Wild Thing Anthology

Wild Thing:
New York Times bestselling authors Maggie Shayne and Marjorie M. Liu, and sizzling newcomers Alyssa Day and Meljean Brook discover the wild instinct in everyone with four all-new stories of feral heat. Fans will get swept away by the passions in the unfathomable depths of Atlantis; they'll follow the shadows that stalk both the living and the undead in a world of vampires and guardian angels; they'll enter the forbidden world of the demon horde and their willing victims; and they'll be privy to the secrets of a beautiful animal-whisperer who's drawn closer to the most suspect of all male animals -- man.

This was my first book read for Tegan's 2011 Anthology Challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed Maggie Shayne's novella; it was quick paced and full of hot and steamy scenes. The second story, by Meljean Brook, honestly did nothing for me. The only reason I finished it was because of the challenge; I didn't like the characters--they just didn't pull me into their world, but that isn't to say that I'll never try her work again. Marjorie M Liu's incredible contribution to this was her initial foray into the Hunter Kiss world. I have read the three novels in this urban fantasy series, but now I know where it all began. And it just makes me love Grant that much more! The final short story, from Alyssa Day about Warriors of Poseidon; men of Atlantis, shape-shifters and vampires completely drew me in and have sparked an interest in trying more of her work.

Sun Kissed by Catherine Anderson

Sun Kissed:
When Samantha Harrigan attends the local rodeo, she doesn’t expect to wind up in jail. But that’s precisely what happens when she tries to stop a drunkard from abusing his horse. At least she isn’t alone. Tucker Coulter, a handsome local veterinarian, comes to her defense—and is arrested too.
The charges are dropped, but Sam’s troubles have only started. Her champion quarter horses are falling ill and the culprit is poison. As the insurance beneficiary, Sam is the prime suspect. Unswayed by the rumors floating around town, Tucker offers to help prove her innocence. Sam, though, is uneasy about accepting his assistance—and about the way he makes her feel. If only she could believe in him the way he seems to believe in her...

Catherine Anderson is one of those incredible romance writers that has you coming back for more. This is only my second time reading one of her books, and I will definitely be looking forward to picking up those others I have sitting on my shelf. Catherine gives her characters honest emotions that pull you ever deeper into the story she has created. I felt every tear and heard every laugh the characters experienced in this book. The book's pace flowed smoothly keeping me interested and with just a hint of danger for added tension. Catherine has a hearty respect for friends and family and it truly shows in her writing -- giving her books a more intimate feel and creating an indulgence for her work.

Escaping her marriage to her abusive husband left Samantha with deep emotional scars, some so deep even her own family knows nothing about them. Trust comes hard for her but after meeting Tucker she begins to feel like a woman again. Tucker is determined to get past the walls she has erected around her heart, for years he has searched for the perfect woman, and he knows immediately that Samantha is that woman. When things start going wrong at her stables, and her horses become sick, Samantha trusts Tucker to save her horses -- but continuously fights the feelings of attraction he stirs in her. Their relationship changes as they work closely to save the horses that are more like an extension of her family than simply animals. Their romance is sweet and builds quickly as the story progresses. Although it is obvious as to who is behind the poisoning of the horses, there is still the mystery of just how it is being accomplished. After ferreting out who the perpetrator is and the reasoning behind the betrayal, Samantha's ex-husband returns for one last showdown -- and this time, he plans to see her dead.

Street Game by Christine Feehan

Street Game:
For Mack McKinley and his team of GhostWalker killing machines, urban warfare is an art. But despite a hard-won knowledge of the San Francisco streets, Mack knows from experience that too many things can still go wrong. Danger was just another part of the game—and now he’s come face-to-face with a woman who can play just as tough.

She’s Jaimie, a woman with a sapphire stare so potent it can destroy a man. Years ago she and Mack had a history—volatile, erotic, and electric. Then she vanished. Now she’s walked back into Mack’s life, as a spy with more secrets than are good for her. Against all odds, she’s hooking up with Mack one more time to take on an enemy that could destroy them both, or bring them back together in one hot, no-holds-barred adrenaline rush.

Christine Feehan pulled me right into her world of urban warfare, she is a gifted writer when it comes to the paranormal realm. Her books are always filled with suspense and intrigue, but the core of the stories are always romance. And this, the eighth in the GhostWalkers series, is filled with tension and hot, steamy scenes. The action begins on the very first page and the fast pace kept me reading. Christine's world of the GhostWalkers can oft times be violent, but I found this book to be a little milder than some of her others, not that I am complaining, in fact it was a nice change of pace in the series for me. A lot of the book takes place in Jaimie's home, where Mack and his team of psychically and physically enhanced soldiers are lead to believe is a cache of black market weapons. After two years apart, both Mack and Jaimie are at a loss with seeing each other again. Jaimie has trouble dealing with the psychic backlash of violence, and in order to do his job, Mack leads a very violent life. She left the team believing she would never survive that kind of world, but the whole time she has been watched by the very people she hoped to escape. And now danger has come to her doorstep. Jaimie is reluctant to let Mack and the team protect her, afraid she might fall into the same pattern with Mack, only their feelings for one another are too strong to be denied and pushed away any longer. Mack, Jaimie and the rest of the team have to find out who wants the GhostWalkers dead, and it looks like it might be someone with very high government connections.

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

Fire Study:
The apprenticeship is over—now the real test has begun.

When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena's fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before....

Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

In this thrilling conclusion to Maria V. Snyder's Study series, she has proved to me, yet again, that fantasy can be a whole lot more than just page upon page of world building. Each action-packed book in this series surpassed my expectations, keeping me so engrossed in the books I read one right after the other. I felt I was a part of Yelena's journey of self discovery, Maria's writing pulls you right into the story; so that you feel every one of her emotions as if they were your own. Yelena's strength comes from the hard lessons she was forced to endure in her life, but without them, she would have never survived to become a confident, free woman; secure in the knowledge of who and what she is--a Soulfinder. Yelena is still learning to use and control her magic, she begins her studies hoping to soon become the liaison between Sitia and Ixia; so she can be free to be with Valek...things are just never that simple for Yelena. An old enemy returns, and after his defeat, Yelena, Valek and their friends are faced with a whole new evil form of magic that has twisted Sitia's government against its own people. In order to stop a war between Sitia and Ixia, Yelena must convince the Magician's Council to overcome their fear and distrust of Soulfinders, and the Commander to delay his attack against the Sitians. Betrayal within the Council has them following the rule of a warped magician, someone who is using dark Blood Magic to advance their powers and is willing to cause countless deaths in order to become the new ruler of both Sitia and Ixia. Danger surrounds those fighting for the good of the people, and as Yelena begins to lose those closest to her, deaths caused by dark magic, she must find the strength to defeat those that hold Sitia captive before it's too late.

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Magic Study:
Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth.

But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges—;and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life…or be her downfall.

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways—and her new-found friends and relatives don't think it's for the better.

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training—especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince—and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.

Magic Study picks up right where Poison Study left off, and I have fallen even deeper in love with Maria V. Snyder's writing. It's so refreshing to read a character who doesn't pine endlessly over the guy she is forced to be separated from. Yelena misses Valek with all her heart but there is more going on in her new life that holds importance over her lover. Yelena has incredible inner strength and an unwavering sense of right and wrong that she uses to survive the obstacles put in her path. Each of the secondary characters were just as interesting as the main ones and I loved getting to know them as well. Yelena faces a new danger as a magician from a rogue clan begins stealing the souls of young girls, and with them their magic giving him the power to defeat Master Magicians. In her quest to stop this man from harming anyone else, Yelena forms a special bond with her horse, Kiki, who is another one of Maria's incredible characters. And they travel into the lands of another clan who are distant cousins to Yelena's clan. There she discovers her memories of her childhood that were stolen by the magician who took her as a child. She also learns the truth of her being a Soulfinder and her brother's hatred, and they must work together in order to untangle his feelings. A surprise visit from Valek and her friends from Ixia comes at just the right time for him to help her defeat the evil magician and save a young girls life.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study:
Yelena, convicted of murdering the son of a powerful general, awaits execution. But with only a few hours left, she is offered an incredible reprieve -- and agrees to become the new food taster for Commander Ambrose, the military leader of Ixia. Living in a palace and eating only the best meals is a dramatic change for Yelena, who spent the last year locked up in a rat-infested dungeon, eating gruel. But she soon realizes that she has more to worry about than ingesting potentially lethal poisons in the commander's meals. The general whose son she murdered has vowed bloody vengeance, and everyone in the Commander's retinue look at Yelena as an untrustworthy criminal. The longer she stays alive, however, the more she begins to understand her own perplexing abilities -- all of which will be put to the test when cunning rebels plot to take control of Ixia.

It is not very often that I delve into the fantasy genre, I find that I can only read so many pages of world building as it tends to go on and on. But that is not the case with this book by Maria V. Snyder. Her incredible writing pulled me in from the first page, and I was completely immersed in Yelena's world. I finished practically half of the book in one sitting and quite simply couldn't stop turning pages. Filled with complex characters, magic and danger this book takes you on an adventure you won't soon forget. The book flowed flawlessly and the pace keep the story moving quickly. Maria's incredible storytelling through Yelena's voice makes envisioning her world simple yet detailed. The dynamic relationship between Yelena and Valek was emotionally encompassing. In the beginning he takes the role of her instructor, teaching her the signs of poison detection. His protective attitude toward her becomes apparent after she is accosted by a guard within the halls of the castle. They are the perfect match for each other, but due to the circumstances of Yelena's imprisonment and subsequent release, they must build trust between them before their true feelings are made apparent. Danger surrounds Yelena as a powerful magician is out to kill the Commander and another is trying to kill Yelena. Yelena, Valek and tow of the guards that have befriended her are the only ones who can stop the traitorous acts against the Commander. Trusting Valek will keep Yelena alive, but when she tells him the truth of who she really is, she fears he may turn her away forever.

Anthology Reading Challenge

Tegan over at Not Your Faerytale is hosting a fun challenge beginning January 1, 2011 encouraging us to read our anthologies from start to finish!

What level is your goal?

3-5 Novice
6-10 Intermediate
11-15 Advanced
16+ Professional

I’m aiming for Intermediate:

1. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (Published October 7th 2008 by Ace Hardcover)
2. Strange Brew (Published July 7th 2009 by St. Martin's Griffin)
3. Wild Thing (Published May 1st 2007 by Berkley Trade)
4. Heart of Darkness (Published January 1st 2010 by HQN Books)
5. On the Prowl (Published August 7th 2007 by Berkley)
6. The Bodyguard (Published June 29th 2010 by St. Martin's Paperbacks)
7. Kiss Me Deadly (Published August 3rd 2010 by Running Press Kids)
8. The Eternal Kiss (Published July 27th 2009 by Running Press Kids)
9. Immortal: Love Stories with Bite (Published October 6th 2009 by Benbella Books)
10. Kisses From Hell (Published August 24th 2010 by HarperTeen)


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YA of the 80s and 90s Reading Challenge

The Book Vixen is hosting a fun challenge to see how many YA books that were originally published in the 80s and 90s you can read; starting January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Go here to sign up!


Here is a list of books that qualify that I have sitting here on my shelf:

1. Remember Me Anthology by Christopher Pike
2. Thirst Anthologies 1-2 by Christopher Pike
3. Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike
4. The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick
5. Beach Party by R. L. Stine
6. Dark Visions Anthology by L.J. Smith
7. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
8. The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause


So that is the beginning of my list! I’ll be hitting up my used bookstores to find more!

Men In Uniform Challenge

The Book Vixen is hosting a fun reading challenge beginning January 1st, 2011; Men in Uniform!

What level are you?

Sergeant – Read 1–5 men in uniform novels
Lieutenant – Read 6–10 men in uniform novels
Captain – Read 11–15 men in uniform novels
Chief – Read 16+ men in uniform novels

Right now I am aiming for Lieutenant! Here is my initial list:

1. Street Game by Christine Feehan
2. Blood Sins by Kay Hooper
3. Knock Out by Catherine Coulter
4. Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
5. Show No Mercy by Cindy Gerard
6. Swept Aside by Sharon Sala