Thursday, October 28, 2010

October, Where Did You Go?

It seems like only yesterday, we were celebrating Labor Day and the beginning of the autumnal season.  Now, everywhere I look, I see ghosts, ghouls, and jack-o-lanterns...oh my :) 

Thus, another month comes to a close, and we all know what that means.  Yes, folks.  Here is my reading list for the tenth month of 2010. 

  • BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl...Eh, I wasn't all that impressed with this novel.  Normally, I love YA books with a male protag.  They are so few and far between...and rarely done well.  This tale had a decent premise, a supernatural spin on the whole Romeo & Juliet love story, but I just couldn't get behind Ethan.  He just wasn't manly enough.  For me, it felt like he thought and acted how a girl thought a boy should think and act.  But, you might feel differently.  If you love paranormal romance and male POV, this would be something for you.
  • BEAUTY by Robin McKinley....Book Hungry's October pick.  A retelling of the age-old tale of Beauty and the Beast. 
  • VAMPIRE TRINITY by Joey W. Hill...I have to say it.  I started reading Ms. Hill's books only because I found one in the bargain bin at B&N.  Her books are probably the filthiest, most explicit romances I've ever read.  It really says something if I blush while reading a love scene.  (I'm not that easily embarrassed)  That said, I am obsessed with her stories.  I love them.  If you can look past the graphic (and at times, pretty out there) romances, the story lines are unique and compelling.  Or, if you're just looking for a raunchy, smut book, check her out ;)
  • BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver...THE BEST BOOK OF OCTOBER.  Did you hear that?  Should I say it again?  THE BEST BOOK OF OCTOBER.  Enough said
  • ADIOS, NIRVANA by Conrad Wesselhoeft...Nicely done tale of teen tragedy and transcendence.  (yay for alliteration)  A must-read for any YA-er
  • KILLER HEAT by Brenda Novak...The third in her Dept. 6 series.  A good mystery despite a few flaws
  • WICKED APPETITE by Janet Evanovich....The first in her Unmentionables series, but this is not the first time we've seen some of the characters in this book.  The LI (if you could call him that) is Diesel, super-hot supernatural bounty hunter first introduced in the Stephanie Plum between-the-numbers books.  Also, Carl, the middle-finger-flipping monkey reemerges from wherever he went off to after PLUM SPOOKY ended.  Like all of Evanovich's books, there is the laugh factor, and this had it in spades...mostly because of Glo and her big book of spells.  Fast, fun, fabulous read :)
  • HANDCUFFS by Bethany Griffin...For some reason lately, I'm reading a lot of books where I really don't like the MC at first.  With HANDCUFFS, I found myself irritated with Parker on more than one occasion, and I just wanted to shake her and say, "Snap out of it, girl.  Use some common sense here!"  Still, I loved this book.  She learned her lessons in the end, and as she grew from her mistakes, I liked her more and more.
  • PUCKER by Melanie Gideon...I like to tell people that I read everything, which if you go by my reading lists is entirely true.  Hello? Literary, paranormal, comedy...and now fantasy.  Yes, peeps.  Fantasy.  Not my most favorite genre, but this book just pulled me in.  Hello.  The first chapter ended with Pucker's mom telling him that she was going to die unless he went back to the world they originated from and got her skin.  HER SKIN!!!
That's it for me this month, folks.  How about all of you?  Have you read any of the books on this list?  What did you think of them?  Or, do you have any suggestions for me for next month?  I'd love to hear from you.  I'll be over here, making my library list :)

5 comments:

  1. LOVE Handcuffs. Parker's actually one of my favourite YA characters.

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  2. HAHA, I felt the same way about Ethan. Even though I'd already written a tough talking smartass male MC in my Contemp, reading all the "Ethan talks like a 40 yr old chick" made me go back and look at the male narration in my YAUF that is dual male and female. lOL.

    And I loved Before I Fall. I'd recommend If I Stay if you haven't read it yet. Read Handcuffs last year and loved it too!

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  3. Haven't read any of those yet, I'm ashamed to say. I am sadly behind on my reading -- seems like the day evaporates before I have time to really sink into a good book. :(

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  4. i'm currently reading MONSTERS OF MEN, the 3rd and final book in the "chaos walking" series by patrick ness. i liked #1, really liked #2, and am not far enough into #3 to have an opinion yet. you should check it out though.

    i'm simultaneously reading GET WELL SOON by julie halpern. she's amazing. INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER was a september reads fav.

    and p.s. THIRTEEN REASONS WHY and BEFORE I FALL are reverberating in my head this month. i think our (mini) convos about them started it. i can't tell yet what i'm supposed to learn from them other than how much i loved them.

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  5. Bri: I have to say that I kind of loved Parker there at the end, too. Not so much at the beginning though...eh...maybe I'm just too old LOL :)

    Krista: THANK YOU. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a problem with Ethan/BEAUTIFUL CREATURES...all the customer reviews I'd read were glowing, and well...I just didn't see it *shrugs* BTW, I've already read IF I STAY. amazing book :)

    Linda: That's too bad...me, I can't settle down to sleep at night unless I've read at least 50 pages (if not more)

    Abby: I will so be looking into those books. thanks for the suggestion. :)

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