Friday, May 01, 2009

Monthly Reads - April 2009

Hi everyone :)

I wanted to have this up earlier today, but I got the blues :( However, I bounced back and here is my reading list for the month of April :) I'm pretty happy with it, I have to admit :)

1) The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner: B+

2) Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews: C

3) Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas: B

4) Love in Bloom by Sheila Roberts: B

I became a fan of Sheila Roberts thanks to Dev :) Her books are more women fiction. They are about women of different ages linked by a common theme. In this one, the theme is gardening. Love in Bloom is a solid and enjoyable read - although I have to admit, I was expecting a bit more.

5) Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews: B

6) Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews: B++

7) White Star by Elizabeth Vaughan: B

Review to come to Book Binge.

8) Rebel Waltz by Kay Hooper: B

I love that Ms Hooper's backlist is being re-printed!! Because otherwise, I would never be able to read these :) Rebel Waltz was a very sweet romance in my opinion. Very Kay Hooper style as well :) There's just the right touch of humor, romance and paranormal element to make it interesting :)

9) Tempted at Midnight by Jacquie D'Alessandro: D

Review to come to Book Binge.

10) Turn Coat by Jim Butcher: B++

Buddy review to come to Breezing Through.

11) Hot Stuff by Carly Phillips: B

Hmmm, I picked these up after reading Ames TBR entry this month. If I'm not wrong, I already read Hot Stuff, but didn't remember much of it. I liked this well enough and actually didn't remember much from the first read. I like the hero, he was very yummy :) Heroine was okay. Overall, a nice romance with sports as background.

12) Hot Number by Carly Phillips: B

This one is the sequel and it was a bit more interesting than Hot Stuff because the hero is still a professional athlete. Out of the three sisters, I like Micki the most, although I was surprised at how "fragile" and "unsure" she felt. What I didn't work for me is that their "affair" was really way too short. I don't understand men that are not able to deal with their career and love. I mean, women do it all the time right? So very weak excuse in my opinion... that coupled with the pregnancy accusation made the grade the same as Hot Stuff although I liked the characters better in Hot Number.

13) Hot Item by Carly Phillips: DNF

Blah. Was really not interested in the H/H in this one. I don't mind kids in my romance, but I have to say the spoiled girl from a professional athlete who doesn't want her father to date is the worst. I just found them very, very annoying. Seriously, it's not an interesting plot... This one had potential though, given the build up from Hot Stuff and Hot Number, but I just wasn't into it.

14) The Warrior by Sharon Sala: B

15) Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James: B+

Most probably, I'll review this book. I don't know where yet, but I mean, the grade says it all right? Oh and if you're wondering, I'm siding with J.D. :P

16) Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber: C

I was really looking forward to this book... I like the Blossom Street series and one of my favorite character was coming back: Alix :) I ended up being quite disappointed. Let see, Lydia had the main storyline and it was okay - not very original. She and her husband want to adopt a baby, but they end up fostering a young teenager girl. You can guess the rest right? I liked Phoebe and Hutch's storylines and romance, but I wished there'd been more. I skipped over Anne Marie's storyling - I really wasn't interested in. Basically, in Twenty Wishes, Anne Marie adopted an 8 years old girl... and her biological father shows up now. The worst is that this storyline is probably going to continue in the next Blossom Street book. Sigh. As for Alix, I really liked her character and her romance with Jordan. In this one, Alix and Jordan want to start their family, but Alix is nervous because she doesn't know if she'll be a good mother or not. Again, very typical and the worst is that we barely saw Alix and Jordan compared to all the other relationships in the book :( So let just say I'm disappointed with this one. Although the storylines are all very typical, Ms Macomber does save the book with her writing style... Hence the C.

17) Twisted Creek by Jodi Thomas: A

18) Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder: B+

Review to come.

19) Visions in White by Nora Roberts: B+

20) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder: A

So after reading Storm Glass, I wanted to re-visit Yelena and her books. So I re-read Poison Study. Awesome book!! I put the link of my previous review, but seriously, I really like Yelena, Valek, Janco and Ari :) and I thought this book was great ;)

21) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder: A

LOL, just normal that after reading Poison Study, I would follow up with Magic Study :) Another great book, very enjoyable :) Again, really love Yelena's character and she grows :) Yes, she gets into trouble, but she gets out of them :) and she has a very good entourage. I liked re-reading about Yelena and Valek, re-visiting her friendship with Janco and Ari and get to know her brother Leif. I have to say, Kiki is great! :)


So that's it for this month :) I really had an awesome month and I ended up reviewing more than I thought I did! So overall, very happy with myself :) I'm crossing my fingers so that May is as good - although less new releases...

You guys have any plans for this week-end?