Furious Over Tempests’s Fury

Tempest’s Fury, the fifth installment of the Jane True series by Nicole Peeler packed another powerful punch.  Unfortunately, the end left me fuming.  Why?  Because I have what I think is going to be a very long wait until the next installment so that I can find out what happens next!!!

We pick up where the last one left off with Jane, Blondie,  Anyan and friends having defeated some of the bad guys as a result of Jane’s interactions with the creature.   Jane now has discovered how very powerful she and she can telepathically communicate with the creature as she is the creature’s champion.  She has a magical weapon – an awesome axm-  and she and her pals are headed to England to fight a war.  We meet a new cast of characters and learn that the politics of the territories and the Alfar in the US in some ways are child’s play compared to what’s going on in Great Britain.  Jane finds herself faced with a historical enemy u like the Alfaro because it is much more powerful. It is actually a pair of creatures called the Red and the White.

Now here’s one of my favorite parts… we get Dragons!  Yippee!Unfortunately, the dragons are the Red and the White and they were chopped into tiny bits years ago and are  out to get resurrected.  They want to take over all of the planet and crush humanity.  And, once we learn that, we are off to the races.Orr really, the race since our crew is racing Morrigan to stop the White from being resurrected while she is trying to find the necessary pieces to do the resurrecting.

I wasn’t disappointed by the pacing, the plot, the development of the relationship between Jane and Anyan, the politics of the rebels versus the Alfar (which are the leaders here) or, of course, the dragons!

James libido has only gotten more awesome in this series and now we see not only her libido but more of her virtue.  The interplay between the two of them bring some great comedic relief to all of the action that is seen.  Throughout the story Jane continues to also have a great quick wit, always cracking jokes at inappropriate times.   The way she references other characters is pretty awesome, let’s face it for the original to be referenced as Blondie throughout, is a great expression of Jane’s personality.

And the relationship between Jane and Anyan has progressed in an interesting way too.  There is quite a bit of steam in this particular installment that i found myself wondering why these books aren’t in the romance section like the rest of the paranormal kind of stuff that I love so much (especially now that so much of the paranormal romance stuff is really urban fiction with a few steamy scenes showing up here and there).  Jane True can certainly hold her own in comparison of those other series.

This series, and this installment, I think are best appreciated by PNR fans looking for a little change to the standard formula. It’s not all vamps and Weres in this series, but lots of very different types of paranormal creatures populating universe that we don’t typically see.  Jane is also a sarcastic little bundle who is so totally spunky that her wit and humor seep throughout the book into every scene. It makes her such a joy to rEd – even when she can be annoying!

We’re also certainly not short on action in this installment.  We get explosions and destruction galore!  There is a killer kick ass scene in Paris where we got to see the destruction of Notre Dame (I wonder what it is about my luck that I seem to keep finding books and series where Notre Dame takes a beating?) There is magic, death, death by magic, oh, and did I mention explosions and the destruction of some famous sites?

Jane continues to be an awesome hero.  She doesn’t really want the title but recognizes that to save the world there’re things she just might have to do.  And who doesn’t love a hero who wields a magic axe?

So why am I furious?  Because with an ending like the one we get here, I don’t want to wait for the next!  And I couldn’t even find an expected publication day so I assume it will be a while. NOOOOOO!  I need more Jane True!  I need to see what happens to Anyan!  I need to see how Jane saves the world!  I need Jane!  **stomps feet** So, I am furious that with a cliff hanger like the one we get at the end of this book I have to wait.

What’s coming in 2012

In honor of the end of 2011, which is rapidly approaching, I thought I would work on some year end/new year lists to recap.  Especially since the end of 2011 means my little blog experiment is approaching its one year mark.  So, I might as well start recapping the events of the year and planning for what I am going to read next year.

And I am so excited for some of the books coming in 2012.  Getting through 2012 will be so exciting.  No, it’s not just about watching December 2012 come and go and watching another group of doomsday-sayers be wrong (the Mayan calendar is pretty cool, but I don’t believe in the end of the world scenarios and that’s part of why reading The Daykeeper’s Grimoire by Christy Raedeke was such a huge disappointment – review for that is forthcoming)… but it’s about some huge expectations for sequels in some of my favorite series.  Boy, I hope I am not disappointed.  There are so many books where the first one was great but the second, well, sucked.  And they didn’t get better after that.  So… with those high expectations in mind, here’s MY 5 (or so) most anticipated YA and PNR books coming in 2012, in no particular order!  I have a few hopefuls and a few that are fit in other categories too.  I would be interested in the ones you are looking forward to most!

YA:

1. The White Glove War (Magnolia League #2) by Katie Crouch
2. Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum
3. The Enchantress (the conclusion 😦 to the Secerets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott
4. Spellcaster (Spellbound #2) by Cara Lynn Schultz
5. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross
6. Make Me (Demon Underground #4) by Parker Blue

PNR:

1. Darker After Midnight (Midnight Breed #10) by Lara Adrian
2. Werewolf in Seattle (Wild About You #3) by Vicki Lewis Thompson
3. The Darkest Seduction (Lords of the Underworld #9) by Gena Showalter
4. Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10) by JR Ward
5. Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) by Larissa Ione
6. Accidentally Dead, Again (Accidental Friends #6) by Dakota Cassidy and Accidental Genie (Accidental #7)
7. Tempest’s Fury (Jane True #4) by Nicole Peeler

Others (note about the category:  some would put these into the PNR category but I most often see them in the mystery category.  And I put them in the mystery category for the blog, so… after all it is my blog so I can do it how ever I want! 🙂 And, there aren’t many of the “others” since I tend to stick pretty much to the YA/PNR/mystery/SciFi/Fantasy and for the most part the sub-generes I read end up looking like one big lump of a category because they all tend to have a paranormal bent!): 

1. Let Them Eat Stake (Vampire Chef #2) by Sarah Zettel
2. In a Witch’s Wardrobe (A Witchcraft Mystery, #4) by Juliet Blackwell

Those without listed (in goodreads anyway) sequels that I really hope get them:

1. Misfit by Jon Skovron
2. Out in Blue by Sarah Gilman
3. Strange Neighbors – a new one would be #4 – by Ashlyn Chase
4. Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott and Collette Freedman (the synopsis says Thirteen Hallows is the first in a new saga, so…  sequel to come at some point!)
5. Runelight by Joanne Harris (the sequel to Runemarks – listed in goodreads as published in 2011, but not available on amazon or anywhere yet)
6. Bewitching Mystery – would be #9, what ever would come after In Charm’s Way – by Madelyn Alt

Next year end list to tackle – best covers and covers that suckered me in the worst!

Jane True, Strange Neighbors and Royal Houses of Shadows

So, while I was away my blog may have been quiet, but my reading didn’t take a break.  I read the latest installments of Jane True (Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler), Strange Neighbor’s (The Vampire Next Door by Ashlyn Chase) and Royal House of Shadows (both ARC’s: Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe and Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen).

Whew!  What a great week of reading.  I am going to tackle the reviews and pages book at a time.  To start, I am going to talk about Jane True.
First, let me say this about the cover.  I am so TOTALLY bummed about the rebranding of the covers.  While we still get a pretty good part of the cover showing the awesome cartoon that has become the Jane True novel covers, with the bands of red along the top and the bottom we loose a good part of the great artwork that made me pick up the first installment in the first place.  So, I say it again.  Total BUMMER!!  (See both covers for what I am talking about….) 

As for the book – well, there was so much to like.  And a few things that frustrated me about as much as Jane’s libido was frustrated.  The frustration first – we see so little of Anyan.  And since if you read the last installment you know that a Jane/Anyan pairing has been set up – it was a little bit of a let down to not see any of that come to fruition (really, I won’t spoil the end in the review, but since we don’t see much of Anyan except the beginning and very end, well… there isn’t much time in between to give Jane’s libido a good workout).  And, as a result of this – we see not nearly enough of Jane’s libido – which is one of my favorite characters (yes, I consider it a separate character!).

So, on to the good stuff.  And there was lots of it.  I loved Blondie!  While I would like to have gotten a name, the stuff about not being able to pronounce her name was good fun.  The nature of her tattoos was a pretty cool device too.  The humor, action, magic and characters we have gotten to know and love so far were back in full swing.

So, the premise here is that when Jane and Anyan return to Rockbill to tell Jane’s dad about her mom’s death they are attacked.  But, not by magic, by humans.  And it turns out that there is some big creature that if released will destroy half the eastern seaboard – and that’s what Pheadra and her folks are after.  Blondie appears to know more then she lets on.  And when Anyan is turned into a dog, Jane and Blondie are left to save the world, starting with themselves and Rockbill.

Jane’s wit is as awesome as ever.  She’s come into her own and she really figures out a few things about herself during this book.  And Blondie looks like she should be a great addition.  We see little of Ryu, and I must admit, I kinda liked it.  I was worried about the Anyan/Jane ship because I was really on the Ryu bandwagon, but I think I have been won-over and am now totally a team Anyan gal.  Especially after the whole whiskers t-shirt thing.

The story was a good one – even though it was really more set-up for the next (few) book(s) then a stand alone story.  But it was still great to see all the action!  Also, while the foreshadowing and hints made a number of things fairly obvious, it was a fun ride.  I am really looking forward to the next installments!

More Truly Awesome Jane True (and other things that aren’t so awesome)

I spent some time yesterday catching up.  I wasn’t posting because I was off reading.  I managed to cram in Lover Unleashed by JR Ward, Tempest’s Legacy by Nicole Peeler, A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson and the start of Accidentally Catty by Dakota Cassidy all in over the last week (or so).  And then I had to attempt to catch up.  So, numerous reviews and pages have been updated or created.  And, I am happy to say:

• Jane True continues to be wonderful
• Lover Unleashed brought me back to the beginning of the series, reminding my why I love the brotherhood
• Werewolf in Manhattan is a great start to the Wild About You series (good story and really good steaminess) and is for fans of things like the Vegas Vamps, Queen Betsy, Sookie Stackhouse, Accidental Friends, etc.  It’s a fun and light PNR, not the dark going after a great big bad evil like the BDB or Midnight Breed (etc.)

Now for the things that weren’t so awesome.

• How in the heck did Swoon by Nina Malkin get a sequel?  It’s mind boggling.  It was not a favorite book of mine.  But, I read it and created a page since apparently Swear, book #2 in the Swoon series comes out later this year.  Given my predilection to read even terrible sequels, I am sure I will get to it eventually.  You just won’t see me eager to do it.
• I can’t seem to figure out if Dakota Cassidy’s Hell series will only ever be the two.  The first was ok, the second was really enjoyable.  And, because of the apparent limit to the series, I combined that series with the Accidental Friends page.
• And finally, I seem to have not made a dent in my “to read” pile, since every time I take a book or two off, a book or two more get added.  Take this last week for example.  I took of the ones I listed above, but added Red Pyramid (it was sort of bashed by some friends, so now I am eager to see what all that hating is about) by Rick Riordan, City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (see my post on prepping for this for my reservations here) and The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch (which I will get to as soon as I finish Accidentally Catty since it’s a galley, waiting for a review).

Now, if only I could find a way to manage my nook contents with one program instead of 3 (well, 2 really plus the B&N website make 3)….

Tempest Rising Rising

No, that’s not a typo in the title.  Just a nod to the first page about one of my current favorite escapes from reality – the Jane True series.   The first book, Tempest Rising now has a page all it’s own.   And I had to do something that was nautical (rising, breaking the surface, etc.) given Jane’s true nature…  if you don’t know what that is, well, you’re missing out on a great book series (so far, at least)!

I had a little hiccup as previously noted with the posting of the Jane True books.  But, I am happy to say, the first is posted.  The second will be along shortly, then I can get to reading the third.  There are just too many good book series out there.  I know, I’ve said it before, but it’s true!

You may wonder, what took so long to get the first one done, it’s not exactly the longest recap nor is the depth on some of the characters exactly more then superficial – but given the balance of important info to background/setup info I am not sure much more is needed.  The politics of the second book are much more complicated and I would guess will be more important.  The first book was very much an introduction with some story and the second book was more story with some background.  That made sense to me – not sure if it will to readers.  Sorry.

I also updated the page on the series to include some info off the author’s website, including the name of #5 and the fact that the author lists a 6th book (although the title is TBA) and the address of that page.  If you like the artwork for Jane, like I do, then take a look at the site.  It’s theme is the same as the covers.

Anywho…  I am off to skim through Tracking the Tempest (since I remember that one being much more complicated) to post that.  And then, hopefully by the weekend I will be reading the next in Jane’s adventures!

The great debate

So, I totally intended to get to Jane True next, but realized that I hadn’t finished the Percy Jackson pages.  Now the debate:  Is it worth it to create a page for the last Percy Jackson book.  It’s supposed to be the last in that series (unlike the Faierewalker books where I finished the last one I read, but there are more books coming).  If it’s the last, do I really need the page?  There won’t be anything else to read after that I need the refresher for.  But in the YA genre (at least) series never truly seem to die.  Rumor has it that the next series by this author references Percy and I may need to worry about the link, but I haven’t read the first one in that series yet.  What to do, what to do?!

To avoid the great debate, I am going to wait on the Last Olympian page and reading the Lost Hero until after I finish Jane True (and the first Curse Workers book) and maybe the Werewolf upstairs.  (There are just too many good books I want to read!!  Right away!!  I need more hours in the day.  The stack of “to read” books on my desk is enormous and the books on my nook which need to be read – well, there are too many to count.)  These are books where the covers scream at me every day (and what do they scream at me, you ask.  Why, they scream “READ ME!!!!!” of course) and I just can’t wait to read them.  Jane True is necessary to handle as soon as I can since I definitely need a refresher on the first two before diving into this installment.  All I really remember at the moment is the name of the 3 main characters and the fact that I loved them.  I know I need to skim through the first 2, so it may be a week or two before I add these pages (admittedly, I am half way through Black Cat since I needed a new book to read over the weekend and I only had my nook, not my copy of Tempest’s Legacy) but I will get there.

Thoughts on the utility of a page on the last book in a series would be appreciated.  If anyone is out there reading these posts besides me… **hears crickets**  🙂

Truly Awesome Jane True

The Jane True series is an awesomely awesome series.  With awesome-sauce.  A series where we get vamps and shifters, but all sorts of other more exotic and uncommon types of creatures.   Politics, love, magic, all that good stuff.  Right here.  And one of the things that hooked me – Jane’s inner voice doing a Crocodile Dundee impersonation.  Can I say it again?  Awe-some!

This is one of the series, however, that made me realize why I need this blog.  The politics and some of the more obscure creature types were really hard to remember between books one and two.  And now that I am ready to read book three, all I really remember is that I loved the books (and Ryu).  So, I am going to have to re-read the first two (which really shouldn’t be a hardship since I remember loving the first ones so much).  And, I am interrupting the progress on the Percy Jackson series for it, since I am in the mood for something a little more… well, just a little more.

I put the page for the series under the PNR pages, since that’s what it is closer too.  Well, closer then YA anyway.  It found in the Sci/Fi section of my local borders, but Jane’s libido is vocal enough that I’m not starting that section (not with this series anyway).