72. Stirred - J.A Konrath and Blake Crouch

Talk about the serial killer that won't quit. I love the Jack Daniels series and I'm sad to see it coming to and end. I think that is mainly why I read the first 85% of this book with a huge knot in my stomach and a begrudging feeling to just not finish it. That way everything could just stay the same. Yet, all good things must come to an end. Or so I've been told.

Wow a lot of thought went into this finale. So much happened. I feared for Jack the entire time. I loathed Luther. I really love how everything came together. To be honest until I got to that 85% when it started getting down to the wire and I started reading faster just to see how it would all turn out. I did not even have the slightest idea of how it would turn out.

Jack is pregnant and just ready to give birth. She has Preeclampsia which could turn into Eclampsia at any time. That still doesn't make Jack want to induce. She wants to hold on to that baby for as long as possible. She has a killer out to get her (Luther) and the longer she can hold onto her baby the longer she can prolong bringing her into a terrible world.

Though I was apprehensive through it's entirety I was still able to enjoy this book. I loved Jack and all her supporting characters, I've feared Luther and all his craziness and I will continue to remember these novels fondly.

66. Lethal - Sandra Brown

I think this was the first Sandra Brown novel that I didn't absolutely race through holding my breath. Instead, I found myself a bit bored.

On the run for killing 7 men in a warehouse Lee Coburn is on the run. He runs straight to Honor's house. Honor will do anything to protect her daughter Emily, so she allows Coburn into her house and even helps him search for something he say's her husband was hiding.

I have to say I usually feel a connection with the characters and I was expecting the same thing from this novel but it didn't feel the same. Something seemed a bit off.

There was plenty of action and lots of guesswork. I was kept guessing until the end and still wasn't sure even after the unexciting reveal of The Bookkeeper. One thing it wasn't was predictable. Which is always a positive thing in my opinion.

One thing it lacked for me was the romance that I am so used to in Sandra's books. I didn't feel the passion or the connection between them. Not to mention the ending lacked a bit of everything for me. There was no closure for me at all. I know some people won't mind the ending the way it was but I just can't stand leaving things up to me. Of course I could probably work through some things but I don't want to have to.

As I've said, Sandra is one of my favorite authors and one I look forward to every time a new book comes out. This one, however, was just alright for me.

65. The Sentinel - Jeremy Bishop

This novel definitely had me from the start. I couldn't put it down and Sunday at 1:30am with less than 5 hours left to sleep before work, I was still flipping pages as fast as I could.

What a great novel. The beginning was fun and the genius behind the Bilksen's revenge was too funny. I'm really looking forward to more of Jane Harper. Jane's tough, and funny, and exciting. I'm hoping she has more to come.

I've always been excited about Viking myth's and folklore so this book really kept me interested. Also, the detailing in the story had me right there with the characters. I could almost feel the icy cold of the waters and the surroundings. Not to mention the terror as the story progressed.

I actually loved how everything wasn't spelled out perfectly for you about the zombie/vampire creatures. Which leads into a way of continuing the story. Perhaps, learning more about them in the future. The ending definitely left you with sort of a sinking feeling in your stomach as to what could and might happen next.

I loved how this novel never had a moment of rest. It was fast paced and exciting. There was humor, sarcasm, cleverness, and running. Don't forget to run. The creatures were well thought out and questions that kept popping up were taken care of towards the end.

One thing that bothered me (and this is probably just me) I couldn't really picture the hiding places they had. Either, Torstein was super huge large, or I was picturing their hidey hole all wrong. It's really the only thing I couldn't quite get a clear understanding of.

I have to say, I enjoyed this thoroughly. I can't wait for more. And come on, who doesn't love some good viking stories!?

Born of Shadows - Sherrilyn Kenyon 41

I am a huge Kenyon fan. She is one of my favorite authors and The League series is definitely my favorite series of all time. I've been waiting for this addition to the series for awhile now and even kept changing my calendar status when the due dates were moved. Even my pre-order was canceled because it was taking so long. So I expected a lot more for what I got.

The premise was good. The storyline for me was a little hard to follow. It started with a bang and then fizzled. I had a very hard time keeping Karissa and Kara and all the relationships and names straight, especially towards the end. I wasn't really connected to Caillen or Desideria. Perhaps, it was too much storyline and not enough character development. Even the jokes and banter seemed like overkill. It definitely did not give me the same vibe as the rest of The League books.

I miss the way the old Kenyon books were. I'm not sure if it's because she has too many books coming out at the same time or if it's something else. I'd rather wait longer for better. Please bring back The League I know and love.

Mortal Pursuit - Michael Prescott

Trisha, a rookie cop is having a really bad day. It started when her toilet overflowed and she was late for roll call. It only went downhill from there. Her partner and her walk into an ambush which leaves her alone, unarmed and the only one standing between a ruthless team of killers and a young girl and her family.

This book was super fast paced. Lots of action packed suspense. This book comes in fast and doesn't slow down until the very end. I really enjoyed this book. You really start to think that this is it, game over. Just kidding. It keeps going.

I was so happy I decided to get this. I would recommend it to anyone.

Flee - J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson

What a good freaking book! I actually slowed myself down while I was reading just to make it last longer. It was amazing. I will beg for more books with Chandler. It was so good.

It's about Chandler who's a super elite spy for the government. There are only a handful of people who know about her. All of a sudden life turns upside down for her. She's been compromised and being pursued from all different sides.

This was an intense page turner. I've been a huge fan of Konrath for awhile now and this by far is my favorite out of everything I've read. I will definitely be looking into getting some books by Ann Voss Peterson as well.

Who doesn't want to read about assassins and spy's and the like. Especially, with the amount of training Chandler's been through.

I could not put it down. I will be recommending this book to everyone I come in contact with. It really has everything. Running, fighting, and even some Jack Daniels. I couldn't ask for more. (Except a second book.... or three or four.)

Here Lies Bridget - Paige Harbison

I was not sure what to expect with this one. What I got was more then I could have imagined.

Bridget is a horrible self-centered teenager. She's a complete bully and she doesn't even realize it. She ruins lives, treats people horribly, and never thinks twice about them. However, as always, life has a way of catching up with people and Bridget is no different. Her friends start snubbing her and she starts to feel like the outcast she spent her entire life trying to avoid she prepares to show everyone in her life how much worse off they'd be without her. When that ends up backfiring and doesn't quite work out that way she expected she learns the consequences of her actions.

One thing that stood out was that the end seemed a little rushed. I felt like it could have had a little more detail and been drawn out a little more. I think that would have made the ending that much better.

I also noticed that some of the story almost felt a little like A Christmas Carole. The difference is that it had it's own unique twist about it and there was sort of a twist at the end that not everyone might see coming.

I actually really liked this book. It's definitely geared more towards teens but I feel like adults could appreciate this read as well.

Declaring Spinsterhood - Jamie Lynn Braziel

I started this on Sunday afternoon and at 1am I was still reading it. I could not put it down. I was so intrigued by Emma and the men chasing her while she pushed them all away.

Emma's family was ruthless always setting her up on dates. When they didn't work out they always blamed her. Poor girl. When Emma finds out she's in love with her best friend but he happens to be dating someone else she tries to push her feelings away. I felt for Emma. Most of her responses seemed a little childish but I felt like I would have reacted similar in her situation so it felt right to me.

This one had me laughing, it had my crying. Mostly crying. It was emotional for me. I wanted things to work out for Emma so much.

I guess if I had any criticism it would be that I had a hard time believing all the people that went to Church and were so dedicated to it. I only thing that because I'm not religious and I don't see the point. So that's my problem. Not the books. Luckily, Church was just a place for things to unfold and there really wasn't any religion involved, thankfully.

This book was fun and emotional and intriguing. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was well worth being tired at work.

Symbios - Joe Kimball

Joe Kimball AKA Jack Kilborn AKA J.A. Konrath wrote this novel and oh my. You can pretty much tell where this one was going from the product description but apparently, my imagination could not even come close to what I got.

I definitely don't want to give anything away with this one so I'll just leave this fairly simple. I think it's well worth the price. It's a very good short story and even though it left me with some sadness when reading about the inhabitants of the planet, I still enjoyed it.

I think you'll be surprised while reading this one.

Wild Night is Calling - J.A. Konrath & Ann Voss Peterson

This one kept me guessing for such a long time. Then I was saying to myself, why, why is this happening. Until finally it all came to the conclusion I had yet to guess. What a twisty twisted twist.

Two friends are separated while stupidly agreeing to go to a party with two boys. Desperately trying to find her friend we keep wondering what's going to happen to these girls. So many emotions running through this one. Worry, disgust, concern, and finally you're left wondering, WHAT!?

I enjoyed this short story. Written by Ann Voss Peterson and J.A. Konrath both parts blended seamlessly. I wouldn't have even known it was two different authors had I not been told.

This one was well worth it.

Shapeshifters Anonymous - J.A. Konrath

Konrath is one of my favorite authors. It seems like no matter what he writes I'm awed. This short story is no different. I was definitely shocked when I saw how the whole story came together. It was so imaginative and fun.

Weston is worried, he's been finding stuff that shouldn't be there in his.... well after he uses the bathroom. Finally, after irrefutable evidence that something strange is going on he discovers a website for Shapeshifters Anonymous. I loved this. I was so upset when it ended so soon because I wanted more!!!

I can not recommend this author enough. This is now one of my favorite short stories.

The Four Horsemen - Ben Sussman

This book is nonstop action from the beginning. It was fast paced which was completely unexpected and definitely kept the pace going.

Andie Sullivan is a self proclaimed culturist. She knows a lot about varying cultures and their people. More importantly, she knows how to get things from them. A born negotiator. That's why she's been hired by a very wealthy businessman to find a secret a tribe called the Infarim guard.

What made this book so enjoyable was the fact that we were never left with a minute to rest. It was go go go from the beginning. Lots of different settings and scenes to enjoy.

This book definitely left us with some serious questions that I'm hoping we'll be able to get the answers to. Only because as much as we learned about Andie we still seemed to be kept at a distance from her. I wish we had been able to understand her more. Perhaps, that might be left to a second book or even more?

Run - Blake Crouch

Well damn. I don't think I can even put into words how much I enjoyed this book. I'm still reeling from it. All I have to say is that I'm so glad I started this on Saturday because had it been during the week I probably would not have made it into work.

This book has definitely usurped Intensity for the most intense book I've read. I swear my stomach was in knots from beginning until end. Even now after having finished it I'm still trying to settle. I think you can tell a good book from just an alright one when you're finished and you can't stop thinking about it.

Jack is packing up his families belongings and food when he hears his colleagues name and address being called out with direction to kill him. Hurrying as fast as they can to pack their Discovery they hear Jack's name next. Now him and his family are on the run.

Wow. What a journey. This was such an exciting book from beginning to end. The nail biting intensity from this book was almost more than I could take. It was exceptional and thought provoking and is definitely now my number one favorite book. Goodbye Koontz, hello Crouch.

Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1) -Lorena McCourtney

I read this one because of all the positive reviews. Although, I thought it was ok it definitely wasn't wowed. As a matter of fact when I looked at how far I'd made it through the book and realized I was only at 30% I was so disappointed.

While this book started off good and ended fairly good the entire middle was not that great. In fact it started making me fairly mad. I'm not religious. The middle of the book seemed like that's all they wanted to talk about. How God is always there and will be with you and blah blah blah blah freakin blah. Honestly, it ruined the book for me. I wouldn't have minded an occasional peace be with you and all that but it wasn't like that at all.

The best thing about this book was that I thought I had it all figured out. The twist at the end was much better than what I had come up with. Even though it was fairly close to what I thought, it was far enough away that I wouldn't have been able to guess it.

Killing Red - Henry Perez

This one started out so promising for me. I have to admit though, not even halfway through, I started skipping ahead. For me it was taking way to long to get anywhere. I'd skip 15 pages and I'd still be at the same spot of him opening a door. C'mon. Get the show on the road. I didn't care about the drivel in between. I wanted some action. I wanted LOTS of action.

I suppose there was a twist at the end but I wasn't amazed. I had no idea who was behind all of it and that's what kept me skipping ahead. I just wanted to know.

Annie was a mystery to me. She trusted Chapa, then she didn't trust Chapa, then she did... and so on. I couldn't figure her out. Chapa was even more of a loss for me. He insists he misses his daughter and wants nothing more to talk to her yet, he refuses to call in case he has to talk to ex. Um, that's part of life. If you truly miss your daughter you'd call. You'd do anything in your power for her.

I have to say, what I read of it was alright. What I skipped of it won't be missed.