Theme Song Saturday (5)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Today's song:

Bonfires by Rosie and Me is for Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand this week. All week, I was planning on using Let's Go to Vegas by Faith Hill, but when I heard this song, it spoke to me. It is sweet, light, and just plain cute. I think Ben and Kitty need a little carefree dance-time. So, this song is for that ^_^

What do you think?

Leave comment to join in the fun and share you're song ^_^

Book Review -- Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand

Title: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 382
Published: 2009
Opening Lines: "This was embarrassing. I never thought I'd become a victim of tradition."

Honeymoon In Vegas?

"Already the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack, Kitty and Ben now plan to tie the knot human-style by eloping to Vegas. Kitty is looking forward to sipping fru-fru drinks by the pool and doing her popular radio show on live TV, but her hotel is stocked with werewolf-hating bounty hunters. Elsewhere on the Strip an old-school magician might be wielding the real thing; the vampire community is harboring a dark secret; and the irresistible star of a suspicious animal act is determined to seduce kitty. Sin City has never been so wild, and this werewolf has never had to fight harder to save not only her wedding, but her very life."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: To say that I love the Kitty books would probably be an understatement. First, you have a kick ass heroine, find out she's an English major, she has her own radio show, and she's a werewolf. How could you go wrong with that?

Even though I toyed with the idea of Kitty and Cormac getting together, I knew it could never work. While he had a great understanding of her, there lives were too different. Further, she could never fit into his lifestyle of being a supernatural bounty hunter. When Ben was turned into a werewolf and Kitty's Wolf viewed him as her mate, I wasn't sure how to take it. However, after reading Kitty Takes a Holiday and Kitty and the Silver Bullet, Vaughn really won be over to the whole idea. While working as her lawyer, you could see a spark between the two that was just amplified once their Wolves made a decision.

In the previous book, I felt Ben really stepped up to the plate and proved himself to be capable of being an alpha. However, it did feel strange him becoming one of the alphas for the Denver pack with so little werewolf experience under his belt. So, I was pretty excited when the couple decided to take the next step. After the Wolves decided they were mated and the two became the head of the Denver pack, the logical next step was to get hitched. And what better place than Las Vegas!

Admittedly, this book was all over the place! But I felt that was Vaughn's intention with this book. Even though things seemed to settle down a little after the vampire/werewolf battle, it couldn't stay that way for long . . . Not with Kitty involved. And, of course, things are bound to get crazy when Ozzie wants Kitty to put on a live show in Vegas!

My problem with the book is that so many things were happening at one time that it was hard to focus. However, I really do think that was a plot device. That being said, I wish there would have been more time spent with the weird troupe of lycanthropes. I imagine, however, that we might get a bit more in the next book, but I'm not sure. Honestly, a lot of the stuff Vaughn introduced in this book could easily be subject matter for later books. The whole weirdness with Dom and the vampires could be explored, Grant and his guardianship, etc.

Even though this book was a little crazy, I really enjoyed it. Honestly, when I got married, I would have rather just gone to Vegas and screw everyone *sheepish grin* So it was nice to see Kitty do that ^_~

Vaughn was able to have a really action packed book while still maintaining a level of humor that I expect from the Kitty books. My favorite conversation in the whole book:

"A werewolf isn't supposed to have parents," Brenda said, grumbling. "They're not supposed to have mothers. How am I supposed to shoot you now, knowing it'll upset that really nice woman?"

"You're not supposed to shoot me at all!" I glared

"Sorry. Figure of speech." (179)

All around, just a fun book! It was a quick read and never bored me.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: The Taba Convention by Stephen Ayres
Current Pages: 19135
Current Progress:

53/50 books

Teaser Tuesday

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

• Grab your current read
• Opening to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Share Title & Author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
  

• 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!)

Here's mine:

"Unfortunately, every single one of them looked like they belonged at the gun show. Half of them seemed to be eyeing me suspiciously." [sic]

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn, 171

Book Review -- Dead on the Delta

Title: Dead on the Delta
Author: Stacey Jay
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 389
Published: 2011
Opening Lines: "Losing your lunch sucks. It sucks even more when you're not hungover."

So Much Danger. So Little Time . . .

"Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dre-ams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood -- and for host humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn't most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicylce-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty word most humans can't. Including helping law enforcment -- and Cane Cooper, the bayou's sexiest detective -- collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.

"But Annabelle isn't equipped to deal with the murder of a six-ear-old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle's life is imploding: between relationship-drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run -- from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of darkness waiting just for her . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: Let's get the issues out of the way first. I think the editor should have taken a look at the book after it was typed. There were a few typos, missing words, etc. While it is annoying, it isn't a glaring issue. At times, I did need to go back and reread a sentence or two to make sure what was going one, but it didn't really distract from the story. Furthermore, when the FBI come into town and mention a serial killer, it kind of just drops when you figure out what is going on. I wished that had been wrapped up. I also didn't like the bombshell dropped at the end by Hitch. It felt a little too gimmicky. So, aside from some technical issues and loose ends, there wasn't too much that upset me about the book.

Okay, the good stuff! Annabelle is hilarious! Of course, I couldn't help thinking about Poe's poem while reading the book, and I wonder if it was intentionally (and why). Anyways, she is a snarky, smart-mouthed redhead who doesn't take shit from anyone. However, even though she doesn't have the greatest hygiene, cleanest mouth, etc., she truly cares about the people of her town. I felt that the shady happenings in the town went a long way to build, test, and temper her character. And, to me, there was a lot of character development and growth during the course of the book. While the drinking -- and presumably pill-popping -- is still and issue for her, at the end of the book, it was obvious that she was starting to grow up and settle into that role. Granted, it took her long enough ^_~

The whole premise of fairies not being this dainty, cute creatures was awesome. When I read the back of the book, I had flashbacks to Labyrinth and Hoggle spraying fairies instead of being bit by them. And, with that in mind, I enjoyed that Grace's obsession was with unicorns. It seems so commonplace now for little girls to spend their time dreaming of fairies. It definitely shows a culture shift.

The town was really fleshed out, which made it believable. The characters, even if they were fairly minor, went a long way to help give the town a real, homey feel to it.

The plot was well paced and novel had good forward movement. I found myself having a hard time putting the book down. This book had my laughing as well as holding by breath. I found myself pulling my hubby away from his computer just to read him hilarious lines out of it. As a debut to a new urban fantasy series, this definitely has risen to the challenge. I am really looking forward to the next in the series.


Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Current Pages: 18753
Current Progress:

52/50 books

Follow Friday

Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and Alison at Alison Can Read. The point is to follow as many book blog as you can and make new friends! As part of the adventure, she gives a weekly question.

Here is this week's question:

Q. If you could write yourself a part in a book, what book would it be and what role would you play in that book?

Oh, wow, this is a hard question this week! In some ways, I have to agree with Rachel at Parajunkee: I would like to see how I would truly respond in a dystopic environment. Everyday, we see heroic actions taking place around us, read about them in books, preach about how we would respond, etc., but we're never put to the test. Being outspoken about my opinions with society and my hardcore belief in Ghandi's quote ("Be the change you want to see in the world" emphasis mine), I want to know whether I would truly take up arms when faced with the cold, hard reality of a dystopic world. I say, put me in Fahrenheit 451 with guys in the woods or on the street with Clarisse. Or beating the shit out of zombies and taking names in The Enemy.

That being said, it would be much cooler to be a kick ass werewolf like Kitty Norville with my own radio show. Not that I got addicted to being on the radio in college *innocent smile*

Book Review -- Viper Moon

Title: Viper Moon
Author: Lee Roland
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 332
Published: 2011
Opening Lines: "Mama wanted me to be a veterinarian. She'd probably have settled for a nurse, teacher, or a grocery story clerk."

In the small town of Duivel, Missouri, Darkness awaits . . .

"Cassandra Archer is the Huntress. She has faithfully served the Earth Mother for years, rescuing kidnapped children from monsters -- both human and supernatural -- dwelling in the abandoned ruins of the Barrows district of Duivel, Missouri.

"When Detective Flynn's twelve-year-old sister goes missing, he suspects her was taken to the Barrows, and he goes to Cass for help. The two clash, but Cass still finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tough, no-nonsense cop.

"After another child goes missing, all clues point to a cataclysmic event during the next dark moon. Cass and Flynn must race against the clock to save the children and prevent a sacrifice that could destroy the entire town . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: One thing that will turn me off of a book is bad editing. The inconsistencies were so glaring in this book, I am surprised it even made it past the first round of editing! That is my biggest beef with this book. To start with, the main character makes it clear that her friend Abby is not a psychic; however, no more than five pages later, she is going on and on about Abby's wonderful ability to tell the future. Then, about 100 pages from the end of the book, she is again saying that Abby is a psychic. In another instances, she makes it clear that a low-life, scumbag took Maxie with aspirations of making a quick buck with a badly put together kiddie porn. However, later in the book, it comes out that Maxie was not kidnapped by this low-life, but was taken by the biggest dude int he kiddie porn business. What? Did I miss something?

Even though later it turns out to be rather justified, I couldn't understand Cass's belligerent attitude towards the Earth Mother. If you are called into her service, act has her Huntress, and have her as a pseudo-deity, I don't understand getting in her face and calling her a bitch or a whore.

Another thing, read history and mythology before you slap names onto deified characters. The Darkness is named Aiakos, which is the name a king in Greek mythology. This king was renowned in all of Greece for his justice and piety. Explain that to me in relation to the Darkness!

Aside from the glaring issues, this book wasn't terrible. It provided a little bit of entertainment, but it was a meh read for me. It didn't have a wow-factor, or anything that really stuck out to me. If you're looking for an extremely mindless read with some good action, steamy sex scenes, and a lot of guns and ammo, then pick this one up.

For explanation purposes, I am giving this two stars because I cannot get over the poor editing and the inability of the author to even crack a history book and do a little research. Others, however, might really enjoy this mind-numbing read.

Rating: ☆ ☆
Currently: Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay
Current Pages: 18364
Current Progress:

51/50 books

Theme Thursday

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between the Pages. It will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme:

RECREATION (Any spot that you would go for a break – Parks, resorts, even a library )

This was a really, really hard one this week. This book doesn't even deal with recreation. I had a couple of options, but this one won out. Warning, adult content!

"He placed one knee on the bed and bent over me. His finger traced my mouth, down my throat, and circled my nipple. He pinched and gently tugged."

~ Viper Moon by Lee Roland, 127