Off The Shelf Challenge 2011 - Summary

Long ago, in a time far away, I signed up for the Off The Shelf Challenge at Bookish Ardour. I agreed to read 15 books from my TBR shelf, and then review them all here. If you have been paying attention, you will notice I have reviewed 9 books that were sitting on my book shelf at the beginning of 2011.

Well,  as most people can relate to this year, a bunch of craziness happened this year. I wasn't able to blog as often as I'd hoped, but I did manage to read as many books as I normally do. As such, I did read 15 books that were on my bookshelf at the beginning of 2011.

So without further ado, here are the 15 books:

Strange Brew, edited by PN Elrod
Red-Headed Stepchild, by Jaye Wells
The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor
Spider Bones, by Kathy Reichs
The Vampire Diaries, Volumes 1-5, by LJ Smith
Stray, by Rachel Vincent
The Dark Lady's Chosen, by Gail Z Martin
Dark Haven, by Gail Z Martin
Spellwright, by Blake Charlton
Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr
Ink Exchange, by Melissa Marr

And now, on to 2012!

Reading Round-up

I've done a lot of reading lately, and I haven't been keeping up with the whole "Review every book I read" thing. So, here is a quick round-up of everything I've read in the last couple of months that I haven't reviewed:

The Vampire Diaries By LJ Smith

I borrowed the first 5 installments of The Vampire Diaries from a friend sometime last year. There are a couple of people I know that love the series, in fact. So I borrowed what I could, thinking I would read them and love them as well. Unfortunately, that's not how things turned out. I read the first one, and wasn't impressed. I found the characters annoying and Elena completely unbelievable. But, my friends loved the books, so I kept reading. I read all 5 (I know there's 7 out now, but I only have 5) and really just wasn't all that impressed. I found the story to be one-dimensional and predictable. However, I firmly believe in reading what's popular, just to know what people are talking about, so I'm glad I read them. And, since I've had these books on my shelf for over a year, that's 5 more down on my Off the Shelf Challenge. Only 6 more to go!

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

Considering HP7.2 came out this summer, I decided to reread the series prior to seeing the movie. I'm glad I did, considering I'd only read The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows once each. I love these stories. I love how the writing level matures as the characters do. I love how intricate the story is. I love how not everyone comes through in one piece, but we still get a happy ending. It's not perfect. People we love are dead, but life goes on and the survivors make the best out of what they have. There's a reason the Harry Potter franchise is one of the most successful in history, and it's not because it has magic wands. It's because the characters are so very, very real.

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

I freaking love Brent Weeks. I really do. I've met him, and he is friendly and funny and sarcastic (and he has cute freckles*). The best thing about Brent Weeks? He tells a great story. I read the Night Angel Trilogy a few years ago, and something made me pick up The Way of Shadows recently for a reread. I love how Weeks gives all of his characters so many flaws. They are by turns arrogant, ignorant, oblivious, vengeful, hateful, ambivalent and naive, and still manage to show love, honor, faith, and selflessness when the situation calls for it. There are very few stories out there whose main characters not only aren't perfect, but aren't completely good. They get dirty. They make mistakes. And friends and family get hurt because of it. I love reading a story that makes me want to strangle and hug the protagonist in the same chapter.

*I don't really have a crush on Brent Weeks. Not really. I just wanted to see if he's watching… ;-)

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

Audio CD, 0 pages
Published August 24th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Audio (first published 2010)
ISBN 1442304340 (ISBN13: 9781442304345)
Source: Purchased

The Blurb (www.goodreads.com):

When Tempe is called to the scene of an autoerotic death, she has little idea of the tangled chain of events that will follow. Because the man whose body she examines apparently died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam 40 years before. So who is buried in the soldier's grave?

I love the Tempe Brennan books. I have almost all of them on audio, and they are great books for long car rides. Tempe's latest adventure takes her from Canada to North Carolina to Hawaii and back again, and I'm not sure but I think this may be the first case she works that actually spans both countries.

Tempe is called to the scene of a death that takes place in a pond in the middle of the Canadian countryside, and the specifics surrounding that death are a little less than conventional. However, they ID the body as a US citizen, and former soldier, who supposedly died in combat 40 years ago, and who is supposedly buried in North Carolina. The exhumation of that body leads Tempe to JPAC, the military organization responsible for making sure our men and women in uniform make it home, no matter what.

Reichs is great at setting up a multidimensional mystery. I don't want to say too much about it, because I know I wouldn't be able to do it justice without possibly ruining the ending.

There are a few things I will say:

I learned a lot about the military's devotion to ID'ing it's personnel killed in action and making sure they make it home. I actually found myself looking up a lot of the acronyms and reading about the JPAC online.

There was a the usual dry humor I've grown to expect from Tempe. Her lighthearted internal monologue amuses me.

I love the science that is randomly inserted into the story line. You don't see enough real science in books these days. Usually when I read books that have a scientist as a character, the "science" they talk about makes me want to tear my eyes out.

This book didn't have the suspense and sense of danger the last couple had. I didn't really get the feeling that her life was truly in danger that I would have expected. That's not to say there was no suspense, because there was. It just wasn't the "who buried Tempe in a cave" kind of suspense, like what was in the last book.

Overall, I highly recommend the series. It's still going strong and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

And Spiderbones adds a notch in my "Off the Shelf" Challenge. 4 down, 11 to go!

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Paperback, 358 pages
Published August 21st 2007 by Puffin (first published September 2nd 2004)
ISBN 0142409413 (ISBN13: 9780142409411)
Primary Language: English
Source: Purchased

The Blurb (www.goodreads.com):

The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss' parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated.

Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

The Looking Glass Wars follows the life of Princess Alyss, from her childhood in Wonderland through her early adulthood in London, England. We meet a variety of interesting characters along the way that one may recognize from Lewis Carroll's books, but not in that "Oh, how cute, a smiling cat" way. More in a "rip a person to pieces while you watch" way.

At the age of seven, young Alyss is having a birthday party when her evil Aunt Redd, possessing the power of Black Imagination, kills Alyss's father, uses her card soldiers to storm the castle, kills everyone she can find, and eventually ends up facing off with Alyss's mother. Alyss's mother sends her bodyguard, the highly skilled fighter Hatter Madigan, through the looking glass (a kind of transport highway) with Alyss before being beheaded by Redd.

Alyss and Hatter are separated when fleeing from Cat, Redd's murderous multi-lived assassin, and Alyss ends up an orphan child on the streets of 19th century London, England. While Hatter spends the next 13 years trying to find her, Alyss has to learn to deal with London society and Wonderland becomes a land filled with darkness, hatred, and fear.

I've always been intrigued with twisted fairy tales. When the video game "Alice" was released many years ago, I was excited because it showed Wonderland as a dark and twisted place. When I read a friend's review of the third book in Beddor's series, I went out and bought this one, and unfortunately, let it sit on my bookshelf for over a year. In that year, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was released, renewing my interest in all things Alice.

I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago, and I am glad I did! This book was an exciting read from start to finish. While it's a YA novel, it still manages to encompass everything from romance to mental disorders, thrilling chases and tea parties. I liked the set up of the relationship between Wonderland and the real world. It amused me to think there was one person sitting on a throne somewhere deciding what inspiration to send along to us simpletons.

Beddor's characters were real and multi-dimensional. For instance, Hatter was more than a skilled fighter, our heroes had many faults, and even the perfect world of Wonderland had a seedy underbelly. I enjoyed knowing that the heroes I rooted for were so much less than perfect, with prejudices and fears of their own.

I am very much looking forward to reading the remaining two books in this series.

And on a related note of excitement: Alice: The Madness Returns will be released in June, and I am very excited about it!

This marks the third book in my Off The Shelf Challenge!

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Mass Market Paperback, 325 pages
Published April 1st 2009 by Orbit
ISBN 0316037761 (ISBN13: 9780316037761)
Primary Language: English
Source: Purchased

The Blurb (www.goodreads.com)
In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her---until now.

This time, it's personal.

"Red-Headed Stepchild" introduces us to Sabina Kane: half-vampire, half-mage, in a world where vampires and mages are not the best of friends. Raised by her grandmother (who happens to be the Super-Queen-Bee of the vampires) to be a first class assassin, Sabina has never really known love of any kind. She has always assumed her grandmother loved her, but was unable to show it because of her position. However, Sabina is forced to re-evaluate that position when her grandmother orders her to assassinate the one person in her life that she can call "friend". Being the good little assassin robot that she is, she carries out her mission without hesitation. It's not until after the deed is done that Sabina begins to wonder. Then she is sent on an undercover mission, where she meets people that force her to adjust her world view completely.

It's all pretty typical stuff. Outcast meets dark and handsome stranger bearing bad news/good news/super secret power/all of the above. Powerful, independent female goes all weak and googley eyed over a man that treats her right. And a bald cat demon.

Wait, that's not so typical is it? Truthfully, there are a lot of Urban Fantasy tropes in this story, but the characters make all the difference. There's a not-so-subtle humor to a centuries old demon trying to play at being a punk kid. I think that without Gighul, the whole thing would have fallen a little flat, but as it was, it came together well in the end, even if there were moments where I had to suspend my disbelief to get through.

Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of it, and immediately went and bought the next two after finishing this one. I think I read all three books currently in the series in 4 days.

And this marks the second book in my "Off The Shelf" Challenge. 2 down, 13 to go!

Strange Brew edited by PN Elrod

Paperback, 372 pages
Published July 7th 2009 by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 0312383363 (ISBN13: 9780312383367)
Primary Language: English
Source: Purchased






The Blurb (www.goodreads.com)

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!
In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.
For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

This anthology contains nine stories as follows:
Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs
Last Cal by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #10.4)
Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine
Vegas Odds by Karen Chance
Hecate’s Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod
Bacon by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #9.1)
Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter
Ginger: A Nocturne City Story by Caitlin Kittredge
Dark Sins by Jenna Maclaine (Cin Craven #1.5)

To be completely honest, I picked up this anthology just for the Dresden Files story. It was a lot of fun, too. But then I read the other stories, and found a couple of new authors that I enjoy. The Jenna Maclaine story was great, and makes me want to go out and try the other Cin Craven novels. The Charlaine Harris novel claims to be a Sookie Stackhouse story, but isn't. It takes place in that world, but there are no cross-over characters. It was really nice to see what's going on outside of Louisiana in that world. Actually, I liked all of these stories. I don't want to go in to each one, because that will be more than anyone wants to read in a blog. Just take it from me, this is a great anthology.

And this marks my first book for the "Off the Shelf" Challenge. I started reading it last year, but I finished it this year, so it counts. 1 down, 14 to go!