Behind Blue Eyes

The Rental by Rebecca Berto My rating: 3 of 5 stars In disclosure, I'm noting that I was given a free eARC copy of this book by the author, who is a Goodreads friend of mine. Also in disclosure, I'll state that I don't normally read romance novels, erotic or otherwise. I say this to put my rating in perspective; by putting it out there that this type of story isn't normally "my thing", I can show why my enthusiasm might not be as high as someone that gets off on this stuff, so to speak. So why am I here? This is the third book I've read by Berto, each one inching a little further away from my personal comfort zone. But I figure Berto can use an honest review outside of her target audience to see just how well her written word crosses over. It does that. Yes, I'm giving this a middle of the road rating, but it's still one that says I "like" the book. I found myself very intrigued by the story and where it was

Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan My rating: 5 of 5 stars Here I continued my audiobook re-read of the first three books of the Riyria Revelations, giving Nyphron Rising another go. It's funny when I look back on my original review from 2009 . Funny how anxious I was to continue with the series, and at how I'm sitting here close to five years later writing down my reaction to that very book. What the hell happened? Well, to make a boring story short, I fell behind when books 4 and 5 came out. Then I found out that Orbit had bought the series and would be re-releasing them even as the sixth book was being finished up. So it was easy enough to wait... Then I started collecting the new editions from Orbit (while still building the original collection). By the time 2011 was coming to a close, I decided a re-read was in order. I re-read the first two books but ran out of time before the New Year. I was literally finishing up Avempartha when the ball dropped in Times Square. W

Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. I'd round up, but I've rated all of the other books in the series at 4-stars, and this one wasn't quite as good as those. I enjoyed it, but there was just something off this time around. It seems like several subplots sprouted up and never found a way to connect. Still, it was enjoyable to read these, just a little jarring with the shift from one to another. Maybe that was the point - showing how Kitty is getting close to the point of being overwhelmed with everything going on in her life. It just made for a story that wasn't always smooth. View all my reviews

Two Tales of Terror by Kelly Hashway My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was cool! Two stories in just a few pages, and both were great. "The Monster of All Monsters" deals with things that go bump in the night, from the things' perspective. Then "#Zombies" is an account of a zombie apocalypse told through Twitter. Short and sweet, they both combine humor and terror to pack a quick punch. Free links for Nook or Kindle editions on the author's homepage. It's definitely worth a few minutes of your time. View all my reviews

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan My rating: 5 of 5 stars Re-reading this so I can continue and finish up the Riyria Revelations series. Listening to the audio this time around. Excellent reading to an already excellent book. Tim Gerard Reynolds really makes the characters come alive, and his narration is spot on. Even though I've read this book a couple of times already, I found myself eagerly looking forward to picking up the earbuds and listening in on Hadrian and Royce. Here are my original reviews, from 2009: The Crown Conspiracy Avempartha I won't re-hash them too much, but even after repeat readings, my love for these stories does not diminish. The Crown Conspiracy is full of twists and turns, and Avempartha is more of a slow burn, building up to a surprising climax. Together they form an excellent pairing, much like the main characters. Theft of Swords is a very good title for the 2in1 omnibus too, considering how well it relates to

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington My rating: 2 of 5 stars Ugh. "The Monotonous Road" isn't just a chapter heading, but could be a blurb for the book. I give up. Now it's becoming buried in religion. It was boring before it became a religious study. View all my reviews

Hit Man by Lawrence Block My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a cool introduction to a new (to me) series by Lawrence Block. It's about, as the title suggests, a hit man named Keller. Each chapter is an assignment for Keller, so it's like a series within a single book. This style kept it from ever becoming a bulky read. Or listen, in this case. I found the audiobook and was pleased to try it out with this method. The actor Robert Forster did the narration and I'd have to say was pretty much perfect for this book. He really fit the style of the writing, and the character of Keller. I will definitely be picking up more Block, and more in the Keller series in particular. View all my reviews