Just a quick note.  The Willamette Writers’ conference is coming up in August.  Registration for the conference started May 5th.  So you should hop on over to www.willamettewriters.com and get registered.  They conference brochure already went out in the mail and there are some wonderful workshops this year.  Granted there are wonderful workshops every year.

Awhile ago, I did a review of the first book in the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan.  Since then I’ve read up through book 10.  I’m waiting on the remaining 5 books, which I’ve requested from the library.  Needless to say I’ve enjoyed the books. They each have an element of mystery, betrayal, and romance that most readers would like.  Books 1-9 are told from Morgan’s point of view while book 10 is told from Hunter’s point of view.  I was happy to see that while it is a struggle at times Morgan and her parents come to an understanding, after definite turmoil and surprises.  The series develops well and each books leaves you wanting the next one.  If you like supernatural books, especially those that revolve around witches, then give the series a read.  This is a series aimed at young adults.

For those of you in Oregon, particularly in the Yamhill County area, the Terroir Creative Writing Festival is quickly approaching. Be sure and pre register. The form can be found at http://www.artsallianceyamhillco.org/.  If you want to learn more about this event, check out their facebook page.  Oh and this is happening May 1st so mark your calendars!

The Books:

I just finished reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  The writing is excellent, the plot provoking, the characters entertaining, and some of the best books that I’ve read.  It has the same draw for me that Harry Potter did.  I rarely go out and buy and entire series of books after reading the first one. I’ve only done it about four times in my entire life.  After reading the first page of the first book I knew that this was going to be one of the series that I bought and I did.  One of the best things about this series is the humor that is woven throughout it and the character development.

Obviously I recommend reading the series before watching the movie.

The Movie:

I have to say if I were the writer I’d be very upset with the way the Lightening Thief Movie turned out.  Yes, the casting is good, especially the boy who plays Percy, but the plot barely matches the book.  Yes the point is to return the master bolt to Zeus, but the movie leaves many, many of the details out and fabricates it’s own plot–seemingly playing in the world that the author created versus following the story that he wrote.  Vital things like Percy being claimed by Poseidon, hearing the Oracle’s Prophecy, being given a quest, and even the places they went were left out or frankly screwed up in the movie.  They also left out key characters such as Clarisse and Dionysus.

The movie made it clear that Hades wanted to start a war, even to the point of him showing himself at Camp Half-Blood.  This is not what happens in the book at all.  Hades thinks that Percy may have also stolen the Helm of Darkness–a plot point completely left out of the movie.  Persophone, I don’t believe appears in the first book and definitely doesn’t knock Hades out. Grover does not stay behind in the underworld. There are a multitude of other things that irritated me about the movie.

Needless to say I was deeply disappointed in the movie.  Read the books, they are so much better and you’ll be getting the full experience.

To find out more about the series and author, visit his website at:

http://www.rickriordan.com/

Just a quick, FYI for those that are interested.  Awhile back I did a review of Peter V Brett’s The Warded Man.  I loved the book and haven’t read one that well done in quite awhile.  The sequel is going to be published soon!  The Desert Spear is set to be released in the US and Canada on April 13, 2010.  So be sure to pre-order your copy.  To learn more, check out the author’s website (it’s really cool so check it out anyway).

http://www.petervbrett.com/news/

Ok, I have to admit that I saw the first season of True Blood before I picked up the Sookie Stackhouse novels, popularly known as The Southern Vampire Series and written by Charlaine Harris.  After watching the first season I ran out and bought the first book.  Then I checked out the second from the library.  I have to admit the first two books didn’t hook me.  Maybe, it was because of the tv series which is quite a bit different than the books.  Then…I read book three.  Book three is where the series swallowed me.

I requested the rest of the series from the library and read nothing but Sookie Stackhouse books until I’d finished the series.  Now I anxiously await the next book.

I admit at first I thought the t.v. series was better than the books but after reading book three and the rest of the series I have whole heatedly changed my mind.  I love the books and we will see if HBO can do them justice in the upcoming seasons of True Blood.

I love the vast array of characters that Ms. Harris introduces throughout the books as well as the many plot twists and conflicts that poor Sookie has to deal with.  I also love watching the characters develop.  Sookie becomes a much stronger person throughout the books, though she remains slightly fickle with her love life.  Eric is one of my all time favorite characters and who I am personally routing for as Sookie’s boyfriend.  Yes, you read correctly–I am not a Bill fan.  I think it’s hard to be a Bill fan if you read the series.  All in all, I can’t wait for the next book.

As for the True Blood series, I have enjoyed the first two seasons and will be watching the third.  However, if you are reading the books and watching the series you basically have to let them be two separate entities in your mind.  The t.v. series makes a lot of changes and doesn’t stick with books closely.  It is loosely based on the book plots and takes a lot of liberty with the characters.  For example, poor Lafayette does not live quite so long in the books, but he is one of my favorite characters in the t.v. series.

Anyway, I recommend you read the books for the full experience of plot and character development, but I’d also recommend watching the series–but be forewarned, HBO LOVES to cliff hang every episode.

To learn more about the author, check out her website:

http://www.charlaineharris.com/

A friend of mine recommended that I give this series a shot and I’m glad that I listened to them.  The plot is intriguing, especially the author’s use of colonial history and her unique take on “silver bloods.”  This is not your average vampire book even though it does have the typical share of teenage angst found in pretty much all young adult books.

If you are looking for something different, give this series a try.  I will be getting the next book to find out just where the plot is going to lead.

To find out more, visit the author’s website:

http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/index.php/books/title/blue_bloods/

The good witch…so far anyway. I recently read the first book in the Sweep series, Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan.  I thought that the book was written well in a fairly straight forward manner.  What I enjoyed most is that it explains Wicca in a positive light.  It throws in fictional elements and creates a world where not all witches are painted with an evil brush.  Also, it’s a young adult book.  I was definitely left wanting to find out more about the characters and their current plights.

It will be interesting to see how the main character and her parents evolve throughout the series.  Right now, her parents are appearing close minded and a bit prejudice, so we’ll see if that resolves itself or grows worse and how the character develops to handle it.

All in all, a good read.

To find out more about the series, check out the author’s website:

http://catetiernan.org/

This young adult paranormal tale has the typical problems of adolescence, with the addition of supernatural powers.  Only, the inhabitants of Lyle House are being treated for “mental diseases” and not supernatural powers, at least that is how the book begins.  Chole is the main character who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, actually she’s a necromancer with ghosts talking to her. 

She befriends some of the kids in the house and they begin to suspect that not all is what it seems at Lyle house and plan an escape.  It is a locked down facility, so that does take some planning.

The plot moves along at a good clip and the characters are engaging.  You do have the stereotypical mean girl, cute boy, outcast, and sidekick roles being filled by the various residents.  The end of the book has a very interesting twist but it also cliffhangs completely; so you might as well have book two handy because you’ll want to keep reading.

To find out more about the author, go to her site: http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

I posted previously about the Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong.  I was delighted to find out that she had a book out called Men of the the Otherworld.  I don’t know that it’s really a series, but this particular book is essentially the history of the pack, from Jeremy’s conception and birth to Clayton joining the pack and finally to Jeremy’s ascension to Alpha.

The majority of the book is told from Clayton’s point of view, which is very rather unemotional but it works for Clayton’s character.  It’s a very interesting read and perhaps she will do another with the additional history of how Clayton and Elena meet.  Either way it ’s a great read and a wonderful addition to the back story of characters I personally love.

Check out the author’s website at http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Strong characters, intriguing interpersonal relationships, and of course the supernatural is what marks Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Other World series as a great read.  Frostbitten, is the latest installment for this series and features my personal favorite characters Elena and Clayton–werewolves.  This takes place about three years after the last novel featuring Elena and Clay and they are Alaska bound to help a mutt out and to get rid of some other more troublesome mutts.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the plot reminds me Bitten, the first book where the pack is threatened by mutts, only this time the mutts are trained and make me think of the mafia.  Also Clay and Elena are married and Jeremy is home with their twins.

It’s a good read and a great addition to the series.  Oh and these are more the adult category of books than young adult.

To learn more about the author, check out her site at http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

If you follow my blog you know that I do the occasional book review with additional posts on writing and what’s happening in the publishing world.  Well, as you’ve noticed I am posting a flurry of book reviews.  Well, I’m about 5 weeks from due date (yes that would mean I’m pregnant) and haven’t really had the energy or time to write or stay as up to date as I normally do with things.  So, you will be seeing a lot of book reviews for the next couple of months while my husband and I adjust to having a baby and being new parents–this is our first.  If you want to suggest a book for me to review, please drop me an email using the contact me link. 

~Keep Reading

Perhaps you are a fan of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton, or maybe you’ve never heard of it.  If you are a fan then you understand that the series started with necromancy and police investigations and slowly became convoluted with vampire and were-animal politics as well as Anita becoming a succubus.  I am thrilled to say that you will, yes will, enjoy Skin Trade.

Why am I making this declaration?  Simple, we have a murder investigation, a warrant for execution, oh and did I mention Edward is back, so is Olaf and Bernardo.

While the Ardeur is still a plot point and vampire politics midly comes into play the main part of the novel is about stopping the bad guy before they kill more people.  Which is a nice return to the series roots.

Anita does have some emotional moments where she begins to question her ability to perform her job and I think it might be something we see more of in future books, but it worked well with the plot and actually added another dimension to it.

So, don’t give up on series yet, give Skin Trade a chance.  Oh and in case you were wondering, no, these books are not for a young audience, especially the the later part of the series.

To learn more about the author or get the series order check out her website at http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/

I read this book in about a day.  I have one word to describe it.  Intense. 

Ok, so I have a lot of words that describe it but that is the first one that comes to mind.  I was very impressed with the writing and the story.  I can’t wait for the next installment.

Basically you have a world that fears demons, otherwise known as corelings.  They come out at night and eat people and the citizens have to ward their homes against them.  There are three characters that we meet, come to love, and follow throughout the book, but especially one, Arlen, I feel is the main character.  Arlen plays a special role in this book, but I don’t want to give to much away. 

If you want a book that will keep you turning the pages, has a unique world, and is well written then pick this up.  You will not be sorry.  I look forward to future books by Peter V Brett and if this first book is an example, then I believe he will become a strong pressence in the world of fantasy writing. To learn more about the author, check out his website.

http://www.petervbrett.com/creations/

In case you have not heard of it, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest due date is quickly approaching.  This is a great opportunity to get feedback and possibly get your novel out there and seen.  I haven’t decided if I am going enter yet, but wanted to briefly post about the contest so you know that it’s coming up. The deadline is around February 6th.  Check out the link for new details.

http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011