January

Lothaire by Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark #12)
Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #1)
Gideon by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #2)
Seven Princes by John R. Fultz (Books of the Shaper #1)
Unclean Spirits by M. L. N. Hanover (Black Sun’s Daughter #1)
The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James
Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #2)
Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz (Dark Legacy #1)
Heir of Night by Helen Lowe (Wall of Night #1)
No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose
Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan (The Riyria Revelations)
Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane #4)
Eternal Hunger by Laura Wright (Mark of the Vampire #1)
Eternal Kiss by Laura Wright (Mark of the Vampire #2)

It’s very hard to choose just one out of all the great books being released this month but my top pick for January is No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose.

February

Mass Effect: Deception by William C. Dietz
Darker Angels by M. L. N. Hanover (Black Sun’s Daughter #2)
Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #3)
A Walk in the Park by Jill Mansell
The Dread by Gail Z. Martin (Fallen Kings Cycle #2)
Eternal Captive by Laura Wright (Mark of the Vampire #3)

The Dread by Gail Z. Martin continues the Fallen Kings Cycle and is my top pick for February.

March

Bridge of Dreams by Anne Bishop (Ephemera #3)
Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega #3)
Recipe for Love by Katie Fforde
Elijah by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #3)
Damien by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #4)
Vicious Grace by M. L. N. Hanover (Black Sun’s Daughter #3)
Fated by Benedict Jacka (Alex Verus #1)
Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick #3)
Exogene by T. C. McCarthy (Subterrene War #2)
Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10)
A Rising Thunder by David Weber (Honor Harrington)

March is a very tough month to choose a top pick from, with books out by several favourite authors.  I am going to have to go with Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward since I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood and this is Tohr’s story!

April

Noah by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #5)
Killing Rites by M. L. N. Hanover (Black Sun’s Daughter #4)
Vengeance by Ian Irvine (The Tainted Realm #1)
Gathering of the Lost by Helen Lowe (Wall of Night #2)
The Love Letter by Fiona Walker
32 Fangs by David Wellington (Laura Caxton #5)

The Love Letter by Fiona Walker is my pick for April, her books never fail to amuse and entertain me.

May

The King’s Blood by Daniel Abraham (Dagger and the Coin #2)
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races #1)
Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon (League #5)
Frostbite by Richelle Mead,  Emma Vieceli and Leigh Dragoon (Vampire Academy Graphic Novel #2)

By May I will be jumping up and down with excitement with the release of Born Of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon, the next book in her brilliant League series!

June

Darkness Devours by Keri Arthur (Dark Angel #3)
Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey (Expanse #2)
Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh Trilogy #3)
Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison (Elder Races #2)
Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione (Lords of Deliverance #3)
Cursed by Benedict Jacka (Alex Verus #2)
Messenger’s Angel by Heather Killough-Walden (Lost Angels #2)
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #2)
A Night like This by Julia Quinn (Smythe-Smith Quartet #2)
Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane #5)

This is not getting any easier!  June has so many books I am really excited about, but if my arm was twisted behind my back to choose (please don’t!) it would have to be Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione.

July

Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld #13)

July is a bit of an obvious one!

August

Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark-Hunter #22)
Shadow Blizzard by Alexey Pehov (Chronicles of Siala #3)
Seawitch by Kat Richardson (Greywalker #7)
Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville #10)

Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn is my pick for August, I just love this series so much!

November

Death’s Angel by Heather Killough-Walden (Lost Angels #3)

This month speaks for itself

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If anyone is interested, here is what I purchased

Lara Adrian

I’d read the first two books in her Midnight Breed series and had been wanting to get the rest.  The whole series was available for Kindle at £1.49 each (or less) so it was a very happy buy!

Kiss of Midnight (Midnight Breed #1)
Kiss of Crimson (Midnight Breed #2)
Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed #3)
Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed #4)
Veil of Midnight (Midnight Breed #5)
Ashes of Midnight (Midnight Breed #6)
Shades of Midnight (Midnight Breed #7)
Taken by Midnight (Midnight Breed #8)
Deeper than Midnight (Midnight Breed #9)
A Taste of Midnight (Midnight Breed #9.5)

Karen Chance

I love the Cassie Palmer series but hadn’t bought the new one yet.  I wanted to do a re-read before I read Hunt the Moon but I’d borrowed book four from a friend so when I saw books 1-4 in a bundle for the price of 1 paperback – Yes please!  Of course I had to buy the new one too.

Cassie Palmer Series 1-4 (Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night & Curse the Dawn)
Hunt the Moon (Cassie Palmer #5)

Lauren Dane

An author I’ve not experienced yet but came highly recommended, so I decided to start with these books.

Giving Chase (The Chase Brothers #1)
Undercover (Federation Chronicles #1)

Keta Diablo

An author I find very entertaining on Twitter writing in a very adult genre.  I really wanted to give one of her books a try in 2012 and settled on this one.

Crossroads (Crossroads #1)

Larissa Ione

This author was a new discovery for me in 2011 with her brilliant Lords of Deliverance series.  I had been sent books three and four in the Demonica series and wanted to start at the beginning so these were an easy choice!

Pleasure Unbound (Demonica #1)
Desire Unchained (Demonica #2)
Eternity Embraced (Demonica #3.5)

Heather Killough-Walden

I absolutely loved Avenger’s Angel so wanted to read the prequel novella and then discovered the author had written other books.  Another bundle deal that was just too hard to resist

Always Angel (Lost Angels #0.5)
The Big Bad Wolf Compilation (The Heat, The Strip, The Spell, The Hunt)

Deirdre Martin

An author that has been on my wishlist for a while, I love Rachel Gibson’s Ice Hockey books and Deirdre Martin was recommended in the same vein.

Body Check (New York Blades #1)

J. A. Saare

This was an impulse buy due to Laura at Book Chick City.  Yes, I am blaming you

Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between (Rhiannon’s Law #1)

Lilith Saintcrow

I’m still working my way through the Dante Valentine Omnibus and finding it so tense I have to take breaks between books.  It’s also very hard not to skip ahead to see if everything turns out okay.  I’d been wanting to read the Jill Kismet series too so this was a great chance to make a start on that.

Night Shift (Jill Kismet #1)

Gena Showalter

I still have most of the Lords of the Underworld series to read but loving it so far, so when this came up on Amazon’s 12 days of Kindle sale I was powerless to resist.

Lord of the Vampires (Royal House of Shadows #1)

Cathy Woodman

It might be a bit odd to have a chick lit book on this list considering everything else I’d bought but I’m nothing if not eclectic in my reading tastes!  I’d bought a two book paperback bundle of what I thought was books one and two in the Otter House Vets series but it turned out to be one and four!  The third book is set in the same village but not the same characters so I just bought book two and will get the third one at some point.  A very entertaining series and I am a sucker for vet books

Must Be Love (Otter House Vets #2)

And there we have it!  I have quite a bit of reading to do… Great start for the New Year!

On that note I shall wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope 2012 is a great one for you all!

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Speaking of e-books, my lovely husband bought me a Kindle earlier on in the year and I honestly didn’t think I would take to it as well as I have.  My love for paperbacks is as strong as ever but storing them does become a problem and that is where the Kindle is perfect.

Anyway, on to the books of 2011!

I could list all the books I’ve loved this year but I think that would make for a very long post so I’m going to highlight the ones I’ve found most special.

	Sister by Rosamund Lupton	Sister is a fascinating and enjoyable book that will pull you in and refuse to let you go until you know the truth.
	Germline by T. C. McCarthy	A gripping close up of a futuristic war in all it’s gritty, brutal, dark and horrific glory.
	In Her Name: Empire by Michael R. Hicks	In Her Name: Empire is a book that has heart, emotion, sacrifice, and courage and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
	Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh	By the end I was firmly in love with Singh’s world and her characters, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.  I wholeheartedly pass on the recommendation that this is an author to love!
	Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey	An amazingly exciting space opera, and I absolutely can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
	Vampire Academy: A Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead, Emma Vieceli, Leigh Dragoon	Whether a fan of graphic novels or just love the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, this adaptation is a must.
	Bloodlines by Richelle Mead	A wonderful start to the new series and a book to be enjoyed by teenagers and adults alike.
	Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen	A very entertaining zombie rom-com, that I think a lot of fans of different genres will enjoy.
	Ghost Story by Jim Butcher	The Dresden Files is a series that just gets better and better, and I honestly think this is the best one so far.  So much so, I worry where it goes from here, can it actually get any better?  Does it need to?  I don’t have an answer to that other than, I need the next one now! Jim Butcher is the absolute ruler and master of Urban Fantasy and long may he reign!
	Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson	As a book, it’s brilliant.  As a debut novel for S. J. Watson, it’s just amazing.
	Avenger’s Angel by Heather Killough-Walden	A great read and I look forward to the next book in this charming series!
	Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward	The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a firm favourite and J. R. Ward is simply a genius in the genre.
	You Belong to Me by Karen Rose	You Belong to Me has now become one of my favourite books from Karen Rose and is quite possibly the best one she has written… so far!
	Hellhole by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert	If you like great science fiction on an epic scale, you have to read Hellhole.. really!

We’ve also said a sad farewell to two amazing fantasy and science fiction authors.

Dianna Wynne Jones and Anne McCaffrey; thank you both for the immense amount of joy you have brought to mine and others lives.

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The Woman In Black (February 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/
http://www.womaninblack.com/

Harry Potter travels to a remote location and ends up investigating mysterious goings on that hint at something dark and dangerous. Oh wait, sorry, Arthur Kipps (played by Daniel Radcliffe) travels to a remote village and ends up investigating something mysterious, well you get the point.

Based on The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

Dr Seuss’ The Lorax (March 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1482459/

What can I say
a movie a film
with voices and action
and all nice and trim

Animation and graphics
and wonderful sights
No doubt a huge hit
with those troublesome mites

The children.

Based on Dr Seuss’ The Lorax.

John Carter (March 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401729/
http://www.johncarterarrives.com/

Avatar, but the big aliens are green. Unfair? Maybe. Based on the John Carter of Mars pulp stories, the movie has dropped the ‘of Mars’ because Mars based movies suffer from the kiss of death. Much like Russian Mars based space missions. I’m not sure people will ‘get it’ but we’ll see. If it’s fun and light it might catch an audience.

Based on many John Carter of Mars pulp fiction novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The Hunger Games (March 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/
http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/

A book adaptation! How unique! Televised death matches, love stories, kids pitted against other kids, utopian world ‘supported’ by horrific practices? Nothing new here so I hope the implementation brings something exciting.

Based on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (August 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/

I’m pretty sure the title has everything you need to know. Seriously.

Based on Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.

The Bourne Legacy (August 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/

It’s Bourne, without Bourne. Same universe (er, the real world?) but with a different undercover blackops blacklisted CIA operative who will probably have to do stuff, and put himself at risk, to save something. Without the ‘I don’t remember who I am’ schtick isn’t this just Mission Impossible: Solo or Bond #24?

Based on Robert Ludlum’s The Bournce Legacy.

Total Recall (August 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386703/
http://www.totalrecall-movie.com/

Total Remake! Will it bring something new? Will we get a fat headed special effect saying “Twwooo weeekkkss” and giving me nightmares for 10 years? Who knows. I’m quite excited despite myself. The original, as with many of Arnie’s sci-fi movies, was heavy and lumbering despite my enjoyment of it. I’d love to see an agile, light-on-it’s-feet remake which injects some pace and intrigue into this story. Also, hoping for some hot chicks in latex to complement the plot (Len Wiseman, don’t let me down now!)

Based on We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, by Philip K. Dick.

Cloud Atlas (October 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/

The Wachowski’s bring their talent to a sprawling story set over six different periods in time, hoping to tie them all together into an overall tale. It’ll either tank, or it’ll be a cult hit that eventually makes billions, maybe. Oh, and check out the cast!

Based on the novel Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/
http://www.thehobbitblog.com/

Need I say anything? This is it. The Film He Said He Would Never Make. The Movie That We Thought We Would Never Get. The start of it all. The journey that gave us Lord of the Rings. The tale that gives birth to a legend. The story that enthralled a generation. Bilbo steps out of his front door, and nothing is ever the same again. Beards, dwarves, wizards, pipes, hairy feet and Middle Earth. I’ll be there. I’ll be there if the reviews say it stinks worse than dragon shit. I’ll be there no matter what.

Based on a little known work, The Hobbit, by someone called J.R.R. Tolkien.

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So that’s why other posts might start appearing and you now know what is going on   Still undecided whether to copy the content from my other blog, I might do just for reference but again, that’s why if it all suddenly appears!

Grete
xxx

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I knew this day would come but I still hoped it wouldn’t be for a long time yet, for her, her family and friends, and us her fans.

There are very few writers I can say had a really strong influence on me, right from when I was a troubled teenager some twenty four years ago.  After yet another bad day I took refuge in my school’s library and picked up a book called Dragonflight.  I never looked back and losing myself in the amazing worlds and characters Anne created got me through some pretty bad times, again and again.

I became a huge fan, wanting books the day they were released, re-reading them so often I would wear copies out, and I still love them to this day.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Anne at a book signing she did here in Nottingham in 1998, and she couldn’t have been nicer.  She was obviously in some discomfort because of travelling and arthritis but she took the time to sign everything anyone brought with them, to talk and make everyone feel as though she was interested in them, as if she was the one privileged to meet us. She was charming and gracious and meeting her absolutely made my year.

I will miss her.  The dragons are keening one of their own.

Thank you Anne, for so many years of joy and may you rest in peace.

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I’m used to it in a lot of ways since I’ve had it for a long time but it doesn’t make it any easier when the low periods hit and the struggle to maintain day to day activities becomes much harder.

So, the point of this blog message is to say I am feeling better and reading again and therefore reviews should be following too

Thanks everyone who sent me *hugs* and get better messages, they really helped!

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To enter all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page and leave a comment on the Alterant give-away post over on Facebook (not on this post, but the post on Facebook).

This give-away is open internationally, so wherever you are, we’d love to hear from you!  This give-away is tied to Facebook and we appreciate not everyone uses it, we’ve done Twitter give-aways in the past, and we’ll do regular give-aways in the future!

Closing date for entries will be 23:59 UK Time, Monday 19th September, and the winner’s name will be generated randomly.  I had to stop using the hat method because Fizz the book guardian kept running off with bits of paper

Good luck!

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I read Changes by Jim Butcher.  To be fair, I’d read it before, but I wanted to re-read it before I got stuck into Ghost Story.  In the end I read them both on the Kindle, not all on the train journey of course, but I stuck with it when I got back home.

You can’t fault the Kindle screen, it’s easy to read, easy on the eyes and very high quality.  Equally, the interface couldn’t be simpler, click to turn the page, remembers where you are and the little flash was no where near as bad as I expected.  It doesn’t really weigh that much either and it’s light enough to comfortably hold in one hand, so no issue there.

However, I do have a significant problem, and that is hand position.  My natural one-handed book grip and two-handed book grip don’t work with the Kindle.  I also have an ‘I’m being lazy and holding the book down with my whole hand’ thing going on which you can’t do either.  Basically, if I wanted to avoid having my thumb on the Kindle screen (and I assume I did want to avoid that), there’s only one place for it to naturally go – and that place is occupied by the keypad that I never used.

I need a keypad-less Kindle.

I ended up settling on a ‘holding it in my hand like a smart phone’ which was okay, I’ve got pretty big hands, and I could turn the pages, but it tired my fingers out reasonably quickly.  I had to switch between that grip and a ‘thumb between keypad and screen’ grip.  None of them felt natural compared to holding a book, where it doesn’t matter where your thumb or fingers end up, you can always move them to read a word or two.

It feels like a pretty significant issue to me, although maybe I’m alone in the matter.  Here’s a few photo’s to show you what I mean.

Normal thumb grip, with the book ‘resting’ on my fingers.

Another thumb grip, but I can put my thumb anywhere I like.

Reading with the book balanced on my leg.

Kindle – delicate thumb grip, tiring on the thumb.

Kindle – smartphone grip, tiring on the whole hand.

Kindle – side grip, not bad, but cramps the fingers.

In summary – I got on fine with the Kindle for actual reading.  The screen is sublime and reading is as easy as real paper, but it’s just not quite the right shape.  A larger section under the screen with no keys would have been ideal, or a ‘touch’ keypad that you can turn off and use as a thumb rest would have worked too.

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I haven’t read any of David’s books since Fall of Kings, in fact I’ve read very little since completing Fall of Kings, and anything I have read has been distinctly not heroic fantasy.  I don’t think I’ve been avoiding it intentionally, but there’s definitely a small part of my reading soul that doesn’t want to accept David is gone and doesn’t want to move on.

I read a huge amount of fantasy literature in the late 80′s and throughout the 90′s but eventually I struggled to find anything fresh and enjoyable, with the sole exception of David Gemmell’s work.  His books were always entertaining, always enjoyable, and always emotional.  People can discuss style and prose as much as they want, but in his heart, David was a storyteller and that shines through in everything he wrote.  His ability to engage you, to show you the hearts of the people in his stories, to embroil you in their lives and their emotions is unparalleled in modern fantasy literature.  I struggled to find that engagement anywhere else in the genre, and although I’m sure it exists, not finding it left me jaded and put me off fantasy fiction for a long time.

While helping Grete sort out the book collection and get them all onto Good Reads, we went through all my David Gemmell books and it was the first time in a long time that I’d seen them all lined up.  I resolved to start reading them again, and there’s no other place, no better place to start, than Legend.

I picked it up last night, and put it down a hundred pages in and a couple of hours later.  It’s still as good as I remember, instantly engaging and enjoyable.  I hadn’t realised, or had forgotten, just how much of the world Druss inhabits is described in the first few chapters, and how many of the later books are based on short throw-away lines or character names in Legend.  David’s style is just so easy to read, and that’s because it’s like being there with him, listening to him tell you the story.

Legend is about honour, courage, fear, duty, age and faith.

It is as poignant and as relevant now as it was when he wrote it.

I would have sat in the darkness and listened to David tell stories to hold back the night, without that chance, I’ll re-read all his books and share my life with him again.

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