WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
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?

Currently reading:

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Recently read:

Metrophilias by Brendan Connell

Going to read:

Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione

Book Review: Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Dark Hunters

Rating: 4 cups

Blurb (from Amazon):

"Harm no human…

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief—Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect."

I was going crazy without another Dark Hunter book. I craved a new book in this series. I can't say it's my favorite in the series (I'm saving that space for Acheron's book and for Savitar's, whenever his book will be released) but I like the new angle, the new direction this book takes. 

I loved Jess, the gunslinger. I liked the idea of him being the bad boy of his time, the man that makes every other people shake in fear, even if he was bad for a good reason. I adored his relationship with his Squire. Reminded me a little of Kyrian and Nick. 

I liked the new pantheon. I also like the fact that Kenyon is mixing the Dark Hunter universe with the whole Apocalypse and the 2012 myths and I can't wait to see how the story develops later in The Guardian and in Time Untime. 

Abigail's character was also fresh. I don't think there was another character who hated the Hunters so much and who, ironically, ended up in love with one. Yes, Stryker does hate the Dark Hunters, but he didn't marry one, thank God! 

I think this is one of the few series I've read that even after twenty books can keep things fresh and appealing. Or at least that's how I feel. I do believe that Sherrilyn Kenyon is doing an amazing job with this series and I can't wait to see what happens next. Maybe we'll see more of Savitar in the near future?

Teaser Tuesdays and Top Ten Tuesdays

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
Each week, they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join, just link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

 Top Ten Books I Feel As Though Everyone Has Read But Me 

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - I know most people consider this book a classic, but I still won't read it. Ever 
2. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer - I can't get past Bella being whiny in the first movie and I just cannot make myself go through that again in the book version. And I like my vampires manly, without sparkles.
3. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger - no valid excuse here...
4. Anything by Stephen King - I tried to read Salem's Lot but I couldn't finish it. I felt that nothing happened in that book. Don't think I'll try again with his books.
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - no excuse, just haven't gotten around reading these books
6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - they are on my TBR list, I promise. 
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Let's just say that me and the classic books aren't good friends. I tried this book when I was a teen. Maybe I should try it again.
8. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis - I've only read the first two books in the series. I liked them, but not enough to continue. Probably would've read them had I started the series before reading Lord of the Rings.
9. Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick - I see these books everywhere. I will try them in the near future.
   
10. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    

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!


My teaser today is from The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks:

With that, she sighed. “Shouldn’t you be with your friends, staring at yourselves in the mirror?”

What's your teaser this week?

Book Review: Metrophilias by Brendan Connell

Author: Brendan Connell

Rating: 4.5 stars

Blurb (from Amazon):

Thirty-six cities. Thirty-six stories of obsession. From ancient Thebes to present day Berlin, these little portraits of humans superimposed on their suburban environment are corroding treats thrown together in a past-modern beaker, landmark tales of love in the metropolis. A round-the-world tour of craving and decadence.

Let me start by saying this book is the most bold I've read in a while. I liked that, I really did. It deals with a part of the human psyche that is very dark and taboo. While short, the story is in no way a "light read". The stories are short, yet compelling and well told.

This book is not for everyone. Don't get me wrong, everyone can try it. But some of the stories made me cringe or flinch at some point. Not all, just some. The stories don't linger too much on unnecessary details, which is very good, because it doesn't stray from it's purpose: showing the darker side of humans. I loved the different settings, because it gave more meaning to the idea that anyone, anywhere can have any type of obsession.

I also loved how the author managed to describe the feelings and emotion - both physical and psychological - of the main characters. Brendan Connell manages to get the reader inside the characters mind, making him feel the way the characters feel and maybe understand a little bit the nature of the obsession

I can't say it was the greatest book I've read this year, but I can say I loved it and I think anyone should at least try it. I can say it was the first fiction book I've read on this subject. I'm glad this was the first.

The book deserves 5 stars, but I felt the need for more on some of the stories. When I say more, I mean more exploration of some of the feelings of some characters, of some stories and obsessions. But I definitely loved this book.

Been a while

It's been a while from my last post and I apologize. I finally got my computer back and I can now read and post reviews for the books I've already read. I'm glad to be back :D

Book review: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Author: J. R. Ward

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb (from Amazon):


Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?

Finally, the waiting is over and I got my hands on this book. I can honestly say I devoured it.

Lover Unleashed is a bit different from the other books in the series. There are a lot of new characters, one of which I understand is from Ward’s Fallen Angels series – didn’t read it, but soon, very soon – characters that I can’t wait to learn more about. Unlike the previous books, we don’t get scenes from inside the Lessening Society and that makes me very curious about the whys behind this absence. Maybe we’ll find out in the next book.

I loved Payne. She’s so much like her brother, Vishous, and yet different in some ways. I think there are a few details that we have yet to find out, since we don’t know much about the time Payne spent in the human realm before she was imprisoned. I hope we’ll find out more in the future. But like I said, loved the character. She’s such a strong female, stubborn and proud. It’s actually a bit funny to see her and Vishous having an argument and see how he realizes that there is another creature on earth that’s just as stubborn as he is. I also think Payne has no idea yet what her powers are, but I’ll bet they’re totally different that her twin’s.

Manuel Manello is the hero in this book. If you’ve read the series, you might remember him from Lover Unbound. He was Jane’s boss. I’m happy we got to see him again. I liked his character then and I liked it even better now. He’s a great surgeon and he always tries to make things right, even the surgery might seem impossible to some. He’s also full of surprises. I’m very curious about how his character will develop in the series in the future.

Vishous broke my heart in this book. If I thought in his book I’ve learned everything about him, I was surprised. He and Butch went through a very difficult situation and you can see their friendship is the real deal. Some of V’s scenes were really heartbreaking, but I think he’s going to be a lot better from now on.

Another thing that I missed were the scenes from the past. I was really hoping to read something from Payne’s or Manuel’s past, but unfortunately, we get only one scene of that. Maybe in the next books we’ll learn more about their pasts.

If you don’t know who’s getting his/hers story told next, I’m not going to tell you. All I can say is I can’t wait for this next book and I know it will be a looooong waiting period, no matter when the book will come out. But I’m happy we’re finally getting this book and maybe we’ll get some answers to the questions brought out by Lover Unleashed.