Mark of the Demon

Mark of the Demon

Diana Rowland

Series or Stand Alone: Kara Gillian series, book one

Release Date: June 2009

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 384

Author Site: http://www.dianarowland.com/

My Rating: 4.75/5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis [from goodreads.com]:

Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill....

Why me? Why now? That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives—and souls—of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he’s back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore.

Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head...

Review:

So I definitely regret waiting so long to pick this up. MARK OF THE DEMON knocked my socks off! I can't quite pinpoint the wow factor though, I just know I fell in love with Kara and her demon-filled world. I don't have many "demon" novels under my belt so I was wonderfully surprised at how much Diana and her writing pulled me in. Kara isn't perfect at her job, her summonings, or her life in general and she knows it. She is well aware of her flaws and its refreshing to have a heroine who is so honest and real. Kara is definitely a woman I would like to have as a friend in real life.

The demonology lore in the book was fascinating I must admit. Diana Rowland lays out a very well thought out demon world that lays side-by-side with the human world. Like I mentioned before I have no other "demon" books to compare MARK OF THE DEMON too but I do know I loved reading about the different levels of demons and what they looked like. Very cool!

There's a lot of suspense in the novel. I thought I knew who the Symbol Man was and then Diana Rowland throws a curve ball that makes the reader question their judgement. The entire murder plot was extensive and very well-written and kept me on the edge of my seat. Overall MARK OF THE DEMON has everything a great novel should have! I highly recommend picking up the book and settling down into Kara's world. As soon as I was finished with MARK OF THE DEMON I went out and bought book two despite the fact that I have a huge TBR pile of books in my room =] I just couldn't help it. And the only reason it didn't recieve a 5 star rating from me was because I had slight personal problems with the some of the aspects of the book but trust me, MARK OF THE DEMON is damn near perfection!!

Day 415 - 2010 Reading Challenges : A Collection

All of the 2010 Reading Challenges I'm participating in =) I hope you'll join in the fun!

Click the photo to be directed to it's specific page.

3/6 Books Completed

5/6 Books Completed

38/50 Authors Completed

12/50 Books Completed

57/100 Books Completed

Day 405 - 2010 Reading Challenge: Read Your Name Challenge

This is another challenge I didn't complete last year but I was only 2 books away. I hope to complete it this time around =) I'll be using my name again since I didn't finish it yet. Again I should have no excuse to not finish this time because I own these books already.
For information about this challenge or to sign up click here.

M ark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
I ll Wind by Rachel Caine
S tarfinder by John Marco
H ounding the Moon by P.R. Frost
E ve of Darkness by S.J. Day
L ord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

Day 314 - Magic Bites

Magic Bites

Illona Andrews

Series or Stand Alone: Kate Daniels series, Book One

Release Date: March 2007

Publisher: Ace

Pages: 272

Author Site: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/

My Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis [from ilona-andrews.com]:

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic…

One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy…

Review:

I gotta say I like Kate. She's a very mellow, down-to-earth "I-can-kick-your-ass-even-if-you-are-bigger-than-me" type of heroine. And who doesn't love fierce women?? I know I do! Set in future Atlanta, this world is not only full of your normal paranormal creatures but is full of magic as well. A magic that plagues the world in waves and disables everything that involves technology including cars, planes, and even weapons. The magic feeds off technology and has even taken hearty bites out of the sturdiest man-made buildings all around the city. Kate is a Magic Guild mercenary who cleans up after magic goes wrong or someone misuses it. After discovering that her Guardian has been murdered she makes it her personal mission to find out who killed him and why. Hopefully she can get some revenge on the SOB who did it while she's at it.

While searching for the murderer, Kate unravels a whole mess of trouble as shapeshifters and vampires are being killed off. Seems a war might just break out between the Pack (weres) and the People (vampires) if Kate can't find out who the killer is.

Kate's world is an entirely different setup than most books I've read that leans more on the fantasty side, in my opinion. The concepts are highly original and detailed. Kate's power is mysterious and the reader is given hints throughout the story at how strong she may truly be. The book was wrapped up quite nicely but of course there are still questions at the end and I'm excited to get those answered in the next book. Which I'm sure will in turn give me more questions =) That's the way of the series book.

If the world building and unique magic vs. technology thing doesn't grab you than the characters will. Kate is a reluctant heroine that has trouble getting along with others, especially authority. The other charcters you meet will definitely intrigue you. I recommend anyone that is a fan of fantasy and paranormal books to definitely give this one a go if you haven't yet. There's even a smidge of romance between Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts... you know a title like that makes you curious...

Day 300 - Everything Sucks

Everything Sucks

Hannah Friedman

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: August 2009

Publisher: HCI Teens

Pages: 256

Author Site: http://www.hannahfriedman.com/

My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis [from HCI Books.com]:

When everything sucks, change everything . . .

And that's exactly what Hannah Friedman set out to do in an ambitious attempt to bust out of a life of obscurity and absurdity and into an alternate world of glamour, wealth, and popularity.

Being dubbed 'That Monkey Girl' by middle school bullies and being pulled out of sixth grade to live on a tour bus with her agoraphobic mother, her smelly little brother, and her father's hippie band mates convinces Hannah that she is destined for a life of freakdom.

But when she enters one of the country's most prestigious boarding schools on scholarship, Hannah transforms herself into everything she is not: cool. By senior year, she has a perfect millionaire boyfriend, a perfect GPA, a perfect designer wardrobe, and is part of the most popular clique in school, but somehow everything begins to suck far worse than when she first started. Her newfound costly drug habit, eating disorder, identity crisis, and Queen-Bee attitude lead to the unraveling of Hannah's very unusual life.

Putting her life back together will take more than a few clicks of her heels, or the perfect fit of a glass slipper, in this not-so-fairy tale of going from rock bottom to head of the class and back again.

Review:

Being called "that monkey girl" gets old very, very quickly. Having a monkey for a sister and eccentric parents isn't the worst thing in Hannah's life. Throw in a smelly little brother and you got yourself a party though. Hannah's middle school years are filled with a multitude of embarrassing moments and constant teasing. Then her parents pull her out of school for a UK tour for her musician father - who's last hit was sometime in the 1970s. She's dragged along on a great big disappointment but feels ready to start anew when she gets back to middle school. Surely her new worldy aquired knowledge will impress someone and bump her up on the popularity scale....Yeah, no - doesn't happen. Hannah finds herself lower than ever before.

But things change drastically when it's time for Hannah to go to high school. She gets accepted into a private boarding school, although she commutes because it's so close to home. She finds herself easily making friends and is pretty surprised when the most popular group of girls wants her in their clique. After she comes down from her euphoric feeling of finally having friends Hannah sees the ugliness of high school drama. Nothing but bitchy, backstabbing, superficial competition all wrapped up in lip gloss and short skirts.

Hannah covers all the horrors of adolescence that I think will resonate with everyone. Drugs, sex, eating disorders... Hannah doesn't hold back. She highlights the good times of her life and doesn't shy away from highlighting the bad either. I can't tell you how many times I laughed while reading this book. I don't even know Hannah and yet I absolutely adore her. Sarcastic, witty, and absolutely charming - Hannah's voice is entirely real and honest. But all hysterics aside there is some serious issues being dealt with and you'll find Hannah's story can be heartbreaking at times.

Judge Hannah however you like but I think in the end you will respect her for being so honest and come to appreciate what she has to say. She's not saying anything new, but I think everyone will be able to relate to something in her story. I'm really looking forward to see what she has in store for us next.

Day 195 - Strange Angels [ARC Review]

Strange Angels

Lili St. Crow

Series or Stand Alone: Strange Angels Series, book one

Release Date: May 14, 2009

Synopsis [from penguin.com]:

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Review:

I haven't read any of Lili St. Crow's other novels yet but they are on my list and I'll get to them eventually. So I'm not familiar with her writing but I felt Strange Angels was a pretty good start to this YA series.

I found myself a little hesitant about Dru in the beginning. Her and her father have been jumping around from place to place ever since her Gran died. He's a hunter of all paranormal entities that go bump in the night and has been doing so every since Dru's mother died years ago. Dru is slowly learning what she can about hunting since her father only allows her to tag along sometimes as back up. She's got a gift, kinda like a sixth sense, or the "touch" as her Gran likes to call it. She does have skills in fighting and knows how to use a gun. But at sixteen, she's pretty much mad at the world when she's introduced. Having to jump from school to school so many times she longs to be normal.

At school Dru tries to remain as aloof as possible. It doesn't help much when she meets Graves, a half-Asian goth kid who wants to befriend her despite her reluctance. She tries to push him away but he's one persistent boy. Kinda like a stray puppy that keeps begging, Graves just doesn't refuses to take "No" for an answer. Despite all that there's just something about him that calls to Dru. It may be the fact that she just longs for a friend to confide in, but how can she possible tell Graves anything about her life?

Tragedy strikes after Dru's dad doesn't come home after one of his solo missions. Dru is left on her own and quickly becomes a target for all the paranormal boogiemen. She ends up relying on Graves whether she wants to or not. And Graves becomes deeply involved after he gets bit by a werewulf. So they are pretty much stuck together and Dru continuously blames herself for Graves' predicament.

Later on they are helped by Christophe, a half-breed vampire called a djamhir, who knows more about Dru than she could ever imagine. She doesn't want to trust him but he seems determined to look out for her... And it is here where I will stop with the summary and leave the rest for you to find out =) Evil I know lol

I do want to say that the beginning really didn't do a lot for me. While I liked the story, I didn't really get into it until the last third of the book when Christophe was introduced. Not that he was my favorite character - I just felt the story really came alive in the last part. While I didn't love the novel I'm probably going to be picking up Betrayals which comes out in November.

Day 76- The Host

The Host

Stephenie Meyer

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone Novel

Synopsis: [from book jacket]

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

One of the most compelling writers of our time, Stephenie Meyer brings us a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the very essence of what it means to be human.

Review:

This is definitely one of the times were I wish my creativity and writing skills were still with me. I fear this review will not give the book the type of praising I really want to give it. So bear with my simple reviewing skills *sigh*

I must admit I am a geeky Twilight fan. However, The Host is far from the teen-vampire love that was Twilight. It reminded me a lot of The Invasion with Nicole Kidman, but only certain parts. The whole concept of alien beings taking over the human race was similar. But there was a lot of differences as well.

The souls are a race of beings that need a host body to survive. They have successfully claimed many planets and are now setting their sights on Earth. After a human is captured by a Seeker they are prepared for implantation. The Seekers are the "hunters" for the souls. They are the ones who track humans down so the souls can then be inserted. After a small cut is made on the back of the neck, a soul (a small, silver-ish, centipede like creature) is placed inside where it attaches itself and assumes control of the body. Upon waking the soul goes through a stage where it receives all of the host's memories. The host then leaves while the soul lives on in it's new body.

For Wanderer, that didn't happen. Melanie refuses to go away. Before starting the book and even at the beginning of the book I sided with Melanie. She was unfairly taken over by the Seekers, just like all other humans. And I felt terrible for her even though she did put up a fight before Wanderer was inserted. I put myself in her shoes and knew that I would probably never be as strong as she.

However, as the story goes on I learned a lot about the Wanderer and her struggles with living with Melanie. I found myself still sympathizing with Melanie but wanting to defend and protect Wanderer. Melanie convinces Wanderer that they have to go to the desert and find Jared (Melanie's lover) and Jamie (her brother). And since Wanderer has access to Melanie's memories, she ends up falling in love with Jared and loving Jamie just as fiercely as Mel does.

The story is very complex. Especially after Wanderer finds Mel's family. A multitude of characters are introduced as she finds around thirty other rebel humans living with them. Most of them are wary and hateful of Wanderer. As a soul she is the enemy. But Mel's uncle Jeb, is a true character. I didn't know his intentions at first but he is someone that really surprised me. After some violent encounters with the humans, Wanderer is soon sent on a roller coaster of a journey as she questions who she is and who she wants to be.

I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of things I am leaving out that I hope you get the chance to read. Yes, I thought it was longer than it should have been but I think Stephenie Meyer did a superb job of detailing the story so I could actually "see" what was going on. I felt for a lot of the characters as they developed through the story. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't read this book yet to get to it. Even if you aren't a Twilight fan, even if you aren't a sci-fi fan...the questions of love and human emotions will pull you in.

Day 16 - Challenges

I can't help but join a few more (=

Read Your Name Challenge 2009

• Magic Bites :: Ilona Andrews
• Industrial Magic :: Kelley Armstrong
• Strange Angels :: Lili St. Crow
• Host :: Stephenie Meyer
• Everything Sucks :: Hannah Friedman
• Lament :: Maggie Stiefvater

Info for this challenge

What's In A Name 2

• Profession: The Smoke Thief :: Shana Abe
• Time of Day: Veil of Midnight :: Lara Adrian
• Relative: Daughter of the Blood :: Anne Bishop
• Body Part: The Lovely Bones :: Alice Sebold
• Building: House Rules :: Heather Lewis
• Medical Condition: Burned :: Ellen Hopkins

Info for this challenge

I think I'm going to start going to the library and get my books there. I have this weird thing with owning my books and not sharing well with others (hah, I share it's just I like to collect and own my books) And sadly I don't have the money to spend on every book I read. Besides I know my mom secretely hates it when I bug her to buy books for me every few months, even though she says "Of course you can get more books." So I think I'm going to just invest in the ones that I really really like and purchase those and just read the rest. (= Since I'm getting a BN gift card for Christmas I won't be going to the library anytime soon but I wanted to join nonetheless. This list will be updated in the months to come...

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

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