Interesting Return

The Queen's Bargain by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was nice to return to the world of the Black Jewels. This was not as dark as some of the books in the series. For me it was almost light reading - great for this time. There were problems and there were solutions. In some ways it was left open ended as each character had future choices to make.

I was given a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 366 - The Women's War by Jenna Glass, Wild Country by Anne Bishop

The Women's War by Jenna Glass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am glad that this is the first of a series as book one ended on a real downer. Set in a world where there is women's magic, male magic and some that is both women are only property. The upper class feel that their only use is to provide male heirs. Then three women use their magic to change the game. Women are suddenly in control of when and with who they have children. There is some really complex world building throughout out the plot along with backstory to support the story line. There is also a large cast of characters both male and female that keep the story moving. The entire plot kept me reading as I wondered what would happen next. Along the way there were stops in several of the characters heads. As I said the ending was a real downer and it left so much up in the air. This build the world and set the state leaving a lot for the next book.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.


Wild Country by Anne Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the world of the Others and have been really invested in both the world and the characters. I found that I was just not as invested in the characters in Wild Country. I enjoyed the story, liked when it ran parallel with a previous story set in Lakeside Courtyard, but I just did not identify with the characters until the very last pages. Bennett showed up in previous books as did some of the characters features in Wild Country. What happened in Bennett could have been prevented and I kept thinking that the choices the characters made did not really make that much sense. Still it was great to visit the World of the Others again and I look forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 176 - Boxcar Christmas by Lindsay McKenna, Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Boxcar Christmas by Lindsay McKenna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Travis Ramsey and Jesse Myres are both military veterans and both have left the military with PTSD. McKenna has crafted a nice romance around the two, a red Caboose and a Australian shepherd dog and her six puppies. Jesse has not been out of the military for long and is not that far into her recovery. I loved all the characters. Travis was almost too good to be sure and Jesse was so honest and up front you had to like a admire her. My one complaint: PTSD is a very real and very debilitating condition and is at the heart of the story. That was apparent at the first mention but then it was pounded and pounded into the dialog in a way that seemed to be a overkill. Even so it was a very good story.


Lake Silence by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Meg, Simon and the Courtyard at Lakeside and was both sad and glad when book five came out. Glad as Meg and Simon's story came to a nice ending and sad because there would be no more. Then Anne Bishop said she would continue to write stories set in the Other's universe. Lake Silence is the next story in the series. It will not come out for two more months so no spoilers. It is different and has a different tone from the first five. There are mentions of Lakeside and some of the characters who reside there but only mentions. The characters in this story and the setting in the story are all new. The main character is female and she is backed up with some really interesting characters; some who support her and some who are out to get her. The action moves smoothly, the backstory is woven into the story line and the plot well thought out. The others are varied and dangerous to the humans who do not listen. A interesting addition to the Other series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

While this is a short and sweet review The Others are one of my favorite series and deserves it's own review page.  The book will not be out until March of 2017.  No spoilers here.  Read and see if you will be like me when the book comes out.  You just have a little over a Month to wait.



Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this series and when I got the email from Netgalley saying I was approved I wanted to drop everything and start reading. I did make myself finish the book I was reading and then picked up Etched in Bone. I started with mixed feelings. I read that this was a five book series and this was the last book. So as I read I was trying to make the book last while refusing to put the book down. Once again Anne Bishop has put together a great story. The Story is set primarily in the Courtyard at Lakeside so the side characters at other locations do not make much of an appearance in this book. All of the Lakeside and Courtyard characters carry the story. The exploding fluff balls (I loved this name) are still around and continuing to change how the others feel about some humans. The Lakeside police play a important part in the story line and some of the Others are still around causing trouble. The ending was what a lot of us have been waiting for and if this is indeed the last story set in this marvelous world it is very satisfying. However, I hope that Bishop will not abandon this world. There are still a lot of stories left in The Others world.

View all my reviews

My Musing - Monday November 21, 2016

I miss the Musing Mondays that Jenn at A Daily Rhyme used to host.   I was gone for four months at the beginning of 2016 and when I came home the meme was gone.  Today, a Monday, I decided to just do a muse on my own and maybe I will continue when I have something I want to muse about on future Mondays.

During the last week I have been thinking about books and series.  What brought all of these thoughts on?  Two series that I never get tired of re-reading.  Both have the final book in the series available on Netgalley and I was quick to request both.  


The two series:  The Others by Anne Bishop and Linesman by S.K. Dustall.  I received Etched in Bone, 5th book in the Others series, and Confluence, the 3rd book in the Linesman series from Netgalley.  Confluence will come out next week, Etched in Bone will not be out until March of 2017.  

Both are series that I love.  Both are very different.  I have read and re-read both series lately.  After much musing I realized that one of the attraction in both series are the main characters.  Meg Corbin in the Others and Ean Lambert in the Linesman series have one very distinct feature.  Both have been very sheltered and both have just been turned out into the real world.  Both authors used that fact to build an interesting world and use the reaction of both Meg and Ean as a way change the characters and the action around them.  

Both contain some excellent writing and on every re-read I find a something new.  Usually that is very subtle and forwards action to come.  Those clues were easy to miss the first time I read the books but having read the books once it is much easier to see the clues for what they are.  

Having said that they are different I guess I should mention how.  Linesman is set in the far future and is Science Fiction/Space Opera.  The Others is set on a alternate Earth and could be paranormal, fantasy, or alternate history.  Different setting and very different cast of characters.  Even though they are very different I still love them both and will be re-reading again in the future.

If you read this post and have books you like to re-read feel free to comment with the books and the reason you love them so.

Stacking the Shelves - November 5/12, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

This was my post last week.  I moved it forward since Tynga's Reviews did not have a Stacking the Shelves post last week so it was not widely shared.

Purchased:


Archangels's Heart by Nalini Singh








Kris Longknife: Bold by Mike Shepherd






From Amazon Vine for Review:

Kill Without Shame by Alexandra Ivy

A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong







Others for Review:

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn








Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

Everything for Her by Alexa Riley







Those Texas Nights by Deloras Fossen

Stacking the Shelves - September 10, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

I got two paper copies of books this week.  Both are an anthology from a Kickstarter that I supported.  Both are Edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray.   The first is Alien Artifacts, the second is Were-.  

I only got one other.  It is from Library 2 Go and is Marked in Flesh, an audio book written by Anne Bishop.  I read the books in this series as they were published and now I have been listening to this series again.  My library had the first two on CD and Library 2 Go has book four.  What neither had was Vision in Silver, book 3.   It looks like I may have to skip this one as an audio book.

Short and Sweet Audio Book Book Reviews #41 - Written in Red by Anne Bishop, Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop, Death of a Nurse by M.C.Beaton

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
My review from the first time listening and a little more from the second time.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again I picked up an author I had never read in an audio book and once again I am hooked. Written in Red by Anne Bishop drew me in and would not let me go. I just listened the second time and I think I loved it even more than before.

The world building caught me first the characters kept me glued to the book. This is a world where the geography is like ours but the Others and the cassandre sangue (who are a form of human) are very different. Only the humans like us remain the same and they are not the dominant species.

Some of the Others are shape sifters, some are elementals and some are something no one even the rest of the Others ever want to meet. To the Others humans are just meat. Meg Corbyn is human but also cassandre sangue or blood prophet. She does not smell like prey as other humans do.

That sets up part of the conflict in Written in Red. Meg Corbyn is at the heart of the conflict. Meg has escaped a life she hated and the Others take her in. Human law does not apply in the Courtyard where she now lives. She is a very refreshing character. She was raised in isolation and has a very different reaction to the Others. She has an innocence that helps her win over the ones she is in contact with. Simon Wolfguard is the Other who gives Meg the job in the Courtyard. The fact that Meg does not smell like prey keeps him conflicted. The interaction between the two can sometimes be very dangerous and sometimes be very amusing.

The book can be a little dark but there were things that lightened it up I loved the names of the stores in the Courtyard and they did add a light touch. Howling Good Reads, A Little Bite, and Run and Thump - a bookstore, a coffee shop and a gym all owned by the Others.

Writing in a way that brings all of the elements of a book together into a cohesive whole takes a lot of talent. Anne Bishop has that kind of talent.

If I had been reading Written in Red it would have been a book I could not put down. Since I was listening I ended up listening to it in my house instead of my car because I had to know what was going to happen next.


Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This time I listened instead of reading and found more to like.  The first book set the stage and Murder of Crows takes the world building beyond Lakeside and the Courtyard.  I love how Bishop expands the world while telling a very compelling story.

I said that I could not put Written in Red down. Before I had even finished I checked to see if Murder of Crows was on the shelf at my library. It was. I checked it out and started it as soon as Written in Red was finished. I started reading around noon and finished at 2 a.m. Once again I could not put it down.

Meg, Simon and the rest of the characters are back and trouble is still on the horizon. The two drugs that were mentioned in Written in Red are at the heart of Murder of Crows. That drug is connected to the cassandra sangue and is a threat to both humans and the Others. Meg is the important link in finding and stopping the production of the drug.

Meg grew in book one and in Murder of Crows she matures and changes even more. Her relationship with Simon is not without problems. They both have problems understanding each other and have to work to keep their friendship on track. Some of the side characters become more important in Murder of Crows. The human police that work with the Courtyard play a big role in stopping the drugs.

Anne Bishop has written another tense, slightly dark book with just the right traces of humor. My only problem – I have to wait until March of 2015 for the next book.

This would not do well as a stand alone. It picks up where book one leaves off and while there is back story you still need to start with Written in Red.



Death of a Nurse by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have listed to several other books in the Hamish Macbeth Myster series and never liked the narrator. This time there was a new voice. Graeme Malcolm does a much better job of the different characters in the story. Death of a Nurse again has Hamish seeing a pretty woman and then finding her dead. There are more than one murder in the book and it spans more than one month before everything is solved. A good addition to the series. Each book is a quick light read. You can start the series in any order and since there are now 31 book that makes it much easier to enjoy meeting Hamish.

4000 Miles of Listening

I have been off on a trip where I drove over 4000 miles.  I listen to books on CD from my library all the time and load up when I am going on a really long trip.  Here are the book I listened to this trip.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase – I read this one a long time ago and listened to it again several years after.  It is one of my favorites.  Dane is such a hoot and Jessica is his perfect match.   The story is great, the dialog really funny.  All in all a keeper.

Singularity Sky by Charles Stross – This is one that I will listen to but would never read.  Like all of his Science Fiction it is filled with unusual characters and situations.  It was interesting to listen too.  The ending was open ended and I wonder if there is a secquel with the same two main characters.  I just saw that it is book one in a series on Goodreads so there is more to come.

The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop – This is part of The Black Jewels series.  I got hooked on Bishop with her Courtyard series.  I liked the story.  Lady Cassidy is a great character and just what was needed to bring Dena Nehele back to its former greatness.  Of course there were some who did not agree.

Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman – She is continuing ther father’s series using some of the same characters.  I found the story interesting but a little slow.  This is the first book and so a lot of backstory is included. That slowed the story line down a lot.  

The Skull Throne by Peter Brett – Book four in the series it seemed to just quit with no resolution at the end.  There will be plenty to cover in the next book.  Lots of information and character development.  It is truly a middle book.

Death of a Perfect Wife by M.C. Beaton – This is an early Hamish Macbeth Mystery.  I have read and listened to these out of order.  Once again Hamish is the one to solve the murder but he wants to stay where he is so someone else gets the credit. 

Stacking the Shelves - June 20, 2015

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 




Only one book this week.  I picked up The House of Gaian by Anne Bishop at my library's used book store. I am trying to read all of the June books I agreed to review.

Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop

Dark Fantasy

From Goodreads:

The Others freed the  cassandra sangue  to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep.

As I read the last page of Vision in Silver it looked like this might be the last book in the series.  I did a quick check of Anne Bishop’s web page and found (to my relief) that there was a contract for books 4 and 5.  This is a wonderful world and I for one was not ready to give it up.

Vision in Silver expands the world building and the character development in the series.  While Meg is still a big part of the story she is not the main focus this time.  In fact the focus is on many of the side characters and how their actions are helping drive the story.

Some humans never learn is at the heart of Vision in Silver.  Humans First and Last are causing more and more trouble and the Others are beings driven to take action.  The relationship between the some of the humans around the Courtyard with the Others takes on more and more importance. 

The plot is complicated and the relationship between the characters grows more complex as the book unfolds.  By the end it is apparent that Others might just wipe humans off the continent.  Lakeside and The Courtyard hold the future of all in their hands.

Vision in Silver is a great story.  Bishop knows how to keep everything moving in a direction that holds the readers interest.  Now I just have to wait for the next book.  Vision in Silver is book three in the series.  It could be read as a stand alone but read the first two books first for maximum enjoyment.

Penguin Group published Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop in 2015.

I received an ARC of Vision in Silver from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Stacking The Shelves - February 28, 2015

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

Most of my books came from the library this week.  I got two nonfiction that I had on my wish list for a long time; Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Paabo and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Peacemaker by Marianne De Pierres and The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez are also two that have been on my wish list for awhile.  Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop is a reread of The Others Series.  Never Too Late by Robyn Carr is one of her older books that I had not seen before.

I did buy two ebooks.  Mercenary Courage by Ruby Lionsdrake.  This is the tastes book in the Mandrake Company Science Fiction Romance series.  Baer Truth by Jocie McKade is a Contemporary Western Romance that was recommended in an email I received.  It is suppose to have a lot of laugh out loud moments and I can never get enough of those.  Amazon has one author listed of this and Goodreads has another.  I used the Amazon author.

On last book is G-1 (the Guardians of Earth book 1) by Rigel Carson.  I got it from a contest Amazon has.  You vote for your favorites and if your pick wins you get a free copy and the author gets his book published.

I am a little lazy today so there are no covers just links to Goodreads.

Stacking The Shelves - February 21, 2015

Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

For Review:

Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti - This is the last book in the

Sin Brothers series.  I love the series and was thrilled to get a review copy.  There are just four books in the series so pick up book one and see if you are hooked.

The Diamond Conspiracy by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris - Another series I like.  This is Steampunk and romance with a twist.  The romance is between the same two characters and while each book can stand-alone it is better to start at the beginning.  Again this is not a long series so easy to catch up.



50 Way to Ruin a Rake by Jade Lee - I like her romances so picked this one up from Netgalley.  It does not come out until May so it is way down my TBR list.



From the Library:  

Written in Red by Anne Bishop - This is a re-read.  I just finished an ARC of Vision in Silver, book 3, and felt a need to go back to the first book in the series to see again how it all started.  When I re-read it means I really love something and I love this series.



Raging Heat (Audio Book )by Richard Castle - I watch Castle on TV all the time but have never read any of the books so I picked this up to listen to in the car.  So far so good.

Murder of Crows (Courtyard of the Others) by Anne Bishop

Fantasy

From Goodreads: 

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

I said that I could not put Written in Red down.  Before I had even finished I checked to see if Murder of Crows was on the shelf at my library.  It was.  I checked it out and started it as soon as Written in Red was finished.  I started reading around noon and finished at 2 a.m.  Once again I could not put it down.

Meg, Simon and the rest of the characters are back and trouble is still on the horizon.  The two drugs that were mentioned in Written in Red are at the heart of Murder of Crows.  That drug is connected to the cassandra sangue and is a threat to both humans and the Others.  Meg is the important link in finding and stopping the production of the drug.

Meg grew in book one and in Murder of Crows she matures and changes even more.  Her relationship with Simon is not without problems.  They both have problems understanding each other and have to work to keep their friendship on track.  Some of the side characters become more important in Murder of Crows.  The human police that work with the Courtyard play a big role in stopping the drugs. 

Anne Bishop has written another tense, slightly dark book with just the right traces of humor.  My only problem – I have to wait until March of 2015 for the next book.

This would not do well as a stand alone.  It picks up where book one leaves off and while there is back story you still need to start with Written in Red.

Roc published Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop in 2014.

Written in Red (The Courtyards of the Others) by Anne Bishop

Fantasy

From Goodreads:

No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Once again I picked an audio book by a author whose books I have never read and once again I am hooked.  Written in Red by Anne Bishop drew me in and would not let me go. 

The world building caught me first the characters kept me glued to the book.  This is a world where the geography is like ours but the Others and the cassandre sangue (who are a form of human) are very different.  Only the humans like us remain the same and they are not the dominant species. 

Some of the Others are shape sifters, some are elementals and some are something no one even the rest of the Others ever want to meet.  To the Others humans are just meat.  Meg Corbyn is human but also cassandre sangue or blood prophet.  She does not smell like prey as other humans do.

That sets up part of the conflict in Written in Red.  Meg Corbyn is at the heart of the conflict. Meg has escaped a life she hated and the Others take her in.  Human law does not apply in the Courtyard where she now lives.  She is a very refreshing character.  She was raised in isolation and has a very different reaction to the Others.  She has an innocence that helps her win over the ones she is in contact with.  Simon Wolfguard is the Other who gives Meg the job in the Courtyard.  The fact that Meg does not smell like prey keeps him conflicted.  The interaction between the two can sometimes be very dangerous and sometimes be very amusing. 

The book can be a little dark but there were things that lightened it up  I loved the names of the stores in the Courtyard and they did add a light touch.  Howling Good Reads, A Little Bite, and Run and Thump - a bookstore, a coffee shop and a gym all owned by the Others.  

Writing in a way that brings all of the elements of a book together into a cohesive whole takes a lot of talent.  Anne Bishop has that kind of talent. 

If I had been reading Written in Red it would have been a book I could not put down.  Since I was listening I ended up listening to it in my house instead of my car because I had to know what was going to happen next. 

Recorded Book produced Written in Red by Anne Bishop in 2014.