Once Upon a Read-a-thon Issue 1.2 – update and a mini-challenge

Mythology Mini-Challenge

Part 1: What is your favorite type of Mythology?

This is a tough one because I like so many! I would have to say that I know Greek, Roman and Egyptian the best, and Egyptian was probably my first love, though I think the Greek and Roman stories are much easier for us to relate to. Native American Mythology is very interesting, but kind of hard for me to follow sometimes, and although I like Celtic, Irish and Norse, I’m not as familiar with them. We’ll go with Greek and Roman as the favorite, judging from my next answer! ;)

Part 2: What is your favorite book with Mythology in it?

Clash of the Titans was an early favorite for me, the idea of Pegasus was enchanting to me, I mean what young girl doesn’t want a winged horse, right?

I’ve recently been listening to the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, a Teen/YA Fantasy/Paranormal story and really enjoying it. The main characters are Banshees, a creature from Irish Mythology, usually female, who wail when someone is about to die. You can imagine the chaos that would cause in a teenage girl’s life! I highly recommend this series!

Reading update:

I’ve finished Hexbound (great series!), worked on Blue (liking it) some throughout the day, and have chosen my next books, so we’ll see what I can get through this evening. With work, a grocery trip, and some internet issues, I haven't gotten much read yet, but I'll keep trying! Hope everyone is having a great first day!

Currently reading:

	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson -- A doting millionaire father transports a haunted Scottish castle, ghosts and all to Texas for his ailing daughter. The description is actually very funny, so I can't wait to see how it goes!
	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and ghostly house guest. Are you sensing a theme here?
	Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Started: pg. 43, current page: 82

Finished reading:

Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill

Started: pg 152 Pages read: 94

Total Page Count: 133

Once Upon a Read-a-thon: Day 1 - Let's go!

I'm excited to have another read-a-thon to do, I've only ever done Dewey's before, so this will be a nice one in between to tide me over. Or it may have the side effect of turning me into a read-a-thon junkie, we'll see!

I'm going to start with a couple of books that I was already in the middle of, and will only count pages read during the read-a-thon:

	Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Starting point: pg. 43
	Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill, I'm over halfway in this one, but didn't quite get it finished before the read-a-thon start. Magical kids at a boarding school, fighting evil down in the basement tunnels of Chicago. A fun series, I'm really enjoying it! Starting point: pg 152

I'll check to see what challenges are available when I get home from work! Good luck and good reading!

Once Upon a Read-a-thon July 11-13th

If anyone is interested, I just saw another read-a-thon coming up next week. I'm thinking about joining, though I do have to work those days, I could read in the evenings, and during lunch at work, I do that anyway, in fact, I was just getting to a really exciting part in my book today when it was time for lunch to be over! ARGH!

Anyway, check it out, and I might see you there!

WWW Wednesday 7/06/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I skipped last week because there just wasn't much of a change, but I'm back this week!

I'm currently reading:

	Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4) by Melissa Marr -- My current audiobook, and another excellent teen paranormal series. This one is about fairies, but these are not cute flitting and glittery fairies, they're seductive and dangerous. Another highly recommend!
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- Still working on this one, will probably finish it up this week as it's my primary read at the moment. Does anyone else just want to slap Richard? He's so hot and cold and moody! Every time he almost comes around, he does something low that you just want to throttle him for! I've always liked Jean-Claude better!

In the last 2 weeks I finished reading:

	My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent -- Teen Paranormal featuring Banshees, very good! This one tackles drug addiction and loss of control, but in a great paranormal setting. Highly Recommend this series!
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- I've already passed this one along to a friend, as I recall the cover of the book called it a cross between Mad Max and Blade Runner, and I can see that. It was good, but doesn't really stick out for me. It's a gritty, violent and action packed story set in a future Australia.
	The Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin is sent to live with his granddad after his mother dies, and while an initial encounter with some not so nice boys makes him doubtful of his future there, his life changes drastically when he finds a golden acorn, and a secret world is opened to him. I would recommend this for young fans of Narnia and Harry Potter, it's a good children's fantasy with talking animals, some mythology and some time travel. I enjoyed it, and got it free for Kindle on Amazon
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I had to give up on it, there are just too many other things I'd rather be reading.

Probably up next:

	Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb -- This is the July read for Fantasy Faction, and I think it will be a lot more to my taste than Kraken was!
	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?

Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerny

Howling at the Moon is the first book in the Tales of an Urban Werewolf series.

Sophie Garou is a half werewolf, half human who has done her best to hide her furry side and lead a normal life. She has a good job, and a handsome successful boyfriend, and things are going good until a client of her mother's dies, and her mother is arrested for murder.

While trying to investigate and prove her mother innocent of wrong doing, Sophie meets her first real, full werewolf, and feels an undeniable attraction to him. He is a bounty hunter, on site to solve a problem for the local pack (she didn't even know there was a local pack), but he's also dating her best friend, and that means hands off. Which is okay, because she loves her boyfriend, he's wonderful! But she has so many questions about life as a werewolf, since her father deserted them and she's never known him, or learned much about her heritage.

This is a fun paranormal romance, humorous and fast paced, a little bit of a chick lit feel, and Sophie's mother is quite a character. The description of Sophie as a werewolf, and what she goes through is great!

For more information on Karen MacInerny and her books, visit her website.

This is my third read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

WWW Wednesday 6/22/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!
	The Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin's life is changed when he finds a golden acorn, could he be The One? A children's fantasy downloaded free from Amazon for Kindle, it still was free on Sunday, so check it out if you're interested.
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. I'm still struggling with this one, not even halfway yet. At this point I'm starting to consider not finishing it. It's not bad, it's just not really for me. We'll see.

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I liked Pompeii by the same author, and also enjoyed this one, but I think more because I listened to it then read it. It is historical Roman political fiction, and I think it might have been a challenging read on it's own. Simon Jones is a wonderful narrator and really brought life to the characters, something I don't think I could have done in my head. I do recommend it, the story is good, but especially the audio version.

An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.

Probably up next:

Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?

WWW Wednesday 6/15/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I'm listening to this one and love this narrator already, Simon Jones, who also read the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud. I also just discovered he reads the Charlie Bone books, so I may have to get those too! He's great!
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com. I have to say that the ending on this one was quite emotional, a little unexpected in a series that I've come to associate with intelligent humor. Wonderful, highly recommend!

Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This was a sweet read, just the thing for light romance, being in the accounting profession myself, I can relate to Kendall in some ways!

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

WWW Wednesday 6/8/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!
	Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com.
	Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This has been a cute one so far, but I can't get past the underwear thing, I'm having a hard time picturing much underwear that could be mistaken for just a skimpy outfit, but then I'm pretty conservative when it comes to clothes! I really wanted someone to notice and ask why she was in her underwear, but of course no one did!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood #8) by J. R. Ward -- I chose this as my reading treat for the week of my birthday and I was not disappointed! J. R. Ward delivers as usual, and the story of John Matthew and Xhex was as riveting as all the others have been, even though I'm past the book of my favorite Brother, Vishous. A Lot of things are brought full circle in this one, answers revealed, and ends tied up. It's got a big ol' sappy happy ending, at least for John Matthew and Xhex, hopefully I'm not spoiling anything there, because you gotta know they'd end up together, I mean, it is their book after all! It's a painful road getting there for sure though, true?

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock

From the Back of the Book:

Being dead isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take it from Francesca Marinelli, trapped underground for over 200 years and rediscovered during the renovation of a Victorian mansion in historic St. Augustine. A tourist attraction herself, she's well suited for a job as an Old Ghost Town Tour guide. Francesca's due for a new lease on afterlife-and with enough sunblock, she can finally live it.

Unfortunately, everything she learned about men is a little dated. And when people in her tour group turn up dead, naturally the police suspect her. After all, she is a vampire. Which is why a crazed vampire-hunting vigilante squad is out to get her as well. Between the dead bodies, the stalkers, and a seriously non-existent love life, she's starting to wish she was dead. Or at least buried, where she was safe.

Shaunie's opinion:

I gave this one 3 of 5 stars, it was enjoyable, but doesn't really stick out for me. I liked Francesca, that she was a ghost tour guide, and that she was getting into some modern hobbies and past times, but I found the bad guys, and even the male love interest a little exaggerated. With so many other books to read, I probably won't actively seek out the rest of the series, but do want to say that it was a fun read, and would certainly continue it if I come across it or have a friend share it. If the above blurb sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a try! There are two more books in the series so far: Last Vampire Standing, and Always the Vampire, just released this year.

For more information on the author and her work, visit her website: Nancy Haddock

This is my second read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Teaser Tuesdays - The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'donohoe

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Even familiar places have unfamiliar roads, and even people found at home can become lost after a wrong turn. But there are small wrong turns and large ones, and these last are the strangeways. -- pg. 24 The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'Donohoe

Tattoo Shop Mysteries by Karen E. Olson

The Missing Ink

Brett Kavanaugh is the owner of The Painted Lady tattoo shop in Las Vegas, and prides herself on providing custom tattoo artwork. In The Missing Ink, Brett becomes involved in a confusing plot when she is asked to design a devotional tattoo for a girl that never comes back for it. The police then come asking questions about this mystery girl, who turns out to have a very high profile fiance, and the problem is, the name she asked for in the tattoo, is not his.

Brett becomes further embroiled when she does a favor for her competition across town, Jeff Coleman at Murder Ink, and instead of the high profile client she expects to be tattoo-ing, she comes across a dead body, and tattoo equipment! Luckily Brett's brother is a police detective, so she has a defender on the force. Much to her brother's frustration, Brett has a curious streak, and is constantly investigating on her own, causing him no end of trouble. Did Jeff set her up, or was he going to be set up himself? Where is the mystery girl, and how is handsome hotel manager Simon mixed up with this mess? And why is Brett attracted to him when he's a suspicious character?


Pretty in Ink

Brett and her crew of tattoo artists are back in book 2 of the Tattoo Shop mysteries, guests at the Nylons and Tattoos show put on by some local drag queen friends. During the show one of them is attacked, shot by a champagne cork to the chest. This puts a quick end to the show, but is the beginning of the mystery. While the victimized drag queen Britney Brassieres recovers from the cork shooting, she becomes mysteriously ill in Brett's shop and later dies at the hospital.

A Queen of Hearts tattoo seems to be the connection between the drag queens, politicians, and possible terrorists. Once again Brett stumbles into the middle of things when she answers a cry for help from her new intern only to discover yet another dead body, but no Charlotte. This seems to be becoming a habit for Brett! Help comes from an unlikely source, as she develops an appreciation for Jeff Coleman, her competitor from Murder Ink, who also has connections to the players involved.

The Tattoo Shop mysteries are a lot of fun, Brett has a great shop crew, Bitsy, Joel and Ace, and I'm interested to see where Brett's relationship with Jeff goes. Las Vegas and the Tattoo culture is an interesting backdrop for the series, but you do not have to know anything about tattoo-ing to appreciate it, in fact I've learned some things I didn't know, since I'll probably never get a tattoo! I'm looking forward to continuing the series and recommend it to cozy mystery lovers! Brett makes some pretty colossally bad decisions, but then if all our mystery heroines were cautious when they should be, we would have a mystery, would we? ;)

For more information, visit Karen E. Olson's website. I love the name of the 4th book, Ink Flamingos due out in June!

These were my 4th and 5th reads for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge hosted my Book Chick City.