Behind Blue Eyes

Skin Game by Jim Butcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars Damn damn damn....Listening to "Kickstart My Heart" as I write this. Seems like an appropriate one. I love this series. These characters, and the way Butcher is steering them. Damn damn. Not much of a review, but wouldn't you be reading the book anyway? Get to it, son. View all my reviews

The Fever by Megan Abbott My rating: 3 of 5 stars I received a free eARC copy of this book from NetGalley. 3.5 stars. I don't remember high school being this rough. But then, it was a long time ago. This mystery/thriller with a dose of contemporary drama was pretty interesting. The pace was right on, and I enjoyed the characters. Most specifically the POV characters of the Nash family. The story does jump around a lot, like there are lots of distractions in place to confuse the mystery aspect of the plot. But then things get tied together pretty well, for the most part. A little weird, but engaging and encourages lots of page turning... View all my reviews

Max Brooks' The Extinction Parade, Volume 1 by Max Brooks My rating: 3 of 5 stars I got this eARC free from NetGalley. Oh yes, I wanted to love this. I saw Max Brooks at a signing last year, and he had these little promo cards with The Extinction Parade cover art on them, which he signed. He told us the concept behind the story, a rather unique take on the zombie apocalypse. Wow, I was psyched and ready to dive in! I was a little let down. I mean, the art is fantastic, and I still love the concept. Plus, the vampires don't suck. Well, I mean they do, but no more than they're supposed to. Lots of buildup. Lots of ambiance and mood setting. So, I'm ready to see some kick ass stuff, and then it ends. I guess we'll have to wait until Volume 2 to see where this is going, eh? That's cool. I'll check it out. I'm intrigued. EDIT 5/9/14: After posting this review, I found out that what I had read was in fact half of the upcoming gra...

Peacemaker by Marianne de Pierres My rating: 3 of 5 stars I had fairly high hopes here after reading the blog, so I quickly requested a copy from NetGalley, which they provided. That said, my hopes weren't entirely met. I did enjoy the story, and I very much liked the characters and the 'near-future' Australia setting with a Western (USA) flavored theme park. It really had the feel of a good blend of Western and Urban Fantasy. The story wasn't disappointing, it just didn't stand out and wow me. There was a lot going on with the plot and it seemed to take a lot to keep up with all of it. Most of it came together fairly well by the end, except of course what we'd expect to linger in order to move the story from a novel to a series. I'm fairly interested in where the series plot could go and I'd like to see more development of the characters. But since I wasn't amazed by this one, I'm not sure when I'd get a chance...