Gale Reads: Psy Changeling Series Book 8-12 by Nalini Singh

I decided to read the whole series for March & I did! I'm so happy to be able to accomplish my March To-Be-Read list. Its quite hard because I can only read a few pages at a time since I was quite busy at work. Anyhow, here's part 2 of my review of the Psy-Changeling Series!   

Click here to read part 1 of my review.

TITLES: Bonds of Justice, Play of Passion, Kiss of Snow, Tangle of Need, Heart of Obsidian
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
GENRE: Urban fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Shapeshifters
STATE OF SERIES: Ongoing.

Cover Talk:
As with my previous review, I'm not a fan of any of this book covers. I haven't found any of them to be in my liking, I guess Heart Of Obsidian is the most passable just because of it's mysterious aura. I hope they release a new version for the whole series when the time comes that I will buy them for my bookshelf.

*I hope my new room will be done sooner so that I can make a wall full of my books :)




MY REVIEW:

The last 5 books are awesome! It's so full of action & happenings that it's so hard to sleep at night when it's time for bedtime because I still want to continue reading. Really a page turner. Kudos to Nalini Singh for making the story flow as smooth as possible because it's really hard to create 1 whole story divided into many books and for it to be told in different point of views. I love how she created this society by showing it through the eyes of the different Psy designations & the Changelings. It really created depth to the story & provided a clearer picture since it's not biased from just looking at it from one perspective. 

My favorite among the 12 books is definitely Heart of Obsidian. It's a perfect ending to begin a new chapter of how Psy and Changelings alike will live. There's so many twists in this book & I love how she created the character as both powerful & vulnerable at the same time. I so love Kaleb and I'm so excited to see more of him in the next books ahead.

My least favorite is Tangle of Need. I can safely say that this is a "bridge" book in the series because even though it is meant for Riaz & Adria, the whole book didn't focus on them. It had a lot of scenes w/Sienna & Hawke & the other important people and it seems this book is created to make the transition from Kiss of Snow to heart of Obsidian. Don't get me wrong, I love those 2 & enjoyed every part where they appeared in Tangle Of Need but I hoped Nalini created a more focused story on Riaz & Adria's love story since they both are broken in a way & I would love to see more interactions between them. Aside from that, everything is superb :)

OVER-ALL RATING: 5/5

I really love this series & the last 5 is awesome since it involves a lot more complex situations. I hope Nalini will continue making this series. And more novellas too please!

P.S. I can't wait for Vasic's story in the next book titled Shield Of Winter. It will be out in June 3, 2014.

Thanks for dropping by!

Gale Reads: Psy-Changeling Series Book 1-7 by Nalini Singh

I have been on a reading marathon all March. It's been quite some time since I had the urge to read & read so I rode it. I started the popular Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh, the same author of one of my fave Guild Hunter Series. The first book is published in 2006 & the 13th book will be out on June 2014. I have finished reading 7 books & 2 novellas. I am currently halfway in of book 8 Bonds of Justice. I only have time to read during my MRT ride to the office in the morning & an hour or 2 at night before I sleep (if I'm not too tired) so it's taking me quite a few days before I finish 1 book. It's frustrating sometimes because I want to read them continuously hehe.


GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Romance
SERIES STATUS: On-going, 12 already out  

COVER TALK:
I'm not actually fond of the cover. No offense meant but I personally prefer my books to have ambiguous or mysterious covers without the face of the cast. I really enjoy imaging the face & built for each them so I hope they can release some new covers. Luckily, I'm reading this series on my tablet so I don't get to see the covers that much hehe. Please please Nalini, do release new covers like the one in the Guild Hunter series.. 

MY REVIEW:

I really love Nalini Singh! I can't believe I just started reading this series this month. I should've started it a long time ago! I love how each & every character is unique in some way from the others even though they should have the "same traits" because they came in the same group/pack. I also liked how each book is connected with each other but still separate at the same time. You can actually see hints & glimpses of the lives that previous (& even future) characters had as time goes by. It's like this series is one big story then each main character was given a book to tell their own story. Even the connecting people outside of the packs are given their own stories like how Max Shannon (the Dark River pack human police friend) was given his own book so that it can connect the dots & tell the story from the side of the Psy. 

I am so in love with all the characters but Lucas & Sascha is still my fave because if theirs is not good, I wouldn't read the 2nd book, then the 3rd & so on. 

I have decided to cluster this series for review because I felt like they should be viewed as a whole story instead of separate. Although you can definitely read any of it without reading the others (I tried jumping to the 10th book hehe), I would suggest you go & invest some time to read it from book 1 so that you can appreciate the wonderful world building & can follow the story as smoothly as possible.

OVER-ALL RATING: 5/5

This is really a page-turner & if only I have all the time in the world, I can definitely finish 1 book per day. No negatives for this series yet and I hope it won't end any time soon coz I would love to read the story of their kids too :)


Thanks for dropping by!

Gale Reads: Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan

I have found this book in the sale bin of National Bookstore last month for only Php30 (that's less than $1!) and I wanted to try reading works from other authors so I bought it. I learned after reading it that Dark Slayer is part of a series called The Dark Series and that it's a Carpathian novel. 

So without further ado, here's my "first impression" on Christine Feehan's work :)

GENRE: Romance, Fantasy, Vampires, Magic
Synopsis: (from http://www.christinefeehan.com/dark_slayer/)
A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer—a woman—who travels with a wolf pack and who destroys any vampire who crosses her path.  Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of the undead.
She is Ivory Malinov. Her only brethren, the wolves. Long ago betrayed by her people, abandoned by her family, and cast out by everyone she held dear, Ivory has lived a century without companionship or love. She has sustained her sanity by the habit of the hunt and the custom of the feeding. Until the night she picks up the scent of a man, her unexpected salvation. Her lifemate. The curse of all Carpathian women.
He is Razvan. Branded a criminal, detested and feared, he is a dragonseeker borne of one of the greatest Carpathian lineages, only to be raised as its most despised—and captive—enemy. Fleeing from his lifetime of imprisonment, Razvan now seeks the dawn to end his terrible existence. Instead he has found his deliverance in the Dark Slayer.
In spirit, in flesh and blood, in love, and in war, Ivory and Razvan are made for each other. For as long as they dare to live.


MY REVIEW:
I read the whole story without researching anything about it or the series so from the point of view of someone who have no clear idea of the premise of the story, the author was able to make me understand the what, why, who, how questions I had for this story alone. I think this book even though is part of a series can also be read as a stand alone novel. It doesn't really require the readers to read the previous ones since it's already explained somewhat. But on the other hand, I think it would create a better impact on me if I do have read the earlier books prior to reading Dark Slayer as to know the start of the whole conflict and how it affected all the characters I have encountered. Over all, I can say that this is a good read and it has a very entertaining and somewhat unique fantasy world and concept. It's actually a fast read, which surprised me. I loved how the heroine is a very strong woman, that's what really pushed me to get this book after reading the synopsis.  I just can't put my finger on it, I kept on thinking it's good but it didn't wow me that much. I can't pinpoint the exact reason why I can't give it a grade higher.

oh, wait, I take that back. I believe what put me off was the way the dialogues are written. It actually bothered me that they "speak" in Russian (I believe) and then the author will put italized English translation after it or vice versa. It's a nice touch actually until I experienced it in the entire book! It's too redundant in my opinion. Especially the endearments because  you can just put the translation once in the beginning and then continuously use the Russian word throughout the book. Or put an appendix at the end to explain all the terminologies. But aside from that, I really liked the book :)

OVER ALL RATING: 4/5 

I enjoyed reading it & I am intrigued enough on this series. I am still debating whether to buy the other ones or just download ebook copies, but I am pretty sure that i will check out more books by Christine Feehan in the future. Though I won't be reading those until much later coz I still have a lot of book in my list to read first :) 

I would recommend this to those who are looking for an action packed romance novel w/lead the heroine as a warrior.  

Do comment below if you have read other works by her. What should I get next? :)

Gale Reads: Magic Rises [Kate Daniels 6] by Ilona Andrews

Hello! How's everyone's weekend so far? I hope all of you are doing great :)

Guess what?! I was able to get an ebook copy of the newest Kate Daniels book! Yipee! I didn't expect to be able to read it in just 2 days after it got released because Ilona Andrews books don't get released here locally and I need to pre-order it through Powerbooks and then wait for 5 weeks before I can get a hold of the book. I am really so ecstatic about Magic Rises and I have been waiting for this since last year. 

MY REVIEW:

OMG! This book is awesome! It was so full of action and surprises from start to finish that I easily got caught in the Kate Daniel's world and was unable to put the book down. I finished it in one seating and I am planning of re-reading all the books again while waiting for book 7. 

The husband and wife tandem really did a great job in this installment because everything flowed smoothly and all the scenes have an important part in the wholeness of the story. I think this is one of the best book in the series so far because the story itself with all the details involved made the reading experience so good. Everything is well described that I was able to visualize each happening and I also felt I'm part of their post-shift world. There was no dull moment because every time I turn the page something interesting is happening.

Ilona Andrews is so good in writing that I hope they could release more books. I am actually wishing that they could make a whole novel for Derek, Jim and Dali, and the other characters of the Kate Daniels Series because I really enjoyed the one they made for Raphael and Andrea in Gunmetal Magic. 

OVER-ALL RATING: 5/5

I'm really satisfied with Magic Rises. I can reread this book over and over without getting bored because I love how Ilona Andrews made it relateable even with it being an urban fantasy. I can't wait for the next installment in the series! I really wanted to see where Ilona Andrews will take this series because there's still 4 more books to be written (I think).

P.S. There's another Curran POV on their website and even though the writing is roughly made and in need of a proof reader, it was still a good read. I really hope Ilona Andrews can write more Curran POV because it gave a different view of what really went down and I so love reading Curran's thoughts hehe.

[Spoiler alert]

There were so many twist and turns in the story that I don't know what to expect anymore. I keep on trying to guess what's gonna happen next but I always get it wrong. I also loved the fact that Ilona Andrews showed a different side of the relationship between Kate and Curran. I almost believed that they're gonna separate for good because of what happened. But it made their relationship stronger so it's for the best. But I still got sad that there were casualties and not everyone got a happy ending. I know there will be more surprises for these characters and I am really excited to read them soon.  

Guys, this is a must read so go get a copy and read the whole series. I promise you all, you won't get disappointed because it's full of action and the storyline is great :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Gale Reads: Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter#5) by Nalini Singh

Hello everyone! Just finished another book last night. My sister let me borrowed her iPad again so I was able to read my ebooks, yay! Thank you Mei! :)

TITLE: Archangel's Storm
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
GENRE: Dystopian, Romance, Paranormal, Angels, Vampires
SERIES: Guild Hunter Series #5 - Jason
PLOT: (according to Goodreads)
With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

COVER TALK:
There are 2 covers available for this book and I'm loving this version than the other one.

I think it looks great with all the shadows surrounding this black-winged angel. It really signified Jason through and through. I am also happy that they didn't particularly showed the angel's face in the cover so I can still create and imagine what he looks like just from the author's description.


MY REVIEW:

I am a fan of the Guild Hunter Series because it is the best among the genre of angels and vampires. It is not Biblical in any way and does not have exaggerated  information. The angels here are beings with extreme powers and capabilities and I liked it that the author didn't put any religious annotations whatsoever on them. I really don't like mixing religious information with fantasy fiction because it really ruins the story for me (like the Halo Trilogy). The vampires here are also just regular mortals that were changed/made by the angels so that they can be their immortal servants. It is also  sort of a dystopian compared to fantasy because it is set up on a different Earth where angels and vampires are roaming freely and the mortals are at the bottom of the social pyramid.

In Archangel's Storm, Jason is the lead character. He is the spymaster of the Seven -- the elite group of people that assists and protect Archangel Raphael -- and one of the most intriguing member aside from Aodhan. He is actually the second member to have had a story... Raphael being the first (you can read my review on his books here) followed by Dimitri (Archangel's Blade) the leader of the group. I am guessing either Aodhan or Venom will be the next Seven who will have a book because they were both mentioned extensively in this one :)

I really liked this book because aside from being a page-turner, it is also full of information about the "whys" when it comes to Jason. It also consists of background information about Neha and her family which can  have an impact on future Guild Hunter stories. I also enjoyed the couple of chapters showing Dimitri and Honor's story because this made the book series a lot more fluid in transition from one book to the next. We  also have glimpses of Raphael and Elena which is great. I miss reading about them and knowing how Elena is coping about her transition to becoming an angel. 

Lastly, I love the woman Nalini chose for Jason. I think Princess Mahiya is the perfect match for him because she is strong and courageous and they both share the same childhood - very dark, traumatic and full of pain -- which makes them understand each other perfectly. I really believe Nalini hit it big this time compared to Dimitri. 



Note: I can't believe I forgot to upload a Gale Reads about Dimitri's story. I will reread it again before I post a review because it was so long already since I've read that hehe :)

All my concerns before with the first 3 books are settled. I guess I just got a bad copy of the ebook that time because this one have a better version -- Italized recollection part -- so I didn't get confused like before. My only remaining concern right now are the typographical errors and few grammatical mistakes. There's a couple of them all throughout the story and I'm quite picky about that in books. I hope the proofreaders do a better job next time.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5

I love everything - the story, character development, conclusion -- except for the errors in writing. Those really made me off-track and I like reading flawlessly so that bothered me. Nevertheless, this is a great read and is definitely worth the wait.

I hope book 6 will come out soon! Can't wait to read more about this world Nalini Sing created :)

WILL I RECOMMEND THIS? Definitely! This series is definitely a must read to all book lovers especially those who love romance in the paranormal/dystopian genre :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Gale Reads: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Howdy! I already started reading the books I got from the last book fair at SMX last month and I finished one this morning so I wanted to do a book review before I forget any details :)


TITLE: The Demon Trapper's Daughter (US) /  Forsaken (UK) -- BOOK 1

AUTHOR: Jana Oliver
GENRE: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
SERIES: The Demon Trapper Series (4 books)
WEBSITE: http://www.demontrappers.com/

SYNOPSIS: (from the website)

"It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell."

COVER TALK:
I am loving the book cover. I have it in the US version (because my book came from the US library) and I prefer it than the UK release. I liked that it doesn't show the face of the girl but it showed her holding a glass sphere. I really love it whenever cover designers make them mysterious with pretty colors. I am not saying the UK version is bad but I liked the simplicity of the US one with a girl and the red background :)


MY REVIEW:
I got this because I got intrigued by the synopsis at the back. I really liked action packed and fantasy fueled stories especially if the main character is the one fighting the battles. You might have noticed that I am in love with Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels Series and also Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Series just basing it on my previous Gale Reads posts. I am really attracted to those strong willed women fighters because I hated puny whiny ones the most. I thought this one would be like those two and so I decided to get this and for a bargain too (only Php99 for a hard bound).

Let's start with the things I liked about this book. This book has a very unique take on demons in general and I liked how the author described these creatures very well. It actually matched my idea of what they look like if I see one--strong, scary and mischievous. I think Ilona Andrews influenced Jana Oliver because you can definitely see glimpses of the world Andrews created for Kate Daniels -- a ruined Atlanta where necromancers roamed and magic prevails.

I think this is a good first book for the series because it introduced smoothly all the main characters that will play a big part on the whole series. They introduced Riley, Beck, Simon, the Guild of Demon Trappers, Ori, Peter and the Vatican guys. They also introduced the conflict going on and the power struggles between good and evil, Angels vs Demons,  hunters vs trappers, boys vs girls.

This also reminded me of the Violet Eden Chapters by Jessica Shirvington because the lead character Riley resembles Violet in personality so I believe Riley will still develop throughout the rest of the series and won't stay immature like in this first book (hopefully). There's also a love square involved so I'm not sure what would happen next :)

[spoiler alert]

Now, let's go to the things I didn't like about the book. 
1 - I hated the way Beck talks. I know he is supposed to be a Southener but please I can't take the "yer" instead of "your" and "ya" instead of "you". Just make it in grammatically correct sentences please. It throws me off whenever I see his statements.

2- There's also a couple of errors all throughout the story. I hoped the proof reader did a good job next time since it kinda distract me to see a "him" when it's supposed to be a "her". But I'm glad there's no major grammatical error and I liked her world building.

3- There are parts that I think are boring or too slow. It took me 2-3 days to finish this book coz it's not really a page turner.

4- There's no romance/love story building among Riley and the 3 guys. I can't feel the spark and I already know who she'll end up with just by making the story be shown in the perspective of Riley and Beck. So I don't know why the author decided to make it a love square.

5. I also didn't like the conflicts in the information: Riley has no money to make ends meet but she has a car even thought the gas price is high, she buys Holy Water that sells $12 a pint, and she can indulge herself to buy hot chocolate and pants. 

6. I'm not liking the idea of sippy cups being used as a container for demons or that Holy Water is the main tool to fight them. Or you use Moby Dick to capture a demon just because it's boring.

OVER-ALL RATING: 3/5

I am not yet sure if I liked this series or not. There are a lot of books now a days in this genre and there are better ones but there's something about the unique concept of demons and sippy cups and angels to attract me to it. I will definitely get the 2nd book just so I can see if the story will progress nicely. Hopefully it does or this series will end up being on my "unfinished list".

WHO WILL YOU RECOMMEND THIS TO?
I will definitely recommend this to teenagers who like to read about urban fantasy and love stories. Those who have enjoyed the likes of Violet Eden Chapters, Kate Daniels and Twilight will enjoy this book.

Thanks for dropping by!

Gale Reads: Kate Daniels Series (#1-5) by Ilona Andrews

Happy Monday everyone! You might be wondering why I had gone underground again this past week so I will tell you a secret. Here are some of the reasons why I usually disappears for a couple of days: (1) super busy at work (2) personal problems/ a relative is visiting and we're always out, (3) I am busy watching a drama and I've decided to do a marathon run or (4) I am reading a series of books and I can't stop until I'm finished with everything. For this past week, it's been reason #4. I have been reading a lot lately because my sister let me borrowed her IPAD 2 and it's so easy to read my ebooks using that instead of my Ipod Touch. I really wish I could have an ebook reader soon coz it is lighter than and Ipad and less stressful for the eye plus a longer battery life.

This week, I have finished a very famous series called Kate Daniels. It is written by Ilona Andrews (which is actually a pen name for 2 people...a husband and wife tandem. They are writing 2 series at the moment: Kate Daniels and On Edge.) The Kate Daniels Series currently have 5 books under it and a couple of novellas...It is still ongoing and it is said that book 6 will come out in 2013.

Genre: Dystopian, Paranormal, Fantasy

Status of Series: On-going

Author: Ilona Andrews

   

Summary from Ilona Andrews Website:

The world has suffered a magic apocalypse. We pushed the technological progress too far, and now magic returned with a vengeance. It comes in waves, without warning, and vanishes as suddenly as it appears. When magic is up, planes drop out of the sky, cars stall, electricity dies. When magic is down, guns work and spells fail.

It’s a volatile, screwed-up world. Magic feeds on technology, gnawing down on skyscrappers until most of them topple and fall, leaving only skeletal husks behind. Monsters prowl the ruined streets, werebears and werehyenas stalk their prey; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

MY REVIEW:

COVER TALK:  I'm not that fond of the covers. I think it's a little tacky and have not done justice to the content. I would have liked it better if the illustration itself was drawn beautifully but these just looks sloppy to me. Also, I think having the lion out of the picture would be better and just focused on the drawing of Kate just like what Nalini Sighn did on her Guild Hunter Series. So I am giving 2/5 stars for the covers.

STORY:

This series is really awesome! I can't put it down and I had this feeling that I needed to read everything in one seating. I read one title per night so I ended up sleeping just a couple of hours this last week so that I can finish this. It's really a page turner and I can't help myself but be sucked into the world of Kate Daniels. I even sometimes dream about being one of the characters in the story hehe ^_^

I super duper love the lead character Kate Daniels. She's one tough cookie to break. She's a trained killer, very smart, learns through her mistakes, loyal, honest, has a very witty mouth and had a very strong will to fight for something she believes in. She's also very powerful because of her magic and skills. I also love the fact that she's not a whiny love-crossed heroine. Oh, I'm really so happy that being in her mind doesn't consist of pinning for her love life. Actually, it even made me wish there's a lot more Curran interaction in the story because I won't categorize this series as a romance novel as it lacks a romantic angle.

The whole series evolves around Kate's fights against the different forces in her world who plans to wreak havoc in their lives in Atlanta. There's a lot of ass kicking, sword wielding and magic powers involved. The way Andrews wrote the scenes is really awesome because I was able to picture everything in my head clearly as if I was there and watching it like an spectator. I applaud Ilona Andrews for being able to use different mythology (Greek, Norwegian, Latin, etc), history, and a lot of magical being (witches, shammans, etc) and melding them together to create a world full of magic and knowledge. 

Having novellas every now and then is fun coz I could read about certain characters from Kate Daniel's world and also reading about Curran's point of view even though they are short are nice.

I really hoped they showed a lot of love and interaction between Curran and Kate because this book needs more loving between them. Curran is rarely on the events and it would be nicer if I could feel a connection that they love each other.

OVER-ALL RATING: 4.5 out of 5

I definitely recommend this book! There's never a dull moment and it is full of twists and turns so you'll be kept on your toes every time. I can't wait for book 6 to be released but it is stated in Goodreads that the expected release would be on 2013...Waah, it's too far!

RECOMMENDED FOR: Readers who like action-packed stories and kick-ass female heroine. Readers who loves dystopian, fantasy and paranormal genre and wants to experience a world full of magical creatures and powers.

Will I buy these books in the bookstore? Definitely! I am planning on going to Powerbooks to get my hands on the paperbacks version because I want to be able to reread them again in book form. As I've said, reading a physical book is way better than reading an electronic version and it's easier to go back to the parts I wanted to read again.

What about you? Have you read this series already? If yes, are you excited for the next installment too? Share your opinions in the comment section below...I would love to hear from you.

Till next time, bye! ^_^

Gale Reads: The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlainne Harris

This series is very very popular because it has an HBO TV Series called True Blood. Now, I have only watched maybe 3 or 4 episodes of it since I can't seem to get the timing right on the schedule and I prefer reading a book than watching. I'm also not a fan of watching English dramas so it doesn't attract my attention at all.

Now, I contemplated a lot if I wanted to read the whole Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlainne Harris. This series garnered a very high rating among book bloggers and youtubers..You'll also always see this on the Top 10 lists of books on different websites.

I'm a bit on the fence to read it even though I love vampire novels because I was able to read Twilight Saga first and I thought it's just a copy of that (Vampires and shape-shifters..ring a bell?)...and I was so wrong! They are totally different stories and also, this series were published first before the Twilight Saga so it can't be the same, right? ^_^


GENRE: paranormal, romance

HIGHLIGHT CHARACTERS: Vampires, Shape-shifters, Witches

TITLES OF THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
Dead in the Family
Dead Reckoning
Deadlocked --coming soon May 2012
Dead Ever After --coming May2013
A Touch of Dead --Compilation of short stories about Sookie Stackhouse.


BRIEF SUMMARY:
Two years prior, vampires exposed themselves to the world after Japanese scientists invented a synthetic blood product called True Blood. The vampires proclaimed that they can now live with humans because the True Blood is enough to sustain them physiologically and won't need to kill humans anymore in order to survive.

Sookie Stackhouse is a bar waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She is also a telepath. She considers her telepathic powers as a curse until she met Bill Compton, a vampire. She evolved from being a common human to becoming a major magnet for supernatural beings and the conflicts that puts her life in jeopardy most of the time.

In this series, we will follow the story of Sookie Stackhouse as she tries to survive in a world totally different from what she know of before all these chaos started.


COVER TALK:
At present, this series already has 2 types of book covers.

The first covers are the ones with cartoon drawings. You'll think these are children's book if you based it on the cover but once you read it, you'll know that it's for adult reading only. I love how simple they look but each drawing has a real meaning behind it and they definitely symbolizes the story per book.

The re-released cover versions are the ones with the True Blood actors in the front. They are all black and white in color with a pop of red while the actors show a sexy pose related to the TV show.

They also released 3 omnibus version wherein it contains the same cover but they placed 3 book titles per omnibus. I've seen them on the bookstore and they are huge and thick. It looks like an encyclopedia haha ^_^ but it does saves space and will definitely save you time to search the titles for all of the books in the series.

I personally love the original covers a lot more than the TV Series adaptation. I really don't like books with actors as the cover model coz it gets old for me and the novelty usually wears off quite fast then I'll be so irked when I see the covers hehe. I am still on the process of looking for a box set that's available locally. I really loved the original cartoony covers alot :)


MY THOUGHTS ON THE SERIES:

This series contains 13 titles all in all. The 12th will be released this May 2012 and the last installment would be on May 2013. I haven't read the 11th book yet coz I don't have it so I'll just be giving my review on the first 10 books of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series :)

This series is so great! I regret that I didn't started reading it until early this year. Although I think it is for the best because I was able to read all 10 books continuously and I don't need to wait for the next installment haha ...I read all 10 books in 2 weeks (roughly one book every day) because I can't seem to put the story down. It is really a page turner and every chapter has something exciting going on.

Charlainne Harris is a great writer. She was able to create a very realistic world where vampires and humans and other magical creatures exists together. I love how she describes the setting and the characteristics of each characters because it made them more real. There is also character development as the story moves on. They learn from their mistakes and they mature. Also, the way she introduces new character is flawless and not forced. It made the transition from one book to another very smoothly. I also love the fact that even though there are a lot of books in this series, you can still enjoy each of them individually because they contain different stories.

I want to also give credit to Harris for being able to mesh vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies, witches, etc very nicely. There's no feeling of having too much and I ended up guessing and thinking which magical creature will erupt next hehe.

Now, for the negatives. It's very hard to think of what I don't like in the story but I think there's only one. I hate it when Sookie starts feeling all gooey inside when there's a new hot guy around and she allows them to kiss her or something. I mean, she is supposedly in love so she should not be so fickle about that. But that's just me hehe. I guess for her it's different...she just started liking guys late because she can't hear these supernatural guys clearly and she can enjoy their company more than humans.

I can't wait to read the last 3 books of this series. I'm very excited to know which guy Sookie will end up with. I hope it's Quinn coz they are perfect. I don't want her to end up with the vampires.


OVER-ALL RATINGS: 4.5/5. Love this series! This is definitely one of my favorite vampire series of all time :)

WILL I BUY THE WHOLE SERIES? Definitely. I am already looking for a box set for the first 10 books. Then I'll get the other ones too. Definitely worth having it in your collection.

WHO WILL YOU RECOMMEND THIS TO? This is really for mature readers only and I won't suggest this for teenagers because this is a romance novel and there are a lot of romance involved, if you know what I mean. The story actually involves a lot of sexual innuendos and romance so it might not be for conservative folks who have never tried reading romance novels yet.


Have you read this series yet? If not, do so! Even if you don't like paranormal, you'll definitely love it for the adventure and romantic side of it. Charlainne Harris is really a great story teller. Never a dull moment with this books ^_^

Gale Read: Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh

My first ever "Gale Reads" will be about Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter Series. I have finished four books from the series and I am not sure exactly on how many are there but I will do a review on the first 3 first because it follows the same characters and it is like one story divided into 3 parts.

Summary:

The first three books of the Guild Hunter Series follows the life of a vampire hunter named Elena Deveraux and how she lived in a world where vampires, angels and humans live together.

Archangels are the rulers, regular angels are members of the high society, vampires are workers/slaves of the angels and guild hunters are the human authories that handles problems with vampires when they decided to escape their owners and create havoc in the human populace.

The story started when Elena was given a mission by the great Archangel Raphael that she cannot resist. It's a do-or-die situation that created a lot of conflicts between the two main character.

My opinion:

The concept itself is so unique for me. This is my first book about angels and it is also my first encounter with a story having angels, vampires and humans interacting together. I am always in awe with angels..I love collecting figurines and such but I have never tried reading a story about them. So when my BF's sister lended me her copy of Angel's Blood, I did not hesitate to read it.

I read the other 2 in ebook form because I can't wait to borrow again. I was hooked in the story and I wanted to know what happened to the main characters as soon as I finished the first book.

Did I love it? Yes, I did! And here are the reasons why I definitely enjoyed reading it.

- Elena is not a damsel-in-distress character. I love stories with the female heroine as a fearless and skilled warrior and that they don't need protection that much from the men. (Think Tomb Raider's Angelina Jolie. )

- The author created a wonderful backdrop for the 2 lead characters. I was able to imagine the scenery especially how the city looked like.

- I love the author's way of describing each character. She stated it with so much detail that I can really see what the wings of the angels look like...the colors, the length, everything. Even the description of the guild hunters and vampires are detailed so it's like watching a movie.

- The love story between Raphael and Elena is so beautiful and unique. It made me want to fall in love with an angel and be as strong as Elena. Full of love, passion, loyalty and magic.

- The ending is wrapped up in a way that there are no loop holes and everything was well explained.

I could have given this series a perfect score but I have a gripe... that I did not like in the books.

I got a little confused with all the recollection parts...the transition, I mean. One moment Elena and Raphael are talking then the next paragraph will be in another story line which turned out Elena is thinking about an old memory. I just hope there is a distinguishing characteristic to show that it is a recolection and not part of the actual scene. They could have made it in italized form or something as to not confuse the reader..

Aside from the transition, everything is okay for me. This book is really a page-turner and so entertaining especially for readers who are into paranormal romance.

RATINGS:

Book Cover - 5/5 - I love old style book cover and it really captured what I had imagined Elena would look like. It also showed the transition of the story from book 1 to 3.

Story - 5/5 - I love it! Very entertaining and really a page turner. I wish they can show more of Rapahel and Elena on the next few books in this series.

Writing Style - 4/5 - Like I said, I hope she can fix the transition of actual and recollection.

Would I recomend reading this? YES! This is really a good series and I enjoyed every moment I was inside that realm. I am definitely buying my own copy to include in my collection.

I would recommend this book to readers who love:

- angels and vampires

- a strong heroine

- lots of fighting scenes

- a good romantic story with a happy ending

- readers 16 years old and above

So, guys, what's your favorite books about angels? Share them in the comment box below so I can read them too!

Thank you for dropping by. Till my next post. Bye! ^_^