Lady D's Ramblings

So, there's a new book series I just heard about, called "The Taker" series by Alma Katsu. I was reading a review of the newest book, The Reckoning , which comes out June 19th (go pick it up!!! Nao!!!! ;)), in which it was compared to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I'm officially intrigued, and I think I'm going to have to go pick this series up. Anything that blends history with fantasy is right up my alley. And since anyone who follows this blog would possibly tend to read the same things, this is why I'm posting about this great new author I've discovered. :) ~♥~ Lady D

Have you ever had a book that you started that you just couldn't finish? Either the plot was too slow, or you just didn't like the author's style of writing, or something? Well, I think that we all have that, and so I'm going to start a reoccuring DNF list on here, or my "Did Not Finish" list. It's going to be books that I've started that... yeah, just didn't do it for me. If you've read these, and think they're awesome, tell me! Get me to change my mind! And something funny that I'm noticing about this list, is that when it comes to certain authors, i.e. Yasmine Galenorn, and Stephen E. Ambrose, other books of theirs I love! But these I just couldn't do. 1. Two for the Dough- Janet Evanovich 2. Dead Zone- Stephen King 3. Insomnia- Stephen King 4. Witch- Marie Brennan 5. Memoirs of Cleopatra- Margaret George 6. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll 7. Go Ask Alice- Anonymous 8. Diary of Anne Frank- Anne Frank 9. Band of Brothe

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is book two in the Harry Dresden series. Harry is still working with Lt. Karrin Murphy over the fact that he had hidden some facts from her on the last case that they worked together on. He was also still dating Susan, the reporter for the Arcane tabloid. All of a sudden, some murders start up, and Murphy needs his help. What Harry and Murphy discover is that the murders seem to be werewolf murders. But what kind of werewolves? The next victim is one that Harry knew, and Murphy thinks that he's hiding something, so, she arrests him. With the help of a woman he thought to be a suspect, Harry escapes, and hopes to find out who's murdering people before things can get worse. Will Harry find the murderer before too many more people die? This book was great. I liked it a lot more than the first book, and I will definitely keep reading this series. I love the character of Harry Dresden. He's smart, witty, and less than char

Only read a couple of books towards the challenge this month. Still think I'm going strong. :) I guess we'll see what this new month has in store for me! Category 1: Vampires: 1. Twilight-Stephenie Meyer (reread) 2. Once Burned- Jeaniene Frost 3. Hunted- Evangeline Anderson 4. Lover Reborn- J.R. Ward 5. Lothaire- Kresley Cole Category 2: Angels and Demons: 1. Envy- J.R. Ward 2. Mark of the Demon- Diana Rowland 3. Crave- J.R. Ward 4. Fallen- Lauren Kate 5. Speak of the Devil- Jenna Black Category 3: Fae: 1. Bound by Darkness- Alexandra Ivy 2. Bloodfever- Karen Marie Moning 3. Night Seeker- Yasmine Galenorn 4. Grave Witch- Kalayna Price 5. Faefever- Karen Marie Moning Category 4: Shifters and Werewolves: 1. Fair Game- Patricia Briggs 2. Gunmetal Magic- Ilona Andrews 3. Magic Slays- Ilona Andrews (reread) 4. Under Her Skin- Jeaniene Frost, Meljean Brooks, Ilona Andrews 5. The Dragon Who Loved Me- G.A. Aiken ~♥~ Lady D

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this book up on a whim after reading the synopsis, and I'm glad I did. Ms. Rowland does a magnificent job of combining a crime novel with an urban fantasy. Kara Gillian is a detective with the Beaulac PD. She's also a demon summoner. After years of working financial crimes, she finally got the break she needed, and was assigned to homicide. But so far, there have been no homicides for her to work on. So, she picked up the case files for an old cold case, and began studying those. The case involved the arcane, which, as a demon summoner, was kind of her specialty. As soon as she starts working on this case, sure enough, murders start happening, and they appear to be related to the cold case! The Symbol Man, as he's called, because of the symbol he carves into his victims' flesh, appears to be back, and Kara is assigned to the case. Also, Kara decides to do a demon summoning to help her figure out part