casters, Macon's father, as well as Lena's mother, Seraphine. 

With the help of his buddy Linc, the keeper-in-training Liv, a strange cat, and some other unexpected ghostly friends and evil relatives, Ethan will follow Lena to the edge of the two worlds and try to keep her from crossing to the evil side for good. 

So now, I must get a copy of the third one.  This is one of the series I'm using for my Prequel and Sequel challenge.

March/April 2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge Wrap Up

Once again I didn't do one of these at the end of March, so I will combine March and April.  And I'm not sure I'm doing very well this time!  Which is sad after I just completed the A to Z Challenge and was so proud of that!


March:

1. Cured (Stung #2)  2 points 
2. The Prince (The Selection 0.5) & The Guard (The Selection 2.5) 2 points
3. Resurrection (Ripper #3) - 12 points (final book in series)  Book #1,  Book #2
4. Sunrise (Ashfall #3) - 12 points (final book in series) Book #1, Book #2
5. The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) - 12 points (final book in series)  Book #1, Book #2
6. Unbroken (Ruined #2) - 2 points  Book #1
7. No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5) - 1 point

April:

1. Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassins #2) - 2 points
2. The Saints (Quarantine #2) - 2 points
3. Renegade (Mila 2.0 #2) - 2 points

As you can see, March was much better than April, although I think in April I read several stand-alone books, or first in series, which you can't count for points.  I had 20 points for January and February, so add the 49 points for the last two months and I'm up to 69 points.  Except, this month I realized that you don't get points for the first book in the series, so I have to subtract 10 points from the beginning, which leaves me at 59 points, which puts me at the "Advanced" level in the challenge.  I'm hoping this month will be better, especially as The One by Kiera Cass comes out next week and I will be buying it and reading it right away!

Waiting on Wednesday - The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  The book I've chosen this week is a final book in a trilogy.  It was the series that was my introduction to reading the popular author Julie Kagawa.  I got the first book at BEA 2012, and then was able to read an e-galley of the 2nd book.  And I am now a huge fan of the series, and can barely wait till April 15th when the new one is published.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads.com:

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

Doesn't it just sound so good? And intense?  Now, honestly, I'm not a fan of the cover, wasn't for the 2nd book either.  I found the Australian cover, and it matches my original book's cover, and I like it much better:

Isn't that one so much better?  And even the UK cover is a lot better than our boring US cover.

Doesn't match any other covers that I have, but I still like it much better than the plain purple colored one.

I'll be able to use this book to help me in the Prequels and Sequels Challenge I'm doing this year as well.

So, what book are you eagerly awaiting this week?
 

January/February 2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge Wrap-up

Didn't do one of these at the end of January, will combine it all in one post.  Here is my original post for this challenge.  I will list below the books I read for this with links to the reviews:

January:

1. Independent Study (The Testing #2) 2 points
2. Insomnia 2 points
3. The Diviners 2 points
4. Beta  2 points
5. Die For Me 2 points
6. Pandemic (Infected #3) 2 points

February:

1. Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) 2 points
2. Resistance (Replica #2) 2 points
3. Walking Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #2) 2 points
4. Viral Nation 2 points

So I guess I'm coming along okay. Although technically a few of these were the first in their series.  Their sequels should be out this year, so I must get them in time to finish them, or else the whole series is out and I just had the first one sitting on my TBR shelf.  Here is a link to the page we are linking reviews up for these two months.  I'm at 20 points so far.  Now three of the books would actually complete the series for me.  But one of those I don't have posted reviews for the earlier books in the series.  And the other two I still have some little novellas to read to complete the series and earn my 10 points for that.  I'll keep you posted on that!

Review: Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis

I FINALLY picked this one up and read it.  I've actually owned a copy since I purchased it last May at the RT Convention so that I could get it autographed.  Finishing this will also get me an entry in my 2014 Prequels and Sequels Challenge, although I think I have a short story/e-novella to read to actually complete the whole thing.  Here are the links to my reviews of the first two books:  Across the Universe and A Million Suns.  Let me say, this was a great ending.  For awhile I was afraid it might end up with the same kind of disappointment as I had with Allegiant, but instead it ended up more like Into the Still Blue, a realistic, but pretty happy ending.  Obviously if you haven't read the rest of the series, and especially not book 2, you probably should stop reading at the end of this paragraph, knowing that I was very happy with this book, and will definitely recommend it, and the whole series.

So, if you remember at the end of the 2nd book, there was the really big cliffhanger.  They had been finding out that the ship probably wasn't going to last much longer, with what they had left, not to mention the explosion caused damage to the engine, which could cause other problems. And now that they knew the planet they had been traveling towards, Centauri-Earth, was right outside the ship, they had to make the decision to go.  Not everyone on the ship wanted to go to the planet, they felt safe on the ship, the only place that had ever been their home.  So Amy, Elder, about half of the people left on the ship, and all the cryogenically frozen people were in the shuttle and headed towards the planet.  From the information that Orion had left in the clues for Elder and Amy, they knew that there were "monsters" on the planet.  And on their way to land, they did hit something, and it did knock them a bit off course, but they still landed just fine.
But when they first try to leave the ship, they see one of the monsters, and Elder is even attacked by one.  Fortunately Amy is able to grab a gun and shoot it, and then get Elder back in and shut the shuttle back up to be safe.  As this is going on, the people that were frozen have been unfrozen, including Amy's parents.  But there still seems to be a divide between the frozen, or Earthborn, and Elder's people, or shipborn as they are called.  And when Amy's father, Captain Martin, is unfrozen, he finds he is now in charge because of the two that Orion had killed.  And when he takes over, he reminds Elder of Eldest, or even Orion.  And Orion's warnings were that the frozen people would make the shipborn either slaves or soldiers, and it seems as if it may be that way.  Not only that, but it seems Captain Martin may be hiding something.  While Amy's mother and the other scientists are just thrilled with all there is to see and study on the planet, it seems that maybe there was a colony of humans that landed here before them.  Not only that, the monsters may not be the only thing they have to worry about.  What happened to that first colony?  There are signs of a possible alien race, and they may be defending their own planet.

In the end it all comes down to fighting for what the original mission was, fighting against these aliens or whatever is fighting them on the planet, or finding out how they can make this new planet their own.

Again, I just loved this story, and what a great ending to the trilogy!  And below is my picture with the author on the day I got this book!

Review: Pandemic (Infected #3) by Scott Sigler (Prequel/Sequel Challenge)

First, thanks to Crown Publishing and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  And extra thanks to whatever kept it from expiring on the date I had written, January 21st, since I wasn't able to get all the way through it until the 24th.  I was a little daunted at first because it was over 400 pages, and it had been awhile, since 2009, that I'd read the 2nd book in the series.  I am pleased to say that the way they did the kind of "review" mixed in at the beginning of the story was perfect for reminding me pretty much of all of it.  Not only that, the author's writing once again captured and pulled me right into the story.  And that many pages?  You might think it would be a ton of description and character building, boring stuff, and you'd be wrong.  Yes, all that description and character building is there, it is just done in such a way that it happens during exciting, edge of the seat action scenes.  I feel like this series is one that could make a few good movies, or even better, a tv series on the SyFy channel.

I'll try not to give too many spoilers out, but there are a few of course since this is the final book in a trilogy.  In the first two books, there was an alien virus/organism that was causing people to die, or even to change in ways that they would cause others to catch the same thing and then change to pass it on, or again, die.  The alien organism was sent by a society that sent them out to get rid of other life forms that might one day come back and kill them or cause them harm.  It sent several different parts, and each one could learn from the losses of the one before if something happened, as had happened in the last two books.  It got so bad in the last one that the government nuked Detroit to end it.  Which did mostly end it, other than one last part from the original machine which sunk to the bottom of Lake Michigan.  The government is searching for any last bits that may have made it out of the blast.  And they've found one.  They take all the precautions they think are necessary to try to safely get it into a submarine, and then back to a lab to test it/destroy it if needed.  Unfortunately, something goes wrong on the sub, it is obvious somehow the people get infected.  Clarence Otto, and Margaret Montoya, experts and heroes from last books, are called back in to try to stop it, and determine what is going on.  What they find is a much evolved organism, some of the ways it has changed they won't even notice, until it may be too late, and someone very important is infected.

And it's not just the alien organism they must deal with now, it seems another country has their eyes on getting ahold of this alien technology and using it for themselves.  Not realizing just how bad it can be for them if they don't follow all the protocols that even our heroes are using, at times unsuccessfully.

Such a great way that it all plays out, to the point that I was just figuring there was no way left to save the human race.  But the scientists must determine if there is any way to use the aliens' own technology against them in order to save ourselves.

Again, a great conclusion to the story, so glad I got to read it!  For my 2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge, I will be able to count this as 2 points.  Unfortunately, since I didn't review the first two anywhere that I can find at the moment, I can't get the 10 points for completing the series.  Hopefully I will soon get my MySpace blogs sent to me from the past, and it will be there I hope.

Review: Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum

This is one that I believe I got a free copy of at the Romantic Times Convention here in Kansas City in May 2013.  I know, I know, I'm way behind on this series, but it was one I kept meaning to pick up, and never did.  It was definitely a good story.  I've seen several comparisons to Twilight, but again, it isn't quite the same to me, I don't see the similarities really, other than the guy being basically immortal and the girl a regular human.
In this story we have Katie and her older sister Georgia, who have moved to Paris to live with their grandparents after their parents' death.  They know the city well, as they've visited their grandparents there many times in the past.  But while Georgia is out dancing and meeting people, Katie is still not quite over her parents' deaths.  She does begin to get out and go to the museums, and even to sit in little cafes and read.  There are these very attractive boys that she keeps seeing at the cafe, and then later at a museum.  And then on a night when she is out walking with her sister, Katie sees something strange.  The one that she found really cute, felt maybe a connection with, is talking to a girl on a bridge, what looks like trying to stop her from jumping.  And when she jumps, he jumps in after her!  At the same time she sees what looks like a sword fight going on down near the bottom of the bridge.  Very weird, but no idea what is going on.  Another day at the cafe, a sign begins to fall on Katie, but she is motioned over by a girl right before it happens, basically saving her life.  Turns out there is something more about this group of people Katie keeps seeing.  The cute boy is named Vincent, and he has to give in and tell her what he is when she sees more craziness, sees him and the other guy trying to save this man in the subway.  And while they save him, Vincent's friend is struck by the train.  Now Katie doesn't know how she can be in love with Vincent, after losing her parents, she's not sure how she can be with someone that leads such a risky life, and has death as close at hand as Vincent and his friends do every day.
In case you haven't read it yet, I'll stop there.  Just know that there are also a group of bad guys, that have the same characteristics as Vincent and his friends.  A great read, I like that Katie, while yes she has the insta-love thing going on, she does have to stop and think if she could be with him with all that is going on in his life.  And even at the end, she says she still has that in the back of her head.
Now I must read on!  And I may add this to my Prequel and Sequel challenge if I can get all the books read this year.  One last thing, here is a picture of me with the author at the RT Convention.

2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge

So, I think I'm going to try this Challenge this year, as a lot of the books on my TBR pile, or maybe just my TBR list are sequels to series that I started because the first book was an e-galley, but then I just never got the 2nd book as an e-galley, or bought it, or whatever.  This challenge is co-hosted by Novel Heartbeat (formerly Auntie Spinelli Reads) and Writer Grrl Reads.  

The goal: To read as many prequels and sequels as you can. You set your goal at whatever number works for you.

So, let's see, here are my hopes for this challenge:

1. Rogue (Croak #3) by Gina Damico
2. Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver
3. Prodigy (Legend #2) and Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu
4. Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris:  Deadlocked, Dead Ever After, and After Dead
5. Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2) and A Beautiful Wedding (Beautiful #2.5) by Jamie McGuire
6. Shatter Me series by Tehereh Mafi:  Unravel Me, Fracture Me, and Ignite Me
7. Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand
8. Sever (The Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano
9. As They Slip Away (Across the Universe #0.5) and Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3)  by Beth Revis
10. I'm hoping to finish The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  I've got #5 on the shelf, #6 is supposed to come out this year.
11. Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor:  Days of Blood and Starlight, Night of Cake and Puppets,  and Dreams of Gods and Monsters
12. The whole Revenants series by Amy Plum
13. Light (Gone #6)  by Michael Grant
14. The Selection series by Kiera Cass:  The Guard (2.5) and The One (#3)
15. The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

Those are my hopes for this, and maybe there will be even more!  Mike Mullin is supposed to finish his Ashfall series this year I think.  So I may add on to this.  I just hope I can keep up and make sure to mention in the reviews when they match up to this challenge.