I indulged this past October and read quite a few spooky reads. Well, I read lots of books period. Earlier this month I posted some recommendations from favorite Halloween reads I either read during previous months or previous years, but this last month I could not stop myself and kept on with the same theme. I also read a couple of great Christmas books. However what you will notice when you see the grades, is that I read quite a few good books. So my reading wasn't only on the plentiful side, it was also quite enjoyable for me for personally.
Here's my summary for the month:
Total Reads: 23 (+1 Re-read): Print Books: 5 ebooks: 19
Contemporary Romance: 4
Historical Romance: 3
Urban Fantasy: 1
Science Fiction: 2
LGBT: 13 (Spec Fic: 1 Mystery: 6 Gay Romance: 5 Young Adult: 1)
Young Adult: 1
Favorite Reads in October:
- Scandalous Desires (Maiden Lane, #3) Elizabeth Hoyt: A
- The German by Lee Thomas (LGBT Thriller/Mystery): A-
The German captured my attention with its bone chilling prologue set in Germany and once begun, I couldn't put it down. However, this fantastic thriller by Lee Thomas is set in a small town in Texas during WWII where two young men are found skinned and disemboweled with snuffboxes stuffed in their mouths and inside them, notes written in German. You can only imagine how the townspeople react, particularly since there is a small German community residing among them. However, it is when young Tim Randall and his friend Bum spy on Ernst, the German, see him having sex with another man and become convinced that he is the killer that things really turn ugly.
The German is an unforgettable thriller with plenty of tension, excellent pacing and characters. Thomas uses the small town's paranoia to build some incredible tension and keep the reader guessing as to who the killer is, giving The German that great edge that all good thrillers require. However, with its bone chilling prologue and a terrifying torture scene, there is also a strong horror edge to this story. Most importantly, through this suspense/thriller Thomas deeply explores individual and group reactions to different types of fear. Highly recommended.
- Embassytown by China Mieville: B+
- The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2) by Rick Riordan: B+
- Real Men Will (Donovan Brothers Brewery, #3) by Victoria Dahl: B+
- Tis The Season To Be Sinful Adrienne Basso: B+
- Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2) by Ilona Andrews (Sci-Fi/Romance): B+
I've been waiting for a continuation to this world ever since I read and loved the first novella Silent Blade back in 2009, and the Ilona Andrews team rocked it! I love the world building, the characters and the stories they've created for this science fiction romance set so far.
In Silver Shark they continued as they began, with a strong female character who is equal to the male protagonist in strength, excellent plot, pacing and sci-fi details with romance and a passionate interlude that fits in with the story. In this second installment the only weakness for me came with the rather abrupt ending which then goes to an epilogue that doesn't include the two main characters. However, this sci-fi world just became better and even more intriguing. I can only hope that eventually a full length novel will come along. Now, that would really rock my world. :)
- Coming Home by Victor J. Banis: B+
- Flawless by Carrie Lofty: B
- Sex, Straight Up (Those Sexy O'Sullivans, #2) by Kathleen O'Reilly: B
- Unwrapped by Erin McCarthy, Donna Kauffman, Kate Angell: B
- a+e 4EVER by Ilike Merey: B
- The Back Passage by James Lear: B
- Mummy Dearest (The XOXO Files, #1) by Josh Lanyon: B
- Sort of Stranger Than Fiction (Petit Morts) by Josh Lanyon: B
- Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane: B
- Angels of Darkness by Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Sharon Shinn, Meljean Brook: B-
- One Less Stiff at the Funeral (Petit Morts ) Sean Kennedy: B-
- Fallen Angel by Logan Belle (Erotic Romance): C+
Fallen Angel is the second book in Logan Belle's erotic romance series Club Burlesque. I did not read the first book Blue Angel, so I can tell you that I was a bit lost when it came to some of the characters and exactly how they fit into the story, at least toward the beginning. However, Fallen Angel mainly focuses on Mallory after she decides to give up going to law school to concentrate on a burlesque career, and to earn extra money takes on a paralegal job during the day working for sexy Gavin Stone. In this installment, Mallory's unhappy with long time boyfriend Alec because he keeps pushing their sexual boundaries to include a third party. In particular Violet Offender a new performer in the club. In the meantime, Violet is really interested in Mallory (I mean really, really interested), and she plays the role of a manipulative, vampy, villainous dominatrix to a "t"!! I kind of liked Violet!
Mallory on the other hand is quite frustrating as a character. She doesn't really know what she wants! She goes back and forth between burlesque and law a few times, and yes it's frustrating -- the woman is worse than a weather vane. She's upset with Alec because she suspects that he wants to continue having threesomes, but she'll have a go with another woman and constantly lusts after her boss. Hmm... yeap! So, what did I like about this book? Well, I love the burlesque world that Belle pulled together in this book. It really is intriguing, plus the secondary characters and circumstances had me going throughout the story. There's no way I will miss the next book in this series, if only to find out what Violet will do next and what's going to happen with the clubs! (Aphrodesia - Source: Kensington Publishing)
- Critic's Choice (Petit Morts) by Josh Lanyon: C
- Private Dicks by Katie Allen: C
- Happy Endings by G.A. Hauser: C-
- Clouds and Rain by Zahra Owens: C-