Summary: Anita Blake is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees to help figure out who and why.

Review: I've been meaning to read this book forever now and finally found it and read it. I liked it quite a bit; it was like reading a mix between Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I thought the characters were all great; Anita is spunky, the vampires are suitably hot/evil and the main villan, Nikolaos, not only had a cool name but was also wonderfully creepy. I liked that there are other supernatural creatures as well, it makes it more interesting. The story was exciting and I really liked the element of mystery that ran throughout the book. It was easy to read and I enjoyed it a lot! I look forward to reading the next in the series. :D

Summary: Anne Rice makes real for us the exquisite and otherworldly society of the eighteenth-century castrati, the delicate and alluring male sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices brought them the adulation of the royal courts and grand opera houses of Europe. Men who lived as idols, concealing their pain as they were adored as angels, yet shunned as half men.

Review: I have never read a book about this topic before so I found this book really fascinating! It was all about opera singers and castrati (eunuchs) in 18th century Italy, more specifically about one boy (Tonio) who is forced to become a castrati. It's much more interesting than one would expect, heh. Anne Rice's descriptive writing style really works well for this book; it gives the readers a very visual picture of the story. It was easier to read than her Vampire Chronicle books, despite it's length, so I had no problem whizzing through the book. The characters are all really interesting and well developed; Tonio's transformation in particular throughout the book from the beginning to the end is quite fascinating to read about. This book is great if this is a topic you might be interested in, I'd definitely recommend it giving it a try!

Summary: Lyra and Pantalaimon spot a witch's daemon called Ragi being pursued over the rooftops of Oxford by a frenzied pack of birds. Together Lyra and Pan try to guide the daemon to the home of Sebastian Makepeace--an alchemist living in a part of Oxford known as Jericho--but it is a journey fraught with more danger than they had at first anticipated.

Review: I enjoyed Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy a lot so I decided to borrow this from the library and check it out. Turns out it's like twenty pages so I ended up just reading it while I was there. I was quite disappointed, it's just a random sidestory that had no real plot and was definitely published simply because people would associate it with the trilogy and buy it. The story was very short and very predictable and I was less than satisfied. >.>

Summary: Stephanie Plum becomes persona non grata when she tracks down a neighborhood saint who has failed to show up for his court appearance. No one wants to help Stephanie, and while questioning admirers of the man, Stephanie is attacked and knocked out as she cases his candy store. She comes to next to the dead body of her attacker, who turns out to be a well-known drug dealer.

Review: Finally got around to getting the third book in this series! Like the previous two books, I really enjoyed this book; I'm always up for an interesting mystery and Janet combines mystery with kind of girly subplots (rather Bridget Jones-esque) to make a very fun novel to read! I like that it's relatively fast-paced and has enough action and stuff to keep one occupied. A tad predictable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. :P The characters in the books are awesome and I'm glad to see them all return. I liked the plot of this one, and look forward to the next in the series!

Summary: Merry is desperate to conceive a child and thereby claim the Unseelie throne; she's the target of intrigue from both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; her newest client is an exiled goddess with a secret that could get them all killed and a hideous fey force that alarms even her formidable warriors is loose in Los Angeles.

Review: I thought the first book in this series was unique, but unfortunately the second one just got tired fast. The plot was intriguing but it culminated into a very abrupt and extremely unsatisfying ending that wasn't really explained at all. If Hamilton had stretched the ending out more, with more details and made it a couple of chapters instead of a couple of pages, it would have been really good. So that was disappointing. The characters were lovely, but what else is new in these books?

Summary: At first, Dhrall's mortal defenders are certain they'll prevail again but while the Vlagh's past servants were venomous but mindless bugs, it has now created perfect spies: new minions with a man's appearance and intelligence. Corrupted by the agents of the Vlagh, the human tribes are soon at one another's throats.

Review: I finally got around to finishing this, took me long enough. I hate to say it but I think Eddings is loosing his touch. This book was so incredibly repetitive, most of it was just the same scenes over and over again, but each time with a different main character. I like the story; the idea behind it and the characters are really interesting but the writing style is getting a bit unbearable. The books are becoming increasingly predictable, too. The Belgariad and Mallorean series were much better. I'm still going to read the next book in the series just because I want to find out what happens but I hope it's less repetitive & has more character/plot development.

Summary: Harold Gaynor offers Anita a million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. Knowing it means a human sacrifice will be necessary, Anita turns him down, but when dead bodies start turning up, she realizes that someone else has raised the zombie. Anita pits her power against the zombie & the priestess who controls it.

Review: I didn't like this one as much as the first because it focused mainly on the zombie aspect of the world (which, in itself, I'm not that much into), thus some of my favorite characters (i.e. Jean-Claude) had only a very minor role. However, it was still an exciting book; much creepier than the first and certainly more gruesome but it had more of a mystery element, which was interesting. I heard the next in the series is one of the best so I'm looking forward to reading it!

Summary: Ramses the Great lives, but having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell certain mummy hungers that can never be satisfied.

Review: I'm so glad I finally read this book - I loved it. Ancient Egyptian culture is one of my highest interests; I am absolutely fascinated by it. I was a little disappointed this book didn't have as much about ancient Egypt as I had hoped, but it was still delightful to read. The whole story was romantic and it had it's twists and turns (though the ending was predictable) and overall I enjoyed it immensly, despite the fact it reminded me vaguely of Rice's Queen of the Damned. My only complaint is that this book was suppose to have a sequel, but Rice never wrote it and is never planning on writing it. Since the book ends with the words 'to be continued' - this seems a bit cruel! But I definitely thought it was worth reading despite this.

Summary: Vianne Rocher and her 6-year-old daughter, Anouk, arrive in the small village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. Three days later, Vianne opens a luxuriant chocolate shop crammed with the most tempting of chocolate confections. It's Lent, the shop is opposite the church and is open on Sundays. Francis Reynaud, the parish priest, is livid but one by one the locals succumb to Vianne's concoctions.

Review: This is the book the movie is based on. It was actually quite different from the movie, I was surprised. There are lots of little things and plot points they changed around for the movie. For the most part, I actually like how the movie turned out better. There are a few things I enjoyed about the book that wasn't in the movie, though (for example Vianne and Anouk can do "magic"). Also, the Count from the movie doesn't exist in the book; instead the priest plays this role. I'm glad they changed this in the movie; I loved the priest in the movie, he's so adorably dorky! The book was great but I think overall the movie was better which is quite odd. :3

Summary: Stephanie Plum is tracking Maxine Nowicki, who's wanted for skipping out on a car-theft charge lodged by her ex-boyfriend. Now the ex-boyfriend's very interested in getting back the love letters he supposedly wrote to Maxine but what he's really looking for is a secret Stephanie and her various friends must uncover.

Review: I think this one is my favorite so far, I absolutely loved it! I loved the plot because there were several interesting subplots going on. Also, it seemed a little less serious than the previous books (only one dead body and two explosions, haha) which was nice. This book was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing! The characters were all awesome as usual (I particularly adored the minor characters in this book) and plus Joe plays a big role which is always a plus. ;D All in all, another great installment! We'll see how the next is.

Summary: Stephanie's problems are many and varied. She's not making enough money picking up FTAs; her red-hot love affair with Detective Joe Morelli has cooled off; and her giant extended family is no help at all. For instance, Uncle Fred the cheapskate has disappeared, leaving behind some suspicious photographs of body parts in garbage bags and links to some really dangerous people.

Review: Fifth book and another great one! Stephanie's family finally gets involved in the "mystery" this time when her uncle goes missing. Her aunt was absolutely hilarious, she cracked me up. This whole book was extremely funny; what with the midget, the fact Stephanie has like six different cars over the course of the book, etc. etc. Besides the extremely creepy part about the body in the garbage bag and the return of the sadistic rapist from the first book, I really liked this one. Plus, Ranger and Joe both play big roles.

Summary: The police are after Stephanie Plum's mentor, the mysterious Ranger, who is wanted for killing drug and gun dealer Homer Ramos. Claiming he's innocent, Ranger persuades Stephanie to help him keep an eye on the Ramos clan. When Mafia thugs get involved, she barely avoids kidnapping and torture.

Review: It's amazing how even after six books, Evanovich still manages to have such unique characters and plots! This one was awesome because it had a dog. :D And Ranger was kind of the bad guy (which, of course, just makes him more appealing). And the mafia/mob is very involved. And there are dorky guys (Dougie and Mooner). And Joe is absolutely adorable. The dialogue was particularly witty in this book.

Summary: Stephanie's employer, her bailbondsman cousin, Vinnie, gives her an easy job: pick up vicious senior citizen Eddie DeChooch, who is constantly sighted racing around Trenton in a borrowed white Cadillac, but whom no one can grab.

Review: This book was hilarious - Eddie DeChooch was a riot! Dougie and Mooner (our two favorite side characters from the previous book) were back, which was a welcome relief. Stephanie's sister Valerie was a great addition to the cast as well. And, of course, the whole thing about Stephanie and Joe's wedding was amusing. Ranger is likewoah! in this book. <3 The plot was really amusing, what with the roast and the heart and everything. The ending was a bit unsatisfactory (in the Joe + Stephanie department) but otherwise I loved this one. Plus, there's mud wrestling. :D

Summary: Stephanie Plum picks up a case a little nastier than anything the wisecracking bounty hunter's seen before. Evelyn Soder and her young daughter have gone on the run, leaving an angry ex-husband who's planning to collect on a child custody bond that will leave Evelyn's grandmother homeless. Stephanie's first clue that there's more to it than that comes in the form of Eddie Abruzzi, a shady local businessman who warns her to butt out of the case.

Review: I'm kind of torn about whether I liked this book or not. I got a bit confused about the characters but the overall plot was interesting. There were some extremely funny points (namely the whole goose/tarantula/snake/rabbit incident) which I enjoyed. :D Ranger was unbelievable in this book but I was sad that Joe and Stephanie were at odds. Also a tad disappointed more of the supporting characters from the previous books weren't here; it seems that after one book or maybe two, each new set of characters falls off the face of the planet, which is annoying. Still great fun to read, though!

Summary: Cousin Vinnie, a bail-bondsman, sends Stephanie Plum in search of a missing immigrant, but the tables are turned when sedative-laced darts, mysteriously delivered flowers, and creepy email messages make it clear that Plum has become the prey in a strange, deadly game.

Review: For some reason I felt this book lacked something the others had; I'm not sure what it was, though. Maybe supporting characters? This one didn't have many. It also wasn't as funny. "The game" was a bit too much like Saw for me but it was a unique take on this as far as these books go. Stephanie and Joe are back together again which was happy. Stephanie "goes through" things every book (i.e. looses/ruins a large number of something whether it be cars, guys or handcuffs) - this time it was bodyguards which was extremely amusing - they all kept getting hurt in the weirdest ways.

Summary: Bumbling New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum witness a gang member rob a convenience store and attempt to bomb it with a Molotov cocktail, which hits Stephanie's car instead. Stephanie gets a good look at the man, making her a key witness and a target for a nasty gang called the Slayers.

Review: Somehow this one didn't seem as .. exciting or funny as the other ones, but I thought it was really good. I love that whole thing about Stepanie staying in Ranger's apartment. Sally comes back and is hilarious as he tries to quit cussing. He is definitely one of my all-time favorite supporting characters from this series. This book is not at all of a mystery compared to the others but it has some good dialogue, an interesting plot and is just as entertaining as the rest!

Summary: Stephanie Plum is having a career crisis, and quits her bounty hunter job to try other jobs, most of them don't even last a full working day. This plunges Stephanie back into the always seedy, often dangerous, and always colorful world of fugitives who'd rather flee than face their day in court.

Review: Janet tried to make this one different by making the Stephanie quit her bounty hunting job, which was a surprise. I actually liked that because Stephanie not only had interesting adventures trying to get other jobs but she ends up doing a lot of bounty-hunter work anyways so it's not like it was any less exciting than any of the other books. We get to learn more about Ranger's company which was neat - slowly but surely the mystery of Ranger unravels. :P

Summary: Charlie leads a normal, boring existence in London. When he calls to invite his estranged father to his wedding, he learns that the man just died. At the funeral, Charlie not only discovers a brother he didn't know he had, but also learns that his father was the West African trickster god, Anansi. Charlie's brother, who possesses his own magical powers, later visits him at home and spins Charlie's life out of control.

Review: I adore all of Neil Gaiman's books and this one was certainly no exception. I liked it better than American Gods but not as much as Neverwhere. I really liked the characters (Spider! :D) and the plot in this one, it wasn't at all confusing like American Gods was at times. It was very entertaining yet not that predictable. I absolutely adored the ending, it was perfect. It was funny, very well written and an overall excellent book.

Summary: The heretic Pharaoh Akhenten's religious reforms had been defeated by the power of the Priests of Amun, and the young boy King, Tutankhamun, had been placed on the throne. There was a famine in the land, and ongoing deadly intrigue in the Court as different factions maneuvered to gain control of Egypt. Nearly thirty-five hundred years later, in the 1920s, a young British archaeologist named Howard Carter becomes obsessed with finding Tutankamun's tomb.

Review: At first I thought this book was going to be boring, but it was actually quite interesting. The author divided the book up into two sections - the first was all about how Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered and who discovered it and that sort of thing. The second half of the story was all about Tutankhamun and his wife, and the history surrounding his death. It's written like a story, and some of it was historical and some was fictionalized. Overall, very entertaining, and a fun book about Egyptian history!

Summary: Laszlo, the 19th-century Hungarian Count Dracula, is an entirely human, socially prominent gentleman. He had a mad, dark side, however, and when he allows himself to explore his fascination with blood, sex, and death, he turns into a demonic murderer. Amazingly, as Laszlo recounts his violent story of lust and self-loathing, he emerges as a perverse but not entirely unsympathetic character.

Review: This book doesn't actually have to do with vampires (at least the stereotypical, supernatural ones). The book is written in diary form, by Count Laszlo Dracula. The book essentially follows his personal journey from being a doctor at an asylum to becoming a vampire-like man who prays on young women. The book was not as intense as I had thought it would be, but it was still pretty dark. I didn't like the ending very much, though (seriously, I have issues with endings); a lot of loose ends weren't tied up and that bothered me. It is undeniably very well written, though; the characters were exquisitely developed and overall I thought it was excellent.

Summary: n 1479 B.C., Pharaoh Tuthmosis II returns in triumph to the city of Thebes after a series of victorious battles in the Nile Delta. But soon after his homecoming, he dies in the arms of his wife, at the foot of a statue of Amun-Ra. Tuthmosis's untimely death, caused by a snake bite, results in political chaos as the forces surrounding the throne coalesce into two camps: one supports the ascension of the pharaoh's illegitimate young son; the other, that of his widow and half-sister, Hatusu.

Review: Another historical fiction about Ancient Egypt. :D I liked the story, characters and plot in general but I didn't like the author's writing style. He feels the need to describe everything in great detail and unfortunately he doesn't do it with enough elegance to pull it off. I did really like the historical part of the book, though. There were characters in the book - Pharaoh Thutmose II, his Queen Hathepsut, royal steward Senemut, etc. - that were very much real; the author takes their life stories and weaves some intrigue and plot around it. Which is definitely really interesting. :D The mystery aspect of the book was fun, too.

Summary: When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health - a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan.

Review: I read this a while ago and decided to reread it because I didn't remember most of it. The book itself is long, but I never got tired of reading it. It's very engaging, lots to keep the reader happy! I was amazed at how in-depth Auel's creation of this society was. She had every ritual, every custom, all layed out perfectly. It's like reading about a culture that really existed or something. Great book - though kind of sad.

Summary: Rose, a 33-year-old attorney with a secret passion for romance novels, and Maggie, her 28-year-old aspiring starlet sibling are forced into cohabitation, resulting in hilarious situations and a newfound sisterhood. The two women with nothing in common but childhood tragedy, shared DNA, and the same size feet, are about to learn that their family is more different than they ever imagine, and that they're more alike, than they'd ever believe.

Review: The movie was fun so I thought I'd give the book a shot. It's surprisingly exactly like the movie, except the book has one extra part. It's a very easy book to read; basically mindless fun. I like that the book switches between the three main characters, until they all converge at the end, just like in the movie.

Summary: Stephanie, who freely admits her failings as a hunter of fugitives, faces a growing work backlog that threatens the continued existence of her job. Stephanie's ambivalence toward the two men in her life becomes harder to maintain when one of them, the mysterious Ranger, is accused of kidnapping his own daughter.

Review: Finally got my hands on a copy of the 12th book in this series, and loved it! It's one of my favorites. I thought it was particularly funny - especially the whole kidnapping scene was just hilarious. Plus, Sally is in this book and he rocks my world. Also, lots and lots of Ranger and Morelli. <3 Definitely can't wait for the 13th book!

Summary: The third novel of Hamilton's Anita Blake series has the petite necromancer fighting a giant cobra and a rogue vampire, Alejandro, who wants her for his human servant. Anita's reluctant involvement in the odd goings-on at the supernatural Circus of the Damned introduces her to Richard, the werewolf of her dreams, and Larry, her powerful but nervous partner in zombie-raising.

Review: It took me a while to start this book just because I've been so busy but I finished it really quickly. It's definitely contending with Guilty Pleasures as my favorite book, I really liked it a lot. :D No zombies - just hot vampires! Yay! Anita is starting to bug me but otherwise I loved all of the characters. The plot was a lot more interesting and I totally didn't guess the whole ending bit. I loved the whole thing with the snakes for some reason as well. But yeah, loads better than the second.

Summary: Anita has a neatly typed list of eight missing lycanthropes given to her by Marcus, the leader of the local werewolf pack, who wants her to find them. The trouble is, Anita's occasionally furry boyfriend Richard is locked in a power struggle with Marcus. To top it off, Anita has to solve some horrific murders and keep her bounty-hunting friend Edward from killing Richard and Jean-Claude.

Review: This was another favorite from the Anita Blake series - again, no zombies! The main focus in this book were shapeshifters, who I think are really cool. Lots of werewolves, wererats, weird snake people, etc. Lots of fun. :D Also this one was not very predictable which was fun. I'm not sure how I feel about Anita and Richard yet but the whole thing with Anita and Richard vs. Anita and Jean-Claude is lovely.

Summary: Meredith Gentry, half-mortal Sidhe princess, is engaged in a contest to produce a child before her cousin Prince Cel does. The stakes are high: the winner will be heir to Queen Andais and the throne of the Unseelie Court. A powerful artifact mysteriously appears, and Merry becomes a trigger for the goddess Danu to restore long-lost powers of Celtic godhood to the Sidhe.

Review: I was not happy with the second book but this one was much more enjoyable, plot-wise. Some things still seemed a bit streched in terms of logic and explanations, but this one was more interesting and focused more on the faeries again instead of weird monsters like the second one did. Some of the characters (i.e. Frost and Rhys) are really starting to grow on me.

Summary: In 526 B.C., the kingdom of Egypt is decaying, threatened by treachery from within and by a massive Persian invasion. Hasdrubal Barca, a Phoenician mercenary in service to the pharaoh, has sworn to protect Egypt's eastern border from Bedouin marauders and foreign invaders. Fueled by a secret, personal tragedy, Barca is merciless and cunning in battle, feared by enemies and his own men alike.

Review: This book took me forever to finish - I started reading it in August and only just now finished. The universe seemed to have had a personal vendetta against letting me finish the book - one thing after another, heh. But I finally finished! It was pretty good, I'll have to go back and reread it in a smaller amount of time in the future because I don't remember most of what happened during the first half of the book. It's historical, about the ancient Egyptians and Romans - my favorite time period! The characters were interesting (though very predictable). The story was good but ended up being a little depressing, which I should have seen coming. Damn endings!

Summary: After a barely thwarted assassination attempt, Meredith Gentry decides to hold a press conference inside the fairy mounds. As the session is ending, two dead bodies are discovered -- one sidhe, one human. While police and FBI agents swarm the area, Merry's cadre of hunky sidhe guardians must not only track down the killer or killers and pacify the temperamental Queen.

Review: This one was okay; I liked the third book slightly better. The plot of this one was slightly confusing because the characters - and stories - split up into three groups and it was hard to keep track of them. That's a problem with these books; there are so many characters I always get a few confused, especially since there are more with each book. The fact the characters were split up did make the plot less monotonous and more interesting, though.

Summary: When Anita Blake's boss at Animators, Inc., informs her that she's expected to raise 300-year-old zombies from a field of jumbled bones just to settle a land dispute, she's understandably annoyed. A psychotic sword-wielding vampire starts committing multiple murders, and Anita must call on Jean-Claude for help.

Review: I loved this book! The focus was mainly vampires but also some faerie stuff - kind of mixing Merry's world into Anita's. Richard is fine and all but it was nice having a book without him. I adore Jean-Claude and loved having him as the main guy in this book instead of Richard. Plus, I'm kind of fond of Jason and he's Jean-Claude's "pet" so he had a big role in this book as well. I liked all of the supporting characters and this book had particularly interesting villans. Even though he is easily one of the top most twisted villans, Xavier was definitely a favorite .. Janos was intriguing as well. All in all, another excellent installment - definitely enjoyed this one.

Summary: Tristran Thorn falls in love with the prettiest girl in Wall and makes her a foolish promise: that he'll go find the falling star they both watched streak across the night sky. She says she'll marry him if he finds it, so he sets off, leaving his home, and heads out into the perilous land of faerie, where not everything is what it seems.

Review: I've been meaning to read this book; I love Neil Gaiman's books and this is also in that fantasy-type genre I tend to like. It was a quick read, but I just love Neil's writing style! It's so eloquent and pretty to read. :D Very visual. The story itself was really sweet .. incredibly predictable, but fun nonetheless. Apparently it's being made into a movie with all sorts of interesting people so we'll see how that is. :3

Summary: Betsy Taylor wakes up after being flattened by a small SUV in a tacky coffin wearing knock-off shoes. Her mother is glad she is back, albeit as a vampire, but her stepmother is enraged that Betsy has reclaimed her designer-shoes. With a wealthy best friend and a newly acquired doctor pal, Betsy sets out to right wrongs and is abducted by Nostro, a tacky 500-year-old vampire who rules the undead.

Review: This book was a bit painful to read - it was like Anita Blake but extremely girly and fashion-conscious. The plot revolves around a woman who dies (gets hit by a truck) and wakes up to find that she's a vampire. She spends most of the book worrying about her wardrobe or her huge shoe collection and only agrees to become the new vampire queen of the city or something if she gets some Prada shoes. There were a few funny bits but overall it was just too weird to really enjoy. Yeah, I'm not going to finish the series.

Summary: A young Jewish American named Jonathan Safran Foer travels to the Ukraine in the hope of finding the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is aided in his search by Alex Perchov, Alex's grandfather, and a flatulent mongrel dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. On their journey through Eastern Europe's obliterated landscape they unearth facts about the Nazi atrocities and the extent of Ukrainian complicity that have implications for Perchov as well as Safran Foer.

Review: I tried reading this book last year but for some reason could not get into it. After watching the movie and everything I decided to give it another try. It was EXCELLENT, I absolutely loved it - even more than the movie! I loved that there were two stories, and am disappointed they didn't have much if any of Brod/Safran's story in the movie. The characters were all wonderful and it's amazing how Foer managed to have three such distinct writing styles to separate the different parts of the stories. I would highly recommend this!