Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

~~

Ok yeah, filler books. I guess they serve a purpose (I'm sure someone could make the argument to me) but in any series they're defintiely not my favorite. Harris does better than others with Deadlocked, I think because her writing style just grabs me from page one. The issue is that when you're done reading one of these 'filler' books you're usually left unsatisfied because nothing has happened. Things might have gone by on the page, but the main characters seem to be in the same place they'd been before, facing the same long term problems they've had for books.

There's some back and forth here between Sookie and Eric, unsurprisingly it deals with his new 'fiance' Freyda, but for me this book was about Sookie and Sam.  They've been friends throughout the entire series and I liked reading about their evolving relationship (without benefits) and how it effects them as people. Bill - blah, Eric - blah too, Alcide - please go away now; it was all about Sam for me in this book and even though Harris has said that Sookie is going to have her HEA with someone we haven't met yet, I'm still rooting for him.

Overall Feeling - C+

Series - ... 11) Dead Reckoning 12) Deadlocked

P.S. - Could we stop advertising for TV shows on my damn books? I HATE those ugly pseudo sticker clip-art distractions trying to tell me about Tru Blood. Stop messing with my covers!!! GRRRR.

Dark Symphony by Christine Feehan

Byron, a Carpathian male and hunter of the vampire follows the sound of compelling music to Italy. There he discovers his lifemate, Antoinetta Scarletti, heiress to the great Scarletti fortune. A renowned concert pianist, Antoinetta is the glue that holds the Scarletti family together. Blinded in an explosion that killed her parents, she nevertheless stands to run the family shipping business.

Antoinetta lives in the palazzo della morte, the palace of death. There, like her ancestors, she finds someone wants her dead. Antoinetta has a few secrets of her own and together, Byron and Antoinetta face the killers and one out of control Carpathian youth.

~~

The ups and downs of Feehan's Carpathian series are pretty extensive. As one of the original queens of vampire romance her alpha males and the women who 'save them from the darkness' are well known. This is great if you're new to the genre and looking for something different, but it's bad when a book lets you down (*cough* Dark Predator *cough*). I've been reading her for years and own 95% of the series - Dark Symphony is one of my favorites and I'm happy to report showcases some of the good qualities that have made Feehan so popular.

Yes Byron can be a bit of tyrant. Thankfully he's a self-aware tyrant who tries to do better. He's immediately drawn to Antoinetta because of her music and when he follows it he finds his lifemate in a strong woman that even while blind is the heart and soul of her family. Her injury doesn't prevent her from making her own decisions and her knowledge, culled from people who think that blind somehow also implies deaf, is incredibly helpful in securing and maintaining her family's wealth.

When the two of them come together sparks fly and even though they're immediately drawn to each other (duh, lifemates) there are assumptions that both of them have to get past. I liked this couple quite a bit, especially with their connection to another Feehan favorite of mine, Gothic romance The Scarletti Curse. There are intriguing supporting characters and you can never quite get your finger on the 'who dunnit' until the very end. I recommend it as one of the standouts of the series, though I admit it reads better if you understand all the history introduced in previous books.

Overall Feeling - B

Series - 1) Dark Prince ... 10) Dark Symphony ... 22) Dark Predator

Guarding Jess by Shannon Curtis *ARC Review*

Jessica Pennington's work as an etiquette coach requires her to be polite and proper at all times, especially now that she has a book coming out. The only thing that rattles her reserve is the increasingly violent emails and texts from her persistent stalker. With the book launch in jeopardy, she reluctantly hires a bodyguard.

Noah Samuels hates stuck-up, prim people like Jessica. He's more the blunt, straightforward type. But to advance up the ranks at McCormack Security, he has to take the high-profile assignment. After a near miss on his first day on the job, Noah realizes that the stalker isn't just hype cooked up to sell books—the threat is real.

As the stalker escalates from letters to letter bombs, Noah sees a vulnerable side of Jessica that rouses more than just his protective instincts. But can she let down her guard long enough to trust Noah before it's too late?

~~

I didn't love the description of this, sounded too much like the alphole Harlequin novels of my past, but it ended up being a very nice read! From the beginning readers get to be in the heads of both Jessica and Noah and for me it makes the story that much better. Without a character's motivation their actions can be a bit of a mystery - figuring out why the HEA works can turn into too much work for me or even less meaningful.

Luckily it's not a concern here. We're quickly introduced to Jessica and Noah, who's been hired to solve the mystery of Jessica's escalating-in-intensity stalker. There are sparks right from the start, though both are of course determined to keep things on a professional level. It's hard to do that though when you've got a well mannered man moving into your house for god knows how long to make sure no one hurts you. 

As any good suspense novel should, Curtis keeps the reader guessing about who the stalker actually is. There are plenty of options floating around and when it literally could be anyone, what can you do? I've only got a few quibbles with the story and it's ending - first of all I knew how the stalker was getting in by what felt like the second chapter. I don't want to spoil anything, but come on guys, you're the professionals so let's use our brains here. Second when things with the stalker really started escalating it all seemed to be rushed near the end of the novel. Suddenly things got very violent with 'final consequences' and I wasn't prepared for it at all. I think the romance elements that had been taking up the bulk of the story lulled me into a false sense of comfort and then I out of the blue I couldn't count on anything. Still even with all that the HEA was satisfying, and the only thing I left wishing for was more time with Jessica and Noah so I could read further about  their recovery from the stalker's path of destruction.

Overall Feeling - B+

Series - 1) Viper's Kiss 2) Guarding Jess (5/14/2012)

**Title requested from NetGalley**

April in Review

Yep that's me!

April wasn't so bad in the book department! The weather was totally crazy (hot as hell one day, scarf and coat the next) but my books kept me company even when I couldn't stick to my 'no new clothes or shoes' rule. I had a great time at the Arlington Library Book Sale though and am looking forward to some even more awesome book-centric events this month!

Whatever Reilly Wants by Maureen Child (B+)

Rules of the Game by Sandy James (C-)

Consent to Love by Abby Wood (B)

Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston

Beneath the Skin by Lauren Dane (B+)

Wicked As They Come by Delilah Dawson (B)

Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

The Witness by Nora Roberts (A+)

Full Bloom by Jayne Ann Krentz (A)

Compromising Positions by Vicki Lewis Thompson

From This Day by Nora Roberts

Temptation by Nora Roberts

Alien Diplomacy by Gini Koch (A-)

Angel on Fire by Jacquie Johnson (B-)

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

P.S. - And on my trip to NY I saw (and lusted) after this version of Monopoly. I just don't want to become the crazy cat lady that also owns a million versions of the same game that no one will play with her because they think it takes too long.

Mini Me: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father (a professional taxidermist who created dead-animal hand puppets) and a childhood of wearing winter shoes made out of used bread sacks. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter are the perfect comedic foils to her absurdities, and help her to uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments-the ones we want to pretend never happened-are the very same moments that make us the people we are today.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir is a poignantly disturbing, yet darkly hysterical tome for every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud. Like laughing at a funeral, this book is both irreverent and impossible to hold back once you get started.
~~

I loved this book. I speak as someone who loves TheBloggess already, but this novel spoke to me on many levels. It's reassuring to find someone who's trying to be normal in the midst of being crazy. The kind of crazy that hides pretty well and yet leaves you feeling alone even when you're surrounded by people. Reading Lawson's book makes you think about how hard it can be just to go to work every day. Her words made me laugh out loud and cry a little, somewhat of rarity for me these days, and it's my new favorite book to recommend to people.

The Witness by Nora Roberts

Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever. 

Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she works at home designing sophisticated security systems. Her own security is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. 

Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town. The mystery of Abigail Lowery intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and a professional level. Her sharp, logical mind, her secretive nature, her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, even if he doesn’t know what — and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. 

Accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, Gleason is about to walk into the sights of very powerful and dangerous men. And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

~~

Nora Roberts was not playing around with The Witness - she really hit it out of the park with her 200th novel. It's true that I usually like her books, there are more of her releases on my shelves than probably anyone else, but I think this story is definitely going into the 'favorites' category. It's just got so many of the characteristics that stick with you:

-A strong, intriguing heroine

-An honest and protective hero, one who's determined to get the girl

-Small town setting with the required quirky characters

-Fast paced action and a devilishly handsome bad guy

When I look at that least it just screams 'WHAT ELSE COULD YOU POSSIBLY ASK FOR?!' From start to finish I loved Abigail and her determination to not only protect herself and her lifestyle, but also do what's right - Brooks confused the hell out of her and their romance was sweet and hilarious. It's hard to combat that 'good ol' boy' charm when you can't even figure out how to say no to a date you didn't realize was a date in the first place. 

The other thing I loved about this book was just how well the suspense plotline was intertwined with the romance. Instead of incorporating unnecessary confrontations or shoot outs Roberts focuses on the small steps, the ones that sometimes feel insignificant, to get the bad guy and it allows Abigail to shine as an incredible heroine - and Brooks as an amazing hero. 

Highly recommended.

Overall Feeling - A+

Series - None

Teaser Tuesdays (5/1)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I make up my mind quickly," he told her. Smiling, he studied her face. "When something's mine, I know what to do with it."

--pg 28, From This Day by Nora Roberts