Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton

Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm beginning to realize the reason I still read this series, is because it's still fun to criticize how a wonderful series and SO BAD.

About 12 books ago, it was a superb series. This time I picked it up keeping in mind I was in for some porn.

I was wrong.

Yes, Anita is still a slut.

Yes, the ardeur (book destroyer) is still around.

But this was more like the old books. A little bit anyway.

In this book there was ONE sex scene. Would you believe it? For Anita Blake? AND it was a very tame one too. Of course if Laurell is writing only one sex scene to go in this book, she wouldn't make it all the same, so she picked a new guy to add to Anita's man collection.

It has more of Edward in it. I think she was aiming for something similar to Obsidian Butterfly but failed miserably.

Edward in this book goes only by reputation. Everyone is scared of him. Though he is present in the whole book, only once he shows up with a kickass weapon. The credit goes to the weapon, not the person using it.

What I didn't like about this book:

* To make Anita sound so smart, other characters get really dumb down. I'm sick of reading lines like: "But that's not what we learned in the lectures."

* Why the f*** doesn't somebody kill Olaf? He is an awful person, and everyone has been told that if he really kills Anita, Edward will kill everyone else. So why wouldn't they all just kill him and save them some a lot of hassle?

* The long conversations between foreplay and the sex. Get on with, for god's sake. You can't even skip the sex scene because Laurell might drop something important in the middle of it.

* The bad guys have a change of heart right when she is captured? I didn't get that.

* And last but not least, Anita has got all these mad powers, and she never develops them. She is a necromancer, and she can control vampires, heals them. But Ash is still scarred. Stops there. She has all the lycanthrope DNA. What does she do with it? She pictures tigers inside her head. What more do you ask? Once in a while it will heal her. Once in while it will give her a sense of smell. But only when the plot calls for it.


Why 3 stars?

I don't know. I guess if you have kept on going with this series this far this book is much better compared to the last books.


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Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's really 2 1/2 stars. That is all for the first half of the book.


I felt cheated by this book. I was so excited when I first started it. It was beautifully written. Calla is this poweful warrior, who holds the loyallty of her pack. She sounded strong. I liked how the author made us wait a few chapters before explaining the worldbuilding to the reader. That was another element that made me have late nights, just so I could find out a bit more.

She's meant to marry Ren. I liked everything about him. Yes, he was (horny) dating other girls. But he's seveteen so I don't blame him. Calla didnt seem to care. She saw as marrying him her duty, and she liked him, but she didn't like him enough to be jealous. She was fine with that until the union, and I was happy she rejected him while she wasn't the only one with him. But once Ren made the decision that he would be with Calla only, even before their union, he stuck to it.

Now, I really don't understand Calla's attraction to Shay. The whole book was cringing worthy, because of Shay. He was pathetic really. He saw she was with another guy, why on earth would humiliate yourself to ask to have a private conversation with someone else's girlfriend?

From there things just went down hill. I hate cheating, so I really started to hate Calla. Especially when she was cheating with Shay. Urgh. For someone who had never kissed before, she was becoming pretty slutty kissing two guys.

She went from a powerful warrior to a cheating bitch.

I'm not such a big feminist, but when someone says "Sit on my lap, woman", a strong warrior would have responded with a right hook, but instead, the powerfull warrior and alpha female, just does what she's told.

It ended with a cliffhanger, and me liking Ren more and more. I would read the next book (only because I devore all books), but I wouldn't recommend it to my friends.

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Changes by Jim Butcher

 

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...

He's fighting to save his child.

Starts with a bang and it finishes with a boom!

Finally, this wasn’t just a case story. On the first page of the book, Harry gets a call from Suzan saying they have a daughter.

This wasn’t one like the latest books, where the villains and story just kept going in circles. I loved this book, and I can’t wait to see how Jim will go on with the next book.

Rating: 5 of 5

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

Another episode in this fabulous series.I love the Dresden Files Series, and it grows on you with each book.

Again, I listened to James Marsters fabolous voice. I don’t know what I will do when I finish this series.
Small Favors is one of those books that Harry just goes through the same motions as before.

All elements common to the series were there. Fun dialogues, favourite characters, magic, vampires, faries and demons. Though, I've been expecting Harry to grow more into his powers, into what he was born to do, or to find a love interest, anything. No, Small Favors were full of adventures, which all in all, is a very enjoyable read. I just hope Mr. Butcher is not growing too comfortable in the "Get Harry nearly smitten until he saves the day" plot.

Mr. Butcher's writting quality is absolutely brilliant, and I love bookmarking his books for future reference.

Rating: 4 out 5 Stars

Would-be Witch by Kimberly Frost

The family magic seems to have skipped over Tammy Jo Trask. All she gets are a few untimely visits from long-dead, smart-mouthed family ghost Edie. But when her locket-an heirloom that happens to hold Edie's soul-is stolen in the midst of a town-wide crime spree, it's time for Tammy to find her inner witch.

After a few experiences with her dysfunctional magic, Tammy turns to the only person in small-town Duval, Texas, who can help: the very rich and highly magical Bryn Lyons. He might have all the answers-and a 007 savoir faire to boot-but the locket isn't the only heirloom passed down in Tammy's family. She also inherited a warning: stay away from Lyons.

From the beginning I expected a very light story. It's funny and it's well written.

What was missing? Well, when reading from a first POV, you expect the character to be as smart as you, or smarter. Tammy Jo is just so bluh. I didn't like the main character, and I didn't like how every supernatural being was thrown into the mix so quickly.

I just can't take her serious, and the story is not very realitisc in terms of events. Shooting a shot gun is bound to call attention. If someone drugged you, you wouldn't just walk away and forget about it.

Her ex-husband treats her really nice and at the same time condenscending.

Reading Tammy Jo just wasn't as fun as the funny lines in it. It was very frustrating, and I found myself skipping pages and pages at a time.

I don't think I will read the other books in this series.

Rating: 2 out of 5