Mitabird

DNF at 58%. The narrator is very good but she can’t save this slow moving and boring story. I read the spoilers and would not have been happy with that ending.

While I liked this series, I decided not to go any further. I felt like I had read the same book with a different villain the last few books. Plus, the men are wishy-washy and the vampires are not as smart as they think they are. The mysteries are the weakest part of this series. They don't figure things out until they are almost hit over the head with it. 

As much as I like Eve and Roarke, I love Eve's relationship with Peabody. Their friendship really warms my heart. The mystery is pretty good in this one as well. I find they can be hit or miss, at this point. 

It started off slow, got really good around the middle and then fizzled out at the end. I did like Harry but I think the way his character was written, was not enough to draw me into his world. When the murderer was revealed, I just shrugged as there was no investment for me. There was not enough explanation of how wizards came to be, the White Council, his guardian Morgan, Harry's supposed crimes, etc. I know this is the first book in the series but it left too many unanswered questions. I may read the second book, but I'm in no great hurry.

I was in a serious reading funk for the past two years, finishing 17 books in 2016 (going from Aug-Nov with no reading at all) and 37 books in 2017. Real life seemed to get in the way and other pursuits seemed to hold my interest. A RL friend was in a similar funk and wanted to get back into reading. In 2017, we decided to try the monthly challenge by blogger Girl Xoxo. While I did end up finishing the challenge (thanks to my friend's encouragement), it was still a struggle. I decided to re-read, specifically Harry Potter by JK Rowling and The Night Huntress series by Jeanine Frost. That seemed to really kick-start things for me.

For 2018, we are following the same monthly challenge (it's essentially the same as 2017). My personal goal was to read 50 books for the year, but since I'm on book 32, I've upped it to 100. 

Another goal of mine is to finally tackle my Goodreads TBR pile. There are currently 61 languishing and many were added when I joined back in 2007. I've noticed that I seem to be pickier with what I like now and it's harder for my attention to be held. However, I want to give each book a fair shot (though I see many DNFs in my future). My current read of Storm Front by Jim Butcher is the first off the list.

I wish everyone happy reading with their 2018 goals :)

Things have definitely picked up, though I don't feel I was given enough background into Harry for me to feel fully invested in his plight. 

This isn't interesting to me right now. I really hope it gets better.

Just read Taken in Death by JD Robb.

I was enjoying the book up until this point. Alayna is making decisions that are going to blow up horribly in her face and I hate how predictable her actions, and upcoming consequences, seem. I really hope the author is going to go a completely different route or I'm going to be disappointed. 

Re-read: 7/15/15 - 3 stars

Originally read: 5/1/11 - 3 stars

I'm sad to write that I was disappointed with Unseen. It lacked the excitement and adventure of the first two books. The attraction between Luis and Cassiel was missing; they almost seemed to be going through the motions. I was extremely annoyed with Luis's reaction to the task that Cassiel had assigned herself. He didn't have to like it or agree with her, but he should have supported her decision. It's not like he didn't know the reason she was placed on earth as a human. The last fifty pages were interesting but it didn't make up for the rest of the story.

Re-read: 7/6/15 - 4 stars

Originally read 5/20/10 - 5 stars

This book was just as good as the first one. Cassiel is a smart, tough and flawed heroine. Her desire to save humanity instead of destroying it felt genuine. Her emerging romance with Luis was just the right touch; it wasn't the main focus of the story, but simmered nicely in the background. There was plenty of action and suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat and I anxiously await the next installment.

I listened to about 5 chapters and I couldn't take it. I thought it was mind numbingly boring. 

Re-read: 6/7/15 - 4 stars

Originally read 3/30/2009 - 5 stars

Undone was fantastic. Ms. Caine does an excellent job in drawing this reader into a great spin-off to the Weather Warden series. It's about a former Djinn named Cassiel. She was banished to a human body for disobeying her leader. The course of the story follows Cassiel as she learns to deal with her human limitations and the world that the Wardens live in. It was suspenseful from the very beginning. It was action-packed, funny and, at times, tender and left me wondering what road this was taking. It was nice seeing the transition from cold Djinn to caring human. In Caine's usual fashion, we are left with a cliff-hanger, but I cannot wait for the next one.

I had serious issues with this book. So serious, that I am not continuing reading this series. The beginning was fine. We get to know Isaac and Grier. I thought they had great chemistry, but that was it. The further into the book I got, the less convinced I was theirs was a love match. I thought the book focused too much on them, and frankly, it was boring and dragged on.

Jim's part of the story was better, but I really disliked the interference from both sides. What's the point of having Jim be this savior, if both sides are going to "cheat"? It made for a predictable outcome. Not much happened with Eddie and Adrian, which was a shame. Devina torturing Jim seemed gratuitous and did nothing to further or enhance the story. 

I realize that I initially gave this 3 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't like this at all.