I Know...

... I've been pretty bad at updating my book blog lately. Sorry to all those that read it (all one of you)!

So, here comes a quick summary of the books I recently read...


As Shadows Fade - Colleen Gleason

This was the final installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles. I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this book... and when I still hadn't received it the day after it came out, I went to my local (but not so local) Barnes & Noble and picked one up. Lo and behold, the next morning my pre-ordered book came through the mail. Thankfully my sister, Kira, decided to buy all the books in the series and bought my extra copy from me.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the demons were great villains and portrayed really well. And let me just clarify my choice of a suitor for Victoria - after reading the first chapter, I quickly changed from wanting Sebastian for her to wanting Max for her. It seemed that Sebastian's character became rather weak and completely different in the last book than the calm, cool and suave Sebastian I have always loved. That was one reason why I could not give this book a 5. Also, his "memories" throughout the book were slightly annoying. But overall, a great read!

Rating: 4.5/5


Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

This was the book chosen by my sister Lisa for our family book club this month. I checked it out of the library before my week long excursion to Georgia for something to do while I was up there (trapped inside a one bedroom apartment with no vehicle and two little rambunctious girls). I read about 3/4 of the book that week and quickly finished it two days after I got back to Florida. All I can say is - WOW! It was such a fascinating story! I loved McMurtry's development of the characters, although there were so many of them it took me a while before I could keep straight who was who. There were so many unexpected happenings in this book and it always kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next! Yes, it was quite long (over 800 pages), but I really enjoyed it!

Rating: 4.5/5


The Nine Kingdoms Books - Lynn Kurland

Thanks to my sister Lisa, I also wanted to read these three books about the plight of Morgan of Melksham, an ordinary shieldmaiden from the kingdom of Neroche. It follows her journey of self discovery as she travels the Nine Kingdoms aiding the quest of the king and archmage of Neroche as they try to quell the evil that threatens their land. I absolutely loved the characters of Morgan and Miach! They were so cute together, although I do have a difficult time believing that somebody could be as patient and caring and loving as Miach - hello! He has a way stressful life and I love my husband dearly, but I don't know any man who is that perfect! But still, I loved pretending there was someone like that. The second book (The Mage's Daughter) was my favorite of the series, with the third book (Princess of the Sword) as my least favorite. It just seemed very anti-climatical (is that the right word there?) after all the build up to the great battle for the kingdom of Neroche. And then the ending - could it be any more quaint and sappy? However, I still really enjoyed reading the series.


Ratings:
Star of the Morning: 4.5/5
The Mage's Daughter: 5/5
Princess of the Sword: 4/5